Outside the cave of Demon Sealing Mountain.
"Scorch Style: Superheated Steam Murder!"
With a sharp hissing of steam, a dense fog filled the air. In the midst of it, the surfaces of countless puppet soldiers began to dry and crack. The fissures grew larger until the puppets all shattered into piles of gravel.
Yet Pakura of the Hidden Sand paid little attention to her own success. Her face was pale, and her brow furrowed tightly.
On the other side, after using Earth Style to temporarily immobilize a large number of puppet soldiers, the captain of the Hidden Rock's Decapitation Squad turned around, eyes fixed on the cave entrance with a grave expression.
Ever since that monster had rushed into the cave, a continuous barrage of booms echoed from within.
Even from outside, he could imagine how intense the battle inside must be.
At the mouth of the cave—
After pushing back several puppet soldiers with explosive tags, Kakashi retreated beside Guy and asked anxiously, "Guy, are you sure those two will be okay?"
Guy nodded firmly. "I believe in Kagami!"
RUMMMBLE—
Just as Guy finished speaking, another massive boom came from inside the cave.
And with that boom came a wave of chakra so malevolent it made one's blood run cold!
Kakashi immediately turned to the cave, activating the Sharingan gifted to him by Obito.
Through the Sharingan's vision, the evil chakra of the creature known as Moryo became tangible—it seemed the entire cave couldn't contain it. The malicious energy surged through the tunnels, leaking outward.
Wiping the sweat from his temples, Kakashi sighed inwardly, "To face such a monster inside that cave... there's no surviving that."
Inside the cave—
Hovering midair, Hyuga Kagami shouted to Shisui, "Leave the rest to me."
Shisui nodded and dispelled his Susanoo.
Though only a few minutes had passed from activation to deactivation, he was already panting heavily—clearly showing that awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan at such a young age was not necessarily a good thing.
Without the support of Susanoo, Moryo's struggles intensified again.
Failing twice to unleash its secret technique had dealt a heavy blow to Moryo's pride and unknowingly shaken its confidence.
By now, it had realized that both Hyuga Kagami and Shisui were powerful ninja with rare and terrifying ocular powers. In particular, their eyes stirred unease deep in its soul—an unprecedented feeling.
In truth, ever since Shisui summoned Susanoo, Moryo had been in a daze. Unfamiliar with the top-tier powers of the ninja world, it had never imagined it could end up in such a perilous situation. The ensuing chain of events had only left it more disoriented.
Only now did it finally understand that its cult, the Cult of Yomi, was completely insignificant in the grand scope of the shinobi world. Estimating the strength of the ninja world based on its cult had been a gross misjudgment.
As for the Third Kazekage puppet floating beside Hyuga Kagami, Moryo had already realized it was a soulless puppet. It had even attempted to take control of it, only to be repelled by the chakra of the Tenseigan stored within it.
Two unknown but powerful users of ocular bloodlines, combined with a shrine maiden from the Land of Demons whose abilities naturally countered it—even as arrogant as Moryo was, it understood the situation was hopeless. If it didn't escape now, it would certainly be sealed away.
Facing Moryo's near-insane struggles, Hyuga Kagami remained cold and determined.
He had already deployed his ace—the Third Kazekage puppet. There was no reason to hold back any further. No matter how many iron spears Moryo broke free from, Kagami would simply conjure more, pinning it in place with relentless force.
"Damn it!"
More and more iron spears pierced its body, and Moryo roared in defiance.
Under the full infusion of Tenseigan chakra from Hyuga Kagami, the combat strength of the puppet was comparable to the real Third Kazekage.
Renowned as the strongest Kazekage, the Third was especially effective against large monstrous foes, making it no challenge to suppress Moryo for a short time.
Time ticked by.
Soon, the priestess's sealing formation began to activate.
In an instant, the sealing symbols carved into the surrounding cave walls emitted a faint glow. The light converged, growing ever brighter until it resembled a blazing sun!
Sensing mortal danger, Moryo's resistance became even more desperate—even tearing its own flesh apart in an attempt to break free.
RUMMMBLE—
The cave shook violently as the iron spears binding Moryo snapped one after another.
Gritting his teeth, Hyuga Kagami made up his mind.
There was no turning back now. He poured nearly all of his remaining chakra into the Third Kazekage puppet.
The shattered iron sand reformed into countless sharp spears and pierced Moryo again with ruthless precision!
Shisui tried to step forward and help, but the moment he lifted a leg, his body gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
Susanoo had consumed too much of his chakra. He hadn't realized it until he tried to summon it again—his body simply couldn't take it anymore.
At last, the shrine maiden finished chanting her lengthy incantation.
She slowly stood up, raised one arm toward Moryo, and shouted, "Sealing Technique: Activate!"
The radiant orb, bright as the sun, floated slowly toward Moryo.
"NO!"
Moryo screamed in terror, thrashing wildly.
SPLURT—
Up above, Hyuga Kagami coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Moryo's final struggle had been too intense. Even after exhausting every drop of chakra, Kagami couldn't suppress it fully. In desperation, he activated a secret body regeneration technique, squeezing out a bit more chakra from newly regenerated cells.
The glowing orb finally reached Moryo's head. With one final, unwilling wail, its gigantic body deflated like a punctured balloon and slumped over.
The shrine maiden then formed several complex hand signs.
The radiant orb transformed into a shimmering screen of light etched with sealing formulas. Like a shroud, it wrapped layer upon layer around Moryo's shriveled body.
Eventually, when the light faded, a giant cocoon wrapped in white cloth covered in sealing marks gently landed before Hyuga Kagami and Shisui.
Sitting on the ground, Shisui's eyes lit up with hope. "Did it work?"
Suddenly, from a crack in the cave floor, a dark purple chakra—thick and sludgy—burst out.
This wicked chakra didn't attack anyone. Instead, it rushed toward the cave entrance in panic.
There was no doubt. As Moryo's body was sealed, its soul had escaped through the ground fissures, dodging the shrine maiden's sealing technique. It had waited for the moment of victory—when everyone let their guard down—to make its desperate bid for escape...