Chapitre 123: Ch.123 Battle in the Canyon
The leader of the Yellow Springs Sect, standing atop the cliff, glanced at Uchiha Shinji and Sasuke.
His gaze lingered briefly on Sasuke's Sharingan before shifting to the carriage carrying Shion.
"Shion, you possess priestess powers even stronger than your mother's. Why resist your fate? Come, accept the destiny we share!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Yellow Springs Sect members, who had been replenished with chakra, let out crazed cries and charged toward the canyon, their eyes filled with an inexplicable frenzy.
"Prepare for battle!" Asuma shouted, drawing the chakra blades from his ninja pouch and rushing forward.
Kurenai Yuhi leaped to the side of Shion's carriage, while Yamashiro Aoba quietly positioned himself near Sasuke.
The two other Jonin with them took positions at the front and rear of the convoy.
Clearly, Asuma had made a plan before the full assault began: he would take the lead, Kurenai would protect Shion, and Aoba would defend Sasuke. As for the rest of the convoy, they could only rely on their own strength.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted throughout the canyon.
The Yellow Springs Sect members and the convoy began a chaotic battle all across the canyon.
Most of the Yellow Springs Sect members were only at the level of Genin, with a few elites reaching Chunin. However, having been infused with Moryo's vast chakra, even the Genin had become troublesome to deal with. Chakra quantity itself is a critical factor that limits a shinobi's power. Shinobi with enormous chakra reserves are never weak.
As these Yellow Springs Sect members recklessly unleashed various jutsu, casualties quickly mounted on the convoy's side.
Thankfully, Asuma, Kurenai, and Aoba, all elite shinobi of Hidden Leaf, held the line, and the convoy barely managed to fend off the overwhelming assault of the Yellow Springs Sect.
Clang, clang, clang.
Amid the clash of metal, Uchiha Shinji was locked in combat with two Yellow Springs Sect members.
As he fought, he kept an eye on the surrounding battlefield.
Asuma, leading the charge, had already dealt with several Yellow Springs Sect members and leaped onto the cliff, heading straight for the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect. It was clear he intended to end the battle by capturing the leader.
In the canyon below, Kurenai, still a Special Jonin at this time, used genjutsu to take out several Yellow Springs Sect members attacking the carriage. Yamashiro Aoba, along with the two Leaf Jonin, worked to hold back a large number of enemies.
Meanwhile, some of the Yellow Springs Sect members were surrounding Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Neji, while others fought the guards from the Land of Demons.
"This isn't enough!" Shinji assessed the battlefield as he fought.
Although the Yellow Springs Sect had a lot of members, and their attack was fierce, this level of power didn't seem to match the calamity foretold in Shion's prophecy.
This clearly wasn't their full strength!
...
On the cliff.
Swish!
In a flash, Asuma swung his blade toward the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect.
Seeing Asuma charging toward him, the leader snorted disdainfully. He didn't even bother dodging and slowly raised his right arm.
Suddenly, countless dark purple tendrils shot out from his arm, heading straight for Asuma.
"What the...?!"
Asuma was taken aback. He quickly halted his charge and slashed at the tendrils.
Swish, swish, swish.
The chakra blades, infused with wind-style chakra, were sharper than any sword. With a flash of light and the sound of whistling wind, Asuma severed the tendrils.
However, the dark purple tendrils flailed for a moment in the air before regenerating from the cut ends. They sprouted new, sharp fangs and lunged at Asuma again.
No matter how many times Asuma cut the tendrils, they continued to regenerate. Even with the sharpness of his chakra blades, he was forced to retreat.
The leader of the Yellow Springs Sect glanced at Asuma with disdain and said coldly, "Insect!"
Thump, thump.
It was as if Asuma could hear his own heartbeat.
His expression froze. The moment the leader looked at him, it felt as though something had grabbed his heart.
At the same time, a flood of negative emotions—despair, regret, hatred—all surged into his mind.
