In the original story, the ninjas of the Land of Demons underwent exactly this kind of mutation.
Kiyohara remembered that worms carrying Mōryō's power would be inside their bodies. If those things were pulled out and eaten, they could mutate even further into monsters.
At the same time, their strength would multiply.
"Kill them."
Yomi gave the order flatly.
He was a loyal believer of Mōryō.
The moment the words left his mouth, those twisted figures charged into the crowd in a blur.
One Iwagakure chūnin didn't even have time to react before a mutated shinobi with a grotesquely enlarged arm grabbed him.
That oversized arm clenched tight.
Crack.
The Iwa shinobi let out a scream and was hurled away, smashing hard into a giant boulder in a spray of blood.
The terracotta soldiers came rushing down the slope in a dense tide.
"Engage!"
Minato's voice rang out.
His body flashed, and he appeared in front of one of the Land of Demons shinobi.
A Rasengan formed in his palm and slammed into the man's chest.
Boom!
The shinobi was blasted backward, a spiraling crater caved into his chest.
But in the next second, he got back up.
At the wound in his chest, purple-black flesh wriggled and regenerated at high speed.
He raised his head, and there was no expression at all in those pitch-black eye sockets.
"These things…"
Minato's brow furrowed slightly.
"Their regenerative ability has gotten stronger."
Kakashi moved through the battlefield and summoned Ninken.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking the movements of the Land of Demons shinobi.
But it didn't take long for him to notice something.
The chakra flow inside those shinobi was strange.
Something was supplying them with chakra.
Kakashi frowned.
Kurenai stood at the rear of the formation, her hands flying through seals.
Genjutsu: Sound Bind!
Invisible Yin Release chakra spread from her mouth and washed over the Land of Demons shinobi.
But their movements only stalled for a split second.
In the next moment, Kurenai tightened her grip on Red Moon.
The crimson eye set into the tsuba turned slightly.
Slash.
A flash of Red Moon's blade cut across a Land of Demons shinobi's neck, the edge biting into flesh.
Then countless purple-black tendrils burst out from inside his body and wrapped around the blade.
Kurenai's pupils shrank slightly.
She yanked hard, but the sword was locked in place by those tendrils.
Just then, a figure rushed in from the side.
"Kurenai!"
Rin's voice rang out.
Her hands formed seals.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!
A massive water dragon condensed out of the air and roared as it crashed into the Land of Demons shinobi.
Boom!
The man was sent flying, and the tendrils coiled around Red Moon were torn apart by the rushing water.
Kurenai took the chance to pull back her blade and jump back a few steps.
"Thanks."
"Be careful."
Rin stood beside her, brown eyes full of vigilance.
Their gazes swept across the battlefield.
The situation was bad.
There weren't many of the Land of Demons shinobi, but every single one of them was incredibly hard to kill.
Ordinary ninjutsu only left shallow wounds on them, and even those were already healing rapidly.
The terracotta soldiers were even worse.
Those clay constructs reformed after being smashed apart. There was simply no end to them.
More than a dozen ninja from the Five Great Nations had already fallen.
Some had been torn apart by the Land of Demons shinobi, while others had been swallowed up by the terracotta army and never got back up.
"Damn it…"
Gari's voice came from the other side of the battlefield.
His hands flew through seals as chakra surged.
Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!
He slammed a fist into the ground.
Boom!
A violent explosion tore through several terracotta soldiers, blasting them to pieces.
Shards of clay scattered everywhere.
But in the next second, those fragments began to writhe.
They pulled back together and reformed into complete terracotta soldiers in the blink of an eye.
Gari's brow knitted tightly.
"This crap…"
Mei stood nearby, her hands already weaving seals.
Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!
A huge sphere of water formed out of nowhere and trapped one of the Land of Demons shinobi inside.
The man thrashed in the water, but couldn't break free.
Mei stepped back a few paces.
A trace of gravity flashed in her green eyes.
Then, one of the Land of Demons shinobi suddenly began convulsing violently.
Something under his skin started writhing madly.
Those things burst through his flesh and crawled out of his body.
Countless purple-black tendrils, each as thick as an arm, slick with mucus and lined with barbs.
