A golden statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon instantly appeared behind him.
Yuichi and the other two had just lost face, so they went all out as soon as the battle began. All of them activated their Three Tomoe Sharingan.
As they charged forward, Thousand-Armed Kannon's fists came crashing down.
Relying on the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, Yuichi could clearly see the attack trajectories. However, there were simply too many fists, and they moved too fast.
He dodged several strikes, but the punches behind came in even denser. Though his eyes could follow the movements, his body couldn't keep up, and he was struck by several blows in succession, getting knocked away.
The other two suffered the same fate, though they managed to avoid any vital areas, sustaining only surface injuries.
When the fighting began, the other monks also rushed forward.
Samui drew her short sword, lightning flickering along its blade, then wrapping around her entire body. She turned into a bolt of lightning and charged into the crowd.
Any monk she touched instantly fell into paralysis. Alone, she restrained dozens of opponents.
"His technique is strange, but it looks like he can't move while using it, so it's long-range!"
Yuichi noticed that Chiriku had no intention of pursuing after repelling them, and quickly deduced the technique's weakness. He immediately adjusted tactics.
Fireballs rained down from the sky as Chiriku frowned slightly. The Thousand-Armed Kannon behind him moved again, forming a tight defensive net.
Though it appeared mysterious, Chiriku's actual strength was just at Elite Jōnin level. He was a little stronger than Yuichi and the others, but only barely. He relied on the strange technique to hold his ground.
Yami made no move. He simply stood quietly, observing the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue behind Chiriku.
Izumi was right. This power wasn't pure chakra. Rather, the technique drew on natural energy to reduce chakra consumption, using natural energy for attacks.
It was a very rudimentary form of application. There wasn't a true fusion of natural energy and chakra to generate a greater power.
However, being able to indirectly manipulate natural energy meant Yami had come to the right place.
The Fire Temple truly held something of value.
"…Damn you bastards!"
Yami turned his head toward the only monk with hair. The boy who had been knocked away by Samui wasn't paralyzed. He struggled to get up from the ground.
"Get out of the Fire Temple!"
The boy roared, his shout turning more and more distorted until it transformed into a beastly growl.
Red chakra surged around the boy, bubbling wildly.
Roar!
A roar exploded into a shockwave that forced Samui back to Yami's side. She frowned, looking at the boy who was crouched on all fours and glaring viciously.
"No! Sora is going berserk!"
"That beast's coming out!"
"Damn it, why now?!"
The monks of the Fire Temple panicked. Instead of celebrating the increase in combat power, they carried their paralyzed comrades and fled far back, leaving a large empty space.
A flash of understanding appeared in Yami's eyes as he recalled the boy's identity.
Sora, the son of Kazuma, the radical leader of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Kazuma once stole a portion of the Nine Tails' chakra during the Nine Tails Rebellion and sealed it inside Sora, turning him into a pseudo-jinchūriki.
"There's another jinchūriki in the Land of Fire?" Samui asked doubtfully, as Sora's transformation already displayed four tails.
Yami shook his head. "Someone just stole a portion of a tailed beast's power and sealed it in him. Would you really call that a jinchūriki?"
Samui frowned, unsure how to define it.
Meanwhile, Sora wasn't standing idle. In the next moment, he gathered an air cannon similar to a Tailed Beast Bomb and fired it.
Yami raised his palm and blocked the attack directly. No matter how strong the impact, it couldn't move him.
Until all the energy was depleted, neither Yami nor Samui had taken a single step.
The transformed Sora was stunned by what he saw.
"Calm down."
Yami clenched his extended hand. Several thick trees burst from the ground, pinning Sora down and forcefully suppressing the tailed beast chakra back into his body, rendering him unconscious.
Seeing Sora, a monster in their eyes, being neutralized in an instant, the monks stood frozen in fear, too stunned to act.
Yami ignored them and continued watching Chiriku's ninjutsu.
Thousand-Armed Kannon had transformed, and the golden chakra had become red fists, packing even more power.
However, Yuichi and the others had found a way to counter it. When Chiriku's jutsu activated, he couldn't move. The long-range Uchiha not only had Fire Release, but their shuriken techniques were an art form in themselves.
Yuichi and Yusan focused on ranged attacks, while Yushi capitalized on the distraction to engage in close quarters.
Soon, Chiriku showed a weakness, and Yushi used a blade to slash his tendons, forcing him to cancel his technique. The three quickly closed the gap, subdued him within seconds, and forced him to kneel before Yami.
"Hokage!"