He felt frustrated by his failures in life, despondent about the current battle, and even began to harbor hatred for the Third Hokage, who had sent him on this mission, as well as Shion, who had foretold his death.
"Why am I fighting so hard for someone I don't even know? No, why do I even bother living in this world?"
Suddenly, Asuma found himself contemplating suicide.
The leader of the Yellow Springs Sect withdrew his gaze.
Moryo was a manifestation of a priestess's negative emotions, and as such, it could absorb all the world's negativity and project it as an attack.
Just now, the leader had used those negative emotions to attack Asuma.
Most individuals couldn't withstand such an overwhelming assault of negativity. To the leader, Asuma was already a dead man.
As expected, Asuma slowly raised his chakra blade, preparing to end his own life.
Just as Asuma was about to slash his own throat, the sound of crackling lightning rang out nearby.
Swish!
In an instant, a figure cloaked in lightning darted toward the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect, swiftly piercing his chest.
Splurt!
The leader spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked down in disbelief at the hand, crackling with electricity, that had pierced through his chest.
"Kakashi!"
Asuma snapped back to reality, realizing what had happened.
The negative emotions that had flooded his mind just moments ago receded as quickly as they had come.
Asuma's chakra blade was now less than an inch from his throat, and the chakra emanating from the blade had already grazed his neck, drawing blood.
Just a little more, and he would have beheaded himself.
Swish, swish.
At that moment, two more figures landed on the cliff.
One was Anko Mitarashi, and the other was Shino Aburame from the Aburame clan—both members of Kakashi's squad.
Kakashi pulled his lightning-cloaked arm from the leader's chest and leaped back to Anko and Shino.
Asuma, still shaken by what had just happened, shouted, "Kakashi, great timing!"
Kakashi nodded at Asuma, then focused his attention on the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect.
With a thud, the leader, his chest pierced by Kakashi's Chidori, collapsed to his knees.
Blood gushed from the wound on his chest, staining the ground in front of him in a matter of seconds.
Seeing this, Asuma said, "Looks like that's finally the end of him."
"Phew." Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.
The chakra the leader had emitted earlier had put immense pressure on him. He had never encountered such vast and malevolent chakra before.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Suddenly, the kneeling leader began to laugh maniacally.
Then, under the astonished gazes of those around him, he slowly stood up, a crazed expression on his face. "You pathetic fools! Did you really think you could kill me that easily?"
"Everyone, get ready!" Kakashi, sensing something was wrong, shouted in warning.
Before he could finish speaking, massive dark purple tendrils, each over two meters thick, erupted from the leader's body, flailing wildly in all directions.
Kakashi and the others scrambled to dodge.
The giant tendrils smashed everything in their path, pulverizing trees and rocks alike.
As Kakashi and his comrades dodged between the enormous tendrils, the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect clutched his face and laughed hysterically. "Witness my power!"
The tendrils began to swell grotesquely.
Kakashi's expression darkened. "This is bad! Everyone, get out of here now!"
Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions echoed from the top of the cliff, and in the midst of the smoke and debris, countless massive dark purple tendrils reached up toward the sky, twisting and writhing, as if they were blotting out the heavens.
Everyone in the canyon was stunned by the sight.
Kurenai, looking up, murmured, "What's happening up there?"
Yamashiro Aoba, his face pale, remarked, "So this is the power of Moryo, huh? No wonder they call it a monster."
Even the members of the Yellow Springs Sect stared in disbelief at the sky, dazed by the spectacle.
Shinji quickly snapped Neji out of his stupor. "What's happening on the cliff?"
Neji, shaken, stammered, "Th-that monster seems to have emerged from the Yellow Springs Sect leader's body!"
"What!?" Shinji's face paled.
He knew that Moryo's spirit couldn't exist on its own. If it had emerged from the leader's body, it meant that not only had Moryo's spirit been freed, but its physical form, which had been sealed in the Land of Swamps by the previous priestess, had also been released.
"It's fully complete!"
In an instant, Shinji understood this terrifying truth.
