For Takuno, who already stood at the pinnacle of the world, beings that could allow his strength to progress even a step further were nearly extinct in this world.
At this moment, only the great power touching upon the domain of the "Six Paths" could possibly serve as his new ladder.
For instance, the complete power of the Ten-Tails.
However, the timing to seize this Ten-Tails power was not yet ripe, far beyond reach for the time being.
The target he was currently locked onto was a power that had only clearly surfaced in his perception after he himself had successfully stepped into that profound "Six Paths" realm.
To those familiar with the trajectory of the "original work," the name of this power was not unfamiliar.
Takuno had not taken it into consideration before, and for good reason.
It was precisely the power that the Sage of Six Paths had quietly accumulated in the shadows over the long course of a thousand years!
It was the power that could evolve Sasuke's Mangekyo into a Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, and the power that could allow Naruto to leap into becoming a stat-monster capable of trading blows with Kaguya!
The horror of its magnitude had long since needed no proof.
But in Takuno's former understanding, this power had long been branded with the mark of destiny, destined only for the reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths's two sons entangled in the cycle of samsara, Ashura and Indra.
However, all inherent perceptions crumbled the moment he stepped into the Six Paths level.
The moment he truly crossed the boundary of life and death and stood eye-to-eye with the soul of that legendary founder of Ninshu, they collapsed with a bang.
An unprecedented thought exploded in his heart: why couldn't this vast power belong to me, Takuno?
When he first entered the Six Paths realm, he was filled with awe and wariness toward that unfathomable Sage, considering the disparity in strength to be too great, so he had delayed taking action.
Even now, after successfully accommodating the Ten-Tails' power and undergoing a long period of settling, Takuno still soberly realized that his power might still not surpass that of the ancestor.
The Sage of Six Paths now existed only in soul form, and in the records of the "original work," he had never truly intervened in the mortal world; various signs seemed to confirm that his power was limited and he could no longer directly interfere.
But Takuno did not have the slightest bit of contempt in his heart.
Even if the current Sage of Six Paths might not possess the prowess of his prime, to conclude he was weak and powerless because of it would be the ultimate folly.
It was precisely this profound wariness and caution toward the ancient being that had kept him dormant until now.
Until this moment.
After perfectly fusing the Ten-Tails' power, thoroughly stabilizing it, and undergoing the refinement of time, he finally had enough confidence and certainty to face that Sage of Six Paths who sat high atop the peak of legend!
Space distorted silently, and Takuno's figure completely vanished from the lunar surface.
Stepping out, it was as if he had crossed an endless void; when a solid sensation once again came from beneath his feet, he was already within an indescribable domain.
This place was a conceptual wasteland.
There was no azure dome, no brilliant stars, and it even lacked basic colors.
Time here seemed to have lost its traces of flow, permeated by an eternal silence and emptiness.
"Thou hast come."
An aged and peaceful voice broke this dead silence.
Takuno looked toward the sound; not far away, the Sage of Six Paths, the legendary founder of Ninshu, was sitting cross-legged, suspended above the void.
He exuded a faint, soft glow that nearly merged with this space, and his face was crisscrossed with furrows, written with the vicissitudes of ages.
Those Rinnegan, containing endless wisdom and insight, were now calmly watching Takuno, their deep pupils showing no surprise, as if he had been waiting here for a long time.
"Yes, I've come."
The corner of Takuno's mouth pulled into a barely perceptible arc, carrying a bit of complex emotion.
Thinking back to his ignorant and weak self of those years, when had he ever dared to hope that one day he could stand before the Sage of Six Paths?
This scene felt like a lifetime ago.
It was no accident that he could reach this Pure Land and see the true face of the Sage of Six Paths.
Because of the Chimera Technique, the intertwined bloodlines of Indra and Ashura flowed within him, and under his plan, he had incorporated the entire chakra origins of the two destined reincarnations of this era into himself.
It was by virtue of this unique bloodline that he was able to penetrate the barriers of time and space to step into this mysterious domain.
"Thou art here in pursuit of that ultimate power," the Sage of Six Paths's voice rang out again.
It wasn't a question, but a calm statement that pierced through Takuno's deepest desire for this trip.
Takuno raised his head, his gaze meeting those Rinnegan that seemed able to see through all falsehoods.
