Don't Space Out

Hyuga Kagami sighed, then stepped forward and helped the repentant Miko to her feet. "Now isn't the time for repentance. Once Moryo is sealed, you'll have plenty of time to atone."

The Miko nodded silently.

After exchanging a glance with Shisui, Hyuga Kagami said to the Miko, "Later, the two of us may use forbidden techniques. We hope you'll keep our secret and not reveal them."

The Miko solemnly promised, "Please rest assured, both of you. I will never reveal any information about either of you to anyone!"

With everything laid bare, the barriers between the three of them vanished.

The Miko began busily setting up the sealing formulas, while Hyuga Kagami and Shisui searched the cave for a suitable place to fight.

The interior of Mount Fengmo was an extremely perilous environment, filled everywhere with boiling lava. One careless step could send someone plunging into the molten rock, leaving not even bones behind.

Thus, fighting here meant facing not only the enemy, but also the complex and hostile environment.

The Miko apparently had not come here for the first time. She deftly moved back and forth across the lava, laying down one intricate and obscure sealing formula after another.

After carefully surveying the surroundings with his Tenseigan, Hyuga Kagami reminded Shisui beside him, "The ground inside the mountain doesn't look very solid. Once the fight starts, be especially careful."

Shisui nodded.

At this moment, he had also activated his Sharingan. Three Tomoe slowly rotated in his eyes as he seemed to use his ocular power to carefully inspect the surrounding environment.

While Hyuga Kagami and Shisui chatted idly on one side, the Miko appeared to have finished setting up her sealing formulas on the other.

Looking at the concealed sealing formulas laid throughout the mountain's interior, Hyuga Kagami sincerely praised her. "Your sealing techniques are truly exceptional, Lady Miko!"

Shisui nodded. "The sealing techniques of the Miko of the Land of Demons are as famous as those of the Uzumaki Clan from the Land of Whirlpools. Now that the Uzumaki Clan has perished, the Miko of the Land of Demons is probably the most renowned in the Ninja World when it comes to Sealing Jutsu alone."

As if something had occurred to him, Shisui's mood dimmed. "Being too famous isn't necessarily a good thing."

The Uchiha were simply too famous. This had caused every member of the clan to become arrogant and conceited, always at odds with the village, leaving them trapped in their current awkward predicament.

Seeing that the Miko possessed such profound mastery of Sealing Jutsu, Hyuga Kagami's thoughts turned to his Artificial Tailed Beast plan.

Of the Artificial Tailed Beast materials Orochimaru had given him, sealing formulas accounted for more than seventy percent of all the techniques. It could be said that without sufficient mastery of Sealing Jutsu, an Artificial Tailed Beast could not be completed.

And for Hyuga Kagami, Sealing Jutsu was undoubtedly his weak point.

Thus, the Miko of the Land of Demons had now become a treasure trove in his eyes.

However, the Miko of the Land of Demons held considerable prestige among the surrounding nations. If he wanted to learn Sealing Jutsu from her, he had to be careful about his approach; otherwise, it could easily trigger a diplomatic incident.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Kagami's thoughts wandered further.

The Artificial Tailed Beast materials used the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan. Although the Uzumaki Clan had attained extremely high accomplishments in Sealing Jutsu, two heads were better than one. If the sealing techniques of the Miko lineage from the Land of Demons were incorporated into the Artificial Tailed Beast formulas, the two systems could complement one another and perhaps produce unexpected results.

Just as Hyuga Kagami's imagination ran wild, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.

At the same time, many pieces of rubble fell from the cave ceiling.

Sitting at the center of the sealing array, the Miko called out, "It's here!"

Hyuga Kagami and Shisui exchanged a look, then each hid themselves.

Before long, accompanied by a thunderous rumble, Moryo's enormous body surged into the depths of Mount Fengmo like a flash flood, brimming with menace.

"Miroku, you should not have rejected me!"

Moryo, whose body nearly blocked the entire cave entrance, arched itself and let out a low sound that seemed to come from the underworld.

The Miko pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "You are the one who is wrong!"

As Moryo slowly approached the Miko, it tempted her. "Become one with me. Your power combined with mine will make us invincible. The entire world will crawl beneath our feet!"

"That would only bring endless disaster upon the world, and in the end, we would both fall into eternal damnation."

To buy time, the Miko's tone softened somewhat, and her refusal was not absolute.

Seeing this, Moryo did not attack at once. Instead, it loudly demanded, "What exactly are you worried about? You should know perfectly well that once you and I become one, there is no power in this world capable of opposing us! Those so-called ninja and samurai are all mere ants, not worth a second thought!"

The Miko shook her head. "You are too arrogant!"

"Arrogant!?" With a heavy snort, Moryo roared, "You are too ignorant! Have you forgotten what exalted beings we are? Have you forgotten that we once were... No, what are you doing!?"

Halfway through its words, Moryo suddenly sensed a dangerous presence within the cave.

With their disguise exposed and the Miko unable to delay any longer, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui immediately sprang from their hiding places.

Before Moryo could react, Hyuga Kagami shouted, "Move!"

At Hyuga Kagami's command, Shisui, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly opened them. The three Tomoe in his Sharingan swiftly merged together, transforming into a Mangekyo Sharingan shaped like a four-bladed Shuriken.

"Susanoo!"

With Shisui's low cry, an emerald-green Susanoo manifested from his body, standing between the Miko and Moryo.

In that instant.

Both the Miko and Moryo were stunned by the sight before them.

Clearly, neither had expected that this slight child wearing a cat-face mask could unleash such an awe-inspiring technique. Even by instinct alone, they could tell that this Susanoo was not something to be trifled with!

Maintaining the Susanoo was an enormous burden for Shisui at his current level, so he did not dare waste any time. He immediately drove the Susanoo to spread its arms, pressing down on Moryo from front and back with both hands.

Moryo flew into a rage and roared, "Lowly human, how dare you..."

Boom...

At that moment, a massive iron spear fell from above and viciously pierced Moryo's mouth, cutting off its furious roar!

The Miko stared dumbfoundedly at Hyuga Kagami in the air.

Hyuga Kagami stood atop a mass of Iron Sand, suspended in midair. Beside him flew an unfamiliar ninja with a pair of iron wings and bandages wrapped all over his body.

Glancing at the dazed Miko, Hyuga Kagami said calmly, "Your Highness, don't just stand there."