Kiyohara turned back, looking at the Daimyo of the Land of Demons with some confusion.
The man who had been so overbearing just moments ago was now sprawled on the ground like a heap of mud.
The daimyo's unique ceremonial crown hung crookedly on his head, and the once well-maintained face now seemed to have aged with fresh wrinkles.
It was obvious that Mōryō hadn't cared much for preserving the daimyo's body.
So he didn't die after all.
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Normally, when a person is drained of a massive amount of chakra, they die.
Jinchūriki are the clearest example—once the tailed beast is extracted, the host dies without exception.
And Mōryō's chakra reserves were basically on the level of a tailed beast.
The fact that the Daimyo of the Land of Demons had survived could only mean that his life force was sturdier than that of an ordinary person—or that Mōryō hadn't drained him completely.
"Miroku…"
The Daimyo of the Land of Demons struggled to raise his head, his eyes turning toward the priestess standing beside Kiyohara.
"I was wrong… I never should have… touched that thing…"
His voice came out in broken fragments.
Miroku looked at him.
There was no expression on her beautiful face.
The moment the daimyo reached for Mōryō, there had been no turning back.
That kind of corruption crossed a line no priestess could ever accept.
If Konoha and the other villages' ninja hadn't come to help this time, then even if Mōryō had been sealed in the end, the cost would have been staggering.
And by then, who knew how many innocent people in the Land of Demons would have been dragged into the disaster.
A daimyo like this was utterly unfit to rule.
"Miroku…"
The daimyo stretched out a trembling hand, trying to reach toward her.
Only now, at the very end, was he beginning to regret it.
Kiyohara glanced at the daimyo, then at the priestess.
In the original story, after gaining Mōryō's power, the Daimyo of the Land of Demons had also tried to persuade the priestess to join him and conquer the world together.
That alone showed how deeply obsessed he had been.
Unfortunately, in the priestess's heart, duty and the fate of the realm mattered far more. She had chosen to seal Mōryō at the cost of her own life.
That was also why Shion had never fully inherited the priestess's legacy. Even by the end, she had only awakened her power with the help of the chakra Miroku had left behind.
According to Miroku, Shion's potential actually surpassed her own.
If she had received a complete education as a priestess, Kiyohara was genuinely curious how far Shion might have gone.
"Don't go… Don't leave the Land of Demons. Don't leave me."
The daimyo sobbed openly.
Miroku was silent for a moment.
Then she slowly shook her head.
"The Land of Demons no longer has Mōryō."
"The priestess's duty is to seal Mōryō and protect this land from its harm. Now that Mōryō has been sealed by Kiyohara-dono and is to be taken back to Konoha…"
She paused, and in her beautiful eyes there was only unwavering resolve toward the priestess's mission.
This duty had been passed down for a thousand years. It could not end in her generation.
"If the Land of Demons no longer has Mōryō, then there is no reason for the priestess to remain here any longer."
The daimyo's body went rigid.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came.
Two cloudy streams of tears slid down his withered face.
"If you'd known this was where it would end, why did you do it in the first place?"
Kiyohara shook his head.
In the ninja world, there was a strangely reliable rule:
Whenever two people disagreed, only after a brutal fight would the loser finally wake up and realize they'd been wrong.
In other words, if you wanted to convince someone, you first had to beat them.
Madara Uchiha, Sasuke, even Obito—every one of them only started questioning themselves after being beaten down.
"Kiyohara-dono, when do we leave?"
Miroku looked at Kiyohara.
"It's too late today. Tomorrow."
Kiyohara shook his head.
At that point, with the terracotta army and the Land of Demons shinobi dealt with, the ninja from the other villages had gathered closer.
Most of them had their eyes on Kiyohara—especially on the sealing scroll at his waist.
They had seen with their own eyes that he had temporarily stored the sealed Mōryō inside it.
Sealing scrolls weren't supposed to be able to store living things. That was common knowledge.
The fact that Kiyohara could place Mōryō inside one clearly broke that rule.
The only way they could make sense of it was to assume the priestess's sealing technique had bound Mōryō so deeply that it now counted as little more than a dead object.
Mei stood at the edge of the crowd, her green eyes narrowing slightly.
