Naruto: Becomes a Rebel Ninja After Annihilating the Hyuga Clan

“You are Otsutsuki Shibai.”

The Slug Sage repeated again, but this time, its voice had a slight upward inflection, like a vehicle about to pass through a long tunnel, with a high-pitched tail note.

In the hot and humid jungle, Tsunade’s clone, who had been silent for a long time, looked up expressionlessly and slowly asked:
“Why… do you think I’m Otsutsuki Shibai?”

“Wave.”

“Why… do I think you are Otsutsuki Shibai?” The Slug Sage’s voice echoed blankly in Tsunade’s clone’s mind.

It seemed as if it was puzzled about why it knew this name, and began to blow bubbles.

In a dimly lit basement in the Land of Waves, Neiki frowned, wondering if the Slug Sage’s brain was functioning properly.

He was controlling Tsunade’s clone to adjust its position, planning to jump to a nearby tree to chat face-to-face with the Slug Sage.

However, the next second, a blue-and-white slug landed on his face. Neiki didn’t think much of it, controlled Tsunade’s clone to throw it off, but a fragment of shadow obscured his vision. Tsunade’s clone looked up—Slug Mountain was collapsing in front of him, countless blue-and-white slugs fell like raindrops.

Completely burying the clone.

At this moment, countless overlapping voices echoed:
“Why do I think you are Otsutsuki Shibai?”

“Because I heard it from you.”

“Because we heard it from you all.”

“Many… many… many…”

“Many sounds of the world’s wails.”

“Those shattered worlds told us that you were the one who killed them.”

“Those shattered worlds warned us that you are the one who will kill us.”

“Your name is Otsutsuki Shibai.”

“From the same race as Otsutsuki Kaguya, who came to Earth thousands of years ago.”

As if just narrating an ordinary event, these voices were uniform, without a hint of emotion, but Neiki could clearly feel an immense power pressing against Tsunade’s clone, almost tearing it apart.

“Wave.”

It was like countless bubbles bursting beside his ears. Neiki’s control over Tsunade’s clone’s genjutsu was suppressed to the limit by the surrounding slugs. He couldn’t even make the clone shake its head, and could only shout in the clone’s mind:

“I am not Otsutsuki Shibai.”

“I am Neiki.”

“I am just an ordinary human.”

This was so unfair, just using genjutsu to control a clone to communicate with this slug, not face-to-face. Neiki didn’t know how this slug heard the sounds of “those shattered worlds,” but he didn’t want to be falsely labeled as Otsutsuki Shibai.

That would mean becoming an enemy of everyone in this world.

“Wave.”

“You are Neiki?” The overlapping voices disappeared, and the slug’s voice returned to its previous singular and crisp tone.

Neiki frowned, feeling the slug seemed to be acting schizophrenic. He nodded:
“Yes, I am Neiki.”

“Then can you die?”

Neiki’s heart sank: “Sorry, I can’t.”

“Then you are Otsutsuki Shibai.”

Neiki was amused by this ridiculous logic and was about to retort when his expression suddenly changed, as if he had realized something.

He paused and asked softly:
“If I don’t die now, will I eventually become Otsutsuki Shibai?”

This time, the slug paused for a long time, but what it said in the end seemed unrelated:
“I didn’t hear even a trace of Hyuga Neiki in you. From my observation, you should just be a living corpse used to incubate Otsutsuki Shibai… This is unusual, maybe because of the distance. Can you come to Shikkotsu Forest in person?”

“If I go to Shikkotsu Forest in person, will I have any chance of survival?”

“Death is not the end of life,” the slug comforted, “Removing the diseased part can ensure the continuation of the whole. Your death can avoid a catastrophic crisis for your human race. If you are truly an ordinary human Neiki, you should be willing to do so.”

Neiki willingly declined the slug’s offer:
“If the fate of human civilization relies on sacrificing my life to continue, then this fragile civilization is better off destroyed sooner.”

The constraints on Tsunade’s clone suddenly tightened, indicating the Slug Sage’s displeasure. The clone wouldn’t last much longer. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Neiki pondered deeply and asked one last question:
“If I am indeed Otsutsuki Shibai, what do you plan to do?”

“If you are indeed Otsutsuki Shibai, what do we plan to do?” The slug’s voice became dull again.

“What do we plan to do…?”

“We…”

Neiki suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next second.

“Slaughter.”

“Maim.”

“Dismember.”

Countless overlapping voices returned once more.

“Seal.”

“Behead.”

“Bury.”

“The Otsutsuki clan wants to destroy our planet.” At this moment, only one high-pitched voice could be heard.

“Then we will destroy them first!!!” Countless similar voices arose in unison.

“Destroy!”

Like a frenzied and glorious legion shouting slogans at the call of a great leader, the deafening voices made Neiki’s head spin. With a “bang,” Tsunade’s shadow clone finally shattered amidst the vibrations, and the additional perspective of the genjutsu in Neiki’s mind disappeared without a trace.

He opened his eyes, his face full of confusion.

This Slug Sage… something was very wrong.

Originally, he thought a Sage specializing in healing would be more gentle, but what was with this militaristic rhetoric?

At times, there was only one voice, and then all voices would speak together.

Was this Sage’s mind really normal?

Moreover, it said he was Otsutsuki Shibai… Neiki went to a mirror, looked at his face, and gazed at his pair of pale eyes, bearing no resemblance to the legendary Otsutsuki clan.

Undoubtedly, his body was just an ordinary human, with the only connection to the Otsutsuki clan being his Byakugan. The only link to Otsutsuki Shibai was the Shibai Space, which was activated by the final stage of his Byakugan.

“Will Otsutsuki Shibai awaken in my body in the future?”

