Under a sky as dark as a moonless night, a mist-like, violet-black aura churned across the land. The entire island was strangled by countless giant tentacles.
Simultaneously, the earth cracked open, and humanoid stone statues wielding ancient weapons clawed their way out of the soil.
Terracotta Warriors.
This was the most loyal army Mōryō had once used to sweep across the world. They were immortal and indestructible. As long as Mōryō lived, they would obey his will, engaging in an endless cycle of slaughter.
And the number of these warriors was... one hundred thousand!
They blanketed the mountains and fields—an endless sea of soldiers emerging like a black cloud of doom. Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno grew deathly serious, instinctively retreating to stand behind Kakashi Hatake. Even with their current level of strength, dreaming of defeating such a massive army was nothing short of a fool's errand.
At that moment, Shion, whose body was now completely controlled by Mōryō, drifted into the air and began to retreat toward the distance.
He felt it...
That white-haired man, the Sovereign of Humanity.
He possessed power that was not inferior to his own. Winning against him would be no easy feat. Therefore, Mōryō needed the fanatical Terracotta Army to exhaust the man's strength first. Furthermore, although he had finally obtained a physical vessel, Mōryō required time to fuse his soul with the body. After all, his soul and body had been separated for a thousand years—far too long.
Kakashi watched the retreating Mōryō, his lips curling into a slight arc. He treated the hundred thousand warriors surrounding him as if they were mere pebbles.
"Do you know why you're running away?"
Kakashi's voice pierced through the layers of violet-black mist—mist composed entirely of corrupted Natural Energy—and reached Mōryō's ears.
The girl clad in violet-black armor looked back at Kakashi with a calm gaze, seemingly ignoring him as she continued to fly toward the dark, distant sea.
The pure white light Kakashi held in his hand finally revealed its true form.
A blade.
What kind of blade was it?
It was pure white, flawless, and ancient. It was a blade manifested entirely from chakra—substantiated, physical power.
"Daylight" [白昼 - Báizhòu].
That was its name. Kakashi wasn't particularly skilled at naming techniques, and the same applied to his weapons.
Compared to the "Blade of Phantasms" he used three years ago, Kakashi's strength had ascended through several dimensions the moment he unified the Shinobi World. This world, this planet, and all its people—they were what had forged the Kakashi of today.
And while Kakashi didn't consider himself a "good person," he wasn't entirely heartless either. Though it sounded somewhat sanctimonious, he would not allow any person—or any threat—to touch this planet, this world, or the people living within it.
At least... for now.
"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do?" Naruto and Sakura pressed closer to his back, warily watching the Terracotta Army as they marched forward in unison. With every step the hundred thousand soldiers took, the ground beneath them shook as if gripped by an earthquake.
"What should we do?" Kakashi stepped forward. A ripple of pure white chakra, visible to the naked eye, radiated from beneath his feet and swept outward.
The violet-black mist was instantly dispersed by the white ripple. The green grass beneath revealed itself as the ripple passed; bathed in that white glow, the greenery—representing vitality and life—seemed to shimmer with a fluorescent light in this dim world.
Seeing this, Mōryō's pupils constricted.
Even though he had tried to overestimate Kakashi's strength, the fact that a single step could nearly "purify" land corrupted by his own power was staggering.
Is this guy... really human?
Without time for further thought, Mōryō accelerated toward the depths of the ocean. Countless tentacles formed a "forest" to shield his figure, attempting to block Kakashi's perception.
But for Kakashi, who possessed a chakra capacity of 150,000,000%, shielding his senses was an impossibility. This was a volume equivalent to thirty thousand Narutos.
Kakashi was confident that even the Sage of Six Paths would have to avoid the brunt of such terrifying power, let alone a mere demon like Mōryō.
The forest of tentacles dragged Shion down toward the sea, seemingly mirroring the prophecy of death she had once made for herself.
A pure white hue dyed Kakashi's dark eyes...
Time seemed to slow down. Under the witness of the world, the hilt of that white blade settled firmly into the man's palm.
He moved.
The swing of the blade named Daylight was the most ordinary of motions. It was silent and soundless.
Flawless white light illuminated the night. It was as if the sound of clashing steel swept across the world, drowning out every other noise. The white light shone upon the stunned faces of Naruto and Sakura, and it brightened the depths of this dark world.
