Although the tremors had weakened, they were still ongoing.
Shinju and Naruto climbed to the top of a small hill, looking toward the source of the vibrations not far away.
There, they spotted a gate leading underground.
The next moment, the gate shattered open—
"RUMBLE—!!!"
Countless armored figures forged entirely from earth emerged from the depths!
Each was holding a spear, tall and imposing, their movements perfectly synchronized—almost mechanical!
"What the heck are those things?" Naruto asked, baffled.
Shinju frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"Back when we traveled across the continent, Jiraiya-sensei told me about something… Decades ago, there was a man who tried to invade the entire shinobi world. He used the power of some otherworldly evil artifact to create an immortal army…"
"These weird things… don't tell me they're…"
"Did that pervy sage really tell us about something like this? ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ" Naruto squinted suspiciously.
Shinju: "..."
"You were snoring back then! What the heck would you know!凸(｀0´)凸"
"So what do we do now? Should we report this back to the village?" Naruto asked.
As frustrated as he was about being dragged out here, an immortal army threatening the entire continent was no small matter. The faster the news spread, the better…
After thinking for a moment, Shinju decided it was best to prioritize the bigger picture.
"I'll use Flying Thunder God to relay the message."
...
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
Tsunade and Shizune were buried in paperwork.
Suddenly, Tsunade sensed a flicker of movement in front of her.
When she looked up, however, there was no one there.
"An illusion?" Tsunade frowned, suspicious.
But when she lowered her head, preparing to continue with the documents, she noticed something lying on the desk—a letter that hadn't been there before.
Tsunade's lips curved into a faint smile. "Must be a message from Shinju."
However, the moment she read its contents, her smile vanished.
[Immortal Soldiers Sighted in the Land of Demons]
Having lived through the Mōryō Incident back then, Tsunade was extremely sensitive to the term "immortal soldiers."
Without hesitation, she immediately summoned the Anbu, preparing to send a team to investigate...
...
Meanwhile.
Back on the hillside, Shinju and Naruto quietly observed the movements of the soldiers from a distance. They noticed the entire army was marching in unison toward a certain direction.
The two of them followed and soon arrived outside a shrine.
At this moment, the immortal soldiers had begun attacking the civilians living nearby.
"Shinju, should we step in and help?" Naruto asked.
Shinju nodded.
"Of course. Your dad once said—'Seeing injustice and doing nothing… that's not bravery.'⸜(๑•̀ᵕ•́๑)⸝⋆*"
Naruto: "..."
He still wasn't used to the idea of the Fourth Hokage being his actual dad.
...
Inside the shrine, chaos erupted as disaster struck.
All the guards stood firmly, forming a protective wall around a certain young girl.
"Protect Shion-sama!"
"She's the only one who can seal away the demon Mōryō!"
The white-haired, violet-eyed girl being shielded behind them wore a complicated expression.
This was Shion, the shrine maiden they were risking their lives to protect.
Ahead of her, the guards clashed violently with the immortal soldiers, their casualties mounting as they desperately fought while retreating to shield Shion.
Just then, several white-robed figures suddenly appeared before them.
"That should be the shrine maiden, right?" White Robe A muttered.
"Definitely. Yomi-sama instructed us—only the shrine maiden can seal Mōryō-sama. We cannot risk letting her live." White Robe C replied coldly.
"Enough talking! Move!" White Robe D barked impatiently.
"Fire Style: Blazing Run!"
"WHOOSH—!!"
Flames erupted, forming a blazing ring around Shion and her guards!
The next instant, White Robe B inhaled deeply.
"Wind Style: Gale Burst!!"
"FWOOSH—!!!"
A violent gust roared to life!
The wind fueled the flames, instantly transforming the fiery ring into a massive vortex of fire!
At the vortex's center, Shion was scorched by the intense heat, screaming in pain!
"This so-called shrine maiden isn't much after all," White Robe C sneered.
But at that exact moment, a calm yet firm voice echoed from the rooftop behind them.
"Water Style: Torrential Downpour!"
Dark clouds gathered in an instant.
"CRASHHH—!!!"
A torrential rain poured down, extinguishing the blazing inferno within seconds!
However, the overwhelming rainfall triggered something unexpected—a landslide from the back mountain!
"RUMMMBLEEE—!!!"
An unstoppable torrent of mud and debris surged toward the shrine!
To prevent the landslide from wiping out innocent lives, Shinju quickly formed another set of hand seals.
"Wood Style—Vines of Life!"
"SWISSSHHHH—!!!"
Thousands of massive vines, each as thick as a grown man's thigh, erupted from the ground! They wrapped around the guards fighting the immortal soldiers and hoisted them high into the air, away from danger.
The very next second—
"BOOOOM—!!!"
The landslide roared through, sweeping away everything in its path!
With a thunderous crash, the shrine collapsed instantly.
The flood of mud and rocks swallowed the immortal soldiers whole, scattering them completely!
Soon after, the rain subsided, and the landslide came to rest.
Shinju lowered the rescued warriors back onto solid ground and then descended beside Shion.
At that moment, Shion furiously pointed at Shinju.
Ever since she was young, she'd been pampered and sheltered by everyone around her. Now, drenched head-to-toe like a soaked kitten, she was livid!
But the instant she got a clear look at Shinju's face… she froze.
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
That flawless face… it struck her heart like a lightning bolt!
S-So handsome… Who could possibly resist this?!
Shion's cheeks burned crimson, but she quickly forced herself to maintain her composure as the shrine maiden. She pointed at Shinju and demanded,
"Which village are you from? How could you be so reckless—you destroyed the entire shrine!"
Shinju shrugged. "I just saved all of you, though.┐(´-｀)┌"
"This…"
Shion was momentarily speechless.
Honestly, if Shinju hadn't arrived when he did, she probably wouldn't be alive right now.
After a brief silence, Shion noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Shinju's head and straightened up, saying confidently,
"I… I'm the shrine maiden. You're a ninja. Isn't it your duty to save me?"
Hearing that, Shinju was genuinely stunned.
He admitted the girl had some charm, but just a little—she couldn't even compare to Tsunade-sensei.
Where did this confidence come from?
Shinju countered calmly, "And why exactly should I? Just because of that barely-passable face of yours?"
As he spoke, he let his gaze sweep over her from head to toe.
Shion's entire face flushed bright red instantly.
Her clothes were already thin to begin with, and after the downpour, they clung tightly to her skin… some areas even turning slightly see-through.
For some reason, Shinju's gaze felt like it could pierce straight through her clothes…
Completely unrestrained.
And yet, for some inexplicable reason, a small part of her… didn't hate it.
Before she could respond, one of the shrine guards stepped forward sharply.
"You're Konoha ninja, aren't you? Show proper respect! This is the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons—you must not speak to her so rudely! ╰_╯"
Shinju raised an eyebrow, a thought surfacing in his mind.
When Jiraiya-sensei had told him about the Mōryō Incident, he'd mentioned that the one who sealed Mōryō in the end was the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons—Miroku.
And this girl before him… she must be the successor shrine maiden.
No wonder the immortal army was targeting her…