Chapter 535: Temporary Borrowing
The physical action Kaguya executed was not only intimately familiar to Ryo, but every single individual present on the coordinates recognized it instantly.
"Just like that disgusting guy!" Karin let out a low, horrified cry. Seeing Kaguya tilt her head to look in her direction, she frantically lowered her head back down to continue healing Naruto.
"Is it really... Orochimaru?"
"It is me, Senior," Kaguya's voice suddenly warped, becoming chillingly hoarse. "You are not mistaken."
Ryo inhaled a sharp breath of cold air. The majestic Kaguya was actually being possessed by a mere Orochimaru?! How could this even be structurally possible! Although the soul sealing jutsu he had meticulously planted inside Tayuya was strictly level nine, it absolutely shouldn't be something Orochimaru possessed the technical capacity to unravel!
"Orochimaru transformed into a woman, then assassinated the alternative Great-Great-Grandpa, and then..."
Minato took a few rapid paces forward, firmly shielding Kushina behind his frame: "It appears we have a catastrophic problem on our hands, Grand Elder."
"Yo?" / "God?" Nagato and Kimimaro chimed in simultaneously.
Ryo's facial expression was monumentally grave: "It is indeed a massive problem! Orochimaru, you genuinely delivered a monumental surprise to my doorstep! How is it structurally possible for you to achieve this extent?"
He was merely asking casually, his internal parameters already completely primed and prepared to launch a lethal assault, but he didn't expect Orochimaru to actually supply him with a straightforward answer.
"It was merely a coincidence. I indeed lacked the capacity to break the seal you planted on Tayuya's vessel, but based on my previous actions, ending up permanently sealed away was already the absolute best outcome I could hope for, was it not?"
"...That is exactly what my internal calculations intended."
"Therefore, I refused to simply sit and wait for my demise. I had planted a curse mark on Tenji's vessel very early on. Through that specific anchor, I subtly influenced the Sage of Six Paths within his subconscious, and the absolute micro-second the Sage of Six Paths detected the anomaly, I launched a desperate soul attack! The violent, high-speed collision between our two sovereign souls was indeed capable of violently cracking your soul seal!"
Ryo narrowed his eyes into a sharp slit: "Your soul collided directly against the Sage of Six Paths' consciousness? Under those extreme parameters, it is indeed highly probable to shatter my soul seal, but you..."
"Correct, I monumentally overestimated my own durability. I originally planned to shatter the seal, attach my presence to Tenji's vessel, and wait for an optimal opening to escape. But I never calculated that the structural gap between my soul and the Sage of Six Paths' consciousness would still be that astronomically vast! That singular kinetic impact left my soul on the absolute verge of shattering! Consequently, I allowed Tenji's consciousness to temporarily regain control over his own physical body."
Orochimaru slowly licked his lips: "At that specific fraction of a second, my consciousness was already severely blurred. I was desperately attempting to stabilize my soul's catastrophic trauma and secure an escape route, but I completely failed to predict... that my consciousness would be seamlessly absorbed straight into the biological matrix of the Progenitor of the Shinobi World!"
Ryo focused his cognitive arrays: "Because Kaguya's will was structurally incomplete, she inadvertently swept Orochimaru's consciousness into the fold during her resurrection sequence? But even factoring that in..."
Right at that exact micro-second, Orochimaru abruptly wove a rapid sequence of hand seals, and the nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan anchored upon his forehead flashed with a blinding, blood-red luminescence: "God: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
The terrestrial crust roared and violently violently vibrated. The earth across the entire global span of the shinobi world abruptly sprouted massive, towering tree roots, concurrently extending elongated, sweeping ribbons of wood. The colossal roots spiraled into a devastating offensive web, aggressively attempting to sweep every single living entity straight into their grasp. Any ninja who failed to dodge in time and became entangled would have the absolute entirety of their internal chakra violently extracted in a single micro-second, funneling the stolen energy straight toward Orochimaru through the vast root network!
However, in the very next second, those advancing wooden ribbons were cleanly severed by a pair of rapidly spinning Truth-Seeking Wind-Fire Wheels, glowing with a faint, lethal white light!
"...With your sovereign presence anchoring the field, it is indeed structurally impossible to successfully harvest chakra, isn't it? Then let us test the parameters of this specific maneuver!" Orochimaru licked his lips once more, and the nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan on his forehead suddenly erupted with a retina-searing, blinding white radiance!
Ryo aggressively concentrated his focus, massive volumes of Senjutsu chakra violently surging straight out of his physical frame, flowing outward to form a dense canopy shielding against that blinding light. But the absolute micro-second the energies clashed, Ryo fiercely furrowed his brows. The burn rate of his chakra reserves operating under this defensive configuration was catastrophically fast!
"As expected from the Infinite Tsukuyomi... this specific variable is becoming highly problematic!" Ryo projected a deeply solemn expression, only to suddenly realize that the blinding white light was abruptly violently retracted!
"Just now... what exactly did my hands execute?" Kaguya murmured in agonizing pain, dual trails of tears continuously flowing down from her pristine white eyes. "Why is it mapping out like this? I clearly harbored absolute zero desire to hurt anyone anymore! I actually murdered Ryo Uzumaki, and came dangerously close to killing Aino as well..."
Ryo: ???
...
Within the sovereign borders of the Land of Fire.
