Calamity Is About to Befall You!

A foul red light flashed through the wooden house.

A moment later,

The middle-aged man who had previously looked vacant walked out of the wooden house.

Now, there was no trace of vacancy on his face. Instead, he wore a sly, sinister grin.

He spoke smugly:

"You thought that just because you used a Sealing Jutsu barrier, I wouldn't be able to get in?"

"So naive. The Shrine Maiden is right here! And guarded by such green ninjas?"

"Ha ha ha ha! Looks like I'll have to hurry."

"Moryo! No—the fool Okuninushi won't be able to hold out much longer."

Thinking of the boy who possessed the power of Amaterasu-Omikami, he felt pressed for time as well.

With a light step, a blood-red flower blossomed beneath his feet!

The flower spun, carrying him swiftly into the air.

He sped toward the palace!

Meanwhile, Tsunade and the others, still inside the palace,

watched the blood-red light rise from the city and race toward them.

They were baffled.

"What's that?"

"The barrier didn't work?"

Hearing Orochimaru and Jiraiya's questions,

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and muttered:

"Who cares what it is? If it dares come looking for trouble, I'll blast it into the sky!"

Seeing this,

Miko Miko stepped behind them and said gravely:

"Everyone, that is the other evil spirit. Please be careful!"

At her words,

the three quickly formed up to protect the Shrine Maiden.

A blood-red streak of light burst before them.

The figure looked at the scene before him,

then grinned cruelly.

"Are you welcoming me?"

Orochimaru had no intention of answering him.

He hurled a giant shuriken forward.

His hands formed a seal.

[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!]

In an instant, the giant shuriken

split into tens of thousands of solid clones,

raining a continuous assault upon him.

The Evil God scoffed. "That's it?"

He dodged Orochimaru's attack with Godspeed.

"That's it? You'd better not underestimate us," Orochimaru said with a cold laugh.

As if to prove his words,

a figure emerged from the shadow behind the Evil God.

It was Jiraiya, who had coordinated perfectly, using the tens of thousands of shuriken to block his view!

He breathed a stream of chakra toward the shadow,

his hands already forming the seal as he emerged from the ground.

[Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique!]

The ground rippled,

and Jiraiya's shadow joined with his.

The Evil God smiled scornfully. "And what of it?"

He started to raise his hand to attack.

Hm? I can't move?

Confusion swirled through his mind.

In the blink of an eye,

before he could figure out what was happening,

a dashing figure swooped down from above!

She raised her shapely, powerful leg high,

and shouted:

"Heaven-Pain Kick!"

Rumble!

After the earth shook,

the Evil God lay in the huge crater, his body convulsing.

Foul blood-red light burst in every direction.

"Get out of the way! That's an ominous curse that can corrupt the human body!" Miko Miko cried, warning the three in alarm.

The three weren't fools. That blood-red light clearly looked dangerous.

They scattered at once, alert and ready.

"Heh heh heh heh." The Evil God let out a terrifying, low laugh.

Then he said:

"It seems I truly underestimated you. You're no ordinary ninjas—not like those good-for-nothings from Yugakure."

The three ignored him and prepared to attack again.

The Evil God gave a sinister laugh.

"Even if my power passed through the barrier and relied on this body of poor aptitude, leaving me with very little strength..."

As he spoke, he clenched his hand, and foul blood flowed out.

He clasped the foul blood between his hands and spun it,

then sneered:

"That's still more than enough to deal with you!"

"Technique activation!"

[Kusanagi!]

Clang—

A clear ring rang out!

Under the bright sun,

the foul blood

whipped up into a tremendous gust of blood-red wind!

It struck the three before they could react.

Seeing his attack land,

the Evil God grinned wickedly.

He declared proudly:

"Fear! Tremble!"

"Calamity is about to befall you!"

A moment later,

he looked at the three ninjas lying motionless on the ground.

"How impressive. I thought you would die, but somehow you survived."

He was surprised that the three ninjas had managed to withstand his attack for so long before falling, even though his circumstances had kept him from using his full strength.

"Time is short. Consider yourselves lucky—you've gotten away with your lives."

He shook his head. Pressed for time, he didn't bother to finish them off.

He strode toward the Shrine Maiden inside the palace.

Looking at Miko, whose expression was calm, he praised her:

"Shrine Maiden, you have nerve. You're not even afraid of me."

Miko kept her eyes fixed on him.

"What is there to fear? Your future holds nothing but failure."

The Evil God didn't get angry. He smiled faintly.

"Is that so? It doesn't matter."

Blood-red light surged from his hand, binding Miko tightly.

"Either way, the key to victory is in my hands!"

He turned around,

watching the commotion beneath the distant sky grow fainter.

"It looks like things are almost over over there. I'd better hurry!"

Bound by the blood-red light, Miko furrowed her brow.

She asked, puzzled:

"I am the key to victory?"

The Evil God, holding the blood-red light, gave a chuckle.

"That fool thought everything would be fine as long as he took your power back."

"But he didn't know that your lineage has been closely connected to him for a thousand years. Your bond with him can never be severed."

Miko furrowed her brow even more. "So what? I have no spiritual power left. It seems you've miscalculated."

"You'll find out soon enough. And... don't think you can keep trying to fool me and stall for time."

With that,

the blood-red light transformed into a Blood Lotus, enveloping them both and carrying them into the sky.

Uchiha Genmei looked into the distance at Moryo, sprawled on the ground in a sorry state.

He dispelled the Beast Calamity and declared proudly:

"You're a defeated opponent. Be grateful for my mercy. Any last words?"

Matatabi padded over to the boy, her monstrous eyes wide open.

She mocked him:

"Genmei, there's no need to say more. I know this guy. If you can kill him, just do it."

"Matatabi, you know him?" The boy was surprised to hear her say that.

Matatabi lowered her eyes.

She recalled:

"Before the Ninjutsu Sect split apart, when the Rabbit Goddess was sealed, he seemed to see an opportunity."

"He came out to cause trouble and got a thorough beating from Indra."

Uchiha Genmei raised an eyebrow and looked at Matatabi.

He asked pointedly, "The Rabbit Goddess?"

As if she realized she'd let something slip, Matatabi quickly cleared her throat.

"Ahem..."

She ran a paw over her face,

and said guiltily, "That's not important. What matters is what's in front of us. Can we kill him?"

Uchiha Genmei found it amusing. He knew why Matatabi felt guilty.

Wasn't it because the Rabbit Goddess, Otsutsuki Kaguya, was Old Man Six Paths' mother?

And because she was the true form of the Ten-Tails, which could take the lives of Tailed Beasts like them.

His gaze returned to Moryo, lying on the ground and unable to get back up.

He considered what technique to use to kill him.

After all, even Indra hadn't managed to kill him, so his immortality was probably troublesome.

As for Naruto, heh—

That was a plot kill, relying on the Shrine Maiden.

Miko had no spiritual power left on his side.

That wasn't something he could count on.

He was still pondering when...

Just then.

A foul red light descended from the sky.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Better late than never—could there be a better example?"

Jashin looked at Moryo lying on the ground, then at the boy standing far away.

He shouted excitedly:

"Fate is truly on my side!"