The Sage of Six Paths was only briefly taken aback. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately pursued Gamamaru into the waterfall.
For a moment, the image within the Heavenly Curtain disappeared behind the curtain of rushing water, leaving behind only the deafening roar of the falls.
Time seemed to compress, and it wasn’t long before—
Splash!
A somewhat unsteady figure broke free from the raging current and landed on the slippery rocks along the shore.
It was the Sage of Six Paths.
Compared to the resolute figure who had charged inside, he now looked somewhat disheveled.
His flowing robes were soaked through and clung tightly to his body. Their edges were even torn in places, stained with water and flecked with moss.
Strands of hair hung messily across his forehead and cheeks, while his breathing was noticeably heavier than usual. Clearly, his journey into the hidden realm behind the waterfall had not been entirely effortless.
Yet these signs of disarray were insignificant compared to the uncontrollable, almost feverish ecstasy on his face.
His right hand was clenched tightly.
Through the gaps between his fingers, several objects could be glimpsed, each emitting a faint and peculiar glow.
The light was weak, yet it carried an ancient and mysterious aura utterly unlike either Chakra or Natural Energy.
These were his “spoils” from the depths of Mount Myōboku—perhaps obtained by forcibly breaking through certain barriers, or perhaps found while Gamamaru was in hiding.
He lowered his head and glanced at what he had obtained. The joy in his eyes was almost overflowing—the blazing flame of hope that promised to defy aging and prolong his life.
Then he suddenly raised his head. Facing the still-roaring waterfall behind him, shrouded in mist, he gathered Chakra and shouted aloud, his voice echoing through the valley.
“Gamamaru! I’m only borrowing these things for a while! Once I… once I achieve my goal, I will return them to you in their entirety!”
This sounded less like a promise than a declaration meant to comfort himself—an attempt to cloak this act of forcible theft in the guise of a “loan,” as though some trace of their old friendship remained.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he hesitated no longer and showed no attachment to the place.
As though afraid that Gamamaru might pursue him, or that Mount Myōboku held further unknown obstacles, Chakra erupted from his body. He transformed into a streak of purple light, swifter and more resolute than when he had arrived, and shot toward Ninshū without looking back!
In an instant, he vanished beyond the horizon.
The valley returned to the roar of the waterfall.
A while later, only after the Sage of Six Paths’ presence had completely faded into the distance did the curtain of water ripple.
Gamamaru quietly emerged from behind the waterfall and landed near the rock where the Sage of Six Paths had stood moments earlier.
There was not the slightest sign on his body that he had struggled against the rushing water. His aura remained as calm and steady as ever.
He did not immediately look in the direction Hagoromo had gone. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon where the purple streak had disappeared, his eyes carrying an extraordinarily complicated emotion.
There was deep disappointment in them. Cold detachment. Memories of the past.
And also…
An indescribable depth, as though everything had been proceeding exactly as he intended.
After a long while—
The corner of Gamamaru’s mouth slowly curved upward.
It was an icy smile devoid of the slightest warmth, completely unlike the benevolent and wise elder he usually appeared to be.
“Hagoromo…” he murmured. His voice was so soft that it was nearly swallowed by the roar of the waterfall, yet every word was clearly conveyed through the Heavenly Curtain. “I have been… waiting for you to come.”
He shook his head slightly. His smile concealed the calculation of someone who saw through everything, along with a faint trace of mockery.
“You believe that you will eventually die, and so you desperately cling to the continued existence of this body…”
“Yet you do not realize that when one’s power reaches the heights yours has, even if the body decays and perishes, the soul… will not so easily be erased from this world.”
“In the end… you are simply too impatient, and far too obsessed with the outward form of ‘living.'”
At this point, Gamamaru’s gaze grew even deeper.
“But… this is fine as well.”
He sounded as though he were watching a play unfold according to a script he himself had written.
“Everything… is proceeding according to my plan.”
He raised his head and looked toward the sky into which the Sage of Six Paths had disappeared. His tone was calm, yet every word was startling.
“You are too powerful, Hagoromo. Powerful enough… to destroy any balance.”
“This world—the fragile order that has only just begun to recover—neither needs nor can bear the existence of someone like you.”
“Your selfishness, your obsession, your desire for immortality…”
“They are the best possible reasons… to remove you from the board.”
He paused, as though envisioning the future.
“Once you use those things I ‘gave’ you…”
He deliberately emphasized the word gave, lending it the chilling implication of both charity and a trap.
“You will gradually disappear completely from this world.”
“And even if, someday, traces of your unwilling soul were to surface again, they would be heavily restricted and bound, unable to stir up any true turmoil.”
A cold gleam belonging to a predator flashed through his eyes.
“By then… this world, having lost its supreme ruler while the Chakra system is still taking shape, will become the stage of the Sacred Lands.”
His words revealed another earth-shattering secret.
“Only we—those peoples who are innately and deeply attuned to Natural Energy and possess the true power of Senjutsu—are worthy of becoming the true guides and… masters of the world’s power.”
“The world should have been guided by us from the very beginning!”
This was no longer the “secret of immortality” that the Sage of Six Paths believed he had obtained. It was a carefully orchestrated conspiracy—a plot intended to remove humanity’s strongest individual and secure the future dominance of the summoning clans!
“Will the plan… really proceed without a hitch?”
A gentle voice carrying an invisible pressure suddenly sounded from nearby without warning.
The space around them rippled faintly, and two figures quietly appeared beside Gamamaru.
On the left was a slug that seemed to be formed entirely from liquid, radiating an aura of healing and acceptance while remaining equally unfathomable.
On the right was an enormous serpent with snow-white scales, vertical pupils, and a flickering tongue, its body surrounded by an aura of cold danger.
They were none other than the slug of Shikkotsu Forest and the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave!
The highest authorities of the Three Great Sacred Lands had secretly gathered here!
Gamamaru showed no surprise at either their arrival or their doubts. Instead, he nodded with absolute certainty.
“It will.”
The White Snake Sage let out a cold snort. Suspicion and calculation flickered within its vertical pupils.
“I hope what you say is true, Gamamaru. Ryūchi Cave has paid a considerable price to cooperate with your scheme. If the plan fails… you will compensate me for my losses.”
Its voice was cold and serpentine, carrying the greed and calculation characteristic of its kind.
The slug beside them remained silent throughout. It said nothing, merely observing Gamamaru with its countless compound eyes.
Finally, it slowly gave the slightest nod.
That silent gesture represented Shikkotsu Forest’s acquiescence—and its participation.