Chapter 248: The Moon
"…Interesting."
At the residence arranged by the Land of Snow, Yagura could only give this comment after hearing Mei Terumi recount her experiences of the day.
What else could he say?
A young girl worried that her immortal puppets would one day become obsolete—wasn't she overthinking it?
If Yagura knew about Versailles, he would have already applied that term to Hyuga Miyuki.
"It's not surprising she thinks that way. I spoke with her on the road, and it seems Hyuga Fuji imposed some restrictions on her," Mei Terumi said with amusement. "Otherwise, with those twenty thousand terracotta soldiers, a lot of people would lose their jobs."
The citizens also needed to eat. Immortal puppets could take over too many jobs, monopolizing all the heavy and exhausting work. What would happen to the workers in those industries?
Even the dangerous scouting jobs had a loyal group of professionals who depended on them for a living. It was never wise to take things to the extreme.
Yagura raised an eyebrow in surprise. "From what you're saying, all the puppets Moryo created are under her control? She can command twenty thousand terracotta soldiers?"
He had initially thought that Hyuga Miyuki controlled only a portion, but to think she controlled all of them!
Was the Hyuga clan, which had remained relatively unknown, really this powerful?
Mei Terumi adopted a thoughtful expression. "From what I observed, Hyuga Miyuki can only precisely control a limited number at a time. The excess soldiers seemed to be engaged in large-scale national projects like digging canals."
"So, I suspect that while she holds the highest control authority over the puppets, someone else provides the chakra."
Seeing Yagura's confusion, Mei Terumi elaborated, "I saw Hyuga Miyuki control over a thousand puppets for a morning's work. The chakra required for that would be beyond her capacity."
Setting aside why Hyuga Miyuki possessed the ability to control so many puppets—far surpassing the puppet masters of the fallen Sand Village—the sheer amount of chakra needed to command over a thousand puppets for half a day was not something she could sustain.
So, who was powering these terracotta soldiers?
Yagura collected his thoughts and asked thoughtfully, "Is Moryo still alive?"
"Yes," Mei Terumi nodded.
Since the terracotta soldiers originated from Moryo, he naturally became the prime suspect for supplying the chakra.
It seemed Hyuga Miyuki had merely seized control, while the cost of maintaining the immortal puppets was still being borne by Moryo… Mei Terumi even felt a bit sorry for him.
"Currently, the terracotta army has two masters: Moryo and Hinata Shinsetsu. The former is likely in poor condition, unable to control the puppets and only serving as a chakra source, which left the control entirely to Hyuga Miyuki."
In this scenario, where she would have originally had to compete with Moryo for control, Hyuga Miyuki was now fully liberated.
All she needed to do was issue commands to the puppets without supplying chakra herself—Moryo paid the price for that.
However, the terracotta soldiers, lacking intelligence, couldn't carry out complex tasks without Hyuga Miyuki's supervision. Without her guidance, they could only handle simple jobs like digging pits.
Even so, they were perfect for major projects like road construction and canal digging.
With this in mind, Yagura sighed and said somewhat enviously, "Why didn't our country produce a Moryo?"
What kind of demon was this? More like a treasure-bringing sprite!
Captured and used as a chakra source, leaving behind a group of tireless puppets to help build the nation—it was the best demon in history.
That would be a national treasure!
If he had twenty thousand immortal terracotta soldiers, he could turn the Land of Water into the most prosperous nation in the Shinobi world!
Mei Terumi: "…"
Even if one was born, could we control such a dangerous demon?
Mei Terumi didn't voice this thought but instead shifted the topic to the Land of Fire. "Hyuga Miyuki was guarded around me and didn't disclose any information about the Land of Fire…"
Yagura interrupted her, "Hyuga Fuji already informed me, but we can't get involved."
Mei Terumi furrowed her brows, puzzled. "Won't there be a war?"
With the Land of Fire leading, all the United Nations member countries had tightened their border defenses, giving off an air of impending conflict.
Their decision to visit now was because the United Nations' posture seemed to be one of preparing for war, leaving no time to weigh the pros and cons.
If war broke out, the Land of Water, which had remained neutral, would end up pleasing neither side and could be the first to be eliminated.
"I'm not sure. This situation might become the spark, but we can't change it."
Yagura raised his head, looking at the ceiling as if trying to see the bright moon through it.
…
"The Land of Lightning is ready."
In a fully equipped hall, a ninja communicating with the Land of Lightning reported to Tsunade and the others, "They will use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send the team to the moon."
With the data provided by Mabui from the future, the Heavenly Transfer Technique of the Land of Lightning had been perfected, capable of long-distance teleportation without issue.
"Good, the rest is up to you now."
Tsunade nodded, looking at the four before her with a solemn expression. "If you encounter an opponent too strong to handle, don't worry about the people from the Land of Lightning or the Land of Earth. Just protect yourselves. You are the future of the Land of Fire…"
"Yes!" the four responded in unison.
Hearing their exchange, Onoki, floating in the air, couldn't help but protest, "Hey, Tsunade, the Land of Earth's exploration team is still here too!"
"…"
Tsunade glanced at Onoki, saying nothing, but her eyes said it all.
You didn't tell your subordinates the same thing?
Seeing this, Onoki's eyebrows twitched.
Friendship was fragile—who would sacrifice their nation's pillars for others?
Thinking this, Onoki withdrew his gaze.
So be it. They still needed the Land of Fire's teleportation formation to send their exploration team to the moon, so he'd endure it.
Tsunade snorted coldly and stepped back to the corner with Onoki, watching as the explorers from both nations entered the teleportation formation's center and gave the command.
"Activate teleportation!"
At once, Kushina and the others seated at the formation's corners began channeling chakra into the teleportation formation.
With a burst of dazzling white light, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth's moon exploration teams vanished from the formation.
…
In the blink of an eye, the world changed.
What met their eyes was a familiar landscape.
The forest stretched endlessly, with towering trees reaching toward the sky, lush and green. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows that wove golden patterns on the ground. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, as if nature itself were whispering.
The familiar scenery was indistinguishable from the forests of the Shinobi world, as though the forest had simply been transplanted to the moon.
The only difference from the Shinobi world was the mysterious floating islands suspended above this vibrant forest.
They seemed like fragments of the sky, quietly floating, isolated from the world.
"So, this is the moon?"
(End of chapter)