Ninja Ice House

Chapter 529 Humans, Gods, and Ghosts

The most distinctive feature of the demonic sword Onikiri wielded by Uchiha Sasuke is its immense power boost, but it also has extremely noticeable side effects.

Its corrosive power was so strong that almost no sword master could die of old age, which was truly shocking.

But is it really true that no one can survive?

Gu Shanbu Shui gave the answer with a smile.

"No one survived in human form... or rather, in a purely human body. However, there were a few who managed to stay alive, albeit in a less 'attractive' way. Of course, they didn't exactly die a peaceful death either."

Even if you become a monster or a completely irrational non-human, you've still survived, haven't you?

"Aren't you afraid that giving this sword to Uchiha Sasuke will turn him and his brother into inhuman monsters?"

In response to Kaguya Otsutsuki's question, Fukusugi Tokusui casually replied:

"What does this have to do with me? I did promise to keep the two brothers alive, but what becomes of them is up to fate."

"I'm getting more and more curious about what exactly this so-called demonic sword 'Onikiri' is."

"So what? At Mount Myōboku, training in Sage Mode will result in 'frog transformation' and petrification. In Ryūchi Cave, it will result in snake transformation and being eaten. As for Shikkotsu Forest, failing to train in Sage Mode won't turn you into a slug. But... I'm very curious, where do those tree-like skeletons that the slug sages keep eating and can't seem to finish come from?"

"The lair of that monster that keeps growing larger and can only appear in the world as clones!"

The monsters who survived the previous era were not just one or two; most of them perished. Those who remained were formidable figures, but it was difficult for them to appear in the ninja world in their complete forms.

To put it bluntly, for most extraordinary powers, only those related to chakra and natural energy have obtained the "pass" and can basically unleash their original power. The others belong to the power systems that are rejected and marginalized.

Sage Mode, to put it bluntly, is actually a compromise product resulting from the forced embedding of alien bloodline power into the ninja world.

"Onikiri... Onikiri? I think I know what that thing is. A monster from the era when gods, humans, and demons coexisted, the leader of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, a demon that eats demons, an anomaly among anomalies, a forbidden power that should not appear in the human world..."

In every world with a vague will, when faced with an invasion from extraterrestrials, some so-called "chosen ones" emerge to turn the tide, acting as immune antibodies. The Otsutsuki clan, who have conquered countless worlds, have rich experience in dealing with such resistance.

However, occasionally some worlds overreact, giving rise to disgusting things that kill a thousand enemies but lose eight hundred or even eight thousand of their own.

Their creation was basically based on the goal of "better for both sides to lose than for the enemy to win alone".

If such a trend emerges, we must either take swift and decisive action to eliminate it, or simply give up. Otherwise, the gains from conquest will be far less than the investment, making it a losing proposition. It would be better to find another place to continue plundering resources.

"But from the time I was born until I was sealed away, I never saw such a thing..."

Gu Shanbu Shui smiled and shook his head, saying mysteriously:

"Is it possible that you thought the ninja world was a feast, but in reality it was just leftovers? Onikiri... had already slaughtered everyone, overturned the table, and chased away the last group of uninvited 'guests,' leaving behind a mess that was discovered by your Otsutsuki clan?"

"But... if that's the case, how rich and powerful must the ninja world have been back then? Even our Otsutsuki clan's home planet wouldn't have been much better than the current ninja world, maybe two or three levels higher. We could still have competed on equal footing..."

If it weren't for these conditions, Kaguya Otsutsuki wouldn't have felt that she could use the power of the ninja world to break free from the constraints of her protectors, become independent, and ascend to a higher level of life form.

Gu Shanbu Shui said leisurely:

"The ninja world is riddled with inexplicable spatial rifts, its time dimension is unstable, and there are countless untimely super-large biological communities. Do you think a world that can sustain more than one divine tree after such a cataclysmic event can be simple?"

It may be in a terrible state now, but its original form was probably quite exaggerated.

"This seems...interesting!"

"That's quite interesting! A world that isn't even fully in the cycle of reincarnation, and where the barrier between life and death has loopholes, can still be like this. You should understand that some things can't be judged by appearances alone."

Why did Hamura Otsutsuki protect the moon, just to seal the Ten-Tails' husk?

Would someone as powerful as the Sage of Six Paths willingly die of old age and merge into the Pure Land?

There are many ways to resist the Otsutsuki clan. The Ten-Tails is much more powerful than the nine tailed beasts that were split into them. A thousand years is enough time for Hagoromo Otsutsuki to cultivate another or even two Ten-Tails.

Hoping that humanity will rise up a thousand years from now to resist the invasion of extraterrestrial visitors is far less reliable than the two brothers accumulating strength over a thousand years to become stronger.

As for whether he can live for over a thousand years?

It depends on whether they want to or not!

"You said... did Hagoromo find this 'Onikiri' back then... no, it's possible that it exhausted its power a thousand years ago and is still dormant, or perhaps it's in some other form..."

"This sword... it was once a trophy of the Uchiha and Senju clans, and naturally a few unlucky souls died from it. Then it was 'offered' to the daimyo to get rid of the disaster, and became one of the 'junk' in the Furusugi clan's storeroom. It occasionally leaked out, but it was basically stolen and then taken back after the clan had 'played' with it enough..."

"No wonder the ninja world has actually been quite weak for the past thousand years. After the second collapse following the use of Infinite Tsukuyomi, its energy supply was insufficient. Also, are you implying that the ninja world never considered me a threat from the beginning, but rather as resources for 'replenishment'?"

"In today's fashionable terms, it's called attracting external investment, or foreign investment. With the foundation damaged, a decent partner is needed. The chakra system dominated by the Otsutsuki clan—a natural energy system—is quite suitable for repairs. It can even largely break down reproductive barriers, making it ideal for the callus tissue of a 'sick tree' to take root, sprout new shoots, and grow new branches..."

"Hagoromo and Hamura, as well as Ashura and Indra... are the tender shoots, while Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and Hyuga, etc., are the healthy shoots that survived?"

"Maybe! Anyway, it's all just speculation. The Sage of Six Paths getting involved himself wasn't without reason! Look over there, Itachi Uchiha seems to have discovered something. I'm curious, something like Onikiri is a catalyst for disordered life force and mutation. What will happen when it encounters a complete Susanoo... uh?"

As the two were talking, Itachi Uchiha decisively swung his sword and cut off his infected hand without hesitation, a move that left everyone speechless.