The Yellow Springs and the Undead Legion

The Land of Demons, a desolate and barren place.

A group of people were searching everywhere, and among them, a young man carefully pored over an ancient book.

"Yomi, are you sure you have the right location? We've been searching for two days now and haven't found a single clue. Is there really any treasure here at all?"

A rogue ninja asked. Ever since they accepted this mission at the underground black market, they had been wandering aimlessly through this wasteland.

They weren't even told what they were looking for; they were just searching blindly.

"Keep looking. We'll find it in a while."

Yomi replied. At this time, he was still just an ordinary young ninja.

"Pay us the commission for the previous period first."

The rogue ninja said bluntly. Having worked such a long mission without receiving a single cent, he was already fed up.

As soon as he spoke, several other rogue ninjas nearby gathered around as well.

"Money is not an issue. Once I find what I'm looking for, it won't matter how much I have to pay you."

Yomi said loudly, his voice full of confidence.

Some of them glanced at him and continued searching; part of the crowd dispersed, leaving only the five main members behind.

They were unwilling to continue working.

Yomi glanced at them and said softly, "It's not like I'm only going to pay the five of you, right?"

The rogue ninja who had started the trouble looked at his cohorts, nodding slightly.

"This time, you must first..."

"Found it!"

Just as he was about to make a threat, the sky suddenly changed, and one of the rogue ninjas had found the target.

"Hahahaha! Finally found it!"

Yomi laughed and ran over, leaving the rogue ninjas behind.

A stone gate, completely covered by earthen walls on the outside, was revealed only after three ninjas dug it out.

As more hands joined in, the excavation speed gradually increased.

Finally, a massive stone gate appeared before everyone.

"Finally found it!"

Yomi exclaimed.

Land of Demons, Shrine of the Priestess.

Baiyu had been here for over a day, but he hadn't encountered any incidents; the major event in the Land of Demons had yet to occur.

However, the Priestess Miroku had no intention of letting Baiyu leave.

Uchiha Itachi often went out to scout, searching for traces of rogue ninjas within the borders of the Land of Demons.

"Back already? Did you find any traces of the rogue ninjas?"

Baiyu stopped what he was doing. During this period, his sword-drawing count had increased by over ten thousand, reaching just over two hundred and ten thousand.

At the same time, he had practiced his ninjutsu hand seals many times. Although he couldn't match the speed of Shisui or Itachi, he had no problem reaching the level of an average jonin.

Itachi often returned in the morning and went out in the afternoon; since he returned so quickly today, he must have discovered something.

"I found them," Uchiha Itachi said, recounting the intelligence he had gathered.

"It seems they haven't discovered the target yet?"

"You know what they are looking for?"

Uchiha Itachi asked with curiosity, wondering how Baiyu had so much intelligence.

He even knew about the events unfolding in the Land of Demons.

"I heard the Priestess talk about a piece of history regarding the Land of Demons recently. The Land of Demons used to be a plain, originally a territory contested by the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, but a great chaos later turned this place into scorched earth, unsuitable for human survival. That is how it became what it is today, with no human presence for a hundred miles. If my guess is correct, their target is likely the legendary demon."

Baiyu had asked for some information at the shrine, and by combining it with fragmented memories from his past life, he had deduced some intelligence.

The monster Moryo of the Land of Demons would be resurrected during this period.

The Priestess Miroku would die prematurely because of sealing this monster, leaving Shion an orphan.

In the Naruto World, the "orphan protagonist" trope was particularly prominent; ninety percent of the powerhouses were born as orphans.

"Is that group's target the demon?"

Uchiha Itachi muttered to himself.

"Then what should we do?"

"Go find the Priestess."

Baiyu made the suggestion, then led Uchiha Itachi toward the shrine.

The shrine maiden Miroku was chanting in the main hall, while the little shrine maiden Shion played outside.

Shion was the same little girl he had seen when he first arrived.

"Brother Baiyu!"

