"Damn."
When Tsunade was reminded by Makoto and actually thought about it, it really made sense.
This "Zero-Sum Chakra Theory" was too hellish.
Especially since Tsunade herself was a genetic combination of the Senju and Uzumaki Clans.
With her Yin Seal, she possessed massive, monstrous chakra reserves.
'If the total amount of chakra in the world was truly fixed, wouldn't her storing up a Yin Seal for decades be equivalent to performing a mass sterilization surgery on the whole world?'
'Forget it, forget it, let's not think about it.'
"I think you're absolutely right," Tsunade seriously agreed with Makoto's statement.
She stopped dwelling on the existential horror of the total chakra amount.
...
Makoto's group returned to the Land of Demons' capital.
Without saying a single word to her ministers, Shion first ran back to her room and frantically started packing.
After stuffing her belongings into bags, Shion struggled to drag a large heavy suitcase to the doorway before suddenly freezing.
She remembered she hadn't arranged any matters regarding who would actually run the country in her absence.
Makoto and the others stood outside in the courtyard.
Uchiha Hikari had already released the guards from her Genjutsu.
They had been waiting in a panic for a long time, only now seeing Shion come out looking like she was fleeing a crime scene.
Thinking about it this way, sending Shion to "study abroad" was actually a very suitable proposal.
Before today, Shion was essentially a depressed glorified shut-in who didn't manage anything and didn't do anything.
The Land of Demons had been running on autopilot just fine.
The real worry was that with Moryo dead, Shion would have zero pressure, zero responsibilities, yet possess insane strength.
If a bored, overpowered twelve-year-old started throwing tantrums and messing around randomly, the Land of Demons would suffer catastrophic structural damage!
This was exactly what Makoto's group thought when they saw Shion directly ignore matters of state to pack her cute dresses.
But they didn't blame her.
After all, Shion was just a little girl who had never been taught anything beyond "how to die for the greater good."
But while Makoto's group thought this way, the local guards felt differently.
The guards, who completely didn't believe the story from Makoto's group about Moryo being dead, had to believe something was wrong when they saw Shion come out dragging her luggage to leave with the foreigners.
Faced with this situation, led by several senior officials, everyone knelt down in the courtyard.
"Priestess-sama! You can't leave! You can't abandon the Land of Demons!"
With this posture and this situation... even though Shion literally did nothing for the economy, these people insisted she stay as their spiritual pillar.
If Makoto didn't know these people were genuinely loyal to Shion, this situation would look too much like corrupt ministers wanting to control a puppet ruler—playing the classic game of "Holding the Emperor hostage to command the nobles."
Shion clutched the handle of her luggage, utterly bewildered by the mass kneeling and unsure of what to do.
(See? If she can't even handle a basic guilt trip from her employees, how could she possibly manage a country? That's absurd.)
Fortunately, Shion now had a solution for when she faced uncertainty: 'Don't be afraid, face it with a smile... and then go ask Makoto.'
Shion looked pitifully at Makoto, seeking help.
Makoto sighed, leaned in and whispered a few words into Shion's ear.
Shion's eyes widened as she stared at Makoto in shock.
As if asking—Is this really okay to say?!
Makoto smiled and nodded, giving her an encouraging thumbs-up.
Bolstered by the encouragement, Shion took a deep breath, puffed out her chest and raised her head haughtily.
Facing the guards kneeling uniformly before her, she spoke in a cold ojou sama tone.
"In this Land of Demons... am I the Master, or are you?"
"..."
As soon as Shion dropped this tyrannical line, the kneeling guards panicked!
They were all loyal subjects—how could they dare defy their sovereign and turn the natural hierarchy upside down? To dictate the Priestess's movements was treason!
"Priestess-sama, we would never dare!"
"Yes, Priestess! It's all Taruho's fault for taking the lead! We are all absolutely loyal to your will!"
With that single sentence, no one brought up the matter of physically keeping Shion from leaving again.
They all began sweating and pledging their unwavering loyalty instead.
"Then it's settled," Shion nodded, enjoying the rush of power. "I've decided that the affairs of the Land of Demons will be handled as usual, entrusted to the ministers. I trust in your loyalty."
"I am still too inexperienced. I must go to Amegakure to study. Only after I've completed my training will I be worthy of truly taking over my mother's position and leading this nation."
Noticing the shift in everyone's attitude, Shion grew confident.
Her words flowed smoothly as a serene smile gracing her face.
"May I ask, Priestess... when do you plan to return? The spiritual duties of the Priestess still rest solely with you…" a guard cautiously inquired, keeping his head bowed.
"Duties? Hasn't Moryo already been defeated? Didn't they tell you? The Priestess's 'duties' are long gone."
"I've been suffering as a Priestess my whole life—can't I just go enjoy myself for a while?!" Shion snorted lightly, crossing her arms.
Well, that seemed to give her true motives away.
It not about wanting to "study"—it was about shedding her morbid duties to go have fun like a normal kid.
But this time, the guards below didn't dare voice any objections.
Nor did they dare to mock Shion's claim of suffering her "whole life," considering she was barely a teenager.
They were afraid Shion might single one of them out again and ask, "Am I the Master, or are you?"—and then the others, eager to prove their loyalty, might rush forward to stab the offender to death to appease her.
Everyone was forced to keep their opinions to themselves!
Makoto took out a second piece of intelligence and a map, placing them on a stone table.
"Next, we'll go here. After this, we can return to the village."
Makoto pointed to a small island on the upper-right part of the map.
"Okay! Let's go!" Shion studied the map intently, bouncing on her heels.
"What do you mean, 'Okay'? You're going straight back to Amegakure right now." Makoto glanced at Shion, casually shattering her adventuring expectations.
"Huh?! Why?!" Shion felt deeply aggrieved.
Shion had never left the Land of Demons and was intensely curious about the outside world.
To her, Amegakure was also part of that new, unfamiliar world, but Shion clearly preferred to travel with Makoto and the others, whom she had just bonded with.
"The original duty of the Priestess was Sacrifice—a sacrifice for the sake of others, right? It couldn't have been about self-gratification or being a burden, could it?" Makoto countered with a rhetorical question.
Shion still held great respect for her late mother.
Upon hearing Makoto's words, she immediately understood the implication.
"Alright then... I won't be a burden. I'll go to the village and study." Shion sighed, her ahoge drooping.
The unsealed Priestess possessed explosive Kage-level chakra capacity.
But she had never learned how to wield her abilities, knowing only one highly specific Sealing Technique.
But with just this one Sealing Technique, it was enough to easily seal the final boss at their next destination.
If she were to learn some basic methods to utilize her raw power, she could reach the level of a Jonin or higher in no time.
However, no matter how powerful she became right now, it would be useless on this road trip.
Shion had personally witnessed the absurd strength of Makoto and his companions.
The Priestess's power was slightly stronger than Moryo's, but not overwhelmingly so—otherwise, there would have been no need for sealing; she could have simply killed it like Makoto and the others did.
And Moryo, in the hands of Makoto's group, was like a helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Thus, it was entirely reasonable that even the unsealed Kage-level Priestess would be considered a "burden" to this squad of monsters.
"Wait, who's going to escort me back? Am I supposed to walk to Amegakure alone?!" Shion suddenly realized a glaring logistical problem.
Kurotsuchi needed to return to the Land of Earth, while Makoto, Tsunade, and Hikari would continue northeast, even going out to sea.
"Me."
Uchiha Hikari formed a single hand seal as she created a Shadow Clone.
"..."
'Damn Ninja techniques.'
Shion grumbled inwardly, but had no choice but to grab her luggage and set off on her journey with the clone.