[Land of Demons]
That one whip kick from Miroku had scattered all of the dark energy on Moryo's body.
It meant Miroku's taijutsu level far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
"How is that possible?"
Moryo, struck by that whip kick, was momentarily stunned.
If it weren't for the huge amount of shamanic power radiating from Miroku's body, he would have suspected this shrine maiden was a fake.
"I told you, I'm no longer the same as before."
"Today is the day you die!"
As one of the most elite sealing and formation masters in the entire ninja world, Rengoku could naturally compete with Moryo in sealing arts.
But the real Miroku's stamina was nowhere near as strong. To buy Minato and the others time, Rengoku had to take a different approach.
So, while still in Miroku's form, he shifted into a combat stance, one that was clearly from the Iron Fist style.
Moryo looked puzzled. The dark energy around him flared up again, and he lunged toward Miroku.
But Miroku simply flipped twice in midair, dodging the attack easily.
Moryo's dark energy erupted like a sprinkler, firing again and again toward Miroku.
But Miroku's movements were impossibly agile, weaving, ducking, and spinning through the rain of violet-black energy without being touched even once.
And while dodging, the shrine maiden pressed in closer and closer toward Moryo.
Moryo noticed that "Miroku" had concentrated her shamanic power into her hands and feet.
He started to understand her strategy.
But, could shamanic power really enhance the body's physical ability?
Moryo was full of question marks. He could fuse shamanic power with darkness to make it corrosive, so it wasn't impossible that shamanic power could have other transformations too.
"Heh… You think after learning taijutsu for two years you can beat me?"
Though Moryo had just been struck back, he didn't believe he could lose in hand-to-hand combat against Miroku.
Controlling the body of Yomi, he charged in head-on.
With the sound of rushing wind, their fists and legs collided, and it was Moryo who staggered backward several steps.
Before he could even think, Miroku suddenly sprang from the ground, twisting in midair, another whip kick came crashing down.
BOOM!
With a heavy thud, Moryo stumbled back repeatedly.
Miroku pressed the advantage, her legs lashing out again and again like battle axes, sweeping toward Moryo relentlessly.
Moryo could only block desperately while retreating step by step.
In this world, every dress had pants worn underneath.
The shrine maiden's robe was no exception, she wore long trousers underneath.
But that didn't hinder her movement at all. In fact, each sweeping kick made the wide legs of her pants whoosh through the air, making her even more imposing.
Shock filled Moryo's eyes.
This was far beyond anything he'd expected.
Miroku's taijutsu wasn't just good, her strength and agility didn't resemble a beginner's at all, and her battle experience was extraordinary, driving him back again and again.
Moryo was stunned to realize, he was at a disadvantage.
"Damn it!"
Unwilling to accept it, he kept trading blows, but most of his attacks were blocked.
Meanwhile, Miroku's strikes, he couldn't always defend against them.
Moryo's body had plenty of energy, but his current body was that of Yomi, an ordinary human.
It couldn't withstand such powerful blows. He had to keep reinforcing Yomi's body by wrapping it in shamanic power.
Rengoku, however, who was playing the part of Miroku, had no such problem.
But since the goal was to buy time, he deliberately slowed his attack rhythm, making Moryo think his stamina was running low.
The two continued clashing fiercely, while inside the town's sealed area, another scene unfolded.
Because of the barrier, no one outside could sense what was happening within.
The real Miroku had already transformed, her body now surrounded by floating ribbons of light.
"I am Miroku. All citizens, come to the central plaza. I will lead you away from here."
Though Miroku couldn't fly, her body was light, a single leap carried her dozens of meters.
With the formation's enhancement, her voice carried easily throughout the entire town.
People began pouring out of their homes.
Seeing that it was truly Miroku, many dropped straight to their knees.
"Oh my god! It's the shrine maiden!"
"Lady Miroku is alive!"
"I knew Lady Miroku would come to save us!"
"Mom, it's the shrine maiden! We're saved!"
"It's the shrine maiden!"
The shrine maidens had protected the Land of Demons for generations, becoming near-mythic figures.
Because of their noble character, they were revered by all citizens.
Her prestige was beyond measure.
Seeing the shrine maiden appear, everyone was overjoyed and hurried toward the town center.
The people of the Land of Demons had a near-blind faith in Miroku. Whatever she said, they would follow.
After being besieged by the Demon Legion's stone golems for days, they clung to this single strand of hope like drowning men grabbing a lifeline.
As long as the people obeyed, everything would go smoothly.
Miroku set up a formation in the central plaza. As long as one stood within this area, Minato's chakra could link to everyone.
There was no need to explain how fast Minato was.
Most of the citizens didn't even know what was happening, their surroundings suddenly changed, and they found themselves in a valley within a small country next to the Land of Demons.
It was a spot Minato had deliberately chosen earlier.
Each teleportation consumed enormous chakra, but with half of the Nine-Tails inside him and his Edo Tensei body, it didn't matter, he couldn't die from exhaustion.
In about ten minutes, he could teleport over a thousand people at once.
He even created several shadow clones to maintain order and check for stragglers.
Outside the barrier, Moryo was still locked in battle with Rengoku's fake Miroku, completely unaware that inside the town, the civilians were being evacuated in secret.
After all, Miroku was a top-tier sealing master. Once her formation was activated, not a trace of energy leaked out.
Obito, meanwhile, didn't care what happened to the civilians; all he wanted was to rid himself of his body's hidden dangers.
Moryo had been watching Miroku's stamina all along, but Miroku always looked exhausted, yet still holding on with a bit of strength.
By this point, Moryo himself was tired.
He still had plenty of physical energy, but mentally he was growing weary.
His movements had already slowed.
From time to time he glanced toward the Demon Legion, trying to see where Obito was.
He wanted to call Obito over to help take Miroku down together.
"Moryo, you're dead today!"
Rengoku, seeing Moryo's expression, couldn't tell whether he was preparing to retreat or looking for allies.
So he carefully observed the surroundings, trying to discern whether it was Black Zetsu or Obito nearby, all while putting on an act of shouting a dramatic death sentence.
His real body was channeling large amounts of chakra into this clone, and he had perfectly copied Miroku's shamanic power one-to-one.
He could keep fighting for hours.
But if Moryo had other allies, that could still be dangerous.
Luckily, the town's defensive barrier suddenly shook slightly, as if its energy was running low.
That was the agreed-upon signal for retreat.
Rengoku, disguised as Miroku, immediately feigned exhaustion.
After forming hand seals, a burst of "final" shamanic power exploded from his body, blasting Moryo far away.
Then, with lightning speed, he shot back into the town.
Moryo let out a long breath, thank goodness, Miroku's stamina was even worse than his.
"Hahahahaha! You'll never escape from the palm of my hand!"
He chased after her into the town.
But as soon as he entered, his mind went blank.
The vast town looked like a Demon realm, not a single person remained.
'Where are the people?'
'Miroku is gone.'
'And the thousands of civilians, gone as well?'
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