Naruto evolution system

Chapter 231: The Sage!

"You're the so-called Evil God?"

Baishi's voice echoed in the vast mental space.

The shadowy figure did not respond immediately. Its aura fluctuated erratically—shifting between madness and indifference, as if caught in a cycle of unstable emotions.

After a long pause, it finally settled down.

Then, a deep and aged voice resonated—

"I am not the Evil God."

Baishi's eyes narrowed slightly.

'It can communicate?'

Just as he anticipated the next words, the figure fell into silence once more—as if lost in deep thought.

Moments later, its energy suddenly surged, unleashing a spiritual storm even stronger than before.

Hidan, who remained sealed but still present, instantly descended into madness, thrashing and convulsing wildly.

Baishi's eyes flashed coldly—

With a single hand seal, he reinforced the seal on Hidan's mind, temporarily suppressing his spirit.

Then, he did something unexpected.

Baishi adjusted his own spiritual energy, modulating it into a calm, rational wavelength, and gently transmitted it to the shadowy figure—hoping to stabilize its chaotic state.

At first, it was just an experiment.

To Baishi's surprise—

It worked.

The wild fluctuations gradually subsided, and the black figure became still.

Then, in a rare moment of lucidity, it spoke—

"Thank you."

Baishi's gaze hardened slightly.

The entity had intelligence—that much was clear.

But what was it exactly?

A pause.

Then, the voice spoke again, but with a hint of hesitation—

"Too much time has passed… I have forgotten my own name."

Silence settled over the space.

Baishi observed quietly.

He could tell—

This entity hadn't spoken for an extremely long time.

Its thought process was sluggish, as though it was struggling to remember how to communicate.

Like an ancient machine, dormant for centuries, suddenly forced to operate again.

Finally, after some time, it continued—

"Young Sage… I thank you for granting me a fleeting moment of peace."

Baishi's expression shifted.

"Young… Sage?"

A realization struck him like lightning.

His gaze sharpened.

"Wait… are you also a Sage?"

A silence.

Then, a soft sigh from the shadow.

"It has been long since I was called that."

Baishi's mind raced.

If this entity called him a Sage, it meant it understood what Senjutsu was.

And if it understood Senjutsu, then it was highly likely that it once practiced it.

His voice turned serious.

"Then tell me—what are you now?"

A pause.

Then, the figure replied—

"Now?"

Baishi's eyes darkened.

"Yes. What are you now? If I'm not mistaken, your true body isn't here. So tell me—what exactly is this presence before me? And what is this so-called 'Evil God' that Hidan worships?"

The black figure fell silent once more, as if contemplating the answer.

Then—

"You are a Sage… then you must understand the nature of Natural Energy."

Baishi nodded.

"And you must also be aware… of the dangers of its imbalance."

Baishi nodded again.

"Then you should understand—the extreme difficulty of truly mastering it."

Baishi didn't interrupt.

Instead, he listened carefully.

The shadow's voice grew distant, as if reminiscing—

"In our era, all who sought strength pursued Sagehood. But despite the many who tried, very few succeeded."

Baishi's thoughts whirled.

If this was true—

Then in ancient times, before the spread of Chakra-based Ninjutsu, humans may have directly pursued Senjutsu instead of developing standard Chakra control.

A world where the first step was to become a Sage… or die trying.

The voice continued—

"Our kind—the true Sages—did not pursue battle. We sought only knowledge and harmony with the world."

A deep sigh.

"But then… they arrived."

Baishi's heart tensed.

"…Who?"

A long pause.

Then—

"The Foreigners from the Stars."

Baishi's breath caught.

"You mean… the Otsutsuki Clan?"

The shadow's aura trembled.

Baishi's words clearly shocked it.

It spoke again—

"You… know of them?"

Baishi exhaled slowly.

He chose his words carefully—

"Let's just say… I've learned some things."

The shadow hesitated.

Then, it nodded slightly and continued its story—

"Two of them arrived first. They planted… a cursed tree."

Baishi's gaze darkened.

The Divine Tree.

"At first, we did not concern ourselves with it."

The shadow's voice grew bitter.

"We never imagined… that this tree would continuously absorb Natural Energy. That it would devour all life and poison the land itself."

Baishi clenched his fists.

He knew the Divine Tree stole the world's Natural Energy, but to hear it directly from an ancient Sage…

It only confirmed how deeply the Otsutsuki had scarred the land.

"We had no choice. We had to fight."

Baishi's eyes flickered.

"You fought them?"

A bitter chuckle.

"…We were arrogant."

The shadow trembled slightly.

Then—

"We thought we could drive them away."

Baishi felt an ironic smirk creep up his lips.

"Drive them away? Heh… No, you wanted them dead."

He knew.

There was no way the Sages simply tried to "drive away" the Otsutsuki.

They must have tried to eradicate them completely.

But they failed.

The shadow fell silent.

Then, it admitted—

"…We underestimated them."

A long pause.

Then—

"They were… not normal beings. Their power… was beyond us."

Baishi's gaze hardened.

He already knew the outcome.

If the Sages had won—then the world would not be the way it is now.

The shadow's voice lowered.

"Many died. Many fled. I… was one of the cowards who ran."

Baishi remained quiet.

Then, he asked—

"And how did you end up… like this?"

The shadow's form flickered.

For a moment, Baishi saw pain in its aura.

Then, the voice softened—

"…Because I tried to survive."

A bitter laugh.

"And survival… always comes with a price."

Baishi felt something twist inside him.

He had a feeling—

He was about to learn something far worse than what he already knew.

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