Chapter 298: The True Enemy 【17】
Chapter 298: The True Enemy 【17】
Rin casually ate the strawberry, then snuggled up to Feng Ye with a smile, leaning on his shoulder and asking, "Feng Ye, in that TV show yesterday, why did the women in the Kingdom of Women get pregnant after drinking water?"
Feng Ye casually replied without looking up from his book, "Perhaps there is some life energy in the river water."
Rin smiled and said, "Wrong, it's because there's a country of men upstream."
Feng Ye: "?"
Yuhi Kurenai, who was sitting beside them, paused for a moment, as if realizing something. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she glared at Rin before letting out a small snort.
She turned to Feng Ye and gently breathed hot air into his ear as she said, "Feng Ye, do you want to create life in a different way today?"
Feng Ye silently put down his book, then reached out and took two peaches from the table, stuffing one into Rin's mouth and the other into Kurenai's, and said, "Okay. That's enough now."
"It's already more than enough."
"Even the biggest flirts aren't as bold as you two."
Feng Ye teased, his gaze a little wistful.
Back in the ninja academy, these girls had been so innocent, but now they were almost too mature for their ages.
It was a shame that even if he turned back time and made them ten years younger, their minds would still remain the same. So, was the most terrifying aspect of the 'poison of time' growth?
Feng Ye suddenly realized that perhaps this was the greatest enemy of mankind.
Even now, as he stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, his emotions were still rich and varied. But ever since he had defeated Uchiha Madara, sent Kaguya Otsutsuki fleeing to another dimension, and firmly established himself as the undisputed master of the ninja world, his emotions had gradually begun to fade in many ways.
For example, the human drive to strive for improvement had diminished.
What kept him grounded now were the remaining challenges he faced: the eighth gate of the Eight Inner Gates, the threat of Kaguya still lingering, and the mighty power of the God Tree fruit and the Hollow Spiritual World.
But once he conquered the eighth gate and attained true invincibility, perhaps that would be when he began to 'change'.
With the power of the God Tree fruit and the abilities of the Hollow Spiritual World, he was immortal and unstoppable. The Rinnegan's power over life and death further solidified his dominance.
Perhaps things wouldn't change much in a few decades.
But what about after centuries, or millennia...?
He might gradually become like the hero Saitama from One-Punch Man, and eventually, all his human emotions would fade away, leaving him a so-called 'god' in body and mind.
Although that step was still far off, and there was much time in between, Feng Ye, who already stood at the apex of the ninja world, couldn't help but contemplate this eventuality.
So far, he had only unlocked the third notch of the Hollow Spiritual World's power.
At the current rate, it would probably take at least another decade to unlock the fourth notch, and the fifth and sixth notches were still shrouded in mystery.
To truly master the power of the Hollow Spiritual World, the biggest challenge wouldn't be unlocking its abilities but maintaining his sense of self while controlling time.
Otherwise, he would simply be assimilated by time itself.
"There's still a long way to go before I can truly control time..."
Feng Ye murmured to himself.
He felt that he had identified the greatest challenge and the key to mastering time—a gut feeling, an instinct that told him this was the case.
Perhaps the previous owner of the Hollow Spiritual World had, after wielding the power of time for an eternity, eventually lost their sense of self, leading to their downfall.
It was hard to imagine any other force being able to reduce the Hollow Spiritual World to its current state, requiring a gradual recovery and unlocking of power.
After all, time transcends the dimensions.
While spatial abilities may seem to clash with temporal ones, it is only because the latter is not yet complete. When it is, they will be incomparable.
Even with the Six Paths' third stage abilities, as he currently possessed, reversing time and returning to the previous second would not incur greater consumption. The expenditure of temporal energy remained constant and minimal.
In other words, in the grand scheme of time, the power he now possessed was insignificant. Complete mastery over time would grant him dominion over all.
"I'm going to inspect the village."
Feng Ye set down his book and rose from the sofa.
"Let's go together," Rin and Kurenai said as they stood up as well. The two girls quickly returned to their rooms, changed their clothes, and hurried to catch up with Feng Ye.
Feng Ye ascended to the top of the Hokage Building and gazed out over Konoha.
The village had expanded to nearly double its size from a few years ago. At this rate of development, in a few more years, it might grow so large that Pain's Shinra Tensei would be unable to completely cover it, only capable of destroying a portion.
To destroy Konoha—
One would need to hold off several floors with not just one bag of rice but several.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?"
Rin stood by his side and suggested, "I heard there's a town that's been developing very well in recent years. It has the best hot springs, and many noble daimyo often travel there for vacations."
For once, Kurenai agreed with Rin. She looked at Feng Ye and asked, "How about a spa vacation? It sounds pretty good. What do you think, Feng Ye?"
"If you both want to go, then let's go. There aren't any pressing matters lately anyway, just the absorption of Iwagakure and control of the Earth Country. I can leave that to Kakashi to handle."
Feng Ye smiled and casually replied.
Rin looked slightly surprised. "Are we making a move on Iwagakure so soon?"
With Konoha now in control of the Lightning and Wind Countries, the number of missions had increased significantly in recent years, driving the development of the ninja village and keeping the Konoha ninjas busy.
Kurenai also looked at Feng Ye, hesitating slightly. "Don't we need to take action? Won't there be some trouble if Iwagakure resists?"
"It's fine. Kakashi can handle it," Feng Ye said nonchalantly. "Iwagakure doesn't even have a jinchuriki now. Even if there are voices of dissent, it's a minor issue. The only notable combat power they have is the Third Tsuchikage. If Kakashi can't even handle Iwagakure..."
Well, if he couldn't handle it, he wouldn't be called his little brother.
It is worth mentioning that Kakashi is now the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails—calling him a jinchuriki is not entirely accurate. To be precise, the Eight-Tails is now Kakashi's summoned beast.
The story is approaching its conclusion, with only three or four more arcs remaining. It gets harder to write during these intermittent periods, so please bear with the slower updates. I'll do my best to maintain a pace of seven chapters per update.
(End of Chapter)
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