Goodnight, White-Browed Toad.

Goodnight, White-Browed Toad. "When I walked past the mountains, the mountains did not speak."

"When I passed by the sea, the sea did not speak."

"The little donkey trots along, the Six Paths Sword accompanies me to the ends of the earth."

"The world says I fear Kaguya, that I hide in Mount Myōboku to avoid the world. But in truth, I simply fell in love with the clouds and mists of Mount Myōboku; they look just like the fireworks that burst across the sky when I first transmigrated at sixteen."

The wind swept across the wilderness, blew through the valleys, and crossed the rivers.

It brushed against the handsome face of Manji, fluttering the hem of his white robes...

In the fields, Manji stood tall and elegant, his white robes pristine, the Six Paths Sword strapped to his back as he walked slowly along the ridges.

Fifty years had passed in the blink of an eye since he sent the Tailed Beasts away...

Time flies.

In these fifty years, he had wandered through the mundane world, drifting amidst the smoke and fire of human life.

He raised his eyes to the distance, a trace of lamentation flashing in the depths of his pupils.

Far off, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo could be seen moving steadily forward, followed by hundreds of mortals.

He was trailed by many steadfast believers!

In just a few decades, the few who followed him in the past had grown into a crowd of hundreds; the charisma of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was truly extraordinary.

Manji stood still with his sword on his back, gazing from afar, but in the end, he did not step forward to greet him.

A distant glance was enough; there was no need to disturb him.

Since parting ways with Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo after the battle with Kaguya, it had been nearly eighty years since they last met. In these decades, he had tasted the flavor of being invincible in the world, and he had savored the loneliness of that invincibility.

Essentially, as long as the Six Paths did not appear, Manji was invincible.

Everyone beneath him was but an ant.

However, Manji did not interfere much with the major affairs of the human world.

He only occasionally used his power to punish the truly wicked.

Watching that procession gradually shrink into a speck in the distance, finally vanishing at the edge of his vision, Manji lowered his gaze, turned, and followed the direction of the wind, leaving in silence.

"It is time to return to Mount Myōboku..."

Manji spoke softly, looking at the letter in his hand.

The letter from the White-Browed Toad, written in a shaky, aged hand, was still tucked in his robes.

"My lifespan is nearing its end. I hope for your return to entrust you with my final arrangements."

----White-Browed Toad

Manji returned to Mount Myōboku.

The clouds of Mount Myōboku were still as he remembered them, curling and unfolding with a rosy hue, no different from when he first arrived a century ago.

Traces of the Tailed Beasts playing and frolicking in the past still remained in the mountains.

Before the mist-shrouded cave, Gamamaru was already waiting.

"Master! The Toad Sage, he..."

Gamamaru's form had grown much larger.

"I know." Manji raised his hand slightly.

He then walked into the depths.

Inside the cave, a faint, clear light lingered, and the Toad Sage lay propped against a cloud couch.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his eyes. Seeing Manji standing before the couch, his long-knitted brows suddenly smoothed out.

"Manji, you have come... hehehe..."

The aged voice carried a trembling breath.

"That brash youth who traveled over mountains and through rivers to seek power has now become a Sage capable of saving the world and standing on his own."

These words instantly pulled Manji's thoughts back a hundred years.

Manji looked at the frail, aged White-Browed Toad on the couch.

In a trance, the scenes of a century ago surged forth like a tide—

Back then, he was still a stranger who had just entered this world, carrying ignorance and solitary courage, crossing high mountains and dangerous ridges, breaking through mists and miasmas, only then finding this Mount Myōboku hidden away from the mortal world.

Perhaps it was a twist of fate, or perhaps it was destiny.

The way the Toad Sage had pointed his staff and offered earnest guidance back then was as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

Manji was no longer the youth who spent his days shouting, "Endure, think positively, hold on," to encourage himself.

Time flies like a shuttle.

Manji turned his gaze back to the White-Browed Toad.

The White-Browed Toad was nearly a thousand years old, a venerable age even for a toad.

"Grandpa White-Browed..."

Manji stepped forward, his gaze resting on the White-Browed Toad with complex emotions. There was respect, reluctance to part, and a sense of melancholy that spanned a hundred years of time.

The White-Browed Toad lifted his forelimb slightly. Manji understood and leaned in close.

The wrinkled palm rested gently on the back of his hand; the touch was slightly cool, yet carried an unquestionable solemnity.

"Manji, my time is running out."

The eyes of the White-Browed Toad were as deep as an ancient pool.

"I entrust Mount Myōboku to you from here on out. From this day forward, you are the Great Sage of Mount Myōboku; no one will have any objections to this."

Manji had long had a premonition in his heart.

Over these years, the White-Browed Toad's cultivation and expectations, those intentional or unintentional pointers, and the acts of gradually passing down the core heritage of Mount Myōboku, all signaled the arrival of this day.

He looked at the entrustment and trust in the eyes of the White-Browed Toad and said nothing, merely nodding slowly with a steady movement, just like the eighty years of life he had walked through.

The White-Browed Toad looked at his calm demeanor and sighed softly. There was no regret in that sigh, only relief.

"Sigh... I have lived for a thousand years, and I have lived enough.

Thank the heavens, for finally bringing this long stretch of time to a period."

He paused, his gaze shifting to Manji beside him, his tone becoming meaningful:

"Living too long, seeing too many changes in the world and the ups and downs of human hearts, it becomes easy to lose one's way... Manji, you must remember, no matter how time washes over you, no matter how powerful your strength becomes, you must guard your original heart. Do not lose your true self in the endless flow of time."

Manji was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then immediately straightened his expression. It seemed the White-Browed Toad already knew something.

"Use your heart to feel; do not be obsessed with pursuing power. What is meant to be yours will come... Do not let it become an obsession..."

"I wish you, take care, take care, take care."

As the words fell, the White-Browed Toad took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly, then slowly leveled out.

Those eyes that had seen a thousand years of vicissitudes gradually lost their luster, and the immortal energy around his body receded like a tide, returning to silence, returning to Mount Myōboku.

The cave dwelling was so quiet that only Manji's breathing remained. Manji held the hand of the White-Browed Toad, which was gradually turning cold, and remained motionless for a long time.

The clouds of Mount Myōboku still curled and unfurled, and the sunset remained as brilliant as ever.

Yet, the Toad Sage who had guarded this immortal land for a thousand years had passed away.

"Teacher, Grandpa Sage, he..."

Gamamaru outside the room stopped mid-sentence.

Manji raised his hand slightly.

Gamamaru immediately understood that Grandpa Sage had passed away and could not help but shed tears.

Manji looked at the remains of the White-Browed Toad, his heart filled with mixed feelings. If it weren't for this Grandpa Sage, he might have died long ago on the road to finding Mount Myōboku.

He used to think he was lucky, that he had found Mount Myōboku with his mortal body.

Thinking about it now, it was truly laughable...

Now that he had mastered the barrier of Mount Myōboku, he naturally understood: how could a mortal possibly find Mount Myōboku?

Back then, it was simply that Grandpa White-Browed felt pity, seeing him struggling to learn and on the verge of death, so he opened the barrier to let him in...

He stood for a long time and sighed slightly.

Manji looked at the remains of the White-Browed Sage and spoke softly:

"Goodnight, Grandpa White-Browed."