"Hm? Riots in the Land of Demons? The Yomi Sect???"
Fuyuki paused in surprise, then remembered a movie from many years ago. It had also been the debut of Naruto, that unwitting master flirt, who'd charmed a girl who looked uncannily like Hinata into a complete lovesick mess and even made a promise to have a fox together.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was that a monster existed in the Land of Demons, one packed with chakra that could be harvested. He needed chakra, and the monster Moryo could provide it. Didn't that make the two of them a match made in heaven—a pair of plastic best bros?!
"Natsumi, today's plans have changed. Put the real estate development off for a couple of days. Let's go home first!"
When a mission was posted in a ninja village, the client didn't have to pay the full amount up front. They only needed to put down a deposit. Once the ninja had been assembled and everything checked out, the client had to pay sixty percent of the fee. The rest would be settled after the mission was completed.
Of course, that applied to high-risk missions like A- and S-ranks. For B- and D-ranks, pay the full amount! Konoha Ninja weren't going to run dozens of kilometers for a measly few tens of thousands of ryō. If you didn't want to post your mission in Konoha, then forget it. I'm number one in the whole Ninja World!
Fuyuki had shaken two hundred million ryō out of his father. Of course, it wasn't to retrieve the scroll. Even if the scroll were retrieved—
No. There was absolutely no way anyone could retrieve it!
The Summoning Scroll would keep shifting between seven different Greater Chakra Spirits. Even if Uchiha Itachi were defeated, it still wouldn't fall into the hands of a money-minded ninja like Kakuzu. From the start, Fuyuki had never intended to pay out those two hundred million ryō.
That money was the capital he'd set aside for business and for building the Elemental Dawn Summoning Land!
He planned to develop a resort in Konoha, using lower-ranking Yang-Style Spirits to create hot springs infused with Yang-Style Chakra. Then he'd use his connections with the Hyuga Clan to invite the Land of Fire's lords to come enjoy the baths.
Civilians only had to pay money. Ninjas had to pay ninety percent of the regular price—and hand over chakra to be let in!
Fuyuki was truly willing to bleed for the sake of getting stronger. The cost had been a whole three Asumas!
Back home, Fuyuki took off the necklace he'd been wearing around his neck. He removed one of the dark red glass beads set in silver and handed it to the High-ranking Yang Spirit, who was sprawled out watching television. "Pighead, time to work! Go to the Land of Demons with the High-ranking Dark Spirit and capture the monster Moryo!"
"Give me two hours! Ninja Love is at the finale right now. I'll leave the moment I finish watching!" the High-ranking Yang Spirit declared.
Konoha now had televisions and refrigerators, but the shows were pretty dull—all romance. Fuyuki never watched them and couldn't even be bothered to turn on the TV.
The Hyuga Clan would assign him a wife. He had no reason to rush.
"How about I whip you twice?" Fuyuki asked, stepping toward the High-ranking Yang Spirit.
A mighty spirit of the life element, hopelessly addicted to dramas—that was bad enough. But it wouldn't even do its job? Did it think it could defy him now? The whip in his hand wasn't something to joke about!
"Y-Yes, I'll go right away!" After taking the full force of Fuyuki's war-stomp, the High-ranking Yang Spirit immediately backed down, casting one last longing glance at the blurry 60P image on the television screen.
"Natsumi, keep an eye on the door for me. If anyone comes looking, tell them I'm feeling unwell and resting all day."
Fuyuki stretched out on the tatami. His consciousness descended straight into the High-ranking Dark Spirit thousands of miles away, and he looked toward Uchiha Itachi, who was resting by the river. "Form the summoning hand seals and summon the High-ranking Life Element Spirit for me."
"Moon Worm?"
"Eclipse!" Fuyuki corrected him reflexively, then stopped paying attention and urged him on. "Hurry up. It's urgent!"
"Poof!"
Itachi really did deserve his reputation for forming six hand seals per second. In the next instant, he summoned the High-ranking Yang Spirit, who'd been freeloading at the Hyuga Clan's home.
"Stay close to me. The Land of Demons is separated from the Land of Fire by three nameless countries. Whatever you do, don't stop in the Land of Rain."
Fuyuki ignored Itachi and didn't bother explaining. He grabbed the High-ranking Yang Spirit and sprinted toward the Land of Demons.
The Land of Demons bordered the Land of Earth. If Iwagakure sent troops to help suppress the unrest, Shrine Maiden Miroku would be free to sacrifice herself alongside Moryo without a single worry. And then Fuyuki would lose his chakra battery.
Sealing Jutsu wasn't a specialty of the Hyuga Clan, even though they'd developed the Caged Bird Seal, which was etched into the soul.
Seeing Moon Worm and an unfamiliar female spirit hurrying in the direction of the Land of Rain, Itachi followed. The Land of Rain was his destination, so he and Moon Worm were headed the same way. "What's happening in the Land of Demons?"
Fuyuki, controlling the High-ranking Dark Spirit, glanced at Uchiha Itachi as he leaped from tree to tree. "There's a riot in the Land of Demons. Some ambitious schemer wants to release the otherworldly monster Moryo, build a kingdom that'll last a thousand years, and proclaim himself King Borodin."
"Moryo? King Borodin?"
Uchiha Itachi furrowed his brows. He hadn't picked up on Fuyuki's teasing at all. Taking his wild story as accurate intelligence, he began to seriously analyze it. "I know about the monster Moryo. It's sealed in the Sealing Shrine in the Land of Demons. If we wait there for the mastermind to show up, then we can—"
"Can what? My target is Moryo. Hurry up and report to the Land of Rain. Your boss is waiting for you!"
Fuyuki cut off Itachi's dangerous suggestion. He'd come to the Land of Demons to capture Moryo. If he didn't let someone release the monster, wouldn't the whole trip be pointless? He'd even delayed his Konoha Eight-Heart-Eight-Arrow Resort plan for this giant chakra battery!
"???"
Itachi's eye twitched. He finally understood why Moon Worm had been in such a hurry.
It wasn't afraid Moryo would escape and cause trouble, build some supposed thousand-year kingdom, and become King Borodin.
It was afraid Moryo would die too soon, before he arrived in time to get even a mouthful of hot soup!
After sprinting at full speed for two hours, Fuyuki checked the map and estimated they'd need another three days to cross the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Bears before reaching the border of the Land of Demons. He immediately felt like throwing up. Running through forests for three days and nights was a complete waste of life!
"Itachi, you lead the Yin-Yang Spirit from here. I forgot to turn off the fire under the soup at home. I need to go back and turn it off—"
With that, Fuyuki went home. He ate lunch with the maid, then strolled out to buy land as if he had all the time in the world.
"Him?" Itachi froze.
"As a great noble, Lord Moon Worm despises wasting life. When he heard he'd have to run for three days, he must've lain down on his maid's lap pillow and started leisurely eating grapes she'd peeled for him, enjoying the good life," the High-ranking Dark Spirit said, mocking Fuyuki without mercy.
"Of course, he might've gone out shopping instead, flirting with respectable young women whenever he gets the chance, or dragging his friends along."
"He must be watching the finale of Ninja Love. Ah, I only had a little left to watch. What a shame."
The High-ranking Yang Spirit had a figure to die for, but when she spoke, she had the loud, rough voice of Zhang Fei. It startled Itachi, who stared at the exquisitely proportioned female spirit—or was it a male spirit?—in astonishment.
So this was the legendary "looks like a demure lady at first glance, but on closer inspection, she's a wrathful Arhat"???
My Summoned Beast family really did have problems.
Before you continue