A taut hemp rope was tied across the entrance of the ruined shrine, with small white slips of paper attached to it, fluttering in the breeze.
This rope was called a Shimenawa, and the paper slips were known as Shide. They symbolized the warding off of evil and the purification of the soul. In this supernatural world, they truly possessed the power to repel evil, maintaining the seal of this place through the priestess's strength.
When Makiya landed his sword at the shrine's entrance, he saw the Shide scattered across the ground. Only a few tattered remnants still clung stubbornly to the Shimenawa, looking as if they might fall at any moment.
"The seal... it's actually deteriorated to this point." Miroku jumped down from the flying sword and leaned over to pick up a tattered Shide from the ground. She examined it closely, her expression grave.
While flying in the sky, she had been laughing like a cheerful, curvy woman, but as soon as her duties as a priestess and the seal of Moryo were involved, Miroku switched to work mode instantly. There was no trace of her previous lively demeanor.
"Sir Ninja," Miroku turned to Makiya and spoke respectfully, "Once we enter the sealing grounds, please step in to block Moryo's attacks. If possible, please wear down his strength as much as you can."
"Don't worry," Makiya nodded. "I'll act as the situation demands."
After receiving Makiya's assurance, Miroku felt slightly relieved and stepped over the Shimenawa into the dark cavern passage.
The structure of the sealing shrine was very simple. Beyond the outermost small house and the torii gate, the passage led deeper into the mountain's heart—a massive cavern filled with magma pools where Moryo was sealed.
Moryo's energy was cold, dark, and sinister. To counter this, generations of priestesses had chosen places with strong geothermal heat to suppress Moryo's activity using natural forces.
As Makiya entered the massive cavern, he was immediately met with a blast of scorching air. Countless magma pools of various sizes radiated intense heat, causing the air to shimmer and distort.
Purplish-black evil energy permeated the air. Despite standing next to magma, one could feel a sinister chill creeping around, ready to invade the body at any moment.
Many exposed magma pools no longer glowed bright red; the magma within flowed sluggishly, almost static, with surfaces turning dark red or even black.
A massive amount of heat had been consumed.
Once this seal was complete, Miroku intended to find another volcanic site to relocate Moryo's seal. This had been in the works for a long time. Based on reports from her samurai subordinates, there should be a suitable location within the Land of Swamps.
"Miroku, you've come!"
A hoarse voice rose from beneath the earth. The stone sarcophagus at the center of the magma pool suddenly vibrated violently. Then, the lid burst open, and a massive amount of purplish-black energy surged out.
The erupting torrent of energy transformed into slender tentacles hundreds of meters long. Their tips shifted and twisted, eventually forming hideous dragon heads with glowing blood-red eyes.
Over a dozen dragon-headed tentacles lashed out within the mountain, churning the hot air into a massive storm.
Makiya stood his ground, shaking his head at the spectacle Moryo was making. He was clearly a gifted tentacle monster, yet he insisted on manifesting dragon heads at the tips of his tentacles. He probably thought it looked cool, but in reality, he was just handicapping himself by discarding his greatest advantage as a tentacle monster!
Even turning them into mushrooms would be better than dragon heads.
It was a well-known fact in the Naruto universe—and others—that creatures like tentacle monsters were the natural enemies of Taimanin, magical girls, priestesses, female ninjas, and valkyries.
If Moryo could just stay true to his nature and be an honest, lecherous tentacle monster, he wouldn't have been sealed by generations of priestesses for so many years. Heck, he might have even snatched Kaguya the moment she arrived, and then there wouldn't have been anything for Hamura and Hagoromo to do.
By turning into dragon heads now, Moryo's entire look was like a budget Hydra cosplay. It was truly a case of neglecting the essentials.
All of this was just Makiya's stray thoughts. Lately, the erotica master had been releasing so much content that Makiya was suffering from the poisoning of those vivid memories, making him associate everything with them.
In the Taimanin world, the main female characters only lost in 'What If' scenarios; in the canon story, they always steamrolled the demonic armies. Tentacle monsters weren't even worth a glance—just things to be crushed underfoot until they cried.
The wind howled, whipping Makiya's and Miroku's clothes. The storm, laden with heat waves, made it hard to keep one's eyes open, but neither of them was affected.
Miroku was protected by her priestess power; a pure white energy flowed around her, forming a semi-circular shield that encased her completely.
Makiya didn't bother using chakra for protection. His physical body was already incredibly powerful, and the talent granted by Ho-Oh gave him immunity to fire and heat. A mere heat wave couldn't even make him blink.
Miroku held her hands over her lower abdomen, pressing her priestess robes tightly against her body. The taut fabric outlined her seductive curves; though she was a pure priestess, her figure was comparable to a succubus.
