The Showdown!

After dealing with the Will of the Six Paths embedded in the bodies and chakra of the three, Hyuga Shin began to clean out the portions of the Will of the Six Paths within their soul spaces.

The soul space was a peculiar place, where the Will of the Six Paths possessed stronger autonomy.

When Hyuga Shin's divine sense intruded into Orochimaru's soul space, it actively took on his own form and appearance.

Hyuga Shin looked at the empty soul space. A spiritual soul body, a perfect match for Orochimaru, stood dazedly at the very center.

The areas around his forehead and eyelids had begun to whiten, somewhat resembling the later-stage Kabuto Yakushi.

This was a sign of erosion by the Will of the Six Paths.

And the speed was accelerating rapidly!

The Will of the Six Paths also sensed the danger.

Hyuga Shin wasted no time. He swiftly flew before Orochimaru's spiritual soul body and pressed a finger against his forehead.

A vast surge of spiritual power, like a surging river, rushed unceasingly toward the core of Orochimaru's spiritual body.

The consciousness of the Sage of Six Paths embedded within was instantly suppressed.

Unless the Sage himself descended in person, this amount of power was utterly incapable of blocking Hyuga Shin's formidable divine sense.

Before long, a white figure was driven out of Orochimaru's spiritual soul body by Hyuga Shin.

Orochimaru's spiritual soul body gradually regained its senses from its earlier dazed state.

"You again, this remnant! You truly deserve to die, Hyuga Shin!"

The Will of the Six Paths coalesced into a soul-body image and cursed Hyuga Shin loudly!

The Sage of Six Paths had originally thought he could launch a counterattack under Hyuga Shin's nose, deliberately slowing the erosion to avoid drawing attention.

He never expected Hyuga Shin to discover him anyway.

Not only were his hidden wills nearly wiped out, but he was also expelled from Orochimaru's spiritual space.

All his schemes came to nothing, and he lost almost every contingency he had planted within Orochimaru from childhood to adulthood.

"Sage of Six Paths, you're truly insidious and cunning, thinking you could pull a fast one?"

"If I hadn't discovered it early, Orochimaru and the others would probably have been dragged back to their original fates like Hashirama and the rest."

Hyuga Shin showed no courtesy toward the Sage of Six Paths, his words dripping with contempt.

"The fate of the ninja world is not something anyone can change, you included!"

"Don't think that knowing a few truths gives you the power to overturn heaven and earth. You're only courting destruction!"

"You're nothing more than a slightly stronger ant among the masses!"

"If not for this old man—" The Sage's tone was icy, filled with killing intent, but he stopped at a critical moment.

"If not for you what?"

"If not for you being trapped, or temporarily unable to break free?"

Hyuga Shin directly finished the Sage of Six Paths' interrupted sentence.

"Hmph! Brat, the waters of the ninja world run far deeper than you imagine!"

"You'd better stop your pointless struggles! Be careful you don't burn yourself!"

"How many years of life do you have left? After decades of peace, aren't you afraid of dying without a burial place?"

Seeing his thoughts exposed, the Sage's spiritual body threatened Hyuga Shin again, hoping to make him see reason and back off.

"How deep can it be? Deeper than you, Six Paths, hiding yourself?"

"Not only do you use so-called fate to interfere with the ninja world's development and history, turning its strongmen into your puppets on strings."

"But you also treat ninja as nurseries and mines. You really have some nerve, Sage of Six Paths!"

"Is the change of fate so terrifying to you?"

Hyuga Shin's words struck like daggers, slapping the Sage of Six Paths across the face one after another.

This barrage left the Sage of Six Paths furious. He truly hated Hyuga Shin now.

His old secrets were nearly all exposed. He had no idea how Hyuga Shin knew these hidden truths.

Nor did he know how many other concealed secrets Hyuga Shin was aware of.

"Brat! Don't test this old man's patience, or there will come a day of reckoning!" The Sage of Six Paths threatened again.

"Yes, a day of reckoning will come. And that day is almost here!"

"Are you ready, Sage of Six Paths?"

Hyuga Shin finished speaking, and without waiting for the Sage's soul-body will to reply, he directly turned his powerful divine sense into a grinding mill, utterly obliterating the Sage of Six Paths' will!

Orochimaru's recovered spiritual consciousness wore a grim expression.

He had just witnessed Hyuga Shin grinding away the Will of the Six Paths.

He never imagined such a massive threat lay hidden within his own soul!

No wonder he had felt off these past two days, with thoughts that didn't align with his own philosophy constantly surfacing.

He finally understood why Hyuga Shin had sealed him back then.

And the meaningful words he had spoken.

"Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were both influenced too?"

Orochimaru already had a clear answer in his heart.

"Just who is this person?"

It seemed that when he woke up, he only heard the word "Sage."

Orochimaru's horizons had been broadened once more, and he grew even more eager to understand the true face of the ninja world.

"Since you're awake, ask whatever you want to know!"

"Take this chance to clear up the doubts in your mind."

Hyuga Shin glanced at Orochimaru's grim expression and prepared to feed him a dose of poisonous chicken soup.

Let him understand the darkness of this world!

"Senior, didn't you always say you wanted us to discover things on our own? Why the change of heart this time?"

Orochimaru sorted through his chaotic thoughts and voiced his confusion.

"Time is running out, beyond what I anticipated. My research still falls short."

"If I hadn't acted this time, everything might have returned to the path he wanted."

"Although the plan was for you to discover it yourself, plans never keep up with changes!"

Hyuga Shin answered Orochimaru's question calmly.

"That thing lurking deep in my soul—who is it?" Orochimaru asked, his expression dark, voicing the question in his heart.

"The Sage of Six Paths! The will embedded within your bodies!"

Hyuga Shin no longer bothered to hide it and laid it all out.

"The Sage of Six Paths! He's not dead!"

"Then why did he embed his will into my body and soul? What's his purpose?"

"And how did he manage it without my knowledge?"

"Senior, when you said 'you,' did you mean Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were also influenced?"

"Was it him who targeted you back then?"

Orochimaru fired off a barrage of questions after learning the truth.

"He really isn't dead, and he's living quite well."

"It was indeed him who targeted me back then."

"As for why he embedded himself in your body, why you didn't notice, and whether Hashirama and Madara were influenced—"

"Actually, all of that can be answered with one explanation."

"The Sage's will isn't just inside you—it's inside every ninja!"

Hyuga Shin revealed an answer that shocked Orochimaru.

"Impossible!"

"Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't embed his will into every ninja!"

Orochimaru still found it hard to believe.

"Then you should know who passed down the chakra system, right?"

Hyuga Shin ignored Orochimaru's shock and calmly posed a question.

"Chakra... originated from the Sage of Six Paths!" Orochimaru suddenly felt a chill run down his spine!

He knew that much—it was recorded throughout the ninja world.

"Is it all a conspiracy?" Orochimaru laughed bitterly.

He was too clever; he sorted out the logic in an instant.

"If you have more questions, ask them later. Tsunade and Nawaki are done on their end."

With that, Hyuga Shin's consciousness completely vanished from Orochimaru's soul space.