Naruto: I Roamed the Ninja World as a Woman

Chapter 215 Parting Gift and Immortal Prophecy

At dawn.

The first rays of dawn from the east barely pierced the summit of Kikyō Mountain, casting a faint warmth upon the tranquil forest.

In the morning light, Nara Shikame leaned against the border marker behind him, lost in thought, letting the cold dew on the stone soak his combat vest.

After saying goodbye to Sakumo Hatake.

He arrived at this place overnight, waiting for the arrival of that genius ninja. He didn't even have time to close his eyes and rest. Any fatigue was suppressed by his highly tense nerves.

Nara Shikamei was a smart man; he thought things through very clearly.

In terms of strength, even if I were alone right now, and even if I brought my close friends "Pig" and "Butterfly" together, they would probably still be no match for that person.

In that case, it would be better to show respect and friendliness from the beginning and not give the other party any reason to cause trouble.

So he is all alone right now.

He didn't even bring a single ninja to provide support; the nearest ANBU squad was quietly waiting five kilometers away.

As for the fact that the head of the prestigious Nara clan of Konoha would disregard his status and stay up all night like a servant, wouldn't that become a laughing stock?

Nara Shikamei was long past the age of caring about personal honor and disgrace!

Being a ninja is a violent profession; ultimately, it's all about fists.

If you are not as strong as others, you naturally have no right to talk about personal dignity.

Not long after.

From the distant mountain path came the clear and steady sound of footsteps.

Although many local residents also choose to go into the mountains in the early morning.

But right now, the area around the foot of the mountain is under complete lockdown, so there's no need to overthink who might be showing up!

Nara Shikamei took a deep breath.

He quickly patted the dew off his vest, perked up, and waited attentively for the other person to arrive.

soon.

A pretty young girl appeared from the mountain path in the distance, gradually coming into his sight.

The other person was tall and had a bright and cheerful demeanor.

A few drops of morning dew still clung to the boots beneath the dark trench coat, and her fiery red hair cascaded down to her waist, lightly touching the scabbard of her ninja sword.

That kind of beauty, yet with a touch of sharpness, blended perfectly with the lingering chill of the morning.

"The head of the Nara clan, Nara Shikame?"

The other person immediately stated their name, then added with some regret, "I thought the person waiting here would be Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo!"

If you only listen to the sound.

This clear, youthful voice actually sounds more like that of a beautiful young girl from a tribe in the neighboring mountains, possessing a youthful charm.

He doesn't seem like a demigod's disciple who sits in charge of a country and kills without blinking an eye.

"Lord Amamiya!"

However, Nara Shikamei dared not be careless in the slightest and hurriedly replied, "Sakumo is too busy with other matters to come, so he had to ask me to come and receive you."

"Is that so—"

The other person's tone contained a faint smile, and it was unclear whether they believed it or not.

Seeing that Ayane Amamiya hadn't stopped walking, she took a few steps closer, until she reached the weathered stone tablet beside Shikame Nara, and her gaze followed it: "This stone must be the boundary marker, right?"

"good."

Nara Shikamei nodded and said, "This is a border marker established by the daimyo of the two countries two hundred years ago. South of the stone marker is the Land of Fire, and north of the stone marker is the Land of Rivers."

After saying that, he added casually, "With this monument as the boundary, neither side's ninjas should easily cross the line unless absolutely necessary. This is an unspoken rule between the two countries. That is why I stopped here to wait for you."

Nara Shikamei was subtly reminding Amamiya Ayane: Your recent behavior is about to cross the line.

"Overstepping?"

The girl seemed not to understand.

She bent slightly, her fingers tracing the stone tablet, and said with a smile, "If I take this step now, wouldn't that mean I've entered the Land of Fire? Would that be considered overstepping my bounds?"

He didn't even wait for Nara Shikanobu to reply.

As soon as the girl finished speaking, she moved her boot forward and placed one foot firmly on the soil on the other side of the boundary marker.

"this----"

Nara Shikamei hadn't expected his opponent to be so assertive, refusing to budge an inch and relentlessly pressing forward.

His heart sank.

At that moment, I suddenly felt that my chances of survival had dropped by a few percentage points.

"As is customary—yes!"

The ninja, known for his wisdom, carefully considered his words, but ultimately had to deny what he had said earlier: "But Your Excellency is now the leader of the Land of Rivers, and this trip is—a meeting after formal notification, so it should be considered separately."

