Chapter 314: Lord Former Clan Head, Why Are You Rebelling?
In a strange space interwoven with nothingness and reality, the laws of time and space seemed to have lost their meaning.
The consciousnesses of Naruto and Sasuke floated as if in the boundless universe. Beneath their feet was a pure water surface, as calm as a mirror, deep and bottomless. Every step they took would ripple out a soft halo of light, yet not the slightest sound of water could be heard.
They could both clearly sense a chakra that was of the same origin as their own yet different, pulling at each other not far in front. That feeling was so familiar, like two poles of a magnet, mutually attracting yet carrying a kind of fated opposition.
They didn't know how long they had walked. It seemed like an instant, yet also like an eternity. At this node where Yin and Yang chakra naturally converged, they finally met.
Naruto raised his head, his azure eyes carrying vigilance and doubt; Sasuke stopped his steps, the depths of his jet-black eyes filled with scrutiny and calmness. They looked forward at the same time—
An old man quietly floated above the water's surface. He wore a simple white robe, the hem adorned with several black tomoe patterns, and he held an ancient-style sage staff in his hand. What was most striking were his calm and deep eyes—circles of ripples slowly flowed within them. They were the Rinnegan. His face was kind yet majestic, and his whole body exuded an aura that was all-encompassing yet transcendent over all things.
The Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look, both seeing the same wariness in each other's eyes. No matter how kind the other appeared, an existence that could easily pull their souls from the battlefield at the moment of their near-death into this mysterious space, his power was absolutely far beyond their cognition. What's more, his style of dress was strikingly similar to the enemy they were just fighting to the death—Uchiha Madara.
"The chakra reincarnates of Asura and Indra," the old man slowly spoke, his voice gentle and ancient, as if traveling through a thousand years of time. "You need not be so wary of this old man. My name, you may have heard from your inheritance—I am Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo."
"The Sage of Six Paths?" Naruto's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. He was no stranger to this name. Kurama had mentioned it more than once in his sighs or reminiscences. He knew that this was the legendary figure who had founded Ninshū, split the Ten-Tails, and was regarded as the progenitor of ninja.
"Chakra reincarnates?" Sasuke caught another keyword. A trace of confusion and rejection appeared on his cold and handsome face. "What does that mean?"
A look of reminiscence and complexity appeared on the old man—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's—face, "It seems that the long passage of time has already buried the truth. Children, before giving you a choice, you might as well listen to this old man of mine tell a forgotten story of the past."
His voice seemed to carry a magic power, slowly unfolding the dusty scroll of history. He began by talking about his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, descending and planting the God Tree, to him and his younger brother, Hamura, sealing their mother, founding Ninshū, and then to his two sons—Indra, who had outstanding talent but believed in power and order, and Asura, who had mediocre talent but won the recognition of all through hard work and love—the long struggle between them that began with a difference in ideals and ended in a life-and-death battle, and the fate of this cursed chakra that was continuously reincarnated and entangled in the following generations.
Naruto and Sasuke listened quietly, their gazes flickering slightly with the ups and downs of the story. When they heard that Indra and Asura ultimately turned against each other, Sasuke's brows locked even tighter, while Naruto showed an expression of pity and regret.
After the Sage of Six Paths finished speaking, the space fell into a brief silence.
In the end, it was Naruto who spoke first, his tone respectful yet not blind, "Old man, what you've said... Big Brother Kurama has actually already told me some of it. About Indra and Asura."
"Oh? Is that so?" A trace of genuine relief appeared on Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's face. He looked gently at Naruto, "It seems you and Kurama get along very well, that he was even willing to tell you these past events. This perhaps also confirms the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku... you might be the child who can bring about change."
"Even someone like you... um, an 'Immortal,' also believes in things like prophecies?" Naruto scratched his head, his tone carrying some confusion and even a trace of disapproval. Although he had learned Sage Jutsu on Mount Myoboku, Naruto had always respectfully declined Mount Myoboku's talk of the "Child of Prophecy."
Having received Uchiha Douhuan's pragmatic education since he was a child, he firmly believed that fate should be created by his own hands. Towards Mount Myoboku, his attitude was very clear: he would accept all the benefits of Sage Jutsu, but as for asking him to become Mount Myoboku's representative in the ninja world like Jiraiya, that was absolutely impossible.
