Chapter 455: The Priestess's Prophecy
The prophecy delivered by the Priestess of the Land of Demons was swiftly relayed back to the high council of Konoha by the field team.
Without delay, Konoha's upper echelon convened an emergency summit.
"According to the prophecy from the Priestess of the Land of Demons, a Fifth Great Shinobi World War will erupt in the near future. The vision even shows Moryo from the Land of Demons, alongside a vast swarm of dangerous, unnatural creatures from all across the globe, standing directly against us," Naruto explained, presenting the gathered intelligence to all the Jonin present.
Listening to the report, Shikamaru remarked thoughtfully, "While I don't doubt that precognitive abilities exist, can we truly take these words at face value?"
Anyone with a decent breadth of knowledge knew that precognitive capabilities were indeed real in this world.
However, the accuracy of such visions varied wildly depending on the individual.
Not every prophecy could foresee every future event with absolute precision.
As the Hokage's chief advisor and assistant, Shikamaru had to weigh every one of these variables carefully.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah. The Priestess of the Land of Demons has an exceptional track record, but that doesn't mean her visions are a hundred percent set in stone. The future can still be changed."
Having served as Hokage for some time, Naruto understood firsthand just how daunting leadership could be.
"In any case, since the Priestess has foreseen such a threat, we can't afford to let our guard down," Shikamaru stated flatly.
If they did nothing to alter the timeline, events would unfold precisely as the Priestess had described—an outcome none of them were willing to accept.
A massive army of resurrected undead would be a nightmare for even the combined strength of the Shinobi Alliance to contain.
Furthermore, historical records showed that every conflict involving Moryo had resulted in devastating casualties for the Land of Demons.
They had always required military support from neighboring nations. If a rogue faction managed to weaponize Moryo, the potential casualties were beyond calculation.
According to intelligence reports, Moryo was an immortal entity within the Shinobi World that could only be sealed away, never destroyed.
As long as negative emotions persisted in the world, it would inevitably revive time and time again—making sealing jutsu the sole viable solution.
In that regard, it functioned much like a Tailed Beast.
Kiba Inuzuka stepped forward and offered, "In that case, let me lead a team to the Land of Demons to inspect Moryo's seal firsthand."
"Good. Move out as quickly as possible. We can't allow the enemy to get what they want."
Since the Priestess had foreseen Moryo appearing on the enemy's side in the future, it meant the rogue faction had undoubtedly set its sights on the creature.
For all they knew, Moryo might no longer even be at the sealing site in the Land of Demons.
"Take the latest Scientific Ninja Tool communication gear with you. The Land of Lightning has launched its newest satellite, establishing long-range communications across the Five Great Nations and neighboring realms. Through our shared access network, it's fully operational," Naruto added with a nod.
They definitely needed someone to scout for intelligence regarding Moryo.
Kiba happened to have no active assignments at the moment, and Naruto held high respect for his overall capabilities.
Acknowledging the order, Kiba called Akamaru and strode out of the conference hall.
The remaining personnel stayed behind to continue preparing for future threats.
After all, Tobitake Tonbo had once warned them that new, unprecedented challenges lay ahead in the future.
This was the very reason Konoha had spared no expense in training the next generation, pouring massive funds into educational infrastructure.
Otherwise, even with Tonbo's influence, the village wouldn't have funneled such staggering resources into revamping Konoha's educational system during an era of peace.
The Priestess's prophecy had merely confirmed that Tonbo's warnings were spot-on.
Their trials were far from over.
The Shinobi World had yet to achieve true, lasting peace, and there was still a long road ahead.
Even what they enjoyed now was merely surface-level tranquility.
In the dark undercurrents of various factions, countless issues still required resolution.
Otherwise, Konoha's Anbu wouldn't have maintained its current size, let alone avoided downsizing.
Many Anbu operatives today—much like Sasuke Uchiha—were deployed across the globe to gather intelligence on the Otsutsuki and monitor hidden factions, determined to nip any emerging threat in the bud.
