"Why are you doing this?" The Fourth Raikage asked again. His once-burly figure was now gaunt and emaciated, drained of most of his life energy.
But even weakened, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. He was still the only one who could raise his voice loud enough to speak out.
"Why?" Natsuro thought for a moment and then replied calmly... "Because… I have a dream of unification."
Now, having arrived in this world, Natsuro hadn't thought about unification at first. But as his power grew and eventually became unstoppable, new ambitions naturally began to stir. Thoughts he'd never considered before started rising to the surface.
Thus, the decision to unify the world was born.
Maybe it came suddenly, maybe without much planning, but in a world where power reigns supreme, the rules were different from his former life.
The Fourth Raikage was stunned. "That's… that's your reason? Just a dream? You'd go this far?!"
It was far too capricious, far too reckless!
Natsuro found his reaction a bit amusing. After all, the Cloud Village had long been militaristic and aggressive, stirring unrest in Iwagakure. It wasn't like he didn't know about that. If the tables were turned and Cloud had this chance, would they really back down?
…Of course not. They wouldn't think about global unification, just dominating the ninja world.
Natsuro shook his head and stopped wasting words on the Fourth Raikage. He looked at the masses below, people with withered faces and hopeless spirits, and spoke once again:
"As you are now, you won't survive much longer. After Madara Uchiha cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, all of your physical energy was drained. If nothing is done, you'll all die in just a few days."
His words were like a bombshell across the world.
All around the planet, in every place where people lived, those who heard Natsuro's voice stared in horror. They felt their own bodies—weak, limp, ready to collapse—and couldn't help but believe him.
After a brief wave of panic, all eyes turned to Natsuro, who sat calmly high in the sky.
He was their last hope.
After all, if he truly wanted to rule the world, he couldn't afford to let everyone die.What use was a unified world with no people?
Natsuro could feel their gaze. He smiled faintly, and under the weight of all their expectations, he chuckled and spoke again:
"Looks like you're not completely stupid. Since I've chosen to unify the world, of course I won't let you die. So…"
Snap.
With a snap of his fingers, the entire world changed.
From the God Trees blanketing the planet, a flood of pure natural energy began to pour out.
Within that natural energy were threads of life force, energy that returned to their rightful owners, filling the empty vessels of their bodies.
At that moment, it was as if the world itself had awakened. The sky and earth seemed to rejoice, glowing with vitality as if nature itself celebrated the occasion.
Far away in the Three Great Sage Lands, the elder Sages opened their eyes wide, tears shimmering.
They could feel it, the return of natural energy. After a thousand years of stagnation, they could finally walk the path of Sage Arts once again.
They turned their eyes to Natsuro.
No longer was the path of nature murky and uncertain like in the ancient times.Someone had now built a bridge across the river.
As for his plan to unify the world? That was none of their concern. So long as the world wasn't destroyed, it made little difference to animals whether humans were ruled by one government or many.
Back among the human masses, while they couldn't perceive the change in natural energy, they could feel their bodies slowly rejuvenating.
The physical sensation was undeniable.
They felt stronger. And the world itself somehow felt… better.
They understood. Natsurowas saving them, again.
This restoration lasted a long time, until the darkness began to fade and morning light crept over the horizon.
Finally, when the process ended, the world had been completely revived by natural energy.
Some were present on the battlefield, watching Natsuro directly.
Others watched through the projections on the God Tree branches.
In that moment, Natsuro stood tall, the sun and moon crossing paths behind him, light and shadow splitting his form in two.
He stood half in darkness, half in light like a living god.
His presence radiated an unfathomable mystery and overwhelming strength, enough to break their will.
Resistance faded.
From the shinobi below, to the nobles and civilians watching from afar, everyone understood one thing:
The man who had declared war on the world right after the Fourth Great Ninja War had just saved them all.
Not just from illusions, but from death itself.
He had saved the entire world.
And now, they wavered.
Was he a god of salvation? Or a demon of ambition?
One thing was clear, many who had previously opposed Natsuro… began to accept him.
After all, how could they not trust the man who saved their lives?
To many ordinary people, the answer was simple:
They owed him their lives, so they would give him their trust.
That had been Natsuro's goal all along.
Sure, he could have restored their energy while they were still unconscious, before they were even lowered from the trees.
But then… they wouldn't have felt it.
There would've been no emotional impact.
By letting them experience near-death and then saving them right in front of their eyes, he made sure they'd remember.
Made sure they'd feel gratitude.
And perhaps, Natsuro was a bit sly. After all, it was just one action, restoring their energy. But he'd split it into two moments... Saving them from Infinite Tsukuyomi and returning their vitality.
Still, he didn't have to do it at all. And doing so had even weakened him slightly.
So now, hearts were shifting.
