In truth, that was indeed the case. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had transformed the people of the Ninja World into biological weapons like White Zetsu in order to fight the Ōtsutsuki Clan and ward off the coming crisis. At first, she had not told her two sons about this.
If the Great Toad Sage had not intervened to guide the two Ōtsutsuki brothers, the brothers, who had begun to feel reluctant, would likely have gone to ask their mother what exactly she intended to do.
If Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had explained everything to them then, once the brothers understood, they might not necessarily have continued trying to stop Kaguya. They might even have joined her outright.
But under the Great Toad Sage's guidance, the two brothers never learned that their mother's actions had been meant to resist the distant Ōtsutsuki Clan, and they hastily sealed Kaguya Ōtsutsuki away.
That was why the Great Toad Sage's life was truly important. What if, someday in the future, someone capable of defeating Uchiha Yue appeared, but died silently in some corner because no one knew of him? Then everything would be over.
"Old man, we're here."
At that moment, Fukasaku and Shiken arrived before the Great Toad Sage while riding on the back of a toad.
Ever since returning to Mount Myōboku, they had remained unconscious. Their actions within the Dead Silence Domain had inflicted irreversible damage upon their bodies. Back then, to save Jiraiya and themselves, they had nearly drained their bodies dry. If they had not escaped in the end, they would not even have had the strength to gather Chakra.
By now, they would have ended up like Kakashi in the original story—having exhausted every last bit of power in their bodies before dying completely.
Activating or even dispelling a summoning technique required Chakra. At that time, they had not possessed a single trace of Chakra. Or rather, the moment even a tiny amount of Chakra was extracted, it would be devoured instantly.
Otherwise, when faced with such a terrifying crisis and such horror that came infinitely close to death, they would have dispelled the summoning technique and returned to Mount Myōboku long ago. They would not have fallen into a deep sleep after automatically returning, unable to be saved even by Senjutsu Chakra for a time.
Only now had they barely awakened.
What was more, if those Konoha ninja had not risked their lives to drag them out back then, they would already have died alongside Jiraiya in that Dead Silence Domain.
The Great Toad Sage looked at Fukasaku and Shiken, then ordered the toads to go to Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest to notify the two Sages there to come to Mount Myōboku for a meeting to discuss an important matter.
This incident was simply too significant, and its impact was far too terrifying. Their so-called sacred lands no longer had the right to remain detached from worldly affairs. They had to unite, consolidate all their strength, and find a way to deal with Uchiha Yue, that living natural disaster.
Not long afterward, the White Snake Sage and Katsuyu both arrived at the temple deep within Mount Myōboku.
"Old Toad, what did you summon me for? Are you about to die? Do you want me to look after your juniors? Hehe!"
"Greetings, Great Toad Sage!"
The White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage lay before the Great Toad Sage and greeted the old toad. Katsuyu's attitude was quite good, as she was polite to everyone. The White Snake Sage, on the other hand, spoke with great rudeness.
"No, it is not that. This world is going to be destroyed. The true natural disaster has descended! I saw it—I saw that despairing, deathly silent future without even the slightest hope!"
The Great Toad Sage spoke as he looked at the two Sages before him.
"What? The world is going to be destroyed again? Has Kaguya Ōtsutsuki been resurrected?"
Upon hearing the Great Toad Sage's words, the White Snake Sage was instantly startled. Even the pipe in her mouth fell to the ground, her tone filled with disbelief. The last time she had heard the old toad's prophecy was the last time, and now she was hearing one again.
She would not believe that this old toad was merely making alarmist claims. As beings standing at the pinnacle of the Senjutsu Chakra cultivation system, each of the so-called Sages possessed their own unique arts and was an absolute powerhouse in their respective fields. Back then, it had been they who had given Kaguya Ōtsutsuki an utterly unexpected surprise!
The White Snake Sage closed her eyes. Not long afterward, she opened them again and instantly understood what had happened outside the sacred lands.
The biggest recent event in the Ninja World had been the destruction of the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's near annihilation. At the center of it all was Uchiha Yue, an unparalleled powerhouse who had appeared out of nowhere.
According to Konoha's records, long ago, Uchiha Yue had merely been an ordinary person. Until that day, when the foolish and crazed Shimura Danzō tried to move against the Uchiha Clan and ultimately provoked this peerless powerhouse. From that day onward, he no longer concealed his overwhelming might. Possessing eyes as powerful as Uchiha Madara's from legend—
He had beaten Shimura Danzō to death and humiliated him mercilessly. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's leader, had been beaten to death completely, establishing this supreme powerhouse's fearsome reputation. If Konoha's cowards had not fled quickly, Konoha would have been completely destroyed by now.
This was Uchiha Yue: an incomparably powerful expert who had single-handedly opposed a Ninja Village and nearly destroyed it. Xi, no wonder he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. Uchiha Madara had once relied on such a pair of eyes to fight the legendary God of Shinobi, only to fall one move short and be beaten to death alive.
Perhaps only the legendary God of Shinobi could kill Uchiha Yue now. However, the God of Shinobi had died long ago, leaving behind only countless fragments of his corpse scattered throughout the world.
Could the key to defeating Uchiha Yue be gathering all the God of Shinobi's corpse fragments, assembling a new God of Shinobi, and reenacting that ultimate battle from long ago?
The White Snake Sage opened her eyes.
"Old Toad, is the so-called natural disaster, the so-called calamity you spoke of, that Uchiha Yue? How could a mere human be called an ultimate natural disaster? Is he ten thousand times stronger than Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was?"
"I think you old toad have truly gone senile. You've even gone blind!"
The White Snake Sage flicked out her tongue and stared coldly at the old toad, speaking with clear displeasure. Even gods could grow old, and gods could die. Much less this old toad, who was not even a god. Perhaps this old toad had simply become too old; perhaps even his brain had broken down.
A mere...
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