"If you think you can do it, then come and try!"
Facing the elite jonin and squad leader of the Iwagakure Beheading Unit, Hyuga Kagami showed no fear. He stepped forward, his entire being radiating a murderous intent.
Hyuga Kagami knew exactly why the Iwa-nin were provoking them.
There was no doubt that the unexpected deaths of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were still sending ripples throughout the shinobi world. The relatively weaker Sunagakure and Kirigakure were behaving for now, but the more powerful Kumogakure and Iwagakure were beginning to stir restlessly.
Precisely because of this, Hyuga Kagami felt that backing down was not an option.
Testing the waters never stops because of retreat—in fact, the more one retreats, the bolder the opponent becomes.
Sensing the overwhelming killing intent from Hyuga Kagami, the Iwa captain narrowed his eyes and slowly rested his hand on the hilt of his short blade. He realized Kagami wasn't bluffing.
On Kagami's side, Kakashi, Guy, and Shisui immediately took combat stances. Likewise, the members of the Iwa Beheading Unit tensed up and prepared for battle.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the grand hall became extremely tense.
At that moment, the shrine maiden stepped out from her cushion and spoke up, "Ninja from all villages, I beg you, please set aside your differences for now. The foreign demon is almost upon us!"
Both sides knew that infighting on the eve of such a threat would be foolish. They each took a step back, maintaining a temporary truce.
Yakura, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines, turned to the maiden and asked, "Lady Priestess, please tell us about the current situation."
The maiden nodded. "What we're facing is a foreign demon named 'Moryo.' Shamefully, it was summoned by a group of cultists from our own country, the Yomi Sect."
"I've set up a barrier that can block Moryo and the puppets he controls, but it cannot stop the cultists of the Yomi Sect. So before Moryo arrives, they will certainly attack this place."
"If Moryo breaches this place, it will have no more restraints. The entire world will fall into a living hell under its madness."
After her explanation, everyone's expression darkened.
They had yet to meet the demon Moryo in person, but they had already fought its indestructible puppet soldiers. If those were allowed to spread across the ninja world, things would spiral out of control.
Kakashi got straight to the point. "Lady Priestess, do you have a way to defeat this demon?"
The maiden gently stroked the girl resting on her lap and replied, "I can seal Moryo, but the seal must be performed at Mount Fuma in the Land of Marshes."
The fact that the demon could be sealed was good news. However, the sealing site being far away in the Land of Marshes created logistical problems.
Yakura folded his arms and rested a hand on his chin. "How do we lure the demon to Mount Fuma in the Land of Marshes?"
The maiden gave a warm smile. "You need not worry. I am Moryo's greatest threat. If I go to Mount Fuma, it will follow without question."
Kakashi immediately pulled out a map and spread it on the floor.
Although the Land of Marshes bordered the Land of Demons, there was still over a hundred kilometers between the temple and Mount Fuma. On top of that, the terrain was mountainous and rivers were swift, and the maiden herself was not a shinobi. A carefully planned route was essential.
Yakura thought for a moment. "Those puppet soldiers aren't actually a big deal. If we break through their encirclement, they're too slow to catch us."
The Iwa captain nodded. "Yes, the real threat is the demon and the cultists."
Originally, the cultists of the Yomi Sect were a group of low-tier ninja. Their leader, Yomi, was only on par with a jonin. But now that they had Moryo's power, they possessed an inexhaustible supply of evil chakra, allowing them to cast jutsu freely—even large-scale combination jutsu. Their threat level had skyrocketed.
Given that being chased by these cultists en route to Mount Fuma would be extremely dangerous, Yakura spoke coldly, "Rather than be attacked by Moryo and the Yomi Sect on the road, we should take advantage of the barrier here that blocks Moryo and his puppets and eliminate the Yomi Sect first. Then we can escort the priestess to the Land of Marshes."
The Iwa squad leader agreed, "That's our thinking as well."
Kakashi nodded. "No objections from us."
With Konoha, Suna, and Iwa all in agreement, the temple began mobilizing for the fierce battle ahead.
Due to his Byakugan and mastery of the Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation, Hyuga Kagami was both perceptive and defensive, making him the ideal choice to guard the shrine and personally protect the priestess and her daughter.
Unlike the others who were filled with anxiety, Kagami wasn't too worried about the current situation. His thoughts remained focused on the artificial Tailed Beast project.
As he delved deeper into the mysteries of his Tenseigan, Kagami had a growing feeling that the true bottleneck preventing his power from rising was none other than his limited chakra reserves.
He suspected that only by gaining more chakra could he awaken more of the Tenseigan's powers.
Just think of Nagato, the wielder of the Rinnegan—it made perfect sense.
After Madara Uchiha implanted the Rinnegan into the young Nagato, he didn't immediately gain access to its powers. Only after witnessing the murder of his parents and suffering immense emotional trauma did he unlock part of its abilities.
Later, after reaching adulthood, fully maturing, and enduring the shock of his best friend Yahiko's death, Nagato finally awakened the Rinnegan's full power.
The price was his body becoming frail and emaciated, nearly ruined.
And let's not forget, Nagato was carefully chosen by Madara—a member of the Uzumaki Clan, famous for their vitality and massive chakra pools.
Yet even a grown Uzumaki like Nagato couldn't handle the full awakening of the Rinnegan.
Part of that was because the eyes weren't his to begin with, but more importantly, it showed just how demanding a dojutsu of that level was on its wielder.
This led Hyuga Kagami to suspect that his Tenseigan was withholding more abilities not out of limitation, but out of self-preservation. His body simply wasn't ready to handle the full awakened state.
That's why he was so persistent in creating an artificial Tailed Beast. He needed a steady and massive supply of chakra—a living battery. Only then would he feel safe pushing the limits of the Tenseigan.
Otherwise, if he made a wrong move and ended up like Nagato—drained of life, skeletal, and weak like a walking corpse—it wouldn't be worth it at all...