The Forgotten Island.
Time flew by, and three days had passed.
During these three days, everyone on the Forgotten Island had been very busy.
Honoka was studying the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Four Violet Flames Formation that Rasa had given her. Sand Lizard and Sand Eagle were busy taming the summoning beasts they had their eyes on, while Rasa was researching the natural energy of the island.
In fact, the process of taming a summoning beast was relatively simple.
First, the summoning beasts needed to have the potential to become summoning beasts. On one hand, they needed to possess chakra within their bodies, and on the other hand, they needed to have a certain level of intelligence.
Then came the taming of the summoning beasts. There were two methods for this: one was forced control, such as the summoning beasts of the Six Paths of Pain, which were forcibly controlled using black rods. The other method was similar to raising a pet, where the summoning beast willingly acknowledged you as its master.
Over these three days, Sand Lizard and Sand Eagle had been working hard to win the favor of the two giant beasts they had chosen.
Sand Eagle had his eyes on the giant eagle, which not only had the ability to fly but could also use genjutsu.
Sand Lizard, on the other hand, had chosen a giant lizard. This giant lizard had the ability to turn invisible like a chameleon, and it could even make its owner invisible, making them undetectable by sensory ninjas.
Unfortunately, three days were still too short.
The two of them had only managed to reach the point where the giant beasts didn't dislike them. It would still take some time before they could fully tame them.
Although Honoka had the help of Rasa's manual, even with her outstanding talent in sealing techniques, it would still take some time for her to fully understand this space-time ninjutsu. Fortunately, she had quickly mastered the Four Violet Flames Formation.
As for Rasa, he had also encountered a problem.
Since arriving in this world and obtaining the [Kāma Seal], he had absorbed various types of chakra and natural energy, each time gaining some unique abilities. However, this time, after absorbing the natural energy emitted by the Forgotten Island, his body showed no reaction at all.
What was the reason? Was it because the natural energy on this island was too scarce, or was it simply not special in any way?
These questions will not be answered anytime soon.
This is because, according to the schedule, Wind Blade and Thunder Blade were about to return, and it was time for everyone to go back.
At the edge of the volcano on the Forgotten Island, there was a small wooden house. This was where Honoka had lived for the past five years.
The interior was very cozy. Now that it was time to leave, Honoka felt a bit reluctant.
Seeing this, Rasa comforted her.
"Don't be like that. It's not like you're never coming back. Once you develop the Reverse Summoning Technique, you can come back anytime."
Honoka's eyes lit up, and the disappointment on her face disappeared as she nodded and said,
"You're right! Are we heading back to Sunagakure next?"
"Yes, but before we go back, there are some questions I'd like to ask you. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable answering, you can refuse."
A hint of curiosity appeared on Honoka's usually cold face before she raised a brow.
"What questions?"
"I've heard that your Uzumaki clan has a sealing technique called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."
Honoka was stunned, and then she heard a question that left her utterly astonished.
"This technique is said to summon the Shinigami. Do you know anything about this summoned Shinigami?"
To be honest, when Honoka heard Rasa ask about the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, she had thought of countless possibilities, but this was the last thing she had expected. The question left her silent for a moment before she asked,
"...Why are you asking this?"
"Nothing much, I'm just curious about the world of the Shinigami."
Rasa replied, then proceeded to tell her about his encounter with the ghost ship and the ghosts on the open sea.
"That was definitely not an illusion. I really did encounter ghosts."
Only then did Honoka somewhat understand Rasa's thoughts, but she still hesitated as she spoke.
"The clan leader once told us that many of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques are. In fact, summoning techniques are used to call upon the power of the Shinigami. Among them, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is the pinnacle of such techniques. However, communicating with the Shinigami... that's something no one has ever done."
Rasa rubbed his chin in understanding.
"I see! So, can you summon the Shinigami?"
Honoka gave him a strange look.
"Why does it feel like you really want to meet the Shinigami..."
"I just think that perhaps communicating with such an ancient existence might help answer some of the questions in my mind."
Honoka's expression grew even more peculiar, but she still shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Well, it's not that I can't, but summoning the Shinigami comes with a condition: the caster must offer their life as a sacrifice to meet the Shinigami. But in that case, the caster would die as well."
Rasa sighed and nodded.
"I understand! In that case, we'll have to make a trip to the Land of Demons first."
Honoka was puzzled.
"The Land of Demons!?"
"Yes. I was originally thinking that if we could meet this Shinigami, we could take the route through the Land of Fire on our way back and stop by the Land of Whirlpools. Although Uzushiogakure was destroyed, some things were left behind."
The reason Rasa said this was because he remembered the plot where Orochimaru took Sasuke to the ruins of Uzushiogakure and used a Shinigami mask to summon the Shinigami and undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Hearing this, a flicker of emotion passed through Honoka's otherwise calm eyes.
"Go back? After I meet Hana, if possible, I'd like to take her back there once."
"Sure, I can agree to that. But for now, you'll have to come with me to the Land of Demons. There's also an ancient demon there called Mōryō. It might help answer some of my questions, and I might need your sealing techniques for that."
Since they were already out, Rasa naturally wanted to take care of things along the way. However, he certainly wouldn't take Mōryō's words at face value.
"Mōryō!"
Honoka found it strange that Rasa wanted to meet such powerful demons, but she didn't press further and simply said,
"I'm not confident I can seal a demon like that. It's said that only the priestess of the Land of Demons has the power to seal such a creature."
Rasa paused before nodding.
"I'll take that into consideration. Let's go meet her first since it's on the way anyway."
With that, after packing everything up, Rasa took Honoka, Sand Eagle, and Sand Lizard and left the Forgotten Island, finding Ōtsu, who was waiting with the ship on the open sea.
This time, to save time, Rasa, now familiar with the direction, didn't bother navigating through the storm. Instead, he used his sand to lift the entire ship into the air, flying over the sea from above.
They didn't have to wait long outside before Wind Blade and Thunder Blade returned safely.
Then, Rasa generously gifted the entire ship to Ōtsu, the sailor who had brought them there, before taking everyone and flying straight toward the Land of Demons.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the news of the Kazekage's impending arrival, Ōkuro, Ishiomo, and Koishi, the three members of the covert operations team responsible for investigating the area, immediately prepared for his arrival.
At that moment, under the night sky.
In the Land of Demons, a city built against a mountain.
Inside a grand palace.
The noble and elegant priestess Miroku suddenly woke from her sleep, a trace of panic flashing across her youthful, delicate face.