---Third POV---
Looking up at the massive rock serpent plummeting straight down from the ceiling of the mine shaft, Ryouma's hands swiftly came together, a Flying Thunder God kunai already gripped horizontally between his palms.
A pitch-black space-time technique array unfolded above his head. In an instant, the serpent was sucked into the Flying Thunder God's teleportation barrier and transferred outside.
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed from outside the mine. The tremors of the massive creature hitting the ground traveled all the way down into the underground cavern, shaking loose dust and small rocks from the ceiling.
He grabbed the nearby Kurama, sensed the position of the Flying Thunder God kunai he had left outside, and instantly vanished from the dark mine tunnel.
Whoosh!
With the distortion of space, Ryouma's figure immediately appeared in front of the shrine at the foot of Mount Sukuna.
"Hissss!"
This serpent seemed to have a brain made of solid stone as well, it showed no discomfort at all from the sudden spatial displacement. The moment it was transported from underground, it opened its massive jaws and let out a hiss.
Right after, the giant serpent began charging power in its mouth. Chakra crackled and condensed into a white sphere before shooting toward Ryouma like solar beam.
Ryouma swung the Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand.
The Full Counter domain surged outward, instantly covering the surrounding area. When that white energy beam touched the edge of the Full Counter field, it was reflected right back at its source.
Bang!
The serpent was struck by its own attack. The powerful impact blasted it dozens of meters away and slammed it heavily into the mountainside, carving a serpent-shaped crater into the rock.
However, the serpent didn't seem to suffer any real damage, after struggling in the crater for a moment, it pulled itself free and lifted its head again, preparing to attack once more.
Watching the serpent gather energy in its mouth again, Ryouma murmured, "Seems like nobody's controlling it."
If these monsters were being controlled by someone, that giant snake definitely wouldn't keep using such meaningless energy blasts against him. Still, he couldn't rule out the possibility that someone intended to use these creatures to eliminate him indirectly.
Thinking of the battle traces he'd seen back at Hiruko's experimental base, although he had no direct evidence, his gut told him that this must be Black Zetsu's work.
"What does he want with Hiruko. Is he after Hiruko's research skills? If so, should I go back and warn Orochimaru too, so he doesn't get schemed against?"
Perhaps life had been peaceful for too long, he actually felt his intelligence and information analysis skills from the Ninja Academy had grown dull. Too many comfortable missions and not enough paranoia. In the shinobi world, paranoia kept you breathing.
Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, but his movements didn't slow in the slightest.
Facing the incoming white beam again, he chose not to use Full Counter this time. Instead, he threw the kunai in his hand and, using the Flying Thunder God Technique, instantly teleported to a point above the serpent's head.
A cold flash of steel, several arcs of light flickered through the air.
He landed from midair.
Behind him, the massive serpent abruptly froze. A second later, its enormous body neatly split into several segments and slowly slid apart, each piece hitting the ground.
The most troublesome thing about these kinds of creatures was their ridiculous vitality, that's why the Uzumaki clan had used sealing techniques to bind them across the island rather than simply destroying them. But the Breath of All Things cut deeper than mere flesh and bone.
Clap, clap, clap!
A crisp sound of applause suddenly rang out.
He turned, his sharp gaze locking onto the burly figure who sat straddling the roof of the shrine.
This monster seemed completely different from the ones he had encountered before, this one clearly possessed self-awareness, much like Samehada did.
"So you're Aotsuki Ryouma, huh? Just as that dead man said, so long as I release a bit of fighting spirit, you'll obediently show yourself."
Ryouma raised an eyebrow slightly. This was the first time he'd heard someone describe malice as fighting spirit. Most people called it killing intent, or even bloodlust.
Hey, kid, don't let your guard down, Kurama's voice sounded inside him. This guy is different from that snake. He's one of the monsters the Sage of Six Paths sealed during his travels across the shinobi world back then.
Hearing Kurama's warning, Shukaku, confused, asked, Huh? How come I've never heard of that? And I thought I knew all the old man's greatest hits.
At that time, we were all still inside him and hadn't been born yet. Of course you wouldn't know. I only heard about it from him afterward.
In the past, the Sage of Six Paths had created the tailed beasts one by one only in his later years, when he was preparing for his own death and the division of the Ten-Tails' power.
Each of the tailed beasts had a very different personality. Although they were all grateful for the life the Sage gave them, when it came to closeness, Kurama undoubtedly had the most special relationship with him. Thus, compared to the other beasts, it knew more about that era, including the failures and the enemies that couldn't be redeemed.
Now, seeing that the enemy wasn't making any rash moves, Kurama simply explained the intel from its memory.
Judging by that guy's two faces and four arms, he must be the demon Sukuna who once wrought havoc everywhere in ancient times.
The old man didn't tell me much about the fight with him, only that his martial skill had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
So, you'd better use that stupid tanuki's ability from the start. Don't give that demon a chance to get close.
Ryouma was now completely certain, this enemy in front of him was definitely brought out by Black Zetsu.
After all, someone who knew about the Sage's era and intentionally selected a close-combat monster to counter him, only Black Zetsu could planned something like that. The question was what kind of trick he had used to fool a monster with clear self-awareness into working for him.
Whoosh!
A sudden gust of wind swept past. Sukuna, who had been sitting on the rooftop a moment ago, leaped down, landing not far in front of Ryouma while maintaining a distance.
