Chapter 431: The Swamp River Chariot God
Shion's words shattered Naruto's confidence. "It's no use. I saw your tombstone. 'Grave of Naruto Uzumaki.' That's your name, right? I've never been to your Leaf Village, but I know your tombstone is in the southwest corner of the village, where there are many, many graves."
Naruto was utterly speechless. The southwest corner was the village cemetery. The Third Hokage and the others were all buried there. Was he going there too? He really didn't want to die.
Sasuke also felt very uneasy. He didn't have the thought of living and dying with Naruto, at least not consciously, but he just felt that if this annoying guy suddenly died, he would feel very uncomfortable.
Sakura also shifted her focus from her mortgage to Naruto, asking Shion for a way to break this so-called prophecy.
Taruho, the attendant, advised them from the side to give up such unrealistic ideas. The priestess's prophecies had never failed. If she said he would die, he would definitely die.
Ino believed that with Ashura and the Sage of Six Paths as a safety net, there was nothing to worry about. She didn't participate in the conversation at all, finishing her breakfast on her own.
After breakfast, the priestess Shion prepared to set out.
The previous priestess, Shion's mother, had sealed the soul of the demon Mōryō in the depths of the Land of Swamps.
Now, they were heading to the Land of Swamps to investigate.
The priestess Shion had prepared a guard of a hundred people. After breakfast, Ino and her team followed the main group to the even more western Land of Swamps.
Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire rode in an ox-cart. Shion, the priestess of this far western land, had an even lower status. She knelt alone on a donkey-cart. Except for her delicate features and outstanding temperament, she looked no different from a country girl going to the market.
She had a cart to ride, while Ino and the others could only walk. Walking was fine; the four had no objection to it.
The Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps were not far apart, about the distance from one village to another, a day's journey. Not long after leaving the Land of Demons, Ino sensed something unsettling in the air.
She instantly appeared next to Shion. Sasuke frowned. This first-place peer of his was unbelievably fast. He couldn't even keep up with his Sharingan activated. Is this the Yellow Flash of the eastern front?
The group was currently heading due west. Ino pointed to the northwest. "That direction is the sealing place of you priestesses, right?"
Shion didn't speak, just looked at her.
"I have... a very uncomfortable feeling. It seems like something terrifying is slowly squeezing into our world from there. I can't describe it accurately. This thing... this thing seems incredibly large to me. Is that the soul of the demon Mōryō?"
She felt that these priestesses must have made a mistake.
She was an expert on souls; no one knew souls better than her!
The thing that was trying to squeeze through the gap was definitely not some demon's soul. It "looked" very similar to the priestess's energy, though she wasn't sure if it was the same source. According to her understanding, it was more like some grand will.
The priestess wasn't telling the truth. Either there was something wrong with her, or there was something wrong with that Mōryō.
Whatever their relationship was, at this moment, that demon Mōryō absolutely could not be let in. Rumor had it that Mōryō could destroy the world. Judging from that chaotic and disorderly aura, this seemed to be true.
Ino pointed to the river next to them and pressed, "Following this river will lead to the sealing place, right?"
Shion was still explaining slowly, "Yes, the source of the Swamp River is the Land of Swamps, in that direction..."
Ino was more anxious than she was. She snatched the reins of the donkey-cart. "What are you dawdling for? We're in imminent danger! We should have set out last night! Sit tight! Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, get on!"
It was uncomfortable for both parties when a ninja carried someone while running. It was fine once in a while, but this barefoot priestess looked physically average and couldn't take much tossing around.
Asuma had taught the Tenth Squad the skill of driving a donkey-cart. Team 7, on the other hand, had always been fighting and killing; Kakashi clearly didn't have this skill. Ino's reaction speed was a whole tier faster than ordinary ninja. She immediately decided to drive the cart herself and take Shion to the sealing place.
Naruto and the others were bewildered, not knowing why she was suddenly in such a hurry. But the order to obey the jonin's command during a mission was very clear. At this moment, they all jumped onto the cart.
"Insolence! Let go of Her Highness the Priestess!" The extremely loyal attendant Taruho shouted from behind.
Considering that this man named Taruho had a unique secret jutsu he could use, Ino threw a rope backwards, wrapped it around Taruho's waist, and brought this attendant onto the cart as well. Then, the donkey-cart sped off towards the sealing ground in the northwest.
The hundred or so guards from the Land of Demons were stunned. They wanted to give chase, but the donkey-cart was too fast. Before they could react, it was already out of sight.
Just as the donkey-cart suddenly accelerated, on a nearby mountaintop, there were also four people—three men and one woman—dressed in white robes, without any forehead protectors, staring at the priestess's group.
Seeing the donkey-cart suddenly leave the guards behind and speed up frantically, the leader of the ninja was shocked. "They've spotted us! After them!"
The three men and one woman began to give chase, but their ninja skills were very average. Under normal conditions, they were at most at the level of an average chunin.
And yet, these four were unaware of this, chasing after the donkey-cart, shouting and screaming.
"Konoha ninja! Come and fight me to the death if you have the guts!"
"Stop! If you run again, I won't be polite!"
"Kill the two men, capture the women, and offer them as a sacrifice to the great Lord Mōryō!"
Ino was focused on observing the wisps of chaotic Mōryō energy in the distance with her perception and had no time to deal with such small fry who could be wiped out with a single ninjutsu.
Under her control, the donkey-cart's speed increased, racing along the river called the "Swamp River."
Sasuke had originally wanted to launch a Great Fireball Technique at the pursuers. Their dense formation was very suitable for Fire Release. But the donkey-cart was drifting all over the place, moving at a flying speed. He was thrown around inside the cart and couldn't form hand seals at all.
Shion had initially knelt very solemnly in the cart. Once the cart's speed picked up, she couldn't sit still.
Such a simple donkey-cart naturally had no railings. In her desperation, she could only grab onto Naruto next to her to steady herself.
Naruto was afraid of death. Besides the steel plates on his chest and back, before setting out, he had also put on a thick set of armor like a traditional samurai. If nothing else, the weight was not a problem.
Shion held on to Naruto tightly, using this "tin man" as a windbreaker.
Sakura and Taruho were also struggling to hold on. Sasuke had even activated his Sharingan, staring intently at the road ahead, worried about a scene of the cart crashing and everyone dying.
If the last of the Uchiha clan died together with a donkey, he felt he would become the shame of the Uchiha, unable to face his parents and clansmen even after death!
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