Uchiha Katsu had just raised his head when that chakra, far surpassing Fukasaku and Shima's, had already pressed down in front of him.
BOOM!
The ground trembled slightly, and the branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees swayed wildly.
A huge toad, its skin covered in the ravages of time, slowly landed in the center of the clearing.
His eyes were cloudy yet sharp, while natural energy flowed around his body like something tangible, making the air feel heavier.
It was Frogmaru.
Frogmaru lowered his head and looked down at the human boy before him. His robes were slightly dusty, but his gaze was frighteningly calm.
"Human, what exactly are you trying to do?", Frogmaru questioned him in a deep voice.
Uchiha Katsu did not answer immediately.
He raised his head, his blood-red Sharingan staring directly into Frogmaru's ancient eyes. His tone carried a hint of confirmation as he asked, "Are you the Great Sage of Mount Myoboku?"
Frogmaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes."
Uchiha Katsu was silent for a moment before asking again, his voice carrying an undisguisable curiosity,
"Do you know Sage Arisu?"
Frogmaru was clearly stunned after hearing this name.
Then Frogmaru slowly shook his head, his tone calm but carrying a hint of confusion. "Arisu? Never heard of him. There was someone called Thousand Times in an even earlier era... but I've never heard of anyone called Arisu."
Deep in Uchiha Katsu's eyes, a clear trace of disappointment flashed instantly.
'As expected...'
'There was no Arisu.'
The Great Sage of Mount Myoboku in this world was Frogmaru standing before him.
There was no existence that stood high above everything, controlled everything, and could see through fate at a glance.
There was no "heaven's will" that had made him dare not act recklessly even in the Pure Land in his previous life.
After the disappointment came something even more turbulent, ambition.
It was like a flame suppressed for a thousand years, completely swelling at this moment.
Uchiha Katsu took a deep breath, raised his chin, and spoke calmly but with unquestionable force. "Since that's the case, I want you to teach me Mount Myoboku's senjutsu. After that, give me whatever treasures Mount Myoboku has as well."
Frogmaru's gaze instantly turned cold.
"Impossible."
Frogmaru refused without the slightest hesitation.
Uchiha Katsu was not angered. The corners of his mouth merely curved slightly, but his voice suddenly turned cold.
"If you refuse to teach me..."
Katsu paused. The blood-red Mangekyo slowly rotated, and his tone became ice-cold.
"I'll wipe out all of Mount Myoboku."
The air suddenly froze.
Frogmaru's huge body leaned forward slightly. Natural energy surged like a tide, pressing down on the surrounding plants until they made sounds as though they could no longer bear the strain.
Frogmaru was shaken inwardly. He had not expected this person to actually dare to boast about wiping out Mount Myoboku.
Frogmaru's voice was equally firm, carrying the authority accumulated through the passage of time. "Then try."
The moment his words fell...
The surrounding forest shook violently.
Powerful chakra rushed over from all directions.
Toads of different sizes and shapes appeared one after another. Some had skin as hard as rock, some had dense natural energy wrapped around their bodies, and some whipped their tongues through the air with sharp sounds of breaking wind.
These were the elite toads of Frogmaru's era.
They quickly surrounded Uchiha Katsu, forming an airtight circle.
The pressure of their chakra stacked layer upon layer.
Uchiha Katsu stood in the center of the encirclement without the slightest tension.
On the contrary... Deep in Katsu's eyes, excitement was almost spilling out.
In his previous life, because of Arisu, he had not even dared to entertain this thought.
Mount Myoboku in that world was the heavenly court of the shinobi world.
High above, sacred and untouchable.
Even in the Pure Land, whenever that name was mentioned, everyone would subconsciously lower their voices.
But now?
Mount Myoboku without Arisu... Had actually fallen to this state.
Its guards could be easily defeated by him, and even the Great Sage was nothing more than this powerful toad before him, far from reaching the level that could make him despair.
Uchiha Katsu slowly raised both hands, and the Mangekyo Sharingan completely bloomed in his eyes.
"...How nice.", Uchiha Katsu muttered to himself.
The next second, he raised his head and looked at the toads in the encirclement that were watching him with hostile eyes, as well as the enormous Frogmaru in front of him. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile that truly carried fighting intent.
"Then... come."
The instant Uchiha Katsu finished speaking, the encirclement instantly tightened.
"Impudent!"
A sturdy toad roared first, its tongue shooting over with a sound that broke through the air.
Immediately afterward, more toads attacked at the same time. Scalding oil mist, piercing sound waves, and natural energy attacks condensed into tangible forces poured down from all directions.
The Mangekyo in Uchiha Katsu's eyes spun wildly.
He did not dodge.
The first wave of attacks directly swallowed him.
Rumble!!!!
A huge explosion rang out, and smoke and dust surged into the sky.
The ground was blasted into a deep pit, with charred traces spreading dozens of meters.
In the smoke and dust, Uchiha Katsu's body had already been reduced to pieces.
The next second...
He stood at the edge of the pit completely unharmed, his robes fluttering in the wind.
Izanagi.
"Again."
Uchiha Katsu spoke in a low voice, and his figure instantly disappeared.
This time, he charged directly into the enemy formation.
The Sharingan clearly captured every movement of every toad.
He was struck by tongues one after another, wrapped in oil mist and blown apart, and had his internal organs shattered by sound waves. Every death was erased by Izanagi in the blink of an eye.
And every time he revived, his attacks became more precise and more vicious.
Fire Release erupted one after another.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet Barrage!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!"
Blazing flames raged through the primeval forest, forcing several toads to retreat again and again.
Some were burned, some were blasted away, and some were struck in their vital points after the Sharingan saw through their weaknesses.
Frogmaru finally moved.
"Enough."
Frogmaru's huge body suddenly leaped into the air, and he slammed both palms down. Natural energy condensed to the extreme crashed down like a mountain, directly crushing Uchiha Katsu into the ground along with the earth beneath him.
The ground collapsed violently.
Uchiha Katsu's body was completely crushed.
But before a breath had even passed...
He emerged again from the shadows of the trees on the other side.
Frogmaru's pupils contracted slightly.
"Infinite resurrection!?"
Frogmaru had watched for quite a while. At first, he thought it was some kind of visual trick or clone technique that made others mistakenly believe he could resurrect infinitely.
But now, looking at it, it really seemed to be infinite resurrection.
Uchiha Katsu raised his head, his blood-red eyes staring directly at him, excitement that he could barely suppress in his voice. "Great Sage, do you still intend to refuse?"
Frogmaru did not answer.
He then formed hand seals, and the natural energy around his body surged. It seemed as if the aura of the entire Mount Myoboku was being drawn toward him.
"Sage Art: Ancient Trees Devour the Heavens!"
Countless thick vines and roots violently burst out of the ground, carrying sharp thorns and binding force. In an instant, they completely engulfed the area where Uchiha Katsu stood.
Dense natural energy flowed across the surfaces of those vines. Once they touched something, they would crazily drain its chakra, attempting to strangle and petrify their prey alive.
Uchiha Katsu was wrapped layer after layer, his body instantly pierced and snapped apart.
But the next moment...
He had already appeared outside the vines, his robes intact and his eyes even brighter.