At this time, Sasuke stepped forward, his voice clear and firm, interrupting the Sage of Six Paths' words, "Sage of Six Paths, is it? I am Uchiha Sasuke, the direct disciple of Konoha's Fifth Hokage Uchiha Douhuan, and also the future Seventh Hokage. I am myself, not the chakra reincarnate of your 'Indra' you speak of. My path, my will, were all shaped by my teacher and my experiences, and have nothing to do with a ghost from a thousand years ago."
His words were decisive, carrying the unique pride of the Uchiha clan, and even more so, a strong identification with his own identity, directly refuting the Sage of Six Paths' definition of "reincarnation."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was slightly stunned, and then slowly nodded. He was not angered by Sasuke's slightly disrespectful attitude. On the contrary, a trace of imperceptible emotion flashed in that pair of Rinnegan. "Alright, this old man understands." Perhaps it was because he was reminded of his eldest son's similarly stubborn and arrogant nature, his tone even carried a trace of tolerance.
He changed the subject and threw out another question, trying to guide them to think about something deeper, "Then, I wonder what the two of you think about the final collapse of Ninshū back then? Was it merely because of Indra's resentment?"
Sasuke replied almost without thinking, his voice cold, "From the moment you chose to bypass your eldest son, Indra, and let your younger son, Asura, inherit the position of the leader of Ninshū, the seed of division was already sown. The collapse of Ninshū was almost destined."
"Oh?" The Sage of Six Paths' gaze sharpened slightly. "Child, do you mean I should have chosen Indra back then?"
"No, no, no," Sasuke shook his head, his words as sharp as a knife. "A person who possessed both absolute power and the status of the eldest son, yet in the end, lost the position of heir, this in itself shows that he either lacked political wisdom or was unpopular, and was simply not worthy of inheriting a huge organization. What I wanted to say is that your method of choosing back then was problematic in itself—'passing to the younger instead of the elder, passing to the worthy instead of the legitimate heir'—this kind of vague standard that relies on personal preference, for a large force that needs stability and rules, is in itself a path to disaster, destined to plant the seeds of strife." His analysis was calm and thorough, clearly carrying a bit of the style of his teacher Uchiha Douhuan's way of thinking from a political perspective.
Naruto also nodded in agreement from the side. His perspective was simpler, "Old man, although Big Brother Kurama always says that Asura and I are very similar, both thinking that love can resolve everything. But I still feel that your decision to directly pass the position to Asura back then lacked consideration. Chakra connection can let everyone understand each other's feelings, which is very good. But understanding is one thing, the resources of the ninja world are only so much. Everyone must first consider survival, letting their families and villages live better lives. Having only understanding and love is not enough to solve all practical problems. Asura's idea was very good, but having only good ideas without the method and power to achieve them, and even possibly causing greater conflict because the method is wrong, so his failure... is actually not entirely Indra's fault, right?" His words still carried his usual directness, yet they pointed out the limitations of idealism with pinpoint accuracy.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo quietly listened to the completely different yet equally profound insights of the two youths before him. A complicated light flickered in his ancient Rinnegan. This generation's chakra reincarnates of Indra and Asura were completely different from all the past reincarnates he had known. The obsessed chakra of his two sons seemed to have had its influence on them reduced to a minimum. Although Sasuke had inherited Indra's calmness, arrogance, and powerful talent, he seemed to have shaken off that paranoia, and had a more meticulous logic and a political acumen based on reality. Although Naruto possessed Asura's sunshine, warmth, and charisma, he was not just naively romantic, but instead possessed a rare pragmatic spirit and clear cognition.
[It seems this teacher who guided you is a truly remarkable guide...] The Sage of Six Paths sighed silently in his heart. [If a thousand years ago, Indra and Asura could also have met such a teacher, perhaps they, the two brothers, would not have ultimately walked down such a decisive path...]
...
While the souls of Naruto and Sasuke were receiving ancient enlightenment in the Six Paths space and displaying thinking completely different from previous reincarnates, it seemed only an instant had passed on the main battlefield.
Just as Uchiha Madara was laughing loudly, a fluctuation of space-time flashed beside Might Guy's dying body. In the next moment, the other party had disappeared from Uchiha Madara's sight.
