Chapter 126: The Serpent-Headed Tribe

…

Earth sailed through space, surrounded by ten suns and a single moon. It was an extraordinarily strange sight.

The universe was boundless and vast, yet there were very few planets suitable for living creatures. Although Earth was traveling at an incredible speed, it had journeyed for more than a year without encountering even one.

Nor had it encountered the armies of the Otsutsuki Clan. Mobilizing troops and assembling an army numbering in the millions was itself a very time-consuming task for the Otsutsuki Clan.

It would take at least three years.

As for the Otsutsuki Clan’s guards, they had deliberately avoided the regions through which Earth passed. All they needed was to keep track of Earth’s movements.

On Earth, within the war fortress, Hiashi Hyuga leisurely piloted the planet. He had grown increasingly skilled at it. At that moment, he lowered his head and studied the interstellar map, muttering to himself, “The Serpent-Head Clan should be somewhere in this star region. Why haven’t we seen them yet?”

The Serpent-Head Clan was an intelligent species in the universe. They possessed extremely long necks, resembling serpents, and had the abilities of snakes. As they grew stronger, they could even transform into enormous serpents. They were an exceptionally powerful race.

Earth was currently searching for a habitable planet ruled by the Serpent-Head Clan. According to the Steel God Clan, the Serpent-Head Clan very likely knew the location of the cosmic black market. They were also highly likely to be one of the races that had rebelled against the Otsutsuki Clan.

Hiashi Hyuga studied the interstellar map and estimated the distance. Habitable planets were generally blue and would stand out conspicuously in space. With his Byakugan, he should have been able to see one from this distance.

But why had he still seen nothing?

After traveling for several more days, Hiashi Hyuga finally spotted something. Yet the object was exceedingly strange, and he hurriedly activated his Byakugan to its full power.

Unlike the others, who had evolved their Byakugan into the Tenseigan, Hiashi Hyuga had chosen to continue developing the Byakugan itself. His eyes had grown stronger. Once activated, they emitted light, and his range of vision became both farther and clearer.

“That is…”

In Hiashi Hyuga’s line of sight, he saw a rotating planet. Its entire surface was pitch-black, yet a ghostly green radiance glowed within it.

Looking more closely, Hiashi Hyuga realized that the ghostly green light had formed a green skull.

“What is this…?” Hiashi Hyuga exclaimed in shock, preparing to report it to Orochimaru.

But suddenly, an enormous whip of green energy lashed out from the black planet and hooked itself around Earth.

In the next instant, the hook drew the two planets closer together, until Earth and the black planet were pressed against one another.

Then green light flared once more across the black planet. With a sudden flash, a cage formed from green energy appeared around the black planet and Earth, enclosing them both.

“What happened?!”

“Look at the sky! There’s another planet!”

“…”

The sudden change had been too violent for the people on Earth not to notice.

When the black planet hooked onto Earth, it had forcibly halted the planet’s motion, creating tremendous inertia that everyone could feel.

They saw an additional black planet in the sky. Under the rays of the sun, that black planet gave off a ghostly green glow, making it appear extraordinarily sinister.

Inside the war fortress, Orochimaru emerged from his laboratory. The disturbance had startled him. He found Kabuto Yakushi and asked, “What happened?”

Kabuto had already spoken with Hiashi Hyuga. He now reported to Orochimaru, “It seems… we’ve been captured by a planet!”

Orochimaru said, “Hmm?”

They walked out of the war fortress and looked up at the ghostly green planet. At that moment, the green radiance was gradually forming a skull.

Orochimaru asked, “What does the Steel God Clan say?”

The Steel God Clan understood the circumstances of the universe better than they did, so they were naturally the first ones to consult in a situation like this.

Kabuto replied, “I’ve already asked them. The clan leader said he would come here personally.”

Before long, the leader of the Steel God Clan arrived. The moment he saw Orochimaru, he hurriedly cried out in alarm, “Lord Orochimaru, that is a planet of the Wraith Clan! We… we’re finished!”

Ignoring the latter part, Kabuto asked, “What is the Wraith Clan? Explain everything in detail.”

The leader of the Steel God Clan steadied his emotions and said, “There are ten supreme races in the universe, and the Wraith Clan is one of them. However, the Wraith Clan does not arise naturally. They are created when a living planet is annihilated in an instant!”

He looked at the green skull in the sky, terror filling his eyes.

“If I’m not mistaken, that was the living planet ruled by the Serpent-Head Clan! They’ve been annihilated!”

This was indeed the star region where the Serpent-Head Clan’s living planet had been located. If a Wraith planet had appeared here, then the only possibility was that the living planet had been destroyed.

The leader of the Steel God Clan looked utterly dejected, like an eggplant struck by frost.

Kabuto asked, “How do we resolve this?”

The Wraith planet was pressed tightly against Earth, and ghostly green energy was currently seeping into the planet. It was easy to imagine that, in the end, Earth would be transformed into something identical to the Wraith planet.

The leader of the Steel God Clan said mournfully, “Abandon the planet! We can only give up on Earth and search for another habitable planet.”

Ignoring him, Kabuto asked, “Is there any other way? A way that doesn’t require abandoning Earth?”

The leader of the Steel God Clan replied, “Unless we destroy the Wraith planet’s planetary core. But that is impossible.”

The Wraith planet was wrapped in ghostly green power. If it were shattered from the outside, it would automatically restore itself. The only chance of destroying its core was to penetrate deep into the planet.

Yet the Wraith planet was filled with members of the Wraith Clan. Everyone who died would become one of them. Devoid of consciousness, they instinctively protected their planet.

Anyone who set foot on the Wraith planet would have to face the combined assault of the power of an entire world.

Moreover, it was the Wraith planet’s domain. With one side strengthened and the other weakened, setting foot there was tantamount to suicide.

Orochimaru raised his head and looked at the Wraith planet. Driving it away was actually not difficult. He would not even need to act personally to accomplish it. The leader of the Steel God Clan considered it difficult only because his knowledge and experience were limited.

Furthermore, the leader of the Steel God Clan had been frightened by the things described in legend. He instinctively shrank back from everything, a habit closely related to the destruction of his ancestral planet.

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru said, “Kabuto, go summon Kimimaro. Bring a few others as well. We’ll go to the Wraith planet and take a look.”

Kabuto nodded and left to summon the others. Soon, he returned with Kimimaro, Guren, Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin.

Karin followed behind everyone, trembling with fear. Why had they brought her along for something like this?

She was terrified.

Orochimaru smiled faintly and nodded to everyone. He raised his head toward the Wraith planet, his eyes filled with profound meaning.

A vast net had spread around him, but he was not afraid.

On the Wraith planet, the undead did not wander aimlessly without consciousness. Instead, they collected energy in an orderly fashion and transported it all toward the planetary core.

Beside the core stood a massive piece of black wood. Bound to it was a woman clad in metal armor. Her hair fell loosely around her face, and her features were haggard.

Her body was being corroded by ghostly green energy. The orderly undead seemed intent on offering her as a sacrifice.

“Ah!” she cried out as she struggled, but she could not break free. In the end, she could only choke back a sob. Her voice echoed throughout the Wraith planet, becoming a forlorn whisper.

“Someone… please save me…”