Left with no other choice, Tsunade, despite her intense disdain for the position, had to return and take over as Hokage. Once she took the reins of power in Konoha, the entire village began to fall into line. Even the Uchiha were no exception; as a master healer, Tsunade had saved countless lives both on and off the battlefield, and many members of the Uchiha clan owed her their very existence.
Although her status as a member of the Senju Clan irked some of the Uchiha, a life-saving debt was not something that could be ignored. Under these circumstances, the Uchiha clan did everything they could to cooperate with her.
In short, even though she had not yet been officially inaugurated as the Fifth Hokage, her role as the Acting Hokage acted like a shot of adrenaline for Konoha. The village's combat readiness surged level by level, and after Tsunade took power, it was as if the Hidden Leaf had been given a completely new lease on life.
"Did Tsunade return early because of me? Well, that's a good thing. Her early return, along with Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi being driven out of Konoha, has earned me a massive amount of Origin," Qiuxia thought to himself.
"Now that those nuisances in the village are gone, I can finally focus on my cultivation in peace."
While Qiuxia settled into his quiet training, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi had traveled outside the village via a toad summoning and began their search for an Onmyoji or a Shrine Maiden. In this era of shinobi dominance, most Onmyoji and Shrine Maidens had been phased out. Even the samurai of the old age had to learn how to use Chakra just to maintain a foothold in the world.
Currently, the only person who truly maintained the status of a Shrine Maiden was Miroku, the mother of Shion. After briefly looking for practitioners within the Land of Fire, Jiraiya and Hiruzen headed toward the Land of Demons to seek her out.
As high-ranking officials of Konoha with formidable strength, the two secured a meeting with Miroku quite easily. Once they met, they skipped the pleasantries and explained their situation directly, hoping for her assistance.
"The situation you described sounds very much like an Onmyoji's curse technique," Miroku explained. "Casting such a curse requires a medium, such as hair, nails, or blood. If the target possesses spiritual power, they can block the casting. Beyond that, there are limitations regarding distance."
"How do we deal with this curse technique?" Jiraiya asked, looking at her intently.
"How to deal with it? You can solve the curse by killing the Onmyoji, or you can use amulets to ward it off. Additionally, someone with powerful spiritual power can forcibly break the curse while the opponent is casting, thereby destroying the medium."
Miroku continued, "Based on what you told me, I suspect the person casting this curse is hiding within Konoha or somewhere very close by."
"Shrine Maiden, can you help us find that person?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with an expression of urgency.
Hearing Hiruzen's request, Miroku fell silent. "I am sorry, but I cannot. A Shrine Maiden must stay in the Land of Demons to guard the seal of Moryo. I must be here to deal with Moryo should the seal break. If I leave the Land of Demons and the seal is damaged, the entire country will be in grave danger."
"If that is the case, then this old man will watch over the Land of Demons for you," Hiruzen said with a serious expression. "Let Jiraiya take you to Konoha. Shrine Maiden, rest assured; until you return, I will personally guarantee the safety of the Land of Demons."
Miroku thought it over carefully. With Hiruzen Sarutobi standing guard, even if Moryo truly broke the seal, the damage could be minimized. Moreover, if she helped them, Konoha would owe her a favor. Perhaps after she died sealing Moryo, the Hidden Leaf would treat her daughter, Shion, with kindness.
At that thought, Miroku nodded. "Very well, I agree."
Once Miroku made her choice, she followed Jiraiya back toward Konoha. During this time, Qiuxia having sent the trouble that was Jiraiya packing had been cultivating day and night without pause. Relying on solar and star power, he had opened a vast number of acupoints, filling each of them with mana.
Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, Qiuxia managed to open over a thousand acupoints in the month Jiraiya was away. His mana rose once again, his physical constitution was further enhanced, and his soul was polished and refined to a higher state.
One day, after finishing a session, Qiuxia was in such high spirits that he decided to head to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a familiar shock of white hair, and beside him sat a beautiful woman, also with white hair, eating noodles.
The moment he saw that familiar white-haired figure, Qiuxia's good mood vanished instantly. Damn it, how is that unlucky bastard Jiraiya back again? Hadn't he suffered enough? Fine, since you like suffering so much, have some more. Once I finish my ramen, I'm going back to deal with you, you bastard.
"Ayame, one bowl of Chashu Ramen!" Qiuxia called out. Although he secretly wanted to knock Jiraiya's head off, he didn't let a hint of it show on his face. He picked a seat as far away from Jiraiya and the beauty as possible and sat down.
Hearing Qiuxia's voice, both Jiraiya and Miroku glanced at him. Jiraiya remembered him as that weird kid he had encountered before. If he weren't in so much trouble himself, he would have definitely given the boy a thorough investigation.
Miroku, upon seeing Qiuxia, tried to activate her Spiritual Vision, but the resulting image was incredibly blurry. Despite the lack of visual clarity, she could clearly sense a surge of spiritual power coming from his body.
Qiuxia had only just finished his cultivation. While the solar power on his body had been withdrawn, traces of it still clung to his clothes. Usually, he wouldn't care about such things; he was the only one in Konoha who cultivated mana.
Even those sensitive to natural Chakra likely wouldn't find anything unusual about him. However, to a Shrine Maiden or an Onmyoji who cultivated spiritual power, he was as conspicuous as could be.
Though she detected the spiritual power on him, Miroku said nothing and continued eating her noodles quietly. Qiuxia ignored the two of them entirely. When his ramen was served, he blew the steam away and began eating like a starving ghost. In less than two minutes, the bowl was empty and not a drop of soup remained. He placed the money on the table and turned to walk out of the shop.
Seeing him leave, Miroku set down her chopsticks and looked at Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya, do you know that child?"
"I know him. He's an orphan of the Uchiha Clan named Uchiha Qiuxia."
"From the Uchiha?" Miroku's brow furrowed. "The Uchiha should be a ninja clan. Even if he cannot cultivate Chakra, there shouldn't be any spiritual power in his body!"
Seeing her frown, Jiraiya looked at her with curiosity. "What is it? Is something wrong? Is there something off about that brat? I knew it; a normal person's luck couldn't possibly be that good. I'm not bad at throwing stones, so there's no way I could miss him every single time."
Miroku contemplated for a moment before looking at Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya, that child named Uchiha Qiuxia possesses spiritual power. It was faint, but I definitely saw it."
"Are you saying the curse technique on us was his doing?" Jiraiya's face darkened instantly.
"I cannot be certain of that yet, but the fact that there is spiritual power in his body is quite incredible. Lord Jiraiya, did you know? Those with the talent for ninjutsu or those who possess Chakra can choose to become samurai, but they can never practice Onmyoto or witchcraft. Those two types of power will conflict with each other."
"Based on what you said, the child is an Uchiha. Even if he lacks the talent for ninjutsu and cannot cultivate Chakra, the Uchiha bloodline should still interfere with spiritual power. He shouldn't be able to cultivate it at all. Yet, he has spiritual power. This is very strange."
Jiraiya looked at Miroku. "If it's strange, then we'll just grab the kid and ask him. If we've made a mistake, we can just give him some compensation later."
Miroku thought for a second. "I suppose that is all we can do for now." If she had a choice, she didn't want to make things difficult for a child, but the existence of spiritual power in an Uchiha was simply too bizarre. Coupled with her concerns about the danger in the Land of Demons, she felt she had no other choice.
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