Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 222 Sense of Crisis

On the edge of the battlefield, shortly after Hyuga Kanan left, a group of mysterious White Zetsu figures quietly emerged. They cautiously peeked out from underground, carefully observing their surroundings. Then, they swiftly sprang into action, splitting into two groups. One group headed without hesitation towards the direction where the masked man had fallen unconscious, while the other spread outwards, beginning a thorough search for Hyuga Kanan's whereabouts.

As Bai Jue approached the masked man, he couldn't help but gasp! The sight before him was utterly terrifying—the masked man's body was covered in dense, cracked flesh, as if it had been ripped apart by some horrific force. These cracks crisscrossed, as if they would tear the masked man to shreds at any moment, turning him into a lifeless mass of minced meat.

Worse still, the masked man had completely lost consciousness, his life force so faint it was almost imperceptible. Even the White Zetsu, standing right next to him, couldn't detect if he was still alive. However, despite this, the orders they had received and the power they had gained remained incredibly effective. One of the White Zetsu, like liquid, slowly merged into the masked man's body. Upon contact with his skin, it instantly formed a thick, white membrane, tightly enveloping his entire body. Having completed this, the White Zetsu swiftly submerged underground, disappearing without a trace.

Meanwhile, another team of White Zetsu strictly followed orders, beginning a meticulous search in the direction Hyuga Kanan had left. At the same time, the divine sense of the person behind the scenes also descended upon the White Zetsu, beginning a detailed perception and investigation of the surrounding environment. Every detail, every trace of aura, did not escape his keen perception.

After a long and meticulous search of the entire area, spanning a hundred miles, all the White Zetsu had found nothing. Hyuga Kanan seemed to have never set foot here, as if he had vanished without a trace. The person behind it all had no choice but to abandon further investigation, leaving only a few White Zetsu to expand the search area. Then, he withdrew his consciousness. At this moment, he secretly pondered: the opponent must have used the power of spatial rules to successfully escape this dimension and enter another. Continuing the search would be futile, merely a waste of time.

Hyuga Kanan, unconscious in the tree hollow, remained completely unaware, having fallen into a deep coma, having lost even the strength to maintain basic consciousness. The surrounding space was firmly enveloped by the will of the world, forming a vortex that made it extremely difficult to detect with any means of investigation. Only by completely tearing apart all of space in this area could Hyuga Kanan be found hiding here. Moreover, this space was filled with dense natural energy, as if Hyuga Kanan were lying in a liquid formed from natural energy.

While still unconscious, Hyuga Kanan's body began to glow with specks of green light. The vortex in his dantian swirled and contracted, the refined energy redirecting towards the laws of life, frantically healing his body and causing him to recover rapidly. At the same time, the vortex underwent a rapid transformation, shifting from a gaseous state towards a solid state.

After an unknown amount of time, Hyuga Kanan suddenly opened his eyes and began to survey his surroundings. His body had recovered most of its severe injuries, and the damage to his cells had been repaired and even enhanced. His spiritual power seemed to have been purified, becoming even more refined.

The surroundings were completely dark, without a single ray of light. But Hyuga Kanan felt as if she were inside a liquid, and the vortex of energy in her dantian had shrunk to its limit, becoming somewhat solidified, making her look as if she was about to break through to the Golden Core realm at any moment.

Realizing there was no danger around, Hyuga Kanan finally relaxed. He began to recall and summarize the events of the battle, his face extremely grim. He knew he had been completely exposed to the mastermind behind it all, and would likely be unable to venture out again, unable to let the other party notice him. This time, the opponent had only projected a portion of their power, yet it had already put him in a life-or-death situation. If the projected energy hadn't been so powerful that the masked man's body hadn't ultimately given way, he would have been dead as well.

"Damn it! I never expected the difference in strength to be so vast. Just resisting a portion of their projected power has been so difficult, and I almost lost my life! Before, I suppressed most of the forces in the ninja world, which made me complacent and arrogant, gradually losing my vigilance. Knowing that the Uchiha clan was always under their close surveillance, I still chose to attack them, resulting in my complete exposure and attracting their attention. This experience is undoubtedly a heavy lesson. It has made me realize that I currently lack the resources to contend with them. The only key is to continuously strive to improve myself." Hyuga Kanan pondered silently in his heart.

