Rasa's mouth curved upwards. "Power, yes, this is the power, hahaha, Uchiha Ryun, I have obtained chakra that is fundamentally different from yours."
After saying this, Rasa hooked his right index finger, and a massive golden blade materialized, its tip pointing directly at Uchiha Ryun. Uchiha Ryun had initially thought it was some incredibly powerful force.
But the result, the result was just Natural Chakra.
Uchiha Ryun closed his eyes, then opened them. Sage Mode activated. His pale skin, purple face-protecting sage markings, and golden dragon armor appeared as he stared at Rasa.
No one understands Natural Chakra better than I do. Uchiha Ryun's mouth curved upwards. He faced the golden blade without dodging or evading, charging forward. The golden dragon armor blocked the golden blade, hindering Uchiha Ryun for less than a second before automatically shattering.
A mocking smile on his lips, Uchiha Ryun clapped his hands together. "Sage Art: Nine Dragons Shining Heaven Technique." Nine golden dragons flew towards Rasa. Rasa conjured a wall of gold sand, intending to block the nine golden dragons.
It shattered in less than a moment. Just as he tried to move, Uchiha Ryun extended his right hand and activated Universal Pull. Rasa took the full brunt of the Nine Dragons Shining Heaven Technique's damage.
In the end, his arms and legs were blown to uselessness, turning him into a torso. Yet, he was not panicked, nor did he scream or shout. Flesh buds wriggled on his limbs, and in a short time, they regrew completely.
Uchiha Ryun raised an eyebrow. He thought to himself, 'Regrowing severed limbs, huh. Interesting, truly interesting.'
"Host, stop finding things interesting. Over there is already 50 percent complete. If we don't find a way to break out soon, we will really die here."
Uchiha Ryun no longer hesitated and strode forward. His right eye's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan unique skill, "Soul Shattering Nine Hells." Since destroying his body is impossible, then I will destroy his soul.
Rasa was stunned. The scene before him changed drastically. By the time he realized it was an illusion, Uchiha Ryun's hand had already touched Rasa's arm.
In an instant, Rasa's soul was ripped out and sent to the Nine Hells. However, the barrier did not break. Uchiha Ryun couldn't help but think of Black Zetsu.
He looked at Rasa's body. Just as he was about to act again, at that moment, Black Zetsu took control of Rasa's body and slapped his right hand against Uchiha Ryun's chest.
Uchiha Ryun spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward. After getting up, he wanted to pursue, but found he could not move.
Yet, in the next moment, Uchiha Ryun's Mangekyō Sharingan spun, and he released Rasa's soul. He watched helplessly as Rasa's soul returned to its original body.
Black Zetsu relinquished control of the body. Rasa breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed. "How about that? Uchiha Ryun, it really was just one second away from you succeeding."
Uchiha Ryun's eyes grew dim, like a puppet being controlled. His soul was currently trapped in his mental space by purple chains.
No matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the restraints. He could only watch helplessly as he was controlled by Rasa.
Rasa patted his face and sighed. "The God of Shinobi, not so impressive after all, right? Still controlled by me in the end."
Black Zetsu's voice sounded. He no longer avoided Uchiha Ryun, fearing he might be discovered. "Hehehe. Rasa, was I not right? Now this Uchiha Ryun has completely become our puppet."
Rasa nodded. "What do we do next?"
Black Zetsu said, "After I consult Mother, then we will act." He glanced at Uchiha Ryun, saliva dripping. What a fine body, what a fine puppet.
Meanwhile, at home, Tsunade suddenly felt a pang of panic in her heart. Tears flowed unconsciously. Strange, why am I suddenly feeling like this?
She walked over to Uchiha Ryun's shadow clone. Just as she was about to touch his face, the shadow clone disappeared. Her face changed dramatically. Impossible, absolutely impossible.
How could this happen? There are only four situations where a shadow clone disappears.
Receiving a severe attack.
Running out of chakra.
The original body voluntarily dispels it.
The original body is killed.
Tsunade knew it wasn't the first two. The original body dispelling it voluntarily. Impossible. If Uchiha Ryun wanted to dispel it, why would he create it before leaving.
As for the fourth possibility, Tsunade dared not imagine it. Her breathing became labored due to intense panic, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Tears flowed more and more. She felt so sad.
Uchiha Ryun's soul communicated with the system. "System, are you still there? How to resolve this situation."
System: "Remember the Substitute Doll?"
Uchiha Ryun's soul nodded. Of course he remembered. The item given to him when the mission was issued.
System: "Next, I will actively activate the Substitute Doll. The Substitute Doll will swap places with you and bear all the skills you are currently suffering from."
The Substitute Doll is not just a passive item. It can also be an active item, but it comes at a great cost. For example, the system falling dormant.
"Now I will give you all the information I just obtained and the system operation methods. This time, I might fall into dormancy. The specific time to wake up is uncertain." The system said gravely.
