Deidara left.
The same night after being defeated by Shishou.
Feeling utterly defeated, he decided to return to Iwagakure to continue his training, vowing to get his revenge.
Akatsuchi left with Deidara, while Kurotsuchi stayed behind to learn Dust Release from Shishou.
Thus, Shishou's students increased from just Sakura to three.
To avoid inconveniences, Shishou moved the teaching location to the center tower in the Forest of Death after noticing Sakura, Kurotsuchi, and Fu's faces were flushed red from the cold weather.
For each of his students, Shishou taught according to their individual needs: senjutsu for Sakura, Dust Release for Kurotsuchi, and perfecting Jinchuriki control for Fu.
After that, Shishou's daily routine involved teaching Sakura, Kurotsuchi, and Fu in the mornings, spending time with Ino, Tenten, and the others in the afternoons, and flying around at night, leading a very fulfilling life.
...
Time flowed like water, and the years passed quickly. With Shishou's busy and fulfilling life, the year Konoha 68 ended and Konoha 69 began.
January 12th, early morning.
Land of Bears.
Shishou arrived at the designated location near Mount Myoboku's barrier, quietly waiting.
By his side, Raiko stood respectfully.
Raiko could feel that Shishou had grown even stronger, which made her even more reverent.
After Orochimaru's death, Raiko had taken control of all his assets and, under Shishou's orders, continued to cultivate clones of Uchiha Madara in preparation for Tsunade and the others to obtain Uchiha blood.
Shishou planned to hand over Mount Myoboku to Raiko for her to manage, having her raise senjutsu animals and prepare a small-scale senjutsu ecosystem.
Feeling bored, Shishou turned to Raiko behind him and asked, "Why is it that after Mount Myoboku was sealed off, not even space-time ninjutsu can penetrate it?"
With his Kamui, he could enter even Kaguya's dimension, but not Mount Myoboku, which puzzled him greatly.
Of course, the main reason was the lack of a Flying Thunder God mark within Mount Myoboku.
Raiko explained, "The primary reason Gamamaru can maintain Mount Myoboku as the strongest of the three senjutsu sanctuaries is due to his prophetic abilities, which allowed him to secure this feng shui treasure."
"Feng shui treasure?"
Shishou raised an eyebrow, surprised.
Raiko continued, "While Ryuchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest are also senjutsu sanctuaries, they are still part of the ninja world. Mount Myoboku, however, is a small world obtained by Gamamaru through his prophetic abilities."
"Once Gamamaru closes the space-time passage and sets up a sealing barrier, no one can enter."
Hearing Raiko's explanation, Shishou was taken aback.
Mount Myoboku was actually a small world, something he hadn't anticipated.
However, regardless of what Mount Myoboku was, it would soon be his.
By noon, Shishou suddenly felt something open around him, a sensation so subtle that an ordinary person wouldn't notice it.
"The barrier has opened..."
Kamui!
The next moment, a swirling space-time passage appeared before Shishou, leading directly to Mount Myoboku!
Seeing Shishou perform space-time ninjutsu, Raiko was startled.
She hadn't expected Shishou to master such space-time techniques in addition to the Flying Thunder God.
It seemed she would never escape his grasp in this lifetime...
Sighing inwardly, Raiko began to fully accept her position.
As soon as the space-time passage opened, Shishou grabbed Raiko and leapt through it.
Simultaneously, within Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage suddenly awoke from his slumber.
"It seems inevitable."
The Great Toad Sage sighed softly, getting up and walking out of his room.
At this point, Gamamaru had no choice but to face what was coming.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw Shishou and Raiko flying towards him.
When the two landed before him, the Great Toad Sage glanced at Raiko and said with a smile, "I thought you were dead."
Raiko, expressionless, replied, "I am indeed dead."
To Raiko, she was merely a reincarnation with the memories of her past life.
Hearing this, the Great Toad Sage sighed heavily.
Raiko's meaning was clear—he couldn't escape death.
Shishou looked at Gamamaru and coldly said, "Surrender, and I'll spare Mount Myoboku, allowing its inhabitants to leave."
Shishou had little affection for the Great Toad Sage.
In his view, it was because of the Great Toad Sage's interference that Jiraiya and Konoha faced tragedies.
If, during the Third Great Ninja War, Jiraiya had not left Konoha to wander the world at the Great Toad Sage's behest, but instead stayed in the village, then the deaths of Minato and Kushina during the Nine-Tails' attack might have been avoided, and Shishou's parents in this life would not have died because of the Nine-Tails.
Subsequent events like the Uchiha massacre might not have occurred, preventing Obito's manipulation and the many tragedies in Konoha.
But these were just ifs.
Jiraiya did leave Konoha, following the Great Toad Sage's prophecy to find the so-called chosen one.
In other words, it was Gamamaru's desire to interfere with prophecy that led to these events.
The Great Toad Sage took off his hat and slowly said, "I must at least make an effort."
As the strongest of the three senjutsu sanctuaries, the Great Toad Sage had no intention of surrendering.
With that, Gamamaru swiftly formed hand seals, entering Mount Myoboku Sage Mode.
As his Sage Mode activated, his aged, wrinkled face rapidly rejuvenated, becoming smooth and youthful, his posture straightening and becoming more vigorous.
Around his body, a brilliant orange chakra cloak formed, emitting a dazzling light.
Because the toad's form closely resembled a human, it was perfect for ninjutsu, so the Great Toad Sage didn't transform into a human form.
Seeing that the Great Toad Sage refused to surrender, Shishou formed a single hand seal, entering Six Paths Sage Mode.
Mastering the power of the Six Paths and senjutsu, Shishou could now combine the two like Hagoromo Otsutsuki, harnessing their maximum potential.
With his Sage Mode activated, Shishou's hair and skin turned pure white, a radiant white chakra robe enveloped him, and nine black tomoe adorned his back.
Nine Truth-Seeking Balls emerged from Shishou's palm, floating behind him in a circle, slowly rotating.
Seeing the Truth-Seeking Balls, the Great Toad Sage's heart sank.
The presence of the Truth-Seeking Balls confirmed that Shishou had indeed reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths.
This was not good news for him.
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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