Time passed quickly. After Natsuro finished teaching how to absorb natural energy and convert it into chakra, evening had already arrived.
Seeing that the day's training was mostly complete, Natsuro nodded in satisfaction.
He wasn't worried about the Path of Natural Energy spreading too quickly elsewhere, because...A cold glint flickered across Natsuro's face—if anyone tried to "steal" it, he had already warned them about the dangers.
One reason why the natural energy in Konoha was so mild was because he was present.
If he weren't here, the responsibility of interrupting a student's training in case of emergency could have been delegated to others.
So, if someone in another village tried to "steal" the method without his guidance, they would face great risk, and it would take considerable sacrifice and time to succeed.
By the time they figured it out, Konoha would likely have already completed its unification of the world.
Of course, he didn't plan to always supervise every training session. But in the future, as more people mastered the Path of Nature, others could oversee the process.
Even without him, the risk would be higher, but with caution and experienced guidance, it could be done.
More importantly, he believed that eventually, someone would develop a safer and more systematic method of learning, eliminating the need for his improvised version, which was derived from Mount Myōboku's methods.
As for why Natsuro publicly shared his training method, the reasons were simple.
First, the satisfaction of changing the world alone, the sense of accomplishment in shifting the course of an entire civilization is incredibly alluring.
Second, collective wisdom.
Natsuro had no desire to follow the path of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who relied solely on her innate power and stopped learning or innovating.
Sure, he could, with his current intellect, quickly develop his own natural energy–based jutsu, and their power would likely rival S-rank ninjutsu.
But he still believed that one person's mind could never surpass the collective intelligence of an entire world.
Once the Path of Natural spread, people would initially convert natural energy into chakra to perform familiar ninjutsu.
But in time, people would inevitably begin developing jutsu based on natural energy itself and Natsuro trusted in human ingenuity.
When those new techniques emerged, all he had to do was reap the rewards.
Given his level of understanding, there was no technique he couldn't comprehend—so anything others discovered, he could quickly learn too.
Besides… Natsuro smiled—there was also people like Orochimaru, who was the ultimate research maniac.
Natsuro was genuinely looking forward to it.
With Orochimaru's personality, there was no doubt he'd plunge headfirst into researching natural energy so as for what kind of jutsu he'd eventually create, he was extremely curious.
So instead of hoarding knowledge and limiting his perspective, why not spread the Path of Natural Energy? Let the entire world contribute ideas, and he would be the one who benefited most.
Smiling, Natsuro summoned a black spatial rift beside him using Yomotsu Hirasaka, Kaguya's space-time ability.
He had to admit, this ability was very convenient, far faster and more stable than the spatial ripples he'd previously used.
On the other side of the dark portal, Naruto and Sasuke had already been waiting for some time.... Natsuro had summoned them, though they had no idea what for.
As he emerged from the rift and saw them, he smiled and said, "Sorry I'm late. Their training went a bit slower than I expected."
"No problem. We haven't been here long," Sasuke replied.
But Naruto, who usually would've asked eagerly what was going on, looked worried and lost in thought.
"Still hesitating, Naruto?" Natsuro asked, immediately sensing his low energy.
Naruto scratched his head and forced a clearly fake smile. "Nah… I already made up my mind before. It's just… it's just…"
But he trailed off, unable to finish.
"If you really don't want to be part of this, you can choose to step back later," Natsuro said.
"No way!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "Because the faster this war ends, the fewer people will die, right?"
Natsuro nodded quietly, watching Naruto in silence.
"That's why I have to fight. I'll help end this war as fast as possible, believe it!" Naruto declared, clenching his fists.
"Then stop acting so unsure," Sasuke said bluntly, glancing at Naruto.
"Wha—come on, don't be like that…" Naruto scratched his head again awkwardly.
Natsuro nodded and said, "In that case, I won't comfort you any further. Let's get to the point... Have you ever heard the story of Asura and Indra?"
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances and both shook their heads.
As expected, he thought, and began from the beginning.
"Asura and Indra were the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths. Each inherited one half of his legacy: Asura inherited the Sage's body, and Indra inherited his eyes." As he spoke, Natsuro glanced at Naruto and Sasuke.
Naruto didn't show much reaction, but Sasuke appeared deep in thought, combining what Natsuro had said earlier about them being descendants of the Ōtsutsuki clan, the conclusion was becoming obvious.
Natsuro continued, "Indra was the older brother. He was born with the Sharingan and powerful visual abilities—a true genius. He even created ninjutsu itself."
"Asura was the younger brother. Unlike Indra, he wasn't born with any special gifts and was always weaker."
"Their personalities were also polar opposites. Indra believed personal strength could solve all problems, he believed in power above all. Asura, on the other hand, believed in love. He thought only mutual love could bring peace to the shinobi world.... And though Asura had little talent, he grew steadily stronger thanks to help from others."
Naruto, by this point, was already confused and couldn't quite understand why Natsuro was telling them this story. But Sasuke listened closely, seeming to grasp something.
After finishing the background of Asura and Indra, Natsuro continued, "In his later years, the Sage of Six Paths wanted to choose a successor. So he gave both of his sons a trial. Each approached the trial in their own way: Indra completed it with his own power, while Asura succeeded with the help of others."
