With confirmation that Indra's blood had fallen into Black Zetsu's hands, Naruto immediately set his contingency plan into motion.
This backup plan was exactly what he'd discussed with Orochimaru before departure—a way to obtain Indra's blood through another route!
Back when Naruto sought guidance at Ryūchi Cave, he'd learned the true origin of Indra's blood on the mountain wall from the White Snake Sage. That day, he'd already formed a plan.
A thousand years ago, the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent—a legendary serpent sage that once rivaled the White Snake Sage—was slain by Indra. In that titanic battle, Indra was wounded, leaving his blood on the stone wall!
Naruto explained, "So I'm convinced that samples of Indra's blood exist in the fangs of the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent."
Orochimaru mused, "That's a reasonable deduction, but the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent died a millennium ago. Where are we supposed to find its fangs?"
Naruto replied, "In the Realm of Reincarnation."
Orochimaru's vertical pupils flickered. "You mean the place where you signed your contract with the Rinnegan summoning beasts?"
Naruto's gaze grew distant. "Over the ages, all powerful summoning beasts that die end up in the Realm of Reincarnation. Even someone like Manda can enter—so the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent should be there too."
Orochimaru lowered his eyelids. "That only means it might be possible. For you to use the blood on the mountain wall as bait, you must be absolutely certain. Where does that confidence come from?"
Naruto thought back. "When I encountered Manda in the Realm of Reincarnation, he was terrified of some monster lurking in the depths…"
"Curious, I went exploring with Konan-nee. Sure enough, we ran into a powerful beast. I could sense a sage energy from it—one that felt like my own…"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "You think that monster was the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. Looking back, the features didn't match. The creature I saw had only one head, golden horizontal pupils, and the same sage power—clearly a giant toad from Mount Myōboku."
"So I asked the Great Toad Sage about it and confirmed its identity."
"The Golden-Eyed Toad—an evil frog of Mount Myōboku, powerful enough to rival the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent!"
Orochimaru pondered. "So, the Golden-Eyed Toad's presence in the Realm of Reincarnation supports the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent theory—but that alone isn't enough."
Naruto's eyes glimmered. "Hey, Orochimaru, snakes and toads are natural enemies. Just look at Gamabunta and Manda. What kind of creature could make the proud Manda lose his composure in fear?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. "A peer—one even higher on the food chain!"
Naruto grinned. "Exactly. That makes it almost a sure thing…"
Orochimaru smiled, impressed. "No wonder you had such confidence, Naruto-kun. The blood in Ryūchi Cave was the only way Black Zetsu could get to Indra's blood…"
"Honestly, after leaving Ryūchi Cave, I wanted to secretly leak news of that blood to Black Zetsu…"
"But with how paranoid he is, it's nearly impossible to do so without raising suspicion."
"Fortunately, not long after, Madara and Black Zetsu visited Ryūchi Cave together, so I just played along…"
Orochimaru asked, "If Kabuto's incident hadn't happened, were you planning to go to Ryūchi Cave yourself?"
Naruto nodded, "I was going to send you anyway, but Kabuto's rebellion made everything look even more natural…"
Orochimaru suddenly understood. "So you had me pretend to fight Black Zetsu over the blood, just to throw off his suspicions?"
Naruto said, "He's a thousand-year-old monster. If he realized I was manipulating things, he'd change his plans—maybe even target Madara or Sasuke instead."
Orochimaru marveled, "Naruto-kun, you really don't leave any openings…"
Naruto replied, "It all depends on whether I can find the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent."
Orochimaru asked, "Are you planning to enter the Realm of Reincarnation again?"
Naruto nodded. "No half-measures. This time, I'll explore it to the end. The Golden-Eyed Toad, the Nine-Headed Sage Serpent… and supposedly, the ancestor of Enma—the Monkey King. Back then, he almost trapped Nagato-senpai there for good~"
Orochimaru sounded wistful. "If I could, I'd love to see it for myself. But with my current strength, I'd only slow you down in a place like that…"
Naruto's gaze grew deep. "If the chance comes, I'll take you. For now, you have something more important to do."
"Indra will soon return to the living world."
"He'll be used as the sacrifice to revive Kaguya."
"And I… will resurrect the Ten-Tails."
"But before that, you need to develop a way to preserve the consciousness of all nine tailed beasts…"
Orochimaru: "I already have some promising leads on that research…"
Naruto: "Oh? That's great news!"
Orochimaru: "But are you sure? If Indra becomes the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, his power will be unimaginable."
Naruto: "I'll gather the chakra of all nine tailed beasts and reach consensus with them in the deepest spiritual realm…"
Orochimaru: "So before heading to the Realm of Reincarnation, you'll visit the barrier sealing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
Naruto's eyes sparkled. "I might also need to stop by Sunagakure. I want to ask Gaara for something. Hopefully, I won't have to use it…"
...
Somewhere, on a land unknown to most.
Black Zetsu emerged from the shadows.
"Heh heh heh, I thought I'd end up in a death match with Naruto at Ryūchi Cave!"
"Kabuto, you did well—at least you're more useful than that waste Toneri~"
"Still too soft, Naruto. Just a single crisis at Amegakure and you gave up going yourself—sent that mere Orochimaru to fetch the key to awakening the Rinnegan, and now the blood is in my hands…"
"Hahahahaha! Truly, heaven favors me!"
Black Zetsu drew a jutsu formula on the ground and poured the bottled Indra's blood onto it.
Crack!
Black Zetsu's body split in two!
Half remained inside the jutsu circle, half outside.
"Using my own body for this jutsu… I'm nothing if not creative, hehe~"
"I'll leave the rest to you, my true self."
"Rest easy, my clone~ The day Mother is revived, we'll become one again!!"
—Impure World Reincarnation!
BOOM…!
A savage wind howled.
The sacrificed Black Zetsu screamed, "Aaaahhh! For my beloved mother!!!!"
Dust and earth whirled around the pitch-black body!
A white cloak of the Six Paths, collar adorned with six magatama.
Long, flowing hair, twin braids hanging by the ears, a cold, youthful face with dark markings at the corners of his eyes, and inverted, short eyebrows.
He gazed at the one before him with deep, shadowy Sharingan.
"So it's you. Even you have grown up. The banquet of the living world… how swiftly time flies…"
"It's been a long time, Indra."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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