The Answer and What Came Next

Inside the cave, facing the shared question from the three, Black Zetsu remained calm.

"Shrine Maiden is not a ninja, Shrine Maiden Palace is not a den of dragons and tigers. Long before the Moryo was released, I had already secretly planted Curse Mark on the Shrine Maiden."

Black!

That's so dark!

This plan has been brewing for who knows how long, and they've already started targeting the Shrine Maiden so early.

"It's a pity your Curse Mark wasn't powerful enough, otherwise that Shrine Maiden would be dead by now."

Blood Crow looked at the Shrine Maiden who was still struggling to hold on and said with no small amount of mockery.

Black Zetsu secretly curled his lip, not refuting, but unable to suppress a sneer in his heart.

Do you really think Taichi Matsushita blind? You've made it too obvious; you think he won't notice? Besides, this is exactly the effect he wanted."

"Stop talking! Look! The Moryo is about to be completely sealed away! Black Zetsu, use whatever other tricks you have up your sleeve now, or it'll be too late."

Kakuzu interrupted them; he didn't want to experience another mission failure.

Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the image in their minds, where they saw that although the Shrine Maiden Miroku was already teetering on the brink of collapse, the Moryo was only a little over a meter tall.

Seeing that the time was right, Black Zetsu immediately stood up. As Black Zetsu left, the images in everyone's minds also disappeared.

Everyone turned their attention to Black Zetsu, wanting to see what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

Then, Black Zetsu took out a scroll, the very one he had given to Moryo to sign.

He then unrolled the scroll, laid it flat on the ground, and Hand Seals.

Summoning Jutsu!

"Bang"

A plume of white smoke rose into the air.

However, what appeared in the same spot was not the Moryo that had shrunk to the size of one meter, but a ball of purplish-black energy.

Kakuzu and the other two looked at each other, none of them understanding what this thing was.

Black Zetsu, however, seemed to have been prepared, pulling a White Zetsu out of his body and shoving it in front of the purplish-black ball of light.

"Moryo, you can possess this body for now. We must leave as soon as possible; it's not safe here. We'll discuss everything after we see the leader!"

The purplish-black ball of light drifted in the air for a moment, as if hesitating, but finally plunged into the body of the White Zetsu.

The next moment, the White Zetsu opened its eyes, but its eyes glowed with a purplish-black light.

On the battlefield against the Moryo, everyone watched as the Moryo shrank to its last inch.

But from some unknown source, the last fragment of its body suddenly exploded into a ball, then split in two in mid-air.

A portion of it coalesced into a ball of light and vanished into thin air.

The other part was transformed into energy and absorbed into the Talisman Formation.

The next moment, the entire Talisman Formation shone brightly, then collapsed violently inward, and the massive Talisman Formation finally compressed into a sealed scroll covered with runes, which fell to the ground.

As soon as the seal ended, the Ghost Legion that had been moving on the battlefield stopped all its actions. Then, a series of cracking sounds rang out, and all the Puppet Soldier turned back into rocks and soil, dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

The Miroku Shrine Maiden's body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, Taiichi appeared instantly with Flying Thunder God, grabbed the Shrine Maiden, and simultaneously pressed his hand, which glowed with green light, directly against Shrine Maiden abdomen.

Taiichi was quick, and the others weren't far behind. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other ninjas arrived within a breath's time.

Seeing Taiichi healing the Shrine Maiden, Hiruzen Sarutobi swept his fierce gaze around and immediately gave the order.

"Find them! Spread out and search! The other party was able to time their search so precisely; they must be hiding not far from here. Find them!"

"Yes!"

Immediately, the uninjured ninjas split into a large group, forming the usual three-person teams, and dispersed in all directions.

Afterwards, Hiruzen Sarutobi made some post-battle arrangements before turning his attention back to the Shrine Maiden on the ground.

At this moment, Taiichi was focused on healing the Shrine Maiden and had no energy to attend to anything else.

However, Chiyo had already completed her initial examination of the Shrine Maiden, withdrew her hands, and stood up.

"How is the Miroku Shrine Maiden's condition?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was grave. The Shrine Maiden was the leader of the Land of Demons and a hero of this First Shinobi World War.

If someone like that were assassinated while heavily guarded by the Allied Forces Ninjas, what would the outside world think? Would the major ninja villages lose all face?

Chiyo looked at Taiichi, who was still receiving treatment, with a complicated expression, and forced a smile.

"She was severely injured, with multiple internal organs damaged, the liver being the most seriously affected. It's amazing she was able to persevere and complete the seal."