"These catastrophic trees have finally halted their advance," Jiraiya exhaled a long, heavy breath of relief. "Tsunade, is your matrix holding up alright!"
"Ah, my parameters are fine." Tsunade stared with profound solemnity toward the geographic coordinates of the Land of Rivers. "Your internal premonition was genuinely, flawlessly accurate. If you applied that intuition toward gambling... Ahem, it explicitly appears a catastrophic anomaly has genuinely broken out in the Land of Rivers. This specific botanical assault seemingly targeted the absolute entirety of the shinobi world. We need to accelerate our transit velocity!"
The absolute second her vocal cadence fell, the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead suddenly shattered, instantly painting her entire facial profile with intricate blue markings, and her forward sprint velocity spiked vertically by a massive margin.
Jiraiya's facial complexion underwent a sharp shift: "Hey, Tsunade, hold your coordinates for me! Summoning Jutsu!"
"Two Great Sages, there is absolutely zero chronological bandwidth to provide a full brief, quickly assist my matrix in entering Sage Mode!" Jiraiya wove a rapid Body Flicker to chase after her, internally complaining that Mount Myoboku's senjutsu mechanics were far too cumbersome to deploy on the fly. Tsunade was already nearly entirely out of his visual range...
...
The Land of Rivers.
Ryo stood with absolute, focused concentration directly behind Kaguya's back: "Do not execute any defensive resistance. My hands will systematically extract a portion of your sovereign power and safely implant it straight into that child. Discard your fear; this procedure will not inflict any structural trauma upon your vessel. Once this specific fraction of power has been successfully extracted, my presence will assist your matrix in completely eradicating the Orochimaru anomaly lurking within your consciousness."
Articulating this script with a tone flawlessly mimicking someone coaxing a naive child generated a rather profound sense of internal guilt within Ryo. Because if he genuinely commanded the technical capacity to violently shake Kaguya's spiritual domain, his optimal tactical choice would undeniably be to completely obliterate Orochimaru first, and subsequently execute the Nine-Tails extraction...
Kaguya tilted her head, her pristine, gentle gaze locking onto Ryo: "Mhm, I place my absolute trust in your words, son of Ryo Uzumaki. I am monumentally, profoundly sorry for murdering your father..."
Ryo: "..."
Pressing his right hand firmly against the center of Kaguya's back, Ryo wove a single-handed seal, yet his internal heart parameters violently skipped a beat. His left hand aggressively violently ripped out a lethal bone spike, viciously clashing head-on against an identical ash-gray bone spike Kaguya had abruptly thrust backward!
An ear-piercing, catastrophic collision acoustic ripped through the air. With the dual of them serving as the absolute epicenter, the terrestrial ground shattered layer by excruciating layer, violently rolling outward in a destructive shockwave!
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!"
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
Itachi and Nagato flawlessly synchronized their hand seals in a single micro-second. Multiple dense wooden barricades and reinforced earth walls violently erupted from the ground, successfully defending the perimeter against the catastrophic shockwave generated by Ryo and Kaguya's kinetic clash!
"So the parameters dictate we still have to engage in a high-powered brawl? This specific rotation will highly probable require our direct combat assist. Kushina, lock down your coordinates right here to securely protect Naruto!" Minato rapidly drew several Flying Thunder God kunai, firmly wedging them between his fingers.
Kushina hesitated for a fraction of a second before giving a firm nod.
"Aunt Kushina, we are entrusting Sasuke's safety to your perimeter as well." Itachi gently scraped the bridge of Sasuke's nose.
Sasuke aggressively ground his teeth together in deep, unvarnished frustration. Having been stripped of his Mangekyo Sharingan, his current output genuinely lacked the baseline clearance to participate in a clash of this apocalyptic tier. Fortunately, Naruto's structural state was exponentially more pathetic...
Kimimaro, on the alternative flank, directly and brutally ripped his own spinal column straight out of his back. His internal combat parameters had been itching for a high-intensity brawl for a monumentally long time!
Karin abruptly shattered the tension with a frantic yell: "Grand Elder! If your hands continue hugging that woman's waist for another micro-second, Naruto's life force is going to permanently kick the bucket!"
Kushina was violently startled: "Naruto's breathing parameters... Great-Great-Grandpa! Exactly what is the operational manual for wielding Samehada?!"
Ryo aggressively bit down on his teeth, completely unable to allocate the bandwidth to articulate a reply. The severe physical side effects of resurrecting Gaara hadn't been completely purged from his matrix yet, and his biological vessel hadn't achieved its absolute, terminal developmental peak; his raw physical durability was currently a structural weak point!
Just as he was plunged into deep, rapid calculation trying to formulate an optimal countermeasure, Kaguya abruptly pulled her physical frame clear of the engagement zone.
"Did the consciousness swap just trigger again?"
"Negative. Senior, I have unfortunately disappointed your tactical expectations. I genuinely never calculated that the Progenitor of the Shinobi World's soul would be this astronomically, flawlessly pure. A soul as profoundly soaked in sin as mine is far too filthy in comparison; I fear she completely lacks the capacity to forcibly reclaim sovereign control of her own physical vessel in the short term. Furthermore, she possesses absolutely zero intention of actively fighting to take it back, because... her pure, kind-hearted nature has explicitly agreed to temporarily lend her physical body to my command!"