Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 245 The female imp priestess deserves to be brutally murdered!

"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 do you ninjas of Konoha still insist on going your own way?" Shion asked Sasuke, who had a cold face, with a puzzled look.

However, the next second, Zidian was already around her neck.

Seeing the blade so close at hand, Shion swallowed hard, her face filled with fear as she looked at Sasuke, whose face was as cold as ice. Sasuke's killing intent was released without reservation, 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 was shocked to find that under Sasuke's killing intent, she couldn't even speak.

"Since your prophecy is so accurate, Miss Shrine Maiden, then why not predict whether you will die by my hand?" Sasuke spoke slowly, his voice as cold as frost.

"Ninja-sama, please calm down." At this moment, Shion's guard, Ashiho, hurriedly stepped forward to persuade her.

"Hehe, just kidding." Sasuke smiled slightly after hearing Azusa's words, and sheathed his Purple Lightning sword. His frost-like killing intent vanished in an instant.

Having survived the ordeal, Shion gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. She looked up at Sasuke, her mouth opening and closing several times, but ultimately, out of fear, she said nothing.

“However, there is one thing I must correct you on, Miss Shrine Maiden,” Sasuke said slowly. “I have no interest in dying in your place. The reason I insisted on this mission is because I am going to be Hokage in the future, so my mission record cannot have any blemishes. Since I have already accepted this mission, even if you do not cooperate, I will 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. Please, Miss Shrine Maiden, come with us." At this moment, Neji, as the squad leader of this mission, also gave the order.

Sakura and Karin approached Shion from the left and right respectively. Karin said expressionlessly, "Please, shrine maiden."

Judging from their posture, if Ziyuan didn't cooperate, they 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. As for Sakura, Shion's dawdling was also very annoying, and she wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible and go back to study medical books.

The group's actions made Shion's companion, Ashiho, feel a little ashamed.

When did the ninjas of Konoha become like this?

In the past, 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. They almost kidnapped their employers to complete their missions. If it weren't for the five people in front of him wearing Konoha headbands, Ashiho would have suspected that they were from some yakuza organization in the ninja world.

And so the group set off toward the Swamp Country, where the body of the demon was sealed.

Although there was a slight unpleasantness at the start of the journey, the group did not relax their protection of Shion at all. Neji and Karin took turns using their Byakugan and Kagura's Mind's Eye to detect their surroundings.

The first day passed in the blink of an eye. After the sun set, Neji chose a suitable place as their campsite, and the others took turns keeping watch.

In the dead of night, Sasuke, carrying Zidian, sat on a tree branch not far from the others, his eyes slightly closed and his ears twitching, listening to the sounds around him and guarding against any potential enemies.

However, not long after, Ziyuan, who had been sleeping under the protection of everyone, suddenly woke up with a look of fear on her face, and her hair was already soaked with cold sweat.

"Lady Shion, how are you?" Shiho, who was her personal bodyguard, was also awakened by the commotion and quickly went over to her.

"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 can go back first."

Upon hearing Shion's words, Ashiho was taken aback at first, then reacted and asked in a low voice, "Did you see something again?"

“Yes.” Ziyuan nodded. “So, you should go back first.”

"Lady Shion, if this is my fate, then there's no use in trying to escape," Ashiho said with a calm smile.

"I told you to go back now, didn't you hear me?" Shion lost her temper after hearing Azusa'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?"

The sudden outburst of Shion awakened the resting group, and they all rushed to the center of the camp.

"What happened?" Neji asked after glancing at Shion.

"It's nothing, the priestess must have had a nightmare. Maybe she's just too tired today," Ashiho said with a smile to everyone.

"A boring trick." At that moment, Sasuke leaped down from the tree branch and stood in front of Shion, looking down at her.

"What do you want to say?" Shion looked up at Sasuke. From this angle, she only felt a huge sense of oppression. Her hands unconsciously clenched the blanket, and her body involuntarily shrank back.

"You just saw this guy's death, didn't you?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Ziyuan 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 rough estimate will do. If you really can’t tell us, tell us information like the direction the shadow was pointing, and the enemy’s attack methods.”

Shion was momentarily confused by Sasuke's question before she recalled the scene of Ashiho's death that she had just witnessed. However, after being disturbed like this, she couldn't remember the specific details very clearly.

"It seems like it was during the day, and then... I don't remember anything else," Shion said weakly. "How could you forget such important information?" Sasuke frowned upon hearing this, speechless. This priestess was truly a useless piece of trash who couldn't help at all.

"Didn't you not believe my prophecy?" she said angrily, seeing Sasuke's disdainful look.