Some were stunned by sheer power. Some were moved by the debt of salvation and some… plotted in secret.
Natsuro ignored all that.
He gazed at the lingering natural energy that filled the world and found himself genuinely surprised.
He had discovered something remarkable... The threshold for walking the path of nature had dropped.
He understood now, the reason sensing natural energy had been so difficult before was simply because there hadn't been enough of it.
But now, with the world's natural energy restored to its original density…
Even ordinary humans could sense it. They no longer needed Naruto-tier talent.
Of course, talent still mattered, but it was no longer the gatekeeper it once was.
And although the danger had significantly lessened, stepping into the path of nature was still more dangerous than the chakra path... at least in the beginning.
Of course, this was just the start.
As more people walked this path, someone would eventually discover safer methods.
But even so, it meant one thing, people could now begin walking the same path he had taken, a path that could lead to true power.
After all, on the chakra path, even reaching the Kage-level was extremely rare.
But with the natural path, producing super-Kage-level beings was entirely possible.
Reaching the Six Paths level? While not impossible… it was still extremely unlikely.
In other words, the upper limit of humanity in this world had been raised—from Super Kage… to Six Paths.
As for Natsuro himself, he still considered himself at this stage.
There was no need to create a new rank above or even at a "Kaguya tier."
It wasn't necessary.
Just then, he realized something else, the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan had just received massive buffs.
Given their clan traits, it would be incredibly easy for the Inuzuka to develop a Wolf Sage Mode.
And the Aburame? Even more insane.
As he had once said, in terms of strength relative to body weight, no species surpasses insects.
If they could successfully develop a sage technique for their bugs…
The Aburame Clan's combat power would skyrocket to bug-tier levels of broken.
Xiali thought of Aburame Shino and smiled.
Shino's undefeated record would probably continue for a long time... Insects weren't just powerful, they were versatile.
And if that power was paired with Shino's analytical combat mind, then once he fully matured…
He believed Shino's power might even approach that of Naruto and Sasuke.
Amused by these world-altering possibilities, he chuckled again and spoke... "Now, I have one more thing to say… no, two things."
Everyone instantly perked up, eager to hear what earth-shaking announcement he would make next.
Seeing their reactions, Natsuro continued... "I will publicly release the method of training the Natural Path—the path I've walked—in the nations I rule, for those with the talent to pursue it."
And before anyone could ask what the Natural Path was, he raised a hand and continued... "Let's begin with something more familiar, the chakra system, the current path of all shinobi.
The chakra path has a fatal limitation, it's bound by the ceiling of how much chakra you can have."
Chakra isn't something humans were born with. It was created when the legendary Kaguya Ōtsutsuki consumed the God Tree's fruit. Her child, the Sage of Six Paths, later shared chakra with mankind.
But even with the Sage's sharing, the chakra path has strict limits. Reaching Super Kage level—or especially Six Paths level, is nearly impossible without Ōtsutsuki bloodline. And what are the surviving bloodlines of the Ōtsutsuki?"
He looked over the crowd of ninja, many of whom were now listening intently.
"The Senju clan. The Uzumaki clan. The Uchiha clan. The Hyūga clan. And the now-extinct Taketori clan, among others…"
So sometimes… it's not that you aren't good enough. It's that your bloodline limits you. And the only way to improve is to learn more jutsu and boost your combat skills that way."
Down below many ninja, especially those who hadn't grown stronger in years, wore thoughtful expressions.
Then he dropped the real bomb... "But the Natural Path draws upon natural energy, energy that was born with the world itself. It's not limited by bloodlines like chakra is."
He smiled.
"Of course, that doesn't mean the Natural Path will definitely lead you to my level. Every path still requires talent. And yes—the Natural Path is more dangerous than the chakra path. But in exchange…"
Natsuro's mouth curled into a smile, then he spoke words that would drive many to madness... "You gain longevity. When you master the Natural Path, your lifespan increases. For example… someone like me could easily live for over ten thousand years."
Actually, he was being modest. At his current level, if he didn't want to die—he simply wouldn't. Not of age, anyway.
Even as he sat calmly in the sky, he could feel the weight of every single breath down belo, everyone's breathing had grown heavy and their eyes… burned with longing.
Danger? Higher than the chakra path? Who cared! Ten thousand years of life? That was worth any risk.
Across the world, power-hungry warriors and longevity-seekers began to waver.
And that's exactly what he wanted, for everyone to see the benefits.
Right now, only he and the Three Great Sage Lands knew how to walk the Natural Path and the three Great Sages were all aligned with him.
So for a while, he held a monopoly on the path of nature.
With such a deadly temptation… Could they really resist?
Natsuro smiled.
And he didn't immediately announce the second thing.
He wanted to let this temptation fully sink in...
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