"The reward is naturally available, but I have two questions I would like to ask."
Hagoromo Otsutsuki was clearly in a very good mood.
He showed no impatience at Kei Yamanaka's delaying tactics either.
Instead, he took the initiative to bring up the matter of compensation.
To someone like him, who was about to transcend this world like Otsutsuki Chiya, all worldly concerns were now trivial.
"Senior, please proceed."
Kei Yamanaka thought as much inwardly.
Considering the other's current cultivation realm and power, if it weren't for some unresolved questions, he probably would've already transcended and left this world long ago.
There was no way he would specially appear here otherwise!
"The first question: Can the path of borrowing the mental force of all beings lead to transcendence?"
Hagoromo Otsutsuki's eyes were deep and penetrating, faintly revealing a traceable hint of regret and unwillingness.
"…Yes, and one can go extremely far down that path."
Kei Yamanaka hesitated for a moment.
This question carried an immense amount of information!
Clearly, Hagoromo Otsutsuki had figured out that he wasn't from this world and possessed knowledge others didn't.
Otherwise, there was no way he would ask such a question.
However, ever since he gained a power that made most dangers seem trivial, he had never concealed his uniqueness.
Even someone like Hagoromo Otsutsuki, with a thousand years of experience, could easily perceive it. Those around him with even a bit more perceptiveness had already suspected something, though none had ever cared.
As for the question itself—
The "path of borrowing the mental force of all beings" that the other party spoke of was essentially similar to the "vow-force" seen in mythological novels from his past life.
Even celestial deities collected offerings and prayers through incense smoke.
With a large enough number of believers, escaping the Ninja World wouldn't be a big deal at all.
"Hmph… I never strayed from the correct path. I just couldn't endure until the end…"
A sigh seemed to echo with bitterness that had built up over a thousand years.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki's already refined and pure soul emitted faint glimmers of pale gold light after he finished speaking.
Under Kei Yamanaka's gaze,
On his trait interface, [Green-Tier Benevolence] and [Gray-Rank Solitary Path] slowly faded away!
"The second question: Is the path I walk now capable of reaching its ultimate end?"
"…I don't know. But someone has gone incredibly far, reaching heights beyond our comprehension."
Kei Yamanaka carefully chose his words before replying slowly.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki nodded, clearly quite satisfied with this answer.
His gaze shifted toward where Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and Kaguya Otsutsuki stood. He remained silent for a long moment, gradually wearing a complex expression.
"All my cultivation, knowledge, and insights accumulated over a thousand years are hidden deep within the Pure Land. With your abilities, retrieving them should be effortless."
"In that case, thank you, senior."
"One final question… How do you plan on dealing with… my mother?"
"…It depends on how things unfold. Ultimately, she is now an enemy of the Otsutsuki Clan. Unless she's beyond saving, we'll try to bring her in if possible. If not… seal her away again, I suppose?"
Kei Yamanaka scratched the back of his head.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki's words were veiled, but their meaning was unmistakable: I'll give you all my treasures—just do this old man a solid favor. After all, she's my own mother!
A millennium's worth of accumulation, exchanged for his mother's life.
Everyone's got their own burdens to carry!
"Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again one day."
On Hagoromo's Skill Interface, the last White-Rank Skill [Attachments] vanished.
The original Red Skill [Millennium Enlightenment] and Purple-Tier Skills [Ascetic Integration with the Dao] and [Heavenly Heart] slowly began merging, as if only needing that final push to fuse into a Golden Skill [Celestial-Human Symbiosis].
The soul glowed with golden radiance, as if breaking through the final barrier before erupting into dazzling brilliance.
Then came fluctuations—similar yet clearly different from those produced when an [Interdimensional Traveler] detected a World Portal—as though reality itself was being transcended.
A radiant golden gate lit up the sky, appearing high above!
As the golden Heavenly Gate slowly opened, the figure of the Sage of Six Paths soared upward, pulled by the gate's power!
Is this transcendence? Is this dimension-crossing? No way—that feels more like ascending to a higher-tier world!
Kei Yamanaka considered using the [Interdimensional Traveler] ability to leave some marks on that celestial gate.
But the moment he had that thought,
The Red Skill [Fate Mechanism Sundial], which could foresee personal calamities in advance, went wild, screaming at him not to do it under any circumstances!
Since obtaining this skill,
It had never issued such a powerful, clear warning before!
"Tch!"
Kei suppressed his restless impulse.
Watching the receding figure of the Sage of Six Paths, he swiftly issued a mental command to the system inside his mind!
"System, copy [Six Paths Yin-Yang Cycle] and [Celestial-Human Symbiosis]!"
[Keyword Copy successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the Golden Skill Listing 'Six Paths Yin-Yang Cycle' and the Golden Skill Listing 'Celestial-Human Symbiosis'.]
A system notification sounded.
Once the Sage of Six Paths passed through the golden World Portal, all the strange phenomena slowly faded away.
Even the presence of the World Portal itself vanished without a trace!
"Now comes the Grand Project..."
Glancing at the System Interface, Kei let out a helpless sigh—only one copy opportunity remained, along with the two inactive golden skill listings resting there.
The reason why that portal earlier felt different from the World Portals he'd sensed before
Was because it wasn't naturally formed.
Instead, it acted like a preset program—triggered once someone reached certain thresholds, forcefully tearing open a dimensional passage with unimaginable power!
His original plan—to turn the entire Ninja World into a resource base and talent cultivation hub—had just become exponentially harder thanks to that gate!
If he didn't want talents he cultivated getting forcibly taken away once reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths,
He'd have to use the [Interdimensional Traveler] ability
To completely seal off this Fragile Little World!
Leaving aside the time it would take, the amount of energy required alone was astronomical—possibly even more extravagant in energy cost than planting two additional God Trees!
Furthermore, this method wasn't entirely foolproof either. After all, there was no guarantee that some unknown entity wouldn't eventually detect his concealment.
"Pack away the Fragile Little World and take it with him?"
Kei Yamanaka muttered under his breath, finding the idea rather absurd.
Born originally from the Magic-War Repository, the Boundless Realm had once been incapable of containing living beings. But after evolving into the Boundless Realm, it had become an independent space capable of containing anything.
However, most life forms couldn't survive in such an airless, barren space—unlike the Tailed Beasts.
Earlier during his battle with Isshiki Otsutsuki, he had already largely deciphered the ability his opponent used—"Daikokuten."
In essence,
Daikokuten was a space completely severed from all external laws through spatial-temporal energy!
Devoid of any concept of time,
Life placed inside remained unaffected by time, eliminating any need for survival as such.
Now Kei Yamanaka had full capability to alter the rules of the Boundless Realm, transforming it into a timeless space just like Daikokuten!
But if he wanted to store away the Fragile Little World without changing its size while encompassing all living beings...
"This is asking way too much of me..."
Kei clicked his tongue and gazed up at the glittering night sky.
The Boundless Realm lived up to its name—the word "boundless" was no mere hyperbole.
However, aside from spaces automatically formed after acquiring new skill listings, any further expansion would require additional energy input.
And expanding the Boundless Realm enough to fully contain the Fragile Little World and its entire atmosphere?
The energy required would be even greater than that needed for concealment!
Unless he followed the Otsutsuki's method—planting God Trees across the world, constantly consuming their fruits while slowly expanding the space.
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