Land of Demons.
Shion's eyes flew open.
Strange flashes of light flickered in her pale eyes.
A moment later, she raised a hand to her forehead. Her forehead was already damp with sweat.
"A dream?"
Shion took a deep breath and tightly gripped the bell at her chest.
Inside lay a red stone her mother, Miroku, had left her. It possessed power that protected her.
"Lady Miko."
A familiar voice came from outside the door.
It was her guard, Tashihō.
Shion grabbed her shrine maiden costume and quickly put it on. She walked a few steps toward the door and opened it.
"Lady Miko."
Tashihō bowed and said, "Replies have come in from the Five Great Villages."
"What do they say?"
Hope flickered across Shion's face.
Not long ago, the Land of Demons discovered traces of Yomagakure.
Eight years ago, it was Yomagakure who released Moryo, commanded an army of undead, and attempted to unify the ninja world.
Shion had thought they were all completely wiped out; she never expected there would still be remnants.
Fearing a repeat of the monster outbreak, she sent out requests to the Five Great Villages.
She hoped they would help locate Yomagakure and prevent Moryo's seal from breaking.
Because once Moryo revived, that would require the Miko to give her life to reseal it.
Her mother, Miroku, had died doing exactly this.
She didn't want to follow in her footsteps.
"The Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud have replied that they will send ninjas."
Tashihō sighed and said, "The other three villages declined using various excuses."
"Do they not understand that if Moryo revives, the entire ninja world will suffer?"
Shion's expression turned grim.
"The Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud are currently the two strongest villages. With their strength, Yomagakure should be no match."
Tashihō tried to soothe her, saying, "Lady Miko, there's no need to be too upset."
Hearing this, Shion's expression slightly softened.
Although Yomagakure had been powerful back then, after so many years, it had weakened significantly.
Moreover, Moryo's revival hinges on two temples.
One stood in the Land of Demons, the other in the Land of Swamps.
The former sealed its soul, while the latter sealed its body.
As long as the ninjas from the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud guarded those two temples, everything should be fine.
"Who are the ninjas they're sending?"
Shion calmed down and asked.
"The Hidden Leaf has responded that Hokage Natsume himself will lead the team, and the Hidden Cloud has assigned a Jonin named Yugito Nii."
Tashihō replied at once.
Shion paused briefly, somewhat surprised.
She could understand why Hidden Cloud was sending someone, but for the Hidden Leaf to send none other than Hokage Natsume himself...
Even here in the Land of Demons, she had heard tales of his exploits.
They were quite impressive.
Still, there was something oddly familiar about the name.
Shion lifted her shrine maiden skirt and ran outside.
Tashihō hesitated for a moment, unsure what was happening, but quickly followed after her.
"You stay here."
After speaking those words in front of a certain room, Shion pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Tashihō had no choice but to stop where he was.
His eyes drifted to the sign above the door.
This was the secret chamber reserved for past Mikos alone.
The room appeared to be a study, but in reality, there was a secret chamber with a special purpose hidden underground.
Shion followed the passage until she reached her destination.
She searched through the boxes and eventually found one buried deep inside.
When Miroku died, Shion had only been six years old.
Being so young, she couldn't remember much.
Natsume thought she didn't trust him, but the truth was that she simply didn't remember.
Shion opened the box and saw the message left behind by Miko Kikuri.
"Is this really real?"
Because she could foresee others' deaths, she deeply believed in fate.
At this moment, she felt relieved.
She felt no doubt.
In her mind, all mikos possessed mysterious, unfathomable powers.
And Kikuri was one of the most powerful mikos from a thousand years ago.
Back in the time of the Sage of Six Paths, she must have been incredibly powerful.
Perhaps her prophecy truly could foretell the future.
That made sense now.
Shion carefully returned the box to its place.
She remembered what Tashihō had said earlier—that the ninja sent by Konoha Village was none other than Natsume.
This only strengthened her belief in the truth of Miko Kikuri's note.
She steadied herself and exited the room.
"Your Highness, the Miko."
Tashihō noticed her suddenly relaxed expression and asked curiously, "Have you received some good news?"
"Mm."
Shion looked at him, took a deep breath, then reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.
Her eyes shimmered like swirling stars in the night sky, showing the date of his death.
A chill ran through Tashihō's heart.
Because Shion had the power to foresee death, people feared her.
But there were limits to this power.
As long as someone kept their distance, the power wouldn't activate.
Shion had always kept her distance from him to avoid witnessing his death.
"Your Highness, the Miko?"
Tashihō asked uneasily.
"It's fine."