The violet-black mist, formed of corrupted Natural Energy, completely disintegrated under this simple swing. Countless Terracotta Warriors vanished, annihilated into ash.
With just a single strike, the army in front of Kakashi was completely wiped out!
Kakashi possessed all seven chakra natures: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Yin, and Yang. With his current chakra reserves reaching thirty thousand "Narutos" and continuing to skyrocket, quantity had triggered a qualitative transformation.
The seven attributes had fused into one. He was no longer restricted by traditional chakra natures. If one had to name it, Kakashi now possessed only one type of chakra.
Daylight.
An attribute that had never existed before. No one in history had ever reached Kakashi's level while possessing such a gargantuan volume of chakra. The fusion of seven attributes is Daylight.
Daylight is light. Light is radiance. Radiance is... the True Self.
Kakashi took a step forward, and a staircase of pure white manifested in mid-air. Pure white ripples pulsed out, cleansing the world.
Step by step, the white-haired man walked through the void. Under his divine white eyes, everything was clear; he saw through all illusions and falsehoods. Any phantom or evil presence shattered upon contact with his aura. With a single glance, he located Mōryō's hiding place.
He raised the flawless blade high.
Flawless light radiated outward. Wherever the light touched, the mist scattered and the darkness retreated. Under the blade's glow, the light purified the dark, and the white brushed away the violet-black.
All things have their counters, but... wherever the blade-bearer passed, darkness receded and evil was annihilated.
"I can tell you this: if this is the extent of your strength..."
"Even without my intervention, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki could have easily destroyed your soul."
The divine voice descended from the heavens, reaching Mōryō at the bottom of the sea. Hearing this, Mōryō was struck with horror. He could no longer respond; an inescapable aura had locked onto him, making flight impossible.
That aura belonged to none other than—
"Farewell, demon of a thousand years ago. Surrender your power for the sake of this world."
The blade fell.
The flawless white was like a flood, like a waterfall hanging from the heavens, like a vast mountain range. It tore through the night, cut through the mist, and shattered all obstacles.
It was silent. It was soundless.
White. Light—pure, flawless white light—shone until the world was transformed into a realm of purification.
It felt like a second, like an instant, yet also like eternity.
Sunlight once again draped over the land. The sea returned to its deep azure blue. Waves rippled gently, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream—a phantom that never occurred.
However, the state of the surrounding environment told Naruto that everything was real.
But... why?
Why was it that after such an earth-shattering strike, not even a single reef by the shore had been broken?
Kakashi stood quietly in the sky, gazing calmly at the placid surface of the sea.
He said he would only cut Mōryō's soul, and so he only cut the soul. The blade strikes the flesh, but the heart strikes the soul. Since Daylight possessed the power of Yin Release, not only were the reefs unharmed, but not even a single fish in the sea had been killed by that strike.
"Na... Naruto..." Sakura tugged on Naruto's sleeve and pointed toward the sky.
Naruto looked up, his pupils shrinking.
Behind Kakashi, the sky was as normal—blue with white clouds. But in the sky in front of Kakashi, an unparalleled "canyon" had appeared in the atmosphere! It stretched as far as the eye could see, for countless miles!
If one were to look from outside the planet, a sudden, massive rift had appeared across the surface of the blue-and-white globe!
Kakashi looked at the sea. Daylight dissipated in his hand, and a shimmering white glow appeared at his fingertips. With a gentle flick, a figure was pulled from the water.
It was Shion, who had been possessed by Mōryō. Now that Mōryō's soul had been slain by Kakashi's blade, his entire power now belonged to Shion. She was currently unconscious only because her spirit had been shocked by the demon's demise; she would wake up soon.
With a thought, Kakashi placed Shion in front of Naruto and Sakura. He then turned his gaze toward the empty void.
"Are you still not coming out?"
As the words fell, a sigh echoed through the air.
"Sovereign of the World."
The light in front of him distorted, revealing an elderly man sitting cross-legged in the air, with nine black orbs—Truth-Seeking Orbs—floating behind him.
This person was none other than the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki!
Clearly, after Kakashi caused such a massive disturbance, the master of the Pure Land could no longer sit idly by. In fact, the moment Daylight was swung, the Sage of Six Paths had already descended. During the second strike that killed Mōryō, it was Hagoromo who had helped lock onto the demon's aura.
