Thunder Breathing: Second Form - Rice Soul

Land of Demons, Shrine of the Priestess.

After Shiraha pushed open the door, Miroku ceased her movements, stood up, and turned to look at the visitor.

Miroku was not wearing her formal, grand attire at this moment; instead, she was dressed in a white kimono, her hair slightly pinned up, her waist slender and graceful, and a gentle smile hung upon her face.

"Shiraha-kun, is there something you need from me?"

Miroku asked softly.

"We have found the tracks of the rogue ninjas. I am here to confirm their objective with you."

Shiraha stated. The ordinary shrine guards of the Land of Demons were helpless against rogue ninjas, capable only of dealing with common folk.

This time, Uchiha Shiraha and Itachi were the ones handling this group of rogue ninjas.

The mission rank was tentatively set at A. The price offered by the Priestess of the Land of Demons was quite high, though the village took a significant cut—ten percent, which was categorized as village revenue.

Uchiha Itachi recounted the intelligence they had gathered, and Miroku fell into deep thought.

After a while, Miroku looked up and said, "They must be searching for the demon Moryo. I do not know how they learned of the demon, but we absolutely cannot allow them to break the seal and release Moryo."

From the movement patterns of the rogue ninjas in the intelligence report, their goal could be deduced.

Shiraha said, "Then tell us the location where Moryo is sealed. So much time has passed that they have likely already found it. Even if they haven't, we can go to the destination and set an ambush."

Upon hearing this proposal, Miroku hesitated for a long time.

At the beginning, she had not disclosed the primary target of the mission precisely because she was worried about the location of Moryo's seal being exposed.

Now, prompted by Shiraha's reminder and considering the tracks of those rogue ninjas, she realized that regardless, those people would eventually find the place where Moryo was sealed.

"You must guarantee that you will not leak this location."

Miroku said through gritted teeth; revealing the location of the seal carried immense risk.

"What use would I have for Moryo? What can he do? Turning people into neither human nor ghost—only that trash would be willing to become a puppet for such a monster."

Shiraha said with disdain. Let him become a servant of Moryo? He would rather use the three-foot blade in his hand to slit his own throat and try transmigrating again.

Any intent that attempted to alter Shiraha's will would be erased by his Sword Heart.

Miroku looked stubbornly at Uchiha Itachi, and only after Itachi also gave his guarantee did she reveal the location of Moryo's seal.

"Big chest, no brain. Worrying about this and that all day? It would have saved so much trouble if you had just said it earlier. Such a housewife personality, so indecisive."

Shiraha muttered. Miroku had hidden the location of Moryo's seal so tightly that she only spoke up once he brought Itachi and the decisive intelligence.

"Let's go."

Shiraha turned to say to Itachi, then departed with a Body Flicker Technique.

Currently, he could enter the state of Thunder Breathing at any time and maintain it for over twelve hours, so Shiraha had begun to gradually shift his focus toward some necessary ninjutsu.

For instance, the Body Flicker Technique and the Clone Technique.

He had not yet learned the Shadow Clone, but after this mission, he could try to copy the hand seals from the clan or the village.

At the same time, he could also learn some genjutsu.

As for other ninjutsu, they were not important.

Before his wall of wind, all ninjutsu were futile efforts.

As for a master of genjutsu, he had one right by his side. Do not let Uchiha Itachi's young age fool you; he had inherited the true teachings of Shisui, and his attainments in genjutsu far exceeded those of some jonin in the clan.

Itachi followed Shiraha, leaving the main hall.

Miroku, left behind, wore a look of worry. Still feeling deeply uneasy, she immediately shouted outward: "Someone, assemble! Prepare to head to..."

She had also decided to go to the location of Moryo's seal, just in case Moryo broke through; relying solely on two Konoha ninjas would be completely insufficient to hold him back.

While the guards were assembling, Miroku found her daughter, who was playing.

Looking at her daughter's innocent and naive appearance, a sense of reluctance filled her heart.

Thinking of the responsibilities of the Priestess, the safety of the thousands of people in the Land of Demons, and the safety of the entire world, all her emotions finally converged upon this little person before her.

Everything was for her!

The world belonged to her.

Miroku picked up her daughter with great tenderness, gave her careful instructions, and finally placed a protective bell into Shion's small palm.

"My daughter, take good care of yourself."

Miroku sighed inwardly; she feared that once she left this time, she would not return.

Land of Demons, an underground palace. Here, a portion of Moryo's soul was sealed, while his physical body was sealed at the Shrine of the Priestess in the Land of Demons.

Later, through Miroku's sacrifice, Moryo's physical body was sealed in the Land of Swamps, while his soul remained sealed in this underground palace in the Land of Demons.

Following the guidance of the Priestess Miroku, Shiraha arrived at the entrance of the palace. At this moment, the great gate had already been opened.

"Are we too late?"

Shiraha murmured. The massive palace gate of the underground palace was open, and a strange, highly abnormal sound emanated from within.

Moryo had been resurrected, and the Undead Legion under his command had reappeared in the world along with him.

"Apply this to your kunai. I don't know if it will be effective."

Baiyu handed a jar of poison to Uchiha Itachi. They were about to face the Undead Legion; if they fought them head-on, they would have no chance of winning.

Baiyu pinned his hopes on the Spirit Poison, a toxin specifically designed to counter ghosts and demons, though he was unsure if it would work in this world.

Uchiha Itachi took the poison and examined it carefully; it was the first time he had seen such a grave expression on Baiyu's face.

"Is it troublesome?"

Itachi asked.

"Guys that can't be killed—you tell me if that's troublesome."

These Stone Puppet Legion members seemed to be controlled by ghosts; no matter how many times they were shattered, they would reassemble and revive.

Without a means of suppression, there was nothing they could do against them.

"Immortal?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan manifesting naturally, his expression turning stern.

The word "immortal" made him realize the complexity of this mission.

"Hold the line, I'll go scout ahead!"

Baiyu instructed, deciding to enter the palace first to take a look.

After all, this was the era of Shion's mother; the location of Moryo's seal and the layout of the area were bound to have certain differences.

Upon entering the palace, he was met with seven or eight corpses; judging by their attire, they appeared to be rogue ninjas from various nations.

"So many dead; I wonder how many rogue ninjas are left."

Baiyu collected some evidence from their bodies, as this was the mission he and Itachi had come to the Land of Demons to complete.

As he walked further, he suddenly heard a voice.

"I didn't expect you to find me so quickly. Are you not Priestess Miroku?"

A man dressed in a black robe appeared before him, accompanied by a dozen or so figures that were neither human nor ghost.

"Is this Moryo? It gives off a bone-chilling, malicious aura; what an unpleasant feeling."

Baiyu felt a cold sensation emanating from his Sharingan, and the goosebumps on his skin gradually subsided.

His Yin-style chakra was taking effect.

"So it's a ninja from Konoha. You lot, stay and deal with him; I am going to help Lord Moryo create the Undead Legion!"

Yomi commanded. After gaining Moryo's power, the dozen or so low-level rogue ninjas had become exceptionally strong.

A mere Konoha ninja wasn't even qualified to serve as an appetizer for Lord Moryo.

"Leave it to us!"

Several people stepped out from the crowd, speaking with sinister grins.

Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Soul, Ryusho Sen!

A sneak attack is a matter of attitude.

If you can fight, don't waste time talking!

A cold flash streaked by, and heads tumbled to the ground.