"Yes," his voice wasn't loud, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in this empty space.
"So, could I ask you to hand over all the power you possess to me?"
As the words fell, a strange and aggressive smile slowly bloomed on his lips.
He made no concealment; his coveting and thirst for the power controlled by the Sage of Six Paths were presented nakedly before this founder of Ninshu.
The Sage of Six Paths's gaze fixed on Takuno; even for this legendary ancestor of the Shinobi World, a strong wave of emotion couldn't help but rise within him at this moment.
The strength of the person before him was truly rare.
Since he had split that world-destroying Ten-Tails power into nine portions to create the nine Tailed Beasts, in all the long years, he had never seen anyone who could climb to such an eye-catching height solely by their own strength.
The level of power Takuno displayed at this moment had already shattered the Sage of Six Paths's past perceptions.
Although the current Takuno had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and seemed to be following their old path again, he had already stepped into the Six Paths level before becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, which was something even the Sage of Six Paths had completely not expected.
However, this shock was also mixed with a hint of regret.
Though the Sage of Six Paths's consciousness had always watched the changing winds and clouds of the Shinobi World, the vast majority of his attention had always been focused on the reincarnations of the two children of destiny, Ashura and Indra.
Therefore, for a sudden emergence like Takuno, his growth trajectory and the process of accumulating power were full of mist in the Sage of Six Paths's perception.
By the time he truly "saw" Takuno and discovered the other's powerful strength that left him puzzled, the other's power was already so great that even he, the ancestor, could not easily peer into it.
Forcing a peek would only result in being discovered by the other party.
Although his observations were limited, the Sage of Six Paths's keen insight still captured the core trait of Takuno.
It was a nearly pathological absolute obsession with power.
In Takuno's world, it was as if only power itself had the meaning of existence; everything else seemed unable to truly enter his eyes, let alone be cherished by him.
This pursuit, pure to the extreme, made even the world-weary Sage of Six Paths feel a hint of confusion and aimlessness, making it difficult to judge the quality of its essence.
However, Takuno's existence at this moment had already presented the Sage of Six Paths with a real problem.
Should the power he had accumulated over the long ages be handed over to such a person?
To seek an answer, the Sage of Six Paths finally spoke, his voice penetrating the void with an ancient and deep resonance.
"Thou, why dost thou seek power?"
Hearing this question, Takuno glanced at the Sage of Six Paths with slight surprise, as if the question itself carried some incomprehensible absurdity.
But he did not avoid it and immediately gave a concise answer.
"Power itself is the best reason; beyond that, no other reason is needed."
This categorical answer sent the Sage of Six Paths into a long silence.
He had seen all the vicissitudes of life and witnessed countless beings' thirst for power, but the vast majority saw power as a tool to realize desires, ambitions, or ideals.
Only this Takuno before him actually revered power itself as the ultimate goal and sole meaning.
This subversive philosophy left the ancestor of the Shinobi World momentarily without a yardstick for judgment, falling into an unprecedented dilemma of thought.
After he finished speaking, silence enveloped the space between Takuno and the Sage of Six Paths.
The air seemed to freeze, with only an invisible tension pulling silently.
Takuno's gaze remained locked on the aged and majestic figure opposite him.
He clearly felt the Sage of Six Paths's hesitation; the struggle over whether to entrust the power was almost written in those eyes.
The corner of Takuno's mouth suddenly twitched upward, letting out a short and ambiguous low laugh.
"Heh..."
This abrupt sound broke the dead silence, and the Sage of Six Paths, with a trace of undetectable alarm and doubt, focused on Takuno once more.
Takuno did not let this doubt last long; his voice wasn't high, yet it carried an indisputable penetrative force, echoing clearly in this space.
"Sage of Six Paths, if I may be blunt, I truly see no other choice for you but to hand that power over to me."
Faced with this nearly arrogant declaration, not a trace of anger surfaced on the Sage of Six Paths's placid face.
A thousand years of settling had long since allowed him to surpass the level of being easily dominated by emotions.
He only slightly raised his head and calmly threw out a question:
"How so?"
The arc of Takuno's lips deepened, his laughter carrying a bit of the certainty of knowing everything and the composure of controlling the entire situation.
