Countless dark, tentacle-like threads of magic stretched out from the energy mass, connecting to the four walls of the shrine, as if drawing power from the entire volcano.
And in front of the altar stood a man in a black robe, with a withered and sinister face—Huang Quan!
He was spreading his arms, frantically injecting his Chakra and life force into the altar, accelerating the unsealing of Zetsu.
"Hahaha! It's too late! Miko, you're too late!" Huang Quan sensed their arrival and let out a hoarse, insane laugh. "Lord Zetsu is about to fully awaken! This world will eventually return to eternal darkness!"
He waved his hand abruptly, and dozens of elite Huang Quan cultists immediately surged out from the shadows around the shrine, fearlessly pouncing on Naruto and the other two.
"Hinata, Ino, these small fries are yours!"
Naruto set Shion down and said in a deep voice.
"Understood!"
Hinata and Ino immediately met them, their eyes still firm despite their fatigue.
Naruto, meanwhile, walked step by step towards the altar, towards Huang Quan, golden Chakra beginning to surge around him.
"Wait a moment!"
Shion suddenly rushed in front of Naruto, blocking him with outstretched arms, her face pale but with a look of sacrificial determination.
"Naruto, take your companions and go quickly! Leave this to me! This is my destiny!
"The prophecy says your companions will die here! You must leave quickly!"
She had seen it; the clear prophetic vision reappeared—she eventually sealed Zetsu, but she herself died from exhaustion.
And Ino Yamanaka and Hinata were pierced through by Zetsu's rampaging purple tentacles after it went berserk.
Shion didn't want to implicate anyone else, especially the Seventh Team who had brought her warmth and hope.
Naruto looked at Shion, who stood in front of him, trembling with fear yet feigning strength. He wasn't angry; instead, he showed a gentle smile.
"You're saying such foolish things again."
He reached out and gently placed a hand on Shion's shoulder.
"I told you, I will break the prophecy."
"But since you want to fulfill your destiny—"
Naruto's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the necklace around Shion's fair neck, which emitted a faint purifying light.
"Shion, take off the necklace your mother left you."
"What?" Shion was startled and instinctively covered the necklace. "This was left by my mother; it protects me—"
"It does protect you," Naruto's eyes seemed to see through everything, "but at the same time, it's also 'restricting' you."
"This necklace…"
Naruto slowly said, his voice carrying convincing power, "Its protective power is only a small part of its function; it also seals most of the true Miko power within you! Your mother, perhaps fearing you were too young to control this power, or perhaps for other reasons, but now, it's time to unleash this restraint."
Huang Quan also heard Naruto's words, and his face changed drastically: "Nonsense! Stop her!"
He tried to control Zetsu's power to attack Naruto, but Naruto just casually waved his hand, and a Chakra barrier easily blocked the attack.
Shion looked at Naruto's clear and resolute blue eyes, then at the frantically shouting Huang Quan and the increasingly unstable Zetsu on the altar.
She recalled Naruto's strength throughout their journey, remembered how he had broken her prophecies time and again, and remembered his words, "I mean what I say."
An unprecedented trust and courage surged within her.
She took a deep breath, her hands trembling, and slowly removed the necklace that had never left her.
The moment the necklace left her skin— "Boom!!!"
A vast, unimaginably pure and sacred Miko power, like a volcano dormant for a thousand years, erupted violently from Shion's petite body!
Dazzling purple light instantly illuminated the entire dim shrine, even temporarily suppressing the evil dark purple energy of Zetsu!
Powerful energy currents made Shion's long hair and Miko robes flutter wildly. A complex and ancient mark appeared on her forehead, and her eyes filled with sacred and majestic light!
"This—this is…"
Shion felt the surging, unprecedentedly powerful force within her, momentarily at a loss, but more so filled with shock and enlightenment.
It turned out that she truly possessed such immense power, and it had been sealed by her mother all along.
Huang Quan was dumbfounded, then let out a terrified shriek: "No! Impossible! How can you possess such strong power?!"
Naruto looked at the transformed Shion, a relieved smile on his face: "See? This is your true power."
"Go, Shion, do what you must. Don't worry about the prophecy, don't worry about death."
He stood beside her, his demeanor calm but filled with immense confidence.
"Because I am right here."
"No! This power should be mine! It belongs to Lord Zetsu!" Huang Quan let out a hysterical roar, frantically injecting his remaining life force into the altar. "Awaken! Lord Zetsu! Devour her completely!"
The dark purple energy mass on the altar churned violently, letting out heart-stopping roars, and more dark tentacles stretched out, frantically lashing at Shion!
"Be careful!"
Hinata and Ino, guarding the shrine entrance, cried out in alarm.
However, Naruto stood by with his arms crossed, a trusting smile on his face: "Believe in her."
Facing Zetsu's counterattack, Shion's expression was calm. She slowly raised her hands, and sacred purple light gathered in her palms.
"In my name, Shion, inheriting the will of the successive Mikos—"
Ancient and solemn incantations flowed from her lips, each syllable resonating with the surrounding space.
The immense purple divine power transformed into countless streams of shimmering runic chains, effortlessly shredding the attacking tentacles and wrapping around the altar with unstoppable force!
"Sealing Jutsu: Chains of the Gods!"
The runic chains, as if alive, quickly covered the entire altar, layering and compressing the dark purple energy mass upon it.
Zetsu let out painful and angry roars, but it was utterly unable to resist this complete Miko divine power!
"No! How can this be?!"
Huang Quan watched as the power he had pursued his entire life was rapidly being sealed, and he went completely insane.
He abruptly drew a dagger and lunged at Shion, who was performing the jutsu, "If I can't have it, no one can!"
But he couldn't even get within three meters of Shion.
Naruto appeared before him like a ghost, simply raising a hand to casually grab his dagger-wielding wrist.
"Your part is over."
"Crack!"
A faint sound of bone cracking rang out, and Huang Quan's dagger clattered to the ground.
Naruto casually waved his hand, and an irresistible force flung Huang Quan away like trash, sending him into the churning, hot lava below the altar, where he was instantly burned to ashes amidst desperate and unwilling screams.