The three-legged crow put away its strange laugh from before. Its crimson eyes darkened as it stared fixedly at Arisu, who was wrapped in waves of genjutsu.
Its Yata genjutsu was already different from ordinary ones. It had no fixed form and could not be controlled. Even it could not peek into the consciousness of the one trapped inside.
It would only follow the deepest fear in the target's heart and automatically create the most piercing scenes.
"Sigh, it is a pity I cannot see what is happening inside the genjutsu. I really want to see what the invincible Six Paths Immortal of this world is actually afraid of deep down…", The Yata Crow muttered softly.
There was a bit of curiosity and a bit of unease in its voice, and even its flapping wings slowed slightly.
———
[Inside the Ocean of Genjutsu]
"Doesn't look that impressive."
As soon as Arisu finished speaking, the surrounding scene instantly changed.
When Arisu opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the bamboo forest where he had joined hands with Kaguya to defeat Isshiki.
A sharp choking pressure came from his neck.
Otsutsuki Isshiki's cold laugh sounded beside his ear. Those sinister eyes were right in front of him.
"Hehehe, insignificant human. You fell into the genjutsu of my Otsutsuki clan and didn't even notice."
From the corner of his eye, Arisu saw Otsutsuki Kaguya nailed to the ground by black rods.
The White Ape King lay on the ground, no breath left.
Even the Illusion Sound Toads were all dead.
'Genjutsu!? When did I get caught!?', Arisu's pupils shrank sharply, and shock surged in his heart.
Otsutsuki Isshiki's grip tightened more and more, his cold laughter growing louder.
Arisu's mind shook violently, and a terrifying thought suddenly rushed into his head.
Could it be that these hundreds of years of traveling the human world, his time with the White Ape King, the sage powers he subdued, even teaching Hagoromo and Hamura, were all just an illusion like flowers in a mirror and the moon in water?
Could it be that the real him had already fallen into genjutsu during that life-and-death battle with Otsutsuki Isshiki and had never woken up?
The moment this thought appeared, Arisu suppressed it instantly.
The corner of Arisu's lips lifted slightly. A trace of understanding flashed in his eyes as he muttered softly, "Genjutsu? Now this is interesting."
The next second, the surrounding scene shattered with a loud crash.
The world spun.
Arisu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. A gray-white All-Killing Ash Bone pierced straight through his chest.
Pfft!
The familiar pain struck, so real it felt just like back then.
Arisu paused slightly.
When he looked up, he was suspended high in the air, with shattered land beneath his feet.
In front of him was the familiar battlefield. It was the very battle where he had joined forces with Hagoromo and Hamura to besiege Otsutsuki Kaguya.
"Teacher! Why didn't you dodge!?", Hagoromo's voice was urgent and frightened as he rushed toward him.
"Immortal Arisu, why did you not avoid it?", Hamura frowned deeply, confusion filling his eyes.
Not far away, Otsutsuki Kaguya stood in the air, her red lips curling into a cold smile. The way she looked at him was full of mockery.
Arisu lowered his eyes.
"It changed again…"
Looking at the All-Killing Ash Bone in his chest, he slowly raised his hand and pulled it out. The bone carried faint beads of blood, yet he did not care at all. With a flick of his hand, he threw it straight toward Hagoromo.
The scene twisted again. Layers of genjutsu overlapped.
This time...
Arisu's perspective suddenly shifted to third person.
He saw himself wrapped like a mummy, caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Otsutsuki Kaguya floated in the air, her gaze calm, with a faint trace of something hard to describe. "Arisu, this is the Infinite Tsukuyomi I give you. In this genjutsu, you will have a good ending."
These words struck Arisu's heart like thunder.
'Could all of this be fake?'
No resurrection after death, no killing Isshiki, no sealing Kaguya, no taking Hagoromo and Hamura as disciples, not even the title of Six Paths Immortal?
Had the real him fallen into the Infinite Tsukuyomi the moment it descended, and these hundreds of years were nothing more than a beautiful dream woven by genjutsu?
Was that possible?
It really was possible.
His life had gone too smoothly. It was beautiful, just like the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The ripple in his heart had just begun when it was completely calmed by the steadiness he had built over hundreds of years.
Everything could be fake, but the temperament forged over a century was real.
Illusions could not defeat a true state of mind.
Almost at the same time, the layers of genjutsu shattered like broken glass and disappeared piece by piece.
Inside the barrier of the dead forest, the Yata Crow stared at Arisu. Its crimson eyes trembled violently.
