Danzo Shimura wasn't surprised to see the Giant Tree completely consumed by flames.
After witnessing Natsume's Wood Release, he realized his own was inferior.
Though stronger than standard Five-Elemental Release techniques, it wasn't overwhelmingly so.
At least not to that degree.
Besides, Yugito Nii was a perfect jinchuriki.
Given she was using chakra from Matatabi, this outcome was only natural.
Before even engaging her in battle, Danzo had already known he might not be able to defeat her.
That's why he asked Yomi to come up with a plan.
Danzo suppressed the anger in his heart.
He wasn't some noble-minded samurai—he was a ninja.
Of course, he wouldn't stick to any idea of a fair one-on-one fight.
No matter how harshly Yugito insulted him, once captured, she would have no choice but to submit.
Thinking this, Danzo formed a hand seal and took a deep breath before exhaling sharply.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere]!
Compared to Wood Release, he was actually more skilled in Wind Release.
In Konoha Village, he could be called the greatest Wind Release user.
A pale blue current of air suddenly surged in front of Danzo, quickly forming into a massive sphere of wind.
All the chakra within violently spun and compressed.
Almost instantly, it reached Yugito Nii's position.
Right at that moment, Danzo coldly shouted, "Yomi, you still haven't moved yet?"
Hearing the voice, Yugito raised her eyebrows slightly.
Still, she needed to handle Danzo's attack first.
Retreat was no longer an option, so she clenched her fist tightly. Blue chakra flared around her like flames, shaping into a giant cat's paw, making her punch appear enormous.
Yugito threw a punch forward.
Shocks of air burst outward from her punch.
Upon contact with the wind sphere, a sudden loud explosion erupted.
Violent torrents of wind and chakra erupted into the sky, scattering like a raging tempest.
The ground between them immediately bore countless claw marks and slashes, as if a thousand cats had clawed their way through stone.
"Yomi?"
Danzo didn't feel pleased about landing his technique.
He turned to look at Yomi and Natsume nearby.
"What are you doing out there?"
His voice turned icy. "Why haven't you attacked yet?"
Are you asleep or what?
Suddenly, Danzo dashed forward rapidly, leaving behind a blurred afterimage.
He extended his hand, striking toward Yomi.
Yugito Nii was momentarily stunned.
What was happening?
An internal conflict?
But in the next second, just like Danzo, she wore a grim expression too.
They were both just clones.
In other words, they had already left this place.
So where did they go?
Realizing this, Yugito's face darkened as she cursed, "Those damn traitors!"
She turned around, preparing to rush back and reinforce Sealing Temple.
Only to find Danzo blocking her path.
Although he disliked being used as bait, now that things had gone this far, he wouldn't simply run away.
Yomi and Natsume had already sneaked into the Sealing Temple.
He needed to hold them off long enough.
"Out of my way!"
Yugito Nii burned with urgency, no longer holding back.
Matatabi, the Two-Tailed Beast within her inner world, opened its eyes.
Chakra gushed out recklessly, as if it were infinite.
A blue, feline-like aura quickly enveloped Yugito's body.
From her as the center, a powerful chakra surge exploded outward like violent waves.
Cold sweat instantly beaded on Danzo Shimura's forehead.
He rapidly mobilized his body's chakra, attempting to resist this terrifying fluctuation.
"Die!"
Yugito now looked completely different.
Her hair floated upward, her eyes turned completely white, revealing faintly slitted pupils.
Vertical pupils were a clear sign of fury in cats.
In her partial transformation state, Yugito didn't use any flashy ninjutsu. Instead, she swung her claw straight forward.
Along with an enormous amount of chakra, the entire space seemed to tremble.
Danzo clenched his teeth.
Damn Yomi!
He had said he had methods to deal with jinchuriki.
But what a joke—he was just being used as bait!
[Wood Release: Violent Spear Trees!]
The same Wood Release technique, but this time with a different effect.
Because black chakra surfaced on Danzo's body.
This was the reward provided by Yomi—
a body transformed by Necro-Medical Ninjutsu.
Far larger than before, the tree loomed like an endless wall blocking Danzo's path.
Then the shockwave hit.
Yet Yugito's attack couldn't break through this towering wooden barrier.
That gave Danzo a moment to breathe.
It could still hold for a few more minutes.
Meanwhile, at the Sealing Temple.
Yomi appeared like a war god.
Facing seven Kumo ninja rushing toward him in unison,
he stood unruffled.
To be honest, Kumo's selected ninja weren't bad at all.
Eight people total—one jinchuriki, two jonin, five chunin.
They would've been more than enough for a Class S mission.
Lightning flashed.
An older man charged ahead first, radiant chakra emerging from his body.
He lunged at Yomi.
A fist the size of a sandbag shot like lightning toward his heart.
Seeking nothing less than a one-hit kill.
This middle-aged man was a classic example of a taijutsu-specialist jonin from Kumogakure.
In other words, a weaker version of the Fourth Raikage, A.
However, just as he approached, the middle-aged man felt an unprecedented pressure.
Oh…!!
This caused his originally lightning-fast movements to slow down momentarily.
And that hesitation proved fatal.
Yomi lifted his leg and kicked hard.
The middle-aged man was instantly sent flying, crushed by the sheer force.
