Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 199

Under the reminder of Tobirama, the others finally snapped out of their massive shock and recalled Orochimaru's earlier explanation about the characteristics of the Hounds of Tindalos.

The hounds dwell in angular time, remaining motionless unless someone traverses through space-time. Due to their discontinuous existence in time, they are invisible to the average observer.

They could only be seen by individuals who had returned to a specific moment in the past.

Combining this with Orochimaru's earlier claim that the hound relentlessly pursued their prey, and the fact that he was the only one among them who understood these creatures, it was easy to deduce: Orochimaru must be the one being hunted by the hound.

As for whether what he said was entirely true or partially fabricated, no one doubted it.

When humans face the utterly unknown, something beyond the grasp of reason, even the most absurd explanation becomes easier to believe. It's akin to a drowning person clinging desperately to a blade of grass.

Even though many of Orochimaru's words were filled with unfamiliar terms, such as "angular time," no one felt the need to deeply understand "what is what." All they needed to grasp was that Orochimaru, someone knowledgeable about these matters, had prior contact with the Hound of Tindalos.

Seeing Orochimaru remain silent and unresponsive, Tobirama continued, "You must be entangled with the Hound of Tindalos yourself, unable to resolve the situation."

"So, you orchestrated this scenario—a sealed space. Then, you deliberately appeared here to lure that thing over."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's lips curled into a sinister smile, neither confirming nor denying the accusation. However, Rasa, standing nearby, seemed to have a sudden realization.

In this Suna operation, there had been no prior plans involving the Four Violet Flames Formation. Orochimaru had only just deployed it moments ago without consulting the Suna forces beforehand.

Adding to this, Orochimaru had not appeared at all since the start of the Chunin Exams.

Suddenly enlightened, his eyes widened as he rushed forward, grabbing Orochimaru's collar and yelling furiously:

"It was you! Orochimaru! You planned this to trap me! Order your subordinates to undo the Four Violet Flames Formation immediately!"

"That creature is after you, isn't it? Handle this yourself!"

His reason had been partially eroded by the invisible figure emerging from the mist. Grabbing Orochimaru in rage, he demanded the barrier be lifted.

But the Sannin paid no heed to Rasa's anger, merely smirking with a hint of sadistic amusement. This smile infuriated Rasa further, and he swung a fist at Orochimaru, only to be stopped by Hashirama nearby.

"Arguing now is meaningless! The issue before us is how to deal with this monster."

Standing on the rooftop, he exuded a heroic aura, his gaze fixed on the shadowy figure.

To him, the shadow wasn't entirely invisible like it was to Rasa, Danzō, and Hiruzen. He could faintly discern its outline, and as he stared longer, more of the creature's form seemed to emerge.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, his vision sharpened, and for a fleeting moment, he saw the Hound of Tindalos in its entirety.

Matching Orochimaru's earlier description, the creature was a manifestation of abstract malice.

Similarly, Tobirama, standing nearby, found himself able to perceive the monster's contours fully.

What was happening?

Tobirama's eyes widened in alarm as his thoughts raced. Initially, the Hound of Tindalos had been completely imperceptible to him. Why was it now becoming visible?

Next to him, Orochimaru noticed the slightly confused expressions on the faces of the two Senju brothers and allowed a faint smile to play on his lips.

The Hound of Tindalos are entities that can only be perceived by those who have undergone time-space traversal. 

The Edo Tensei technique works by pulling the souls of the deceased from the Pure Land of the afterlife into the present world at a specific time point. 

Without a doubt, this constitutes time-space traversal in the eyes of the Hound of Tindalos. 

The fact that the two brothers could now see the hound meant that these creatures had identified them as time-space travelers. More critically, it meant that the hound had marked the souls of Hashirama and Tobirama as their targets.

In essence, within the Four Flames Formation, the hound now saw the Senju brothers' souls as having the same "taunt level" as Orochimaru.

Moreover, the hound harbor an inherent malice toward all life forms. Even if someone isn't a marked time-space traveler, they will still become targets of attack.

This meant that all six individuals inside the Four Flames Formation were now marked as targets by the hound. 

The only reason the hound had yet to attack anyone was that their numerous targets had caused them a momentary "decision paralysis," leaving them uncertain about which one to attack first.

However, once their "indecision" was resolved, none of the six would escape their aggression.

And this, too, was part of Orochimaru's plan. 

Only by forcing the hound to attack everyone could he provoke the specific individual he wanted to act.

