Inside the thick mist,
Ishiko carefully glances at her surroundings. Using the mist as a cover, the demon kin hid his presence.
Ishiko's eyes dart around as she searches for his traces. In the clouds above Ishiko, the demon kin silently stare in her direction, lost in thoughts.
He avoids looking directly at her, since it could potentially reveal his location. The Uzumaki clan members are highly sensitive to evil chakra. If he stares at her, then the woman in front of him could sense his murderous intention.
'I didn't expect this woman to be so strong! She looked so weak and fragile. But her power is extraordinary. Perhaps I should retreat and inform others.' The demon kin have second thoughts.
Having made up his mind, the demon kin silently controls his giant bird to fly higher and retreat from everyone's vision and sensory range.
Fwoosh… Fwoosh…
However, just as the demonic bird flapped its wings to gain altitude, multiple chakra chains flew out of the mist and bound the demonic bird. The sharp spikes at the chain's end pierce through the body of the demonic bird and slowly drag it toward Ishiko.
"Do you think you can escape after causing trouble?" Ishiko glares in his direction.
Several chains erupt from her back and bind the demonic bird.
"Damn it, she found me!" The demon kin grits his teeth in anger.
"Don't think you can take me down so easily?" He gnashes his teeth and makes a series of hand signs.
"Demon Art: Curse Flame Release,"
After completing the hand seals, the demon kin bites his palm, activating a strange seal on it.
Shua… Shua…
Purple demonic curse flames erupt from the seal on his hand. He places his burning palm on the giant bird's forehead.
SCREE…
The giant bird releases a shrill scream and its eyes blaze with purple flames. The curse flames quickly spread across its body and even enveloped the Adamantine Sealing Chain released by Ishiko.
The flames slowly corrode the chains and travel through them towards Ishiko.
"Onibi- the evil curse flames!" Ishiko mumbles with a frown.
The Evil curse flame, as their names suggest, are powerful demonic flames representing the 'material evil and darkness of the world'. These flames are so powerful that they can't be doused with ordinary fire or water and will burn their target until not even the ashes remain. While burning, these flames will inflict excruciating pain on the soul of its victim and these flames can even burn through chakra. The only method to stop these flames is to seal them or use another powerful flame of the same level.
The flames quickly travel towards Ishiko through the Adamantine Saling Chains.
Ishiko quickly dispels the Adamantine Sealing chains to avoid contact with the Onibi fire. However, the demonic flames burn through the air and travel towards her.
Ishiko quickly makes a series of hand signs and stretches out her palm.
"Uzumaki Evil Sealing Technique,"
A large fuinjutsu rune escape from Ishiko's palm. It rapidly travels towards the incoming purple flames and bursts into a sealing net upon contact with the dark purple flames.
Several threads of small fuinjutsu runes firmly hold the flames in place and compress them to a small marble-sized wisp. The sealed wisp travels towards Ishiko, who seals it in another scroll. The sealing process only took a brief moment.
During this brief time, the demon-kin has already escaped.
"You won't escape!"
Ishiko's eyes dilate.
Swish… Swish… Swish…
She makes a series of hand signs and inhales sharply.
"Fire Release: Flame Bomb,"
The massive hawk beneath her foot also opens its mouth and breathes out a large wind bullet.
Both jutsus combine flawlessly and fly toward the fleeing demon kin at an incredible speed.
BOOM…
The flame bomb explodes in contact with the escaping culprit and ignites the bird and the demon kin.
"Chase them!" Ishiko mutter.
Fwoosh…
The hawk flaps its massive wings and shoots toward the enemy at an incredible speed.
Swish… Swish…
Ishiko makes a series of rapid hand signs and conjures a fire whip to tie down the enemy. However, a grin appears on the demon kin's face as she gets closer.
"If I can't escape, then I will take you down with me!" He jabs a flame-infused finger into the center of the reverse pentagram symbol on his chest.
Shua… Shua…
Suddenly, his body swells up rapidly. His eyes turn blood red and several thick veins appear on his body. The flame whip tying him breaks and his body expands to three times its original size.
"Is he about to transform?" Ishiko mumbles with a serious expression.
Ba-dump… Ba-dump… Ba-dump…
The reverse pentagram seal on the demon kin's chest glows with a bright crimson light. Curse marks originate from the seal and rapidly spread across the demon kin's body. These curse marks even cover the body of the massive demonic bird.
A large blood-red cocoon engulfs the bird and the demon kin. Large amount of evil chakra courses through the cocoon, becoming visible to the naked eye.
"This isn't good!"
Ishiko frowns and makes a series of rapid hand signs.