They poured out of his eyes, mouth, and ears.
Within only a few breaths, that shinobi had completely disappeared.
All that remained was a mass of tendrils, blooming like some hideous flower.
Then those tendrils began to gather.
They coiled together, compressed, and fused.
In the blink of an eye, a new body had formed.
It had a humanoid outline, but its whole body was covered in purple-black scales.
Several thick tendrils trailed behind it like tails.
Its face had no features, just a smooth plate of scales.
But beneath that layer, a distorted human face could faintly be seen.
It was the face of the shinobi from before.
"This is…"
Minato's voice carried a trace of shock.
"They absorbed Mōryō's chakra. They're no longer normal humans."
Miroku's voice rang out.
She had been watching the battlefield the whole time.
Ever since ancient times, there had always been people who sought Mōryō's power.
That was why she understood what that power could do.
Of course it could make them stronger.
The price was becoming subject to Mōryō.
As she spoke, one of the transformed monsters lunged at a Suna shinobi.
A thick tendril lashed out sideways.
The Suna shinobi had no time to react before it struck him.
Bang!
His body was sent flying into a dead tree, snapping the trunk in half.
A huge hole caved into his chest, and blood poured out in great gushing waves.
He twitched twice, then went still.
Everyone stared at the monster.
At that thing that had been warped out of a human body.
A chill rose from deep inside them.
"Damn…"
Gari gritted his teeth.
"This thing…"
He swept a glance over the packed ranks of terracotta soldiers and Land of Demons shinobi.
His Explosion Release could probably wipe out some of them, but not all.
He didn't have that much chakra.
Very soon, more of the Land of Demons shinobi transformed into monsters.
These creatures all had jōnin-level strength at minimum, and some individuals were even around elite jōnin class.
Before long, the screams of ninja from the Five Great Nations started erupting one after another, and the tide of battle began turning completely one-sided.
Kiyohara watched the horde.
Mōryō really was stronger than most of the other movie villains. With this many troops, conquering the surrounding countries would be easy for the Land of Demons.
If the number of these terracotta soldiers and corrupted shinobi kept increasing, even the Five Great Nations would find them a major problem.
So if this wasn't ended today, it would definitely become a massive future disaster.
"In canon, Miroku's side probably went straight for decapitation. Once Mōryō was sealed, the Land of Demons shinobi and terracotta soldiers lost their source of power and stopped being a threat."
Kiyohara thought to himself.
"Then I guess it's time for me to step in."
Kiyohara's chest swelled high.
Then he raised his face to the sky.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique."
Crimson flames burst from his mouth and shot upward into the heavens.
The air warped wherever the flames passed.
It was like a fire dragon swimming against the current, surging into the roiling sea of clouds.
Heat spread in all directions, and the rising hot air collided with the freezing air high above.
In the blink of an eye, a massive thundercloud formed over everyone's heads.
The cloud layer was black as ink, with arcs of blue lightning flickering faintly within it.
The Daimyo of the Land of Demons looked up, confusion appearing on that sinister face.
What was Kiyohara doing?
Why was that handsome ninja breathing fire into the sky instead of attacking the ground?
The kunai in Maki's hand froze midair—he thought maybe there was an enemy up above.
Mei, meanwhile, glanced at Kiyohara and got the distinct feeling he was about to unleash something ridiculous again.
Kakashi remembered something.
Back on the Cloud front, he knew Kiyohara had captured a Cloud shinobi.
That man had used a rare technique that could call down natural lightning.
At the time, Kiyohara had only mentioned it casually, and Kakashi hadn't paid much attention.
"Could it be…"
Kakashi guessed that Kiyohara was about to do the same thing.
Sure enough, Kiyohara formed a one-handed seal.
"Lightning Release…"
After forming the seal, Kiyohara raised his right hand high, then brought it slashing down.
"Kirin!"
Boom!
Lightning fell from the depths of the clouds!
It was thick enough to resemble a silver-blue kirin, wrapped from head to toe in blinding arcs of electricity.
It thrust down from the black cloudbank, splitting heaven and earth at a speed faster than sound.
White light exploded.