Uchiha Ryun was silent, then nodded. "I understand. I will wait for you to return."
The system smiled slightly. It first gave the information and operation methods to Uchiha Ryun, then activated the Substitute Doll.
In the Villa
Tsunade's eyes were red. She perhaps knew Uchiha Ryun's fate, but she did not believe it. She didn't believe anyone in this world could harm Uchiha Ryun.
Her tears fell onto the Substitute Doll. And in the next moment, the Substitute Doll emitted a dazzling light. Seeing the emitted light, Tsunade suddenly felt very warm.
Inside the Barrier
Black Zetsu's expression changed. "Rasa, act quickly, gouge out Uchiha Ryun's eyes. If you're slow, he will disappear."
Rasa's heart stirred. Just as he was about to act, Uchiha Ryun's golden scale armor detached and attacked Rasa.
Uchiha Ryun remained dazed, but his body erupted with a dazzling light.
Black Zetsu gritted his teeth. He chose to ignore the risk and reached out to gouge the eyes. But in the next moment, Uchiha Ryun's figure disappeared.
Black Zetsu opened his palm and found he was clutching a doll.
He couldn't help but say with hatred, "So close, just a little bit more, and I could have gouged out his eyes to use for reviving Mother."
The golden scale armor in front of Rasa quickly disappeared. He snorted coldly. "Black Zetsu, I want an explanation from you."
Black Zetsu glanced at him and chuckled. "You didn't naively think Uchiha Ryun has no backup plans, did you?"
If not for the need to continue cooperating with Rasa, Black Zetsu really wanted to have a heart to heart talk with him. Useless fool who is more prone to failure than success.
At least he, Black Zetsu, almost got the MVP. Best in the field, but still fell short.
"Let's go back first, Rasa. There are still battles to fight." Black Zetsu, speechless, returned inside Rasa's body. Originally, his mother had promised him that after capturing Uchiha Ryun, she would give his body to him.
But it was all for nothing.
Uchiha Ryun's soul suddenly broke free from its restraints and took control of his body. He opened his eyes, and Tsunade came into view.
Seeing Uchiha Ryun had returned, Tsunade hugged him tightly. "Husband. What exactly happened? I thought, I thought."
She was emotionally distraught, holding Uchiha Ryun tightly, afraid the Uchiha Ryun before her would disappear.
Uchiha Ryun came to his senses and patted Tsunade's head.
"It's alright, it's alright, wife. I'm back. I'm sorry for making you worry." Uchiha Ryun's eyes also reddened. Originally, he also thought no one could hurt him, but he had almost died.
Everything he possessed would have turned into nothing. This experience of a narrow escape also made Uchiha Ryun understand many things.
But now, one of them needed to be strong. So Uchiha Ryun could not cry. He used Natural Chakra to evaporate his tears.
"Wife, don't worry. I promise you, I won't take risks in the future. I'll tell you everything, okay." Uchiha Ryun said gently.
Seeing this, Tsunade stopped crying, but her small hands in front of Uchiha Ryun were still pounding his chest.
Finally, with Uchiha Ryun's comfort, the two walked together to the room, just to sleep.
In bed, Tsunade held Uchiha Ryun tightly, afraid he would disappear. Uchiha Ryun, meanwhile, received the system's information and authority.
"Ding. Detected the host has experienced a life and death calamity. The system intervened to help the host escape. The System Spirit has fallen into dormancy."
"Now beginning to receive the System Spirit's memories."
A figure appeared in Uchiha Ryun's mind. It was the phantom of the System Spirit.
"Host, hello. Presumably, if you can see me, you have already experienced an unprecedented calamity."
"I anticipated this would happen sooner or later. I didn't expect it to come so quickly."
"The one who could cause all this, I think, must be the Heavenly Path." The System Spirit had no distinct appearance, just a phantom, but its voice was no different from a human's.
"Host, first of all, I want to apologize to you." The phantom bent at the waist, bowing.
"Your points, I actually took half of them. However, the half I took was not for my own enjoyment, but to store power."
"Store power?" Uchiha Ryun frowned upon hearing this. He had some suspicions about the system taking his points, but he never asked. Because most of his abilities were given by the system. One must be grateful.
Because of this, Uchiha Ryun never exposed it, instead occasionally bargaining with the system. The relationship between the two, while said to be system and host, was actually more like family.
"That's right, store power." The System Spirit nodded.
Uchiha Ryun was stunned. "You can hear me speaking?"
"No, I just guessed what you would say when you saw this recording." The System Spirit extended its middle finger, making an internationally friendly gesture.
Uchiha Ryun's mouth twitched. Why did he feel the system was so cheeky.
The System Spirit sneered, ignoring Uchiha Ryun's reaction, and continued. "From the very beginning, you and I were bound together. The moment you activated the system, we were already standing opposite the Heavenly Path."
"To put it in terms of the novels you've read, Uchiha Ryun, you are an otherworldly demon, and I am the weapon of the otherworldly demon."