[Previous chapter was missing, which has been fixed] [Unohana Vs Otsutsuki]
After awakening, the priestess Kikyo maintained a calm expression while the barrier around her continuously expanded outward. In addition to a soul barrier, Kikyo deployed a special reinforcing barrier designed to enhance the explosive power of her own spiritual energy.
It had to be said that this priestess's reflexes and tactical literacy demonstrated that she was by no means as frail as she appeared on the surface; on the contrary, she was a top-tier powerhouse.
An archer who happened to know so many other skills...
According to the memories Shiraishi had acquired, Kikyo had a very distinct personality: she was tolerant and kind to others, exceptionally gentle toward the weak, and selflessly dedicated to those around her.
Beneath her strong exterior lay a tender and passionate heart. In battle, she could calmly analyze her opponent's stance or the immediate situation on the scene, easily see through an enemy's purpose and conspiracies, and react rapidly at critical moments.
Therefore, the moment Kikyo sensed the power of Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei), her first reaction was to use her own soul barrier as a defensive measure. At the same time, her sense of justice and order far surpassed that of Ace and Unohana Retsu.
Perceiving that she had been revived by a special method of living sacrifice, Kikyo's immediate reaction was to identify the other party as belonging to an evil cult that intended to exploit her and the Shikon Jewel.
As a result, she maintained a somewhat hostile posture toward Shiraishi and Unohana Retsu.
It had to be said that such a priestess brought a glimmer of admiration into Shiraishi's eyes. Although Kikyo carried an aura similar to Unohana Retsu's, they were fundamentally two completely different categories of people.
In particular, her various powerful purification abilities might just be the strongest weapon for countering Impure World Reincarnation.
Once the barrier coverage was complete, Kikyo spoke slowly: "Who are you people? And what kind of place is this?"
"This is a brand-new world."
Compared to Ace's simplicity and Unohana Retsu's casual nature, Kikyo was considerably more cautious. Although she didn't attack, the spiritual energy continuously boiling within her barrier symbolized that she had not lowered her guard against Shiraishi.
Allowing the ambient wind to scatter her long black hair, Kikyo's imposing aura did not diminish: "Then, what is the purpose of resurrecting me?"
Possessing the Shikon Jewel, she had always suffered from the schemes of various factions, demons, and monsters. Concurrently, Kikyo maintained a vigilant heart toward anyone; evidently, she had not yet truly walked out from the incident involving Inuyasha.
Shiraishi locked eyes with Kikyo for a brief moment before slowly speaking: "Because I need your power."
Unexpectedly, this young man opposite her did not look for various excuses to prevaricate, but directly pointed out that he valued her own strength.
"My power?"
Stepping forward slowly, Shiraishi spoke without reservation: "This continent you have arrived upon has suffered from continuous warfare for a thousand years. I merely want to use my own methods to bring an end to this era.
However, my opponents are utilizing a secret technique that profanes the deceased—the Impure World Reincarnation. I need your power, Priestess Kikyo, to purify these wandering spirits."
The ideology of grand unification had been mainstream in the Eastern world since ancient times. As a top-tier priestess of the Onmyoji lineage, Kikyo possessed a very high level of cultural literacy; thus, she could comprehend Shiraishi's rhetoric.
Furthermore, as a priestess, she had encountered many secular daimyos and generals; the aura emanating from Shiraishi's body perfectly matched the setting he described.
She confirmed that Shiraishi's words held no lies, but Kikyo shifted the question to another aspect: "A method that profanes the deceased... didn't you just use one as well? And you utilized the most cruel kind of living sacrifice."
Under the reverse release of Impure World Reincarnation, Kikyo had a clearer perception of this physical body. However, compared to ordinary reincarnated individuals who required chakra to maintain their existence, Kikyo's sustaining medium was spiritual energy.
Therefore, just like in the original story of Inuyasha, Kikyo needed to collect a certain amount of dead souls to sustain her existence.
However, because the completeness of her soul was exceptionally high at the moment of her awakening, her body did not display the cracked, paper-like fragments typical of general reincarnated corpses.
It could even be said that Kikyo's current strength was fundamentally close to her peak during her lifetime, rather than being in a fragmented state of a damaged soul.
Although the energy utilized by both Kikyo and Unohana Retsu was called spiritual energy (Reiryoku/Ryoku), the two were essentially entirely different concepts.
Kikyo's spiritual energy was more akin to a method of mobilizing natural forces and one's own soul, similar to the Onmyojutsu of the Shinobi Continent; coupled with the assistance of the Shikon Jewel, it could elevate the prestige of Kikyo's own spiritual energy.
Unohana Retsu's spiritual energy, on the other hand, was a high-grade energy from the Soul Society, which currently existed very sparsely within the Shinobi Continent. Therefore, the limitations on Unohana Retsu's spiritual energy were considerably greater than Kikyo's.
However, Unohana Retsu could feel that under the scope of Kikyo's barrier technique, the recovery speed of her own spiritual energy was quite a bit faster than before.
This priestess, aside from her archer setting, also possesses powerful supportive and purifying roles. No wonder she is valued so highly by this Kazekage.
"The target of the living sacrifice is called a White Zetsu..."
Shiraishi briefly explained the origins of White Zetsu and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The more Kikyo listened, the more solemn her expression became. Coupled with Shiraishi extracting several other White Zetsu sealed inside a scroll, Kikyo finally believed everything Shiraishi said.
As a priestess brimming with a sense of justice, Kikyo naturally disliked such monstrous entities. Consequently, her hostile posture toward Shiraishi and Unohana Retsu dissolved, and she deactivated the barrier coverage.
Unohana Retsu, on the other hand, looked on with a slight, amused smile as Shiraishi hoodwinked Kikyo. That Infinite Tsukuyomi plan was something this fellow was also currently pushing forward.
Although it was done under a posture of "destruction before creation" to handle the various hidden problems plaguing the shinobi world for a thousand years, Unohana Retsu internally considered that this Shiraishi could hardly be counted as a harmless, saintly figure.
Nevertheless, securing such a powerful teammate at this juncture was of paramount importance.
Unohana Retsu felt the gusts of sea breeze blowing from the offshore base: "How many more times do you need to open your world barrier?"
Mentioning this matter, Shiraishi pondered for a moment: "The coordinates that can be obtained—there is only one left. It is currently still being calculated and organized."
The memories of the final world were the most chaotic; at present, Shiraishi couldn't discern any clues from them. However, referencing the appearances of Ace, Unohana Retsu, and Kikyo, it instead accelerated Shiraishi's drive to sort through those memories.
After the trio utilized a special reverse-summoning space traversal technique to return to Sunagakure, Unohana Retsu suddenly drew a golden card from her robes: "During the previous battle, I seized this card from the opponent's side. It might be of use to you."
Thinking back to the battle with the Otsutsuki clan, Unohana Retsu also felt it was troublesome.
The strongest clan of this world truly lived up to its reputation; just to deal with one of their ordinary clansmen, she had to deploy a massive amount of spiritual energy to barely frighten him away.
According to the intelligence provided by Shiraishi, the Otsutsuki clan possessed clansmen who specialized in techniques (jutsu), those who specialized in raw power, and existences that balanced both. This made things very troublesome.
The origin of Ninshu, the Sage of Six Paths, was an existence that balanced both, as did his two sons, Asura and Indra. No wonder this Kazekage was so wary of this clan.
Receiving the golden card from Unohana Retsu, Shiraishi suddenly felt a bit astonished.
The reading speed of this golden card was actually much longer than that of conventional golden cards... Based on past experience, the value of this golden card might be exceptionally immense.
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