Konoha New District.
By the time Sasuke and the others arrived, they saw Nagato collapsed on the ground, his face contorted in pain.
A massive "hand" extended from the shadow in the sky, attempting to pull something from within Nagato's body, and he was already struggling to hold on.
Without a word, Sasuke immediately used Kamui to transfer Nagato into his personal dimension.
Jiraiya's expression was grave. "Orochimaru's soul is also inside Nagato!"
Anko lowered her gaze. "It's Hakuryu."
"Who?" Hokage Tsunade asked.
"After Lord Orochimaru's soul split, a few of the stronger fragments emerged. The one residing in Nagato should be Hakuryu. Two more fragments are in Ryuchi Cave," Anko explained.
"Are the other two fragments also possessing people?" Naruto asked.
Anko nodded lightly. "Kushinada-hime was originally a princess of the Land of Fields, but she was later possessed by Lord Orochimaru's soul. The other one is… the White Snake Sage."
"The White Snake Sage!" Jiraiya exclaimed in shock.
He suddenly recalled a prophecy the Great Toad Sage had once told him:
"A silent beast usurps the nest, great upheaval befalls Ryuchi Cave!"
He had also been told that he would have a new disciple who would break this nightmare… Jiraiya turned to look at Naruto, and only one thought remained in his mind.
It had come true.
Everything had come true!
"Next, we head to Ryuchi Cave!" Jiraiya declared immediately.
Ryuchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Lands alongside Mount Myoboku, was a place that two people in their group had signed summoning contracts with.
Without hesitation, Sasuke activated his Rinnegan once more, opening a portal to Ryuchi Cave—he had already memorized its coordinates.
In front of a grand and majestic yet slightly eerie palace.
"So this is Ryuchi Cave? It's completely different from Mount Myoboku," Naruto remarked.
"The sages of Ryuchi Cave aren't friendly toward humans. Most who come here seeking power end up as their meals," Jiraiya said, sending a chill down everyone's spine.
The natural energy field in this place was chaotic and unsettling.
Everyone present, except Hinata, could use Sage Mode and could clearly feel this disturbance.
The grand doors of the palace slowly opened, and three beautiful young women stepped out, bowing toward Anko.
"Lady Anko."
Anko recognized these three women.
She had met them during her last visit—they were Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Takiribime.
The three women then looked at Sasuke with a strange expression.
"Why do you have a contract with Ryuchi Cave? We've never seen you before."
They could all sense a connection between him and Ryuchi Cave.
Sasuke couldn't be bothered to explain and instead asked directly, "Where is Orochimaru?"
The three women gave him a deep look before turning to Anko. "Lady Anko, Master is waiting for you."
The group followed them forward, passing through the palace until they reached a temple.
The ground was covered with countless snakes, but they did not attack; instead, they instinctively parted to clear a path.
Everyone then saw an enormous white snake with eight heads!
Sasuke was momentarily shaken.
He knew how powerful Orochimaru was, but even as just a fragmented soul, this version of him was already far stronger than the Orochimaru he had known!
"It seems that 'God' hasn't found this place yet," Tsunade observed, scanning the surroundings.
Though the dim lighting cast heavy shadows, the ominous black silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
"Hyuga Makoto placed a barrier here," a sudden female voice rang out.
A stunningly beautiful woman appeared before them—Kushinada-hime.
"Back then, Makoto came here, but he didn't kill us. Instead, he placed a barrier to isolate this place from the outside world, preventing us from leaving."
Anko slowly said, "I'm sorry... Lord Orochimaru, back then, I..."
Kushinada-hime merely shook her head gently. "It's alright. No matter what you did, we understand."
Her words only deepened Anko's guilt.
She had been the one who voluntarily confessed everything about Orochimaru to Makoto.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Tsunade's expressions were extremely complicated at that moment.
That massive white snake was shocking enough.
But this woman standing before them… was Orochimaru?!
Judging by Kushinada-hime's demeanor and movements, she was undoubtedly a woman—perhaps even more so than Tsunade and Hinata!
Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine and hesitantly asked, "Are you Orochimaru?"
Kushinada-hime gazed at Jiraiya with a gentle smile. "It's been a long time, Jiraiya."
That soft, feminine voice instantly made Jiraiya break out in goosebumps.