Chiriku raised his head stubbornly. "Aren't you afraid the Daimyō will hold you accountable for this?"
Yami tilted his head, confused. "I'm just avenging my fiancée. What's that got to do with the Daimyō? It's not like the capital is by the sea—why would he care so much?"
Chiriku's eyes burned with fury. "Don't act dumb! You're here for the Fire Temple's secret techniques!"
Yami didn't deny it. He nodded. "Yeah. The secret arts of the Gift of the Hermit Group are compensation to Izumi. That's fair, right?"
"Reasonable. Totally reasonable."
Yuichi chimed in with full agreement. Yami glanced at him, and he shut up immediately. Then Yami looked back at Chiriku and continued, "Two choices. One, I destroy the Fire Temple and take the scrolls. Two, you make a copy for me to take, and seal the temple for a year. Your choice. I don't have a lot of patience. You have ten seconds."
Cold sweat dripped down the monks' foreheads as Chiriku's heart sank.
He'd learned enough about the new Hokage. His most prominent trait was murder. He solved problems by killing. Truly worthy of the title Shinigami.
That cold killing intent told Chiriku everything he needed. If he refused, the Fire Temple would be annihilated.
But the Gift of the Hermit Group's secret technique was the foundation of the Fire Temple. Even his former close friend Asuma only received a partial version. Yami's request would expose everything.
Chiriku was torn.
As time ticked by, Yami's killing intent grew more intense. Finally, Chiriku couldn't bear it any longer and lowered his head in submission.
"I'll get the scroll. Let me go."
Yami nodded slightly, and Yuichi released him.
Clutching his wounded arm, Chiriku slowly walked into the hall. He returned shortly after with two scrolls.
"These are my backup training copies. No need to transcribe. Just take them."
Yami took the scrolls and left with the others without even checking.
Unless Chiriku had a death wish, there was no way he'd dare hand over fakes.
On the way out, Yuichi remembered something, turned around, and reminded them, "Fix your gate and barrier soon. I'll be back!"
He had already taken the earlier failure as a personal disgrace and vowed to break through the Fire Temple's defenses on his own next time.
Chiriku said nothing, his expression grim.
Only after they left did he order the monks to tend to the injured.
Fortunately, Samui hadn't killed anyone. The Fire Temple suffered no casualties.
Later, two messenger pigeons were sent to notify the capital of the temple's closure.
Chiriku knew this Hokage was nothing like his predecessors. He would do exactly what he said.
Watching the pigeons fly off, Yami withdrew his gaze.
"Where to next?" Samui asked.
"Let's find a nearby town to rest. I need time to study the techniques."
They arrived at the nearest town to the Fire Temple. After resting and securing several rooms, Yami took out the scrolls.
He wasn't interested in the moves themselves, but in the Fire Temple's understanding of natural energy and how they induced it.
Reading through it once gave him significant insight.
Humans and animals viewed nature differently. Animals sought to blend into nature, while humans tried to harness it. The level of control humans required was much higher.
Using this as a foundation, he could integrate the strengths of all three Sage Arts and craft a Sage Mode that suited him best.
Still…
Yami raised his finger, and an invisible chakra arm extended, bringing a teacup to his hand.
Quite convenient. In the future, no need to go downstairs just to grab something.
Three days later, Yami's group left the town and traveled through the Land of Earth before entering the Land of Birds.
At the border between the Land of Birds and the Land of Wind, nestled among the mountains, stood an abandoned fortress atop Mount Katsuragi.
Few knew that this abandoned fortress was the self-sealed home of the Tsuchigumo clan.
After passing through several mountains, Yami told everyone to follow him closely and match his steps. The area was riddled with barriers and traps.
After walking several hundred meters, they arrived at a cliff. Looking down, it was bottomless.
Yami closed his eyes and sensed the barrier ahead. Soon, he located several weak points, but still found it troublesome.
He raised his right hand. A sharp buzzing sound rang out, followed by intense heat.
"Lava Release: Spiral Shuriken!"
The shuriken was hurled into the abyss, revealing the invisible barrier.
Under the force of the Spiral Shuriken, the barrier twisted at the center of the vortex and expanded outward.
After a few seconds, the barrier shattered.
On the opposite mountain, a lone fortress was revealed, with a quiet path leading into it.
Yami formed a seal and built a wooden bridge across.
At the same time, inside the fortress, the Tsuchigumo clan noticed the barrier had been broken. The current clan head, En no Gyōja, turned pale and immediately ordered Tonbee:
"Hurry! Request help from Konoha. Someone has broken the barrier!"
(To be continued.)