Chapter 238: There Are No Humans Left
"It's fine. Just treat it as some bizarre anecdote and listen to it. Don't take it seriously."
Shiromo held Uchiha Hikari's hand, helping her calm down a little.
That's right, tailed-beast intelligence couldn't be ignored.
And the fact that [Konan] suddenly skipped over the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, didn't even mention the Seven-Tails, and went straight to the Six-Tails definitely meant something.
Was the Six-Tails special?
Uchiha Hikari gradually regained her composure.
[Konan] also took the opportunity to comfort them: "I know that for young people like you, these things are overly cruel. But what I'm saying are all indisputable facts."
"If we want to change this cruel reality, the only thing we can do is work hard to complete our plan."
"You're right. Then go on."
Uchiha Hikari curled her lips.
Indeed, if they wanted to end this bizarre world, the only thing to do was to complete the 'plan'.
Once all tailed-beast chakra was gathered, the Infinite Tsukuyomi could be lifted.
"Alright."
"Actually, the reason I want to tell you the Six-Tails' story right now is because the Six-Tails is rather special. It's connected to the Sage of Six Paths."
[Konan] first explained why she suddenly wanted to talk about the Six-Tails.
"Connected to the Sage of Six Paths… You make it sound like the other tailed beasts have nothing to do with him—wait, you're not talking about that kind of relationship, are you?"
Uchiha Hikari muttered halfway through, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
"You've misunderstood."
"Thank goodness."
Hearing [Konan] deny it, Uchiha Hikari let out a sigh of relief.
"The kind of relationship you're thinking of exists between the Sage of Six Paths and all the tailed beasts. What I'm talking about is a more special connection involving the Six-Tails."
"..."
Alright. Uchiha Hikari was numb now.
So be it.
She'd keep listening. She really wanted to see just how absurd this could get.
"I mentioned earlier that when the Sage of Six Paths faced his mother, who opposed furries, he didn't hesitate to join hands with his younger brother to seal their mother into the moon."
"According to ninja world legends, afterward, the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother, unable to stomach his brother's bestial behavior, left Earth and went to the moon to accompany their mother."
"There are even rumors that his brother went to the moon to endure humiliation and cultivate diligently."
"Because he clearly understood that he was no match for his elder brother, who possessed the Rinnegan."
"If he wanted to stop his brother, he would need even stronger dōjutsu. Only then could he destroy this sick world."
"Alright."
Shiromo indicated that there really were far too many Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosions in this world.
"However, the authenticity of these legends is questionable. They're probably not true."
[Konan] suddenly changed her tone.
"Because one of our organization's members, White Zetsu, discovered another account in the Hyūga clan ruins during an archaeological excavation. Supposedly, it was a diary left behind by the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother."
"He didn't despise his brother at all. Rather, his brother, the Sage of Six Paths, was a pure-love warrior who simply refused to share furries with him."
"In despair, after deep reflection, he suddenly realized that their mother seemed to be the most beautiful bunny girl of all. So he went to the moon to study how to split it open, rescue their powerless mother, and then…"
"..."
After [Konan] finished this part of the story, even Shiromo couldn't help but sigh—were there even any humans left in this world?
"The Sage of Six Paths and his brother didn't defeat their mother alone. They also received help from the toads of Mount Myōboku."
"But the Sage of Six Paths went back on his word. After creating the nine tailed beasts, he indulged night after night in the gentle embrace of the tailed beasts and no longer paid any attention to the toads of Mount Myōboku."
"The Great Toad Sage was heartbroken and enraged by this. At the cost of condemning himself to repeatedly fall into long slumbers in the future, he made a prophecy that one day in the future, a blue-eyed youth who laughed wildly while calling out the names of the nine tailed beasts would steal everything from the Sage of Six Paths, take all his tailed beasts, and unleash a 'shit revolution' upon the ninja world."
"At first, when the Sage of Six Paths learned of this prophecy, he didn't take it seriously. His power far surpassed that of the Great Toad Sage, and he sensed no existence that could possibly threaten him."
"But the very next day, the Sage of Six Paths discovered in horror that the Six-Tails, Saiken, who accompanied him, was pregnant!"
"And it directly gave birth to a second child, whom he named Asura."
"The first child, Indra, was born from the Sage of Six Paths being forced into a relationship with a human. The child's human mother had long since died of illness."
"A widowed man suddenly having another child—in that era, even the Sage of Six Paths would likely be subject to rumors and gossip."
"The Six-Tails seized this opportunity and deliberately spread news of their relationship, attempting to become the Sage of Six Paths' official consort."
"In fact, the Sage of Six Paths originally had his own name. But ever since this incident spread, the public who learned of it spontaneously began calling him the 'Sage of Six Paths'."
"The meaning was that he was a sage who occupied the Six-Tails and so on."
"When the Sage of Six Paths finally realized that this so-called honor was due to the Six-Tails' secret manipulation, he flew into a rage and fought the Six-Tails in a battle that darkened the heavens and shook the earth."
"It is said that the Six-Tails was originally transparent, much like the bubble techniques used by the current Six-Tails jinchūriki."
"But after that battle, the Six-Tails turned white."
"After it ended, the Six-Tails gave birth to another offspring."
"But as mentioned earlier, after the Three-Tails gave birth to a jinchūriki, its second child could only be something non-humanoid like Samehada."
"The Six-Tails was the same."
"The second child of the Six-Tails and the Sage of Six Paths was the slug of Shikkotsu Forest."
"So now do you understand?"
"Why Senju Hashirama and Katsuyu both possess powerful self-regeneration abilities, and why Konoha's Hokage Tsunade can contract with Katsuyu…"
[Konan] finally finished telling the legend of the Six-Tails.
Uchiha Hikari felt that these few short minutes had been longer than an entire lifetime.
She was completely speechless.
In the audience seats, Tsunade's face flushed bright red as she clenched her fists: "You're not allowed to insult Katsuyu like that!!!"
"Heh, at least Ryūchi Cave wasn't mentioned."
Orochimaru smiled.
Of the Three Great Sage Regions, in this Infinite Tsukuyomi world, only Ryūchi Cave still maintained a normal image in everyone's minds.
"You've talked about all Three Great Sage Regions. So what about Ryūchi Cave? Is it also related to the tailed beasts?"
After [Konan] finished, Shiromo asked.
The moment Shiromo spoke, Orochimaru's smile in the audience seats froze.
That's not right, is it?
Why would someone ask proactively?
"Ryūchi Cave isn't related to the tailed beasts. However, according to our former member Orochimaru…"
"I never said that!"
Orochimaru's face darkened, sensing grave danger.
"Orochimaru said that in ancient times, the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave once drilled upward from underground, but instead of breaking through to the surface, it entered a mysterious place."
"There, the White Snake Sage encountered a miraculous fruit."
"After eating the fruit, the White Snake Sage felt the power within its body surge dramatically."
"After exiting the cave, the White Snake Sage established 'Ryūchi Cave' based on that experience."
"This incident was originally an unsolved mystery. However, another document records that once, while the Sage of Six Paths was communicating with the tailed beasts, he was ambushed by an unknown entity, which even bit off his 'wisdom window'."
"?"
(End of this chapter)