Chapter 2: Hamura's Contingency, the Secret of the Jogan
"The Great Toad Sage's prophecy... was not wrong."
That single sentence from the Sage of Six Paths was like a faint flicker of flame, reigniting the hope in Naruto's desolate heart.
With tears still drying on his face, Naruto pushed himself to his feet once more. He faced the Sage, his voice now steady and calm. "What do you mean?"
The Sage offered a small smile. "Tell me, aren't you the least bit curious as to why you've met me here?"
Naruto's brow furrowed.
That's right, he thought. Didn't the Sage of Six Paths vanish completely after the Fourth Great Ninja War? Why would we meet again now? Unless…
Hope flared in Naruto's eyes. He looked at the ancient Sage, praying the answer was the one he was desperately wishing for.
"Boruto may not have defeated the Otsutsuki clan," the Sage said calmly, "but the prophecy was correct. He changed the world by doing one crucial thing: he sent you to me."
Naruto was stunned. "You're saying… I'm only here because Boruto sent me?"
The Sage nodded. "Yes. You did indeed die in battle, but your spirit, your very consciousness, was preserved by Boruto using his Jogan."
He continued, "Your son inscribed a forbidden Otsutsuki jutsu into his eye long before the final battle. When he was ultimately defeated and became a vessel, the massive influx of chakra he received allowed him to activate it. Using a special artifact, he sent your spirit here to me. The price for this act… was his own life."
Hearing this, fresh tears streamed down Naruto's face.
"Boruto… My dear son… sob…"
The Sage watched him, then held up an object in his right hand. "This is the artifact he used."
Naruto pulled himself from his grief and looked at the object. It was the tool he had seen in the Sage's vision, but now it was covered in cracks. "Is that… the Otsutsuki artifact? The Harrow!"
"Indeed," the Sage confirmed. "With this Harrow and his own life as a sacrifice, Boruto used that forbidden jutsu to send your spirit across dimensions to meet me. And now, Naruto, you face a choice. A choice that can once again change the fate of the ninja world."
Naruto stared, a shocking realization dawning on him. So, after all this time, this was how Boruto was meant to change the world.
But… how?
How could Boruto have known any of this? How did he know that sending his father's spirit to the Sage of Six Paths would change anything? And where did he learn a forbidden jutsu of the Otsutsuki clan?
The Sage seemed to read the questions in Naruto's eyes.
He gazed at the cracked Harrow in his hand and sighed. "Before I answer your questions, let me ask you one, Naruto. After everything you have endured, do you still believe my original path was the correct one?"
Naruto fell silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, his voice heavy with conviction. "Honestly? I no longer agree with your methods. The Otsutsuki are too powerful. If we want to survive, we must be willing to gain the power to fight them… at any cost."
The Sage of Six Paths grew quiet.
He remembered their last meeting during the Fourth Great Ninja War. He had asked Naruto then what he would do if Sasuke sought to unite the world through force. Naruto's answer had been to stop him, to hold onto his belief in love and a world where people could truly understand one another.
Look at him now.
The Sage let out a sad sigh. "Alas, the things my mother feared have all come to pass. In the end, I was too shortsighted. I was wrong."
Naruto remained silent.
He had once believed in the Sage's path, too. But after witnessing the tragedy that befell his world, after seeing the true power of the Otsutsuki, after experiencing the pain of losing his family and friends… he could never go back.
The Naruto who was full of ideals, who believed in love and mutual understanding, was dead.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, the Sage's expression shifted to a faint smile. "But it's alright. We still have one more chance to make things right. It seems Hamura's contingency plan was the correct path after all."
Naruto's eyes narrowed in confusion.
The Sage saw his look and began to explain.
"I know you're wondering how your son seemed to know all of this, how he was so certain that sending you to me was the answer."
Naruto nodded, urging him to continue.
The Sage went on, "Years ago, I disagreed with the path my mother, Kaguya, had taken, and so I sealed her on the moon. My younger brother, Hamura, led his clan to the moon to stand guard over her. During his long vigil, Hamura began to investigate the true reason for our mother's constant fear—the reason she was always staring at the stars. His investigation continued until the day my brother awakened the Jogan!"
Seeing Naruto's shocked expression, the Sage's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, the very same eye that your son Boruto awakened."
He continued his recollection. "By constantly exploring the Jogan's power, my brother discovered that it could sometimes allow him to see fragments of time—pieces of the past and the future, though he could not control it. Through these visions, Hamura finally understood. He saw why our mother was so terrified. The Otsutsuki from beyond the stars were real, and their power was truly frightening. He immediately came to me and told me everything he had seen."
Naruto was floored. This was a secret history he'd never known. Did that mean the Sage of Six Paths knew about the greater Otsutsuki threat from the very beginning?
Then why?
As if reading his mind again, the Sage said, "You want to ask why I still chose my path, even after knowing all of this."
Naruto simply nodded.
"Because at the time," the Sage explained, "even Hamura could not be certain that the visions he saw were absolute. Furthermore, he could not see a definite future in which the ninja world was guaranteed to be destroyed."
"Oh," Naruto said, processing this. "So… you decided to gamble?"
The Sage nodded grimly. "That's right. I chose to bet on my ideals. It appears now that I lost that bet, and that I was wrong. Thankfully, my brother insisted on leaving a contingency plan in place. If he hadn't, I would be filled with eternal regret."
Seeing the anticipation on Naruto's face, the Sage continued, "By exploring the Jogan and analyzing the chakra memories left behind by our mother, Hamura learned a great deal. He discovered that among the Otsutsuki, the Jogan has another name, an official title."
The Sage paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in.
"It is called the Samsara Eye of Rebirth!"