On the desolate island, Arakawa Arashi examined Dojari Souji's injuries with a heavy heart. The extent of the damage to Souji's chakra pathway system far exceeded his initial estimates.
Normally, the Heavenly Prison Jutsu is a passive trap triggered by the victim's actions. However, Mui had actively forced the activation this time, causing the seal to invade Souji's organs and cells almost instantly, effectively dismantling his body from the inside out.
Morimoto Ryoji watched with rising panic. "Senior Arakawa, how is he?"
"His internal pathways are nearly incinerated, and his organs are beginning to fail..." Arashi gritted his teeth.
He hadn't expected their core powerhouse, the master of the Seven Heavens Breathing, to be neutralized from the very start. The weapon Souji carried had been a masterfully laid trap.
"That sword... what really happened?"
Mentioning his weapon, Souji managed a weak, bitter cough. "I thought finding that blade was a gift from the heavens. Now I see... the Clan Head had planned this from the very beginning."
Years ago, when Souji created the Seven Heavens Breathing and shook the Land of Vegetables with his talent, Dojari Taro had publicly congratulated him.
In reality, he was consumed by jealousy and fear, immediately setting a plan in motion to ensnare the clan's prodigy.
Souji had "stumbled" upon the blade while training near a hidden waterfall. When he brought it back, everyone noted that the Clan Head possessed a near-identical twin blade.
Taro had laughed it off as a "fated coincidence," encouraging Souji to keep the "heaven-sent" sword. Souji had cherished the weapon ever since, never suspecting the seal dormant within the steel.
"The transmission distance of the spatial ninjutsu is limited," Arashi noted, looking toward the mouth of the cave. "We are still within their search perimeter. We must find a way to contact the village."
The island appeared calm, but it was blanketed in a layer of specialized toxic gas, making a conventional escape nearly impossible.
"How much longer until the Mechanical Dragon can be used again?"
"About an hour."
The puppet inside the scroll needed time to vent heat and replenish its energy core. For the next hour, they were trapped.
Seeing the dead end, Souji struggled to sit up. "You two should leave when the time comes. I'll stay behind to hold them off."
If not for the selfishness of the Dojari clan, the situation wouldn't have devolved to this point. Souji felt a crushing weight of guilt and was determined to take responsibility.
Ryoji shook his head firmly. "No. We do not abandon our comrades."
Arashi nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed in thought. As the head of the Intelligence Department, he was used to cold calculations, but he had his principles.
If he resorted to abandoning allies for the sake of the mission, how would he be any different from Yamaji Mochun?
The thought of Mochun sent a pang of grief through his chest. He could hardly believe the woman she had become.
Souji opened his mouth to argue, but his face suddenly contorted in agony. "They're here!"
The constriction of the Heavenly Prison seal tightened—a clear sign that Mui and the others had pinpointed their location.
"Souji, stay here. Senior Arakawa and I will handle them." Without giving Souji a chance to protest, the two Sand shinobi charged out of the cave to meet the advancing Dojari forces.
In the Land of Rain, the Deva Path of the Six Paths of Pain stood atop a high tower, his Rinnegan fixed on Obito (disguised as Madara).
Nagato, through the Deva Path, did not understand why Obito had instructed Konan to warn the Kazekage about the traitors.
"Yamaji Mochun and her group were merely tools to be used," Obito replied calmly. "Since we currently need a massive influx of resources and supplies from the Sand, consider this a gesture of goodwill."
The deeper reason was that Obito had already extracted all the intelligence he needed regarding the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
He had no further use for that group of greedy, short-sighted fools. The Infinite Tsukuyomi wouldn't save people like them anyway.
Even in his darkened state, Obito harbored a deep loathing for people like Mochun. Using the Kazekage's hand to wipe them out was his intended plan.
"It is because there are too many people like Yamaji Mochun that the shinobi world is so chaotic," Obito continued. "Our goal is to bring hope to this world. Once a brief cooperation ends, the filth must be purged."
Nagato agreed with this sentiment. In the eyes of these "god-like" figures, Mochun's goals were too base and vulgar. Since she refused to formally join the Akatsuki, she was expendable
Having settled the matters in the Land of Vegetables, Obito turned his gaze toward the Hidden Leaf. "It won't be long now. The birth is approaching..."
"Your plan?"
"Capturing the Nine-Tails ahead of schedule wouldn't be a bad thing." Obito's form spiraled into a vortex, vanishing from the space. The red-robed Deva Path remained, looking out at the rain-slicked world in silence.
Outside the cave, the Dojari elite had the area completely surrounded. The "Big Three"—Mui, Yamaji Mochun, and Dojari Taro—converged for the final assault to reclaim the "Key Sword" from Ryoji.
A wave of Dojari clansmen charged forward, only to be met by a violent surge of sand. Arashi took the lead, using his sand manipulation to stall the advance.
However, Mochun and Taro joined the fray simultaneously. The Blood-Red Sand Hands clashed with the dual-blade whirlwind.
Surrounded and outnumbered, Arashi found it increasingly difficult to parry the combined onslaught.
"Mochun! You are driving the Yamaji clan into an abyss!"
"Heh, I never cared about the Yamaji clan," Mochun mocked. "In fact, didn't you sweep the Arakawa clan into the dustbin of history yourself?"
Arashi's face darkened at the remark. Meanwhile, Taro's dual-blade style became more vicious, the razor-sharp edges tearing through the air with terrifying force.
Morimoto Ryoji squared off against Mui once again. His black sword was sharp and aggressive, but Mui, a master of fire, remained unperturbed. With a calm, shadowy gaze, he countered Ryoji's every strike with ease.
Inside the cave, Souji listened to the sounds of battle. He watched his comrades bleeding for him and clenched his fists until his nails drew blood.
The more he tried to force his chakra to break the Heavenly Prison seal, the more the flames incinerated him. His body was a battlefield of agony. Souji spat out a mouthful of blood, his consciousness teetering on the edge of collapse.
I will not... give up!
The Sea's Interceptor
On the outskirts of the island's waters, Hozuki Haigetsu was still engaged in a fierce battle.
A world of ice and snow blocked his path. The Mist Jonin, Yuri, stood before him. Her eyes were glazed, her movements robotic—she was being piloted by a unique technique, turned into a living wall to keep Haigetsu away.
Despite being a puppet, her Ice Style was a formidable obstacle for Haigetsu's water-based abilities.
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