Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 177 The Crushing Defeat of the False Chosen One

Sensing the approaching dark blade, Nagato Uzumaki focused his mind to its limit, and two more dark chakra rods appeared in his hands, which he placed directly above his head.

With a crack, the chakra rod was directly pressed and cracked. Nagato felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his hands, and his hand bones made creaking sounds. His legs went weak, and he immediately knelt on the ground, creating a huge dent in the ground. The crack spread out from his knees and stretched for more than ten meters.

"So strong...absolutely too strong! This is pure power, speed, reflexes, and physical superiority completely overwhelming!"

This was the first time Nagato and Uchiha Tou had clashed head-on, unlike before when Nagato mostly dodged and even when he attacked, it was only to gain a chance to catch his breath.

But it was this one clash that made Nagato realize the gap between himself and Uchiha Tou. Even if Sage Mode was working properly, he wouldn't be able to defeat Uchiha Tou in ten moves in a head-on fight.

As for now... if I still dare to be foolish and confront them head-on, I'll probably die a horrible death after just two moves!

Thinking of this, Nagato Uzumaki gathered his chakra again, opened his mouth, and a laser from the Asura Path instantly shot out from his mouth.

A blinding flash of light struck Uchiha Touka's head instantly, but the laser didn't stop at all and shot straight out of Uchiha Touka's head. At the same time, Nagato felt his hands lighten, because Uchiha Touka's entire body had become intangible.

not good!

A tremor ran through Nagato's heart, and without the slightest hesitation, he tried to retreat again. However, at this moment, Uchiha Hiu had already materialized, and he too gently opened his mouth, spitting out a thin beam of light.

Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!

A thin beam of light brushed past Nagato's ear, causing him to shudder slightly. He turned his head and saw Shima, the hermit sitting on his shoulder, with a round hole between his eyebrows.

"Shima!"

The other toad sage let out a loud cry, his face showing grief, as if he had made up his mind, and his toad hands formed a hand seal once more.

With a loud bang, white smoke rose up. Before that, Uchiha Hiyu stretched out his hand and swiftly used his Spirit Binding ability to grab a small toad soul ball.

When the white smoke dissipated, whether it was the Toad Sage, Nagato, or Zetsu, they had all vanished without a trace.

"So I was reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku? Whatever, with this toad's soul, I'll soon be able to find the location of Mount Myōboku!"

Looking at the soul orb in his hand, Uchiha Touyu chuckled. Ignoring everything else, he pressed it against his forehead and began reading the toad's memories.

……

With a loud bang, Nagato felt the scene before him change, and then he found himself on Mount Myōboku.

Fukasaku sighed deeply, ended the Two Lives Technique, jumped over Nagato's shoulder, and embraced Shima's corpse.

"I'm sorry... Nagato, there was really no hope of victory under those circumstances. We had no choice but to retreat and preserve our strength."

Nagato opened his mouth, looking at the grief-stricken Fukasaku, but couldn't express any resentment. Although he had abandoned the Akatsuki base, Fukasaku was right; he was no match for Uchiha Tou.

"By the way, Master Fukasaku...we're back, but where are Jiraiya-sensei and Yahiko-Konan?"

Fukasaku nodded slightly and said:

"That's true. There's no point in gathering intelligence now. I'll just use reverse teleportation to get it from you!"

After saying that, Fukasaku clasped his hands together, and with a series of banging sounds, Jiraiya and the other two appeared on Mount Myōboku in a cloud of white smoke.

Just a moment ago, Jiraiya and his two companions were gathering information in Sunagakure, but the next second they appeared together at Mount Myōboku, leaving them all looking somewhat bewildered.

However, Jiraiya soon saw Shima's corpse and his eyes widened in shock:

"Boss...how could that be!"

Hearing Jiraiya's cry, Fukasaku, unable to hold back his tears any longer, finally spoke, his voice choked with emotion:

"It was that damned Uchiha who did it! His strength far exceeds our imagination! Even Nagato, who developed Sage Mode, is no match for him!"

"Shima... she died because of that guy!"

"What?!"

Jiraiya's expression changed drastically, and he froze completely:

"That Uchiha... actually defeated Nagato... Nagato has the Rinnegan and Sage Mode!"

"Wait, how did that guy find the Akatsuki?! Where did he get his information from?"

"Perhaps there is a traitor in Akatsuki... However, his strength is indeed far beyond mine. Even with Tobi and the help of the two Sages, I am no match for him at all... Now that Sage Shima has sacrificed himself, it will probably be even more difficult to fight against him."

Nagato spoke with a dejected expression. Since learning from Jiraiya and developing a bit of the power of the Rinnegan, Nagato had never suffered such a crushing defeat as he had today, and he looked completely shaken.

After all, although Nagato hasn't developed to the point of considering himself a god like in the original story, he initially felt that he was destined for greatness and even believed that he was the legendary child of prophecy.

First, it was revealed that the Rinnegan wasn't his at all, and that he was just a product of a conspiracy. Then, he was brutally beaten up by Uchiha Touya and taught a lesson. Naturally, he felt confused about the collapse of his self-identity.

"I'm going to see the Great Toad Sage. Shima's funeral arrangements still need to be taken care of. Nagato, there's no need to rush. Rest and recuperate at Mount Myōboku first!"

Fukasaku was heartbroken. After offering Nagato a few words of comfort, he took Shima's body and headed to the palace where the Great Toad Sage was located.

"It seems that Uchiha knows a great deal about us, but we know nothing about Uchiha Touyu. Even now, I still don't know how he plans to destroy this world?"

Jiraiya sighed deeply. The information they had gathered in Sunagakure was not entirely useless, but it was also of little significance.

Aside from knowing that Uchiha Hiu was indeed operating behind the scenes in Sunagakure as an Anbu member, that he possessed the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and that he had used Wood Release ninjutsu to bury tens of thousands of soldiers of the Land of Wind's daimyo's army, there was very little other information available.

These pieces of information were not useless, but the two most important points—Uchiha Tou's strength and his purpose—were never clearly ascertained. For Jiraiya, this could only be considered a failed intelligence gathering operation.

After a brief moment of low spirits, Jiraiya, Nagato, and the others quickly composed themselves and began exchanging information.

Jiraiya's information goes without saying, but after hearing about the battle with Nagato, the toad sage of Mount Myōboku was once again filled with surprise.

"Space-time ninjutsu... Sage Mode... Rinnegan... Is this guy really an Uchiha?"

"And he relies entirely on physical combat skills... uh... it just doesn't seem to match his abilities at all!"

Space-time ninjutsu, Sage Mode, Rinnegan—aren't these all techniques his students excel at? It feels like an upgraded version of his two students' techniques!

In the end, Jiraiya used taijutsu, or rather, ninjutsu-taijutsu, which made it difficult for the toad sage to withstand. Although Jiraiya did not look down on taijutsu and advocate ninjutsu like ordinary ninjas, neither Sage Mode, Rinnegan, nor space-time ninjutsu were necessarily compatible with the style of taijutsu.

"Perhaps I'm simply not qualified to force out his greater power! But his ninjutsu is indeed terrifying; once his pure speed and strength reach a certain level, he's practically invincible and invincible!"

"I see... That makes sense. When Uchiha Tou was in Konoha, he wasn't known for the power of the Sharingan. Instead, he inherited Hatake Sakumo's White Fang sword technique and was skilled in simple, direct, yet flawless ninjutsu and swordsmanship."

In ninja battles, this type of opponent, who relies on overwhelming basic abilities, is the rarest and most difficult to deal with. Just like the Raikage of each generation, so what if their information is completely leaked? They are different from ordinary ninjas; they simply do not have any weaknesses!

Just as Jiraiya and Nagato's group were racking their brains trying to figure out how to deal with Uchiha Tou, a messenger toad hopped over:

"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Nagato, the Great Toad Sage wants to discuss something with you!"

"Oh? Has the Great Toad Sage made another prophecy?"

Jiraiya paused slightly, then asked a question, but the messenger toad shook its head:

"I don't know either, Jiraiya-sama. You should go ask the Great Toad Sage yourself!"

Jiraiya nodded slightly and led Nagato toward the Great Toad Sage's palace, where they saw the Great Toad Sage sitting on the throne in the center of the palace.

Unlike the Great Toad Sage who always looked half-asleep and sat on his throne with his eyes half-closed, this time the Great Toad Sage opened his eyes wide and looked radiant. As soon as Nagato and Jiraiya entered the gate, they looked at the two of them.

"Oh, it's Nagato and Jiraiya! You've finally arrived."

The Great Toad Sage spoke clearly, surprising both Jiraiya and Nagato. The Great Toad Sage's usual demeanor was either unfathomable or a sign of dementia; he was never so direct. Without repeated reminders, they wouldn't have recognized the two of them.

Such a state of clear-headedness and sharp vision is now extremely rare.

However, Nagato and Jiraiya didn't suspect much, and Jiraiya spoke first:

"Great Toad Sage, have you seen another fragment of the future, and that's why you've come to summon us again?"

The Great Toad Sage shook his head and said calmly:

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya. Predicting the future through dreams is entirely a matter of luck. As for now, I haven't had any dreams about the future... I probably won't have any more such precognitive dreams in the future."

"Huh?! What's going on? The Great Toad Sage?"

"Heh, after all, dead toads don't dream... Maybe I'll have new dreams once I reach the Pure Land?"

"What?! Could it be that Great Toad Sage's lifespan... has come to an end?"

"Ah... it's almost time. Although I'm called an immortal, I only live a little longer than an ordinary toad. It's impossible for me to really live forever."

The Great Toad Immortal nodded slightly and began to mutter to himself:

"Speaking of lifespan, I'm still a little envious of that snake and that slug... The slug sage's lifespan is almost endless, and the old woman, the White Snake sage, has a racial talent of constantly reincarnating and regenerating. Although she can't live forever, her lifespan is still much longer than mine..."

Looking at the incessantly chattering toad sage, Jiraiya assumed he had entered a final, desperate phase of life, and a wave of sadness washed over him.

"Gamabunta Sage, don't worry, even if you die, I will carry on your will and will absolutely not let Uchiha Touyu destroy the ninja world!"

"My immortal, you can go in peace!"

Upon hearing Jiraiya's words, the Toad Sage paused slightly, a strange expression appearing on his face:

"There's no need to rush. Let me finish explaining first. Anyway, I can still live for another thirty or forty years. It's not time to go to the Pure Land so soon."

Jiraiya froze for a moment, then looked up and saw the Great Toad Sage. His face was blank, and his voice was monotonous:

"Three... thirty or forty years? Great Toad Sage, weren't you going to die?"

"Yes, there are only thirty or forty years left... I'm an old toad who's lived for thousands of years. Thirty or forty years is no different from one or two months to me. Aren't I about to die?"

"Ah...hehe...well, Immortal, I might not be able to carry on your legacy...I think I'll probably die before you, Immortal!"

Jiraiya is now over 40 years old. Ninjas have never had a long lifespan, and their lifespan is even shorter than that of ordinary people.

Madara Uchiha, despite his long-term survival, actually only lived to be around 80 or 90 years old. If it weren't for the Gedo Mazo extending his life, he probably would have died at 70.

In another thirty or forty years, Jiraiya will be in his seventies or eighties, and he doesn't think he can really live to that age.

"Don't worry, you won't die in front of me."

The Great Toad Sage chuckled and turned his gaze to Nagato:

"Nagato... you are also Jiraiya's student, and once a part of the prophesied child... but now the prophecy has become very chaotic, and I cannot guarantee that you can defeat that Uchiha."

"Now, you have pushed the power of the Rinnegan to its limit, and you have even used the Sage Body of the Uzumaki clan, Sage Techniques, and external forces created by Hashirama cells... To put it bluntly, you have now reached or even exceeded your potential limit."

(End of this chapter)