The relationship between the Great Toad Sage and the "Sage of Six Paths," Otsutsuki Hagoromo, was something others might not know, but Shinji knew it all too well.
One could say that when the Sage of Six Paths and his brother turned against their mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya, it was the Great Toad Sage who pulled the strings from behind. To that end, the Sage of Six Paths had even practiced Sage Transformation at Mount Myoboku. Therefore, if anyone in the shinobi world could actively contact the Sage of Six Paths, it was undoubtedly the Great Toad Sage.
The Great Toad Sage, who was usually all-knowing, seemed not to have expected Shinji to make this request and was visibly stunned for a moment.
Great Sage Shima, seeing this, asked, "What do you want with the Sage of Six Paths?"
Shinji ignored Shima, his gaze remaining fixed on the Great Toad Sage.
He held no particular prejudice against Mount Myoboku, but Mount Myoboku certainly held a prejudice against the Uchiha clan, so he had no special fondness for the place either.
Thus, as long as Mount Myoboku was willing to cooperate with his plan, he would not disturb them. But if they refused to cooperate, they couldn't blame him for being impolite.
Sensing Shinji's overwhelming aura, Shima proactively stepped aside.
The Great Toad Sage finally spoke: "May I know your purpose for seeking Otsutsuki Hagoromo?"
"Personal business." After a pause, Shinji smiled. "But rest assured, I won't take his life!"
The Great Toad Sage knew Shinji had left him no choice. After some consideration, he said, "Two days from now, at the cape in the Land of Hot Springs, he will meet you there!"
"Much obliged," Shinji thanked him first, then continued: "Additionally, I am taking Naruto with me!"
The Great Toad Sage said, "Please do not harm him."
"Rest assured!"
Since the Great Toad Sage was being cooperative, Shinji's tone became much more polite.
Naruto immediately began to protest: "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Sasuke quickly barked at him, "Shut up, you idiot!"
Just as Naruto was about to keep shouting, Shinji raised his hand and grabbed the air, pulling Naruto directly into his grasp. He then opened a spatial gate, tossed Naruto inside, and stepped through himself.
Sasuke followed close behind.
Once the three vanished into the spatial gate, Shima asked the Great Toad Sage on the high platform, "Sage, are we really just going to let 'A' take Naruto away?"
Naruto had been specifically entrusted to her by Jiraiya. Seeing him taken away like this made her extremely anxious.
The Great Toad Sage let out a long sigh. "I saw no prophecies."
"This..." Shima's expression darkened.
The Great Toad Sage's prophetic abilities were incredibly strong, and the more something related to Mount Myoboku, the clearer the vision.
Yet this time, even with "A" intruding into the heart of Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage had received no prophetic revelation. This could only mean two things: either "A's" strength was so immense that his chakra could interfere with the prophecies, or "A" did not harbor any intense hostility during this sudden visit.
Regardless of which possibility it was, the Great Toad Sage could not refuse, so he wisely chose to cooperate.
The Land of Hot Springs.
Tossing Naruto onto the ground, Shinji said indifferently, "If you can defeat Sasuke, I will let you leave!"
Naruto questioned, "Are you trying to trick me into fighting Sasuke?"
Shinji shrugged noncommittally. "Believe it or not."
Sasuke, knowing Shinji's true goal in bringing Naruto here, stepped forward and said to Naruto, "Naruto, we didn't settle things at the Valley of the End last time. Let's use this chance to find out who's superior once and for all!"
Naruto began, "Sasuke, you..."
At that moment, Menma floated out of Naruto's body and said to Shinji, "A big shot like you wouldn't go back on his word, right? If we beat Uchiha Sasuke, you'll really let us go?"
Shinji nodded.
"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted coldly.
He knew Naruto was a vital talent Shinji intended to recruit, so he couldn't actually let Naruto leave. Therefore, he had to win this fight, or things would be awkward.
However, he wasn't too worried. After all, he now possessed a pair of Six-Tomoe Rinnegan. His pupil power was vastly stronger than before; dealing with a mere Naruto shouldn't be difficult.
Soon, at the cape of the Land of Hot Springs, the two rivals stood opposite each other once again.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
In an instant, both made their move simultaneously.
Both chose taijutsu, but since their current strength surpassed the ordinary Kage level, even the most unadorned physical combat was breathtakingly intense.
From a distance, Shinji sat cross-legged on a cliff overlooking the coast, one hand propping up his chin as he observed the fierce duel.
"Oh?" A moment later, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
He had assumed that since Sasuke had been trained by him for so long—especially with the acquisition of the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan—Sasuke's strength would be superior to Naruto's.
However, once they started fighting, he realized that wasn't the case. In their taijutsu confrontation, Sasuke wasn't gaining any advantage.
What Shinji didn't know was that during the time Eida and Daemon stayed in the Leaf Village, Naruto had frequently sparred with Daemon. To others, it looked like Naruto was simply being used as a punching bag, ending up bruised and swollen every time. But even Naruto didn't realize that through these spars, he had unconsciously developed the ability to suppress his own killing intent to counter Daemon's Shinjutsu, "Reflection of Killing Intent."
While he might not have seen a massive boost in speed or power, his level of martial prowess and mental state in taijutsu had improved significantly.
Thud!
With a muffled sound, Sasuke was pushed back by a punch from Naruto.
Growing irritated, Sasuke immediately activated the dojutsu Shinra Tensei. Seeing Sasuke use his eyes, Naruto stopped holding back and instantly entered Sage Kurama Mode.
After this period of bitter cultivation, Naruto had mastered the technique of fusing Kurama Mode with Sage Mode. As both sides stopped holding back, the scale of the battle escalated instantly.
"Interesting!" Shinji smiled.
He hadn't paid much attention to Naruto lately, but the "Child of Prophecy" from the original timeline had not faded into obscurity despite being ignored. On the contrary, Naruto had stood before the highly-trained Sasuke in his own way, upright and formidable.
Rumble...
Soon, a series of earth-shattering booms erupted along the coast as the giant orange demon fox and the purple Susanoo clashed violently across the vast landscape.