At the foot of the valley, beside a murmuring stream, Shion followed Neji closely, her demeanor soft and gentle. Every so often, she would share bits and pieces of her past, her voice light and cheerful. It was clear she was happy.
Neji responded occasionally, his tone casual. After offering her a few lessons on how to carry herself and interact with others, he had come to understand that Shion hadn't held the role of shrine maiden for very long. She hadn't yet become the cold, distant figure she would be in the future.
Despite Neji's half-hearted responses, Shion didn't seem upset. In fact, she was even more delighted. This, she thought, was what true friendship felt like. He didn't fawn over her because of her title. When she was wrong, he reprimanded her directly. He treated her like a real person, not a symbol.
For someone like Shion, who had always been alone, this feeling was foreign but wonderful. For the first time, the emptiness in her heart was filled with warmth.
"But... I'm still so scared," she said suddenly, her voice dropping as her steps came to a halt.
"What's wrong?" Neji asked, turning back to her.
"Everyone who gets close to me... ends up dying." Tears welled up in Shion's eyes as she choked on her words.
Neji understood. People around her always sacrificed themselves for her. The only way to escape her so-called "Death Prophecy" was to leave her but that would ultimately mean her own death.
He stopped and stepped in front of her. With a flick of his fingers, he tapped her forehead.
"Ow! That hurt!" Shion yelped, holding her head.
"It's not as hopeless as you think. I'll protect you," Neji said calmly, withdrawing his hand.
In truth, he felt deeply for her. She was inherently kind but forced to wear a mask to keep people away, all so no one else would die for her. Yet deep down, all she wanted was to be understood. She was painfully lonely.
"Host has tapped Shion's forehead. Reward: Yin-natured Chakra acquired."
Yin-natured Chakra: Unlike the five basic elemental chakra types, Yin Release is born from mental energy. Mastering its transformation allows the user to create form from nothing using spiritual power.
Neji's teasing disrupted the somber atmosphere she had just built. Even Shion, who had always believed in fate, felt her convictions waver when faced with Neji's unshakable confidence.
"Maybe... maybe what Neji says is true..." Her amethyst eyes sparkled, and the urge to believe him grew stronger in her heart.
"I'm not going to die," Neji continued. With over thirty years of life experience from two lifetimes, comforting a teenage girl was a trivial matter.
It didn't take long for Shion to open up completely. She became noticeably more cheerful, and with that shift, her feelings toward Neji also began to subtly change. What had started as simple friendship now carried a faint sense of dependence.
After spending a peaceful, happy afternoon together, it was time for Neji to leave. The priestess's mission would last at least another two and a half years. Shion couldn't remain outside the shrine indefinitely, and Neji couldn't stay in the Land of Demons forever either.
After bidding her a sincere farewell, he escorted her back to the village.
"Go on. They're probably worried sick by now," Neji said, glancing at the village behind her, its houses lit by the flicker of firelight. From afar, he could still hear shouts echoing through the valley.
"Neji, I believe in you. I'll do my best to become a proper priestess. So... let's make a promise."
Blushing, Shion took a deep breath and extended her pinky finger toward him. She looked at him nervously, eyes full of hope.
Neji, now in his thirties after living two lifetimes, couldn't help but laugh to himself. A pinky swear, really? But still, he reached out and hooked his finger around hers.
"Alright. I'll protect you."
"Emmm... and one day, I'll pass this responsibility on to the next priestess with you by my side... with you, Neji..."
She trailed off into a whisper. Her voice was barely audible, her delicate face burning red with embarrassment.
Neji blinked at the scene, struck by how familiar it felt. A smile crept across his face but it quickly froze.
"Host has made a promise with Shion. Reward: Sealing Power acquired."
Sealing Power: A sacred ability passed down by shrine maidens. Capable of sealing demonic entities. Requires the user's life as the cost.
Neji silently filed this away as one of the most useless abilities he'd ever received. Just like that "sealing stone" he'd been given earlier. Was there really nothing decent to gain from the shrine maiden line?
After sending Shion off, Neji activated his ocular power and entered the alternate dimension once again. This time, it was calm. No shadowy figures appeared. No external forces tried to drag him back into the real world.
"The calm before the storm..."
Neji knew that defeating Mōryō now wouldn't be a problem. The demon was strong, yes, but at most, he was a peak Kage-level threat. Against Neji, he didn't stand a chance.
In Neji's eyes, Mōryō was just another loudmouth spirit talking big about destroying the Five Great Nations and uniting the shinobi world. Having witnessed the godlike battles of the late-stage shinobi era, Neji honestly had no idea where Mōryō got his confidence.
Still, the world Mōryō came from made Neji wary. Though born from human malice, Mōryō was also a creature from another realm. Anything connected to other dimensions was something Neji preferred not to touch at least, not yet.
Especially disturbing was the method Mōryō used to supply his subordinates the Four of the Underworld with chakra. Neji couldn't shake the feeling that there was something... familiar about it.
One side absorbed chakra through strange insects, the other consumed transformed comrades to create chakra fruits. After absorbing them, their appearances changed as well.
"Direct chakra absorption from external sources... I hope I'm just overthinking this."
A few days later, in a ravine deep within the mountains, Neji walked alone, his hands glowing as he carefully spun and molded his chakra. He focused intently, not allowing the slightest distraction.
His experience in the Land of Snow had helped him reevaluate his abilities. Over the last couple of days, a sudden inspiration had taken root, and now he was putting it into practice.
"Rotation works by expelling chakra from all my tenketsu at once. So in theory... I should be able to create a mini-Rotation localized to my hand."
His eyes gleamed. He was onto something.
"Squeak... squeak..."
Suddenly, a faint sound caught his ear. Neji halted his training and turned toward the noise.
Not far away, a strange creature lay curled on the ground. Its eyes shimmered like rubies, and its appearance hovered somewhere between a weasel and a ferret. It let out a series of squeaky cries.
"What is that...?"
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