"...Are you really not afraid of death?"
After discovering the guard Taruho was still alive, Shion confirmed that Makoto and the others had indeed come with... relatively good intentions.
Although their attitude was strange and violent, if they were truly evil, there would be no need to keep the guards alive.
She wasn't essential to unsealing Moryo—on the contrary, she was the key to sealing Moryo.
If Makoto and the others simply wanted to release the demon, they should have killed her immediately to break the seal.
So, Shion began trying to persuade them again, this time out of genuine concern.
"Honestly, I can hardly imagine us dying while fighting Moryo. You might as well predict us choking on water—that probability is higher." Makoto smiled wryly.
"Exactly. If the Eight Thousand Spears technique could be directly engraved onto the soul, why would we need to come to you?" Uchiha Hikari pouted.
This little priestess was really stubborn.
"But... People die if they are killed!" Shion insisted, her eyes wide.
"How.... novel. Did you just discover that today? I discovered something else—putting strawberry cake in the hole below the nose feels really good."
Makoto was speechless.
The classic meme line "People die if they are killed" had finally made an appearance in real life!
"Huh?" Shion was momentarily confused.
Putting cake in the hole below the nose? Isn't that called "eating"?
While she was distracted by the strange phrasing, Uchiha Hikari had already taken out a small strawberry cake she carried in her pouch and stuffed it into Shion's open mouth.
'Mmph.'
"Lead the way. You're like how I used to be—you've been isolated from the current ninja world for too long, and your perspective is too narrow."
After stuffing the cake, Hikari clapped her hands, dusting off crumbs.
"The old... me?"
Shion swallowed the cake with difficulty and looked at Hikari in confusion.
But after eating the sweet treat, the little priestess's mood had indeed improved considerably.
"Hikari was sealed during the Warring States period and only recently unsealed. In terms of sealing time, she's been locked away even longer than Moryo."
"Huh?"
After hearing Makoto's explanation, Shion was stunned.
She had lost count of how many times she'd said "Huh?" today.
Just as Hikari had said, Shion's territory wasn't just backward in systems and culture—the priestesses were born solely to seal Moryo, which had also left her with limited knowledge of the outside world.
Just like Hikari when she was first unsealed, Shion hadn't fully grasped the reality of the current ninja world.
The reason Shion was dumbfounded was.....
'Aren't those who get sealed away all Great Demons or villains? Why was this pretty red-eyed girl also sealed away?'
Though Hikari's methods were a bit forceful, she didn't seem like some Great Demon Lord.
Finally.
Under the influence of strawberry cake and Hikari's story, Shion decided to lead Makoto and the others to the underground shrine where Moryo's soul was sealed.
Shion had also considered: if Makoto and the others truly wanted to use Moryo's power to conquer the ninja world, they should belong to just one faction.
So why were both the Tsuchikage and the Hokage here together?
In that case, it meant Makoto and the others weren't lying to her.
As long as their intentions were good, she could accept it.
If Moryo were to run rampant, she could simply seal it away again.
This was the priestess's duty. Rather than living in constant fear of death, it was better to face it proactively.
"Once Moryo revives, its Immortal Stone Army will appear, and the ninja world will become very dangerous. So when the time comes, I will..."
Shion walked ahead, explaining her preparations solemnly.
It had to be said, the priestess's power was indeed significant.
Passed down through generations, then concentrated in bells, their strength upon release was considerable.
It was just a pity that Shion, like all previous priestesses, had no combat training.
All priestesses relied on gimmicks and overwhelming raw stats.
Their power remained sealed while they lived as ordinary people, only to be unleashed at critical moments.
"An Immortal Stone Army... Then may I ask, years ago, before your mother sealed Moryo, how far did this powerful army advance?" Makoto asked.
"No, my mother sacrificed herself to protect the world and sealed Moryo before it could run wild." Shion shook her head.
"Then have you ever considered... if Moryo hadn't been sealed and began invading the ninja world, what would be the first thing it would face?" Makoto pressed further.
"...I don't know. The Tsuchikage?"
Clearly lacking geographical knowledge, Shion could only guess based on what her guards had mentioned about bordering the Land of Earth, and she looked at Kurotsuchi.
"Not me. Back then, it would've been the Old Man."
Kurotsuchi spread her hands. "If it were the Old Man, then Moryo wouldn't need you priestesses to seal it. The Old Man could use Dust Release to physically delete Moryo and its army from existence."
Well, Dust Release did consume a lot of chakra.
But if Moryo claimed it would "conquer the world," making the Tsuchikage put in a little overtime wasn't too much to ask, right?
"What is Dust Release?" Shion asked curiously.
"..."
Kurotsuchi, who had been smiling faintly with her chin raised in pride, immediately darkened her expression.
"You don't know anything... so why do you think Moryo could conquer the ninja world?"
'Well said!'
That statement echoed the thoughts of many.
Speaking of which, the Land of Earth was peculiar.
Several times in the movies, when antagonists emerged attempting to conquer the world, they had to pass through the Land of Earth first, giving Onoki a chance to practice his Particle Style.
Like that Doto Kazahana from the Land of Snow who tried to conquer the world with a... checks notes... heating system?
And now Moryo was another one.
Watching the movie climaxes was always thrilling, with all kinds of high-level Rasengans being fiercely rubbed into faces.
But thinking from an observer's perspective, what level was that version of Naruto?
How far behind was he compared to KCM Naruto?
Even a base Naruto could make the villains howl in agony—how much prestige could those villains possibly have?
While Makoto was pondering the pathetic power scaling of movie villains, Shion quietly resumed leading the way.
She no longer dared to speak.
She realized she might truly be as Hikari said—rather lacking in worldly experience.
Every sentence she uttered seemed to expose her ignorance.
Clang! Clang!
"Who goes there?!"
Several kunai flew out from the shadows, casually deflected by Kurotsuchi with a wave of her hand.
Then several heavily concealed figures leaped out.
The "Who goes there?" wasn't spoken by Kurotsuchi, but by the newcomers.
"Attacking first with lethal weapons and then asking 'Who goes there' afterward—clearly enemies."
Uchiha Hikari stepped forward calmly.
As everyone knows, Kunai are terrifying weapons.
Hashirama Senju use a Kunai to commit suicide.
Danzo..... use a Kunai to stab a Susanoo.
These people attacking them with such dangerous god-slaying weapons had already chosen the path of death!
"Amaterasu."
"..."
FWOOSH.
The benevolent black flames of Amaterasu instantly engulfed the four attackers, purifying their sins (and their bodies) into ash within seconds.
"AAAAHHH!"
Hikari nudged Shion, who was stunned frozen by the villains' agonizing screams, prompting her to continue leading the way.
"Keep walking. Don't look at the fire."