At this moment, Natsuro closed his eyes and felt his life slipping away. It was the first time he had ever so clearly sensed the power of his own life, as though a black hole were devouring it from within.
In his mind, images of everything he had witnessed flashed before him, he had seen the life force of all things through the chakra he had extracted from the God Tree.
At that moment, the corners of Natsuro's stiff mouth seemed to curl into a faint smile.
"So that's how it is…"
Now it was just a matter of who would reach their final evolution first—him, comprehending ultimate Yang Release, or Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who was regenerating through chakra.
As for death, that was impossible.
He was absolutely confident. He would break through all obstacles and claim final victory!
Of course, even if he failed, Natsuro definitely wouldn't die because he had already prepared for this by inheriting the power of the Sage of Six Paths.
Just a fraction of the Sage's Yang Release was enough to pull Might Guy back from death after using the Eighth Gate Formation. As long as he unleashed the Sage's Yang Release, he could instantly recover completely, and perhaps even advance his physical body further…
But that wasn't what he wanted. That was merely borrowed power, power that would eventually be lost.
Instead, Natsuro wanted to use this opportunity to understand the essence of life itself. He had pushed himself into an extremely perilous state, but not one of no return!
Now, Natsuro was immersed in the ocean of life energy. His vitality far surpassed anyone else in this world, his lifespan, though unknown in exact number, surely spanned thousands of years. He had more than enough time to explore life energy through such dangerous means.
No one knew how much time had passed, but by now, the tiny piece of flesh that was all that remained of Kaguya had grown into a blurry humanoid form. To regenerate from a mere scrap of tissue in such a short time, her regenerative power...
Was absolutely terrifying!
Meanwhile, on Natsuro's side, there didn't seem to be any visible change—but that, in itself, was the greatest change!
Because the fact that Natsuro's condition had stopped worsening proved that his Yang Release was growing stronger, going from being unable to heal him to now keeping pace with his life force's decay!
As time passed, his body even began to recover.
However, his recovery seemed slower than Kaguya's. And she didn't need to fully regenerate, she only needed to be able to move, and Natsuro would be in danger again.
So, who would regain mobility first?
Within this primordial space, perhaps for the first time since Natsuro and Kaguya arrived, it was completely silent, no movement at all…
After a long, quiet stretch, a staggering figure slowly stood up, long white hair flowing down her back... it was none other than Kaguya.
At this point, Kaguya stumbled toward where Natsuro lay motionless.
Even someone as inexperienced in battle as she knew this was no time to patiently recover. She needed to crush all hope in her enemy now.
The distance between them wasn't far, but even that short distance took Kaguya an agonizingly long time to cross.
Once, she could have crossed this space in less than a millisecond—but now, it took all her strength.
It was clear her condition was truly dire.
But regardless, she finally stood before Natsuro, she stood, and he lay helpless on the ground. That… was the ultimate difference.
"It seems… this time, I've won. My life is eternal and indestructible," Kaguya said between heavy gasps, staring down at the charred Natsuro.
In her hand, a gray bone began to form.
It was the All-Killing Ash Bones, a Kekkei Mōra technique that turned anything it touched to dust.
Even though she couldn't summon Yomotsu Hirasaka in her current state, Kaguya still forced herself to use this technique. It showed just how much she feared Natsuro.
And her words weren't wrong, even if Kaguya had been "killed" in that earlier clash, she would eventually return. A few years or decades later, the nine tailed beasts would revive, reform the Ten Tails, and from that, Kaguya would rise again.
"I will remember you, Natsuro Shindōkawa," she muttered as the gray bone in her hand stretched longer, though this was her limit.
Then, she thrust the bone down at the charred body of Natsuro!
"Die!!"
Kaguya screamed. It was the first time she had ever been pushed to such a pitiful state, not even in her battle with Hagoromo and Hamura had she fallen so far!
But just as the gray bone was about to pierce Natsuro, his eyes suddenly flew open, gleaming with a sharp and joyful light.
A flash passed through his gaze.
And in the next moment, Kaguya's body was blasted away by an invisible force, slamming hard into the ground.
"Shinra Tensei!" Natsuro softly named the technique he had used.
Kaguya had just been thrown by someone without the Rinnegan using one of its most iconic powers. And along with her, the last hope of her survival was sent flying too.
It was a deeply ironic scene.
And as for why Natsuro could use Shinra Tensei?
"I just wanted to use it, so I did," he would answer.
Natsuro slowly rose to his feet. As he stood, the charred layer of skin on his body peeled away like a snake shedding its skin, revealing a flawless complexion.
He stretched. As he did, his bones seemed to undergo a metamorphosis, echoing with bright cracks. The tattered clothes on his body disappeared, replaced by garments formed of pure energy.
At last, a white divine robe with fiery patterns fluttered behind him. There was no wind in this space, yet the robe danced as if moved by a breeze, impossibly mesmerizing.
Natsuro basked in the feeling of his power, it was intoxicating, perfect!
Now, things like "Six Paths Sage Mode" were nothing to him. For he had touched the essence of life itself, and what he now wielded was the most perfect form of Sagehood!
