Mitsuki's voice rang out at the same time as Shukaku's.
"Golden Eternal Seal!"
A massive amount of black sealing formulas surged up from the waves of sand, racing across the surface like giant pythons and sealing the ugly, tentacled monsters completely beneath the sand layers.
"So strong!" Obito widened his eyes and exclaimed. However, those words were not directed at Mitsuki. Mitsuki being strong was a given; what he meant was, "So Shukaku is actually this strong?"
Fury instantly exploded in the small tanuki.
"Oi, you brat!" Shukaku clenched his fists, his tone filled with obvious disdain. "The enemies my partners and I defeated back then were far stronger than these twisted abominations!"
"Mitsuki, those pillars!" Kakashi pointed ahead.
The thirteen gigantic pillars suddenly began secreting large amounts of black liquid, which flowed out around the altar and corroded the sealing formulas spread across the sea of sand. Mitsuki's hands formed seals at high speed, controlling the sand to condense into two enormous palms that slammed down onto the black barrier.
"Sand Cloak Technique!"
Boom!
The barrier looked like a thin layer, yet it effortlessly blocked the strike of the giant sand palms.
"Hahahaha, don't waste your effort, boy," the High Priest laughed loudly as he stepped toward the edge of the barrier. "This barrier was personally set up by Jashin as a reward for me. Even if the Five Kage came, there would be nothing they could do. Although Konoha sent people earlier than I expected, it's a pity. The ritual was already completed the moment those children were transported here!"
He took a few steps to one of the pillars and reached out to stroke a young girl's face. Her eyes were still wide open in defiance, and the fear on her face looked exactly the same as when she was alive.
"There is no savior at all, only a ridiculous fantasy! I waited for you here just to savor the climax of this tragedy, to let you witness your own powerlessness and failure with your own eyes! Hahahaha!"
Obito burned with rage. "You damn bastard! Take your hands off her!"
"Mitsuki," Kakashi asked quickly, knowing Mitsuki's expertise in sealing techniques, "is what he said true?"
"Yes," Mitsuki nodded lightly. "At least when my shadow clone arrived here, this unknown formation was already fully deployed."
That was why Mitsuki had sighed when the shadow clone dispersed. No matter what, even if the ritual was complete, there were still things he had to do. With a flick of his hand, he shot out a Flying Thunder God kunai. Mitsuki vanished instantly, appearing at the barrier like a flash of light.
At this moment, the High Priest still had not realized the seriousness of the situation and continued to laugh arrogantly. "Don't waste your effort. This barrier isn't powered by low-grade energy like chakra. Even if you are Konoha's Yellow Flash, you still… what?!"
Not bothering to listen to the madman's self-indulgent rant, Mitsuki drew Mistcutter and slashed out in a single strike.
"Full Counter!"
The invisible domain of complete counter expanded at extreme speed. The moment it touched the barrier, all the rules governing it began to reorganize. Mitsuki did not know what kind of energy formed the barrier, but Full Counter did not care about energy types; conceptual skills never go out of style.
The black barrier shattered instantly, and a massive torrent of dark energy surged violently toward the High Priest. All thirteen giant pillars around the altar were knocked down by the overwhelming impact. The priest was blasted away, smashing into the altar behind him. Cracked patterns spread across his entire body, yet countless tiny tentacles extended from within, stitching his torn skin back together like surgical sutures.
Mitsuki frowned as he watched. This High Priest had clearly modified his own body, in a manner quite similar to Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear technique.
"Cough, cough…" The priest looked at the collapsed pillars, confusion written on his face. "You… you aren't a ninja? How could a ninjutsu powered by chakra possibly destroy a barrier personally laid down by the Lord?"
"Four Symbols Seal!"
Mitsuki had no habit of explaining things to enemies. Using Body Flicker, he appeared in front of the priest and slammed a palm onto his head. Black sealing formulas spread rapidly, enveloping both the man and the altar within the sealing range.
Obito and Kakashi crossed the sea of sand and arrived beside the altar as well. Seeing the sealing technique activate, Obito clapped his hands. "Did it work?"
"Uh…" Hearing Obito's words, Kakashi suddenly felt a bad premonition. Was this guy about to jinx it again?
Mitsuki sensed the rhythm of the formulas. Logically, there should be no problem. "Should I add another Four Symbols Seal?" he pondered.
"Heh heh." A low laugh came from the priest.
Kakashi asked coldly, "Why would you sacrifice everything just to summon an Evil God?"
The priest's laughter sounded especially harsh. He repeated the word "summon" as if mocking Kakashi's ignorance. "Summon? Who told you my goal was to summon the Lord? Hahahahaha! You really think a mere seal like this can suppress this power!"
Suddenly, countless black threads shot out from the altar, weaving together in midair like venomous snakes. Above the altar, a hazy spatial gate slowly appeared.
The priest's trembling voice echoed throughout the cavern. "I am about to shed this fragile human shell and go to the world where the Lord resides, becoming a god myself!"
His goal had never been to summon an evil god to destroy the shinobi world. That was merely propaganda to recruit followers. Through researching the altar, he discovered an entire race of these beings. He believed that by opening a gate to their world, he could become one of them and travel back to the shinobi world to forge his own myth.
Mitsuki formed a one-handed seal, condensing a arrow and firing it at the priest. Dark purple flames engulfed his body, yet the priest seemed to feel no pain. He merely gazed at the gate as his tiny tentacles burned into charcoal.
Kakashi threw several kunai toward the illusory gate, but they passed through it as if piercing empty air. "No physical form?"
"In truth, it does have substance," Mitsuki noted. Under the observation of his Six Eyes, he could see the gate was hidden within a subspace overlapping with the shinobi world.