The main world!
The Wandenreich!
He had been gone for a week, but nothing major had happened.
As usual, it was bustling with prosperity and excitement.
But the main bodies of everyone had returned.
After the Deputy Minister of Intelligence, White Zetsu, had absorbed the memories of his clones, he had noticed something unusual.
First of all!
In the Silbern, the number of spies from various countries and villages, whose identities had been marked, had increased sharply!
Secondly!
In the past few days, the correspondence between the various Daimyo and even the various ninja villages had been extremely frequent.
The entire ninja world had a feeling of a storm brewing.
White Zetsu's one hundred thousand clones, as members of the intelligence department, were distributed in various countries.
"In Konoha, Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and other places, there have been some... traces of toads?"
White Zetsu's expression was strange.
What the hell?
This kind of intelligence is also being reported?
It's not some toads... no, large toads?
"Large toads? It seems I've seen them somewhere..."
White Zetsu muttered.
Suddenly, he remembered.
When Jiraiya was serving Konoha and was fighting with Hanzō of the Salamander, hadn't he summoned a large toad?
It was just that after he had joined the empire, he had cut off contact.
"Mount Myōboku, or the three great holy lands."
"Are they trying to cause trouble? Not bad. They have courage."
White Zetsu's expression was playful.
If that was really the case, then... it would add a bit of fun to the empire.
As he thought this, White Zetsu passed the news to the elites of the empire.
"Large toads? Mount Myōboku?"
Jiraiya, who was drinking in the largest bar in the Silbern, was immediately stunned.
Don't they not interfere with worldly affairs?
The reason a holy land was a holy land was because it was mysterious and powerful. It was said that it was a place of inheritance that only awaited a fated person, and it never actively interfered with the development of the ninja world.
So the various great ninja villages coexisted peacefully with it.
But this time, there was obviously a problem.
"Could it be... they've seen a terrible future? So they can't help but interfere."
Jiraiya could only think so.
Perhaps the Great Toad Sage had seen some fragments of a future that was not friendly to Mount Myōboku.
So he had made up his mind to cause trouble.
This was the path to self-destruction!
Beside him, Madara, who was sipping his wine, frowned, "Hashirama, can't you change your form?"
"What's wrong? You think I'm ugly? Then I'll leave?"
Hashirama grinned and continued to mix drinks. He had a lot of tricks.
After he had mixed it, Hashirama placed it on the table and couldn't help but shout:
"Come on! Place your bets! Guess the flavor of the wine I mixed."
"Mango flavor, one to ten!"
"Lime flavor, one to eight!"
"Orange flavor, one to six..."
"..."
The corner of Madara's, Jiraiya's, Izuna's, and Sakumo Hatake's eyes twitched.
Are you sure you won't go bankrupt like this?
No, wait.
To be able to gamble even while drinking, I'm convinced.
Madara couldn't be bothered to talk to Hashirama. He then said, "Mount Myōboku? A toad that has cultivated for over a thousand years. I wonder if it can please me!"
He was, after all, a toad that had lived since the time of the Sage of Six Paths, a toad that specialized in sage arts.
After cultivating for over a thousand years, even a pig could fly!
Izuna suggested, "Brother, should we go and kill them now?"
Madara shook his head gently, "There's no need. It's best to let them all jump out and solve it all at once."
No one paid much attention.
It was time to relax.
At the same time!
In the imperial conference hall.
Konan looked at a document in her hand and said plainly, "Although His Majesty is not here, I can tell you clearly."
"His Majesty and the empire do not need any vassals. Either submit or be destroyed!"
"There is no second choice."
"..."
The Queen of Rōran, Sāra, couldn't help but clench her hands.
Not even a vassal, but submission?
The Mukade incident had made her understand how weak the seemingly prosperous Rōran was.
Such a Rōran, if a war broke out in the ninja world, would be devoured by countless ambitious people.
Rōran could only welcome destruction!
So, Sāra had come to the empire and had requested for Rōran to become a vassal.
This was the truth.
In the original timeline, Rōran had probably been destroyed in the Third Shinobi World War, a year or two after Minato had completed his mission with Kakashi.
Sāra took a deep breath, "What will happen if Rōran submits?"
Konan said calmly, "The ancient country of Rōran will be changed to the ancient city of Rōran. The queen will be changed to the city lord."
"All military and civil officials, as well as development, will be arranged by the empire."
"The city lord also needs to be trained. Otherwise, if you are casually killed, it will not be good for the empire."
At this, Konan looked at the beautiful Sāra with a strange expression.
Sāra's face was delicate, and her long, deep red hair was beautiful. Her bright eyes were incomparably firm.
Her years as a queen had also given her a noble and elegant air that ordinary women did not have.
But!
"You came from the Land of Wind alone?"
"No, I had two female guards."
Sāra was a little puzzled. Rōran had just experienced a turmoil and needed people.
Konan didn't know what to say.
Although Sāra was strong and brave, she had been well protected since she was young and did not understand the darkness of the outside world at all.
