Ninja World

In the Ninja World, Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three great sacred lands of summoned beasts, lay shrouded in a thin mist.

A colossal creature stretched across the forest like a mountain range. From afar, it resembled a giant python on the verge of transforming into a dragon, but up close, its body was far bulkier than that of a snake.

This was the only creature in Shikkotsu Forest: the Slug Sage. Unlike the other two sacred lands of summoned beasts, where ancient beings who had lived for millennia presided over vast clans, Shikkotsu Forest had always contained only the Slug Sage.

The Slug Sage could split herself into tens of thousands of small slugs. It was her innate talent; one being was an entire swarm. She was the perfect embodiment of "I am the swarm," though unfortunately, she lacked the terrifying evolutionary potential and mass-production capabilities of insectoid races.

She casually took a bite from the leaves of a nearby tree. With a single mouthful, every leaf on one branch vanished.

Suddenly, a cyan figure appeared before her.

"Welcome, Mr. Richard," the Slug Sage said. Her voice was gentle and magnetic.

"Sorry to disturb you, Slug Sage." Richard looked up at the colossal being. Her body stretched for several kilometers, and even lifting her head was like a mountain rising from the earth.

"Your visit is my honor," the Slug Sage said again.

"This is a little inconvenient. How about splitting off a small slug?" Richard asked tentatively.

"That works. I simply felt that since a friend had come, receiving you without using my true body would be terribly impolite." The Slug Sage separated a human-sized clone.

"Those things don't matter. Slug Sage, are you skilled in medical techniques? Is your Sage Art oriented toward the Life Domain?" Richard asked curiously.

As the Slug Sage, renowned alongside the Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage, she generally only displayed Medical Ninjutsu and acid. But Richard did not believe she lacked unique Sage Arts of her own.

"Lord Richard, just call me Katsuyu. By the standards of your world, I do indeed lean toward the Life Laws. My unique Sage Arts were created based on that.

"In the Ninja World, that manifests as Yang Release—ultimate Yang Release, ultimate vitality." The Slug Sage did not conceal anything.

"So that's how it is. I've recently gained some insights in the field of Life Law. Could I ask you for guidance? Also, just call me Richard," Richard said.

"Lord Richard, you are truly knowledgeable. As far as I know, you are already proficient in the Wind and Water Laws, are comprehending Fate and time and space, and now you have added the Life Domain as well. Can you truly comprehend so many fields?

"I would not dare claim to guide you. We can exchange insights and explore them together. The Life Domain is indeed too vast; researching it alone has proven beyond my capabilities.

"No, you are an equal of my true body. I cannot overstep my station," Katsuyu said.

"Aren't the true body and clones all still oneself? I have Divine Clones too, but as far as I'm concerned, my clones and I are one," Richard said curiously.

"But I have too many clones, and they are very weak. I must impose limits upon them and strictly distinguish the true body from the clones. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing myself," Katsuyu answered.

"All right, I understand. As for your question, I do study quite a few fields now, but my world is special. As long as one comprehends Rules and Laws to a certain degree, one can become a god, then separate an independent Divine Clone. From then on, research into that branch of Laws and Rules can be handed over to that Divine Clone, reducing the true body's workload.

"Currently, I already have Wind and Water Divine Clones. My true body barely involves itself in comprehending those two Laws anymore; both are handled by those Divine Clones.

"The other Laws and Rules will be the same in the future.

"In the end, my true body will probably focus mainly on comprehending the Laws of Time and Space," Richard explained.

"What a convenient world. I am somewhat envious of you, Lord Richard," Katsuyu said.

"There's no need for that. Such Divine Clones have their shortcomings as well. In my world, a Divine Clone can only use the Laws of its own element. Even if the true body has comprehended other Laws, it cannot use them. Only after leaving that world does this restriction disappear.

"Only the true body can use all the Laws it has comprehended. But because a Divine Clone is split off upon becoming a god in my world, the true body always remains only at the Saint Domain. It has no Godhead, no Divine Domain, and even its Divine Power is borrowed from its Divine Clones.

"So while our power system has the convenience of Divine Clones, it also possesses certain inherent flaws." Richard shrugged. Coiling Dragon's power system did indeed have some shortcomings.

But he could make up for them through the power systems of other worlds in the Heavens and Myriad Worlds. It was not as if he had to hang himself from this one tree. He simply had not yet encountered a power system that truly caught his eye.

"I see. Then is the one who came here now a Divine Clone?" Katsuyu asked.

"Yes, my Wind Element Divine Clone." Richard nodded.

"How does it feel? Is it very different from your world?" Katsuyu asked with some curiosity.