Ryouma narrowed his eyes slightly. He had no idea what scheme this monster had in mind, but since it had once been sealed by the Sage of Six Paths during his travels across the world, it was definitely no saint.
It must be remembered: the Sage in those days was the kind of great man who would even sacrifice family for the sake of humanity. If he'd felt the need to seal rather than redeem this creature, it was beyond salvation.
Ryouma activated his Rikugan, analyzing the creature's physical capabilities and chakra flow.
However, just as he was about to make a move, Sukuna spoke first, "How about we make a deal?"
"A deal? That's really something new. A demon actually knows how to negotiate."
"Hahaha!" Sukuna opened one of its mouths in wild laughter, while its other face continued speaking, "That person who released us said you possess the ability to manipulate space, and judging by how you just transferred that stupid snake from underground to out here, he wasn't lying, was he?"
"Us? Sounds like you've got quite a few companions."
"Sharp instincts, but you're wrong. I'm not companions with them, in fact, that's exactly what our potential deal is about."
He paused, seeming to observe Ryouma's reaction, then continued, "This island has restraints placed on it. Creatures like us can't leave the island's boundaries by conventional means. Because of this, someone with spatial transfer abilities like you has become the target of every monster on this island."
"I can help you deal with them, but I have my own condition, you use your space-time abilities to get me off this rock."
Ryouma spun his blade between his fingers. "Oh? Is that so? How kind of you."
Sukuna seemed unfazed by Ryouma's reaction. "For someone of your caliber, the monsters on this island probably aren't much of a threat. But monsters come in all varieties with all kinds of bizarre abilities. Are you really that confident you won't get caught off guard? Besides, my offer goes far beyond just clearing out some pests."
"That person who released us, you're definitely interested in him, aren't you? I can sense he contacted me through some kind of spiritual summoning technique. Sneaky little rats like that, hiding in the shadows, I'm sure they're a real headache for you."
"If we cooperate, I can take you to a monster with very special abilities. It can track down that rat's true body for you."
He was extremely confident. He believed Ryouma wouldn't refuse this deal. After all, the stronger someone was, the more they hated being jerked around by people weaker than themselves.
Ryouma fell silent for a moment. He had to admit, getting accurate intel on Black Zetsu's location was tempting.
"Kurama, do you think what it's saying is trustworthy?"
"Me?" Kurama was clearly surprised that Ryouma would suddenly ask for its opinion at a moment like this.
It paused briefly, its vertical pupils focusing as it scanned Sukuna. It could clearly sense that the demon still radiated that undisguised malice. It was precisely because this malice was so pure and all-encompassing that it made the demon's true intentions nearly impossible to read.
"I can't really tell if this demon is telling the truth or feeding us lies... but... But I'd still recommend not trusting anything a demon says too easily. The old man once tried to teach some monsters to coexist peacefully with humans, but what he got in return was an entire human village being slaughtered. Of course, whether to make this deal or not, that's entirely your call."
Shukaku, listening from the sidelines, seemed somewhat surprised by Kurama's response. From the fox's perspective, it should be chomping at the bit to have Ryouma track down Black Zetsu quickly and destroy that last Rinnegan. That would eliminate the Ten-Tails threat and get its chakra back.
But instead, the fox was actually advising caution.
"Well I'll be damned. You actually care about someone other than yourself."
"Hmph. I'm only concerned about protecting my chakra that's residing in him," Kurama shot back, glancing sideways at Shukaku before turning away dismissively.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense and heavy.
Sukuna's second mouth, which had been maintaining a constant stream of maniacal laughter, slowly closed. That mocking expression vanished.
"Are you really going to listen to some pet fox, Ryouma? Cooperating with me is the smart choice here..."
"Enough." Ryouma waved his hand, cutting off whatever the demon was about to say. "You know what I hate most? The arrogance of those who think they can manipulate me. So here's my answer: go screw yourself."
He'd already been skeptical of this demon's offer, and with Kurama's firsthand testimony about demon trustworthiness, there was definitely no point in continuing this conversation.
Sukuna clearly hadn't expected this outcome. He couldn't believe that after all his persuasion had been derailed by a damn fox.
Swoosh!
A Flying Thunder God kunai flew from Ryouma's hand.
This wasn't just a warning, it was a declaration that negotiations were permanently over.
Sukuna's reflexes were lightning-fast. He quickly drew two bone-crafted long blades from his waist, deflecting the kunai with a strike that sent it spinning away.
"If you won't cooperate like a civilized person, then don't blame me for getting uncivilized."
The words had barely left his mouth when the ground beneath his feet exploded into fragments. Using the powerful recoil, his massive body became a blurred shadow, rocketing toward Ryouma, who immediately activated his Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting to the location of the kunai he'd thrown earlier.
BOOM!
The exact instant Ryouma's form vanished, the spot where he'd been standing erupted in a shower of dirt and stone.
Sukuna slowly rose from the newly formed pit, his back turned to Ryouma as he spoke, "That's a useful little trick."
After successfully dodging the enemy's opening assault with Flying Thunder God, Ryouma seized the initiative. His hands came together.
With the massive infusion of tailed beast chakra flooding through his system, the earth for miles around instantly transformed into a raging sea of sand. Countless grains of sand rose like tsunami waves, rolling and crashing toward Sukuna.
At the same time, several enormous hands made of compressed sand burst from the shifting dunes, each one the size of a building as they slammed down toward the demon trapped in the flowing sand.