Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 235 I think you should go to the Nakagawa Theological Symposium for further study.

The envoy from the Land of Lightning slunk away from the main hall. Given the conditions proposed by Uchiha Touko, he had no authority to make a decision. He could only return to negotiate after consulting with his daimyo.

After attending the morning assembly, Uchiha Touko returned to the Hokage's office to prepare for the aftermath of Naruto's departure from the village.

First, there's the question of the nature of Naruto's escape this time.

If Uchiha Touko hadn't punched Naruto and knew what he was planning, he could have simply ignored the matter and labeled Naruto's actions as a training trip. After all, the people who knew about this incident were the genin who weren't part of Konoha's core circle and were ambushed by Naruto; a simple gag order would have sufficed. As for the Valley of the End being blown up, a simple tourist attraction renovation could have covered it up.

However, after learning what Naruto wanted to do, he still had to carry on the identity of a rogue ninja for a while. Otherwise, if this kid caused trouble throughout the ninja world under the identity of a Konoha ninja, it would bring considerable trouble to the village and would not be conducive to the image of Konoha as a peace envoy that it had always established in the ninja world. Moreover, only the identity of a rogue ninja would make it possible for the Kara organization, which was lurking in the ninja world, to make contact with him.

As for what impact this rogue ninja identity will have on Naruto? The bounty hunters in the ninja world are also discerning. Just like Roshi from Iwagakure and Deidara who recently ran away with his headband, although they are nominally rogue ninjas from Iwagakure, the bounty offered by Iwagakure is actually sending a message: although these people have defected, you bounty hunters had better not cause them any trouble.

The only thing that might cause trouble for Naruto is the coveting of the fox inside him by other forces in the ninja world. However, Naruto, who has now mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, has firmly entered the Kage level. Moreover, with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Naruto's current mastery of Wind Release ninjutsu and taijutsu, it would be difficult for anyone who can defeat him to keep him in check. Therefore, there is no need to worry about his safety.

"Inaba!" Uchiha Touko summoned his secretary. "Where's Jiraiya lately?"

"As for Jiraiya-sama, he's currently holding a signing event in the Land of Hot Springs," Uchiha Inahi replied.

“The Land of Hot Springs? I understand.” Uchiha Touko nodded, then wrote a letter about Naruto’s current situation. He then instructed Touko to go find Naruto, keep an eye on the kid, and train with him. Afterward, Touko took out the Book of Sealing, copied the Flying Thunder God Technique from it, sealed the letter with an additional seal, and handed it to Uchiha Inaho.

"Go there yourself and give this to Jiraiya."

"Yes!" Uchiha Inahime nodded, took Uchiha Touko's letter, and left the Hokage's office.

Not long after, the person in charge of the mission hall below the Hokage Building knocked on the door and approached Uchiha Touko.

"Lord Hokage, we have an S-rank request from the Land of Demons that we would like you to review."

"The Land of Demons?" Uchiha Touko took the document handed to him and glanced at it.

"A man named Yomi has usurped the throne of the priestess and daimyo of the Land of Demons. They need our Konoha ninjas to help protect their priestess and seal away the demons in their country?" Uchiha Touko looked at the request letter, scratched his head. He remembered this part of the plot, after all, the movie was called "The Death of Naruto." But Naruto wasn't in the village right now, so who should he send?
"How about we send Sasuke on this trip? It'll help him clear his head. Besides, that power of the Wraith might be useful to him." Uchiha Touko tapped his desk and then looked at the person in charge of the mission center. "Go tell the client that Konoha will send an elite team for this mission."

"Yes!" After the other party accepted the order and left, Uchiha Touko also got up from his office and headed to the Senju clan's territory.

……

After Tsunade's treatment, Sasuke, whose body and mind were both exhausted, slowly woke up in his hospital bed. As soon as he woke up, he saw that his friends were all by his bedside.

"Sasuke, you're awake." Neji quickly brought Sasuke a glass of water after he woke up.

After taking the water glass, Sasuke took two sips before looking at the people around him with some difficulty.

"I'm sorry, I lost. I didn't bring him back." Sasuke leaned against the hospital bed, pounding the back of the bed in frustration as he spoke.

"Forget it, let's not talk about that now," Neji quickly said upon seeing this. "You should focus on getting better first."

Sasuke fell silent upon hearing this.

Just then, Uchiha Touko also entered the ward.

"teacher."

"Hokage-sama."

After seeing Uchiha Touko, the people in the ward greeted him one after another.

Uchiha Touko nodded, then said, "You guys go back first. I'd like to have a word with Sasuke alone."

"Yes." Upon seeing this, the others in the ward left one after another.

After the others left, Uchiha Touko found a place to sit down by Sasuke's bedside, then took an apple from the cabinet and started peeling it with a kunai.

Sasuke didn't say anything, he just leaned against the hospital bed and looked up at the ceiling of the ward.

Uchiha Touko finished peeling an apple and handed it to Sasuke before breaking the silence.

"You've been enlightened?"

Sasuke took the apple that Uchiha Touko had cut and nodded.

"What kind of eye technique?"

“Wu Wengchui and Jianfu Du Ming,” Sasuke said. “One allows me to summon lightning with the power to annihilate chakra, while the other is the ability to freely control this form of lightning.”

"Sounds pretty good." Uchiha Touko nodded. The Lightning Release versions of Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi are both types of eye techniques that directly enhance combat abilities, which is very much in line with the characteristics of an Indra chakra reincarnation.

“But even with the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, I couldn’t bring that guy back.” Sasuke said somewhat dejectedly after taking the apple. “Besides, I could sense that he wasn’t using his full strength.”

“Of course not. He’s only one step away from becoming the perfect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—completely breaking the seal. Your newly awakened Mangekyou Sharingan is no match for him,” Uchiha Touko said.

