Inside the vast and ancient palace of the Land of Demons, a frail white-haired girl looked anxious, clutching a blanket to cover herself.
The scene looked like something straight out of a story — a young girl clutching a blanket, trying to shield herself.
Their eyes locked for a long moment, but Shion stayed quiet, refusing to answer Hiroki's question.
The situation appeared awkward. Hiroki showed no intention of leaving voluntarily, and gradually grew impatient. "Shion..."
Despite this being only their second meeting, he had already addressed her by name twice. Although slightly bothered, Shion didn't question him. Perhaps not wanting to provoke his anger, after some hesitation, she finally spoke. "My mother has been gone for a very long time."
"Then she must have told you something about Moryo?"
Shion didn't argue, which was an acknowledgment.
"Take me to where Moryo's soul is sealed."
Unable to hold back any longer, Shion stole a glance at him, her eyes flickering with confusion — how could he possibly know so much?
Her voice trembled nervously. "If we release Moryo, the world will fall into chaos... Even my mother... she never managed to defeat it either."
"I can help you defeat it."
"Moryo cannot be defeated — it can only be sealed," Shion said, somewhat excitedly.
"I have my own way," Hiroki replied calmly. "And if you refuse to cooperate, I'll just find another way to make you."
With the Tenseigan, he could create a jing-shen qiu — a spiritual sphere used to control others by implanting it into their bodies. He'd never actually tested it before.
A green Chakra sphere formed in his palm and drifted slowly toward Shion. She stared at the glowing orb, visibly tense. "I can take you there, but..."
She shook the blanket slightly as she spoke.
Although she wasn't naked — just in her pajamas — still, it felt wrong staying alone in a room with a man she barely knew.
Expressionless, Hiroki walked out into the hallway beyond.
To him, she was just a little blonde girl under ten — not worth giving a second thought.
Outside, stars dotted the night sky. The original guards and servants of the palace now lay scattered across the floor in various postures.
After a while, soft footsteps echoed down the hall. Clad in spotless white miko robes and wearing a crystal-clear bell around her neck, Shion emerged gracefully from her chambers.
Her gaze swept briefly over the unconscious bodies. She bit her lip, tightly gripping the bell at her neck as she asked, "Shall we depart now?"
"After sunrise."
"..." Shion fell silent for a moment. "What exactly happened to them?"
"Just knocked out. If you don't believe me, feel free to check."
"And when will they wake up?"
"Why, when we return, of course." Hiroki smiled faintly.
Shion sighed quietly.
Hiroki stayed overnight in the palace.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, he set off together with Shion.
On the nearly deserted road, Shion maintained a proper posture, yet walked unusually slowly.
Now it was Hiroki's turn to feel helpless. "At this pace, when will we ever get there? Seems like you're really unwilling?"
"I'm not."
"Honored High Priestess, your palace is completely undefended right now. Those people are very dangerous."
Hiroki had no interest in emotional connections or gently consoling the girl. He just wanted to resolve this matter quickly.
Shion could clearly sense the threat behind his words, her grip tightening around the bell.
"Tell me roughly where it is." Saying this, he directly picked Shion up in his arms.
"Let go of me!" Shion pinched Hiroki's flesh, speaking with shyness and anger.
"Little girl, don't misunderstand. After this, we won't have any other interactions."
Shion scoffed coldly.
After some struggling and awkwardness, she still revealed the route leading to Moryo's sealing location.
Immediately afterwards, Hiroki sped forward at full capacity, making Shion feel like she was experiencing a windstorm, leaving her no time for other thoughts.
The familiar scenery drew closer—an abandoned, uninhabited shrine appeared in her vision.
Hiroki gently set her down.
"This is where Moryo's spirit was sealed. Though it looks like a shrine from the outside, it's actually a palace inside." Smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, Shion explained.
Walking forward, Hiroki didn't sense any strange aura. He turned his head to look at Shion: "Break the seal."
"I can't." Shion turned away.
"You couldn't do it? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You never asked before either!"
"Little girl, don't lie to me, or there will be punishment."
"The priestess' duty is to seal Moryo. My mother never taught me how to release it, nor would such a thing ever be allowed." Shion looked serious.
"..."
"What a waste of a trip." A faint mischievous smile appeared on Shion's face as she deliberately raised her eyebrow provocatively.
Giving her a flat stare, Hiroki snapped his fingers. White Zetsu emerged from the ground, appearing before them both. Startled, Shion jumped back several steps.