Kabuto interjected, "She's merely been possessed by a fragment of Orochimaru's soul... but why did Orochimaru choose to inhabit a woman's body?"
At that moment, the massive eight-headed serpent extended one of its heads toward Anko.
She placed her hand on it and gently caressed it.
Sasuke observed the scene and suddenly remarked, "They… are no longer Orochimaru. At least, they are no longer the complete Orochimaru."
He found it hard to believe that Orochimaru would ever show such a tender expression.
If each fragment of his soul represented a different aspect of him, then did Orochimaru once possess this kind of warmth?
Tsunade remained silent, a sudden surge of sorrow welling up inside her.
Kakashi turned to Kabuto and asked, "What do we do next? Do you have a solution?"
Kabuto pondered for a moment before replying, "…Yes."
He glanced at the eight-headed serpent and Kushinada-hime before slowly saying, "That 'God' wants to eliminate all of Orochimaru's fragmented souls to remove any potential threats. But we can do the opposite—if the 'god' ends up devouring all of Orochimaru's soul fragments, then a complete Orochimaru should separate from it."
Uchiha Sasuke frowned. "You just said that the 'god' wants to kill these fragments. Why would it ever devour them?"
Kabuto replied, "We just need to deceive it into doing so."
Then, he suddenly changed the topic, "But before that—are you two willing to become Orochimaru again?"
Kushinada-hime seemed to have anticipated this question and calmly responded, "To me, it doesn't matter what fate awaits."
The eight-headed serpent remained silent, simply gazing at Anko, as if waiting for her decision.
The others also understood what was at stake and turned their eyes toward Anko.
Anko gently stroked the serpent's head, lowering her gaze. "Can you explain the full plan first?"
Kabuto nodded. "That 'god' is currently trying to devour His Majesty. Right now, it's locked in a stalemate with him—its goal is to obtain the power of time before consuming the world. That's why it hasn't had the energy to deal with Shiroe and Nagato yet, or else it wouldn't have let us succeed."
"We will gather all of Orochimaru's remaining soul fragments into a single person and conceal their presence. If the 'god' remains locked in this stalemate for too long, it may consider consuming a powerful existence to strengthen itself."
Everyone immediately understood—the plan required a "sacrifice."
A normal person wouldn't work; this "sacrifice" had to be strong enough to attract the 'god's' attention.
Kakashi didn't hesitate for long before saying, "I'll do it."
Anko turned to look at Kakashi and suddenly laughed. "Have you forgotten how many times I knocked you flat before?"
Kakashi, however, couldn't bring himself to smile.
He clenched his fists tightly and said, "Then let's have another match. This time, I won't lose."
Anko shook her head lightly before saying, "This body was originally prepared for Lord Orochimaru. No one is more suitable than me."
She placed her hand on the giant serpent's head, then spread her arms and pressed her face against it, whispering, "Lord Orochimaru, it's time for this to end."
It should have ended long ago.
It was time to free herself from the past.
Suddenly, strange markings appeared on Anko's body.
The next second, the massive form of the eight-headed serpent began to glow with a soft white light.
The light gathered together, forming a luminous sphere with a faint figure inside.
"Orochimaru..." Jiraiya murmured.
Beside them, the same phenomenon occurred with Kushinada-hime—she too transformed into a sphere of light.
The two glowing orbs simultaneously flowed into Anko's body.
Seeing this, Sasuke quickly opened his Kamui space-time dimension, releasing Shiroe and Nagato.
The moment they emerged, glowing orbs also manifested from their bodies.
Tsunade and Jiraiya noticed that the light from Shiroe's body contained the figure of a young boy.
As all the lights merged into Anko, Kushinada-hime, Nagato, Shiroe, and the giant serpent all lost consciousness and collapsed.
Anko looked down at her own hands, her expression dark and unreadable.
Kakashi quickly asked, "Anko… are you still Anko?"
"Mm… Lord Orochimaru did not seize control of this body," Anko said slowly.
At that moment, Tsunade checked the unconscious individuals on the ground and confirmed that they were unharmed.
Before long, Shiroe regained consciousness, but the youthful innocence was no longer present on his face.
"Jiraiya, Tsunade."
At the sound of his voice, Tobirama was visibly startled.
