The White Snake Sage is dead!

Ryūchi Cave now exists in name only!

The Three Great Sage Lands have, from this moment on, been relegated to the ashes of history!

Uchiha Chiyu gazed at the surviving snakes, ready to annihilate them all.

Just then…

Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime instantly knelt, hurriedly prostrating themselves and begging for mercy.

"Spare us, Lord of the Shinobi World!"

"We… we are willing to submit completely—utterly loyal to you!"

"If you doubt our sincerity, you may sign a one-sided summoning contract with us so that our very lives and deaths lie entirely in your hands!"

The other snakes pressed themselves to the ground as well, lowering their heads.

Chiyu pondered a moment; there was no reason to refuse.

For the sake of survival they no longer cared if their lives were fully controlled.

He nodded and promptly concluded a contract with the remaining snakes of Ryūchi Cave.

From that day forward they became his faithful summons, ready to answer any call to battle—and even their sovereign was now in his grasp.

Tagitsuhime hurried to say, "Master, this is the barrier that seals Ryūchi Cave's stored natural energy. From now on it, too, is yours to command!"

Chiyu knew that with this, the combined plan of the Three Great Sage Lands to destroy the shinobi world in order to threaten him had collapsed completely.

Moreover…

After completing his overall plan and eliminating every potential enemy, he intended to unravel the seal barriers of all three Sage Lands—releasing the natural energy that had accumulated for millennia, letting it flow through the entire shinobi world so every human could sense it and train in Senjutsu.

In truth…

Before the God-Tree descended, Senjutsu had likely been the mainstream path of cultivation. Yet it was monopolized by the Sage Lands and later replaced—through Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths—by the chakra-based ninjutsu system.

In this way, Chiyu was merely returning things to their origin.

Sorting out Ryūchi Cave's affair, he wasted no time and turned to leave.

"Respectfully seeing Master off!"

Tens of thousands of snakes large and small bowed devoutly.

Chiyu's next destination—

Shikkotsu Forest.

…

In a flash he teleported via Takamagahara and arrived.

The Slug Sage seemed already aware of what had transpired.

Each master of the Sage Lands could perceive the entire shinobi world.

Unlike the Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage, however, the Slug Sage was more detached from worldly strife.

Arriving, Chiyu finally beheld the Slug Sage's true form—so towering it pierced the clouds, its top unseen.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War in canon, even with Tsunade and Sakura combining their Strength of a Hundred Seals chakra, only one-tenth of the Slug Sage's body could be summoned. Yet now Chiyu faced the complete original.

The Slug Sage looked at him and sighed.

"It seems…the White Snake Sage is already dead…"

Chiyu replied coldly, "What do you say?"

The Slug Sage lowered her head.

"I am willing to submit."

Chiyu was a little surprised at how readily she surrendered.

"Good. You should know what to do."

The Slug Sage nodded and signed a life-and-death contract with him. From then on, he became the absolute master of Shikkotsu Forest and the Slug Sage herself. Even Tsunade could no longer summon Katsuyu without his permission.

"Just who are you really…?"

The Slug Sage sighed again. "We provoked you first; I never wished for this yet…"

Chiyu understood. "No need for explanations."

His figure vanished once more.

The Slug Sage knew that she and Shikkotsu Forest were now within Chiyu's grasp—but at least they still lived.

…

An instant later Chiyu appeared at Mount Myōboku.

The Great Toad Sage, Fukasaku, and Shima had already seen what befell Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest. They understood that apart from surrender there was only death.

Yet faced with Chiyu's arrival, the Great Toad Sage and the two elders still showed no intention of bowing.

"Uchiha Chiyu, you have finally come…"

The Great Toad Sage seemed clearer of mind than ever.

Chiyu said calmly, "Submit—or die. Your choice."

The Great Toad Sage laughed.

"I foresaw the destruction of the Three Sage Lands and chose a pre-emptive strike, yet our own provocation led exactly to that destruction… Is this not ironic? So much for prophecy."

Chiyu did not deny it. "Even without your provocation, you could not have escaped death."

"That does make me feel a little better… Thank you." The old sage smiled. "But I will not be as pragmatic as that slug. I refuse to yield."

Chiyu nodded. "Very well. It seems the mighty Mount Myōboku is down to just the three of you—you must have sent the other toads away."

The Great Toad Sage replied, "I mean to die with Mount Myōboku. These two refuse to leave, but as long as the other toads live, the mountain is not wholly destroyed."

Unlike the other Sage Lands, Mount Myōboku chose to face annihilation.

Chiyu said, "Self-deception. Nevertheless, because you are willing to die with your home, I will grant you a chance—strike me with everything you have."

The Great Toad Sage and the two elders exchanged glances. "Very well."

At that moment—

"Hahaha! If this is the final blow, do not forget me!"

A burly white-haired figure appeared on the toads' backs—Jiraiya.

