Chapter 245 The Female Demon Priestess Deserves to Be Slaughtered!
"I just don't understand. The samurai of the Land of Demons are willing to die for me because I am their lord, but why are you Konoha ninjas so stubborn?" Shion asked, looking at Sasuke's cold face.
However, the next second, purple lightning was at her neck.
Looking at the blade so close to her, Shion swallowed hard, her face filled with fear as she looked at Sasuke's frosty expression. Sasuke's killing intent was unrestrained, and Shion watched helplessly as Sasuke's eyes gradually turned red, and then three pairs of tomoe appeared one by one.
Under this mountain-like pressure, Shion wanted to say something, but she realized that under Sasuke's killing intent, she couldn't even speak.
"Since your prophecy is so accurate, then why not predict whether you will die by my hand?" Sasuke spoke slowly, his voice as cold as frost.
"Sir Ninja, please calm down." At this moment, Shion's guard, Azusa, hurriedly stepped forward to persuade her.
"Hehe, just kidding." Hearing Azusa's words, Sasuke smiled slightly, sheathed Shiden, and the frosty killing intent vanished in an instant.
Shion, who had survived the ordeal, gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. She looked up at Sasuke, her mouth opening and closing several times, but in the end, fear prevented her from saying anything.
"However, there's one thing I must correct you on, Shrine Maiden," Sasuke said calmly. "I have no interest in dying in your place. The reason I insisted on this mission is because I'm going to be Hokage someday, so my mission record can't have any blemishes. Since I've already accepted this mission, even if you don't cooperate, I'll still tie you up and take you to the Land of Swamps to complete the seal."
"Alright, Karin, Sakura, it might be easier for you two girls. Shrine Maiden, please come with us." At this moment, Neji, as the squad leader for this mission, also gave the order.
Sakura and Karin came to Shion's back, one on each side. Karin said expressionlessly, "Please, Shrine Maiden."
Judging from their posture, if Shion didn't cooperate, the two of them would probably just tie her up and take her away.
For Karin, this was her first S-rank mission in her ninja career, and she didn't want to suffer such a major setback right at the beginning. For Sakura, Shion's dawdling was incredibly annoying; she wanted to finish the mission quickly and go back to study medical texts.
The group's actions made Azusa, who was following Shion, feel a little ashamed.
[When did Konoha's ninjas become like this?]
The official government of the Land of Demons had hired Konoha ninjas before. After all, compared to Iwagakure, Konoha's reputation was undoubtedly more trustworthy. For the officials of these small countries, Konoha was a better partner. However, back then, Konoha ninjas were nothing like Sasuke and his group. To complete the mission, they almost resorted to kidnapping their employers. If it weren't for the Konoha headbands worn by the five people before her, Azusa would have suspected they were from some yakuza organization.
The group then headed towards the Land of Swamp, where the body of the demon was sealed.
Although there was a slight unpleasantness at the start of the journey, the group never relaxed their protection of Shion. Neji and Karin took turns using their Byakugan and Kagura's Mind's Eye to scout their surroundings.
The first day passed quickly. After sunset, Neji chose a suitable spot as their campsite, and the group took turns keeping watch.
Late at night, Sasuke, carrying Zidian, sat on a tree branch not far from the others, his eyes slightly closed, his ears twitching, listening to the sounds around him, wary of any potential enemies.
However, not long after, Shion, who had been protected and asleep, suddenly awoke with a start, her face filled with fear, her forehead already soaked with cold sweat.
"Lady Shion, are you alright?" Her personal guard, Ashiho, was also awakened by the commotion and quickly went to her side.
"Ashiho." After recovering, Shion looked at the person who had protected her since childhood, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said, "You don't need to participate in this mission. You should go back first."
Ashiho was stunned for a moment after hearing Shion's words, and then asked in a low voice, "Did you see something again?"
"Yes." Shion nodded. "So, you should go back first."
"Lady Shion, if this is my fate, then there's no use in trying to escape." Ashiho smiled calmly and then said.
"I told you to go back now, didn't you hear me?" Shion broke down on the spot after hearing Ashiho's words and shouted, "It's one thing for these ninjas not to listen to me, but are you going to disobey my orders too?"
Shion's sudden outburst woke up the resting group, and they all came to the center of the camp.
"What happened?" Neji asked after glancing at Shion.
"Nothing, the priestess must have had a nightmare. Maybe she's too tired today." Ashiho said with a smile to the group.
"A boring trick." Sasuke leaped down from the tree branch, landing in front of Shion, looking down at her.
"What do you want to say?" Shion looked up at Sasuke. From this angle, she felt an immense pressure; her hands unconsciously clenched the blanket, and her body involuntarily shrank back.
"You just saw this guy's death, didn't you?" Sasuke asked slowly.
Shion gritted her teeth and nodded.
"So, that means there will be a battle tomorrow," Sasuke said. "Tell me what you saw, what time it was, even just a general description. If you can't, tell us information like the direction the shadow was facing, and the enemy's attack methods."
Shion was momentarily confused by Sasuke's questions, then recalled seeing the scene of Ashiho's death. However, after this interruption, she couldn't remember the specific details.
"It seemed to be during the day, and then… I don't remember anything else," Shion said weakly.
"You could forget such important information?" Sasuke frowned, speechless. This priestess was truly a useless piece of trash.
"Didn't you disbelieve my prophecy?" she snapped, exasperated by Sasuke's disdainful look.
Sasuke and Neji ignored her impotent rage and began discussing the matter.
