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"Ahh, aaahh! This is so damn annoying! It's completely different! Totally different! The last Jinchuriki was so weak... how can this Jinchuriki be so strong?! It hurts! It hurts so damn much! You brat... I'm going to slaughter you!"
Trembling, Hidan rose to his feet from amidst the rubble. His entire body was drenched in blood—a truly horrifying, unbearable sight. His arms and legs were twisted at grotesque, unnatural angles, looking utterly terrifying. Even his head—the most vital part of any human—was twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
With injuries like these, anyone who took a single glance should have immediately understood one thing: this man absolutely could not survive!
But Gaara had to admit—in his sensory perception... this man was, without a doubt, still alive!
How was this possible?!!!
"You bastard!!!"
Gaara roared instinctively. His voice carried a mix of incomprehension... and fear.
This was perfectly natural. Any normal person, upon witnessing an undying monstrosity like Hidan, would inevitably feel confusion, shock, and terror.
Crack! Crackle!
Hidan forcefully wrenched his arm back into its normal angle. Then, using his own arm, he grabbed his head and twisted it back into place.
"IT HURTS!!! What the hell is this?! If you're going to kill me, just kill me cleanly! Why use a method like this?! So this is the so-called One-Tail Jinchuriki... this kind of disgusting bastard?! I'll slaughter you! I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU!! This faithful devotee of Lord Jashin will definitely slaughter you!"
As Hidan corrected his body's distortions, he ceaselessly cursed and raged at Gaara.
Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly. By now, he had recovered from his initial shock. No matter what kind of being this man before him was... he couldn't be allowed to twist his limbs back into place!
"Go!"
Countless grains of sand rose from the ground and surged toward Hidan.
Crack! Crackle!
In a single instant, Hidan used brute force to forcibly wrench both of his legs back into their correct positions. Then, with a powerful leap, he evaded Gaara's attack.
"IT HURTS! YOU BRAT! Can't you just let me slowly fix my limbs?! Don't you know how much this hurts?! And you still come and bother me!"
After evading Gaara's attack, Hidan continued his shouting and ranting. Once he finished yelling, he raised his hand and licked the blood upon it.
This was the blood he had drawn during his earlier battle with Gaara. It was mixed with his own blood as well, but that didn't matter. He was immortal anyway.
Taking a step, Hidan spun around sharply. A circle appeared beneath his feet. Then, Hidan drew a triangle within the circle. His movements were very swift; one could tell he was exceptionally practiced.
Without the slightest hesitation—Hidan seemed truly, deeply enraged at this moment, even too angry to mock Gaara—he directly pulled out a short spear and, aiming at his own heart, stabbed down with ferocious force!
Whoosh!
Several black threads bound Hidan's hand, preventing him from stabbing down.
Hidan's eyes widened slightly.
"Kakuzu! What the hell is the meaning of this?!"
Kakuzu gave a cold snort. "The Jinchuriki must not die. Have you lost your mind?!"
Gaara, standing off to the side, was completely and utterly baffled by the scene before him. From his perspective, it seemed as if that immortal human wanted to commit suicide, and then his comrade had stopped him?
That appeared to be the case.
But regardless, Gaara knew one thing: he absolutely could not let this battle opportunity slip away!
"Sand Waterfall—"
The sand began gathering together rapidly. It seemed Gaara's ninjutsu was just about to be successfully executed.
But... from the unseen, a ritual marking manifested. A sudden, violent, agonizing pain erupted in Gaara's arm. Immediately after, his entire left arm lost all sensation!
Kakuzu retracted the black threads he had used to snap Hidan's left arm.
"One-Tail Jinchuriki... don't move recklessly!"
Hidan paid absolutely no mind to his left arm, now lying severed on the ground. Instead, he wore an expression of utter, triumphant glee as he looked at Gaara, who had collapsed to the ground from the sheer agony up ahead.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! You bastard! Doesn't it feel great... having an arm severed like that?! BWAHAHAHA! You caused me so much pain just now... now it's my turn to repay you! BWAHAHAHAHA!"
Cold sweat streamed down Gaara's forehead. This sudden, utterly unguarded-against agony had come far too abruptly. Without any mental preparation whatsoever, Gaara was indeed struggling to endure it. But right now, what concerned Gaara the most was: why had he suddenly felt such intense pain? Why had his left arm completely lost all sensation? Why... had that Kakuzu snapped his own comrade's left arm?
A faint, vague understanding began to dawn in his mind. But... there was no longer any time for Gaara to figure it out.
Hidan gripped his short spear and stabbed it repeatedly into his own thigh, his right arm. A short while later, Gaara's four limbs were essentially completely crippled. He passed out directly from the sheer, overwhelming pain.
Kakuzu helped sew Hidan's severed left arm back into place, then walked over to Gaara. Lifting Gaara up, he spoke to Hidan.
"Let's go. Time to head back and report the mission complete."