What a forced attempt to save face!

Upon hearing this, Ayane Amamiya chuckled softly, thinking to herself, "How come I didn't know when I formally informed Konoha before coming here?"

"When did the rules of the ninja world become so flexible?"

The girl replied, half sarcastically and half mockingly.

She simply took the full half-step she had just taken, crossing the boundary marker completely and standing on the land of the Land of Fire.

Ayane Amamiya put her hands in her trench coat pockets, then turned to look at Shikame Nara: "If it's just me alone, I suppose you can tolerate it, but if I were to bring along all the Amegakure ninjas—in your Land of Fire's eyes, that would probably be called an 'invasion,' wouldn't it?"

The girl spoke casually, as if she were talking about the weather.

But the moment the word "invasion" was uttered, the atmosphere between them suddenly became sharp, like a poisoned senbon needle.

Nara Shikamei's smile remained unchanged, but his mind was racing.

Showing weakness should not be excessive, otherwise it will cause the envoy to lose his basic dignity, but being tough is probably a dead end!

He must find that delicate balance.

Nara Shikamei quickly suppressed the slight relaxation he had been deliberately displaying, straightened his body, and thus showed sufficient seriousness.

"Sir! Please don't joke about such a thing!"

"Amegakure and Konoha are now friendly nations and have signed a peace treaty."

"We are meeting here precisely to solidify this friendship and dispel any possible misunderstandings."

Nara Shikanaru slightly raised his gaze and said sincerely, "Your Majesty's current imposing presence is evident to all in the ninja world. What specific instructions do you have for me by coming to the border? Please speak frankly!"

He decided to get down to business as soon as possible.

If this dragged on any longer, Nara Shikamei feared that his already limited morale would be completely crushed.

"Advice? Not really."

"To be more precise, it would be more appropriate to describe it as advice."

Ayane Amamiya's gaze passed over him.

The gaze was fixed on the distant foothills, where the outline of the town of Kikyo was faintly visible in the morning light.

"The reason I came alone today, and the reason I'm willing to stand here and talk to you patiently instead of resorting to violence—"

"It's because I still have some patience for Konoha."

""

She turned around and looked at the Konoha ninja again.

The smile in her eyes vanished along with the morning mist, leaving only the clear, cold coolness of a mountain spring.

"Nara Shikame, I don't know if you're aware of what happened before, but please go back and tell Sakumo Hatake, the Anbu, and Hiruzen Sarutobi to behave themselves!"

"Don't think that just because Konoha has long roots and is good at growing in the shade, you can send people here to boss me around!"

Ayane Amamiya finally stopped hiding her imposing aura.

A chilling killing intent mixed with chakra surged around the girl, exuding an unfathomable majesty.

"Normal commercial trade can continue, and since the mission passes through the River Country's ninjas, I can let them pass after registration—"

A dangerous glint appeared in the corner of her eye as she said softly, "But if I catch those people with ulterior motives again, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Nara Shikamei was taken aback.

He instantly realized that he and Shuo Mao had been made scapegoats for the actions of certain people in the village!

A hint of resentment instantly spread through the ninja's heart.

Nara Shikamei could certainly understand the idea of ​​sending spies to gather intelligence.

However, his dishonest actions led to him being caught red-handed, ultimately implicating him.

That's another matter entirely.

Does the village have no idea how much pressure the border is facing right now?

Despite his inner resentment, Nara Shikamei couldn't completely give up, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue, "I have noted down your requests, but are there any misunderstandings among those with ulterior motives—"

Ayane Amamiya acted as if she hadn't heard his explanation.

The girl then looked towards the foot of the mountain on the Land of Fire side and asked, "Is that Kikyo Town?"

Before Nara Shikamei could answer, she had already raised her hand on her own.

Under the ninja's astonished and bewildered gaze.

Without any hand seals, in the blink of an eye, a beam of light, as smooth as a rainbow, shot out from Ayane Amamiya's white palm, descending like a pillar from the heavens!

Dust Escape!

Nara Shikamei instantly recognized the famous Bloodline Limit.

It was the Dust Release technique that completely annihilated Jonin Kato Dan into ashes on the border of the Land of Rivers, and blasted a lake into the rainforest plain!