Natsuro paused for a moment, as if remembering something.
"...And then? I assume Asura inherited the Sage's power?" Sasuke guessed.
Natsuro nodded. "Yes. In the end, the Sage gave all his power to Asura. But this sparked resentment in Indra, he believed his younger brother was weaker and less talented."
"At that point, Black Zetsu intervened, manipulating Indra and driving a wedge between the brothers. Eventually, a great battle broke out between them. Although Asura inherited the Sage's strength and won the battle, Indra refused to accept defeat. He vowed to be reincarnated again and again until he could defeat Asura."
"Reincarnated?" Sasuke was startled.
Natsuro smiled and looked at Naruto and Sasuke. "The previous reincarnations of Asura and Indra were, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju."
The moment Natsuro finished, Sasuke's pupils shrank in shock.
Naruto still squinted, confused. Seeing Sasuke's expression, he asked, "What's going on? Why don't I get it…"
Natsuro sighed. "And so, the current reincarnation of Indra… is Sasuke Uchiha."
Hearing that, Naruto finally understood. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at Sasuke, then back at Natsuro.
With a trembling voice, he asked: "Then… am I… the reincarnation of Asura?"
Natsuro nodded under Naruto's gaze, and Naruto froze in place—he hadn't expected such a revelation.
Natsuro didn't speak further right away. He waited patiently for Sasuke and Naruto to digest the news.
Before long, Sasuke finally took a deep breath and asked, "So what? What does any of this have to do with us?"
"Sasuke…" Naruto looked at him, stunned.
"The conflict between Asura and Indra was theirs. That doesn't mean Naruto and I, in this lifetime, have to follow the same script." Sasuke scoffed, clearly holding nothing but disdain for the idea of inheriting a conflict simply because of reincarnation.
After hearing that, Naruto paused for a moment, then nodded forcefully. "Yeah, that's right! Sasuke and I aren't enemies. We don't have any reason to fight!"
"No, there is a reason," Sasuke suddenly said.
"Huh?" Naruto was taken aback.
"I'm going to compete for the title of Hokage. Even if Natsuro unifies the world, there will still be many leadership positions, and Hokage will definitely be one of them," Sasuke said calmly.
"No way, I'm definitely going to be Hokage!" Naruto declared with equal seriousness.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto but didn't argue further. Instead, he turned to Natsuro and said,"Even though I'll be competing with Naruto for the position of Hokage, even if I lose in the end, I won't hold a grudge, and I won't become his enemy."
"Me too, me too!" Naruto shouted, raising his hand enthusiastically.
Natsuro chuckled and nodded. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear. But this isn't actually what I called you here to say.
Before I fought Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths entrusted me with his power."
Naruto and Sasuke were both stunned again, first that the legendary Sage of Six Paths had even appeared in the world, and second, that he had given his power to Natsuro.
"But…" Natsuro continued, "I didn't use the Sage's power at all in the fight against Kaguya."
Naruto and Sasuke immediately fell speechless. They'd assumed he defeated Kaguya using that power, but now…
Both of them had a single word flash through their minds... Show-off.
Natsuro smiled calmly and went on, "The Sage of Six Paths also made a request... If I didn't use his power, and still managed to defeat Kaguya, then I should pass that power on to the two of you."
"Is the Sage's power useful to you?" Sasuke asked, frowning slightly. He was interested, of course, but also had concerns.
"It was somewhat useful during the fight," Natsuro replied, "but after I defeated Kaguya, it became completely unnecessary."
"Then if we inherit it, will it affect our own development?" Sasuke asked again.
"It won't," Natsuro replied. "There are no hidden marks or traps in the Sage's power, it will simply strengthen you. However, that power will most likely be temporary. Once used, it will be gone."
Then, looking at Sasuke and Naruto seriously, Natsuro said, "That's why I don't want you to use it right away. Instead, seal it within yourselves. Use it as a reference to comprehend power on the Sage's level, transform it into something truly your own."
Sasuke nodded, that aligned with his expectations.
Naruto also nodded. Since Natsuro said so, he'd go along with it. He trusted that Natsuro would never harm him.
"So, do you want to inherit the Sage's power?" Natsuro asked, as a formality.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance and then nodded in unison.
"Alright. Step forward and hold out your hands," Natsuro instructed, raising his own hands.
In his palms were a golden sun mark and a white moon mark.
Unlike in the original story, Natsuro had fully merged the Yin and Yang powers of the Sage.He didn't follow the original path of giving Naruto only the Yang half and Sasuke only the Yin.
Yes, doing it the original way would give them a temporary boost to peak Sage-level power, but it also came with limitations.
Instead, by combining both sides and letting them explore the power for themselves, they could forge their own path forward.
Besides, there weren't any particularly overwhelming enemies left to fight. Even without the Sage's power, they'd still be more than capable of helping him with unification.
That said, receiving the Sage's energy would still allow Naruto and Sasuke to break through to Sage-tier levels.
Soon, both Naruto and Sasuke reached out and placed their palms against Natsuro's.
In the next instant, in that secluded mountain clearing, blinding golden and white light burst forth... accompanied by an overwhelming wave of power.
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