The demon of urushumaru

illage in an unsettling silence. Even the merchants who normally arrived with cheerful banter to set up their

e could feel it-a disturbance in the flow of energy that connected the village to the world beyond.

e of the leaves. His fingers brushed the talisman hanging around his neck, it

a mixture of fear and disbelief. The events of the previous night were burned into his mind-the whispering

inside him had changed, though he couldn't explain what it was. As he passed through the qui

l spot near the outskirts of the village. Takehiro's sh

ost," Takehiro remarked, crossi

ed, his tone teasing bu

tried to collect himself. "Something... something's happening," he

ual confidence faltering

s wide and glassy. "The demon.

ned, his mind racing. The legend of the Demon of urushumaru was well-known to the boys. It was a story their parents used

" Takehiro asked

it. And... and I think I've done something. I don't

n hand. The night's meditation had been restless, his usually calm mind plagued by vision

lace of nature-it had become a ba

d prepared him for this moment, though he had hoped it would never come. The bal

said softly, o

the distance. The sorcerer would feel it too, Ashirama knew. Despite their differi

illage, his staff tapping softly agains

demon's prison, the air shimmered with an unnatural energy. The void that had hel

of birds scattering into the sky. The ground trembled slightly,

floor. It pulsed with an ominous light, growing brighter with each passing mome

on

ed the village, barely audible but chilling e

it yet, but the storm had arrived. An