Why is my anime art style so weird?

Kato Megumi's eyes darted around, a hint of something unreadable in them, as she sized Xu Ming up and down.

Staring at him with that strange gaze, Xu Ming felt extremely uncomfortable and began to fidget slightly.

Kato Megumi slowly pouted, a hint of annoyance clearly appearing in her eyes.

"Akira, even I get angry sometimes~"

Xu Ming touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.

To be honest, from Kato Megumi's perspective, Xu Ming's actions were indeed somewhat unethical.

After all, Kato Megumi represents the three major shrines, and he had received her help many times before.

As a result, he has not only joined the opposing force, the Holy Church, but has also acted as a go-between for the Holy Church.

While it's understandable that it was to repay a favor to Suwa Taisha, doing so was indeed unethical.

If you make a mistake, you should admit it; if you're going to be punished, you should stand up straight.

"Feel sorry!"

Xu Ming bowed his head and admitted his mistake sincerely.

"I forgive you."

"It was softly said by Kato Megumi."

Xu Ming immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Megumi Kato is a very good friend, and he doesn't want to lose her.

Unexpectedly, Kato Megumi suddenly changed the subject.

"However... I have a condition."

"You said that as long as it's within my power, I will do my best."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xu Ming quickly made a promise.

Kato Megumi touched her lips with her finger, her face showing a thoughtful expression.

"Let me think about it... Hmm... I'd like you to come with me somewhere."

"Where?"

Xu Ming's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Xiaohui meant...?

"That's right, it's just the two of us on a date~"

Kato Megumi seemed to read Xu Ming's mind, winked mischievously, and then glanced meaningfully at the portrait of Kasumigaoka Utaha hanging on the wall.

Xu Ming looked troubled.

"That's not quite right..."

Before he could finish speaking, all the furniture in the room suddenly began to shake violently.

dong dong!

The whole house seemed to be experiencing an earthquake.

In the portrait, Kasumigaoka Utaha's face clearly showed anger.

Xu Ming even felt that the air in the living room was filled with a hint of anger.

By the time the glass in front of the two of them was about to shatter, it was practically exploding.

Kato Keisai slowly said something.

"I was just kidding."

Swish!

Xu Ming immediately felt the surrounding anger dissipate like a flood.

Xu Ming also saw his older sister's lips twitching in the portrait, looking like she wanted to get angry but couldn't, and was very frustrated.

After a while, Kato Keisai said leisurely:

"There are about two months left until the 'Fifteenth Night'. I hope you will come with me to a place."

"Fifteenth Night?"

Xu Ming said with some surprise.

The fifteenth night of the lunar calendar is actually the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Although Japan does not celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, it also holds a moon-viewing event called "Tsukimi" (moon viewing) at that time.

They will also eat the limited-edition McDonald's Moon Viewing Burger.

Although Xu Ming couldn't understand how traditional festivals were related to fast food like McDonald's.

Kato Megumi took a small sip of tea and then continued her explanation.

"The fifteenth night is when the moon is at its fullest and the moonlight is at its brightest. The power of the yokai clan often reaches its peak at midnight on this day."

I need you to accompany me as my protector to a place where we can reinforce the seal on a sealed monster.

"So that's how it is..."

Xu Ming let out a long breath, a complex emotion rising in his heart, unsure whether it was more regret or relief.

"Where should the seal be placed?"

Kato Megumi unconsciously twirled the teacup in her hand.

"I don't know if you've ever heard of the name 'Konoha'."

Xu Ming had just picked up his teacup and taken a sip when he heard Kato Megumi's words and almost spat it out.

After forcing it down, it went straight into my trachea and I couldn't stop coughing.

"Cough cough!"

Although Kato Megumi had casually mentioned this name in casual conversation before, he still couldn't help but feel particularly awkward when he heard it now.

Kato Megumi revealed a strange smile, as if she could easily see through Xu Ming's thoughts.

"This name seems familiar, Akira~"

Xu Ming finally caught his breath and said somewhat awkwardly:

"I have a vague recollection, a bit..."

A cryptic glint flashed in Kato Megumi's eyes. Instead of pressing the matter, she acted as if nothing had happened and continued to explain.

"Konoha is a village hidden in the mountains, but this village is special because it produces a lot of ninjas."

"Like in comics?"

Xu Ming couldn't help but ask, while making a hand seal gesture.

Kato Megumi shook her head.

"No, they are closer to the kind described in history books, skilled in assassination, espionage, illusion and so on."

Konoha originated before the Warring States period. Afterwards, they followed Tokugawa Ieyasu and were granted a fiefdom in the mountains after the war. They built a village in the fiefdom and named it 'Konoha'.

In addition to the ninjutsu that ordinary ninjas are good at, the ninjas of Konoha are also able to command monsters.

In Konoha, there is also a special forbidden technique that can seal the great demon Nine-Tailed Fox into a person's body, making them a Jinchūriki.

However, more than a decade ago, something went wrong. During the ritual for performing a forbidden technique, the Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly went berserk and nearly wiped out the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

The survivors who were lucky enough to live fled, and 'Konoha' became a deserted village hidden deep in the mountains and forests.

Finally, the three great temples joined forces and sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox within the ruins of Konoha.

However, the nine-tailed fox was far too powerful. Every year on the fifteenth night, when the moonlight was at its brightest, it would attempt to break through the seal and escape.

The three great temples have to send people to the Konoha ruins every year at this time to reinforce the seal.

Three years ago, this task was assigned to me…

This is clearly not a simple task.

A great demon that even the three great divine palaces could not defeat and could only seal away.

Xu Ming took a deep breath and looked directly into Kato Megumi's eyes.

"I only have one question: Why did Xiaohui choose me?"

The three major shrines are at the pinnacle of Shintoism in Japan, and Xu Ming doesn't believe they don't have any respectable masters.

Kato Megumi looked at Xu Ming with complete composure.

"A large number of Konoha villagers were slaughtered by the Nine-Tailed Fox, and the ruins of Konoha have accumulated a lot of resentment. In addition, the sealed Nine-Tailed Fox has a lot of demonic energy swirling around it."

The ruins of Konoha are a more dangerous place than Mount Yokai.

Xu Ming can vouch for this.

The overall difficulty level of Monster Mountain is four stars, while the difficulty level of the Konoha Village Ruins is four and a half stars.

This has been system-verified.

Chapter 347 Schrödinger's Crowbar

"To prevent the Nine-Tailed Fox from being provoked, the number of people reinforcing the seal should not be too large; two to three people are most suitable."

The ritual must not be interrupted when reinforcing the seal, otherwise the seal will be broken.

At this point, I can only entrust my back to someone I can trust for protection.

I don't have many people I can trust.

Ming is the only person with enough strength that I can entrust my back to.

To be able to return alive from Monster Mountain and win the first prize, Ming's strength has grown beyond my imagination.

Can I entrust myself to you for protection?

Kato Megumi stared intently into Xu Ming's eyes, her expression extremely serious and sincere.

Despite having committed an act that bordered on betrayal, Kato Megumi still believed him.

Xu Ming was unwilling to betray that trust alone.