Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 356 The Slug Immortal Tells a Tale

After the Fourth Raikage and Ai reached an agreement, several Cloud Ninja skilled in movement techniques quickly left Kumogakure with the letter, heading towards Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure respectively.

After a day, the leaders of the four ninja villages received letters from the Fourth Raikage.

Meanwhile, the tragedy of Kirigakure has spread widely throughout the ninja world. Because Kumogakure deliberately sent people to throw dirty water at Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Madara is a prime suspect in the destruction of Kirigakure, people all over the ninja world are terrified of Madara.

Anxiety began to spread throughout the ninja world.

Yomi, Konoha, in the Hokage's office.

Tsunade, Kirito, and the four Hokage advisors—Senju Momoka, Uchiha Chizuru, Hyuga Kazuma, and Akimichi Torifu—are all gathered here. Apart from the former Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who is far away in the Land of Earth supporting Iwagakure, all of Konoha's top leaders are here.

"You've all heard about what happened in Kirigakure, right? You don't need to doubt it anymore. It was Uchiha Madara who did it. Kirito has been to Kirigakure and sensed Uchiha Madara's chakra there."

Once everyone had arrived, Tsunade got straight to the point.

Apart from Kirito and Chizuru, everyone else shuddered upon hearing Tsunade's words, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

Of everyone present, only Kirito had personally fought Madara Uchiha, and he was also the strongest among them. His words undoubtedly carried authority and were absolutely credible.

As a result, they once again felt the terrifying pressure from Madara Uchiha.

He single-handedly destroyed Kirigakure. If such a powerful force were used against Konoha, what would happen?

Is Kirito still capable of stopping them?

For a moment, the three of them simultaneously thought of this question, and then all looked at Kirito with questioning expressions.

"His strength is even greater than it was a year ago. Although I don't know how he managed to improve his strength so quickly, it may be related to the tailed beasts. As far as I know, the four-tailed, two-tailed, three-tailed, and six-tailed beasts have all fallen into his hands."

The Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Six-Tails were recently captured by him. If things go as expected, once he uses some unknown method to seize the power of these three tailed beasts, his strength will increase even further. At that point, I don't know if I'll be able to defeat him.

Kirito noticed the looks the three were giving him and understood what they were thinking, so he gave a half-truthful reply.

"So it really is related to the Tailed Beasts. Just what terrifying thing is this guy hiding? He can actually seize the power of the Tailed Beasts for his own use. Could it be that he wants to seal all the Tailed Beasts into his body and become their jinchūriki?"

Senju Momoka said with a grim expression.

As the head of Konoha's intelligence department, she had been focusing on gathering information about Madara Uchiha. After it was confirmed that Madara Uchiha had taken the Four-Tails from Iwagakure, she suspected that Madara Uchiha was planning to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to cause trouble.

Now, given Kirito's words, it's certain that Madara Uchiha was purposefully collecting the Tailed Beasts.

"Impossible. If he seals all the tailed beasts into his body, isn't he afraid of causing problems with his body? Even if he is Madara Uchiha, it would be difficult for him to control all the tailed beasts at once. He might accidentally commit suicide."

Akimichi Torifu said in surprise upon hearing this.

"Who knows? That guy is a madman, and with the power of the Rinnegan, he might actually be able to control all the tailed beasts at the same time."

Chizuru sneered.

She, as the holder of the Mangekyou Sharingan, is probably the ninja who knows the most about how powerful the Rinnegan is, besides Kirito.

He wasn't bragging, but with the power of her Mangekyou Sharingan, controlling a tailed beast was actually quite easy for her; it just wouldn't last very long.

However, the power of the Rinnegan is many times that of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and it also possesses various incredible and powerful abilities, making it possible for it to control all the tailed beasts simultaneously for an extended period of time.

Hinata and Mahi nodded thoughtfully, then remained silent.

"Perhaps it doesn't need to be returned to the body at the same time. Do you remember the Otsutsuki clan member on the moon I brought back, named Otsutsuki Toneri? According to the information I obtained from him, something called the Gedo Mazo was originally sealed on the moon."

