Konoha New City.
When Second Pillar and the others rushed over, they found Nagato collapsed on the ground, his face twisted in pain.
A black shadow in the sky extended a giant hand, trying to drag something out of Nagato's body. Nagato was already on the verge of being unable to hold on.
Without wasting a word, Second Pillar used Kamui to transfer Nagato into his own space-time.
Jiraiya's expression darkened. "Orochimaru's soul is inside Nagato too!"
Anko lowered her gaze. "It's Byakuryu."
"Who?" Naruto Tsunade asked.
"...After Lord Orochimaru's soul split apart, several relatively powerful Split Bodies emerged. The one residing in Nagato should be Byakuryu. There are two other Split Bodies in Ryūchi Cave," Anko explained.
"Are those other two Split Bodies inhabiting human bodies as well?" Uzumaki Naruto asked.
Anko nodded lightly. "Kushinadahime was originally a princess of the Land of Rice Fields, but she was later inhabited by Lord Orochimaru's soul. The other one is... the White Snake Sage."
"The White Snake Sage!" Jiraiya cried out. He suddenly recalled a prophecy the Great Toad Sage had once told him:
The silent beast steals the nest of a magpie; Ryūchi Cave suffers a tremendous upheaval!
He would gain a new disciple who would shatter this nightmare... Jiraiya turned to look at Uzumaki Naruto, with only one thought remaining in his mind.
It had come true. All of it had come true!
"Next, we're going to Ryūchi Cave!" he declared at once.
Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions alongside Mount Myōboku. Of those present, two had signed summoning contracts with Ryūchi Cave.
Second Pillar directly used his Rinnegan again to open a spatial gate leading to Ryūchi Cave. He had already possessed its coordinates.
Before a magnificent yet faintly sinister grand hall.
"So this is