Seeing Baiyu, little Shion called out sweetly.

At this time, she had yet to experience the discrimination of the masses; her personality was lively and cheerful. With her adorable, wide, sparkling eyes and her pale yellow hair tied up by Miroku, she looked at Baiyu with a face full of joy.

"Shion, is your mother inside?"

"She's inside. Brother Baiyu, when are you going to make dinner?"

Shion asked with a look of anticipation. Ever since she had tasted Baiyu's cooking once, she had fallen in love with those delicacies.

Having never eaten such delicious food before, it had completely shattered her perception of how food could be prepared; she never expected that eating could be such an enjoyment.

"..."

Baiyu felt a bit helpless. When such a cute little girl looks at you with such longing, just wanting to share a meal, who could possibly refuse?

Each meal cost five hundred ryo in food expenses...

That made it even harder to refuse.

"Come to my place tonight!"

Baiyu replied.

"(σ≧∀≦)σ Yay! Y!"

Upon hearing this, little Shion was overjoyed, then turned and skipped away, chasing after a butterfly.

Baiyu turned his head back and saw Uchiha Itachi also staring at him with wide eyes.

"?"

A question flashed through Baiyu's mind, and he asked, "Do you want to come too?"

"Mm-hmm, I've heard from Shisui that your cooking is exceptionally good, but I've never had the chance..."

Itachi was a bit shy, answering with a bashful, fidgety demeanor.

He was, after all, just a child of a little over ten years old.

Baiyu was speechless. As a captain, one should take good care of their team members. He had seen how hard Itachi had been working lately while gathering intelligence.

Fine, he would splurge just this once.

"Then you come along tonight too!"

Baiyu said. Aside from the first time Shisui had invited himself over, Itachi was the first person Baiyu had invited to dinner outside of the Uchiha public housing.

The two were in a quasi-friend relationship.

Only after spending some time with Itachi did he gradually come to understand this greatest sinner of the Uchiha.

A child who had been promoted to Jonin at the age of eleven.

If not for the step-by-step instigation by outsiders, Itachi would never have walked into the abyss.

Everyone piled the pressure onto a child of ten or so; few could bear it without collapsing under the weight.

The village high-ups, his own father in the clan.

Everyone hoped that Itachi could shoulder the responsibility.

Itachi himself was just a child in his early teens. When Baiyu was at the Ninja Academy, he had been quite chuunibyou, thinking about punching Uchiha Shisui and kicking Uchiha Itachi.

Imposing the causality of a clan annihilation that hadn't happened yet onto him now seemed too foolish.

Baiyu understood why Shisui had pulled Itachi into the team to cultivate him properly.

He also understood this logic: the Uchiha would eventually have to be handed over to Itachi.

Baiyu loved the way of the sword and would not let himself be bound by the Uchiha.

Therefore, even if he saved some clansmen from the hands of the village, he would still need a qualified leader.

Itachi happened to be a genius with both the brains and the talent.

Itachi's status was special; as long as he could instill certain concepts into Itachi, the Uchiha could undergo a massive transformation once Itachi took the stage.

Unfortunately, the village would not allow it, nor could they tolerate Uchiha Itachi rising to become the clan head.

Perhaps Danzo felt the threat and accelerated the pressure.

So much so that Uchiha Itachi, in order to protect the peace of the village and uphold the honor of the Uchiha, chose the path of annihilating his own clan.

Genius on the left, madman on the right.

The two were separated by only a single step.

Itachi! I hope you can change. I don't want to swing my blade at you on the night of the annihilation.

Baiyu thought to himself, attempting to use his own words and actions to subtly change Itachi and turn him into his own asset.

After all, Uchiha Itachi's talent was among the best in the entire Naruto World.

The so-called genius Second Pillar was merely something cultivated by Itachi's own hands.

With this thought in mind, Baiyu pushed open the main doors of the hall and entered, just in time to see Miroku sitting cross-legged in the center, silently gathering her spirit.