"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said with heartfelt gratitude and awe.
At that moment, Kakashi thought back to everything he had experienced since the beginning of the Fourth Great Ninja War, enemies whose power surpassed anything he had encountered before.
To be honest, they were far beyond his understanding. He had often thought that no mere human could reach such a level…
And yet, Natsuro had stood victorious in battles against those very enemies. His strength went without saying, what he could do had long since surpassed Kakashi's imagination.
Still, no matter how effortlessly Natsuro had restored his eyesight, no matter how casually he performed such miracles, it was still a blessing and a blessing deserved gratitude.
As for how to repay it… Kakashi sighed inwardly. Looks like life's about to get even busier.
"No need to thank me," Natsuro nodded, glancing at Kakashi.
He didn't know just how far Kakashi would be able to go, but one thing was clear.. even though Kakashi now had both of Obito's eyes, he was still a long way off from the Dual Kamui Kakashi that appeared in the final battle of the original timeline.
After all, Kakashi's strength back then didn't come from just himself, it included Obito's Yin Release powers.
Even though Six Paths Obito wasn't exactly the strongest, he had still become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and therefore had undoubtedly reached Six Paths tier. Even after his body died, he was able to remain in the world through Yin Release, and even transfer his power to someone else, as he did to Kakashi in the original.
Without Obito's power, Kakashi wouldn't have been able to use the full-body Susanoo, even with both Mangekyō Sharingan. It was only thanks to that boost from Obito's Yin chakra that he achieved such feats.
If Kakashi had been a true Uchiha, he might've been able to retain more of Obito's power via resonance. But alas, he wasn't and once it ended, his eyes reverted to normal.
In fact, there was another person who had done something similar, and even more outrageous, the Sage of Six Paths.
At least Obito passed his power shortly after death. The Sage? He transferred his chakra a thousand years later to Naruto and Sasuke.
So even though there are still limits after reaching Six Paths level, it's not wrong to say it's stepping into the realm of gods. Six Paths powers can't simply be summed up with a few sentences.
In truth, none of them, not Six Paths Obito, not Six Paths Madara, and not even Natsuro, had fully unlocked the true potential of Six Paths power. The time they'd spent at that level was still too short.
With that in mind, Madara's self-proclamation as a god wasn't entirely unjustified.
To those below the Six Paths tier… they may as well be gods.
After dealing with Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, Natsuro walked up to Ino and smiled as if no one else were around. "Didn't scare you, did I?"
"I wasn't scared," Ino said, chuckling as she recalled the stunned faces of their friends earlier. "But you definitely scared the hell out of everyone else."
"Good," Natsuro nodded. What happened to everyone else didn't matter, as long as Ino was fine.
He hadn't told the others about the shadow clone for a reason, to push Sasuke forward. In fact, everything that happened had gone just as he planned.
Including the clone's defeat and the resulting reactions.
That moment of despair… was precisely what he had wanted.
After all, if people are given hope without ever tasting despair, they won't understand the true danger. They won't know how to be truly grateful.
But now, even if only for a moment, the Allied Shinobi Forces had stared into the depths of total despair.
And Natsuro, by reappearing like this, had pulled them out of that abyss, and given them an even greater sense of hope.
In short, it was a masterclass in manipulation.
He had crushed them emotionally and mentally, deepening his place in their hearts. So the next time he wanted to act on his own plans, any resistance would be greatly reduced.
"Oi, oi! That's not okay at all. You nearly scared me to death," Shikamaru muttered from the side.
"Heh, you're still young. A little fright's good for you," Natsuro said with narrowed eyes, his tone unchanged despite the massive gap in strength between them.
After all, true strength doesn't change your attitude, it's the weak who create distance through fear, self-doubt, and guilt, and in doing so, lose the courage to approach the strong.
Shikamaru looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end, he sighed and gave up. "Fine, you're the Hokage, whatever you say goes."
"Wait for me. It'll all be over soon," Natsuro said to Ino.
"Mhm. I believe in you. I always have." Ino walked forward, ignoring the looks around her, stood on her toes, and kissed him on the cheek. Her face flushed slightly red.
"Go get 'em!"
Natsuro smiled, then said no more to anyone else. He glanced around, many of the shinobi were injured. Even the aftershocks of the earlier battle had left them struggling.
After thinking for a moment, Natsuro stepped onto a patch of open ground and pressed one hand to the earth. A glowing sigil appeared at his feet.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In the next moment, three enormous figures appeared before everyone. One was so large it was practically a moving mountain.
The three were the Great Toad Sage, the White Snake Sage, and the Slug Sage. While their combat strength only reached "super-Kage" level, and they wouldn't be much help in the coming battle, they could at least shield the Allied Forces from collateral damage.
The sages looked at Natsuro, then up at Six Paths Madara in the sky.
"So… things have come this far?" the Great Toad Sage murmured. "Very well. Let me bear witness to the beginning of this world's transformation."
"I'll leave the protection and healing of the Allied Forces to you," Natsuro said with a nod.
"Hmph. You're using this sage as a bodyguard?" the White Snake Sage grumbled. But sensing the power within Natsuro, he fell silent. In the end, he agreed, the wise submit to the times.
The Slug Sage said nothing. Her massive body, like a living mountain, crumbled into countless smaller slugs, which immediately began treating the wounded.
"Is that… the Slug Sage?" Tsunade was stunned as a tiny slug climbed onto her shoulder, her voice filled with reverence.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade. What you saw just now was indeed the Slug Sage," the small clone (also called Katsuyu) responded in a gentle voice.
