Chapter 118 Luo Sha vs. Wu Liang (2)Beneath the night, upon the vast earth.
After the rampage of the two giant monsters, the land, once a forest, had been completely reduced to ruins.
The golden form of Shukaku still stood tall, shimmering under the moonlight, wielding a golden greatsword, like a celestial being descended upon the world.
Opposite Shukaku's form, Mōryō was now somewhat disheveled; of its original eight heads, only three remained, and its aura suggested it was hesitant to advance, its crimson eyes warily fixed on Rasa before it.
And on the ground between the two, five deep purple heads lay tragically scattered.
"So amazing!"
Protected by Kamiya and Jūhō, Miroku watched Rasa atop Shukaku's head with wide, bright eyes.
At that moment, she could finally feel completely at ease.
She had not been deceived; Rasa truly meant to protect her, and he indeed possessed such power.
As guards, Kamiya and Jūhō, standing watch to Miroku's left and right, were also filled with astonishment.
They never imagined that Mōryō, the nightmare of the entire Ghost Country, would appear so weak before a ninja, having five of its eight heads severed shortly after the battle began.
On the other side, Kido Tsumiki, the Ghost Country's minister, and the Gosei Ninshu, battling against Suna's jonin, Daikoku, Sekiyo, and Reseki, now wore unsightly expressions, with Kido Tsumiki's face even displaying disbelief.
"How is this possible!?"
Mōryō-sama, whom he believed possessed the power to rule the entire world, was actually helpless against a mere ninja.
This meant his original ambitions were utterly laughable.
However, he no longer had the mind to dwell on these thoughts.
Because from the murderous aura emanating from the three masked Sunagakure ninja before him, he was also in danger.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Hiss..."
Upon the moonlit earth.
Mōryō now also watched the human before him with a somewhat grave expression.
The power displayed by Rasa was somewhat beyond his expectations.
This caused him to ask with some doubt.
"Who exactly are you? This kind of power, even among humans, you are no ordinary person?"
Rasa hadn't expected that, mid-battle, Mōryō would actually calm down and choose to chat with him.
Rasa didn't intend to hide himself, because the Shukaku no Tate (Shukaku Shield) technique was too obvious; as long as someone investigated afterward, they could guess that he was the protagonist of today's events.
"Me? My name is Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind!"
"Kage!? So that's it, no wonder you possess such power."
"Oh, you also know about the Kage?"
"I once devoured the previous generation's shrine maiden, and from her memories, I learned about the current state of this land: the Five Great Nations, the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and the Kage, the outstanding individuals among the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
"So what? Are you planning to surrender?"
As Rasa's words fell, the entire night grew silent, save for Mōryō's deep voice.
"Surrender! That's quite arrogant."
As Mōryō spoke, chakra, like threads, began to gush from the necks where his heads had been severed, connecting to the earth; one by one, the severed heads tore themselves back onto their necks, and then they were seen to be restored as before.
Mōryō once again raised his eight giant heads, saying in a haughty voice.
"Although I admit you do have some tricks, you are still too weak compared to that old geezer who once sealed me."
Rasa also grew interested and asked.
"Are you talking about the Sage of Six Paths? How strong is he?"
"How strong!? Hahahaha, perhaps you are already a top figure in the human world, but before him, you probably couldn't even withstand a single blow."
After Mōryō finished speaking, he looked at Rasa's expression with some anticipation.
Only to see Rasa say with an expression that showed no surprise.
"The Sage of Six Paths is actually that strong?"
Mōryō said with a somewhat complex tone.
"Hahahaha, as a descendant of that monstrous woman, the old man of the Six Paths completely inherited the power of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya; besides that, for thousands of years, he has also been constantly absorbing the power of this land through chakra. No one knows how strong he is now."
"? ? ?"
It had to be said that Mōryō had finally said something that interested Rasa.
"Absorbing the power of this land through chakra, what does that mean?"
Unfortunately, Mōryō didn't answer, instead saying with a gloating voice.
"Aren't you very smart? Can't you guess it yourself?"
Rasa's emotions didn't change in the slightest; instead, he fell into thought.
For some reason, thinking of the way Mōryō in the Ghost Country absorbed the shrine maiden's power, he seemed to understand.
Which meant that, because there was no longer a Divine Tree, although the Sage of Six Paths had no way to absorb the life force of this world like his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, he could, through the power of chakra, pass it on to everyone in this world in the form of ninshū, thereby indirectly absorbing the life force of this world.
Because the power of chakra was a power that ninja obtained by extracting their own spiritual and physical energy.
And ninja were nurtured and raised by the land of this world, natives of this land; the spiritual and physical energy they possessed all came from this world.
Then, through the ninshū and ninjutsu passed down by the Sage of Six Paths, these people were guided to transform the energy that originally belonged to this land into chakra; ultimately, when these ninja died, their souls returned to the Pure Land, also bringing the chakra within them to the Pure Land.
Looking at it this way, some of Rasa's previous doubts were instantly answered.
No wonder the Sage of Six Paths could directly summon the souls of so many former Kage from the Five Great Shinobi Villages; the Impure World Reincarnation technique could also summon so many lackeys.
Then, there was now a crucial question.
"In that case, why would the Sage of Six Paths let you, such a powerful being, go? The chakra you possess is no less than that of those Tailed Beasts, is it not?"
Mōryō's expression darkened, then he let out a chilling laugh and asked.
"Hahahaha, do you know why I am called a demon?"
"? ? ?"
Without waiting for Rasa to answer, Mōryō gave the answer.
"Because I never hide my greed and desire for power; but the old man of the Six Paths, like you humans, wears the word 'hypocrisy' on his face. Although he also covets the power within me, but... hahahaha... that old geezer, burdened with the great will of 'protecting this world,' cannot bring himself to sacrifice others for the sake of power, so, he can only allow the fate between the shrine maiden and me to entangle..."
Rasa also immediately understood Mōryō's meaning.
Simply put, whether sincere or feigned, in order to maintain his position in this world and the image in the hearts of many, the Sage of Six Paths had to follow certain rules in doing things and could not be as reckless as a demon like Mōryō.
This was good news.
This meant that, for the sake of so-called justice, as long as Rasa didn't do anything heinously evil, the possibility of the Sage of Six Paths taking action against him would be greatly reduced.
Of course, entrusting one's life to the mercy of others was something Rasa would absolutely never do.
Therefore, Mōryō's power, he had to obtain it.
Since that was the case, now that the questions he wanted had been answered, it was time to get serious.
"Deploy the barrier!"
Seeing their Kazekage's hand seals, the four members of the covert mobile unit and Honoka, on the ground beneath the two monsters, immediately formed hand seals.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!!!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!!!"