Sealing Moryo

The next afternoon.

The shinobi from the great villages didn't have to wait long. Moryo and its Undead Army emerged from beyond the capital and headed straight for the palace where the Shrine Maiden was.

Moryo had a massive, sturdy body, with thick and thin tentacles covering its feet. Its outline was blurry and irregular, as if it were a form condensed from darkness. Its face was sinister, and a greenish-yellow aura of malice coiled around its body.

"Shrine Maiden! Offer me your power so I can conquer the entire Ninja World!"

The monster roared, and a large number of soldiers charged forward behind it.

The shinobi quickly met them head-on. Standing beside the Shrine Maiden, Genichi silently entered Sage Mode and kept watch over the entire battlefield.

Rasa's Magnet Release was clearly inferior to the Third Kazekage's. He couldn't suppress Moryo at all, and could only slightly slow its advance. Fortunately, the shinobi known as "Yomi," who was pulling the strings, still hadn't appeared, and the Cloud shinobi had also joined the fight against Moryo.

Genichi stopped watching that part of the battlefield. With the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki present, it was only a matter of time before Moryo was beaten into submission. He continued extending his sensory perception.

The fighting at the edges of the battlefield wasn't too intense. With Minato's skill and the Flying Thunder God, he was more than capable of keeping the situation under control.

Even so, Genichi kept his attention on that area to prevent anything unexpected from happening.

After all, arriving a step too late might just be the fate of someone known for moving at lightning speed.

Moryo was strong, but it was facing elite squads from all four great villages while also suffering from the disadvantage of having all its secrets exposed. It didn't take long for the shinobi to badly injure it and pin it in place.

As Genichi brought the Shrine Maiden closer, Moryo realized it couldn't escape being sealed this time. It gave up struggling and, in its final moments, issued a threat. "Shrine Maiden, you know you can't destroy me. You're only buying time. Next time, I'll devour your daughter. That is the fate of your line of Shrine Maidens!"

Ignoring Moryo, the Shrine Maiden said, "Everyone, please move away for now. This Konoha shinobi will assist me in sealing the monster."

"Can a shinobi's Sealing Jutsu even affect Moryo?" Dodai of the Cloud Village asked, his expression unreadable. No one knew what he was thinking.

Genichi explained, "The main sealing technique will be yours. I'll add another seal from the outside to weaken Moryo's resistance. That might be enough to save your life."

After everyone else had left, Genichi began the sealing process and casually asked, "Miroku, once you've mastered Moryo's power, can you use its army too?"

"Of course. Do you want to use them to conquer the Ninja World?"

"With strength like this, conquering the Ninja World? No need. I was wondering if you could have them lay roads, grow food, build houses, and things like that." Thinking of high-quality laborers who worked around the clock, seven days a week, asked for no pay, and never complained, Genichi felt the flame of his passion for public works blaze to life.

Though she didn't know why he would want to use them for that, Miroku gave it some thought. "I'm afraid not. Moryo only controlled the army's actions in broad strokes, then unleashed its urge to kill and destroy. For more precise control, I could only direct a small portion of the soldiers to do the things you mentioned, and I'd have to stay focused the whole time."

"Never mind, then." Genichi was a little disappointed, but when he thought about it, the answer made sense.

The sealing was completed at last. The Shrine Maiden survived, though she seemed exhausted and in poor condition. After summoning the shinobi, she simply said, "Moryo has been sealed. This mission is over. Someone will deliver your payment to your villages later. The capital of the Land of Demons has been devastated and needs to be rebuilt, so I won't keep you any longer."

Genichi and the others set off for home. Before leaving, Genichi had one of the Shrine Maiden's shinobi temporarily sign a Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave so they could stay in touch.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he might not be able to leave Konoha for years. Genichi thought that once he became Hokage and expanded Konoha's influence abroad, he would bring the Land of Demons into its fold as well. Then the Shrine Maiden could move to Konoha openly and without question.

He just didn't know how he was going to tell his girlfriends back in the village. Now that the mission was over, Genichi realized how tricky the situation was. He hoped that having a harem in another world wouldn't get him killed.

The nobles seemed to have a tradition of polygamy. Maybe that would make it a little easier for the girls to accept? It looked like he'd have to make a move. Unifying the Land of Fire couldn't wait.

Children in the Ninja World tended to mature early. Some began taking an interest in romance as soon as they entered school, especially the girls.

Kurenai Yuhi, for instance, had noticed early on that the Shrine Maiden looked at Teacher Genichi differently, with an inexplicable emotion in her eyes. It was completely unlike the way she looked at everyone else.

Besides, Teacher Genichi had stood awfully close to the Shrine Maiden while protecting her. At a glance, they didn't seem to be touching, so it looked perfectly normal.

But when Kurenai imagined herself in the Shrine Maiden's place, she knew she would have been put off if a strange man she'd only just met got that close to her. She would have moved away. The Shrine Maiden, however, hadn't seemed to mind at all.

"Does that mean Teacher Genichi and the Shrine Maiden of the Land of Demons...?" Kurenai thought. She couldn't help covering her mouth with both hands, afraid she might blurt out her suspicions and then get silenced by Teacher Genichi. Still, she couldn't help sneaking glances at him, thinking, I remember Teacher Genichi already has three childhood friends back in the village, from the Uzumaki Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and the Hyuga Clan. And now he's gone out of the village and gotten involved with the Shrine Maiden. Does being handsome and strong make him think he can do whatever he wants? What a scumbag teacher!

Genichi noticed Kurenai's furtive glances. For some reason, he felt a little guilty, and decided to break the strange mood. "Before we came to the Land of Demons, I said I'd reward whoever performed the best with a ninjutsu. Minato, who do you think did the best?"

Minato thought for a moment, then said, "Even when Moryo's soldiers are destroyed, they gradually recover. If we judge by how well they were held back, Kakashi's Earth Release was the most effective."

As Kakashi looked on expectantly and the others felt a little disappointed, Genichi handed him a scroll containing Chidori and its later variations.

"Kakashi, there's something I need to warn you about. Until the elite jonin Minato approves of your reaction speed, don't use Chidori's speed boost to charge straight at your opponent." Genichi gave him a grave warning.

"If you don't react in time during your charge, but your opponent does, they can easily dodge your attack and stab your left eye with a Kunai."

Kakashi felt a chill. His left eye seemed to ache with phantom pain. I would've understood if you'd just given me a simple example. Why describe in such detail how I'd get stabbed in the left eye? Damn, is this a genjutsu? This feels so real.

"You don't need to be disappointed, the rest of you. Minato has also mastered the Rasengan, so there'll be plenty of opportunities in the future." Genichi consoled the other children, who looked a little down.