r18novel Chapter 535 The Six Immortals chose them instead of us, right?
Chapter 535 The Six Immortals chose them instead of us, right?
Chapter 535 The Sage of Six Paths chose them, not us, right?
"Ahem!"
Orochimaru tumbled several times in the air before barely managing to steady himself, hovering in mid-air, and coughed up another mouthful of blood.
He looked quite disheveled at the moment, his entire body covered in cracked black dragon scales, and his two arms had been completely torn apart.
There was no blood dripping from the fracture site; only wriggling white granulation tissue was growing, attempting to reshape the limb.
"Almost—"
Orochimaru, panting, looked down at his broken arms, a look of seriousness in his eyes.
It was so close.
If it weren't for the Six Paths Staff blocking the attack, if it weren't for the Truth-Seeking Ball Dragon Scales' defense, if it weren't for narrowly avoiding being hit on the head at the crucial moment—
That kick just now was likely more than just tearing apart arms and injuring internal organs.
That guy who only knew physical skills actually managed to threaten his perfect body with a strike that burned his life and soul.
To be forced to this point, but—
"That's about all there is to it."
Orochimaru calmed down, lowered his head, and looked at the figure falling with the black smoke.
All that could be seen was Might Guy, his body charred black and his flesh torn apart, his breath like a candle flickering in the wind, falling backward from the sky.
His eyes were half-open, his pupils were unfocused, and he had almost lost consciousness.
Or has it burned out completely?
Is this the end for me?
In Might Guy's blurred vision, above Orochimaru's head, in the far reaches of the sky, a point of crimson light gradually lit up, like a star.
The light started as a single red dot, but it quickly expanded and brightened, radiating a scorching and violent aura.
"That is—"
Matt Kai's eyelids, which were about to close, struggled to open a crack.
His unfocused pupils reflected the increasingly clear crimson "star," and below the "star," Orochimaru with his severed arm.
Ha, the Morning Star?
His charred and cracked lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to laugh, but he was too weak to make any expression.
With his last ounce of strength, he raised his equally withered arm, trembling as he held it up to his face and gave a thumbs-up to the crimson "star".
"Go—" Might Guy's chapped lips moved silently, "Lee."
If my burning light is the last glimmer of light struggling to stay extinguished before night falls.
So, after death, you are reborn from the ashes—
It is the first ray of "dawn" that tears through the long night and before the sun rises.
The next moment, just as Orochimaru regained his footing and his severed arm was still growing, he hadn't yet realized what Might Guy's final gesture and lip movements meant—
boom!!
That even hotter and more explosive aura exploded above Orochimaru, and the crimson light instantly illuminated the sky, as if the stars had turned into the sun.
A sense of crisis, stemming from a primal instinct for survival, instantly swept over Orochimaru's entire body.
"What?"
Orochimaru suddenly looked up, and in his contracted pupils, he saw the rapidly approaching crimson sun reflected in them.
No, that wasn't the sun at all.
That is————
"Rock Lee?"
Orochimaru's Pure Eye pierced through the surging crimson aura and clearly saw the figure.
It was none other than the green-clad boy he had previously assumed was doomed!
At this moment, Rock Lee showed no signs of being on the verge of death.
At his heart, the gate of death had been forced open, and unimaginably violent power poured out of his body, flooding his entire being.
Are you kidding me?
Even with Orochimaru's composure and insight, he couldn't help but feel surprised and doubtful at this moment.
Another guy who can force open the Death Gate?
That madman Might Guy devoted himself to mastering martial arts for over twenty years, risking his life to finally grasp the essence of death.
What makes this kid, who's only a teenager and hasn't even graduated from ninja school yet, so special?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Orochimaru's eyes saw Rock Lee's clenched fist and his "mouth" full of sharp teeth opening and closing!
They are relentlessly absorbing the natural energy in the surrounding air and continuously pouring their stored energy into Li Locke's body.
That's what sustains Rock Lee's burning beyond limits.
That's... the Seven Deadly Sins - Gluttony?!
Orochimaru instantly realized that this was not Rock Lee's own power.
This is by using the energy that has been continuously stored up through "binge eating" to replenish oneself and forcefully pry open the "death gate"!
No.
"I can't take another blow like that now."
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru, disregarding the fact that his arms had not yet fully regenerated, was about to escape Rock Lee's attack range.
However, the instant the thought arose in his mind—
hum!
An invisible and intangible strange fluctuation spread out instantly like ripples on water, sweeping across the area where Orochimaru was located.
Orochimaru's body, along with the chakra he had just begun to mobilize, suddenly froze, as if a pause button had been pressed, his attempt to escape frozen in place.
one two three----
For a full three seconds, Orochimaru felt that he only had one thought: "I must leave immediately," and his body had already carried it out.
But three seconds later, he found himself still standing in the same spot, without moving an inch.
And that aura that had locked onto him was already very close.
Those three seconds seemed to have been erased from his life out of thin air.
"What is this?"
Almost instinctively, Orochimaru suddenly lowered his head and looked in the direction from which the wave was coming.
In the distance, at the edge of the devastated battlefield, stood a purple, fully-formed Susanoo.
Within the diamond-shaped crystal on Susanoo's forehead, Uchiha Sasuke and Orochimaru locked eyes, Sasuke clutching his right eye tightly with his right hand.
Blood trickled down between his fingers, tracing the lines of his face contorted in pain.
—The Way is contrary to God.
One of Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan techniques.
It cannot be directly attacked or directly cured; its only function is to forcibly intervene and block the "cause" and "effect" between a person and an event.
In a short period of time, create obstacles and delays between the "purpose" and the "result" of the goal.
Just now, the "cause" that Orochimaru wanted to escape and the "effect" of his successful escape were forcibly blocked by "the Way of the Gods".
This is the second time Sasuke has used this eye technique.
The first time, he used this eye technique to kill Uchiha Itachi, who possessed the "Dōshiki-gami".
And this second time, he used it on Orochimaru.
In just three seconds, it almost drained all his pupil power and chakra. The burning pain from his right eye almost made him faint.
But it was only in those three seconds—
"roar!!"
A roar crashed down from the sky.
Orochimaru suddenly raised his head, and the figure was clearly reflected in his eyes.
At this moment, Lee Rock was shrouded in a boiling, churning crimson blood mist.
Under the terrifying speed of descent and the friction of the atmosphere, the crimson blood mist on his body blazed fiercely, turning into a ball of crimson flames that enveloped his entire body!
The surging, crimson aura shot out from both sides of his body, stretching and expanding backward, like a Vermilion Bird reborn from the ashes, spreading its wings.
The morning peacock represents dawn, the daytime tiger represents daytime, the evening elephant represents dusk, and the night hawk represents night.
At this moment, Rock Lee's rebirth from the brink of death was the first ray of dawn that pierced the sky before the sun rose, tearing through the long night.
"Akebono!!"
Lee Rock roared, his roar merging with the sharp, piercing whistle that seemed to transform into a high-pitched, clear cry that soared into the heavens.
boom!!
Rock Lee swooped down, his kick, imbued with all his power, slammed squarely into Orochimaru's chest, who had just broken free from the "Rebellious God" restraints.
puff!
The dragon scales remaining on Orochimaru's chest shattered like paper.
The terrifying force penetrated his body without reservation, instantly shattering his sternum and internal organs. Orochimaru's face contorted with unprecedented pain.
"Wow!!"
A mouthful of blood spurted from Orochimaru's mouth.
But before it could get close to Rock Lee, it was evaporated and vaporized by the scorching red aura around him that distorted the air.
"roar!!"
Rock Lee roared, and a crimson aura, like a vermilion bird spreading its wings, pushed Orochimaru's body, transforming him into a crimson meteor that pierced the heavens and earth as he fell.
Rumble!
A crimson meteor streaked across the sky, leaving a long trail of flame. Wherever it passed, the clouds were torn apart, producing a continuous, thunderous roar.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence, thick smoke rising and obscuring the sky.
The surviving allied ninjas stood scattered around the edge of the ruins, some collapsed on the ground, others helping each other up.
Everyone looked as if they had crawled out of hell, ragged and covered in wounds, their faces filled with the bewilderment, exhaustion, and fear of surviving a catastrophe.
Has it been a victory?
A glimmer of hope, like a faint flame, reignited in the ashes of despair.
But then came a deeper unease.
