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The moment the word "counterfeit" left his lips, the expression of "Hashirama" instantly changed drastically.
"Whether I'm a counterfeit or not... you shall know very soon!"
But even though his expression had changed so violently, "Hashirama" still decided to attack.
Kagaya chuckled lightly and said nothing. He simply beckoned toward the "Hashirama" before him, signaling for him to make his move.
"Hashirama"—let us simply call it the Great Slug Sage. The Great Slug Sage raised its fist. An unparalleled, peerless chakra gathered into that fist. One could see that, although the Great Slug Sage couldn't reproduce Hashirama's full combat power because Hashirama's soul was no longer in the Pure Land, a small portion... could still be reproduced.
At the very least, this level of chakra was something even the current Kagaya couldn't achieve. Even with the Five-Tails, he still couldn't do it.
It wasn't that Kagaya and the Five-Tails were weak. It was simply that Hashirama's chakra reserves were absolutely beyond the comparison of any human... or beast.
Taking a step forward, using that immense chakra as propulsion, the Great Slug Sage instantly charged before Kagaya. Then, aiming straight for Kagaya's face, it swung its fist!
Impossible! This is impossible!
In that very moment, time seemed to slow. The Great Slug Sage was still mid-punch, but before it... there was no longer anyone there!
He had vanished!
That wasn't the most terrifying part. The most terrifying part was... the Great Slug Sage hadn't sensed Kagaya's movements at all!
It was a sage! Setting everything else aside, it certainly knew Senjutsu. And no matter which sacred land's Senjutsu, it would definitely, without exception, greatly amplify the user's sensory perception—though the degree of amplification might differ. Thus, under such circumstances, the sensory perception of the sages was practically top-tier. Long distances aside, in close quarters, the sages' perception was absolutely among the best.
Yet even this top-tier perception... had failed to capture Kagaya's movement?!
Impossible!
The Great Slug Sage had only this one thought. How could this be possible?! If even top-tier perception couldn't capture it... then... then it was far too horrifying!
Over the course of its immeasurably long existence, this was the first time the Great Slug Sage had ever encountered such a situation!
And this was only normal. Kagaya's strength had already infinitely approached the pinnacle beneath the Six Paths. And among those who had reached this level of strength—from ancient times to the present—there had never been a powerhouse who primarily relied on speed.
Both Minato and Tobirama had been immensely powerful, but they still hadn't reached the pinnacle of strength beneath the Six Paths.
Moreover, compared to Minato and Tobirama, Kagaya's situation was slightly unique. Minato and Tobirama primarily relied on the Flying Thunder God for their speed. That way, even if they were inconceivably fast, one could at least sense spatial fluctuations. But Kagaya was different. His current mastery of the Flying Thunder God hadn't yet reached profound depths. In close-quarters situations, what Kagaya relied on was the most basic, ordinary Body Flicker Technique!
And the ordinary Body Flicker Technique—in close quarters, as long as it was fast enough—could defeat an enemy without letting them perceive anything at all!
Leaping into the air, he spun and delivered a kick!
The Great Slug Sage's fist hadn't even finished extending before a devastating kick slammed into its neck!
BOOM!
The power of this strike was utterly immense. The Great Slug Sage shot out of Ryuchi Cave like a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb, moving at a speed the human eye couldn't even track. Then, in the distant forest...
BOOM——!
A massive explosion, over ten meters high, erupted in the distant forest. It was horrifying beyond words!
Landing back on the ground, Kagaya looked down at his right leg, which was still emitting plumes of white steam. He couldn't help but marvel.
"Truly impressive, Kokuō!"
That kick just now—although it had been delivered by Kagaya, anyone who knew Kagaya would understand: with his pitifully low physical capabilities, without relying on the Susanoo, it was impossible for him to deliver such a devastating kick with his physical body alone. Kagaya's body simply couldn't withstand it.
Thus, that kick hadn't relied purely on his own strength. He had borrowed the power of the Five-Tails.
The Five-Tails' power was very straightforward: control steam, enhance the body, then use the immense steam to propel oneself, generating terrifying concussive force!
The previous Five-Tails Jinchuriki—Han—had forcibly seized some of the Five-Tails' power and carved out the title of "The Steam Shinobi" throughout the shinobi world.
The current Kagaya had also borrowed the Five-Tails' power. That was why his right leg, which had just kicked the Great Slug Sage, was still billowing white steam. It was this very steam that, at the moment of the kick, had greatly enhanced Kagaya's body, allowing him to withstand the recoil force. At the same time, during the kick, this steam had continuously jetted out, propelling Kagaya's right leg forward. Combined with Kagaya's own immense chakra, it had ultimately produced that terrifying scene just now.
