In that moment, everyone—except for Eri, Kikyo, and the others standing behind Uchiha Hikari—felt an overwhelming force press down on their shoulders, forcing them to their knees, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Thankfully, the pressure came and went quickly.
In just a few seconds, Hikari dispelled the gravity field of the "Spear of Judgment" and tucked the Imperial Arms away.
Kakashi and the others felt the weight lift from their bodies. But the Kumo ninja who'd been burrowing underground was now trapped deep in the earth, struggling futilely and letting out faint whimpers.
Yugito and her team shot resentful glares at Hikari.
She didn't bother explaining. "Do whatever you want out of my sight," she said coolly, "but don't pull any tricks in front of me. Not if you want to live."
The Kumo ninjas clenched their fists, seething but silent.
"…Looks like Obito's not showing up," Hikari muttered, scanning the surroundings. After waiting a moment and seeing no sign of him, she figured he was either not here or hiding somewhere, too cautious to reveal himself. Her gaze shifted to a figure nearby.
"…Still not dead?"
Lying there was none other than Meido, the Yellow Springs Cult leader. He'd been half-dead from Tsunade's beating, yet somehow, thanks to Moryo's power boosting his resilience, he'd clawed his way back from the brink. Now, he was shakily rising to his feet, looking dazed, as if caught between sleep and waking.
Suddenly, Meido plunged his hands into his chest, his chakra-wrapped fingers piercing skin and digging into flesh.
"?!"
The sight startled Genma, who'd been watching him.
But in the next moment, purple-black runes began to glow across Meido's body, radiating an eerie light and spreading like a spiderweb. His body started to swell, faint wisps of mist seeping out, enveloping him entirely.
"What's that…?" Tsunade's face flickered with uncertainty.
Even with her vast experience, she couldn't quite grasp what was happening to Meido. Those runes looked vaguely familiar, though—like some kind of summoning jutsu?
"It's Moryo!" Miroku exclaimed, realization dawning. "That man's body is hosting Moryo's power. It's trying to take over his flesh!"
"Hm?" Hikari raised an eyebrow.
Hosting power, taking over a body… That sounded a bit like Orochimaru's Curse Mark of Heaven.
In the blink of an eye, Meido tore his chest open with a violent tug, exposing his organs and ribcage. The pain drew a guttural scream from him, but soon, a mass of purple-black matter surged, stretching his body further, as if something was about to burst out.
In mere moments, Meido was unrecognizable. His form had ballooned into a dozens-of-meters-tall, dark purple monstrosity. His limbs were replaced by thick tentacles, his body now resembling a reptilian creature. A dragon-like head reared up, letting out a low, menacing roar.
It should've been an imposing sight—kind of an ugly-cool vibe.
But instead, the tentacled monster was covered in white ice crystals, as if it had just crawled out of a frozen sea. Its back was pierced by several massive, dozens-of-meters-long ice spikes, making it look rather pathetic.
"…I see," Hikari said, her eyes locking onto the ice spikes.
This thing must've escaped from Inashiki Castle.
Her shadow clone was still active, so she hadn't seen the scene at Inashiki herself, but there was no doubt who could create those ice spikes and beat Moryo this badly: Esdeath.
So, it seemed Moryo had a trick similar to the Curse Mark of Heaven, embedding its soul in those it empowered, using their bodies as a medium to "revive" at critical moments. Or rather, "summon" itself.
The runes that appeared on Meido's body clearly carried the principles of a summoning jutsu, allowing Moryo to teleport from Inashiki Castle and escape Esdeath's grasp.
As soon as it arrived, Moryo sensed Miroku's presence. Its lantern-like eyes fixed on her, and it spoke in a low, resonant voice.
"…So, you're here, Miroku. I've been looking for you."
Its voice echoed under the night sky, laced with a hypnotic pull. "Join your power with mine, and we'll become an unstoppable force. No one in this world could stand against us. Come, merge with me, and I'll embrace your strength."
The voice wasn't just persuasive—it compelled. Everyone who heard it fell into a trance-like state.
Hikari, with her immense mental resilience, snapped out of it almost instantly, followed closely by Miroku and Kikyo, the two priestesses from different worlds. But the others, including Tsunade and Eri, were dazed, their feet moving involuntarily toward Moryo.
The creature extended its tentacles, lashing out like lightning to ensnare and devour them.
"Hmph!" Hikari snorted. A skeletal Susanoo flared behind her, and she shot forward, her blade flashing. She severed Moryo's tentacles in quick succession, then grabbed Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others, flinging them back to safety.
