The Great Sage of the Holy Place was practically at the peak of combat strength in the Ninja World.
Though held back by many factors—especially the availability of natural energy—they couldn't travel freely across the Ninja World for long like their summoned beasts. Still, there was no denying that when fully unleashed, their power could truly tear the heavens apart and reshape the earth.
Now that all three Great Sages of Shikkotsu Forest were gathered, the battle had truly erupted!
Sludge from Slug Sage, poison mist from White Snake Sage, and demonic soundwaves from Senior Toad Sage continuously clashed violently.
The already jagged, bone-piled rocky outcrops of Shikkotsu Forest had begun crumbling away under the overwhelming pressure exerted by these Great Sages.
As the battle progressed, none of the three Great Sages held back any longer.
Stone dragons conjured by White Snake Sage's Secret Sage Art lashed about violently within the forest, collapsing mountains in their path. Meanwhile, Senior Toad Sage directed his sonic attacks straight at Slug Sage, attempting to suppress the mighty being.
The Holy Places have natural strengths and weaknesses against each other.
For example, Ryuchi Cave's serpentine nature inherently suppressed Mount Myoboku's frog type, while Mount Myoboku's frogs could, in turn, somewhat overpower the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest. Furthermore, the toxic fumes of Ryuchi Cave had little effect on Shikkotsu Forest, but its potent acid could easily corrode the defensive barriers formed by Ryuchi Cave's Sage Arts.
However, Shikkotsu Forest had always remained peaceful and uninvolved. All of the slugs there were actually manifestations of Slug Sage itself. Therefore, for most of history, there had been no direct conflict between Shikkotsu Forest and the other two Holy Places.
But this time was different.
Great Sages from the other two Holy Places arrived seeking an alliance—which failed—and eventually turned to open warfare. Even the most gentle-tempered among them, Slug Sage, couldn't help but fly into a rage.
Thus, countless Katsuyu clones surged forth from every corner of the forest, merging continuously into the real body of Slug Sage. Despite White Snake Sage launching relentless attacks, Slug only grew larger and larger, eventually becoming too powerful to be suppressed even by the Senior Toad Sage's deafening sonic waves.
This was the awe-inspiring power of the current Slug Sage.
Not only did it possess unrivaled medical abilities—it also wielded a body and power stronger than any other!
"Puh!"
With another powerful jet expelled from Slug Sage's true form, a wave of highly corrosive acidic mist covered both invading Great Sages like a storm darkening the sky.
[Reincarnation Jutsu!]
White Snake Sage immediately activated his technique, conjuring forth countless stone dragons that formed an enormous barrier, attempting to block the incoming torrent of acid.
"Pfssht!"
A sizzling sound erupted, similar to water crashing against fire, as thick acidic vapor spread outward. The stony barrier crumbled, and the acid began eating into the bodies of both Great Sages.
"Gwaaah!"
The first to cry out in pain was Senior Toad Sage, who had seemed calm until now.
White Snake Sage, however, gritted his teeth tightly. Even though his body was torn and bleeding severely under the relentless corrosion of the acid, not a single sound escaped his lips.
"Moo!"
The Great Katsuyu Sage emitted a deafening, bull-like roar before surging forward with its massive body straight toward the two Great Sages!
"It's trying to swallow us whole!"
The White Snake Sage cried out in shock, as if startled.
That was a well-known trait of Shikkotsu Forest.
Its corrosive acid could dissolve any substance—the only variance was time required. If they were subdued and wrapped within the Great Katsuyu Sage's body, even a Great Sage from a Holy Place would likely suffer severe consequences.
After all, this was the Great Katsuyu Sage's stronghold; it had an absolute advantage thanks to its familiarity with the terrain.
[Sage Art: Frog Oil Flame Bullet!]
Taking a deep breath, the Senior Toad Sage inflated its belly and spat out a gigantic ball of oil. As soon as it met the wind, the oil ignited into a blazing fireball fueled by Sage Chakra, rocketing directly at the charging Great Katsuyu Sage.
[White Gale Technique!]
At the same time, the White Snake Sage launched a black pearl-like sphere from its mouth. The sphere soared into the air, began spinning rapidly, and started emitting intense light and powerful shockwaves.
Yet the Great Katsuyu Sage didn't dodge or evade—it continued charging head-on while enduring attacks from both Great Sages.
"Boom!"
With the explosion caused by the impact of their techniques, the Great Katsuyu Sage used its mouthparts to seize the elongated form of the White Snake Sage!
Simultaneously, countless thrashing tentacles sprouted from its fluid-like body, tightly coiling around the White Snake Sage.