But more than a decade ago, it was suddenly summoned away, and only someone with the Rinnegan could summon it, because the Gedo Mazo was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths, and the power of the Rinnegan was needed to unseal it.

Seeing that the conversation had smoothly steered towards the tailed beasts, Kirito began to talk about the Gedo Mazo.

"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? What is this? It actually requires the power of the Rinnegan to seal it."

Tsunade was also hearing about the Gedo Mazo for the first time, and quickly pressed for details.

Her intuition told her that this heretical golem was something very important.

Everyone else present felt the same way and turned their attention to Kirito, hoping he would reveal more information.

"Chizuru, Chief Kazuma, it's said that your family has a legend about Princess Kaguya. Is that true?"

Instead of revealing all the information directly, Kirito asked a question in return.

Chizuru and Hinata Kazuma exchanged a glance upon hearing Kirito's words, then each nodded to him.

"That's right, this myth is indeed recorded in a very old book of my Uchiha clan, but it's just a very old-fashioned story."

"Indeed, the story of Princess Kaguya is passed down in my Hyuga clan. It tells of how Princess Kaguya came from outer space, planted a giant tree, and brought peace to the world. However, she later turned evil and wreaked havoc on the world. In the end, her two sons restored order and defeated her."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade and Momoka Senju both showed thoughtful expressions, while Akimichi Torifu looked completely bewildered.

"This is not a myth, but a true story. Princess Kaguya's real name was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. The Sage of Six Paths and the ancestor of the Hyuga clan, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, were her sons. They joined forces to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya to the moon."

As for the Gedo Mazo, it was transformed from the giant tree planted by Kaguya Otsutsuki. The nine tailed beasts were actually powers separated from the Gedo Mazo by the Sage of Six Paths using the Yin-Yang Release. Now, Madara Uchiha is collecting the tailed beasts, likely wanting the Gedo Mazo to absorb them and regain its power.

Kirito took in everyone's expressions and then said something that surprised and puzzled them all.

"Wait, Kirito, where did you get all this information? Did you get it all from Toneri Otori?"

Tsunade said in disbelief.

Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and the nine tailed beasts were things that the Sage of Six Paths separated from the Gedo Mazo. This information is so shocking and ancient, and everything seems to be impossible to verify.

Not only Tsunade, but also Senju Momoka, Hyuga Kazuma, and Akimichi Torifu all doubted Kirito's somewhat mythical words.

"Sister, the Rinnegan, the Sage's eye that originally belonged to the Sage of Six Paths, has appeared. What else can't we believe? Very well, I'll ask a friend who witnessed this ancient history to explain it to you personally."

Kirito sighed when he saw that Tsunade and the others didn't quite believe him.

He wasn't surprised by Tsunade and the others' reactions. After all, not everyone has God's vision like him, and it's quite possible for them to accept such ancient information in a short period of time.

The next moment, he bit his index finger and used his blood to perform a psychic technique.

With a "pop," a cloud of white smoke appeared, followed by a slug the size of a basketball that appeared in everyone's eyes. It was a small clone of the Slug Sage.

"Lord Kirito, what are your orders?"

As soon as the slug sage appeared, she slowly wriggled onto Kirito's shoulder and asked in a soft, sweet voice.

"Slug, could you tell them the story of Kaguya Otsutsuki?"

Kirito said with a smile.

"Of course, no problem."

The original text can be found at 6#9@book/bar!

The Slug Sage readily accepted Kirito's request.

For someone who has lived such a long life, telling others about interesting things she has seen is a good way for her to relieve boredom.

The story of Kaguya Otsutsuki happened to be one of the most interesting things she knew, ranking at least in the top three in terms of interest.

"Everyone, you should be familiar with the Slug Sage, right? This sage has lived for a time longer than the history of ninjas. She is a living history sage in the ninja world. You should know how credible her words are."

After the Slug Sage agreed, Kirito turned to the others present and spoke.

His gaze finally landed on Tsunade, and he gave her a half-smile.

