Interception

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After severely damaging the Yomi Sect and resolving the problem of shinobi harassment, the next step, escorting the priestess to Demon-Sealing Mountain in the Land of Swamps, could begin immediately.

Before leaving, the priestess hid little Shion in a secret chamber at the bottom of the palace.

No one knew what the priestess told little Shion inside the chamber. But it was clear that despite Naoki's guarantee, the priestess still set out for the Land of Swamps with the resolve to die.

Once everything was prepared, Pakura of the Hidden Sand, who possessed the Scorch Release kekkei genkai, took responsibility for opening the path ahead. Konoha's versatile ANBU Team Eleven would protect the priestess closely. The Hidden Stone beheading unit, skilled in Earth Release, fell to the rear and guarded their retreat.

Very soon, the group broke through the terracotta warrior puppet encirclement outside the palace and rushed toward the Land of Swamps.

On the road, the priestess guided everyone while sensing the demon Moryo from afar.

Based on the priestess's real-time sensing, everyone was shocked to discover that the demon behind them was moving extremely fast, no slower than elite shinobi traveling at full speed.

It was fortunate that Moryo had not appeared during the earlier battle against the Yomi Sect. Otherwise, if it had guarded the outside of the palace barrier the whole time, breaking out would have been extremely dangerous.

Seeing the distance between the group and Moryo shrink more and more, the captain of the Hidden Stone beheading unit began to lose patience. "Hey, this cannot go on!"

The Hidden Stone shinobi were not the only ones losing patience.

Pakura of the Hidden Sand nodded as well. "If we keep consuming chakra to travel like this, even if we reach Demon-Sealing Mountain, we will not have the strength to fight that demon."

Unlike tireless Moryo, everyone traveling at full speed was consuming a great deal of chakra. If they could not shake off Moryo in a short time, continuing to burn chakra would make the situation increasingly unfavorable.

As Team Eleven's captain, Kakashi proposed, "Then we choose a suitable place and ambush it."

The priestess, carried on Guy's back, thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "I can arrange a temporary sealing barrier. If it works, perhaps it can trap Moryo for a while."

Pakura said, "Then we will rely on you."

Once the discussion ended, everyone immediately moved.

The interception point was a steep canyon, with a winding river running through it.

With everyone's help, the priestess placed sealing formulas on the rock walls on both sides of the canyon.

The formulas were extremely complex. A person would feel slightly dizzy just by glancing at them from a distance. Even Naoki, who possessed the Tenseigan, felt somewhat uncomfortable when looking closely. That alone showed the power of these sealing formulas.

Before long, the demon that had been pursuing them finally appeared.

Moryo looked like a monster that was neither dragon nor crocodile. Its whole body was dark purple, and it emitted a black mist that seemed both illusory and real. Most of its body was hidden in that mist, making it impossible to see its exact appearance.

Previously, because the priestess had arranged a barrier outside the palace, Moryo and its terracotta warrior puppets could not approach. It could only send Yomi Sect cultists to attack the palace and assault the priestess.

Now that the priestess had left the protection of the barrier, Moryo would no longer stand by and watch.

"How... how can it be this big?"

Looking up at Moryo's enormous and bizarre body, everyone cried out in shock.

Although most of its body was hidden inside the black mist, the exposed head alone was enough to judge that Moryo's size was comparable to a Tailed Beast. It was a monster in the truest sense.

Pakura of the Hidden Sand also frowned slightly. Dealing with huge enemies was not her specialty.

Kakashi and Guy looked even more shaken. The instant they saw Moryo, bad memories surfaced in their minds. The monster before them seemed to overlap with the Nine-Tails that had ravaged the village half a year earlier.

Without question, giant monsters like Tailed Beasts and the demon Moryo were nightmares for the vast majority of shinobi. Even some Kage-level shinobi had no especially good methods for dealing with monsters of such size.

Because of that, everyone's reaction to seeing Moryo was reasonable.

If anyone present was not shocked, it would be the priestess, who knew some of Moryo's details, and Naoki, who possessed hazy memories from his previous life.

As for Shisui, he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan and was not truly afraid of large monsters.

He simply did not dare use Mangekyo ocular techniques easily. His ocular technique was far too feared. Once exposed, the village leadership would find it very difficult to tolerate him.

Seeing that Moryo had entered the ambush zone, Naoki, still calm, shouted, "Activate it!"

The others recovered and launched the ambush according to the original plan.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

"Earth Release: Mudslide!"

The four members of the Hidden Stone beheading unit, positioned on both sides of the canyon, formed hand signs at the same time and unleashed a chain of Earth Release ninjutsu.

In an instant, flowing sand, mud, earthen walls, and stone pillars descended from every direction, temporarily trapping Moryo inside the canyon.

Roar.

A soul-shaking roar erupted from Moryo's mouth, making everyone's mind blur.

The priestess warned, "Be careful, everyone. Do not get too close."

Moryo struggled violently and soon smashed through the stone wall pressing it down, but for the moment, it had difficulty breaking free from the muddy swamp beneath it.

"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"

To prevent Moryo from escaping, Pakura immediately used her trump card, striking Moryo's head hard and forcing it down into the muddy swamp below.

At that moment, the priestess, now ready, began silently reciting an incantation.

As the priestess chanted, the sealing formulas arranged on the two sides of the canyon emitted a faint glow. A barrier as thin as a cicada's wing appeared and covered Moryo.

Guy hurriedly asked, "Did we get it?"

The priestess nodded weakly.

Without question, even a temporary sealing formula was a considerable drain on the priestess.

Kakashi did not dare waste time and immediately urged everyone, "Move. We do not know how long this temporary seal can last. We need to reach Demon-Sealing Mountain as quickly as possible."

In an instant, everyone scattered around the area returned to assault formation and rushed toward Demon-Sealing Mountain.

Rumble.

Loud crashes continued behind them. Moryo was clearly struggling violently against the seal. Every time it struck, the canyon trembled with it, showing that its strength was simply beyond imagination.

The priestess, carried on Guy's back, weakly warned everyone, "Moryo has the ability to control minds. Do not get too close to it, or you may be controlled and become its puppet."

Hearing that, everyone felt chills crawl across their skin.

No one wanted to deal with a monster like that. But the current situation left them no room to retreat.

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