Hidan bared his teeth in a wide, savage grin.
"I've heard... Jinchuriki die after their Tailed Beast is extracted, right?"
"Mm. What of it?"
"No, nothing. I just think... I won't be satisfied unless this brat dies! In all my life... I've never been in that much pain! I have to slaughter him!"
Chatting as they went, Kakuzu and Hidan swiftly departed from the Hidden Sand Village.
The One-Tail... successfully captured!
********
Tsunade brought the miniature figurine the Great Slug Sage had given her back to the Leaf Village.
In her hand, the miniature figurine possessed only a general humanoid shape. Its face... was a complete blank.
Furrowing her brow as she thought it over, Tsunade ultimately decided to trust the Great Slug Sage. Thus, she casually tossed the little figurine into a patch of underbrush. Then, with long, purposeful strides, she walked away and paid it no further mind.
A long, long while later—long after Tsunade had departed—no one noticed as that little figurine suddenly transformed into a wisp of chakra. It swiftly flew to what had once been the Uchiha clan grounds. After lingering there for a moment, it rapidly changed direction and flew off toward another destination.
That destination... was the direction of Ryuchi Cave!
"A horse?"
Jiraiya muttered the words under his breath, over and over.
"A power that should not exist... a horse clad in armor... horse..."
To be perfectly honest, this hint was far too vague. First of all, "a power that should not exist"—this was a phrase Jiraiya couldn't comprehend at all. Secondly, "a horse clad in armor"—this hint was even more absurd. In Jiraiya's memory, the so-called "horse clad in armor" should only exist in legends. Legend had it that in the era before chakra had even appeared—an era impossibly distant—people fought using only the innate strength humans were born with. Among them, there was a certain group of people who would don armor and ride horses into battle.
But this kind of legend... was truly nothing more than a legend now. One couldn't even confirm whether it was true or false. Let alone anything else.
Thus, Jiraiya could only consciously filter out the phrase "clad in armor" and focus his thoughts on "horse."
"Pervy Sage... why have you been so absent-minded lately?"
Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a face full of puzzlement. He didn't know when it had started, but Jiraiya had suddenly changed. He spent all day with his head lowered, lost in thought about who knows what.
Jiraiya shook his head.
"No... I'm fine."
Resolving this prophecy from the Great Toad Sage was his mission. He didn't want to drag Naruto into it. To Jiraiya, Naruto was very likely the so-called Child of the Prophecy. Even though a different, aberrant power that should not exist had now appeared in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, the Great Toad Sage had also said that the prophecy of the Child of Destiny remained equally valid. Therefore, the Child of Destiny was still of paramount importance.
In Jiraiya's view, all Naruto needed to do was train diligently and grow up well. Matters that didn't belong to Naruto shouldn't be forcibly imposed upon him.
And so, from that day onward, a horrifying tale began to circulate throughout the Leaf Village: Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin—the one renowned for his extreme lechery—had recently begun frantically searching for powerful, mighty horses. And moreover, he seemed to greatly enjoy being alone with them.
This led many to speculate: perhaps... human bodies could no longer satisfy Jiraiya-sama?
In any case... it was a horrifying tale.
******
Several days later.
Ryuchi Cave.
Kagaya sat quietly before the White Snake Sage. Kagaya cultivated with his eyes closed, while the White Snake Sage dozed with her eyes closed as well.
Suddenly, both Kagaya and the White Snake Sage opened their eyes simultaneously.
"It's here."
Kagaya and the White Snake Sage exchanged a glance, carrying an unspoken understanding.
The White Snake Sage teased,
"Alright then. This old one shall see how you plan to deal with that little girl."
Kagaya spoke. "You keep calling her 'little girl.' Is the sage of Shikkotsu Forest actually very young?"
The White Snake Sage exhaled a smoke ring.
"That depends on who you're comparing her to. Compared to you humans, that little girl is certainly an existence that has lived for an unfathomable number of years. But compared to me, it's different. To me, that little girl is still far too young. But that's fine. It wouldn't be fun if she were as old as that old toad from Mount Myoboku."
Kagaya listened attentively. From these words, he finally understood one thing: among the sages of the Three Great Sacred Lands, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku was the oldest. The White Snake Sage was next. And the Great Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest... was the youngest.
Of course, even the youngest among them possessed an age far, far beyond the imagination of ordinary humans.
Whoosh!
It was at that very moment that a wisp of chakra shot directly into the chamber.
Kagaya fixed his gaze upon it. It was a miniature figurine. It possessed a general humanoid shape, but had no facial features.
"White Snake Sage... are you sheltering him?"
A clear, bell-like voice emanated from the figurine, seemingly questioning the White Snake Sage.
The White Snake Sage let out a disdainful chuckle.
"Little girl... watch your tone. As a fellow sage of the sacred lands, at the very least, observe proper etiquette."
The figurine fell silent for a moment, then lowered its head slightly and spoke.
