Chapter 287: Blocking the Prophecy

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Blocking the Prophecy

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Hyuga Kagami quietly wiped down the Kusanagimaru in his hands.

Although his heart was filled with anger and guilt, he did not allow himself to be controlled by those negative emotions. Instead, he did everything he could to suppress the killing intent that continued to spread within him.

A gentle breeze brushed across his body, making his mind increasingly calm.

In the shinobi world, blindness and underestimating one’s enemy were a ninja’s greatest foes.

No matter what one did, there had to be a clear objective. And Kagami’s purpose in coming to the Land of Demons this time was not to indiscriminately slaughter everyone in sight, but to find the Priestess.

Looking toward the Priestess’s palace in the distance, Kagami’s expression gradually turned solemn.

As night fell, rows of lights had already been lit throughout the distant palace. Although the followers of the Yomi Cult were still patrolling without pause, there were undoubtedly far more openings in their formations than during the day, making it much easier for Kagami to infiltrate.

Even so, Kagami still did not make his move.

He continued to wait patiently.

As the night deepened, the formations of the patrols inside the palace gradually became disorganized. The guards stationed at the various posts also began yawning one after another.

The silence surrounding the palace seemed to have lulled every guard inside into lowering their vigilance.

"It’s time!"

Hyuga Kagami slowly rose to his feet. In the next instant, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

Like a shadow, he moved through the darkness cast by the walls, slipping past checkpoint after checkpoint and avoiding patrol after patrol. In only a few moments, he had infiltrated the palace.

Kagami had stayed in the Priestess’s palace for some time before. Although he couldn’t claim to know its layout like the back of his hand, he was by no means unfamiliar with it.

After sneaking inside, he leaned against a dark corner of the wall and thought, "The Priestess’s quarters are in the heart of the palace. I should check there first!"

After passing through several corridors, Kagami discovered a squad of Yomi Cult followers guarding the passage leading to the Priestess’s quarters.

Kagami’s gaze sharpened as he slowly drew the Kusanagimaru from his waist.

Whoosh—

With the sound of rushing wind, Kagami transformed into a black blur and lunged forward.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several cold flashes of sword light swept through the corridor.

One Yomi Cult follower after another collapsed to the ground, bewilderment still frozen on their faces.

"Ene—"

The Yomi Cult squad leader standing at the center of the group had only just opened his mouth to sound the alarm when Kagami released the Kusanagimaru from his hand.

Like a kunai, the blade shot through the air with terrifying speed and plunged straight into the man’s mouth, cutting his warning short!

After pulling the Kusanagimaru from the Yomi Cult squad leader’s mouth, Hyuga Kagami casually flicked the blade, sending the still-steaming blood flying from its edge. With an indifferent expression, he walked toward the Priestess’s quarters.

Upon arriving outside her quarters, Kagami slowly pushed open the door, which was covered in sealing formulas.

After opening it, however, he did not immediately enter. Instead, he stood outside and carefully surveyed the interior with his Tenseigan.

Through the Tenseigan’s vision, there wasn’t a single person inside, nor was there the slightest trace of chakra. The bed, furnishings, and everything else in the room also appeared completely normal.

"No one...?"

Kagami frowned, somewhat surprised.

He had assumed that even if he couldn’t find the Priestess herself here, he should at least have found Yomi, the leader of the Yomi Cult that had occupied the palace. Yet unexpectedly, there was no one at all.

Holding the Kusanagimaru in hand, Kagami slowly stepped into the room.

But the moment he entered, he sensed that something was wrong and immediately looked up toward the ceiling.

The ceiling of the Priestess’s quarters was exceptionally high. By Kagami’s estimation, it was at least twelve meters above the floor, roughly the height of three or four stories. Hanging from the very center of the domed ceiling was a crystal chandelier, shimmering with a magnificent radiance.

An ordinary person might not have noticed anything unusual about it, but Kagami possessed the Tenseigan.

Through his Tenseigan’s vision, Kagami could clearly see that the crystal chandelier suspended at the center of the dome contained a gentle energy.

That energy seemed to be a mixture of chakra and natural energy, remarkably similar to the Dragon Vein chakra contained within the gourd artifact at Kagami’s waist.

Whoosh...

Just as Hyuga Kagami was about to leap up toward the domed ceiling to take a closer look at the crystal chandelier, a burst of golden light suddenly shot out from it.

At the same time, a figure Kagami knew well stepped out from within the golden light.

It was none other than the Priestess of the Land of Demons!

Staring at the lifelike apparition of the Priestess before him, Kagami cautiously asked, "Your Highness, this is...?"

The Priestess explained, "This is my spirit."

"Your spirit!?"

Kagami froze for a moment before his expression dimmed.

"I’m sorry. I failed to keep our agreement."

A so-called spirit was essentially another term for a soul. Barring some special circumstance, the fact that the Priestess was appearing before him in the form of a soul meant that she was most likely already dead.

And that filled Kagami with guilt.

If he had completely killed Yomi as promised back then, perhaps the Priestess could have escaped this calamity.

Seeing his expression, the Priestess smiled gently.

"You needn’t take it so much to heart. All of this was already destined to happen."

Kagami asked, "Did you foresee something?"

"Yes. More than a month ago, I foresaw my own death." After a brief pause, the Priestess smiled again. "Actually, several years ago, when Mōryō brought disaster upon the Land of Demons, I also foresaw my own death. But because you appeared, my prophecy failed to come true."

"What? You foresaw your own death that time too?"

Only now did Kagami belatedly realize why, back then, the Priestess had constantly spoken of perishing together with Mōryō.

The Priestess nodded. "Yes. That time, because of your appearance, the prophecy failed to come true. But this time, it did. So you don’t need to blame yourself too much. Because of you, I was able to spend several more years with Shion. I’m already more than satisfied!"

The Priestess knew very well that Hyuga Kagami had no obligation to remain in the Land of Demons and protect her forever.

Thus, she held no resentment toward him. On the contrary, she was grateful that Kagami had allowed her to escape her first prophecy of death and spend several more years with her daughter, Shion.

Kagami sighed.

"Your soul remained here... Were you waiting for me?"

The Priestess smiled. "Yes. I knew you would definitely come."

Kagami asked curiously, "You foresaw that I would come?"

The Priestess shook her head and pointed toward the gourd artifact at Kagami’s waist.

"With that by your side, I cannot foresee anything related to you!"

Kagami glanced at the gourd artifact at his waist in surprise.

"Because of the Dragon Vein?"

The Priestess replied, "Yes. Your Dragon Vein contains an enormous amount of natural energy. It can practically be regarded as a part of nature itself. Prophecy can only target individuals—it cannot peer into nature. Therefore, as long as the Dragon Vein remains by your side, no prophecy can glimpse your fate!"

Kagami patted the gourd artifact at his waist and asked, "So you’re saying... it can shield me from all prophecies?"