Tsunade, Terumi Mei, and the others, together with the support troops who rushed over, searched this city for survivors.
Even A was leaning on a crutch to help.
Ryosuke also really wanted to stay, but as long as Toneri wasn't eliminated, the ninja world would never have peace. He threw Toneri's father's corpse into the ghost room and flew at full speed toward the research institute.
When he arrived at the research institute, he saw cannons being pushed out from the armory one after another. Three sky battleships had already risen into the air, suspended in near-earth orbit in a pincer formation, detecting and defending against threats from outer space.
"Please help me analyze the residual energy inside this body."
Ryosuke handed over Toneri's father's corpse. The researchers from the biological genetics and ninjutsu departments instantly had their eyes light up.
This was an Otsutsuki, a descendant of the same clan as the Sage of Six Paths, a real alien. One of the bio-genetics researchers was so excited he pounced on the corpse and took a deep sniff.
"Ninety-nine percent, a rare specimen!"
"Haul it away!"
A group of researchers hoisted the corpse and jogged into the laboratory.
Inside the lab, colleagues holding chainsaws and cutting tools had already been eagerly waiting.
"Brother Ryosuke, do you think that alien named Toneri will still stay on the moon?" Sasuke asked.
He had followed Ryosuke the longest. How could Sasuke not understand Ryosuke's purpose in tossing the corpse to the research institute?
It was obviously to look for the weaknesses corresponding to the Otsutsuki clan.
But Sasuke felt that as long as the guy had a normal brain, after being thoroughly beaten today, the next step should be to hide obediently, observe in secret for a while, and wait for the right opportunity.
Just like the evil god White Snake who was still fleeing everywhere and had yet to be caught.
Ryosuke shook his head slightly and said, "He's an alien. He's not the same species as us. You can't use human values to guess the thoughts of an alien."
On the way back, Ryosuke used psychography with Toneri as the target.
In the Polaroid photo, Toneri was babbling about something with Hidan.
The two of them were chatting happily earlier, but by the time Ryosuke flew back to the research institute and used psychography again, he found Hidan tied up by all four limbs and locked up, while Toneri stood alone on the moon, arms outstretched, eyes closed, not knowing what kind of sorcery he was performing again.
A lunatic who used his own father as a puppet, kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl to raise as a child bride, and even imprisoned Hidan, who was supposed to be on his side.
Even if Toneri used the moon like a road roller and rammed it straight down, Ryosuke wouldn't feel surprised.
This was why the moment the battle ended, Ryosuke contacted the research institute and moved out all the cannons meant for interstellar warfare.
As long as Toneri dared to come, he'd blast that bastard the moment he appeared.
Ryosuke had already made up his mind.
Once the Kaitian-3 rocket was fully built, he would personally head to the moon and completely kill Toneri.
"But Toneri controlling a puppet to reach the ninja world from the moon only took twenty-four hours. To prevent him from sneaking around and attacking my home from behind, I'll have to use psychography the whole time after I leave."
He calculated the time.
Recasting the Kaitian-3 would take about ten days, plus three days of flight from the ninja world to the moon, a total of thirteen days.
"I hope these thirteen days can be a bit peaceful." Ryosuke let out a light sigh.
He wasn't afraid of Toneri attacking.
But for one insane alien to cause tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of innocent people to die for no reason, that was far too absurd.
Ryosuke closed his eyes, and his soul once again entered the River of Time, entering cultivation mode.
Sasuke hugged his long sword and leaned against the wall. He took out an orange from his pocket, smelled it, didn't eat it, just kept playing with it in his hand as he silently protected Ryosuke's physical body.
———
Although he had only killed Toneri's puppet and not his real body, Ryosuke still gained 2,000 soul fragments.
"A bit less than Uchiha Itachi, but only a bit. And this was just a remotely controlled puppet. If it were the real body…"
2,500?
2,800?
Or even… the same level as the White Snake Sage, 3,000?
Ryosuke couldn't say.
He could only prepare as much as possible.
The soul fragments were the first reward. The second reward was that the threat of the Dragon Vein energy had finally disappeared.
This disappearance didn't mean Toneri helped Ryosuke extract the Dragon Vein energy and consumed it, thereby reducing Ryosuke's burden.
Rather, after Toneri helped Ryosuke ease his physical load, when the puppet died, that portion of energy was released again. And the released energy, after Toneri's purification and conversion, had become…
No longer aggressive like Dragon Vein energy, and extremely easy to absorb.
To this, Ryosuke could only accept with a smile.
Now this vast energy was being injected bit by bit into the Past Projection.
The pillar of light standing in the River of Time grew brighter and brighter.
Until the final wisp of energy flowed in, the Past Projection suddenly burst with a dazzling radiance. Streams of light flowed through the air and fell onto Ryosuke's fingertips, condensing into a single point of light.
Standing before the Past Projection, Ryosuke looked ahead, then looked toward the direction where the River of Time flowed. A sudden new sense appeared in his heart. He slowly raised his hand and tapped into the void,
Crack!
Space shattered and tore open.
Ryosuke didn't stop. As his finger traced through the air, cracking sounds echoed continuously. The marks of torn space remained suspended, intersecting with the light pillar of the Past Projection, forming a cross, or rather, a long sword.
The sword tip pierced the River of Time, and the two ends of the guard pointed respectively toward the past and the future.
And the sword hilt was in Ryosuke's hand.
In that instant, Ryosuke understood. His very first Past Projection, after absorbing nearly an entire Roran Dragon Vein's worth of power, had finally reached completion.
A constant flow of energy circulated between Ryosuke and the Past Projection.
Unlike the Slug Sage, who wasn't skilled in combat, Ryosuke had countless methods of attack. With such a vast reservoir of energy, he no longer needed to hold back, he could pour his power out freely in battle.
Considering Ryosuke could convert ripple energy, natural energy, and life force into one another, and the healing effect of the Pearl Jam…
Before the Past Projection's energy was exhausted, Ryosuke would have blood-lock, mana-lock, and zero-cooldown skills, three effects at once.
Light clapping sounds came from the other side of the fractured space.
Ryosuke turned his head to look.
On the other side of the crack stood a woman in a simple white dress, long straight black hair cascading over her shoulders, her features dignified and beautiful, especially her bright, gentle eyes, soft like the afternoon sunlight of spring, making it impossible to look away.
The woman smiled sweetly, "Congratulations, Ryosuke."
"Starting today, you've earned the qualification for 'eternity.'"
Ryosuke stared blankly at the white-clothed woman beyond the spatial crack.
Her familiar gentle tone, the same surging River of Time behind her, and the Past Projection beside her, different in form from Ryosuke's, yet also standing upon the River of Time, all made a bold guess emerge in his heart, 'Slug Sage?!'
The Slug Sage tilted her head and smiled, her long hair falling. She put her index finger to her lips, "It's me."
Ryosuke's brain crashed.