The priestess held her exclusive sacred tool in hand, and the ornament on her head, the Chao Tian Crown, radiated a blinding white light.
A swirl of pinkish-purple chakra began to envelop her body.
She walked alone at the forefront, at the dragon's head of the Daimyo possessed by the malevolent spirit. The crimson glow of the spirit's presence fixated on her.
Nearby approaching tentacles were dissolved by the pink-purple chakra surrounding her.
"Your Highness, it's dangerous!"
Kiyoshi dashed forward, placing himself between the priestess and the threat, wearing a righteous, unwavering expression.
At this moment, the malevolent spirit only had a soul, unable to manifest its true power.
In the future, Yomi would use his own body as a vessel to endure more of the spirit's power, at the cost of rapid aging.
Because the spirit, while awakening a large number of the ghost legion, could not let a mere human body withstand such corrosive power.
Without a physical body, the spirit's soul alone could not remain in the world for long—it would vanish instantly.
In the ninja world, only the Sage of the Six Paths had shown the ability to roam as a soul for a long time, observing the disputes of his sons and the divisions within his clan.
Yet, with certain ninjutsu, one could cheat the system: Kato Dan's S-rank technique, "Soul Transformation Technique," allowed him to become a living soul, bypassing distance, attacking enemies, controlling bodies, and even entering minds.
It was virtually unbeatable, but Kato Dan was ambushed and killed, beyond Tsunade's ability to save.
"Kiyoshi!"
Sunset Red's heart skipped; she hadn't expected him to charge so recklessly.
"No mission is worth risking life unnecessarily."
Obito briefly admired Kiyoshi's courage.
"I have sealing techniques, let me handle this."
A figure appeared before Kiyoshi—it was Minato Namikaze.
Minato extended his hand toward the spirit; a circular black sealing formation began to wrap around the purple-black mist forming the dragon.
The Four Symbols Seal!
"Hahaha! Mere ninjas dare use sealing jutsu against me!"
The malevolent spirit laughed scornfully and instantly broke free from Minato's seal.
"!"
Minato's pale blue eyes widened; the secret "Four Symbols Seal" of the Namikaze Clan, capable of restraining even the Nine-Tails, was ineffective against the spirit?
Spitting blood from the corner of his mouth due to surprise, Minato was flung against the wall by a single tentacle.
The spirit's power in his mind surged—an S-rank sealing technique that could bind the Nine-Tails was useless?
"Could it only be… that technique?"
Wiping blood from his lips, Minato gripped his special three-pronged kunai.
He still had the advanced S-rank sealing technique, "Shiki Fūjin," but he had little confidence in executing it; his understanding was limited, and his training was insufficient.
Moreover, using that sealing would mean…
"The spirit is my responsibility alone. Konoha's ninjas, step back."
The priestess had anticipated the situation perfectly. She turned, exposing a pale, elegant neck to Kiyoshi, the collar line tracing a subtle curve.
"So only the priestess's sealing can affect it?"
Kiyoshi thought to himself.
The color alone indicated her seal was unlike traditional jutsus; typical seals were black, whereas hers was pink-purple.
If effective, the famed Namikaze Clan, renowned for their sealing techniques, would not have ignored the threat of this spirit.
Removing this millennium-old calamity would greatly enhance the Namikaze's reputation and secure more missions when establishing the Whirlwind Country.
Special monsters required special seals.
Legend says the priestess's power was so great that she split her heart and mind in two to contain it, becoming two entities: the priestess and the spirit.
Of course, this was Yomi's account, possibly distorted.
In a later post-credit scene after Shion and Naruto defeated the spirit, it was revealed the spirit was born from human negative emotions.
Like the Zero-Tail from another movie, it manifested from humanity's darkness; once discovered, it was too late, for humans could not fully purge their shadows.
Yet, the legend implies the original spirit was the first priestess's… negative emotions.
"Master spirit, I'll handle the priestess. Go reclaim your body!"
Yomi leapt forward, his long hair flowing, skin turning purple, mouth stretching into a grin full of sharp fangs.