At that moment, the ground began to tremble.
One after another, stone warriors emerged from the cliffs, layer upon layer, stretching endlessly into the horizon, surrounding everyone in the canyon.
"If we stay here, we're as good as dead!"
These stone warriors were the same weapons Moryo had once used to bring devastation to the shinobi world. Though they moved slowly, they were immortal. No matter how many times they were destroyed, they would regenerate rapidly.
Shinji quickly assessed the situation, and with a swift movement, he dashed toward Shion's carriage, pulling her out.
At this moment, Shion was trembling, her hands covering her head, her eyes shut tight in fear.
"Don't worry, it's me!" Shinji whispered.
Shion cautiously opened her eyes. When she saw it was Shinji, she immediately threw herself into his arms.
Shinji gently patted her back, "I'm here."
Shion, still sobbing, cried, "Shinji, I'm scared!"
"Hold on tight!" Shinji said, as he hoisted Shion onto his back. Then he shouted to Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Neji, "Cover me, we're getting out of here!"
Without hesitation, Kimimaro charged ahead, cutting down several Yellow Springs Sect members with his bone blades in moments, clearing a path for the group.
Sasuke and Neji worked in sync, flanking Shinji on either side to provide cover as they made their way forward.
Taking advantage of the gap between the advancing stone warriors and the Yellow Springs Sect members, Shinji and his team, with Shion in tow, swiftly climbed to the top of the cliff and escaped toward the distant forest.
Seeing this, Kurenai Yuhi and Yamashiro Aoba, who were still in the canyon, held back the pursuing Yellow Springs Sect members, providing cover for the group's retreat.
In just a short time, Shinji and the others had made it to the forest.
Swish!
Before they could catch their breath, the sound of something slicing through the air alerted them. A black-robed shinobi suddenly appeared before them.
Shinji set Shion down gently and turned to Sasuke and the others. "You take Shion and go ahead. I'll handle this one."
Sasuke stepped forward eagerly, "How about I take care of him?"
Knowing the true nature of these black-robed shinobi, Shinji shook his head slightly. "No, you go. I'll catch up soon."
Without further argument, Sasuke and the others grabbed Shion and fled deeper into the forest.
Once they were out of sight, Shinji turned to face the black-robed shinobi before him. "Your target is me, isn't it?"
The black-robed shinobi responded coldly, "It seems you've already figured out who I am."
Shinji glanced at the towering dark purple tendrils in the distance, which seemed to blot out the sky, and then turned back to the black-robed shinobi. "Even in a situation like this, you're still after us?"
The black-robed shinobi, clearly uneasy about Moryo in the distance, replied, "A mission is a mission. You must die today!"
"Ah..." Shinji sighed.
The Root shinobi, under Danzo's control, had long since been stripped of their emotions, reduced to emotionless tools, unable to make decisions on their own.
Boom, boom, boom!
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently as countless stone warriors emerged, surrounding both Shinji and the black-robed shinobi.
Seeing the never-ending waves of stone warriors, both Shinji and the black-robed shinobi's faces grew tense.
"Shion!" Shinji called out, worried about her safety.
Not wanting to waste time on the black-robed shinobi, Shinji quickly disengaged and sprinted after Sasuke and the others. Any stone warriors that blocked his path were swiftly cut down by a red beam of light shooting from his body, reducing them to rubble.
Without a doubt, the red beam of light was emitted from the bell charm Shion had given him earlier.
All the stone warriors destroyed by this charm, infused with the power of the priestess, seemed to lose their ability to regenerate, crumbling into lifeless piles of stone.
The black-robed shinobi attempted to break through the encirclement as well, but unlike Shinji, he wasn't as fortunate.
The stone warriors he shattered with his jutsu quickly regenerated, and when he tried to escape by leaping into the air, he was immediately shot down by countless stone spears launched by the warriors.
Soon after, having expended a great deal of chakra, the black-robed shinobi was overwhelmed and swallowed up by the sea of stone warriors.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone