Konoha Year 59, March 25th — right in the middle of the Ninja Academy's spring break.
Tonight, the dōjō was brilliantly lit, drums thundered, crowds surged, and firecrackers exploded everywhere.
Alright, the last three parts were fake. Only the brightly lit part was true.
Today was Higashino Makoto's birthday.
In previous years, birthdays had always been simple family celebrations, but this year was different.
Because this was his eighteenth birthday.
After today, he would officially be an adult.
That carried enormous meaning for him.
Still, Makoto had no intention of holding some extravagant celebration. He had merely invited close friends and family to gather together.
Given his current status in Konoha, all the major clans naturally wanted to come offer congratulations, but he had politely declined them all. He simply didn't like overly noisy occasions.
That was the privilege and freedom of the strong.
Not the kind of freedom where you did whatever you wanted like some tyrannical superhuman, but the kind where, when there was something you didn't want to do, everyone else would respectfully understand.
Outside the dōjō, two long wooden tables had been set up in the plaza.
One table seated Makoto's family and close friends, while the other had been prepared for the children training at the dōjō.
As for the husky Rocky, he could only sit with the kids. Right now, he and Inuzuka Kiba were glaring at each other—man and dog locked in mutual disgust.
Makoto had declined the major clans because he didn't want his birthday banquet turning into some Konoha clan networking event. That would ruin the atmosphere.
But he naturally wouldn't reject the children studying at the dōjō.
Even so, there were still plenty of people.
Fortunately, with both him and Yamato present, they could literally shape however large a table they needed on the spot.
Wood Release really was ridiculously convenient.
Halfway through the banquet, Higashino Jirō—the old father himself—was visibly drunk, slurring as he sighed emotionally.
"I can't believe it… in the blink of an eye, Makoto's already an adult. Sigh… from now on, I won't even have an excuse to worry about him anymore."
Makoto said, "Father, have I ever actually made you worry?"
"That's exactly why it's a shame! You never needed worrying over!"
"Well, whose fault is that for not working harder? Yamato and I both wanted a little sister, you know."
"Forget it. Having you two is enough. As for a little sister, stop dreaming. Now that you're an adult, go have a daughter yourself already. Hurry up and let your mother and me hold a granddaughter."
Uzuki Yūya nodded drunkenly. "In-law, you're absolutely right."
Excellent. This one was getting tipsy too. He'd already started calling him "in-law," making Yūgao internally scream at her father while wishing she could disappear from embarrassment.
Kushina laughed. "Isn't that a little too early? Minato and I didn't have Naruto until we were twenty-four."
Jirō waved dismissively. "Not early at all, not early at all! Back when Megumi and I were eighteen, we already confirmed our relationship, and then we—"
Megumi immediately clamped a hand over her husband's mouth.
"That's enough out of you, idiot!"
If he kept talking, this conversation was going to become very inappropriate very quickly.
Under his wife's overwhelming pressure, Jirō's intelligence temporarily returned.
He instantly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, son, now that you're an adult, what are your plans? Still going to keep training here at the dōjō?"
"What else would I do?"
"You trained so hard when you were little. What happened to your dream of becoming a shinobi?"
Makoto cleared his throat.
"Father, the path of a shinobi has its limits."
"In my brief shinobi career, I observed that the harder a shinobi trains and the more desperately they fight, the deeper they become trapped within this thousand-year cycle of hatred in the ninja world."
"So… I want to become something beyond a shinobi."
Jirō looked utterly confused.
"Huh? Son, what are you talking about?"
"I'm… no longer going to be a shinobi, Father."
It wasn't some earth-shattering declaration.
No one looked surprised.
At Makoto's current level of strength, whether he called himself a shinobi or not made little difference. Shinobi was merely a profession—a title.
In practice, he had already stepped away from the shinobi system years ago and devoted himself entirely to training.
And besides, if he ever became interested in being a shinobi again, he could return to duty whenever he wanted.
Gekkō Kumomi said, "Just do what you want with peace of mind. Konoha doesn't really have anything that needs you to solve right now. We're enough."
Minato nodded in agreement.
At this point, Makoto's mere existence was already a form of reassurance. Ordinary missions no longer required someone like him.
Still, Minato added with a smile, "Makoto, your shinobi career still isn't complete. At the very least, you've never served as a jōnin team leader before."
Makoto nodded.
"You're right, Minato-senpai. I really am missing that experience. But there's still plenty of time. I can make up for it later."
Megumi hadn't drunk too much, but she was equally emotional.
"Makoto, back then, I was worried that once you grew up, you'd gradually start looking more and more like your father."
"But now it seems I worried for nothing. You still take after me."
"I just wonder which lucky girl you'll end up spoiling in the future."
That kind of thing was up to the younger generation themselves.
Honoka quietly whispered to Yūgao, "My birthday comes before yours, you know. I'll become an adult before you."
Yūgao replied, "So what? I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Yūgao…" Honoka said meaningfully, "I think you've got the wrong target."
"What do you mean?"
"Your enemy isn't me. On the contrary, we're allies."
"We should be united against the outside world."
Yūgao was still unhappy about it, but the moment she thought about how popular Makoto was in Konoha, she immediately realized: "…You have a point."
