In a dark palace somewhere in the Land of Demons, a somewhat frail man in a robe was refining chakra. A faintly ominous purple energy emanated from his body.
At that moment, footsteps and a knock came from outside.
"What is it?"
"Yomi-sama, the guards from the palace have sent word. The Priestess has taken a few strangers to the shrine where Mōryō-sama is sealed!"
???
The man frowned and asked coldly,
"Do we know where these strangers are from?"
"Unknown. They've never been seen before, but they're dressed as shinobi. However, we didn't see any forehead protectors."
"Shinobi? Understood. Summon the Five Great Ninja."
"Yes!"
---
Under the night sky, on a mountain path behind the city, a group of people was slowly making their way forward.
Leading the group was none other than the Priestess of the Land of Demons, Miroku. By her side were her guards, Kamiya and Jippō, both dressed as onmyōji. (AN: OG Characters.)
They were casting wary glances at the group of shinobi who had suddenly appeared beside the Priestess. If not for Miroku's order that these people were friends, they would have likely already taken action.
Under Miroku's guidance, the group crossed the mountains and passed through a narrow, shadowy mountain valley. Soon, a tall, ancient wooden structure built into the mountain came into view.
As they approached and looked up, the shrine stood at least twenty to thirty meters tall, exuding a powerful sense of oppression. Combined with the dark, eerie environment of the valley at night, it felt as if they had stepped into the underworld.
Seeing the Priestess arrive at such a late hour, the guards stationed here were visibly surprised. However, they didn't forget their manners and immediately bowed.
"Priestess!"
Miroku nodded and said,
"Open the shrine gates. I need to inspect the seal on Mōryō."
At this, the guards exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion as they looked at the group of shinobi.
Seeing this, Miroku sighed and explained,
"Don't worry. These shinobi are not enemies. They're here to help us."
With the Priestess's reassurance, the guards finally opened the shrine gates, revealing a dark, shadowy world inside.
"Continue guarding the outside. Kamiya, Jippō, and Rasa-sama, please follow me inside."
"Understood."
Led by Miroku, the group soon entered the dark interior. Unlike the wooden exterior, what greeted them was an underground palace entirely made of stone.
As soon as Rasa stepped inside, he sensed the immense natural energy and chakra mixture beneath the ground. The density of this energy was no less than that of the Dragon Vein's chakra.
"It seems we've come to the right place."
This realization filled him with excitement.
Honoka, on the other hand, suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock as she said,
"I can feel it—the massive, evil chakra below. Are you really going down there? To be honest, I'm not confident I can handle such an enormous amount of energy!"
This made the people of the Land of Demons, including Miroku, visibly uneasy. However, since they had come this far, Rasa had no intention of backing down. With a determined gaze, he said,
"Yes, let's keep going."
The group continued their descent.
As they walked, Rasa turned to Miroku and asked,
"Priestess, is Mōryō sealed here?"
"Y-yes."
It seemed the events of the movie version hadn't yet occurred, meaning Mōryō's body and soul hadn't been sealed separately.
This likely meant Mōryō was stronger than in the movie version. But even so, what did it matter? If a Naruto who hadn't even mastered Sage Mode could defeat it, how strong could it really be? Not to mention, they now had two sealing experts on their side.
"Then, do you know the origins of Mōryō?"
Miroku was taken aback and replied with some embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know much about Mōryō's origins. All I know is that the duty of the Priestesses throughout the generations has been to seal Mōryō."
"???"
Rasa looked puzzled.
"So, you've been fighting Mōryō for so long, yet you don't even know its origins?"
Miroku grew even more ashamed. Seeing this, Rasa decided not to press further.
At that moment, the group descended the stairs and arrived at a massive underground world. A dark, malevolent aura permeated the area, and at the center of this dark world, connected by a stone bridge, was a towering blue light pillar that caught everyone's attention.
Miroku pointed to a stone gate at the center of the blue light pillar.
"That's where Mōryō is sealed."
Rasa turned to the six people behind him and instructed,
"Wind Blade, Thunder Blade, Sand Lizard, and Sand Eagle, prepare the barrier. Ōkuro, Ishiomo, and Koishi, protect the others. Priestess and Honoka, come with me."
After giving his orders, Rasa strode toward the seal that imprisoned Mōryō.
Honoka followed without hesitation. Miroku, after instructing Kamiya and Jippō to stay behind, also followed.
Soon, the three of them crossed the stone bridge and arrived at the center of the shrine where Mōryō was sealed.
Rasa didn't rush to break the seal. Instead, he began studying the sealing formula. Then, he noticed something that made him frown slightly.
Honoka, sensitive to Rasa's subtle change in expression, asked curiously,
"What's wrong? Did you find something unusual?"
Rasa asked in return,
"Do you recognize this sealing formula?"
Honoka turned her gaze to the seal and, after a moment, also looked puzzled.
"It looks familiar. It seems similar to the sealing techniques of our Uzumaki clan."
Rasa nodded and said,
"It's not just the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. I once visited a place called Roran, where there was a sealing technique known as the Dragon Vein Seal. Interestingly, that seal also bears some resemblance to this one. Moreover, only the successive queens of Roran and their descendants could use the Dragon Vein Seal."
Miroku, who had caught up, overheard this. As the Priestess who ruled a nation, she was no fool and quickly grasped the implication of Rasa's words.
"Rasa-sama, are you saying that the seal of the Land of Demons, the seal of Roran, and the seals of Honoka's family might share the same origin?"
Rasa didn't answer directly, but in his heart, he already had a conclusion.
"If you want to know, we'll have to ask you to break Mōryō's seal."
"..."
At this moment, Miroku truly hesitated. But her desire to break free from her destiny and the future she had seen in her dream gave her the courage to say,
"I understand. For the sake of all the Priestesses who came before me, even if there's only a sliver of hope, even if it costs me my life, I must try."
Seeing Miroku's resolute expression, as if she were ready to sacrifice herself, Rasa rolled his eyes and said,
"Don't worry. If it tries to harm you, it'll have to go through me first. Mōryō might be a terrifying demon to you, but to me, it's just a slightly troublesome monster."
With that, under Miroku's reassured gaze, he turned to Honoka and said,
"Once Miroku breaks the seal, you don't need to do anything for now. Just protect her."
"Understood."
Rasa then again turned towards Miroku.
"Then, it's up to you."
Miroku nodded heavily, then extended her arm and began unraveling the seal using a hand sign technique different from that of shinobi.
"Release... Formation... Unseal..."
Instantly, the sealing talismans on the stone gate began to peel off, and the gate started to crack open.
Boom!
A visible surge of deep purple chakra erupted, transforming into a powerful gust of wind that swept through the area.