Summoning beasts

The full strength of an entire era, gathered together-

Just how powerful was it?

Yuya had never had any idea before, but now he knew what the night parade of one hundred demons meant.

This was the hardest battle Yuya had ever fought.

The Onmyōji had taken communion with the spirits of nature to its utmost limits,

And countless Earthbound Spirits, Dog Demons, and Pipe Foxes that should have gone extinct appeared one after another.

By now, he had no idea how many he had cut down.

He kept using Shinra Tensei, blasting away the hundred demons crawling toward him.

His Complete Form Susanoo resembled a golden giant that blotted out the sky,

And even a casual strike cut down countless Dog Demons.

Several Earthbound Spirits also drifted through the air,

Waiting for their chance to strike, only to be consumed by the black flames of Amaterasu.

Twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs manifested life and annihilation,

Striking down several Shuten-dōji.

But in the end, they were swallowed by one of Abe Seimei's shikigami,

One of his twelve shikigami-Tengshe.

Yuya wanted to use Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, but there was no chakra here for Wood Release to absorb.

The power of any ninjutsu was greatly diminished here,

And he could not enter Sage Mode either.

At this moment, only his dōjutsu could unleash their full strength.

Yuya did not know how much time had passed.

Perhaps a day, perhaps two, or perhaps a week or half a month.

Under the shikigami's relentless attacks,

His sense of time had blurred.

It felt as though he had been fighting forever,

Constantly integrating his powers through battle,

And pushing his combat instincts to their limits.

He had found countless creative ways to use Susanoo,

Changing it into all sorts of shapes or manifesting only parts of it.

Combining Yin-Yang Release with Amaterasu, combining Amaterasu with Susanoo-

He had already mastered all of it.

The formidable regenerative power of Yuya's Sage Body

Had also allowed him to hold on until now.

Throughout his journey, Yuya had barely fought any battles,

But now, faced with the shikigami's bizarre attacks,

He kept honing himself, and his combat skills steadily improved.

Boom!

Yuya swung the Susanoo Sword, its blade coated in Amaterasu's divine flames.

At the same time, he used Tsukuyomi to disrupt the mental link between the shikigami before him and Abe Seimei.

A powerful gale surged, and the blade finally pierced the shikigami's body.

He slew Abe Seimei's eleventh shikigami, Gou Chen!

A moment later, the golden Susanoo began to fade.

Yuya's vision had blurred, and he barely had enough dōjutsu power left to sustain it.

By now, Yuya had cleared out the entire space.

Only Abe Seimei and Yuya remained standing.

"You rely too heavily on that clan's power. That is not a good thing."

Abe Seimei spoke calmly.

"You are very gifted. If you survive... perhaps you can truly resolve the crisis brought about by the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

"What a pity..."

Yuya remained silent. He was too weak to speak.

Abe Seimei controlled his final shikigami, slowly approaching.

This was Liuhe, his Spirit Command with the strongest defense.

His eyes were cold and indifferent, without the slightest intention of showing mercy.

He was a wisp of a remnant soul, compelled to follow his orders.

Yuya's face remained expressionless as he watched calmly,

Watching the shikigami approach,

Watching it raise the sword in its hand, about to thrust it at him.

But in the next second, its movements froze.

It was not only its thoughts and movements that froze,

But its body, breathing, aura, even its cells-everything.

At that moment, time seemed to have stopped completely for it.

And at the same time,

Another Yuya appeared behind Abe Seimei's true body,

One hand covering his right eye.

A sword formed from Yin-Yang Release had already pierced Abe Seimei's back.

Abe Seimei's life force instantly began to fade.

"What happened in that last second? That certainly wasn't speed."

As though he had not noticed his own wound,

Abe Seimei looked at the Yuya who had appeared and asked.

No amount of speed could have allowed anyone to attack him

Before Liuhe could react.

"Time."

Yuya spoke.

This was the power of the Mangekyo in his right eye.

It could bind time within an area of space.

Now, he had finally played this trump card.

The most troublesome thing about Abe Seimei was his final shikigami.

It could possess Abe Seimei and block any attack directed at him.

Its defenses were astonishing; even Truth-Seeking Orbs could not break through them,

Making him almost invincible.

And that moment had been Yuya's final chance.

He had used Time Binding on the shikigami approaching him-Liuhe,

Then used a clone to assassinate Abe Seimei.

He had barely used clones before this, precisely to make Abe Seimei lower his guard.

He also had to use it when Abe Seimei's mental strength was exhausted and he could no longer sense a Shadow Clone.

Finally, Abe Seimei's other shikigami had to be dead,

Forcing him to send Liuhe out to attack.

Time Binding consumed an enormous amount of dōjutsu power. Even Yuya could only use it once,

So he had to wait for the best possible moment.

Fortunately, he had succeeded.

"Time, is it... the younger generation is formidable..."

Abe Seimei could not help chuckling.

The next moment, the entire space began to shake violently.

Abe Seimei's body began flickering in and out of sight.

"What do you want?"

Abe Seimei asked.

The man before him must have had a reason for coming to this declining Wind-Snow Realm.

"There is someone... I must save. She has been corrupted by the God Tree and possessed by a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Is there any way to save her?"

At that moment, Yuya's voice trembled slightly.

Whether this succeeds or fails... it all comes down to this...

