Night had fallen, and Tsunade and the others were in the room the shrine maiden had prepared for them. Despite lying in their futons, none of them, except for Kana, felt the slightest bit sleepy.
Even now,Fumori Masaki still hadn't returned. For a master like him to take so long just to investigate something was hard to believe, leading them to worry if something unexpected had happened.
Kana, however, was either incredibly carefree or had immense confidence inFumori Masaki. She wasn't worried at all that he might have encountered trouble. She told the others thatFumori Masaki would definitely return, and all they needed to do was rest properly.
Of course, Tsunade and the others had faith in their teacher. They believed that even among the Second Hokage's students, their teacher was the strongest. Rather than worrying aboutFumori Masaki's safety, they subtly sensed that the current enemy was not simple, stirring a feeling of excitement in their young hearts.
Even ninjas, who underwent rigorous training and were taught to approach everything with caution, couldn't avoid the hot-bloodedness of youth, especially on their first mission outside the village. Their curiosity about the enemy was incredibly strong.
After Kana fell asleep, Tsunade stealthily left the room and went to her companions' door. She knocked softly, knowing that the two inside would recognize her. Soon, the door opened just enough for Tsunade to slip through. The petite Tsunade easily squeezed in, ready to begin a secret meeting among her fellow disciples.
"You guys, who exactly are those people at the old Ninja Sect site?" Tsunade whispered, "They've kept Kazamori away for so long."
"I don't know, but I think they're very likely ninjas," Hatake Sakumo said, looking at Hattori Heizo. "Heizo, what do you think?"
"They should be ninjas. The only samurai who could give Kazamori-sensei trouble are old traditionalists, and this kind of secretive behavior doesn't seem like something they'd do. The possibility of them being ninjas is much higher," Hattori Heizo replied.
"However, for ninjas to appear here at this time, I wonder which country they're from. If they're relatively close, could they be ninjas from the Land of Lightning?" Hatake Sakumo speculated.
"If that's true, then Kazamori-sensei has run into an old opponent. I heard that during the Shinobi World War, Kazamori-sensei gave the Land of Lightning a lot of trouble," Hattori Heizo chuckled. "You all know, don't you? Ginkaku, known as the 'Light of Kumogakure,' died at Kazamori-sensei's hands."
"Ah, that's the incident that made Kazamori famous," Tsunade said with a smile. "And they fought three times. The first time, Kazamori cut off one of Ginkaku's arms. The second time, he took the legendary Sage of Six Paths' treasure, the Bashōsen, from Ginkaku. The third time, Ginkaku died by Kazamori's hand."
"He was practically his bane," Hattori Heizo commented. "If I were from Kumogakure, I would definitely hate Kazamori-sensei."
"However, during the peace treaty negotiations, when Kinkaku and Ginkaku conspired to assassinate the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage, wasn't it because of Kazamori-sensei's prior preparations that their plot was discovered in time and prevented?" Hatake Sakumo said. "Because of that incident, it seems some people in the Land of Lightning are quite grateful to Kazamori-sensei."
"Who knows if the people who came are grateful to Kazamori or hate him?" Tsunade shook her head, her words implying she had already decided they were ninjas from the Land of Lightning.
"I wonder when Kazamori-sensei will return," Hatake Sakumo slightly opened the door and looked at the night sky. "It's already very late."
"It seems the enemy is very skilled. This mission might be more dangerous than we imagined," Hattori Heizo narrowed his eyes slightly and said.
"Heizo, are you scared?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. The stronger the enemy, the more challenging they are," Hattori Heizo's lips curved into a dangerous smile. "I just hope the enemy isn't on the same level as Kazamori-sensei; otherwise, we won't be qualified to participate."
Although Tsunade and the others all wanted to prove their abilities, they also had self-awareness and wouldn't challenge opponents clearly beyond their league. This wasn't like daily training; the enemy wouldn't show mercy. Once they met, it would be either the opponent's death or their own.
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps approached and stopped at the room's door. The three of them paused slightly. The door gently opened, and a girl in a shrine maiden's outfit stood there, her clear eyes looking at them. Her voice was a little surprised: "You're still awake?"
"I'm surprised! Why aren't you resting yet?" Tsunade retorted with equal surprise.