She raised a hand and tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear, revealing the alluring curve of her profile.
She studied Kiyohara thoughtfully.
Kiyohara was taking Mōryō back to Konoha…
That meant Konoha might be gaining a new weapon of war.
That immortal terracotta army—if that power were used on a battlefield…
Her brow furrowed faintly.
The war had only just ended, and this fragile peace had only just begun.
If Konoha gained control of something like that, the future balance of power…
But she quickly shoved those thoughts aside.
Now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
She gave Kiyohara one more look, then another toward the sealing scroll, before lowering her eyes and looking away.
Gari, standing not far from her, felt the same sense of unease toward Kiyohara.
His fist clenched and unclenched, over and over.
Mōryō…
If that thing could be brought back to Iwagakure…
But the thought died almost as soon as it formed.
The power Kiyohara had just displayed—that golden giant handling Mōryō like some slippery little eel and beating it around at will—
Trying to snatch something like that from him would be pure insanity.
Gari drew in a deep breath and forced down the restlessness in his chest.
Farther away, Maki wore his usual stern expression, though now there was a trace of relief on his face.
Relief that Kiyohara wasn't an enemy, and that Sunagakure had already signed an alliance with Konoha.
He glanced at Mei, Gari, and the others, already deciding that once he returned, he would report every single thing he had witnessed today to the Kazekage.
Kiyohara noticed all those looks, but his expression never changed.
He knew exactly what they were thinking.
Something like Mōryō, in the hands of any village, would naturally make every other nation wary.
But so what?
If anyone dared to take it, they were welcome to try.
His strength itself was the greatest deterrent.
"Lady Priestess!"
At that moment, a voice shattered the brief silence.
Miroku turned.
A guard in ancient-looking armor hurried forward and dropped to one knee in front of her.
"Is Your Highness truly leaving the Land of Demons?"
Miroku looked at him and gave a small nod.
"Yes."
The guard's whole body shook violently.
He looked up, and on his scarred face there was only fierce resolve.
"Then please take us with you!"
His voice rang through the air.
The moment he finished, the other guards all stepped forward and knelt in unison.
"Please take us with you!"
"We want to continue protecting Lady Priestess!"
"Wherever Your Highness goes, we'll follow to the death!"
Miroku looked at them, emotion flickering through her beautiful eyes.
Kiyohara watched the scene in silence.
There had been a similar moment in the original story. After Shion became the next priestess, those same guards had been willing to die for her one after another.
They had known their sacrifice was meaningless.
They had known that even if they died, Shion might still not survive.
And yet they had rushed forward anyway.
Sometimes, the power of faith was stronger than any ninjutsu.
"Konoha doesn't mind taking these guards along."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
All the guards looked up at him at once.
"You may be weaker than Konoha's shinobi, but you're loyal. That's rare."
He paused, then continued,
"Once you get to Konoha, you can keep protecting Lady Priestess there."
The guards exchanged glances, then all bowed their heads to Kiyohara.
"Thank you, Lord Kiyohara!"
Kiyohara meant what he said.
These guards only knew a little chakra manipulation beyond what ordinary people could do, and they could use a few secret techniques.
Compared to Konoha shinobi, though, they were far inferior.
That was why, for a thousand years, the ones who truly carried the burden of sealing Mōryō had always been the priestesses.
Generation after generation, they had guarded this land with their lives.
"Kiyohara."
Minato stepped over.
"Do you want me to reinforce the seal on Mōryō too? My sealing techniques aren't on the level of the Uzumaki clan's, but I'm still fairly capable."
Kiyohara looked at him and shook his head.
"That won't be necessary, Minato-san."
"I learned the relevant techniques from Sister Karin, and with the priestess's help, Mōryō's seal is already very stable."
Minato nodded at that and didn't insist.
"That's good."
At the same time, he couldn't help sighing.
When it came to sealing Mōryō, he had barely contributed at all.
The Hokage seat really…
"This matter is settled. Everyone else should withdraw."
Kiyohara turned, his gaze sweeping over Mei, Gari, Maki, and the other shinobi from the different villages.
"Konoha will handle what remains."
Mei frowned faintly.
"Let's go."
She turned and gestured to the Mist shinobi.
Gari also led the Stone shinobi away.
