"Once a mistake happens, you will be trapped in the projection forever, unable to return to the present."
"You will become an immortal, undying living corpse."
"Because everyone's Projection of the Past is relatively independent. Even I would not be able to pull you out."
The Sage Slug spoke with great seriousness.
And the truth was exactly that.
The river of time does not have the concept of 'time,' from the outside it would look like Ryosuke simply froze for one second, but for Ryosuke himself, it would be an endlessly long stretch of time.
Either his thoughts stop completely, or he cleanly and directly goes insane.
There is no third possibility.
"As long as you continue cultivating, the probability of making a mistake will always exist. It cannot be avoided."
Ryosuke understood.
How could such a convenient and powerful ability possibly have no restrictions?
Thinking about it now, each of the Three Great Sacred Lands' cultivation systems had their own strengths, and also their own shortcomings.
"Wait."
Ryosuke noticed something off, "You cultivated for a thousand years without making a mistake? How did you do that? Can't I just imitate your method?"
"Who said I didn't make mistakes."
The Sage Slug smiled, "The me standing before you is no longer the very first Sage Slug."
It gestured at the little slugs serving tea and water.
"They are all me. Our memories, consciousness, and thoughts are the same."
"When the consciousness of the previous main body gets trapped in the Projection of the Past, another me will merge into the main body, inheriting all energy and projections."
"But this kind of thing, I can do it. But can you, Ryosuke?"
This was why the Sage Slug walked the Path of the Past.
Every little slug was it. It could split, merge, and overlap consciousness at no cost.
It could freely plant anchor points in the past.
This was the Sage Slug's ability.
It truly wasn't strong.
In terms of combat ability, compared to the other two sages, it could only be described as weak.
But even if one day the ninja world perished, and all living beings on earth died, the Sage Slug would probably still be living just fine.
Its method was a path humans could not walk.
Ryosuke could turn his body into all kinds of small animals, and if he were given some time, he might really be able to create a clone.
But he could not split his consciousness. And he certainly could not split the system.
Ryosuke took a sip of tea and asked again, "Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, is that also a Projection of the Past?"
The Sage Slug shook its head slightly, "She did borrow from my path, but she felt it was too dangerous and chose a compromise."
"It's complicated to describe in detail, but I can only say her method is safe but limited, and cannot contain the overwhelmingly large power inside your body."
The benefits and risks were laid out clearly.
Such a precious cultivation method, yet the Sage Slug hid nothing. As long as Ryosuke wished to learn, it would teach him everything.
From here on, it depended on Ryosuke's choice.
Ryosuke did not immediately give an answer.
Because he was afraid of dying.
To be precise, Ryosuke was not afraid of dying fighting powerful enemies, but dying in cultivation, dying inexplicably, would be far too absurd.
"I have a question. I want to visit the Great Toad Sage. After this question is answered, I'll decide. Is that okay?"
"Of course."
The Sage Slug summoned the little slug that had guided him earlier.
"Take it with you. It will do its best to balance the complex energies in your body, ensuring that even in Mount Myōboku's high-concentration natural energy environment, you won't be affected."
"Then I'll trouble you."
Ryosuke extended his hand, picked up the little slug, and placed it on his shoulder.
After saying goodbye to the Sage Slug, by the time Ryosuke wound his way back to Mount Myōboku, it was already noon.
Fukasaku and Shima were by the river brushing their teeth.
"You two just woke up?" Ryosuke asked in surprise.
Fukasaku gargled, then spat, "We had raw marinated worms for lunch. If we don't brush our teeth afterward, it just doesn't feel very hygienic."
'Raw marinated worms… hygienic…'
Ryosuke really couldn't connect those two words in any way.
Shima noticed the little slug on Ryosuke's shoulder and let out a surprised sound, smiling as she greeted him, "A rare visitor."
But once they saw the cracks on Ryosuke's skin, the two sages' smiles instantly vanished.
"This is..."
They immediately understood why the little slug was clinging to Ryosuke's shoulder.
Sensing their concern, Ryosuke waved his hand, indicating he was fine, then looked toward the Toad Palace and asked, "Is the Great Toad Sage sleeping?"
Shima muttered, "No. Ever since your last visit, it hasn't slept for quite some days."
"Says that when it closes its eyes, everything becomes pitch black."
'Isn't that nonsense?'
'Who closes their eyes and doesn't see black?'
Ryosuke let out a small laugh, bid farewell to the two sages, and walked toward the Great Toad Palace.
Just as Shima said, the Great Toad Sage wasn't sleeping. It had a large Go board set up and was playing against itself.
When it noticed Ryosuke's gaze, it casually pushed the board aside and said, "When you get old, if you don't do something to exercise your brain, you start worrying about dementia."
Ryosuke glanced at the board.
It was Gomoku.
The Great Toad Sage continued, "You arrived a bit later than I expected. I thought the moment you opened the black box, you'd rush over and ask me whether the 'absolute darkness' had disappeared."
Ryosuke raised his hand and pointed at the cracks on his arm.
"I was afraid I'd blow up Mount Myōboku… So, what's the result?"
The Great Toad Sage was silent for a moment before shaking its head slowly.
No relation.
The future's Absolute Darkness had no connection to the spacetime black box.
Now that the box had been opened and the timeline stabilized, the Absolute Darkness still existed, firmly sealing off the Great Toad Sage's view of the future.
Ryosuke took out Fugaku's eye.
"What about with this added?"
The fate-deduction of Amatsu Tatamikaeshi, combined with the Great Toad Sage's foresight, together, could they pierce through the darkness?
At the very least…
Ryosuke hoped to learn the cause of the Absolute Darkness so he could prepare ahead of time.
The Great Toad Sage shook its head again.
"This eye's ability is too special."
"The more crucial the decision, the more you must not use Amatsu Tatamikaeshi."
Ryosuke remembered his earlier suspicion.
"It brings misfortune to the user?"
"No, it's not that mystical."
The Great Toad Sage said, "Let me give an example. Imagine you're standing in an extremely cold space. Everything around you is pitch black, and beneath your feet is a frozen lake."
"And beneath the ice is the lake water, which represents all information and knowledge in this world."
"The ability of Amatsu Tatamikaeshi is to forcibly break the ice layer, scoop up a handful of information you're interested in, and deliver it straight to your mouth for you to drink."
"But the act of scooping water creates water currents."
"And as I mentioned, the environment around you is extremely cold. These currents instantly freeze into sharp icicles."
"And because everything is pitch black, you don't know where the icicles are or aren't."
The Great Toad Sage said, "The more 'known' information you forcefully and easily acquire through this ability, the sharper the originally soft and harmless 'unknown' becomes."
"Walking blindly on the ice, sooner or later you will be pierced by those icicles."
"This isn't mysticism."
"It's probability."