Kaoru spoke softly to the Sage of Six Paths, his tone distant and steady, his gaze burning with intensity.
"Regardless of the truth, you have always been revered as a myth by the people of this world. I too originally believed that you had long since passed away, just as the legends say... But it seems now... that is not the case at all..."
"Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki... I have lost count of how many years it has been since I last heard that name..."
Listening to Kaoru's words, the Sage of Six Paths, floating in the void, seemed to hold a trace of reminiscence within his purple Rinnegan eyes.
"It is true. I am the creator and guardian of this world's peace and order... And you are all..."
"Enough, enough..."
Before the Sage could finish his speech in all seriousness, Kaoru cut him off directly.
"You have some objection to that?" Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki paused, taken aback by the interruption, and asked immediately.
"You have some objection to that?" Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki paused, taken aback by the interruption, and asked immediately.
"Well... I think it would be better if you spoke in a more normal way..." Kaoru's mouth twitched slightly as he spoke, offering a reminder.
To be honest, hearing that kind of archaic, fantasy-novel style speech in the Naruto universe made Kaoru feel incredibly uncomfortable.
In the world of anime and fiction, there's always someone who goes around using words like "thou", "thee", or "hath". Hearing it suddenly like this really gave Kaoru the creeps.
Could people please stop misusing ancient speech like that...?
"Ah... very well... of course..." The Sage of Six Paths scratched the back of his head awkwardly upon hearing Kaoru's words.
His expression vaguely resembled Naruto's idiotic, clueless grin. "Ahem... I... no... I will speak as you wish."
"Looking at him like this, it seems Naruto inherited that idiotic nature not from Minato, but from the Sage himself. After all, in a certain sense, they are like father and son..."
Kaoru thought to himself as he watched the Sage's demeanor. For some reason, he suddenly got the strange feeling that the Sage of Six Paths had somehow "cuckolded" Minato Namikaze...
"However... the legends are indeed correct... I did die long ago..."
Just as Kaoru was lost in random thoughts, the Sage spoke again. Having returned to a normal way of speaking, his voice was distant and resonant, drifting like wispy smoke.
"What appears before you now... is merely my chakra and will, still lingering in this world after death, quietly guarding the shinobi world..."
"Quietly guarding it, you say..." A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Kaoru's mouth.
"We could phrase it another way, couldn't we? What you call 'guarding the shinobi world' could just as easily be called monitoring it... Am I wrong?"
"Ahem..." The Sage cleared his throat softly. Instead of answering directly, he looked deep into Kaoru's eyes.
"Although those eyes of yours are technically only Mangekyō Sharingan... I understand very clearly now... that they have completely surpassed both mine and Hamura's..."
As he spoke, the Sage fixed his gaze intently upon Kaoru's eyes—the profound scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan and the eerie, blood-red Rinne Sharingan on his forehead.
Shock and awe were undeniable in his expression. "To be honest, I truly never imagined that a shinobi like you would emerge in this world... and rise to such heights..."
"I originally believed that the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura would be the ones to end this war and reshape the shinobi world..."
The Sage had long passed the stage of surprise and astonishment. Now, looking at Kaoru, Naruto, and Sasuke, his expression was calm and impartial, like a still pool of water.
"I truly never expected... that it would be you—someone I never anticipated—who defeated and sealed my mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki... It seems then... I have no need to summon other spirits from the Pure Land to offer assistance..."
While Kaoru conversed with the Sage, the sounds of fierce battle rose to the heavens, carrying all the way to where they stood.
In the distance, the Allied Shinobi Forces were locked in intense combat with Kabuto Yakushi's army of the dead.
"It seems Kabuto still hasn't given up... actually continuing to manipulate corpses to fight..." Hearing the noise from afar, Kaoru frowned.
"Everyone is still fighting... Sasuke, let's go and help them!!!"
Hearing the sounds of battle echoing from the distant battlefield, Naruto's expression tightened. He turned his head to look at Sasuke beside him.
"There is no need..."
Before Sasuke could even respond, Kaoru gently raised a hand to stop Naruto. He then turned back toward the Sage.
"I assume... a technique like Edo Tensei shouldn't pose any difficulty for you, right?"
"Indeed, it does not..." The Sage nodded gently. As he spoke, before the astonished eyes of everyone present, he simply waved his wide sleeve... Instantly, boundless radiance surged up between heaven and earth...
On battlefields everywhere in the distance, the countless shinobi revived via Edo Tensei, currently fighting the Allied Forces, all stared in surprise at their own bodies.
A faint white light shone through them. Their spirits felt suddenly unburdened, as if set free. Gradually, they transformed into streams of light and vanished into the horizon...
"What is this...?" Shinobi of the Allied Forces, locked in combat, stared blankly at the scene before them, instinctively pausing their movements.
"What is happening?! Has Edo Tensei been undone by someone?!!" On one front, the ANBU forces led by the Third Hokage watched in amazement as every revived shinobi's body crumbled away completely.
"It seems the battle on Kaoru's side has reached its conclusion..." The Third Hokage's clouded eyes gazed toward the battlefield near the collapsed mountain ranges in the distance.
His purple-red irises held an indescribable complexity and hesitation.
Kaoru...
What will you do now...?
What kind of shape will you force this shinobi world to take...?
"Edo... Edo Tensei... was just undone... like that..."
Standing frozen behind Kaoru, Naruto stared wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open. His orange eyes gazed blankly at the Sage of Six Paths. "So effortlessly too..."
"Is this the power of the legendary Sage of Six Paths...?" Sasuke too stood stunned, watching the Sage. An unusual light flickered within the Rinnegan in his left eye.
"To be able to forcibly undo a technique like Edo Tensei without even needing to know the hand seals required to release it..."
Kaoru gazed at the Sage. Such domineering power was practically an unstoppable force in the shinobi world... Is the Sage really nothing more than a wisp of chakra and lingering will...?
"You need not be so surprised..." As if seeing the astonishment deep within Kaoru's eyes, the Sage explained calmly.
"Your power now... has completely surpassed mine and Hamura's... It has even surpassed my mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki..."
"Which means... there is nothing you cannot do now... if you simply wish it..."
His pair of purple Rinnegan, radiating an ancient aura, looked steadily at Kaoru as the Sage spoke softly.
"It is simply that you have obtained this power too recently... and have not yet fully mastered or understood it. You will need time to explore and discover its limits..."
"Is that so..." Kaoru raised his eyebrows slightly and looked down at his own hands.
"It is the truth. It took me countless ages and eons to fully master my own power... The true secrets of chakra are still waiting for you to unlock them..."
Floating silently in the void, the Sage's voice drifted out, profound and thought-provoking like sacred chants.
That's true...
It has only been a very short time since I became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki... less than a full day.
I only just awakened the Rinne Sharingan as well... There are so many abilities I haven't even explored yet...
There really is no need to rush things...
Hearing the Sage's words, Kaoru silently agreed within his heart.
As the founding father of Shinobi Sect in this world, perhaps the Sage of Six Paths had long since transcended everyone in terms of true spiritual understanding—including his own mother, the Progenitor of Chakra, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
"And the most important reason I have appeared before you... is to seek clarity on one matter..." The Sage's eyes seemed to hold profound laws and ultimate truths as they locked tightly onto Kaoru.
"In the end... since you have won this final war... and with your current power... there is no force left in this world capable of hindering or threatening you..."
"While I myself... am nothing more than a man who died long ago..."
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