Yin-Yang Tomb

As he watched Abe Kiyuki stagger farther and farther away,

Yuya wore a conflicted expression,

unsure what to say for a moment.

Out of concern for Princess Kaguya,

he had indeed treated Abe Kiyuki somewhat like a tool.

But he had never imagined

that she, an Onmyōji who had grown up here, would be attacked by Shikigami.

That was not what he had wanted.

By now, the exit to the Wind-Snow Realm had already closed.

In her current condition, leaving her alone would undoubtedly mean her death.

After a moment of hesitation,

he went over to Abe Kiyuki

and channeled a stream of Yang Release chakra into her and the fox.

The next instant, their wounds faded before his eyes.

"What are you doing here? Leave me alone."

Abe Kiyuki's eyes were still slightly red.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know the Shikigami would attack you."

After some thought, Yuya finally spoke.

"Did you even give me time to tell you? You rushed off so fast."

At this, Abe Kiyuki's anger flared again.

Seriously, he had barely arrived before using her to open the ruins, then abandoning her in the blink of an eye.

She hadn't even been able to find him.

And to think she had wanted to warn Yuya about the flood dragon deep within the Wind-Snow Realm...

"I won't forget what you've done for me. I was careless this time. If you ever need anything, you can come to me."

Yuya spoke sincerely.

"Hmph."

Abe Kiyuki gave a soft huff and turned her face away, refusing to look at him.

But most of her anger had already faded. After all, that was the longest thing Yuya had ever said to her.

Yuya sighed and said no more.

He created a clone to keep her safe,

then left.

Upon returning to the Far North,

Yuya hesitated for a while

before taking out the guidebook Abe Kiyuki had written and reading it.

Looking at the crooked handwriting,

Yuya frowned slightly.

After a long while, he put the notes away.

A hint of conflicted contemplation flashed in his eyes.

He stopped dwelling on it and took out the Yin-Yang Pearl.

Using Repulsive Force to control it, he sent it flying toward a pearl-shaped socket in the ruins' gate.

Instantly, the gate blazed with light.

Amid a violent shaking of the earth, the ruins finally opened.

Yuya walked inside.

[You have entered the hell-difficulty dungeon, Yin-Yang Tomb.]

[The struggle for fortune, the erosion of energy, warfare and slaughter have continued here for generation after generation, never fading.

The restless souls of countless Onmyōji once gathered here, their obsessions undying, reenacting that ancient battle.]

[Stage one: King's Showdown.]

[You will be randomly assigned to either the Onmyōji Family or the Ōtsutsuki faction.]

[Clear condition: destroy the enemy crystal.]

The system's understated text appeared before his eyes.

Yuya's thoughts were somewhat muddled, and his heart felt heavy.

According to the notes Abe Kiyuki had written,

there were indeed three trials on the road to the final ruins.

But he had never expected them to become a dungeon at this moment.

Had it always been this way, or had the system's influence turned it into this?

He had no way of knowing.

Moreover, since this Yin-Yang Tomb had been formed from the lingering obsessions of the Onmyōji's souls,

that meant the Onmyōji had ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

If he were assigned to the Onmyōji faction,

he would very likely face that group of Ōtsutsuki from back then.

At that thought, his heart grew heavier than ever.

Could his presence truly allow them to win?

But before he could think further, the next instant,

he arrived in a strange space.

[You have been randomly assigned to the Ōtsutsuki faction.]

The system's text brought him a sigh of relief,

but also mixed feelings and regret.

If he wanted to save Princess Kaguya,

he would have to face the Ōtsutsuki Clan sooner or later.

Had he been assigned to the Onmyōji faction, he could have gained experience for those future battles.

Now... it felt like a missed opportunity.

Then,

he arrived on a map resembling King's Canyon

and learned what it meant to be carried to victory...

He had thought he would fight as a hero of the Ōtsutsuki faction.

Only later did he discover... he was merely a cannon minion...

Along the three main lanes of King's Canyon,

the Ōtsutsuki soldiers advanced with unstoppable momentum,

rampaging straight ahead.

Powerful chakra spread, threatening to tear heaven and earth apart.

Every soldier wore colored contacts and radiated an astonishing aura.

As expected, the Onmyōji faction's first towers soon fell,

crushed with overwhelming force.

Before long, their second towers were easily destroyed as well,

and the enemy was already about to advance onto their high ground.

The Onmyōji heroes began desperately farming the jungle and gathering resources,

racing against time to level up and grow stronger.

They took every resource they could,

even claiming the ancient creatures and unleashing every technique and spell at their disposal.

Then came a battle that, for the Onmyōji,

could only be called epic.

Every hero on the Onmyōji side joined the fight,

and only then did they barely manage to clear the enemy's advance troops from their high ground.

And that... was merely the first wave.

When the second wave arrived with super minions among its ranks,

the outcome seemed sealed.

Even ordinary minions were so powerful that the heroes had to work together to kill them. What chance did they have against super minions?

The suffocating gulf between them left almost no hope in sight.

Yet no one had expected

that at this most desperate moment,

a monstrous jungle prodigy would emerge on the Onmyōji side.

He seemed born for this moment. As soon as he appeared, he mastered and integrated every skill of the previous generation's heroes.

Amid the chaos, he surpassed himself, reaching the maximum level at the fastest possible speed.

Then, single-handedly, he kept several super minions occupied,

constantly circling through the jungle and setting ambushes.

He even fought a super minion at the dragon pit and defeated it.

Yuya, who was also one of the super minions and led a squad of Ōtsutsuki soldiers,

had been ambushed and harried by him as well.

They had once fought far from the lanes. His aura was powerful, chilling, and terrifying.

Yuya activated Six Paths Mode, and eight of his twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs were destroyed.

He also activated Sage Mode,

using Sage Art: Wood Release: Buddha at the Summit and cloaking it in his Complete Form Susanoo.

His opponent lured him into the jungle-the starry sky-where they fought.

In that battle, even his Complete Form Susanoo was shattered.

His great Buddha was nearly half destroyed,

but he still managed to drive his opponent back.

Yet Yuya felt that the man was still holding back, and that his purpose was merely to keep him occupied.

Sure enough, while he held Yuya in place,

the other heroes banded together and nearly wiped out Yuya's squad of soldiers.

Through his efforts alone, he had actually managed to slow the second wave of minions.

But the third wave of Ōtsutsuki minions arrived almost immediately afterward.

And as time passed, the minions would only grow stronger.

The Ōtsutsuki heroes, meanwhile, had yet to make a move.

There was still almost no hope of turning the battle around.

Later, he took a path no one had ever attempted before.

Alone, he slipped past countless defensive towers

and reached the Ōtsutsuki crystal, intending to backdoor their base!

Without question, he suffered a crushing defeat.

He never even saw what their heroes looked like

before he was utterly defeated.

And with his fall,

countless Onmyōji began marching toward their doom.

The Ōtsutsuki destroyed the crystal without question.

Throughout the entire first stage, Yuya had been effortlessly carried to victory.

Yet his heart was heavier than ever.

He had witnessed the Onmyōji faction's indomitable will.

Even at the very last moment, none of them had given up.

With their own blood and lives, they had written a magnificent epic.

It had been a brilliant era, witnessing the rise of countless heroes,

but it had also been an era of terrible suffering.

They had exhausted every ounce of their strength, yet failed to destroy even a single Ōtsutsuki defensive tower...

[You have cleared stage one, King's Showdown.]

[You will soon enter the next stage.]