Complex patterns spun within her pupils...
Forming a dazzling array of designs...
"!"
The priestess awoke.
She found herself lying on the bedding.
The sky was only just beginning to brighten, and her daughter was still sound asleep.
"That was just now..."
The priestess quickly realized: she had just experienced a prophetic dream.
The last time she had such a dream was before coming to Konoha. She foresaw her husband becoming the Jinchūriki of Mōryō and attempting to use her powers to conquer the world. To avoid that future, she accepted the proposal from the Konoha shinobi.
And this time...
As she recalled the vision, her expression turned to sheer terror.
Impossible.
How could this be!?
In the future she had just foreseen, Naruto — whom she regarded as a kind-hearted soul — had...
It was something the priestess couldn't even bring herself to imagine.
She instinctively wondered if something had gone wrong.
But the flawless accuracy of her "Future Sight" proved it was no mere illusion.
The priestess knew all too well the difference between a dream and a prophetic vision.
"Shion..."
She looked at her peacefully sleeping daughter beside her.
Her sleeping face was adorable.
"Naruto..."
Shion unconsciously murmured in her sleep, and the priestess's expression grew even more alarmed.
The vision of the future was true.
Which meant... it was going to happen.
No — she just needed to avoid it.
Just like she had once avoided her husband's future.
But deep down, the priestess already knew the answer.
Her prophetic ability was absolute.
If it wasn't, it would mean her fate had already changed.
For instance, if the priestess was destined to die at a certain time, and she didn't, it meant someone else had died in her place — sacrificing themselves to alter her fate.
Generations of priestesses had relied on this cursed ability to constantly shift and delay their destined fate —
Until the final moment where they would sacrifice themselves to seal Mōryō.
By fleeing from the Land of Demons, she had altered that original fate. But if that escape hadn't involved guards dying to protect her...
Heaven's punishment would come.
The priestess realized it:
This was the consequence of once again defying fate.
That's where the problem lay.
If she had stayed in the Land of Demons and perished alongside her husband, this wouldn't have happened.
But of course, it was too late for regrets.
All she could do now was try to avoid the future she had seen.
She hurriedly got up and woke her still-sleeping daughter.
"Shion... Shion..."
She nudged her gently, and Shion quickly woke up.
"Mom... I still want to play with Naruto..." Shion muttered in her sleep as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Get up. It's time for training,"
The priestess said firmly, her tone slightly strict.
Though confused, Shion obediently complied.
As Shion went to freshen up, the priestess let out a breath of relief.
She planned to leave the dormitory with her daughter and head outside — preferably straight to the Hokage's office to seek protection.
...
"Good morning, Priestess-sama."
Uchiha Shisui and others guarding the mountain gate greeted her politely.
"I need to see the Hokage urgently,"
The priestess replied with a grim expression.
Shisui and the others nodded and immediately took action.
Their path down the mountain was unimpeded.
As they made their way along the morning trail and finally reached the front of the Hokage's building, the priestess finally let out a sigh of relief.
"At last..."
All she needed now was to step inside and receive protection — then that future could be avoided.
However, she had no idea...
That Hyūga Aoba had already seen her movements...
And had relayed this information to Naruto himself.
"Hm..."
Naruto sat in a chair, pondering why the priestess would suddenly go to the Hokage's office —
Especially with Shisui and the others in tow.
"Could it be..."
His eyes lit up as he pieced together clues from Natsu's report.
"Heh... interesting."
Naruto stood, ready to make use of his special connections.
...
Inside the Hokage building.
The priestess and her daughter were waiting in a resting room. She had just begun to relax.
Then — an elderly man entered, leaning on a cane.
"What brings you here so early in the morning, Lady Priestess?"
Danzō asked with a calm but clearly pressuring tone.
His sudden appearance caught the priestess off guard.
But she quickly gathered herself.
"Lord Danzō, this morning... my prophetic powers activated."
She explained the essential parts:
That the Daimyō of the Land of Demons would soon be arriving.
"Oh? Then we must ensure that the priestess is well protected..."
At Danzō's orders, the priestess was escorted out of the resting room.
Though uneasy, she couldn't tell what Danzō was planning.
In the end, his subordinates and Uchiha Shisui's squad escorted her to the Sarutobi clan's ancestral estate —
Also the priestess's temporary lodging.
The place was secured with a full detail:
The Uchiha Police Force, elite Konoha squads, and Root operatives.
With such thorough protection, not even a mosquito could get in.
"Thank you all for your efforts..."
The priestess nodded politely to Shisui and the others.
Then she stepped into the building.
The moment she did, Danzō's men immediately stood guard at the entrance like gatekeepers.
Shisui was suspicious — unsure of Danzō's true intentions —
But since Danzō was actively protecting the priestess, he had no reason to object.
Click.
Two Root ninja kindly closed the door behind her.
However...
Inside — reality struck.
The moment the priestess entered, her breath caught.
Because there, seated where she was supposed to be —
Was Naruto Uzumaki.
"What... is going on..."
Her mind couldn't even begin to react.
Naruto spoke:
"Aunt Priestess, if you've seen the future... then you already know what's going to happen, don't you?"
Beside them, Uzuki Yugao discreetly came over and took Shion away.
"???"
Shion looked back in confusion as she was led out, Naruto giving her a friendly wave.
Once she was gone,
Naruto grinned —
And under the priestess's horrified gaze, pulled out a rope...
Seeing the future?
Heh.
I, Naruto Uzumaki, know the whole plot.
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