Uchiha Hikari nodded, not bothering to deny it. "I happened to pass through the Grass Village a while back and saw some scum who didn't deserve to live, so I dealt with them. What's the issue?"
"Well…" Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, a wry smile creasing his aged face. "It's not a big issue, but some of those 'scum' might've included a few nobles from the Land of Grass. Their daimyo has sent several letters to Konoha, pressing us to investigate and provide an explanation."
"Nobles?" Hikari raised an eyebrow.
The Grass Village incident happened when she rescued Karin and her mother, quite some time ago. Wielding the might of her Susanoo, she'd cut down over a hundred people in one stroke, not paying much attention to who they were—ninja or not. But it didn't matter.
Any noble associating with the likes of those Grass Village lowlifes wasn't worth sparing.
Having already turned the Akame ga Kill empire upside down, Hikari had no qualms about shaking things up in the Naruto world too—maybe even uprooting the Land of Grass's ruling class entirely.
As for Hiruzen…
Hikari turned to him with a playful smirk. "So, Lord Third, you came to talk to me about this personally. Got any special orders? Planning to tie me up and hand me over to the Land of Grass to appease them? Like you did with Hyuga Hizashi back then?"
"?!"
Hiruzen's eyes twitched, a cold sweat breaking out. "No, no, Miss Hikari, you misunderstand! I only wanted to confirm the situation since you're back. The Grass Village's vile habits are no secret to me. Your actions weren't wrong, and Konoha will handle it appropriately."
"Good." Hikari gave a cold huff, then shifted gears. "By the way, Sarutobi kid, I've got a question for you."
"…Yes?" Hiruzen took a deep breath, his tone respectful despite the shift from "Lord" to "kid."
Hikari didn't beat around the bush. "Do you know where the Land of Demons is?"
A few minutes later, Hiruzen walked off, hands clasped behind his back.
The new students, including Naruto, were sorted into classes and led to their classrooms by their teachers. As expected, Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, and a few others ended up in the same class, with Iruka Umino as their teacher.
Hikari ruffled Naruto's yellow hair, waved goodbye, and turned to face Fugaku and Mikoto, who had just finished giving Sasuke some last-minute advice and were approaching her.
"Ancestor, about the Third…" Fugaku began.
"Oh, just some trivial stuff. Don't worry about it," Hikari said casually, though her eyes narrowed slightly. Out of the corner of her vision, she caught a glimpse of an Anbu ninja leaping from a hiding spot, hurrying after Hiruzen.
"Speaking of, when I mentioned the Land of Demons, Sarutobi's expression seemed… off," Hikari mused. "Could it be that this 'Moryo' thing is already stirring?"
Her interest in the Land of Demons wasn't a whim.
Last night, after hearing Danzo's intel, she'd mentally reviewed the plotline.
In the original story, Moryo appeared twice.
The first time, a few years before the main Naruto storyline, it was awakened by the Yomi Cult and tried to consume the Land of Demons' priestess, Miroku. She sealed it at the cost of her life.
The second time, during the Shippuden era, it was freed from its seal again, attempting to devour Miroku's daughter, Shion, and nearly killing Naruto, who was on a mission there. Ultimately, it fell to Naruto's protagonist aura and a super-sized Rasengan infused with the priestess's power.
By Hikari's calculations, even without Akatsuki's interference, Moryo's first awakening should be within the next year or so.
Initially, she hadn't thought much of Moryo, assuming it was just another monster.
But on second thought… it wasn't so simple.
The Naruto world had its share of odd creatures, but few could rival the tailed beasts in strength. Moryo was one of them.
And something about its power felt… off. It didn't seem to align with the standard chakra system.
Similarly out of place was the power of the Land of Demons' priestesses. They were said to have the ability to "predict life and death" with near-perfect accuracy—failing only once, because of Naruto.
Frankly, that kind of ability went beyond ninjutsu. No bloodline limit or kekkei tota could do that. Only one power system in this world came close…
Sage Arts!
Yes, the priestesses' "prophecy" reminded Hikari of the sage arts of the three holy lands—particularly the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, whose prophetic abilities were a native power of this planet, separate from ninjutsu.
This was getting interesting.
If the priestesses' power was a form of unique sage arts, could interacting with them unlock the secrets of natural energy?
It was worth a shot.
"I've got the Land of Demons' location. I'll bring Esdeath along to check it out… Oh, and I should let Kikyo know too," Hikari thought.
As fellow priestesses, Kikyo and Miroku might share some common ground, perhaps revealing the true nature of that "prophetic" power.
Next, Hikari followed her original plan, hitting up Konoha's ninja tool shop to restock on sealing scrolls depleted from recent use. Then she returned to the Akame ga Kill world to meet Esdeath again.
A few days earlier, she hadn't brought Esdeath along immediately, giving the general time to tie up loose ends.
After all, Esdeath was an imperial general, beloved by both the military and the capital's citizens. With Minister Honest and General Budo dead, and the little emperor in prison, she was practically the empire's highest-ranking officer. If she vanished suddenly, it could spark unrest or mutiny among her old subordinates.
So, after a quick discussion, Hikari gave Esdeath a few days to settle her affairs.
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