"Quick! Go and ask for help from the Land of Fire!"
In less than a day, the ghost army of Wuliang swept through the entire Land of Demons.
As an ancient small country without a ninja village—one that only worships shrine maidens and still uses cold weapons and bows—the Land of Demons had no power to resist the ghost army.
Several fortresses fell in just one day, with heavy casualties.
Bows and arrows couldn't pierce the stone bodies. Even explosives that could shatter the undead were useless—their stone bodies repaired themselves instantly.
Unless Wuliang was destroyed, the immortal nature of these undead made them even harder to deal with than the Impure World Reincarnation Army, which could at least be sealed.
Since the current generation shrine maiden hadn't yet matured, the Daimyo of the Land of Demons could only send out urgent messages to the Land of Fire, requesting help.
And this letter didn't reach Tsunade until three days later.
After reading it, Tsunade's expression changed immediately. She turned to Hinata, who had come to help in the Hokage's office, and shouted:
"Hinata, go call Izayoi. Tell him to drop everything and come here right now!"
Seeing how serious Tsunade looked, Hinata immediately set down the documents in her hand and nodded, "Yes, Hokage!"
Soon, Izayoi, who had been practicing Yin-Yang Release at home, arrived at the Hokage's office.
Seeing Tsunade writing rapidly on a blank scroll, Izayoi asked, "Hokage, is something big happening?"
Now that Izayoi had become a super-standard combat force, he was essentially one of Konoha's mascots.
Unless he was taking Hanabi on a mission, Tsunade never asked him to do anything.
Because there was simply no need.
Even for a top-secret S-rank mission, sending Izayoi would be overkill—pure bullying.
A combat power like his was best left to guard Konoha.
So, for Tsunade to summon him now… meant a very serious matter had come up.
"Read this letter first. I'll explain once I'm done writing."
Without looking up, Tsunade picked up an envelope and placed it on the pile of files beside her, continuing to write at high speed without caring about neat handwriting.
Izayoi, puzzled, opened the envelope and found two items inside—a letter and a photo.
He glanced at the photo first and was stunned: "Hinata?"
"Huh? Izayoi-kun, what is it?" Hinata walked over, thinking he had called her.
Izayoi came back to his senses and handed the photo to Hinata, pretending to joke: "Hinata, doesn't this girl look like you two years ago?"
"Huh?"
Hinata looked at the photo and was surprised: "She really does look like me!"
The photo showed a girl about the same age as Hinata, though not as developed.
She had long beige hair, wore a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, and had beautiful purple eyes. Even through a photo, her pure aura was almost identical to Hinata's.
There was one other major similarity—
Her figure.
Just like Hinata two years ago… this shrine maiden was also extremely well-endowed.
Even before reading the letter, Izayoi had already guessed the girl's identity: the shrine maiden Shion, who had appeared in the movie.
If he remembered correctly, Shion had predicted Naruto Uzumaki's death in that film. The movie was bluntly titled "Naruto's Death."
But Izayoi couldn't recall much beyond that.
He vaguely remembered that the movie was set during the Shippuden era.
But it was only the 62nd year of Konoha now—how was Shion already here?
While opening the letter to read, Izayoi instructed a wood clone to investigate.
Before he even finished reading, the vision and intel from the wood clone were transmitted in real-time.
A flicker of seriousness appeared in Izayoi's eyes.
As expected of a theatrical-level threat that could destroy the world at any moment—whether it was the Gray Stone Mine or the boss who caused Naruto's death—these were no ordinary matters.
The Land of Demons was located at the edge of the ninja continent, separated from the Land of Fire by several nations.
It had no ninja village, only shrine maidens. It was isolated and backward.
With rugged terrain and deep forests, few ever crossed into it. The country's presence was so low it was practically forgotten.
Izayoi's wood clone, which monitored the entire ninja world, rarely checked this region due to its lack of chakra.
But if a powerful chakra surge erupted, it would still trigger the clone's all-seeing chakra-detection field.
Yet this letter was sent out three days ago—and Izayoi had only just now learned about the undead disaster?
