[Mount Myoboku]
In an instant, the senjutsu chakra around Arisu surged violently like a volcano erupting.
The originally drifting mountain sage mist was forcibly drawn by a supreme force, pouring in wildly like rivers and seas flowing backward.
Around his body, it twisted into a dazzling vortex of sage light. The golden and blue radiance intertwined, illuminating the entire great hall.
At the same time, the power of the Dragon Vein dormant deep within the earth and the power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were also fully drawn out by him.
The two vast forces intertwined with the senjutsu chakra, forming a terrifying tide of energy.
"First pull in Kaguya's soul, then use chakra as a base to reconstruct her body."
Arisu lowered his eyes and muttered softly, a determined light flashing in his gaze. The method was clear and structured, by no means empty talk.
Swish!
"Rinnegan!"
Arisu shouted in a low voice. His eyes suddenly opened, and the purple-black patterns of the Rinnegan bloomed within them.
The power of samsara pierced through the barriers of space. Through the connection of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it directly reached deep into the sealed soul of Kaguya.
Buzz!
The void trembled as a faint yet pure ripple of soul was forcibly pulled out.
Within the glow, a slender and hazy figure slowly took shape. It was the very origin of Otsutsuki Kaguya's soul.
Arisu did not dare delay. He once again activated the remaining chakra of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and also brought out the power of Black Zetsu that he had prepared in advance.
Black Zetsu was originally formed from Kaguya's will. Its power was the best medium for reconstructing a body.
In the original story, it was also Black Zetsu pulling out Six Paths Madara that led to Kaguya's emergence.
"Revive, Kaguya.", Arisu spoke softly, his gaze fixed on the cluster of light before him.
In just an instant, the light mist dispersed, and a tall figure stood within the hall.
Silver hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall. Her skin was as pale as snow, her face delicate and otherworldly.
She was none other than Otsutsuki Kaguya, the Rabbit Goddess who once ruled the ninja world.
But at this moment...
There was not the slightest trace of the terrifying pressure of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki around her, no eerie glow of the Rinne Sharingan, and no supreme authority over space. She was completely just an ordinary woman with no strength to even truss a chicken.
"Where… am I?"
Kaguya looked around in confusion. Her lips parted slightly, her voice soft and drowsy, as if she had just awakened.
In her memory, the last scene before being sealed was Arisu's cold face.
That sentence..."Stay in the seal and repent properly"...was engraved deep into her soul.
After that came endless haze, like she had slept for hundreds or thousands of years, drifting between dreams and half-awareness, unable to tell the passage of time.
Now that she opened her eyes, she saw a great hall shrouded in sage mist, and before her stood an old man with an immortal bearing, leaving her full of confusion.
"Long time no see, Kaguya."
Arisu slowly restrained the chakra around him and walked toward her with calm steps, his gaze steady as he examined this former acquaintance who now posed no threat.
"You are?", Kaguya frowned slightly and asked softly, her eyes filled with doubt.
Hearing Kaguya's familiar voice, Arisu's heart trembled faintly, and a trace of melancholy quietly surfaced.
He hadn't heard this voice for nearly a thousand years.
But in the next moment, he understood. Kaguya had lost all her power now and couldn't sense his chakra at all.
Even if she returned to her peak, she still wouldn't be able to detect his presence, because his concealment technique had long reached perfection.
Moreover, he was currently appearing in the form of an old man, so naturally she couldn't recognize him.
"Sigh…"
Arisu let out a light sigh and casually waved his right hand.
A flash of golden light appeared. The old man with white hair and beard instantly shed his aged appearance.
He transformed into an incomparably handsome young man, with red lips and white teeth.
His features were exactly the same as a thousand years ago, so striking that even heaven and earth seemed to pale in comparison.
"Arisu… it's you?!"
Kaguya's pupils shrank sharply, her heart jolting violently. Her eyes instantly filled with love and hate, anger and resentment, bitterness and guilt… countless emotions intertwined together.
"Mm."
Arisu nodded faintly, a barely noticeable ripple rising in his heart.
It had been too long, far too long since anyone dared to call him by his true name.
All living beings in the world addressed him as the Great Sage of Mount Myoboku. Even in the letters from the White Snake Sage, he was respectfully referred to as "Great Sage".
Only Kaguya could still call out his most genuine name.
"Mm."
Arisu responded lightly, his tone calm and without fluctuation.
But in the next second, Kaguya suddenly lunged forward like she had gone mad. Her slender hands clamped tightly around Arisu's neck, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Kaguya: 'I'll strangle you!'
Arisu only raised his brows slightly, not moving at all, letting her act as she pleased.
He knew clearly that this woman had not yet recognized reality. She was no longer the all-powerful Rabbit Goddess she once was.
Kaguya gripped his neck tightly, her eyes red, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. Bitterness and pain tangled together as she cried out hoarsely, "You were clearly still alive! Why didn't you come find me all these years?!"
"Do you know how much guilt and torment I lived through during those years?!"
"Why did you join forces with my sons to seal me?!"
"The reason my sons turned against me was also your scheme, wasn't it?!"
"Why were you so heartless to me?!"
"I was just a weak woman unwilling to be sacrificed. I only wanted to protect myself. What did I do wrong?!", She cried and shouted at the same time, tightening her grip as tears blurred her face, full of grievance and resentment.
"Hmph!"
Arisu's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, a chill rising in his heart.
'What kind of nonsense is this?'
Clearly, she was the one who stabbed him in the back first, trying to kill him to monopolize the power. He had only fought back to protect himself. What fault did he have?
The Kaguya before him was so blatantly double-standard.
Arisu let out a cold snort. His right hand moved casually, and an invisible force surged out, directly pushing Kaguya away.
Bang!
Kaguya fell to the ground like a kite with its string cut, in a miserable state.
"My power…"
Kaguya looked at her hands in disbelief.
Only at this moment did she suddenly realize.
She had no chakra, no bloodline power, not even the slightest ability to use any technique. She had completely become a mortal.
She collapsed onto the cold ground, her tears not yet dry. With tearful eyes, she looked up.
Arisu stood before her with his hands behind his back, his posture tall like a lone peak standing in snow. His plain white sage robe fluttered slightly in an invisible current.
His face was cold, like carved ice and jade. His deep eyes flashed with a chilling light, devoid of any warmth, looking down at Kaguya on the ground with overwhelming pressure emanating from him.
That was the indifference and authority accumulated over a thousand years. One glance was enough to make people feel awe and not dare meet his eyes.
"You've become heartless…", Kaguya murmured, her voice hoarse.
She remembered the Arisu from a thousand years ago... optimistic and cheerful, fond of joking, able to make up little rhymes, and someone who had once sincerely blessed her.
He was nothing like this cold and unyielding person now.
"Heh…"
Hearing this, Arisu curled his lips into a cold sneer, his voice as sharp as shattered ice:
"Heartless? How could I compare to you? You betray when you want to betray, kill your own sons when you want to kill them. Your heartlessness is carved into your very bones."