Chiyo first described the Shrine Maiden's injuries, then changed the subject.

"Fortunately, it's Taichi Matsushita who's treating her; with his abilities, healing the Shrine Maiden shouldn't be a problem."

These words finally put everyone at ease; the fact that the Shrine Maiden's injuries could be healed was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

With the Shrine Maiden's injuries resolved, everyone's attention returned to the Moryo.

At the very last moment before the seal was sealed, everyone clearly saw the obvious anomaly. Now, everyone has questions in their minds about the outcome of the seal.

Is it a success?

Or failure?

"The ball of light disappeared at the end, as if it had been summoned away by Summoning Technique?"

Someone muttered this, and everyone's heart skipped a beat.

There were many discerning people present, and the effect of the Summoning Technique was naturally not only apparent to one person, but the key question was, what exactly was that summoned ball of light?

Soon, the ninjas who had been searching in all directions returned one after another, and a Byakugan ninja came to report.

"Third Kazekage Excellency, distinguished representatives, we have searched a 5-kilometer radius but have not found any suspicious traces."

"How could that be? To pinpoint the exact time the seal ends, we must witness it with our own eyes. Could the enemy possibly be monitoring the battlefield from a distance?"

Though the speaker meant no harm, this exclamation, upon reaching Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears, was undoubtedly the correct answer.

He knew of several methods of this kind of long-distance surveillance, and he also knew that the Akatsuki seemed to have someone who was extremely good at infiltration and concealment.

"Alright, I understand. Since we can't find it, everyone come back and set up guard posts. Don't give the enemy any more opportunities."

After explaining the post-battle matters, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his attention back to the present. Just then, Taiichi finished his treatment, and Miroku regained consciousness.

"Shrine Maiden lady, how are you feeling?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were clearly somewhat lacking in confidence. After all, the enemy was injured right under his nose, and the Allied Forces could not escape responsibility no matter what.

However, the Miroku Shrine Maiden clearly didn't think so. Her face was filled with lingering fear, but she quickly composed herself and said gratefully, "I'm fine. I almost thought I was going to die."

After saying that, Miroku turned to look at Taiichi beside him.

"Taiichi, thank you so much, you saved me again."

Taiichi smiled slightly, but instead of taking credit, he very sensibly stepped back Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Third Kazekage also seized the opportunity to ask the questions they cared about most.

"Miroku, is Shrine Maiden seal complete?"

All eyes immediately turned to Miroku; this was their real concern. Wasn't this the reason so many ninjas had been sacrificed?

Miroku's eyes darkened as he looked at the expectant expressions on everyone's faces and spoke with a bitter tone.

"It wasn't entirely successful. At the end of the seal, due to external interference, the Moryo's soul separated from its body. The ball of light that was summoned away was the Moryo's soul."

"What? A soul?"

"If the soul escapes, will the Moryo return?"

"Then what's the point of sealing only the physical body?"

"Haven't the Ghost Legion already vanished? What abilities do their souls still possess?"

From the crowd, questions arose one after another, and the Miroku Shrine Maiden listened quietly until everyone had finished speaking.

After finishing speaking, he slowly opened his mouth again.

"The spirit of the Moryo is its immortal essence, but its body is the source of its power."

As the Shrine Maiden of this generation, Miroku has dealt with Moryo for nearly a thousand years, and her understanding of Moryo is far superior to that of the ninjas of the Five Great Nations.

"Just like a bloodline limit ninja, the Kekkei Genkai is the essence, Chakra is the driving energy. Without Chakra, no matter how high the essence is, it is just a Suigetsu."

This is why the Puppet Soldier vanished once the seal was broken; the spirits of the Moryo had lost their power, and the Puppet had no source of power.

After listening to the Shrine Maiden's explanation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, all the hard work finally paid off!

Unfortunately, they relaxed too soon; Miroku's next words made them worry again.

"However, if the Moryo finds a body to possess, it can exert some of its power."

"What?"

"You can do it like that?"

"Yes, but ultimately it's not its own body, so its strength will be severely limited. The specifics will depend on..."

Its body determines this.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but only a little. After all, the essence of the Moryo was there. Like the Rinnegan, even the worst Rinnegan is still the Rinnegan, which is incomparable to that of an ordinary ninja.

"Alas, in the end, we didn't achieve complete success; such a lingering problem remains."

Chiyo sighed, causing the surrounding ninjas to lower their heads. They had fought desperately, but failed to complete their mission perfectly, leaving them feeling truly resentful.

