The sudden appearance of the three Giant God Warriors cast an eerie tension over the entire Ryūchi Cave.
Even Brogy, who had transformed into the fearsome Yamata no Orochi, exuding murderous intent, paused in surprise.
He hadn't expected them to arrive this quickly.
Nor had he anticipated the White Snake Sage's strength.
At that moment, Brogy had already reverted to his human form. He stood amid a pool of pitch-black "Calamity Water," watching as Dorry descended from above. With a casual motion, he pulled up his faceplate, revealing a face still seething with anger.
"What happened here? Why are you fighting?" Dorry asked.
He treaded the air using Geppo, his powerful Moonwalk technique causing the air to boom beneath each step, deliberately avoiding any contact with the Calamity Water below.
"Dorry, these damned things—! They actually eat people! Those white masses over there, most of them are human bones! And... and that so-called White Snake Sage demanded that the World Government offer him ten thousand humans each year—as food!!!"
Brogy raised his golden axe and pointed toward the white shadows in the distance, his voice trembling with fury as he roared.
"I swear on the honor of an Elbaf warrior—I will never let this happen!!!"
Dorry's brows furrowed deeply.
To him, humans—
He had always regarded them as kin, just… smaller in size.
So to them, what mattered wasn't size, but whether a being had higher intelligence—whether it could communicate like any other thinking creature.
Now, hearing that this Ryūchi Cave demanded the World Government provide ten thousand humans each year as food, Dorry couldn't help but feel a visceral, deep-seated disgust.
He couldn't accept it either.
But unlike Brogy, Dorry was a bit more level-headed.
At this moment, what concerned him more were the consequences of Brogy's actions.
After all, no matter what, Lord Imu had given them a simple task: to deliver the decree. The goal was to bring the Shinobi World's three great sage regions under the control of the World Government—an act meant to signal goodwill.
But now, Brogy had taken action without authorization.
He even intended to slaughter everyone in Ryūchi Cave, including the White Snake Sage.
That definitely counted as a grave offense. Who knew what kind of punishment awaited him upon returning?
"Well, since things have come this far, let's just wipe out Ryūchi Cave first—then we can beg Lord Imu for forgiveness!"
Dorry didn't bother saying useless things.
If a giant isn't reckless, is he even a giant?
"But Brogy, you'd better not kill that White Snake Sage. Try to capture him alive and bring him back for Lord Imu to deal with. That way, there's still a chance the punishment might be lighter."
Brogy scowled at his words. "Don't kill it? And what if Lord Imu agrees to their terms?"
"You idiot!"
Dorry snapped, "Do you seriously think Lord Imu would accept their demands?"
"What?" Brogy raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. "Why not? Even I can tell that to the World Government, ten thousand humans a year is hardly a significant price."
"It's not about the number of humans—it's the fact that they're trying to bargain with Lord Imu!"
Dorry shot a look of disdain toward the distance, where the White Snake Sage was now trapped inside a bowl-shaped barrier conjured by Kashii. Forced into the open, the sage was launching attack after attack, desperately trying to shatter the seal.
"You've followed Lord Imu for so many years and you still don't understand his way of doing things?"
"That pompous White Snake Sage—what right does he have to demand anything?"
"Let alone try to trade for human lives? This foolish serpent thinks far too highly of himself!"
Brogy fell silent after hearing that. A moment later, he muttered in a low voice, "But there's still a possibility… That's what I want to cut off."
Clearly, he hadn't given up on killing the White Snake Sage.
"That possibility might be the end of your future!"
Dorry roared with fury, arcs of lightning crackling across his body, transforming him into a thunder giant clad in golden armor—like a warrior from myth.
"You'd trade your life with a wretched snake from another world?!"
"I won't allow it!!!"
Dorry's furious roar echoed throughout the cavern.
In the distance, Oimo and Kashii, who had overheard their conversation, nodded in agreement.
"Brogy, Dorry is right. Besides, your real goal is to prevent the World Government from agreeing to that stupid snake's demands."
"When we get back, we'll all plead with Lord Imu together. If everything goes well, there's really no need to kill it. So let's leave it for Lord Imu to handle. He might even keep it as a collectible."
Oimo lifted his faceplate and added his voice to the persuasion.
All of the Giant God Warriors knew that Lord Imu had a fondness for collecting creatures from other worlds.
So bringing the White Snake Sage back might actually put Lord Imu in a better mood.
Oimo added, "Brogy, if there are any other interesting snakes in Ryūchi Cave, we could pack them up too and let Lord Imu take a look!"
Upon hearing this, Brogy still felt some lingering frustration, but he understood their intentions.