He didn't answer directly but threw out a name sufficient to shake the other's mental defenses:
"You exhausted your efforts to accumulate this power over the long cycles of reincarnation; isn't your final goal precisely to oppose the ancestor of chakra, that sealed Rabbit Goddess, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?"
This name seemed to possess magic.
The moment the words fell, the Sage of Six Paths's pupils snapped shut!
Although he had already inferred from the fact that Takuno successfully became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki that the other held secrets far beyond ordinary people, he still hadn't expected that this incredibly young being before him could so accurately state this ultimate secret spanning a thousand years!
He could even guess the very reason why he had accumulated power!
He gazed at Takuno as if to re-examine the depths of this person's soul.
Takuno did not pause because of the other's shock; his tone was as sharp as iron, pressing forward step by step:
"You know better than anyone that I am determined to get this power you've accumulated over countless ages."
He paused slightly, his voice suddenly turning cold, revealing an indisputable decisiveness and a hint of naked threat.
"So, if you insist on refusing to 'give'... then I can only 'actively take' it!"
This declaration, nearly like a declaration of war, did not cause the Sage of Six Paths to show the slightest bit of surprise.
He didn't even have thoughts like 'outrageous' rise in his heart.
Through that brief contact and the various traits Takuno had shown, this founder of Ninshu had already profoundly perceived it.
For this young man with clear goals who would stop at nothing to achieve them, saying such words and doing such things was simply the most natural of norms!
Takuno's arrogant laughter sounded particularly ear-piercing in the dead silence.
Takuno's voice carried an indisputable certainty, "If you want to force me to take action, the result will only be mutual destruction! I might not be able to seize all of your power as I wish, but that pitiful remnant of power you have would absolutely not be enough to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya again!"
He took a step forward, an invisible sense of pressure surging toward the Sage of Six Paths sitting in the void.
"So," Takuno's tone suddenly shifted to a coldness full of temptation, "instead of wasting this last bit of your power on a meaningless struggle with me and watching Kaguya destroy everything, why not... just give it to me!"
His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, dead-locked on those ancient Rinnegan.
"At least in my plan, I will prevent Ōtsutsuki Kaguya from activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Isn't this more valuable than letting the power dissipate for nothing?"
The Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, remained unperturbed on his weather-beaten face, his deep Rinnegan staring at this uninvited guest.
He already understood that Takuno setting foot here was by no means in a humble posture of trading or pleading.
The arrival of this young man was itself a naked plunder, using the destructive threat of his mother, Kaguya, as a bargaining chip!
"...Thou." The Sage of Six Paths's aged and majestic voice slowly rang out, carrying a soul-piercing inquiry, "How canst thou prove that after obtaining the power, thou wilt not replace Kaguya and become the next source of calamity to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi and turn all living beings into White Zetsu?"
The Sage of Six Paths's gaze seemed able to pierce through human hearts.
"Based on my current understanding of thee, thou wilt never let go of any path to the peak of power. And Kaguya's method..." He paused, his voice carrying heavy worry.
"It can precisely bring thee unimaginable growth in power. What reason hast thou to give it up? If thy final conduct is no different from Kaguya's, what meaning is there for me to hand over the power today?"
"Proof?" Takuno let out a sneer, as if he had heard some funny joke.
"Who can provide solid evidence for things in the future? Would you believe an empty oath?" His tone shifted, and his smile became even more wanton, carrying an absolute sense of control.
"But..."
Takuno spread his arms as if embracing this empty space:
"You! Have no choice! Do you?"
"Option one: you use that bit of power you've accumulated right now to bet everything on trying to erase me.
And then? You can only sit here and watch Kaguya activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Dragging the entire Shinobi World into an eternal nightmare, where all living beings turn into mindless White Zetsu puppets!"
"Option two: give your final power to me.
Take a gamble! Gamble that I, Takuno, won't touch that Infinite Tsukuyomi, gamble that I can stop Kaguya, gamble that this Shinobi World... can still have a future!"
"Besides these two paths, you have no other way!"
Takuno's smile magnified infinitely in the Sage of Six Paths's eyes; it was an expression of having victory within his grasp.
"Now, Sage of Six Paths!"
"Make your choice!"