Moryo raged in impotent fury.
No matter how fiercely it struggled, it couldn't break free from its bindings.
At first, it had still roared a couple times, but even that was muffled by the vines stuffing its mouth, reducing it to pitiful whimpering sounds.
Shion's face slightly flushed as she withdrew her gaze.
The current state of Moryo was... not exactly suitable for children.
She let out a deep breath, feeling significantly more at ease.
In this state, she wouldn't have to sacrifice her life to seal it away anymore, would she?
She just didn't know how Natsume would handle things next.
She—or rather, all priestesses across generations—knew that Moryo could never truly be killed.
But regardless, at least for now, everything was safe.
Meanwhile, the guards around her all wore dazed expressions, clearly lacking world experience.
Actually, this was indeed the case.
The Land of Demons was far too remote.
They knew almost nothing about many matters.
In their understanding, they truly believed Moryo was invincible.
Even though Natsume was the Hokage, he had yet to earn their trust.
But now, with facts laid bare before them, they could only stare in shock, forced to rebuild their entire worldview.
Natsume stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Wood Release could subdue Moryo, but due to its unique constitution, killing it was impossible.
The best approach, naturally, would be using a sealing technique.
Same as how they dealt with Satori—the monster inside the Box of Supreme Bliss—previously.
Though back then, Kaguya Otsutsuki wasn't around, hence that method was used.
Now, things wouldn't need to be so complicated.
Natsume leaned closer to her, glancing at her refined, icy face. In Amenominaka, he had mentally drawn all over her image.
"Kaguya, help me compress Moryo into pure energy form."
He spoke softly.
Kaguya Otsutsuki raised her hand, and a black sphere erupted from her palm.
Immediately, Moryo, bound tightly by branches and vines, thrashed violently.
A sense of danger unlike anything before surged from deep inside it, spreading throughout its body, causing chills down its spine.
But its struggles were useless.
The black sphere expanded, enveloping Moryo completely.
The outer layer of vines and branches disintegrated first, vanishing into nothingness.
Natsume raised an eyebrow.
As a Wood Release user, he clearly understood what had happened to them.
Needless to say, Kaguya Otsutsuki's power was terrifying.
Moryo began dissolving gradually.
Pure spiritual energy spilled into the air.
Under Kaguya Otsutsuki's control, the essence rapidly condensed and coalesced.
She lowered her head, grasped Natsume's wrist, and placed the translucent soul gem into his palm.
Though her expression didn't change, Natsume could still feel her tenderness—and that subtle, lingering scent.
He'd studied it before—it wasn't perfume. It was just the natural scent of Kaguya Otsutsuki's soft, fair skin.
Aliens really were something else.
"Thank you."
Natsume pocketed the soul gem.
Based on Kaguya Otsutsuki's former personality, such an energy-rich item would absolutely never have been given to someone else.
After all, it could be transformed into Chakra.
This meant one thing: Natsume was no longer an outsider—he was "family."
"S-so… something that big… h-how did it vanish?!"
Shion immediately widened her eyes, gesturing wildly with both hands.
That brief minute had been beyond description for her.
Every miko, once old enough to understand, was taught how terrifying Moryo truly was—that upon revival, one must sacrifice their life to reseal it.
In short, Moryo had haunted Shion her entire life.
Even after Natsume captured it with Wood Release, she had assumed he would seal it—not kill it.
But in the blink of an eye, Moryo had completely vanished from the ninja world.
As Shion and Moryo shared the same origin, she could feel its life and death.
This sent her into an even deeper shock.
"Congratulations. You don't have to worry about it anymore."
Natsume smiled slightly.
Shion instinctively let go of his hands, stood frozen for a moment, then snapped back to reality, her eyes quickly welling up.
She ran to Natsume, threw her arms around him, and said through tearful eyes, "Thank you!"
"We're family. No need to be so polite."
Natsume hesitated briefly, fully understanding Shion's reaction.
After all, she'd spent her whole life under Moryo's threat.
Now that it was gone, she naturally felt relieved.
At the same time, this act had also avenged Miroku, her mother.
After a short while, Shion released him, wiped away her tears, and blushed slightly.
"Hinata, give your Banishing Bow to your teacher."
Natsume turned his gaze toward Hinata Hyuga.
Because there were too many Terracotta Warriors, she had continued shooting arrows nonstop until now.
Her small face had turned pale, sweat lined her forehead, and her movements had slowed considerably.
Given her age, she'd clearly hit her limit.
But she kept going, not wanting to disappoint Natsume.
At his words, Hinata stopped at once.
She took a step forward, but her legs suddenly gave out, nearly causing her to collapse.
Natsume caught her just in time and carefully took the Banishing Bow from her hands.
"You stubborn thing, why do you always push yourself too hard?"
He reached out and wiped the sweat from Hinata's face.
The cool touch made her shiver slightly as she looked down, clearly embarrassed.
Kaguya Otsutsuki took the Banishing Bow and casually drew it back.
The bow trembled violently as countless arrowheads burst forth at once, wiping out the remaining Terracotta Warriors in an instant.
A massive surge of visible energy roared toward the Banishing Bow.
Shion felt like her worldview shattered yet again.
Could that ninja, Shinguji, even be human?
