Seeing that the spirit of Moryo was attempting to escape, the Priestess immediately turned pale with shock. "Stop it, quickly!"
If Moryo's soul were to get away, all their efforts in sealing it would be for nothing, and a never-ending stream of trouble would follow.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Even before the Priestess finished speaking, the sound of shuriken cutting through the air rang out.
Shisui had hurled several shuriken toward Moryo's fleeing soul.
Although they struck their target accurately, each passed straight through Moryo's chakra-based soul form without inflicting any actual damage.
Shisui's expression darkened. He wanted to follow up with another attack, but it was already too late.
In just a few heartbeats, Moryo's soul had almost reached the exit of the tunnel, no more than ten meters away.
At that critical moment, Hyuga Kagami decisively activated his Wheel of Reincarnation technique.
In an instant, Moryo's spirit, now only a few meters from the tunnel's mouth, froze in place as if gripped by an invisible pair of giant hands. Despite being in a chakra form, it could not break free.
"If I let you escape now, then everything I've done would've been for nothing!"
With that, Hyuga Kagami strengthened the Wheel of Reincarnation's pull and yanked Moryo's soul back toward him.
As Hyuga Kagami's power grew, so too did the reach of his Wheel of Reincarnation. Now, anything within twenty meters was subject to its control.
The Priestess, already prepared, quickly pulled a wooden box from her scroll. As Hyuga Kagami dragged Moryo's soul closer, she activated her sealing technique.
"No!" Moryo howled in fury.
Without the protection of its physical body, Moryo's soul was powerless against the Priestess's sealing jutsu. In a final cry of rage, it was completely sealed away.
With Moryo fully sealed, the three in the cave collapsed to the ground, breathing sighs of relief.
They were all completely exhausted.
The Priestess had performed several sealing techniques, and sealing Moryo's body alone had nearly drained all her strength. Though she hadn't participated in direct combat, her chakra expenditure was significant.
Shisui was in no better shape. Until he obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, even activating his Mangekyo came at a considerable cost. Having used Susanoo to battle Moryo, his exhaustion ran much deeper than it appeared.
As for Hyuga Kagami, he had even resorted to using his Body Regeneration Secret Technique, which had likely shaved two or three months off his lifespan.
This alone proved how formidable Moryo had been—at least on par with a standard Tailed Beast.
After resting for a while, the Priestess turned to Hyuga Kagami and Shisui with heartfelt gratitude. "If not for you both, I can't imagine what would have happened. Thank you!"
She had truly believed that only by perishing alongside Moryo could the crisis be averted. Never had she expected it to be resolved so successfully.
As Hyuga Kagami retracted the Third Kazekage puppet, he said, "I've kept my promise to you."
The Priestess nodded firmly. "You have my word. I will keep my promise, too."
Shisui, now standing, curiously asked, "Sensei, was that a puppet you used earlier? One that can use Magnet Release?"
Hyuga Kagami answered openly, "Yes. It was a puppet I obtained by chance. As for how it can use Magnet Release... that's because it was originally the Third Kazekage himself."
"What?!"
Both Shisui and the Priestess were visibly shocked.
The strongest Kazekage had been turned into a human puppet? That was almost unthinkable.
"The Third Kazekage was assassinated by a puppet master from Sunagakure and turned into a human puppet. I happened to retrieve it during a battle with that puppeteer. That's all there is to it."
Hyuga Kagami briefly summarized how he came into possession of the puppet.
Shisui was astonished. "He was killed by someone from his own village?!"
"Exactly," Hyuga Kagami warned. "Because the truth of his death and transformation is so shocking, I rarely use this puppet. It's a sensitive issue that could seriously damage Sunagakure's reputation. Please, both of you, keep this a secret. If it gets out, it could cause conflict between the Leaf and the Sand."
Hyuga Kagami had no concerns about sharing this with them.
The Priestess, a person willing to sacrifice herself for peace, now owed him a significant favor and would never betray him.
As for Shisui, Hyuga Kagami trusted him, and besides, he had leverage over Shisui as well. If everything were exposed, neither of them would come out unscathed.
Worst-case scenario, if the secret of the Third Kazekage puppet leaked, Hyuga Kagami could always turn it over to the village. It was a trophy of war after all—he hadn't killed the Kazekage himself.
Realizing the severity of the issue, the Priestess and Shisui immediately swore, "We won't breathe a word of this."
Changing the subject, Hyuga Kagami asked, "I've heard that above the Three Tomoe Sharingan lies a more advanced form. That's what you used earlier, the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?"
Shisui smiled. "Yes, what I used just now was a unique Mangekyo ability called 'Susanoo.'"
Sharing secrets is often the fastest way to build trust.
Having shared their secrets, the bond between the Priestess, Hyuga Kagami, and Shisui deepened.
After reinforcing the seal on the wooden box, the Priestess said, "I plan to find a secure location within the Land of Demons to seal Moryo's soul. If we keep its body and soul far apart, it'll be much harder for it to escape."
Compared to sealing its body, Moryo's soul was far harder to contain. The Priestess needed to locate a new, well-protected site to place the box and set up a powerful sealing array.
Neither Hyuga Kagami nor Shisui objected to her plan.
In truth, Hyuga Kagami's thoughts had already moved past Moryo. He was now wondering how to ask the Priestess to teach him her sealing techniques.
Through this ordeal, he had witnessed firsthand the strength of the Priestess lineage's sealing arts. In his eyes, even if she was naturally predisposed to countering Moryo, her sealing proficiency far surpassed most Leaf Village shinobi.
If he missed this chance to learn, his artificial Tailed Beast project might never come to fruition...