A single kick that rivaled a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb!
Within Kagaya's body, Kokuō rolled its eyes and spoke while lying prone on the ground.
"It wasn't solely my ability, either. Your chakra was also needed. Otherwise, it couldn't have produced that much power. Oh, and... although I've always felt you were no simple person... you're actually what they call an 'outsider'?"
Kagaya smiled and spoke with a pointed implication.
"Not anymore."
Kokuō paused briefly, then caught on and also smiled.
"I see. Not an outsider anymore, huh. That's true enough. You are now... a person of this world."
With that, Kokuō closed its eyes and went back to sleep.
Kagaya also smoothly withdrew from that space.
Outside.
The White Snake Sage looked at the entrance, now severely damaged from that strike just moments ago, and erupted in fury.
"You brat! Look at what you've done!"
Kagaya froze.
"Eh? White Snake Sage... didn't you see that magnificent strike of mine?"
"All I see is my front door destroyed!"
"Ah... ahahaha..."
"You're going to fix it."
"Th-that... um..."
"You're going to fix it!"
"Alright, alright, alright! Mission accepted, guaranteed to be completed!"
*******
The Hidden Sand Village.
Kankuro, his face marked with purple stripes, knelt on the ground clutching his right arm. His expression was grim as he spoke.
"We must rescue Gaara!"
In the earlier battle, Kankuro had not been uninvolved. But his current strength was still relatively weak compared to Kakuzu and Gaara. As a result, Kankuro's leg was injured, his right arm was also compromised, and now... he couldn't even pursue the enemy.
Standing to the side, Temari, her face covered in dust, nodded firmly.
"Absolutely! Right... those black robes with red clouds. Was it the Akatsuki? The Leaf Village warned us earlier to be wary of this underground organization. We did start paying some attention to it, but... we never imagined this organization would be so audacious as to charge into one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and abduct its Kage! Damn it! The Akatsuki... their strength is indeed formidable. But daring to provoke the Five Great Shinobi Villages... they will regret this!"
To have two individuals barge into the village and abduct its supreme leader—such a thing wouldn't happen even to the hidden villages of the great nations, let alone any slightly powerful minor nation's hidden village.
Thus, when one day a great nation's hidden village suffered such a thing, there was no need to even think about it. One could immediately know what an immense, colossal humiliation this was for that great nation's hidden village.
Temari and Kankuro would support rescuing Gaara out of personal attachment. And the same went for others who supported Gaara.
The politicians of the Hidden Sand Village would also inevitably choose to launch a rescue to wash away this shame.
Even those who disliked Gaara would, to some degree, support rescuing him.
The act of Gaara being captured... was far too great a slap in the face for the Hidden Sand Village. If they didn't strike back... did they even want to keep their face as a village?!
In short, the vast majority of the Hidden Sand Village, from top to bottom, would unite to rescue Gaara. This was certain.
There might be a minority in opposition, but that was merely an insignificant, negligible force. Before the true, overwhelming tide, it would ultimately offer no resistance whatsoever.
Thus, on the afternoon of that very day, several carrier pigeons took flight from the Hidden Sand Village, heading toward the Leaf Village.
As the Hidden Sand Village's ally, the Leaf Village naturally had to be called upon at a time like this!
Two members of the Akatsuki had barged into the Hidden Sand Village and abducted the Kazekage. While this was a slap in the face, it also forced one to acknowledge the enemy's formidable strength. At a time like this, if not calling upon allies, what else was there to do?
There was a saying: if you can gang up on someone, why fight alone?
If one "Five Great Shinobi Village" can't beat you... what about two?
Right? In any case, when dealing with some shadowy underground organization lurking in the darkness, no matter how they fought, no matter how shameless they were... the Five Great Shinobi Villages would absolutely, undoubtedly be the righteous side!
Mm! No doubt about it!
******
Ryuchi Cave.
In just a short while, the so-called "Hashirama" had been dragged back inside Ryuchi Cave by Kagaya. Kagaya then plopped his rear down onto it, sitting on it and pinning it to the ground. It still kept shouting things like "sage" and "disrespectful."
Kagaya teased, "To be honest, Great Sage of Shikkotsu Forest... you did scare me at first. When I heard from the White Snake Sage that you were preparing to move against me, I thought you might have some extraordinarily powerful ability to subdue me."
"Hashirama"—that is, the Great Slug Sage—glared furiously at the White Snake Sage.
"White Snake Sage! As a fellow sage of the sacred lands, why do you hinder me from fulfilling my duty?!"
The White Snake Sage spoke unhurriedly. "You never had the strength to defeat this brat in the first place. Whether I had revealed your situation to him or not... the final outcome wouldn't have changed much, would it? Did you truly expect that transforming and scaring him a bit would make this brat simply kneel and surrender?"
