Thirty li west of the Land of Demons' capital, Sealing Canyon.
The canyon walls were dark red, as if they had been soaked in blood and left to dry for a thousand years. The air reeked of sulfur and decay, while dark green mist occasionally seeped from cracks in the ground—residue of Mōryō's leaking chakra, capable of corroding flesh on contact.
Deep within the canyon stood an ancient altar built from massive black stones.
Around the altar, more than thirty Land of Demons ninjas were fighting desperately.
"Hold the sealing core!"
Leading them was a scar-faced middle-aged Elite Ninja. He formed hand seals, and an Earth-Style Wall rose from the ground to block the incoming kunai. But the next second, five bolts of lightning pierced the earthen wall at once—five Yomi Sect followers had launched Lightning Release: False Darkness from different angles.
"Captain!"
Two young ninjas threw themselves forward and used their bodies to block the lightning, dying on the spot.
The scar-faced Elite Ninja's eyes nearly split with rage, but he saw that three Yomi Sect followers had already broken through the eastern defense line of the altar and were pressing talismans covered in incantations onto the sealing pillars.
"Damn it..."
Just as he was about to charge over, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open, and several black tentacles wrapped around his legs—that was the Yomi Sect's unique Impure World Puppet Technique, a binding technique formed by mixing the chakra of the dead with the resentment of the earth veins.
"The seal... is about to break..."
The scar-faced Elite Ninja looked despairingly toward the top of the altar.
There, a tall figure clad in the Akatsuki Organization's black robe with red clouds stood before the sealing core. With his back to the battlefield, he pressed both hands