Before he left, he turned back for one last look at Kiyohara, then at the sealing scroll.
After that, he withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace into the distance.
Maki gave Kiyohara a nod and led the Sand shinobi away.
The Cloud shinobi also departed quickly.
Before long, only Konoha's ninja and the kneeling guards remained on the battlefield.
The Daimyo of the Land of Demons was still sprawled on the ground, his cloudy eyes fixed on Miroku.
A thought suddenly occurred to Kiyohara.
"Your Highness, perhaps the Land of Demons could form an alliance with Konoha. If that happens, your people will be able to travel in and out of Konoha more freely."
Kiyohara proposed.
The Land of Demons had stayed isolated from the main current of the ninja world for ages. It was a small country, yes, but it also had a great many resources that had never been developed.
If those were tapped into properly, they would amount to a considerable fortune.
Kiyohara had already looked into the matter. The Land of Demons happened to possess certain materials that could be used to create an artificial tailed beast.
This was something he had been planning for a long time.
If he wanted to become the Dragon Vein's jinchūriki, then first he needed to give that vast, wandering mass of Dragon Vein chakra some kind of physical vessel to anchor it.
After all, the Dragon Vein was nothing but a pure aggregation of chakra gathering at certain nodes in the earth.
And the Land of Demons possessed materials capable of holding enormous amounts of chakra.
With sealing techniques and other materials that could carry chakra, it wouldn't be hard for Kiyohara to recreate a shell.
Shinnō's Zero-Tails formula, in the end, was basically just a man-made tailed beast.
Hearing Kiyohara's suggestion, the daimyo nodded rapidly.
"That would be for the best."
"It would also be better for your recovery. Konoha's medical techniques are far more advanced than those in the Land of Demons."
Kiyohara continued.
The Daimyo of the Land of Demons brightened immediately, as though he had found hope in the middle of despair.
He ordered several guards to help him to his feet.
Even if he had fallen so far as to join hands with Mōryō, he was still the daimyo.
So the guards supported him back up.
Minato stood at the side, watching the whole thing, inwardly amazed.
Kiyohara hadn't just sealed Mōryō—he had also drawn a new ally to Konoha.
The Land of Demons might be a small nation, but its location gave it real strategic value.
That kind of achievement, that kind of thinking…
It was already the mindset of a Hokage.
For the first time, Minato found himself thinking that maybe Kiyohara becoming Hokage wouldn't be bad at all.
And if he didn't win this round, there would always be the next one.
The Hokage position wasn't for life.
"Brat."
Tsunade's voice came from the side.
Kiyohara turned.
Tsunade stood there with her arms crossed, golden-brown eyes full of curiosity.
"Does the Land of Demons have gambling houses?"
she asked.
Because of the Mōryō affair, they had come in a rush and would be leaving in a rush.
Tsunade hadn't had any time at all to properly look around the Land of Demons.
She had basically spent the whole time near the priestess's shrine, guarding her.
"I'm curious what kind of gambling they have in a place this ancient."
Kiyohara couldn't help laughing.
"Later, I'll go take a look with you, Sensei."
He said it to placate her.
"But right now, I need to negotiate an agreement with the daimyo first."
Tsunade wasn't unreasonable. She waved him off and told him to come get her when he was done.
"Kiyohara and Lady Tsunade really have a great relationship."
Rin said.
"They really do."
Kurenai nodded.
She also felt that the bond between Kiyohara and Tsunade, as master and disciple, was extremely close.
Completely unaware that one day, she might end up wearing a very green metaphorical hat.
Miroku, meanwhile, turned to head back toward the Land of Demons.
"I'm returning to the shrine first."
she said.
The daimyo watched her receding back, opening his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
Miroku's attitude toward him had clearly become much colder.
Because he had touched Mōryō.
That was an absolute line she would never allow anyone to cross.
…
Several days later.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office.
Gari knelt on one knee before Ōnoki, reporting everything that had happened in the Land of Demons in detail.
He had rushed straight back to Iwagakure for the sole purpose of delivering the information to Ōnoki as quickly as possible.
