They all looked at her strangely.
"What's with you?"
Being stared at by so many eyes all at once, Kushina immediately looked a little flustered.
"Are you constipated or something?"
As for Shiki, he said it without the slightest mercy.
"Huh?"
Kushina nearly exploded on the spot.
No matter what, she was still a girl.
Was that really how he talked to girls?
"Then if you're not constipated, what were you thinking about just now?"
"..."
How was she even supposed to answer that?
Was she seriously supposed to say, I was just wondering whether I could be friends with you or not?
What kind of ridiculous joke was that?
Usually, Kushina could laugh things off and act carefree, but when it came to something like this, there was no way she wouldn't feel embarrassed.
"No, it's nothing!"
She shook her head decisively, making it clear that she had just been thinking about nothing at all.
Kurama gave Kushina a suspicious glance.
With Shiki's Observation Haki pushed to the limit, he had a certain ability to pick up on what others were thinking. Still, he rarely ever used it. To him, if he already knew everything before it happened, then life would lose all its fun.
So he simply turned his head and looked back toward the courtyard.
"Phew..."
Seeing that Shiki's attention was no longer on her, Kushina let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But not long after that, another feeling rose in her heart.
She felt slightly bothered.
Usually, whether it was Tsunade or Kurenai Yūhi, Shiki was always patient with them. Even his tone would soften.
But when it came to her, he didn't even bother asking further.
That made Kushina strangely bothered.
Women really were troublesome.
"What about the priestess?! Where is the priestess of the Land of Demons?! Tell her to come out and die, or I'll wipe out this entire country!"
From within the smoke and dust came Koharu's arrogant shout.
Wrapped in the chakra of the Moryo, Koharu's entire figure looked like some demon crawling out of hell itself.
The sight of her was terrifying.
"How dare you!"
"You dare disturb Lady Priestess?!"
"For Lady Priestess!"
To the people of the Land of Demons, the priestess was their sovereign, their protector, the one they would never allow to be harmed.
With furious cries, they gripped their weapons and charged toward Koharu.
"Hmph. Suicidal fools."
Not long after obtaining this new power, Koharu's mindset had already completely inflated. She carried herself like she stood above the world itself.
So even when facing the people of the Land of Demons rushing at her in great numbers, her eyes and tone remained full of contempt.
Her hands quickly formed seals.
As a former elite jōnin and once a student of the Second Hokage, Koharu still possessed quite a few ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Fire Spiral Chain!"
Blazing flames erupted out, twisting into chain-like forms as they swept violently in all directions.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
These people were just ordinary civilians to begin with.
Once struck by those flaming chains, the result was obvious—if they didn't die, they would at least be maimed.
"Hahaha!"
That sight only made Koharu even more arrogant.
"It's just the Land of Demons. With my current power, even Konoha—"
Shiki almost laughed.
She was putting on this act a little too hard.
At the same time, Koharu's arrogant voice continued to ring out.
"Hand over the priestess at once, or I'll destroy your entire country!"
Right now, Koharu only wanted one thing—to kill the priestess of the Land of Demons as quickly as possible so she could gain even greater power from Mōryō.
"Impossible!"
"We will never hand Lady Priestess over to you!"
"If you can do it, then kill us all!"
"..."
The Land of Demons might be a small country, but very few of its people feared death.
Even in the face of Koharu like this, not a single one of them gave in.
"Everyone..."
Shion's eyes reddened with emotion as she stepped forward.
As the priestess, she could not just stand there and watch her people fall one after another.
If sacrificing her own life could save so many citizens of the Land of Demons, then to Shion, that trade was worth it.
"Lady Priestess!"
Ashiho wanted to stop her, but Shion paid her no mind at all.
Just as Shion was about to step forward, Shiki raised a hand and stopped her.
"Shiki-sama! I am the priestess of the Land of Demons. Please, let me go—"
"Don't be stupid."
Before she could finish, Shiki lifted his hand and flicked her lightly on the forehead.
"Huh?"
Shion's determined expression instantly turned blank from the unexpected gesture.
"Leave it to me."
A faint smile appeared on Shiki's face.
There was no way he was going to just stand there and watch Shion disappear like this.
"...Mm."
Shiki's words seemed to carry a strange kind of reassurance.
The unease in Shion's heart gradually settled down.
It felt as though, as long as Shiki was here, nothing bad would happen.
"Tch."
At the side, Kushina couldn't help rolling her eyes when she saw that.
She obviously felt bad for Shion too.
But seeing how gently Shiki treated Shion made Kushina feel strangely warm inside.
Seeing the two of them like that, she couldn't help but smile too.
So this guy does know how to be gentle when it counts...
And here I was thinking he was nothing but a brute.
Shiki didn't notice the small, satisfied smile on Kushina's face at all. She was already lost in her own little world again, quietly nodding to herself as though she had approved of something in her heart.
Instead, he simply laughed and called out toward Koharu.
"Yo, 'Elder' Koharu. Long time no see."
"Huh?!"
That familiar voice made Koharu's eyes widen instantly.
The arrogance that had been written all over her face froze on the spot.
She turned toward the source of the voice with utter disbelief and stared at Shiki.
"How is that possible?!"
The moment she saw him, the expression on her face completely stiffened.
To Koharu, Shiki was like a nightmare burned into her mind.
She would never forget how cold and merciless he had been back then—how utterly hopeless it had felt to stand against him.
"Y-you..."
Her arrogance was gone.
What replaced it was obvious panic.
The people of the Land of Demons also began retreating wisely, leaving the battlefield to Shiki.
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