The moonlight is like water, but it cannot wash away the bloody smell that pervades the battlefield.
Xuan's figure stood on the top of the mountain, like a sculpture that blended into the night, with his breath condensed to the extreme.
He was not immersed in the false victory of temporarily suppressing Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Those deep eyes were staring through the endless space at the greater crisis hidden under the rules.
A true hunter will never celebrate immediately after the prey falls, but will look around vigilantly, wary of other predators that may be attracted by the smell of blood.
"Chiyo Saori." Xuan's voice was very soft, but it clearly reached the ears of the woman behind him.
Chiyo Saori, dressed in a red cloud and black robe, appeared quietly, as if he had been standing there all along.
"Here."
"Are those three 'Fragments of God' ready?"
Chiyo Saori turned her palm over, and three palm-sized pieces of dark brown tree bark, covered with strange lines on the surface and pulsating slightly like living creatures, appeared out of thin air, floating in the palm of her hand.
Every fragment exudes heart-stopping chakra, which is the original, chaotic and majestic aura belonging to Ten-Tails.
"According to your instructions, the remaining core of Ten-Tails has been stripped away, and the activity is maintained at the critical point."
"Very good," Xuan's mouth curled up with a cold arc, "Implant them into three 'prime bodies' respectively, disguise them as out-of-control White Zetsu modified bodies, and place them on the three main roads of 'sky', 'earth', and 'human' leading to the main battlefield. Remember, activate the micro-chakra amplifier in the core and let them release a 'spiritual pulse' of the same frequency as Demonic Statue of the Outer Path every hour."
Baba on the side, the strong man who had always maintained a fanatical admiration for Xuan, could not help but show a confused look at this moment.
He scratched his head and asked angrily, "Master Xuan, didn't we seal the monster just now? Now we are creating these things to simulate signs of its awakening... Aren't we asking for trouble for ourselves?"
Chiyo Saori didn't even look back. A cold voice sounded, as if he was answering Baba, and as if he was explaining a cold truth, "Because the most extreme fear is never the moment when the threat comes, but when it hangs above your head and 'may' come at any time."
Her eyes penetrated the darkness, seeming to understand Xuan's unfathomable layout.
"As long as Five Great Shinobi Villages and the entire coalition believe that the 'god' is about to be resurrected, all their energy will be focused on how to strengthen the seal and how to deal with the doomsday. By then, no one will notice that the real fatal threat is the 'person' hiding behind the scenes, ready to harvest everything."
Baba nodded in understanding, looking at Xuan with even more awe.
He finally understood that Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was just a bait from beginning to end, a huge target that attracted the attention of the world.
Master Xuan is the ultimate hunter who holds a shotgun and waits for all his prey to be exhausted before delivering a fatal blow.
The night is getting darker.
A joint patrol team composed of Iwagakure and Kirigakure ninjas were carefully walking through a messy forest near the "Di" supply route.
Suddenly, the leader of the team, Iwagakure, suddenly raised his hand and signaled the whole team to stop.
"Something's happening!" he shouted, his eyes fixed on a pit not far ahead.
There, a humanoid creature was lying in an extremely twisted posture, half of its body buried in the soil.
Its skin is as pale as paper, which is the characteristic of White Zetsu, but there is a huge hole in the chest. Countless dark red vines grow crazily from the hole, squirming and spreading on the ground like poisonous snakes. Wherever they pass, the vegetation quickly withers and turns into fly ash.
"Is it... a variant of White Zetsu?" A Kirigakure Ninja nervously clenched the Kubikiribōchō in his hand.
At this moment, a vague roar suddenly came out from the throat of the "corpse", but it caused the hearts of everyone present to stop.
That voice they had heard countless times in the past few days was the voice of Madara Uchiha!
"Infinite...Tsukuyomi... is... will... come... come..."
The intermittent announcements were like curses from hell, making the ninjas on the patrol feel like they were falling into an ice cave.
Before they could react, an invisible and extremely evil chakra wave suddenly erupted from the body of White Zetsu!
"Quick! Seal this place! Report to the headquarters! The highest level of alert!" the jounin captain roared miserably, his voice changing the tone due to fear.
The news was transmitted back to the coalition command headquarters as quickly as possible, causing an uproar in an instant.
Shikamaru Nara personally led the team and rushed to the scene as quickly as possible.
Looking at the strange White Zetsu who was temporarily blocked by Four Violet Flames Formation, his face became more solemn than ever before.
After repeated confirmations, the Sensing Ninja came to a desperate conclusion.
