〖Year Twenty-Six〗
You activate Heavenly Ear and immediately become aware that the Sage of Six Paths is in the Pure Land, working to gather the powers of Indra and Asura from Naruto and Sasuke. Using the faith of the living and the dead, he's trying to forge a fruit from their chakra.
You also sense that deep within the Dragon Vein, the Slug Sage is still in the process of merging, constantly digesting the bodies of those who perished in the flames of war—doing everything possible to reshape the Dragon Vein, heal the land of the shinobi world, and breathe life into it once more.
The two strongest forces in the shinobi world have both, in their own way, benefited from the war and are now fully occupied with their respective tasks, unable to spare attention elsewhere.
If the White Ape Sage wants revenge, now is the perfect time!
But you're already growing impatient.
You take a single step and instantly teleport into the massive barrier at the heart of Kara's headquarters, concealing your presence. You quietly observe as the White Ape Sage, marked with Isshiki's Kama seal, continues drawing in energy to restore his strength.
You recall something Jashin once mentioned: before being ambushed and losing his power, Otsutsuki Isshiki had strength on par with a true god.
Judging by the White Ape Sage's current recovery rate, if Isshiki is reborn through him, he should be able to regain his peak form...
After experiencing multiple explosive leaps in power, your fists are itching—you're eager to use the White Ape Sage and Isshiki to test your current strength!
But power on this level isn't easy to wield within the shinobi world.
Even when your strength was far less than it is now, going all out could easily flatten entire landscapes—or even destroy half a planet.
Now, with your enhanced power, if you were to stack it with something like the Battle Saint Scripture, the Eight Gates, and the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, the shockwaves alone might obliterate the entire shinobi world.
And if that happened, the Sage of Six Paths and the Slug Sage would absolutely intervene...
After all, both the Dragon Vein and the Pure Land rely on the shinobi world's existence. If it's destroyed...
Then it won't be a spar anymore—it'll be a life-and-death struggle!
"Fly for me!"
You pick the perfect moment—just as the White Ape Sage finishes recovering and is about to awaken. You transform into your dragon form and whip your massive tail down, instantly leveling Kara's entire base.
The White Ape Sage is launched into the sky.
A few more chain-tail strikes follow. The poor old ape, having only just regained his strength, doesn't even get a chance to enjoy it before getting ruthlessly pummeled. His body is sent flying beyond the shinobi world, drifting into the vastness of space.
Fortunately, his reinforced body—the upgraded Vajra Form—barely holds together.
You return to your human form, looking like a young man again, and hook a finger at the old ape, beckoning him to begin his revenge.
The old ape calms his fury. It seems all those years of guidance under the Slug Sage really paid off.
Although he didn't seek you out first and instead got ambushed by you, he knows that, having made a flesh-transfer contract with Isshiki, this is his only shot at revenge!
The White Ape Sage swiftly pulls out his rebuilt Staff, reforged from chakra black rods, and with a roar, unleashes all ten layers of the Battle Saint Scripture. Golden light radiates from his body as he charges at you with blinding speed.
Clang!
It looks like a frontal assault, but in truth, the moment the staff comes down, he teleports behind you, swinging straight for your most vulnerable spot—your neck.
But what follows stuns and infuriates him.
You appear behind him out of thin air, catching the full-force blow between two fingers.
With a gentle tug, the seemingly massive old ape is flipped upside down and slammed headfirst into the ground by your deceptively lean frame.
Clearly, the two signature techniques he was most proud of—you've already mastered them. And what's worse, you're using them even more skillfully than he can.
In front of you, he's been stripped bare, down to his metaphorical underwear.
Knowing he's no match in close quarters and that you've been holding back, the old ape quickly pulls away, unleashing all his stored chakra and senjutsu in a desperate attack.
So he knows ninjutsu too?
You're slightly surprised. You'd thought the old ape only relied on taijutsu, but his command of ninjutsu is surprisingly refined.
Unfortunately, it's useless.
You tap your finger, fusing chakra and senjutsu into a single point. A beam of energy shoots forth, easily neutralizing the old ape's proud combo technique.
Thankfully, his golden glow bursts forth again—his Form forcibly disperses the Five Elements beam.
To you, though, this doesn't even count as ninjutsu. It's just crude chakra manipulation.
Seeing the old ape so desperate, out of options...
You teleport next to him, raising your fists to engage in close combat.
His eyes glow red with fury, but the Battle Saint Scripture has already reached its limit. He can no longer raise his strength. After taking just two of your punches, his Staff snaps again.
His whole body is battered and bruised. The Form, even at its seventh layer, is pierced effortlessly by sword-light unintentionally leaking from your palm.
Even ten full layers of Battle Saint Scripture can't budge your pinky.
Just a probing exchange, and the old ape is already forced to reveal all his trump cards—on the verge of death...
The gap between you is as vast as the heavens.
Suddenly, the White Ape Sage cries out in despair, shouting that Isshiki has broken his word.
A black mark covering most of his upper body begins to glow. The Kama seal activates prematurely!
It turns out Isshiki had already judged the old ape to be no match for you. He decided to step in personally—to reclaim the body and hunt you down.
You watch curiously as Isshiki begins resurrecting through the Kama, even on a transcendent being like the White Ape Sage.
So this is how it works: the necessary conditions appear to be spiritual weakness, or massive damage resulting in rapid loss of strength.
Still, what intrigues you is this: what if you were the host? Could Isshiki mark you with a Kama while you're at full power? And if so, at what point would he attempt the takeover?
Question after question rises in your mind.
...
Somewhere in the shinobi world, a devastating energy cannon blasts toward you.
You shift your position slightly and dodge. Looking down, you see several Kara branch bases have activated beam-type energy weapons.
They're attacking you non-stop—clearly trying to buy Isshiki enough time to fully possess the White Ape Sage and ascend to godhood again.
You tell Isshiki that you just so happen to need a punching bag. You won't make it easy for him—but you won't cheat either.
Then, all the cannons simultaneously blast your body.
The light fades.
You remain completely unharmed, floating silently in midair.
With a casual wave, dozens of Truth-Seeking Orbs fall to the ground, accurately striking every source of attack.
You take another step—
The next instant, you reappear. Every spare body Isshiki had prepared for himself has already been cut down by you.
You did it on purpose—to force Isshiki to go all in and fight you with no retreat.
Insulted by this lowly native-born Otsutsuki, Isshiki's eyes fill with rage. But with no other choice, he completes the possession of the White Ape Sage.
Then, using the few remaining fragments of rule power he's gathered...
He begins ascending to the level of a true god.
And so, a strange scene unfolds—
Though your goal is to kill Isshiki, you find yourself responsibly protecting him through this critical moment of godhood.
You even go so far as to proactively destroy two small incoming asteroids headed his way...