Miko Shion

Even after resting for two days, Uzuki Yugao still felt back pain and couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

I shouldn't have stubbornly insisted on arguing with that guy. He was like a tiger or wolf; he was mostly unharmed, but I almost broke my back.

On the table lay intelligence reports from the Heavenly Transfer, detailing the fierce fighting at the front. The most dire aspect was the constant raids on ninja camps; the White Zetsu, on the other hand, had no camps at all, always appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Simply put, the ninja squad never lost a direct confrontation, but in reality, they were always on the receiving end of attacks.

She hasn't gone out much these past two days, staying home to rest and recuperate. Naruto has already cleared out the White Zetsu from the village; he's a man of his word.

Uzuki Yugao raised her cup, she suddenly realized that this person didn't seem to be doing anything important. But she quickly dismissed the chaotic thoughts in her mind, deciding not to worry unnecessarily.

I've already laid myself off, why think so much? Just follow orders and be assigned to tasks.

I feel like I lost a lot that night, but now I don't think about anything anymore; my mind is completely blank. It might seem a bit unambitious, but it's definitely very relaxing.

"Why are you becoming more and more like Anko, that silly woman?" Uzuki Yugao shook her head, regaining her Qingming Festival. "I'd rather die than become stupid, too..."

~~

"Isn't this too much to ask?" Choji grumbled. "The New Year Festival is almost here, when can we go home? We're stuck here day after day."

"Shut up!" Shikamaru turned and glared at Choji, feeling a little annoyed.

Before him lay sheets of paper covered in annotations, densely filled with tiny handwriting. Choji remembered that when he brought them yesterday, they were still blank; Shikamaru had stayed up all night to fill them with annotations.

"Shikamaru, why don't you take a rest?" Choji whispered, trying to persuade him.

"I can't sleep, so I'm getting up to take a look." Shikamaru's eyes were red as he stared at the map without blinking. "Find me another map of Sunagakure, and also one of Kumogakure, the more the better."

"Ah! Those are all classified information!" Choji surprised and frightened. His chubby cheeks twitched, and his small eyes narrowed. "Shikamaru, your father would kill me if he found out!"

"Father and the others are discussing matters in the central command tent; they have no time to concern themselves with us." Shikamaru's voice was calm and steady. He didn't even look at Choji as he spoke; his eyes were fixed on the map.

This map marks all the locations where White Zetsu have appeared, which is not surprising. The Konohagakure strategists, such as Shikaku Nara, have a more detailed map.

Confidential information cannot be leaked, Shikamaru is not yet qualified to sit at the table and brainstorm ideas. His father is still alive and can still oversee the overall situation.

Kakashi stayed in Konohagakure, reassuring the people in the Hokage Building.

Also remaining in Konohagakure were a group of Elite Jonin. Despite the White Zetsu's rampage, Konohagakure only deployed ninja forces from the Land of Fire to provide assistance, without sending its main force.

The truly capable Hokage and Asuma, along with their group, were all defending Konohagakure, and the battle on the front lines was indeed fierce. However, the risks weren't too great, so he and Choji came.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Choji looked at Shikamaru's crazed state and was very worried. He thought to himself, "It's just a battle, how could he have gone mad?"

"I told you I'm fine, stop asking." Shikamaru was getting impatient, but he took a deep breath and suppressed his temper. "Could you get me a few maps, please?"

"That's not taking, that's stealing. If you get caught, you should die," Choji corrected.

"Okay, steal one for me."

Choji: "."

He was certain Shikamaru had gone mad. Shikaku Nara was in charge of the fighting; why was Shikamaru getting involved? Even if he wanted to understand, there was no need to go to such lengths.

Even if you really want to get involved, why not just ask your father? If you insist on using this method and get caught, you're finished.

He went out and hurried towards the main tent, where the first generation of Ino-Shika-Cho were discussing matters. Choji tried to be as quiet as possible, preparing to get some blueprints.

The new blueprints weren't exactly a secret, since each of the Five Great Nations had detailed maps of the others; it was just that the detailed layouts marked on them were classified.

Those blank blueprints... we'll see. In any case, the enemy we're facing now is the White Zetsu, and the Five Great Nations are preparing a joint force. Detailed intelligence will definitely be shared later, so blank blueprints aren't a big deal.

He sneaked in, poured water for a few uncles, and slipped away with a few sheets of paper he'd picked up. Someone noticed him, but no one paid him any attention.

This chubby little boy is quite comical; he holds the blank map timidly, like a mouse.

"Choji." Choza Akimichi couldn't stand it anymore and called out to him.

"Father." Choji looked guilty and hid the map behind his back.

"Why are you in such a panic!"