For an instant, everyone's vision was swallowed by the unbearable brightness.
All that remained was the high-pitched ringing in their ears.
When sight finally returned, the scene before them made everyone suck in a sharp breath.
Across the battlefield, the once-endless terracotta army now lay collapsed in every direction.
Their clay bodies were covered in blackened cracks, and some of them had shattered outright into heaps of debris.
As for the monsters transformed from the Land of Demons shinobi, they were in even worse condition.
Purple-black flesh had been torn apart by the lightning, exposing charred bone and blackened organs beneath.
Tendrils were scattered across the ground, still twitching faintly.
"Ahhh!"
The Daimyo of the Land of Demons let out a shrill scream.
His body was wrapped in lightning, and blackened patterns spread across the exposed skin.
He convulsed violently, and for the first time, real terror appeared on that cold face.
Purple-black mist spilled out of his body, wrapping around him until it took the form of a dragon-like monster.
Mōryō's true form had emerged through the daimyo's body.
"Mōryō is out."
Miroku frowned, already ready to strike at any moment.
A priestess's sealing arts naturally restrained Mōryō.
"…What kind of jutsu was that?"
Her brows were knit tightly.
Mei realized that Kiyohara had grown stronger again.
And not by a small margin.
"The area damage from that is even stronger than my Explosion Release."
Gari stared at the terracotta soldiers that had been blasted apart by the lightning.
The terracotta soldiers were slowly repairing themselves.
At that moment, the Three-Tails' chakra inside Rin suddenly stirred.
That immense power sleeping within the seal seemed to have been roused by something and began shifting faintly.
Though the Three-Tails couldn't see or hear what was happening outside, it vaguely sensed a chakra signature that felt strangely familiar.
Why does it feel like the aura of one of the Sage's sons?
The Three-Tails was confused.
The feeling was faint and vanished as quickly as it came.
It had only noticed the sudden burst of chakra just now.
"Rin?"
Kakashi noticed the change in her.
Rin shook her head.
"I'm fine…"
She suppressed the tailed beast chakra that had started to stir inside her.
…
In the sky, the purple-black mist dragon coiled and twisted, its enormous head lowered as it looked down upon the tiny humans below.
Then its gaze landed on Kiyohara.
A spark of interest flashed in those eyes made of mist.
"Interesting human."
Mōryō spoke.
Just then, a flash of golden light streaked in from the side.
Minato appeared above Mōryō, and in his right hand a huge blue sphere was spinning at high speed.
Big Ball Rasengan!
"Hah!"
Minato slammed the massive sphere down hard.
Boom!
Blue light burst outward, and the shockwave spread in every direction.
The Big Ball Rasengan tore open a huge gash in Mōryō's dragon body, spraying purple-black mist in all directions.
Minato dropped back to the ground and looked up.
That wound… was already healing.
Purple-black mist surged in from all directions and filled the gap.
In only a few breaths, the gash had vanished completely and the dragon body was restored.
"Useless."
Mōryō laughed wildly.
"As long as my chakra still exists, my body cannot be destroyed."
Its dragon tail swept across.
Minato's figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.
The tail passed through his afterimage and smashed into the earth, blasting a huge crater into the ground.
Minato landed fifty meters away and looked up again.
That thing's recovery ability was even stronger than he had expected.
"Its regeneration is extremely strong."
Minato said.
He couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.
Because Minato didn't really have large-scale destructive techniques. His fighting style was geared more toward high-damage single-target attacks—like an assassin who struck once and disengaged.
"We can suppress it first."
Kiyohara said to Minato.
The moment the words left his mouth, Kiyohara's body began to change.
Golden chakra poured out of him, gathering and taking shape around his body.
First came one rib after another, traced out in the air and wrapping around him.
Then a spine. Then the outline of arms.
A golden skeleton enclosed Kiyohara entirely.
Susanoo!
Miroku was the first to feel true shock.
That was the thing from her dream.
"…What is that?"
Maki had never seen a technique like this before.
Wasn't Kiyohara only supposed to turn into an eight-headed serpent?
What was this now?
Was this something all Uchiha could do?
Maki had thought this was Shisui's unique ability, since plenty of people knew Shisui could manifest a green giant.
