Chapter 141: The Final Moment

The Sage of the Six Paths can foresee the future, which means everything happening right now is part of his grand design. This even includes Shikamaru just having seen through the conspiracy.

By working backward from the outcome, it was easy for Shikamaru to deduce that the Sage of the Six Paths had been using Sasuke and Naruto to manipulate the upper echelons of various clans. It was also possible that he had utilized the previously vanished Itachi Uchiha.

Shikamaru realized that Earth was in grave danger.

He suddenly looked at Kabuto Yakushi, who was still organizing data, and a spark of urgency flickered in his eyes. "Kabuto, go find Lord Orochimaru. Then, take as many people as you can and run! With Orochimaru's strength, he can definitely make it out!"

He was truly anxious; this was about preserving a "seed" for Earth, in hopes of a future resurgence. As for the "immortal bodies" on Earth, while they were indeed immortal if left alone, powerful entities would always find a way to break such immortality once they intervened.

Kabuto packed away the documents in his hands and said unhurriedly, "I’ll go ask Lord Orochimaru about it then."

Compared to Shikamaru's anxiety, Kabuto was experienced. He had been just as panicked once before, but what was the result? Everything had been within Orochimaru's calculations. This time, it was clear that Orochimaru had a countermeasure as well, so he was not the least bit flustered.

...

The Otsutsuki clan's army appeared, a million-strong force descending upon the star sector where the interstellar black market was located. Without a moment's hesitation, they charged directly toward the honeycomb-shaped planet at the center.

Leading them were two high-ranking members of the Otsutsuki clan: Otsutsuki Sangaku and Otsutsuki Taniku. They spearheaded the army, exuding an aura of invincibility.

"Oh? Is there an ambush?"

Otsutsuki Sangaku’s glowing golden Rinnegan could see the myriad cosmic races hiding throughout the star sector. Without the concealment of Earth's Rinnegan, no army could remain hidden from the Otsutsuki clan.

Ever since Shikamaru realized something was wrong, he had ordered Madara Uchiha and the others to stop providing cover for the various cosmic races. Consequently, they were easily spotted by Otsutsuki Sangaku.

"It seems not only is Earth still here, but there are other rebellious clans?" Otsutsuki Sangaku remarked. "Heh, interesting. Have we found those rats who call themselves the interstellar black market?" He was excited, eager to take this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Otsutsuki Taniku gripped his staff, which was embedded with a glass-colored Rinnegan. "They were prepared. It would be best not to be careless."

Otsutsuki Sangaku gave a disdainful smile.

Hidden among the million-strong Otsutsuki army was the Sage of the Six Paths himself.

He was pulling the strings from the shadows. Even though he had seen this "ending" countless times, now that the moment had arrived, he could not help but feel a surge of excitement. The future was finally becoming reality!

*After wiping out Orochimaru this time,* the Sage of the Six Paths thought to himself, *I will seize the opportunity to diminish the Otsutsuki clan’s strength. I will step from the shadows into the light and divide the universe equally with the Otsutsuki. Then, I can focus on planning that one final matter!*

Everything above was within the future the Sage had foreseen. His foresight was remarkably accurate, with the only drawback being that he could only see five hundred years into the future; beyond that, he knew nothing. He lacked the power to look further—perhaps the only weakness of his precognition. But five hundred years was more than enough.

As the million-strong Otsutsuki army charged, the allied forces of the myriad races finally bared their fangs. Shikamaru had attempted to keep the allied races still; the Omni-King and the King of Souls had agreed, but their subordinates suddenly moved!

The Omni-King and the others were shocked. They truly did not know what was happening. Subsequent investigations revealed that key high-ranking officials among their subordinates had defected. Furthermore, they learned that it wasn't just their clans experiencing issues; most races were affected, especially the Star Spirit and Star-Fish clans, whose kings had also been compromised.

With so many high-ranking officials corrupted, they were able to seize control of the allied forces and issue two commands: first, destroy Earth; second, annihilate the Otsutsuki army!

Although the soldiers found these orders different from what they had previously known, they did not think twice. They could never have imagined that their leadership had been collectively compromised. With a roar, they emerged from the shadows and charged, shouting slogans.

While their individual strength was generally lower than that of the Otsutsuki, their numbers were vast. The Otsutsuki had only a million, while the allied forces numbered in the tens of millions! They swarmed out like locusts. And this wasn't even their full strength; if every race had gathered their entire population, the number would likely reach billions. But total mobilization was impractical.

Earth was in peril. With the Otsutsuki army charging from one side and the allied cosmic forces from the other, Earth appeared incredibly small and helpless.

On Earth, Kabuto arrived before Orochimaru’s laboratory. Before he could even knock, Orochimaru’s voice drifted from within.

"Come in, Kabuto."

Orochimaru had already sensed his arrival. Kabuto pushed the door open to see Orochimaru staring at a scroll floating in mid-air, which was unfurled to reveal a swirling vortex.

"You're here." Orochimaru retracted the scroll, swallowed it, wiped his mouth, and said, "Let’s go out and meet the high-ranking members of the Otsutsuki and the Sage of the Six Paths."

Kabuto nodded. "Understood."

The two rose into the air and ascended into the space above Earth. By now, the million-strong Otsutsuki army and the tens of millions of allied forces had reached the perimeter.

Orochimaru’s expression remained calm as he looked toward the Otsutsuki army and suddenly called out, "Sage of the Six Paths, will you not reveal yourself?"

The voice was not loud, but it resonated throughout the entire star sector. It reached everyone's ears clearly, neither too high nor too low.

Otsutsuki Sangaku and Otsutsuki Taniku’s gazes turned grave. This was a powerful individual, perhaps not inferior to them.

Soldier against soldier, general against general, king against king.

The armies clashed near Earth, and in the heat of battle, they did not hesitate to strike at the planet, hoping to shatter it and clear the battlefield. However, a cyan glow erupted from Earth, momentarily shielding it—it was Madara Uchiha’s intervention.

"Orochimaru, whatever tricks you have, use them now!" Madara roared. Even he had no confidence in protecting Earth amidst a battle between millions and tens of millions; he might not even survive himself.

Orochimaru chuckled, his voice once again echoing through the cosmos. "Sage of the Six Paths, are you still not coming out?"

As the subordinates fought, Otsutsuki Sangaku and Otsutsuki Taniku flew over. They did not attack Orochimaru immediately, but stood by, wary. "The Sage of the Six Paths?"

Confused by the situation, they chose not to act rashly.

Within the Otsutsuki army, the Sage of the Six Paths checked the "future" once more. It remained unchanged; he was still the ultimate victor. Reassured, he reverted to his true form, flew out from the Otsutsuki ranks, and positioned himself opposite Orochimaru.

A triangular standoff formed between Orochimaru, the Sage of the Six Paths, and the two Otsutsuki leaders.

"I am the Sage of the Six Paths," he introduced himself to Sangaku and Taniku, before turning his gaze toward Orochimaru. "Long time no see, Orochimaru."