So, in the eyes of outsiders, what Shiki was doing looked no different from a child playing with leaves.
But Shiki did not care.
He casually plucked another leaf, sliced through its death line, and the leaf instantly decayed before he flicked it aside.
The scene looked a little strange, but no one thought much of it.
"You're pretty bold."
Shiki looked at Kushina with interest.
In this village, aside from Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi, only Kushina—with her carefree personality—would dare speak to him like that.
After all, with Shiki's current strength and status, wherever he went, people treated him with respect. Very few dared to speak casually in front of him.
"Hehe! I don't have any other qualities—just boldness!"
Kushina completely missed the hint of teasing in Shiki's tone. Instead, she pointed at herself proudly, looking as if she were asking to be praised.
"..."
Shiki could not help but laugh.
"Alright. If you have time to talk nonsense, let's move faster. Once we reach the Land of Demons, you can relax as much as you want."
"Mm!"
Kushina stopped arguing. Kurenai and the others also nodded seriously.
They followed Shiki and continued toward the Land of Demons.
Meanwhile, Shiki kept plucking leaves and slicing through their death lines.
"Compatibility +0.001"
"Compatibility +0.001"
"Compatibility +0.001"
...
The compatibility kept rising, and Shiki could clearly feel that his control over the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception was becoming smoother and more natural.
Although his actions looked odd, no one paid much attention.
However—
The Nine-Tails sealed within Kushina seemed to sense something and slowly awakened.
Through Kushina's senses, it observed Shiki's movements.
"This is strange... It feels dangerous."
For some reason, every time Shiki severed a leaf's death line, the Nine-Tails felt an inexplicable sense of danger—
as if, in the next instant, it too could be erased.
But that made no sense.
Tailed Beasts were manifestations of chakra.
They would not truly die.
"Forget it."
The Nine-Tails shook off the thought.
No matter what, it was sealed anyway. There was no point worrying about it.
...
While Shiki and the others were heading toward the Land of Demons—
Back in Konoha, in the courtyard of Shiki's residence—
Yugito Nii suddenly walked in.
"Shiki! I—"
She had arrived with a cheerful expression, but after noticing Tsunade standing in the courtyard and looking at her with interest, Yugito's face instantly stiffened.
"Why are you here?"
Yugito sounded clearly dissatisfied.
Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"That's my question."
She gestured around casually.
"This is my place. Isn't it normal for me to be here?"
"..."
Yugito reacted and fell silent.
After shooting Tsunade an annoyed glance, she chose not to argue further.
"Shiki—I went back to Kumogakure and brought some local specialties."
Yugito had deliberately returned to Kumogakure.
On one hand, she wanted to check on the village.
On the other, she wanted to bring Shiki some food.
"Too bad."
Tsunade smiled knowingly.
"Shiki left on a mission. He won't be back for nearly a month."
"You did that on purpose!"
Yugito looked at Tsunade in disbelief.
It really felt like Tsunade had deliberately sent Shiki away knowing she would return.
"If you're busy, you can just go back to Kumogakure again."
Tsunade shrugged casually.
"You—"
Yugito clenched her fists.
The more indifferent Tsunade acted, the more annoyed she felt.
"Forget it. I don't feel like arguing with you."
This was still Konoha territory, after all.
After glaring at Tsunade one last time, Yugito prepared to leave.
But Tsunade's eyes fell on the Kumogakure specialties in Yugito's hands.
"Since Shiki isn't back yet, why don't you leave them with me? I'll pass them to him when he returns."
"In your dreams."
Yugito rejected her without hesitation.
She wasn't stupid.
If she left them here, Tsunade would definitely eat them herself.
Save them for Shiki? Yeah, right.
Rolling her eyes, Yugito turned and left.
"Hahaha!"
Tsunade burst into laughter.
She did not actually care about the food—she simply enjoyed teasing Yugito.
After Yugito left, a shadowy figure appeared in front of Tsunade and handed her a scroll.
"Hokage-sama."
"Mm."
Tsunade took the scroll and her demeanor immediately changed, her usual playful attitude replaced by the authority of the Hokage.
The ANBU vanished.
After reading the scroll, Tsunade smiled.
"Koharu actually ran toward the Land of Demons..."
After the Daimyō incident, although Shiki did not care, Tsunade had still reassigned Koharu Utatane's position.
Recently, ANBU intelligence had finally locked onto her location.
It was the Land of Demons—exactly where Shiki had gone.
Tsunade did not issue a pursuit order.
"If that old hag realizes Shiki's there… she might just drop dead from shock."
The thought made Tsunade somewhat amused.
"Better send Shiki a message."
With that, Tsunade summoned a small slug to relay the information.
"And tell him to come back early."
After only a short time, she was already starting to miss him.
"Understood, Tsunade-sama."
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