In an instant, the massive Super Chakra Rasengan slammed into the colossal body of Mōryō.
The terrifying storm it unleashed blew Kiyosuke clear off his feet, while Killer Bee was smashed against the wall.
The gale howled on, violent energy pouring out without restraint.
All of Shion's power was channeled into Naruto's hand.
They weren't aiming to seal Mōryō.
They were aiming to destroy him.
Utterly. Completely. Root him out of existence!
Boom!!!
The underground palace exploded open, revealing the night sky above as a pillar of purple chakra pierced toward the heavens.
The dazzling light painted half the sky in radiant brilliance.
Roar!!!!
Mōryō's bellow echoed through the air, only to grow weaker and weaker until it faded completely.
On the ground, the ghost soldiers who had been fighting against Sasuke and the others suddenly crumbled, collapsing into heaps of dust.
Moments later, the pillar of chakra dissipated.
Naruto landed, holding Shion in his arms, shouting:
"Sakura! Sakura!! Shion passed out—check on her!"
Sakura rushed over, examined her quickly, then let out a breath of relief.
"She's just exhausted her chakra. Nothing serious, don't worry."
Everyone sighed in relief.
Pakura asked:
"Naruto, what about Asakawa and the others?"
"Killer Bee-sama!"
Omoi and Samui sprinted toward the rubble, calling for Killer Bee.
The massive Eight-Tails began to stir, the boulders pinning him rolling away. With a loud roar, he shifted back to human form and said:
"Man, that was close… Where's Asakawa Kiyosuke?"
"No idea. Could he have died?" Omoi guessed.
"He should still be around here somewhere."
"I'm right here!"
Thin threads of flame slipped out from the cracks in the rubble, weaving themselves into a human form.
Kiyosuke appeared, brushing off dust.
"That was way too close. I almost got taken out."
Seeing him only a little dirtied, everyone fell silent.
"What about Mōryō?" Kitsuchi asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Dead. I can't sense his chakra anymore."
Kiyosuke walked to Shion's side, placing his hand on her forehead.
After a moment of careful sensing, his expression shifted in realization.
"As I thought."
"What do you mean?"
Everyone stared at him in confusion.
Kiyosuke explained:
"Naruto was able to wipe Mōryō out with the Rasengan mainly thanks to Shion's power. But after that attack… I can't sense the power Shion used anymore."
"And that means what?"
"It means Shion will never be able to use the priestess' power again. From now on, she'll just be an ordinary person."
Killer Bee spoke up:
"So basically, Miss Shion used her priestess power to kill Mōryō, and the two forces canceled each other out."
He remembered Mōryō saying he needed to fully devour Shion to reach his complete form.
As two sides of the same existence, priestess and demon balanced each other. If one gave everything, they could bring the other down.
Just like Shion's mother had once sacrificed herself to seal Mōryō.
Back when Shion was young, her power had been too overwhelming, so her mother sealed most of it into the bell.
At the end, Shion had broken that seal and drawn upon the power.
With her own strength added in, the final result was this—Shion no longer possessed the priestess' full might, freed from that fate.
And Mōryō was gone from this world forever.
From now on, neither demon nor priestess would exist again.
Perhaps Shion and her descendants would still bear the title, but they would never wield such power again.
...
After making sense of everything, Kitsuchi sank the ruins deep underground with his jutsu, then he and his daughter raised a mountain over it.
Father and daughter sat there, panting as they caught their breath.
Soon after, Shion regained consciousness.
After hearing Kiyosuke's explanation, she shook her head.
"The priestess' power will continue to be passed down through the generations. What I used was only the power sealed in the bell—it won't return. But my own strength remains. Honestly, it's a blessing we had you all here to hold Mōryō back. If it had just been me and Naruto, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
It was misfortune, yet also fortune in disguise.
She still had her priestess' gift—just not in overwhelming measure.
"I won't complain about fate anymore. I am the priestess of the Land of Demons. I'll pass this power down to my daughter. Naruto, will you help me?"
"I… uh—mmmph!"
Naruto started to answer, only for Kiyosuke to slap a hand over his mouth.
"No, you don't want that!"
Everyone gave Naruto strange looks, the atmosphere growing more awkward by the second.
Naruto pried Kiyosuke's hand off.
"What's the matter, Kiyosuke-san? I was just trying to help!"
"No, you don't want that!"
Kiyosuke's face darkened.
He turned to Shion.
"My apologies, Miss Shion. This brat already has a fiancée—and a childhood sweetheart, the daughter of a prominent clan in Konoha. If she said the word, she'd marry him right away. So please, don't consider this kid."
Shion twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
"Ah, I don't really mind. Just leave me a child, that's all. My mother did the same, after all."
"…"
Are all priestesses from the Land of Demons this casual about such things?
"Please don't consider this kid!" Kiyosuke repeated.
"Wait, Kiyosuke-san, what fiancée? And you mean Hinata, right? Don't joke about that!"
"Oh, the fiancée was arranged by Jiraiya-sama. He probably just hasn't told you yet. She should be arriving in Konoha soon. As for Hinata… well, you'll find out in time."
This brat really was Minato's son. Luck with women everywhere.
Good thing neither father nor son were scoundrels.
Though in terms of emotional intelligence, Naruto still fell short of his dad.
"Explain properly! And Shion—you don't mean the 'help' you asked for was…"
"Of course."
Shion leaned closer, smiling.
"Our child would inherit the priestess' role. If you agreed, we could have a child as soon as next year."
Shion went in for it!
"No, no, no! Absolutely not!"
Naruto flailed his arms in panic.
"That's not good! That's not good at all!"
Shion clearly wanted Naruto's genes, but unfortunately for her, Naruto had already realized what she meant—and there was no way he'd go along.
Kiyosuke had to step in again, talking her down until she finally gave up on the idea.
Still, Shion declared that once Naruto became an adult, she'd come to Konoha.
If he wasn't married by then, she'd take him back to the Land of Demons, bear a child with him, then return him afterward.
…
Maybe it was time to have a word with the Hyūga about their kids.
Or maybe better not to rush.
Being a dad was way too much trouble.
Especially when I haven't even gotten married myself!!!