As he watched the hound circling overhead, wondering when they would launch their attack, Hiruzen turned to question him.

"Orochimaru, this hound you mentioned—does it belong to the category of the Great Old Ones? And what about Cthulhu? You've studied these things too, haven't you?"

Though the group had not formally declared an alliance, Hashirama's earlier declaration to "handle the creature before us first" had created an unspoken unity among them.

Given the nature of his plan, Orochimaru saw no need for concealment and replied openly, "The Hound of Tindalos do not rank among the Great Old Ones. They're merely peculiar, moderately powerful beings. And as for Cthulhu, I haven't devoted much time to studying it. Why, are you particularly interested in this?"

He spoke truthfully; he had never found Cthulhu intriguing, despite some individuals near the Land of Water being especially fixated on it.

Hiruzen nodded solemnly and said, "The Great Toad Sage made a prophecy many years ago. He foretold that the world would soon face a monumental crisis—a catastrophe brought about by a force rooted in the Great Old Ones."

"If we fail to prevent this crisis, the consequences won't just affect the ninja world. It will endanger all of humanity."

Hiruzen's words instantly captured everyone's attention, including Rasa, who had only a vague knowledge of Konoha's prophetic toad. 

The gravity of the matter prompted Hiruzen to reveal this secret, which he had previously shared only with a select few. Even Danzō was hearing about it for the first time at this very moment.

But today, in the presence of the First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen felt compelled to disclose the Great Toad Sage's warning about the impending world crisis.

If the Hound of Tindalos truly existed and had already manifested, could the arrival of the Great Old Ones be far behind?

If they were real, would the era of ninjas—or even humanity itself—be able to endure?

If Hiruzen's words had been said under normal circumstances, they might have seemed alarmist.

But now, with a being that defied human understanding right in front of them, the group had no choice but to give it serious thought.

"Even I have never heard of the term 'Great Old Ones,' let alone seen such an entity..." Hashirama said, resting his chin on one hand and shaking his head, indicating he was also at a loss.

However, he knew well that the Great Toad Sage's prophecies were never wrong. This was a being who had lived for over a thousand years and was said to have been the teacher of the legendary Sage of Six Paths.

Such a prophecy couldn't have been made without some basis in fact.

Unfortunately, the God of Shinobi himself couldn't think of any clues related to this matter.

Hiruzen was stunned. Even the First Hokage had never heard of the Great Old Ones, much less seen them.

Hashirama was undoubtedly the oldest person of this era. If someone who existed before the establishment of the Shinobi Village system didn't know about the Great Old Ones, then who could possibly have any knowledge about them? Perhaps the Sage of Six Paths from a thousand years ago?

The group fell silent, except for Orochimaru, who had a faint smile on his lips and a gleam of intrigue in his eyes.

In truth, the information Orochimaru had obtained from the Necronomicon was extensive. While he hadn't seen the Great Old Ones firsthand, the text's descriptions provided a glimpse into their immense power.

But Orochimaru had no interest in educating this group of "old relics." After all, he had only brought them here as pawns to deal with the Hounds of Tindalos.

Still, Hiruzen's mention of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy gave Orochimaru some ideas.

From what Orochimaru knew, accounts and events related to the Great Old Ones had been appearing with increasing frequency across various regions in recent years.

While these occurrences weren't large in scale or impact, the fact that they were happening at all was telling. As Hashirama's reaction demonstrated, such things were previously unheard of.

For instance, the emergence of Cthulhu statues and Dagon cultists—these phenomena had only begun in the last decade.

They seemed to signal something, or perhaps serve as omens.

If these events were seen as signs, then the Great Toad Sage's prophecy became much clearer.

This world would be destroyed by the awakening of the Great Old Ones!

How likely was such a catastrophe? In Orochimaru's view, it was inevitable.

From his past conversation with Abdul Alhazred during an expedition to the Nameless City, he had sensed a chilling truth: the Earth's first two ages had both ended at the hands of the Great Old Ones.

The Age of Magic and the Age of Technology.

Was the Age of Ninjutsu simply the next to fall?

In truth, the duration of the Age of Ninjutsu was too brief to be considered a true "age" and could only be measured as an "era."

However, the end of the Ninja Era required a more definitive signal. These bizarre incidents happening across various locations weren't sufficient to serve as conclusive evidence or a clear basis.

The awakening of the Great Old Ones required a specific triggering condition. Only by understanding this condition could one determine the precise timing of the event.

