In an instant, everything in Ryūchi Cave erupted—almost in perfect sync with the decisive battle unfolding elsewhere that would shape the future of the shinobi world.
...
Within the depths of Ryūchi Cave, a brutal battle between toads and snakes raged on.
Countless small frogs and surging waves of serpents were locked in savage combat, their struggle so intense and grotesque that anyone with the slightest psychological weakness would be haunted by the scene forever.
And yet, this was only the backdrop.
The real battlefield was one tier above—where colossal creatures like Manda, and other massive summoning beasts clashed against the likes of Gamabunta and other giant toads.
Close-quarters combat reigned supre here.
Entanglents, constrictions—every mont saw giant toads coughing up entrails and blood as they were crushed or pierced.
Slashes, stabs—snake tails and glimring scales were severed and scattered into the air in droves.
The chorus of toad croaks, combined into a genjutsu, caused excruciating migraines among many giant serpents. Poison sprayed in all directions, claiming the lives of countless toads in return.
This was a battle to decide the survival of their species.
At the heart of it all were the Three Great Snake Princesses and the two Great Toad Sages, clashing with an array of ninjutsu, senjutsu, and genjutsu techniques that dazzled and overwheld.
...
In the very core of the battlefield, the fight had reverted to its most primitive form.
The White Snake Sage had coiled her impossibly tough body around Gamamaru, locking him in a death grip. But Gamamaru didn't passively accept defeat—he summoned a blade condensed from pure senjutsu chakra and drove it deep into the serpent's body.
At the sa ti, two venomous fangs sank into Gamamaru, pumping lethal toxins into his system.
The natural energy that perated Ryūchi Cave seeped into the surrounding rock, transforming it into countless sharp blades that zeroed in on Gamamaru's wounds—left by a previous Sage Art: Truth-Seeking Orb blast.
The resulting explosion shattered parts of Ryūchi Cave, already a massive underground world. The veins of the Dragon Pulse reacted violently, as boundless natural energy roared like a beast through the tunnels.
In an instant, many weaker frogs and snakes were either petrified or mutated and burst from the sheer overload of natural energy.
Gamamaru's body was half-destroyed by the blow, and poisoned to boot.
He was on the brink of death.
Mount Myōboku seed fated to fall.
...
"What exactly did Hagoromo promise you that made you willing to risk the extinction of your entire race just to fight ?!"
The White Snake Sage growled in disbelief.
But Gamamaru responded by pulling out a mysterious tag, glowing with green light.
In an instant, the Great Toad Sage's life force surged. Every wound, every ounce of lost vitality, was restored!
A colossal toad statue, ford entirely from natural energy and towering over a kiloter tall, erupted from the ground. Gamamaru vanished in a flash and entered the statue's core.
Boom!
The giant toad leapt into the air, then plumted like a falling teor toward the White Snake Sage, intending to crush her.
Despite her injuries, her body remained incredibly resilient. Chanting an incantation, she suddenly expanded several hundred tis in size.
Brilliant multicolored energy rippled across her skin, forming what looked like a divine armor bestowed by nature itself.
Her size now matched the toad colossus.
A swipe of her massive tail countered the descending statue's impact entirely.
The titanic clash sent shockwaves through the battlefield. Even the Three Great Snake Princesses and the two Toad Sages were caught in the blast and flung aside.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the White Snake Sage opened her jaws and inhaled sharply. The ferocious natural energy of Ryūchi Cave surged into her mouth, draining even the statue's power, visibly shrinking it.
What followed was a blinding pillar of light that pierced through the dinsional layer housing Ryūchi Cave and shot directly into the Dragon Pulse below, making the already unstable energy vein even more frenzied and violent.
...
But ti rewound a few seconds.
Back to the mont the White Snake Sage had just begun absorbing the natural energy.
Gamamaru smiled slightly, then directed the statue to throw a punch. That single blow—blindingly fast, seemingly faster than light—launched the White Snake Sage into the distance.
"Haha! This is what Hagoromo gave !"
Around Gamamaru, the flow of ti twisted—sotis speeding up, sotis slowing down, even occasionally reversing a few seconds.
Though the statue wasn't quite as powerful as the White Snake Sage's newly enlarged body, the manipulation of ti itself skewed the battle entirely in Gamamaru's favor.
He relentlessly controlled the statue to puml the injured White Snake Sage.
Ryūchi Cave was on the verge of collapse.
...
At this mont, you quietly revealed your form, having witnessed it all.
You now had a clearer understanding of the rules each side commanded.
The White Snake Sage clearly specialized in devouring, attribute manipulation, and physical enhancent.
Gamamaru, on the other hand, wielded the power of ti.
You had already suspected that Gamamaru, with his ability to prophesy, might possess a ti-related power—but you had only guessed at so foresight into the future.
You never expected he could actually manipulate the flow of ti—or even rewind it briefly.
Mastering ti was unimaginably difficult, and yet he had reached this level!
So this is what he ant by Hagoromo's "gift." No wonder he'd risk all of Mount Myōboku's power.
...
"But I wonder—can you foresee your own death?"
Death.
A pitch-black scythe suddenly pierced through Gamamaru's back.
His body imdiately withered and collapsed.
But...
You felt nothing from the Soul Eater.
No soul energy.
Before your eyes, Gamamaru's body slowly dissolved into bubbles.
Then—three identical figures materialized around you, surrounding you from all sides.
All three summoned colossal toad statues—and attacked simultaneously!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, you summoned your own colossal defense: a black Susanoo, towering nearly a kiloter high.
Its arms raised to block all three blows at once.
Susanoo's hands clenched in the air, forming a long, pitch-black spear engulfed in raging flas. It shot forward, aiming to pierce one of the statues—
But the enemy reacted as if anticipating it, dodging easily.
The other two statues seized the opening—one palm, one fist—slamming into your Susanoo.
It staggered but held firm. No damage.
Gamamaru's expression grew more serious.
...
You continued the fight, controlling Susanoo in a three-on-one brawl.
But no matter how focused you were, even activating your Sharingan to its full extent, your predictions were still preempted.
You realized—it wasn't prediction.
It was foreknowledge.
Ti kept rewinding in bursts during the battle, throwing your senses off-balance.
Fortunately, Susanoo's strength was tied directly to your physical power.
You possessed Ōtsutsuki blood, had seized every opportunity to fuse and evolve your Kekkei Genkai, and had rigorously trained in taijutsu such as the Eight Gates technique.
Now, with the addition of the dragon bloodline, your physical prowess had already surpassed the Six Paths level!
Your Susanoo was no flimsy construct—it was a divine avatar forged from your very essence.
Even against Gamamaru's ti manipulation—even under siege from three giant statues—your Susanoo only trembled slightly.
You also noticed sothing else—while Gamamaru held the upper hand with his ti-based abilities, his physical strength and reaction speed were notably inferior.
So you made a decision.
You stopped defending.
With unrelenting attacks, you pushed through the assault and shattered one of the statues completely.
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