This time, the World Will took the initiative to cover my tracks, helping me successfully escape their search. This means I owe the World Will a favor. And this favor has already created a causal link; if I don't repay it, I will inevitably face an insurmountable obstacle on my future cultivation path, making any breakthroughs even more difficult.

"Forget it, why think so much? Since the World Will's purpose is so clear and its requirements so simple, I'll just complete the task it assigned when I'm strong enough. As for whether it will suddenly go back on its word or change its mind, that's not something I can control right now. The most important thing is to recover from my injuries and return to my cultivation place. After all, this battle has truly benefited me greatly! It has not only greatly improved my ability to use and sense the power of the rules of life, but it has also given me a vague feeling that I'm about to break through to the Golden Core realm."

After bringing Hyuga Neji back to the training grounds, Hyuga Kanan's energy clone quietly dissipated. The Hyuga clan members who had secretly arrived also entered the area. Next, they had to erase all traces of him to ensure absolute safety. Only in this way could they focus wholeheartedly on improving their own strength, which was undoubtedly the most crucial and paramount task at present.

While Hyuga Kanan was secretly recuperating, Konoha Village in the Land of Fire had already dispatched more than five ANBU squads to the site of the battle between Kanan and the masked man. This was, after all, within the Land of Fire's territory, and not far from Konoha. The village naturally noticed the intense battle taking place in such a location immediately and quickly sent personnel to investigate. However, upon seeing the battlefield, the ANBU squads realized that neither side was someone Konoha could afford to provoke. The terrain within a ten-kilometer radius had been completely altered by the battle. The bottomless ravines and craters indicated that the attack power unleashed by both sides far exceeded the capabilities of ordinary ninjas.

The members of the ANBU squad exchanged bewildered glances, a profound and indescribable fear rising within them. They were all seasoned ninjas, yet the sight before them left them utterly shocked. This land seemed to have been ravaged by a catastrophic force; the once flat ground was now fragmented, crisscrossed with deep ravines, like the scars of the earth. And those pits were unfathomably deep, seemingly leading straight to the earth's core, sending chills down their spines.

Faced with this scene, the leader of the covert squad knew they had to be extremely cautious. He waved for his men to remain alert and began carefully observing their surroundings. They discovered that not only was the ground severely damaged, but the surrounding trees had also been uprooted or burned to ashes. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and burning, making it difficult to breathe.

The captain frowned, deep in thought. The scale and destructive power of this battle were far beyond what ordinary ninjas could cause. He began to suspect it might be related to some powerful ninjutsu or a secret organization. However, all they could do at this moment was continue gathering intelligence, trying to understand the background and participants of this battle as much as possible.

After a careful search, the ANBU squad found no other valuable clues. Besides the devastation at the battle site, there was no trace of the identities of either side. Left with no other option, the captain decided to retreat temporarily and report the situation to the higher-ups of Konoha.

Upon returning to Konoha, the Anbu team reported everything they had witnessed to the Hokage. After listening, the Hokage fell into deep thought, realizing that this incident might pose a potential threat to the village. Therefore, he ordered increased security and dispatched more ninja to patrol and reconnoiter the surrounding areas to ensure the safety of Konoha. At the same time, he decided to immediately recall Jiraiya, who was wandering outside, to conduct an in-depth investigation and uncover the truth behind this mysterious battle.

Hiruzen Sarutobi always felt that one side in that battle was definitely Hyuga Kanan, while the other side had no information whatsoever. But the fact that someone could fight Hyuga Kanan to that extent, reminiscent of the final battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, instilled a sense of dread in Hiruzen. He believed that Hyuga Kanan wouldn't pose any threat to Konoha's rule, but the other side's situation—why they were clashing so fiercely with Hyuga Kanan, and Konoha's complete lack of information—was what was most worrying.