The role and status of the priestess profession in Japanese history and culture were quite nuanced. Modern creators were often influenced by this, linking priestesses with a sense of sensuality.
The purer someone seemed, the more people wanted to see them fall. Contrast was always one of the most provocative forms of expression.
Miroku knelt on a prayer mat, her hands pressed together in front of her chest, chanting under her breath.
She didn't respond to Moryo's words. Moryo was an expert at manipulation; there was nothing to say between a priestess and a demon. The two were destined to be incompatible.
A purple barrier array expanded outward from Miroku, and a special sealing power erupted from her slender... yet full body.
Makiya, who knew a bit about sealing, could tell at a glance that this powerful technique required a lot of preparation time. Miroku probably couldn't withstand Moryo's interference on her own, which was why she had called for help.
"Miroku, don't you dare think you can seal me again!" Moryo's roar echoed inside the mountain, the sound waves shattering rocks.
Huge boulders plummeted from the ceiling, hurtling straight toward Miroku.
A cold blade flash flickered, and the falling rocks were instantly sliced into countless fragments, splashing into the surrounding magma pools.
"Ninja!" Moryo looked down at Makiya. Compared to the hundred-meter dragon, a human less than two meters tall looked like an ant.
However, after witnessing Makiya's ninjutsu through the ghost army, Moryo didn't dare underestimate this ninja. He knew the man possessed the strength to rival him.
Even his supposedly immortal stone army had been wiped out by this man, something Moryo had never encountered in his long life.
"Ninja, this is between me and the priestess. Leave this place, and I will act as if nothing happened." Moryo's voice was ancient and grating, sounding as if a massive clump of phlegm was stuck in his throat.
Normally, that would be an upper respiratory infection. But since Moryo likely lacked a respiratory system, it was probably just from being cooped up in the seal for too long.
"So you're Moryo?" Makiya curiously studied the dragon-like form above. Within the sinister energy, there was natural energy, chakra, and a massive amount of emotion—it was incredibly complex.
As Moryo broke more of the seal, Makiya could feel faint trickles of energy from all directions penetrating the mountain and merging into Moryo's body.
Though each stream of energy was small, they were numerous. It was like the battle between Ultraman Tiga and Gatanothor, where the people of the world passed their light to the Giant of Light. No single person's light was much, but gathered together, it became a power capable of defeating all evil.
Makiya rubbed his chin, feeling the analogy was a bit off. 'Wait, why am I the one acting like Gatanothor?'
"No more talk. I'm the reinforcement Miroku brought. If you want to disrupt her sealing, you'll have to get past me first."
"Arrogant ninja, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Moryo hissed, and over a dozen hideous dragon heads struck first. The house-sized heads opened their maws simultaneously, firing beams of purplish-black energy.
Makiya created two shadow clones to stay behind and protect Miroku, while his main body took to the air, gripping the Kusanagi Sword. The blade's light was like water, and as it danced, it instantly shattered all the incoming energy blasts.
Stray purplish-black energy scattered, hitting the thick mountain rock and emitting plumes of white smoke, corroding deep holes into the walls.
"Impressive swordsmanship, but how many hands do you have?" Moryo sneered. More energy surged from the sarcophagus, instantly condensing into a dozen more dragon heads. Their lifelike scales shimmered with a cold light, exuding an unsettling aura.
Nearly thirty dragon heads loomed over Makiya, their crimson eyes fixed on him. Their heads suddenly swung, their thick necks lashing out like iron whips, tearing through the air with sharp whistles.
"You want to play the numbers game? I've never been afraid of that." Makiya brought his index and middle fingers together, crossing them in front of his chest.
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Instantly, hundreds of Makiya clones appeared in the air amidst clouds of white smoke. Each clone was wreathed in golden flames, which then converged into massive sword blades dozens of meters long.
Clang!
The blades collided with Moryo's necks, the intense vibrations echoing through the cavern. The shockwaves caused deep cracks to split the surrounding rock walls.
The blades and Moryo's body were locked in a stalemate, but Makiya had the numbers. With an average of three clones per dragon head, Moryo was being ganged up on. The sound of clashing steel was unending.
Finally, the golden blades broke through Moryo's defenses. The scorching blades bit into the dragon's flesh, and flames poured in under Makiya's control, neutralizing the cold energy.
Sizzle!
Massive amounts of white smoke rose as Moryo's body rapidly shrank due to the energy annihilation. However, Makiya's brow furrowed.
The consumption was too high.
Although his chakra was abundant, its quality was far inferior to the mixed energy within Moryo. He was coming out on the losing end of the attrition battle, which was very inefficient.
But Makiya had many tricks up his sleeve. If chakra wasn't enough, he still had Sage Chakra.
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