"Enough." A familiar voice cut through Naruto's furious questioning. From the shadows beneath a nearby tree, Shion stepped forward.
Naruto blinked in confusion. Shion's lowered brows and calm tone barely hinted at the storm inside her. "The one who died… was Ashiho."
Ningji explained how he had split from the group earlier—Ashiho had planned to take another route to the shrine. Then Sakura, who had witnessed everything, began to recount the full story.
In Sakura's memory, as they were retreating with the unconscious Shion, they encountered Ashiho performing a forbidden technique of the Demon Kingdom: the Shadow Mirror Body Transformation.
A technique that could be performed only once in a lifetime, it was irreversible. After transforming, the user could never return to their original form. Ashiho had used it to take Shion's place, embracing the fatal destiny that should have fallen upon her.
"So… what the miko foresaw in her vision was actually Ashiho in disguise!"
"In the ninja world, secret techniques like this aren't unusual. Effects like these are common among the rarest arts."
The room fell silent. Naruto's face twisted in grief and disbelief. "Wuwuwuwu… Brother Ashiho… you were so pitiful!"
Sasuke glanced at him, speechless. He couldn't help thinking Naruto's tears were a little… foolish.
After the explanation, Sakura sank into a quiet gloom. Naruto, torn between anger and sorrow, demanded why Ashiho hadn't been allowed to return to the village.
Neji's answer left him speechless: "To complete the mission. This is a task tied to the potential destruction of the world. There's no room to debate which life takes priority."
Walking toward Ashiho with a heavy heart, Naruto spoke softly, "…Brother Ashiho, I'll mourn you properly."
But Shion's voice cut through, cold and merciless: "Ashiho was a fool. There's no need to mourn someone who chooses death."
Naruto whirled around, voice trembling with outrage. "Do you understand who he sacrificed his life for?!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Shion shouted, almost manic, and bolted into the forest, refusing to look back.
"Stop!" Naruto yelled, chasing after her, desperate for answers.
"Why does she speak like that? Has her pride made her so cold?"
"No… the miko is young. You can't see her real feelings yet."
"Age has nothing to do with it! She said those cruel words after people sacrificed themselves for her!"
"Exactly. She's hiding her emotions. That willful miko… this isn't her true self. How could she speak so inhumanely now?"
Sakura turned to Naruto, exasperated, and groaned, "I'm already grieving. And you're yelling at me about this? You hopeless idiot!"
"Huh? How can you tell she's sad when she acts like that?" Naruto asked.
"That's why I say you're an idiot!" Sakura snapped.
Naruto finally caught up to Shion, shouting, demanding why she could be so cold and ignore someone who gave his life for her.
Shion leaned against a massive tree, hands pressed to the bark, her voice breaking. "People around me are dying, one by one… how can anyone not be sad?!"
Naruto stopped, stunned by the raw emotion behind her disguise. "But crying… is forbidden now. It would dishonor everyone who sacrificed themselves for me."
"Why…"
"Precognition protects the witch's life. When the witch faces death, her soul projects a vision to her past self. Those around her, learning of this prophecy, try to prevent her death by giving their own lives. The witch's foresight relies on others sacrificing themselves so she may survive." Shion's voice trembled as she revealed the grim truth behind the deaths of her followers.
Naruto's anger softened as he realized Shion's coldness was merely a mask. "So… death precognition is basically a warning that the miko is in danger?"
"I… don't fully understand it myself," another observer admitted.
"It means that if someone is willing to sacrifice themselves, the prophecy predicting their own death shifts to the miko's protection."
"Which means Naruto… whose death was predicted, was also willing to risk his life for Shion. To give up his life for a girl. That's incredible."
"Come on, he's a ninja! He accepted the mission, so sacrificing himself is part of it. Why add emotions?"
"No, no, no! Protecting someone important and voluntary sacrifice are different. It's heroic—and romantic—if a boy risks everything to protect a girl with the same fate."
"Seriously… what's happening to ninjas these days? Life-or-death missions and love all mixed together…"
"That's none of your business!"
"Exactly!"
Sakura, cheering up a little after reading the heated online commentary, nudged Naruto. "Did you see that? Everyone thinks you and the miko are a couple!"
Naruto, caught off guard, blushed furiously and stammered, "Huh?! Are you kidding me? I don't like that annoying miko!"
Even Kushina in the Pure Land couldn't hide a fond smile, nodding as she studied Shion on the sky screen. "Not bad… she seems like a good girl."
Meanwhile, Crown Princess Hinata wasn't in the mood. She lowered her head, frowning. "Naruto-kun…"
And Shion herself, lost in her grief, ignored all the commentary, still immersed in her sorrow.