Chapter 285: Prophecy of Death

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Prophecy of Death

After spending a little while comforting the sobbing Shion, whose face was streaked with tears and snot, Hyuga Kagami turned his gaze toward the figure standing quietly behind her.

He was a boy only slightly older than Itachi, with neat features and a pair of glasses that gave him a refined, scholarly appearance.

At the moment, however, he carried a longbow on his back that was nearly as tall as he was, while a short sword hung at his waist. His entire appearance was travel-worn and weary, yet beneath that exhaustion was an indescribable resolve that somehow made him seem remarkably dependable.

"Let’s go inside and talk."

After leading the two of them into the house, Hyuga Kagami handed each of them a cup of hot tea.

Only after they had taken a sip and warmed themselves up did Hyuga Kagami ask in a grave voice, "Shion, what exactly happened? Don’t rush. Take your time and tell me."

In the Land of Demons, the Priestess held a position equivalent to that of both the Hokage and the Fire Daimyo combined in the Land of Fire. She was, without question, the supreme authority of the entire country. Not only did she command a large number of priests and guards, but the palace she resided in was itself a heavily fortified castle.

Even if she encountered an enemy too powerful to deal with for the moment, all the Priestess needed to do was activate the barrier surrounding the palace and request aid from one of the nearby Great Ninja Villages. Under normal circumstances, that alone would be enough to repel the attackers with ease.

As for the last group that had attacked the Land of Demons—the Yomi Cult—Hyuga Kagami figured the grass growing over their leader’s grave was probably already two feet tall by now.

Before Shion could answer, the young guard beside her, named Ashiho, spoke up.

"It’s the Yomi Cult. They’ve risen again and started a rebellion within the Land of Demons."

Hyuga Kagami froze for a moment before saying with absolute certainty, "That’s impossible. Their leader is already dead!"

Ashiho replied, "At first, we also believed that the leader of the Yomi Cult was dead, so we lowered our guard. We never expected him to suddenly appear again. He caught us completely off guard."

Hyuga Kagami repeated in a grave voice, "He’s dead."

Yomi had been killed by Hyuga Kagami’s own hand, so there was no doubt in his mind that the leader of the Yomi Cult was dead.

Completely and utterly dead!

Ashiho said, "While we were fleeing, we saw him once from a distance. He... he really is still alive!"

Shion nodded as well. "Mm! I saw him too. That bad man isn’t dead!"

"How is that possible?!"

Hyuga Kagami clearly remembered that, just to make absolutely sure, he had even cut off Yomi’s head back then.

Even with the Tenseigan, if Hyuga Kagami were decapitated, he would still inevitably die unless he had used the secret technique Soul Descent Technique beforehand to abandon his body.

"Maybe it was a lifelike puppet... or perhaps some kind of Transformation Technique..."

With that thought, Hyuga Kagami turned to Ashiho and asked, "What exactly happened? Start from the beginning."

Although Ashiho was still young, his thoughts were remarkably clear and organized. It didn’t take long for him to recount everything that had happened in the Land of Demons from beginning to end.

It turned out that a month ago, the Priestess had suddenly been struck by an inexplicable premonition. She immediately ordered Ashiho and twenty guards to escort Shion to Konoha.

But the escort team had barely left the palace when a large-scale rebellion erupted throughout the Land of Demons. The remnants of the Yomi Cult, who had been lying low all this time, emerged one after another and began wreaking havoc across the country.

Naturally, the escort team was also attacked by these fanatics. With no other choice, the group was forced to split up, sacrificing some of the guards to lure the Yomi Cult fanatics away.

They fought their way through one battle after another, and by the time they finally escaped the Land of Demons, only Ashiho—the youngest of the twenty guards—remained.

Fortunately, Ashiho was alert and resourceful enough. Traveling alone with Shion, sleeping in the open and enduring all manner of hardships along the way, he managed to bring her safely to Konoha and deliver her into the care of Hyuga Kagami, just as the Priestess had instructed.

Rubbing his chin, Hyuga Kagami pondered for a long while before slowly asking, "So you’re saying that before the enemy even showed themselves, the Priestess had already sent you to escort Shion to Konoha?"

Ashiho nodded. "Yes. Lady Priestess ordered us to bring Lady Shion to you."

Shion suddenly chimed in, "Big Brother, my mom can predict things that haven’t happened yet!"

Ashiho hurriedly explained, "When it comes to certain matters, Lady Priestess possesses a subtle ability to sense what will happen in the future."

Hyuga Kagami nodded. He wasn’t surprised by this.

In the original timeline, Shion possessed the same ability. While in the Land of Demons, she had made several death prophecies, and every single one of them had eventually come true.

The only time one of her prophecies had ever failed was with Naruto—the reincarnation of Asura.

But what concerned Hyuga Kagami wasn’t the Priestess’s ability to make these death prophecies.

What concerned him was the arrangement she had made.

Why had the Priestess been in such a hurry to send Shion to him?

Before everything happened, whose death had her death prophecy foretold?

After thinking it over, Hyuga Kagami felt there was only one reasonable explanation.

The person whose death the Priestess had foreseen was herself.

She must have realized that she would no longer be able to protect Shion, which was why she had hurriedly sent the little girl to Konoha.

"With what remains of the Yomi Cult, even if their leader Yomi really is still alive, they shouldn’t be capable of causing much trouble. Unless..."

Hyuga Kagami paused, his expression gradually darkening.

"Unless another force has gotten involved. For example... the Akatsuki!"

Hyuga Kagami quickly connected the situation in the Land of Demons to the Akatsuki. After all, given Hiruko’s personality, there was no reason for him to remain this quiet after completing his Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual and gaining such a massive increase in strength.

"If the Akatsuki really are involved, then the Priestess is probably already..."

The Priestess’s sealing techniques and sensory abilities could both be considered among the finest in the entire shinobi world, but her actual combat ability was not particularly outstanding.

Therefore, if the Akatsuki had found a way to breach the barrier, then even the Priestess and all the guards around her combined would be no match for them.

At that thought, Hyuga Kagami glanced at Shion.

Looking at the tear-streaked face of the young girl, a deep sense of guilt welled up inside him.

He felt that the Priestess had sent Shion to him partly because she trusted him and believed he was capable of protecting the girl.

But perhaps there was also a trace of reproach toward him for failing to uphold their agreement and completely eradicate the Yomi Cult.

Although most of Hyuga Kagami’s dealings with the Priestess had been mutually beneficial transactions, the guidance she had given him in sealing techniques had been very real.

And the debt he owed her for that guidance was something that could never be measured in money or material gain.

So even though he suspected that the Priestess might have already met with disaster, Hyuga Kagami still had to make this trip to the Land of Demons.

After settling Shion and Ashiho in at his home, Hyuga Kagami headed alone to a secluded spot and contacted Shinichi through Shozaimaru to ask about the Akatsuki’s recent movements.

If the Akatsuki really had gotten involved in the Yomi Cult’s rebellion in the Land of Demons, then Shinichi, who was currently inside the Akatsuki, should have heard at least something about it...