Side Arc Part 11: Demonic Ritual
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"Ama No Hoka! The ancient weapon of the HOLE!"
The expression of Kakashi and the rest of the Konoha group turns ugly.
"If they successfully use its power, then I am afraid the entire shinobi world will come under their control. We have to hurry up and stop them." Kakashi orders his group.
"NOO! It's not a weapon!"
A mellifluous childish voice sounds in their ears.
"It's not a weapon! It's not a weapon!"
A little girl with short shoulder-length red hairs parted in bangs walks in front of the group. The girl has red eyes and her hair is tied into a small ponytail on the right side of her head.
"Miina!!"
Dokku and the rest of the survivors are surprised to see her outburst.
"Calm down, Miina!"
Shiseru kneels in front of Miina and hugs her to comfort her.
"NO, Shiseru! Ama No Hoka isn't a weapon. It's a gateway which holds all the dimensions together in a stable state."
"WHAT?!"
Kakashi and the group stare at the little girl with shock. Kakashi turns towards Dokku and Shiseru for help.
Mm…
Shiseru nods her head. She gently pats Miina's head and asks her.
"Miina, Aunt Shiseru can't understand you! So, can you explain what you said earlier to aunt?"
Mm…
Miina nods her head.
"I can see it. I can see the silhouette of various worlds intertwined with each other. These worlds are separated by various notes of sound which are produced by the Ama No Hoka. Also, I can see the information about the past, present, and future of certain objects. But… But…"
Her body shivers timidly as she stares at the giant wormhole in the sky.
"Miina!"
Shiseru hugs her to calm her down.
"This information is quite shocking!"
Kakashi is stunned to her Miina's revelation. He ponders over the matter while monitoring Miina.
"Shiseru, I am fine!"
Miina nods her head. She turns in the direction of the cemetery where the bodies of the Hachou villagers are buried.
Fwoosh…
A white light rises from Miina's body and covers the surrounding area.
Whoosh… whoosh…
She purifies the souls of the deceased people and guides them to the afterlife.
"This is… She is guiding the souls of the dead people to the Pure world." Yang Kurama, who is resting inside Naruto, opens his eyes because of the earlier commotion.
"Oh! So, that's what's happening."
Naruto relays the information to the rest of his group.
Hmm…
'This girl can divine past and future. She has a strange connection to Ama No Hoka. Then, she can also purify the souls of the dead and guide them to the afterlife. Looks like things aren't as simple as they look on the surface. No wonder, these demons are so restless!'
"Alright! Let's head towards the HOLE to stop the demons. We can't allow them to unleash the power of Ama No Hoka on the shinobi world."
"Yoshaa!"
Naruto pumps his fists to get ready for the fight.
"We will also come with you."
Dokku and Shiseru propose to Kakashi.
"You guys! It's not safe with those demons rampaging in the vicinity." Kakashi warns them.
"No, as a resident of Tonika village; it's my duty to protect it!" Dokku insists.
"Miina will come too!"
Miina walks in front of Kakashi.
"Miina thinks that Miina can stop the Ama No Hoka!"
"We will come with her to protect her!" Dokku and Shiseru persist.
"Fine!" Kakashi helplessly nods his head after seeing their resolve.
"Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino; protect the girl at all costs!"
He relays his order to the girls.
"Yes, sensei!" The girls reply in unison.
"Good! Then let's set off."
Swish… swish…
Naruto and Sasuke make some hand signs and slam their palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu"
Poof… Poof…
An eagle and a frog pop out of the white smoke.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Both of them jump on top of their respective summon.
"Garuda, head towards the giant column!"
Sasuke points towards the Ama No Hoka.
Scree…
Garuda screeches in excitement and speeds up towards the Hole.
"Boss! Head towards… Eh!"
"Ken-san!"
"Gamabunta is tending to his injuries after the previous battle. So, I came instead. Though I am pretty weak, I'll try my best."
"Ken-san! Then let's head in that direction."
Swoosh… swoosh…
Gamaken leaps in the air and jumps towards the Hole. The rest of the Konoha group follows after them.
At the Hole,
Kusuna and the rest of the demonic gang kneel in front of the giant wormhole. They have a fervent expression on their face as they stare at the wormhole with fervent eyes.
"Finally, our lord will break free from his imprisonment! Let's offer the sacrifice to get our lord's attention."
Kusuna walks in front of the Ama No Hoka pillar.
He takes out five pentagonal stakes from a scroll.
Stab… stab… stab…
He stabs them on the ground and creates a reverse pentagonal altar.
Vroom…
The altar lights up and forms a circle in the center.
Swoosh…
He takes out a fist-sized purple orb from another scroll.
Woo… woo…
The orb emits a dark purple ominous chakra as the sounds of multiple souls suffering in agony echoes inside it.
"The souls of these puny villagers will serve as a suitable sacrifice for our lord."
He inserts the orb into the altar.
