The man passed through the light membrane cast by the magic circle, stepped into it, and walked gracefully up the steps. He narrowed his eyes, gazing at the large door sealing Moryo: "I've finally arrived here... Moryo."
There was no longer any need for disguise. He shed his facade, his clothes fluttering, revealing his true appearance.
At this moment, Orochimaru had arrived. He looked at the young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes who had turned around, and asked with a focused gaze: "If I'm not mistaken, you should be a survivor of the Land of Sky."
Based on the flying devices from earlier, Orochimaru could infer this conclusion, and his identity was likely not low, otherwise, he couldn't have organized Sky Ninjas on such a scale in just half a year.
"Correct."
As if victory was already in his grasp, the man, with intense hatred in his eyes, admitted openly: "My name is Shinno. I am the avenger of the Land of Sky, which was destroyed by your Konoha in the past."
During Konoha's encirclement battle, the Zero-Tails inside Shinno rampaged, and he fell into the sea along with the mobile fortress, destined to die. Just when despair set in, he encountered a wisp of Moryo's remnant soul, drawn by the Zero-Tails' power, and barely survived.
Over the past half-year, he had been working to restore his Zero-Tails' power while waiting for the Priestess's power to drop to its lowest point during childbirth, which led to tonight's operation.
Combining the previous situation, Orochimaru frowned and speculated in a deep voice: "So you've set your sights on the power of Moryo in the Land of Demons to get revenge on Konoha, is that it?"
"Ah, yes."
Shinno was furious, his anger overflowing and spreading.
"Then I cannot remain indifferent."
Orochimaru's expression hardened. He swung his arm, and a shuriken cut through the air in an attack.
Taking advantage of Shinno's evasion of the shuriken, he moved behind Shinno and swung a punch at his face.
Shinno took the punch directly to the face, greeting the fist with words full of mockery: "Hey, what's with that limp punch? Are you trying to tickle me?"
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils widened in astonishment.
Shinno's strength far exceeded his expectations.
No.
It wasn't that the opponent was too strong, but that he himself had been weakened.
"Hmph, finally noticed?"
Shinno sneered.
In this space, human strength could barely be exerted at ten percent, but he, who possessed a monster like the Zero-Tails, was not within this scope.
Shinno had urgent matters and no time to get entangled. Oily tentacles shot out from his body, piercing directly through Orochimaru's body and hoisting him into the air.
With a bang, Orochimaru turned into a puff of white smoke.
Shinno looked at the dissipating white smoke in the air and sneered: "A Shadow Clone, eh? Sly Konoha ninja."
He arrived at the door sealing Moryo, staring intently at the large number of sealing tags affixed to it. He could feel a powerful sealing force emanating from them.
As if specifically designed to counteract defiling power, Shinno, possessing an evil entity like the Zero-Tails, felt incredibly uncomfortable just standing there.
He tried to tear them off. The moment he touched them, a powerful sacred force was unleashed, sizzling and repelling Shinno's hand.
Shinno looked at his arm, scorched by the seal, and frowned, his expression grim.
Such immense power; even the Zero-Tails' power couldn't heal it.
Indeed, a seal capable of sealing Moryo wouldn't be so easy to break.
No choice then...
Shinno formed hand signs, chanted an incantation, and a dark chakra surged from his body, intending to forcibly break the seal.
The two forces of light and darkness collided. Veins popped out on Shinno's face, cold sweat poured down, and his masseter muscles bulged, as if he was enduring immense pressure.
After a struggle, the power of darkness proved superior.
The talismans on the gate, from top to bottom, ignited with purple flames. Immediately after, a crack appeared, rapidly spreading upwards with a cracking sound.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the gate shattered.
The seal was broken. A chilling, gloomy wind and several ribbon-like black mists billowed out in all directions.
Facing the surging coldness and powerful gusts of wind, Shinno was blown backward, his hair and clothes fluttering and rustling.
"You've finally come out."
A sinister male voice drifted out with the wind, lingering in the air for a long time.
The damaged part of the gate revealed a profound, bottomless darkness, like an abyss.
Shinno narrowed his eyes, gazing into the abyss, as if the abyss was also gazing back at him.
Shinno prostrated himself, speaking with an incredibly devout tone: "Moryo, give me the power for revenge."