"I knew it. Natsuro actually summoned the entire Slug Sage…" Tsunade muttered, relaxing a little now that she knew it was Katsuyu.
Even if she and her students worked together, they couldn't summon the full Slug Sage. And yet, he had done it effortlessly.
She was so shocked she even forgot to be mad at Natsuro for faking his death and making her cry in vain earlier.
Elsewhere, Jiraiya had no words left for what he was witnessing.
"That brat Natsuro… he's gotten ridiculously strong," Jiraiya said with a laugh, though it had clearly scared him, any longer and he might've started crying.
"Phew… thank goodness he's okay. The Great Elder Sage did say little Natsuro was the hope of the Three Great Sage Lands," said Fukasaku with relief.
Then, when Natsuro summoned Gamamaru, both Fukasaku and Shima froze, why had he summoned their ancient grandpa?
Gamamaru was so old, what could he even do anymore? Would he just fall asleep in the middle of the battlefield?
The two were worried… until they saw the Great Toad Sage's agile movements, and were completely dumbfounded.
Then, the two toads looked at each other in stunned silence. So all that sluggish, elderly posturing back at Mount Myōboku — the "too old to move" act had been a complete lie?
Seriously…
"Heh… hahahaha!!" Off to the side, Orochimaru couldn't hold it in anymore. His whole body trembled as he broke out into wild laughter.
He had never imagined that the Natsuro he'd been observing this whole time had only been a shadow clone. And if that was true, didn't that mean his true strength had already surpassed his wildest expectations?
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Orochimaru couldn't even think of another word to describe Natsuro anymore.
Natsuro, with his actions, had opened up a celestial road in Orochimaru's mind, a path that made his ideals and dreams feel within reach.
Since Natsuro had proven his strength, and since he had promised to give Orochimaru his own lab afterward, Orochimaru was thrilled. He couldn't wait to start his research, to chase after Natsuro's footsteps.
Licking his cheek with that long snake tongue of his, Orochimaru decided it was time for him to make a strategic exit.
Best to vanish now, and let the world assume he'd died during the Fourth Great War.
He looked at Jiraiya, and then smiled.
His old friend would make the perfect witness to his dramatic "departure."
"Tsk tsk… That brat's still not dead?" Orochimaru muttered in a sinister tone beside Jiraiya."Even if he's alive for now, he's just prolonging the inevitable. He'll still die at the hands of Lord Madara Uchiha."
Jiraiya immediately flew into a rage. All eyes snapped to Orochimaru as he, Fukasaku, and Shima simultaneously entered Sage Mode and lunged at him.
Meanwhile, after organizing everything for the Allied Shinobi Forces, Natsuro turned his gaze to Six Paths Madara in the distance. Without hesitation, he moved to face him directly.
"You done recovering?" Natsuro asked casually, locking eyes with him.
Madara should have been furious at such a flippant tone, but he wasn't. After all, Natsuro had earned the right. This was the confidence of a true powerhouse.
"Of course I've recovered. You should know how fast our regeneration is at this level," Madara replied, his inner thoughts racing.
So Natsuro hadn't attacked right away because he was waiting for Madara to return to full strength…If their positions were reversed, Madara realized he would have done the same.
With that in mind, his gaze toward Natsuro grew even more intense, like he'd found a rare kindred spirit.
"Regeneration at the Six Paths level, huh? To be honest, neither of us really makes a good reference point. Your recovery comes from the Ten Tails… as for me…" Natsuro trailed off.
With his current mastery of Yang Release, as long as his soul wasn't directly destroyed, he could recover from nearly anything.
Even if his body were completely annihilated, as long as his mind endured, his Yin Release alone could still produce Six Paths-level power.
Though without a body, his journey would probably end there.
Madara looked at Natsuro for a long moment before letting out a sigh.
"I never imagined you'd reach such heights. Even your shadow clone was astonishing."
"Yeah," Natsuro nodded. "Honestly, even I was surprised by how far I pushed that clone… though it was a bit special."
He recalled every moment of controlling that Spiritual Clone, and even he had to admit it was excessive. But when he thought about it logically, it made sense,
A peak Super-Kage-level body, fused with a Six Paths-level soul… it wasn't too unreasonable that it could perform at that level.
That said, Natsuro knew he probably couldn't replicate it easily. Not unless he gave the clone another half of Kurama.
Otherwise, the clone's limitations couldn't be overcome.
Even with the full Nine Tails, it probably wouldn't be enough to push the clone's body to Six Paths tier, unless…
Natsuro glanced at Madara.
What if he sealed the Ten Tails into a shadow clone's body?
Would he then have a fully Six Paths-tier Spiritual Shadow Clone?
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed… but Natsuro wasn't planning to do that. He remembered that Naruto had made a promise to the tailed beasts.
Besides, having a Six Paths-level clone wasn't that enticing to him anymore.With no real opponents left, what difference did it make?
At that moment, Natsuro stretched lazily. He looked at Madara, who had once again summoned his Limbo: Hengoku clones, this time four of them, but none of them could escape Natsuro's senses anymore. They were now fully visible to him.
"Enough talk. Sixth Hokage, show me the power of your true self!" Madara laughed again.Even knowing he might not win, he wouldn't back down. His will to fight had never been stronger.
For the first time in a long time, Madara felt alive.
His blood boiled. His spirit surged. His battle lust soared to the heavens.
"As you wish." Natsuro snapped his fingers.
Since Madara had worked so hard just to meet the real him… It was only fitting to give him a proper greeting.
"Sage Art ~ Lightning Release: Kirin!"
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