Shion smiled gently. "You won't die. At least not this time."
Tashihō took a few deep breaths, then finally smiled as well.
Meanwhile, in a valley within the Land of Demons,
"Yomi, when do you plan to act?"
Danzo Shimura leaned on his cane, asking with a dark expression.
After coming back from the dead twice, he had lost both of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Now, he could only rely on transplanted regular eyes.
Fortunately, the arm Orochimaru had given him still worked.
His strength hadn't diminished too greatly.
After failing in Sunagakure Village, Danzo sought out Orochimaru.
But the reply he got was: "We should stop contacting each other to avoid drawing suspicion from Konoha."
In other words, Orochimaru only wanted to focus on his research and had no interest in involving himself anymore.
Danzo understood—he was no longer of value.
It enraged him so much he spat blood, but he could do nothing about it.
Compared to Konoha, he had nothing more to offer Orochimaru.
Wandering near Sunagakure, Danzo eventually reached the Land of Demons, where memories of the eight-year-old demon outbreak surfaced again.
A foreign monster called Moryo, and the undead army commanded by the Yomagakure cultists.
Back then, they had caused immense chaos.
Shimura Danzo recalled that even in its incomplete state, Moryo had already been on par with the tailed beasts.
His interest was immediately piqued.
After exerting some effort, he located Yomi.
Yomi was in need of powerful allies, and the two formed an alliance without hesitation.
Danzo also gained unexpected benefits, as his strength saw improvement.
The reason? Yomi's Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
It sounded somewhat similar to Shinno's Dark Chakra.
However, his Dark Chakra originated from the Zero-Tails.
Yomi's Dark Medical Ninjutsu, in fact, was standard medical ninjutsu.
But its usage was abnormal.
Instead of healing people, it was used for killing.
By modifying and amplifying his own body, Yomi could gain power far beyond his normal state.
It bore resemblance to Orochimaru's cursed seal.
Though naturally nowhere near as effective.
Its enhancement could only be described as moderate.
But for Shimura Danzo, this was a rare surprise.
After all, he had temporarily lost the ability to grow stronger.
"Give me a few more days,"
Yomi explained. "My subordinates have yet to locate the sealing temple."
"But you should be cautious about ninja from Konoha and Kumogakure."
Danzo showed hatred in his tone. "Especially Konoha—this time they've sent Hokage Natsume."
Although he had left Konoha, he still secretly nurtured Root. Thus, he retained certain intelligence sources.
However, without their main base, these members were like water without a source—they would eventually disappear.
After all, every loss was irreplaceable.
"You needn't worry—no matter how many come, they'll be meaningless."
Yomi raised his chin confidently. "Lord Moryo and the army of undead are invincible."
"I certainly hope so."
Danzo hadn't witnessed it himself back then, so he wasn't entirely convinced.
After all, even Shukaku couldn't defeat Natsume.
Now he could only pray that Yomi's words proved true—that the fully awakened Moryo could surpass the tailed beasts, possessing destructive power capable of annihilating everything.
In the Mizukage's office at Kiri Village.
Mei Terumi stared blankly out the window.
As always, thick mist filled the air.
There was nothing scenic to look at.
She was just lost in thought.
It felt like Natsume hadn't visited in ages.
Mei instinctively bit her lip.
Was there really something wrong with her looks?
She wondered what exactly he was busy with in Konoha.
Mei sighed.
She thought for a moment before calling out, "Haku."
Quickly, the refined and handsome Haku appeared before her.
He now served as captain of Kiri's Anbu.
"Mizukage-sama."
Haku bowed slightly before speaking. "Please give your orders."
"Do you happen to know what Sixth Hokage Natsume has been doing lately?"
Trying to keep her voice casual, Mei added, "As allies, we must always keep track of his movements."
"He, along with his three students, went to Hozuki Castle recently."
Haku recalled from the intelligence report.
So he had gone on an external mission?
Mei inwardly realized she had misjudged him.
Natsume, as Hokage, must be just as busy as she was.
Just then, there came a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Mei waved her hand dismissively.
Haku disappeared instantly.
The one who walked in was Ao. His expression grave, he said, "Lord Yagura Karatachi has reached the limit of his body."
Mei Terumī stiffened.
Not long ago, Yagura Karatachi had already begun showing signs of trouble.
She hadn't anticipated his condition would worsen so rapidly.
"We must find a new Jinchuriki immediately," Ao continued.
"Otherwise, the Three-Tails will simply be reincarnated."
Being a Jinchuriki wasn't something just anyone could endure.
