Chapter 121: 117: Ambiguous Meeting With Ayane

Chapter 121: 117: Ambiguous Meeting With Ayane

"Nice to meet you, Chiba Shiraishi-san. This is our first face to face meeting"

Seated on the stage the priestess Miroku spoke. Her voice was very distinctive. When she spoke, the surroundings became hush.

"Indeed, Miroku-sama"

Shiraishi responded. He sat upon a cushion prepared by a maid who had since left, displaying an attitude that was neither overly humble nor arrogant.

Previously, they had only communicated via letters, sent by General Tu. This was their first in-person meeting.

"You are here now. What's the matter?" Miroku inquired.

"There are some urgent matters I need to discuss with Miroku-sama. I've prepared a plan. Please take a look"

Without wasting time, Shiraishi directly said his purpose of coming.

He was about to approach and hand over the scroll to Miroku when she raised her palm. The scroll floated up and landed in her hand.

Seeing this, Shiraishi couldn't help but smile. Miroku's abilities.... seem interesting.

Miko opened the scroll, calmly scanned its contents. After reading, a rare strange look appeared on her face.

"Miroku-sama, what are your thoughts?" Shiraishi inquired.

"While I may not understand everything, I can sense that if these plans come to fruition, they could significantly improve the lives of the people in the Land of Demons. Please proceed, Shiraishi-san."

"Thank you very much for your trust."

"You're welcome. I merely hope for the lives of people in this country to get better."

Miroku added, her gaze shifting to the scroll's content.

Repairing roads, building schools, and promoting education were among the plans.

Miroku believed that if Shiraishi needed an asylum status from the neutral Land of Demons for any covert or illicit activities. She didn't have a problem if he was acting on the best interests of the people,

"By the way, there is one thing. Could Miroku-sama help clear my doubts?" Shiraishi asked, interrupting Miroku's thoughts.

"Please, go ahead."

"It's about Mount Myōboku."

Shiraishi's expression became more serious. Initially, he had regarded the Holy Land of Mount Myōboku as inhabited by toads practicing sage arts.

However, through the incident with Minato, he had witnessed the immense power and heritage of this sacred place. Even the act of reversing life and death was possible. Shiraishi realized that he needed a deeper understanding of this holy land's abilities.

"I know very little about the happenings there. But one thing to note is that the leader of Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage, possesses the same power of foresight as us. In fact, when it comes to prophecy, he surpasses us in comprehensiveness and omnipotence."

Miroku stated. A solemn look appeared on her face for the first time.

"The Great Toad Sage?" Shiraishi hadn't heard this title before, nor of the existence of the Great Toad Sage.

"It is said that the Great Toad Sage is a toad that has lived for over a thousand years. According to priestess records, it once shared a life-and-death connection with the ancestor of the ninjas, the Sage of Six Paths."

Shiraishi felt like this conversation had veered into the realm of fairy tales.

"A toad that's lived over a thousand years without dying? That's enough to send chills down one's spine. Mentioning the Sage of Six Paths sounds like something from a fairy tale" Shiraishi thought.Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

Mythical stories are usually fictional characters formed by humans through various artistic interpretation.

"Shiraishi-san.... you don't believe it?" Miroku asked.

"Well, it's not that I don't believe it, but the sudden jump of the topic to the Sage of Six Paths felt like a fictional character"

Shiraishi answered honestly.

"In this world, there are many extraordinary phenomena that could not be understood with human understanding. The Great Toad Sage may have taken notice of you."

"Taken notice of me? What does that mean? I've never had direct contact with the toads on Mount Myōboku.

Miroku's astonishing words made Shiraishi slightly stunned.

"No contact is needed. Predicting the future involves peering into one's destiny. Sometimes, we priestesses have dreams about the future, and those dreams unfailingly come true as in the dream. However, Shiraishi-san, you don't have to be too pessimistic. Please remain optimistic when facing the unknown"

Miroku said this, still wearing a gentle smile.

It was clear that she was accustomed to dealing with such matters. Issues like life and death can't disturb her.

Shiraishi stared at Miroku in silence, feeling that her words weren't exactly comforting.

He rose from his seated position with a sigh.

"Fate? Although I'm not inclined to believe in such strange things, I will pay attention to them. Thank you, Miroku-sama, for your advice."

Mount Myōboku? What a troublesome existence. If he were to confront Konoha's forces again, he would have to address this thorn in his side first. Otherwise, it would continue resurrecting the fallen he had killed, making things extremely tricky.

"Then, I'll take my leave, Miroku-sama."

"Please, go ahead."

"By the way, if my troublesome identity is exposed, wouldn't it cause trouble for the Land of Demon?"

"Don't worry; in this world, there are responsibilities that only the priestesses can fulfill" Miroku replied.

