Chapter 37: Testing and Speculation

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Testing and Speculation

"If you think you can do it, then come and try!"

Facing the squad captain of Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit—an elite jōnin—Hyuga Kagami felt not the slightest fear. He took a step forward, making no attempt to conceal the killing intent radiating from his body.

Kagami knew perfectly well why the Iwa shinobi were provoking them.

Without a doubt, the repercussions of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki dying unexpectedly were still spreading throughout the shinobi world.

The comparatively weaker Sunagakure and Kirigakure were behaving themselves for the time being, but the powerful Kumogakure and Iwagakure were already beginning to grow restless.

And precisely because of that, Kagami felt that they absolutely could not back down.

Probing wouldn’t stop just because you retreated.

On the contrary, the more weakness you showed, the further your opponent would push!

Feeling the killing intent washing over him, the Iwa captain narrowed his eyes and slowly placed a hand on the hilt of the short blade at his waist.

He could tell that Hyuga Kagami wasn’t bluffing.

On Kagami’s side, Kakashi, Guy, and Shisui immediately assumed combat stances.

Across from them, the members of Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit also went on guard.

In an instant, the atmosphere inside the great hall became explosive, as though a single spark could ignite a battle.

The Priestess, who had been seated on a cushion, stepped forward at just the right moment and urged, "Shinobi, please set aside your differences for now. The demon from another realm is already approaching this place!"

Both sides understood that starting an internal conflict with the demon nearly upon them would be anything but wise. Thus, each side backed down a step, maintaining a temporary peace.

Pakura, who had been watching everything coldly from the sidelines, turned to the Priestess and asked, "Your Highness, please explain the current situation to us."

The Priestess nodded. "What we are facing is a demon from another realm known as Mōryō. Shamefully, it was summoned into our world by a group of cultists from this country known as the Yomi Cult."

"The barrier I erected can stop Mōryō and the terracotta soldier puppets under its control, but it cannot stop the cultists of the Yomi Cult. So before Mōryō arrives, it will undoubtedly order those cultists to attack this place."

"Once Mōryō breaks through here, there will be nothing left to restrain it. The entire world will be reduced to hell beneath its madness."

Everyone’s expressions darkened after hearing the Priestess’s explanation.

Although none of them had yet seen the otherworldly demon itself, they had all already fought against those indestructible terracotta soldier puppets. They knew perfectly well that if those puppets were allowed to spread throughout the entire shinobi world, the situation would quickly spiral beyond control.

Kakashi went straight to the point. "Your Highness, do you have a way to deal with that demon?"

Gently stroking the girl dozing on her lap, the Priestess replied, "I can seal Mōryō away, but the sealing must take place at the Demon-Sealing Mountain in the Land of Swamps."

The fact that the otherworldly demon could be sealed was undoubtedly good news.

However, the sealing had to take place at the distant Demon-Sealing Mountain in the Land of Swamps.

That immediately presented everyone with a difficult problem.

Pakura folded one arm across her chest and rested her chin on the other hand. "Then how are we supposed to lure the demon all the way to the Demon-Sealing Mountain in the Land of Swamps?"

The Priestess smiled gently. "There’s no need for you to worry about that. I am the greatest threat to that demon. As long as I head to the Demon-Sealing Mountain, it will definitely follow me there."

Kakashi immediately took out the map he carried with him and spread it across the floor.

Although the Land of Swamps bordered the Land of Demons, the Demon-Sealing Mountain was still over a hundred kilometers away from the Priestess’s palace. On top of that, the Priestess herself wasn’t a shinobi, and the journey involved treacherous mountains and swift rivers. Their route would have to be carefully planned.

After thinking for a moment, Pakura said, "Those terracotta soldier puppets outside aren’t actually much of a problem. As long as we break through their encirclement, there’s no way those slow-moving things will be able to catch up with us."

The captain of Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit nodded. "Mm. The real problem is still that demon and those cultists."

Originally, the cultists of the Yomi Cult had been nothing more than a group of second-rate shinobi. Even their leader, Yomi, had only been around jōnin level.

But now, they had obtained power from the demon Mōryō, granting them a seemingly inexhaustible supply of sinister chakra. They could recklessly unleash ninjutsu without worrying about chakra consumption, even performing large-scale combination ninjutsu.

As a result, the threat they posed had risen dramatically.

Considering how difficult the situation would become if those cultists pursued them relentlessly while they were escorting the Priestess to the Demon-Sealing Mountain, Pakura spoke with killing intent in her voice.

"Rather than letting ourselves get surrounded by the demon and the Yomi Cult along the way, we should take advantage of the barrier here. Since it can keep the demon and the terracotta soldier puppets out, we should eliminate the Yomi Cult first, then escort the Priestess to the Land of Swamps!"

The captain of Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit replied, "That’s what we were thinking as well."

Kakashi nodded. "We have no objections either."

With Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure all reaching an agreement, the Priestess’s palace immediately sprang into action, preparing for the fierce battle that was about to come.

Because of his Byakugan and Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, Hyuga Kagami possessed both exceptional perception and defensive capabilities. As a result, he was stationed inside the temple and assigned to personally protect the Priestess and her daughter.

Unlike everyone else, who was weighed down with worry, Kagami wasn’t particularly concerned about the current situation.

His thoughts were still occupied by the artificial tailed beast.

As his understanding of his Tenseigan gradually deepened, Kagami had begun to sense that what was currently restricting his growth in strength was nothing else but the amount of chakra within his body.

He had a vague feeling that only by possessing more chakra would he be able to unlock the Tenseigan’s other abilities.

Thinking about Nagato and his Rinnegan made this easy enough to understand.

After Uchiha Madara transplanted the Rinnegan into Nagato, the young boy did not immediately gain access to its abilities. It was only after his parents were killed, subjecting him to an intense emotional shock, that he awakened a portion of the Rinnegan’s power.

Later, after he reached adulthood and his body had fully matured, he once again suffered an overwhelming emotional shock with the death of his close friend Yahiko.

Only then did he finally awaken all of the Rinnegan’s abilities.

And the price was that his body could no longer withstand the burden, becoming withered and emaciated!

One had to remember that Nagato was an Uzumaki whom Uchiha Madara had carefully selected as part of his plan to resurrect himself.

And the Uzumaki Clan was renowned precisely for its extraordinary vitality and enormous chakra reserves.

Yet even with all of that, the fully grown Uzumaki Nagato still couldn’t bear the burden of a completely awakened Rinnegan.

Part of that was naturally because the Rinnegan wasn’t originally his.

But more importantly, a kekkei genkai on the level of the Rinnegan simply placed far too demanding a burden on its wielder.

Because of this, Hyuga Kagami even began to suspect that the reason his Tenseigan had yet to awaken more abilities was because it was instinctively protecting him.

His current body was clearly not yet capable of supporting a fully awakened Tenseigan.

And that was precisely why he had been so relentlessly pursuing the creation of an artificial tailed beast.

He needed a "battery" that could continuously supply him with chakra. Only after obtaining an enormous source of chakra would he dare to freely explore the mysteries of the Tenseigan without holding back.

Otherwise, if one careless experiment left him like Nagato—his vitality exhausted, his body reduced to skin and bones, and looking as feeble as a terminally ill man—then the loss would far outweigh the gain...