Chapter 172: The Priestess’s Seal

After a long silence, Kai looked at Temari and said,

"When the time comes... I’ll give it a try."

Temari nodded without the slightest hint of doubt.

Kurotsuchi and Samui, however, were completely stunned.

Kurotsuchi spoke first.

"But only the Priestess’s power can seal Mōryō. You’re incredibly strong, but... you shouldn’t be able to seal it, right?"

Samui remained silent, but the disbelief in her eyes mirrored Kurotsuchi’s.

After all, the idea was simply too unbelievable.

Just as Temari was about to explain, Kai spoke first.

"I only said I’d try."

"That doesn’t mean I’ll succeed."

He smiled faintly.

"Or did you all come here just to ask me that?"

The three women exchanged glances.

For Temari, that had indeed been her purpose.

But for Kurotsuchi and Samui, it wasn’t.

They wanted to get to know Kai better.

More importantly, they intended to gather information about him so they could report it back to their villages once this mission was over.

Kai had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Before now, there had been virtually no trace of him anywhere in the shinobi world.

That alone made him highly suspicious.

After a moment’s thought, Kurotsuchi answered,

"We’re going to be comrades on this mission."

"We wanted to get to know our ally a little better."

"Besides... you saved our lives. We should properly thank you."

Samui quietly nodded in agreement.

Temari, however, glanced at the two of them knowingly.

She naturally understood their true intentions.

But she didn’t expose them.

For ninja, gathering intelligence like this was perfectly normal.

If Temari could see through them, there was no way Kai couldn’t.

Smiling, he asked,

"So... what else do you want to know?"

Kurotsuchi exchanged another glance with Samui before asking,

"Kai, are you really one of the Hokage’s personal guards?"

"You’re this strong, yet no one’s ever heard your name anywhere in the shinobi world."

"It’s unbelievable."

"I’d say you’re already at least Kage-level, aren’t you?"

Kai nodded.

"That’s perfectly normal."

"I’m a medical ninja. That’s my primary job."

"I rarely leave Konoha to carry out missions, so it makes sense that you’ve never heard of me."

"But if you ask around in Konoha, I’m actually quite well known."

Temari covered her mouth, suppressing a laugh.

She knew he was making it up.

A member of the Hokage’s personal guard would never spend all day acting solely as a medical ninja.

Temari had always believed Kai was Konoha’s hidden trump card—

Someone kept in reserve until the most critical moment.

Kurotsuchi tilted her head.

"So... you’re like Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade wasn’t just famous in Konoha.

She was renowned throughout the entire shinobi world, especially among female ninja.

She was someone many kunoichi admired.

The moment Kai mentioned being a medical ninja, Tsunade naturally came to Kurotsuchi’s mind.

Samui continued staring at Kai’s face.

After a while, her brows suddenly knitted together.

"You... you’re..."

Kai interrupted her before she could finish.

"If there’s nothing else, you should all get some rest."

"Tomorrow we’ll be escorting Lady Priestess to the Land of Demons."

Samui had been cut off before she could speak.

Seeing that Kai was clearly sending them away, Temari didn’t insist on staying.

She stood up.

"Let’s go."

"Kai’s right."

"Tomorrow we’ll be facing even stronger enemies."

"We need to be well rested."

Before Samui could say another word, Temari had already pulled her toward the door.

As she left, Samui repeatedly looked back at Kai.

Her eyes remained filled with scrutiny.

Kai knew she had finally recognized him.

Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi was simply dragged away in complete confusion.

At the same time, inside the Priestess’s chamber...

Because of Kai’s arrival, Shion’s two personal guards had survived instead of sacrificing themselves as they had in the original timeline.

Both knelt respectfully before the Priestess.

One of them spoke.

"Lady Priestess, with ninja from the Five Great Nations protecting you, you should be safe."

"The assassins sent by Mōryō were no match for them."

The two guards had remained by Shion’s side for years.

Yet during the earlier attack, they had realized just how powerless they truly were.

They couldn’t even withstand a single ninjutsu from those enemy ninja.

But Kai’s appearance had given them hope.

His victory had simply been too overwhelming.

Those powerful ninja—

Just like the guards themselves—

Had been utterly helpless before him.

Unlike what should have happened, Shion was now filled with confidence that she could successfully seal Mōryō.

Kai had shown her that success was possible.

She nodded.

"With Mr. Kai here... there shouldn’t be any problems."

After a pause, she asked,

"Do either of you know anything about him?"

The two guards shook their heads.

"We’ve never heard of him before."

"Judging by Lord Kai’s strength, he’s unquestionably Kage-level."

"Someone that powerful shouldn’t be completely unknown."

The other guard nodded.

"Perhaps he’s one of Konoha’s hidden elites."

"Otherwise, how could someone so powerful have no reputation throughout the shinobi world?"

Shion agreed with their assessment.

"No matter what..."

"With him here, my chances of successfully sealing Mōryō have increased tremendously."

She already held a very favorable impression of Kai.

He had appeared when she was in her greatest danger.

He had effortlessly crushed four powerful enemy ninja.

He was kind.

Handsome.

And about her own age.

It was only natural for someone like him to leave a strong impression.

While Shion’s spirits were lifted...

Yomi was in an entirely different mood.

He had already arrived in the Land of Demons, where Mōryō’s physical body was sealed.

The moment he sensed the deaths of his four subordinates, he frowned.

"To eliminate all four of them so easily..."

"Who exactly is this man?"

"Do the Five Great Hidden Villages really possess someone like him?"

He knew exactly how powerful those four had become after receiving Mōryō’s chakra.

Each possessed strength comparable to an Elite Jōnin.

Their leader had even reached the level of a Kage-level combatant.

Yet all four had been instantly killed by Kai without putting up any resistance.

Even an ordinary Kage shouldn’t have been capable of something so absurd.

Standing upon the surface of the lava lake, Yomi couldn’t help worrying that Kai’s appearance might disrupt his plans.

At that moment, Mōryō’s soul spoke from within his body.

"Enough."

"Forget about him."

"Once my Army of the Dead sweeps across the world, it won’t matter how strong he is."

"Right now, the important thing is reuniting my soul with my body."

"Only after I’m revived can I unleash my full power."

Yomi stopped dwelling on it.

Facing the boiling lava lake, he formed a series of hand seals.

"Lord Mōryō..."

"Rise once more!"

As the final seal was completed, his abdomen suddenly split open.

There wasn’t a single drop of blood.

Instead, a mass of black mist poured out from inside him.

It was Mōryō’s soul.

Unable to wait any longer, the soul rushed toward the depths of the lava lake.

That was where its body had been sealed.

But the instant it touched the barrier protecting its physical form—

It was violently repelled.

A tremendous force erupted.

The entire lava lake churned violently.

Mōryō’s soul was blasted back into Yomi’s body.

His face twisted in shock as he stared at the surging lava.

"Damn it..."

"Just what kind of sealing barrier did Miroku create?"

"It’s actually this powerful."

His expression darkened.

"It seems the only way to break this seal... is to wait for the current Priestess."

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