Chapter 46: Ambush

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Ambush

Under the Priestess careful guidance, Hyuga Kagami learned quickly.

For one thing, the materials on the artificial Tailed Beast already explained the principles and functions of these sealing formulas in great detail. For another, after awakening the Tenseigan, his comprehension ability had indeed improved considerably.

After more than ten days of study, he finally mastered all the sealing formulas contained in the artificial Tailed Beast materials.

Having finished instructing him, the Priestess raised a question of her own. "These sealing formulas are meant to deal with Tailed Beasts, aren’t they?"

Knowing there was no hiding it from her, Hyuga Kagami simply nodded. Then he asked in return, "Your Highness, do you think sealing formulas of this level are enough to suppress a Tailed Beast?"

The Priestess pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "I can’t say for certain. However, the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques are extraordinarily profound. There are many aspects that surpass even my own knowledge. So perhaps it could work."

Hyuga Kagami frowned slightly. "Your Highness has sealed Moryo before. Shouldn’t you have a fairly good sense for something like this?"

Seeing Hyuga Kagami’s confusion, the Priestess smiled and explained, "You misunderstand. The reason I’m able to seal Moryo is simply because my sealing techniques naturally counter it. If you asked me to seal a Tailed Beast instead, the outcome would be much harder to predict."

As two sides of the same whole—one good and one evil—the Priestess and Moryo naturally existed in a relationship where each restrained the other. Because of this, their battles could not be used as a basis for judging Tailed Beasts, even though Moryo had genuinely reached the level of one.

After understanding this, Hyuga Kagami’s brow did not relax. On the contrary, his frown deepened.

Previously, he had always used Moryo as a point of reference. Seeing how easily the Priestess had sealed Moryo had caused him to somewhat underestimate the Tailed Beasts.

But now that he understood the circumstances behind the Priestess’s ability to seal Moryo, he finally realized that the village had most likely abandoned the artificial Tailed Beast project because the sealing formulas in the research materials simply weren’t reliable enough.

And when it came to something like an artificial Tailed Beast, reliability was absolutely essential. Otherwise, instead of being a weapon against the enemy, it would become a ticking time bomb aimed at its own creator.

After pondering for a moment, Hyuga Kagami tentatively asked, "Your Highness, have you ever seen a Tailed Beast?"

The Priestess shook her head.

"By my own estimate, Moryo is at least on the level of the One-Tail, perhaps even higher!" After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "If we disregard the fact that your techniques naturally counter it and judge purely by sealing ability, do you think the sealing formulas I gave you would be enough to seal Moryo?"

The Priestess considered it for a moment before answering, "If Moryo were in a weakened state, there would be a reasonable chance of success."

Hearing this, Hyuga Kagami’s expression darkened.

The Priestess thought for a moment before adding, "If Konoha needs to seal a Tailed Beast, I might be able to help."

"How so?"

The Priestess explained, "The Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques and mine focus on different things. Their techniques emphasize sealing from within, while I specialize in sealing from the outside."

Having already acquired considerable knowledge of sealing techniques, Hyuga Kagami quickly understood what she meant.

The Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques placed great emphasis on practicality. Their seals generally worked from the inside out, allowing the user to draw upon the power of whatever had been sealed while simultaneously keeping it contained. The best example of this was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Starting with the First Hokage’s wife, Uzumaki Mito, followed by Uzumaki Kushina, and now Uzumaki Naruto.

Every Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Konoha had possessed since the village’s founding had come from the Uzumaki Clan. The reason the Uzumaki were chosen was precisely because both their physiques and their sealing techniques made them exceptionally well suited to becoming Jinchuriki.

The sealing techniques passed down through the Priestesses of the Land of Demons, on the other hand, were far more traditional. Their seals focused on isolation and suppression. In terms of sophistication, they were far inferior to the Uzumaki Clan’s techniques, but when it came to sheer stability, they were considerably superior.

At this thought, Hyuga Kagami suddenly came up with a new idea—

A double-layered seal.

The first step would remain the same as described in the research materials: use Purple Clay Gel to construct a body, then combine it with the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing formulas to create the unstable artificial Tailed Beast.

For the second step, he would use the Priestess’s sealing techniques to seal the entire artificial Tailed Beast inside a ritual artifact that could be carried with him at all times.

In this way, the risk of the artificial Tailed Beast going berserk would be greatly reduced. He also wouldn’t have to constantly remain on edge in his daily life. During battle, the moment he noticed something was wrong, he could use the outer seal to suppress the artificial Tailed Beast within the ritual artifact and prevent it from running rampant.

Several more days passed, and Kakashi and the others, who had gone out to eliminate the remnants of the Yomi Cult, gradually returned to the Priestess’s palace.

The suppression operation had not gone smoothly. Perhaps because Moryo had been sealed, the Yomi Cultists throughout the Land of Demons had seemingly vanished without a trace overnight.

Despite putting in considerable effort, Kakashi and the others had only managed to eliminate some peripheral members of the cult. As for the injured leader of the Yomi Cult, his whereabouts remained unknown.

The Priestess did not pay much attention to this.

Without Moryo’s support, the Yomi Cult was no different from an ordinary group of wandering ninja. As long as they revealed themselves, the Land of Demons could simply hire ninja from any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and have them dealt with easily.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was somewhat bothered by their failure to finish the job. But he also knew that Team 11 could not remain stationed in the Land of Demons indefinitely. So after apologizing to the Priestess, he informed her that they would be taking their leave.

At this time, Hyuga Kagami also received the Purple Clay Gel the Priestess had promised him.

Over the past several days, the Priestess had mobilized the resources of the Land of Demons and gathered nearly one ton of Purple Clay Gel. Although it had cost a considerable amount of money, she had not complained in the slightest.

After all, compared to the debt of having her life saved, such an expense amounted to very little.

On top of that, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui had repeatedly assured her that they would never reveal the truth that the Priestess and the demon Moryo were the good and evil halves of the same whole, thereby preserving her reputation in the eyes of the world. Naturally, the Priestess cared even less about such minor expenses.

After bidding farewell to the Priestess, the four members of Team 11 finally set out on their journey back to Konoha.

Along the way, the four of them, now much more familiar with one another, casually chatted about this and that. This mission had not only broadened their horizons, but had also deepened the trust between them.

Even the usually aloof Kakashi would occasionally chime in with a comment or two, seemingly beginning to open up and become part of the group.

Traveling at an unhurried pace and stopping occasionally along the way, the group soon left the Land of Demons and crossed into the Land of Bears.

The Land of Bears was home to Hoshigakure, but the village was not particularly powerful. As a result, quite a few wandering ninja had established themselves throughout the country. There were even rumors that some of these wandering ninja were secretly backed by Iwagakure from the neighboring Land of Earth. Their purpose was to use these inconspicuous wandering ninja to quietly infiltrate the Land of Bears and plunder its resources.

As they traveled through a dense forest within the Land of Bears, Hyuga Kagami, who was at the very front of the formation, suddenly came to a halt.

Guy hurriedly asked, "What’s wrong?"

Hyuga Kagami’s expression darkened. "It looks like someone deliberately prepared this area..."

Kakashi sniffed the air, then immediately went on guard.

His sense of smell was extremely sharp, allowing him to detect scents that others would never notice. During the Third Shinobi World War, he had relied on this ability many times to detect enemies in advance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, a violent chain of explosions suddenly erupted all around them.

In an instant, the flames from the explosions completely engulfed all four members of Team 11...