"First question: Who slaughtered the village of Grass Shinobi? And who released you from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, only to seal you inside Shinnō's body afterward?"
Hagoromo began the interrogation.
"I don't know him. He called himself 'Zetsu' and used Wood Release."
Void answered honestly for once.
"Can you describe what Zetsu looked like?"
"I only saw that he was wrapped in some kind of giant pitcher plant. Half his face was white, the other half black. He didn't look like a normal human. His presence felt… hmm… actually, a bit like yours."
"Hm?"
Hagoromo froze for a moment, frowning slightly. What could that mean?
Still, he didn't press the issue. Instead, he silently took note of the description.
"Now then, can you explain why the Gate of the Underworld hasn't disappeared even after Nahamah and Lilith died?"
"That's easy. There are two possibilities: either a higher-layer highest-ranking devil has descended… or a new one is currently being born—one capable of becoming the next ruler. If it's the latter, then its will is either preventing the gate from closing, or it's simply too occupied right now to care about sealing it."
What worried Void the most was that second possibility.
Suddenly, a far-fetched but unsettling thought struck it—
Could that creature Mōryō not only have turned into a devil, but a highest-ranking one?
Thinking it over carefully—now that Nahamah and Lilith were dead...
And the other high-ranking devils—including even the most powerful, the River Styx devil—had reportedly fallen too...
Then, with Mōryō's nearly 1,000 years of accumulated dark chakra, plus the spiritual energy of the priestess Miroku...
It was actually plausible that the will of the Underworld, with no other options left, had chosen to transform Mōryō into a new highest-ranking devil to take over the First Layer.
And if that were true, returning there would almost certainly be a nightmare.
At best, it would be humiliated under Mōryō's rule—at worst, devoured entirely.
After all, this was how devils operated.
And as a high-ranking devil itself, Void understood demonkind better than anyone.
"So, how do we shut it from the Shinobi World's side?"
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo finally asked the crucial question—only to be met with a sly chuckle from Void.
"Hehehe, how deep is your understanding of spatial laws?"
"Space?"
Hagoromo instantly grasped what it meant.
But upon considering his own abilities—they were primarily centered around Yin-Yang Release, the Rinnegan, and soul manipulation.
As for ordinary ninjutsu, they were little more than party tricks in his eyes.
However, when it came to space-time manipulation, neither Yin-Yang Release nor the Rinnegan offered much.
That was more his mother's domain.
And there was no way he was going to release her just for this.
"Doesn't look promising, huh? Tsk—unless you've got some method of sealing the gate that even highest-ranking devils or the 'King of Devils' himself couldn't break through, there's nothing you can do. Just sit tight and wait for death."
Void sighed deeply. "This Shinobi World of yours is doomed. It's only a matter of time."
"Well, that's all I've got to say. Go ahead—do whatever you're going to do."
It didn't believe for a second that Hagoromo would let it go now, not when the destruction of the Shinobi World was all but guaranteed.
...
At each of the four corners of the Gate of the Underworld stood four Uchiha clansmen.
One of them crouched in front of the other three, forming the Tiger seal with both hands.
The remaining three positioned themselves to his left, right, and rear, forming a defensive formation.
Uchiha Fugaku's team was stationed on the southern corner, and he personally crouched down, preparing to activate the barrier together.
"Uchiha Flame Formation!"
In the next instant, blazing fire from several meters deep underground surged upward along the chakra-etched lines, erupting onto the surface and quickly forming four massive crimson barriers.
Once they connected, another sealing layer materialized above, enclosing the top.
Thus, the Gate of the Underworld—along with the nearby devils and the fighters Oven, Dalmatian, and others—were all trapped within the Uchiha Flame Formation.
"It's finally up! Just as planned—fall back!!!"
Dalmatian, who had just shredded several lower-ranking devils into pieces with his razor-sharp claws, looked up at the newly formed crimson barrier above and immediately bellowed the command to those around him.
Without waiting to see their response, he charged headlong to break through the devils' encirclement.
Braving a barrage of bizarre magical attacks, he rampaged forward, tearing through any lower—or even mid-level—devil in his path.
Meanwhile—
Charlotte Oven, the Third Raikage, the Third Mizukage, and the others sprang into action, seizing the moment to break through the encirclement of devils and dash toward the crimson barrier to the east.
