Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 220 The Land of Demons, What a Lively Place!
The night was as dark as ink, heavily enveloping the land of demons.

The rolling mountains undulated in the night, their outlines blending seamlessly into the thick darkness.

The shrine lies nestled among the mountains, its silhouette silhouetted against the night sky.

The towering torii gates outside the shrine exude an ancient atmosphere, and the cascading blue stone steps extend downwards one by one.

On either side of the palace are lower auxiliary buildings, with many guards lined up to watch over and patrol the area, with a few dim torches burning nearby.

The orange flames burned vigorously in the night, their glow spreading out in a small circle of warm yellow, dancing fiercely in the biting night wind, stubbornly resisting the encroaching darkness.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kumokawa Hyuga, and Kakashi Hatake, led by two solemn-looking guards, walked toward the heavy, tightly closed gates of the shrine.

crunch...

The heavy wooden door was pushed open by two guards, revealing the brightly lit interior of the shrine.

The shrine's interior is spacious and solemn, with a soaring dome and ancient and mysterious murals painted on the walls. The air is filled with the scent of sandalwood, paper, ink, and the sedimentation of time.

The most eye-catching feature is the huge round stone table placed in the center of the shrine.

Around the stone table, five huge curtains of different colors were evenly hung, each bearing the characters for wind, fire, earth, thunder, and water, like five giant flags.

At this moment, four figures were already seated in the four seats around the stone table.

"Humph!"

A low, sarcastic snort suddenly rang out in the silent shrine.

"Konoha really has a lot of influence!" someone said with undisguised dissatisfaction. "They actually made so many of us wait here for the three of you."

Hinata Kumokawa's gaze swept across the shrine, and in addition to the four figures sitting at the table, he also saw eight figures behind the curtain.

Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, sat solemnly beneath a sandy-yellow curtain, his face cold and stern, draped in a dark Kazekage robe. Behind the curtain stood Maki and Yura, his bodyguards.

Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, sat under a dark blue curtain. He was short in stature with a youthful face, but his eyes held a depth that did not match his appearance. Ao and Mei Terumi stood behind the curtain.

Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, sat under a brownish-yellow curtain. He was even shorter than Yagura Karatachi, and his eyes gleamed with a cunning and calculating look.

However, the person behind the curtain made Hinata Kumokawa raise an eyebrow.

Besides Huang Tu, who carried an axe and had a steady and tall figure, the other bodyguard accompanying him to the Five Kage Summit was Deidara.

At this moment, he's like someone with ADHD, impatiently shaking his leg and looking around.

Finally, there was A, the Fourth Raikage, seated beneath an indigo curtain. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest, and his face bore undisguised rage and discontent.

It was clearly him who spoke just now.

Hinata Kumokawa's gaze shifted to behind the Fourth Raikage, passing over Darui's dull and lazy face, and meeting a pair of long, narrow, feline-like pupils.

"Yo." Hinata Kumokawa smiled to himself. "An old friend."

Seemingly noticing the amusement in his eyes, the two Yugito unconsciously gripped the whip handles at their waists, their eyes flashing with cold killing intent and anger.

She would never forget that on the battlefield of the Land of Hot Springs, it was this very guy who captured her and Samui alive, making her a prisoner of Konoha!
Although her identity as a Jinchūriki was too sensitive, and she was later released by Konoha as a sign of "sincerity" during negotiations, the hatred and shame intensified in her heart.

Moreover, Samui is still in Konoha's hands, serving as another bargaining chip in negotiations between the two sides!
So at this moment, it can be said that enemies meeting are extremely hostile.

The atmosphere inside the shrine instantly became tense and tense due to the Fourth Raikage's impolite opening and Yugito's undisguised killing intent; the air seemed to freeze.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused only slightly, and apologetic smile quickly appeared on his face, as if he did not sense the hostility of the two.

"I apologize for keeping you all waiting."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, his calm tone carrying a perfectly appropriate hint of apology, and said, "The journey was long, which caused a slight delay. I hope you will forgive me."

"Hmph!" The Fourth Raikage let out another cold snort of dissatisfaction, but did not continue to press his advantage.

He simply leaned back heavily in his chair, his arms still crossed, his gaze sweeping over Hinata Yunchuan, a cold glint in his eyes.

Thanks to Konoha and this white-eyed brat, he has been reprimanded by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning quite a bit during the years of constant war between him and Konoha.

Hyuga Kumokawa paid no attention to the hostility of the Fourth Raikage and his companion; he was already calculating how lively the Land of Demons would be.

His gaze swept over the outline of the arm armor beneath the Fourth Raikage's sleeve, the whips that had been gathered into maces at the waists of the two wooden dolls, and the massive one-handed axe that Huang Tu carried on his back...

"Interesting." Hinata Kumokawa genuinely smiled this time, thinking to himself, "The second of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Winged Imperial Arm: Abomination, the Thunder Arm, the God-Slaying Whip, the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword..."

Of the ten ninja tools left on the first floor of the underground palace, I never expected that half of them would appear here at the same time.

All that remained was the katana that he had casually given to Nagato after killing the Hannya disciples.