"Teacher, can you teach me how to use the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Sasuke looked up at Uchiha Touko.

"If you're referring to the Mangekyou Sharingan's genjutsu against tailed beasts, then I suggest you go find your brother Shisui or go to the Land of Water to find your father. But if it's about eye techniques and Susanoo, I don't recommend you start training in those areas right now."

"Why?" Sasuke asked, puzzled. "You must have noticed it when you used your eye techniques and Susanoo, right? Your eyesight gradually decreases with each use of your eye techniques. As for Susanoo, it's too much of a burden for your still-developing body," Uchiha Touko said.

“But… Master, it seems you awakened your Sharingan much earlier than I did,” Sasuke asked.

“I had no choice at that time,” Uchiha Touko said. “And later, I also paid a great price to resolve these side effects, but you are different, you don’t need to rush.”

"But if I don't do this, how am I supposed to catch up with that guy!" Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "Sensei, I hope you can help me."

"Alright, focus on getting better first. After you finish this mission, I'll take you somewhere else, and you can decide then." Uchiha Touko nodded and placed the mission report from the Land of Demons on Sasuke's bed.

"I understand." Sasuke nodded from his hospital bed, then picked up the mission report and began to read it.

……

Three days later, after Tsunade's care, Sasuke's body had almost recovered. He then reunited with Neji, Sakura, Karin, and Lee, who had been sent by Uchiha Touko to handle this mission, and they headed towards the Land of Demons.

"Sasuke, if you're feeling unwell, let's stop and rest for a while." After traveling day and night for two days, they finally entered the Land of Demons. Neji, the leader of this mission, reminded them, considering that there was still a wounded member in the team who had just recovered.

"I'm fine, let's keep going so we can finish the mission sooner." Sasuke shook his head, indicating to Neji that he didn't need to worry about him.

"Alright," Neji nodded upon seeing this, and then the group headed towards the Land of Demons.

After entering the Land of Demons, the group rushed towards the place agreed upon with their employer. However, the large number of shrines they saw along the way caused Karin some confusion.

"There seem to be too many shrines here," Karin couldn't help but ask.

“That’s normal. The Land of Demons is a theocratic country, and priestesses hold a transcendent position there. The daimyo of the Land of Demons has always been a priestess from the Temple of Demons.” Sakura, being a top student, answered Karin’s question.

"A shrine maiden can become a daimyo?" Karin was puzzled. She knew that the shrine maidens of the Land of Fire only came out to preside over festivals and did some fortune-telling and face reading. She never expected that the shrine maidens of the Land of Demons could have such a status.

Soon, the group arrived at the agreed location. However, as soon as they arrived at the location agreed upon in the mission, a shrine built in a valley with a huge waterfall, they immediately saw a figure carrying a white-haired woman on his back, fleeing in a sorry state while being chased by a group of armed people.

"That looks like our mission objective. There are enemies!" After observing the battlefield with his Byakugan, Neji entered battle mode with a serious expression, took out his long staff from the scroll, and charged forward.

Seeing this, the others followed. The attackers were not very strong, and the group easily dealt with them.

Upon seeing Neji and his group arrive, the attackers decisively abandoned their pursuit and retreated.

After the crisis was averted, the person carrying Shion breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gentlemen of Konoha, thank you for arriving on time. Please come inside and have a chat."

Neji nodded, but Shion, who was being carried, raised her head at this moment and looked at the Konoha people. However, when her gaze shifted to Sasuke, her purple pupils suddenly narrowed.

Sasuke was somewhat puzzled by the woman's gaze, but now was clearly not the time to investigate further. So, led by Ashiho, the group entered the shrine.

After waiting for a while in the main hall of the shrine, Shion, now dressed in formal attire, reappeared before everyone.

"Thank you all from Konoha for arriving in time. Otherwise, we really can't imagine what would have happened." At this moment, Azusa had also changed into a formal suit and bowed to the group to express her gratitude.

"It seems we're too late; otherwise, we could have saved many more lives," Neji said after returning the greeting.

Just then, a discordant sound came from the high platform.

"It's only natural that I'm safe and sound, which is also what those people had hoped for."

Shion's words stunned everyone in Konoha. Karin looked blankly at Shion, who was dressed in an elegant gown, on the steps. She couldn't understand why such a beautiful mouth with a 37-degree angle could utter such cold words.

“I foresaw their deaths, and as the prophecy foretold, their souls returned to the Pure Land.” Ziyuan said calmly, despite the strange looks from the crowd.

"A prophecy?" Neji frowned upon hearing this.

“Yes.” Shion nodded, then looked at Sasuke. “Your eyes can turn red, right?”

“Yes, I come from the Uchiha clan,” Sasuke said.

"Then that's it. In the scene I just saw, you, with red eyes, were pierced through the body and died."

"What did you say?" Xiao Li stood up angrily and questioned. "Everyone came all this way to help you, and now the mission hasn't even started yet, and you're already cursing them to die?"
Neji and Sasuke, who were the subjects of the prophecy, both sneered after hearing what Shion said.

"Is this your prophecy, Miss Shrine Maiden?" Neji asked, narrowing his eyes.

“That’s right, I can see the future, and in the future I see, this young man dies like this.” Shion said expressionlessly, as if she had already sentenced Sasuke to death.

"Regarding this prophecy, I have a suggestion," Sasuke said with a cold smile. "In our Konoha, clergy members like you go to a place to study before taking up their posts. That place is called the Nakagawa Theological Symposium. I think you, priestess, would gain something there."

For Sasuke and Neji, who had been trained by Uchiha Touko, Shion, this kind of charlatan who pretends to be a god, should be sent to the Nakagawa Theological Conference so that the instructors there can teach her the principles of divine authority!

……

(End of this chapter)