While Arisu was sweeping away demons.
The eight tailed beasts gathered together.
"Sigh, Matatabi really suffered! It was perfectly fine, yet had to endure such pain, all just to make Teacher firm up his resolve."
The Eight-Tails Gyuki sighed and spoke first.
Beside him, Kurama's tone was especially low, "Sometimes, without using blood and tears to push Teacher hard, he'll always hold onto his concerns and won't make up his mind.
"Originally, I thought this kind of sacrifice would be most suitable for me to do. I never expected Matatabi would step forward on its own and take the lead before me."
Shukaku wiped away his tears and said, "But the effect was indeed achieved. Teacher has already completely made up his mind to push forward with that thing we've been hoping for. Matatabi's sacrifice wasn't in vain."
The Four-Tails Son Goku spoke loudly, comforting the others, "Everyone, don't be so sad and down."
"Matatabi is only temporarily dormant, not completely gone. We tailed beasts already have the ability to revive. It won't be long before it returns to our side."
The Three-Tails Isobu hesitated quietly and said, "We deliberately planned this, using sacrifice to force Teacher to make a decision."
"If Teacher finds out about our little scheme afterward and gets angry, what should we do? Were we too reckless?"
As soon as these words came out, the valley instantly fell into brief silence. The other tailed beasts also showed hesitation, because Teacher's strength and thoughts had never been something they could easily guess.
Just as everyone felt uneasy, Shukaku suddenly looked at the others and said in a deep voice, "Actually, Teacher might have already noticed our plan, he just didn't point it out."
———
In the distant forest, the three clan heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho were fleeing with all their might.
Only now did they dare to stumble to a stop, leaning against tree trunks and gasping for breath, as if all the strength in their bodies had been drained by what they had just witnessed.
"My god!!!"
The three of them looked from afar at the land that had been completely cleared by light, and felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.
'Such terrifying power!'
"Too terrifying... luckily Nara reminded us to leave quickly, otherwise... right now we'd probably be just like those people, not even a trace left."
The Yamanaka clan head's legs went weak, almost collapsing against the tree trunk, gripping the bark tightly with both hands just to barely keep from kneeling.
The Akimichi clan head's large body slumped onto the ground, his chest heaving violently, cold sweat covering his face as it slid down his cheeks.
"Just now I was still regretting not bringing our clansmen to escape together, but now it seems... the three of us being able to survive that light is already the greatest blessing from heaven."
The two spoke back and forth, their faces full of lingering fear and relief.
When they turned to look at the Nara clan head beside them, their tone carried a bit of gratitude and relief, "Yeah! As expected of Nara, our strongest brain. If you hadn't reacted so fast, we'd definitely be done for today!"
But as soon as the words fell, the relief on their faces instantly froze.
They saw the Nara clan head leaning against the tree, but his face was as lifeless as ash. His once steady eyes were now filled with despair.
The Nara clan head slowly slid down along the tree trunk and sat on the ground, his hands hanging weakly at his sides, muttering nonstop, "It's over, it's over... we can't escape..."
"What's wrong?! Nara!"
The Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads felt their hearts suddenly sink when they heard this. The relief on their faces was instantly replaced by panic.
They looked at the Nara clan head in confusion.
At this moment, the Nara clan head's heart was filled with despair. He understood clearly,
If the Sage of Six Paths had been holding a sword, cutting down the allied army one by one like an unmatched expert, then perhaps they could have relied on terrain and strategy to find a sliver of survival.
But what was that scene just now?
It was nothing more than a flash of light, and the entire battlefield was cleared in an instant. Tens of thousands of ninjas didn't even have time to form a thought of resistance before they were completely annihilated.
This wasn't "killing," this was "erasure".
It was absolute suppression that stood above all ninjutsu, all chakra, all power.
This kind of strength had already exceeded everything they understood about "the strong."
It was like mortals looking up at gods, like ants facing the sky. They didn't even have the right to resist, so how could they talk about escaping?
They had only temporarily avoided the first heavenly punishment, but they could never escape the pursuit of this great sage. So-called "luck" was nothing more than self-deception.
With a heart as dead as ash, the Nara clan head could even imagine what would happen next.
This great sage would not let a single fish slip through the net. Their escape had been futile from the very beginning.
One could even say, with just a thought, the Sage of Six Paths could find them.
At the very moment his muttering ended, the scene before them suddenly changed.
In the blink of an eye, Arisu's figure appeared in front of the three without any warning.
There was no buildup of aura, no sign of movement, as if he had always been standing there.
The Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads hadn't even had time to react. Their pupils hadn't fully contracted, the fear on their faces still frozen at their brows.
Arisu had already raised his hand and grasped the Six Paths Sword at his waist.
Buzz!!
At the moment the Six Paths Sword left its sheath, there was no sharp ringing, only a cold flash of sword light cutting through the air.
Arisu lightly flicked his wrist, and the blade, carrying a pressure that surpassed everything, slashed toward the two of them.
The Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads didn't even get the chance to touch the Six Paths Sword before they were instantly engulfed by the terrifying aftershock spilling from the blade.
Puff!!
Two dull explosions of blood mist sounded almost at the same time, like two blooming crimson fireworks that vanished in the forest in an instant.
Their large bodies, their agile forms, along with their chakra and their consciousness, were all completely crushed by this single strike.
No screams, no struggle.
The two who had just narrowly escaped death were, in this instant, just like the tens of thousands of allied soldiers, completely erased, turning into a sky full of blood mist and dissipating into the air.
Afterward, two souls were slowly drawn into the Totsuka Blade floating behind Arisu.
The Nara clan head sat collapsed on the ground, watching with his own eyes as his two close friends turned into nothingness. The despair in his eyes completely turned into dead silence.
He could only let that cold gaze fall upon him, waiting for his own end.
"So the Sage of Six Paths really exists! But... but..."
"Sage! I'm innocent! Please spare my life, I was forced to come, I'm innocent!"
The Nara clan head knew despair in his heart, but the instinct to survive still made him beg.
"Innocent?"
"Could it be that my dead student deserved to die? In this era, you've lived until now, and you dare say your hands aren't stained with a few innocent lives?"
Arisu looked at the Nara clan head coldly.
Arisu dared to say that these ninjas being able to live in such chaotic times meant they were not good people to begin with!
Did they dare to face themselves honestly?
Arisu dared to face himself honestly.
Arisu dared to say that he had never slaughtered the innocent.
Looking at the whole situation, Arisu had never killed innocent people. Arisu had even rarely killed.
In the next moment, the Nara clan head died.
His soul was likewise drawn into the Totsuka Blade.
Arisu floated in the sky, holding the Six Paths Sword, with densely packed Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind him, emitting terrifying pressure.
"This world needs some changes!"
"Matatabi, wait for your teacher. When the sun and moon are renewed, when the land is restored, when the ninja world is remade, I will revive you!"
Arisu closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was only resolve.
The Six Paths sweeping demons, the Six Paths strict purge, had begun.