Shion

In the Land of Demons, within the Shrine Maidens' Palace complex, Shion sat regally in the main seat, her small face tense, handling a mountain of tasks, while Taruho assisted her from the side.

Gozu leaped through the crowd, quickly reaching the plaza in front of the witch's palace, where the soldiers were powerless to stop him. The soldiers shouted and swarmed around him. Gozu yelled, grabbed a soldier, and used him as a weapon, smashing him around in all directions. With a single blow, he felled several soldiers, quickly clearing the area.

At this moment, Shion was disturbed by the noise outside and said angrily, "Taruho, go out and see what's going on outside. Why is it so noisy?"

Just then, a soldier rushed in, shouting, "Something terrible has happened, Lady Shion! An intruder has broken in!"

"Calm down! Who are these intruders?" Taruho shouted.

Upon hearing about the intruders, Shion, who had been busy and exhausted all day, immediately became excited and asked, "Who are the intruders outside?" She jumped up, eager to go out and see. Now that Shion possessed the power of a priestess, coupled with her recent training, her strength had undergone a tremendous transformation. Shion had been hoping for an intruder to appear so she could test her current power, and since the intruders had appeared so quickly, she naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

Taruho stepped in front of Shion, saying, "Lady Shion, no, there are intruders outside. It's too dangerous for you to go out now." Although she knew that Shion was now stronger than herself, she had always protected Shion since childhood and was still somewhat worried.

Shion comforted her, "Taruho, don't worry, I'll show you my strength right now." Taruho then walked out. Seeing Shion's confident eyes, Ashiho was still a little worried, but she didn't stop Shion and followed her.

As Shion walked out of the palace with her Taruho, she saw a burly man smashing down the soldiers who had surrounded him with punch after punch, and had already broken into the center of the square.

Shion looked at the burly man, guessing he must be the invader. Seeing her soldiers so useless, she felt a surge of anger, thinking that after this period, she would definitely have Taruho give them a good beating. However, Shion was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see them continue to get hurt, so she shouted, "Stop!"

Upon hearing Shion's words, all the soldiers stopped fighting, but they warily surrounded Gozu.

Gozu looked at Shion, who was standing in the second-floor corridor, and said, "You are the priestess of the Land of Demons?"

Shion said with great interest, "That's right, I am the priestess of the Land of Demons, intruder. Who are you, and why have you broken into my palace?" Clearly, all of this was new and exciting to her. Shion thought to herself, "You've always risked your lives to protect me; today, let me protect you."

Gozu said in a muffled voice, "My name is Gozu. I'm here on Lady Guren's orders to take you back." After saying that, he rushed towards Shion. The soldiers in front were prepared and also rushed forward, but they were directly smashed away by Gozu.

Without hesitation, the soldiers shouted, "Protect Lady Shion!" and charged forward with determined eyes. Soon, more than a dozen fell. Although this could surely wear down Gozu, Shion couldn't bear to do so. She cried out, "Stop! All of you, step aside! Let him come over here. I'll deal with him!"

Although the soldiers stopped firing, they hesitated and dared not move aside.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gozu shoved the soldier aside, rushed up to the second floor, and charged towards Shion.

Seeing this, Shion was eager to try, her Chakra surged, her clothes moved without wind, and a mysterious pattern appeared under her feet, emitting a purple, crystalline halo.

Shion slowly chanted the incantation. When Gozu rushed to within ten meters of Shion, she pointed at Gozu, and a mysterious pattern appeared beneath Gozu, radiating a crystalline light. Gozu's momentum was halted, and then the light flowed Gozu his body. Gozu exclaimed in astonishment, "What is this?" He felt as if his entire body was bound by something, and he struggled desperately, but he couldn't break free. When all the light had entered Gozu's body, Gozu found himself unable to move and collapsed to the ground.

The soldiers stared at Shion in shock, then erupted into a huge cheer, a noisy commotion that Shion could vaguely hear:

"The priestess actually defeated the invaders..."

"That's really amazing!"

"The priestess is amazing!"

"Long live the Priestess!"

Hearing everyone's praise, Shion revealed a smug expression and said to Taruho, "Taruho, you arrange for everyone to clean up the battlefield, and then bring the intruder in. I want to interrogate him personally." Then she quickly walked into the main hall.

Taruho replied, "Yes, Lady Shion." In her heart, however, she thought, "Lady Shion has truly grown up." She then ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and led Gozu into the palace.

Shion sat regally in the main seat, a smug expression on her face. Seeing Taruho enter with Gozu, Shion said, "Taruho, what do you think Uzumaki Hane's expression will be if he knows I defeated the invaders?"

Taruho then tossed Gozu onto the main hall floor, and looking at the smug Shion, Taruho smiled and said, "Lady Shion, if Uzumaki Hane knew you defeated the invaders, she would be very shocked and would praise you greatly."

Shion wore a strange expression, clearly imagining Uzumaki Hane's shocked expression upon learning of this. Hearing Taruho say that Uzumaki Hane would praise her, her face hardened, and she scoffed, "I don't want his praise."

However, the thought of Uzumaki Hane leaving without taking her with her, and not knowing when she would return, left her with a puzzled expression.

Taruho said, "Lady Shion, I will send someone to the crater to inform Uzumaki Hane of what happened here and to notify him to return."

Shion immediately flew into a rage and said, "Why did you tell him about this?"

Taruho said, "Lady Shion, the other party might be targeting Uzumaki Hane. If we inform him, he can take precautions."

Upon hearing this, Shion said, "It wouldn't be good if he got hurt. Then you're allowed to inform Uzumaki Hane about this and tell him to come back." Shion spoke, her eyes were full of joy.

Taruho smiled meaningfully and said, "Yes, Lady Shion."

Seeing the smile on Taruho's face, Shion snapped, "Taruho, what are you laughing at?"

"Because Lady Shion looks very happy," said Taruho. "Lady Shion hasn't been this happy in a long time since Uzumaki Hane left."

Shion immediately retorted, "I'm not happy that Uzumaki Hane is coming back. Alright, let's interrogate this intruder properly and see what information we can get?" Seeing that Taruho was still smiling at her, Shion quickly changed the subject.