Secret

Traveling day and night, they finally reached their destination, Mount Fengmo, several days later.

Looking at the treacherous mountain before her, Pakura suppressed the unease rising in her heart and asked, "This godforsaken place is Mount Fengmo!?"

The Miko nodded, then explained, "Inside Mount Fengmo is a natural lava field. It can suppress Moryo's evil, frigid chakra and is the ideal place to seal him."

Pakura immediately asked, "Then what do we do next?"

Unlike their arrogance on the way here, after witnessing Moryo, neither the Sunagakure nor Iwagakure ninja had any pride left. All that remained was the anxiety to complete the mission as quickly as possible.

The Miko pointed at the cave entrance leading into Mount Fengmo's depths. "Lure Moryo into the cave, then seal his shell here!"

The captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit looked puzzled. "Only seal his shell?"

The Miko nodded lightly. "Yes, only his shell."

The captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit voiced everyone's doubts. "Why?"

"Moryo's power is too great, and his chakra is extremely corrosive. If we seal him as a whole, he will be able to destroy the seal and break free within a few years." After a pause, the Miko continued, "So we must seal his shell and soul separately. Only then can we ensure nothing goes wrong."

"Then please begin preparing immediately!" Kakashi glanced into the distance after speaking, then added, "I have a bad feeling. I'm afraid we do not have much time left to set up the seal."

Hyuga Kagami stepped forward at that moment and said to everyone, "You only need to hold the outside. I'll handle the final sealing."

Everyone was surprised by this.

Sealing Moryo inside Mount Fengmo could be called the most dangerous part of the entire mission. Not only were the Sunagakure and Iwagakure ninja confused, even Kakashi and Guy, his fellow villagers, looked at Hyuga Kagami in puzzlement. They did not understand why he was taking such a dangerous task upon himself.

Pakura asked in a low voice, "What do you mean by this?"

Hyuga Kagami spoke calmly. "My meaning is already clear. When Moryo arrives, you do not need to stop him. Just hold back the Terracotta Puppets under his control. I'll take care of everything else."

The captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit questioned him, "You expect me to trust a brat like you?"

Although the captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit did not want to fight a monster like Moryo, he wanted even less for things to go wrong. Thus, he instinctively resisted Hyuga Kagami's request.

Shisui stepped forward as well, bowed to everyone, and said earnestly, "I'll complete the final sealing with him. Please rest assured, we will not fail our mission!"

Hyuga Kagami looked at Shisui. "Thank you."

Shisui said nothing, merely smiling gently.

Pakura said coldly, "If you fail, Konoha will bear all responsibility!"

In Pakura's view, there was only one possibility if Hyuga Kagami and Shisui remained so confident after witnessing Moryo's might: they truly had a way to deal with him.

As the captain, Kakashi had some misgivings, but in the end, he did not voice them.

On Iwagakure's side, seeing that both Pakura and Kakashi had nodded their agreement, the captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit wore an uncertain expression. After a moment, he finally nodded in compromise.

With the discussion settled, everyone immediately began making preparations.

Hyuga Kagami pulled Guy aside and instructed him in a low voice, "Once we enter Mount Fengmo, you are only to let Moryo in. No one else, including you and Kakashi, is allowed inside. Understood?"

Guy was somewhat confused. "Why?"

"I'll explain later. For now, you only need to remember what I said."

Guy said anxiously, "But what if something happens to you inside? Are we supposed to just stand outside and watch?"

Hyuga Kagami said calmly, "If Shisui and I cannot handle him, then you coming in would only mean death."

"Kagami, you have to trust your comrades! Even if I can't help you, Kakashi is incredibly strong. If it's him, he'll definitely find a way to help you!"

"It is precisely because I trust you that I'm having you guard the entrance. Do you think holding back those Terracotta Puppets will be easy?" After smiling, Hyuga Kagami's expression turned stern. "Remember my words. Aside from Moryo, no one is to be allowed in. If necessary, use the Eight Inner Gates Forbidden Technique."

Seeing how serious Hyuga Kagami was, Guy could only nod. "I promise you!"

Having received Guy's assurance, Hyuga Kagami, Shisui, and the Miko headed into the heart of Mount Fengmo.

Inside the dark rock cavern, Hyuga Kagami asked the Miko, "How long will it take to set up the seal?"

The Miko seemed to have considered this long ago and answered at once, "Setting up the Sealing Jutsu formula itself will not take much time, but activating the seal will require at least fifteen minutes, perhaps... perhaps even longer!"

Hyuga Kagami frowned slightly. "So we need to hold Moryo down for at least fifteen minutes?"

The Miko nodded gravely.

The Miko herself was not certain whether Hyuga Kagami and Shisui could restrain Moryo for fifteen minutes. Thus, before coming to Mount Fengmo, she had already prepared herself to perish together with Moryo.

At this moment, the only person she could not let go of was her daughter, Shion.

Shisui clenched his teeth. "Senior, leave those fifteen minutes to me!"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "You are not even twelve yet. Your body cannot handle excessive use of your ocular power."

Shisui's strength lay more in his ocular techniques. In terms of pure physical constitution, he was only slightly above the Uchiha average and was not particularly outstanding. Moreover, he was still young and had not fully developed, so in terms of chakra reserves alone, he had only barely reached the level of an ordinary Jonin—far behind Hyuga Kagami.

Shisui wanted to say more. "But..."

Before Shisui could finish, Hyuga Kagami interrupted him. "I already have a plan. You only need to handle the initial suppression. I'll deal with the rest."

The Miko at the side thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps I can buy us some time."

Hyuga Kagami asked, "What method do you have?"

The Miko hesitated, then finally sighed. "Speaking of which, that monster Moryo has some connection to the Miko lineage of our Land of Demons. If I had to put it bluntly, he is actually a part of me as well."

Shisui's eyes widened. "This..."

Hyuga Kagami was not too surprised. Although he could not remember clearly the entanglement between the Miko of the Land of Demons and Moryo, he vaguely recalled that there seemed to be some secret connection between them. Otherwise, Moryo would not have relentlessly pursued the Miko all the way from the Land of Demons to the Land of Swamps.

Having revealed the secret in her heart, the Miko seemed much more at ease. Then, she knelt before Hyuga Kagami and Shisui. "I am truly ashamed to have caused all this..."

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