"Go find a man named Yomi, then bring him and her back to the palace."
White Zetsu nodded, laughing eerily as it approached Shion. Its white body twisted into an eerie posture.
"Don't come near!"
Terrified, Shion screamed loudly but couldn't break free from White Zetsu's entanglement. Struggling until out of breath, she could only allow her body to be completely enveloped by White Zetsu, losing bodily control.
---
The man known as Yomi had always lingered in the Land of Demons, the Swamp Country, and the surrounding small nations.
To realize his ambition of resurrecting Moryo and establishing a dark millennium kingdom, he'd even gathered a group of followers.
Hiroki only provided one name, asking White Zetsu to track this person. It would be difficult for others, but simple for ten thousand White Zetsus.
This man didn't hide his identity, always operating under the name "Yomi." They only needed to listen carefully to collect clues.
After taking Shion away, Hiroki also had White Zetsu transport both of them back to Shion's palace.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" As she checked whether the unconscious guards and maids were still alive, Shion warily shouted out.
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"You're making too much noise," Hiroki said coolly. "Now that Moryo's gone, you're free from being a miko. Should be a relief, right?"
Shion froze. She couldn't believe Hiroki had defeated Moryo. Desperately, she begged, "Please don't set this terrible thing into motion."
Hiroki had no interest in listening anymore and walked off. After all, this girl wasn't of much use anyway.
---
In the Land of Rice Fields, inside Orochimaru's base.
Seeing Naruto again thrilled Minato Namikaze. Knowing how rare these meetings were, he happily dragged Naruto away to catch up.
As for Jiraiya, he made his way straight to Orochimaru's usual quarters.
Two more people had been brought back through the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
A girl with purple markings on her face looked on with mixed emotions at a nearby man whose expression was blank and whose face showed cracks. Her heart felt heavy.
She never imagined she'd reunite with her mentor, Genshi, and Obito under such uncontrollable circumstances…
What would she do if she ran into Kakashi in the future?
Rin Nohara sighed heavily, while Obito stood motionless not far from her, showing no reaction at all.
To prevent Obito from interfering, Orochimaru directly erased his consciousness.
Even though they were reunited, Obito didn't have a clue what was going on.
After glancing briefly at the two, Jiraiya quickly turned his attention back to the busy Orochimaru and asked, "Where's Sasuke?"
"He's out at the training grounds right now."
"The Great Toad Sage wants to see him…" Jiraiya just relayed what Fukasaku had told him.
---
At the same time Jiraiya and Naruto went to meet Sasuke, Konan and Nagato in the Land of Rain grew worried about Obito's prolonged absence.
"He hasn't shown up in almost half a month…" Nagato murmured.
"Could something have happened? The intruder who appeared recently in Konoha looked very similar to him," Konan expressed concern.
If it were before, she wouldn't have cared about Obito's safety, but after learning from Jiraiya about Kaguya's overwhelming power, she definitely hoped the Akatsuki wouldn't lose any members.
When Nagato remained silent, Konan continued, "Nagato, should we investigate in Konoha?"
Nagato shook his head. "With his abilities, he can come and go as he pleases. If he's been gone this long… well, you know what that implies."
Though he left the sentence unfinished, both understood clearly.
After a moment of thought, Nagato instructed, "Don't let anyone else know about the possibility of Obito's death."
Konan nodded.
Both knew the Akatsuki couldn't afford another disruption.
If others learned another member had been lost, whatever unity had been restored would likely fall apart completely.
The best strategy now was to make everyone believe as before—that Obito is still working behind the scenes.
"Nagato," Konan asked, "shouldn't we move up our plans for capturing the Tailed Beasts?"
After a pause, Nagato replied, "Let those so-called righteous ninja villages do the dirty work for us first."
"Let's go, Naruto!"
After a brief meeting with Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Naruto found Sasuke at the Training Ground.
At this moment, Sasuke was practicing the Lightning Release techniques he had acquired from the Fourth Raikage and his brother Bee.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
Without realizing it, he already considered Sasuke a friend in his heart.
Sasuke impatiently stopped his movements and turned around, asking, "What is it?"
Jiraiya stepped forward, cleared his throat, and seriously explained everything about Kaguya Otsutsuki's origins and how the Great Toad Sage wanted to meet him.
After listening, Sasuke merely scoffed and said indifferently, "These people's lives mean nothing to me. There's no one left in this world that I care about."
