Ryuchi Cave.
After leaving the palace of the Land of Demons, Shishou returned to Ryuchi Cave and went to the massive pit where the remains of the White Snake Sage's thousand-year-old serpent body lay.
"Bang!"
With a soft sound and a puff of smoke, a small Katsuyu appeared on Shishou's shoulder, looking at the enormous snake remains in the kilometer-wide pit caused by Shishou's ultimate move, and said softly:
"Even the Sage of Six Paths himself couldn't do anything against the White Snake Sage."
"I can't believe you actually managed to take her down."
"You're really impressive!"
According to the agreement Shishou had made with the Great Katsuyu Sage,
From now on, she would stay by Shishou's side, fighting alongside him and facing enemies together.
As Shishou used the Chakra Bugs to examine the enormous serpent remains before him, he said:
"If it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the White Snake Sage on my own."
"I couldn't even have forced her to leave Ryuchi Cave."
"I must say, it's incredibly difficult to kill someone at the level of the Sage of Six Paths."
This wasn't modesty from Shishou; it was his genuine thought.
This time, Shishou's side not only had Hyuga Rimei, who had reached the Six Paths level, but also Kushina, who could temporarily possess Six Paths abilities through transformation.
There was also Nii Yugito in Sage-Tailed Beast Cloak Mode, and Uchiha Mikoto, who could use the God Sword Totsuka to activate Susanoo.
Tsunade and Mei Terumi, who had reached the super Kage level with Sage Mode, were also part of the team.
Even though Miroku the priestess hadn't mastered Sage Mode, with Shishou's help, she possessed a vast amount of Sage energy and excelled in sealing techniques.
Lastly, with the Great Katsuyu Sage maintaining the barrier seal, Shishou had enough time to absorb the Sage energy and ultimately use his ultimate move to destroy the White Snake Sage's body.
Without that final trick, even with Tsunade and the others' help, it would have taken Shishou a long time to take down the White Snake Sage.
All of this proved how difficult it was to kill someone at the Six Paths level.
Of course, it was relatively easier if they were like Hyuga Rimei, who could only use Six Paths abilities briefly due to insufficient chakra.
In Shishou's view, someone like Hyuga Rimei, who could temporarily use Six Paths abilities, was at best a super Kage level fighter within the Six Paths realm but not truly at the Six Paths level.
The Six Paths realm referred to those who could use Six Paths abilities without reaching the full combat strength, while the Six Paths level indicated those whose combat strength matched the Sage of Six Paths.
The Great Katsuyu Sage said:
"Tsunade, Mei Terumi, and the others were all trained by you and are utterly loyal to you. Naturally, they are part of your strength."
"Now that the White Snake Sage is dead, are you planning to head to Mount Myoboku next?"
The Great Katsuyu Sage remembered Shishou once saying he wanted to control all three Sage lands.
Shishou shook his head:
"Not for a while. I'll focus on consolidating my hold over Ryuchi Cave first."
According to the Great Katsuyu Sage, the Great Toad Sage was the strongest among the three Sage lands.
So, Shishou planned to increase his strength to another level before considering this matter.
Then, Shishou said:
"Now that Ryuchi Cave has turned into a massive pit, it might be hard to keep it hidden."
"Little Katsuyu, do you have any suggestions?"
The White Snake Sage had previously used the Inorganic Reincarnation Technique to remove the surface rock layer above Ryuchi Cave, turning it into a massive pit. Shishou worried it might attract unwanted attention.
The Great Katsuyu Sage looked at Shishou, "The scroll I gave you contains a simple illusion barrier technique. Have the three snake princesses perform it to prevent unwanted intrusions."
"After that, once you learn the Inorganic Reincarnation Technique of Ryuchi Cave, you can restore it to its original state."
Shishou nodded, then had an idea. "I just thought of something."
He returned to the Hell Statue, controlling the wooden statue to the pit in Ryuchi Cave.
Then, under Shishou's control, the wooden statue transformed into a giant tree with the appearance of Kannon, its canopy perfectly covering the pit.
After that, Shishou handed the scroll from the Great Katsuyu Sage to the three snake princesses, instructing them to perform the illusion barrier.
Once these tasks were completed, Shishou returned to the remains of the White Snake Sage.
Although Shishou initially had the Chakra Bugs continually devour the remains of the White Snake Sage,
Her body was so enormous, like a small mountain, that even now, only a small portion had been devoured.
Devouring it all would take a long time.
However, the large size had its advantages.
As long as Shishou could fully absorb and feed back the remains of the Sage Serpent, he would undoubtedly awaken the Sage bloodline of the White Snake Sage.
He wouldn't need to slowly cultivate it with energy from slaughtering animals like he did with Otsutsuki cells.
The Great Katsuyu Sage urged as she watched the remains being devoured:
"You'd better hurry. Maintaining the seal barrier consumes a lot of energy."
Since the remains hadn't been fully devoured, Shishou hadn't let the Great Katsuyu Sage cancel the barrier.
"I understand," Shishou replied.
He then controlled the Chakra Bugs to proliferate, increasing their number several times and accelerating the devouring process.
Next, Shishou took out several storage scrolls and began sealing the examined Sage Serpent meat chunks into them.
After nearly an hour of work, Shishou finally finished processing the remains of the White Snake Sage.
Even the blood left behind by the White Snake Sage was devoured clean by the Chakra Bugs.
By then, the Great Katsuyu Sage could no longer hold on. Seeing Shishou finished, she immediately canceled the seal barrier and sent all her clones back to Shikkotsu Forest.
Then, she said to Shishou:
"Come to Shikkotsu Forest and take my main body into your space. I need to sleep for a while."
Her chakra was almost depleted. For safety, she planned to sleep in Shishou's space to recover before returning to Shikkotsu Forest.
After saying this, she disappeared with a "bang."
Seeing the Great Katsuyu Sage leave, Shishou found the three snake princesses of Ryuchi Cave again, instructing them to guard the place.
He then went to Shikkotsu Forest to take the Great Katsuyu Sage into his insect breeding space.
As soon as Shishou took the Great Katsuyu Sage into the space, he saw someone rushing towards him and knocking him to the ground.
It was Tsunade, who had just been sent back to Konoha by his clone and now used the Summoning Technique to come to Shikkotsu Forest.
Seeing Tsunade in his arms, Shishou suddenly understood.
No wonder the Great Katsuyu Sage insisted on entering the insect breeding space; it was because Tsunade was waiting for him here.
"Little Katsuyu really spoils you."
"Hmph! Last time, you came to see me last. This time, I'm going first!" Tsunade pushed herself up from the ground, her hands pressing against Shishou's chest, and glared at him angrily.
Hearing this, Shishou grinned.
With things said to this extent, the next steps were simple.
Another fierce battle broke out...
...
Mount Myoboku.
In the room where the Great Toad Sage resided.
The Great Toad Sage Gamamaru woke from his dream, staring silently at the ceiling of the room.
**********
This fanfiction is complete on my Pa treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at patreo n.com Betek.