Shrine Maiden of the Land of Demons—Miroku

Everyone's eyes were filled with anger.

They knew their minister had rebelled, but knowing it was one thing; witnessing An Lushan's destruction firsthand was another.

Sara stood at the front, announcing An Lushan's crimes. Behind her stood a group of ministers and guards, while before them lay An Lushan, chopped into pieces by countless blades.

No one knew what use these chunks of flesh could serve, but even if they did nothing else, they wanted to stomp hard on the man who had destroyed their beautiful lives!

No matter what, nothing was more satisfying than a corpse!

Uchiha Makoto and the members of the Uzumaki Clan silently observed everything around them.

They stood there quietly like a group of bystanders, silently witnessing what was happening before them.

Only after the Uzumaki left did Uchiha Makoto glance at Sanjie, who stood waiting at his side.

"What is it?"

Sanjie bowed and said in a deep voice, "A message from the shrine maiden: today, the Craftsman Ninja Village has betrayed the Land of Demons and joined the Undead Legion. The situation in the Land of Demons is critical. Everyone is to proceed to the Shrine Maiden's Residence at once to discuss matters."

Uchiha Makoto's face darkened at once.

The Craftsman Ninja Village had defected?

Did they not care about their reputation anymore?

Did they still intend to survive in the ninja world?

Why were they making this mission even harder?

"How long will it take to reach the Land of Demons from here?"

"Half a day."

"Pass down the order. From now on, we travel at full speed."

Uchiha Makoto turned and spoke to Sanjie.

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot and raced toward the Land of Demons.

Shrine Maiden's Residence.

Under the cold moonlight, the already spacious courtyard seemed even more silent.

At the center sat a man and a woman.

Their facial features were clearly illuminated by the moonlight, though the woman's expression was somewhat complicated.

Looking at the woman before him, with pale hair tied in a low ponytail reaching her waist and eyes resembling the Byakugan, Uchiha Makoto smiled. "Long time no see, Miroku!"

"It has indeed been a long time, Uchiha Makoto."

Miroku's voice was calm as she poured each of them a cup of tea. Every movement she made was perfectly measured.

A strange glint flashed through Uchiha Makoto's eyes. He felt that the way Miroku looked at him was a little odd, but he could not put his finger on what exactly was strange.

"Enough small talk."

Miroku lightly waved her hand and got to the point.

"I asked you here because there is something important. The Craftsman Ninja Village has now joined the Undead Legion, and we must find a way to deal with it. The leader of the Undead Legion will certainly attack the Land of Demons again soon. We need to be prepared."

Whenever the Undead Legion was mentioned, the furrow between Miroku's brows, as the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons, never eased.

Facing enemies like an endless tide, even she, who knew the Undead Legion's terror well, could only feel helpless.

She had witnessed it with her own eyes while overseeing the battle. The heavily armored puppet soldiers were incredibly difficult to kill. Even after being slain, their corpses would soon transform into new bodies, returning to the Undead Legion as a different kind of nourishment and giving rise to new enemies.

When fighting the Undead Legion, all that mattered was the exchange ratio.

The more numerous and orderly the defensive lines, the better they could leverage their own advantages, inflict greater casualties upon the Undead Legion, and achieve a better casualty exchange ratio.

But now that the Craftsman Ninja Village had defected, morale was low. They were relying entirely on her prophetic abilities to hold on.

Uchiha Makoto frowned slightly. "Who is their leader? How strong are they?"

Miroku shook her head. "We do not know yet, but they are certainly no ordinary opponent. Still, you need not worry. We have other allies as well. I did indeed summon you because I foresaw you, and I hope you can assist us."

Uchiha Makoto nodded. "All right. I'll do my best. But I have a question."

"What is it?"

"I want to know more details about your prophecy concerning me in the national document."

Uchiha Makoto stared intensely at Miroku.

"In the future you saw, how did I defeat Mōryō? Was it some kind of ninjutsu?"

Since she had actively sought him out, it meant that his battle with Mōryō must have played a significant role. Otherwise, Miroku would not have directly used the national document.

"Um... I don't know either."

Miroku's expression grew even more complicated. "I saw you and me inside a mass of blue-violet ribs. I saw you mocking Mōryō, and then that place was reduced to flat ground by you..."

The shrine maiden and Mōryō were two sides of the same entity. She herself possessed immense power.

That was also the source of the shrine maiden's prophetic ability. Yet even if she unleashed all her power, she could only barely suppress Mōryō. It was absolutely impossible for her to erase Mōryō completely.

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Makoto froze, then instantly understood what method he had used to defeat Mōryō.

Susanoo?

"I have some guesses about the scene in that prophecy. Perhaps we can end all of this tomorrow."

Uchiha Makoto smiled confidently.

"Heh! Mere Mōryō—I can take it down in ten moves at most."

"So confident? What if you can't take it down in ten moves?"

"Then I'll just take another ten moves."

Hearing Uchiha Makoto's words, Miroku nodded slightly and could not help but feel relieved.

"No matter what, we must prepare for the worst."

Uchiha Makoto nodded slightly to show that he understood.

The night deepened gradually. A bright moon hung high in the ink-black sky, its cold radiance silently spilling across the earth like the resentment of some woman embittered for a thousand years.

Looking at his ancestor's coffin lid, Uchiha Makoto sipped his tea and said, "Hey, Miroku, tell me about the Craftsman Ninja Village."

"The Craftsman Ninja Village..."

Kikyo looked at Uchiha Makoto, thought for a moment, and began explaining, "The Craftsman Ninja Village has a long history. Since the Warring States era, it has been renowned throughout the ninja world for forging weapons."

"Moreover, it is said that the village chief of the Craftsman Ninja Village possesses a special craft that can grant weapons life, giving them unique abilities!"

"Grant weapons life? And give them special abilities? If that is true, then we must be extremely careful of the weapons they make."

Surprise appeared on Uchiha Makoto's face as well.

"That is not the key issue. The Craftsman Ninja Village's main force, the elite jonin known as the Four Symbols Heavenly Being, has betrayed us. When they fled, they even shouted that all this was to revive their ancestor!"

Miroku explained.

"Revive them? What kind of strength do they have to be thinking about resurrection?"

Uchiha Makoto had been considering how to bring the Craftsman Ninja Village under his command, but the moment he heard the word resurrection, his interest was piqued.

Now just a few elite jonin could emerge from some minor country and start talking about reviving their ancestors?

Since when had resurrection become such a trivial matter?

Did they think they were the Second Hokage, who could seal anything as long as there was water?

Seeing Uchiha Makoto sneer, Miroku teased, "They also said that once their ancestor Seimei returned, they would conquer the Five Great Nations!"

The moment those words were spoken, someone's laughter abruptly stopped, like a goose whose neck had suddenly been grabbed.

The smile on his face instantly froze.

He had laughed too soon!

These elite jonin not only truly had a plan, but they could actually achieve resurrection!