Under the night sky, on the vast, desolate land.
After the rampage of the two colossal monsters, the once lush forest had been reduced to ruins. The golden form of Shukaku still stood tall, gleaming under the moonlight, wielding a massive golden sword like a deity descended from the heavens.
On the opposite side, Mōryō looked somewhat disheveled. Of its eight heads, only three remained, and its aura had weakened significantly. Its crimson eyes glared warily at Rasa.
Between the two, five deep purple heads lay scattered on the ground, a grim testament to the battle.
"Rasa… No, Rasa-sama is so powerful!"
Miroku, protected by Kamiya and Jippō, gazed at Rasa atop Shukaku's head with wide, bright eyes.
At this moment, she could finally relax completely. She hadn't been deceived. Rasa had truly meant it when he said he would protect her, and he indeed had the power to do so.
Kamiya and Jippō, the guards standing by Miroku's side, were equally astonished. They never imagined that Mōryō, the nightmare of the Land of Demons, would appear so vulnerable before a single shinobi. In just the opening moments of the battle, five of its eight heads had been severed.
On the other side, Yomi, the minister of the Land of Demons, and his Five Great Ninja were locked in combat with Sunagakure's elite shinobi—Ōkuro, Ishiomo, and Koishi. Their expressions were grim, especially Yomi's, which was filled with disbelief.
"How is this possible!?"
In his mind, Mōryō was a being capable of ruling the entire world. Yet, it was helpless against a single shinobi.
This made his former ambitions seem laughable. However, he no longer had the luxury of dwelling on such thoughts.
The murderous aura emanating from the three masked shinobi of Sunagakure made it clear that he was in grave danger.
---
"This can't be..."
On the moonlit battlefield, Mōryō now regarded the human before it with a solemn expression.
The power Rasa had displayed was beyond its expectations. This prompted it to ask.
"Who are you? With such power, you're no ordinary human!"
Rasa hadn't expected Mōryō to calm down mid-battle and engage in conversation.
He saw no reason to hide his identity. After all, the technique of Shukaku's Avatar was too distinctive. Anyone investigating later would easily deduce that he was the one involved.
"Me? I am Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind."
"Kazekage? I see. No wonder you possess such strength."
Hearing this, Rasa raised a brow.
"Oh? You know about the Kage?"
"I once devoured the Priestess from two generations ago. From her memories, I learned about the current state of the world—the Five Great Nations, the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and their leaders, the Kage."
Rasa nodded and chuckled.
"So? Are you planning to surrender?"
Rasa's words hung in the air, and the night grew eerily silent, save for Mōryō's low, rumbling voice.
"Surrender? That's rich coming from a puny human!"
As Mōryō spoke, the severed necks of its heads began to spew chakra threads, connecting to the ground. The severed heads were dragged back to their respective necks, and in moments, they were fully restored.
Mōryō raised its eight massive heads once more, its voice filled with arrogance.
"Though I admit you have some skill, you're still far weaker than the old man who once sealed me."
Rasa, intrigued, asked,
"You mean the Sage of Six Paths? How strong was he?"
"How strong? Hehehe, you might be among the strongest in the human world now, but before him, you wouldn't even withstand a single blow."
After saying this, Mōryō watched Rasa's expression expectantly. To its surprise, Rasa didn't seem shocked. Instead, he calmly said,
"So, the Sage of Six Paths was that powerful, huh?"
Mōryō's tone grew complex.
"Hehehe, as the descendant of that monstrous woman, the old man inherited Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's power in its entirety. On top of that, over the past thousand years, he's been continuously absorbing the power of this world through chakra. How strong he is now... no one knows."
"???"
This was undoubtedly another piece of information that piqued Rasa's interest.
"Absorbing the power of this world through chakra? What do you mean?"
Unfortunately, Mōryō didn't answer. Instead, it said with a mocking tone,
"Aren't you supposed to be clever? Can't you figure it out yourself?"
Rasa's expression remained unchanged, but he fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, recalling how Mōryō absorbed the Priestess's power, he seemed to understand.
In other words, without the God Tree, the Sage of Six Paths couldn't absorb the world's life force like his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. However, by spreading chakra through the ninja system, he indirectly absorbed the world's life force.
Chakra, after all, was a power that shinobi obtained by refining their mental and physical energy. And shinobi were born and nurtured by this world, their mental and physical energy derived from it.
Through the ninja system and techniques passed down by the Sage of Six Paths, he guided people to convert the world's energy into chakra. Eventually, when these shinobi died, their souls returned to the Pure Land, taking their chakra with them.
Looking at it this way, some of Rasa's previous doubts were instantly resolved.
No wonder the Sage of Six Paths could summon the souls of so many former Kage from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and why the Edo Tensei technique could summon so many minions.
Now, a critical question arose.
"If that's the case, why did the Sage of Six Paths let a powerful being like you go? The chakra you possess is no less than that of the tailed beasts."
Mōryō's expression darkened, and it let out a chilling laugh.
"Hehehe, do you know why I'm called a demon?"
"???"
Without waiting for Rasa's answer, Mōryō provided one.
"Because I never hide my greed and desire for power. But the old man, like you humans, wears hypocrisy on his face. Though he covets the power within me, hehehe... burdened by the 'noble will to protect this world,' he can't bring himself to sacrifice others for power. So, he allowed the fate between the Priestess and me to continue...!"
Rasa immediately understood Mōryō's meaning.
In simple terms, whether out of sincerity or pretense, the Sage of Six Paths had to adhere to certain principles to maintain his status and image in this world. He couldn't act recklessly like a demon such as Mōryō.
This was good news.
It meant that, in the name of so-called justice, as long as Rasa didn't commit heinous acts, the likelihood of the Sage of Six Paths taking direct action against him would be greatly reduced.
Of course, Rasa would never entrust his life to someone else's mercy. Therefore, he had to obtain Mōryō's power. Now that he had the answers he needed, it was time to get serious.
"Activate the barrier!"
On the ground below the two monsters, the four members of the covert operations team and Honoka, seeing their Kazekage's signal, immediately formed hand seals.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!!!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!!!"