"Um... I..." Choji looked completely bewildered, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Just as Choji was at a loss, Shikaku Nara sighed and spoke up to help him out of the predicament.

"Chōza Akimichi, don't scare Choji. Shikamaru must have sent him. This kid has always been honest, which is why Shikamaru and the others boss him around. Choji, tell Shikamaru to come see me."

Choji didn't respond, but instead glanced at his father. Seeing that there was no displeasure on Choza Akimichi's face, he hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Good."

He hurriedly left the tent, and before he could even catch his breath, he took out the map hidden behind him and organized it. Just as he was about to go find Shikamaru, he suddenly caught sight of a group of people pushing a corpse covered with a white sheet past the camp.

Perhaps the stretcher bearers were too tired, and they accidentally tore off the white sheet, revealing a gruesome corpse. Choji's face turned pale, his throat tightened, and he almost vomited.

"I don't know when this war will end."

~~

"This is nothing," Kabuto his head and looked at Black Zetsu calmly. "After the New Year Festival, while they relax, my Edo Tensei Army will be ready."

"But winter is almost over!" Black Zetsu with some dissatisfaction, feeling that this snake-skinned monster was crazy and indecisive. "Why don't we make our move sooner!"

"Don't rush, I haven't collected enough corpses yet." Kabuto has recently become obsessed with digging up graves, enjoying it immensely, a sinister smile on his face.

"Are 100,000 White Zetsu a lot? Scattered, they can't accomplish anything significant. Why bother coming together to conquer Konohagakure? It's pointless if we can't kill them all."

"Besides, Konohagakure doesn't have Tailed Beast, only that guy. If you don't mind the hassle, you can take 20,000 White Zetsu to attack Konohagakure."

"The premise is that you can conquer it, so why bother? The Nine-Tails isn't here. What you should be doing now is collecting the Tailed Beast, not urging me to send troops. Controlling so many White Zetsu is exhausting."

"Once I dig that person out, hehe, even the Five Kage won't be able to defeat him."

Black Zetsu watched from the sidelines with his arms crossed, feeling quite dissatisfied with Kabuto. But despite his dissatisfaction, as Kabuto had said, "If you're so capable, then you do it, stop talking nonsense."

That shameless blond guy is still in Konohagakure and shows no intention of leaving the village. 100,000 White Zetsu sounds like a lot, but in reality, Kabuto can only control 70,000 White Zetsu with his puppets.

The Rinnegan wasn't implanted in Kabuto's body, but rather through a puppet. From the very beginning, Kabuto never showed any trust in Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu, Kabuto, and the Hawk Team —each of them has their own agenda. They only came together because of similar goals; they are not allies.

Kabuto ordered him to lead 20,000 White Zetsu to attack Konohagakure, but Black Zetsu naturally wouldn't fall for it. Winter wouldn't affect Konohagakure much; if things got too heated, the Land of Wind would send reinforcements.

The Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Earth Three Great Nations, which are truly kept at bay by the harsh winter, do not have the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

The Five Great Nations are not pushovers. Although the White Zetsu launched a massive attack on Five Great Nations, it did not fundamentally damage their strength. Only the Kumogakure was struggling to cope with the torment from the Hawk Team; the other Four Great Nations were not actually in dire straits.

Kabuto's intentions were clear: winter was a good time to dig up corpses, and once he had assembled his Edo Tensei Army, he would officially engage in the final battle with the Five Great Nations the following spring. This kind of madman loved this; he enjoyed strategy and liked to defeat his opponents psychologically.

Pervert.

Black Zetsu's face remained expressionless, but he cursed Kabuto inwardly, increasingly convinced of the ugliness and depravity within humanity. That blond guy was no different; his heart was utterly shameless and utterly despicable.

Suddenly, Black Zetsu realized that, in that case, the snake-skinned monster and the yellow-haired man were evenly matched.

"I can't wait any longer, I'll take some men and collect a few Tailed Beast first."

"Then figure it out yourself, whatever." Kabuto smiled, a sinister smile that made people uncomfortable.

~~

Naruto dragged out all the White Zetsu hiding in Konoha, and even found an excuse to beat up Konohamaru, who liked to meddle in other people's business, only beating him up as if he were White Zetsu in disguise.

Konohamaru fled for his life, crying loudly as he ran through the village, shouting Naruto like "Naruto, it's me! I'm not White Zetsu! Help! Someone killed someone!"

When Uzuki Yugao saw her, she didn't react much, simply putting on Anbu mask and disappearing from the rooftop. This person acts without warning; there's no need to guess.

He certainly acted haphazardly; for example, for several days he ran between Ino and Hinata, doing virtually nothing. Yet that very night, he had already passed through the Gate of Hades and arrived in the Land of Demons.