The Great Slug Sage retorted. "Why couldn't it?!"
The White Snake Sage laughed.
"Then it seems you don't understand this brat at all."
The Great Slug Sage spoke through gritted teeth.
"You bastard!"
Then, after a few seconds of silence, the Great Slug Sage continued.
"Regardless... White Snake Sage, as a fellow sage, you should know the impact that 'a power that should not exist' can have on this world. If this brat were merely a shinobi of low talent, or even just a civilian... and you wanted to protect him, I would have no objection. But this brat... we all know... this brat has already grown into something truly monstrous! He must be eliminated! You must know of that Great Sage of Mount Myoboku, yes? Even if we didn't experience that era ourselves, we should have heard of that Great Sage's experiences. The last outsider of immense power... just how great an impact did she have on this world? Do you not know?!"
The White Snake Sage took a drag of her pipe and spoke.
"The era of Kaguya? I have indeed heard of it. But... that is none of my concern."
The Great Slug Sage stared seriously at the White Snake Sage. "So... you intend to indulge him?"
The White Snake Sage gave a cold snort.
"First of all... I am the White Snake Sage, not the Great Slug Sage. This brat is not a target I need to eliminate. Secondly... I have never used any martial force to protect this brat. Where is this so-called 'indulgence'? And don't accuse me of leaking intelligence. Since you're taking this seriously now, stop fooling around. Think carefully: even if I hadn't leaked intelligence to him... could you really have eliminated him?"
The Great Slug Sage fell silent once more. After a long, long while, it finally sighed and spoke.
"Indeed... your name is Uchiha Kagaya, is it? As an outsider... you've grown far, far too quickly. I merely let my attention slip for a moment, and you've already exceeded the scope of my control. Just what is your name, truly? Is it really Uchiha Kagaya? Or... is it Otsutsuki Kagaya?!"
Kagaya shook his head.
"My name is Uchiha Kagaya. Beyond that... there is no second name."
The Great Slug Sage looked at Kagaya, its eyes carrying a trace of doubt.
"Is that so?"
Kagaya smiled without speaking, putting on an expression that practically said, "Believe it or not."
Seeing that Kagaya wasn't speaking, the Great Slug Sage continued questioning.
"Where exactly did you come from?"
"I told you. I don't wish to answer."
"What is your objective?"
"Objective? Even if I had one, I still wouldn't tell you."
"You—!"
"What of it? Do you have a complaint?"
In the end, the Great Slug Sage couldn't extract a single piece of useful intelligence from Kagaya.
"Do you have nothing to say?"
The Great Slug Sage stared fixedly at Kagaya.
But this time, Kagaya didn't answer. Because Kagaya knew... although the Great Slug Sage was looking at him, it wasn't speaking to him. It was speaking to the Five-Tails within his body!
Just as expected, the Five-Tails' voice soon echoed out from within Kagaya's body.
"What do you want me to say?"
The Great Slug Sage immediately spoke.
"He is an outsider, just like that one!"
The Five-Tails' voice was very calm.
"So what? Should I trust you... or trust him? It's very simple. Of course, I trust him."
The Great Slug Sage froze for a moment, then slowly calmed down.
"I understand. I truly have no way to deal with you now, Uchiha Kagaya. Perhaps... no. Time will prove everything. Let it be so."
With that, the Great Slug Sage's body transformed back into chakra and vanished from this place.
With nothing left to sit on, Kagaya propped himself up with his hands and stood, looking toward the White Snake Sage.
"This time... thank you, White Snake Sage."
Even though the Great Slug Sage had never been capable of dealing with Kagaya in the first place, at the very least, the White Snake Sage's intelligence had put Kagaya completely at ease from the very beginning. This favor... still had to be thanked.
The White Snake Sage extinguished the embers on her smoking pipe and lowered her head.
"If there's nothing else, leave. This old one needs to rest."
Kagaya nodded, then turned and immediately departed.
The White Snake Sage was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.
"Hey! Brat, wait!"
However, as if he hadn't heard the White Snake Sage's words at all, Kagaya continued walking out. He walked faster and faster, faster and faster.
The White Snake Sage erupted in fury.
"Brat! STOP!"
Hearing these words, Kagaya still didn't turn back. He even broke into a full run.
Behind him, the White Snake Sage roared furiously.
"Don't you run! Fix this old one's door! You damned brat!"
*******
At the location of the Five-Seal Barrier.
Kakuzu and Hidan arrived here.
Hidan scratched his head.
"Sealing a Tailed Beast? This seems to be the first time, huh. Wonder how it's done."