Chapter 163: The Appearance of the Six Path Immortals

Kurosawa Yusei perished, taking the entire Dark Domain down with him as his burial shroud. In its final moments, that stellar region devolved into an indescribable entity.

Space and time broke down there, making the impossible entirely possible. Scarcely any biological creature could survive such an environment, save for Orochimaru.

Transforming into his complete state, Orochimaru manifested as a gigantic eight-headed serpent of planetary scale, enveloped in Sage Mode.

At the moment of annihilation, Orochimaru’s serpentine form began to spin, his eight tails wrapping completely around his body to establish an absolute defense.

Uchiha Itachi, Yakushi Kabuto, and the others were sheltered within this absolute defense, remaining entirely unharmed until the very end.

Orochimaru initiated a spatial teleportation, departing that doomed star system.

Afterwards, they resumed their journey toward the Liutong Star Domain.

The destruction of an entire star system, its dying roar echoing across the cosmos, inevitably drew the attention of races throughout the universe.

Before long, someone uploaded photographs of the indescribably devastated stellar realm onto the Genjutsu Network.

This sparked a massive uproar. What had happened to that star system? How could it have been destroyed?

If memory served correctly, that must have been the Dark Domain!

Though the phantom race within the Dark Domain was relatively obscure, the Dark Domain itself was legendary, filled as it was with super-massive stars whose gravitational pull trapped even light itself.

Only a star system entirely composed of such hyper-massive, light-capturing stars could be designated a Dark Domain. There were fewer than twenty such domains in the entire universe, and now one of them had been obliterated.

One can only imagine the extent of the shock.

The Genjutsu Network was ablaze with discussion, quickly propelling "The Destruction of the Dark Domain" to a level of trending heat second only to the "Supreme Under Heaven" tournament.

With so many voices came a flood of information. Someone uploaded a photograph showing five figures—Orochimaru, Uchiha Itachi, Yakushi Kabuto, Sasuke, and Naruto—flying away from the ruined Dark Domain.

Instantly, it was voted to the top of the comment section.

People debated fiercely: Was the destruction of the Dark Domain the work of those remnants from Earth?

It seemed they needed to reevaluate the true strength of Earth's surviving remnants!

Associating this with the Sage of Six Paths’ ambiguous stance, could these Earth remnants possess invincible power comparable to the Sage of Six Paths or the patriarch of the Otsutsuki clan?

Surely not!

……

Amidst all the speculation, Orochimaru and his entourage completed their long trek, finally arriving at the Liutong Star Domain.

Because of the Supreme Under Heaven tournament, this previously obscure stellar region with its modest population suddenly bustled with activity.

Races from across the universe converged upon it, threatening to overflow its borders.

The surrounding star systems also experienced a surge in population as spillover inhabitants flooded in. Before long, even more distant systems would likely be packed to capacity.

The Supreme Under Heaven tournament was a sacred event for the entire cosmos.

Sasuke and Naruto had just dispatched another wave of ambushing opportunists. Too many individuals sought fame, and upon recognizing Orochimaru's party, they each harbored delusions of killing their way to renown.

Consequently, they were merely killed in return.

Regardless of the fame or accomplishments the incoming assassins possessed beforehand, they invariably met their end at the hands of Sasuke and Naruto.

Finding the constant harassment tedious, Sasuke simply strung the corpses of the attackers together with chakra threads, dragging them through the air as he flew.

Viewed from a distance, Sasuke cutting through the sky while towing a cluster of corpses was an utterly terrifying spectacle.

It served as an effective deterrent against countless petty villains.

Guided by the subordinates of the Sage of Six Paths, they journeyed onward, quickly reaching the primary planet of the Liutong Star Domain—a world also named Liutong.

The Sage of Six Paths had been waiting for some time, prepared for Orochimaru's arrival.

Special attendants led Uchiha Itachi, Yakushi Kabuto, and the others away to assign quarters and brief them on the tournament schedule, while Orochimaru was escorted directly to the office of the Sage of Six Paths.

Upon entering, Orochimaru found the Sage of Six Paths occupied with paperwork.

The office was modest in size. The Sage sat behind a wide desk like a corporate executive, with a single chair placed directly opposite it, specially prepared for Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stepped forward and dropped unceremoniously into the seat.

A faint smile touching his lips, Orochimaru remarked, "I honestly thought meeting you would be far more troublesome."

Aside from the incident involving Kurosawa Yusei, their entire journey had been remarkably smooth. The ambushes by glory-seekers could hardly even be considered nuisances.

They were nothing more than free offerings.

Under normal circumstances, Orochimaru would have expected the Sage of Six Paths to continually scheme against him. To his surprise, the path had been completely unobstructed, and gaining an audience with the Sage had been effortless.

The Sage of Six Paths smiled faintly as well, replying, "Why would meeting me be troublesome? We are hardly enemies anymore. I must confess, however, I am quite curious: how did you manage to survive? Why have you only appeared now? Where have you been for the past thousand years?"

Unaware that Orochimaru had traveled from the past, the Sage assumed Orochimaru was like the Tailed Beasts, requiring a certain period of time to resurrect after death.

It was simply that Orochimaru’s incubation period happened to be a millennium.

Asking in this manner was also a way of verifying whether his hypothesis was correct.

Orochimaru maintained his smile, ignoring the question to say, "Not enemies anymore? Heh. I want to know the real reason why you insisted on summoning me here."

Since the Sage of Six Paths had gone out of his way three times to invite Uchiha Itachi, it could hardly be a casual gesture; there had to be a deeper motive.

This underlying agenda had already been hinted at during the Kurosawa Yusei affair—the Sage's true target had been him all along.

Now that he was here, was it not time for the Sage of Six Paths to finally drop the act and show his true hand?

The Sage of Six Paths shook his head, offering a wry smile as he said, "I already told you we are not enemies. I genuinely only wanted Itachi to participate. That boy possesses the strength to become the strongest under heaven, and I merely wished to help raise his profile. Consider it an elder doing something for the younger generation."

He spoke with profound sincerity; if the listener had not been Orochimaru, one might genuinely have believed him.

For the Sage infused his words with spiritual energy, imbuing them with a hypnotic resonance.

Ordinary individuals would have fallen into his trap unawares.

Orochimaru reached out, placing his hand on the desk and tapping his fingers against the wood rhythmically. "Let me phrase the question differently then: what message did you expect Kurosawa Yusei to convey to me?"

The Kurosawa Yusei incident certainly held significance.

The things the Sage had instructed Kurosawa Yusei to pass along undoubtedly reflected the Sage's own calculations.

At the mention of Kurosawa Yusei, a look of melancholic reflection crossed the face of the Sage of Six Paths. He sighed, "That boy... he actually carried out the task I entrusted to him, even knowing it meant certain death. Such a pity."

He was mourning the loss of a capable subordinate.

A moment later, he continued, "Since you are here, linger for a while longer. In a few days, the Otsutsuki clan will arrive, and I shall introduce their patriarch to you."

In the end, he never revealed his true objective, yet he brought up the patriarch of the Otsutsuki clan—the very figure known across the universe as invincible.

While a mere Supreme Under Heaven tournament was a sacred gala for the cosmos at large, to figures of the caliber of the Sage of Six Paths and the Otsutsuki patriarch, it should have been trivial.

Not only was the Sage of Six Paths already present here, but the patriarch of the Otsutsuki clan was coming as well?

Interesting. The waters here ran deep.

Taking his leave of the Sage of Six Paths, Orochimaru entered a period of waiting. Several days later, a critical piece of news arrived from Shikamaru!