A woman descended from the heavens, named Kaguya!
Under the starlight, the fields looked as if they were covered with a silver veil, intensifying the tranquil yet somber atmosphere.
The occasional croaking of frogs echoed from the fields, yet the tranquility that belonged to this place remained intact.
Above the lotus pond, three emerald green lotus leaves float on the calm water, and two delicate and charming lotus flowers lie quietly on the lotus leaves.
The Minato was quiet and peaceful; the air was crisp and refreshing—it was a beautiful night.
Sudden!
A thunderous sound suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterwards, the whole world suddenly trembled.
The calm water surface rippled in circles, lotus leaves undulated, lotus flowers trembled, and white ripples spread outwards.
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the air, and a golden light suddenly appeared at the top of the sky, as if something from outer space was about to descend upon the world.
The buzzing sound didn't decrease; instead, it became even deeper and more resonant.
Even the mud and sand in the water were swept to the center, turning the clear lotus pond into murky water and startling the monster in the water.
A dark shadow appeared in the depths of the pond, gradually growing larger as it approached.
When the shadowy figure grew to about two palm widths wide, it burst out of the water with a splash, revealing a head covered in bumps.
With its horizontally sized eyes and a mouth that stretched to the side of its face, it was clearly a Toad!
The Toad stared wide-eyed at the golden beam of light in the sky.
A dangerous aura suddenly approached, and a blinding halo enveloped the earth.
The Toad keenly sensed the danger and instantly sank into the deep water with a splash.
Looking up at the sky, a golden, dazzling object, like a shooting star, streaked across the heavens, accompanied by a continuous rumbling sound.
The closer one gets to the earth, the clearer the deafening sound becomes.
Boom!!
In the darkness, deep within a mountain range, a burst of crimson light suddenly erupted, illuminating the sky as if the sun's rays were shining through.
The blood-red glow, like the halo of dusk, illuminated the earth, making the mountaintops appear as if they were erupting volcanoes, inspiring fear and unease.
The terrifying impact unleashed a massive storm that swept wildly across the land.
Nothing dares to raise its head; all living beings bow their heads.
The tremors of the earth and the buzzing in the air gradually disappeared as time passed.
The ridge was completely leveled, leaving only a huge crater, and in the very center of the crater stood an ancient tree that seemed to reach the sky!
People revered this Big Tree as if it were a deity, but a terrifying legend also circulated about it.
Any creature that gets close to the Big Tree will have its life force drained, making it an extremely dangerous entity!
Thousands of years have passed in the blink of an eye.
The Land of Ancestors is the country that possesses this mountain range.
That night, a faint light suddenly flashed across the sky, as captivating as a star fallen to earth.
At the same time, the people of the Land of Ancestors also felt fear and unease.
"What a suspicious light!"
Is it a star?
How could stars move like that?
The kingdom's soldiers were abuzz with discussion, and the crowd grew increasingly noisy.
The king of the Land of Ancestors stared silently at the light, his face calm, and he uttered only one word.
"Chase!"
Splash!
Upon receiving the king's order, the soldiers swiftly set out, led by an older guard, and pursued the direction in which the light had moved...
The following morning, in the village surrounded by fields.
A woman with Byakugan was brought here. Her Long Hair was as tall as her. The woman knelt on the ground, her smooth and flowing Long Hair cascading down her back like a wedding dress.
"Is this the light from last night?" The king of the Land of Ancestors, surrounded by his guards, sat down on the steps in front of the woman.
"A woman who fell from the sky?"
His gaze swept down at the kneeling woman below.
Mysterious and beautiful—he couldn't think of any other words to describe it.
"Yes, the woman appeared where the light fell," an older soldier replied in a booming voice.
A look of reminiscence crossed the soldier's eyes as he slowly began to recount everything he had witnessed the previous night...
In the inky darkness of the night, by the shimmering lake, a white light fell into the depths of the Forest, transforming into a stunningly beautiful woman who slowly emerged.
Soldiers from the Land of Ancestors happened to arrive and witnessed this scene.
The soldiers carefully surrounded the woman, hesitating about what to do with her. In the end, the older soldier decided to take her back to the Land of Ancestors and hand her over to the king for judgment.
However, what no one noticed was what happened after the white light disappeared!
After the soldiers of the Land of Ancestors left, a whirlwind swept across the lake.
Rippling waves spread across the lake's surface, while a dark aura gathered above the water.
A slowly swirling Black Vortex, seemingly chasing after the white light, exuded a mysterious and eerie aura.