Shima was startled. "Little Jiraiya?! I thought you were evacuating the toads!"

Jiraiya grinned. "Rest assured, all the toads are safe. My duty is done. Now I will fight at your side and perish with Mount Myōboku. When I needed Mount Myōboku, you helped me; now I repay that debt."

Shima was moved. "Even so, you are not of our mountain; you needn't die here—"

Jiraiya waved her off. "My mind is made up."

Facing Chiyu, he said gravely, "Uchiha Chiyu, I will die by your hand today, but I will not shrink back."

Chiyu looked at him. What he saw was not tragic grandeur but deep confusion and dejection.

"You're simply giving up because you've lost your path, Jiraiya… Don't dress it up."

Jiraiya's face tightened. "What did you say?"

Chiyu continued: "You seek peace for the shinobi world. In motive you are a good man—perhaps even a great one. But you never act. You place all hope on the 'Child of Prophecy' from the Great Toad Sage. If that toad could truly secure peace, why hasn't he done it himself? He couldn't even foresee my existence."

Chiyu mocked the prophecy, calling it the dying dream of a senile old toad.

"And you, pinning everything on a future savior—does that prove your worth? You are loyal to Konoha simply because you were indoctrinated. You saw the village's darkness, the corruption of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders, yet you did nothing—wandering the world to avoid it. That's cowardice."

"A would-be reformer who won't confront the darkness at home—is that not ridiculous?"

Cold sweat beaded on Jiraiya's brow.

Chiyu pressed on: "When I sought to kill Hiruzen, you knew his decay but sided with him for the sake of 'teacher-student bonds.' When the Sage Lands threatened to destroy the world, you chose to die with them. Where was your justice and quest for peace then?"

"In the end you're a reed blown by the wind, devoid of your own will—pathetic."

Jiraiya fell silent. After a long pause he whispered, "Perhaps you are right… My life has been a fantasy of peace without any real plan or action—how sad."

He laughed loudly. "Very well! Then let us fight!"

…

In that instant the Great Toad Sage, Fukasaku, Shima, and a Sage Mode Jiraiya unleashed Mount Myōboku's final, ultimate strike.

The Great Toad Sage drew on millennia of accumulated natural energy to shape a fearsome beam together with the elders and Jiraiya:

"Sage Art: Myōboku Eternal Light Cannon!"

R-r-rumble!

The blast pierced the void, compressing unimaginable nature energy into Sage-wood chakra, a devastating ray that shot straight at Chiyu.

Yet—

The moment it neared him, the fierce attack vanished as if space itself shattered and swallowed it. Everything in its path was obliterated, but Chiyu remained unscathed.

"That must be… the space-time technique he used against the White Snake Sage," the Great Toad Sage muttered—the Rinnegan's power.

Fukasaku, Shima, and Jiraiya sighed in despair tinged with calm. "Old man, Jiraiya—we have lost. He is too strong."

Jiraiya smiled. "As expected. Uchiha Chiyu, I truly have no answer for peace. Let me see your path. The Five Great Villages are under your rule—how long will that peace last? I shall watch."

In that moment the Great Toad Sage slipped back into a half-dreaming state.

"Uchiha Chiyu, you reject my prophecies, yet on the brink of death I have seen a new future: you will fight another man whose eye power rivals yours. The victor will bring true hope to the world…"

Chiyu knew that "other man" could only be Uchiha Madara—and if that was a prophecy, he would make it come true.

Without hesitation he summoned the colossal Susanoo chakra blade and brought it down upon the four.

Boom!

With one strike Mount Myōboku shattered; the Great Toad Sage, Fukasaku, Shima, and Jiraiya all perished.

Thus Mount Myōboku was destroyed.

For Chiyu, conjuring the destructive chakra sword without a full Susanoo was effortless.

[You have successfully granted the White Snake Sage a chance at rebirth—Great Mercy! +5,000 Virtue Points]

[You have successfully fulfilled the wish of the Great Toad Sage to die with Mount Myōboku—Great Mercy! +5,000 Virtue Points]

[You have successfully completely dispelled Jiraiya's inner confusion, leading him to enlightenment—Great Merit! +3,000 Virtue Points]

…

With the deaths of the White Snake Sage, the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya, Fukasaku, Shima, and countless other serpents, Chiyu earned twenty-thousand merit points from wiping out the Three Sage Lands. He invested them all into his eye power.

Current Three-Tomoe Rinnegan visual power: 101,010 / ???

At the same time—

[Congratulations, host: cumulative points have exceeded 100,000!]

[Congratulations, host: You have obtained the complete Senjutsu of all Three Sage Lands—Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave!]

Chiyu's lips curled slightly.

Perfect—no need to study them separately. With his already unmatched strength plus all three Sage Modes, he could now suppress even enemies beyond the Six Paths!

~~~

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