...
Name: Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo
Occupation: None
Traits: Six Paths Yin-Yang Samsara (Gold), Sage of Six Paths (Gold), Master of Reincarnation (Gold), Ōtsutsuki Royal Bloodline {Incomplete} (Gold), Founder of Ninjutsu (Red), Source of All Jutsu (Red), Yin-Yang Creation and Destruction (Red), A Thousand Years of Enlightenment (Red), Path of Austerity and Unity (Purple), Divine Will (Purple), Benevolence (Green), Heartbound (White), Emotional Attachment (White), Lone Wanderer (Gray).
Note: When copying traits involving bloodlines in soul form, there is a chance of degradation or adaptive mutation.
...
Strong.
Incredibly strong.
The Sage of Six Paths was, without a doubt, the strongest person Yamanaka Shinno had ever seen!
Even with the word "incomplete" tagged onto his bloodline, this guy was clearly a cut above Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—whose own trait panel, while flashy, lacked Hagoromo's sheer depth.
He wielded the power of the Six Paths Yin-Yang Samsara.
He had mastered the use of Senjutsu to perfection.
He controlled the very essence of reincarnation within the Pure Land...
A millennium of accumulation had allowed him to fully integrate every aspect of his power into one seamless whole.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's strength wasn't something that could be compared to someone like Ōtsutsuki Isshiki—who had merely survived for a thousand years by relying on the overwhelming power of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
And beyond that...
[ A Thousand Years of Enlightenment ], [ Path of Austerity and Unity ], [ Divine Will ]—these three traits alone signaled that the Sage of Six Paths had chosen a path distinct not only from the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan, but even from Shinno himself!
"I pay my respects to the Sage of Six Paths."
Standing before him, with Tsunade and Uchiha Hikari at his side, Yamanaka Shinno's gaze flicked repeatedly to Hagoromo's trait panel.
Sure, the man didn't have any traits that screamed "villain" at first glance. In fact, he even had [ Benevolence ] in green, and [ Heartbound ] in white.
But someone that powerful possessing something like [ Divine Will ]? That wasn't necessarily a good thing for the average person!
Which is to say—Heaven and Earth regard all life equally. Not especially good, not especially evil. Everything simply follows the natural course.
If that's what [ Divine Will ] really means...
Then in Hagoromo's eyes, the people of the Shinobi World might not be any different from other lifeforms.
Like pigs and dogs.
How could anyone afford to let their guard down around that?
"There's no need to be so wary of me. We are not enemies."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo showed no sign of offense at Shinno's obvious vigilance. His aged face remained calm and smiling.
To see a child of mankind carve out a path of transcendence so different from the Ōtsutsuki's in just two decades...
It was something he hadn't witnessed in over a thousand years.
And in truth, this young man's actions had helped him complete his own final step.
"...So, what have you actually been doing in the Pure Land all these years, Elder?"
After a moment's silence, Shinno decided to be direct. There was no point dancing around the subject when dealing with a thousand-year-old fox—he'd only tie himself up in knots.
Before his confrontation with Isshiki, he had observed the Pure Land for a long time.
But Hagoromo had done nothing.
As if he no longer cared what happened there.
Now that the man had suddenly emerged... Shinno needed answers. He couldn't just let the Sage of Six Paths maintain control over the Pure Land without knowing his intentions.
After all, the world couldn't function without it.
And no one likes a mysterious powerhouse lingering in the shadows.
"Observation. Reflection. Transcendence."
Hagoromo showed no surprise at the question, smiling as he began to recount his thousand-year journey of insight.
After he and his brother Hamura sealed away their mother, they had wandered the Shinobi World together.
They traveled far and wide, healing the scars left upon the planet by their battle with her.
By chance, during one of these journeys, Hagoromo discovered the remains of an Ōtsutsuki clan member—
The corpse of Ōtsutsuki Shibai, known as the "God of the Ōtsutsuki."
Even in death, Shibai's body radiated overwhelming power. Just the stray remnants of his energy were enough to shake Hagoromo to his very core.
Through careful study and contemplation, Hagoromo began to realize: Shibai hadn't died. He had transcended death itself. He had shed the constraints of his physical body and crossed dimensions to leave this world entirely.
The Six Paths were not the end.
Beyond them lay realms of power that defied human imagination.
Hagoromo never claimed to be some enlightened sage without desire. He, too, wanted to pursue that level of transcendence.
But if the only way to achieve it was to reduce planet after planet to divine plantations—growing God Trees to harvest their life force and wiping out all other life...
Then how was that any different from what his mother had done?
His time traveling the world had shown him something clearly:
Every living being—no matter how small—possessed its own thoughts, its own feelings.
All life deserved respect.
So he rejected the Ōtsutsuki path to transcendence and began seeking alternatives.
The founding of Ninshū was his first attempt.
Ōtsutsuki Shibai had proven that physical might wasn't the key to transcendence—it was the power of the soul that mattered.
And the first expression of soul power... is the power of the heart.
If he could connect every soul in the world through their hearts—build a collective consciousness vast enough—then perhaps that change in quantity would trigger a change in quality, and usher in true peace.
And perhaps... he could use that power to temper his own soul, to elevate and refine it...
But he failed.
The lives of Ashura and Indra had shown him clearly: this path might be a dead end.
With no other option, he made one last choice.
He gave up his body entirely and entered the Pure Land. There, he sought to observe and reflect upon the true essence of the soul, to experience the heart's power in its purest state—hoping, slowly, to erode that final barrier.
Fortunately...
In time, using the power of Six Paths Yin-Yang Samsara and the Pure Land itself, he gained insight into the underlying laws that governed the world.
His soul continued to grow stronger as his understanding of the heart deepened.
But...
That failed experiment called Ninshū—it lingered in his heart like a splinter.
"Where the heart is bound, the soul cannot reach purity. Without purity, I could never take the final step. And now... you've helped me resolve that last regret."
Hagoromo's smile was full of quiet relief.
He had once used Shibai's corpse to activate the ultimate dōjutsu catching a glimpse of the future.
He thought the opportunity to take that final step wouldn't come for several more decades.
But due to a sudden twist of fate...
That transformation came early.
...
"...Elder, aren't you forgetting something?"
Yamanaka Shinno's thoughts raced as he processed Hagoromo's words—analyzing and dissecting every detail.
Cross-referencing them with the original timeline, he could reasonably guess that most of what the old man said... was probably true.
But everything? No way.
There's no way he'd believe Hagoromo halted the entire function of the Pure Land just to "better sense the heart's power."
No one would.
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