Shiraishi nodded, realizing that whatever duties the priestesses had, they must be quite troublesome. These duties might also be related to the Land of Demon' status as a neutral nation. He decided not to delve into it too deeply, focusing on increasing his power during the ongoing war.

.....

The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

The battle broke out early in the morning.

The sound of clashing kunai and shuriken echoed across the rainy battlefield.

Ninjas clashed, and their frantic screams filled the air, blending with the pervasive scent of iron. That scent wasn't from the rain but from the blood spilled on this grim battleground.

Explosions from exploding tags and ninjutsu assaults, along with the heart-wrenching cries of those meeting their final moments, created a cacophonous symphony of war.

Ruri asked, her interest piqued only when facing enemies of equal strength.

Shiraishi, however, had different plans. "No, we're not just dealing with bandits. We're building roads."

Ruri raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Building roads? Isn't that a easy job?"

Shiraishi clarified, "Many of the roads in the Land of Demons are in poor condition. While ninjas may can move on them without issue, ordinary people face difficulties, especially during rainy days. This is a massive amount of work."

Even with the entire organization's workforce, this project would be time consuming. Nevertheless, it was a necessary effort for the sake of future convenience.

"But what's the point of all this?"

Ruri asked with a hint of frustration. Her true interest lay in increasing her strength rather than mercenary or construction work.

"Of course It serves a purpose. Developing infrastructure like roads is essential for fostering trade, education, and more" Shiraishi said.

"I see, I'll just do it."

Resigned, Ruri left with a displeased expression.

Seeing her leaving with a displeased expression, Shiraishi sighed he was also helpless, because his organization had limited manpower.

Suppressing bandits was the first step to stabilize the Land of Demon internally. Simultaneously, road construction was essential for future progress.

There wasn't time for him to rest.

Wanting to connect the new road to every city, every village and town in the Land Of Demon, the workload isn't insignificant.

Fortunately, ninjas can use various tricks to shorten the time for the project, otherwise the huge amount of the project was really scary.

Compared to building roads, taking care kf bandits was easier work..

With the bandit suppression and road construction underway, Shiraishi's organization could shift its focus to education, further enhancing the people's ideological understanding.

"Shiraishi-kun, I'm here to find you"

Ayane's voice came from behind her.

Shiraishi suddenly felt a familiar, elastic sensation on his back as Ayane embraced him from behind.

"Hey, don't sneak up on me like that"

"What's the matter, I just saw Ruri, she seems to have gone out with anger..."

Ayane said with a smirk, "In other words,, there are only the two of us here now, right?"

There was an expectant gleam in her eyes

Shiraishi ignored her expectations and glanced at her.

"Have you finished your work?"

Ayane released him and spoke with a distressed tone,

"Your assignments are so boring and it's because they're so boring that I couldn't bear to stay. It's not like my absence matters much. Besides, I'm clueless about road construction, so I left General Tu in charge."

"You should still fulfill your responsibilities; you're the face of the Hyuga clan. By the way, there's nothing wrong with your mother, right?"

Shiraishi then recalled.

When Ayane left the Hyuga Clan, she knocked her mother unconscious from behind and she was transported here.

Ayane twirled a lock of hair absentmindedly and responded with a nonchalant smile, "That woman... She initially cried, urging me to apologize and return, claiming that the main family would forgive me. What a stupid woman."

"Is it okay to say that about her? She is your mother after all."

Shiraishi asked.

Ayane explained, "If she weren't my mother, I wouldn't care about her life or death. Don't worry; she's a reserved woman. She won't speak out; she'll only silently resent me. She's a typical Hyuga clan member."

After hearing her explanation, Shiraishi decided to overlook Ayane's comment and return to work. He needed to get the development plan for the Land of Demon back on track as soon as possible.

"Shiraishi-kun, it's okay to take a break once in a while. We have some free time now, and Ruri isn't here. How about we visit the hot springs? You can always resume work afterward. Besides, I've never experienced the hot springs in the Land of Demon. Let's try it together"

Ayane hugged him again, speaking in an ambiguous tone.

Her alabasters seemed to want to burst out from her clothing.

"This is an office; let's be more professional. My eyes...."

Shiraishi urged, feeling a tingling sensation in his nose.

Was this the power of an S-level esoteric forbidden jutsu?

This esoteric ninjutsu seemed rather indecent.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Ah, is Shiraishi-kun in there? Its Miyoko, and I've brought the materials you requested. Huh? The door seems unlocked, so I hope you don't mind if I come in"

Uchiha Miyoko's voice called from the other side.

With a turn of the doorknob, Miyoko, dressed elegantly, entered the room. She wore a bright smile, seemingly in good spirits.

However, her expression froze as she found Ayane pressed against Shiraishi in a compromising position.

"Well, Shiraishi-kun, what's going on here? Did auntie come at an inappropriate time?"

Miyoko asked with a hint of disbelief.

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