The Sealing Grounds lay deep beneath the Palace.
The air was thick with a stale, chilling presence, and an indescribable malice that seemed to have accumulated over a thousand years.
An enormous stone sealing platform stood in the center of the chamber. Faint traces of ominous purple energy flickered over it, pulsing like breaths.
This was where the soul of the demon Moryo was imprisoned.
When Shion led Naruto into the chamber, the being within the sealing platform seemed to sense them immediately.
Excitement, ecstasy, greed, destruction...
All manner of negative emotions surged from the center of the sealing platform like a tangible tide.
Although suppressed by the powerful seal, even the faint aura that leaked out was enough to cause intense discomfort.
"Heh... hehehe... a miko... the scent of a miko... and... fresh vitality... powerful chakra..."
A low, hoarse, eerie murmur, as though countless voices were overlapping, echoed directly in Shion's and Naruto's minds, brimming with hunger and impatience.
Shion stopped abruptly.
An intense premonition of danger, born from the instincts of her bloodline, washed over her like ice water.
That dangerous presence was cold and filthy, filled with a pure desire for destruction. The pressure and mortal threat it exuded were even stronger than what she had felt when facing the Sixth Hokage earlier!
Though the Sixth's power was unfathomable, what he inspired was fear of the unknown and worry over her nation's fate; Moryo, however, exuded the most direct, primal desire to devour and destroy her personally, and even the entire miko bloodline!
She instinctively turned to look at Naruto beside her.
She tried to "see" Naruto's future after he came into contact with Moryo.
From her past experience, the threads of fate of those who opposed Moryo's power would fluctuate violently, often snapping outright.
Yet the