It could clearly sense that the genjutsu waves were still wrapping around Arisu, yet his expression remained steady. His aura was calm without a ripple, not a trace of madness, not a trace of shaking.
If it were anyone else, the moment they touched this Yata genjutsu, they would be swallowed by their deepest fear, go crazy, and lose control.
There had once been a human who wandered in by mistake. After being caught, he kept shouting "It worked, it worked," over and over, and in the end completely lost his mind.
But the Six Paths Immortal in front of it did not move at all.
The perspective returned to Arisu's consciousness.
At this moment, he seemed to be standing on a cliff by the sea.
Behind him was a steep rock wall. In front of him were roaring waves. The wind rolled the seawater toward him, and the splashing waves hit his body with cold force.
But Arisu's face remained the same.
He had seen too many storms in his life…
These layers of genjutsu were only trying to disturb his state of mind and stop him from practicing the Yata sage arts.
Besides, his killing intent sensing had not reacted even once from beginning to end.
Back when Kaguya stabbed him in the back, that piercing killing intent had filled his perception to the limit. But now, the world was peaceful, without the slightest real killing intent.
That was enough.
Arisu closed his eyes and ignored the raging waves around him.
He began to actively draw in the sage energy of the Land of Yata Crow. Threads of black sage chakra flowed into his meridians like swimming dragons.
Taking advantage of this genjutsu's tempering, he began practicing the Yata sage arts right on the spot.
In the next moment, the roaring waves by the cliff suddenly disappeared. In their place were countless ninja alliance troops rushing in from all directions.
Endless All-Killing Ash Bones shot forward like a rain of arrows.
Countless Tailed Beast Bombs formed, carrying world-destroying power as they smashed down.
All kinds of ninjutsu intertwined into a net, endless killing moves attacking Arisu.
But Arisu remained seated cross-legged, eyes closed, unmoving, his face calm.
He knew all of it was false.
Sure enough, when those seemingly fatal attacks landed on him, they all turned into flying flower petals. Pink cherry blossoms drifted down and landed on his shoulders.
At this moment, the Yata Crow was completely panicking.
It could clearly feel a thick Yata sage chakra slowly rising from Arisu's body.
Even on Arisu's face, the sage markings of Yata sage arts gradually appeared. Black patterns spread from the corners of his eyes, outlining crow feather-like marks across his cheeks, carrying a sense of pressure.
This power was even purer than its own.
The Six Paths Immortal was already basically mastering the Yata sage arts.
"This Six Paths Immortal is actually this strong!?", The Yata Crow's voice trembled. Its crimson eyes were full of disbelief.
"This is impossible! How could it be this fast? Even with heaven-defying talent, it is absolutely impossible to master Yata sage arts in just one hour!"
What it did not know was that Arisu had lived for hundreds of years. He had already learned the sage arts of Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest, and also mastered the sage arts of the Ape Demon Clan.
He was deeply familiar with practicing sage arts. Once he understood one, he could understand others.
Although Yata sage arts were unique, they could not escape the fundamentals of sage traininhon. To him, it was simply going with the flow.
Besides...
Arisu was never afraid of practicing sage arts.
'Give me another one!'
'I have never been afraid of practicing sage arts!'
Strong unwillingness instantly flooded the Yata Crow's heart. Looking at Arisu sitting cross-legged with his sage aura growing thicker.
A bold and crazy thought suddenly appeared. Why not take advantage of him practicing right now and kill him by surprise.
If it could slay the Six Paths Immortal, it would become the strongest being in the world.
The thought came and it acted immediately. A fierce light flashed in the Yata Crow's eyes.
With a strong flap of its wings, a long sword glowing black and red with a gourd-shaped hilt suddenly appeared in its claws. It was the Totsuka Blade.
It concealed all its aura, lightly flapped its wings, and flew toward Arisu.
The Totsuka Blade pointed straight at Arisu's forehead.
At that moment, Arisu slowly opened his eyes.
Their eyes met.
"What are you doing?", Arisu asked slightly frowning.
The Yata Crow thought, "It's over, this is bad!"
But its brain worked fast. It immediately knelt down.
Then it slid forward on its knees to Arisu, "Six Paths Immortal! Congratulations on mastering the sage arts!"
"I am unworthy, but I am willing to present the two great treasures of the Yata Sage Land, the Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror, to you!"
"I came to offer the blade, Immortal!"
[🫡 Shoutout to Daniel for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.]