Sakura reached out her hand and waved toward the two. Soon, two illusory figures made of chakra appeared behind Naruto and Sasuke. Though they had no souls—just pure chakra—their presence sent shivers down Minato Namikaze and the others' spines. Especially the figure behind Sasuke, which radiated a chilling coldness that made people instinctively want to keep their distance.
"I only need to extract a very tiny portion," Sakura explained. "The rest I will let it merge with your own chakra gradually. It'll boost your power a lot!"
Just a tiny amount of chakra was needed to summon the Sage of Six Paths. The remaining chakra, Sakura directly fused into Naruto's and Sasuke's bodies. This chakra would slowly blend with their original reserves, significantly enhancing their strength.
Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Sage of Six Paths [Lower Part]
Chakra from the Nine-Tails, Indra, and Asura slowly blended together in Sakura's palm. At the moment the chakra fully fused, Sakura swiftly flung it outward.
The thrown chakra did not vanish—it instead floated midair. In Sakura's eyes, a streak of blue light flashed across. The power of the Space Stone activated instantly, opening up a spatial passage to summon the soul of the Sage of Six Paths.
"It's been a while, old master."
Looking at the familiar figure before him, Kurama's lips curled upward, his eyes faintly glistening with tears. He looked like a bullied kid who'd finally found someone to protect him.
"Kurama? Gyuki? Isobu? Matatabi? Why are you all here?" The Sage of Six Paths looked completely baffled. He had merely sensed three strands of chakra fusing together and had come out to check what was going on. But then space fluctuated suddenly, and when he reappeared, he was already here.
"Sorry about that, old master," Sakura replied respectfully. She held deep admiration for the Sage, who had always strived for world peace. "This is the Inner Space. Physical bodies cannot enter, but spirits can stay here for a while. It's actually quite perfect for you to settle down here."
"A truly extraordinary space!" The Sage of Six Paths scanned the surroundings of the Inner Space before returning his gaze to Sakura, his expression turning solemn. "There's a terrifying power within you. It has long surpassed my own strength—in fact, even Mother Kaguya would seem insignificant before such might!"
The Infinity Stones are relics of cosmic scale—their power is beyond imagination. In contrast, both the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya otsutsuki were only as powerful as the strongest beings on a single planet. No match at all for the Infinity Stones.
"It's just a shame I can't fully harness this power," Sakura said helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. She knew how powerful the Infinity Stones were, but right now she couldn't control them properly—if mishandled, they could potentially destroy the entire world.
"Too much power can twist even the best intentions," the Sage murmured. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the Sage's Staff in his hand, a shadow of sorrow flashing across his eyes.
"You possess tremendous power, yet you haven't lost yourself. Instead, you've found bonds. That's very good!"
"That's because I care about so many people!" Sakura shrugged and said, "Power itself has never been something terrifying. Great power doesn't necessarily make someone lose themselves. What people call losing oneself is often just the dark impulses within the heart surfacing. And in your mother's case, she wasn't really corrupted by power—she simply cared too much about you two brothers!"
"What exactly do you know?" The Sage of Six Paths' expression suddenly changed. Why did it feel like Sakura knew everything?
"There're some small details I'm not clear about, but I do know quite a lot regarding your mother's story!" Sakura shrugged again. Now that I think about it, Kaguya otsutsuki's story really is pretty heartbreaking. She fell in love with a false-hearted man during her first encounter with love, endured the hardship to raise two children on her own, only to be betrayed by her sons. She spent thousands of years sealed in eternal darkness, and after finally emerging, was sealed once more by her grandson's chakra reincarnation. The only one who accompanied her was that ever-faithful blackguard, Black Zetsu.
"Mother..." The Sage's expression became complicated. There were happy days when he and his younger brother lived with their mother—they were a happy little trio back then. But after learning the truth about Infinite Tsukuyomi, all that happiness burst like soap bubbles.
"Hey, could you please stop making that face? It looks really weird combined with your current old man appearance!" Sakura shivered slightly. An old man getting all sentimental about his youth? Honestly, it's kinda hard to take seriously.
"Hehe, sorry. I was just recalling some past memories," the Sage of Six Paths softly chuckled, then straightened his expression and said, "I was supposed to show up years from now, but your presence threw everything off track. Since I've now met the Child of the Prophecy, I might as well hand everything over to you then!"
"You mean the event where Kaguya otsutsuki revives several years later?" Sakura looked at him and said, "In a way, you really are a devoted son!"
"I saw you in my original prophecy. You're Sakura Haruno, right? Then I'll just call you Sakura." The Sage felt somewhat depressed. Why do I get the feeling like you've got a beef with me or something? He might not be universally loved, but surely he wasn't someone who would immediately make others dislike him upon first meeting?!
"How should I put this... I admire you for creating the Ninja Religion. The idea of connecting hearts through chakra is wonderful. But regarding your relationship with Kaguya otsutsuki… Well, I'll just leave that to you."
Sakura subtly pursed her lips and asked, "To be honest, when you chose to seal your own mother, have you never regretted it? Have you ever asked why things turned out that way? Without even communicating with Kaguya otsutsuki, you unilaterally decided she would bring disaster to the world. When she was sealed by her own son, did you ever try to understand how she truly felt inside?"
"You thought chakra was meant to connect hearts like a bridge, yet you were unwilling to first attempt connecting with Kaguya Otsutsuki's mind. Judging only from what others told you and your own guesses, you decided Kaguya Otsutsuki was the villain. What am I to make of you, Sage of Six Paths? You've done the right thing for the entire shinobi world by bringing chakra to the shinobi world, enabling remarkable development—what you've done is beyond doubt. But you turned your back on your own mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki!"
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