The black storm continued to roar, and the pale shadows of the sun appeared and disappeared in the sand curtain. Tian Zhiyun knelt on the ground, the blood-red patterns that had appeared after the Gate of Death opened had spread to her neck, and every breath she took was accompanied by the sound of breaking wind.
The sand body of Wind God Saku slowly condensed before her, and the Divine Domain with its flowing wind patterns closed again, turning this world into a prison that isolated life.
Just then, ripples suddenly appeared on the clouds above the sky, like the surface of a lake tossed with pebbles. An old man in white robes stepped out of the air, his wide sleeves fluttering in the gale. He had three Tomoe marks on his forehead, held an ancient tin staff, and was surrounded by an aura of compassion—he was none other than Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths of Six Paths who opened up the Pure Land and pacified the chaotic world.
The old man hovered above the storm, his gaze sweeping across the ravaged battlefield. Seeing Tian Zhiyun, covered in blood yet still standing, he sighed softly, his voice piercing the sandstorm and reaching everyone's ears. "To confront gods and demons with a mortal body, commendable courage. Alas..." He looked up at the hundred-foot-tall sand figure, " The Fujin Shuo is made of sand and wind, his soul of fierce energy. As long as the sand remains, his body will not dissipate; as long as the wind ceases, his soul will not die. How can human power easily destroy him?"
The Sage of Six Paths slowly descended, his staff lightly tapping the void, and an invisible barrier appeared between Tian Zhiyun and Wind God Saku. The sandstorm crashed against the barrier, shattering into fine grains, unable to advance any further. "Little girl, step back," he said, looking down at the blood-soaked Tian Zhiyun, his eyes filled with pity. "These ancient gods and demons are beyond your power to contend with."
Tian Zhiyun leaned on the ground, her knuckles white from the effort, the blood-stained sand leaving deep marks on her palms. She coughed twice, her voice hoarse but firm. "Senior... since you recognize this demon, do you have a way to reseal it? Trillions of lives in the Shinobi World are waiting for us to seal it!"
Just as the Sage of Six Paths was about to reply, a small figure suddenly descended from the clouds. The newcomer looked to be no more than six years old, dressed in a white robe embroidered with golden patterns, his bare feet treading on the void. His small body exuded a composure beyond his years. His pupils were as clear as the starry sky, as if containing the light of billions of Xingchen, and the air currents he stirred up upon landing even calmed the raging sandstorm.
"Hey, could this be the legendary Hagoromo Otsutsuki of Sage of Six Paths?" The child stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the old man with a hint of mockery in his eyes. "Why aren't you enjoying your retirement in your idyllic Pure Land? What are you doing here in this sandy wasteland?"
The Sage of Six Paths paused slightly, his pupils contracting sharply. He circulated his Chakra to examine the child closely, only to find that the child's origins were shrouded in mist. There was neither the aura of an ordinary human nor the Chakra fluctuations of the Ōtsutsuki Clan; the child seemed to have appeared out of thin air. "This old man sensed the breaking of the seal by a god or demon, and came to investigate," he said, stroking his beard, his tone growing more serious. "Little one, who exactly are you?"
The child grinned, revealing two sharp little fangs, his smile warm yet laced with a sharp edge, "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone's name? But since you're a senior, I won't hesitate to tell you." He tilted his head, his gaze shifting to the stunned Tian Zhiyun beside him, his voice suddenly softening, " The Third Hokage of Konoha, Tsubasa. My little wife Shiun, it's been six years, how did you manage to get yourself into such a sorry state?"
" Tsubasa... are you really Brother Tsubasa?" Tian Zhiyun suddenly looked up, tears welling up in her eyes instantly. This address, this child's features, and the tone of his voice—his aura was clearly that of her husband who had disappeared six years ago! Back then, he said he was going into seclusion to "break through to the Golden Core Realm and then disappeared," and there had been no news of him since. Everyone had been looking for him, and all these years they thought he was long gone. But now, he appeared here as a child! Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, mingling with the blood on her cheeks. She opened her mouth, but a thousand words only turned into sobs.
