Chapter 317 – Conspiracy of the Sage of Six Paths
"Is it really true… that there's another Ten-Tails?"
The Sage of Six Paths looked genuinely shocked.
Everyone else felt the same. On top of that, there was still one remaining member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. From the way Kaguya spoke, it was obvious that this person's power stood even above her own.
"You're mistaken. That person is not a match for Kaguya," the Sage of Six Paths said calmly. "Kaguya became a Jinchūriki and absorbed chakra from two ninja worlds. When she revived, her strength had already surpassed most beings."
Hearing that, everyone let out a small breath of relief. Even so, it still felt like a razor-sharp blade hanging over their heads. They had all personally experienced just how terrifying the Ten-Tails truly was.
"In that case, leave the Ten-Tails to me," Madara said.
"Consider it my atonement. If I succeed, I hope I can apologize to you and close the distance between us," he added, turning his gaze toward Yusuke.
"You really have the nerve to say that," Yusuke replied, shaking his head with a faint smile.
Madara looked around at everyone. The chakra inside his body began to surge violently. Not long after, a massive sphere of light appeared before them.
The light slowly faded, and the Nine Tailed Beasts reappeared in front of everyone. As for Madara himself, his condition didn't seem to have changed much.
"Madara, are you okay?" Hashirama asked, looking at him with concern as he noticed a hint of weakness.
"The consumption is massive, but after some time, I'll return to my peak," Madara replied.
Pulling in that much chakra left him feeling slightly exhausted, but to him, it was nothing worth worrying about.
As long as there was still a trace of the Tailed Beasts' chakra inside his body, he could climb back to the top again.
The Sage of Six Paths looked at Madara and nodded in satisfaction, relief filling his eyes. Compared to Uchiha Sasuke, the Madara before him resembled his son Indra far more—both in appearance and in personality.
"Madara… have you truly thought this through?"
"Yes, Hashirama. After I finish what I need to do, I'll come find you. When that time comes, we'll drink together and talk for as long as we like," Madara said.
With that, his figure slowly faded from everyone's sight.
"Even as an enemy… he's hard to hate," Kakashi muttered, watching Madara's disappearing back.
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm really exhausted after these past few days," Yusuke said with a faint smile.
"Nii-san, at least help out a little," Kakashi said, looking at Yusuke, who clearly seemed ready to leave.
Based on his understanding of his older brother, he was certain Hatake Yusuke was about to go find a place to relax.
"Do I really need to step in for something like this?" Yusuke replied irritably.
"By the way, Old Man Six Paths, one thing I didn't expect was the hidden ability behind your eyes. That was seriously strange," Yusuke said, turning his gaze to the Sage of Six Paths.
Hearing that, the Sage of Six Paths' expression shifted slightly.
He let out a long sigh. Using the last of his strength, he wrapped Yusuke in his chakra, and the two of them vanished from everyone's sight. Hatake Yusuke didn't resist at all.
"Since you already know, I won't hide it anymore," the Sage of Six Paths said.
"Honestly, even I didn't realize that behind those eyes, a third dōjutsu could be born. What's more, that technique could conceal itself. At the time, even I failed to notice it," Yusuke said with a smile as he looked at the Sage.
"You already know what that technique does, don't you? That's right. My true intention… was to revive myself," the Sage of Six Paths admitted, no longer hiding his motives.
"Oh? Then why didn't you act? Even though I was pretty strong back then, still…" Yusuke trailed off.
"Long before my death, I already intended to destroy my own eyes. I had sensed an omen about the future," the Sage of Six Paths said.
"You wanted to kill Sasuke, didn't you?" Yusuke asked, staring at him.
"Hah… as expected, I can't hide anything from you," the Sage of Six Paths sighed.
"You already know the identities of Naruto and Sasuke, don't you?" he continued. Yusuke gave a slow nod.
"This is their final life. Because of that, I completely released the shackles in the hearts of those two brothers. I wanted to see whether my decision in the past was right or wrong. That's why, this time, I chose to let them face everything together," the Sage of Six Paths said.
"But I don't fully trust Uchiha Sasuke. I'm afraid he might become like my mother once was. That's why I left behind a trump card," he added.
"You planned to save Naruto when he was on the verge of losing, then have Naruto implant your eyes… and take over Naruto's body. Is that it?" Yusuke said flatly.
"..."
"Yes. That's correct," the Sage of Six Paths finally admitted. "There's actually another reason. I needed Sasuke's power. Even though I chose Ashura as the heir to Ninshū back then, the one I truly placed my hopes on was Indra. That child inherited my eyes, and a talent that even made me feel a sense of fear."
"You've implanted my eyes before, so you should know. To draw out the true, ultimate power of these eyes, only their original owner can do it. Even if Naruto implanted my eyes, he wouldn't be able to unleash my full strength. Even with a Sage's body, there would still be backlash. It might be small, but it's still useless when it comes to truly releasing that power," the Sage of Six Paths continued.
"In other words, Indra is the one who truly inherited the most important bloodline from you."
"That's right. But Indra's heart is too sensitive. Because of that, I couldn't peacefully entrust Ninshū to him. The ninja world doesn't need a cold-blooded ruler. It needs a gentle leader," the Sage of Six Paths said softly.
"Go on. Why didn't you attack me?" Yusuke asked.
"Because at that time, I saw a possibility. Maybe… you could achieve what I wanted. You also know my final plan. When Naruto lost, I would seize Mount Myōboku, find my two eyes, and finish everything," the Sage of Six Paths said.
"So in your vision back then, I didn't actually exist? And it was just a coincidence that made the Toad Sage misunderstand and hand your eyes over to me?" Yusuke asked.
"That's right. Even after my death, there are still some things in the ninja world that I can see. When you successfully implanted my eyes, I felt that you were the possibility that could stop those two brothers," the Sage of Six Paths said.
"Besides, with the power you had back then, I didn't think I could take over your body anyway. That's why I chose to trust you," he added.
"Cut the sweet talk. Even if you wanted to act, you weren't confident you could pull it off, were you? I don't believe someone as stubborn as you would really hand over the peace of the ninja world to me," Yusuke said with a dismissive tone.
After all, someone who couldn't even trust his own son—on what grounds would he trust him?
"This…" The Sage of Six Paths fell silent, because that really was what he had been thinking.
"Forget it. Your eyes are pretty good. I've been using them very comfortably. I'll let this one slide, Old Man," Yusuke said.
"There's one more thing I don't understand. Why didn't you use Rinne Tensei?" Yusuke asked.
"Hah… Rinne Tensei…" The Sage of Six Paths let out another sigh, then began to explain everything to Hatake Yusuke in detail.
It turned out that Rinne Tensei truly had many limitations.
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