An Opportunity

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Seeing Moryo attempt to escape, the priestess's face changed with alarm. "Stop it!"

If Moryo's soul escaped, then the seal had failed at the final step, and endless trouble would follow.

The sound of metal cutting through air rang out before the priestess even finished speaking.

Shisui had thrown shuriken at Moryo's fleeing soul.

However, although every shuriken struck its target accurately, each one passed straight through. None caused any real damage to Moryo's soul in its chakra state.

Shisui's expression darkened, but it was already too late to launch another attack.

In the span of only a few breaths, Moryo's fleeing soul was already little more than ten meters from the passage entrance.

At that instant, Naoki decisively used Revolving Will.

Moryo's soul, now only a few meters from the passage, suddenly froze as if seized by a pair of invisible hands. Even its chakra body could not break free.

"If I really let you escape, then this whole fight would have been for nothing!"

As he spoke, Naoki strengthened Revolving Will and violently pulled Moryo's soul back toward him.

As Naoki's strength increased, the effective range of Revolving Will had also expanded somewhat. Now, anything within twenty meters could not escape its control.

Prepared in advance, the priestess quickly took a wooden box from a scroll she carried. Then, as Naoki pulled Moryo's soul toward them, she cast a sealing technique.

"No..."

Without the protection of its body, Moryo's soul could not resist the priestess's sealing technique. With one last unwilling roar, it was sealed completely.

After Moryo was fully sealed, the three people inside the cavern collapsed to the ground and all let out a breath.

By now, all three of them were exhausted.

The priestess had used several sealing techniques in a row. In particular, sealing Moryo's body had nearly drained all her strength. Although she had not directly joined the battle, her consumption was anything but small.

Shisui was not in good condition either. Before obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, even activating the Mangekyo Sharingan was a considerable burden for him, let alone using Susanoo to battle Moryo.

As for Naoki, he had even used the Physical Regeneration secret technique. That alone had overdrawn at least two or three months of his lifespan.

That also showed how strong Moryo truly was. At minimum, it had reached the level of a normal Tailed Beast.

After resting for a while, the priestess sincerely thanked Naoki and Shisui. "This time, I truly owe both of you. If not for you, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Her gratitude came from the heart. Originally, she had believed she would need to perish with Moryo to avoid this catastrophe. She had never imagined the matter could be resolved so smoothly.

As Naoki put away the Third Kazekage human puppet, he said, "I have done what I promised you."

The priestess nodded. "Please be at ease. I will honor my promise."

Shisui had also risen by then. Curious, he asked Naoki, "Senior, was that puppet you used just now? A puppet that can use Magnet Release?"

Naoki did not hide it. He answered directly, "Yes. I obtained it by chance. As for why it can use Magnet Release, that is because it was originally the Third Kazekage."

"What!?"

Not only Shisui, but even the priestess beside them was shocked.

The Third Kazekage, praised as the strongest Kazekage, had been turned into a Human Puppet. It was not something they could hear without being shaken.

"The Third Kazekage was assassinated by a puppet master from the Hidden Sand and made into a Human Puppet. In a certain battle, I was lucky enough to seize the Third Kazekage human puppet from that puppet master. It is that simple."

Naoki briefly explained how he had obtained the puppet.

Shisui's face filled with disbelief. "The Third Kazekage was assassinated by a shinobi from his own village?"

Naoki warned them, "It is precisely because the Third Kazekage being assassinated and turned into a Human Puppet is so horrifying that I rarely use this puppet. The matter is too sensitive, and it concerns the Hidden Sand's honor. Please, the two of you must not spread it. Otherwise, it could very easily create conflict between the Hidden Sand and Konoha."

Naoki dared to use the Third Kazekage human puppet because he was not worried that either the priestess or Shisui would leak the secret.

The priestess was a kind person who had truly been willing to die with Moryo for the sake of peace. On top of that, she owed him a great favor. Naoki trusted that she would not betray him.

As for Shisui, first, Naoki trusted his integrity. Second, Shisui's own secret was in Naoki's hands as well. If everything were dragged into the open, no one would gain anything.

Even in the worst case, if the secret of the Third Kazekage human puppet leaked, Naoki could simply hand the puppet over to the village. It was only a trophy, and he was not the one who had killed the Third Kazekage.

Hearing Naoki describe the matter so seriously, even raising it to the level of affecting relations between Konoha and the Hidden Sand, the priestess and Shisui hurriedly promised, "We will absolutely not leak it!"

Naoki changed the subject and asked Shisui, "There are rumors that above the three-tomoe Sharingan, there is another form. That is the Mangekyo Sharingan you mentioned just now, correct?"

Shisui did not avoid the question. He smiled. "Yes. What I used just now was one of the ocular techniques unique to the Mangekyo Sharingan. It is called Susanoo."

Exchanging secrets was the fastest way to open hearts.

After the priestess, Naoki, and Shisui exchanged their secrets, their relationship immediately grew much warmer.

After temporarily reinforcing the seal on the wooden box, the priestess said, "I plan to choose a suitable place inside the Land of Demons to seal Moryo's soul. With its body and soul separated by thousands of miles, the chance of it breaking free will become very small."

Compared with the seal on Moryo's body, the seal on its soul was much weaker. Because of that, the priestess had to select another suitable location, arrange a new sealing array there, and seal the wooden box within it before the matter could be considered stable.

Naoki and Shisui naturally had no objections.

In truth, Naoki's thoughts were no longer on Moryo. He had already begun considering how to ask the priestess to teach him the sealing arts of her line.

From the matter of sealing Moryo, Naoki had confirmed the strength of the priestess line's sealing arts. In his view, even if the priestess naturally countered Moryo, the skill she had displayed far surpassed that of most shinobi in the village.

If he missed this chance to learn sealing arts, his artificial Tailed Beast plan might remain out of reach forever.

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