"…Kiyohara used a golden giant to handle Mōryō like an eel in his hand, pounding it with one punch after another until it couldn't fight back at all. And he didn't even use the sword…"
Gari recalled that the golden giant had carried a sword, but Kiyohara had quickly sheathed it at his waist and just used his fists.
In the end, Kiyohara and the priestess had sealed Mōryō together and brought it back to Konoha.
Ōnoki sat in his massive stone chair, and the older Gari spoke, the more serious his expression became.
A golden giant…
That was unmistakably Susanoo!
And that made Ōnoki think of one man.
A man who had once terrorized him to the core.
Madara Uchiha.
That man had possessed a similar power.
"So another monster has appeared…"
Ōnoki muttered.
He rose to his feet and walked to the window, gazing out over the village encircled by stone.
"Pass the order."
he said.
"Iwagakure will undergo reforms. Accelerate talent selection. From today onward, increase the effort put into training young shinobi."
Gari looked up.
"Lord Tsuchikage…"
"Go."
Ōnoki waved a hand without turning around.
Gari was silent for a moment, then stood and withdrew from the office.
Once the door closed behind him, Ōnoki remained alone, replaying Gari's report in his mind.
"The ninja world… is about to produce a second Uchiha Madara."
Even now, Ōnoki could still vividly remember that day in his youth when he and his teacher—the Second Tsuchikage, Mū—had gone to meet Madara Uchiha, only to be humiliated by him without mercy.
He had heard repeatedly that Kiyohara wasn't as obsessive or extreme as the other Uchiha.
But in Ōnoki's eyes, any Uchiha was a ticking time bomb.
…
Sunagakure, Kazekage Building.
Maki stood before Rasa, giving the same detailed report of everything that had happened in the Land of Demons.
"…Kiyohara's strength has already far exceeded my original estimate. That golden giant could probably suppress even a tailed beast."
Rasa sat behind his desk, eyes narrowing slowly.
Kiyohara's image surfaced in his mind.
That young man who had once crossed hands with him.
Back then, Kiyohara had been impressive, but still within the bounds of what Rasa could understand.
Now, though…
"You're saying his strength has already surpassed mine?"
Maki fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"I believe so."
Rasa said nothing.
"At least Sunagakure signed an alliance with Konoha long ago."
He shook his head.
"Pass the order. Convene a meeting. We'll discuss this year's participation in the Chūnin Exams hosted in Konoha."
"Yes, sir."
Maki accepted the order and left.
Rasa remained seated in his office alone, looking out through the window at the endless yellow sand sweeping through the wind.
…
A few more days later.
Konoha.
By the time Kiyohara and the others reached the village gate, dusk was already settling in.
Miroku stood at the entrance and looked up at the towering gatehouse, then beyond it at the bustling streets faintly visible inside.
She had never seen a sight like this before.
The Land of Demons was ancient, but it was also closed off.
Shion was in her arms, her little head peeking over Miroku's shoulder as she curiously took everything in.
"Mom, it's so lively here…"
she said in her soft little voice.
Miroku lowered her head and looked at her daughter.
That tiny face was full of wonder.
"Mm."
she answered softly, a faint smile touching her lips.
Kiyohara walked at the front, leading them through the streets toward the Hokage Building.
Along the way, plenty of villagers recognized him. They stopped and waved.
"Lord Kiyohara!"
"Lord Kiyohara is back!"
"So that's Lord Kiyohara? He's so handsome…"
Watching the reverence in the villagers' eyes, Miroku realized Kiyohara's standing in Konoha was even higher than she had imagined.
…
The Hokage Building.
Hiruzen sat behind the broad desk, his pipe sending up curling wisps of white smoke.
Even though he was no longer Hokage, he could still exercise a certain degree of authority—essentially as a Hokage advisor.
When Kiyohara pushed open the door and walked in, Hiruzen looked up, an approving smile appearing on his face.
"You're back?"
Kiyohara nodded, stepped forward, and gave a full report of everything that had happened during the sealing of Mōryō.
As Hiruzen listened, his expression became increasingly colorful.
"…That's how it happened."
When Kiyohara finished, he placed the scroll containing Mōryō's seal on the desk.
Hiruzen stared at it, clearly not expecting so much to have happened.
"Good. Good."
He said it twice in succession, then lifted his head and looked at Kiyohara.
~~~