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Chapter 73: Shifting the Blame
🕑 Added 2024-06-28 18:30:06 +0000 UTC"What is this thing?" Miroku asked, staring in bewilderment at the golden insect egg floating in front of Shishou.
To be honest, she still hadn’t processed what had just happened. She only knew that a beautiful insect flew out of Shishou's body, landed on the crystal sealing Moryo, and then the black lines that even she couldn't handle vanished. After that, the insect disappeared, and this golden egg appeared in front of Shishou.
Shishou, seeing that the Nine Nether Silkworm had returned to a state of hibernation within the insect breeding space, finally let out a sigh of relief. Hearing Miroku’s question, he reached out and took the golden egg, smiling as he explained, "This is something formed from the energy that Moryo just leaked out. As for its exact use, I need to research it further."
Miroku's eyes brightened at Shishou's words. If what he said was true, then she wouldn’t have to worry about Moryo breaking free again. She would just need to check in with Shishou occasionally. A problem that had caused her so much distress was solved so easily by Shishou, making her gaze at him filled with admiration.
Seeing her beautiful eyes filled with worship, Shishou felt a surge of boldness and leaned in to kiss her. Miroku's cheeks turned crimson, but she didn’t pull away. Shishou, with a flick of his wrist, tossed the egg aside and used the Phosphorescent Worms to seal off the distant cave entrance.
Soon, the sealing cave echoed with soft, intoxicating sounds.
In Konoha.
At the Aburame clan's residence.
After returning Miroku to her palace, Shishou went back to his own home in Konoha. Lying on his bed, he examined the golden insect egg, slowly studying it. Initially, he had thought the Nine Nether Silkworm from another world could only be managed within the insect breeding space. But to his surprise, it could absorb the energy emitted by Moryo. Considering that Moryo was summoned from another dimension, it made sense that the Nine Nether Silkworm could feed on its energy.
[Spirit Medium Egg: An egg laid by the Nine Nether Silkworm after absorbing otherworldly energy. It can house the soul of a dying person, allowing them to be reborn.]
Rebirth!
Even though Shishou had confirmed it multiple times through his insect system, he still couldn't help but gasp at the word. This was essentially a resurrection coin!
[Nine Nether Silkworm: A legendary insect from the Netherworld. It cannot reproduce but can lay eggs with various effects. Extremely rare and valuable!]
Looking at the dormant Nine Nether Silkworm in the insect breeding space, Shishou was filled with awe. If it weren’t for the scratches on his back left by Miroku, he might have thought he was dreaming. Now, he fully understood why the system rated the Nine Nether Silkworm so highly. It was like having an extra life!
Unfortunately, the Nine Nether Silkworm had fallen into a deep sleep after laying the egg, and Shishou had no idea when it would wake up. Otherwise, he would have considered releasing Moryo again to let the silkworm feed more, possibly gaining another resurrection coin.
"With this item, maybe I don't need to wait any longer," Shishou muttered.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Rising from his bed, he saw through the peephole that it was Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga. Shishou realized it was the weekend.
"Bang bang bang!"
"Shishou-kun, open the door!" Ino shouted, knocking vigorously.
"Maybe he's still in his 'study mode', Ino," Hinata said softly, looking downcast. She hadn't spoken to Shishou in days and felt a bit sad about it.
"Hmph! I don't care, he has to go shopping with me today!" Ino demanded, arms crossed and fuming.
Shishou, feeling guilty for his frequent absences, opened the door. "Since Ino insists, let's go shopping today."
"Ha, you said it!" Ino jumped into his arms, delighted.
"Sh-Shishou, we didn't interrupt your studies, did we?" Hinata asked, though she was happy, her concern was evident.
"It's fine, I'll spend the next two days with you both," Shishou assured, making a grand gesture.
"Really? That's awesome! Let's go picnic in the forest tomorrow!" Ino suggested excitedly.
"It's settled then, a picnic tomorrow. Shall we go shopping now?" Hinata asked.
"Of course, we need to buy some supplies for the picnic. Should we invite the others?" Ino asked.
"Let's invite Choji and Shikamaru, and maybe Naruto, Kiba, and Shino too," Hinata suggested.
"Then let's get going," Ino declared.
With excited chatter, the three headed to the market.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
The room was filled with smoke. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, puffed on his pipe, his expression complex. Seated before him were Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, all silent and contemplative, clearly shaken by the recent news.
"Speak up," Hiruzen finally said, breaking the silence. "Whatever you're thinking, just say it."
He had received a letter from Mei Terumi, the new Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village. She reported that someone had used the First Hokage's famous jutsu, 'Deep Forest Emergence,' near the village and requested Konoha's cooperation in investigating the matter. Though Mei hadn’t specified who had used the jutsu, Konoha’s higher-ups immediately suspected the masked man.
"This is definitely the First Hokage's 'Deep Forest Emergence'," Homura confirmed, examining the photos Mei had included. "Our spies in the Mist confirm it too."
"The Mist Village has agreed to cooperate with us in investigating this," Koharu noted. "At least until we find this mysterious person, we can trust them."
"Hmph!" Danzo scoffed. "Of course they’re cooperating. Their village is in chaos because of that man. They want us to do their dirty work. If they were truly trustworthy, they’d have given us the identity of the Flying Thunder God user by now. They just want to use us as a shield."
Still, Konoha couldn’t ignore the matter. The possibility of someone else wielding the First Hokage’s jutsu and the Flying Thunder God technique was too significant to overlook. Moreover, the masked man had caused enough trouble already.
"They want us to handle their problems," Danzo grumbled, though he knew they had no choice but to investigate. The threat was too great to ignore.
With this, Konoha’s leadership was left to ponder their next steps, knowing full well the implications of Mei’s revelation.
