Chapter 250: Yomi? No — Mōryō!
Land of Demons
Gripping desperately at a tangle of vines, the Shrine Maiden Shion fought her way up a cliff face.
With one final burst of effort, she flung herself up and over, tumbling gracelessly onto the ledge above, her cream-colored hair a tangled mess.
Hours of grueling flight had already left her pale palms blistered raw, and her once-immaculate deep-purple traveling clothes torn open in several places...
Shion lay flat on her back, gasping for breath, staring up at the flawless blue sky above, willing herself to get back up.
There wasn't much time left. Tarusuke couldn't hold them off much longer.
I refuse...
I refuse to die.
A fierce will to live surged up inside her, and Shion forced herself upright, pressing on further away from wherever she'd come from.
She had no idea where she was even running to — but if she stopped running, death was certain.
If she kept moving, there was still a chance.
Mōryō's forces were hunting for her. The shinobi coalition was hunting for her too.
She refused to die.
But just as she rose to her feet, a pair of boots landed silently in front of her.
Shion looked up — and the instant her eyes met his, her entire body went rigid, her pale lavender eyes trembling uncontrollably.
A black cloak patterned with red clouds. Half his face a grotesque scar. Crimson eyes.
It's him. It's him. It's HIM!
This is the man!
The one who takes me!
In her vision of her own death — this was the man who captured her, and handed her over to Mōryō's soul!
Why? Why...
I tried so hard. I fought so hard to survive.
Why won't this let me go...
"Your name?"
Obito Uchiha watched the girl before him, calm.
"Shi... Shi... Shion."
The girl let out a broken, hollow laugh. So that's how it is, then?
Was it fear of death itself that drove me to run — my own reckless choice to flee — that ended up sealing my fate?
It all felt like some invisible current of destiny, exactly as foreseen: because she'd known the outcome ahead of time, she'd chosen to run.
But it was precisely because she'd known — that she'd walked, step by step, straight into it anyway.
"Understood."
Obito answered flatly, and a warping vortex suddenly bloomed within his Mangekyō Sharingan, Kamui. In the blink of an eye, the girl who'd just been lying on the ground was pulled into his personal dimension.
"Obito. You should get moving."
"The coalition squad's already flying this way."
"Deidara's with them."
A green head shaped like an aloe leaf poked up out of the ground, addressing the man.
"Kakashi, is it?"
Obito ignored White Zetsu's mention of Deidara entirely, gazing instead toward the distant horizon.
A small white speck was already visible, closing in from far off.
"Heh. Waste of space."
A scornful smirk crossed the corner of Obito's mouth, and his figure dissolved into a swirl of distortion, vanishing on the spot.
The instant Shion was pulled into Kamui's space, Mōryō's massive army froze in place.
A hundred thousand terracotta soldiers ground to a simultaneous halt.
Amid the terracotta ranks, Yomi's face twisted into confusion.
What's happening?
I can't sense the Shrine Maiden anymore.
And it wasn't just him — even Mōryō's soul, currently borrowing residence in his body via the forbidden medical technique, surfaced with the same confusion.
My... body... where has it gone?
Just as Yomi puzzled over this, the space beside him suddenly warped into a swirling vortex, and a man in a black cloak patterned with red clouds stepped out before him.
"You're..."
Yomi eyed the man before him, narrowing his gaze slightly.
Akatsuki...
He'd never actually met Obito Uchiha in person, but that particular robe was unmistakable.
"You want the Shrine Maiden Shion?"
Obito looked at the man before him, expression cold.
"Here."
Another vortex bloomed, and a limp figure crashed heavily to the ground before Yomi, drawing a pained grunt from Shion.
"You are—"
Yomi tried to speak, but Obito gave him no chance at all, vanishing from the spot instantly.
Toward this man trying to revive Mōryō, Obito felt nothing resembling goodwill.
He couldn't be bothered wasting another word on him.
Watching Obito refuse even a single further syllable, Yomi simply gave a light chuckle, entirely unbothered.
His attention had already fixed itself entirely on the trembling girl before him.
"My own body..."
The voice that came out of Yomi's mouth now was no longer the deep, resonant tone from before — it had become a coarse, sandpaper-like rasp, steeped in the weight of untold centuries. A demon's voice.
Shion stared at the man before her, trembling, wanting desperately to run.
But surrounded on all sides by the terracotta army, she had nowhere left to flee.
"Help me..."
"Anyone... please, help..."
"Help..."
"I don't want to die..."
"I want to live..."
"To live..."