There's also Hidan's "Four-Sickle Child" and Miyajo En's "Holy Annihilation Arrow," as well as "Kage's" "Oni Mask" and that discarded sword that was treated as junk.

The Land of Demons is really bustling these days.

"Ha ha……"

At this moment, Onoki let out a slightly hoarse chuckle and said slowly, "It's alright, it's alright, as long as the Hokage arrives safely." "After all, the roads in the Land of Demons are indeed not easy to travel."

Having said that, he turned to look into the depths of the shrine and slowly asked, "Your Highness, Shrine Maiden."

"Could you explain why the Land of Demons, the location of the Five Kage Summit, has become like this?"

"The strange stone statues we saw along the way don't seem to match your promise of safety and seclusion."

Onoki's slightly oppressive questioning stirred ripples in the silent shrine.

Upon arriving here, each of them saw the large number of stone statues.

The stone statues formed a neat line and were advancing at an extremely slow pace toward the heart of the Land of Demons.

Whatever stood in their way was crushed by their sheer numbers and weight.

They even attacked the stone statues simultaneously, but after being shattered, the statues were restored and continued their slow advance into the heart of the Land of Demons.

Upon hearing Onoki ask the question that everyone shared, all eyes turned to the depths of the shrine.

There, instead of curtains representing a particular country, there were layers upon layers of pure white gauze curtains hanging down.

Behind the gauze curtain, illuminated by the flickering candlelight, a slender figure knelt quietly, her form hazy and indistinct.

It was Miroku, the priestess of the Land of Demons.

"Lord Tsuchikage is absolutely right." Miroku's ethereal and calm voice rang out. "The calamity that the Land of Demons is currently facing is indeed contrary to the security and secrecy I promised."

"I am deeply sorry for this."

At this point, she paused slightly before continuing, "But I think that what is happening in the Land of Demons is also the reason why everyone here is willing to come here."

"What do you mean?" Luo Sha frowned and asked, "What do those stone statues have to do with us?"

“Because what is currently rampaging in the Land of Demons is the demon ‘Mouryou’…” Miroku said slowly, “No, perhaps it should be called a Ten-Espada-level ‘Hollow’ now.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed.

"A Hollow at the level of a Tenth Espada?"

Having witnessed the power of a 'Great Hollow' firsthand, Yagura Karatachi spoke with a mixture of disbelief, solemnity, and astonishment: "Worries about suppressing 'Mouryou' by the priestesses of each generation?"

"How did it escape, and how did it become 'illusion'?"

His question voiced the doubts in everyone's mind.

The reason they were invited to the Five Shadows Summit and agreed to come here was indeed because of the rampant emergence of 'falsehood'.

What troubles and excites them is not only the 'Great Hollows' that are formed from the death of ninjas, but also the countless ordinary 'Hollows' formed from the negative emotions of ordinary people.

Compared to the relatively small number of 'Great Hollows' distributed throughout the ninja world, the ordinary 'Hollows' are the root cause of the chaos in the entire ninja world.

Even though ordinary Hollows cannot use Cero, their near-immunity to physical damage makes them a huge threat to commoners, nobles, and ordinary ninjas.

The other four ninja villages don't have the same foundation as Konoha, and they haven't yet figured out how to deal with the 'Hollow'.

They originally thought that the Demon Kingdom, which could suppress demons, would be free from the invasion and ravages of those 'Voids', and would also have a way to deal with 'Voids' similar to demons.

Unexpectedly, even the demons suppressed by the priestess turned into 'Void' at the level of Ten Blades.

According to the intelligence they gathered from the battlefields of Konoha, Kirigakure, and the Land of Hot Springs, the Espada-level Hollows possess the power to inflict heavy casualties on any of these countries.

Whether it was Konoha being severely injured by the newly formed Espada, or Yagura Karatachi being defeated head-on by an Espada, both are enough to prove that this information is true.

Yagura Karatachi was originally going to step down and let Mei Terumi succeed him as the Fifth Mizukage, but when he heard about the meeting related to 'Hollow,' he accepted the invitation without hesitation.

However, Miroku behind the gauze curtain did not immediately answer Yagura's question.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the gauze curtain, landing on Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kumokawa Hyuga.

"Please, Hokage, take a seat." Miroku's voice remained ethereal. "I believe that you, as the one who initiated this movement, are able to answer your questions."

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze immediately turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, said nothing, and walked to the crimson curtain, taking a seat in the only empty one. Hyuga Kumokawa and Kakashi Hatake went behind the curtain.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi taking his seat, the five Kage, who symbolize the highest power of the five great ninja villages, finally gathered together.

"Gentlemen..." Maitreya's ethereal voice rang out again, carrying a solemn declaration, "Please place the straw hats representing your identities on the table in front of you."

Although the shadows present were eager to know the answer to the question, they still took off their straw hats and placed them on the stone table in front of them.

"At the call of His Hokage, the Five Kage have now gathered," the priestess Miroku announced. "I am the host of this meeting, and my name is Miroku."

“Next…” she said, “the Five Shadows Summit will now officially begin.”

(End of this chapter)