Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 275 The Road Ahead

The moment the demons vanished, both the ghostly army at the foot of the shrine mountain and those still in the Land of Wind crumbled at the same instant. Lava gushed from the mountainside engulfed the ashes left by the shattered statues. Fortunately, there was a river next to the volcano, and the eruption was not large in scale; the affected area was much more optimistic than expected.

The locals all know the infamous reputation of the demon. There are mountains and rivers nearby, but not even a village, so it won't affect the lives of ordinary people.

With everyone's unanimous agreement, they didn't choose to use the Flying Thunder God Technique for the return journey. Shion explained that she had never seen the world outside the village and wanted to return slowly. This was an S-rank mission, expected to take a considerable amount of time. It was only thanks to the Flying Thunder God Technique's overpowered feature that they were able to traverse one large and two small countries in such a short time, suppressing the apocalyptic disaster in less than a week. Therefore, it's reasonable for them to travel slowly on the way back and explore the places they passed through, right?

"Hey, Naruto." As soon as Naruto landed, Shion came up to him. "Am I really just an ordinary person now? Just now I clearly felt the complete annihilation of the demons."

Naruto blinked, and before he could even start making things up, Lee poked his head out with his fist, which was as big as a sandbag, and asked, "What do you mean by 'now an ordinary person'? Isn't Shion a priestess?"

Sakura, who had just finished bandaging Lee, immediately perked up and flashed to Shion's side with astonishing speed, asking seriously, "Was he injured? Or did he overuse his chakra? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Ziyuan waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, I'm perfectly fine, and I didn't even destroy the demon. Rather than saying I came to seal the demon, it's more accurate to say... I came to cause trouble..."

"How could that be?" The main force that killed the demon said firmly, "It was because Shion sacrificed a part of herself that the demon completely disappeared. You are undoubtedly the key to solving this disaster!"

The fourteen-year-old girl couldn't handle such praise; her light purple eyes instantly filled with tears. For a child who hadn't yet grown up, having the courage to stand before a demon was already remarkable; she had truly tried her best.

Shion threw herself into Sakura's arms and cried her heart out. After venting all her emotions, she fell into confusion again.

"Since the demons will never be born again, then the priestesses will no longer be needed, right? What should I do in the future?"

This question left a group of teenagers completely bewildered. From the ninjas' perspective, it's like a life-or-death event where ninjas are no longer needed, and there's no more fighting anywhere. So how would they utilize the skills they've honed through so much?

"Even if I don't become a ninja anymore, I can become a doctor. Everyone gets sick sometimes, right?" Sakura, who has a lot of experience in healing and saving lives, said.

"I hadn't thought about that... Maybe I could make other ironware? Even if it's just selling pots, every household needs one, right?" Tian Tian thought about her own stove. If she wanted to make something else, she would only need to change the mold and modify the recipe.

"Hmm... The Byakugan can also be used for identifying damage, searching for items, and so on. But these are all unrealistic fantasies for me. My primary goal is to prevent this thing from appearing again." Neji pointed to the green markings on his forehead without any hesitation.

"My childhood dream has been to become a ninja using pure taijutsu. This possibility is completely unimaginable." Lee felt that it was better to clear his mind.

All eyes turned to the last person who hadn't spoken; Naruto was lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the opposite side of the volcano.

"Naruto—" Sakura was utterly exasperated. This guy was the one who made Shion cry in the first place, so why did he just dump the responsibility on them and then ignore it?

"Ah, I'll probably become a writer." Naruto actually listened to their conversation attentively and readily gave his answer.

"Huh?" Everyone was shocked by this answer. "I thought you were going to say something about becoming the village chief or something..."

“Hehe, a village chief can’t change the world, but a writer’s work can spread all over the world and be seen by countless people.” Naruto’s smile was still so gentle. “However, that will only happen when education is widespread, since most people have never been to school and can’t read.”

"I have absolutely no idea what kind of weird stuff you could write..."

"My academic performance isn't that bad, is it?"

"Shikamaru has complained to me more than once that your handwriting is ugly. For the first two weeks, he couldn't even understand what you wrote in your comments!"

"This...this has absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote!"

The noisy atmosphere among the Konoha ninjas somewhat dispelled the confusion in Shion's heart. A girl born to strive to seal away the demons could indeed be momentarily lost, but Shion was a strong person; she heeded Naruto's words. Was she, who had been literate since childhood, just one of the few in this world? The long history and fascinating stories recorded in books had captivated her, and the knowledge left behind by previous priestesses was invaluable, helping her escape danger time and time again.

It is a great pity that one cannot understand books.

"Okay, I've made up my mind!" Ziyuan's enthusiastic voice drew everyone's attention.

She remembered that the person who taught her to read and write was respectfully called "teacher".

"I want to become a 'teacher' and one day teach everyone to read and write!"

This illusion about the future came to an end, because Naruto said he sensed a familiar group advancing from a great distance, most likely the reinforcements Konoha had originally arranged for them. However, this reinforcement was arranged according to a more scientific mission schedule, so even if they heard the commotion and moved at full speed, they wouldn't be able to catch up with the end of the Demon Battle.

"Since you dislike my handwriting, then you guys can write the good news. Write six copies, and deliver them as soon as possible." Naruto pushed the paper and pen aside, spreading his hands, determined not to waste any labor. What could the others do? Even the person they were protecting was enthusiastically writing; could the team members possibly refuse?

"This kind of ambiguous description won't do. The key to a victory report is to emphasize the victory and briefly explain the results of the victory. You can't use words like 'disappear,' you have to write 'annihilated'!"

"The victory was emphasized very clearly, but it was too brief. Didn't you see that the mountain next to it is still erupting? That needs to be included."

"The casualty information wasn't written; add 'All survived, only Xiao Li suffered minor injuries.'"

"Neji's is practically a model essay! Everyone should pass it around and study it carefully!"

"Ah!! You're the one who's obviously slacking off, Naruto!"