Then, a young man emerged from the Black Vortex that stretched to the ground, a young man who looked nine-tenths like the stunning woman!
"Lake? Forest?" Tōka stared around in surprise. He was clearly in the desert of the Land of Wind, so why...?
"Huh? There's Kakkō over there, it must be human."
Noticing the soldiers of the Land of Ancestors, Tōka headed towards the Kakkō.
The story begins the following morning, at the location of the King of the Land of Ancestors.
"Who are you?" The handsome young man sitting on the steps stared expressionlessly at the stunning woman and asked in a deep voice.
"Answer quickly! This is the King of the Land of Ancestors!" the older soldier shouted sternly.
Swish swish swish!!
The soldiers on both sides simultaneously raised their weapons, the cold, sharp blades pointed at the kneeling white-haired woman.
"So he really is a spy?"
He should be executed!
The soldiers whispered amongst themselves, their words filled with hostility towards the white-haired woman.
The king looked down calmly, One Flash glint in his eyes that made it impossible to discern his thoughts.
The atmosphere became tense, and a heavy weight settled on everyone's hearts.
Just then, the white-haired woman calmly stood up, but her gaze was not on the king of the Land of Ancestors; instead, it fell on the person beside her.
Who's there?
A cool and arrogant voice rang out.
A Phantom appeared beside the woman, gradually solidifying into the shape of a young boy—none other than Tōka, who had followed closely behind!
"Kaguya, Otsutsuki Kaguya!" Tōka stared blankly at the stunningly beautiful woman before him, murmuring a name.
A living, Otsutsuki Kaguya!
The progenitor of chakra!
Tōka's own mother!
"Who are you? Why do I feel... so close to you?"
Kaguya stared intently at Tōka. If there were a mirror in front of her, she would know that Tōka and she were practically identical.
A hint of embarrassment flashed in Tōka's eyes.
My mother asked me, "Who am I?"
How should I answer that?
Tōka had already discovered Kaguya, but he didn't appear to meet her because he was pondering why she had appeared here a thousand years ago.
The feeling is so real, it doesn't seem like Genjutsu...
Perhaps it was the impact of the Dragon Vein's power that caused a reversal of time and space, bringing him back to a thousand years ago, to the moment when Kaguya had just descended upon this continent.
"Hmm... we should be family, right?" Tōka finally decided not to reveal his true identity to Kaguya.
This is history from a thousand years ago. Although he doesn't know why he's here, Tōka knows he absolutely cannot change anything here as a person from the Mirai.
Perhaps it was just a small, unintentional remark that could lead to a completely different picture in later generations.
Whether Kaguya will give birth to Tōka again is uncertain!
"Relatives?" Kaguya glanced at Tōka indifferently, then turned her gaze back to the King of the Land of Ancestors.
The guards around him tensed up and quickly raised their weapons.
Kaguya's eyes narrowed, and her Byakugan unleashed a tremendous pressure, causing the surrounding guards to collapse to the ground with their eyes rolled back.
"My name is Kaguya, the guardian of the Divine Tree!"
The terrifying mental shock stemmed from the awe of the soul; even the king of the Land of Ancestors was merely a mortal being.
After memorizing Kaguya's name, everything went black and he collapsed to the ground.
In the courtyard, besides Kaguya, only Tōka remained standing.
Even without obtaining the fruit of the Divine Tree, is the mother's power still this terrifying? It's almost the ultimate level of the Byakugan, such terrifying pressure!
The Ice Blue light in Tōka's eyes flickered involuntarily, a reaction triggered by Kaguya 'Byakugan oppressive aura!
"It seems you weren't lying to me." Kaguya turned around and looked at Tōka expressionlessly, though she couldn't tell for some reason that she could sense a sense of closeness from Tōka.
Even his cold gaze softened.
Tōka remained silent, knowing that the more she spoke, the more mistakes she would make, and the more she would change things.
The best course of action now is to find the Dragon Vein and Orochimaru, and then leave this place. As for a formal meeting with Mother, let's leave that for a thousand years from now.
Logically speaking, the Dragon Vein, being the primary source of the Divine Tree, should be located within that mountain range.
We need to find an opportunity to go and see it...
Tōka recalled the contents of the Stone Tablet left by Kaguya and made up his mind. Tonight, he would secretly go to the destroyed mountain range to search for the underground Dragon Vein!
Squeak...
As night falls, the world becomes quiet, with the occasional chirping of insects adding a touch of melodious joy.
Tōka settled in the capital of the Land of Ancestors, just as history had progressed, while Kaguya disappeared into the vast mountains under the cover of night.