“Is the Byakugan sacrificed to the Shibai Space actually the nourishment to accelerate Shibai’s awakening?”

“How likely is this?” Neiki speculated and once again asked the doubts he had when he first discovered the Shibai Space.

Soon, he gave the same answer to dispel his doubts:
“The evolved god-like Otsutsuki Shibai, who has completely mastered the ‘omnipotent’ power, would he really covet my body?”

“For him, wouldn’t anything be achievable in a single thought?”

Neiki frowned.

The Slug Sage said Neiki was Otsutsuki Shibai, but it obviously didn’t know that Otsutsuki Shibai was no ordinary Otsutsuki clan member.

The gap between the Slug Sage and Otsutsuki Shibai was greater than the gap between a normal ant and the Slug Sage. The Slug was just a powerful creature born from the natural forces of this planet, but Otsutsuki Shibai had turned countless similar planets into fodder for his growth and ascended to the status of an ‘omnipotent’ god.

For Neiki or the Slug Sage to guard against Otsutsuki Shibai was like an ant raising a shield against a giant.

“It must be the aura of the Shibai Space on me that caused its misunderstanding.”

The Slug Sage could hear the countless “shattered worlds” on Neiki, obviously all trophies of Otsutsuki Shibai. This only proved that Neiki’s Shibai Space had some connection with Otsutsuki Shibai, but it didn’t prove anything else. Drawing random conclusions only added to his anxiety without any meaning.

“Who would’ve thought that an impromptu trip to Shikkotsu Forest would lead to this.”

The Slug Sage was strong, Neiki could clearly feel this through Tsunade’s clone. This Sage, proficient in healing, might even be the most combat-capable of the Three Great Sages. The intense desire to fight was something impossible to see in the elderly Toad Sage or Snake Sage.

This made sense, as the Slug Sage was composed of countless small slugs, unified in thought, without an absolute core, not even the concept of age. One is all, and all is one. Through the renewal of small slugs, the Slug Sage could exist forever. It was not just an individual but also a collective concept.

So, the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest shouldn’t be compared to the Toad Sage and Snake Sage but to all the toads in Mount Myoboku, including the Toad Sage, and all the snakes in Ryuchi Cave, including the Snake Sage.

Just as the propagation of individual humans is to ensure the eternal continuation of the “human” race concept.

But in the case of the Slugs, this collective concept was alive, forming a living collective will named “Slug Sage.”

In a sense, the Slug Sage was immortal, eternally young, and always strong.

If he faced such a monster, Neiki might not even have a chance to escape and would be instantly killed by the Sage’s jutsu. But such a scenario was unlikely. As a collective concept, the Slug’s body was too vast to be completely summoned out of Shikkotsu Forest without enough manpower.

“You can’t come out, but I can go in. Given the chance, I’ll let you taste the rare flavor of death.”

He withdrew his gaze from his reflection.

I am who I am.

I am Hyuga Neiki. I was, I am, and I will always be.

I will never be replaced by anyone in any way.

After re-securing and sealing Tsunade, Neiki left the basement.

The battle in Konoha should reach a decisive stage in the next few days. Whether Kumo will crush them or if they will continue to resist fiercely, making the Fourth Shinobi World War a prolonged bloodletting for all villages, will depend on the battles in these days.

But that had nothing to do with him. Neiki’s focus was now on the subsequent “reform” actions targeting Kirigakure.

“Lord Hashirama, I have found Kurosuki Raiga, the wielder of the Thunder Sword Kiba and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who defected earlier. He highly agrees with your proposal to form a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist after the reform in Kirigakure. However, he still has significant concerns about your identity and our purpose, and he does not support the proposal for Mei Terumi to become the Fifth Mizukage. He believes that Yagura, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, should be the Fifth Mizukage.”

At this time, Zabuza, who was sent on a mission to find potential allies, reported back.

Neiki donned his mask, moving towards Kengakure while calmly responding:
“Tell him he can either accept our plan or return the Thunder Sword Kiba. Otherwise, the reformed Mist Hunter-nin forces will not be as soft as they are today.”

Having Yagura as Mizukage?

If he truly becomes a perfect Jinchuriki, how can I control the Mizukage?

Moreover, Yagura is not in our hands now.

In contrast, Mei Terumi, who is in the Land of Waves and can directly interact with this “peace ideology” from the front lines, is the best choice for Mizukage!
…

While Neiki was busy with the reform plan for Kirigakure, the crucial information sent by Tsunade to Konoha about the possible attack route of Kumogakure had finally reached the conference room of Konoha’s high command.

Hiruzen Sarutobi read out the contents of the intelligence and handed it to those beside him. They passed it around.

Those who received the intelligence scrutinized it repeatedly, seemingly trying to glean something more from it.

Those who did not receive the intelligence craned their necks, eagerly looking on.

This information was too critical. The room was silent, with only the occasional sound of a sigh breaking the stillness.

Finally, Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a deep puff.

As the smoke swirled, he knocked on the table:

“What do you all think?”

What could they think? Use their eyes to see!

Some clan leaders silently cursed in their hearts.

Since the rebellion of Neiki and the Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the once highly respected Third Hokage, had lost much of his prestige in the eyes of many in Konoha.

If it weren’t for the need for his experienced leadership during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and his voluntary relinquishment of the next Hokage position to the most meritorious, Konoha would surely be filled with voices of opposition.

But even so, Hiruzen no longer possessed the unflinching authority and unyielding presence he had before the rebellion. Many matters unrelated to the war were no longer brought to him for consideration. People handled things as they saw fit.

“We don’t know where Kumo has taken the route. The most important thing now is to inform Jiraiya and the others to withdraw.” Shikaku Nara raised his head and said.

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