"To make a request, you must pay a corresponding price."
Like the seductive whisper of a Faustian demon, it drifted from the abyss, lingering in the air.
Shinno looked up and quickly added: "I will pay anything you wish."
"Good, I like your desperate attitude. Then offer me the Zero-Tails within you."
The Zero-Tails' existence was very similar to Moryo itself.
Before regaining its physical body, this was Moryo's most perfect host.
With the deal struck, Shinno instantly transformed into a masked creature, speaking in a human voice: "Come, enter my body."
Moryo transformed into a black mist and entered his body through his mouth.
As Moryo's soul entered his body, the Zero-Tails let out a monstrous shriek, and its size visibly expanded rapidly into a colossal monster tens of meters tall.
"Haha... this power is truly magnificent."
The Zero-Tails let out a rampant laugh, and immense dark chakra materialized, flowing out from its body.
Under the influence of this power, it was as if even the surrounding air trembled.
"Crack, crack..."
The stones on both sides of the passageway crumbled, forming armored clay soldiers holding war axes.
At this moment, the power stabilized, and the Zero-Tails' body converged, shrinking into a humanoid form.
Shinno clenched his fist, feeling the unparalleled dark chakra within him, his voice trembling with excitement: "With this power, I can rebuild the Land of Sky and even take revenge on Konoha."
"Don't celebrate too early. The Priestess still exists in this world; she is the only one who can seal me."
Moryo's voice echoed from within, warning him not to drop his guard.
"I understand."
Shinno's expression was grim; he dared not be arrogant. With a wave of his hand, he immediately issued a command:
"Heed my command, go and kill that Priestess."
Although Moryo was not in its most perfect state without a physical body, its current condition was far better compared to the Priestess's post-delivery state. Now was the best time to kill the Priestess.
As soon as he finished speaking, the clay soldier puppets responded to Shinno's call, their eyes glowing red, and they began to move.
"What in the world is going on..."
The Sky Ninjas in the sky were already troublesome enough, and now stone soldiers were constantly emerging from the ground.
He scanned the surroundings; the number of enemies nearby was simply too great, and these stone soldiers would instantly regenerate after being destroyed. Tōshirō was still not arriving.
If this continued, he might be in danger.
Just as Orochimaru decided to retreat for the time being, a slightly mocking voice came from behind him: "Oh, you haven't run yet."
Orochimaru turned around and saw Shinno. He had just emerged from the shrine, a smug expression on his face. Remembering what had happened before, it was clear that things had gone smoothly, or he wouldn't have looked like this.
He looked at Orochimaru and smirked: "That was your shadow clone I dealt with earlier. I hope this time you can entertain me."
Having just obtained Moryo's power, it wouldn't be bad to practice on this guy before formally facing the Priestess.
Furthermore, he vaguely noticed that this Konoha ninja in front of him had a very dark part hidden deep within him. If it were stimulated, he might even be able to turn him into his subordinate using Moryo's power.
Orochimaru looked down at his remaining companions, a grim expression on his face.
With his strength, carrying the burden of Jiraiya, it would likely be difficult to escape. They might both die here.
The rational choice was to abandon Jiraiya and flee.
Perhaps sensing Orochimaru's dilemma, the pale-faced Jiraiya said weakly: "Orochimaru, don't worry about me, just run. Otherwise, we'll both die here."
After saying that, probably to lighten the mood, he continued with a laughing curse: "I swear I'll never eat food from strangers again. Trouble comes from the mouth; I truly realize that now."
Orochimaru nodded: "Then good luck."
Jiraiya froze: "Hey, do you have to be so cold-blooded? I was just being polite."
Orochimaru chuckled: "Don't you know that snakes are cold-blooded animals?"
Hearing their conversation, Shinno smiled slightly: "A wise choice."
However, the reality was completely contrary to what was said. Orochimaru resolutely stood in front of Jiraiya, choosing to fight.
Looking at the back shielding him, Jiraiya wasn't surprised.
Orochimaru, that snake, was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Shinno frowned slightly, an expression of confusion on his face.
Orochimaru seemed to have seen through Shinno's thoughts and grinned: "Even cold-blooded animals sometimes have a sentimental side."
(End of Chapter)
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