Sasuke and Neji ignored his impotent rage and started discussing things directly.

"If there's a battle during the day tomorrow, then everyone should get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, Karin and I will increase 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 that this good-for-nothing didn't get any useful information. Otherwise, if we had prepared in advance, our chances would have been much greater." Sasuke glanced back at Shion and said helplessly.

"Ashiho-kun." Neji called out to Ashiho.

"Mr. Hyuga, is there anything I can do for you?" Ashiho calmly stepped forward and asked.

"Here, take this." Neji took off a device from his left wrist and handed it to the other person. "This contains five instant-cast A-rank ninjutsu Rasengans. You can activate them by pressing the button on your palm with your middle and ring fingers at the same time. Having this should give you some self-defense capabilities, or at least hold out until we come to your aid."

"Thank you." Azusa smiled and nodded, accepting the wristband Neji gave her, 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." At this moment, Karin couldn't help but speak up.

“What’s the use of worrying? Everyone who was prophesied to die by Lady Shion has ultimately met their predetermined end. It would be my honor to die protecting Lady Shion.” Ashiho said with a smile, her face full of composure, as if she had already prepared herself for death.

"Hmph, one or two of them, how boring." Sasuke snorted, then turned to look at Shion, "Hey, you charlatan over there, wanna make a bet with me?"

Shion looked at Sasuke with a somewhat blank expression.

"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 and show you how it works. 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 skills with the clergy of our Land of Fire. How about it?"

Seeing this, Neji's eyes flickered slightly. He understood Sasuke's meaning at this moment. If Sasuke proved that Shion's prophetic ability was not completely unchangeable, then the strategic value of Shion's ability would be too great. Even if it was a lie, he had to lure her to Konoha. Therefore, Neji silently took a half step back and let Sasuke do as he pleased.

"Hmph, what if you lose?" Ziyuan said, somewhat unconvinced.

"What, do you really want your guards to die to continue proving your prophecy is correct?" Sasuke asked with a cold smile.

"I...I didn't!" Shion panicked at Sasuke's words and hurriedly explained to Ashiho, "Ashiho, that's not what I meant."

"It's alright, Lady Shrine Maiden." Ashiho shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.

"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 a god needs to be granted by a ninja's kunai."

The next morning, the group set off for the Land of Swamps once 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, who had activated her sensory abilities, suddenly alerted everyone that they had discovered the enemy's presence. "Four chakra fluctuations to the southeast!"

"Are you sure there are only four people?" Neji asked incredulously, a hint of seriousness creeping onto his face.

After learning of the prophecy yesterday, both Sasuke and Neji were prepared to face a large ninja army. To be honest, they instinctively felt that the enemy was able to kill Ashiho under their protection by using their numerical advantage to make them unable to defend themselves. But now, the enemy only sent four people.

If the prophecy is true, and four people can break through the protection of five and kill Ashiho, then what kind of strength must these four people possess? Are they four ninjas with strength at the Kage level?

"Charge!" Neji shouted. Then, he and Sasuke activated the special devices hanging on their ears. The visual advantages of the Sharingan and Byakugan overlapped at this moment and were then shared with their companions.

“Something’s not right. The attackers’ chakra fluctuations aren’t strong.” Sasuke noticed the anomaly after seeing the chakra flow of the attackers using his Byakugan’s ability to see through chakra pathways. “But there are unusual chakra fluctuations on the back of their necks.”

"Is your strength increased by external forces?" Neji said. "Karin, prepare the sealing technique!"

"Yes!" Karin nodded, then began to form 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 enhance their strength was sealing techniques.

"Karin, you protect the two employers while you're at it, the rest of you, come on!" Sasuke said.

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, a green figure rushed out first. At that moment, the most muscular man among the attacking enemies saw this and took the initiative to meet Lee.

Xiao Li's fist collided with the other person's arm, producing a loud thud.

The burly man who had stopped Xiao Li's arm slowly froze under everyone's gaze. Xiao Li pulled out her fist and shook her hand; she hadn't been completely unscathed from the collision either.

"Enhancing your physical abilities? Perfect timing!" Lee grinned, and as he retreated, he deliberately removed the weights from his body. Then, a turquoise aura rose from his body. After activating the Eight Gates, Lee soared into the air, spinning as he launched a flying kick towards his opponent, "Front Lotus!"

After the two were locked in fierce combat, Sasuke drew his sword and drew both of them into the battle circle in front of him. Purple lightning flickered on the surface of his sword, and his figure, treading on lightning, was too fast to see. With just a few strikes, he forced the two enemies he had entangled to retreat repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)