An hour later.
Hyuga Sho returned to the Miko Palace of the Land of Demons with Miroku.
From their departure to their return, including the defeat of Soul of Moryo, the entire process had taken a full week.
For Uchiha Shisui and the others,
it had been seven dull and boring days.
But for the guards of the Miko Palace...
it had been a week of the Miko's seclusion.
"The gates can be opened!"
The guards stationed outside put on solemn expressions and performed a ritual as they had in the past.
They were preparing to welcome the Miko back from her "seclusion."
With a thunderous rumble from the doors,
the guards pushed them open.
The scene inside the palace once again appeared before everyone's eyes.
The main hall, which had barely changed from a week ago, was flooded with sunlight and filled with boundless radiance.
Miroku sat upright behind a half-concealed curtain.
Soon.
Just as Hyuga Sho had planned, Miroku rose from the cushion.
She lifted the curtain, descended the steps,
and walked all the way out through the main hall.
"The Miko looks radiant."
Yugito Nii praised her.
Indeed.
Compared to a week ago, Miroku's appearance had undergone a complete transformation.
Her brand-new white miko robes, trimmed with gold, accentuated her dignified and noble bearing.
The golden miko crown resting on her forehead made her look incomparably solemn.
Her originally somewhat pale face now held a touch of color. She looked radiant, like... earth nourished by rain and dew.
Miroku, her entire body suffused with a dignified aura, lightly waved her hand and said to everyone, "Everyone... Mōryō will attack soon. Please prepare to respond!"
"!"
Upon hearing Miroku's words,
the people who had grown impatient from all the waiting nodded, each brimming with fighting spirit.
The Konoha