33 Witch of the Land of Demons

Konoha, Hokage Building.

Most of the ninjas present did not notice the Anbu hidden beside them.

In particular, the two ninjas standing near the shadows were nearly scared to death by the Anbu who suddenly manifested.

The white-clad Anbu ninja was an elite jonin of the village, proficient in all manner of assassination techniques and capable of masking his own presence.

Even Uchiha Itachi could not detect him as long as the opponent made no move, though his Sharingan could capture other disturbances, meaning a sneak attack would likely be ineffective.

Yet, all these concealment methods were useless before Uchiha Shiraha.

Mind's Eye, a pair of wisdom eyes specifically designed to capture the essence of all living things. No emotional fluctuation could escape the scrutiny of the Mind's Eye.

Although this Anbu had superb evasion skills, under the prying gaze of the Mind's Eye, even the slightest flicker of emotion was detected by Uchiha Shiraha.

It was precisely because of this that Uchiha Shiraha knew that ever since his battle with Jiraiya, this person had been following him.

This ninja was completely different from the Anbu who had followed him before; he operated alone, wearing a white cloak over his specialized Anbu armor. He wore a hood that concealed his entire figure.

Externally, only a painted mask remained visible.

Out of confidence in his own abilities, this Anbu dared to get this close to his surveillance target.

When he realized he had been spotted by Uchiha Shiraha, he was clearly stunned for a long moment before finally coming to his senses and slowly stepping out.

Ignoring the dumbfounded crowd, Uchiha Shiraha followed behind the Anbu toward the Hokage's office.

Arriving at the door, the white-clad Anbu knocked gently and announced, "Lord Hokage, Uchiha Shiraha requests an audience!"

"Let him come in directly!"

The Third Hokage's voice came from inside, and Uchiha Shiraha pushed the door open and walked in.

At this moment, there happened to be a beautiful woman sitting in front of the Hokage's desk. Seeing Uchiha Shiraha and Uchiha Itachi walk in, she looked at them both with surprise.

"What do you want with me?"

The Third Hokage asked. Uchiha Shiraha had just been promoted to jonin, so at this time, Fugaku should have been the one questioning him.

Every jonin was a pillar of the village, and the jonin of each clan occupied a certain status.

Even a team-leading jonin could bring several talented juniors to their clan.

Other jonin could hold important positions in various departments of the village.

Every jonin was a reserve talent for the village.

"Taking missions, of course. What else would I do besides that?"

Uchiha Shiraha said indifferently. The Third Hokage appeared to be meeting an important guest, but that had nothing to do with him.

"Missions? Your squad has just been formed; you should pick some easy missions to do first! There are plenty of suitable ones downstairs."

The Third Hokage suggested. Usually, new teams would perform some small missions to build rapport.

"The pay is too low."

Uchiha Shiraha replied. Without money or experience, what was the point of doing missions?

He had worked hard to be promoted to jonin precisely because he thought S-rank missions offered high pay, high stakes, and generous rewards.

"Who are they?"

The beautiful woman, who had been standing to the side, suddenly asked.

"Oh? They are the village's newly promoted jonin, currently assigned to the same squad."

The Third Hokage explained.

The beautiful woman stood up, walked over to Uchiha Shiraha, and said with a smile, "Do you need high-paying missions? I happen to be looking for some escorts."

The Third Hokage spoke up, however: "We in Konoha truly cannot intervene in the affairs of your esteemed country."

The woman frowned, saying softly, "We can offer a high price."

"Who are you?"

Hearing the mention of a high price, Uchiha Shiraha's eyes lit up as he asked.

The Third Hokage's expression tightened, and he glanced at Uchiha Shiraha.

"Konoha may not be able to take this mission, Shiraha."

"My name is Miroku, the Priestess of the Land of Demons. Currently, there is a group of rogue ninjas running rampant in our Land of Demons, and I hope Konoha can dispatch ninjas to eliminate them."

Miroku said hurriedly. The Third Hokage treated her with courtesy, but no matter what she said, he was unwilling to get involved in the affairs of the Land of Demons.

"The Land of Demons is located between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, separated from Konoha by several countries... If we disregard the relations between those two countries and send ninjas to the Land of Demons, it is easy to cause misunderstandings. Priestess Miroku, it would be best if you went to Sunagakure or Iwagakure instead."

The Third Hokage explained, laying out the difficult stakes for the village.

"Our Land of Demons maintains neutrality and has good relations with our neighbors, so I guarantee it will not cause a war. Third Hokage, the demon once sealed in the Land of Demons has shown signs of activity recently, and I suspect the rogue ninjas causing trouble in our country are behind it. If the demon's seal is broken, the world will be destroyed in an instant."

Miroku continued. Speaking of the past demon calamity, this had originally been a rumor in the ninja world.

Now that the Priestess of the Land of Demons had said it herself, the Third Hokage vaguely felt that the problem was quite significant.

The legendary demon was recorded in a fragment of Konoha's archives.

The Land of Demons holds a very unique position on the continent. It is a nation ruled by a priestess, and because it lacks a daimyo, its relations with other countries are merely average.

Furthermore, it lacks organizations like ninja villages, so its military strength is also mediocre, leaving it to struggle for survival between two great powers.

Upon hearing the name Miroku, Baiyu recalled a few things.

The demon Moryo!

A monster that would be defeated by Shion and Naruto in the future; it seemed to belong to... the spirit realm?

It also commanded a massive army of Ghost Soldiers, an Undead Legion...

Could the rogue ninjas causing trouble now be the predecessors of that future group?

Hearing the name Miroku, Baiyu's mind raced with thoughts.

Itachi, standing to the side, noticed something was amiss and asked, "Is that demon very strong?"

"A Tailed Beast without a tail."

Baiyu whispered an explanation to Itachi.

Moryo is a spectral entity that can only be sealed by a priestess.

However, Baiyu's mind drifted to another possibility: he possessed a toxin-crafting ability capable of suppressing spectral entities.

And toxins, in battle, could inflict large-scale damage upon enemies...

Can Moryo's undead army provide rewards for drawing my blade?

With this thought in mind, Baiyu decided to accept the mission.

"Third Hokage..."

Baiyu looked toward the Third Hokage. This matter was indeed troublesome; according to the natural course of events, Miroku would sacrifice her life during this sealing to buy a period of peace.

It would only be after the Child of Prophecy arrived that the matter would be suppressed by the protagonist's plot armor.

Given Moryo's nature, it could never truly die; it had only one nemesis and could only be sealed.

Now, Baiyu decided to make the trip.

The Third Hokage discerned Baiyu's intent. After a moment of contemplation, he tapped the table and said, "If the demon truly exists, the situation is indeed troublesome. The Land of Demons..."

"The Land of Demons can offer fifty million ryo to hire Konoha ninjas as escorts," Miroku said.

"Fifty million?"

The Third Hokage's expression remained unchanged as he asked in return.

"This is the initial payment," Miroku replied, her brow lowered.

The Land of Demons is small, and fifty million is already a massive sum; the entire nation's savings likely didn't even match that of a single wealthy clan in Konoha.

"Then let Baiyu and Itachi make the trip! Escort the Priestess of the Land of Demons back home and clear out the rogue ninjas within their borders."

The Third Hokage finally nodded in agreement.

With the mission finalized, Baiyu nodded and said, "I need one day to prepare."

"That... that is no problem."

Miroku had initially doubted the strength of Baiyu and Itachi, but seeing the Third Hokage make this arrangement, she found it difficult to say anything more.

That anyone was willing to accept this mission was already a stroke of good fortune.