Chapter 73: Shifting the Blame

"What is this thing?"

Looking at the golden insect egg in front of Shishou, Priestess Miroku was a bit puzzled.

To be honest, she still hadn't fully grasped what had happened.

All she knew was that a beautiful flying insect had emerged from Shishou and landed on the sealing crystal, causing the black lines from Moryo's leakage, which she couldn't handle, to disappear.

After that, the insect vanished, and this thing appeared before Shishou.

All of this left her very confused.

Shishou, seeing the Nine Nether Bug disappear, checked his insect breeding space. After confirming the bug was in a deep sleep, he finally relaxed.

Hearing Miroku's question, he took the insect egg and smiled:

"This is the result of the energy Moryo leaked out."

"As for its use, I still need to study it."

Priestess Miroku's eyes lit up at Shishou's words. If what he said was true, she wouldn't have to worry about Moryo breaking the seal again. She would just need to check with Shishou occasionally.

Her extreme frustration was effortlessly resolved by Shishou, which made her look at him with admiration.

Seeing her bright eyes filled with admiration, Shishou felt a surge of emotion and leaned in for a kiss.

"Mm..."

Miroku's cheeks turned red, but she didn't evade him.

Shishou tossed the insect egg aside and sealed the distant cave entrance with his Phosphor Bad Bugs.

"Hmm..."

Before long, a seductive hum echoed through the sealing cave.

...

Konoha.

Aburame Clan Compound.

After escorting Priestess Miroku back to her palace, Shishou returned to his residence in Konoha.

Lying on his bed, he examined the golden insect egg in his hand.

Initially, Shishou thought the Nine Nether Bug, which didn't belong to the ninja world, could only be managed in his insect breeding space.

To his surprise, it could actually absorb the energy Moryo emitted.

After all, Moryo was summoned from another world. It made sense that the Nine Nether Bug could absorb its energy.

[Spirit Medium Egg: An insect egg born from the Nine Nether Bug absorbing otherworldly energy, capable of housing the soul of a dying person and allowing them to be reborn.]

Rebirth!!!

Even though Shishou had confirmed this multiple times through his insect swarm system, seeing it again still made him gasp in astonishment.

[Nine Nether Bug: A legendary insect species from the Nine Nether Realm, cannot reproduce but can produce eggs with various effects, extremely precious!!!]

Looking at the sleeping Nine Nether Bug in his insect breeding space, Shishou couldn't help but feel amazed.

If not for the scars Miroku had left on his back, he might have thought he was dreaming.

Only now did he truly understand the system's evaluation of the Nine Nether Bug as extremely precious.

This was essentially an extra life token.

And there might be more in the future!

Unfortunately, the Nine Nether Bug had fallen into a deep sleep after laying the egg, and who knew when it would wake up.

Otherwise, Shishou would have considered releasing Moryo again to let the bug continue absorbing energy.

See if he could get another rebirth token.

"With this thing, maybe I don't have to wait any longer for that plan."

Knock knock knock!

While contemplating his future plans, Shishou suddenly heard a knock on the door.

He got up and walked to the entrance, peering through the door slit to see Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga.

Realizing it was the weekend, Shishou opened the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Shishou, open the door quickly," Ino banged on the door, shouting.

"Ino, maybe Shishou is still in 'study mode' today," Hinata said gloomily.

Shishou had been in 'study mode' for a long time, and she hadn't talked to him for days.

This made Hinata a bit sad.

"Hmph!"

"I don't care, he must accompany me shopping today!" Ino said angrily, folding her arms.

Behind the door, Shishou listened to the girls' conversation, feeling a bit guilty.

He had been out a lot recently and hadn't been to the ninja school for a long time.

"Ahem."

"Since Ino insists, let's go shopping together today," Shishou said, shrinking his body and opening the door with a cough, looking at the long-missed Ino and Hinata.

"Ha, you said it yourself."

Ino leaped into Shishou's arms, happy.

"Sh-Shishou, are we not disturbing your studies?" Hinata asked, worried they might be interrupting his studies despite being happy to see him.

"It's fine. I'll spend the next two days with you," Shishou said, waving his hand decisively.

"Really?"

"That's great."

"How about we go for a picnic in the forest tomorrow?"

Ino suggested excitedly.

"Sure, let's go for a picnic tomorrow," Shishou agreed.

"Ino, are we still going shopping today?" Hinata asked.

"Of course, we need to buy some ingredients today," Ino replied.

"Should we invite the others too?" Hinata suggested.

"Sure, let's invite Choji and Shikamaru too."

"And Naruto, Kiba, and Shino can come as well."

"In that case, let's head to the market."

Chattering away, the three of them set off for the market in Konoha.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office...

Smoke filled the room.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took a puff from his pipe, his expression complicated.

In front of him, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane sat in silence.

It was clear they were all stunned by the information they had just received.

"Speak up."

"No matter what thoughts you have, speak out."

The Third Hokage broke the silence, placing the intelligence report on the table.

That day, he had received a letter from the newly appointed Mizukage, Mei Terumi, stating that someone outside Kirigakure had used the First Hokage's signature jutsu, Birth of the Trees, and hoped to cooperate with Konoha in investigating the matter.

Mei Terumi didn't specify who had used the jutsu, but the high-ranking members of Konoha instinctively believed it was the work of the masked man.

After all, he was the only one they knew who could use Wood Release.

Additionally, Mei Terumi had included several photographs of the Birth of the Trees in the letter.

She also detailed the events leading up to it, mentioning that several mysterious individuals had fought over the Three-Tails, and she had managed to reclaim the Jinchuriki with the help of a Flying Thunder God user.

Of course, Mei Terumi deliberately omitted Tsunade's presence, keeping it a secret from both Konoha and Kirigakure.

Only the parties involved knew about her presence, ensuring all the other villages' attention was directed towards the masked man and his organization, firmly placing the blame for the Birth of the Trees on him.

"This is indeed the First Hokage's Birth of the Trees."

"Kirigakure's information seems accurate."

"I've also confirmed it with the spy's report from Kirigakure, and it's mostly true," Homura Mitokado said after looking at the photos again.

"Kirigakure had already informed us that they would cooperate in investigating the Wood Release."

"At least until we find the mysterious person, they can be trusted," Koharu Utatane added after some thought.

"Hmph!"

"Their village was turned upside down by that mysterious man; of course, they would cooperate."

"If they were truly trustworthy, they would have already told us the identity of the Flying Thunder God user."

"I think Kirigakure just wants to use us as a shield."

Danzo snorted coldly.

However, with matters concerning Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God technique, Konoha couldn't ignore it.

Especially since the mysterious masked man could even use the First Hokage's Birth of the Trees. Konoha couldn't turn a blind eye.

This was what annoyed Danzo the most.

Kirigakure was clearly planning to use Konoha as a scapegoat.