GA: Chapter 206: A Mere Sasori Is Not Even Half My Equal — On the Holy Lord's Threat in a War of Attrition
"He's gone."
Namikaze Minato looked at the place where Naruto had disappeared, his eyes carrying a faint, distant quality.
But — what had he meant by those final words?
The Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Wasn't the Infinite Tsukuyomi's power simply trapping people in a world of false dreams spun from their own desires?
He let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.
He'd set that aside for now.
He sank his awareness into the chat group, intending to check whether the mission template still showed the task.
When he thought about it — the mission had ended in a genuinely unexpected way.
A transmigrator mission of that rarity — no one in the chat group could have refused it under ordinary circumstances.
He had even been the certain beneficiary of this particular task, since the transmigrator had appeared in his world and he was a default participant.
Yet simply because of the transmigrator's identity, they had handed the decision to him — and he had chosen to abandon the mission.
He could have talked himself into taking it without any guilt, using any number of justifications.
Such as: the person was a Naruto from a parallel world and had nothing to do with him. Or: this wasn't truly Uzumaki Naruto at all, but an entirely new personality born from the fusion of Naruto's soul with a transmigrator's. Or—
He really was a hypocrite. While Naruto was still present he hadn't let himself think through any of these justifications — and the moment he was gone, they all came flooding in.
He cleared the thoughts from his mind, looked at the mission template, and confirmed the Naruto mission had disappeared.
Before he could even process that — he froze. Something in what he was seeing didn't make sense.
"A new transmigrator mission has appeared."
In his line of sight, where the template had gone blank after the Naruto mission vanished — a new task had materialized.
Because it had just appeared, no one in the chat group had noticed yet.
Ordinary Group Leader: "Just checked — the dark Naruto mission is gone."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Such a shame."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Though, thinking about it — I didn't have the strength to participate anyway. So I guess it's not that much of a shame."
Uchiha Dance King: "..."
Uchiha Dance King: "You could have left that last part unsaid."
The Oldest Godslayer: "Uninteresting."
Lighthouse Richest: "Even though we said we'd leave that mission to Minato's judgment — now that it's actually gone, it's hard not to feel a little regret."
Lighthouse Richest: "Don't misread me. I'm not talking about myself."
Lighthouse Richest: "I'm speaking the unspoken thoughts of Uchiha Madara and Marquis Voban."
Uchiha Dance King: "???"
The Oldest Godslayer: "???"
Do you even know what you're saying, kid?
Golden Flash: "Everyone — there's something I need to say."
Seeing the Group Leader's message, Minato realized no one had spotted the new mission yet, and was preparing to bring it up.
Uchiha Dance King: "No need."
Uchiha Dance King: "It was one mission. Nothing more."
Uchiha Dance King: "That Naruto was someone I found quite interesting — but it was one mission. Gone is gone."
Uchiha Madara said it with characteristic arrogance.
Holy Lord: "Heh. Very noble of you."
Holy Lord: "Even if the mission had been available, you wouldn't have had the strength to participate, would you."
Holy Lord: "His power was above Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's — and you've only just reached Six Paths level."
Holy Lord: "Could you have defeated Kaguya Ōtsutsuki at this point?"
Holy Lord: "Oh — you actually might have. She doesn't understand combat."
Holy Lord: "But that Uzumaki Naruto is a completely different matter from someone like Kaguya."
Uchiha Dance King: "Do you think I'm still the same as I was."
Uchiha Dance King: "Did you assume that since my revival I've simply been hiding in the background, watching the ninja world rise and fall?"
Uchiha Dance King: "Six Paths level is something I surpassed long ago."
Uchiha Dance King: "Not only Kaguya Ōtsutsuki — even if she stood alongside the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the three of them together would barely be able to fight me."
The Oldest Godslayer: "Heh. Your strength hasn't grown, but your ability to boast has improved considerably."
The Oldest Godslayer: "One against three? You think anyone here believes that?"
Uchiha Dance King: "Nothing more than a mediocre figure constrained by the Godslayer system's ceiling and unable to grow. You assume that because you can't improve, others are the same?"
Uchiha Dance King: "The only person in this entire chat group who has made zero progress is you, isn't it, Voban."
Uchiha Dance King: "You were respectable enough back then. Your strength was at least passable."
Uchiha Dance King: "But now — heh."
Uchiha Dance King: "Worthless."
Uchiha Dance King: "Consider leaving the group."
Uchiha Madara delivered it with a cold smile, every word sharpened to cut without mercy.
Because of the Godslayer system's nature — the moment you slew your first god, you were already at the system's level cap. Additional Authorities only added more tools to the arsenal. Power from other systems offered minimal benefit.
For Marquis Voban, the repeated failures to break through his divine rank had become an open wound — and Uchiha Madara had just torn it wide open.
The Oldest Godslayer: "This old man has indeed made no progress. Yet defeating you is still no problem."
Uchiha Dance King: "You? Against me?"
Uchiha Dance King: "Virtual combat arena. One round."
Uchiha Dance King: "I'll show you exactly how large the gap between us has become."
Uchiha Dance King: "A mere Sasori figure — not even half my equal."
"Ding — group member Uchiha Dance King has opened the virtual combat arena."
"Ding — group member The Oldest Godslayer has entered the virtual combat arena."
With the chat group's notification, the members who had been watching Uchiha Madara and Marquis Voban's argument in amused silence now began to weigh in.
Lighthouse Richest: "The Holy Lord started by provoking Uchiha Madara — and somehow it became a fight between Madara and Voban. How did that happen?"
Lighthouse Richest: "What a pivot."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Voban probably jumped in at the wrong moment and said something ill-timed."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Though I didn't expect it to actually come to blows."
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "Given their personalities, it coming to blows was the natural outcome."
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "As for why it's Madara versus Voban and not Madara versus the Holy Lord — could it be they both can't actually beat the Holy Lord?"
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "Madara has stepped into Six Paths territory — possibly even the Rinne Sharingan by now, with the ability to split the moon in half. In terms of raw destructive output he surpasses the Holy Lord."
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "But the Holy Lord has the Dog Talisman — he simply can't die. He can grind Madara into a war of attrition indefinitely. Under those conditions, there's no way Madara wins."
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "Then Voban conveniently stepped into the conversation — and so..."
Turn Da Gu Into Soup: "This is just speculation, not necessarily true."
Though it wasn't far off. Voban had mentioned the last time that no matter what power he threw at the Holy Lord, nothing could kill him — and his regenerative capability was extraordinary. Uchiha Madara had also sparred with the Holy Lord before, so he would already know as much.