Reinforcements

Uzumaki Hane looked at the deep lava pit, where countless lava rocks were still emitting hot smoke. The three people, Fudō, had disappeared, presumably melted by the lava.

Uzumaki Hane turned around abruptly, preparing to leave. A puddle of water on the ground began to move, slowly following Uzumaki Hane. Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane turned her head, staring intently at the puddle of water, and said, "Come out, I've found you." Shūri's head emerged from the puddle of water, looking at Uzumaki Hane, and said, "How did you find me?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "Under the high temperature of my lava, there's still a puddle of water that hasn't evaporated. Don't you find that strange?" As he spoke, a murderous intent flashed in Uzumaki Hane's eyes, and he directly spewed out a ball of lava, enveloping the water that Shūri had transformed into. Shūri screamed, "No..." and was instantly evaporated.

Having dealt with Shūri, Uzumaki Hane turned and left, returning to the palace through the secret passage.

Inside the palace, Shion paced back and forth in the main hall, her face filled with anxiety. She kept glancing towards the secret passage, trying to see if Uzumaki Hane had returned. When she saw Uzumaki Hane emerge from the passage, Shion cried out in surprise, threw herself into Uzumaki Hane's arms, and burst into tears.

Uzumaki Hane patted her back affectionately and said, "It's alright, it's nothing. I've taken care of them. I was careless this time; I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly."

Shion shook her head and said, "It's good that you're alright."

Remembering Taruho's injuries, Uzumaki Hane Yu placed her hands on Ashiho's shoulders, pushed Shion away, and asked, "Shion, is Taruho alright?"

A hint of sadness flashed in Shion's eyes as she said, "It's alright. Although Taruho was seriously injured, her life is not in danger, and she's resting in her room now."

Uzumaki Hane said in a deep voice, "It's good that you're alright, but the problem is serious now. When I arrived at the ancestral hall, the guards had already been killed, and the seal inside had been broken. The Moryo should have escaped."

Shion's expression was also grave. She said, "I already know. Moryo, leading the awakened Ghost Army, has broken through the border defenses and is heading towards the ancestral temple of the Land of Swamps. If they break the seal and seize my body, it will be too late."

Uzumaki Hane said, "What should we do? Are you going to the ancestral shrine to seal the Moryo?" Uzumaki Hane knew that the so-called seal was when the priestess sacrificed herself and merged with the Moryo, so that Shion would also die. Uzumaki Hane naturally wouldn't let that happen. Although she wasn't very confident, Uzumaki Hane still wanted to fight the Moryo.

Upon hearing Uzumaki Hane's question, Shion firmly replied, "That's right, I will go and seal away the Moryo; it is my destiny."

Uzumaki Hane Yu immediately said, "I'll go with you too."

Upon hearing this, Shion recalled the premonition she had last night, which took place at the ancestral shrine in the Land of Swamps. She knew that if Uzumaki Hane went there, she would be killed by the Moryo, just like in the premonition. She hurriedly objected, "No, you can't go this time."

Uzumaki Hane knew what Shion was thinking and said, "It's because of your prophecy. I said I wouldn't die so easily, and if I don't go with you, how will you break through the Ghost Army of the Moryo alone?" Actually Uzumaki Hane knew that because the Moryo and Shion were one, the Moryo couldn't harm her, but Uzumaki Hane planned to meet the Moryo, so she naturally wouldn't say it.

Shion said, "I have entrusted all the ninja villages with this information, and I expect they will soon send ninjas to assist me in reaching the Sealing Shrine."

Uzumaki Hane smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I won't die easily. If your prophecy and your priestess mission are both destiny, then I will break that destiny." Uzumaki Hane's face was full of determination as she looked at Shion.

The image of Uzumaki Hane being pierced by the tentacles of the Moryo kept flashing through Shion's mind. She said resolutely, "No, you absolutely cannot come along. I won't allow you to come along."

Uzumaki Hane reached out his right hand and stroked her soft, long hair, saying, "Don't worry, I will break your destiny." His words were resolute.

Looking at Uzumaki Hane's determined eyes, Shion muttered, "It's precisely because it can't be broken that it's called destiny." However, Uzumaki Hane could sense that Shion's attitude had softened.

"Let's set off now," said Uzumaki Hane. "We can't waste any time."

Shion said, "Wait, let's wait for the ninjas from other countries to arrive. We can't possibly withstand so many Ghost Army."

The two waited in the palace for half a day, and news kept coming in that ninjas from the ninja village were appearing one after another to deal with the Ghost Army. However, the Ghost Army was too troublesome, and they could not stop the enemy's advance at all.

At that moment, a soldier reported that a ninja from Konoha Ninja Village was requesting an audience. Shion knew that Uzumaki Hane was also from Konoha, so she immediately summoned him. Might Guy walked in with Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten.

Uzumaki Hane greeted the others, "Teacher Kaido, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, it's been a long time!"

Might Guy was surprised to see Uzumaki Hane here and excitedly said, "Yu, it's been a long time! Aren't you going to leave the village to train? What are you doing here?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "I've been training here all this time, and I never expected to encounter the escaped Moryo. It seems we'll have to fight side by side this time, Teacher Kaido."

Upon hearing this, Might Guy immediately burst into tears. Then, he gave a thumbs up, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, and said, "Yu, I never expected to meet you here. We'll even be fighting side by side. What a thrilling encounter!"

Behind him, Rock Lee gave a thumbs-up, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and said, "What a thrilling encounter!"

Uzumaki Hane, Neji, Tenten all had black lines appearing on their foreheads.

Shion's lips twitched slightly as she asked, "And who are these people...?"

Uzumaki Hane pointed at Might Guy and said, "This is Might Guy, Jonin from Konoha Ninja Village, who once guided my training." He then pointed to Neji, saying, "This is Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten." Finally, pointing to Shion, he said, "This is Shion, the Shion of the Land of Demons."

Might Guy said, "We're here to protect the priestess, to escort her to the Sealing Shrine to seal the Moryo." Uzumaki Hane remembered that Naruto had come along in the original story, but the plot has moved forward now. It seems that Neji hasn't become Jonin yet, and Naruto should still be training with Jiraiya.

Uzumaki Hane said, "I've dealt with the people sent by the Moryo. Now we plan to go to the Sealing Shrine to stop the Moryo from obtaining my body and to reseal him. Since you've arrived, let's set off now."

"No problem," Might Guy said. "We can set off now."

So the group protected the priestess and hurried toward the Sealing Shrine.