The ninja's soul had been sliced apart—shattered and barely holding together.
His essence was fading rapidly, and he could no longer speak. Sasuke stood over him, his left hand emitting a soft green light that enveloped the fragmented spirit.
Moments later, the soul was reconstituted, fully restored.
"You... you're a monster. The Great Immortal was right. Outsiders like you must be purged!" The ninja looked at Sasuke with terror in his eyes, but he still clenched his fists, unwilling to relent.
"Outsider? If anything, the so-called 'Great Immortal' you serve is the real outsider," Sasuke replied coldly, his lips curling into a faint, disdainful smile. "Let's start with something simple. How large is your Ninja Sect?"
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—Sage of the Six Paths—possessed the blood of the Ōtsutsuki clan, beings not native to this world. Sasuke saw no problem calling them invaders.
In fact, Sasuke had always believed that he and Hagoromo shared similar ideals—peace, unity, an end to endless bloodshed. Yet Hagoromo, in his wisdom, sealed his own mother and created the foundation of ninjutsu. What followed was millennia of war. Generations consumed by hatred.
Perhaps it wasn't entirely Hagoromo's fault. Black Zetsu, the "thousand-year-old filial son," had long manipulated history from the shadows. Still, Sasuke couldn't ignore Hagoromo's lack of foresight.
Compared to the chaos spawned in Hagoromo's era, the world under Kaguya's reign was arguably more stable—albeit at the cost of individual freedom. Sacrifices were turned into White Zetsu regularly, true, but conflict was kept to a minimum.
Tragically, Hagoromo's beloved partner had once been chosen as such a sacrifice. That was the trigger. He took up the mantle of "justice," killed his own kin, and sealed his mother for eternity.
Kaguya—naïve, otherworldly, and powerful—seemed almost pitiful. Tricked into motherhood by a failed prince from her homeland and later betrayed by her own sons.
If she were ever resurrected, Sasuke wondered, what expression would Hagoromo wear upon facing the mother he sealed?
Returning to the moment, the ninja now stood motionless, thin sakura-petal blades of Senbonzakura orbiting his body—each one capable of shredding flesh and spirit alike. If he dared to speak out of turn, Sasuke would give him a second taste of death.
The ninja who had previously used Wind Release techniques shuddered. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he recalled the agony from earlier. He gulped hard and finally gave in.
"Our Ninja Sect... it was founded only a year ago. There are around a hundred members now."
Sasuke frowned. Not a very satisfying answer. Too little information.
"Fine," he said. "Tell me everything you know about this Ninja Sect. Don't try anything clever. I'll use genjutsu to verify every word. If I catch you lying... what you felt earlier will seem like mercy."
Although Sasuke rarely relied on the Sharingan's illusion techniques, he had mastered most genjutsu applications. With his immense spiritual pressure—shaped by his connection to both Indra's chakra and his own formidable will—his illusions were not only deceptive but utterly domineering.
Still, Sasuke disliked using genjutsu. To win without struggle felt empty.
The ninja trembled, and began to speak.
"Our sect was created by the Great Immortal. The main goal... originally... was to capture you. I don't know the full reason. He called you an intruder from another world—someone who needed to be eliminated."
"But recently, things changed. The Great Immortal instructed us to start gathering intel on an organization called Akatsuki."
He paused to catch his breath, then added, "The Ninja Sect is led by resurrected shadows—former Kage of each hidden village. Though for some reason, Konoha's previous Hokage never appeared."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Most of our members have learned senjutsu directly from the Great Immortal. The former Kage teach us advanced techniques too. They're all much stronger than ordinary shinobi... but we, the newer recruits, are still just foot soldiers."
Once he finished, he stood quietly, his eyes downcast. Sasuke didn't gain much from the intel. Still, it confirmed a few suspicions—the Ninja Sect had targeted him specifically, and the Sage of Six Paths seemed to regard the Akatsuki as a new threat.
The ninja world's path was shifting again.
Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if Black Zetsu—"that loyal son"—had picked up on the Sage's movements.
Regardless, Sasuke wasn't concerned. As long as he remained strong enough, none of them could touch him.
He activated a Sharingan genjutsu to verify the ninja's memories. No lies.
"Very well. You cooperated, so I'll grant you one final sentence," Sasuke said coolly.
It didn't matter if they were misguided or manipulated. Their aim was to hunt him down. He had no sympathy to spare.
"The Great Immortal will avenge us all!" the ninja spat defiantly.
In the next moment, Sasuke extinguished his soul completely.
It seemed that Liuhuo had inflicted grave damage on the Sage of the Six Paths. The fact that he had only recently emerged—after a year of absence—hinted that his strength may have dwindled. Perhaps he could no longer act directly and had to pass on his power to others.
Maybe, when he fought Liuhuo, he had already been nothing but a soul...
Sasuke pondered quietly. He never liked the Sage of the Six Paths. Ever since he inherited Indra's chakra, they had been on opposing paths.
Though his character had changed, shaped over time by Indra's essence and the lingering will of his past self, it was still Sasuke's own soul that held dominion.
After finishing off the three ninjas, Sasuke packed up his camp and moved swiftly toward Konoha. The Sage might already know his location, and lingering would only invite more danger.
Even with his current strength, facing a group of resurrected Kage wasn't something he could afford to do lightly.
By dawn, he arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village. The first thing he did upon returning was report to the Hokage's office.
As he approached, he noticed the office door was unlocked. Voices echoed from within.
"…the Uchiha clan must be fully investigated! Danzo's death was no accident—they must've finally made their move!" came the unmistakable voice of Mitokado Homura.
"Please, elders. This is no time for assumptions. We shouldn't accuse anyone without evidence," replied a calm and steady voice—Minato Namikaze.
So, the village had finally discovered Danzo's disappearance. That made sense. After all, it had already been nearly six months…
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