"The differences aren't minor. The underlying Laws differ quite significantly. Though the conflict isn't as severe as in Wan Wan and Lin Feng's worlds, my strength has still dropped by more than half in this world." Richard had felt this long ago, so he could quickly explain the differences.

Even though his strength had dropped by more than half, he said it without reservation.

After all, even with more than half his strength gone, he remained confident that he was invincible in the Ninja World. Those hiding in the Pure Land and sleeping on the moon were no match for him either.

"Is that all right?" Katsuyu asked.

"It's fine. It's not a major problem. Let's talk about Life Law." Richard said.

The two then each expounded their understanding of life, discussing and verifying the specific differences between the Life Laws of their two worlds.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

"That should be about it." Richard stretched lazily. He had gained greatly from their two days of discussion. The Slug Sage truly deserved her status as an expert specializing in Yang Release; her research into the Life Domain was profound enough to advance his comprehension of Life Law and save him at least a hundred years of arduous cultivation.

In terms of comprehension of the Life Domain alone, the Slug Sage was enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with God Level experts from the Coiling Dragon World. Though they called it a discussion of the Dao, Richard had mostly been the one asking questions. What the Slug Sage gained from Richard was mainly the deviations in Laws brought about by differing worlds, as well as perspectives on the Life Domain shaped by different ways of thinking.

Yet the Slug Sage's displayed combat strength was far inferior to that of a God Level expert. During their conversation, she had said that even if she fought with all her strength, she likely would not be much stronger than Senju Hashirama, aside from the advantage of her enormous size.

Taken together, she was still somewhat weaker than the so-called Six Paths Level. Of course, she could still put up a fight against Six Paths Level figures like Naruto and Sasuke.

That was how differences between worlds worked. It was not necessarily true that someone with greater comprehension of the Dao would be stronger than someone whose comprehension was inferior. Different worlds granted different boosts to power through the Dao.

For example, a world like Coiling Dragon favored those with high comprehension of Laws. Things like Godheads, Divine Domains, and Will Might were, frankly speaking, all bestowed by the world itself.

Then there were worlds like the Swallowed Star World, where the world practically spoon-fed you. It directly revealed the Laws for you to see, as though afraid you would fail to learn them.

Where could ordinary worlds even go to complain about that?

As for the Otsutsuki Clan, the Slug Sage had chosen to give up. Having long learned the plot from Lin Feng and understood just how vast the starry sky was, she saw things clearly. If her strength could improve faster than the Otsutsuki invasion approached, she could resist them to some extent. Otherwise, she could consider moving to another world.

As a real, existing world, one could not judge the Otsutsuki Clan based only on the handful of members shown in the plot and conclude that the Otsutsuki were nothing more than this.

In fact, the tiny glimpse revealed by the few Otsutsuki Clan members who had appeared was even more chilling.

Kaguya, Isshiki, Momoshiki, Kinshiki—were they truly important figures?

As an interstellar nomadic people, the Otsutsuki population could not possibly be small. Did anyone really think that a mere few dozen or few hundred people could dominate a region in the vast wilderness of the universe?

To say nothing else, the Milky Way alone contained three hundred billion stars. How many people would it take to dominate an entire galaxy?

Then there were things like the God Tree, the Rinnegan, and Karma, which showed just how far their biotechnology had advanced. Moreover, every Otsutsuki who had appeared possessed considerable abilities related to time and space.

But claiming that they were important figures within the Otsutsuki Clan, or that they possessed exceptional scientific knowledge and profound comprehension of Laws, was nonsense.

Their attitude toward the Ninja World gave the impression of members of an advanced civilization looking down upon a primitive one, using the benefits of their civilization to bully a backward, inferior civilization.

Thinking about it this way, could one not sketch out a glimpse of the Otsutsuki Clan?

Fortunately, either the Ninja World lay in some remote, barren star region where even birds would not shit, or the Otsutsuki Clan had suffered some major upheaval.

Isshiki and Kaguya had come to the Ninja World on a mission to plant the tree, then disappeared. It took a thousand years before anyone came to investigate what had happened.

All this was to say that these people were absolutely not the Otsutsuki Clan's true top combat forces. At present, the Otsutsuki Clan had not truly taken the Ninja World seriously. If the Otsutsuki higher-ups ever turned their eyes toward the Ninja World and dispatched genuine experts, then there would be no playing anymore.

At any rate, Richard did not believe he could currently contend with an advanced interstellar civilization.

That was why Richard had previously asked the Slug Sage in the group whether she intended to place her hopes on the so-called savior.

As an anime, it could have a protagonist, passion, and justice triumphing over evil. But what about as a real world?