Tonight, the Shadow Mansion was particularly lively. After Uchiha Mikoto and Asuna learned that their son would be safe, they had the peace of mind to chat and laugh with their daughter-in-law Kushina. The living room became as noisy as a marketplace for a while…
Ryun did not want to disturb their gathering, so he proactively invited Minato to the garden.
"Ryun, regarding Lord Jiraiya and the Hokage and the others… what do you plan to do with them…" Minato intended to sound out Ryun's stance.
"I will respect their wishes… You were caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi genjutsu before, so you probably know about that beautiful dream, right?"
"Yes, I know. The Sage of Six Paths was the one who woke me at that time…" Minato quickly replied.
"I will ask for their opinion within the beautiful dream. Those willing to join Otogakure are welcome. Those unwilling can only become ordinary people…" As Ryun spoke, he handed a cup of tea to Minato.
As the holder of the Divine Tree, he could freely manipulate the dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. These words made Minato understand his determination. Ryun did not deliberately target Naruto. He treated all the people he knew in Konoha the same way.
"Are the other hidden villages outside Otogakure all treated the same?" Minato continued to ask.
"Of course not… Kumogakure has already been slaughtered by me. The daimyo of various countries, along with everyone within their daimyo residences, have been killed by me. The chakra from other ninjas will all belong to the Divine Tree…"
Upon hearing this, Minato was so startled he nearly dropped his teacup. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Ryun used a gravitational force to hold it in place. Otherwise, the exquisite teacup would have been shattered again.
"I… I'm sorry… I lost my composure…" Minato hurriedly apologized.
He never imagined Ryun would be so ruthless. A hidden village with nearly a hundred thousand people, just slaughtered outright. Even more terrifying were those noble daimyo who controlled the world's economy and the people's livelihood… Ryun had also killed them all!
This thunderous method truly shocked Minato!
"It's fine…"
Ryun waved his hand, then continued speaking.
"The power in this world will experience a period of vacuum. I have already ordered Otogakure to prepare for the military unification of the various countries."
These words were practically laying his cards on the table for Minato.
After a long moment of shock, Minato smiled bitterly and sighed. "Military unification of the various countries… That really matches your style of doing things, Ryun…"
"You once said you wanted to eliminate the ninjas of the various countries. It really wasn't a joke after all…"
Konoha indeed hadn't treated those words years ago as a joke, but in the end, they still couldn't stop Ryun from achieving his goal. The so-called war preparations were simply a joke in the face of god-like power.
"I did say I rarely joke…"
Ryun shot him a look and laughed. Minato felt the atmosphere relaxed somewhat because of it.
"That Divine Tree, after absorbing so much chakra, will it keep growing…" Minato asked tactfully. He actually wanted to remind Ryun that the Divine Tree's roots had already severely affected the entire world. But then he thought, Ryun should know about this, so he didn't dare to ask explicitly.
"The Divine Tree… It is the ancestor of chakra. The chakra within our bodies all originates from the Divine Tree. It is merely reclaiming the chakra scattered outside…"
"Of course, this chakra scattered outside has spread through generations. The quantity has become extremely vast. Even the Divine Tree cannot digest so much chakra all at once. So, I have temporarily not withdrawn the roots covering the world. Let the beautiful dreams of all living beings continue for a few more days. After all, they have already paid the price, their chakra."
Ryun was in a very good mood tonight, so he was willing to reveal so much information to Minato.
"Chakra originates from the Divine Tree… But isn't chakra something we train hard to develop ourselves…" Minato couldn't help but ask.
"Yes… and no…" Ryun said something that confused Minato. However, Ryun then explained the meaning of these words.
"Before the Divine Tree descended upon this world, the people of this world did not possess the ability to produce chakra…"
"The Divine Tree comes from beyond the heavens. Beyond the heavens, there is a race dedicated to serving the Divine Tree, named the Ōtsutsuki clan. There was a woman in the Ōtsutsuki clan named Kaguya. Kaguya diligently served the Divine Tree for many years, finally making it bear the fruit of the Divine Tree…"
"The fruit of the Divine Tree has another name, 'Chakra Fruit.' It is formed from pure chakra. It is the original source of chakra on our planet…"
"Kaguya, to protect herself and to quell wars, ate this Chakra Fruit. Perhaps because she couldn't digest such a vast power after consuming the Chakra Fruit, Kaguya gave birth to two sons. One son was named Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths who helped you escape…"
"The Sage of Six Paths, as the original seed of chakra, spread the seeds of chakra to the people of the world. Seizing this opportunity, he founded the thousand-year-old Shinobi Sect…"
"From then on, people who possessed the seed of chakra gained the ability to cultivate chakra and the capability to perform powerful ninjutsu. This… is the origin of chakra and shinobi!"
Ryun's long speech left Minato dumbfounded. The tea grew cold again and again before he could regain his composure. Tonight, Ryun had given him far too many shocks!
After a long silence, Minato finally digested this information.
"Your knowledge is profound, Ryun. I have learned much tonight…"
"But I am very curious. Is the reason you are reclaiming chakra through the Divine Tree to recreate the Chakra Fruit…"
Hearing this, Ryun smiled and nodded. "Yes, I indeed need the Chakra Fruit."
"The Ōtsutsuki clan possesses powerful strength and long lifespans. Their main purpose is cultivating the Divine Tree. Any life planet targeted by them will meet a bad end. They view all living beings as a nursery. Wherever they pass, not a blade of grass grows, all things wither. Everything is solely to nurture the Divine Tree, and then obtain the Chakra Fruit…"
These words from Ryun puzzled Minato. He immediately asked, "If the Divine Tree is so evil, why are you imitating the Ōtsutsuki clan…"
Clearly knowing this is not good, yet still doing it. Minato did not understand Ryun's actions, nor why he was even saying these things.
"According to reliable information… our planet does not only have the Ōtsutsuki lineage from Kaguya. Ōtsutsuki from beyond the heavens have also set their sights here and are already on their way…"
Hearing this, Minato's face changed dramatically. He vaguely guessed Ryun's purpose.
"So you want to create a second Chakra Fruit, aiming to obtain even greater power, to stand alone against those enemies from beyond the heavens?"
"Correct. The chakra spread over a thousand years is sufficient to make the Divine Tree bear fruit. After obtaining the Chakra Fruit, I will imprison the Divine Tree forever. I will not let it continue to harm this planet. At the same time, I will possess the power to resist the Ōtsutsuki clan…"
That is an ancient race that has existed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. No one knows how many planets the Ōtsutsuki clan has harvested, or how many fruits they have eaten…
How terrifying of this long-lived race is, even Ryun cannot imagine. He would not arrogantly believe he can defeat them now.
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