Arisu looked at Gamatatsu's unusually solemn expression and felt slightly puzzled.
He had originally thought the other party just wanted to ask a few more questions about the Toad Immortal Talisman, but this cautious, almost reverent attitude made him vaguely feel that something was wrong.
"Fine." Arisu casually agreed without asking anything else.
He followed Gamatatsu out of the stone chamber, passed through several secret passages covered by vines and ancient toad writing, and soon arrived at the deepest part of the library.
The light here was dim, and the air was filled with the smell of old paper and vegetation.
Gamatatsu carefully walked to the innermost stone shelf and took out a scroll wrapped in specially treated oil paper from beneath a thick layer of seals.
Then, holding the scroll in both hands, Gamatatsu respectfully presented it to Arisu, his voice low. "My lord, please look."
Arisu took it and casually unfurled it.
The next moment, his gaze suddenly froze.
The person depicted in the painting was unmistakably himself.
His robes, expression, and even the faint hint of laziness between his brows and eyes were depicted with incredible accuracy. Beneath the painting, five characters were clearly written in an ancient style of writing,
"Ancestor of the Three Great Sacred Lands."
Arisu's brows furrowed slightly, and his expression instantly darkened.
He subconsciously thought to himself, 'Could I have accidentally missed something in the previous life, and ended up falling into this life with my memories, like Uchiha Katsu?'
But immediately afterward, he sensed that something was wrong.
The outline of his brows and eyes and the details of his clothing in this painting were clearly different from those in the first life.
It definitely wasn't something left behind from the first life.
And furthermore...
Ancestor of the Three Great Sacred Lands?
Although Arisu had been the person in charge of the summoning world in his first life, he had never been some founding ancestor.
Arisu raised his eyes and looked at Gamatatsu calmly, a trace of scrutiny in his gaze. His voice was flat. "This painting... did you just paint it?"
He had already reached a conclusion in his heart. This old toad probably wanted to flatter him and had deliberately painted this to curry favor with him.
After all, he had casually thrown a Toad Immortal Talisman to him just now, and the other party had been so excited that he had almost cried.
Under such circumstances, painting a portrait of the "Ancestor of the Three Great Sacred Lands" to express his loyalty didn't seem strange.
Gamatatsu immediately shook his head repeatedly. His murky eyes were filled with solemnity, and his voice was hurried yet unusually sincere.
"No! My lord, this junior would never dare deceive you."
"This painting... was left behind by the previous Great Immortal of Mount Myoboku, the White-Browed Toad. After taking over, this junior carefully sealed it away and never dared show it to anyone."
Arisu paused slightly.
He did not speak immediately. Instead, he called out solemnly in his mind, 'System, scan this painting. Is it something from the previous life?'
The system's response came almost instantly. [Negative. The scan results show that this item is native to the current life and was not left behind from the previous life.]
Arisu's heart sank.
'Something from the current life?'
In this life, he had always remained behind the scenes and had never officially shown himself. So how could anyone have painted a portrait of him, and even openly written "Ancestor of the Three Great Sacred Lands" beneath it?
His mind was filled with countless thoughts, but his expression remained as calm as ever, without revealing anything.
After a moment, Arisu rolled the painting back up, casually put it away, and said flatly, "Fine. I'll keep this painting for now."
He looked up at Gamatatsu, his voice neither loud nor soft, but carrying a hint of inquiry. "What do you mean by bringing me here to see this painting?"
A trace of almost fanatical light suddenly flashed through Gamatatsu's murky eyes. His huge body leaned forward slightly, and his voice was low but filled with excitement he could barely suppress.
"Ancestor... this junior wishes to ask you to take charge of Mount Myoboku."
Arisu's expression instantly stiffened.
Take charge of Mount Myoboku?
Like he had in his first life?
Arisu almost immediately refused in a deep voice. "No."
His tone was decisive, leaving no room for discussion.
Arisu actually knew very well that he did not want to be tied to the position at Mount Myoboku again like he had been in his previous life.
He had had enough of those days of being high above everyone else and having to concern himself with every little matter.
Arisu actually knew this very well.
He did not have much genuine affection for the Gamatatsu before him.
If this had been the Gamatatsu from his previous life, the disciple who had followed him and studied under him for so long, who was occasionally foolish but sincerely devoted to him, he might have nodded and agreed.
But this Gamatatsu was ultimately not that one.
He was merely an existence that had been reset in the reincarnation of this life.
Seeing how decisively Arisu refused, obvious disappointment instantly appeared in Gamatatsu's murky eyes. His huge body froze slightly, as though he still wanted to say something.
But Arisu had already turned his back on him, his voice flat, "I'll take the portrait."
Arisu paused, and his tone suddenly became ice-cold, carrying undisguised killing intent. "Also, don't tell anyone about my existence. If you do... I'll make you wish you were dead."
The instant his words fell, boundless killing intent erupted from Arisu as if it were tangible, instantly enveloping the deepest part of the entire library.
This was not ordinary pressure, but terrifying might powerful enough to make even the soul tremble.
Gamatatsu's huge body shook violently. His murky pupils suddenly contracted, and his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He almost instinctively nodded repeatedly, his voice trembling slightly. "Yes... this junior understands... I absolutely won't say a word..."
Only then did Arisu withdraw his killing intent. His figure swayed slightly, and he had already disappeared from where he stood.
Only Gamatatsu remained alone in the dim library, unable to recover for a long time.
After Arisu's figure had completely disappeared, the library once again fell into silence.
Uchiha Katsu slowly walked over to Gamatatsu and stopped.
His gaze calmly fell upon the large toad who had just been pressured by the killing intent to the point of almost being unable to stand. His voice was flat, yet much steadier than before.
"Don't tell anyone about that person's existence."
Katsu paused, his tone carrying a trace of coldness that brooked no argument. "Otherwise, I will kill you in that lord's name."
At this moment, Uchiha Katsu had already clearly considered himself one of Arisu's people.
With this identity, his manner of speaking was completely different from his previously flamboyant and outwardly aggressive self. He was more restrained, and there was also more genuine pressure in his words.
Gamatatsu froze for a moment, then nodded heavily.
Uchiha Katsu said nothing more and turned to leave Mount Myoboku.
———
[Several Days Later]
[The Uchiha Clan's Territory]
The night was deep.
Uchiha Katsu walked alone along the familiar streets. His Sharingan rotated slightly, taking in the chakra distribution throughout the entire clan territory.
Katsu gathered his trusted followers and the people who supported him, then immediately took action.
He used the combination of Fire Release and the Sharingan to its fullest, and with the support of the newly mastered senjutsu, the entire operation was clean and ruthless.
Those who opposed him were quickly defeated, those who remained neutral were forcibly suppressed, and those who supported him were directly promoted by him.
In a single night, the internal power structure of the Uchiha clan was completely shattered and reorganized.