The physical requirements were extraordinarily demanding.
Naruto Uzumaki could handle it so easily because he inherited the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan.
But other ninja villages didn't have such fortune.
Take Sunagakure as an example.
In the original story, after the death of Bunpuku, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, Rasa tested three different candidates as hosts for the One-Tails, but all of them lost control.
Eventually, with Grandma Chiyo's suggestion, Gaara was chosen as the host and barely succeeded.
The situation in Kirigakure was even worse than in Sunagakure.
Mei had considered becoming a Jinchuriki herself, just like Yagura Karatachi.
But she couldn't afford to fail.
Failure meant she would very likely die.
If Kirigakure lost her, the future was unimaginable.
Likewise, Mei didn't want Zabuza Momochi, Ao, Haku, or others to attempt it either.
Unless there was absolute certainty of success.
"Have you found Ephemeral yet?"
Mei slowly furrowed her brows and asked.
There were two Jinchuriki in Kirigakure.
Yagura Karatachi, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails.
And Ephemeral, the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails.
The former was under their control, while the latter had defected.
Oh right...
And the reason for his defection was quite absurd.
It was due to Ephemeral's teacher.
He developed a Ninjutsu technique meant to help a Jinchuriki survive even after losing their tailed beast.
When he tested it on Ephemeral, Ephemeral misunderstood and fled, thinking his teacher was trying to kill him.
In short, that Jinchuriki had left due to a simple misunderstanding.
After Mei became the Mizukage, she had constantly dispatched Anbu across the land to look for him.
She wanted to bring him back.
After all, a Jinchuriki represented immense military strength.
Moreover, if they had Ephemeral, even if they lost the Three-Tails, they wouldn't need to panic too much.
"No," Ao replied.
Ao understood the importance of having a Jinchuriki, but unfortunately luck hadn't been on Kirigakure's side.
"I see..."
Mei rubbed her forehead in frustration.
Kirigakure's situation was indeed extremely difficult.
They were barely scraping by thanks to Natsume's support.
However, those supports came at a cost.
As long as there wasn't any conflict between Kirigakure and Konoha Village, things weren't bad.
But if another Great Ninja World War did erupt, Natsume could drag Kirigakure into it using those debts.
At that time, they'd have no choice but to fight for Konoha.
Although Mei liked Natsume, she didn't wish to see this kind of scenario unfold.
Wishing for that was one thing, but if they truly severed ties with Natsume, Kirigakure wouldn't survive it.
They had grown too fearful of falling into poverty again.
"Ao, you may leave now. I'll figure something out."
After a long silence, Mei finally spoke.
"Yes."
Ao saw the look on her face but couldn't find the right words.
Natsume walked away.
Mei Terumī leaned back in the Mizukage's chair, exhaled deeply, and said, "If that guy were here, he probably could've dealt with it."
"Dealt with what?"
The sudden voice made her instantly straighten up.
She instinctively turned her head and immediately saw that familiar, handsome face.
Mei opened her mouth, hesitated, then sighed and finally asked softly, "Are you here to laugh at me?"
Her tone held a note of complaint—mixed with something else.
"Come on, now?"
Natsume stepped closer, hopping up onto the office desk and looking down at her.
"You're staring around again," Mei glared at him.
"You're the one showing it off. Why wouldn't I look?" Natsume grinned as his eyes lingered on her bare, smooth shoulders and the alluring curve of her collarbone.
Mei crossed her arms over her chest, partially covering herself, and scoffed, "Hmm… Wonder what people from Konoha would think if they knew their Hokage was a pervert?"
"Hey, that's slander!"
Natsume frowned. "I'm your big benefactor, you know!"
That reminded Mei—she still hadn't paid him back yet.
Not just the money—there were still two-and-a-half years of work left too.
Oh right, plus the condition she'd agreed upon for summoning Zabuza Momochi and Haku.
Seven days as a little maid.
She rolled her eyes, lowered her hands, and let him enjoy the view of the valley below.
"What do you need?"
"I don't have anything urgent, but you seem troubled."
Natsume shifted his gaze to her face.
"You eavesdropped on my talk with Ao?"
Mei frowned slightly, muttering, "I thought Hokages weren't supposed to behave like this."
"They can't," he said with a shrug. "But benefactors can."
"So you admit you were eavesdropping?"
Natsume smirked slightly. "So… do you want help?"
Mei fell silent.
A jinchuriki was, naturally, one of Kiri's highest priorities.
She'd be happy to get assistance.
But when the offer came from the Hokage himself, that changed everything.
This chapter runs four thousand words.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>