Clap…
Kusuna clasps his hands together.
"Rite of Descension, commence!"
"Min, Shin, Gan, Reppyou, Shouzen, Mika, Dan, Raku, Shou!"
Kusuna chants a long ritual rite while performing strange head seals.
Swoosh…
Sasuke and Garuda arrive at the location of Ama No Hoka.
Rumble… Rumble…
The dark clouds in the sky crackle with red lightning.
Bzzt…
A bolt of lightning discharges from the sky and attempts to strike Sasuke and Garuda.
Whoosh…
Garuda flaps his wings and dodges the lightning.
Rumble… rumble…
Multiple bolts of lightning aim for them.
"Lightning Release: Purple Lightning Chidori Sharp Spear"
Sasuke gathers lightning chakra in his hand and forms a spear. He throws it towards the incoming bolt of lightning to block it.
"Garuda! It's time for you to return. We can't fight in an aerial battle under such situations."
Poof…
Garuda disperses in a puff of smoke.
Whoosh…
Sasuke jumps down and arrives in front of the demonic group.
"ANNIIKKI, Protect!"
The demonic trio shields Kusuna and confronts Sasuke.
"As I suspected, you three are still alive!"
Swoosh…
Sasuke draws his Kusanagi blade.
Shiing…
He activates his Sharingan and analyzes their chakra system.
"This is…"
He frowns as he notices a lump of dark purple chakra near the hearts of the demonic trio.
Ba-dump… Ba-dump… Ba-dump…
The dark lump is rapidly pumping dark chakra through their body. It courses through their chakra system and strengths their body.
Uwaah…
The demonic trio releases an incoherent scream and attacks Sasuke.
Swoosh…
Shizuku disappears from the place and arrives beside Sasuke in an instant.
"She is almost twice as fast as before!"
Whoosh…
Sasuke ducks down and avoids a roundhouse kick from her.
BAM…
Gitai leaps into the sky with his massive body and shoots towards Sasuke like a missile.
Whoosh…
Sasuke jumps back and avoids the slam.
Awaah…
Setsuna opens his wings and takes flight. He gains a considerable altitude. Next up, he folds his wings as a horn appears on his forehead.
Fwoosh…
He gathers a large amount of dark black lightning around his forehead.
Shoom…
Setsuna discharges the lightning as a beam.
Swish…
Sasuke blocks the lightning beam with the Kusanagi blade.
Swish…
He swings the blade and disperses the jutsu.
"Things aren't looking good! These people are much stronger than before."
Sasuke is quickly overwhelmed by the combined forces of the demonic trio.
Swoosh… Bang…
A giant toad falls from the sky and appears in between Sasuke and the demonic trio.
"Need some help, Sasuke!"
"You came right on time! We have to stop that Guy from completing his ritual at all cost!"
Sasuke points towards Kusuna.
"I am on it!"
Naruto and Gamaken leap towards Kusuna in an attempt to disrupt the rite.
Swoosh…
Gitai leaps in the air and launches himself towards the duo.
Clang…
Gamaken withdraws his Sakazuki shield from his back and blocks the attack.
Clang… Clang…
Gitai continues to punch the shield with his enhanced strength.
Swish… swish…
The forces from his attacks slowly push Gamaken back.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The rest of the Konoha group arrives at the boundary of the Hole.
Rumble… Rumble…
The altar set up by Kusuna hums with life.
Fwoosh…
It fires a beam of dark purple energy towards the giant wormhole in the sky.
Rumble… rumble…
Ama No Hoka responds to the giant purple beam of energy. With it as a center, a giant red dome-shaped barrier slowly encases the entire Hole thus isolating it from the rest of the world.
"We are in!"
Kakashi and the rest of the group are able to make it inside before the barrier could close up.
"What's up with this barrier?" Lee curiously stares at the barrier.
He clenches his hand in a fist to punch the barrier in an attempt to shatter it.
"LEE STOP!"
Kakashi immediately warns Lee.
Swish…
Lee's fist stops an inch away from the barrier.
"Don't attack the barrier."
He turns towards Neji and signals him.
"Byakugan!"
Neji activates his Byakugan and inspects the barrier.
"Tenten, attack the barrier with your Ninja tools." Neji requests her.
"Alright!"
Tenten summons a spiked mace and throws it towards the barrier.
Bang…
The mace hits the barrier.
Crackle… crackle…
Dark red lightning flickers through the barrier and incinerates the mace into ashes.
Gulp…
Lee gulps his saliva and jumps back in terror.
"Looks like our only way to get out from here is to shut down Ama No Hoka!"
Kakashi stares at the giant wormhole in the sky.
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In the Land of Sky,
Hmm…
Izuna raises his head and stares in the distance. He uses his Rinne-Sharingan to gaze into the distance.
"This is bad! This looks like a portal to another world!"
His expression turns ugly.
"I have to hurry!"