Demon

To Naruto, the Daimyo had always seemed like a beacon of light. When he was suddenly told that the Daimyo had been plotting behind the scenes, his first reaction was disbelief.

Yet that was the truth, and Naruto also believed Sasuke would not lie to him.

"Why would the Daimyo do something like this?"

"The reasons are complicated. As long as the war doesn't spread to their own countries, they can remain indifferent."

Sasuke showed a rare bitter smile. "Naruto, when you become Hokage... never mind. I'll be going first."

He wanted Naruto to become Hokage, yet he did not want to see Naruto become disillusioned with the world. But people always had to grow up, and Naruto could not remain so naïve forever. Perhaps dealing with such troubling matters was the meaning of his staying in Konoha.

Land of Birds.

Inside a heavily guarded castle, Chongji, looking like the reincarnation of the Maitreya Buddha, sat at the dining table and feasted heartily.

He had experienced death twice in his life. The first time was during the Second Shinobi World War; the second was when Shiraishi Yoshijo had used him as an experimental subject and forgotten him in Butterfly Habitat Valley. Those two brushes with death had left him with an almost greedy thirst for life.

But staying alive was no simple matter.

After returning from the dead, his body's life energy had continuously drained away. Once his body showed signs of languishing, it meant his life was nearing its end.

To replenish his life energy, Chongji had two options. The simplest was to keep eating and eating and eating; indeed, that was what he did. The other was to offer black gold to Peach Country. The more money he paid, the more life energy Right Red gave him.