"I was impetuous. White Snake Sage... I wish to ask: are you sheltering this human?"
The White Snake Sage smiled with satisfaction.
"No. I am not sheltering this human. Do as you please."
The figurine nodded, then turned toward Kagaya.
"Human... unfamiliar human. I wish to ask you: where did you come from?"
Kagaya carefully scrutinized the little figurine.
"Where did I come from? That question... I don't wish to answer."
A trace of coldness seeped into the figurine's voice.
"Then you had best be prepared."
Kagaya nodded.
"Of course. I've been prepared for a long time already."
The figurine narrowed its eyes.
"Seeing how calm you are... the White Snake Sage must have already told you the method by which I would sanction you. But no matter. Fortunately for you... before that one, any resistance of yours is utterly futile!"
With that, the figurine gradually expanded. In just a short moment, before Kagaya's eyes, it transformed into a figure all too familiar to him.
An unparalleled, peerless chakra radiated from that form. Even the very air around them seemed to keen and wail faintly.
Time rewound to several days earlier.
At that moment, Kagaya had posed a question to the White Snake Sage.
"Can it directly eliminate me?"
The "it" here referred to the Great Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest.
To this, the White Snake Sage's answer had been as follows:
"If it could directly eliminate you, I wouldn't have bothered calling you here to tell you about this. Although the sages of the Three Great Sacred Lands all possess certain extremely mysterious powers, these powers have their limitations. No matter which sacred land's sage, their powers cannot directly interfere with the world! Take that old toad of Mount Myoboku, for instance. Although he can prophesy the future, his prophecies cannot directly see through everything. Some parts remain quite vague. Therefore, if the old toad wishes to intervene in the world, he must interpret the prophecy, and then, through his own efforts, reach a point where he can influence the world.
This requires multiple steps. It's impossible for the old toad to simply have a dream and the world's future changes just like that. It's impossible! By the same logic, the same applies to me. I can correct the past. For example, that time you returned to the past and disrupted history. Didn't I say something like 'If you hadn't come to find me, it would have been troublesome'? Because even though I can correct the past, I can't achieve that effect directly. I can seal memories and erase influence, but first... I need the assistance of someone connected to those events.
By myself alone, I cannot directly seal memories and erase influence. Therefore, that little girl of Shikkotsu Forest might possess the ability to eliminate you. But it is absolutely impossible that she could simply fiddle around in Shikkotsu Forest and you would just drop dead. That's impossible. No matter how powerful the sages of the sacred lands are, they absolutely cannot directly interfere with the world."
Kagaya nodded.
"In that case... the Great Slug Sage's ability is to amend the present. Since she wants to amend me, this 'error'... is her combat ability very strong?"
The White Snake Sage answered.
"Strong? How should I put this? If we're talking about the Great Slug Sage herself... she is exceedingly frail and weak. Not strong at all. But if we're not talking about the Great Slug Sage herself... she can be quite formidable. That might sound confusing to you. Let me explain the Great Slug Sage's ability to you. It is Recording! The Great Slug Sage's ability is to record the abilities of all those who have studied the Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest, and then replicate them. She can even summon forth their very souls and reproduce the target's peak combat power. When she comes to amend you, this 'error,' in a few days, she will certainly use this ability. And I believe... if she moves against you, among that little girl's records, there should only be one person capable of possibly defeating you."
"Who is it?"
"You don't know? Think carefully. Incidentally... it's a person you've seen with your own eyes."
"Someone I've seen with my own eyes... and could possibly defeat me... and also knows Senjutsu... Could it be—"
"That's right. It's him!"
That unparalleled, peerless chakra continued to radiate endlessly from that form. Just as expected... everything about it was so familiar. Even the current Kagaya, sensing the chakra emanating from that body, couldn't help but feel a surge of astonishment.
"As expected... so similar. Not just the appearance... even this chakra volume... it's far too much like Hashirama!"
Yes. The figure standing before Kagaya at this very moment... was one bearing the exact likeness of Senju Hashirama!
"Senju Hashirama" inquired.
"Are you not afraid?"
Kagaya smiled faintly and spoke with utter disdain.
"Don't make me laugh! How could I possibly be intimidated by you?! You counterfeit!"
Yes... a counterfeit. During the conversation between Kagaya and the White Snake Sage several days prior, at the very end, the White Snake Sage had also said the following words:
If Senju Hashirama's soul were still in the Pure Land, with that little girl of Shikkotsu Forest's ability, she might truly be able to pull out Senju Hashirama's abilities and soul to subdue you. But what a pity... was it fate? Senju Hashirama's soul, several years ago during the operation where you and Orochimaru invaded the Leaf Village, was already sealed into the Shinigami by the Third Hokage. That little girl of Shikkotsu Forest can, at most, imitate a superficial outer appearance. To you... she poses absolutely no threat whatsoever.
That's why I was able to call you over for a chat so leisurely and unhurriedly. At the very least... in this era... there truly is no one who can kill you.