Kabuto glanced at him and immediately understood. "I see… so that's why Lord Tobirama insisted on separating that boy's soul."
Tsunade stared at the young man in front of her, stunned, before speaking in disbelief.
"Sarutobi .... Sensei…?"
...........
Konoha, Imperial Palace.
Anko reappeared here with the others.
"Make sure not to stray too far from me; otherwise, I won't be able to maintain Kamui's effect, and that 'god' will sense Orochimaru inside you." Sasuke warned Anko as he used Kamui to conceal the fragment of Orochimaru's soul within her.
That entity didn't seem to possess the ability to perceive through space-time.
Otherwise, it should have already noticed Kushinada-hime and the others in Ryuchi cave.
"Where's Hakumen?!" Kakashi's expression darkened as he failed to see Hakumen who had been stationed here.
Without hesitation, he activated Sage Mode to track Hakumen's whereabouts.
But the moment he came into contact with natural energy, his eyes widened in terror, and he quickly deactivated it.
"Hakumen… he might have been devoured." Cold sweat formed on Kakashi's forehead as he spoke.
His words instantly cast a heavy shadow over everyone's hearts.
Kabuto said grimly, "There's no time to grieve. This confirms our previous hypothesis—'god' still can't devour His Majesty. They're still locked in a stalemate, which means 'god' will undoubtedly try to strengthen itself again!"
When Kakashi had entered Sage Mode just now, he had felt an invisible, terrifying presence fix its gaze upon him.
A bone-chilling fear overtook him—it was as if he had been marked by something far beyond his comprehension.
He was already at the pinnacle of power in this world, yet this entity…
No, it couldn't even be called "alive."
It was something entirely different!
At that moment, the black shadow in the sky slowly extended a massive, black "hand" downward, as if attempting to devour Kakashi as well.
"Did my Sage Mode alert it?" Kabuto adjusted his specialized glasses, allowing him to see the black shadow more clearly.
"Anko!"
Hearing her name, Anko took a deep breath and instantly activated her Sage Mark.
In an instant, her chakra surged to its peak.
A violent wind whipped around her, sending her hair flying in all directions.
As expected, the massive black "hand" was drawn toward Anko, captivated by the overwhelming surge of her Sage Chakra.
The moment the black "hand" touched her, Anko felt an irresistible force seize her, pulling her upward into the sky.
Yet, in this moment, there was no fear in her heart—only an overwhelming sense of peace.
Lord Orochimaru, I'm coming.
There was just no time to say goodbye—Rin, Kurenai, Shizune, Asuma, Obito…
And… Makoto…
Before everyone's eyes, Anko's body ascended to a certain height before vanishing into the sky.
Boom!
After a moment of eerie silence, a thunderous roar erupted.
The massive black shadow in the sky suddenly surged like a stormy sea, twisting into a pitch-black vortex that churned like swirling clouds.
"What is that?!"
Kakashi, who had previously been unable to perceive the shadow, suddenly saw the storm-like vortex with his own eyes.
Soon, figures began appearing across Konoha—the strange phenomenon had alarmed the entire village.
The Ten Crown Guards had all rushed over.
"What happens next?" Kakashi asked Kabuto.
Kabuto's expression was grave. "I don't know."
Sasuke turned his gaze toward the front hall, where the black mist still lingered.
Activating his Rinnegan, he peered through the darkness—time was still frozen, but space was no longer distorted.
"I understand now." He suddenly muttered.
"Understand what?" Naruto asked.
"We weren't wrong… we're just one step away." Sasuke declared before launching himself toward the front hall.
The instant he stepped through the black mist-covered entrance, Naruto suddenly realized—
Everything around him had come to a halt.
The ninja who had been mid-air were now frozen in place, Kakashi and the others stood motionless, their bodies rigid.
Time had seemingly stopped.
Yet, he alone could still move.
"What's going on?" Hinata's voice suddenly sounded from beside him.
"Has time… stopped?" Tsunade also spoke.
Naruto looked around and realized that only they could still move freely.
"This is the reason we came to this world." Sasuke reappeared at the entrance of the front hall, addressing the three of them.
"Orochimaru is in the process of separating from the 'God.'
The 'God' no longer has the strength to continue devouring the Emperor.
If we can break this final temporal restraint, we will be able to rescue the Emperor!"
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