Moryo, now in control of Ryusei's body, wanted to continue speaking, but suddenly stopped.
"Who!?"
His eyes snapped toward the shadows in the dimly lit chamber, and without hesitation, he lashed out a writhing tendril of pure darkness.
Before the shadowy appendage could reach its target, a pitch-black katana cut through the air with a single, fluid motion.
Swish!
The cursed tentacle was severed in an instant.
From the abyssal darkness, soldiers of the void emerged. Their glowing crimson eyes flickered ominously, and leading them was a lone figure—a warrior draped in black, his presence akin to that of a reaper looming over the battlefield.
Uchiha Shin.
His gaze locked onto Ryusei, or more precisely, the entity possessing him.
"So, this is the infamous demon Moryo?" Shin mused, his voice cold, calculating. "No… If you were truly a demon, why are you made of chakra?"
He activated his Six Magatama Rinnegan, the intricate tomoe spinning lazily as he dissected Moryo's existence with absolute clarity.
"You're not some alien creature," he continued, his voice laced with intrigue. "You're the ultimate manifestation of Yin Release, a byproduct of absorbing human negativity to reach monstrous heights."
As Shin analyzed, his gaze shifted towards the shrine maiden, Miroku. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"The power of Yang Release?" he muttered.
From his perspective, Miroku radiated an intense life force. Her entire being exuded pure Yang chakra, marking her strength at a Kage's level.
One darkness, one light. One demon, one priestess.
A realization dawned on Shin, a possibility so absurd yet so logical that he almost scoffed.
He now understood Miroku and Moryo's origins.
Ryusei, Moryo's loyal acolyte, clenched his jaw upon seeing Shin's arrival. His face darkened as he barked out an order.
"Kill this insolent human!"
From the depths of his palm, grotesque black insects burst forth, wriggling their way into the flesh of the four guards at his side.
A sinister transformation unfolded. Chakra surged as their bodies twisted, mutating grotesquely. Once mere Genin, their strength now skyrocketed to that of seasoned Jonin.
"Go to hell!" one of them snarled, eyes filled with murderous intent as they lunged at Shin.
"Idiots," Shin sighed, not even bothering to raise a hand.
For him, personally dealing with such fodder was beneath him.
"Shadow Corps."
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
A deep, unnatural hum filled the air. From the floor, writhing shadows rose, morphing into humanoid forms—dozens of them. Each bore an eerie, red glow in their eyes, their very presence exuding an oppressive aura.
Elite Jonin-level shadow soldiers stood at the ready.
The moment their cold, unfeeling eyes settled on their targets, the four transformed warriors froze. Their murderous bravado shattered, replaced with sheer terror.
They turned to glance at Ryusei, their supposed leader. In that moment, a horrifying realization struck them—
This Uchiha was darker than the abyss itself.
They wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, but the shadow warriors were not so generous.
A massacre unfolded before Miroku's eyes.
Limbs severed. Throats slit. Bodies torn apart.
The four warriors, despite their newfound power, were nothing more than insects squashed under the boots of these merciless specters.
Even Ryusei, despite being possessed by Moryo's essence, stood no chance. The shadow warriors overpowered him instantly, his dark chakra useless against entities born from the very same darkness.
They were playing the same game, and Shin's shadows played it better.
"You will regret this!" Moryo roared through Ryusei's voice, his fury shaking the air.
A second later, his body was reduced to a shredded heap of flesh and bone.
Shin watched indifferently as the remains twitched.
"Amaterasu."
Black flames erupted with a simple glance, consuming every trace of Ryusei's existence. The cursed flesh crackled and disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but scorched earth.
"Tch. The soul's been devoured," Shin muttered in irritation.
He had planned to extract the soul's energy, but there was nothing left. Moryo had already claimed his due.
His Rinnegan eyes shifted toward Miroku, who stood unnervingly calm in the face of the carnage. He was impressed—most would have collapsed under the sheer pressure of his presence alone.
The shadow warriors melted back into the ground, their task completed.
"Tell me," Shin's voice was firm, carrying the weight of command. "Your true identity, Miroku the Priestess."
His gaze bore into her, the unspoken warning clear—her answer would determine how he treated her going forward.
Miroku, unfazed, lowered her head in acknowledgment.
"King of the Fire Nation," she addressed him with unshaken composure. "I will tell you everything."
The two retreated to the courtyard, where the atmosphere was eerily silent.
Miroku lifted her hands, brushing back her black hair. In an instant, it shifted—turning golden, then white, then black again.
"As you can see, I can control my body's form at will. This is why Moryo seeks to merge with me."
She exhaled softly before continuing, her voice carrying the weight of history.
"We are both the result of forbidden jutsu experiments from the Land of Demons. The shinobi who created us perished long ago—slain by Moryo himself."
A creation, not a birth.
Shin listened intently, piecing together the puzzle. He had seen enough of Konoha's dark history to recognize the pattern.
Forbidden jutsu research. Experiments gone too far. Disasters that spiral out of control.
The shinobi who meddled with Yin-Yang Release had unknowingly birthed two polar opposites.
Moryo, the ultimate manifestation of Yin chakra. Miroku, the living embodiment of Yang chakra.
They were never meant to exist separately.
"The fools must have thought they were simply harnessing chakra," Shin murmured. "But they didn't realize they were creating fragments of the human soul."
A terrible mistake, one that had given rise to an unstoppable force of destruction.
"If Moryo takes your body, he will become a true deity," Shin stated, his voice carrying a note of finality.
Miroku nodded, her expression grave. "Yes. If that happens, the world will have no means of stopping him."
Shin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "A fusion of Yin and Yang at that scale… he would be beyond the realm of any Kage."
He now understood why the priestesses of the Land of Demons had spent centuries sealing Moryo away. The demon was effectively immortal, immune to conventional attacks and seals.
And most dangerous of all—
He could devour the souls of others to grow stronger.
"If left unchecked," Shin mused, "Moryo will reach a level where not even the combined forces of the Five Great Nations could stop him."
His mind raced, already strategizing ways to counter this impending catastrophe.
"The current Moryo is already at his peak. He commands undead legions and strengthens his minions with Yin-infused parasites."
His eyes darkened as he considered the grim possibilities.
Moryo had to be eradicated.
No matter the cost.
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