[On the screen, Huang Quan's form flickered. He reappeared behind his four acolytes, his hands spread wide like a dark priest offering a benediction. "Receive your strength!" he rasped.]
[The ground beneath them writhed, and thick, black tendrils shot up, burrowing into the napes of the four shinobi. A sickening pulse of violet chakra flooded from Huang Quan into his servants, their bodies convulsing for a moment before standing unnaturally still. With a wet, tearing sound, Huang Quan retracted the tendrils. "Go." he commanded.]
[The four empowered shinobi became blurs of motion, leaping from the cliff and descending upon the temple below. They were spotted instantly.]
["Intruders!" four temple guards shouted, drawing their blades and forming a defensive line.]
["Yitai, Setsuna—you handle them," one of the attackers ordered without breaking stride, as he and another vaulted over the guards towards the temple entrance.]
[The two who remained faced the guards. One, a man whose face was hidden by a scarf, brought his hands together in a seal. "Fire Style: Searing Torrent!" he bellowed.]
[A roaring wave of fire erupted from his mouth, engulfing the area and forcing the four guards into a tight, back-to-back circle. As they braced against the heat, the final attacker soared high above them, a cruel smirk on his face.]
["Now for a little breeze! Wind Style: Triple Cyclone!"]
[Three vicious funnels of wind descended, catching the inferno below. The flames and wind merged into a colossal firestorm that consumed the guards in a single, horrifying roar. Their screams were mercifully brief.]
[Huang Quan glided down to join his subordinates before the temple doors. "The moment of destiny is upon us," he whispered, pushing the heavy doors open.]
*[As he stepped into the gloom, he turned back. "Wait here. The path ahead lies on the precipice between our world and the next. Only one who bears the name 'Huang Quan' may enter."]
The live comments immediately began to dissect the bizarre statement.
[A special key to enter? What kind of ridiculous security is that? If I change my name to Huang Quan, can I go too?]
['The next world'? Does he mean the afterlife?]
[The world after death?! No way! If I can get there by changing my name, I might finally be able to see my father again!]
[Don't be an idiot. It's obviously not that simple. It has to be some kind of unique space-time ninjutsu.]
In the Pure Land, Uchiha Madara's eyebrow arched in genuine curiosity. A path to the world of the living that isn't the Pure Land? How interesting. While his own resurrection was already in motion, the existence of another method was a fascinating puzzle. He continued to watch, his analytical mind dissecting every detail.
[The screen followed Huang Quan down a long, spiraling staircase into a misty underground chamber. In the center of the cavern, a transparent pillar of light shone down upon a heavy stone door covered in countless paper talismans.]
[Huang Quan stepped through the light, his hand reaching for the seal. He chanted a string of meaningless, guttural syllables. In response, the talismans ignited, turning to ash in an instant. The stone door cracked, then shattered, revealing an abyss of pure darkness from which a profoundly evil aura bled forth.]
["Hee hee... a nostalgic scent," a layered, distorted voice echoed from the darkness. "Have I... returned?"]
[Huang Quan fell to one knee. "Master Moryo. It has been too long."
[The entity seemed confused, its voice slow and ancient. "You are...?"]
["It is I, Huang Quan," he said, but the name drew no recognition. He pressed on, "I am a descendant of the shinobi who borrowed your power to create the Ghost Army."
The barrage erupted with revelations.
[Pfft! Awkward! The all-powerful demon has no idea who this guy is!]
[So there was a mastermind! I always thought the Ghost Army was Moryo's doing alone.]
[My village is dispatching a search party right now. This Huang Quan is a dead man walking.]
[Ghost Army? Can someone please explain what's going on?!]
[Like we'd give you intel for free. Go ask your Kage.]
Meanwhile, in a waiting room in the Hokage Tower, the atmosphere was uniquely tense for entirely different reasons. Team 7 and Team Guy, the stars of the apocalyptic broadcast, had been summoned and were now waiting together.
The silence was shattered when Rock Lee, his cheeks flushed with passionate fire, marched directly up to Sakura and struck a "nice guy" pose.
"Sakura Haruno! You are the angel of my life! Please be my girlfriend! I will protect you with my life!"
Sakura, despite having seen his earnest face on screen, was completely blindsided. She took a step back, her expression one of utter horror. "NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOUR EYEBROWS ARE TOO WEIRD!"
Instantly, Naruto bristled, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he glared daggers at Lee. On the other side of the room, an unspoken challenge passed between Neji, the previous year's top rookie, and Sasuke, the current one. Their eyes met, sizing each other up with cool intensity. Only Tenten made an effort to be normal, offering Sakura a sympathetic smile.
Might Guy, sensing an opportunity for youthful bonding, stepped forward. "HAHA! Such passion! Do not worry, Kakashi! My students are full of the fire of youth!" His blindingly white teeth, impossibly thick eyebrows, and skin-tight green jumpsuit had the immediate effect of making Team 7 shuffle further away.
Kakashi sighed, turning his attention back to the screen. It was far less exhausting.
[On screen, Moryo's voice regained some focus. "Why... have you summoned me?"]
[Huang Quan rose, his devotion absolute. "The stars have aligned once more. It is time for us to forge the Millennium Kingdom and bring this world to heel!"]
["My body... where is it?" Moryo rasped. "This soul-form is temporary. I will fade."]
["Please, use mine," Huang Quan said without hesitation. He began unbuttoning his robes, pulling a surgical scalpel from within. "With the pinnacle of dark medical ninjutsu, I shall implant your soul into my own body."]
["The procedure... begins now." Before the words had fully left his mouth, he plunged the scalpel into his own chest and sliced downwards.]
The barrage went silent for a moment, replaced by a collective, horrified gasp that seemed to echo in the room with Kakashi and the others.
[The robes fell open. Where Huang Quan's heart, lungs, and organs should have been, there was only a swirling, dark, empty cavity—a twisted mockery of the very space that had just held the demon.]
[Hiss! What IS that thing?! He doesn't have any organs!]
[Is that guy even human?!]
[Dark medical ninjutsu... that sounds all kinds of forbidden.]
[I don't care what he is. I want to see what kind of power this Moryo has to make someone do that to themselves.]
(To be continued...)