Yuto scratched his head with a slightly awkward smile. What he had said earlier could indeed be easily misunderstood.
"I possess a power that can absorb energy. All the shrine maiden Chiyome needs to do is release her own power."
Yuto explained patiently while speaking.
Ashina still wore a hint of dissatisfaction and anger, and was about to say something when Chiyome gently waved her hand at him.
"I understand what Lord Yuto means, but perhaps Lord Yuto doesn't truly understand what the shrine maiden's power entails. I just hope you won't regret it."
A mischievous, girlish smile appeared on Chiyome's face, her voice carrying an enigmatic tone.
Hearing Chiyome's words, Yuto felt a surge of confusion — he sensed there was more to her statement than met the eye.
While Yuto was pondering this, Chiyome spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.
"What do I need to do now?"
Chiyome asked gently with a smile on her face.
At the mention of serious matters, Yuto temporarily set aside his doubts and looked up at the transparent bell hanging from Chiyome's chest.
"Shrine Maiden Chiyome, all you need to do is remove that bell and then release your power."
Bell?
Chiyome looked at the transparent bell hanging at her chest with confusion. This bell had been left by her mother and she had always kept it with her.
Hearing Yuto's words, Chiyome hesitated for a moment.
"Alright."
After only a brief hesitation, Chiyome nodded gently and reached up to remove the bell from her chest, setting it aside.
After what happened with the Makyo, Chiyome no longer harbored much wariness toward Yuto. If he had wanted to harm her, he wouldn't have gone through such an elaborate process.
After setting the bell aside, Chiyome clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and murmured softly.
In that instant, Chiyome's entire body trembled as she felt a tremendous power she had never experienced before surging from within, filling her entire being.
This power… so familiar and so powerful!
Because this power had always belonged to her.
And at that moment, outside.
Under Yuto's gaze, Chiyome's body suddenly emitted a holy radiance. At first the light was extremely gentle, but within moments it had completely enveloped her.
Pure, sacred power caused Chiyome's aura to continuously rise and elevate.
Ashina's face showed an expression of pure disbelief — so this was the true power of the shrine maiden?
Yuto stood quietly, watching the scene before him, a rare look of seriousness in his eyes. This power was far stronger than he had expected.
Under the influence of this immense shrine maiden's power, Chiyome lifted off from the ground and hovered in midair, bathed in pure, sacred light.
In this state, Chiyome resembled a legendary saint. Even Yuto couldn't help but feel moved.
This was the shrine maiden's power fully unleashed — Chiyome's Saint Form!
"Quite the unexpected power indeed."
A smile appeared on Yuto's face. He took a step forward and instantly entered Sage Mode, rising into the air just as Chiyome had, hovering in midair.
Standing below, Ashina stared at the two figures suspended in the sky, momentarily stunned.
Whether it was Chiyome's Saint Form or Yuto's Sage Mode, both looked like deities descending to the mortal world, giving Ashina an overwhelming sense of awe. He even felt an impulse to kneel and bow.
At the same time, a thought flashed through Ashina's mind — his shrine maiden and Yuto were remarkably well-matched.
"So this is the shrine maiden's power."
Chiyome slowly opened her eyes and felt the surging power within her, murmuring softly.
"That bell did offer you some protection, but its primary purpose was to suppress your own power."
Yuto looked at Chiyome and spoke softly.
As he spoke, he was carefully analyzing the shrine maiden's power, even comparing it with chakra.
Yuto discovered that the shrine maiden's power was indeed, as he had guessed, an entirely separate energy system from chakra.
The shrine maiden's power that Chiyome had unleashed, measured purely in terms of energy, far surpassed that of an ordinary Kage-level ninja.
Using pure energy to alter her physical form and even enabling levitation — the magnitude of this power was staggering.
But that was all it was.
Yuto carefully compared and found that the shrine maiden's power was slightly stronger than ordinary chakra in essence, but far weaker than the Six Paths' power. If forced to make a comparison, it was roughly on the same level as Sage Chakra.
"What do I need to do next?"
Chiyome came back to her senses and looked at Yuto with a slightly ethereal tone.
"Just extend your hand."
Yuto extended his hand as he spoke.
Chiyome did the same, and the two clasped hands together.
Chiyome felt the warmth of Yuto's palm and a blush appeared on her face, though the white glow surrounding her prevented anyone from noticing.
The moment they made contact, Yuto activated his ability and began absorbing Chiyome's unleashed shrine maiden's power.
And in that moment.
Chiyome felt the power within her rapidly draining, but she made no effort to stop it, allowing Yuto to absorb freely.
In the blink of an eye, an amount of energy equivalent to a Genin-level ninja had been absorbed into Yuto's body. The amount wasn't large, but it was sufficient for his purposes.
Just as Yuto was about to release her hand, an inexplicable force suddenly appeared within both of them. Their spirits shook, and this force pulled their consciousness into a special mental space.
When Yuto came to his senses, he found himself in a consciousness space, surrounded by white emptiness, with Chiyome standing right beside him.
Chiyome also discovered her situation at the same time, looking around with a bewildered and helpless expression.
"Where is this place?"
Chiyome couldn't help but move closer to Yuto.
"A consciousness space — you can think of it as the spiritual world."
Yuto made a brief assessment and answered softly.
This wasn't his spiritual world, but Chiyome's. They had both been pulled in by an inexplicable force.
This force wasn't particularly strong — Yuto could easily break free if he wanted to. But he chose not to. First, forcibly breaking free might affect Chiyome. Second, he wanted to see what was happening.
At that moment.
A massive amount of light suddenly began gathering before them. In the blink of an eye, a woman wearing shrine maiden robes with white hair, radiating a gentle aura, appeared before them.
[
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