"The Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Chiya?"
Tsunade turned her head slowly toward Kei Yamanaka, then raised her finger toward the space where the World Portal had just disappeared.
"Same thing—transcending dimensions and ascending to a higher realm."
Kei Yamanaka gave a small nod.
"You once said your power was comparable to the Sage of Six Paths..."
Tsunade's eyes flickered with an emotion she quickly suppressed.
Dimensional transcendence!
These four words carried an irresistible allure for anyone who pursued immense power.
Just look at A, the Third Raikage, Onoki, and Izuna Uchiha standing beside them—long since overwhelmed with excitement. The Sage of Six Paths transcended right in front of their eyes, what a profound impact that had!
Kei Yamanaka had already mentioned before that he possessed power shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sage of Six Paths.
So then, would there come a day in the future...
when he'd leave like that too?
"Let me tell you a story."
Kei looked into the eyes of Tsunade and Hikaku Uchiha watching him.
He reached over and tousled Hikaku's hair before pulling Tsunade into his embrace by the waist.
Tsunade struggled slightly.
But noticing how unusually firm his hold was this time, a crimson blush rose on her flushed cheeks.
She stopped resisting, turning her face away as she silently listened to the bastard's tale.
Kei's story wasn't complicated.
It was about a genius surpassing everyone else, cutting off all emotion and love, enduring bitter cultivation for a thousand years, entirely dedicating himself to strengthening his power. After countless disasters and countless rare opportunities, he eventually achieved 'dimensional transcendence' and reported his arrival in a higher realm.
With unbowed pride, always believing himself unique, this genius only realized upon arriving at the bureaucratic authority of the 'higher dimension'—
that this realm governed countless lower dimensions.
And individuals like him? There were millions upon millions of them!
To become even the lowest-ranked soldier and obtain resources to enhance one's strength, one must pass the trials of any one among the 84,000 Star Demon Sovereigns.
Yet each of these 84,000 Star Demons surpassed him by such an unfathomable margin!
Above these Star Demon Sovereigns,
there were earth gods, mountain deities, city guardians, lake spirits, water deities, the One Hundred and Eight Celestial Guardians and Earthbound Fiends, the Sixty Jiazi Deities, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, and the Nine Luminaries...
"So you're saying," Tsunade furrowed her brow in thought for a moment before looking up at Kei, "Wait, are you saying you want to wait until your foundation exceeds even that of a low-ranking soldier before transcending dimensions?"
"Not at all! What I'm saying is—if you shot straight up from dry land for a thousand years, and still have to keep growing in the higher realm, that's just way too tragic!"
As soon as Kei finished speaking, Tsunade punched him in the chest playfully but forcefully.
"When will your brain ever think about anything serious?!"
"Hahaha—"
"Don't laugh like that!"
Annoyed, Tsunade kept punching his chest again and again, yet deep down, she couldn't deny feeling a warm glow.
Despite every word from this jerk sounding flippant, the meaning behind them was crystal clear—
no matter how far he went—he wanted her by his side!
Hikaku Uchiha couldn't help but break into a bright smile upon hearing the story.
Kei had promised to take her with him wherever he went!
No problem at all!
As the saying goes, a thousand readers see a thousand Hamlets.
After hearing Kei's story, A, Onoki, and Izuna Uchiha each had their own unique reflections.
Once hailed as rare geniuses within their respective villages and clans...
But self-awareness is invaluable!
Compared to a true once-in-a-thousand-years genius like Kei Yamanaka, they were no brighter than candlelight under the sun.
The gap between them was even greater than the difference between ordinary people and themselves!
Even Kei considered himself nothing more than a foot soldier.
As for them?
Onoki let out a bitter chuckle and glanced toward the equally sullen-faced Third Raikage.
Their ages were already quite advanced.
They knew better than anyone else exactly how much potential they still had left.
Transcending dimensions? Merely dreaming of it was enough to draw ridicule.
As for Izuna Uchiha…
"In the end, something like this still comes down to my older brother…"
Just like when he was resurrected, his older brother had helped him enhance his Sharingan chakra.
If his older brother obtained the power to transcend dimensions, he would probably bring him along when leaving!