The part of the Necronomicon in Orochimaru's possession wasn't complete. It only mentioned that the Great Old Ones on Earth were in a state of slumber, rarely able to significantly impact human society.

But nightmares would inevitably awaken. The problem lay in the triggering condition, which wasn't recorded in Orochimaru's fragment of the Necronomicon.

However, in the southern Land of Water, among the Dagon cult, there was a widely circulated legend that had become part of their doctrine: "When the stars are right, Cthulhu will awaken from his slumber and bring calamity to the world."

From this, it wasn't difficult to deduce that the alignment of the stars was the triggering condition, leading to Cthulhu's awakening and the destruction of the world.

The exact timing of this condition, however, was unknown to Orochimaru.

It was unclear whether the alignment of the stars required additional conditions to be fulfilled, or if it simply recurred periodically.

If it were the latter, then the durations of the Ninja Era and Earth's previous two ages would have to be comparable.

But judging by the evidence, the Ninja Era was far too short. If the Great Toad Sage's prophecy of an impending cataclysm was accurate, it would contradict the idea of a fixed periodicity for the alignment of the stars.

Thus, Orochimaru leaned toward the first possibility: the alignment of the stars was a prerequisite for Cthulhu's awakening, but this alignment itself required a trigger.

What Orochimaru sought most was the exact timing of this event. If he could predict when the stars would align, he could prepare in advance, gather all the silver keys, and unlock the gateway to ultimate truth.

Returning to the present, Hashirama was still deep in thought, trying to recall if there was anything he might have overlooked in his memories.

Suddenly, a shadow darted toward him. Before anyone could react, Hashirama's body was viciously bitten at the waist, leaving an enormous and exaggerated gash.

The onlookers stared in horror at Hashirama. His face reflected shock as well, with nearly half of his waist missing. The air around him was filled with fragments resembling torn paper—the remains of Edo Tensei materials.

But within just two seconds, the fragments began to gather toward the gap in Hashirama's body. The previously devastating wound and his red armor returned to their pristine state.

Hashirama's expression relaxed as he turned to look at the Hound of Tindalos, now perched on the other side of the battlefield. His tone grew heavier.

"Interrupting someone's thoughts… What an unlovable little beast."

He clasped his hands together, fingers interlocking, and without naming a jutsu, four massive wooden stakes emerged from the roof tiles beneath him.

The stakes writhed and twisted with snake-like agility, instantly seizing the Hound of Tindalos by its four limbs. Then, with a sudden retraction into the ground, the stakes began pulling.

As the stakes shortened, they drew the hound's limbs downward, forcing its body flat against the ground in a grotesque simulation of a medieval dismemberment.

However, only Hashirama, Tobirama, and Orochimaru could see the full scene. To the others present, the stakes seemed to grab something invisible in mid-air, pulling it forcefully in four directions.

Despite this, the Hound of Tindalos was no weak opponent. While Hashirama's Wood Release could restrain even tailed beasts, the hound's strength caused the wooden stakes to tremble and sway under the strain.

Could my power not be at its peak? Hashirama immediately deduced that his current strength was only a fraction of its full potential. The Edo Tensei body Orochimaru had crafted could only channel about 30% of his original power.

Still, that much power was more than enough.

"Hah!"

Hashirama shouted, and the stakes unleashed a surge of strength, focusing all their force on a single point. The immense pull tore the Hound of Tindalos into four pieces. Within the Four Violet Flames Formation, the sound of flesh and fabric being ripped apart, accompanied by a guttural, mournful roar, echoed loudly.

This horrifying sound reached even those like Danzō and Hiruzen, who could not see the hound. Seeing the stakes abruptly fall limp as though exhausted, the three could infer what had happened.

So this was the power of the First Hokage? This level of strength was still unmatched.

If Orochimaru's claim was true, that Edo Tensei allowed complete control of the dead, then even the Five Great Nations would stand no chance against him.

Both Danzō and Hiruzen marveled at Hashirama's power, while Rasa silently acknowledged the terrifying potential of Orochimaru's Edo Tensei.

However, the matter was far from over. The four severed chunks of the Hound of Tindalos began to dissolve, turning into a viscous liquid that quickly transformed into a dense white mist.

The eerie mist coalesced on another patch of ground. Amidst the swirling fog, Hashirama noticed a familiar shadow beginning to reform.

"Immortal and 'indestructible,' huh?" Hashirama muttered.