TitoVillar
patreon
OPI Chapter 426: Schemes Beneath the Surface
🕑 Added 2025-06-10 20:08:21 +0000 UTCShukaku was getting restless. Not only could he see nothing clearly, but the battle above didn’t seem likely to end anytime soon. He couldn’
Shukaku was getting restless.
Not only could he see nothing clearly, but the battle above didn’t seem likely to end anytime soon.
He couldn’t just sit here doing nothing, could he?
“You could go help out in the Land of Bears, like Lord Crocodile suggested earlier.”
It was Bunpuku’s calm voice from within Shukaku.
“No way!”
Shukaku immediately refused, roaring, “I want to see that bastard get wrecked—firsthand!”
He’d never been beaten so badly before.
Bunpuku sighed.
“Well… how about heading to the volcano to help Elder Chiyo? There’s a Seven-Tails jinchūriki there.”
“Hey, now that’s a good idea! I haven’t seen Chōmei in ages. That guy probably doesn’t even know about the World Government stuff yet.”
Shukaku figured it was time to fill him in.
He didn’t get along with Kurama…
But his relationship with the other tailed beasts was actually quite decent.
...
Meanwhile—
Inside the volcano sealing the body of Mōryō, atop a hidden altar—
A series of eerie magic circles glowing with ghostly violet light began to surface.
Standing at the center, high above the abyss, was Miroku—the current priestess of the Land of Demons—her entire body exuding a sinister dark energy as she held her right arm aloft. From the abyssal depths below, waves of purple-black energy surged upward and poured into her body.
“Hahahahaha! The barrier is finally open!”
The possessed Miroku priestess—now host to Mōryō—had eyes that gleamed with a dazzling violet light, patterned with elaborate symbols.
But her once-beautiful, pale face was now twisted by a savage, horrifying smile.
“Now, with the demon flesh my master has given me and the incantations he taught me, I can open the Gate of the Underworld right here! I’ll summon a demon army from the Demon Realm to annihilate this world—and I shall become a true demon! Hahahahahahaha!!”
From an outside perspective—
It was clear that the volcano’s crater no longer spewed magma and smoke, but a towering pillar of purple light that pierced the sky.
What was sealed here as the so-called 'body' of Mōryō was, in truth, a massive reservoir of energy formed over centuries—quietly absorbing the dark hearts of the shinobi world.
And Mōryō’s true body now resided within the woman it possessed—the current Miroku Priestess.
Because it wasn’t, as legend suggested, some otherworldly being from the demon realm.
In the beginning, centuries ago, it had been a part of a former Priestess of the Land of Demons—one who felt her power was too overwhelming.
To prevent herself from ever misusing that power, she split her soul and mind into two halves.
They watched each other, balanced one another, feared and yearned for each other—coexisting in a state of constant tension.
But at its core, it was simply separating a portion of her conscious power from herself.
What she hadn’t foreseen, however, was that the part cast out would be tainted by the endless wars and malice in the shinobi world—corrupted by the ever-growing darkness of human desire, and ultimately becoming a complete and utter monster.
Her solution?
Defeat Mōryō and seal its soul—its consciousness—within the Land of Demons, where she would personally watch over it day and night. Meanwhile, she would seal its energy beneath the volcanic depths of the Land of Swamps.
The method of sealing: sacrifice herself.
She would use her own body and power to 'contain' its 'body', and leave the next generation of Priestesses to guard Mōryō’s soul in the Land of Demons.
And when the day came that her body could no longer hold Mōryō—
Another Priestess would be required to come and take her place, to sacrifice herself anew.
Such was the legacy of sacrifice, passed down from one generation to the next.
That said, Mōryō’s combat power paled in comparison to a higher demon like Void. Which is exactly why Mōryō yearned to become a demon itself.
If it could—
Then here, on its home turf in the shinobi world—
It would likely far surpass Void in strength.
Thus, Mōryō had never truly submitted to Void.
And now—
Mōryō had finally merged its soul and energy into one. On top of that, it had possessed the body of the current generation’s Priestess—gaining access to the immense power inherent in Miroku’s bloodline.
