Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 349 Wonders

The festival is meticulously timed, requiring the shaman to rise early and prepare. At the break of dawn, she ascends the palanquin, chanting prayers for blessings, until she reaches the altar atop the mountain. Along the way, she is seen off by crowds of people who cannot go directly to the altar to witness the ceremony; they can only bid her farewell at the foot of the mountain. Upon reaching the altar, the shaman will perform a sacred dance to please the gods and offer prayers for the year to the heavens.

This entire ritual took from dawn to noon, and the priestess could not rest at all. If any step of the ritual was interrupted, it would incur the wrath of the gods and bring unrest to the land of demons.

Of course, Shion, who actually handled the affairs, didn't believe in such things. After each festival, she was not only physically exhausted, but also felt a strong sense of power being drained away. There were no real gods in this world; it was clearly the priestess dispersing her chakra and merging it with the earth, bringing some life to this small place. In this way, fewer people were sick, the land was easier to grow crops on, and naturally, the weather was favorable.

"I used to think this outfit was too much trouble to wear, but now I think it's not enough and doesn't block the wind very well." Ziyuan even had the mood to joke around with her sleeves, but it was really cold. She was already quite pale, but now she looked even paler and bloodless.

Ashiho frowned with heartache, but there were rules about what could be brought to the festival, and he couldn't even find a place to put a hand warmer.

"Looks like I'm not too late." Naruto quietly stepped out from behind the door. This was the shrine maiden's room, and people unrelated to the festival were strictly forbidden from appearing. However, infiltration was a ninja's specialty, especially the Flying Thunder God Ninja.

"Naruto-sama?" Ashiho glanced outside instinctively. Although he didn't know what Naruto was there for, he didn't shoo him away. Instead, he lowered his voice and said, "Please keep your voice down a bit. If we're discovered..."

"Don't worry, I timed my arrival perfectly." Naruto didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, extending his hand to Shion. "You lost your power because of me, so I'll make up for it for you this year."

Ziyuan was full of doubt, but trust prevailed, so she naturally reached out her hand. In a short while, warmth returned, and an indescribable powerful force resided within her body, as if it belonged to her without any rejection, allowing her to control it.

“I’ve read the records of previous festivals, and I guess the ritual probably consumes a lot of chakra, right? This is just a transition; I might not be able to come every year.” Having reached his limit, Naruto withdrew his hand. Kurama’s power was too distinctive to be used in the festival, so what he gave Shion was chakra modified from his own. He could even extract the “source,” so applying the principles of chakra transmission and slightly modifying some of the chakra’s properties wasn’t difficult.

"So much! Won't this affect you?" Shion knew Naruto was strong, and someone who could kill Moryo must have something special about them, but she had never experienced this state of being filled with power before, so it was inevitable that she was worried.

"It's just a drizzle, it'll even lighten my load a bit." Naruto turned around casually and said, "Focus on completing the festival, we'll talk about the rest later."

This year's snowfall was unusually heavy, covering the mountains and fields in silver. As the music for the ceremony played, fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky. They weren't large, but they were quite a rarity for the people here.

There was no record of snowfall during the ceremony in previous years, and people had some negative comments about this snowstorm, but everything stopped when the sun shone through the clouds. The light fell directly on the mountain where the altar was located, and gradually spread out, illuminating the earth.

"You didn't do this too, did you?" Neji, who was observing from afar with his Byakugan activated, suddenly blurted out. The Byakugan is, after all, still human eyes; one can't look directly into the sunlight.

"If I had that ability, I would have changed the world a long time ago." Naruto answered casually, inadvertently revealing his true feelings. His attention was not on his surroundings at all, but on the energy changes in this world. "Can't you see it? What a huge formation! Shion's ancestor was very powerful."

The group stared wide-eyed at the spot Naruto was pointing to, but apart from the blinding sunlight, they saw nothing. Two of them even had Byakugan!

"There's nothing there?" Straightforward Xiao Li rubbed his eyes for a long time.

"Could it be perception?" Ino formed a hand seal, but the feedback she received was that there was an extremely high-risk individual standing next to her, which suppressed all her other senses. She was speechless and put her hands down.

Naruto only realized now that he could actually "see" the flow of natural energy. He had thought that the spectacle in the sky was the one described in the intelligence report, but it turned out to be something else entirely!

"It's probably because I can use Sage Mode that I can detect the flow of natural energy. Shion's ancestors used mountains as eyes and flowing water as a medium to set up a formation throughout the Land of Demons. The core of the formation was the priestess. The formation transformed Shion's power into natural energy, which was then dissipated through the flowing water. It's an unheard-of method." Naruto made amends for himself without any embarrassment, explaining the phenomenon he had witnessed. As he spoke, he even felt that this method was somewhat extreme.

The Land of Demons isn't a place that can't survive without a priestess, so this level of chakra loss wouldn't matter to him, but for Shion, it would require her to exert every ounce of her strength. Moreover, the chakra required to activate the grand formation isn't a completely fixed amount; it's likely beyond the priestess's control. If one day the priestess's power weakens, then the grand formation will draw upon... her life.

How confident you are, Shrine Maiden-senpai.

While the grand formation could indeed bring blessings to the region, the price to be paid was already beyond the priestess's current means. Sacrificing one person to benefit a group sounds good, but it requires the sacrificed person to be willing. Once the full picture is recorded, destroy it.

Some were captivated by the scenery, some were drawn in by the descriptions, and naturally, some took the casual remark to heart. After waiting for a long time, they suddenly asked, "You just said you wanted to change the world's appearance. What kind of appearance?"

Naruto paused for a moment, then turned to meet Neji's extremely serious eyes, as if he would press for an answer if Neji didn't give one.

"Of course, it's as our ancestors hoped: to bring peace to the world!"

Neji didn't seem entirely convinced, but he at least let him go, and instead posed a new question, "What changes does a peaceful world mean for us?"

Such a voice emerged from among the silent companions; it was Sakura's heartfelt words.

"...At least, the names on the memorial tablet will no longer increase."