Kakashi shook his head, exasperated. "Naruto, you need to be more careful next time. One slip, and this could become a diplomatic incident. That would be a huge mess."
Naruto shook his head in disagreement, pointing at Shion on the sky screen. "But Kakashi-sensei, look! Everyone's fighting to protect that miko, and what is she saying?!"
Despite recognizing Naruto's recklessness, everyone secretly gave him a thumbs up for his boldness.
Shion herself, however, was not amused. "Hmph! That Naruto is so annoying!"
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she caught sight of Naruto's face, and a chilling vision of him being backstabbed—something she had predicted earlier—flashed through her mind.
"Naruto, stop it!""Sit down!"
Team 7's other members swooped in, grabbing him and forcing him to the ground, keeping him away from Shion.
Shion stood, gently pulling Sakura's hand away from Naruto's mouth, and fixed her gaze on him.
"What are you doing? Is something on my face?" Naruto asked, genuinely puzzled.
"You… will die," Shion said in a faint, almost imperceptible voice.
"Ha! What? Speak up! I can't hear you!" Naruto leaned in, pressing his ear to her lips, entirely missing the gravity of her words.
"You… you… will soon be pierced through the chest and die," Shion repeated, her voice growing louder under Naruto's insistence, now tinged with anger.
"…What?"
"It's like Naruto just got cursed by the miko because he touched her!" someone whispered."It's just a coincidence. Didn't she predict Naruto's death already?" another argued."He speaks to everyone like that! The Hokage, a miko representing a nation… he's too blunt for his own good."
The scene shifted to a reception room in the temple. Naruto complained loudly, "Why do we have to protect someone like her?!"
Ashiho, waiting nearby, bowed respectfully. "Please forgive her, Naruto. Lady Shion occasionally predicts people's lives and deaths like this."
"Predict?" Naruto repeated, frowning. The four observers leaned forward, intrigued by the word.
"But please… don't mind," Ashio added calmly.
"What? You've never been wrong?" Naruto's casual expression faltered, disbelief creeping in.
"No. Every prediction has been 100% accurate so far," Ashio confirmed firmly.
"Wait… 100% accurate… does that mean it's guaranteed?" Naruto's eyes widened in panic as he rushed closer.
"Yes," Ashio said without hesitation.
"So… that means I'm dead, right?" someone muttered nearby.
"Not necessarily," another replied. "Even if her predictions are precise, we don't know how far they extend."
"I think Naruto won't die," a voice countered. "Look at the sky screen—it's like a movie. Naruto is clearly the protagonist. How can the protagonist die?!"
"That's ridiculous. Konoha wouldn't make a whole sky-screen just to show a movie!"
"It's more likely that the images are premonitions. If you want, you could go to Konoha and check the people appearing on the screen for yourself."
"Makes sense. Seeing them in person might reveal more."
"Those images must be Konoha's advertisements!"
"…Yeah! Now the entire ninja world knows about Konoha. How many missions will be sent their way next?!"
Naruto, Sakura, Neji, and Lee exchanged glances, realizing that the sky-screen had made them famous. Sasuke and Tenten were quietly displeased about being excluded, but said nothing.
Kakashi, accustomed to laziness, frowned. Endless missions might be coming their way, and the thought made his eye twitch.
Naruto, sensing Ashio's calm demeanor, snapped, "But you said not to worry!"
"Even if you do, it won't change anything," Ashio said matter-of-factly, as if sentencing him to death.
Xiao Li groaned, "You're not comforting him at all!"
Sakura, teasing, said, "It's fine, Naruto. Just die once—maybe then your stupidity will be cured."
"Sakura!!" Naruto bellowed, even he couldn't stomach the joke. "Listen, I absolutely don't believe in predictions! I'm going to be Hokage—I cannot die before that!"
"Naruto's friends don't seem worried about his death. Their relationship must be terrible," someone remarked.
"No, even hearing this, I wouldn't believe it right away. It's too outrageous!"
"The premonition must be fake. It has to be that witch cursing me!" Naruto muttered to the sky, while the others exchanged helpless glances.
Despite appearing concerned, Naruto was paradoxically the one taking the prophecy least seriously.