Shared Secret

In his memory, the time when the demon Moryo wreaked havoc upon the world matched up with the present. Yet this coincidence left the ever-cautious Hyuga Kagami with a faint sense of unease.

Seeing that Hyuga Kagami still seemed distracted, Shisui asked, "Senior, what do you think about this mission?"

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Hyuga Kagami answered casually, "The Land of Demons lies between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. This matter also involves a demon from another realm, so the Miko will surely ask Sunagakure and Iwagakure for aid as well. This mission will inevitably involve several ninja villages. In short, it's bound to be troublesome."

Shisui was somewhat curious. "I wonder what kind of monster that demon from another realm really is!"

Hyuga Kagami considered it for a moment and decided to reveal some of what he knew to his teammate. "In my estimation, that demon is at least Tailed Beast-level. Otherwise, Lord Hokage would not have classified this mission as S-rank."

"Tailed Beast-level..." After pondering for a moment, Shisui suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "Senior, I have a technique that can briefly contend against a Tailed Beast, but after using it, I'll basically lose all combat ability."

Hyuga Kagami had not expected Shisui to reveal such a secret to him. He froze for a moment, then said, "When we sparred yesterday, I could already tell that your Sharingan is different from an ordinary Sharingan."

Shisui hesitated several times, seemingly wanting to say something but having reservations.

Hyuga Kagami smiled. "You don't need to explain anything to me. Everyone has secrets. As long as you don't endanger the village, I won't reveal your secret to anyone."

Shisui sighed in relief and said sincerely, "Thank you!"

Waving a hand, Hyuga Kagami said indifferently, "Actually, I have a secret too. I have a technique that can briefly contend against a Tailed Beast."

Hyuga Kagami was not lying. The Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage, possessed the ability to suppress One-Tail Shukaku. Now that the Third Kazekage Human Puppet was in his hands, he naturally possessed the strength to briefly contend against a Tailed Beast as well.

Shisui smiled. "Just as I thought. I could tell that you didn't use your full strength yesterday either, Senior!"

Sharing secrets was undoubtedly one of the best ways to bring people closer together. After only a few exchanges, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui's relationship had clearly become much closer.

Of course, that was also related to the fact that they were both children of prominent clans and ninja with ocular bloodline limits.

At the front of the team.

Kakashi, who had been looking back, turned his head around and said to Guy beside him, "Kagami seems to have grown much stronger recently."

Guy smiled. "You mean Kagami? Heh heh, he's a genius no less talented than you!"

"Yes, yes." Kakashi gave a perfunctory response, then drooped his head again and said nothing more.

After suffering the successive blows of his father's suicide and the deaths of his close friend and teacher, Kakashi had become depressed and cold. Only when he was occasionally with classmates from his generation would he speak a little more.

The four members of Anbu Team 11 were all outstanding figures among Konoha's new generation, so they traveled at an extremely fast pace. In just one week, they crossed the border and entered the perpetually rainy Land of Rain.

Inside a cave.

The four of them studied their route ahead while warming themselves by the fire.

Several small countries, including the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Bears, lay between the Land of Demons and the Land of Fire. These small countries were currently infested with large numbers of wandering ninja, and a moment of carelessness could lead to a fierce battle. Thus, their choice of route had to be made with utmost caution.

After a round of discussion, Kakashi, having settled on their route, put away the map.

At that moment, Guy complained softly, "The weather in the Land of Rain is awful. It rains all day long, and everything gets so damp and sticky."

As the team leader, Kakashi dutifully reminded them, "Though the Land of Rain is small, it is still a country with a ninja village. The man known as the 'Demigod' is the leader of Amegakure here, so we must be especially careful."

Guy and Shisui both nodded.

Hanzo was a renowned figure throughout the Ninja World. Konoha's Three Sannin had received their title from him.

Leaning against a dry section of the cave wall, Hyuga Kagami mused to himself, By this point, Hanzo should have already been killed by Nagato, right?

Sasori and Orochimaru joining Akatsuki one after another meant that Akatsuki had already transitioned from Yahiko's leadership to Nagato's.

In Hyuga Kagami's memory, after Nagato became leader, the first thing he seemed to have done was avenge Yahiko by killing Hanzo, then secretly seize control of the entire Land of Rain.

With Yahiko's death, the boundary between good and evil had already vanished from Nagato's heart. Compared to Moryo, who was ravaging the Land of Demons, Akatsuki at this time was the true monster capable of destroying the Ninja World.

Thinking of how Hanzo, the powerful ninja hailed as the "Demigod," had died without a sound, Hyuga Kagami could not help but sigh. "The Ninja World really is dangerous!"

After passing through the Land of Rain without incident, Team 11 smoothly crossed the Land of Birds and the Land of Bears as well.

They had thought everything was going smoothly and that they would soon meet the Miko of the Land of Demons. Yet, the moment they stepped into the Land of Demons, they encountered trouble.

Boom...

Amid a thunderous crash, dust rose slowly into the air.

Guy abruptly retreated, panting as he shouted, "Damn it, these monsters simply can't be killed!"

Before the four members of Team 11 stood a group of burly stone terracotta warriors.

The stone statues of terracotta warriors, which should have been lifeless, moved like living creatures. They formed row after row of formations and charged at them fiercely the moment they met, as though they bore some deep grudge.

Kakashi used Chidori to destroy several, while Guy shattered several more with Taijutsu. Yet in the blink of an eye, the terracotta warriors that had been smashed stood back up again.

Watching another broken terracotta warrior restore itself completely, Kakashi's brows drew tightly together. "They really do seem to be immortal!"

Hyuga Kagami did not know much about these terracotta warriors either, but anyone could see that they were merely soulless puppets. So he suggested, "There's no need to waste time on these puppets. Let's meet the Miko first!"

Team 11 knew nothing about the current situation in the Land of Demons, so everyone agreed with Hyuga Kagami's suggestion. They bypassed the slow-moving terracotta warriors and hurried toward the heart of the Land of Demons.

Along the way, all they saw and heard was the devastation caused by Terracotta Puppets.

Not only small villages, but even marketplaces and some towns had suffered. The tragic number of civilian casualties made even the four members of Team 11, who had only recently experienced war, feel faintly alarmed.

Though they could not bear it, the four of them understood clearly.

Rather than waste time entangling themselves with the Terracotta Puppets along the way, it was better to rendezvous with the Miko as quickly as possible and defeat the demon behind it all. Otherwise, the death toll would only continue to rise.

Fortunately, the Land of Demons was not particularly large. After several days of travel, Team 11 finally approached the Miko's palace...