"Aaaaaah!!"
Aoki Yoru rolled on the ground, clutching his head in agony. This black energy was relentlessly eroding his spirit, feeling as if countless ants were gnawing at his soul. The excruciating pain sank deep into his marrow.
Although he used every ounce of his strength to flush out the black energy, even resorting to using his own life force, the results were minimal. No sooner had he worn away a tiny bit than the Evil God's energy would replenish it endlessly.
'This cannot go on.'
Even while enduring the bone-chilling pain, Aoki Yoru did not lose his reason; he tried his best to keep his mind clear.
He knew he had to sever the tentacles of the Evil God; otherwise, any further struggle would be in vain.
"Do not panic. Steady your mind, guard your consciousness. If the heart is clear as ice, even if the sky collapses, there is no fear!" Aoki Yoru muttered continuously, forcing himself to forget the pain.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, which were blood-red. Veins bulged all over his body. His spirit body frantically wrapped itself around the surrounding Natural Energy and wildly condensed the remaining Natural Energy within his body.
"It's not enough—"
Aoki Yoru's voice was torn and hoarse from the excruciating pain. He clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white, his veins bulging like coiled dragons.
He frantically extracted his own life energy. Usually, he treasured this above all else and was loath to use even a drop, but now, at this life-or-death moment, he couldn't care about such things.
He slammed the extracted life force into the mass of condensed Natural Energy.
Aoki Yoru compressed this energy to the extreme and smashed it violently against the black energy within his spirit.
"Snap—"
Aoki Yoru sensed that the connection between that black energy and the Evil God had been severed.
"Pfft—"
Aoki Yoru spat out mouthfuls of black blood, his face filled with deep despair.
He was exhausted and had no strength left to deal with the energy wrapped around his spirit. That energy was continuously eroding his spirit, as if it wanted to devour him completely.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have been so reckless. I hope the contingency plan I left with Nao works."
Aoki Yoru's eyes went completely vacant, the power around his body dissipated suddenly, and he collapsed straight down, falling completely into boundless darkness.
At this moment, in the sky ten kilometers away.
Aoki Yoru's clone was roasting venison with Nao on the back of Yatagarasu. His culinary skills were inherited from the original, and the roast meat smelled mouth-watering. The little girl, Nao, was eating with grease all over her mouth, her face beaming with a happy smile.
"Poof—"
Suddenly, the clone, who was roasting meat and boasting about his great achievements to the little girl, vanished, turning into a puff of smoke.
Nao, who was eating the roast meat with her little mouth open, saw the clone disappear. Her eyes widened, her pupils contracting slightly.
She immediately recalled Aoki Yoru's previous instructions, threw away the roast meat in her hand, took out a scroll from her bosom, and opened it in a flurry.
"Poof—"
A puff of blue smoke rose, and Aoki Yoru's figure suddenly appeared.
This was a Sealing Technique he had developed by referencing the one the Fourth Hokage left inside Naruto. It was a technique that could store Chakra inside another person and imbue it with autonomous consciousness.
Although the principle might be different from the Fourth Hokage's, the effect was the same; it was the result of his research over the past month.
"Brother Yoru!"
Nao was excited to see Aoki Yoru appear, thinking it was his original body.
The Aoki Yoru clone did not speak but just nodded, his face solemn. Being called upon meant the original body was in trouble.
He clasped his hands together, his fingertips leaving afterimages, and suddenly slammed one hand onto the back of Yatagarasu, shouting: "Summoning Technique!"
"Poof—"
A puff of white smoke rose, and the original body of Aoki Yoru appeared with a thud.
Aoki Yoru had been researching summoning people ever since he got the summoning scroll, so he could escape at any time during the most dangerous moments.
Unless trapped in a different dimension, no one could contain him; this escape ability was comparable to the Flying Thunder God.
Looking at Aoki Yoru, who was lying on the ground with weak breath and a withered appearance, the clone and Nao immediately felt the surrounding air turn bone-chillingly cold.
The clone immediately stepped forward to check. At this moment, the original body's aura was weak, as if the flame of life could vanish at any moment.
He probed the original body's interior with Chakra, his face instantly darkening.
A cold, sinister energy was wrapped around the original body's spirit, constantly gnawing at it. Although the body was using its life force to resist the gnawing of this energy, it was ultimately a drop in the bucket.
Now his life force was extremely weak; if no solution was found, it would be extinguished at any moment.
At this moment, Nao, standing beside him, had red eyes, and tears flowed uncontrollably. She tightly covered her little mouth with both hands, afraid that making a sound would disturb the clone's treatment.
Turning his head, the clone looked at the little girl and said solemnly: "Nao, you must remember my words clearly. After I disappear, you must immediately ride Yatagarasu to the Town of Hot Water. Yatagarasu knows the location."
"Once you get there, have Yatagarasu lower its altitude and let out a cry in the sky. Then, you must shout, 'Lady Tsunade of the Sannin, Jiraiya is dying, please come and help!' Do you remember? You must keep shouting and try to make everyone in the Town of Hot Water hear you."
He did not have Yatagarasu head toward Konoha; no one in Konoha could treat this injury, and going there would just be a waste of time.
He could only gamble that Tsunade was still in the Town of Hot Water. The reason he called out for Jiraiya was to bet on the relationship between Tsunade and him.
If she was in the middle of a winning streak at the casino and having a great time, only Jiraiya could move her; Tsunade might not pay attention to anyone else.
"Yes! I remember. Nao will shout loudly." The little girl nodded vigorously upon hearing this, her expression serious and determined.
The clone then looked at Yatagarasu: "Little Ba, did you hear that? Now, hurry to the Town of Hot Water at top speed—the place where we caught the cattle herd last time. Also, obey Nao's commands."
"Caw—"
Yatagarasu let out a cry. Knowing its master was gravely injured and near death, it flapped its wings powerfully, turning into an arrow shot from a bow, breaking through the air toward the Town of Hot Water.
During the flight, to take care of them, the feathers on its back stood up, wrapping them tightly to reduce the impact of the airflow at high altitude.
After giving them instructions, the clone immediately crouched in front of Aoki Yoru, turned into a stream of Chakra, and entered his head, tightly protecting his spirit and resisting the erosion of the Evil God's energy.
Nao clasped her hands in front of her chest, praying constantly, and stared fixedly at Aoki Yoru's chest, afraid that it might stop rising and falling.
"Why haven't we arrived yet!"
Nao watched as Aoki Yoru's face grew even thinner. Her eyes turned red, and she gripped his sleeve tightly with her fingertips. Her voice was laced with tears as she muttered to herself: "Brother Yoru, you must hold on..."
Then, her expression turned resolute, as if she had made up her mind. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her fair, slender, and thin arm.
She forced open Aoki Yoru's mouth and placed her arm over it.
"Mmm—"
Nao bit her lip, enduring the sharp pain of her arm being bitten, and channeled her thin but pure life force through the wound.
Seeing that Aoki Yoru's complexion improved slightly, Nao's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and a weak smile appeared on her pale face.
"As long as it helps," she couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"Caw—"
A bird's cry rang out, and the feathers protecting them dispersed. With Yatagarasu traveling at full speed, they arrived above the Town of Hot Water before long.