An overwhelming pressure like collapsing mountains and roaring seas crashed down.
Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi's knees slammed uncontrollably into the ground. Their backs bent instinctively, and they almost bowed in worship.
The person on the statue had come alive.
The faith that the entire ninja world had passed down for a thousand years had actually appeared before them.
The vast divine light surrounding Arisu poured down onto the two of them, as though it wanted to purify Orochimaru and Kabuto.
"Unbelievable..."
Orochimaru gritted his teeth and barely managed to remain half-kneeling. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably as he wiped away the cold sweat constantly appearing on his forehead.
Appearance could be faked with Transformation Technique, and aura could be hidden with genjutsu.
But this divine pressure that stood above the entire ninja world.
This absolute power capable of crushing everything.
No matter what, it could not be imitated.
At this point, seventy percent of Orochimaru's doubts had already disappeared.
His sixth sense, which had never been wrong, was desperately confirming it for him.
The person before him was real.
Orochimaru raised his head and looked at Arisu floating in midair with a complicated expression.
Fanatical worship, indescribable excitement, and fear buried deep in his bones appeared one after another in his golden vertical pupils.
He worshipped him.
The immortality he had spent his entire life pursuing had actually been achieved by someone.
From the era of the Sage of Six Paths until now, spanning a thousand years, he had truly lived as long as heaven and earth.
He was excited.
So there really was something that served as the world's final safeguard.
Those catastrophes that could overturn the ninja world, those disasters that should have destroyed it, had always been stopped at the last moment, and it had never been a coincidence.
He had once believed that the so-called "Six Paths Cleansing Evil" was just a myth created by later generations.
Only now did he understand that it wasn't a legend at all, but real salvation that had actually happened.
But beneath that extreme worship and excitement was fear!
Orochimaru was afraid.
This Sage of Six Paths was not some cold law of nature, but a living person with his own will.
The life and death of the entire ninja world, the fate of countless living beings, all depended on a single thought from him.
If one day he developed the desire to destroy the world, everything would vanish in an instant.
And what chilled Orochimaru even more was that this god who overlooked all living things had not chosen to regulate the world as a deity.
Instead, he had hidden his identity, entered the game himself, and personally stirred up the storms of the ninja world.
What exactly was he trying to do?
Orochimaru was already this shocked, so there was no need to mention Kabuto beside him.
Kabuto Yakushi, who had always wanted to find his own purpose and become someone like Orochimaru, already had a chaotic mind.
Now that he had seen all this, he became even more lost and shocked.
Orochimaru swallowed hard, but his dry throat could not make any extra sound.
"May I ask how this junior should address you?"
Orochimaru bowed slightly, his tone carrying unprecedented respect and caution.
'Arisu-kun?'
'First Hokage-sama?'
The adoptive father who had given him a new life?
Or the Sage of Six Paths who had founded the ninja world?
Arisu waved his hand calmly, clearly having already seen through all the hesitation and conviction in his heart.
"In my eyes, you've always been that little Orochimaru. No different from Jiraiya."
Before he even finished speaking, Arisu casually waved his hand.
A space portal with a faint purple glow silently appeared before the two of them.
Arisu's gaze shifted to Kabuto, who stood nearby with his head lowered.
"Little Orochimaru, this disciple you took in has a good nature. Bring him along too."
Kabuto froze.
His face instantly filled with pleasant surprise.
He really couldn't understand why such an unfathomable sage would notice someone like him, who wasn't particularly remarkable even beside Orochimaru.
After all, he was only an assistant.
There were geniuses like Kimimaro beside Orochimaru...
He himself didn't have any bloodline at all.
Could it be that this sage truly knew the past and future and had already foreseen the path he would take?
Suppressing the storm in his heart, he quickly bowed in agreement and hurried after Orochimaru.
One after another, the two stepped into the distorted light.
———
At the same time, deep inside Shikkotsu Forest, Yukio successfully mastered Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode.
From beginner to complete mastery, he had only spent half a month.
Such speed was terrifying.
Tsunade had stayed in Shikkotsu Forest all this time. At this moment, she stared blankly at her son, whose body was surrounded by light green senjutsu chakra.
She had never expected Yukio to truly master sage arts.
Not only that, his progress was absurdly fast, and his foundation was so solid that he didn't look like a beginner at all.
But after her shock, a trace of confusion appeared in Tsunade's heart.
She herself had no talent for sage arts, and her husband Arisu came from a common background without any bloodline.
Yukio's heaven-defying talent for sage arts really didn't make much sense.
"Mom! I learned it!"
"I feel like I can one-shot everyone my age now!"
Yukio clenched his fists, excitement shining in his eyes.
Tsunade's expression darkened, and her tone immediately became serious.
"I didn't have you learn sage arts so you could fight others for superiority and show off with violence."
"It was so you could protect yourself in danger, protect the village, and protect the companions around you."
Yukio curled his lips and muttered softly, "But Father only taught me to take care of myself and family first, to be selfish and scheming. He never said anything about protecting the village or companions..."
"That Arisu actually teaches children this kind of thing!"
Tsunade's eyebrows immediately shot up, and her anger flared up.
The moment Arisu was mentioned, she became even angrier.
Ever since she had brought Yukio to Shikkotsu Forest for training, that man hadn't come to see the two of them even once.
She had originally planned that when Arisu came, the two of them could enjoy themselves in this quiet bamboo forest of Shikkotsu with no one around.
Now it seemed there was no hope at all.
At this moment, a medium-sized slug came before them.
"Slug Sage!" Tsunade nodded slightly.
The Slug Sage circled around Yukio and praised him repeatedly.
"Fast, so fast."
Yukio revealed an embarrassed yet proud expression.
"Sage, with my speed, I must be the fastest cultivator, right? I heard the Second Hokage trained here too. How long did he take?"
Yukio asked with a smile.
The Slug Sage smiled slightly.
"The First Hokage took three months to completely master it."
Yukio became even prouder.
"Then I'm number one!"
But the Slug Sage shook its head.
"Someone else holds the record for the fastest sage art training."
"Who?", Yukio couldn't help asking.
The Slug Sage revealed a nostalgic expression.
"That was more than a thousand years ago. A young man came to Shikkotsu Forest. I won't reveal his name, but that young man only spent half a day learning it..."