Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 199 Witchcraft, Human Magic, Priest

"You want the eldest son to have your baby?!"

Yahiko stared wide-eyed, hardly believing his ears.

What does it mean to conceive the next generation?

Even Yahiko, who knows nothing about men and women, knows the meaning of the phrase "to conceive the next generation".

Isn't that just... mating... cough, having a baby?

But the eldest is only about ten years old, right?

This shrine maiden I just met, although she has a delicate appearance and an elegant temperament, must be at least in her twenties, right?

Isn't this a bit...?

"A free spirit, meow!"

Yahiko, who seemed about to speak but then stopped, deflated like a punctured balloon. His face twitched slightly as he looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Is the phrase "unrestrained and dissolute" a bit too much?

He just meant to say "shameless".

Suddenly, Ji Yun, who had been dozing in Yun Chuan's arms, stood up abruptly, his heterochromatic eyes fixed on the woman dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit.

His smooth, silky black hair stood on end, and he couldn't suppress his habitual quirks that he usually kept hidden in front of others.

Under Yahiko's surprised gaze, Jiyun realized her lapse in composure, but her ears remained pressed back, her wide cat-like eyes filled with hostility as she asked, "Is this how 'shrine maidens' court?"

Even Yun Chuan was stunned when he heard Maitreya's words, and only came to his senses when he heard Ji Yun's angry hiss.

"Cough cough."

Understanding that this was a cat's natural "territorial instinct," or rather, its "possessiveness" and "food guarding" instinct, Yun Chuan stroked the black cat's tail, which was wagging in displeasure, and coughed lightly, saying, "Your Highness, I don't think that's what you meant, do I?"

Miroku's smile remained gentle, but a rare blush appeared on his delicate face as he explained, "It's not what you think. In fact, priestesses do not need to give birth."

"Or rather, every generation of priestesses is fatherless."

Upon hearing this, both Yahiko, whose eyes were looking strange, and Jiyun, whose hair was standing on end, were stunned.

Yun Chuan wasn't too surprised, but asked curiously, "So what do you mean by letting me 'bear offspring' for you?"

Maitreya did not rush to answer his question. He stretched out his hands from his wide sleeves and raised them in front of him with his palms facing up.

The next moment, the shimmering light around her dimmed, and a dark purple aura gradually emerged.

The once solemn and cold Hall of Heroes was now tinged with a faint sense of gloom, and even Yahiko subconsciously shivered.

"This is……"

Looking at the misty blackish-purple energy on Maitreya's left hand, Yun Chuan sensed something familiar, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Zero-tailed? 'Dark Chakra'?

No, it's purer and more frenzied than Zero-Tails' "Dark Chakra".

Upon closer inspection, it resembles a sinister, ghostly aura, forming a faint, indistinct ghost face.

It was as if one could hear the monstrous roar, filled with greed, evil, resentment, and rage...

The longer one stares at that eerie purple mist, the more pronounced the roar becomes, instilling in one evil thoughts of killing and destruction.

Clearly, this strange purple mist can influence human will and induce evil thoughts and malice in people's hearts.

However, it was not enough to affect Yun Chuan's mind.

"This is part of the monster 'Wraith'."

Perhaps it was the influence of that eerie aura, but even Miroku's gentle smile faded slightly: "You don't seem surprised, so you must know something about 'demons'."

"In that case, can you discern the true nature of this power?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Chuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering, and pondered, "I have indeed studied things similar to the demons you mentioned... However, the 'evil intent' of your demon seems to be too pure."

The Zero-Tails is a chakra creation similar to a tailed beast, composed purely of "dark chakra," which is a combination of "chakra," "life force," and "negative emotions."

Shennong has now become the Jinchūriki of the Zero-Tails. With his almost inexhaustible life force after becoming a "demon", he no longer needs to exploit the lives of thousands of people to restore the power of the Zero-Tails as he did before.

However, those so-called "negative emotions," or rather, so-called "malicious thoughts" and "desires," still need to be slowly absorbed and stored.

However, the number of "ghosts" has now reached two thousand, and there are several hundred "ghosts" belonging to Shennong.

The negative emotions of "ghosts" are undoubtedly the most numerous, and they can all be connected with Shennong through "blood".

They can all provide "negative emotions" to Zero-tail, and the recipient will not suffer any adverse effects; on the contrary, it will help stabilize their mental state.

The monster "Wangliang" should be similar to "Zero Tail" in that its power originates from the "evil thoughts" in the human heart.

Whether it's "Yin Release Chakra" or "negative emotions," human emotions are incredibly complex, especially when tens of thousands of people are gathered together.

