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Chapter 231: Ryuchi Cave? Time to Erase It!
The golden brilliance gradually dissipated, and the blood moon reappeared in the night sky.
The sea of clouds across the Ninja World churned violently as the aftershocks of the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion continued to echo through the upper atmosphere.
As the stinging pain in his soul faded, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the solitary figure under the night sky. "Is... is it over?"
His face turned ashen. "That old man who appeared earlier claimed to have created the Ninja World. Could he have been the Sage of Six Paths...?"
Tobirama Senju nodded, his tone desolate. "It seems so. He fits the legends."
"But... even a mythical figure like the Sage of Six Paths couldn't defeat her. He died in that golden light that destroyed heaven and earth." Tobirama looked up at the purple-haired figure in the sky. "Her power has exceeded the realm of what we can comprehend. Brother... Madara Uchiha... the Sage of Six Paths... none were her match."
"Lord Second, Lord Third." Minato Namikaze sighed heavily, his face filled with worry. "With the Ninja World in her hands, what... what will the future become?"
"The future..." Tobirama looked unusually lost. "I don't know either. We are already dead; we shouldn't have been involved in the affairs of the living, nor do we have the power to stop it. The future... leave it to the future..."
.....
High in the sky.
Konan's imposing aura gradually retracted. The brilliant blue galaxy in her eyes slowly returned to normal.
"Konan." Alex floated beside her. "That Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion was incredibly powerful. How was the consumption? Is there any burden on you?"
That attack was formed by condensing only eight Truth-Seeking Balls. The ninth Truth-Seeking Ball had transformed into a black receiver, pinning Black Zetsu down. If she had used all nine... the power would have undoubtedly been on another level.
"The consumption—"
"Heh heh heh!"
Suddenly, a jarring, sinister laugh interrupted Konan.
"Consumption? Heh heh heh." An old woman appeared out of thin air opposite Konan. "Unleashing such a powerful technique must have drained you significantly. I have been waiting for the moment you became weak..."
She stared at Konan with greed, her malice thick and palpable. Her pupils were vertical slits—snake eyes.
"White Snake Sage..." Konan's eyes turned cold. "It seems you've come to seek death as well."
The sudden arrival was indeed the White Snake Sage! Although she was disguised as an ordinary old woman, her camouflage was useless before the Tenseigan. The form of a white snake within her was clearly visible.
"No, no, no." The White Snake Sage laughed darkly. "I have lived for a thousand years; I would not actively seek my own death."
She looked at Konan with a mix of greed and amazement. "I never imagined that the little girl who came to me to learn Senjutsu not long ago would grow to such an astonishing level... Even Hagoromo wasn't your match, though he was just a fragmented soul..."
She clicked her tongue in wonder. "And that other Otsutsuki was also destroyed by you in a single move. That technique of yours truly destroyed heaven and earth; even I could not have blocked it."
"However..." The White Snake Sage laughed wildly. "I can sense that your Chakra consumption is massive. You cannot use that move again. How much strength can you possibly have left?"
"Furthermore..." She cackled sinisterly. "When you came to Ryuchi Cave to learn Senjutsu, I didn't just inject natural energy into your body. I added something special..."
Power always came with a price.
She was the dignified White Snake Sage, a being who had lived for a millennium. As a non-human entity, why would she be so kind as to help a human cultivate Senjutsu and gain power for free? The signing of the Summoning Contract and the spiritual will she left in Konan's body were enough to control her.
Konan wouldn't be able to make any waves. This was the confidence and reliance that allowed her to step forward now.
"A perfect body! The perfect God Tree Fruit!! In the end, they are all mine!"
The urgency and greed in the White Snake Sage's eyes nearly overflowed. She formed a strange hand seal with her right hand and looked at Konan triumphantly. "Heh heh heh, now you will become my faithful puppet!"
Anyone who signed a blood contract with Ryuchi Cave and cultivated their Senjutsu could have their will instantly stripped away at her command, becoming a puppet who obeyed only her.
"Hmm???"
A desolate cold wind blew between them.
The White Snake Sage observed Konan in confusion. Her eyes remained agile and bright, not dull or stagnant. This meant... she hadn't turned into a puppet as expected.
How is this possible!!
This secret technique she had obtained over a thousand years ago had never failed! Something must be wrong! Perhaps there was a slight error in the activation.
The White Snake Sage tried to activate it again, but it failed. There was no change.
She looked shocked. "You... you knew about the trap I left in your body all along??!"
"Trap?" Konan's killing intent surged. "Are you talking about this?"
She took out a purple glass orb. "The so-called trap is inside this."
Back when she finished cultivating Senjutsu, Alex had examined her body and discovered the White Snake Sage's malicious intent. They immediately used a Soul Sealing Technique to extract and seal the entity left inside her. To avoid alerting the snake, she had simply kept the glass orb without destroying it until now.
Crack.
Konan crushed the glass orb, completely destroying the hidden trap.
The White Snake Sage instantly sensed the anomaly. Her control was destroyed along with the sealed orb.
"You were weak back then! How could you have known??!" The White Snake Sage shouted in disbelief. "You couldn't have discovered it! Impossible!!"
"You—!"
The shock on her face gradually turned to terror. "Were you... pretending just now??!"
She saw Konan's aura re-condense, the galaxy in her eyes shining brilliantly. There was no sign of the weakness she had sensed earlier. She was in her prime!
"You tricked me?!!"
"Hmph!" Konan held a golden lightsaber in her hand. "A snake is a snake; always liking to hide in the dark and bite when least expected. Don't think that just because this is a clone, you can rest easy! You've lived for a thousand years, old snake. It's time for you to die!"
The golden lightsaber swung down violently. "Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!!"
Shwaa—!
A golden beam that obscured the sky and moon instantly annihilated the White Snake Sage's clone. It continued forward, blasting directly into the Ryuchi Cave dimension in an instant.
"Ahhh!! I will not die!!!" Inside the cave, the White Snake Sage fully revealed her true form. A gigantic white snake, kilometers long, held a green dragon pearl in its mouth, fully activating Senjutsu to block the attack.
Unfortunately... it was futile.
The destructive golden brilliance descended, completely enveloping the massive Ryuchi Cave. Space shattered inch by inch. The Three Snake Princesses, the White Snake Sage, and countless venomous snakes were all annihilated within the golden light.
They couldn't block this earth-shattering move in the slightest.
Ryuchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions... was erased from existence!
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