Watching Yomi's hand reach out toward her, Shion's face crumpled with pure terror, and tears spilled down her cheeks under the overwhelming force of her will to survive.
"Shrine Maiden. You and I were always one and the same."
"Now, we simply reunite once more."
"Come..."
"Return to my embrace."
Just as Yomi's outstretched hand was about to brush against the girl's pale cheek—
"Lightning Release — Thunder Tiger Annihilation!"
"Storm Release — Reduction Chain Element!"
Two bolts of lightning tore down from the sky, punching straight through Yomi's palanquin and striking him directly!
"My lord!"
The four guards stationed to protect Yomi startled violently at the sight, instinctively looking up — and there, a massive bird had appeared out of nowhere in the sky, the two men who'd just cast those techniques already diving straight down toward Yomi!
"You will NOT harm my lord!"
The four guards immediately braced for combat.
"Wind Release — Wind Cutter!"
"Fire Release — Flowing Fire!"
"Lightning Release — Axe Bolt!"
"Water Release — Aqua Slash!"
Each of the four guards represented one of the five elemental nature transformations, and all four unleashed their techniques simultaneously at the diving Kakashi and Darui!
Facing all four incoming jutsu at once, neither Kakashi nor Darui showed the slightest hint of panic.
Kakashi drew the short white blade at his waist.
Darui unslung the greatsword strapped across his back.
The two men exchanged a single glance, and lightning began crackling violently around both of them!
Deep blue lightning and black lightning tangled together, tearing straight through the wind- and water-release techniques instantly!
But the remaining lightning- and water-release attacks were still bearing down on them!
At that moment, Kakashi and Darui pressed the soles of their feet together, using each other's momentum to launch clear of the remaining attacks' range!
But as the two of them separated, they revealed exactly who'd been following behind them!
It wasn't just Kakashi and Darui diving in — Temari came with them!
Her massive fan snapped fully open, revealing three purple stars.
An edge of fury crossed Temari's fine features as she cried out:
"Three-Star Fan — Slicing Void Wave!"
The giant fan swept down in a single furious arc, and a savage burst of wind roared outward from its three-star surface, tearing straight toward the incoming techniques!
The outcome was decided in an instant!
Both the lightning-release and water-release attacks collapsed the moment they met the wind-release wave amplified by the Three-Star Fan!
By now, Kakashi and Darui had already landed on solid ground—
Which also meant they'd landed dead in the middle of a hundred-thousand-strong terracotta army!
Every surrounding terracotta warrior immediately converged on the two uninvited guests!
Kakashi rode the gust of wind, charging straight for the palanquin holding Shion.
"Damn it!"
The four guards, furious, immediately moved to intercept Kakashi.
"Lightning Release — Black Panther Streak!"
A leopard crackling with black lightning surged up from in front of Darui, striking one of Yomi's wind-release guards at devastating speed!
The guard, caught completely off guard, took the full hit and let out an agonized scream, tumbling clean off the palanquin!
"Damned humans."
By now, Yomi had already recovered from the double impact of the lightning- and storm-release strikes.
An S-rank Thunder Tiger Annihilation — derived from Kakashi's Lightning Cutter — combined with Darui's Storm Release, and it had only managed to stagger Yomi for less than twenty seconds!
"Go!"
Kakashi had already caught hold of Shion, her face streaked with tears, and hurled her upward into the sky with all his remaining strength!
The great bird swooped down rapidly to meet her, and Deidara caught the falling Shrine Maiden cleanly in his arms!
But at that moment, Yomi raised a single hand, aiming it directly at Kakashi!
Several purplish-black tentacles surged out from his wide sleeve, streaking toward Kakashi—
And with his defenses fully committed to saving Shion, Kakashi's guard was completely open!
There was no time whatsoever to react to Yomi's sudden ambush!
"Captain!"
"Wind Release — Cutting Dance!"
Temari cried out in alarm, sweeping her Three-Star Fan in a violent arc, sending several razor-sharp blades of wind slicing toward Yomi!
But several dark silhouettes surged forward instantly, throwing their own bodies into the path of the attack!
The blades of wind sliced clean through them — but in the blink of an eye, the shattered figures simply reformed, whole once more!
Terracotta warriors!
They'd used their own bodies to block that critical strike!
"WHAT?!"
Temari stared, both stunned and furious.
But with her old strength spent and her next attack not yet ready, a dozen more terracotta warriors swarmed her all at once, pinning her flat to the ground!
"Temari!"
Darui cried out in alarm, moving to rescue his teammate — but he found himself already surrounded on every side by an endless sea of terracotta soldiers.
Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands.
"Ah, well. This is genuinely bad..."
Darui's expression turned deeply grim.
"Deidara!"
"Go!"
Kakashi, by now, was held fast in the grip of Yomi's tentacles, and he could feel his own chakra being drained steadily out of him, flowing straight into the man.
Deidara glanced down once at his three teammates below, then turned without a moment's hesitation and simply flew off.
No thought whatsoever of trying to rescue them.
Please. A hundred-thousand-strong army.
He'd have to be out of his mind.
Judging by how effortlessly that man had shrugged off S-rank and A-rank ninjutsu with sheer physical resilience just now, Deidara doubted even his own self-detonation would be enough to kill him.
So, without a shred of hesitation or regret, Deidara took Shion and flew.
"Chakra?"
"The same power that Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki carried."
Yomi, still gripping Kakashi tight, gave a cold laugh, feeling the man's chakra flow steadily into his own body.
"..."
Kakashi pressed his lips together and said nothing, staring at the man before him.
The relentless drain on his chakra had left him almost entirely without the strength to fight back.
He had no idea who this "Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki" the man spoke of was — but piecing it together with what he knew of Mōryō's legend, he could make a fairly educated guess.
That name was almost certainly the Sage of the Six Paths.
"My lord!"
"Are you unharmed?!"
"We failed to protect you adequately. Our lives are forfeit for this failure."
By now, the three remaining guards had reached Yomi, dropping to one knee in trembling, terrified submission.
"Hmph."
Yomi — Mōryō — cast a cold glance over his remaining guards and gave a contemptuous snort.
The Shrine Maiden he'd only just gotten his hands on had slipped away again in an instant. How could he not be furious?
Another tentacle slid free from Yomi's sleeve, snaking toward Temari, still pinned beneath the mass of terracotta warriors.
In moments, her chakra too had been entirely drained away by Mōryō, and she went limp, unconscious.
By now, only Darui was still holding out, fighting desperately.
But against an army as endless and indestructible as this, his defeat was only a matter of time.
These stone soldiers weren't chakra-based constructs — they were built from Mōryō's own power.
Which meant they fell entirely outside the elemental affinity system that normally governed chakra techniques.
Even Darui's lightning release couldn't damage them in the slightest.
"Heh. Five Kage. A shinobi coalition. How amusing."
Chakra had originally been spread by the Sage of the Six Paths specifically to let humanity understand one another. And by absorbing it, Mōryō could see straight into the life and history of whoever it had come from.
Which meant the Five Kage's entire strategy was now transparent to Mōryō, laid bare like glass.
Kakashi, barely clinging to consciousness, forced his eyes open to look at the man before him.
"You..."
Before Kakashi could finish, Mōryō gave a cold, mocking smile.
"The Hokage's confidant. The Raikage's own guard. The Kazekage's elder sister."
"I wonder — will your precious Five Kage be willing to trade prisoners for the three of you?"
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly at that.
"If you'd simply cut the Shrine Maiden's throat the moment you had her in hand, my revival might have been delayed another decade or so."
"But now... heh heh..."
Kakashi's expression shifted at that.
If they'd been ordinary shinobi, this wouldn't matter much.
But to demonstrate the coalition's genuine cooperation, this hastily-assembled squad had been built entirely from each village's own elite and trusted inner circle.
Temari, in particular, was the Kazekage's own blood sister.
Which meant...
Kakashi could already see exactly how this would play out — the Five Kage trading hostages with the man in front of him.
He didn't know how the others would react. But as the Hokage's own confidant, he knew Sakura far too well.
There was no way she'd sit idly by while one of her own died.
And with Kumogakure's ranks still badly thinned from the war three years ago, there was no way Killer Bee would abandon Darui either...
Damn it...
A wave of despair settled over Kakashi's heart.
The mission... has failed.
Utterly, completely failed.
"Take these three. We're heading to the Land of Wind."
Mōryō gave his three remaining guards a cold glance.
Useless, the lot of them.
"Yes, my lord."
The three remaining guards, drenched in cold sweat, bowed and obeyed.
...
Meanwhile, Deidara — flying at top speed toward the Land of Grass with Shion in tow — ran into someone he absolutely never expected to see.
"Deidara. What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Obito Uchiha stood expressionless atop the great bird, watching the former Akatsuki member, now decked out in full Iwagakure shinobi gear.
"H-hey, hold on, hold on, you've got some nerve showing up right now, of all times..."
Deidara pulled Shion in tighter against himself, watching his former teammate with open wariness.
(End of chapter)
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