Land of Demons

When Uzumaki Hane woke up, she found herself lying in bed. Looking around the room, everything was unfamiliar. "Where am I?" Uzumaki Hane wondered to herself.

Uzumaki Hane stood up and slowly walked out of the room, only to find that it was a hotel. "Could I have been rescued?" Uzumaki Hane wondered to himself.

Just then, a little girl came from around the corner. Seeing Uzumaki Hane, her eyes crinkled into Uzumaki Hane with laughter. She skipped and hopped over to him, sweetly saying, "Big brother, are you awake?"

Looking at the girl's adorable appearance, Uzumaki Hane couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her long hair, asking, "What's your name? Did you save me?"

The little girl said, "My name is Sayuri. My father saved you. I'm going to tell him now that you're awake, big brother." Then she skipped and hopped away in another direction, and Uzumaki Hane followed.

Uzumaki Hane met the merchant leader, Jidairō, in the courtyard.

Uzumaki Hane said, "I am Uzumaki Yu, a Konoha Ninja from Uzumaki Hane. Thank you so much this time."

With a smile, Jidairō said, "I am Jidairō, a traveling merchant from the Land of Demons. I was on my way to other countries to purchase goods, but I never expected to encounter a battle between ninjas."

"How long have I been unconscious? Where am I now?" asked Uzumaki Hane.

Jidairō said, "You were unconscious for half a day, and now we've arrived in the Land of Demons."

Uzumaki Hane thought to herself, "Perfect timing. I didn't expect to end up in the Land of Demons, that Land of Swamps with volcanoes. I'll go there to train."

After learning about what happened that day from Jidairō, Uzumaki Hane Jidairō said goodbye to him.

Upon arriving on the street, she found it bustling with people. After asking around, Uzumaki Hane obtained the location of the castle where the priestess lived. Uzumaki Hane planned to go and take a look that night.

That night, Uzumaki Hane stood on a cliff, looking down at the palace of the Land of Demons. There were a large number of soldiers patrolling inside, but this was no problem for Uzumaki Hane, Uzumaki Hane easily sneaked into the palace.

After infiltrating the palace, Uzumaki Hane avoided the soldiers and sneaked into a room located in the very center of the palace. The room was very luxurious and was very likely the room of the priestess of the Land of Demons.

Uzumaki Hane looked around and arrived at the bedroom. She gently pulled back the light gauze curtain and saw a beautifully sculpted little girl fast asleep. She must be Shion, the priestess of the Land of Demons.

Uzumaki Hane was about to go up and wake her up to ask about the location of the volcano in the Land of Swamps.

At that moment, a wind chime beside her tinkled without any wind and emitted a faint glow. The priestess suddenly opened her eyes, Uzumaki Hane could clearly see a mysterious pattern appear in them. Uzumaki Hane thought to herself, "Is this the priestess's precognitive ability?"

Shion felt as if she had just woken from a terrible nightmare. If it were just a nightmare, everything would be alright once she woke up. But this meant that another person close to her was going to die for her, and she was filled with grief.

However, she forcibly reminded herself that she could not cry, otherwise it would be a desecration of that person. She could only bear it silently in her heart, which was her fate as a priestess.

Suddenly, a voice came from the side. "Why don't you cry? Crying will make you feel better." It was Uzumaki Hane who spoke.

Shion said firmly, "I can't cry..." Then she came to her senses. This was her dormitory, and it was still the middle of the night. Why was there someone else? She quickly looked in the direction from which the sound came and saw a red-haired boy standing there.

Shion shouted, "Who are you? What do you want? Are you here to kill me?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "Don't misunderstand, I just had something I wanted to ask you."

Shion, naturally, looked at Uzumaki Hane with disbelief and wariness, looking for an opportunity to call for help.

Looking at Shion's expression, Uzumaki Hane Yu didn't know how to explain.

Just then, shouts of battle came from outside.

"Guards! An intruder has broken in!"

"Stop him!"

"Ah... ah..."

"Quickly protect Lady Shion!"

"Don't let him get close."

The sounds of fighting and shouting continued, and then, bang, someone burst into the room.

Shion looked coldly at the newcomers, but showed no fear. Then she looked at Uzumaki Hane and asked, "Who exactly are you people?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "I don't know him."

The intruder saw Uzumaki Hane and, not expecting there to be another person in the room, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. Shuriken, which he then shot out. Uzumaki Hane looked somewhat surprised, as the intruder's Shuriken had a wind attribute, appearing in front of Uzumaki Hane in the blink of an eye.

Uzumaki Hane produced a Kunai in his right hand and held it in front of him, deflecting the Shuriken with a clang. However, Uzumaki Hane noticed that there was a notch in his Kunai.

With a flick of her right hand, Uzumaki Hane launched Kunai. The intruder produced several Shuriken and shot them out. Shuriken blocked Uzumaki Hane's Kunai, while the other two Shuriken shot towards Shion.

Uzumaki Hane flashed and appeared in front of Shion, grabbing the two Shuriken with both hands.

A look of disdain flashed in the intruder's eyes. He actually tried to block the Shuriken with his bare hands, even though his Shuriken had been imbued with wind attribute transformation and could cut through steel.

Shion followed behind, a look of worry flashing in her eyes. She was a person with a cold exterior but a warm heart, but the fate of a priestess forced her to hide her sadness in her heart. In addition, being feared by the people made her seem somewhat willful and capricious.

With Uzumaki Hane Yu transformed her hands into lava, swallowing the two Shuriken in one swift motion. Then, with a wave of her hands, two crimson Shuriken shot towards the intruder, their speed comparable to the previous Shuriken.

The intruder's expression turned grim. He performed several backflips, his feet covered in Chakra, and stuck to the wall, dodging the Shuriken.

At that moment, Taruho rushed in with her guards, calling out, "Lady Shion, are you alright?"

Seeing the guards enter and Uzumaki Hane present, the intruder knew he had no chance today and escaped through the window. Uzumaki Hane watched the intruder leave but did not chase after him. If he wasn't mistaken, the intruder should be one of Yomi's subordinates, Setsuna, who was skilled in Wind Release and Water Release.

The soldiers ignored the fleeing invaders and instead surrounded Uzumaki Hane. Taruho stood in front of Shion, shouting at Uzumaki Hane, "Who are you?"

Shion said, "Taruho, stop! He's a guard I hired."

"Lady Shion," said Taruho. "I've never heard of this."

Shion said, "Taruho..."

Seeing Shion's resolute expression, Taruho had no choice but to agree, saying to Uzumaki Hane, "If you dare to harm Lady Shion, I will not let you off." Uzumaki Hane had a rather favorable impression of Taruho, who was willing to die for Shion, and said, "Don't worry, I won't hurt her."