"Hmm?" Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan suddenly sharpened, and his brows furrowed slightly. He actually hadn't completely captured the details of that spatial fluctuation. The other party's speed and concealment techniques were extraordinary. "Are there still rats hiding?" He snorted coldly, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the Rinne Sharingan moon in the sky, which was becoming clearer and clearer. The implementation of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the top priority. A mere ant that had managed to escape was not worthy of him diverting too much energy at this moment.
At the same time, in a hidden barrier far from the main battlefield.
Uchiha Douhuan's figure appeared with a spatial fluctuation. He carefully placed Might Guy, whose life force was almost imperceptible, on the ground. At this time, Guy's whole body's skin was cracked, and his muscles and bones were all shattered. His life force was so weak that it seemed it would be extinguished in the next second.
"What a reckless guy..." Douhuan said in a low voice, his tone filled with undisguised respect. He quickly covered his hands with incomparably pure Sage Art chakra, which emitted a soft and vibrant green light.
He pointed his fingers like a sword and quickly tapped on the major vital points around Guy's body. With extremely exquisite chakra control, he transformed the Sage Art chakra into the finest energy flow, forcibly injecting it into and temporarily sealing Guy's meridian system, which had completely collapsed due to the backlash of the Eight Gates and was constantly leaking life energy.
This was not healing, but almost "freezing." It was like forcibly sealing a bursting river mouth with ice. Although it couldn't solve the fundamental problem, it could buy that crucial, short window of time for the real rescue later. This process was extremely dangerous. With the slightest carelessness, the fragile meridians would completely collapse.
"Hold on, Guy," he said in a low voice. His gaze seemed to pierce through space, looking towards that strange land where the souls were meeting. "Soon... that brat will be back with the 'key.' Before that, I will absolutely not let you, this final 'Azure Beast'... truly fall."
What he was doing was not just to save Guy's life, but also so that one day in the future, when Guy woke up from his slumber, this taijutsu master who had shed his hot blood for Konoha would not have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Uchiha Madara, having completely ignored the disappeared Might Guy, raised his head to look at the moon. While laughing loudly, he spread his arms. The natural energy in the air, with his body as a relay, supplemented the defects of the Ten-Tails.
"Congratulations, Lord Madara. The great Eye of the Moon Plan will soon be completed!" At this time, the Black Zetsu disguised by Tobi appeared at Uchiha Madara's side and said excitedly.
"Hahaha!" Uchiha Madara threw his head back and laughed wildly. After decades of scheming across life and death, he was now only this one step away from success. At this moment, Uchiha Madara's vigilance had also dropped to its lowest point.
However, in the next moment, the pitch-black slime that Tobi had transformed into, like an arrow leaving the bow, condensed into an extremely sharp black spike that contained a special Yin-Yang Release power! With a speed that surpassed lightning, it accurately and ruthlessly pierced into Uchiha Madara's back!
"Ugh—!"
Uchiha Madara's body suddenly stiffened, letting out a painful and incredulous muffled grunt! He looked down and saw a section of a black spike protruding from his chest!
This was not an ordinary physical attack. The strange power contained in that black spike instantly disrupted the flow of the Ten-Tails chakra in his body, and even briefly cut off his connection with the Ten-Tails outside! More importantly, this blow seemed to be aimed at his soul's core!
"Black Zetsu... you?!" Uchiha Madara turned his head with difficulty. His Rinne Sharingan was filled with extreme shock, anger, and incomprehension. "Why?! You are the product of my will! How dare you betray me?!"
However, a strange, triumphant smile, completely different from the humble and obedient image he had always maintained, appeared on "Black Zetsu's" face. His voice also became sharp and full of mockery:
"Betrayal? Hehehehe... Uchiha Madara, you've had one thing wrong from the very beginning."
"I was never the product of your will..."
"And, Uchiha Madara, you are not worthy of executing the great Eye of the Moon Plan," a trace of fanaticism flashed in the eyes of the Black Zetsu disguised by Tobi.
At the same time, a fluctuation of space-time flashed behind him, and Uchiha Douhuan's figure strode out.
"Uchiha Douhuan? You..." An expression of disbelief appeared on Uchiha Madara's face.
"Heh heh, Lord Former Clan Head, why are you rebelling?" Uchiha Douhuan said with a light laugh.
(End of chapter)
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