Meanwhile, Miroku formed hand signs, casting a spell. Her movements were distinct from ninja techniques, belonging to a different system entirely. As her seals completed, her white robe billowed, and her moonlit hair floated without wind. Firefly-like specks of light scattered outward, seeping into Tsunade and the others, snapping them out of their trance.
Miroku exhaled softly, resolve hardening in her eyes. "Miss Hikari, Lady Tsunade, please cover me. We didn't make it to Mount Sealing as planned, but I have no choice now. I'll use my final technique and seal it away with my life!"
She reached for the bell around her neck, a mystical artifact brimming with spiritual energy, ready to activate it.
But at that moment, Kikyo stepped forward, pulling her longbow from her back and nocking an arrow, drawing it to a full moon. "Exorcising demons is a priestess's duty, true, but don't shoulder everything alone or give up your life so easily. My strength may be modest, but let me lend a hand… 'Demon-Breaking Arrow'!"
With that, Kikyo released her grip.
The arrow, wreathed in immense spiritual energy, shot forth with a quiver of the bowstring, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle. A translucent, pale aura formed around its tip, rocketing toward Moryo.
The creature wove its tentacles to block, but Kikyo had calculated the trajectory perfectly. Though two tentacles grazed the arrow, sapping some of its spiritual energy, it still pierced through the barriers like lightning, striking Moryo's body.
Crack!
A sound like firecrackers rang out. To others, it was just a flash of silver-white light, but on Moryo's massive purple-black form, a circular chunk of flesh vanished, obliterated by the arrow.
Without hesitation, Kikyo nocked another arrow.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
This time, it was a volley of arrows. She'd brought four quivers from island, all slung on her back. Drawing, aiming, and firing in one fluid motion, she unleashed dozens of arrows in moments. Circular wounds riddled Moryo's body, the pain driving the beast into a frenzied rage.
"Hm…" Hikari's eyes narrowed.
She'd seen Kikyo fight before, even teamed up with her against foes like Naraku and the Dragon Bone Spirit. Compared to then, Kikyo's archery had clearly improved, and her spiritual energy was richer—thanks to Souki, the former priestess of蓬莱岛. After rescuing the half-demon children like Kohaku, Souki had gifted her remaining spiritual energy to Kikyo, restoring her strength to its peak from her living days, despite her incomplete soul.
Each arrow trailed a silver-white arc, like a meteor shower raining down on Moryo. A few were blocked by its tentacles, but the rest struck true, blasting gaping holes in its flesh.
Roaring in agony, Moryo thrashed wildly, its massive body lashing out. Dozens of tentacles surged from the air, ground, and even burrowed up from the earth, attacking Hikari's group. Its dragon-like head reared back, spewing a several-meter-wide purple-black beam.
Miroku acted. Hesitating only a moment, she channeled the bell's spiritual energy, raising the tiny artifact before her. It rapidly expanded into a silver-white barrier, blocking the beam. The collision sent a massive boom rippling outward, shockwaves spreading like water.
The barrier morphed, softening into a vast, dome-shaped net that enveloped Moryo's body. Kikyo seized the moment, firing several "Sealing Arrows."
A demon like Moryo, in the Inuyasha world, would rank among the great demons, possibly on par with or surpassing the Dog General at his peak. A single sealing arrow, like the one that pinned Inuyasha, wouldn't cut it. Each arrow could only paralyze a small part of its body, like a few tentacles.
Moryo fought back ferociously, its roars chilling the air, its aura surging to terrifying heights. Its tentacles swung with devastating force, capable of killing a seasoned jonin with a glancing blow.
Just then, a bone-chilling wind swept in from the horizon, causing Moryo's movements to falter, as if it felt fear.
A purple-black cloud drifted in from the distance, slowing as it approached a few hundred meters from the battlefield. As the sky darkened, a 100-meter-wide ice meteor appeared, held aloft by a small figure who let out a shout and hurled it downward.
Boom!
Moryo tried to dodge, but restrained by Kikyo and Miroku, it only managed a slight shift before the meteor smashed into its head, driving it into the ground. A fierce gale erupted, and a massive crater formed in seconds, cracks spiderwebbing outward. The once-unstoppable Moryo was now buried beneath the earth.
Dust filled the air.
Hikari looked up to see two figures standing atop a purple-black cloud, surrounded by dozens of mountain-sized ice spikes, like a grand ice throne framing them as monarchs of frost.
"Heh," Esdeath's voice rang out, her eyes locking onto Hikari from the crowd, a smirk curling her lips. "I thought the fight would be over by the time I chased it here. Did you leave it for me on purpose? Well, I'll graciously take it down again!"
With a wave of her hand, countless ice lances rained down, piercing Moryo's tentacles like the Sage Art: Myojin Gate, pinning the struggling beast to the ground.