The young jonin's face paled slightly.
He was well aware of his teammate's strength—it was shocking that he'd been defeated in a single blow.
But he had no time to hesitate.
If Yomi entered the Sealing Temple, it would mark their mission failure.
Failing despite deploying so many elite ninja—such an outcome would be a tremendous disgrace for Kumogakure.
Given the Fourth Raikage A's temper, they wouldn't escape punishment when they returned.
Their only option now was to stall—for Yugito to return.
After all, they still had great faith in the jinchuriki.
The young Jonin vanished in a flash, reappearing above Yomi's head. He smashed his right foot downward like a falling meteor.
Chakra radiated as lightning, making him look like a Thunder God.
If this kick struck straight on the face, Yomi would certainly die.
Yet he showed no panic at all.
The young Jonin's expression changed drastically.
An incredibly terrifying aura enveloped him.
Yomi immediately grabbed his right leg with his right hand and slashed downward with his left, forming a deadly knife-hand strike.
"Ahh!"
A painful scream echoed from the young Jonin.
His right leg bones shattered completely.
Yomi casually tossed him aside and continued forward.
Natsume followed closely behind, like an enthusiastic cheerleader.
In no time at all, all seven opponents lay on the ground.
But none of them were dead.
After all, Natsume wanted them to be spectators.
The two smoothly entered the Sealing Temple.
Natsume couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
The temple's interior wasn't a hall like they had imagined—it was a vast space resembling another world.
Only a long stone path stretched ahead, flanked by armored terracotta warriors.
That's right—terracotta warriors.
Row after row of armored stone figures.
It wasn't hard to guess this concept was inspired by China's First Emperor.
After walking along the stone path, they arrived at the place where Moryo was sealed.
A massive stone tablet stood before them, covered in strange runes.
Yomi extended his hand and placed it upon the tablet, chanting an incantation.
Dark chakra surged from his body, flowing through his arm into the stone tablet.
[Dark Chakra Surge]
The tablet began trembling, cracking open to reveal a jet-black hole.
No light shone within—it was like staring into an abyss.
A chilling, violent presence seeped outward.
"Human... it has been quite some time."
A hoarse voice emerged from the dark hole.
"Moryo-sama!"
Yomi immediately knelt, his face alight with fanaticism. "Welcome back! Your glorious return shall once again illuminate the ninja world!"
"Oh? And you are?"
The voice spoke again.
"I am one of your surviving followers from Yomagakure. I have freed you to unify the ninja world!"
Yomi answered excitedly.
Though already under control, he remained unaware of it.
Therefore, this was merely an instinctive response.
Moryo felt no suspicion and said, "You are not bad. But where is my physical body? Without it, I cannot move freely in this world."
"I've made proper arrangements."
Yomi stood up, ripped open his outfit, and sliced open his belly without hesitation.
Surprisingly, no blood spilled out, nor did he die.
Natsume sighed thoughtfully. Dark Medical Ninjutsu truly was amazing.
Indeed, anything prefixed with 'dark' was extraordinary.
Much like Dark Lin Zhiling.
(Ahem)
With something like this, figuring out how many bowls of noodles someone ate would be much easier.
"Please temporarily use my body, Lord, then proceed to the Land of Swamps to reclaim your true form."
Yomi issued an invitation to possess his body.
Moryo wasted no time, transforming into swirling black winds that surged into Yomi's body.
Moments later, Yomi stitched his chest shut.
He exhaled sharply, raised both arms toward the sky, and shouted:
[Awaken! My Army!]
As the words had barely finished, the terracotta warriors around began terrifyingly trembling.
The outer layer of stone flaked off, revealing their true forms.
Natsume spread out his sensor abilities and indeed felt thick Yin Release energy.
But what intrigued him more was Moryo's soul.
It was surprisingly strong.
Even without a physical form, it felt as formidable as facing a Susanoo.
If used to power Hinata Hyuga's Banishing Bow, it would work perfectly.
Hmm, a bit of a waste.
Suddenly Natsume thought of Izumi Uchiha.
She had been stuck at the Three-Tomoe Sharingan stage for a while, just one final push away from breaking through.
"Charge!"
With a loud roar from Yomi, all the terracotta warriors quickly assembled and marched forward in tight formation.
Outside the Sealing Temple,
Yugito Nii had transformed into a colossal blue feline.
After driving off Danzo Shimura, she quickly made her way to the entrance of the Sealing Temple.
Only to find seven people lying motionless on the ground.
Because she was a perfect jinchuriki, she remained conscious.
A booming voice rang out.
"Where are they?"
"They've already gone inside."
An older man groaned in reply, clearly in pain. "Sorry… Yomi's strength was stronger than we expected. We couldn't hold them back."
"As long as you're all okay."
Though she was proud before her enemies, she deeply valued her allies.
Seeing that no one had died, she immediately turned her eyes toward the temple.
The next moment, she arched an eyebrow.
The massive gates swung open, and countless terracotta warriors poured forth.
Without hesitation, Yugito split off some chakra and pulled the seven unconscious fighters aside, to keep them from being trampled.
After placing them safely at a distance, she stood defiantly amidst the terracotta army, staring straight at Yomi and declaring, "Today is the day you die!"
Three thousand words written. Daily goal of ten thousand met.
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