Abe Seimei fell silent.

As his silence continued, Yuya's heart sank.

Only after a long while did he speak:

"Yes. By performing a secret art and burning all the remnant souls in the Yin-Yang Tomb, we can help you cleanse the God Tree's corruption.

We can also expel the possessing member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

Yuya did not relax. Instead, his expression grew even tenser.

Why would they burn their remnant souls to help Princess Kaguya drive out her possessor?

"Your terms?"

Yuya's voice was hoarse.

But Abe Seimei shook his head.

"We are people forgotten by our era. We should have departed long ago."

"As one era declines and another rises, you have shown me a new possibility."

"These centuries of waiting... have not been in vain."

Abe Seimei let out a long, wistful sigh.

At that moment, his presence became even more ancient and vast, bearing the weight of the years.

But Yuya remained silent, waiting for Abe Seimei to continue.

Once their remnant souls dispersed, they would not enter the six paths of reincarnation.

Nothing in this world ever came free.

"Do you know why we fled the main world and came here all those years ago?"

Sure enough, Abe Seimei spoke again.

"That dragon?"

Yuya frowned in thought for a moment before answering.

According to the young Onmyōji girl's remnant soul, it had been to preserve their legacy

That the Main Family had come to the Wind-Snow Realm.

But now, looking at a clan that had sacrificed itself with the strength of all its members,

When had they ever shown fear? Why would they need to preserve their legacy?

They had already staked everything.

And the most unusual thing in the entire Wind-Snow Realm... was that dragon alone...

"It seems you have already encountered him."

Abe Seimei could not help giving Yuya another look.

"That dragon has extraordinary origins. We came here to protect him."

"But this place is still too small to accommodate him."

"From now on, I hope you will look after him."

Yuya nodded. He had already intended to do so.

"Furthermore, with the destruction of the Yin-Yang Tomb, the entire Wind-Snow Realm will fracture and eventually return to the main world."

"If those shikigami and strange beasts stray into the main world, it will be a disaster."

Abe Seimei spoke.

"I will make proper arrangements for them."

Yuya thought for a moment before answering.

After all, they had once been these people's shikigami,

So he naturally could not slaughter them all.

Abe Seimei nodded and said no more.

The next moment, his body began to fade.

"The remnant souls in the Yin-Yang Tomb will flow into my notebook. Go and retrieve it."

When Yuya obtained the notebook,

The entire Yin-Yang Tomb inevitably began to shake and shatter,

And the seal on the space broke as well.

Yuya used Space-Time Ninjutsu and stepped into the outside world.

Then he extended his senses across the entire Wind-Snow Realm,

and confirmed that the whole world was on the verge of shattering.

Countless shikigami were in a panic.

Yuya began to consider where to send these shikigami.

The next moment, his aura became ethereal and otherworldly,

merging with nature, as though laden with the endless weight and weathering of ages.

Under the influence of his aura, all the beasts grew calm,

no longer afraid.

And then,

gentle ripples spread from Yuya,

expanding across the entire Wind-Snow Realm.

In every beast the ripples touched,

the cruelty and bloodlust in their eyes began to fade.

Intelligence took their place.

Yuya was using the Enlightenment Technique to enlighten all the beasts at once,

heightening their intelligence and erasing most of their bestial nature and instinct for bloodshed.

At that moment, all the beasts prostrated themselves, gazing at the figure floating in the air,

their eyes filled with profound fervor.

They would revere that figure as a god and remember him for the rest of their lives.

Their reverence for him would become part of their bloodlines, passed down to their descendants.

Even after doing all this, Yuya felt it was not enough,

so he took the Flying Thunder God Technique he had once modified, the customized teleportation version,

and imparted it to them through the Enlightenment Technique,

instructing them that, upon finding a suitable person,

they could form a contract with that person, who could then summon them through this technique.

This would help them coexist better with humans.

Meanwhile, a little toad hopped along and hid beneath a rock.

Of all the beasts, it was closest to the Enlightenment Technique,

receiving the greatest benefits and attaining the highest intelligence.

It even committed the fluctuations of Yuya's Sage Mode at that moment

firmly to memory.

Its eyes made no attempt to hide its fervor and worship.

Those feelings might stay with it throughout its long life.

And sharing those same feelings

were a little snake and Katsuyu...

Yuya naturally noticed them too,

his indifferent eyes tinged with sorrow.

To be honest, he was not optimistic about these beasts' prospects.

The Chakra Fruit was about to ripen,

and once chakra spread throughout the world, another great upheaval would follow.

Most creatures unable to adapt to chakra would die.

The more powerful a beast was, the harder it might be for it to survive and reproduce,

while the little animals might be the ones to survive until the end.

For instance... a little toad...

Yuya's expression was impassive, his white robes brighter than snow, his eyes as deep as the sea.

Merely standing there, he made everything in the world pale by comparison.

He seemed to have returned from ancient times, standing beneath the heavens like the ruler of all creation, looking down upon every corner of the world.

An aura of supreme majesty radiated from him, spreading throughout the Wind-Snow Realm and enveloping all the beasts trembling as they lay prostrate.

Much later, Heavenly Thunder shook the highest heavens, and a soft sigh spread through the world as though his words themselves decreed reality:

"From this day forward, you shall be called summoning beasts..."