Five nearly invisible threads swept down like sharp strings. They sliced through the clouds and then through the flames with surgical precision. The fire split cleanly into six smooth sections in midair.
"What?" Jiraiya's face changed as the clouds parted, revealing a slender figure floating above. Puppeteer spread wings and hovered calmly, purple hair moving in the air, fingers raised like plucking strings.
"So weak, only fit to be food," it said coldly, looking down at the Great Hollow. Its task was to find newborn Great Hollow with potential, but this one was nothing more than a failure. Irritation rose within it.
It turned its gaze to Jiraiya and Bunta. "Ugly creatures," it said, fingers twitching. The five threads sliced through the air again, screaming as they cut toward them.
Bunta reacted instantly, drawing his Short Sword and blocking like a shield. The threads struck, and fine Lie marks appeared across the blade. With a sharp kacha sound, the weapon snapped.
The threads kept going, cutting across Bunta's hand. Blood sprayed as deep, smooth wounds opened. He roared in pain as the threads continued toward his chest.
"Jiraiya!" Bunta shouted in alarm. "Release!" Jiraiya answered without hesitation.
A cloud of White smoke burst out, and Bunta vanished. The threads cut only empty air as Jiraiya fell downward. Puppeteer snorted and flicked its fingers, sending the threads curving back toward him.
As he fell, Jiraiya showed no fear. He twisted his body and drew a massive sword from his back. The blade was thick, gray White in color, and unsharpened.
Its name was Laziness.
He drove the sword tip into the scorched ground. There was no explosion, only a deep thud like a stone dropped into water. Laziness: Time Domain.
A heavy field spread outward. Dust, rain, and even sound slowed to a crawl. The five threads entered the domain and crept forward like they were trapped in mud.
Time stretched within this small space, and only Jiraiya could move freely. He calmly stepped aside, pulled the sword free, and swung it down. A deep rush of air followed.
At this moment, on another island across the sea from the mainland of Wang, a ruined palace lay buried deep underground. The air carried stale rot and cold, while massive stone pillars held up a towering dome. Faded and complex carvings covered the pillars, worn down by time.
This was a grand palace forgotten by history, hidden beneath the earth. Its scale far exceeded anything one would expect. Even standing still, the place pressed down on the senses.
"Yes, yes, this is it!" Several figures appeared inside the palace, and the one at the front was the long vanished Orochimaru.
They looked around at the palace walls, which were covered with enormous and exquisite murals. Brilliant colors and smooth lines silently told the rise and fall of an ancient empire. The story of glory and ruin unfolded without a single word.
These people were descendants of that ancient empire. For generations, they had guarded the secret of this place, and in recent years they had lived as a caravan before being forcibly gathered here by Orochimaru. Their excitement was obvious, but Orochimaru ignored it completely.
His eyes were locked on the murals, and the heat in his gaze was almost overflowing. He studied them as if nothing else existed.
In the first mural, a towering figure with an indistinct face stood in the sky, looking down on a frail human below. That person lay prostrate, kneeling in worship beneath the figure. To others, this was simply a tale of divine authority used to justify the rule of an ancient king.
But to Orochimaru, it was something else entirely. "That is the 'Lord of the Void Realm', and that should be 'Greer'?" he murmured, his throat tightening as he turned to the second mural.
The second mural showed a bare chested king with knotted muscles, holding aloft a glowing stone. Its light illuminated countless people kneeling below. Beneath his feet lay wild land, and behind him rose the early shape of a great city, showing that 'Greer' had founded a nation with the power of the 'Lord of the Void Realm'.
The third mural depicted a vast city rising from the ground. Farmland spread in neat patterns, rivers were controlled and guided, and fertile land flourished. People wore fine clothing as the empire reached its peak.
The fourth mural showed finely dressed people arguing as the sky darkened. Division and internal strife had begun to tear the nation apart. Tension was visible in their gestures and faces.
Another mural showed disaster falling from the heavens. The earth split with Lie, floods surged, and people fled in terror and Zetsu Wang, struggling like ants before overwhelming power. Fear dominated the scene.
The fifth mural showed the empire in ruins. Broken walls and collapsed structures filled the land, with only a few survivors left in ragged clothes. The colors turned gray, filled with decay and the presence of Death.
The sixth and final mural occupied the most prominent position. There were no figures, no scenery, and no color, only endless black. It was cold, silent, and Zetsu Wang, symbolizing total annihilation and the final end.
"Destroyed because they forgot their god?" Orochimaru thought quietly. He stared at the black mural, wondering if it represented the 'Void Realm'.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar shook the palace. The entire underground structure began to tremble violently. Cracks spread across the stone pillars like webs, and the dome started to crumble and collapse as massive rocks fell and dust filled the air.
As the ceiling peeled away, what lay above it was revealed. A mineral vein emerged, glowing with pale green light like jade embedded in stone. A strong sense of life spread rapidly through the palace.
The once dark hall was lit up completely. "Hyde!" "What are you doing?"
An angry shout rang out as Orochimaru turned around with a frown. A burly man dressed like a merchant stood by a strange stone statue, which he had already smashed apart. It was clear that his actions had caused the collapse.
"Hahaha! I can feel it, I can feel it!" The man called Hyde laughed wildly, breathing in the energy with Greed. "Endless power is flowing into my body!"
"Stone of Gelel! This is the true source of Stone of Gelel!" He turned to Orochimaru with a smug grin. "Stupid Ninja. If you had not brought me here, it would have taken me years to find this place."
Orochimaru showed no reaction to the mockery. He ignored the "Stone of Gelel" above and stared at the ground in the center of the palace. His golden snake eyes gleamed with cold obsession.
"Fool. The so called 'Stone of Gelel' is nothing but trash bestowed by gods." He looked at the faintly glowing, intricate formation and spoke hoarsely. "This is what I want."
The center of the palace floor was not flat stone but a massive circular formation made of complex patterns. It emitted faint spatial distortions. This was a summoning array for 'Time Space Cave'.
The contents of that Scroll and the ancient records were real after all. This was a coordinate gate created to use ancient Summoning Jutsu to summon an unknown existence. According to Root and that Scroll, 'Time Space Cave' connected directly to 'Void Realm'.
Orochimaru suddenly turned his head toward a nearby boy whose face showed confusion and fear. The boy carried the true noble bloodline of the ancient empire. These people were gathered for this very day.