"Oh."
Having his little thoughts exposed, Shima could only respond with a resigned sigh.
But Shima quickly composed herself. After all, this was a matter of life and death—there was no time to dwell on such trivialities.
Soon, under the coordination of the two Great Elder Toads, all the battle-ready toads of Mount Myōboku were gathered. The sight of them preparing to flee with their families in tow was both chaotic and grand.
Among them, many young toads still didn't understand why the once-peaceful Mount Myōboku had become so tense and vigilant.
As time passed, not only could the Vast Ocean Realm see Mount Myōboku's situation, but the toads of Mount Myōboku could also observe the state of the Vast Ocean Realm.
The direction of Uchiha Madara was out of the question. Before such a powerful being, no matter how many toads there were, they would all meet the same fate—death.
Gamamaru stood at the forefront of the group of toads, his expression stern. His eyes had already transformed into the Rinnegan.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the "Professor" for mastering over a thousand ninjutsu techniques, then Gamamaru, who had lived for a millennium and wore a doctoral cap—a symbol of wisdom—could rightfully be called a grandmaster of ninjutsu.
Over the centuries, Gamamaru had lost count of how many techniques he had mastered—easily numbering in the tens of thousands.
Though many of these techniques were redundant or useless, Gamamaru had extracted the knowledge he needed. Simple physical modifications like embedding the Rinnegan were child's play for him.
"Animal Path: Summoning Technique!!!"
Even before the battle began, Gamamaru summoned a large number of puppet summons originally controlled by the Rinnegan, hoping to reduce casualties among his toad kin during the upcoming fight.
As time passed, Mount Myōboku drew closer and closer to the ninja world. Suddenly, Gamamaru shouted loudly:
"Charge!"
Gamamaru took the lead, propelled by the immense power of Sage Mode chakra. With a single leap, he soared several kilometers forward.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken!"
The Spiraling Sphere had been thoroughly explored by Asura a thousand years ago, and Gamamaru naturally knew this highly refined yet devastating technique.
By infusing it with wind-natured chakra focused on cutting power, Gamamaru unleashed what would later become Naruto's signature technique.
The combination of immensely powerful wind chakra and Sage Mode chakra made the attack even more terrifying, causing the Sealing Heaven, Locking Earth barrier to visibly distort.
But it still wasn't enough.
Gamamaru frowned. He hadn't expected the ninja world's barrier techniques to have advanced so much over the past millennium. This attack could have held its own even against Kaguya.
But Gamamaru wouldn't give up so easily. Once again, he formed a Spiraling Sphere in his hand—but this time, it wasn't the Wind Release Spiraling Shuriken.
The Spiraling Sphere, already glowing with chakra, now radiated an even brighter light.
"Sage Art: Lightning Release: Spiraling Thunder Lance!"
After a millennium of studying chakra application, even a pig could perform precise chakra manipulation. The Spiraling Sphere in Gamamaru's hand, now crackling with dazzling lightning, suddenly elongated into a spear-like shape and was hurled forward with tremendous force.
The already weakened Sealing Heaven, Locking Earth barrier suffered another devastating blow.
The Spiraling Sphere itself was a technique centered around rotational chakra application. Combined with the ferocious yet piercing power of lightning-infused Sage Mode chakra, the Spiraling Thunder Lance's destructive potential rivaled that of Madara's later Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang—an attack capable of slicing through Truth-Seeking Balls.
Finally, the Sealing Heaven, Locking Earth barrier was pierced, creating a gap large enough for a person to pass through.
"Fifth and Sixth Barrier Teams! What the hell are you doing?! Fix the barrier immediately! If this mission fails, all of you will face a military tribunal!"
Nara Shikaku, responsible for coordinating the outer defenses, roared furiously, his face contorted with frustration.
The barrier specialists' faces flushed red as they remained silent, channeling all their qi to repair the breach as quickly as possible.
But Gamamaru, having thrown everything into this effort, was fighting even harder than them.
"Sage Art: Blaze Release: Spiraling Inferno Sphere!"
Gamamaru's Spiraling Sphere shifted attributes once again. Though the toad clan was notoriously weak with fire-natured chakra, Gamamaru had stubbornly pushed himself to master it, reaching the pinnacle of fire techniques. Even Amaterasu flames paled in comparison to the intensity of this inferno.
With a slap of his hand, Gamamaru slammed the Spiraling Inferno Sphere into the breach and then drastically increased his chakra output, transforming it into a Great Spiraling Inferno Sphere.
Though the Sealing Heaven, Locking Earth barrier attempted to resist, it was swiftly overwhelmed by the overwhelming chakra pressure at the breach.
Moments later, a gap nearly a hundred meters wide had been opened.
Exhausted from using such chakra-intensive techniques in quick succession, Gamamaru collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
At this moment, the main group of toads caught up. Fukasaku and Shima wanted to say something, but after exchanging glances with Gamamaru, they bit their lips and silently urged Gamabunta and the others to quickly cross through the opening.
There was no time for idle chatter when lives were on the line.
The barrier had been breached, not destroyed.
Gamamaru sat motionless, watching his kin flee into the distance. His mind drifted back to events from a thousand years ago.
Back then, there were no such things as ninjas or chakra. The original inhabitants of the ninja world explored their own paths of cultivation, with natural energy being the most crucial element.
That was until the day the existence known as the Divine Tree was discovered.
This entity, which voraciously consumed vast amounts of natural energy daily, struck fear into the hearts of the ninja world's inhabitants, who had yet to develop their own cultivation systems. Its master was equally formidable.
Soon, the ancient human cultivators were almost entirely wiped out.
It was from that point onward that Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, previously minor forces, gradually rose to prominence in the ninja world.
Thinking of the gullible son of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki whom he had effortlessly deceived, Gamamaru couldn't help but smirk with satisfaction.
No matter how strong someone was, without intelligence, they were nothing more than a pawn.
In the end, the foolish Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki even entrusted his Rinnegan to Gamamaru.
Though Hagoromo's genuine friendship had brought Gamamaru joy, for the sake of his toad clan, Gamamaru would stop at nothing.
Watching his kin gradually disappear into the distance, Gamamaru knew their future would be fraught with hardship. But at least their legacy would endure. His eyes softened with relief.
"Farewell, my kin. I hope you find happiness in the days to come," Gamamaru silently offered his blessings.
But soon, Gamamaru's eyes widened in horror as he stared into the distance.
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