"Meddlesome," Kakashi said calmly. He was referring to Hagoromo locking onto Mōryō. Under that strike, whether the demon ran or not, his death had been preordained.
"It was not meddling; it was merely paying for a past mistake," Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki replied, looking at the man before him.
In truth, he had been watching the Shinobi World for a thousand years—specifically the reincarnations of his two sons, Indra and Asura. Given that the current reincarnations were both Kakashi's personal disciples, it was inevitable that he would have some understanding of the man.
And yet, it was precisely because he "understood" that he realized he didn't understand him at all.
The Sage of Six Paths didn't care about Kakashi's ambitions or goals. From the results, Kakashi's actions were pushing the Shinobi World toward peace. What Hagoromo couldn't comprehend was how Kakashi's strength had improved so drastically.
Three years ago, Kakashi's power was still within his realm of understanding. Now, it had completely exceeded all logic. Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't guarantee he could fully withstand the strike that had just obliterated Mōryō.
"Your mistakes aren't limited to Mōryō," Kakashi said flatly.
The thousand years of bloody warfare in the Shinobi World could be said to have been caused by the Sage of Six Paths' negligence. A thousand years ago, he possessed the power of the Six Paths, yet for the sake of his so-called "mutual understanding between people," he had humbled himself to use a physical body to help ordinary humans build bridges and roads.
Yet, despite doing such things, he stood by and watched as wars never ceased. Because of his two sons, the world had endured a millennium of bloodshed.
To be honest, Kakashi's feelings toward this legendary figure were not particularly positive. Instead, he felt a sense of "The Buddha feeding himself to the eagles" [an allusion to self-sacrifice that ultimately fails to change the nature of the predator]. He tried to ferry people across the sea of suffering, yet the foot of the Spirit Mountain was crawling with demons.
Hagoromo remained silent for a long time, unable to refute the claim. Finally, the ancient sage spoke:
"May I ask you a question?"
"Speak."
Regardless of anything else, in a certain sense, this man was the sage who had spread chakra to humanity and given them power. His original intention was certainly not wrong; the failure lay in the process. Without a precedent to follow, how could any one person achieve perfection? Even Kakashi himself couldn't be perfect. Thus, Kakashi's attitude toward him was complex.
"Since you already possess such formidable power, why were you so persistent about Mōryō? To you, he could have been destroyed with a flick of your fingers." Hagoromo looked at Shion being tended to by Naruto and Sakura, his eyes filled with confusion.
To slice through the planet's cloud layer with one strike, yet not harm a single innocent life... such strength and control were things even he would find difficult to achieve.
Kakashi followed the Sage's gaze toward the unconscious Shion in Sakura's arms.
"The strength of one individual is not the strength of the whole. If one believes they can solve every problem alone, then one day, they will eventually be 'solved' by the problems themselves."
Looking at Shion, Naruto, and Sakura, Kakashi seemed to see many more people. Hikari, Guy, Hayama, Tenzō, Shizune, Itachi, Jiraiya, Tsunade...
"No matter how strong an individual is, it is still just the power of one person. I can easily kill someone. But I cannot make a person who completely denies themselves accept who they are. If I believe that I am everything, that would be far too arrogant."
"Therefore, I never believe that one person can represent all things. Fortunately, I have many like-minded companions. I want these people to have power, so that even if I am gone one day, they can maintain this hard-won peace."
Hearing this, a flash of complexity crossed Hagoromo's eyes. Aside from the more violent methods, the philosophy was almost identical... to Asura.
"If one day those people are gone, and this nation becomes corrupt and ruined, what will you do?" Hagoromo continued.
With Kakashi's current strength, his lifespan was bound to be far longer than a normal person's. It was likely his companions would pass away long before him.
Kakashi's lips curved into a slight smile, and he spoke without the slightest hesitation:
"By then, peace will have lasted too long. The high-ranking officials of Huiyao will have forgotten the pain of war, using their laughable power to satisfy their own selfish desires."
"Humans are creatures that do not learn. Only after experiencing pain do they cherish peace. If that day ever comes, I will personally destroy Huiyao, and then watch as a new nation establishes a new peace."
"The cycle will repeat."
For Kakashi, the rise and fall of nations was the most natural thing in the world. It was unavoidable. From the very beginning, he had never entertained the foolish dream of a dynasty lasting ten thousand generations.