Naruto tightened his fist in anger, "How could you say that, Sasuke? Do you really want to see everyone perish?"
Sasuke looked at him contemptuously, "Naruto, you're truly foolish. Are those humans worth saving?"
"What did they ever do for you? Don't you remember what they did to you? Why should you care about them?"
"Do you really think those people care how much you sacrifice for them?"
"The world has both good and evil. None of us have the right to judge others' fates," Jiraiya interjected.
"Precisely. If they die, it's because they're too weak to survive. Their fate isn't our concern. What's the point of wasting time trying to help them?" Sasuke said coolly while staring at them.
"This concerns more than just one individual. When the time comes, even you won't be spared. No one can escape fate," Jiraiya replied gravely.
"It doesn't matter to me. I live only for revenge. Itachi will die—and so will every last person responsible for the Uchiha massacre. Once they're gone, my own life means nothing." Sasuke spoke indifferently.
Jiraiya had no words, sighing inwardly: Everything Elder Fukasaku warned about… it really was just wishful thinking.
Unlike Naruto, who grew up with nothing and later found a moment of warmth, Sasuke once had everything, only to lose it all. His heart filled entirely with hatred, there was nothing left worth cherishing, nor any hope remaining.
Seeing Sasuke act like a hollow shell, Naruto's face reddened with fury, "Sasuke, what are you talking about? There are people who care—you're not alone either..."
"Don't yell pointlessly here!" Sasuke turned away expressionlessly, unwilling to continue speaking with them.
"Even if you refuse, I'll drag you there—no matter what, even if I have to beat you half dead!" Naruto roared.
"You, calling me a hotheaded idiot?" Irritated by the noise, Sasuke glared at him furiously.
Suddenly, static electricity appeared in the air, tiny blue sparks flickering.
Jiraiya frowned as he observed closely—an almost imperceptible current of Lightning Release Chakra now surrounded Sasuke's body.
"A secret technique from Kumogakure?" He thought while rubbing his chin.
As he pondered, Sasuke had already channeled Lightning Release Chakra through his entire body, enveloping himself in a layer of blue energy.
[This was the Lightning Release Chakra Mode he learned from Raikage A!]
Naruto's skin crawled; his hair stood up straight as Sasuke glared at him challengingly.
Facing Sasuke's overwhelming pressure, Naruto was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Sasuke to have improved so much without making a sound.
Sasuke was clearly a tough opponent now, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to take back the words he had just said. So he called out from within his heart to the Nine-Tails.
"Nine-Tails, give me a hand."
"Go away," the Nine-Tails scoffed.
Scratching his head, Naruto slowly formed the seals. "Shadow Clone Technique."
In an instant, four of Naruto's shadow clones materialized in front of Sasuke.
Yet Sasuke still wore a look of contempt. He also formed the seals. [Lightning Release: Shadow Clone.]
A clone infused with lightning chakra appeared.
The lightning clone and original moved in unison, blindingly fast. Naruto could track their movements with his eyes, but his body struggled to keep up.
Within a minute, all of Naruto's shadow clones were dispersed, and even his real body was kicked away by Sasuke.
Witnessing this, Jiraiya was stunned.
"Hehe, Jiraiya, Sasuke's progress is quite impressive, isn't it?" came a strange chuckle, as Orochimaru arrived with Hiruzen Sarutobi before several pairs of eyes.
Jiraiya nodded. "The AB duo truly deserves its legendary status among ninja masters."
His meaning was clear—he refused to accept that his student could be worse than someone who only got occasional advice from Orochimaru.
Orochimaru chuckled softly again but said nothing further.
Beside him, Hiruzen Sarutobi fixed his gaze on Sasuke. "Sasuke, if what Jiraiya says comes true, not everyone will die.
"Do you remember what I told you about your clan? Tsunade has long been Kaguya's puppet. When Kaguya rules the earth, there'll be favorites and outsiders—Tsunade definitely won't be sacrificed."
Sasuke frowned at Hiruzen Sarutobi, thinking for a while before turning to Jiraiya. "I don't like the Gamabunta Clan."
Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. He understood immediately what Sasuke meant—that he was willing to visit the Great Toad Sage, but unwilling to form a contract with the Gamabunta Clan.
He nodded. "Alright then. Get ready—we should set off as soon as possible."
Inside, Orochimaru mused: What makes Sasuke so special that the Great Toad Sage personally takes notice? Looks like I should go ask around at Ryuchi Cave too...
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