"Sir Shikamaru, that's right... the frequency of this chakra fluctuation is exactly the same as Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's consciousness fluctuation!"
"How is it possible..." Shikamaru's fists clenched instantly, and his brain was running rapidly.
They had just confirmed that the seal was stable, so how could there be signs of consciousness spreading so quickly?
Could it be that Xuan's Sealing Jutsu has some kind of flaw that they can't understand?
Or... that so-called seal was just a scam from the beginning?
He frowned and murmured in a low voice, "Could it be that... the seal has begun to loosen?"
This speculation was like a bombshell, exploding in the hearts of all informed senior executives.
On the distant mountain top, Xuan had a panoramic view of all this.
In the pupil of his right eye, ancient and complex runes slowly flowed. It was his unique pupil technique - [Myriad Phenomena Return to the Eye·Xianxu] that allowed him to ignore physical distance and directly observe any chakra flow and information gathering point he wanted to observe.
The panic of the coalition command, the solemnity of Shikamaru Nara, the fear of the patrolling ninjas... scenes clearly emerged in his eyes.
When he "saw" that the commanders of Konoha and Kumogakure began to give orders to mobilize the main forces originally used for raids and return to defend the rear camps in order to strengthen the defenses around Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the corner of his mouth finally raised a hint of a plan.
The fish is hooked.
External pressure is the best catalyst for a "container".
The more nervous the coalition forces are, the more they mobilize their troops. In order to maintain control over Six Paths Power, Madara Uchiha's broken body must accelerate the circulation of chakra in the body.
And this kind of acceleration will inevitably lead to a decline in control and the occurrence of... "leakage".
Now is the best time to harvest.
Xuan slowly raised his right hand, his slender fingers looking particularly pale in the moonlight.
A strand of black silk thread, thinner than a hair, condensed out of thin air from his fingertips, exuding an all-devouring aura of nothingness.
This thread is not an entity, but is formed purely by his pupil power and will. It extends silently along the reverse beacon that has been planted in Madara's body, penetrates the space, crosses the battlefield, and accurately stabs the weak point of the power circulation.
At the same time, a cold line of system prompt text, which only he could see, appeared on his retina.
"Activate [Void Devour·Return to Ruins] Stealth Mode"
"Lock target: Madara Uchiha"
"Start execution: Six Paths Yang Power Microsiphon"
Just when Xuan started his unknown plunder, the atmosphere in the tent of the coalition headquarters was already extremely depressing.
Just as Fourth Raikage Ai was pounding the table angrily, demanding that a suicide squad be immediately organized to investigate the truth behind the seal, an unexpected and strange scene was projected onto the combat sandbox of the headquarters without any warning.
Everyone was stunned.
The source of the picture is that before Torune Aburame died in battle, he used secret techniques to parasitize several special "recording bugs" everywhere on the battlefield.
These bugs will go dormant after the host dies, and will only activate and send back the final image when they sense specific chakra.
But at this moment, they are activated.
The picture is a little shaken, but the content is breathtakingly clear.
In the background is the collapsed altar, and the remains of Demonic Statue of the Outer Path are faintly visible.
The protagonist of the picture is none other than the mysterious man who single-handedly sealed the demon statue - Xuan.
He stood quietly on the ruins, with one hand behind his back, and in the other hand, he was actually holding a "heart" that was still beating violently and burning with golden flames!
The vitality and sacred aura contained in that heart made all Kage Level experts present feel palpitations even through the image.
Xuan in the picture slowly lowered his head, facing the heart, and said softly in a tone as if he was appreciating a work of art:
"In my opinion, the 'god' you are fighting for with your life is just a... pretty good supply box."
The moment the voice fell, the image was interrupted and the sand table returned to its original state.
The entire command center was deathly silent.
You can hear a needle drop.
Everyone's face was filled with unbelievable horror and bone-chilling chills.
Fear, unprecedented fear, was like a big invisible hand, strangling everyone's throats.
The enemy they always thought was Madara Uchiha, Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the so-called "god".
It wasn't until this moment that they realized that they were wrong, how wrong they were.
They have been dealing with a prehistoric beast in sheep's clothing, and even regarded him as their savior.
Shikaku Nara's lips were trembling. For the first time, this squad leader Hidden Leaf Village Jonin Commander, who was famous for his wisdom, felt that his intelligence was helpless in the face of absolute power.
He raised his head with difficulty and looked at Tsunade, Ai, Ōnoki and others who were also pale-faced. His voice was hoarse as if it had been polished with sandpaper.
"What we... are facing is not a problem of loose seals at all."
"But a... monster that regards gods as food."