...
November 3rd carried enormous significance for Uzuki Yūgao.
Today was her eighteenth birthday.
From now on, she was officially an adult.
Which meant she could finally do certain bad things she had always wanted to do before, but couldn't because of her age.
That night, after her birthday banquet ended, the now-mature young woman quietly slipped into Makoto's bedroom, sneaking beneath the blankets like a little purple wildcat.
Pink chakra immediately began drifting through the air, causing both their breathing to grow heavier.
But tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Very soon, another little red wildcat slipped in as well, as though the two delicate human-shaped hakimi had planned it in advance.
Makoto did not refuse.
Within the darkened room, their breathing instantly became chaotic, while the atmosphere of joy drowned out everything else.
Makoto was not some eunuch.
On the contrary, he thoroughly enjoyed this ultimate pleasure of life.
At long last, after living in the ninja world for eighteen years, he had finally plucked two beautiful flowers he had long desired.
Makoto was not a rigid or narrow-minded person.
Faced with the affection of the two girls beside him, he would not choose one while coldly pushing the other away.
Nor was he some endlessly greedy man.
Having two beloved companions was already enough for him.
Otherwise, if he had truly wanted to, he could have built himself a vast garden long ago instead of picking only two flowers.
Tonight, he was very busy.
But freshly blooming flowers had to be treated gently.
The moving melody of strings echoed for a very long time. Fortunately, Makoto had prepared in advance and set up a barrier around the bedroom.
When the storm finally subsided, the little purple wildcat immediately turned hostile again, huffing indignantly: "Hmph, you bastard, we really let you have your way this time. Satisfied now?"
"Just this much? I'm not satisfied at all."
"What? Don't tell me having the two of us still isn't enough for you?"
"No. I'm very satisfied. With a pair of wings, one can already fly."
"I simply hope… that I can keep flying forever."
"You said that yourself, alright? No taking it back later."
"I won't. Keeping my word—that's my ninja way."
Late into the night, after the two beauties had already fallen asleep, Makoto quietly left the land of warmth and tenderness and stepped out into the plaza beyond the house.
Perhaps stimulated by certain events, his spirit had become extraordinarily active, causing his body to suddenly undergo a mysterious transformation.
Makoto carefully sensed the changes, then released all restraint, allowing his entire self-awareness and his ultimate Yin and Yang attributes to rapidly merge together.
Once everything naturally fell into place, Yin and Yang instantly began generating one another.
The two still remained clearly distinct, yet were also inseparable, endlessly transforming freely between each other at every moment.
At this moment, Makoto's Yin and Yang attribute training officially stepped into the complete domains of Yin Release and Yang Release.
Immediately afterward, his understanding of the five chakra natures became like a higher-dimensional being looking down from above—everything was perfectly clear at a glance.
Beginning with Wind Release, the first nature he had ever trained, chakra automatically refined itself into countless strands of thread.
Each strand represented one aspect of wind's nature, all flowing into Yin and Yang.
Then came Fire Release, Water Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release, each returning to its rightful place like gods reclaiming their thrones, merging one after another into Yin-Yang Release.
By dawn, the fusion was complete.
Makoto quietly sensed the changes within himself.
Finally—
Eighteen years after being reborn into the ninja world, after nearly fifteen years of relentless training, he had stepped into the so-called Six Paths domain.
Yin Release: giving form to the formless.
It allowed him to completely perceive every chakra attribute and cast any technique or any kekkei genkai without hand seals.
Previously, he had also been capable of using techniques without visibly forming seals, but that had only been possible because of his extreme chakra control, allowing chakra to automatically circulate through his pathways according to the sequence of the required seals.
But the seal-less casting of the Yin-Yang domain was different.
This was true seal-less casting.
Chakra no longer needed to circulate through the pathways at all.
Techniques followed thought itself—the moment the idea arose, the jutsu was already complete.
Yang Release: giving life to form.
Makoto understood that he could now fully regenerate lost limbs, or even use Yang power to restore limbs lost by others.
This was an immortal body.
His will had fused into every part of himself. Even if his brain or heart were destroyed, it would no longer be fatal.
To truly kill him, one would have to crush every single cell in his body.
A true immortal physique of the ninja world.
A single drop of blood could allow rebirth.
Then, with a single thought, a black robe covered in mysterious silver runes automatically formed over his body.
Behind him, nine pitch-black Truth-Seeking Balls condensed into existence, then shifted into eight, then ten, eleven, twelve…
As long as he still possessed chakra, he could create however many he wanted.
Just like the robe's color, he could change it to whatever color he pleased.
Whatever style of clothing he wanted, he could create.
Even a swimsuit would be no problem.
This—was the realm he had reached step by step through his own training.
Compared to calling it Six Paths Mode, Makoto preferred to call it:
True Sage Mode.
Every visible manifestation could be withdrawn at will.
He did not need those outward signs to maintain True Sage Mode.
He existed in that state at all times.
After dispersing the visible manifestations and returning to his ordinary appearance, Makoto turned toward the blank space above the courtyard entrance.
Now… he could finally hang the plaque for the dōjō there.
Makoto raised a hand.
The plaque automatically formed into existence.
Written upon it were three words:
True Sage Dōjō.
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