"Damn you! You giant worm! Let me go!"
The White Snake Sage screamed in agony.
In such close-quarters combat, this was the perfect battlefield for the Great Katsuyu Sage to unleash its true power—the devastating force of its corrosion!
Even the White Snake Sage, whose body was as solid as diamond, immediately felt unbearable pain from the corrosion!
"Aaaaaah!"
As the nearly unstoppable force dragged it deeper into the Katsuyu's interior, the White Snake Sage's screams grew increasingly miserable.
"Gamamaru! What are you just standing there for!"
It directed all its rage at Gamamaru, who appeared momentarily stunned.
"Hold on a second! Don't rush me!"
Gamamaru was swiftly forming hand seals with precision.
[Sage Art: Frog Kata!]
After preparing carefully, however, Gamamaru launched an unexpected technique—a physical strike similar to Taijutsu—as he stretched his arms outward and struck the Great Katsuyu Sage's enormous body.
For the Great Katsuyu Sage, continuously merging with endless clones, this attack was barely worth noting—more like a nuisance than a threat, something easily ignored—at least for now.
So it intensified its devouring effort, already having swallowed nearly half of the White Snake Sage's body!
If the White Snake Sage were completely consumed, it would spell a catastrophe for Ryuchi Cave (Dragon Ground Caverns). Without the Sage's control, the inherently violent and bloodthirsty Ryuchi Cave would surely erupt into the most brutal civil war imaginable!
And once swallowed, the White Snake Sage wouldn't even have a chance to escape!
"You damned old toad! Even now you're still scheming!"
White Snake Sage let out a scream while desperately resisting. At the same time, he naturally noticed the so-called attack from Senior Toad Sage, which enraged him so much that he almost fainted.
What kind of pathetic attack is this? It's no better than just letting Katsuyu swallow me whole!
"This is all your fault!"
White Snake Sage cried out in agony, then gritted his teeth and decisively snapped his body in half, using a survival Sage Art.
[Sage Art: Snake Molt Technique!]
As half of his body burned away, the other half of White Snake Sage's true form turned intangible. Eventually, only a snake skin remained floating in midair.
At the cost of sacrificing nearly half his body, he directly disengaged from combat with Great Katsuyu Sage!
To a Great Sage, such a loss wasn't something time alone could mend—these beings carried the secrets of their power within their forms. Losing part of oneself meant losing part of one's core strength.
But at this critical moment, White Snake Sage had no choice but to resort to desperate measures.
With White Snake Sage gone, the balance between the warring parties was immediately shattered!
Even as he used the Snake Molt Technique and burned his body, some of his flesh energy was still consumed by Great Katsuyu Sage. This left a faint reddish glow on her pale blue-white body—a sign of excessive blood energy.
"Whoosh!"
Great Katsuyu Sage's mere breath generated a powerful vortex that even Senior Toad Sage, from a distance, could feel pulling at him. He felt as if his body would involuntarily get sucked into her mouth.
Now that White Snake Sage is gone, shall we discuss things rationally?
Senior Toad Sage suggested.
But already at this point, with Shikkotsu Forest nearing destruction due to collateral damage, Great Katsuyu Sage was too furious to listen. How could she possibly heed such words? Immediately, she charged toward Senior Toad Sage again.
Stupid, stubborn little pest!
Senior Toad Sage secretly cursed, then resumed fighting against Great Katsuyu Sage.
However, he now had little desire to fight. While engaging in battle, he gradually began retreating, aiming to withdraw from the conflict.
After all, Ryuchi Cave's White Snake Sage had already suffered serious power loss because of him. Upon returning home, wouldn't it make sense to leverage this slight advantage to pressure Ryuchi Cave into sending more elite Ninja Snakes as sacrificial pawns into the bloody battlefield against the Shogunate?
"Katsuyu! You should go check on your own nest!"
Thinking this, Senior Toad Sage stamped his foot and leapt upward. Midair, he croaked like a frog and then turned to flee.
At this moment, Great Katsuyu Sage suddenly realized what was happening, discovering that her home had already been almost completely destroyed during the battle. Grief surged within her and she couldn't help but cry out once again:
[Mournful Cry!]
Back in Konoha, Tsunade remained expressionless after meeting with her teacher.
Although Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi spun tale after tale of glorious futures until he was practically hoarse, Tsunade didn't change her stance at all. She even leisurely trimmed her fingernails as if completely ignoring every word the old man said.
Sigh!
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt quite helpless.
At this moment, he also felt that perhaps he'd been too damn idealistic.