The Sage of Six Paths listened in stunned silence, glancing at the child who called himself Hokage Tsubasa, then at the tearful Tian Zhiyun, before suddenly clapping his hands and laughing, "So that's how it is! So that's how it is! I was truly Sage." He looked at Tsubasa, a hint of understanding in his eyes, "Since you have such confidence, you must have a way to deal with this Fujin?"
Tsubasa raised his hand and unleashed a pale blue Senjutsu Chakra, enveloping Tian Zhiyun like a gentle stream of water. Wherever the Chakra passed, her wounds healed at a visible speed, and her scattered life force regrouped. "I'll trouble you to cover for me, senior," he said to the Sage of Six Paths without turning his head, his tone filled with unquestionable confidence. "If I fail, it's not too late to ask you to intervene, but I will not fail."
The Sage of Six Paths glanced at the pure Senjutsu power contained within the illusory blue lotus, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He then nodded and stepped back, his figure gradually disappearing into the clouds. "Very well, this Sage will see what you've got."
The moment the barrier was removed, Wind God Saku's sand body suddenly leaned forward, his swirling sand Uzumaki -like pupils locking onto the suddenly appearing child. The wind pressure within the Divine Domain suddenly intensified, and countless sand blades condensed and shot towards Tsubasa with the power to tear apart the laws.
Tsubasa shielded Tian Zhiyun behind him, his small figure standing tall against the swirling sand blades. He looked up at the hundred-foot-tall sand mass, starlight gleaming in his clear pupils, a fighting spirit curling at the corner of his lips. "So what if you're ancient gods? If you don't come out, I won't have a chance to fight you. Today, I'll play with you and see what tricks these creations of the World Will have up their sleeves."
Above the heavens, the Sage of Six Paths silently observed from within the clouds; amidst the storm, the confrontation between the white-clad child and the gods and demons was about to erupt. Tian Zhiyun gazed at that familiar yet unfamiliar figure, her tears long since stopped, and Chakra re-condensed in her palm—this time, she knew she was no longer fighting alone.
Tsubasa touched the ground with his toes, his small figure landing in the center of the sea of sand. He lightly flicked his finger, and pale golden Senjutsu runes surged from his palm, like stars falling from the night sky into the sea of sand, instantly spreading out into a dense array on the ground. Each rune was drawing upon the Natural Energy of heaven and earth, and golden light spread along the grains of sand, transforming into countless chains that, as if possessing a life of their own, wrapped around Wind God Saku's hundred-foot-tall sand body.
"Roar--!"
For the first time, the Fujin Shuo let out a non-human roar. The sound was unlike the wind itself, more like the howl of a caged beast bound by chains. The wind patterns around it swirled and slashed wildly, the dark runes glowed with blinding red light, and the sandstorm suddenly condensed into ten thousand black blades, their surfaces wrapped in millennia-old aura, slashing towards Tsubasa with a force capable of tearing apart heaven and earth. " Divine Domain - Black Sand Purgatory!"
Tsubasa merely flicked his sleeve, and the golden chains binding the sand-like body tightened abruptly, while the runes erupted with dazzling golden light. The black blade struck the golden light, and like snowflakes falling into boiling water, it instantly dissolved into fine sand, without even a ripple. "Is that all you've got?" he chuckled, his youthful voice brimming with composure. "Try this— Senjutsu: Vajra Sealing God Seal, suppress!"
