The sudden voice startled everyone, but surprise quickly gave way to delight. It belonged to Kazemori Masaki, whose return Tsunade and the others had been eagerly awaiting.
Kazemori Masaki stood in the doorway, looking over the group. His gaze settled on Miroku, a trace of surprise in his eyes. He already knew that the Land of Demons had preserved much of Ninshu's tradition, but he had not expected even the original way of using chakra to survive.
He had heard that, because of their traditions, the people of the Land of Demons did not use chakra the way samurai and ninja did. Yet changing times had forced them to compromise somewhat and begin learning the nature transformation of Yin Release. Now, however, it appeared that the Shrine Maiden still practiced the traditional methods.
Perhaps their exalted status meant that Shrine Maidens never needed to fight enemies, so they had never learned combat ninjutsu. That would explain why the original use of chakra had survived to this day. Of course, there were probably still some differences from the chakra used by Ninshu in the past.
Regardless, the shrine maidens of the Land of Demons could have an enormous influence on Ninshu's revival. Kazemori Masaki could imagine the role they might play in that movement. For that very reason, he intended to establish friendly relations with the Land of Demons, including in the future affairs of the shinobi world.
"Kazemori, you're finally back! What took you so long?" Tsunade asked hurriedly, letting out a relieved breath.
Returning from his thoughts, Kazemori Masaki gave a somewhat apologetic smile. "The enemy proved a little troublesome. Getting detailed information took quite a bit of work."
"So the enemies really are ninja," Heizo Hattori said, immediately catching his implication.
"It seems you guessed. Yes, they're ninja."