Nowadays, Tsunade had become so damn practical it was like she wasn't even the same person anymore—cold and detached through and through.
That's what made things so damn impossible.
Ambition ain't scary—it's what gets people moving in the first place!
But if someone just turns into a total couch potato? Even the Sage of Six Paths wouldn't stand a chance.
"Finished talking?"
Tsunade noticed her teacher had been silent for a while, then finally said, "If there's nothing else, I'm heading back now."
"Won't you reconsider at all?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked genuinely dejected.
"Reconsider what? How to go get yourself killed?" Tsunade dropped all pretenses, her voice dripping with cold sarcasm. "Do you really think this village is still the Konoha Grandpa founded? Don't tell me you're actually that naive!"
"But this is the village our two teachers built. I want to return it to the right hands."
A deep sorrow settled across Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
"It's useless!" Tsunade stood up and shook her head. "Sakumo already accepted their invitation and joined the Shogunate side. Do you really think we still have any chance left?"
"If you'd really wanted to turn things around years ago, you could've branded Hyuga Soushu as a rogue ninja and wiped him out. You could've started a civil war when the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation was first formed. Even teaming up with Mount Myoboku before Jiraiya got labeled a traitor would've worked!"
"But now..."
Tsunade scoffed coldly. "It's already too late!"
"I understand exactly what you mean," Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't argue.
Truth is, while Soushu Hyuga rose fast, there were still chances to stop him—if he'd acted sooner.
As Hokage, if only he'd been willing to pay the price, Konoha's deep roots might have been enough to wipe out the fledgling Soushu faction completely.
But speaking of those things now was pointless—his hesitation had let Soushu Hyuga's power grow beyond control, deeply embedded within the system itself, becoming an inseparable part of Konoha.
Especially after absorbing Sakumo Hatake's remaining Reformist Faction forces, from that point on, Konoha had basically become nothing more than an empty shell.
Even though it still held onto parts of the Land of Fire's territory, with the constant pressure from the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, its income kept shrinking until it could no longer support the resources needed for large-scale ninja training, naturally leading to the entire Hidden Village's decline.
Even if Tsunade, the last descendant of the Senju bloodline, took over, this situation couldn't be changed.
After all, the Senju Clan was practically gone these days. With just her alone, there was absolutely no way she could fix everything.
"If you're really not resigned to the situation, let Danzo take a gamble. After all, whether he dies or not won't matter much—consider it settling accounts once and for all!"
Before leaving, Tsunade tossed that final remark behind her.
"Eh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi just stood there, looking utterly helpless.
Tsunade had just stepped out of the Hokage Office when she suddenly felt a strange unease. Without hesitation, she quickly formed a series of hand seals in the corridor and summoned a small Katsuyu.
The tiny Katsuyu bowed slightly as it greeted, "Tsunade-sama, it's been far too long."
Appearing before Tsunade, the small Katsuyu politely continued, "Forgive the unexpected interruption. I would like to meet Hyuga Soushu from the Shogunate. Might I trouble you for an introduction?"
"Why?" Tsunade asked, surprised.
She couldn't imagine why the Slug Sage would seek her out for something like this. At the same time, something else caught her attention. "Wait, what's wrong with your body? Why is it red?"
"Oh, I guess I ate something that didn't agree with me in this sweltering heat," the little Katsuyu replied nonchalantly.
"Hmm..."
Although the Katsuyu's voice was as soft as ever, Tsunade keenly sensed something off—almost like it was holding back anger.
"Did that guy do something to Shikkotsu Forest?"
Her first thought naturally fell on Hyuga Soushu, who had previously shown ill intentions toward the Holy Place.
"No, it was Ryuchi Cave and Mount Myoboku," the little Katsuyu gently waved its two tiny antennae. "They tried to coerce me into joining their alliance, and nearly razed Shikkotsu Forest when I refused."
"What?!"
Tsunade could hardly believe what she was hearing.
Inside the Hokage Office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was equally stunned.
Were those so-called Holy Places really turning on each other?
And could they truly be bullied by force? After all, Shikkotsu Forest was also one of the Holy Places!
"Tsunade-sama, may I ask a favor of you?" the small Katsuyu politely requested again.
"Well..." Tsunade hesitated, glancing toward her mentor inside the office.
After a long pause, the Third Hokage finally gave in with a helpless wave of his hand. "Go ahead. Take it with you."
He couldn't help but feel deep disappointment inside.
These so-called Holy Places were nothing more than a shoddy makeshift troupe pulling foolish stunts!
Such childish behavior was completely unacceptable!
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