Chapter 442: A Massive Black Shadow

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: A Massive Black Shadow

Carrying a chest full of money, Kagami slowly left Root’s base.

For someone with the Byakugan, monitoring the progress of Danzo’s Chimera Bud transplant was an effortless task. There was no need to rush things, so after collecting the money, Kagami decisively left Root’s base.

Not long after walking out of the forest, Kagami suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Come out!"

At that moment, a figure stepped out from behind a large tree and said teasingly, "As expected of a member of Kamigami. You’re quite perceptive."

Kagami asked coldly, "Orochimaru, why are you following me?"

Orochimaru leaned against a large tree with his arms crossed and asked, "I’m curious. Why did Kamigami choose Danzo? What exactly are you planning to use him for?"

Kagami curled his lips. "I thought you no longer cared about Konoha’s affairs."

Orochimaru chuckled. "I’m merely a little curious."

"You want to know?" Kagami snorted coldly. "Beat me, and I’ll tell you!"

Truthfully, Kagami really did want to use the Type-A Wind Release clone to properly fight an expert of Orochimaru’s caliber and test the clone’s strength in actual combat.

Seeing that Kagami genuinely intended to fight, Orochimaru’s gaze sharpened.

He was indeed very curious as to why Kamigami had suddenly made contact with Danzo. However, remembering that he still had something else to do afterward, he said, "Forget it. It was merely a trivial bit of curiosity. There’s no need for me to make an enemy of Kamigami over it."

Whoosh—

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru vanished from Kagami’s sight with the Body Flicker Technique.

Kagami froze for a moment, puzzled.

"He left that easily?"

Orochimaru had never been the type to back down so readily. The fact that he had withdrawn so decisively this time made Kagami vaguely suspect that Orochimaru had something else to take care of, which was why he had been unwilling to waste time tangling with him.

After returning home, Kagami began counting the money he had just earned.

Knock, knock, knock...

Suddenly, a rapid series of knocks came from the courtyard gate.

Having already switched back to his Yin Release true body, Kagami opened the gate and found Shion standing outside with a pout on her face. Ashiho stood respectfully behind her, giving Kagami an apologetic smile.

Kagami rubbed Shion’s head and asked, "Why do you look so unhappy? Who made you angry?"

Shion hurriedly said, "Big Brother, I... I have a secret to tell you!"

Kagami smiled and led Shion and Ashiho into the house.

Recently, Kagami had been busy with all sorts of matters, so he had no choice but to leave Shion in Rei’s care. Fortunately, Rei’s parents were quite fond of Shion, and because of Shion’s status as the Priestess of the Land of Demons, the Third Hokage had also granted her considerable preferential treatment within the village.

As a result, Shion had been living quite comfortably during her stay in Konoha.

After entering the house, Shion furtively looked left and right. Once she confirmed that no one else was around, she leaned close to Kagami’s ear and whispered,

"Big Brother, I saw a prophecy of death!"

Kagami, who hadn’t been paying much attention at first, immediately furrowed his brows slightly.

"Whose death did you foresee?"

Shion replied, "The old lady who sells takoyaki!"

Ashiho hurriedly explained from the side, "Lord, she means the owner of Tanigawa Restaurant on Haruko Street."

"A civilian..." Kagami thought to himself before asking, "In the prophecy, how did that old lady die?"

Shion thought back for a moment and puffed out her cheeks. "I think she was crushed by a roof... No, no, I think she was crushed by a wooden door... Ahhh, anyway, everything in the prophecy of death was so chaotic that I can’t remember exactly how she died!"

Kagami said gently, "Be good, Shion. Think carefully. What else did you see in the prophecy?"

Shion propped up her chin and seriously thought it over again before slowly saying, "The prophecy happened at night. I only saw a huge black shadow darting back and forth through the village, making a complete mess of everything."

"Think carefully. Were there any other details?"

"Oh, right! Ichiraku Ramen was destroyed too!" As she spoke, Shion clutched her chest and muttered to herself, "Oh no... I still have a coupon I haven’t used yet!"

"Even Ichiraku Ramen was destroyed?"

Ichiraku Ramen was located near the heart of the village. If even Ichiraku had been caught up in the destruction, then that meant the area under attack had practically covered the entire village.

"Who else have you told about this?"

Shion shook her head. "Big Sister Rei hasn’t been home for the past few days, so I haven’t even had a chance to tell her."

Ashiho said, "Lord Kagami, aside from you and me, Lady Shion hasn’t told anyone about the prophecy of death."

As the Priestess of the Land of Demons’ attendant, Ashiho understood better than anyone that the Priestess’s ability to foresee death was not necessarily a good thing for the Priestess herself.

Once such an ability became publicly known, people would naturally begin to shun and resent the Priestess. For that reason, he had been doing everything he could to stop Shion from spreading word of the prophecies of death she had recently begun seeing.

Kagami nodded.

"Good. Don’t tell anyone else about this."

Shion asked quietly, "Big Brother, don’t we need to inform the Lord Hokage? I saw quite a lot of people getting hurt in the prophecy of death."

Kagami rubbed Shion’s head. "I’ll personally handle informing Lord Hokage. You don’t need to worry about it."

Kagami knew perfectly well that the Third Hokage had already been making preparations for this matter. The Third was undoubtedly prepared for the possibility of the village coming under attack, so even if Kagami told him about the prophecy of death now, it was unlikely to reduce the village’s losses by much.

After reassuring Shion, Kagami pulled Ashiho aside and asked, "Have you participated in the village’s evacuation drills?"

Ashiho nodded. "Yes!"

Kagami lowered his voice. "The moment any disturbance breaks out, ignore everything else. Your first priority is to take Shion to the shelter. Understand?"

"Yes!"

Ashiho answered with utmost seriousness.

After seeing Shion and Ashiho off, Kagami sat cross-legged inside the house and pondered,

"A massive black shadow... What could it be?"

......

Inside an Uchiha ruin dating back to the Warring States Period.

Shisui ran his hand across a mural on the wall and called out, "Itachi, come over here! Look at the person in this mural!"

Itachi, who was standing nearby, walked over.

On the mural before Shisui was an Uchiha clansman who appeared to be using the Susanoo dojutsu.

What drew their attention, however, was that the Susanoo seemed to be holding an enormous gourd in its right hand.

Itachi asked in confusion,

"Why is the gourd so huge?"

Shisui ran his hand across the mural as he said, "How strange. The color of this gourd in the mural is completely different from the color of that Susanoo. It almost seems like... it isn’t an ability belonging to that Susanoo at all..."