"Aoba..."
Naruto's low, drawn-out voice resonated. "Do you know the fable of the Two Peaches and the Baguette?"
Aoba knew nothing of this story. And she didn't want to know. She shook her head frantically, her beautiful face reflecting distress and resignation. But Naruto, determined to save Hinata's mother, had no intention of giving up.
Bam!
With a sharp shove, he made her fall to her knees.
"Ow..." A moan of pain escaped her. When she realized she couldn't escape, her subconscious took over.
Gritting her teeth, her expression mixing disgust, contempt, resistance, and despair formed a range of emotions that were most... interesting.
"Alright, let's begin." Naruto was going to explain the fable of the Two Peaches and the Baguette to her.
With rustling sounds…
He took out the prepared accessories.
"Here's the Baguette. A French bread."
Then…
Tear!
Fruits appeared.
Naruto: "And here are the Two Peaches~."
Aoba: '!! "
Then, Naruto assembled them:
"The Two Peaches... and the Baguette!"
Ssss—!
Aoba: "Mmmh~!"
Sploosh!
The sound of the faucet covered everything else...
Outside, Hinata, still sitting, smiled blissfully, lost in her reveries. Worries about her mother and sister were far from her thoughts. Her heart beat only for one person…
The distant Land of Demons.
After learning of his subordinates' failed operation and their near annihilation, the young daimyo fell into a violent rage.
However, useful information had still been obtained.
According to intelligence, Konoha ninjas had acted from both inside and outside.
Those who prevented them from recovering the priestess were precisely that ninja village, Konoha.
Although Mōryō awakened periodically, its awakening didn't follow a completely predictable pattern. Predicting the exact day was absurd.
Yet, Konoha had managed to take the priestess away.
This amply proved that Konoha spies had infiltrated the Land of Demons.
This deduction didn't help, only fueling his rage further.
"No matter... After 1000 years, humans must have learned to adapt..."
Mōryō's aging voice resonated in the great hall.
After a millennium of existence, priestesses had succeeded each other, each sacrificing herself in turn.
That this priestess had suddenly changed the game brought a certain form of entertainment and challenge.
"What should we do next?"
The young daimyo asked, once he had calmed down.
Since he had become Mōryō's host, he had become increasingly dependent on his power... and his wisdom.
1000 years of experience was no small feat.
"Hmm... Confer a part of my power to your subordinates... then send them to Konoha to retrieve the priestess and the future priestess..."
Mōryō had cleverly phrased his request, avoiding any mention of killing the priestess and her daughter.
Because that would have provoked the daimyo's aversion, these two women being his wife and daughter respectively.
"Why don't we act ourselves?"
The daimyo didn't understand.
Mōryō had recovered his body and soul and now resided within him, who possessed royal blood. In theory, their power was only greater.
By raising an army of immortal specters, couldn't they sweep everything before them?
"That's true in theory."
Mōryō shook his head, clearly disagreeing.
"But the situation has changed... Konoha has obtained the priestess. If we attack rashly, it will only benefit them.
The priestess can erect a protective barrier which, combined with Konoha's defenses, would protect the entire village... In that case, the other ninja villages, cornered, would turn against us!"
Facing a concerted attack from several countries, the Land of Demons would not be able to resist.
Even by attacking only Konoha, they would face strong resistance from the village's many ninjas.
The best solution was therefore to send a team to retrieve the priestess.
After hearing Mōryō's analysis, the young daimyo found his reasoning perfectly logical.
"So be it... Yomi."
The daimyo called his unfailingly loyal subordinate.
"Lord Daimyo!"
Yomi, with long hair, knelt on one knee, his long robe making him look more like a high dignitary than a ninja.
The young and handsome Yomi was far from the old man he was in the original Naruto Shippuden storyline.
At this time, he was at the peak of his vitality and ambition.
The daimyo declared: "I shall now bestow upon you Mōryō's power..."
"Hai! I am eternally grateful!!"
Yomi immediately bowed, his body trembling with immense gratitude.
Then he stood up, opened his robe, revealing his muscular torso.
He then took a scalpel from the array of surgical instruments hanging inside his garment and plunged it without hesitation into his own flesh.
Shhh!
As the scalpel continued its descent, no drop of blood beaded from the incision.
Instead, a purple glow appeared, like a window to an alien dimension.
"Dark Ninja Medical Technique."
This was a byproduct of the research into Mōryō's power conducted by the Land of Demons' ninjas.
It allowed the human body to be transformed into something radically different, freeing it from the limitations of normal physiology.