"Is this the place where the Demonic Horse Blazing Hoof is sealed?"
Kasage's voice echoed softly—yet it came not from his main body, but from the Six Paths puppet he controlled.
Midoriko stood at the edge of a forested mountain, her figure clad in red and white miko robes, now layered with black samurai skirt armor. The dark plates reflected a cold sheen, adding a sharp, imposing presence to her otherwise serene form.
Below, a village rested against the mountainside.
And in its far corner—
An ancient temple.
The Mangyō Temple.
"The seal… is still intact."
Midoriko's pale purple Rinnegan pierced through layers of forest, locking onto a shrine hidden along the back mountain cliff, wrapped in sacred shimenawa ropes.
Without hesitation—
She stepped forward and leapt down the slope, chakra bursting beneath her feet as she descended swiftly toward the temple.
---
Meanwhile, Kasage's main body remained at the shrine, calmly learning spiritual techniques under Kikyo's guidance.
Over the past days, he had grown increasingly proficient in controlling Midoriko as a Six Paths puppet.
After repeated experimentation, he had assigned her the power of the **Deva Path**.
In other words—
Midoriko was now his **Tendō**.
Through trial and error, he had uncovered an important detail about the Six Paths puppets:
Their abilities depended entirely on how the black receivers were arranged within their bodies.
Reconfiguring them would change the Path they represented—
Like tuning a signal to a different frequency.
This limitation explained why the Six Paths could not freely switch abilities mid-battle.
---
Kasage had originally been searching for suitable creatures to create summons for the Animal Path.
Only after awakening the Rinnegan did he realize—
Those summons weren't granted automatically.
They had to be *captured*.
Or more precisely—
Their corpses had to be fed to the King of Hell through the Naraka Path.
A crude, yet effective method.
It was during this search that he remembered—
**Blazing Hoof.**
A powerful demonic horse sealed within this very temple.
Perfect as a mount.
---
Midoriko made no effort to conceal her presence.
She passed through the temple grounds like a silent specter, ignoring the monks entirely, and headed straight for the shrine on the back mountain.
At its center stood a massive sealing stone, bound tightly with sacred rope. Spiritual energy flowed steadily through it.
Beneath it—
Blazing Hoof slept, sealed away.
"This is it."
Midoriko raised her hand.
A summoning seal flared.
"Poof!"
Smoke burst outward as the massive blade **Banryū** appeared in her grasp.
The enormous weapon contrasted sharply with her slender frame.
Slowly—
She raised it.
Preparing to cleave the seal apart.
"Stop! Who are you?!"
A sharp, aged voice rang out.
Midoriko paused and turned.
At the shrine's entrance stood an elderly monk, his gaze sharp and filled with vigilance.
Monk Shenquan.
The one who had sealed Blazing Hoof decades ago.
"So… I was noticed."
Her tone remained flat.
Though she hadn't hidden herself, the monk's awareness still showed some skill.
Kasage had already realized one flaw of the Six Paths puppets—
They lacked independent sensory perception.
Without shared vision, they were nearly blind.
Unlike his main body, Midoriko could not detect approaching enemies unless they entered her field of view.
"You… who are you?" the monk demanded.
His eyes widened slightly upon seeing her beauty—
But the moment he noticed her Rinnegan—
His expression changed.
"A demon? You intend to break the seal?!"
"Don't interfere."
Midoriko turned away again.
"Leave."
Ignoring him, she began channeling spiritual power—following the methods Kikyo had taught.
The energy flowed into Banryū.
Demonic energy awakened.
Yet—
Spiritual power and demonic power coexisted without conflict.
Just as Kikyo's arrows could combine with demonic force rather than purify it—
Power depended on intent.
"Then I have no choice!"
The monk raised a golden vajra.
A burst of spiritual force shot toward her.
But—
Before it could touch her—
An invisible force expanded outward.
The attack shattered instantly.
"What…?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Midoriko slowly turned.
Her Rinnegan locked onto him.
Her hand rose.
"Shinra Tensei."
A vast repulsive force exploded outward.
The monk's barrier shattered instantly.
His body was hurled violently out of the shrine, crashing across the ground before coming to a halt.
He coughed, barely conscious—
Alive, but unable to rise.
Midoriko lowered her hand.
She had held back.
After all—
She had come to take something from another's domain.
Killing would have been… unnecessary.
Silently, she turned back toward the sealing stone—
Banryū still raised.
The seal—
Was about to be broken.