He was actually very reluctant to come here, and he hadn't encountered any missions related to the Land of Demons. He thought he could avoid everything, but unexpectedly, Naruto ended up delivering himself to their doorstep.

"One believer is missing," he muttered to himself, stepping into the territory of the Land of Demons into the night wind.

The reason he was so averse to the Land of Demons was because he was originally from another time and was disgusted by prophecies and the like. Furthermore, he didn't want to cause trouble for no reason.

Actually, he had a better option. Going back twenty years, he brought Nohara Nao and Princess Sara of Rōran out of the Dragon Vein. He could have directly signed a contract with Sara; she probably wouldn't have refused.

Naruto remembered that he had promised the Queen to treat Sara well, and although the Queen had been dead for more than 20 years, he could not break his promise.

With only one thing left to do, Naruto thought it over and decided to go to the Land of Demons, just in case things got complicated. He hadn't heard anything from the Land of Demons yet, so it was probably still at a stalemate.

In truth, he didn't care whether the Land of Demons was destroyed or not, nor did he care about the army of the undead. He only wanted to sign Evil God Contract with the Miko Shion of the Land of Demons.

The situation in the Land of Demons isn't too complicated. A person named Yomi once used the power of the Mōryō to create Ghost Army. These monsters are impervious to swords and spears, and fearless in the face of death. The only ones who can destroy them are the priestesses of the Land of Demons.

Yomi was incredibly audacious, inviting the former priestess of the Land of Demons to join his ranks, hoping to conquer the entire Shinobi World with his Ghost Army. Unfortunately, his ideals were far from reality.

The priestess of the Land of Demons was moved but refused, declaring that she wouldn't do something so low-class. Not only that, she added, "You're so ugly, you're going to die!"

The priestess used powerful witchcraft to defeat the undead army, sealing the spirits of the Mōryō in the ruins of the Land of Demons, and their physical bodies in the temple of the neighboring small country of the Land of Swamps.

The Mōryō is, in a sense, a spirit, and the undead army is merely a puppet. Because they were outmatched, the priestess split them up, making them a Shinobi World version of Xing Tian.

This subordinate relationship is somewhat similar to being an accomplice to a tyrant. The Mōryō is the tiger, and the undead army is its accomplice. Yomi is a fanatical follower of the Mōryō, single-mindedly focused on resurrecting Mōryō and dominating the Shinobi World.

Logically, Naruto should have found Shion and protected her all the way to the shrine in the Land of Swamps. During the chase, he could have used the suspension bridge effect created by Miko Shion as a pretext.

Finally facing a powerful enemy, he was first defeated and then seriously injured, and finally made dumplings with Shion.

This formula is similar to the New Year's Eve skit "Making Dumplings," which first makes you laugh, then makes you cry, and finally makes you think deeply. It's full of clichés, depicting a loving father and filial son making dumplings together.

But Naruto had long since lost patience. He'd seen too many women and too many formidable enemies. He was no longer interested in anything else; with his sword in hand, who could restrain him?

Yomi wants to resurrect Mōryō, then first find him and kill him with a single blow. Then go back to Shion and tell her that Yomi is dead, and that she should be sensible and quickly form a contract with him.

Otherwise, don't blame yourself for being impolite. You don't want your mother's hard work to be ruined, and so on. Anyway, this way is simpler, more direct, and more appropriate.

That's how a true leader behaves. Since he's come, he won't just give Shion a simple favor and leave. As the saying goes, "Since he's already here..."

He wanted more than just Shion to sign the Evil God Contract; he also wanted to devour the Land of Demons. As for how to govern it afterward, that was not something he needed to consider right now.

"The last one, just one more." Naruto repeated, looking towards the Capital City of the Land of Demons ahead.

Ten miles from the Capital City, there is a forest, beyond which stand several high mountains, and the ruins that seal the soul of the Mōryō are hidden in the mountains.

As he climbed the mountain, he suddenly heard a deafening sound. Naruto stopped and looked up again in the north. What a coincidence! Was Yomi making her move at this moment?

He didn't actually know the location of Yomi, nor did he know whether Huang Yomi had broken the seal on the soul of the Mōryō. He only sensed it slightly with the authority of the God of Death Reaper.

Sensing intense spiritual fluctuations emanating from the mountains, he guessed that the Mōryō had probably not yet been resurrected. His thought was simple: if things didn't go as planned, Yomi might not have come, or might not have appeared for some reason.

He then simply threw the Mōryō into the Sealing Space, which to some extent solved the problem at its source.

Unfortunately, Yomi was unlucky and happened to run into him.