"..."
Of course Aoba knew what Shion wanted to talk about.
It was definitely related to the document she had sent to Konoha.
She had even sent it through a messenger in her capacity as the Shrine Maiden of the Land of Demons, making it all so formal.
Yet what she wanted to discuss in the end might not be anything official at all.
"Looks like you already know?"
Seeing the expression on Aoba's face, Shion showed a sly smile.
"Isn't it just about the Land of Demons merging into the Land of Fire? Alright, tell me your conditions."
Hearing that, Aoba simply adopted a businesslike attitude.
But as soon as Shion heard his tone, she immediately puffed out her lips in dissatisfaction.
"Honestly, didn't I already write in the letter that I wanted to talk face to face?"
"Aren't we face to face right now?"
Aoba asked in confusion.
"I mean face to face in real life!"
Shion lunged straight at Aoba, but her body passed right through him.
"We can't do anything like this, so how does this count as face to face? Besides, you're not losing anything..."
The momentum she had built up quickly faded again, and she muttered quietly.
"As long as you give me a child... I'll give you the Land of Demons, and... and myself too. That's a great deal, okay..."
"..."
Aoba really couldn't hold it in anymore.
The feeling of someone offering a huge reward just to have a child was too strong. It always made it feel like some kind of transaction.
Fortunately, he had been spending almost every night talking with Shion lately, telling stories and chatting.
That feeling had lessened quite a bit.
"Then I'll go to the Land of Demons to see you tomorrow."
"Huh? R-Really?"
The moment Shion heard that, she moved right in front of Aoba, her voice rising several levels.
"Would I joke about something like that?"
Aoba considered himself a fairly serious person.
"Mmm..."
Once Shion realized he was serious, her head drooped again, and her body swayed slightly.
The aura of wanting to immediately pounce on Aoba disappeared, and she returned to being an innocent young girl.
In the end, as the shrine maiden of this generation, even though Moryo probably wouldn't appear again for hundreds of years, there would still come a day when it returned.
So what she had prioritized before was the continuation of the shrine maiden lineage.
Now that the matter of inheritance had been settled, her mindset naturally returned to that of a normal girl.
"..."
Seeing her like this, Aoba simply stayed beside her quietly.
"Can you come see me tonight?"
Shion suddenly raised her head again, her face full of anticipation.
"Well..."
Aoba thought about the way Yugao, Konan, and the others had been acting earlier.
If he went to see Shion at a time like this, it felt like another world war would break out.
"Let's wait until tomorrow. Tonight isn't very convenient."
"Alright..."
Shion pursed her lips and accepted it.
It wasn't like she was desperate to get pregnant tonight.
She just wanted to chat face to face first, hold hands, and things like that.
But if Aoba said it wasn't convenient, then he probably really had something to deal with.
She couldn't be too willful.
———
The night passed quickly.
Naturally, Aoba kept his promise and went to the Land of Demons the following afternoon.
Of course, this couldn't be considered skipping work.
As the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, he could count it as an official visit to the Land of Demons.
The only difference was that the location of the visit was a little private, it took place in the shrine maiden's bedroom.
And somehow, Shion seemed to have gotten hold of some information.
Although she was still wearing shrine maiden robes, when she got up and walked around in front of him, Aoba could clearly tell that today's style seemed much shorter than usual.
Those legs beneath the skirt hem, wrapped in white socks...
Of course, Aoba wasn't going to go all the way with Shion the moment he arrived.
Even if Shion thought it was fine, he himself would feel like he wasn't acting very human.
It was better to start with a normal romantic relationship first and then gradually take things further.
———
Over the following period, Aoba would make time to visit the Land of Demons and spend time with Shion.
Just like that, a week passed in the blink of an eye.
And during that week, Naruto and Sasuke completely mastered the Six Paths power they had received from Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
They basically speedran it.
Though maybe it couldn't really be called a speedrun.
After all, in the original story, Naruto and Sasuke went straight from obtaining Six Paths power to fighting Six Paths Madara and Kaguya Otsutsuki.
That was a real speedrun.
Yet now, even with Hagoromo Otsutsuki personally guiding them, they still spent a whole week.
Could it be that Hagoromo Otsutsuki was actually a mediocre teacher?
Just like a certain person from the neighboring pirate world?
But since both of them had fully mastered their respective powers, it was time to remove Kaguya's seal.