Under the dark night sky.
As the four members of the covert operations team and Honoka formed hand seals, a massive purple barrier instantly appeared around the two colossal monsters, enveloping them. At the same time, golden chains emerged from Honoka's back, flying into the barrier and transforming into mysterious sealing formulas that covered the Four Violet Flames Formation, giving it a golden hue.
This scene not only surprised Mōryō but even Rasa hadn't expected it.
It seemed Honoka was truly on his side. She had thought to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains to enhance the power of the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Indeed, against a monster like Mōryō, the Four Violet Flames Formation alone might not be enough.
Mōryō, on the other hand, looked around at the barrier, sensing its power.
"This is the power of that man! That human girl is from the Uzumaki clan, isn't she? It seems you're determined to take me down. I'm curious, though—what makes you think you can steal my power? I've already told you, the Priestess and I share the same body. As long as the Priestess lives, I cannot be destroyed."
Rasa, calm and composed, countered,
"Why not be direct? You want to know why my body doesn't contain Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's power, don't you?"
"Hehehe, and will you tell me?"
Mōryō's eight heads rose high, its eyes filled with confidence.
"Of course not. But since you're so calm even in the face of this barrier, I assume it can't hold you. So, if you want the answer, you'll have to kill me. That way, you can find out from my memories."
"Hehehe, as you wish!"
Boom!
Instantly, the two behemoths clashed again, charging at each other with full force.
Having warmed up and familiarized themselves with each other's abilities, neither side held back this time. They leveraged their strengths to launch fierce attacks.
The advantages and disadvantages of Shukaku's Avatar and Mōryō were clear. Shukaku's Avatar was massive, with immense strength and defense, excelling in brute force. Mōryō, with its serpentine body, was agile and flexible, excelling in speed and precision.
Soon, the two were locked in combat again. Mōryō's serpentine body coiled around Shukaku, while its eight heads, having learned from earlier, spewed elemental ninjutsu from different angles. Shukaku, wielding a shield in one hand and a blade in the other, used both its arms and tail to defend while slashing at Mōryō's heads and body.
Mōryō's physical defense wasn't particularly strong. However, its massive chakra reserves allowed it to quickly heal any damage Rasa inflicted, even regenerating severed heads. In contrast, Shukaku's Avatar began to show signs of cracking under Mōryō's relentless attacks.
Yet, Rasa remained unfazed. In fact, he had been waiting for this moment.
His gaze darkened as he looked at Mōryō, now so close. Slowly, his body sank into Shukaku's Avatar, merging with it completely.
"???"
Mōryō naturally noticed this.
It was curious about what Rasa was planning. It didn't have to wait long for the answer.
At the moment Rasa merged completely with Shukaku's Avatar, Shukaku let out a furious roar toward the sky.
Almost simultaneously, Mōryō felt the body of Shukaku's Avatar, which it had coiled around, become even harder.
The previously cracked body began to repair itself automatically!
And the reason for this automatic recovery—
"My chakra is being absorbed!!!"
Mōryō was shocked. It hadn't expected Rasa to possess such an ability.
At the same time, since Rasa's body had fully merged with Shukaku's Avatar, there was no need to defend against Mōryō's attacks anymore. Its movements became even more agile.
Boom!
As Mōryō's chakra was continuously absorbed, its body began to shrink rapidly.
"This is bad!"
Before Mōryō could react, the prepared Shukaku's Avatar swung its massive blade down, piercing Mōryō's serpentine body. As a being composed of chakra, Mōryō didn't feel pain, but it quickly released its hold on Shukaku. The moment the golden greatsword pierced its body, it felt its chakra draining even faster.
Since its opponent had the ability to absorb chakra, Mōryō, as an energy-based entity, naturally didn't dare to engage in close combat anymore. It quickly retreated, trying to shift the battlefield.
But Rasa wasn't about to let it escape. Shukaku's tail rose high.
"Senjutsu Limit Release: Magnet Release: Thorn Sealing Technique!"
Instantly, Shukaku's tail, covered in diamond-shaped spikes, released a barrage of sharp thorns that rained down on Mōryō. Mōryō's massive body had no room to dodge within the confined space of the barrier, and it was immediately struck by the thorns.
Slash!
Each thorn, about a meter long, pierced through Mōryō's body and heads, pinning it to the ground. Mōryō initially didn't care. As a being made of energy, it could simply transform its body into chakra to escape the thorns.
Even if the thorns had the ability to absorb chakra, it would only lose a small amount.
But the moment the first thorn pierced its body, Mōryō realized something was wrong.
"What!?"
The thorn that had pierced its body was engraved with purple patterns, causing the chakra in that area to lose control.
Having been sealed by the Sage of Six Paths before, Mōryō knew exactly what this was.
"Damn it, this is the Sage's sealing technique!"
What made Rasa's technique even more terrifying was that once the thorns absorbed the chakra from their location, they began to grow rapidly, like trees. In just a few breaths, the meter-long thorns had grown into iron thorn trees, spreading and continuously absorbing Mōryō's chakra.
This was a technique Rasa had developed based on Hashirama's Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique. Unable to reveal his Wood Release abilities, he combined the power of Senjutsu Limit Release: Magnet Release with Shukaku's curse marks and the chakra-absorbing abilities of senjutsu to create this sealing technique.
"Damn it!"
By the time Mōryō realized something was wrong, it was too late.
As its body was pierced by countless thorns and covered in growing iron thorn trees, its chakra was rapidly absorbed, and its body became immobilized.
At this point, it seemed Mōryō had been subdued by Rasa. However, Rasa remained vigilant.
Mōryō hadn't yet displayed some of the abilities it had mentioned, and its calm demeanor even within the barrier suggested it still had a trump card.
Now, Rasa's goal was to force it to reveal that card.
With this in mind, he continued to channel senjutsu energy within his body.
"Senjutsu Limit Release: Magnet Release: Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal!"
The ground beneath Shukaku's Avatar quickly turned into flowing sand, surging toward the immobilized Mōryō.
In an instant, a massive golden pyramid appeared before everyone, covered in sealing formulas, completely sealing Mōryō within.
"Did it work?"
Outside the barrier, Thunder Blade asked curiously. Honoka shook her head. In her perception, Mōryō's chakra was still active.
Sure enough, the surface of the golden pyramid began to ripple, and small mounds of sand bulged outward. To Rasa's surprise, soldiers made of sand emerged, armed with weapons and shields, charging toward Shukaku's massive form.