And now... they're dead. Everyone is dead!
Even he himself…
— Naruto, live! I won't let you die! Take revenge! Go and avenge everyone! Ha ha ha!!!
The Nine—Tails' voice echoed in his ears, the last thing he remembered from the moment he was extracted.
"Nine—tails... that's it... I will definitely…
Naruto clenched his fists tightly. There was still a gaping sealing cage inside it, but it had been destroyed to the ground. The seal Konoha had placed on him crumbled to dust. There was no longer a Nine-Tailed figure in the dungeon, only a single huge tail remained instead.
At the very last moment, when the Nine-Tails was being torn out of him, he voluntarily cut off part of his body. If it wasn't for this fragment, Naruto would already be dead.
Finally, he looked back longingly and, without turning around anymore, left this place.
The Akatsuki organization did not follow Naruto's fate. In their eyes, even though he seemed alive, he was actually already a walking dead man.
Jinchuuriki, who had lost his Tailed Beast, could not survive. For them, Naruto's only and main value was the beast inside him. They didn't care what happened to the boy himself.
…
Silence. Three months have passed. The fourth was already on the nose, and the Child of Prophecy had not been found. Uchiha Yue was still alive and well, and no one knew when he would finally die.
But the Great Toad Sage knew that even before Uchiha Yue's death, his own life would come to an end.
— Kwa!
Deep in Myoboku Mountain, in the temple, the Great Toad Sage's face was filled with sorrow. The situation was worse than he had expected. According to his initial calculations, the natural energy in the Shinobi world should have been enough for at least four months before its level dropped so much that it could no longer support his life.
However, a little more than three months had passed, and he was already suffocating. The concentration of natural energy was falling too fast.
His already flabby skin sagged even more, and his body became weak. From just an old toad, he turned into a truly ancient, decrepit toad.
His life had long since passed its natural limit. All these years, he lived only by the power of senjutsu, the fusion of natural energy and chakra. And, unlike the ordinary toads from Mount Myoboku, he needed a huge amount of this energy.
Unlike other creatures, they, the sages, were extremely adapted to natural energy. In fact, they were special creatures that had mutated under her influence. The senjutsu energy required mixing with the chakra in a one-to-one ratio.
How much chakra you have is how much senjutsu energy you can get.
But they were different. They could absorb more natural energy and harmonize it with the senjutsu chakra in a special way, which significantly prolonged their life. This additional natural energy was connected to the external environment and constantly exchanged with it. If the concentration of natural energy outside became too low, they could hold out for a short time, but eventually it became fatal for them.
The Great Sage Toad possessed this ability even before the arrival of Ootsutsuki Kaguya. It was thanks to her that he gained life and strength that ordinary beings could not.
Unfortunately, although this condition increased his power, it was not much inferior to the senjutsu chakra.
In fact, he should have died a long time ago. If it wasn't for the senjutsu chakra, he would have passed away many years ago. It was the existence of the chakra that changed the very essence of his life, allowing him to produce senjutsu chakra and accumulate even more natural energy in his body to continue living.
Moreover, thanks to the senjutsu chakra, he could exist in an environment with a lower concentration of natural energy, unlike in the past, when its fluctuations caused the so-called "era of decline", and many powerful beings died due to exhaustion.
Yes, the previous concentration of natural energy in the Shinobi world was somewhat low for the Great Sage Toad who mastered the senjutsu chakra.
But that "low" concentration is nothing compared to the current one. If we compare this with the feeling of fullness, then the previous level was akin to a slight hunger. The current one is a painful starvation death, when you gnaw the bark from the trees out of desperation.
Feeling the natural energy of Mount Myoboku, the Great Sage Toad took a deep breath. Her current concentration in the Shinobi world could no longer keep him alive. He was dying. Now, even if you kill Uchiha Yue, getting rid of this monster, nothing will change. The fully absorbed and consumed natural energy will not return.
He wasn't the only one dying. The other two wise men of Mount Myoboku were also at death's door. However, unlike him, Fukasaku and Shima, even with such a drop in the concentration of natural energy, could live for several more decades.
But that was their limit, too.
If a little more time passes and Uchiha Yue absorbs all the natural energy, then the toads from Mount Myoboku will be no different from other summoning animals.
— Uchiha Yue must die!
But how to kill him?
Only a Child of Prophecy!
However, so far the Shinobi world has not found him.
Not only on Mount Myoboku, but also in the Shikkotsu forest, things were not going well for the sage. Katsuya's once huge body had visibly shrunk, and she looked sick and feeble. Unlike the Great Sage Toad, Katsuyu was incredibly resilient.
It could be said that she was a collective organism, almost immortal. Her current condition was only caused by the fact that the natural energy existing in the Shinobi world was no longer enough to support her huge body.
Even if the natural energy disappears completely, her inner chakra will still be able to support her mind, allowing her to continue to exist.
…
— Old man, Mr. Jigen has a task!
A toad with sagging skin, leaning on a staff and looking incredibly ancient, swam on another toad to the Great Sage Toad.
—Oh, what else?" - he asked. — Is something so important that you need the help of our Myoboku Mountain? Has the Child of Prophecy been found?
The Great Toad Sage's eyes flashed, and his faded spirit rose.
However, he was disappointed. Jigen had heard that Mount Myoboku possessed senjutsu, that they were not ordinary summoning animals, but possessed intelligence, and he needed to…