Chapter 174: The Sage of Six Paths and the Otsutsuki Patriarch

He had been waiting for the Orochimaru of this universe to arrive, but to his surprise, the Sage of Six Paths and the Patriarch of the Ōtsutsuki clan of this universe arrived first.

The Sage of Six Paths and the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch of this universe shared a cooperative relationship, having once joined forces to besiege the Orochimaru of this universe.

He could sense that the newcomers meant no good.

The Ōtsutsuki Patriarch, radiating a brilliant golden light, nodded to the Sage of Six Paths and then turned his gaze toward Orochimaru.

After a moment, he said, "The signature is identical, but much weaker."

The Sage of Six Paths nodded and said, "He should be weaker than Orochimaru was before the Great Annihilation. He must be an Orochimaru from another universe."

The Great Annihilation referred to that fateful battle between the Sage of Six Paths, the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch, and Orochimaru, a clash that had nearly exterminated all living things in the universe.

Hence, it was called the Battle of the Great Annihilation.

Orochimaru looked up at the two individuals scrutinizing him, extending his tongue to lick his lips.

Things were getting tricky. Neither the Sage of Six Paths nor the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch was someone his current self could handle.

"The situation in this universe is unexpectedly dismal."

The Sage of Six Paths and the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch stood at the pinnacle of the universe, whereas he was merely an avatar of Orochimaru from another world—and not even an avatar equipped with the power of an entire universe.

He was no match for them whatsoever; his only hope was for the Orochimaru of this universe to arrive soon.

Orochimaru stepped into the air, moving step by step to confront the Sage of Six Paths and the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch.

As their gazes intersected, the Sage of Six Paths suddenly smiled and said, "You aren't the Orochimaru of this universe, are you? I have a proposal, and this proposal will determine whether you live or die."

The Ōtsutsuki Patriarch looked at the Sage of Six Paths, frowning as he said, "Just let him die. I don't want any complications."

The Sage of Six Paths shook his head. "It's worth a try."

Then, he turned his gaze back to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's expression remained calm, devoid of any fear. "I'm not afraid of death. I'm merely an avatar, after all."

He feared death no more than anyone else, and besides, he wanted to test whether he could transmit his memories back to his main body in the prime universe upon death.

If he could, that would be a monumental discovery.

The Sage of Six Paths frowned. "Are you truly not afraid of death? Then what is your purpose in coming to this world? Surely you haven't accomplished it yet."

Orochimaru certainly hadn't come to this universe for sightseeing; he had a definite objective.

The Sage of Six Paths glanced down at the Aurora Base below. Whatever Orochimaru's objective was, there were bound to be clues left behind in that base.

What if he destroyed the Aurora Base?

The Sage of Six Paths said, "I will kill you, and then obliterate the base below. Whatever your goal may be, you will never complete it."

This tactic would indeed pose a genuine problem for Orochimaru, whose purpose in coming to this universe was to cooperate with the Orochimaru of this world.

Inside the base below were instruments related to his semi-finished space-time jutsu.

If the Sage of Six Paths killed him and erased the existence of the Aurora Base, it would indeed render his goals and plans entirely futile.

However, Orochimaru smiled and said, "I don't fear threats. At worst, this universe's venture fails. I trust that my self in the prime universe has already dispatched other avatars to other universes."

This universe was not the sole focus of his plan, and Orochimaru never relied on a single strategy; his plans were almost always saturation-style contingencies.

This time, it was the Sage of Six Paths' turn to frown. Indeed, since the Orochimaru of another universe could travel across dimensions, he was certainly capable of traveling through more than just one. They could completely abandon this universe and move on to others.

Even if they killed Orochimaru, it wouldn't disrupt his plans significantly, rendering such threats largely ineffective.

After a moment of thought, the Sage of Six Paths said, "Why don't you hear what I want you to do?"

He intended to persuade Orochimaru from a different angle.

To his surprise, Orochimaru shook his head once more. "Is it really that hard to guess what you want me to do? It's nothing more than demanding my space-time jutsu."

That was the only value he possessed.

Aside from this technique, everything else he had was already possessed by the Orochimaru of this world, leaving no reason for special covetousness.

Moreover, given that it involved traversing universes and possessing resources from alternate realms, who wouldn't be tempted?

The Sage of Six Paths fell silent once more before finally saying, "Orochimaru, shall I tell you a story? I wonder if that version of me in your universe ever told you a story?"

The Ōtsutsuki Patriarch suddenly jerked his head up to look at the Sage of Six Paths, his lips parting slightly, though no words came out.

Clearly, the story the Sage of Six Paths was about to tell was enough to move even the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch.

It had to be extraordinary!

At this moment, Orochimaru recalled the story the Sage of Six Paths had once asked Kurosawa Yusei to convey to him.

Back then, Kurosawa Yusei had told two stories, both of which conveyed to Orochimaru that the protagonists' lives were artificially manipulated.

He had never known what specific meaning they were meant to express.

The Sage of Six Paths began his story, starting from the Warring States period, mentioning a woman who descended from the heavens, and going on to speak of the God Tree...

Orochimaru found it all too familiar; the story the Sage of Six Paths was telling was precisely the account of when his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, had first descended.

Following that, the tale naturally progressed to the birth of himself and his younger brother, and how he had sealed his mother away.

Just as the Sage of Six Paths reached the point where he sealed his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, his tone abruptly shifted, and he asked, "Orochimaru, are you perhaps wondering why I am telling you a story you already know? And a story that is quite literally my life?

I am telling you now: my life is a story! A story arranged and scripted by someone else!"

The Sage of Six Paths dropped a bombshell. He actually claimed that his life was a scripted story arranged by someone else?

In reality, Orochimaru had anticipated something of the sort, but he remained deeply skeptical.

A person's life was a person's life; who possessed such immense divine power to arrange and control another person's entire existence?

Even beings like themselves were incapable of orchestrating the lives of others with such flawless perfection.

As if sensing Orochimaru's disbelief, the Sage of Six Paths said, "Orochimaru, you are pragmatic and seek the truth, building all your conclusions upon fundamental principles. To you, those principles form your worldview, which is why you lack a sense of true perception.

This is also why, despite reaching your current level of power, you still feel that something is missing."

He turned to the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch and said, "You tell him."

The Ōtsutsuki Patriarch had originally intended to remain silent, but things had reached this point, leaving him no choice but to speak. "In truth, I was an invincible entity in the universe long, long ago. While observing the operations of the cosmos, I discovered that the very center of the entire universe was your Earth.

Not its physical location, but the center of its significance; it seemed as though the entire universe revolved around Earth.

The most glaring evidence was found in my memories."

At this, the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch revealed the anger of one who had been toyed with. "I don't know what kind of entity controls my life, but from time to time, it would forcefully plant memories into my mind—false memories of events I understood completely yet knew with absolute certainty I had never experienced.

Most glaring of all, my very birth was a fabrication. Because the Ōtsutsuki clan required a patriarch, I was brought into existence. I was an invincible being from the very beginning, enjoying the adoration of the Ōtsutsuki clan, while any memories prior to that simply did not exist."

From the very moment he gained consciousness, the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch had known that he was a puppet—a puppet controlled by someone else.

The Sage of Six Paths looked back at Orochimaru, summarizing with the words, "Through our verification, all races in the universe, every living being, including you, are mere puppets controlled by someone else!"

Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged, but inside, a torrential storm was raging.

What on earth was going on here?