Could such an attack really kill that monster completely?
Has this war truly ended?
"Cough—cough cough—"
Onoki, who had fallen from the sky, had one arm twisted unnaturally, his face covered in blood, and he struggled to lift his head.
"That direction—"
He stared intently in the direction where the "meteor" had disappeared, and said hoarsely, "Is it the Land of Hot Springs again?"
After a long silence, Onoki glanced around at the bewildered or sorrowful ninjas and shouted, "What are you all standing there for?"
"Medical team! Treat the wounded immediately! Search for all possible survivors! Hurry!"
His roar snapped everyone out of their daze.
The surviving ninjas mustered their strength, stoking their fear and injuries, and immediately sprang into action, digging through the rubble to search for their buried comrades.
but----
"Lord Tsuchikage."
Kakashi Hatake instantly appeared beside Onoki, his face grave: "Madara Uchiha, the First Hokage, and the four Espada have all disappeared."
"I saw it."
Onoki frowned as he looked at the two people who had disappeared into the distance at some point. If he wasn't mistaken, the two had vanished in an instant, as if it were a space-time ninjutsu.
As for the four Espada members, they must have left midway through the process.
However, given the current situation, there's no time to deal with them.
Onoki looked at Kakashi and the few Jonin who were still standing: "Take a headcount, tally the casualties, establish a temporary defensive line, and be alert for the enemy's reappearance."
"I'm leaving this to you. Immediately organize those who can still fight. I need a small squad; our target is the Land of Hot Springs."
.
"We must ascertain the monster's fate! We also need to know the current situation in the Land of Hot Springs!"
"If—" Ohnoki paused for a moment, then continued, "if he is still alive, we must kill him completely."
Kakashi Hatake and the others exchanged glances. Despite being exhausted and covered in wounds, they immediately accepted the order and went to organize the remaining fighting force.
"Let's go immediately!"
"Quickly, bring the necessary supplies and medicines!"
The remaining allied forces began to move with astonishing efficiency.
A team composed of the remaining elites from various ninja villages quickly assembled and headed towards the Land of Hot Springs, following the trajectory of the falling crimson meteor.
The remaining ninjas remained on this devastated battlefield, gritting their teeth and searching for a last chance of survival amidst the ruins and corpses.
With anticipation and hope.
Orochimaru, is he really dead?
Will this nightmare truly come to an end in the Land of Hot Springs?
On the edge of the battlefield, atop a raised hill, a figure stood silently, overlooking the sight of the allied ninjas bustling about like ants in the distance.
The wind swept across the cliff, stirring up fine dust.
Naruto's face was expressionless, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, reflecting the distant smoke and crowds, yet without the slightest ripple.
"Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage have disappeared. It seems your plan has failed?"
A voice, tinged with weariness and a hint of mockery, came from behind.
Sasuke Uchiha walked to Naruto's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, bloodstains still visible at the corners of his eyes, and also looked towards the Allied Shinobi Forces in the distance.
"The Sage of Six Paths chose them, not us, right?" Sasuke asked.
"Hmm." Naruto responded calmly, his face expressionless. "To correct you, it's not my plan, it's our plan."
He turned his head slightly to look at Sasuke beside him and smiled, "Right now, we're accomplices, and also co-conspirators, aren't we?"
Upon hearing this, Sasuke couldn't help but twitch his lips, but still spread his hands and said, "Even if you say that—I think I've acted realistically enough."
"The plan to trick the Sage of Six Paths into helping us activate the power of Yin and Yang was also discussed in the Void Realm. According to you, that place could shield us from the Sage of Six Paths' gaze."
"But it seems he still noticed something was wrong—"
Naruto withdrew his gaze from him and looked towards the distant horizon in the direction of the Land of Hot Springs, saying, "He's very wary."
.
"The problem isn't with you; it's something about me that made him suspicious."
"Therefore, he carefully chose the reincarnations of Indra and Asura from the previous generation, choosing them to be the saviors, rather than us two variables."
"Something?" Sasuke Uchiha frowned.
Naruto has many secrets, but what could possibly be so alarming to the legendary Sage of Six Paths?
Even so, they preferred to choose the long-dead Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha rather than risk bestowing their power upon these two reincarnated beings in the present world.