Such a beautiful girl, with two small guards?
To be able to safely walk from the Land of Wind to the empire was purely a matter of luck.
"No matter what your choice is, since you are here, there is only one path: submission."
Konan did not explain, "Someone will take you back to the city tomorrow. You also have to temporarily hand over your power and train in the empire for three to five years."
"Remember, before you are outstanding enough and strong enough, you have no right to choose."
Sāra's mind was in a daze.
She once again felt the importance of strength.
For example, the Wandenreich had suppressed the ninja world for more than a decade. The explosion of technology had also given birth to countless new things that other countries did not have.
In comparison, the empire was extremely prosperous.
Everything in the Silbern was attracting people, and those ambitious people were even more frantic.
But strangely, no one dared to invade.
No one even dared to cause trouble in the city.
Just because of the Demon King Lucian!
Although Rōran was not big or small, it was not closed. Sāra could...
She had grown up listening to the legends of Lucian.
Like many people, in Sāra's heart, the strongest was also Lucian.
He was someone countless people yearned for.
Lucian: What do you mean, you grew up listening to my legends... am I that old?
"I have to undergo the empire's training."
Sāra kept encouraging herself.
"Go for it, Sāra!"
At the same time!
Mount Myōboku!
Because there was a rich natural energy here, at a glance, the scenery was beautiful and the picture was strange.
One could see toads of different sizes and shapes jumping around.
As the saying goes!
One, two, three, four.
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
A thousand, ten thousand, countless.
They jump into the lake and eat randomly.
Mount Myōboku seemed calm and without ripples, but in fact, the undercurrent was surging, and the oppressive atmosphere had made all the toads appear.
In a temple in the deepest part!
In the wide hall, it was full of toads with powerful auras.
They were all looking ahead.
There was a large, orange-colored toad with a string of Buddhist beads around its neck and a doctor's hat on its head, sitting on a throne with the character 'Sage' written on it!
If one were to sense carefully, one could feel a vast amount of sage art chakra from this toad.
In the era of the Rabbit Goddess, he had taught Hagoromo sage art and had given him the treasure of the Toad Kingdom: the Sage's Talisman.
The founder of Mount Myōboku: Gamamaru!
He was revered as: the Great Toad Sage!
Apart from the Otsutsuki clan and those who had been affected, such as Jigen, he was one of the few existences in the ninja world who had truly lived for over a thousand years.
"How is it?"
Gamamaru opened his eyes slightly and looked down at the toads below.
Fukasaku's expression was solemn, "Sage, all the ones we sent out have returned. The major ninja villages are all willing to advance and retreat with us."
"The Wandenreich, we simply can't get in. The land there is special..." Shima also said.
To enter the Wandenreich, one could only walk in step by step from the four city gates.
To fly in, to travel through space, to drill in from the ground, or even to fight your way in, were all dreams.
The couple, Fukasaku and Shima, as the Great Toad Sage's trusted, elder-level confidants, were extremely strong.
They had cultivated sage art for over eight hundred years without feeling old and were revered as "boss" by the powerhouses of Mount Myōboku.
"The Wandenreich, Lucian..."
The Great Toad Sage muttered this name, his eyes flashing with a trace of terror and resentment.
The last time this look had appeared was in the era of the Rabbit Goddess.
Since Lucian had appeared, his accurate prediction ability had become weaker and weaker.
Especially a dozen years ago, after Lucian had stepped into the Six Paths level, Gamamaru could no longer see any related future, not even a trace.
This had made Gamamaru extremely bewildered and unaccustomed.
After years of hard work, who knows how much sage art chakra he had consumed.
With all his might, he had finally seen a small fragment more than ten days ago.
Gamamaru had not seen Lucian himself, nor had he seen the other people of the empire.
But he had seen the ending of Mount Myōboku.
The holy land was destroyed!
Not a blade of grass grew!
Not a single toad was left!
This had made Gamamaru shocked and angry. He had been guarding Mount Myōboku, and it had been destroyed?
Then the enemy... was at least at the Six Paths level!
But looking at the entire ninja world, apart from the unpredictable Otsutsuki clan, there was only that demon king.
"Lucian, you're so ruthless!"
The Great Toad Sage gritted his teeth again, and the veins on his orange face bulged.
He had racked his brains, but he simply couldn't understand why Lucian would destroy Mount Myōboku.
If Lucian knew, he would definitely laugh.
To be able to see the future was just one of the possible fragments of the future. It was not certain to happen.
When you see a distant future, if you are not strong enough and impatiently force yourself to interfere and change a powerhouse's related future, it will lead to unpredictable consequences.
Lucian: You saw a small segment of something that might happen, and you forced yourself to interfere. I found you. Who else would I destroy!
If he didn't interfere and change it, perhaps Lucian wouldn't even bother with the trashy holy land. What was the use of these toads?
Dare to interfere with Lucian's related future?
You're purely courting death!
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