On the other side of the ridge, the barren land looked as if it had been turned upside down, and a deathly stillness permeated the air.
The Divine Tree before him contained immense energy, Tōka immediately activated his Tenseigan, using his X-ray vision to scan the depths of the earth.
"Huh? Didn't Kaguya's Stone Tablet say that the Dragon Vein was the main source that nurtured the Divine Tree? Why is there nothing underground?"
I couldn't sense any immense power, nor could I sense the aura of the Dragon Vein.
What exactly happened? Tōka's eyes showed confusion. To avoid being deceived by his eyes, he decided to go down and see for himself.
Any human who gets close to the Divine Tree will have their life force drained and transformed into Kaguya's army of White Zetsu.
Upon entering the base of the Divine Tree, rows of clearly visible "mummies" appeared before my eyes, instead of the white world I saw through the Tenseigan.
"The Divine Tree has been here for several thousand years, but roughly speaking, it's still far from being able to form an army of 100,000 White Zetsu!"
Tōka went down to the lowest level and dealt with the densely packed mummies, but found no trace of the Dragon Vein.
Isn't this the place??
Tōka felt an urge to jump up and curse. Had Kaguya's Stone Tablet been altered as well?
Just then, the Divine Tree seemed to become restless due to the aura emanating from Tōka, and a roll of mummy bark stretched out and attacked wildly.
"Heh, Ten-Tails, you've been playing hard to get, haven't you?" Tōka raised an eyebrow, and several jet-black Prayer Beads gathered in his palm, a burst of golden light appearing as they converged into a dazzling mass of enormous energy.
It was just a subconscious action; the Jutsu Formula in Tōka's mind was none other than the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, a power capable of cleaving the moon in two with a single blow.
After Tōka deliberately reduced the Jutsu Formula, the golden beam in his palm only extended three zhang.
He certainly didn't want to cut the Divine Tree in half with a single move...
However, Tōka had no intention of letting this guy off easily!
"You actually want to devour my soul? Hmph!" Tōka's eyes darkened, and the golden light in his palm surged, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
Puff puff puff!!
With a wave of Tōka's arm, a massive storm was unleashed.
Wherever the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion passes, it severs all karmic ties and connections.
A terrifying aura swept through the earth, and golden beams of light sliced through the soil, severing the roots of the Divine Tree that once stood on this land.
"Consider this a lesson for you, Ten-Tails..." Tōka's eyes flickered with Ice Blue light. Since he couldn't find the Dragon Vein here, he didn't want to stay in this place.
The Space-Time Ninjutsu was activated, and Tōka's body gradually became illusory.
The power of the Tenseigan is enough for him to appear anywhere in this world.
However, when Tōka returned to the residence of the King of Land of Ancestors, the scene before him left him completely stunned.
Because in the courtyard, there were two brothers with two horns on their heads standing there, staring at him warily!
Stare intently at Tōka, who stepped out of the Void!
A desolate mountain range, the air filled with a cold, damp smell.
A small, White Phosphorus Snake, as thick as an arm, flickered its tongue, its cold gaze fixed on the man before it who shared the same aura.
"A familiar feeling, you..." Orochimaru stared blankly at the guy in front of him, a bizarre thought popping into his head.
The White Phosphorus Sage of Ryūchi Cave??
Although the idea was impractical, it was like a Seed that took root and sprouted in Orochimaru's heart.
"Boy, you seem to know me?" The White Phosphorus Snake stared intently at Orochimaru. This human possessed an aura of kinship; was it just an illusion?
"White Phosphorus Sage, hehehe... The world is truly wondrous!" Orochimaru habitually licked his lips, revealing a chilling smile.
The White Phosphorus Snake Eyes narrowed slightly; the human before it gave it a feeling that was even more serpentine than a snake.
It's like a monstrous snake that has cultivated itself into a human form!
"Boy, don't think that just because you call me an immortal, I'll let you go. Humans aren't allowed here!" The White Phosphorus Snake bared its teeth and said fiercely.
Orochimaru was slightly taken aback, somewhat surprised. No wonder the surrounding scenery felt somewhat familiar!
So this is the Ryūchi Cave from a thousand years ago!!
It must be due to the Dragon Vein of the Rōran ruins that the spacetime turbulence led him here!
"What an interesting... trip." Orochimaru, with a "what's done is done" attitude, decided to stay in Ryūchi Cave for the time being.
At least until he finds a way back, Orochimaru will stay here and catch up with the White Phosphorus Sage...?