Chapter 286: The Palace

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: The Palace

Shinichi didn’t keep Hyuga Kagami waiting for long. A message soon arrived.

In the message, Shinichi mentioned that Akatsuki had not undertaken any coordinated operations recently. Each team had been acting independently, so he wasn’t aware of what was happening in the Land of Demons.

However, Shinichi also mentioned that there was indeed an inconspicuous fellow named Yomi hanging around Hiruko and Shinno. Apparently, he served as a research assistant to the two of them.

Looking at the message in his hand, Hyuga Kagami felt somewhat helpless.

During the time Shinichi had been undercover in Akatsuki, he had paid close attention to Obito and Pain, Akatsuki’s ostensible leader. The moment he noticed the slightest unusual movement from either of them, he would immediately report it to Hyuga Kagami.

But when it came to people he looked down on, such as Hiruko and Shinno, he rarely paid them any attention at all, much less bothered reporting anything about them to Hyuga Kagami.

As for how many research assistants Hiruko and Shinno had around them, what their names were, what their backgrounds were, and other such information—in Shinichi’s eyes, those were all trivial details far too insignificant to warrant any attention.

Naturally, he had never bothered reporting them to Hyuga Kagami either.

Hyuga Kagami sighed. "That idiot looks down on researchers. Sooner or later, he’s going to suffer badly for it!"

After learning that Yomi was still alive, all the doubts in Hyuga Kagami’s mind were finally cleared up.

Obviously, Yomi had not died beneath Hyuga Kagami’s sword. Not only had he survived, but he had also joined forces with Hiruko and Shinno.

And since Shinichi knew nothing about the current upheaval in the Land of Demons, that meant only Hiruko and Shinno were involved, rather than Akatsuki as a whole.

After the previous rounds of suppression, the Yomi Cult had long since ceased to exist in anything but name. As its leader, the only thing Yomi could possibly offer to entice Hiruko and Shinno into taking action was the demon Mōryō, which had been sealed away by the Priestess.

Then there was Shinno, who had been plotting his "Zero-Tails Plan" all along.

The greatest obstacle to creating an artificial Tailed Beast was obtaining an enormous source of chakra.

If the side effects were disregarded, the soul of the demon Mōryō was clearly an excellent source of chakra. So if Yomi had used Mōryō’s soul as his bargaining chip to persuade Shinno, Shinno would inevitably have been tempted.

As for Hiruko, who was partnered with Shinno, he had only just completed his Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual. He was currently brimming with confidence and itching for an opportunity to show off his newfound power, so it would have been easy for Shinno to persuade him to take part in the operation.

"Yomi... Shinno... Hiruko..."

After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami silently added another name.

"The demon Mōryō..."

Very quickly, the scattered threads began to come together in Hyuga Kagami’s mind.

He even suspected that the reason Yomi had survived being beheaded by him was because he possessed some bizarre secret technique.

And since Yomi had subsequently become Hiruko’s research assistant, the fact that Hiruko had managed to perfect the Chimera Technique at such an unexpectedly rapid pace might very well have been partly thanks to Yomi’s contributions!

"I have to make a trip to the Land of Demons—and I need to go and return as quickly as possible!"

Until he received definite confirmation of the Priestess’s death, Hyuga Kagami could never simply stand aside and do nothing with a clear conscience.

Even though he suspected that the Priestess had most likely already met with disaster, he still had to make this trip.

If she could still be saved, then he would do everything he could to save her.

And if he arrived one step too late...

Then at the very least, he would avenge her!

Having made up his mind, Hyuga Kagami went to Rei’s home and asked her to look after Shion and Ashiho, whom he had settled at his own house. Then, without wasting another moment, he hurried to the Uchiha compound to meet with Shisui.

Seeing Hyuga Kagami fully armed, with even the ninja tool pouch at his waist stuffed to the brim, Shisui was startled and hurriedly asked, "Senpai, what happened?"

Hyuga Kagami briefly explained the situation in the Land of Demons before saying, "I need to make a trip to the Land of Demons. I’ll leave things in the village to you."

Shisui asked, "Senpai, you’re going alone?"

Patting Shisui on the shoulder, Hyuga Kagami said, "Don’t worry. I won’t do anything reckless. I’m only going there to assess the situation. Besides, the news will spread quickly. Reinforcements from the other major ninja villages may already be on their way."

Although the Land of Demons and the Land of Fire lay on opposite ends of the shinobi continent and were separated by a great distance, the Land of Demons directly bordered the Land of Earth and wasn’t particularly far from the Land of Wind either.

So while Konoha might have only just received word of the rebellion in the Land of Demons, Iwagakure and Sunagakure had almost certainly obtained the relevant intelligence much earlier.

Hyuga Kagami then warned him, "I still don’t know how far the rebellion in the Land of Demons has progressed. If it’s already nearing its end, Hiruko may have already turned around and started heading here to cause trouble for the village!"

Shisui hurriedly asked, "Then what should I do?"

Hyuga Kagami instructed, "Tomorrow, find a suitable opportunity and make a lap around the outskirts of the village as ’Homura’!"

Shisui immediately understood and nodded. "I understand."

As long as Kamigami’s "Homura" appeared near the village, Konoha’s alert level would inevitably skyrocket.

And not only that—the entire Uchiha clan would immediately go into full lockdown as well.

Hyuga Kagami warned him, "While I’m gone, you need to be especially careful. Hiruko is a complete monster now. If you encounter him, don’t hesitate—use Kotoamatsukami and subdue him immediately!"

Shisui nodded again, his expression becoming considerably more serious.

After finishing his instructions to Shisui, Hyuga Kagami secretly slipped out of the village under the cover of night. Once he reached an uninhabited area, he directly activated Tenseigan Chakra Mode and flew at high speed toward the Land of Demons.

Because he had to avoid heavily traveled roads and populated towns, Hyuga Kagami was forced to make wide detours from time to time. As a result, even with the incredible flight speed granted by Tenseigan Chakra Mode, it still took him three or four days to travel from Konoha to the Land of Demons.

When Hyuga Kagami secretly approached the Priestess’s palace, he discovered that the palace itself was completely intact. It didn’t appear to have experienced any brutal siege or defensive battle.

And yet, a faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

Moreover, there wasn’t the slightest trace of a barrier around the palace.

Activating his Tenseigan, Hyuga Kagami observed the palace from afar and discovered that all the guards inside had already been replaced by members of the Yomi Cult dressed in their distinctive robes.

Hyuga Kagami’s expression darkened.

"The palace has already fallen...?"

He raised his head and glanced at the sky. Seeing that the sun had already begun to sink toward the horizon, Hyuga Kagami sat down cross-legged on the ground. As he ate some dry rations, he conserved his strength and allowed his stamina to recover.

The interior of the Priestess’s palace contained far too many sealing formulas, so even with his Tenseigan activated, Hyuga Kagami was unable to perceive the details of what was happening inside.

Considering that the enemies might include not only Yomi, but Hiruko and Shinno as well, caution was necessary.

Hiruko himself had already become a complete monster, while Shinno might now have become the jinchūriki of an artificial Tailed Beast.

Neither could be underestimated.

So, just to be safe, Hyuga Kagami decided to recover his strength first.

Once night fell, he would infiltrate the palace and find out exactly what had happened...