HAAH…
She claps her palm and numerous fuinjutsu runes appear in the cocoon's vicinity.
"Uzumaki Secret Art: Demon Sealing Technique,"
The Fuinjutsu runes coil around the large cocoon and several black chains bind it, pulling it towards the sealing formation.
Thump…
Suddenly, several cracks appear in the cocoon. A burst of purple evil chakra escapes from the cracks and a massive scaled fist with enormous claws tear through the cracks.
The giant hand grabs the fuinjutsu chains and yanks them with force.
Snap… Snap… Snap…
The chains break apart from the force.
HAAH…
Ishiko increases the chakra output, releasing more chains. The new chains rapidly coil around the massive arm, sealing its movement.
Bang…
With a loud thud, another massive hand erupts from the cocoon. This hand shatters the chain binding the first hand. With both hands-free, they pry open the remaining chains, and a massive figure escapes from the cocoon.
A large, dreadful demonic figure soars in front of Ishiko and her hawk. The demon's skin is dark, charred gray, almost black. Its scales flash with an ominous iridescent sheen of wisps of purple chakra. The demon's wings are massive and bat-like, stretched taut with veins and sinew, visible under leathery, ashen skin that seems to shimmer with an evil aura. Jagged claws tip its wing edges, giving it a menacing appearance.
The demon's head is adorned with a pair of thick, twisted horns that spiral outward and resemble a drill head. Its blood-red eyes gaze at Ishiko with malevolence. The demon's mouth, now reshaped into a sharp, predatory beak, is filled with sharp, serrated teeth.
Its elongated arms are bulging with thick muscles, and its clawed hands are equipped with sharp talons, similar to a short blade.
SCREE…
The demonic figure releases a shrill scream that seems to bore deep into the soul.
Ishiko's vision turns blurry for a second.
"Genjutsu!"
She quickly dispels the sound-based genjutsu and focuses her attention.
Whoosh…
The demon has already made its move. Within the blink of an eye, it has covered the gap between them. Its sharp talons are inches away from Ishiko's face.
Swish…
The giant hawk folds its wings and nosedives, narrowly avoiding the slash. The sharp talons of the demon rip a few feathers off the hawk.
Scree…
The hawk releases a painful scream as a wisp of evil chakra corrodes its skin. Ishiko hurriedly places her hand on the hawk's head and uses her chakra to clear the infection.
"He is coming!"
Whoosh…
Ishiko doesn't have enough time to respond before the demon attacks again.
Swoosh… Swoosh…
It rapidly flies past them with its rapid burst of speed. Its body leaves afterimages as it attacks them from all directions. Ishiko and her hawk narrowly avoid the fatal strikes, but the hawk's body has turned bloody from the continuous barrage of attacks.
Tch…
Ishiko grits her teeth. She isn't as proficient in sky battle as the demon whose forte seems to be the sky. The demon kin's prowess has enhanced even further after its demonic transformation and fusion with its demonic summon.
After several rapid attacks, the demon pauses briefly to recuperate its stamina. Ishiko and her hawk are also haggard by this point.
Bzzt… Crackle…
Lightning flickers across the demon's claws as it infuses a large amount of evil lightning chakra into them.
Swish… Swish…
Ishiko senses the danger and takes out a scroll from her clothes. She makes a series of rapid hand signs and places her palm on the scroll.
Whoosh…
The demon finishes preparing its attack and charges towards her with an incredible burst of speed. Its body ripples through space as it emits a trail of lightning.
"DIE!" A hoarse voice echoes in the air as its claws enlarge in Ishiko's view.
However, Ishiko maintains a calm expression. She points the scroll towards the incoming demon and mutters.
"Uzumaki Secret Art: Demon Suppression Technique,"
Shua… Shua… Shua…
Suddenly, the scroll emits a blinding, bright light; forcing the demon to halt.
Swoosh… Swoosh… Swoosh…
In an instant, thousands of sealing runes fly out of the scroll and form a massive cage in the sky. Several similar sealing runes lock together and form an enormous fuinjutsu formation, creating a powerful barrier.
Bang… Bang… Bang…
The demon frantically flies inside the cage, smashing and clawing at the walls of the cage.
Sizzle… Sizzle…
The demon's hand catches fire as soon as it touches the barrier. It winces in pain and retreats. However, the flames keep burning its body. It hisses and groans in pain, channeling its evil 'Onibi flames' to counter them.
Crackle… Crackle… Snap…
Both fires burn and extinguish each other. Having learned its lesson, the demon opens its mouth and fires a dark lightning bolt, followed by a compressed water jet toward the barrier.
