The Ino-Shika-Cho trio rushed to the summit, only to stare in surprise at the huge, imposing Gore Magala crouching obediently beside Naraku.
"It's fine. This is my Summoning."
Only then did the three relax. Although they had never seen a creature that looked like Gore Magala before, summons came in all sorts of strange forms, so they accepted it quickly.
"That gave us quite a scare. We saw a red comet come crashing down and thought something had happened."
After breathing a sigh of relief, the three finally had the presence of mind to survey the devastation at the summit. The Sea of Fire was still burning, and the scorching air made it somewhat difficult for them to breathe.
Looking at the lava flowing across the summit, the three could not help clicking their tongues.
The fire was burning far too fiercely!
Shikaku waved away the scalding air and asked, "Why is this fire getting stronger?"
Shihōin Naraku paused. Right, why hasn't this fire gone out yet?
He had grown so accustomed to seeing everything set ablaze that he had failed to notice at first.
In particular, there was nothing combustible left at the summit apart from rock and soil, yet the flames continued to burn fiercely, showing no sign of going out.
Most importantly, without Naraku deliberately controlling it, the Sea of Fire was still spreading, as though it intended to set the entire mountain alight.
This was practically turning into a flaming mountain.
With a casual wave of Naraku's hand, the spreading Sea of Fire rapidly contracted, forming a massive pillar of fire that swirled and burned in place.
Even when he stopped, the pillar continued to gush flames without any chakra.
"Wait..."
Watching the pillar burn fiercely, Naraku had a flash of inspiration. If that's the case...