As Isshiki Ōtsutsuki faded away, the violent energies in the heavens and on earth gradually subsided.
Roy stood in place, letting out a long breath, a smile appearing on his face.
He slowly raised his hand and dispelled the Complete Body Susanoo.
As the golden light dissipated, the towering, mountain-like Susanoo giant gradually vanished.
"It's finally over," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with an involuntary sigh as he looked at the now-calm skies and earth.
The impact of today's battle on him was truly immense.
As someone once revered as the "Strongest Hokage," he had always believed he had witnessed the most powerful forces in the ninja world.
Yet today, the battle between Roy and Isshiki Ōtsutsuki had opened his eyes, while simultaneously shaking his understanding of his own knowledge, even making him doubt his place in the world.
Though he was already a dead man, an uncontrollable surge of complex emotions welled up within him.
Unbeknownst to him, the ninja world had already undergone such earth-shattering changes; the former power system seemed to have been completely shattered. Where would the future ninja world head?
Senju Tobirama stood to the side, the look of shock on his face not yet fully faded.
His gaze was fixed intently on Roy, his heart filled with vigilance.
He had initially thought Roy was only slightly stronger than his older brother, Senju Hashirama.
But today's battle made him clearly realize that Roy's power had exceeded his imagination; the gap in strength between them was not insignificant but constituted an entire major level.
If Roy, with such immense power, harbored evil intentions, he would pose a tremendous threat to the ninja world.
Yet he also understood that he and the others had no way to resist.
This complex emotion filled Tobirama's heart with contradiction, and he secretly resolved to closely monitor Roy's every move and accelerate his integration into Roy's plans.
Senju Hashirama slowly walked towards Roy. His eyes were full of astonishment and emotion, his face wearing his signature cheerful smile, yet within that smile now resided a degree of admiration for Roy's power.
"Your strength has truly broadened my horizons!"
Hashirama praised sincerely.
Roy nodded slightly. Then, he activated the spatial power of the Rinnegan.
A purple light flickered in his eyes, and the surrounding space seemed to be twisted and folded by an invisible giant hand. Their figures gradually blurred within the light, and in an instant, he brought Hashirama and the others back to the Land of Valleys.
Back at the base in the Land of Valleys, Amado and Victor were anxiously awaiting the outcome of the battle.
Amado's face was etched with anxiety, his heart extremely conflicted. On one hand, he was eagerly hoping to revive his daughter using Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's power.
On the other hand, he was filled with fear of Isshiki's immense power, a dread that hung over his heart, keeping him constantly on guard.
Victor was equally restless.
Like Amado, he both hoped Isshiki would succeed, enabling some of their plans, and feared that Isshiki's power would bring disaster upon himself.
But just then, the space twisted eerily, and Roy and the others appeared.
Amado and Victor's attention was instantly drawn. When they saw only Roy and his group returning, with no sign of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, both were utterly shocked.
Their eyes widened, their mouths slightly agape, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Was Isshiki Ōtsutsuki actually defeated?"
Amado murmured to himself, his voice filled with shock and confusion.
Victor also stood frozen, unable to speak for a long time. He had never imagined that Isshiki, who was nearly invincible, could be defeated by Roy and his group.
At Roy's signal, Orochimaru's signature sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth. He slowly extended his tongue, licking his lips with a hissing sound that sent chills down the spine.
"You are now prisoners," Orochimaru's voice was icy cold. "If you want to live, surrender obediently and hand over all your experimental data and results. Don't try anything foolish!"
In his view, the mysterious experiments in Victor's and Amado's hands were excellent research materials, waiting for him to explore.
Hearing this, Amado and Victor's expressions instantly froze. They exchanged glances and helplessly lowered their heads.
Facing Roy and the others' overwhelming power, resistance was meaningless; surrender was the only option.
They slowly raised their hands to show they were giving up resistance.
However, just as everyone thought things had settled, a sudden change occurred.
Orochimaru took a sharp step forward. He opened his mouth, and a strangely patterned snake shot out, biting directly onto Victor's arm.
"Ah!" Victor let out a piercing scream. His body instinctively tried to pull away, but he found the snake clamped tightly onto his arm, its fangs deeply embedded in his skin.
His face instantly contorted in pain, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like rain.
Seeing this, Orochimaru sneered, a laugh filled with mockery and warning:
"Hmph, don't even think about getting any ideas. You've been poisoned. I'm the only one with the antidote. As long as you behave, I'll naturally give it to you. Otherwise..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the threatening implication was clear.
Victor gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain, his heart filled with both rage and fear, yet he dared not make a reckless move.
Amado stood by, utterly helpless.
...
Within just half a day, the entire base was laid bare before Orochimaru. Every corner, every piece of data was thoroughly examined by him.
Orochimaru stood in the center of a room filled with various experimental devices and materials, his face brimming with excitement.
He held a thick stack of documents in his hands, densely filled with complex theories and data on cloning technology.
"Cloning technology has progressed this far?"
He murmured to himself, his voice filled with incredulity.
The cloning techniques now before him had many theories and methods strikingly similar to his own ongoing research, yet they also featured bold and novel breakthroughs at certain critical junctures.
"I never thought someone else in the ninja world could reach this level. This Amado is quite a genius."
Orochimaru couldn't help but praise, the corners of his mouth turning up into a greedy smile.
In his understanding, he had considered himself unique in the ninja world's research field, yet he never expected Amado to be his equal, even surpassing him in some aspects.
This discovery delighted him immensely, as if he had found a long-lost kindred spirit, or uncovered a vast treasure waiting for him to excavate.