"Hmph. Yomi, you've done well. Once I reclaim my body, the ghost legion will trample the Five Great Nations, and I will establish an eternal dark empire, naming you general!"
Seeing the priestess prepared, the spirit laughed, avoiding confrontation to retrieve its body.
The enormous form surged into the air like a black mist-dragon, heading rapidly toward the distance.
At that instant, Yomi slammed his hands onto the wooden floor, creating a deep pit that exposed the earth beneath.
Earth Release: Earth Corridor!
Boom!
Countless boulders shot upward, encasing the shattered hall.
Kakashi's face was grave; he had never witnessed such an anomaly.
Yomi had produced this jutsu without using chakra of Earth nature.
Was this the spirit's influence?
Kakashi kept a watchful eye, occasionally countering the approaching ninja from the Ghost Nation.
He glanced at Kiyoshi; his expression remained calm and unflinching.
"Spirit!"
By the time the priestess saw the spirit flee, it was too late.
Awkwardly, she only had close-range abilities; sealing required forming a small barrier.
Now, she could only stare helplessly at the earthen walls surrounding the hall.
"Let's handle these monsters first."
Kiyoshi spoke.
In movies, battles were confined to caves, preventing the spirit from escaping.
Now, the spirit had broken through the wooden palace into open space; containing it was impossible.
The priestess observed the twisted ninja of the Ghost Nation.
Though labeled Ghost Nation ninjas, they were mostly following Yomi's orders, while publicly obeying the Daimyo.
"Our priestess powers are limited to sealing."
She shook her head.
These mutated ninja, influenced by the spirit, had already transformed; her sealing's effect would be drastically reduced.
"Kill them all!"
Yomi shouted.
The other Ghost Nation ninjas surged forward.
Water Moon Yuuki, previously attacked, was nearly lifeless, his hand almost severed.
He desperately called for medical ninjas, but the hall was chaos; Rin had no time to attend.
Kiyoshi ignored Yuuki entirely, focusing solely on combating the Ghost Nation ninjas.
"Fire Release: Flowing Flames!"
One ninja unleashed a ring of fire toward Sunset Red's location.
"Watch me."
Asuma Sarutobi, thrilled, positioned himself in front of her, back turned, cheeks puffed, ready to release his own fire jutsu.
The Sarutobi and Uchiha clans both specialized in fire techniques.
A fireball shot from Asuma's mouth, colliding with the ninja who had cast Flowing Flames.
"Wait!"
Minato sensed something was wrong.
The outwardly weak fire jutsu seemed like a mere D-rank.
Glancing at the earthen walls surrounding the hall, he realized their plan.
At this moment, a large Wind Release jutsu could rapidly expand the ring of fire, scorching every corner!
The hall was effectively a closed container.
"Wind Release: Divine Wind."
Four Ghost Nation ninjas grinned cruelly, releasing a violent gust.
Whoosh!
The whirlwind roared like a tornado, tearing at everyone's clothes.
The priestess's ceremonial attire tightened under the wind, clinging to her slender curves, revealing her long legs.
She bit her lip, knowing that if she died here, no one could oppose the spirit.
"What do we do? None of us can use fire jutsu."
Ninjas usually dodge; only as a last resort do they counter jutsu.
Fire counters wind. To resist four ninjas' wind jutsu, at least four fire-users or one expert would be needed.
These were Sand Village ninjas—adept at wind jutsu, but their fire knowledge was limited.
"No, the markings there were destroyed; Asuma's fire won't counter the wind, only be used against us."
Minato thought grimly.
All his special kunai bore Flying Thunder God marks, but the rocks covering the walls had buried them.
The carriers of the technique were destroyed!
Asuma broke into a cold sweat, staring at the oncoming wind.
Damn! Four wind jutsus at once!
Even with Kiyoshi, there were only two fire-users.
But Asuma couldn't flee; behind him was Sunset Red.
The hall was like a bottle; anywhere inside was dangerous.
Only those mutated ninja could withstand such extreme heat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"