That was very odd, especially for someone with the Rinnegan.
Besides White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique, were there other abilities in this world that could avoid the Rinnegan's perception?
His first thought: the boss of this movie is definitely not simple.
Unfortunately, since the movie wasn't part of the main plot, and he'd been in this world for over a decade, he had long forgotten the details. Only Shion stood out in his memory due to her resemblance to Hinata.
He didn't even remember the boss's name.
The letter was straightforward.
The monster that had been sealed by a priestess had broken free, reappearing with the ghost army that once nearly destroyed the world.
It was currently causing chaos across the Land of Demons and searching for the next priestess.
Konoha was requested to send powerful fighters to protect Shion—the current generation shrine maiden—and support the Land of Demons.
At this point, Tsunade finished her scroll, rolled it up, handed it to Shizune, and said:
"Shizune, deliver this scroll to Shikaku. Stay there and keep me updated."
"Yes, Lady Hokage," Shizune nodded and disappeared out the window.
Tsunade looked to Izayoi. "Izayoi, did you leave a Flying Thunder God mark in the Land of Demons?"
"No," Izayoi replied honestly. "It's way too remote, and since there's no ninja village there, I've never even been."
Tsunade wasn't surprised. She opened a drawer, pulled out a red scroll, and unfolded it—it was a detailed map of the entire ninja world.
Unlike store-bought maps that only showed nations, this one had additional divisions, place names, and even mysterious locations.
Only top Konoha leaders were allowed to view this version.
Tsunade located the Land of Demons, checked the surrounding nations, and asked:
"Then have you marked any Flying Thunder God seals in the Land of Bears, Land of Earth, or Land of Lightning?"
"I've been to the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. Not the Land of Bears," Izayoi said.
Honestly, it didn't matter. With his Rinnegan, Sky Sending Technique, and Flying Thunder God, Izayoi could travel anywhere in minutes.
Tsunade pointed to a red circle on the map, then handed it to Izayoi and said solemnly:
"This red circle is where the current priestess is hiding. Your mission: protect her and help her seal the ghost army's leader. Only a priestess can seal that monster."
Izayoi took the scroll and asked curiously:
"Hokage, do you know what that monster is?"
"I don't know exactly. I just remember the name Wuliang," Tsunade said. "Years ago, a ghost army of invincible, immortal spirits nearly destroyed the world. At the last moment, Miroku—the priestess of the last generation—sealed both the army and its leader."
"It's said Wuliang is an ancient immortal monster… and only shrine maidens can seal it."
"If you're curious, track it down and test its strength. See if you can kill it."
Tsunade added with seriousness:
"But no matter what, protect the shrine maiden. If you can't kill the monster, that means only her power can stop it. Don't be arrogant—don't let this become irreversible."
"I understand." Izayoi nodded.
He reached out, took Hinata's hand, and said:
"I want to bring Hinata with me on this mission."
"Fine. I'll feel more at ease with you two acting together." Tsunade nodded. "You have Flying Thunder God. If you need anything, let your wood clone fetch it. Go now—before the enemy finds the shrine maiden first."
"Yes!"
The next second, Izayoi vanished with Hinata.
A moment later, they appeared in the Land of Earth.
"Izayoi-kun…" Hinata opened her mouth, about to say something.
But the scene distorted again—and in the blink of an eye, they stood before a shrine.
The words caught in Hinata's throat.
Picking up the Flying Thunder God kunai sent earlier by his clone, Izayoi turned to Hinata:
"What were you going to say just now?"
"N-no, nothing." Hinata shook her head, blushing.
She had thought to use her Byakugan to guide them with the map, since Izayoi hadn't been to the Land of Demons before.
But she forgot—his wood clone could use all of his techniques, including the Sky Sending Technique.
Just give him coordinates, and Izayoi could teleport directly.
So embarrassing… Good thing she hadn't said it.
"Who are you?"
Their sudden appearance startled the shrine's guards.
A man in priest's robes emerged, eyeing them warily.
"We're Konoha ninjas, here to protect Shion," Izayoi said, taking out his forehead protector and Tsunade's letter.
