"You really... really... did such a thing..." The Sage of Six Paths' gaze was fixed on Lexon's calm face as he spoke with extreme gravity. "Do you even know what this means! ...Sigh..."
Then, as if realizing that saying more was pointless, the Sage of Six Paths sighed and dropped the subject.
He was also afraid that continuing might provoke the resentment of this exceptionally powerful individual, turning him into an adversary...
At the very least, he currently appeared non-hostile.
Next, the Sage of Six Paths asked Lexon, "Then, what about my mother?"
He wanted to know her whereabouts so he could reach out to her.
Only then would he know if his mother was weak from just escaping the seal or in her peak state...
If it were the former, he would confront her; if it were the latter, he could only try his best to rescue some people first...
"She's in here." Lexon showed the Sage of Six Paths a small pot-like vessel hanging from his waist.
?
What did that mean?
The Sage of Six Paths didn't quite understand Lexon's meaning.
He was completely bewildered.
What did "in here" mean?
Where was "here" referring to?
The Sage of Six Paths truly did not understand.
Seeing the Sage of Six Paths' confused look, Lexon untied the cord holding the small pot and explained while holding it up, "Kaguya Otsutsuki was beaten half to death by me and stuffed inside here."
"..." The Sage of Six Paths' brow furrowed, but he remained silent.
After a long silence, he finally asked, "Are you joking?"
"No," Lexon replied indifferently.
"..."
Another long silence followed.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving." Seeing that the Sage of Six Paths had stopped talking, Lexon announced his departure.
"Wait... wait..." Hearing Lexon was about to leave, the Sage of Six Paths hurriedly spoke up.
"What is it?" Lexon's tone was slightly impatient.
He still had to go back and play games with Naruto and Sasuke...
After all, he had only just restored his relationship with Sasuke yesterday.
It had been so long since they played together that he missed it a little...
The Sage of Six Paths also sensed Lexon's impatience. Without dwelling or questioning too much, he simply asked, "So my mother is with you, right?"
"Yes," Lexon nodded.
Afterward, he ignored the Sage of Six Paths and prepared to leave.
"Using the Gedo: Art of the Rinne Rebirth consumes more than just your life force."
Just as Lexon was about to depart, the Sage of Six Paths' voice rang out again.
Hearing those noteworthy words, Lexon couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
"I don't know why you haven't died despite consuming so much life force... or why you aren't even in a weakened state... but the Gedo: Art of the Rinne Rebirth you performed cost more than just life force... there are other things... perhaps involving the soul, or something even deeper... at least from the trajectory I've observed, you have lost other things..."
Before Lexon could respond, the Sage of Six Paths' words continued.
'Other things...'
That thought settled in Lexon's mind.
He didn't doubt the Sage of Six Paths' words because, while Lexon was stronger, his understanding of the world couldn't match this being who had existed for over a thousand years and controlled the Pure Land...
"Thanks for the reminder." Lexon said to the Sage of Six Paths.
Then, the figures of Lexon and Black Zetsu suddenly vanished.
...
After separating from Black Zetsu, Lexon returned to Konoha.
Actually, Black Zetsu didn't want to leave Lexon's side at all. Since his mother had been captured by Lexon and was on his person, Black Zetsu naturally didn't want to leave her for a second.
However, Lexon was annoyed by the way he stared longingly, hoping Lexon would release Kaguya Otsutsuki, so he forcibly drove him away with the threat of "if you don't leave, you'll never see your mother again."
Now Konoha was empty.
Those Konoha villagers clearly hadn't returned yet.
After all, while the distance from the Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain to Konoha in the Land of Fire wasn't too great, it certainly wasn't close either.
With so many people, most of whom were ordinary civilians, the return speed was naturally very slow. Thus, nearly two days had passed without them reaching the village.
Of course, Naruto, Sasuke, and the others hadn't returned yet either.
Thus, Lexon's idea of playing a few rounds of games with the two kids for the first time in a long while fell through.
Lexon had no choice but to play games by himself.
He returned to his previously extremely leisurely lifestyle.
Most things in this world that needed to be checked in had already been completed.
Inside the pot, there was an Ancestor of Chakra he could check in with every day, and there were even those unfortunate Reincarnators who had been hostile to him, as well as Kaguya Otsutsuki's unlucky son, Black Zetsu...
There shouldn't be a shortage of check-ins until the Chunin Exams...
Furthermore, this world had now become his base, which he could enter and exit at any time.
If he missed anything later, he could return at any time to check in.
He could even let time in this world continue to flow and develop.
Perhaps some unexpected things would appear in the future.
Like those members of the Otsutsuki Clan...
Once they showed their heads...
At that time, he could capture them to check in as well.
This was Lexon's line of thinking.
The only thing he cared about now was what the Sage of Six Paths had said.
Those "lost things"...
Lexon was somewhat curious about what they were...
But purely dwelling on it was useless, so he didn't think about it too much.
And so, just like that, Lexon began his salted fish life.
The people of Konoha arrived back on the fifth day.
Because ordinary villagers made up the majority, it significantly slowed down the travel time, resulting in such a late arrival.
Everyone was jumping for joy as they returned to their homes.
Incidentally, Danzo was not resurrected by Lexon.
He was the only guy Lexon specifically paid attention to.
However, even if Danzo were alive, Sasuke would have sought revenge and killed him, so it was easier just not to revive him.
Hadn't he been beaten to the point of questioning his existence and becoming completely indifferent...
Then he could just go meet the Buddha directly...
That was what Lexon thought.
What Lexon didn't expect was that those friendly Reincarnators seemed to have been resurrected by him in passing.
He really hadn't noticed.
Because their strength was simply too weak...
If Rara, Youmei, and the remaining members of the Reincarnator team hadn't come to visit and thank him, he might not have known that he had brought these friendly Reincarnators back to life.
He thought he had seen ghosts...
Since they were alive, so be it...
Lexon didn't pay it much mind.
Their resurrection was just a stroke of good luck.
This plot world could be considered cleared without any casualties.
Now that Naruto and Sasuke had arrived, Lexon could finally play games with others.
Ah, no... actually, there was also a fox...
This time, Kurama was finally not staying in the seal space.
Instead, he appeared in reality, playing with Sasuke, Naruto, and Lexon.
With the seal lifted, Kurama could do whatever he wanted.
Because he still had a connection with the Jinchuriki, he could appear outside at will or stay inside Naruto's body.
Occasionally, Sakura and Hiruzen Sarutobi would also come to Naruto's room to play.
Sakura simply enjoyed the feeling of playing with friends.
Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was much the same.
Having died once, he seemed to have gained perspective on many things.
Now he only focused on developing the village and protecting its peace.
He didn't specifically fight for anything anymore, and his way of doing things had become much more gentle.
In fact, it wasn't just Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, who underwent such a shift in mindset.
Actually, most Konoha villagers who had died once shared similar thoughts.
Even some radicals within the village had become much more moderate.
The village's attitude toward the outside world had also changed, especially regarding other ninja villages.
This, the number one ninja village in the shinobi world, had even established some fair and friendly coexistence agreements with villages smaller than itself.
Amidst this gentle atmosphere, the day for Konoha to host the Chunin Exams approached.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]