Chapter 246
Riku looked at the two women led by Yugito Nii and said with a faint smile, "You don’t need to overthink it. I just don’t want you to die. Of course, even if you do, I won’t be sad."
"It would just be a pity."
"Maybe you could teach your village’s Jinchūriki how to master their Tailed Beast?"
Yugito and her companion stared at Riku, and she finally understood. "So that’s why you’ve shown so much interest in me... this is what you wanted all along."
"Don’t even think about it. Even if I do know how, I’ll never tell you."
"This is a secret of the Hidden Cloud Village."
Riku smiled. "But if I really wanted to know, do you think you could stop me? I’m just hoping we can come to a fair exchange."
"After all, if the Jinchūriki can control their Tailed Beasts, it’ll be easier to deal with the Akatsuki, wouldn’t you agree?"
Yugito hesitated. The memory of Riku casting that illusion on her the night before still lingered vividly in her mind. She knew he wasn’t bluffing—he could really do it.
"This is a classified secret of the Hidden Cloud. I will never reveal it to you. You might force it out of me through some means, but I’ll never give it up willingly."
Yugito understood clearly that if Riku truly acted against her, she’d have no way to resist. But even so, she refused to say anything herself.
Riku looked at her thoughtfully. "What are you thinking? I wouldn’t go that far. But I believe that someday, your village will offer to teach it willingly. Do you believe me?"
Yugito and her companion looked unimpressed. They didn’t believe him at all.
That kind of information was a top-secret asset of the village—why would they ever share it with others?
Seeing their skepticism, Riku chuckled. "You’ll see. That’s not even the point right now. The point is—I genuinely don’t want you to die."
"I admire you. Just like I admire Samui."
"I have to say, even though your village is full of brash muscleheads, you’ve got a lot of beautiful women."
"I don’t know how it works in the Hidden Cloud—your men are so uncivilized, but your women are stunning."
Then he thought of Karui.
Well... maybe she was the exception.
But she’d end up being Chōji’s wife in the future. Riku figured only Chōji could appreciate her—no ordinary person could handle someone like her.
From Riku’s tone, Yugito and her companion found his words rather frivolous.
After all, Riku was only sixteen, while Yugito was already twenty-eight.
There was a twelve-year age gap between them, and his comments made them a little uncomfortable.
"You really don’t act like a proper shinobi. Haven’t you heard of the Three Prohibitions?" Yugito said coldly.
Alcohol, sex, and greed—those were the three taboos for a shinobi.
Yugito was a proper kunoichi and strictly followed those rules.
To her, Riku’s words just now sounded like flirting.
Riku paused, then gave a wry smile. "You’re reading too much into it. Do you really think I’m coming onto you? Don’t get me wrong—I just don’t like seeing beautiful women die."
"Beautiful things... some people like to see them destroyed, to admire their fleeting nature. But that’s not me. I’d rather beautiful things lasted longer."
Yugito glared at him. "Are you calling me a thing?"
For a moment, Riku didn’t know how to respond.
"I just meant... I don’t want something beautiful to be broken. That’s all. You’re overthinking it. I don’t have any other motives."
"It would just be a shame if someone as strong as you died."
"In terms of raw power, even that Akatsuki member with the immortal body wouldn’t be a match for you."
"But if you were killed by them, it’d be a waste."
Yugito and her companion followed behind Uzuki Yugao with cold, unreadable expressions.
Riku wasn’t particularly bothered—he was just making conversation to pass the time.
Whether they believed him or not didn’t matter much to him.
After traveling through several minor countries, the group of four finally reached their destination—the sealed location of the demon in the Land of Marshes.
A volcano.
As they stepped into the volcano, Riku saw in the midst of unsealing the sprite.
The moment the seal was broken, the sprite’s spiritual energy erupted from its body and fused back into its form.
At that moment, stood atop the magma, laughing maniacally as countless black tendrils shot out from within the volcano.
"Hahaha! Lord Sprite, be reborn! Let the Five Great Nations fall! Let us build a new empire!"
His goal was to have the sprite help him create a unified kingdom—one that would last for a thousand years.
...He was clearly delusional.
Because the sprite had no intention of going along with him.
As its soul returned to its body, the monster cackled and promptly devoured him whole.
"Haha! It’s been ages since I returned to this world. The air here is still as fresh as ever."
The sprite rose from the magma, surrounded by writhing, grotesque tendrils tens of meters long.
Not even the searing heat of the lava could harm it.
Its sheer presence was overwhelming.
Standing above the magma, it turned toward the intruders and grinned.
"Shion... so you’ve come. Good. Merge with me. With our power combined, we’ll rule this world. You and I are one!"
Its words made Riku frown.
The sprite comes from another world... does that mean the ancestors of the shrine maidens came from that other world too?
In truth, the so-called "Otherworld" was merely another dimension.
It still existed within the shinobi world—just more hidden than even the Three Great Sage Realms.
It wasn’t another planet—just a separate space.
Still, what the sprite said made Riku suspicious. Maybe the priestess bloodline originated from that hidden dimension too. Otherwise, how could they be born with the ability to seal such monsters?
When Shion saw the monstrous tentacles writhing across the lava, fear gripped her heart.
"Mr. Riku, this thing is terrifying!"
Yugito and her companion frowned as well. They clearly found the sprite both disgusting and dangerous.
Its countless tendrils lashed through the air like whips—each of them strong enough to shrug off molten magma.
Riku reached out and gently rubbed Shion’s head.
"Your Highness, you just need to focus on sealing the sprite. I’ll make sure you stay safe."
Yugito stepped forward and patted Shion’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Lady Priestess. This guy and I will protect you together."
Uzuki Yugao didn’t speak. She knew her own strength wasn’t enough in this kind of battle. Just staying alive would be difficult.
Riku looked over at her with a warm smile.
"Yugao-nee, go back outside. Help us hold off the ghost army trying to break in."
Uzuki Yugao understood—Riku was trying to protect her.
She nodded. She didn’t want to become a burden to him.
---------------------
Join my Patreon and get access to 50+ early Chapters before anyone else! 🔥
/UK21
Your Support is Truly Appreciated
--------