The thrill of it sent Mōryō into uncontrollable, ecstatic laughter, echoing without end.
But its indulgent delay drew an impatient scolding—
"Are you done laughing?"
"Hurry up and open the Gate of the Underworld! The Seven-Tails outside has already been sealed back into White Zetsu’s body by Chiyo of Sunagakure!"
The Mōryō—inhabiting the stunning form of Miroku—froze mid-laugh, and turned in astonishment toward the pale silhouette in the distance.
"That fast?!"
"Hmph. Shukaku came to help them. Looks like those Ketsuryūgan freaks and the Cult of the Evil God won’t last much longer."
Mōryō responded with a cold chuckle.
"Isn’t that why you’re here? Lord Hiruko—the man who wields five Kekkei Genkai, said to be invincible and immortal in the shinobi world?"
The white-haired man standing at the edge of the molten lava pool, letting the searing red light dance across his pristine cloak—his crimson eyes fixed coldly on Mōryō—
Was none other than the missing-nin from Konoha, Hiruko.
One day, Black Zetsu suddenly appeared before him, stripping away his secrets with terrifying ease.
Then, it made him an offer.
It would provide him with the perfect plan—and all the bloodline limits needed—
On one condition: help Black Zetsu and Shinnō in their fight against the 'Otherworld Invaders'.
And now, this act of helping Shinnō and Mōryō open the Gate of the Underworld, unleashing the demon army—
Was all because of what Black Zetsu had told him.
That the Sage of Six Paths was still alive.
According to Black Zetsu—
The Sage didn’t care who ruled the shinobi world.
But he insisted the ruler had to be someone of the shinobi world.
So even if demons did enter, the Sage of Six Paths would surely intervene.
At that time, Void inside Shinnō would be resealed back into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and the opened Gate of the Underworld would be shut once more.
In short—no matter how dire the crisis, the Sage would handle it.
And Hiruko believed him.
Black Zetsu, for his part, was completely convinced.
There was no way Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo would stand idly by!
Black Zetsu’s mindset was simple: dump all the mess he created on Hagoromo’s shoulders and make him clean it up.
So, Hiruko staked everything on the figure Black Zetsu called the Sage of Six Paths.
Believing that when the Sage finally suppressed everything—
He would be the last one standing, the new ruler of the shinobi world.
In short—
Black Zetsu, Shinnō, Mōryō, Void, and Hiruko—
They seemed like allies, but each harbored their own schemes, each plotting their own endgame.
"Enough pointless chatter!"
Hiruko snapped coldly.
In his crimson eyes—
Three black tomoe began to slowly spin.
...
The Land of Water—
The current Third Mizukage—Yuki Eiji.
His kekkei genkai is Ice Release.
Now, inside the Mizukage’s council chamber—
Draped in a white Mizukage cloak, Yuki Eiji sat at the northern center of the round table.
His blue Mizukage hat lay quietly on the table before him.
Seated on either side were village elders.
“The situation is clear to everyone,” Eiji said gravely, sweeping his gaze over the room. “After Sunagakure, Konohagakure has now also fallen under the control of the World Government.”
“Moreover, based on the intelligence we’ve received, it’s all but confirmed that both Iwagakure and Kumogakure have chosen to surrender as well.”
“That means we’re the only ones left among the Five Great Nations. It’s only a matter of time before the World Government sends powerful individuals or military units our way.”
With those words, the room at the top of the Mizukage’s tower fell into a dead silence.
Everyone wore deep frowns, lost in thought.
They understood exactly what the Third Mizukage was implying.
He was asking: Do we fight? Or do we submit?
[Knock knock knock!]
Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the council room door.
A moment later, an ANBU ninja burst in without waiting for permission.
“Mizukage-sama! The daimyō’s capital is under attack!”
“What!?”
Eiji shot to his feet. “How many attackers? What’s the situation?”
“The message from Falcon says... only one attacker,” the ANBU replied, visibly trembling.
Eiji’s pupils narrowed sharply.
In the past, hearing that a lone enemy had come would’ve been laughable—arrogant, even.
But now, one person arriving could only mean one thing:
An immensely powerful individual.
Why?
Because the enemy is none other than—
The World Government!