The Fuinjutsu runes on the barrier's surface flicker unsteadily but maintain their functionality.
Outside the barrier, Ishiko heaves a sigh of relief.
"That was a close call! But I can't contain him for long."
She observes the demon frantically attacking the barrier with a barrage of lightning bolts and water bullets.
Crack… Crack…
Cracks appear on the barrier's surface. At this rate, the demon will escape within a few minutes.
After steadying her condition and calming her chakra, Ishiko focuses her attention on the demon.
She makes a series of rapid hand signs, different from the usual twelve shinobi hand signs. Her hand signs closely resemble Buddhist mudra.
"Secret Buddhist Art: True Samadhi Fire,"
After completing the series of Mudra hand signs, Ishiko clasps her hands together.
SHUA…
Suddenly, a brilliant crimson glow appears in the center of the barrier. The small wisp of crimson flame spontaneously bursts into a massive fire pillar as soon as it contacts the demon.
AARRGH… AAHH…
The demon releases a frantic, shrill scream of agony. Purple smoke rises from its body as the crimson flame ignites him on fire.
Crackle… Snap…
Another sinister purple fire erupts from its body to counter the crimson blaze. Both flames contest fiercely to extinguish each other. This contest of flames further increases the agony of the demon, his shrill cries echo louder and louder.
Ishiko calmly watches the situation unfold in front of her. The flames she summoned weren't ordinary flames. They are the 'True Samadhi Flames' or the flames of purgatory.
These flames are similar to the Onibi flames, inextinguishable by water or wind. And they too will burn until not even ashes are left behind. However, unlike Onibi flames that represent the 'Material Evil and Darkness of the world,' the True Samadhi Flames represent the 'All Evil Purifying Flames' that banish all evil in the world.
These flames are a stark contrast to the Onibi flames and are thus strong against the demons.
Sizzle… Sizzle…
Both flames burn for a few minutes and finally extinguish each other. Smoke rises from the charred body of the demon.
Crack… Crack… Bang…
The demon suppression barrier shatters with a loud boom and the demon's massive body rapidly descends from the sky. It crashes on the ground and creates a massive crater.
This quickly draws the attention of the group on the ground, and they cautiously approach the crater.
Swoosh…
Garuda also flaps its wings and descends towards the ground.
Ritsu and others curiously and cautiously approach the crater.
"Who won?" Ritsu gulps his saliva and asks.
He has confidence in his mother, but one can never be too cautious.
"It's the demon!" Uncle Yugo's words frighten Ritsu.
"The demon's corpse is lying in the pit." He adds.
Phew…
Ritsu heaves a sigh of relief and complains.
"You almost frightened me, Uncle Yugo. Next time finish your sentence!"
Umm…
An awkward expression appears on Uncle Yugo's face. But he quickly raises his head.
"Mom!" Ritsu also glances at the sky and notices his mother.
He quickly rushes towards her. Ishiko leaps from her hawk. She gently nudges its head and feeds it a healing pill. There are several terrible wounds in its body.
"You did a great job, Garuda! Head back and rest."
"Yes, lady Ishiko!" Garuda nods and disappears in a puff of smoke.
"Mom, are you alright?" Ritsu notices the disheveled appearance of his mother. Worry appears on his face.
He notices several deep wounds on his mother's arm and calves. There is even a large gash on her stomach.
"I will recover after some rest!"
"Mom, but…"
"It's alright!" Ishiko shakes her head and walks towards the crater.
Inside the crater, the corpse of the demon kin lies silently. His demonic transformation has already faded and even his demonic bird summons is dispersing into a cloud of particles.
Swish… Swish…
Ishiko makes a series of hand signs and slams her palm on the ground.
"Uzumaki Evil Sealing Technique,"
She seals the corpse of the demon kin in a scroll and turns around.
"Let's continue our journey. We have created quite a commotion and this might stir further trouble. We must leave this place before more people arrive."
"Yes, Lady Ishiko!"
The group quickly cleans their surroundings and even fills the crater, using earth-release techniques to hide the trace of any battle.
Ishiko returns to the carriage to rest. Meanwhile, Ritsu lies down on the top of the carriage, still lost in thoughts.
He replays the series of events that had happened in the past few days in his mind, especially today's and yesterday's battle.
'I can't slack like this! I have to grow strong.' He quickly clears his mind of distracting thoughts.
"I have to master the 'Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu' before this trip ends."
With such resolve, he continues his training.
"Shadow clone jutsu!"
"Shadow Clone jutsu!"
"Shadow clone jutsu!"
"Sha-"
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A/n:- How's the story so far? Give your precious feedback in the comments.