In his earlier battle with Kaguya, Natsuro's physical strength hadn't quite matched Naruto's Six Paths Sage Mode from the original series. After all, that Naruto had received the full power of the Sage's Yang Release. Natsuro hadn't reached that level, yet.
Of course, even if he couldn't match that version of Naruto, he still far surpassed Six Paths Sasuke.
And most crucially, Natsuro not only possessed physical strength second only to Six Paths Naruto, but also had techniques Naruto never did, like Flying Thunder God for teleportation, or his space-slicing Dimensional Blades.
When all of that was concentrated into a single individual, the power unleashed was far greater than if it had been split between two.
And now, Natsuro's Yang Release had reached the very origin of life. His physical body had surpassed all others, even Kaguya!
He wasn't in a rush to defeat or seal her, not anymore. There was no need to act with such caution.
To him, Kaguya was now someone he could seal anytime. Instead, he wanted to test this new power of his, this primal Sage power born from the source of life itself.
Long ago, Natsuro had known that the world's Sage Modes weren't limited to those of Mount Myōboku's toads, Ryūchi Cave's snakes, or Shikkotsu Forest's slugs.
Those three just happened to have developed systematic ways of teaching their unique Sage Modes. It didn't mean other creatures or beings couldn't have their own Sage techniques.
It was just that only these three had formalized their methods. And even then, mastering Sage Mode, with guidance, was already an incredibly difficult task.
So for unsystematized Sage Modes, it was basically impossible to learn them.
But when Natsuro managed to merge the Sage Modes of all three Great Holy Lands, he not only stepped into the realm of the Six Paths...
More importantly, he seemed to understand… something greater.
That is to say, at its core, there is actually only one true Sage Mode. The versions practiced by the three Great Holy Lands were merely interpretations based on their respective traits, forming their own unique styles of Sage Mode.
These Sage Modes weren't weak by any means, but they could only tap into a fraction of the natural life force aligned with their own affinities.
That's why, from that moment onward, he had sought to uncover the path to the ultimate Sage Mode. And he realized that, in fact, there was something of a shortcut, a path of fusion.
If each Sage Mode tapped into a different part of the original natural energy source, then by mastering and fusing all of them together, one could obtain the most complete and perfect form of Sagehood…
Or rather, even if fusing them all wasn't quite enough to reach perfection, the one performing the fusion only needed to fill in the gaps themselves!
And that's exactly how Natsuro succeeded. By drawing upon the chakra of the God Tree, chakra that spanned the entire world, he was able to sense the life energy of all living beings. That gave him the qualifications to integrate the life source of all creation.
And finally, by immersing himself in the vast ocean of his own life essence, he truly experienced the force of life firsthand. Upon stepping into the primal source, he mastered the perfect Sage Mode!
Or rather, calling it a "mode" no longer seemed accurate, it was the genuine embodiment of a Sage.
Even the Sage of Six Paths' own Sage Mode never reached this level. Not even the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki could compare. This was a perfect realm that only he had stepped into.
However, there was one flaw…
It seemed… Natsuro had glimpsed the end.
From here on out, the only thing left to do was to refine his current power. There was no further realm to break into…
"So this… is the pinnacle of power? Is there no road beyond this?" Natsuro murmured to himself, pondering what might lie ahead. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find the next path.
As for physical strength? Right now, he could replicate the raw power of the strongest biological creatures in the world—for example, insects that could lift objects thousands of times heavier than themselves without chakra. With chakra or natural energy, that level of force would rise to terrifying new heights.
Such raw, fundamental strength was far more simple and effective than things like monstrous strength, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, or even chakra-enhanced combat modes.
It was pure, primal, overwhelming power!
As for speed, on land, Natsuro could match the cheetah. In the air, the peregrine falcon. In the sea, the black marlin. And all of this wasn't just inspired by those creatures, he had their peak natural speed.
Add to that his Swift Release Kekkei Genkai, and in his most extreme state, time itself seemed to stand still.
So, in terms of physical capabilities, there was truly nowhere left to go. Even if a powerful alien Ōtsutsuki clan member descended upon this world one day, it was unlikely they'd surpass him.
Because his body… had long since exceeded what the Ōtsutsuki were capable of.
Then there was his mind, a domain Natsuro had always excelled in. Ever since the Fourth Great War, his Yin Release had surpassed even the Sage of Six Paths. It had been the core of his rapid evolution.
As for attributes and bloodline techniques, Natsuro had already reached the realm of Kekkei Mōra. That was the absolute pinnacle of bloodline powers. Even if he explored new Kekkei Genkai, their value to him would be negligible.
Yin-Yang Release, physicality, spirit, chakra nature affinities... he had achieved the highest level in every domain.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see any way to further elevate himself.
Of course, he could still make minor improvements. Due to time constraints, he hadn't yet drawn out the full potential of his current strength. Some jutsu still needed to be refined. He still needed to adapt to his new state and dig deeper into his potential.
But that was effort spent within his current tier of power, it couldn't help him break into a new one.
So, yes... he was a bit lost.
Because he didn't know if this world even held a realm beyond this.
Perhaps… he already stood at the very peak of existence?
This was the first time he had ever encountered a moment where no path forward was visible...
He had truly… reached a perfect state. Or perhaps…
"I… am invincible?"
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