Among them, A was the fastest by far. He launched into the air and turned into a streak of brilliant blue lightning, shooting forward like a bolt.
In the blink of an eye, he neared the barrier—where a small section automatically parted to create a passage just large enough for him to pass.
Dalmatian was the second to pass through. The third was the leader of the Kaguya clan, followed by the leader of the Terumi clan as fourth, and the Third Mizukage as fifth.
Charlotte Oven, meanwhile, remained behind, leading ten Conquerors.
Using waves of searing flames and explosive fireballs from dazzling flashes, they repelled the tide of devils surging forward.
Only when his Observation Haki confirmed that the Third Mizukage had crossed the barrier did he, order the Conquerors to retreat one by one.
As for himself—he held the line.
Slaughtering wave after wave of grotesque black devils.
From outside the barrier, A and the others could only watch his broad back silhouetted against the inferno, the flaming red kanji for "Justice" on his coat burning in the firelight. They fell into a heavy silence.
Especially the Third Mizukage and the leader of the Terumi clan, who had been slower.
If not for Charlotte Oven's intervention earlier, they would never have escaped so easily.
Dalmatian, however, wore a complicated expression—his face slightly twisted.
To him, Charlotte Oven was simply putting on a show.
They had barely known these shinobi.
Not long after, the Conquerors began exiting the barrier one by one in an orderly line, while Oven continued to fight as he retreated.
But by now, facing a relentless onslaught from countless devils, it was clear he was beginning to reach his limit.
Meanwhile, most of the devils were focused on attacking the Uchiha Flame Formation's barrier.
But no matter what kind of elemental magic they used, the moment it touched the crimson, flame-like barrier, it was instantly incinerated.
Those that tried to charge it with their bodies fared even worse—one after another, they turned into massive burning torches, letting out shrill, agonized howls.
"Stop staring—support Lieutenant General Oven!"
The Third Mizukage suddenly shouted, then rushed back into the barrier.
In the next instant, a surge of chakra exploded from him, a pale blue aura engulfing his entire body.
Immediately, to the left of Charlotte Oven, in a flurry of howling wind and snow, pristine ice mirrors began rapidly forming.
The crystalline mirrors overlapped seamlessly, forming a wide, solid wall in the blink of an eye, blocking a large number of devils from advancing and intercepting waves of magical attacks. The devils caught inside the mirrors were already frozen solid.
On the other side—Oven's right flank—an explosive blast of steam and scalding heat surged forth, sending a massive wave of devils flying.
"Indeed. We can't just stand here and watch Lieutenant General Oven fall into danger."
Terumi Daichi reappeared as a surging stream of water, replying calmly.
Charlotte Oven raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more. He swung his blazing "Flame Naginata" once again, incinerating the devils before him, and seized the opening to retreat—dashing out of the barrier.
The Third Mizukage and Terumi Daichi quickly followed.
The barrier behind them immediately closed.
But in the very next second, the Uchiha Flame Formation began to push inward.
As it advanced, it scorched the ground into molten slag and charred earth, setting nearby devils ablaze with agonized screams.
The force with which the barrier pushed forward was immensely powerful, relentlessly driving the devils back, step by step.
And with that, the space within the barrier rapidly shrank.
...
Without the support of the highest-ranking and high-ranking devils, no matter how many lower-ranking and mid-ranking devils there were,
they stood little chance of withstanding the relentless advance of the Uchiha Flame Formation.
As the space inside the barrier continued to shrink, the massive number of devils were forced to squeeze together.
This, in turn, led to the already short-tempered and violent devils lashing out at one another without hesitation, slaughtering their own kind.
In the blink of an eye, chaos erupted.
Most of them, however, had no choice but to retreat back into the Gate of the Underworld.
This in turn earned them the scorn and attacks of the other devils who were still trying to enter the shinobi world.
As time crept by—
The Uchiha Flame Formation finally pressed right up against the Gate of the Underworld, sealing it completely shut.
No more devils would so easily appear in the shinobi world again.
"Alright, as long as nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to rest a bit now... Though who knows how long this will last? We can't expect people to stay here forever just to maintain this barrier, can we?"
Ōnoki gazed into the distance at the Gate of the Underworld, now bathed in a reddish glow, and let out a long sigh.
If there truly were no other way, then the shinobi world would simply have to manage like this.
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