Yuzuru had imagined there would be many powerful beings here, but he had never expected anything this outrageous.
Blue Eagle picked him up and flew toward the mountains. After they passed through the clouds halfway up, an endless stretch of towering peaks came into view.
It was completely different from what he had seen from the ground. A special barrier covered this place, and without Blue Eagle bringing him inside, he might never have discovered it.
Then he was brought to the highest mountain.
There were no buildings, only endless snow and biting cold.
Yuzuru gauged the temperature. It should have been around fifty degrees below zero.
It was not particularly difficult for him to adapt. After all, he had gradually adapted to Ice Release and strengthened it, and he was already accustomed to eighty degrees below zero. But for the vast majority of other creatures, this temperature meant nothing but death.
While he was surveying his surroundings, several streaks shot through the sky like meteors and landed before him in an instant.
A massive white falcon, a purple eagle whose feathers crackled with electricity, and a raven as black as ink with blood-red eyes.
Without exception, they were enormous. Simply standing before Yuzuru with their wings folded, they were already nearly ten meters tall. It was hard to imagine how massive they would be with their wings spread.
"A human? It has been so long since we last saw one."
A cool female voice rang out from the white falcon, carrying considerable authority.
The enormous black raven beside her remained silent, simply watching Yuzuru, his figure reflected in those blood-red eyes.
The giant purple eagle, however, could not contain his curiosity. "Human, you came from overseas, didn't you? State your purpose, or face a baptism in the sea of lightning!"
Yuzuru tossed away the roasted rabbit in his hand, which had already frozen solid. Looking at the three before him, he wiped his mouth and said, "I did come from overseas."
"Would you like to hear my story first?"
At that, the white falcon and the purple eagle both looked toward the black raven.
Only after Gen'a nodded lightly did they signal for Yuzuru to continue.
"I'm not sure what the overseas land you speak of used to be called, but now its name is the Shinobi World."
Yuzuru casually made himself a chair with Ice Release and sat down.
A flicker of surprise crossed Hakujun's eyes at the sight.
"I don't know whether the three of you have ever heard the name Otsutsuki."
At those words, the three giant birds instantly grew agitated, their eyes filled with hatred.
"Those scum!"
Seeing their reaction, Yuzuru was now completely certain. Before Otsutsuki Kaguya and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki arrived, elders of their clan had probably already fought a great war against this planet's native creatures.
The Otsutsuki had probably won, which was why Kaguya and Isshiki had come to plant the God Tree.
"It looks like my guess was right. You must have fought a war against the Otsutsuki in the distant past."
"Of course! That old bastard brought dozens of people with him, but we slaughtered them all. What we never expected was that the old bastard would actually eat the young people he had brought to gain power far beyond his own. He didn't deserve to be called a person!"
Purple Eagle spoke bitterly.
"But in the end, you lost, didn't you?"
Yuzuru looked at him as he spoke.
"Boy, if you came here to mock us over that, do you believe I'll throw you into the lightning pool the very next second?"
Purple Eagle's feathers instantly bristled.
"In terms of the outcome, we did lose. We only managed to protect half of this planet. We know nothing about the remaining half, the Shinobi World you speak of, because we haven't left in a very long time. Among our kind, only individuals like Little Blue, who reached Divine Peak through their own efforts and talent, can go outside."
Hakujun nodded as she spoke.
"But that old bastard didn't get off easy either. Even after eating the younger members of his own clan, we still severely wounded him."
Purple Eagle could not help adding.
Having roughly understood what had happened in the past and its outcome, Yuzuru asked again, "You just said you can't leave. Why is that?"
"Since you discovered this place, I assume it was because you sensed the flow of natural energy?"
At that moment, Gen'a looked at Yuzuru and spoke for the first time.
His voice was indifferent, betraying no emotion at all. It was also completely impossible to tell whether it was male or female; it was an androgynous voice.
"Yes. In today's Shinobi World, there are Three Great Sage Regions: Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave. Their inhabitants are toads, slugs, and a group of snakes capable of using and sensing natural energy. There are also three sages: the Toad Sage, the Katsuyu Sage, and the White Snake Sage."
"I learned how to sense natural energy in Shikkotsu Forest. That's how I discovered this faint, hidden flow of natural energy and followed it here."
At that, Purple Eagle sneered.
"Toads, slugs, and a bunch of snakes dare call their homes sage regions? A bunch of vermin that amount to nothing! Where were they when we were fighting those Otsutsuki bastards?"
"Purple Eagle, enough nonsense. Human, continue. What is the situation in that Shinobi World now?"
Hakujun slapped Purple Eagle to the ground with one wing, then nodded at Yuzuru to signal for him to continue.
"A thousand years ago, Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Regions-in other words, those toads-formed a contract with Hamura Otsutsuki, the son of Otsutsuki Kaguya, who later came to the Shinobi World. They taught him how to sense and use natural energy."
"What?!" all three exclaimed.
At those words, not just Purple Eagle, but Hakujun and Gen'a were stunned as well.
"You're saying those damned Otsutsuki mastered natural energy?"
"That is indeed the case. The Ōtsutsuki Clan's talent is terrifying. After Hamura Otsutsuki mastered sage energy, one of his two sons mastered their original Otsutsuki power, while the other combined it with natural energy and was born with a Sage Body."
"In the Shinobi World, someone with a so-called Sage Body is someone born able to control natural energy."
The moment Yuzuru finished speaking, two terrifying auras erupted from Hakujun and Purple Eagle.
"Calm down!"
Black energy surged from Gen'a, forcibly calming Hakujun and Purple Eagle.
"Damned toads!"
Even after calming down, Purple Eagle could not help cursing.
"At this point, there is nothing we can change. Compared with that, the most frightening thing is that we currently know nothing about the Otsutsuki."
Gen'a looked at Yuzuru and said, "I can sense that the energy within you is extremely similar to that of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, but you don't carry their presence. So the Ōtsutsuki Clan must have taught the Shinobi World their method of growing stronger?"
"Exactly. This energy is called chakra. But their purpose isn't so simple. The Ōtsutsuki Clan's God Tree needs to absorb chakra to produce fruit, because they also feed on this energy to grow stronger. In other words, humans who cultivate chakra are their perfect food."
"Heh. I knew those fellows were up to no good."
Purple Eagle spat.
Gen'a looked at Yuzuru and continued, "We can teach you how to use natural energy, but in exchange, you must give us this energy within you, this chakra."
At those words, Hakujun and Purple Eagle both fell silent.
"Of course!"
Yuzuru smiled and nodded.