Taking Shion Away

"Nagato, I hope you don't seek revenge against Ryoha. You're not his match; he is too terrifying. Even with your Rinnegan from the Sage of the Six Paths, there's nothing to be proud of in front of him."

"After going through so much, I now realize that it's impossible for just a few of us to bring peace to the ninja world, even if it's a brief moment of peace. We don't have the power to change the world. I only hope that in the future, you can find a place where Ryoha can't find you and live a peaceful life in anonymity."

Konan looked up at the sky. She had opposed being enemies with Ryoha from the beginning, but Nagato insisted on his own path. At this point, she had no expectations left. She just hoped Nagato wouldn't follow in the footsteps of Yahiko.

"Ryoha, there's no real substantial hatred between us after all. Although I don't know why you're doing this, I sincerely hope you can bring peace to the ninja world, even if it's just a fleeting moment. Don't let it be like the seemingly peaceful but actually constant power struggles of the five major nations. It can reduce the number of orphans like me. Perhaps only unification can bring a short-lived peace."

Konan thought of her own background. Having suffered the ravages of war since childhood, she instinctively detested war or those who deliberately provoked it. However, she also knew that sometimes, inaction could lead to chaos. Understanding and peace between people was simply impossible. Only by using high-handed methods to frighten all those with malicious intentions could peace be achieved, even if only briefly. This was good enough, fulfilling her dream at least.

If Konan knew that Ryoha's actions were all about knowing that the Fourth War would be provoked and he was just going along with it, she didn't know if she would rush in front of Ryoha and detonate herself without regard for her life.

"Tsk tsk, Land of Demons, why change the name like this? It doesn't even sound eerie." Inside the borders of the Land of Demons, a woman dressed in a fishing net outfit looked around and made clucking sounds with her mouth.

"Does the name 'Land of Demons' have to be eerie? Alright, we're here." Ryoha's eyes pierced through layers of obstacles, and he saw the priestess Shion, along with her guards and the four subordinates of Yomi, pressing them step by step. So, he used his Space-Time Jutsu to teleport and appeared directly behind the priestess.

"Three seconds. Leave within that time and you can live. If it takes more than three seconds to leave, you'll leave your life behind." Ryoha didn't waste any words after appearing. The four subordinates of Yomi were instantly furious. Who dared to speak to them like this? The person who appeared seemed to be an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man. This made them angry.

"Kid, you must be seeking death, Fire Release: Sacred Fire!"

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!" Two of them used Wind and Fire Releases, combining them, which was very powerful. However, Ryoha's Dark Guard was not to be trifled with. Many techniques from numerous Konoha ninjas couldn't penetrate the Dark Guard, let alone these two subordinates of Yomi.

"Why bother? There's an escape route. Yet, you choose the path of death." Ryoha didn't even bother to look. The dark force, like flowing sand, surged from his body and corroded the oncoming hurricane and raging fire. Then, the dark force, undiminished in its momentum, covered the four people, engulfing them in darkness in an instant. Within a moment, the four people were consumed by the darkness, falling into an abyss of darkness, never to resurface.

Shion and her guards stared blankly at Ryoha. This sudden turn of events was something they hadn't expected. Especially the terrifying power of darkness made them shudder.

"Alright, do you want to stay here obediently and live your life or disappear with the four people from before?" Ryoha looked at his guard, who drew his sword and watched Ryoha warily. In his heart, Ryoha couldn't help but commend his courage, though it was beyond his capabilities.

"Taruho, from today onwards, you are no longer the priestess's guard, and I don't need you to guard me either," suddenly, the priestess Shion revealed an unprecedented strange expression.

"Lady Shion, this is my duty," Taruho said slowly, looking at Ryoha.

"Very good courage. There are not many in the entire ninja world who dare to wield a blade against me. You, a person slightly stronger than an ordinary one, actually have the courage. Indeed, not bad."

Ryoha directly used his hypnotic ability to erase everything related to Shion, and then he fell unconscious. When he woke up, he wouldn't remember anything related to the priestess. With his strength, unless Ryoha or masters like Kakashi or Tsunade helped him undo the hypnosis, he would never remember.

"Don't worry, he just forgot everything related to you. Perhaps, for him, this is a life-changing event. At least he won't die at the hands of Moryo," Ryoha's words made Shion's expression even stranger.

"You can even predict his death?" Shion looked at Ryoha as if she had seen someone similar to herself.

"Is there a need to predict that? A devoted but weak person like him is facing Moryo and its soldiers; it's certain death, isn't it? Maybe he'll die even before he sees one. Enough talking, let's go," Ryoha's eyes flashed, and Shion was uncontrollably drawn towards him. Then, they both disappeared from the spot. After Ryoha and Shion left, Naruto rushed in not long after.

"Weird? Why is there only one person? And he's unconscious?" Naruto looked at the unconscious Taruho. Neji also arrived. They woke up Taruho, but he knew nothing about the priestess, even if he was her guard.

"Doesn't seem like a Genjutsu," Neji said, looking at the seemingly unaffected Taruho.

"Could he really not know?" Rock Lee suggested.

"Impossible. Even if he genuinely doesn't know where the priestess is, how could he, as the priestess's guard, not know anything about the priestess? I'm sure he has been subjected to some kind of manipulation," Neji shook his head, denying it.

"How about having Kakashi-sensei take a look? He's experienced and might know what's going on, perhaps even a way to solve it."

Naruto proposed, and the others agreed. They contacted Kakashi via radio, who was nearby and engaged in battle with a large number of Stone soldiers alongside other Konoha ninjas and ninjas from the Five Great Countries. After hearing Naruto's description, Kakashi was immediately sure that something was amiss. He could also use this method; it was the ability of hypnosis. So, without a second thought, he had Iruka temporarily replace him and rushed in the direction where Naruto and the others were.

"As expected, it's hypnosis." After ten minutes, Kakashi had arrived. He opened his Sharingan and confirmed after looking at Taruho for a while.