"If there's a battle during the day tomorrow, then let's all get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, Karin and I will intensify our reconnaissance and detection efforts to eliminate any potential enemies as early as possible," Neji said.
"If the prophecy is true, those enemies were able to kill our mission target under our protection, so their strength must be considerable. It's a pity this useless girl didn't get any useful information; otherwise, if we had prepared in advance, our chances would have been much greater," Sasuke said helplessly, glancing back at Shion.
"Ashiho-kun," Neji called out to Ashiho.
"Mr. Hyuga, is there anything I can do for you?" Ashiho calmly approached and asked.
"Take this." Neji removed a device from his left wrist and handed it to her. "This contains five instant-cast A-rank ninjutsu, Rasengan. You can activate them by pressing the button on your palm with your middle and ring fingers simultaneously. This should give you some self-defense capabilities, at least enough to hold out until we arrive to help."
"Thank you." Azusa smiled and nodded, accepting the wristband from Neji, her face still expressionless.
"Hey, since you believe your priestess's prophecy so much, aren't you worried at all? The person she prophesied to die is you." Karin couldn't help but speak up at this moment.
"What's the use of worrying? Everyone prophesied to die by Lady Shion has ultimately met their predetermined end. It would be my honor to die protecting Lady Shion." Azusa said with a smile, her face full of composure, as if she had already prepared herself for death.
"Hmph, one or two, how boring." Sasuke snorted coldly, then turned to look at Shion. "Hey, you charlatan over there, wanna make a bet?"
Shion looked at Sasuke somewhat blankly.
"Didn't you say that everyone whose death you foresaw never escaped their predetermined fate?" Sasuke said with a light laugh. "Then this time, I'll break fate for you, how about that? Young man, if you survive tomorrow, it means you, as a priestess, are not proficient in theology. After the mission, you'll come with us to the theological seminar in Nakagawa, and properly improve your theological level with our clergy from the Land of Fire, how about that?"
Neji's eyes flickered slightly upon seeing this. He understood Sasuke's meaning at this moment. If Sasuke proved that Shion's prophetic ability was not entirely unchangeable, then the strategic value of Shion's ability would be too great. Even if it was a lie, he would have to lure her to Konoha. Therefore, Neji silently took a half step back, letting Sasuke do as he pleased.
"Hmph, what if you lose?" Shion said, somewhat unconvinced.
"What, do you want your guard to die to prove your prophecy is correct?" Sasuke asked with a cold smile.
"I-I didn't!" Shion panicked at Sasuke's words and hurriedly explained to Azusa, "Azusa, that's not what I meant." "It's
alright, priestess." Azusa shook her head, indicating that she didn't care. "
Go to sleep early. Tomorrow I'll teach you a principle that all the clergy of our Land of Fire understand." Sasuke said with a light laugh, "That is, the power of the gods needs to be granted by the kunai of ninjas."
Early the next morning, the group set off for the Land of Swamp again. Because of the prophecy, everyone was extremely cautious as they traveled. Neji and Karin both activated their reconnaissance abilities to the maximum extent, striving to find the enemy's traces as soon as possible.
"They're here!" At noon, Karin, with her sensory abilities activated, suddenly alerted everyone that they had spotted the enemy. "Southeast, four chakra fluctuations!"
"Are you sure it's only four?" Neji asked incredulously, a hint of seriousness creeping onto his face.
After learning of the prophecy yesterday, both Sasuke and Neji had prepared for a large ninja army. To be honest, they instinctively felt that the enemy had managed to kill Ashiho under their protection by overwhelming them with numbers. But now, only four had arrived.
If the prophecy was true, and four people could break through their protection and kill Ashiho, what kind of strength must these four be? Four ninjas at the Kage level?
"Charge!" Neji shouted. Then, he and Sasuke activated the special devices hanging from their ears. The vision advantage of their Sharingan and Byakugan overlapped at that moment, and they shared it with their companions.
"Something's not right. The attackers' chakra fluctuations aren't strong." Sasuke noticed the anomaly after seeing the attackers' chakra flow using his Byakugan's ability to see through chakra pathways. "But there's an unusual chakra fluctuation in the back of their necks."
"Are they using external forces to boost their strength?" Neji said. "Karin, prepare the sealing jutsu!"
"Yes!" Karin nodded and began forming hand seals, inscribing complex sealing incantations on blank scrolls. If Neji's analysis was correct, the best way to counter ninjas who use external forces to boost their strength was through sealing jutsu.
"Karin, you protect the two employers while you're at it. The rest of you, attack!" Sasuke said.
As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, a green figure rushed out first. At that moment, the most muscular man among the attackers saw this and took the initiative to meet Rock Lee.
Rock Lee's fist collided with the man's arm, producing a loud thud.
The burly man's arm, which had stopped Xiao Li, slowly petrified under everyone's gaze. Xiao Li pulled out her fist and shook her hand; the collision hadn't been easy for her either.
"An ability to enhance the body, huh? Perfect timing!" Xiao Li grinned, removing her weights as she retreated. A vibrant green aura rose from her body, and after activating the Eight Gates, she soared into the air, spinning as she launched a flying kick at her opponent, "Front Lotus!"
As the two engaged in fierce combat, Sasuke drew his sword, drawing both of them into the fray. Purple lightning crackled across the surface of his sword, his lightning-riding figure moving with incredible speed, forcing his two entangled enemies to retreat with just a few strikes.
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(End of Chapter)