RNP Chapter 267 Debate
Chapter 267 Debate
“No,” Sakura said firmly. “Since we know we’ll die, let’s find someone else to do it, or at least do something to prevent it.”
"Yeah, someone else might not have died," Xiao Li chimed in.
"No, do you guys really not trust my abilities?" Naruto was puzzled. He didn't remember this happening last time. Did their bond deepen because they'd been fighting since childhood? But shouldn't they trust him more because of their frequent sparring, rather than the priestess's prophecy?
"It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't." Even Neji, who had remained the most composed throughout, spoke up. Naruto had thought Neji was on his side!
"It seems the more you take prophecies seriously, the more likely they are to come true." Tian Tian said half a fair word, then veered to the camp advising him to give up, "But there are rumors of them being 100% accurate, so it's better to be careful."
Even the four most troublesome opponents on the road have been taken care of beforehand, and Hui is currently searching for the location of the demon's soul with all his might. What danger could they possibly encounter? The only trouble would be if the seal failed and they had to face the demon directly. Facing this former defeated foe, Naruto really couldn't imagine how he could possibly lose.
"Our mission was announced by the village after considering the overall situation. It's not that easy to change people at the last minute." Naruto faced his old friends with his most confident smile and said, "I know you are all really worried about me, but concern can cloud judgment. Don't forget that I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. Ordinary barriers can't trap me, let alone kill me."
"Don't worry, I promise I will always be careful to protect myself, and please believe me."
There were still some voices within the group wanting to argue, but Naruto suppressed them, citing the urgency of the situation. The ghost army could not be eliminated; it left nothing but desolation in its wake. Only by sealing the demons as quickly as possible could this man-made disaster end and the affected area be reduced.
The "monster" Wangliang certainly has too many strange aspects. First of all, who defined it as an "otherworldly monster"?
Of course, they weren't questioning the accuracy of this statement, but rather that the definition was far too precise. The power of the demons was unprecedented, seemingly impossible for anything to arise in this world. Unlike chakra, the energy driving the stone statues appeared to possess the ability to corrode everything. The land the legion traversed was literally barren; even if life were reintroduced, it would gradually decay. Only Hashirama's arrival, using Wood Release chakra to revitalize it, would bring it back to life.
They also tried forcibly removing the stone statues and throwing them into very remote places for research. If it were just a single piece, it wouldn't be so bad, as it wouldn't recombine. However, the fragments, soaked in toxic energy for a long time, also possessed biological toxicity and were not suitable for being placed anywhere indiscriminately. But once three stone statue fragments existed simultaneously within fifty miles, the energy channel between them and the demons was reconstructed, and the stone statues would recombine again, attempting to return to the legion.
After this experience, they decided against using the dismantling method to solve the legion's problem. They couldn't determine the extent of pollution a single statue could cause in a short time, and scattering hazardous materials all over the world just to solve this problem wasn't the best approach. What if some idiot in future generations started collecting them? Therefore, it was best to keep this hazardous waste in a centralized location for now...
The research on the demons has completely blocked Hui's path. Even Tobirama couldn't understand how that thing worked, because even if there was an ocean between them, as long as there were three statues, they could still be activated, which does not conform to the law of conservation of energy at all!
Even if Naruto wanted to remotely control something, he would at least have to spread his chakra over it, right? So how did Moryo manage to remotely control something with almost zero loss?
No one in Hui could figure it out. They naturally had high hopes for the newly acquired database, but the search results for "otherworldly magical beasts" were... fantastical creatures of intelligent civilizations...
Okay, maybe this thing really didn't exist in the previous civilization? Or maybe it just wasn't called that?
In short, there has been no progress in the study of spirits, but there has been a breakthrough in prophecy.
On the last night before Naruto dismissed everyone to prepare, Ashiho came and knocked on his door. As soon as she entered, she performed the familiar dogeza (a deep bowing gesture), which startled Naruto, who was least used to this, so much that he immediately jumped out the door.
"Just say what you have to say, don't start by kneeling down and apologizing!"
"Lord Naruto, I would like to request that you continue to protect Lady Shion!"
The reason why Ashiho would specifically come to ask for help when he knew the other party had a mission was, of course, because he had no other choice. He himself knew that this request was quite excessive for someone who did not have that kind of awareness, but he had no other choice.
The so-called death prophecies of a shrine maiden to those close to her are, in essence, prophecies about the death of the shrine maiden herself. These prophecies only appear when the shrine maiden foresees a mortal danger, and the deceased are often people who willingly sacrifice their lives for the shrine maiden. In fact, the moment Ashiho learned of the prophecy, his affection for Naruto increased greatly, because those who appear in the prophecies are all people who truly care about Lady Shion.
Seeing the Konoha ninjas' strong reaction to the prophecy, he could tell that Naruto must be someone loved by many. Naruto was indeed resolute now, but what if his comrades continued to plead? Ashiho, after all, was meeting them for the first time, and there was bound to be some distrust. He couldn't bear to see such a person die because of this, but at the same time, he secretly hoped that Lady Shion would be safe and sound, so he simply took the initiative to come and tell her the truth.
"So, if someone who is preordained to die escapes death, it could be Shion who dies?" Naruto sympathized with Shion's experience of being avoided by everyone since childhood, but still showed no fear.
“So far, no one has ever run away, because none of us dare to gamble on that possibility.” Ashiho said frankly, “Of course I hope that Lady Shion can live, not only because she has the ability to seal the demons, but also because of my own selfish desires. But I have no right to hide the truth, because every comrade who died for Lady Shion knows this.”
"Therefore, I can only ask you to protect Lady Shion."
Ashiho tried to bang his head on the ground again, but was stopped halfway by a hand. Naruto's strength was extraordinary, and he looked at him with a helpless and pitying gaze.
"Alright, alright, I understand. I will definitely protect Ziyuan. Is there anything else? We're leaving quite early tomorrow."
“N-nothing.” Ashiho was a little stunned. Naruto’s reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had never seen anyone who was not afraid of death. Even he himself struggled for a long time before accepting that he could die for Lady Shion at any time.
"Then get some rest." Naruto ushered him out the door, and as he was leaving, he suddenly said, "The 'Lady Shion' you mentioned is just a fourteen-year-old child. Call her name occasionally; she'll be very happy."