After the pillar of purple light gradually spread, the sealing formula that Minato Namikaze had been controlling earlier slowly "floated" over.
These black runes, surrounded by a translucent barrier, were like sheets of oil paper tougher than anything imaginable. They actually managed to wrap around the pillar of light.
Slowly.
Once the black runes had encircled the pillar, the formulae suddenly burst with a deep, shadowy glow. A viscous black liquid seeped out from within the dark light, and as soon as it emerged, it was as if someone were sweeping an invisible ink brush across the pillar.
Complex, bizarre patterns rapidly climbed through the pillar. From a distance, they looked like black leaf veins growing, crawling, and spreading at a frantic pace.
The runes that had gathered together were like black holes, even able to imprison the light escaping from inside the pillar.
Just as the pillar's purple light was gradually being bound, something unexpected happened.
Rumble!
The ground, which had been steady, began to shake again.
Before long, a gigantic snake head emerged from the ground.
A mane of orange hair draped over the snake's head. Its eyes were golden-yellow, a purple sash was wrapped around its crown, and a green cat's-eye gem hung on its chest.
From the images lingering in the gem, one could faintly make out an old Toad standing on an ancient stone platform. Beneath its feet lay a dense array of Sealing Techniques, so numerous they seemed to connect to the entire land.
At the very top of the image were Souya and the others, their faces filled with terror.
"Heh, heh, heh!"
"That old Toad guarded this place for over a thousand years, and it's finally willing to undo the seal!"
"This old woman can finally... leave this place!"
"In this world,