Upon seeing this, Tsunade felt a sudden toothache. She understood Kirito's meaning behind that expression; he was clearly mocking her for being blind to the true value of the Slug Sage.

But now that I think about it, she really underestimated the Slug Sage.

Since this immortal has lived for thousands of years, her most precious treasure is obviously not any immortal techniques or summoning beasts to assist her in battle, but the history of the ninja world over the past thousands of years.

Although history may seem useless in ordinary times and is often ignored by many, it can always provide important insights and information at crucial moments.

For example, what the Slug Sage is about to say will obviously have a profound impact on the future situation of the ninja world and help them figure out how to deal with Madara Uchiha.

"I can attest that some of what Kirito just said is true. The Slug Sage has indeed lived for thousands of years because my clan has a very ancient summoning scroll. It is a summoning contract belonging to Shikkotsu Forest, and it contains the name of a very ancient patriarch of my Senju clan. According to the clan genealogy, he lived two thousand years ago."

Tsunade took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to beat up Kirito's sullen face right now, and then took the initiative to endorse Kirito.

With Tsunade's endorsement, the authenticity of the Slug Sage living for thousands of years becomes plausible.

Afterwards, everyone was deeply amazed at how long this extraordinary immortal's lifespan was, and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of envy.

Human lifespan is at most a hundred years or so, which is far too short compared to this immortal.

Then, a question suddenly arose in their minds.

The question is, since Kirito is also a sage, and a human sage of Muramasa, how long will his lifespan be?

This was a question no one could answer, and the Slug Sage's words diverted everyone's attention from this doubt. They listened intently to the Slug Sage's story about Kaguya Otsutsuki.

The Slug Sage, who has countless clones and lived for countless years, is a good storyteller. Through her descriptions, the story of Kaguya Otsutsuki and her two sons can be described as leaping off the page and clearly appearing before everyone's eyes.

Through the Slug Sage's description, Tsunade and the others also learned that the Gedo Mazo was named Ten-Tails, that Kaguya Otsutsuki was the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and about the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

After about an hour, the Slug Sage finally finished telling the story of Princess Kaguya, still somewhat reluctant to leave. Apart from Kirito, everyone else wore expressions of utter shock, deeply impressed by this fantastical period of ancient history.

"I never imagined that Kaguya Otsutsuki was an alien. If that's the case, then the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga clans all have alien blood."

Chizuru muttered to herself.

Although her voice was soft, everyone present was a ninja with amazing hearing, so they naturally heard every word Chizuru said. Strange expressions appeared on their faces, especially Akimichi Torifu, who finally showed an expression of sudden realization.

"Ahem, according to the Slug Sage, we can now be fairly certain that Madara Uchiha's purpose in collecting the Tailed Beasts was to revive the Ten-Tails, become its jinchūriki, and gain invincible power."

We must stop him, otherwise, once he collects all the tailed beasts and becomes the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the entire ninja world will likely fall into his hands. After all, we don't have the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki or Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

Tsunade coughed lightly to draw everyone's attention to her, and then spoke seriously.

"That's right, we absolutely cannot let Madara Uchiha revive the Ten-Tails. Just think about how terrifying the Ten-Tails is when it gathers the power of all nine tailed beasts. Once it is successfully revived, it will be unstoppable."

Hinata Kazuma, who had remained silent until now, was the first to stand up and express his support.

"That's true, but we don't have to worry too much now. Madara Uchiha is still far from collecting all the tailed beasts. The One-Tail and Nine-Tail are in our hands, the Five-Tail is in Hattori Masanari's hands in Amegakure, and the Eight-Tail died along with its Jinchuriki. It will take more than a year to revive it."

Senju Momoka points out an important piece of information to boost morale.

As expected, everyone except Kirito had a slight smile on their face.

Even setting aside the Nine-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails, the One-Tails alone is extremely difficult for Madara Uchiha to capture, making it almost impossible.

Does that mean the Ten-Tails can't be resurrected?

But the next moment, Kirito said something surprising, reminding everyone: "I don't mean to discourage you, but things are probably not as optimistic as we think. Tailed beasts can actually be cultivated by humans."

(End of this chapter)