And now Kiyohara had one in gold.
"What exactly is this technique called?"
As she used Wind Release to scatter apart the terracotta soldiers that were still reforming, Kurenai couldn't help asking.
"Susanoo."
Tsunade answered.
She was smashing through groups of terracotta soldiers with every punch.
Since the terracotta soldiers didn't bleed, Tsunade was having an excellent time beating them apart.
"That's what it's called?"
Kurenai nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah."
As Hashirama's granddaughter and the princess of the Senju clan, Tsunade knew that technique very well.
It was the legendary power of the Uchiha clan—something only those who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan could use.
When exactly had Kiyohara awakened his Mangekyō?
That was what Tsunade was really wondering.
But none of that mattered now.
The golden skeleton began growing sinew and flesh over itself, and then armor covered it.
Susanoo raised its right arm and brought the giant golden hand crashing downward.
Boom!
The earth trembled.
The nearest few monsters were struck by that huge hand, and their bodies burst apart instantly.
Kiyohara drove Susanoo forward, step by step.
With each step, Susanoo grew more solid.
Fresh bone began to grow—from the spine down into the waist, and from the waist into its legs.
In the blink of an eye, the golden skeleton that had once been only a torso had grown a full pair of legs and now stood complete upon the earth.
Susanoo's Fourth Form!
Kiyohara's position shifted from the torso up into Susanoo's head.
And in Susanoo's hand, a golden blade also appeared.
Susanoo usually came with different chakra weapons depending on the user—Madara's greatsword, Sasuke's bow, and so on.
Kiyohara's took the shape of a sword too, though his was a double-edged blade.
"Hah…"
Kiyohara let out a slow breath.
Originally, he had only intended to use the third stage of Susanoo, just covering it in a layer of armor.
But perhaps because his proficiency had increased—or because of Asura's chakra—he found that the burden of Susanoo wasn't as heavy as before.
So he naturally advanced to this stage.
"Now…"
Kiyohara's voice came from inside Susanoo.
"My turn."
He reached out.
Susanoo reached out with him.
That golden chakra hand grabbed Mōryō's dragon body in one massive grip.
Mōryō's whole body suddenly stiffened.
But the golden hand was clamped far too tightly.
Under the pressure of that golden chakra, the purple-black mist began to break apart.
"You…!"
For the first time, Mōryō's voice carried outright fear.
It opened its dragon jaws, purple light gathering deep in its throat.
Kiyohara didn't give it the chance to release whatever technique it was preparing.
Susanoo's other hand clenched into a fist.
Then it came crashing down.
Boom!
Purple-black mist exploded outward, and Mōryō's entire body convulsed violently. The light it had just gathered shattered instantly.
The golden fist kept falling, over and over, each blow tearing open a massive wound in Mōryō's dragon body.
Each time those wounds started to close, another punch landed.
Everyone could only stand there, heads tilted upward, staring at that giant golden figure as it pounded fist after fist into the purple-black mist dragon that had once seemed untouchable.
"Th-This… this…"
Gari's voice came out broken.
He couldn't even finish a sentence.
Right now, in that golden giant's hand, Mōryō looked like nothing more than a writhing eel.
"Human!"
Mōryō's voice came from inside the golden hand.
It had already been pummeled so badly that it had completely lost the ability to fight back. Its purple-black dragon body kept breaking apart and reforming inside Susanoo's grip.
"We can work together!"
Its voice turned seductive.
"My power and your power together—we could build an empire that lasts a thousand years!"
"We could make the entire world kneel at our feet!"
"Immortality! Power! Whatever you want, I can give it to you!"
Kiyohara's movement paused for just a moment.
A burst of joy rose inside Mōryō.
Did that mean there was a chance?
Then another punch came crashing down.
Boom!
That punch smashed into Mōryō's dragon head and drove its entire body into the earth.
The ground split apart, and a massive crater formed beneath it.
"No need."
Kiyohara said flatly.
Mōryō could keep its promises to itself.
Kiyohara was planning to kill Mōryō, go back, obtain The Warring States Sealing History, and fully inherit complete Asura chakra.