As darkness fell, the Sage of Six Paths infiltrated the capital of the Land of Hot Water alone. The once bustling capital was now deathly still, the streets littered with dried blood, and low-level vampires occasionally wandered by. Upon seeing the Chakra aura emanating from the Sage of Sage of Six Paths, they immediately pounced on him in a frenzy.
"Get out of my way!" The Sage of Six Paths sneered, a huge Chakra phantom appearing behind him. He struck out with his palm, shattering the onrushing vampire into dust. He fought his way through, quickly arriving at the gates of the former royal palace, where blood-red flags now hung, embroidered with ferocious bat totems.
A crimson waning moon hung in the sky, casting an eerie dark red hue over the majestic Blood Emperor's Palace. The Sage of Six Paths strode forward on the broken bone steps, the bloodstains on the hem of his black robe long since congealed. Only the purple light flowing in his Rinnegan drew a cold, sharp path across the desolate palace courtyard.
"Trespassing the Blood Emperor's Palace? You're asking for death!"
A thunderous roar erupted, and Jūni dark figures suddenly rose from beneath the eaves of the palace on either side, the sound of bat wings tearing through the night sky. The blood mist swirling around the Jūni princes had not yet dissipated when the leader, its crimson pupils locking onto the throat of the Sage of Six Paths, lunged forward with sharp, scaly claws that Sky Splitter: "Dare to disrupt my lord's grand undertaking? Today you will become my blood sacrifice!"
The Sage of Six Paths lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body gliding sideways like a willow catkin to avoid the sharp claw. The bluestone paving stones he had just stepped on were blasted into a bowl-sized crater by that seemingly effortless grab, shards of stone mixed with dark red blood splattering everywhere. He quickly drew two fingers together across his chest, his fingertips condensing Senjutsu Chakra into pale golden patterns. " Truth-Seeking Orb -Planting Technique!"
Countless jet-black thorns burst forth from the earth, weaving into a net like a torrential rain. The three princes were unable to dodge in time and were pierced through the shoulders and abdomens by the several-foot-long black thorns, pinning them firmly to the carved palace wall. The sealing runes flowing on the surface of the black thorns lit up, emitting a sizzling burning sound, instantly evaporating the princes' dripping blood.
"So noisy!"
The other nine princes had already pounced forward. Their movements were as swift as ghosts, the stench from their bat-wing flapping almost tangible, and their sharp fingernails gleamed metallically in the moonlight, splattering a string of blood droplets as they tore through the sleeves of the Sage of Six Paths. The prince on the left chanted obscure incantations, and the blood sphere gathered in his palm suddenly exploded, transforming into dozens of blood arrows that shot towards the Sage of Six Paths' face.
"Good timing!"
The Sage of Six Paths' pupils contracted sharply, and the Tomoe within his Rinnegan spun rapidly. His figure left an afterimage in place, and the next second he appeared behind the prince on his left, the Senjutsu Chakra gathered in his right palm gleaming with a faint blue light. "Sealing Technique: Annihilation Palm!" The palm strike, accompanied by a howling airflow, slammed into the prince's back. The nine palaces sealing patterns engraved within the palm print suddenly erupted, golden light spreading across his entire body like Spiderweb.
The prince let out a shrill scream as his body disintegrated inch by inch within the sealing light, eventually turning into a pool of bubbling blood. But before the Sage of Six Paths could adjust his breathing, the pool of blood suddenly surged violently, the scarlet liquid flowing upstream along the cracks in the floor tiles, and in the blink of an eye, it reformed into the prince's form, with only faint golden traces of the seal remaining on his neck.
"Fool! Under the protection of the Blood Ancestor's power, we are immortal!" The prince stretched his regenerated neck, his claws drawing three bloody gashes in his palm. "Blood Curse: Thousand Threads Binding!"
Countless crimson threads suddenly appeared in the air, coiling towards the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' limbs like venomous snakes. The three princes on his right simultaneously chanted, their blood mist transforming into claws, whips, and bone spears, blocking all escape routes from three directions. The Sage of Six Paths used the palace pillars for leverage, flipping over, and Mangekyō Sharingan pattern suddenly appeared within his Rinnegan: " Amaterasu: Flame Prison!"
Black flames surged forth like a tidal wave, incinerating the incoming blood curse threads. He seized the opportunity to Hand Seals: " Sage Art - Great Waterfall Technique!" The cascading Shimizu Senjutsu struck the bone spear formed from blood mist. Amidst the rising steam, the two princes were swept away by the water flow, crashing through the carved window frames and plunging into the depths of the palace.
Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings came from the palace dome, and the remaining princes clung to the beams and pillars like upside-down bats. They opened their mouths at the same time, and Jūni blood-red beams of light intertwined to form a net, trapping the Sage of Six Paths in the center. The moment the beams touched the robes, they began to corrode the fabric, and a pungent smell of burning mixed with the stench of blood filled the air.
" Sage Art: Yin and Yang Myriad Phenomena!"
The Sage of Six Paths pressed his palms to the ground, and countless Truth-Seeking Orb burst forth, weaving into an impenetrable barrier around him. White buds blooming on the vines instantly blossomed, their purifying fragrance causing ripples to appear on the pillar of blood-red light. Using the vines as cover, he formed complex hand seals, Rinnegan blazed with intense purple light. " Rinnegan - Banshō Ten'in!"
The prince on the far east side suddenly flew uncontrollably toward the Sage of Six Paths. Before he could react, a hand burning with Senjutsu flames pierced his chest. The prince let out a resentful roar in the flames, and his body quickly turned to ashes. However, the scattered ashes instantly oozed blood upon landing and reformed into a human shape on the blue bricks, though his face was paler than before.
"Blood Curse - Gate of Blood Prison!" The Jūni princes chanted in unison, their bodies suddenly enveloped in a surge of blood mist that condensed into a massive crimson vortex above the palace. Countless twisted bloody hands emerged from the vortex, reaching for the Sage of Six Paths ' limbs. The Sage of Six Paths spun around, dodging the bloody hands' pulls, his Truth -Truth-Seeking Orb at his fingertips transforming into a ring that protected him. " Sage Art: Spiral Truth- Truth-Seeking Orb Slash!"
Golden Chakra spun rapidly in his palm, forming a black blade that sliced through the blood mist, severing the three princes who rushed at him in half. The severed bodies turned into two pools of blood, but before they hit the ground, they began to merge. As the blood surged, Jūni figures simultaneously rose from the pool of blood, even the folds of their robes were exactly the same as before.
The fierce battle lasted from midnight until dawn. The Sage of Sage of Six Paths used his Senjutsu in turn, sometimes blasting the princes to pieces with " Sage Art: Shinra Tensei - Truth-Seeking Orb Great Barrage", sometimes dispersing the blood mist with " Rinnegan: Shinra Tensei", and even using " Sage Art: Susanoo ", a huge purple spirit wielding a long sword cleaved the princes in two.
No matter what method he used to kill them, those princes could always be reborn in the blood—those split in two would reassemble from the two halves of blood, those burned to ashes by flames would seep blood from the cracks in the floor tiles and reform themselves, and those trapped by Sealing Jutsu could even have blood seep through the sealing patterns and reshape their bodies outside the barrier.
As dawn broke, the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan was veiled by a weary haze. He used a " Sage Art: Earth Flow Rampart " to block the Jūni blood curses that attacked simultaneously, seizing the opportunity to break through the weak point of the crimson barrier. The moment his feet stepped out of the palace gates, the princes roared in defiance behind him, and the giant hand formed from blood mist gradually dissipated in the morning light.
The morning breeze outside the city carried away some of the stench of blood. The Sage of Six Paths leaned against the broken battlements, panting heavily. His dark robes were already soaked with blood. He gazed at the gradually brightening horizon and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth—this battle was not over yet. As long as the Blood Ancestor's power remained, these immortal princes would forever be a haunting nightmare.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, the Blood Ancestor sat on a throne built of bones, reviewing the battle reports submitted by his subordinates. A cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips, " The Sage of Six Paths? Interesting. He's certainly capable during the day, but alas... the night is my time."
He extended his finger, and a drop of his blood fell to the ground, instantly transforming into Jūni blood shadows. "Go, find him. Tonight, I will drink his blood."
The Jūni prince knelt on one knee, his eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty red light. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Outside the city, the Sage of Six Paths sensed the thick stench of blood approaching from behind and gripped his staff tightly. He knew the most difficult night was about to begin. The fate of the Land of Hot Water, the safety of the Shinobi World, all rested on this life-or-death struggle between humans and vampires. Meanwhile, in the distant sky, Tsubasa was leading the sealing masters of Konoha on their way; a great battle that would determine the survival of humanity was about to unfold.