Kurama's words instantly startled Kushina.
"A monster stronger than me? Hah. You really don't know what you're talking about."
"..."
Kushina had thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be something this stupid.
What was there to argue about?
"Shut up, you stupid fox!"
Luckily, Kushina had a big enough heart to shout back without hesitation. If she had actually been scared by something like that, it would've been downright embarrassing.
Unlike Naruto, Kushina had inherited a great number of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. She had more than enough ways to keep the Nine-Tails in line. With just a thought, the sealed Kurama was forced to quiet down again.
"Damn you! One of these days, I'll swallow you whole!"
Kurama was already unhappy enough about being sealed in the first place. Being stuck inside a host like Kushina only made him even angrier.
"Heh."
Kushina had been hearing threats like that since she was a child. Back then, maybe it would've scared her a little.
Now?
She was completely used to it.
Without another thought, she cut off her connection to Kurama and turned to look at Shiki beside her.
"So what do we do now?"
"Split into groups."
With a casual wave of his hand, Shiki started giving orders.
"Kushina, you're with Kurenai. I'll take Shion and Rin with me. Kakashi, you move alone."
"Huh?"
Kakashi froze for a second.
Shouldn't he be paired up with Rin?
But before he could voice that question, Shiki looked at him with a faint smile.
"Got a problem with that?"
"...No."
Kakashi went quiet for a moment, then decisively shook his head.
What a joke.
The more Shiki smiled like that, the less Kakashi wanted to argue.
"Good. Then let's move."
Shiki waved his hand, clearly not interested in wasting any more time.
There was a reason he was keeping Rin with him. It was the safest way to protect her. Kurenai had Kushina with her, so there shouldn't be any problem there.
As for Kakashi...
Well, it really did look like no one was particularly worried about him.
"Rin, stay close to Shion and protect her."
"Yes!"
Rin Nohara nodded at once and moved to Shion's side.
Shion, meanwhile, assumed Shiki had arranged things this way to better ensure her safety. For a moment, she felt even more touched.
"Next, you're in charge of those stone soldiers. I'll take Shion and Rin and head inside to deal with Mōryō."
"Stone soldiers?"
There was nothing wrong with the arrangement itself, but Kushina still looked confused.
She first looked at the ring of stone figures surrounding the sealed land, then turned back to Shiki with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean, leave those things to us? Aren't they just a bunch of rocks?"
It wasn't just Kushina. Kurenai and Kakashi were confused too.
Shiki didn't explain much.
He only glanced at Kushina, then pointed toward the stone soldiers.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sound of stone splitting apart rang out one after another.
The stone soldiers, which had been motionless until now, suddenly began to move. Their rocky arms and bodies started shifting, and light flickered inside their eyes.
"These...?!"
"They've all been affected by Mōryō's chakra."
Shiki explained it calmly.
"I'm leaving them to you. The demon inside is mine."
As he spoke, Shiki had already taken Shion and Rin and leapt toward the sealed land.
The moment the stone soldiers noticed his movement, they surged forward in groups, trying to block his path.
But just then—
Boom!
A crimson figure smashed straight into them.
With an arrogant grin, Kushina declared confidently,
"Leave it to me! I'll smash these things one by one!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Even with nothing but Tailed Beast Chakra, Kushina was more than enough.
Wrapped in her Tailed Beast cloak, she tore through the stone soldiers with ridiculous ease, basically smashing one apart with every punch. The stone soldiers themselves weren't especially strong.
There were just a lot of them.
"Kurenai, stay with me. Kakashi, watch yourself."
"Understood!"
Kurenai Yuhi nodded seriously.
Kakashi, on the other hand, felt a little helpless.
Why did this keep feeling more and more like he'd been left out on his own?
Still, even if it felt a bit weird, Kakashi didn't dwell on it.
Holding the White Light Chakra Sabre in hand, he calmly began cutting down the stone soldiers around him.
For Kakashi Hatake, who already possessed jōnin-level strength at such a young age, dealing with enemies like this wasn't difficult at all.
"See? I told you."
Not far away, White Zetsu, who had been watching the situation, immediately spoke to Black Zetsu beside him.
"I said it already. Even if Shiki is protecting Rin, he clearly doesn't care that much about Kakashi."
"Shut up."
Black Zetsu had always regarded White Zetsu as an idiot, so the fact that White Zetsu had somehow ended up being right this time left him both speechless and irritated.
After rolling his eyes, Black Zetsu couldn't even be bothered arguing.
"Keep an eye on Kakashi's position. Find a chance and take him."
Clearly, Black Zetsu had accepted the plan to abduct Kakashi.
"Hmph."
The fact that Black Zetsu didn't argue back left White Zetsu a little dissatisfied, but he didn't dwell on it.
After all, he had finally won against Black Zetsu for once.
And that alone was enough to make him feel proud.
...
At the same time, Shiki had already brought Rin and Shion deep into the sealed land.
Rin dutifully stayed by Shion's side, guarding her without letting her guard drop for even a moment.
The silence around them was unsettling, and both Shion and Rin could feel their nerves tightening.
But when they looked at Shiki walking calmly at the front, his steady expression gradually eased the tension in their hearts.
It was a strange feeling.
Hard to explain.
But both Shion and Rin could feel it clearly.
As long as the man in front of them showed no fear, then there was nothing for them to be afraid of either.
They followed that silent path for dozens of meters before finally arriving at a place that looked like an altar.
At its center stood a special structure.
It was obvious that this was the place where Shion, using the power of her priestess bloodline, could seal Mōryō.
"Shiki-san! Then you—"
Shion happily raised a hand and pointed toward the very center of the altar.
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