The priest took the letter and saw the official seal of the Daimyo of the Land of Demons.
His wariness vanished, and he bowed deeply.
"Forgive my rudeness. Ghost army soldiers skilled in ninjutsu have appeared recently—I feared imposters. Please forgive me. I'm Ashio, Lady Shion's bodyguard."
"I'm Izayoi, a Konoha jonin. This is my companion, Hyuga Hinata."
Ashio's expression shifted at the name. He looked overjoyed and even more respectful:
"You're Lord Izayoi? Wonderful! With you here, Lady Shion will be safe!"
"Take us to see her," Izayoi said calmly.
"Right away. Please follow me."
As they walked, Ashio kept glancing at Hinata in surprise.
Izayoi smiled. He understood.
Hinata had developed early—and if she looked like her anime counterpart, Ashio would've been shocked the moment he saw her.
Except for hair and eye color, Hinata now looked exactly like Shion in the Shippuden era.
Except… Shion was now even more well-endowed.
In the main hall of the shrine, they found Shion sitting cross-legged on a cushion, wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit.
She had long beige hair and a bell-shaped brooch on her collar. Her eyes were closed—either resting or meditating.
Even Hinata, who had seen the photo, was stunned by how alike they looked.
Especially with her eyes closed—if Shion dyed her hair black, she would be Hinata from two years ago.
"Lady Shion, support from the Land of Fire has arrived," Ashio said respectfully.
Shion slowly opened her eyes, revealing noble purple irises.
Her gaze passed Ashio and landed on Izayoi.
Then suddenly—her pupils changed from purple to bluish-purple, patterns overlapping within.
Her eyes lost focus, expression going blank.
Ashio's expression changed.
She was predicting again.
Every time Shion's prophecies were triggered, the person involved… usually died.
Could even someone like Izayoi not stop this catastrophe?
"Ahhh!"
Shion suddenly cried out.
Her eyes returned to normal—two lines of blood-tears streaked down her cheeks.
She covered her eyes in pain.
"Lady Shion!"
Ashio wanted to rush over, but didn't dare touch her.
"Hinata, heal her."
"Yes."
Ashio bowed quickly. "Hinata-sama, please!"
"Leave it to me," Hinata smiled.
She knelt beside Shion, gently removed her hands, and used medical ninjutsu.
At the same time, she opened her Byakugan to check her internal condition.
A moment later, Hinata spoke softly:
"Your eyes are fine—just overstimulated. It's a backlash from the technique. You'll recover soon."
After finishing the treatment, she said, "Okay, try opening them now."
Shion opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurry at first, but then cleared.
The pain from earlier was gone.
"…Thank you."
She thanked Hinata softly, then looked again—shocked and afraid.
"You… who are you?"
Then she looked at Izayoi and asked:
"You triggered my prophecy. What did I see?"
"I didn't see anything. It was blank."
Shion shook her head. "My prophetic ability always activates on its own. You're the first whose future I couldn't see!"
She didn't realize… her gaze had changed. No longer looking at others like ants.
Now, she looked human. Excited, even.
Izayoi, meanwhile, was staring at the floating entries around her.
As a "shrine maiden version of Hinata," Shion's talent entries were incredible—even shocking Izayoi.
[Power of the Shrine Maiden·Remnant (Gold)]
[Prophecy (Gold)]
[Kage-level Aptitude (Purple)]
Two golds and a purple—completely crushing Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.
If Hinata didn't have a red and a gold, she wouldn't even compare.
And even more shocking: Izayoi couldn't sense any chakra on Shion, yet she had Kage-level aptitude.
How was she unlocking such entries without chakra?
There had to be a secret behind her.
Especially that remnant shrine maiden power—even in its incomplete state it was gold.
Could the complete version be a top-tier gold… or even red?
Izayoi smiled and said:
"It's normal that you can't see my future."
"Because… my status is above yours."
How could a shrine maiden serving a god see God's future?
Unless it was divine prophecy—even red-level foresight couldn't touch Izayoi's fate.
And the fact Shion's eyes didn't go blind on the spot? That was already impressive.