Seeing that everyone's emotions were off, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately realized the problem.

"Gentlemen, regardless of the circumstances, we stopped the Moryo's destruction, saved the Land of Demons and the entire Ninja World. You are all heroes. The Ninja World will remember the sacrifices of everyone who participated in this battle. We have won!"

A moment of silence fell over the scene, but then a cheer suddenly erupted.

"Victory!"

It's unclear who shouted the first word, but then shouts rang out one after another until the entire army of ten thousand shouted in unison.

We've won!

While the Allied Forces were busy with post-war matters, at Akatsuki's secret base in the Land of Rain, Pain and Obito were having a rather unusual conversation.

"Do you really have a way to control those Ancient Monsters?"

Looking at the "Madara Uchiha" before him, Pain couldn't help but marvel at the breadth of information the other party possessed; he even knew so much about beings like Moryo.

Obito was unaware of Pain's thoughts. He was also amazed by Black Zetsu's information, but he assumed it was Madara Uchiha's "legacy" and didn't take it seriously.

"If it were in its complete form, we naturally wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but isn't it incomplete now?"

Behind the Spiral Mask, Obito let out a "hehe" laugh.

"Even if this White Zetsu is specially made, possessing a White Zetsu, the Moryo can only unleash Kage Level power at most. Besides, if it wants revenge, who else can it turn to besides us?"

Pain's face was stiff and expressionless, but his stance clearly showed that Pain fear of Obito had deepened.

"Judging by the time, your plan should have succeeded in separating the Moryo's soul from its body. We didn't explain this clearly to it beforehand. Have you thought about how you're going to explain it to it?"

"Hey, he's just a stray dog. I think he'll figure it out himself."

At that moment, the "stray dog" that Obito spoke of was indeed there, raging in a helpless frenzy.

"This—is the way you said—you'd save me!"

The Moryo raised its hands and looked at its own body, its pale skin causing it severe discomfort.

It's not just the lack of power, but also this disgusting color, which is far inferior to its original noble purplish-black.

The Moryo looked up angrily, its eyes almost spitting fire.

"Speak up! Give me an explanation! I'd rather be sealed away than live like this; at least then I wouldn't have to disgust myself with myself!"

Kakuzu, Blood Crow, Hiruko retreated to a distance, quietly enjoying the spectacle unfolding before them.

The act of soul possession was something even Blood Crow, who dealt with gods year-round, had never seen before.

What's more, the creature before them Moryo that they couldn't defeat not long ago.

"Don't be so angry. Think about it yourself. If we don't use this method, what other way can we get you out of that perverted Taichi Matsushita's surveillance?"

Black Zetsu spoke calmly, but his words filled Moryo with despair.

"There's something you might not know: Taichi Matsushita has a Ninjutsu called Flying Thunder God, which allows him to teleport using special handprints."

You've fought him for so long, and he's left countless marks on your body. If your physical body could be channeled into a spirit, do you believe Taichi Matsushita would appear before you in an instant?

The Moryo's mouth stretched out, but it couldn't utter a single word. According to Black Zetsu, it really had no way to escape, but even so, it was still unwilling to give up.

"Don't be so discouraged. We are all people here who have a grudge against Taichi Matsushita. Only by uniting can we have a chance to take revenge."

"You've been killed by Taichi Matsushita several times, are you really just going to accept being sealed back in and not seek revenge?"

Black Zetsu's words were the final straw that broke the camel's back, completely dispelling all of Moryo's doubts.

Revenge—that's the deepest obsession in Moryo's heart right now.

"Alright, I'll join you before we kill that bastard!"

The Moryo gritted its teeth and spat out these words, its angry flames transforming into the fire of revenge.

At this moment, Taiichi was unaware that he had gained another enemy.

However, even if he knew, he wouldn't care. He had too many enemies to remember them all. It was just a matter of whether he would slash them once or twice after seeing them.

He is currently escorting the Shrine Maiden and the Sealing Talisman array back to the front-line Camp.

Although the battle is over, there are still many things to deal with, such as the sealing of the Moryo's physical body. The subsequent handling of this matter needs to be discussed.

After all, the spirits of the Moryo still linger outside the land. Under these circumstances, whether or not to keep the physical seal in the Land of Demons is a concern not only for the various ninja villages, but also for Shrine Maiden Miroku.

Not to mention that various countries sent troops to help the Land of Demons. Although it was out of morality, so many ninjas died in the battle. The war compensation here needs to be specifically negotiated with the Land of Demons.