Shigeo pressed the seal. Screams split the air.
Wuyouhua panicked and had Shinnō check her. Shinnō probed and found nothing he could explain.
If they fought now they would die. Without the Fagui warriors' support, Zero-Tails alone could crush any tailed beast.
Wuyouhua and Shinnō knew the situation was dire. They retreated to the city because there were laboratories there. Remove the ailment, regroup, and they could strike again. If they kept advancing, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Thus the Fagui army and Zero-Tails returned to the southern sea.
From afar they saw the floating Wuwang Castle still intact. Thousands of civilians cheered on the walls. Hundreds of Shigeo stood guard around the city.
"What… what is this?" Wuyouhua clenched her teeth against the pain and stared.
Shinnō on Zero-Tails frowned. He was stunned that the boy possessed such power. He had saved the city.
On the shore the Fagui skins and demon-masked fighters rushed forward.
The gathered shinobi remembered the prior fight. These things felt no pain. Demon-masked fighters used elemental jutsu. Fagui skins moved with terrible speed. They were a nightmare to battle.
"Do not be afraid. I promised to cleanse these monsters. Stand still and do not interfere." Shigeo spoke. If they charged they would spoil his plan. He only needed them to hold position.
"Shigeo, you're full of hot air. They're charging. Why don't you go forward? You won't move but you forbid us to counterattack? Are we to wait to die?" the Iwagakure man shouted.
"Talk less. I'll wipe you out sooner or later." Shigeo's tone cut through them. The Iwagakure man fell silent. None dared test the consequence.
Shigeo unrolled the scroll again. He formed seals and pressed his finger onto the crooked insect-like sigil.
"Aa… sss…" From all directions the Fagui warriors erupted in agonized screams. Demonic howls filled the beach.
Some rolled on the ground, some turned on each other. When masks tore away they revealed shredded, bloody skulls. It was grotesque.
Chaos overwhelmed the scene. Wuyouhua clutched her head and screamed in unbearable pain.
"What's happening? What's wrong with you?" Shinnō shouted as he checked Wuyouhua. No diagnosis worked. He could not find the root.
Might Guy laughed out loud amid battle. "See? Believe now. Shigeo subdued those Fagui warriors without a single soldier. One curse-mark and they're done."
No one could deny it. They watched thousands of Fagui scream, watched Wuyouhua collapse, and marveled. What method had this child used to destroy foes that had resisted them all day?
Screams continued. Even the Fagui skins hidden in Wuwang Castle's labs shrieked. Purple hair on lab tables writhed.
Medical ninjas trapped in the lab panicked. "What is this? The city nearly toppled moments ago. Now hair moves on its own like it's being tortured."
Shinnō stood on Zero-Tails and looked toward Shigeo. Through Fagui network links the contagion spread. Demon-masked fighters shared the signal. One hand-seal by Shigeo had triggered their illness. The mystery centered on this boy.
"Shigeo, what sorcery is this?" Shinnō demanded.
Shinnō prided himself as a top medical shinobi, but he could not tell whether this was a curse, a seal, or some other pathology.
Wuyouhua fell. Her figure withered. She became a dried skin, lifeless. Pain ripped through her. She stared at Shigeo and rasped, "You did this? Even if I die, at least let me understand why."
Another wave of agony tore at her brain like a thousand ants gnawing.
"I want you to die with your eyes open." Shigeo sneered and shifted his hand seals.
At his motion thousands more Fagui screamed. The slaughter was brutal.
Wuyouhua's hair turned white before their eyes. She touched it and sobbed. In a final convulsion her hair and body melted into a pool of blood.
Every Fagui warrior suffered the same fate. Hair turned white, bodies contorted, then slumped and dissolved into bloody water.
They died without ever knowing how Shigeo had destroyed them.
Shinnō dodged the blood spray and charged. Zero-Tails lunged at Shigeo. Its body altered. What had resembled a giant worm became a multi-limbed, clawing horror.
Ninja scattered, but the beast was fast. Its arms seized several shinobi and drained their chakra, flinging them aside.
Like the dead Wuyouhua, it fed on others' chakra.
(End of Chapter)
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