NOVEL WEB Chapter 35: A little downtime.
"They are clean as far as we can tell, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade hummed thoughtfully, taking another sip from her tea bottle, it was supposed to be sake, but Shizune managed to replace it somehow, again.
They were sitting in one of the meeting rooms in the Hokage building, discussing the newest addition to Konoha.
The Watcher's Shrine had been built relatively quickly, the Order had been very efficient in its construction, they brought their own materials and took care of everything themselves, not bothering Konoha's residents at all.
She had given them a plot of land, located in the Merchant District, it was the best compromise that allowed Konoha to keep an eye on them while not providing them easy access to anything vital or secret.
"Any ideas?" She asked the man sitting in front of her. "They are so unsuspicious, it actually makes me more suspicious."
Shikaku chuckled softly and nodded. "I agree." He stated amusedly. "The progression of cult to religious order has happened before, but these guys did it awfully fast and without any major mistakes."
Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair slightly.
"Kepp two squads on them, for now, ones with Hyuuga's," She ordered firmly. "We'll keep our guard for a few months, until we're sure they aren't up to something."
Shikaku nodded with a grunt, standing up. "Understood."
He left the room, leaving Tsunade alone to her thoughts.
Maybe they were just fanatics? If they just wanted to spread their religion, that would explain a lot...
She took a swig from her bottle.
"Urgh! I want some sake, dammit!" She said, annoyed after realizing it was tea, still.
***
1 DAY LATER
Shion walked on stage and faced the people gathered in the temple grounds. Thousands of faces stared up at her expectantly.
"My people." She started solemnly. "I stand before you today, filled with pride for this wonderful country."
She began slowly walking across the stage. "I have stood upon this stage many times, announcing tragedies and triumphs, disasters and successes. I have been blessed by your support to guide this nation as its High Priestess."
The crowd was silent, waiting for her to continue.
"And today I come to you once again with an announcement." She smiled. "One that fills my heart with hope and joy. As you know, just a few weeks ago, I was visited by our new neighbors, The Order of the Watcher."
"As you all also know, our talks bore fruit, we would give them permission to build Shrines in our land, they did so, quickly showing their commitment to kindness and generosity. They provided help wherever they could, all without asking for anything in return."
Shion stopped moving at the center of the stage.
"And then, they offered more help, something that has plagued us for decades, Mōryō's followers, a group of people responsible for thousands of deaths amongst our own, responsible for spreading suffering and fear wherever they went."
"They did so, ending the threat of Mōryō permanently, working with my Temple Guards to end them once and for all."
The crowd started cheering when she announced the destruction of Mōryō's cult, they plagued the Land of Demon's for generations, sowing chaos and suffering whenever they could.
When Mōryō set in motion his plan to subjugate the world, many died opposing him, after her mother sacrificed herself to seal him, many hoped that would be the end, but not a year went by without another incident of the cult trying to resurrect their master.
Their deaths were cause for celebration, one that many were having.
Shion waited for it to quiet down before continuing. "All this has led me to the decision I am here to announce today."
"I have officially decided to recognize The Watcher Behind The Stars as a God, worthy of our worship and devotion." She stated loudly. "Today, and every year from now on, we will celebrate this day, The Starfall Festival."
At her announcement, the sky turned dark, revealing countless stars racing across the sky, it was a beautiful sight that left the entire crowd speechless.
The stars eventually faded away, and the sky returned to its previous color, leaving the crowd completely silent.
Shion stared up at the sky...
What?
...her mind blank after witnessing such a spectacle.
She almost jumped out of her skin when suddenly there was an explosion of activity from the crowd. Cheers, shouts and clapping could be heard coming from thousands of people.
Shion stood there for a few seconds, lost, before she composed herself again and waved at the crowd with a smile, the cheers just got louder.
It was hard to doubt someone's divinity when you saw them paint the sky.
***
2 WEEKS LATER
I hummed in thought as I watched my latest experiment. Well, humming would imply my vocal cords were working, andnot currently occupied with being mostly burned by my attempt at Boil Release.
I had basically mastered every Jutsu Konoha gave us, and in a fit of boredom decided to try and mix affinities, the results had been... disappointing to say the least.
Basically, it doesn't matter how skilled you are, if your body wasn't compatible, bad things happen.
I still believed that it was possible to recreate the mixed elements without the required bloodlines, but it needed some more thinking.
I really should be focusing on improving my skills with the basic elements, but it's just so boring.
Turns out that becoming a super strong Shinobi was surprisingly monotonous once you got the gist of it.
I didn't even have to worry about Chakra Capacity or strength training, those were already covered by my body's genetics.
I wonder how normal Shinobi don't die from boredom...
Is that why a lot of them are insane? Because they spend days on end repeating the same task until they get slightly better at it?
Ah well, I'm going to take a walk, a very enthusiastic walk.
I tried the whole constant training thing, and it's not for me, why put in hard work when I can just cheat and copy someone else?
And I know just where to find one of the most talented Shinobi in all history.