"Damn it, Kakashi! He only invited the girls inside."
Looking at the shell house rising on the giant centipede's head, Might Guy and the others felt a surge of envy and jealousy.
Just now, Shishou had started inviting the priestess, Pakura, Anko, and other girls into the shell house to rest, while the rest could only endure the cold wind on the centipede's back.
"There are too many people; it wouldn't fit everyone inside."
Casually responding to Guy, Kakashi found a sheltered spot and closed his eyes to rest.
At this point, they had already been on the centipede's back for over a day, and they were only halfway through their journey.
"Damn it."
Might Guy muttered, then started doing push-ups beside Kakashi.
Inside the shell house.
Shishou instructed Uchiha Izumi to sleep first so she could take over guiding the centipede later.
Then, he took out a deck of cards and started teaching the remaining girls how to play a fast-paced card game.
After listening to Shishou explain the rules, the three girls quickly got the hang of it.
"Hahaha, I win again!"
Pakura excitedly collected the money from everyone, continuing to shuffle the deck.
She looked like a real money-grubber.
In just over an hour, she had won over five hundred thousand ryō, which was more than her income for several months.
In the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure was the poorest, and even as an elite ninja, she was always broke.
The priestess Miroku and Anko also won a decent amount, with only Shishou losing.
Seeing the pleased Pakura, Shishou's face seemed annoyed, but he was secretly happy.
Since founding the gambling den and Shinobi UnionPay, he had never lacked money.
If it meant getting closer to Pakura, he wouldn't mind losing a few million more.
After playing for another half an hour, they dispersed to sleep.
Shishou naturally didn't actually sleep with the girls since they weren't very familiar yet.
After playing cards, he left the shell house and found a spot to rest his eyes.
...
"One thousand one hundred and one."
"One thousand one hundred and two."
Early the next morning, Shishou was awakened by a counting voice. Opening his eyes, he saw Guy's enthusiastic face.
"Mr. Lurigan, care to join the youth party?"
"Youth is endless!"
Might Guy paused his push-ups and gave Shishou a thumbs up, flashing his trademark big white teeth.
Seeing this familiar scene, Shishou recalled his past life playing ninja games and the painful experience of being patted on the head by these youth-loving characters.
Yesterday, Guy had been exhausted, and today he was fully recovered?
Is this the power of youth?
Just thinking about it was exciting.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
Shishou politely declined Guy's invitation and went to relieve Uchiha Izumi from her shift guiding the centipede.
"You can go sleep now."
Shishou sat next to Uchiha Izumi, speaking softly.
"Ah~~"
Seeing Shishou beside her, Uchiha Izumi yawned, glanced at the newly awakened priestess walking out of the shell house, and then leaned into Shishou's arms to sleep.
I'm just watching him for Aunt Mikoto!
Finding an excuse, Uchiha Izumi felt justified in leaning into Shishou's arms and fell asleep.
Looking curiously at Uchiha Izumi in his arms, Shishou was puzzled.
What is this girl up to?
Are we already this close?
Not that I mind.
After thinking for a bit, Shishou had the little centipede raise a shell to block the cold wind for Uchiha Izumi.
"You two are really close."
The priestess Miroku walked up to Shishou, glanced at Uchiha Izumi in his arms, and smiled.
"Hehe, it's okay."
...
Another day passed, and the group finally reached their destination, the Sealed Demon Cave with a huge entrance.
"Kakashi, we're finally here."
Might Guy excitedly shook Kakashi's shoulder, tears of joy in his eyes.
These past few days had been extremely boring for him.
He had never encountered such a tedious mission before.
It was a complete waste of his youth.
"Is this the place where the demon is sealed?"
Kitsuchi looked at the surrounding terrain and frowned.
Hearing this, the priestess Miroku nodded and explained,
"Yes, the environment inside the cave can suppress the monster's power. It's the best place for sealing."
"Then let's start quickly; the monster will arrive soon," Kakashi reminded, glancing into the distance.
Hearing this, Shishou spoke up,
"In that case, let's proceed according to the plan."
"Kakashi and I will handle the sealing inside the cave."
"You all stay outside to stop the Yomi Cult and the puppet soldiers."
Although this was already arranged, the group still frowned upon hearing it.
Sealing the monster inside the cave was the most dangerous task. Even with a giant summon, it might still be challenging for just two people.
"Are you sure the two of you can handle it? If not, I can go with you."
The usually steady Kitsuchi offered.
He didn't feel comfortable letting Shishou handle the sealing with just one other person.
Shishou smiled, "Don't worry, I wouldn't joke about Kakashi's life."
Hearing this, Uchiha Izumi rolled her eyes internally.
So, you would joke about your own life?
Then Shishou pointed into the distance and continued,
"Besides, do you have any means to deal with giant creatures?"
In the distance, the monster chasing the priestess, the finally appeared in their sight.
The monster had a sinister, terrifying face, emitting a purple-black eerie mist. It looked like a gigantic humanoid crocodile.
"This... this is too huge."
Seeing the monster, which was as large as a tailed beast, everyone exclaimed.
In front of it, even Shishou's red-armored centipede looked like a child.
Pakura gritted her teeth. Her ninjutsu was effective against human-shaped targets, but she had no good methods against such a giant monster.
The three Konoha ninjas, including Kakashi, felt a chill, recalling the Nine-Tails incident years ago. The monster's size was comparable to the Nine-Tails.
In that battle, Konoha suffered heavy losses.
Shishou glanced at the ninjas from each village, noticing that only Kitsuchi remained relatively calm. The others were too shocked to speak, even elite jōnin like Pakura and Kakashi.
After all, ordinary ninjas weren't skilled at dealing with giant monsters, and even some with Kage-level strength struggled against tailed beasts.
"Do you still insist on assisting with the sealing?"
"I can go in and help."
Kitsuchi looked at Shishou.
As expected of the father-in-law of the Rock Demon Image, he spoke with confidence.
Shishou admired him and said, "Just leave the creature to us."
"Kitsuchi, it's better if you help block the Yomi Cult and the puppet soldiers."
"They won't be easy to deal with either."
With that, Shishou instructed the red-armored centipede to take him, Uchiha Izumi, and the priestess into the cave.
Seeing Shishou's determination, Kitsuchi and the others didn't argue further.
They jumped off the centipede and started setting up defenses outside the cave to stop the puppet soldiers.