The Great Toad Sage's death · The sealed left hand

The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, who had lived for over a thousand years, had died so easily to Wood Release.

Even in death, he had never learned the true face hidden beneath the destroyer's mask.

Toji looked at the corpse before him and felt little.

He had no personal grudge against Gamamaru. He had killed him simply because he stood in his way.

There was no joy, nor any regret. His heart remained perfectly calm.

Toji did not regret his decision. Judging by what he knew, Gamamaru's prophecies could already give him some idea of Toji's intentions toward Kaguya. If he let him live and keep meddling with that damned fate, he might truly end up losing to him.

This, then, had been a clash of ideals.

One of them had to die.

Fortunately, he had been the one to win.

Toji quietly began clearing away the traces of battle, withdrawing all the Wood Release underground and leaving only the marks of Fire Release.

With any luck, he could even pin the Great Toad Sage's death on Madara Uchiha.

Just as he finished clearing away the Wood Release and thought everything was over, something changed!

Gamamaru's death seemed to have triggered some hidden self-destruct mechanism.

The entire hall began shaking violently. Toji felt a deadly sense of danger that made his skin crawl. He looked toward Gamamaru's corpse and saw a blinding light shining from the bead inscribed with the word "oil" at the center of his necklace.

"That old toad really wasn't so easy to kill." Toji pushed his speed to its limit and raced out of the hall without looking back.

The instant he burst outside, blazing white light erupted from underground. Every obstacle in its path was stripped of its original color. The palace, the