Compared to the chaotic aura of "Zero Tail", the power of "Wraith" seems too pure.

"It's almost like..." Yun Chuan stroked his chin, saying with interest, "'Evil' cut out of a person."

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Maitreya's eyes, and then he gave Yun Chuan a deep look before extending his other right hand forward as well.

The next moment, pinkish-white mist rose from his palm, dispelling the surrounding chill.

One hand shrouded in pinkish-white mist, the other in dark purple mist, perfectly balanced...

"This is the power of the priestess?" Yun Chuan asked in surprise. "It's as pure as the aura of a demon, but..."

The two reveal completely opposite essences.

If the power of demons is like all the dark and filthy parts of the human heart.

The witch's power gave people a feeling of supreme perfection and inviolability.

Comfortable, tranquil, natural, stable...

"You're right." Miroku sighed softly. "Witches and demons are opposites, because we are two sides of the same coin."

"In other words, the demons are the dark side that has been stripped away by priestesses throughout history."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chuan narrowed his eyes, recalling the extremely terrified expression on Shennong's face when he saw his "evil thoughts".

If Shennong knew that the witch's "dark side" was powerful enough to create "monsters," I wonder what kind of expression he would have made.

"But is it really okay to forcibly strip away one's dark side?" Yun Chuan asked curiously.

The dark side, that monstrous thing, exists in everyone, and he was aware of it to some extent.

In the original story, Naruto, Might Guy, and Aoba Yamashiro traveled to Turtle Island to train in order to learn how to control the power of the Tailed Beasts.

On Turtle Island, there is a temple with a special waterfall called "True Waterfall," which can reveal a person's dark side.

When Naruto stands in front of the waterfall, his dark side emerges, reflecting his inner inferiority complex and his past experiences of being bullied and ostracized by the villagers because of his status as a Jinchuriki.

However, Yun Chuan did not expect that the priestess could peel away her "dark side," and that it was a "dark side" strong enough to become a "monster."

"We have no other choice."

Maitreya shook his head and said calmly, "This is the inheritance of the 'Witchcraft,' and also the destiny of the 'Witchcraft.' Like the three holy lands, if you want to gain power, you must pay a price."

"In the distant ancient times, before chakra existed, people lacked understanding and control over nature and could not comprehend natural disasters and phenomena such as lightning, eclipses, landslides, and floods."

Therefore, we attribute everything to divine intervention, and thus revere nature and believe that all things have a spirit.

"This also gave rise to the worship of nature and primitive witchcraft, hoping to gain control over the power of nature through certain rituals and methods."

"Later, due to its extremely demanding training conditions and the more widespread dissemination of chakra, this power, which humans called witchcraft, gradually disappeared."

Yun Chuan had heard of the existence of "shamans" in his previous life, and they were somewhat similar to the "shamans" mentioned by Maitreya.

The word "巫" (wu) means "to pray" or "to invoke". It refers to a woman who can perform rituals in the formless and invoke the spirits through dance. The word "巫" (wu) is a representation of a person dancing with two sleeves. It is synonymous with "工" (gong). In ancient times, Wu Xian was the first to create the word "巫" (wu), and all those who belonged to the category of "巫" (wu) followed this.

However, the "shamans" of the past were merely natural leaders revered by the ancients, whose power was based on their creative contributions to natural knowledge and production technology, as well as their noble character that benefited the entire population.

Their practical abilities include mastering astronomy, calendrical calculations, meteorological laws, geography, tools and measurement, construction techniques, medicine, divination, etc., to guide the production and life of the tribe.

But in a world where the power of "natural energy" exists...

The power of shamans truly connects with heaven and earth, allowing them to grasp the laws governing the movement of the sun, moon, and stars, and to mobilize the "power of spirits and deities" to bring blessings and ward off disasters. They can perform rituals such as summoning spirits, interpreting dreams, making prophecies, praying for rain, healing the sick, and astrology...

The so-called "power of ghosts and gods" is the power of this world, also known as "natural energy".

"So, the priestess's power inheritance is 'celestial magic' belonging to humans?"

After hearing Maitreya's explanation, Yun Chuan's eyes shone brightly.

Both are methods of utilizing natural energy, and like the immortal modes of the three holy lands, they are undoubtedly a type of "immortal arts."

"..." Maitreya was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Whether it's magic or witchcraft, do you think a human who has lost 'evil intent' is still human?"

Myths contain legends about the power of the wishes of all living beings.