Really, was there a human capable of such terrifying power?
Natsume handed the Banishing Bow back to Hinata.
"Kaguya, aside from Shion, erase everyone else's memories."
Since Shion was one of them, it didn't matter much.
As for the guards, however, things were far more complicated.
After all, ninjas had many techniques.
For now, Natsume didn't want Kaguya Otsutsuki's existence revealed.
With that, the grand show he had orchestrated came to an end.
To the public, Shion announced that Moryo had once again been sealed by Natsume's Wood Release.
As for Kaguya Otsutsuki? Not mentioned at all.
Two days passed.
Inside the miko's main hall in the Land of Demons.
"Shion, meet Yukie Kazahana, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow."
Natsume pointed at Yukie Kazahana, who had just arrived. "From now on, she will be in charge of the cooperation between our two countries."
"Hmm."
Shion nodded and said, "Thank you, Sister Yukie."
Although she controlled the Land of Demons, aside from sealing Moryo, she knew little else.
Yukie Kazahana had matured greatly over the years under Natsume's guidance. She had a strong grasp of economics, so rebuilding the Land of Demons wouldn't be a big problem for her.
"It's fine."
Yukie smiled gently. She had naturally heard about Shion's status as a Daimyo. But she never expected that one day they would address each other as sisters. It was rather amusing.
Thinking about this, Yukie glanced unconsciously at Natsume. However, her furtive glance was noticed. Her beautiful face immediately flushed slightly.
Natsume paused briefly. Although this flower was very charming, he wasn't in the mood to dwell on it now. Mainly because he had been through hell with Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Noticing her expression, Shion glanced sideways and got a rough idea of her feelings. Looks like we'll have something to talk about.
The brief meeting ended soon. Natsume didn't stay any longer and planned to return. As for Kaguya Otsutsuki and Hinata Hyuga, they had already left two days ago.
At the palace entrance, Natsume gave Yukie a few instructions. The Land of Demons was an untapped nation, rich in natural resources. Therefore, what needed to be done was straightforward: first, build roads; second, mine minerals. As for other resources, they could be handled gradually.
"Any questions?" After finishing his explanation, Natsume looked at her and asked.
Yukie shook her head.
"Then I—"
Before Natsume could finish, his words were cut off. Yukie rose on tiptoe and wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, her face and the back of her ears blushing crimson. Her lips met his in a firm kiss.
After a while, she let go. Lowering her head, too embarrassed to meet his gaze, Yukie whispered softly, "Goodbye." Then she turned and ran away.
Natsume was somewhat surprised—he hadn't expected her to be so bold. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. If he wasn't mistaken, Yukie Kazahana had already turned eighteen this year. He shook his head, deciding to leave things to fate. Recently, he had to repay Kaguya Otsutsuki's debt first.
Activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, Natsume returned to Konoha Village.
"Natsume, you're back—" Kurenai Yuhi, seated on the sofa, immediately stood up—but stopped mid-sentence.
"Miss Kurenai, what's wrong?" Natsume blinked and asked.
The smile on Kurenai's lips froze as she hesitated internally. Because she saw the red mark on Natsume's lip. As a Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Yukie usually wore heavy makeup according to tradition. Kurenai instantly jumped to the wrong conclusion. But thinking carefully, it wasn't unexpected. It was only natural that someone like him would attract girls. But she didn't intend to give up because of this.
Approaching him, Kurenai reached out, her fingertip gently tracing his lips. "There's some lipstick. If others see it, it might not be good."
She withdrew her hand and offered a faint smile.
"Thank you."
Natsume felt slightly embarrassed, but not that much. He subconsciously believed Kurenai Yuhi wouldn't—or couldn't—go around spreading this. She was quite traditional as a ninja.
"Natsume, I've finished writing the mission report for the Land of Demons this time."
Kurenai Yuhi pulled out a document and handed it to him. Naturally, Kaguya Otsutsuki wasn't mentioned in it. Instead, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were added.
Hmph. The Hokage is cheating openly. No helping it either—Konoha, the judges, and all the ninja are his people. Even the client, Shion, is on his side. How could anyone stand against him?
Leaning back, Natsume began reading the report. As always, Kurenai Yuhi's work was top-notch, leaving no room for criticism.
"That'll do. Very well written."
Natsume nodded approvingly. "Sister Kurenai, I feel like this Hokage can't seem to get by without you anymore."
"Mm."
Kurenai Yuhi smiled slightly. "As the Hokage's secretary, I naturally won't abandon my post."
She bent over to pick up the documents, accidentally flashing some skin. Natsume shamelessly took a peek.
Kurenai Yuhi didn't react angrily. Instead, she reached into her folder and pulled out another intelligence report and handed it to him.
It was about Danzo Shimura.
According to the report, he had been captured by Kumogakure, and his current status was still unknown.
[Because of your actions, the destinies of Moryo, Shion, Yukie Kazahana, Kurenai Yuhi, Hidan, and Kakuzu have changed. You have gained a total of two hundred and twenty destiny points.]
Natsume paused briefly, casting a meaningful glance at Kurenai Yuhi in front of him.
Didn't expect you'd be mixed up in this too.
What brought this about?
[Three thousand words.]
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