Now, witnessing this ninjutsu up close, I can feel its unparalleled power firsthand.

His breathing stopped instantly.

Even the blood seemed to congeal—

The myriad pure white rays of dust, upon reaching the edge of the town, suddenly converged and condensed, transforming into a huge and crystal-clear cube!

Dust Release: Limit Detachment Technique!

Hiss!

There was no deafening explosion, only a tooth-grinding, faint humming sound that seemed to wipe away space itself.

Soon, the light from the Dust Escape technique dissipated.

The town of Kikyo was completely unharmed.

However, under Ayane Amamiya's superb control, a dark and deep ravine suddenly appeared at the edge of the town, cutting off the road to the outside world!

"It is truly impolite of you to arrive empty-handed during our hasty meeting today."

"This is just a small gift."

Ayane Amamiya turned and left, saying softly, "Consider this a parting gift for Mr. Nara."

Her voice faded away, and her figure, like a phantom blending into the morning light, slowly disappeared at the end of the winding mountain road, leaving only the stunned, wooden-like cries of the Nara deer.

The sun finally rose fully.

But the ninja didn't feel any warmth, only a chill.

The other side made no attempt to conceal its military power.

Outside Kikyo Town, the huge gap created by Dust Release was the warning line drawn by the other side towards Konoha.

That's all.

Do not cross the line —

Thinking back to what he had just said, Nara Shikamei instantly understood what the other person meant.

He slowly raised his hand and pressed it against his still slightly trembling chest.

The demigod is clearly not old yet, and there are such amazing new successors—

Why does the Sage of Six Paths favor Amegakure so much?

Thinking of the Third Hokage's remark before leaving Konoha, he felt an overwhelming sense of agreement.

Mt. Miaomu.

As one of the three great holy lands of the ninja world, this place is home to many toads.

These toads are intelligent and can speak human language. They also possess a power called magic, making them excellent spiritual companions.

Beside a pond in the mountains.

Jiraiya sat quietly under the tree, sensing the natural energy between heaven and earth.

Leaves drifted down from Jiraiya's head and landed on his face, but he was completely unaware, as if he had become one with nature.

Seeing this, Fukasaku, the sage who was supervising Jiraiya, nodded in satisfaction.

As it turns out, although Jiraiya is usually a bit unreliable, once he puts all his energy into it, his progress in Sage Mode is incredibly fast!

"Little Jiraiya————"

Shima's voice suddenly rang out: "There's a letter from Konoha. Would you like to take a look?"

"It's just that the old man is urging me to go back again."

Jiraiya, without even opening his eyes, said in a deep voice, "My two immortals, I have made up my mind that I will never leave Mount Myōboku before I have mastered the Sage Mode."

"But this time it should be related to Tsunade—"

Master Shima continued, "It was the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest who transmitted it through a clone!"

"Ahem—I'll take a look then."

Upon hearing Tsunade's name, Jiraiya quickly opened his eyes and took the envelope.

His gaze swept across the letter.

His expression changed rapidly, from initial shock and surprise to sadness and sighs, and finally even a hint of fear.

This speed at which he can change his expression is truly terrifying!

The two toad sages exchanged a glance and asked in unison, "Little Jiraiya, what bad thing has happened?"

"Ah—something really happened that's terrible and hard for me to understand—"

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I'm sorry, because it involves Tsunade's privacy, I can't really say."

The two toad sages, sensing the situation, didn't press further. Instead, they asked, "So, will you continue to stay at Mount Myōboku to cultivate your sage techniques, or will you return to Konoha first?"

Jiraiya was in a bit of a dilemma.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a loud voice overhead.

"Jiraiya, and Fukasaku Shima, come here."

The two toads exclaimed in unison, "It's the Great Toad Sage's summons! He must have dreamt of some new prophecy again!"

Before the two of them could speak, Jiraiya was the first to run into the depths of Mount Myōboku.

After Minato died in battle.

He came here not only to cultivate the immortal arts of the Myoboku-san lineage, but also to seek guidance from the Great Toad Sage and find a path to the future for himself who was lost.

It could have been before today.

This giant toad immortal, who had lived for over a thousand years, remained asleep and never responded to me.

But now, at the very moment Tsunade sent her a letter, she was suddenly summoned.

Recalling what Tsunade mentioned in her letter, Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Great Toad Sage had foreseen something extraordinary?