It is a power generated by the emotional fluctuations of sentient beings who yearn for a better life, containing the purest blessings.

A shaman is someone who gathers the "wishes" of all living beings into themselves through human faith, thereby mobilizing the power of heaven and earth.

"However, to gain power, one must pay a price."

Maitreya spoke slowly, his tone complex: "To use the power of witchcraft, one must accept the faith and reverence of the people, and absorb the 'wishes' of all living beings through the inherited abilities of witchcraft."

"But while receiving worship, if one does not have enough willpower to maintain one's own identity, one will be assimilated into what believers want, or even have one's mind polluted by the evil thoughts of believers."

"In order to avoid such consequences to the greatest extent, the spirits were separated by priestesses of all generations to bear evil thoughts, while the remaining will of all living beings is pure spiritual power that can be absorbed and digested."

This is a method of using "natural energy" unique to "shamans".

However, after the Sage of Six Paths established the "Ninjutsu" sect, he sowed the seeds of chakra, and the "Shaman" sect, with its harsh training conditions, gradually faded from the historical stage.

As things have evolved, only the lineage of priestesses from the Land of Demons has survived.

"Interesting," Yun Chuan muttered to himself. "However, it seems that the flaws of the 'witch' magic are quite obvious. It requires the removal of evil thoughts from the power of will and a sufficient 'quantity,' so it cannot be popularized at all."

Nevertheless, the traditions of shrine maidens still have value for reference.

Thinking of this, Yun Chuan looked at Miroku again and smiled slightly, "Your Highness, what do you desire?"

Seemingly sensing Yun Chuan's thoughts, Maitreya's face regained its gentle smile: "I presume you also understand that forcibly stripping away one's dark side is a failed and undesirable approach."

"It was the priestess's first attempt that caused endless trouble for the priestesses who followed."

"Because the spirit and the priestess are two sides of the same coin, the priestess can only choose to seal the spirit, but there is no such thing as a permanent seal in this world."

Yun Chuan nodded in agreement.

Even the powerful sealing technique "Six Paths: Planetary Devastation" jointly performed by the Otsutsuki brothers Hagoromo and Hamura, a powerful being, will gradually dissipate over time, let alone the seal performed by the priestess.

As time goes on, the seal will inevitably develop various flaws, and each flaw will be a test of life and death for the priestess.

Because the strength of the "Wangliang" and the priestess is similar, and the "Wangliang" obviously has no moral bottom line, the priestess is often at a disadvantage in the confrontation.

Therefore, trying to remove or seal away one's dark side is nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst, which will only cause endless harm in the long run.

"Therefore, the responsibility of each generation of priestesses is to burn their own life and soul when the demons break free, to scatter and seal the demons again, and to leave power and hope to the next generation."

"This is the fate and curse of the priestess, and also the responsibility she must bear, as it has been for thousands of years."

There was no sadness in her tone; she seemed indifferent to her own death: "If I'm gone, my daughter will become a witch and die at the hands of demons... That's what I thought."

At this point, Miro paused, looked up at Yun Chuan, and smiled slightly: "However, I have lost the ability or curse to foresee death, but I have also seen hope in you, the 'Defiant of Fate'."

"As a priestess, I can die as a matter of course, but as a mother, I cannot stand by and watch my child die as a matter of course."

"To change my destiny, even if it means letting my daughter become an ordinary person, grow up in an ordinary way, and live an ordinary life."

"To achieve all this, the war must end completely in my generation, and the demons must lose all hope of resurgence!"

Compared to the detached indifference that seems to see through everything in the world, Maitreya seems to have seen too many unchangeable facts and finally accepted his future and death with equanimity.

Because of the power passed down through generations of priestesses, they can see the fate of human death and should therefore lose their negative emotions.

But such a person has shown the "selfishness" of a mother.

For the sake of her child, she was willing to bring the neutral Oni Kingdom to submit and to help Yun Chuan, who was "starting a war for peace".

Thinking of this, Yun Chuan couldn't help but smile with interest: "You should know a lot of inside information, the Goddess of the Rabbit, the Sage of Six Paths, the Three Great Holy Lands... Why do you believe so much that only I can do it?"

Maitreya shook his head, a hint of sarcasm and self-mockery in his smile: "If even the 'defiant' can't do it, then this unchanging world is truly beyond saving."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chuan's smile deepened, and he extended his left hand with a slight smile, saying, "Then, welcome to the team, High Priest Maitreya."

Maitreya was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and extended his left hand to gently shake hands with him.

"I hope you will take good care of me in the future, Lord Yun Chuan."

(End of this chapter)