"Ehhh—"
At last, he let out a long sigh and agreed. "Fine! Fine! I won't kill it."
Truthfully, he had been acting on pure impulse before—blinded by righteous fury.
Now that Dorry and Oimo had talked him down, he cooled off a bit.
He realized that trading his own life just to take out the White Snake Sage wasn't worth it.
But inside the barrier, the White Snake Sage had already sunk into despair.
No matter what powerful Senjutsu it unleashed, it couldn't so much as scratch the transparent wall in front of it.
It could only watch helplessly as the space it had to move in shrank smaller and smaller.
In the end, it was forced to take on the form of a wrinkled old human woman, and was scooped up into the massive palm of Giant Kashii.
Moments later, under the coordinated efforts of Brogy, Dorry, and Oimo—
Garaga, Aoda, Manda and even Tagorihime, who had somehow survived, were all captured as well and sealed inside similar spherical barriers.
"All right, let's head back. Now all we can do is pray that Lord Imu will forgive your recklessness."
Dorry patted Brogy's shoulder and sighed.
Brogy didn't say a word. He only gave a firm nod, his expression resolute.
He didn't regret what he had done.
No matter what punishment Lord Imu had in store for him—he would face it without flinching.
Still... was I wrong?
...
Imu hovered in midair.
His sharp eyes observed with indifference the vast, desolate, and rugged grayish terrain.
And when he looked up, he saw countless stars, a brilliant sun, and a vast stretch of deep blackness entering his field of vision.
This was the moon. The moon of the Shinobi World.
And just like Starfish, it also had breathable oxygen suitable for human survival.
Imu was gazing at the surface of the moon, but what he was looking at wasn't the grayish gravel nor the artificial spaces beneath it.
It was the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, who had been sealed a thousand years ago by the combined efforts of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
Of course, Imu couldn't see her right now.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's seal clearly wasn't on the material plane—not within the literal "interior" of the moon. It was likely some kind of dimensional space, which meant even the Byakugan couldn't perceive it.
However, Imu could sense a massive energy source somewhere deep beneath the moon's surface.
Judging by its shape and outline, it was indeed the Ten-Tails' true form: the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Now, as a ruler of the Underworld from another world, even if many of his abilities couldn't be used here, Imu could still keenly perceive certain things.
For instance, an immense flow of energy was constantly pouring from the Pure Land of the Shinobi World into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
That might explain why, after so many years, the statue still remained active.
Of course, only a small portion was being used—most of the energy was being stored away.
At the same time—
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was also releasing that energy outward, in the form of chakra.
That chakra was also flowing into the Pure Land, a domain invisible to the naked eye.
However, Imu noticed an energy thread extending toward the Shinobi World—it seemed to be supplying someone with chakra?
"So that's it… siphoning chakra from dead shinobi, while simultaneously providing the necessary chakra for those allowed to remain active in the Pure Land. The other end of that thread must be connected to Senju Tobirama, resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation."
Imu immediately understood what Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was trying to do.
While the ultimate goal remained the same—harvesting a Chakra Fruit—he was clearly far more compassionate toward the living of the Shinobi World.
But when it came to the shinobi in the Pure Land, he was extremely authoritarian—his level of control was downright staggering.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo could cut off the chakra supply of any disobedient soul in the Pure Land at will, or even forcibly extract the residual chakra within their bodies.
They had absolutely no means of resistance.
And since all chakra in the Shinobi World originally came from Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, every individual's chakra carried a trace of his will.
Under such conditions, unless reinforced with Sage Chakra, normal ninjutsu couldn't even harm him.
Likewise, the chakra of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura also originated from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Which meant they couldn't kill Ōtsutsuki Kaguya either—only with the aid of Sage Arts could they seal her away.
That said, Imu saw no need to interfere with Hagoromo's plan.
Not to mention how agonizingly slow this "harvesting" process was—
Who knew how many years it would take to cultivate even a single Chakra Fruit?
And even if one did eventually ripen, who the fruit belonged to would depend entirely on who held the upper hand.
Worst-case scenario, even if Hagoromo ended up eating it—so what?
By then, who knew how powerful Imu himself would be?
Imu didn't believe a single Chakra Fruit could outweigh the combined resources of multiple worlds.
That's why, for now, he was far more interested in the sealed space where Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was held.
Imu extended his right hand.
A rapidly spinning white whirlwind appeared in his palm.
And the very next instant—
With a whoosh, the whirlwind exploded into light, spreading outward.
In an instant, roughly one-third of the moon was enveloped within a faint blue spatial domain.
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