...
"Kiba Squad, move out!"
Leading three squad members, Kiba set off, with everyone equipped with Konoha's latest ear-mounted communication tech.
Their flak jackets were no longer the simple protective vests of the past, either.
Instead, they were outfitted with various powerful Scientific Ninja Tools.
These were highly efficient, functional tools engineered by modern Konoha.
For a Jonin like Kiba, the boost to overall combat effectiveness was by no means negligible.
"Understood, moving out!"
The other three members were visibly thrilled. After training hard for so long, they were finally getting a chance to show what they could do.
Ever since the era of peace began, they hadn't had a proper opportunity to go all out in a real combat scenario—apart from the incident during Otsutsuki Toneri's invasion.
Over the past two years, as Konoha's training facilities grew more sophisticated, their hands had been itching for action.
Hands shoved in his pockets, Kiba cautioned, "Don't do anything reckless. Stick strictly to standard operating procedures and don't fall into an enemy trap."
When it came to practical combat experience, the three were still far behind him.
"Yes, sir!"
SOOSH! SOOSH!
The four moved swiftly, making their way to Konoha's Rapid Response Force base. Boarding a combat airship, they set off directly toward the Land of Demons.
For long-distance deployments, they no longer had to rely entirely on running by foot.
They could fly straight to their destination.
Because local customs in the Land of Demons differed from other realms, Konoha had not constructed a Thunder Rail line connecting to their territory, leaving airships as the primary mode of rapid transport.
...
SHOO~
"Curse you all! I won't let you get away with this!"
A massive, towering figure dissolved into black smoke as it was dragged helplessly into a containment jar, bellowing in rage all the while.
The situation had completely caught Moryo off guard.
The priority of the enemy's sealing technique was somehow far superior to the Priestess's seal that had bound him for generations.
He had barely broken free and roared once before being swallowed whole by the jar.
"Objective complete. Let's move. The Shinobi Alliance will be locking onto this location very soon," the leader commanded, stowing the jar away before leading the squad out of the subterranean space.
Behind them, the dark underground realm fell silent, save for the orange lava flowing between the jagged rocks.
It stood as a quiet testament to what had transpired just moments ago.
Less than half a day after their departure, several figures burst into the chamber at high speed.
However, the moment they took in the scene before them, their expressions darkened.
"Captain Kiba, it looks like the enemy has already stolen Moryo," a female member reported.
Kiba fixed his gaze on the massive sealing altar sitting in the middle of the lava lake.
His nose twitched slightly.
"Akamaru, do you smell that? The enemy left only half a day ago. As long as they didn't use space-time ninjutsu, we can still catch up to them."
With just a brief sniff, the vast array of scent profiles reconstructed a vivid visual timeline in Kiba's mind.
Barely half a day ago, a group of people had vanished from this very spot.
And they had taken that creature named Moryo right along with them.
That monster's scent was vile—disgustingly dark and foul.
WOOF! WOOF!
As a ninja hound, Akamaru naturally picked up the trail as well, barking and nodding firmly toward Kiba.
"Captain, they only have a half-day head start? Then we still have a chance to retrieve it!" The rest of the team let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.
Half a day wasn't too far ahead.
They could definitely bridge that gap.
Besides, Kiba's scent-tracking abilities were legendary—something they had all witnessed firsthand.
It was as if Kiba could piece together a clear visual picture of events from lingering scents up to a full day old.
Back during the Otsutsuki Toneri incident, Kiba had relied on this exact ability to track down and neutralize rogue ruin-raiders attempting to stir up trouble.
Kiba declared, "Of course we can! Watch me—we're definitely not letting Moryo slip away on our watch. Otherwise, how am I ever going to face the others? It'd be way too embarrassing.
Besides, Tamaki doesn't like useless men.
Follow me!"
SWISH!
Leading the way with a Body Flicker Technique, Kiba sprinted forward as the other three members followed closely behind.
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