Chapter 42: Secret Technique

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Secret Technique

Coming back to her senses, the priestess hurriedly activated the sealing formation.

The activation of the sealing formation caused Mōryō to instinctively feel fear. It and the priestess had originally been one, so just as it knew the priestess’s weaknesses, the priestess naturally knew its weaknesses as well.

And so, Mōryō began struggling with all its might.

Rumble...

As Mōryō’s enormous body continuously twisted and thrashed about, the entire cavern immediately began shaking violently.

Shisui’s expression sharpened, and he immediately poured everything he had into maintaining his Susanoo.

In an instant, the two colossal figures grappled fiercely inside the cavern, sending shattered rocks flying and clouds of dust billowing with every collision.

After dodging several chunks of rock that fell from the ceiling, Hyuga Kagami, hovering in midair, swept his gaze over the battle below.

Mōryō was even larger than Shisui’s Susanoo by a fair margin, so when it came to a contest of raw strength, Shisui was at a disadvantage.

Moreover, the violent clash between the two behemoths was proving too much for the cavern to withstand. More and more rocks were falling from the ceiling, each larger than the last.

It looked as though the entire cavern was on the verge of collapsing.

Hyuga Kagami no longer hesitated. He immediately poured the Tenseigan chakra within his body into the Third Kazekage human puppet.

A moment later, with a thought, he commanded the Third Kazekage human puppet to unleash its strongest technique.

Magnet Style: Iron Sand World Method!

The iron sand filling the air converged into countless razor-sharp iron spears. In the next instant, they shot toward Mōryō like artillery shells, piercing its enormous body and pinning it firmly to the ground.

Then, the iron spears connected with one another, forming something like a dense, thorn-covered framework that confined Mōryō’s massive body within a small area.

The priestess, who was silently maintaining the seal, was inwardly startled.

"Is that really Magnet Release!?"

In the current shinobi world, there were supposedly only two people who possessed this kekkei genkai: the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, who had already gone missing, and the Fourth Kazekage, who currently ruled the village.

Although the priestess did not pay much attention to affairs in the shinobi world, she still knew this much.

Earlier, she had not been completely certain. But now that the Third Kazekage human puppet had used the Iron Sand World Method, she became convinced that the unfamiliar ninja flying beside Hyuga Kagami was a Magnet Release kekkei genkai shinobi.

Under the combined suppression of the Iron Sand World Method and Susanoo, Mōryō was soon forced under control, and even its struggles grew considerably weaker.

Mōryō roared furiously, "Damn you! You foolish, insignificant humans have no idea what you’ve provoked!"

Its thunderous voice echoed again and again through the vast, empty cavern, making everyone’s eardrums ache.

But neither Hyuga Kagami nor Shisui was fazed. Both remained completely focused on suppressing Mōryō as they waited for the priestess to finally activate the sealing formation.

"Miroku, watch closely. These ants cannot stop me!"

With that shout, Mōryō twisted its head at a bizarre, unnatural angle and squeezed it through the gaps between the iron spears, pushing it beyond the Iron Sand World Method before turning its gaze toward Shisui.

The priestess’s expression changed drastically as she cried out, "Dodge! It’s about to use its evil technique!"

"Hahaha! It’s already too late for him to escape!"

Amid a burst of unrestrained laughter, Mōryō stared fixedly at Shisui and shouted, "It is your honor to become my plaything! Secret Art: Inner Demon Manifestation!"

Inner Demon Manifestation was one of Mōryō’s genjutsu techniques capable of controlling a person’s mind. Anyone caught in it would immediately become a soulless walking corpse, capable only of obeying Mōryō’s commands.

After casting the secret technique, Mōryō immediately ordered Shisui, "Quick! Go kill them!"

Naturally, the targets Mōryō had ordered Shisui to attack were Hyuga Kagami and the Third Kazekage human puppet in the air.

Hyuga Kagami’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly looked toward Shisui.

The priestess also stared at Shisui, her heart leaping into her throat. She was so nervous that she even forgot to continue activating the sealing formation.

For a moment, every gaze in the cavern fell upon Shisui.

Shisui, his Mangekyō Sharingan still active, was utterly speechless. Without a word, he simply controlled his Susanoo and punched Mōryō squarely in the head.

Bang...

With a heavy thud, Mōryō’s twisted, misshapen head slammed hard into the ground.

"H-How is this possible!?"

Utterly astonished, Mōryō looked at Shisui again. Then it suddenly exclaimed, "It’s your eyes... Damn it!"

Mōryō was no ignorant creature. After paying closer attention, it immediately noticed that Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan was anything but ordinary and realized that those very eyes were the reason its genjutsu had failed.

The priestess, meanwhile, let out a long sigh of relief. For that brief instant just now, she had truly fallen into despair.

She had already witnessed Shisui’s strength. If Shisui were turned into Mōryō’s puppet, then with one fighter lost on their side and gained by the enemy, the entire situation would instantly be reversed.

If that happened, she was not even certain whether she would still have the opportunity to perish together with Mōryō.

Humiliated and furious, Mōryō shouted at Shisui, "Human, being able to resist my wondrous secret technique is enough for you to take pride in for the rest of your life. It seems you are one of the rare true powerhouses among humanity..."

Halfway through its words, Mōryō suddenly raised its twisted head and turned toward Hyuga Kagami on the other side. Laughing wildly, it shouted, "Hahaha! Then I’ll make you my puppet instead! Secret Art: Inner Demon Manifestation!"

Mōryō’s sudden feint caused the priestess’s heart, which had only just settled, to leap into her throat once again.

At that moment, she was both furious and regretful. She was furious that Mōryō had been so despicable as to suddenly target Hyuga Kagami, and regretful that, in her panic, she had forgotten to warn him.

As far as she was concerned, Shisui being able to resist Mōryō’s secret technique was already a one-in-ten-thousand occurrence. There was no way Hyuga Kagami could just happen to be capable of resisting it as well.

After all, no one knew better than her just how terrifying Mōryō truly was.

Hovering in midair atop a mass of iron sand, Hyuga Kagami suddenly felt a wave of malice wash over him.

And then...

Nothing happened.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual about himself, Hyuga Kagami ignored Mōryō and asked Shisui in confusion, "What exactly is it trying to do?"

Shisui scratched his head and replied somewhat uncertainly, "I think it’s trying to cast genjutsu on us. Because of my Mangekyō Sharingan, I didn’t really feel anything. What about you, Senpai?"

"I didn’t feel anything either." After a pause, Hyuga Kagami curled his lips. "Though I have to admit, it certainly looks intimidating when it does that!"

Shisui nodded seriously. "Yeah, it does look pretty scary."

Hyuga Kagami then turned toward the priestess and asked, "Your Highness, how much longer until the sealing formation is ready?"

"Oh! Right..." The priestess hurriedly resumed activating the sealing formation.

At that moment, she suddenly felt that there had never been any need for her to worry about Hyuga Kagami and Shisui in the first place.

Mōryō froze awkwardly for a moment. Then it stared at Hyuga Kagami in disbelief and roared, "Impossible! Why can you resist my secret technique too!? How is this possible!?"

When dealing with the followers of the Yomi Cult, there had never been any need for a secret technique as powerful as Inner Demon Manifestation. Even a simplified version of its Soul Manipulation Technique was enough to turn those cultists into complete puppets.

Never in its wildest imagination had Mōryō expected a technique that had never failed it before to be thwarted by Shisui and Hyuga Kagami one after another...