Daikokuten

Shisui was startled.

Having awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have no trouble matching Moryo in battle once he used Susanoo.

But Douyang only had a pair of One-Tomoe Sharingan. How could he withstand the vicious Moryo?

"Douyang, I..."

Uchiha Douyang waved a hand and cut in. "Shisui, you have to trust me."

At that moment, the priestess beside them hesitated before speaking. "Actually, I can hold Moryo off for a while, too."

Shisui questioned her. "Lady Miroku, please don't joke. How could you possibly take on that creature?"

The priestess sighed and slowly said, "Actually, Moryo and the priestess lineage share a deep connection. Strictly speaking, the priestess and Moryo are parts of a single whole."

Shisui was shocked to hear this. "Is that really true?"

Uchiha Douyang remained calm, as though he had already expected it.

Miroku suddenly dropped to her knees. "All this calamity began with the priestesses..."

Uchiha Douyang stepped forward to help the remorseful Miroku up. "Lady Miroku, let's wait until we've sealed Moryo before discussing anything else."

Miroku rose and bowed deeply to Douyang and Shisui.

Douyang and Shisui exchanged a knowing look, then turned toward the priestess and spoke steadily.

"When we seal Moryo, Shisui and I will bring out our trump cards. We hope you won't disclose what you see, Lady Miroku."

Her expression solemn, the priestess gently pressed a hand to her chest and made a firm promise. "I swear in the name of the priestess that I will never tell outsiders what happens here today."

With the barriers between them gone, the atmosphere among the three immediately eased.

Afterward, Miroku set up a sealing array near the lava pool, while Douyang and Shisui carefully studied the pool and waited for Moryo to appear.

Inside Demon-Sealing Mountain, scorching lava churned and surged like blood through the veins of the earth, and waves of blistering air washed over their faces.

Magma splashed up from time to time, casting the cavern walls in crimson.

Cracks crisscrossed the ground. A single careless step could send someone plunging into the abyss, beyond all hope of salvation.

Fighting here meant facing a powerful enemy while remaining constantly alert to the dangers of the treacherous surroundings.

This was clearly not the priestess's first visit.

Light on her feet, she moved among the scorching rocks as though walking on level ground. As her fingers danced, she precisely inscribed intricate sealing runes on the rock walls and in the air, each faintly exuding an ancient aura.

Time ticked by.

More than two hours later, the priestess finally finished drawing the last rune.

She let out a long breath, fine beads of sweat already covering her temples.

Clearly, setting up the sealing array had taken an enormous toll on the priestess, who was an ordinary human.

Looking at the sealing array concealed amid the magma and shadows, Shisui could not help offering heartfelt praise.

"The Priestess Clan's mastery of Sealing Jutsu is truly astonishing. It's hard to imagine that ordinary people could develop such powerful Sealing Jutsu."

Douyang nodded in agreement. "The Priestess Clan's Sealing Jutsu once rivaled that of Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki Clan. Now that the Uzumaki Clan has perished, the Priestess Clan can be called the foremost in the world when it comes to sealing."

At the mention of the Uzumaki Clan, Shisui asked curiously, "Douyang, how exactly was the Uzumaki Clan wiped out?"

Douyang shook his head. "Why do you think I would know?"

Shisui rubbed his head and laughed awkwardly. "Fair point."

The Uzumaki Clan had perished during the Second Shinobi World War.

Only shinobi who had lived through that era knew exactly what had happened.

Just as the two were chatting idly-

Boom, boom, boom!!!

The mountain shook. A sudden rumbling sounded outside, and rubble rained down from the cavern ceiling.

The priestess abruptly opened her eyes and cried, "Moryo is here!"

Douyang and Shisui exchanged a glance, then instantly darted away, each hiding behind jagged rocks.

Moments later, a deafening roar rang out, and a vast presence filled with malice surged violently into the mountain, radiating suffocating pressure.

"Miroku!"

Moryo's horrific body gave off a distorted rumble, his voice seeming to come from the abyss.

Priestess Miroku took a deep breath, suppressed the fluttering in her heart, and shook her head. "Moryo, you should not have come out."

" Miroku, become one with me!"

Moryo slowly moved toward Miroku, tempting her with his words. "Together, we are invincible. The world will tremble at our feet!"

"But such immense power will bring endless disaster to the world."

The priestess did not refuse. She looked hesitant, but in truth, she was buying time for Douyang and Shisui.

Sure enough, Moryo did not attack. Instead, he roared in bewilderment, "What are you afraid of? Once we merge, those so-called shinobi will be nothing but ants!"

"You're too arrogant, Moryo."

"Arrogant?"

Moryo snorted coldly and bellowed, "You're the one who's too foolish! We were gods who stood above all others-hmm? What are you doing?"

Moryo's roar stopped abruptly.

He suddenly detected the dangerous presence permeating the cavern.

It did not come from the priestess, but from two hidden, extremely threatening beings!

With her pretense exposed, the priestess stopped playing along.

"Shisui!"

Douyang shouted sharply, and he and Shisui shot out of hiding at the same time!

In an instant, Shisui's eyes flew wide. The three tomoe in them spun at unprecedented speed, merging until they formed a strangely shaped pattern resembling a four-bladed shuriken.

The Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Susanoo!"

With a low shout, immense green chakra soared into the air. A gigantic skeletal frame instantly solidified, followed by flesh and meridians covering it and armor taking form...

A majestic emerald-green giant, like a god of war, appeared between the priestess and Moryo, radiating a pressure that made hearts tremble.

Priestess Miroku and the monster Moryo were both deeply shaken by this sudden being filled with destructive power.

Neither had ever imagined that the masked, seemingly young shinobi could summon such terrifying power.

Shisui wasted no time. Maintaining Perfect Susanoo took an enormous toll on him.

He immediately controlled the green giant, sending its massive skeletal arms lunging out to clamp down on Moryo's surging body like iron pincers.

"Human, you're courting death."

Shocked and furious, Moryo unleashed a terrifying howl.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Just then, several enormous black cubes fell from the sky and slammed into Moryo, flattening his head outright.

These black cubes were mysterious ninja tools stored within Daikokuten, called Daikokuten.

Used in conjunction with Daikokuten, they struck unexpectedly, catching the enemy unprepared.

Shisui and Miroku looked up in astonishment.

They saw Douyang standing on the steep rock wall, his right eye displaying a golden pattern of eight radiating spokes.

Looking down at the somewhat dazed priestess, Douyang calmly reminded her, "Act now."