The person at the door was Fumori Masaki, the girl who served the shrine maiden. Her expression showed no fatigue; she looked very calm. Hearing Tsunade's question, she replied, "This is part of our daily training as shrine maidens, and it just finished. There's nothing strange about it. But you don't need to train like us, so why aren't you resting? Is the room uncomfortable? If so, I can have someone prepare a better room for you."
"No, no, that's not it at all. This room is already very good," Hatake Sakumo quickly said, seeing Fumori Masaki's serious demeanor.
"Is that so? It's not because of the shrine, then?" Fumori Masaki's slightly furrowed brow relaxed. She was actually quite worried that her shrine hadn't hosted its guests well.
"No, it's us," Hatake Sakumo said. "We're a bit worried about our teacher. Uh, Fumori Masaki-san, have you seen our teacher return?"
"As for Lord Kazamori, I haven't seen him. He might have gone to another place, or he might still be investigating the situation with those people," Fumori Masaki said.
Hatake Sakumo was a little disappointed. It seemedFumori Masaki hadn't finished his investigation early and gone to discuss things with the shrine maiden; he genuinely hadn't returned yet.
"So it's Lord Fumori's situation that's keeping you from resting peacefully," Masaki quickly understood the reason. "I heard Lord Fumori is a student of the Second Hokage of Konoha. I didn't expect that even he couldn't easily gather information about those people."
"You've really given us a tough problem," Hattori Heizo muttered. "Do you truly have no information about those people?"
Masaki shook her head and said, "I'm very sorry, but we truly cannot provide any information. The samurai of the Land of Demons simply cannot contend with those people; we can't glean anything from them. However, one thing is certain: those people carry a very strong malice, not just towards this country, but towards everyone else in the ninja world as well. They must harbor some terrifying objective that will endanger this world."
"Why do you say that?" Hatake Sakumo was a little surprised. Fumori Masaki's words felt quite alarmist.
Fumori Masaki no longer stood at the doorway but entered the room, kneeling gracefully before them all. She said, "This is what my mother dreamed. In my mother's dream, those people were surrounded by black mist, and that mist would erode the people around them, devouring them as if for sustenance."
Tsunade and the others had been wondering what Fumori Masaki would say, but they didn't expect such an unbelievable statement. The three exchanged glances, then Hattori Heizo scoffed, "What nonsense. You take dreams as reality? Are all you shrine maidens like this?"
Hattori Heizo had spoken with a mocking tone, but Fumori Masaki seriously nodded and said, "Precisely."
The three didn't know if Fumori Masaki had understood them or not. Tsunade and Hattori Heizo thought Fumori Masaki might have some mental issues, but Hatake Sakumo felt otherwise. He could sense that Fumori Masaki's emotions were very sincere; in other words, she believed her words were true.
"There's no need to hide it from you. For the people of this country, it's common knowledge," Fumori Masaki said. "In this country, our line of shrine maidens holds a lofty status. This isn't just because of past traditions, but also because of the power we shrine maidens possess."
"What power?" Hatake Sakumo asked.
"The power to foresee the future," Fumori Masaki's gaze sharpened slightly. "Our line of shrine maidens sometimes sees future events in our dreams. These are not illusions; they are things that will truly happen."
The three immediately looked astonished. This was understandable; anyone hearing about foreseeing the future for the first time would react like them. Their first reaction was disbelief, but then it turned into skepticism.
"You can really foresee the future?" Tsunade couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, really," Fumori Masaki nodded solemnly. "I've experienced it myself. Those dreams are incredibly vivid, making one feel completely immersed. The first time I dreamt it, I thought it was just an ordinary dream, but later it proved to be not that, but a premonition of the future. You can ask the people of the Land of Demons; they all know about it."
"Your line of shrine maidens actually possesses such an ability. How did this come about?" Tsunade asked with great skepticism. Although Fumori Masaki spoke as if it were true, Tsunade still didn't believe it.
Although this ninja world had all sorts of strange secret techniques, making one think that any ability could appear, the ability to foresee the future still exceeded ordinary imagination. Even Tsunade had never heard of it.
"I don't know," Fumori Masaki's answer surprised everyone. She said, "I initially thought it might be a kekkei genkai, like ninjas have, but historical records show that shrine maidens have experienced succession breaks more than once, and the newly appointed shrine maidens still possessed the power to foresee the future. Later, I thought it might be due to the shrine maiden's training methods, but others in the shrine also practice similar methods, yet they don't have the power to foresee the future, so I can't be certain."