"Uzumaki—Naruto—"
Shion stared blankly at the young man who had suddenly appeared, with his azure eyes and brilliant golden hair.
She had foreseen countless ways she would die, but she had never foreseen such a person, bringing such a fervent and vibrant light,
bursting into her destined and desperate fate.
Foresight was one of Shion's abilities as the Priestess of the Land of Demons.
However, because Naruto had already become a demigod, his strength far exceeded the range Shion's prophetic dreams could sense, so she did not foresee Naruto's arrival and death as in the original story.
Shion opened her mouth, just about to say something, when her expression suddenly changed, and she exclaimed, "Watch out behind you!"
A scorching tornado of flames broke through the palace, stirring the cold air, and, carrying terrifying high temperatures, burned towards Naruto's back.
Naruto stepped forward, shielding Shion, who was still in her priestess attire kneeling on a soft cushion, in front of his chest. Behind him, a dark circular hole 'whooshed' into existence, swallowing the entire flame tornado.
It was—the Ninjutsu Naruto created—Daikokuten!
However, in essence, it was not a Ninjutsu reliant on Chakra, but rather derived from Naruto's ability to control shadows as the Shadow Monarch, and the power of the Shadow Garden.
Now, the Shadow Garden had integrated the Death Labyrinth, initially establishing the Shadow God-Kingdom.
The Ninjutsu absorbed by Daikokuten would be stored in the third layer of the Shadow God-Kingdom—the Void Cage!
"Hmph, Konoha Ninja? Annoying!"
The one who launched the Fire Release sneak attack on Naruto was one of the four-person squad under Yomi.
A gaunt, tall man with a sinister face snorted coldly.
He and his three companions quickly spread out, taking positions in the four cardinal directions, forming hand signs rapidly.
"Combination Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Wind Bomb!"
The four shouted in unison, their Chakra resonating and linking instantly.
The ground vibrated violently, and a huge rock earth dragon roared as it burst from the ground. From the earth dragon's mouth, instead of breath, highly compressed, raging flames and a hurricane that tore everything apart condensed.
The flames and wind pressure, mixed with hard rock fragments, formed a destructive composite energy torrent, slamming fiercely towards Naruto and Shion.
Originally, the four-person squad's strength was unremarkable, but with the power of Yomi, or rather, the power of Zetsu, the power of the combination Ninjutsu they unleashed far exceeded ordinary A-rank Ninjutsu, directly approaching Kage-level!
"Naruto-kun!"
Hyuga Hinata, who was among the "Ghost Legion," exclaimed. Without needing to turn around, her Byakugan, with its 360° vision, immediately saw Naruto being attacked by the four-person squad.
"Watch out!"
Ino Yamanaka also felt a pang of trepidation; the scale and power of this combination Ninjutsu were extremely alarming.
Shion's face turned pale, and the scene of her own death in her prophecy reappeared.
This time, it seemed she would even implicate those who came to save her. "Am I only destined to bring misfortune to others?"
Shion's beautiful purple eyes dimmed.
However, facing this composite Ninjutsu, which was enough to instantly kill a Jonin, Naruto merely raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly a little surprised that the opponent could still use such a level of technique, but there was no panic on his face.
"Quite a few tricks. Save them for Hinata and the others to practice on."
He commented lightly, not even forming hand signs, but merely casually raising his right hand, his palm aimed at the roaring torrent of destruction.
"Daikokuten!"
A dark black hole suddenly appeared in front of Naruto's palm.
The powerful, chaotic Ninjutsu, which combined earth, fire, and wind attributes, upon contact with "Daikokuten," was like a mud ox entering the sea. The huge earth dragon, flames, and hurricane were forcibly swallowed in an unreasonable manner, then vanished without a trace!
In just one or two seconds, the four-person squad's composite Ninjutsu was easily neutralized by Naruto with one hand, as if it had never appeared.
"Wh-what?!"
The four-person squad's eyes nearly popped out, their faces filled with disbelief and horror.
Their combined ultimate technique was actually—swallowed—so casually by the opponent?!
"Did Konoha Village dispatch a 'trump card' here?"
"This is a bit tricky now—"
The four exchanged glances, their expressions becoming solemn.
Naruto lowered his hand, as if he had just done something insignificant.
He looked at Shion, who was stunned by the excessive shock, and quickly asked, "Priestess, is there another way out here? The barrier won't last much longer!"
Shion suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at the unfathomable golden-haired young man in front of her, her heart pounding. She subconsciously pointed to the back of the shrine: "There—there's a secret passage leading out of the village! Only I and the successive Priestesses know about it!"
"Excellent!"
Naruto nodded, then his gaze sharpened as he looked at the four-person squad, who were still in shock. His hands rapidly formed hand signs, his fingers flying.
He squatted down and slapped the ground. Pure and immense Chakra instantly completed its nature transformation, softening the hard rock ground into mud.
Under Naruto's powerful Earth Release Chakra infusion, the ground immediately turned into a surging river of mud, rushing towards the four.
It was Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
Caught off guard, the four were trapped in the Earth Flow River, swept away by the surging mud.
"Hinata! Ino! Let's go! Escort the Priestess and retreat through the secret passage!"
Naruto called out, grabbing Shion's still somewhat dazed wrist, and unhesitatingly turned and rushed towards the back of the shrine.
"Yes! Naruto-kun!"
Hinata immediately responded.
Under her Byakugan, the entrance to the secret passage was exposed.
She used Byakugan Palm: Heavenly Spin, sending dozens of surrounding earth soldiers and stone generals flying, and converged with Naruto in a Hokage run pose.
"Understood!"
Ino also quickly followed, while keeping an alert eye on the Ghost Legion behind them.
"Let me do it."
Shion pushed open the circular relief on the wall at the back of the shrine, indeed revealing a secret passage and a dark staircase descending.
Naruto entered first, with Hinata and Ino protecting Shion closely behind him.
With a "rumble."
The circular relief closed again, concealing the secret passage.
The secret passage was dark and damp, but reasonably wide.
The four traveled silently and swiftly until they left the secret passage, exited the village, and arrived at a safe house. Only after confirming there was no immediate pursuit from the Ghost Legion did they stop at the safe house for a brief rest.
Ino briefly checked on Shion's condition: "Priestess, are you alright? Are you injured?"
Hinata, meanwhile, stood guard at the entrance of the safe house, intently activating her Byakugan to scan the surroundings.
Shion shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed on Naruto, who was resting against the wall.
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over.
"Hey—"
She spoke, her voice still carrying a hint of imperceptible tremor and lingering fear.
"You—what was that power just now?"
"And why can't I see your prophecy—"
Shion could foresee the deaths of others.
There was only one way for those whose deaths Shion prophesied to escape their fate: to leave Shion's side.