On the helicopter, Shion's eyes sparkled brightly.
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
She looked down at the forests and mountains speeding past below, feeling more exhilarated than ever!
"Wow, Shinju, this is amazing! How did you even pull this off?!"
Unable to help herself, Shion glanced toward Shinju, who was sitting in the pilot's seat up front.
At the moment, Shinju was fully focused on controlling the stick, wearing aviator sunglasses. His fiery red hair contrasted sharply with the black-and-white tones of the cockpit, and his sharp side profile...
Just one look made Shion's heart race wildly.
But seeing that Shinju didn't respond, Shion had no choice but to lean closer to Naruto and whisper softly:
"Um… could you find out for me… does Shinju have a girlfriend?"
Naruto glanced at her and, judging by Shion's shy expression, instantly guessed that his good friend had probably caught this girl's eye.
Jealousy instantly distorted Naruto's expression as he whispered, sulking:
"I don't even see what's so handsome about him… (๑•́₃ •̀๑)"
"Huh?" Shion blinked in confusion.
Naruto sighed, and though he was a little envious, he patiently said,
"No, he doesn't have a girlfriend right now."
Only then did Shion relax, patting her chest in relief.
"Good… that's good…"
Up ahead, Shinju, who had been carefully piloting the helicopter, suddenly spoke without warning.
"Naru-dō, when do you think I'll get my own special title? (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)"
"Like how Tsunade-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei are called the 'Legendary Sannin,' or Kakashi-sensei has the title 'Copy Ninja,' or how the Fourth Hokage was known as the 'Yellow Flash'…"
As he spoke, Shinju's eyes were filled with longing.
He was sick of going out on missions and having enemies call him "that red-haired brat."
That title was awful, okay?!
Naruto tilted his head, starting to think seriously about the question.
"Maybe it's because you're still young?" Naruto suggested.
Shinju shook his head.
"During the Third Great Ninja War, Uchiha Shisui was probably even younger than me, but he already had the title 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.'"
Naruto fell silent, then ventured, "Then… maybe you're just missing someone to give you a title? |•--0027---0027•)و✧"
Shinju nodded thoughtfully. That… actually made sense.
Off to the side, Shion listened to their conversation seriously, and suddenly found the two of them oddly cute.
Who would've thought they'd get so hung up over something as abstract as a title?
...
A few hours later, Shinju piloted the helicopter to the shrine of the Land of Swamps.
Perhaps because it was used to seal the body of the demon Mōryō, the shrine had been built atop a volcano.
In fact, the entire shrine was inside the mountain itself, with only a small stone gate visible from the outside.
Right now, thousands of clay soldiers stood guard around the stone gate, surrounding it so tightly not even a drop of water could slip through!
On the ground below—
Kakashi's team was hiding in the shadows, gazing up at the helicopter above.
And at Shinju, who was piloting it.
Kakashi: (ー_ー)!!
"Shinju's entrance is way too flashy. Doesn't he realize he'll spook the clay soldiers like this?"
Ino, however, let out a long sigh of relief the moment she saw Shinju.
Even though the Hokage-sama had told her that Shinju had left the village to carry out a highly confidential mission, she'd still felt uneasy.
Seeing him safe finally allowed her heart to relax—at least a little.
"Shinju and the others are about to land. Asuma-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, are we moving in?"
Shikamaru, who was standing at the rear, asked calmly.
Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. We need to make sure Shinju and the priestess get into the shrine safely…"
As they discussed their battle strategy, Sai—who had been silent until now—suddenly stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply. He pointed ahead.
"Look! Shinju just jumped out of the helicopter!"
Everyone whipped their heads around at once.
Sure enough, Shinju had leapt from the helicopter without any safety measures at all!
"There are so many clay soldiers down there! If he drops in like that, he'll get swarmed!" Ino said nervously.
But before she even finished speaking, Shinju clapped his hands together midair and shouted:
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
A massive wooden dragon erupted from the ground below, rising just in time to catch Shinju as he descended!
Landing atop the dragon's head, Shinju swiftly formed another set of hand seals.
When he finished, he directed the dragon to fly low and slammed his hand against the ground.
"Earth Release: Giant Swamp!"
"Fwoooosh—"
Instantly, under the influence of Shinju's overwhelming chakra, the vast area outside the shrine transformed into a massive swamp.
The mindless clay soldiers, still trying to catch Shinju on the dragon's head, flailed wildly.
But the more they struggled, the faster they sank.
Within moments, Shinju had single-handedly immobilized tens of thousands of clay soldiers!
Once that was done, he used the Flying Raijin Technique to teleport back to the helicopter, grabbed Shion and Naruto, and led them directly to the entrance of the shrine.
...
Everyone: "…"
"I'm just saying… we probably didn't even need to come, huh?" Shikamaru muttered lazily.
Kakashi and Asuma exchanged bewildered glances and nodded silently.
The clay soldiers that every other nation's shinobi were struggling desperately against… Shinju had handled them like it was nothing.
"Well, in that case… can we head back to the village and grab a bite?" Choji asked, stuffing chips into his mouth as he spoke.
But Ino's focus was clearly elsewhere.
"Hey… did you guys see that girl Shinju was holding onto? ╰_╯"
Shikamaru: (ー_ー)!!
"Don't tell me you're jealous over something like that. She's the priestess from the Land of Demons—the one Shinju's supposed to protect. Holding her hand is normal."
"Women are such a pain. ¯\(ツ)/¯"
Ino stubbornly shook her head.
"No! You guys didn't see the way that girl was looking at Shinju!"
"Those violet eyes, filled with tenderness and longing! That subtle pull between wanting to resist and wanting to yield!"
"There's no mistake—she's my rival!"
Sai: ⚆_⚆?
"We're hundreds of meters away. I can't even make out her face clearly, and you're saying you can read her eyes?"
"You guys just don't get it," Ino huffed, practically steaming.
"You don't understand how deeply a woman loves a man… how much of her heart she gives."
"You don't understand how, in every dream, she wishes she could see him… even just a little more tomorrow."
Asuma: "Enough already! (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)"
"We're on a mission right now! This isn't the time for your love drama!"
"And another thing! Ever since Shinju showed up, Kurenai's been training genjutsu nonstop!"
"She's supposed to be my fiancée! She doesn't even have time to go on dates anymore! Do you hear me?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
Everyone fell silent.
--003d_--003d
Honestly… it really was Asuma who had it the worst.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the shrine—
Shinju's group was making their way deeper inside.
After walking through a long, narrow, and dimly lit passageway, they finally arrived at the main hall of the shrine.
Because of its location inside a volcano, the temperature within the main hall was scorching hot.
Just standing there was enough to make them sweat buckets.
Below the main hall, Shinju could even see magma flowing through cracks in the rock—it was an incredible sight.
Upon entering, Naruto pointed toward a long-haired man seated atop a stone platform up ahead.
"Hey… is that Mōryō?"