The chains tightened suddenly, piercing Wind God Saku's chest with the force to shatter mountains and split rocks. The hundred-foot-long sand body crumbled in response, countless grains of sand scattering everywhere, and the sandstorm stirred up towering waves in mid-air, as if the entire world was trembling with the anger of this ancient god. But before the sand fragments even hit the ground, they began to flow backward and gather again. Wind God Saku's immortality was on full display at this moment, and the cracks in the sand body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"It's not over yet." Tsubasa's eyes turned cold, and he clasped his hands together. In Setsuna, the void cracked open, and dozens of dragon-shaped wooden pillars crashed down from the cracks. The sealing runes engraved on the dragon-shaped wooden pillars lit up with red light, accurately nailing into Shuo's limbs, torso, and neck, firmly pinning its sand-like remains into the earth's veins.
The roar of the sandstorm gradually subsided, and the Divine Domain crumbled inch by inch like shattered glass, even the howling winds became much gentler.
Suddenly, a surge of immense immortal Immortal Power erupted from Tsubasa's body, his Golden Core Stage cultivation erupting without reservation, a multicolored halo condensing into a gigantic phantom behind him. He looked at the still struggling sand body, a rhombus-shaped rune forming at his fingertip, within which flowed divine soul power. "Your sand body is indestructible? Then start with your divine soul."
The rune, as a streak of light, precisely struck the core of the sand body that had been scattered and then reformed by the Wind God Saku. Shuo's roar suddenly rose in pitch, but quickly became hoarse again—it was the pain of his soul being forcibly suppressed.
All the onlookers saw was Shuo's hundred-foot-tall body shrinking continuously under the suppression of the coiled dragon wooden pillar. The originally loose sand was forcibly compressed by the Immortal Power and divine soul runes, becoming more and more solid and smaller. The wind patterns became blurred as it contracted, and the fierce energy was gradually devoured by the runes. Even his indifferent eyes filled with sandstorms were filled with terror.
"No... it's impossible..." Shuo's voice became sharp, trembling with unprecedented panic.
Tsubasa walked step by step toward the shrinking sand body. With each step, the sealing runes on the ground lit up a little more. When he got close, Wind God Saku's body had shrunk to a height of about ten feet. The sand body was no longer loose and had even taken on a somewhat solid texture. But the more solid it became, the clearer the pain of being bound by the sealing runes became, and even the strength to struggle was being lost.
"Submit, or be annihilated." Tsubasa raised his face, the Kageko of the sand body reflected in his clear pupils, his tone calm yet carrying an irresistible pressure.
The sand body trembled violently, clearly making a final resistance. But the runes in its soul suddenly tightened, and the intense pain caused it to let out a mournful cry. The sand body shrank again, eventually transforming into a small sand person resembling an eight-year-old child. The wind patterns on its body still lingered, but the indifference in its sandy eyes had long been replaced by fear.
"I... surrender..." The little sandman lowered his head, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Only then did Tian Zhiyun stagger over and throw herself into Tsubasa's arms. Her pent-up emotions finally erupted, and she choked up, unable to speak, only clutching his sleeve tightly.
The Sage of Six Paths appeared from the clouds, and upon landing, looking at the little sandman bowing in submission, he couldn't help but clap his hands and sigh, "Truly, the younger generation is formidable! At such a young age, you can suppress ancient gods and Sage, and even control their intelligence with a soul puppet sealing talisman. I, an immortal, am ashamed of my own abilities. However, although this seal can suppress it, after a hundred years, if its soul foundation is not destroyed, it may once again wreak havoc on the mortal world..."
Tsubasa raised his hand and ruffled Tian Zhiyun's hair, then looked up at the blood-red setting sun in the west, his tone nonchalant. "Back then, you dismantled the Ten-Tails because you were afraid it would continue to do evil without your control, right? If it dares to cause trouble again a hundred years from now, I'm not just limited to living for a hundred years; I'll just slay it again. Anyway, by then, it will still be the same as before, easily manipulated by me."
Upon hearing this, the little sandman pinned to the ground couldn't help but shrink back, burying his head even lower.
The storm had completely subsided, and the pale sunlight finally revealed a hint of warmth. Tsubasa, holding the still sobbing Tian Zhiyun, gestured with his chin to the Sage of Six Paths: "Senior, let's discuss the secrets of this world."