Yeah!
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made!
While playfully interacting with Tsunade, Kei cast a glance toward the sky where the World Portal had previously stood.
He then glanced at the two inactive golden skill listings shown on his system interface.
There was one urgent matter he wanted to verify now!
"Hold on a sec. I'm gonna check the Sage of Six Paths' collection in the Pure Land first."
Kei spoke to the group nearby.
Though puzzled why he didn't want to wait until Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's threat was fully resolved, everyone simply nodded.
Closing his eyes, Kei used the spatial perception ability granted by being an Interdimensional Traveler to locate the Pure Land.
Then, using the spatial axis marking and shifting techniques he learned from Isshiki Otsutsuki, he locked onto the Pure Land's spatial coordinates.
Before him, a space gateway gradually opened, exuding the stale aura of the Pure Land.
He stepped through the portal.
Inside him, spiritual power flowed steadily, radiating a faint glow that shielded his body from the Pure Land's corrupting force.
Once again locking onto the Pure Land's deepest region,
With a single step forward, he appeared within a special space brimming with the power of the Six Paths Yin-Yang Cycle.
Upon his arrival,
the dense, nearly solidified Six Paths chakra beneath his feet rippled outward like waves across a lake.
"This chakra… Those old men sure did polish their image!"
Kei glanced into the seemingly bottomless Six Paths chakra lake and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Seriously, he could only sense mental energy in his soul—who the heck even made this chakra?
He could figure this out even if he used just a toe hair to think—
after failing the Ninja Path plan and choosing to enter the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths definitely went through a crazy phase!
Draining chakra from every soul that entered the Pure Land!
Only ceasing this madness after discovering a better path.
Of course, perhaps it hasn't completely stopped—just taking a bit less from each soul, as a backup plan!
Otherwise, why has the Pure Land still not activated?
Kei Yamanaka shook off the wandering thoughts with a shake of his head, then raised his gaze toward a corner of space where stood an ancient-looking structure.
The Byakugan blazed to life in both his eyes.
His gaze locked onto a single skull, completely shrouded in layers of powerful sealing techniques inside one of the chambers.
Otsutsuki Chiya's head!
"So powerful…"
The moment Kei saw the head, he realized immediately.
Even with the immense physical strength granted by his Lingjun of Heavenly Transformation state, Kei could not begin to match Otsutsuki Chiya's body!
His physical strength was almost on par with his spiritual power.
And under the enhancements of various [Keywords], his soul alone had reached a level comparable to the Sage of Six Paths when he first appeared—lacking only the depth built up over a thousand years like the Sage's.
If the requirements for transcending the world were the same for both soul and body,
then with Otsutsuki Chiya's physical might, he should have transcended along with his body long ago.
Therefore...
Is achieving transcendence purely through physical might really that damn difficult?
Or perhaps the Ninja World simply doesn't permit bodily transcendence?
"Well, it's fine either way…"
Kei waved his hand, drawing the entire structure into the Boundless Realm.
Then, activating spatial abilities, he left the Pure Land.
As for the massive reserves of Six Paths Chakra and the central mechanism controlling the Pure Land's operations—densely packed and sealed beneath multiple layers of Yin-Yang Release techniques along the spatial boundary—he chose to leave them untouched for now.
He came here merely to confirm one thing:
Would fusing the two newly copied skill listings immediately fulfill the requirements for ascension?
Based on what he'd observed from Isshiki Otsutsuki and Kaguya Otsutsuki,
he could reasonably conclude that among the Otsutsuki Clan, spiritual strength generally outweighed physical strength in most cases. After all, their bloodline's innate ability meant they wielded Yin Release far more effectively.
Chiya's physical might was so extreme that only after abandoning his body did his soul achieve transcendence.
So even if Kei's spirit matched the strength of the Sage of Six Paths at the moment of his transcendence,
as long as he didn't actively abandon his fleshly limits,
the World Portal shouldn't appear!
Kei wasn't afraid of stepping into higher-level worlds.
He still had one Keyword Copy slot and four Keyword Detach slots remaining. No matter what high-level world lay beyond, he was fairly confident he could rise quickly.
But truthfully, he was concerned.
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