"You're awake, brat," the White Snake Sage said the instant Fujimoto Tōma opened his eyes. "Tell me. Do you want to join Ryūchi Cave?"
"…Huh?"
Tōma blinked, then instinctively looked toward the Great Toad Sage.
He wasn't exactly close to the Great Toad Sage, but compared to the White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage, at least this one counted as familiar.
"Tōma," the Great Toad Sage said calmly, "come with me to the hall. I know you're full of questions. We'll take our time there."
"…Alright."
Tōma's heart tightened.
That sealed it. Whatever he'd experienced earlier was definitely not a normal form of Sage Mode. And that gaze… it wasn't something trivial.
The three great sages led him toward the main hall. This time, Fukasaku Sage was stopped at the entrance.
It was obvious. Whatever had happened to Tōma was classified as something that demanded absolute secrecy. Even Fukasaku wasn't cleared to hear it.
Inside the hall, with the White Snake Sage and Slug Sage present, the Great Toad Sage didn't return to his throne.
"Tōma," he asked, "do you know how chakra came to exist?"
Tōma paused, surprised by the sudden shift in topic, but answered honestly.
"Chakra is created by combining physical energy and spiritual energy through training."
"Correct," the Great Toad Sage said. "But have you heard that humans once lived without chakra at all?"
Without waiting for a response, he continued.
"In the beginning, there was no chakra in this world. Only natural energy existed. Then one day, a tree descended from the heavens. A divine tree that absorbed natural energy and produced a new power."
"Chakra."
"Even then, living beings still didn't possess chakra. Only after a certain individual consumed the fruit of that tree did chakra first appear within a living body. Later, the Sage of Six Paths distributed chakra to others, and only then did people gain the ability to generate chakra themselves by combining physical and spiritual energy."
Tōma listened with a carefully managed expression of shock.
He wasn't truly surprised. He knew exactly who that "certain individual" was.
At the same time, a thought clicked into place.
The Great Toad Sage continued, unaware of Tōma's thoughts.
"Before chakra ever existed, living beings were already experimenting with the use of natural energy. And they weren't completely unsuccessful."
"…Sage Mode?" Tōma ventured.
The Great Toad Sage nodded, then shook his head.
"Sage Mode is a later construct. It only exists because chakra exists. It requires chakra as a base, which means it's still incomplete. It's not a standalone system."
"Hmph," the White Snake Sage interjected coldly. "Back then, that path wasn't called Sage Mode at all. Because once you succeeded, you weren't entering a mode."
"You became a true sage."
Tōma's eyes sharpened. "Then… do true sages still exist? Is it still possible to reach that level?"
The Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage exchanged a glance and sighed.
"At no point in history has this world truly produced a sage," the Great Toad Sage said at last. "It was always a theoretical state. Even before the divine tree arrived, no one reached it."
"But we three," he continued, "caught a glimpse of that level. Just a fragment. That's how we know it exists."
"Unfortunately, once the divine tree arrived, the path was sealed."
"Why?" Tōma asked immediately.
"Because nearly all natural energy in this world has been converted into chakra," the White Snake Sage said, tongue flicking with a sneer. "What little remains is nowhere near enough to support the birth of a true sage."
Tōma fell silent.
"So now," the White Snake Sage continued, "you should understand what state you were in earlier, shouldn't you?"
"…I accidentally stepped onto the path toward becoming a true sage," Tōma said slowly.
"Yes," the Great Toad Sage confirmed. "Even we were shocked. In this era, it should be impossible. Not just completing the path, but even starting it. As far as we know, you're the only one who has."
"Is that why all three of you appeared?" Tōma asked.
"Hah. Of course," the White Snake Sage scoffed. "Do you think we'd pay attention to a weak little human otherwise?"
"There's another reason," the Great Toad Sage added gently.
Tōma thought quickly. "…That gaze?"
The moment he said it, all three sages stiffened. Even the Slug Sage, who had been half-asleep, opened her eyes and looked at him intently until Tōma felt distinctly uncomfortable.
At last, the White Snake Sage sighed.
"That may be the real reason you could walk this path at all."
The other two sages nodded.
To perceive that gaze, before even mastering Sage Mode, meant Tōma's perception already surpassed anything they had seen in ages. It was precisely that awareness that allowed him to force his way onto a path that should have been closed.
"Yes," the Great Toad Sage said. "That presence is why they came. But don't worry. That one won't trouble a junior like you. This was likely just curiosity."
The Great Toad Sage didn't say the name.
Tōma didn't need him to.
The Sage of Six Paths.
Realizing that sent a chill through his spine. If someone like that wanted him dead, resistance wouldn't even be an option. A glance would be enough.
Maybe that fear was exactly why the memory of that gaze had been so overwhelming.
Tōma took a breath and spoke again, explaining how his body had been forcibly reshaped by natural energy.
The three sages exchanged looks and shook their heads.
Finally, the Great Toad Sage spoke.
"We can't be certain. But my guess is this. When chakra entered living beings, their bodies were altered once already. Now that you've stepped onto the old path, the natural energy may be… restoring you."
"Reverting you, rather than transforming you into something else."
"It's only a hypothesis," he added. "We abandoned that road long ago. We can't truly understand what you experienced."
Tōma nodded. At least it made sense.
And thankfully, whatever was happening still kept him human.
"Continue down this road," the White Snake Sage said suddenly. "Even if it ends in a dead end, the height it leads to is far beyond what you imagine. You know Senju Hashirama, don't you?"
"…Of course."
"If you walk this path," the White Snake Sage said coolly, "even if you never take the final step, it will still push you to Hashirama's level. That alone should be more than enough for you."
Tōma fell silent.
Then his eyes lit up.
Reaching the First Hokage's level had never even been part of his long-term expectations. And now he was being told this path could take him that far?
How could he not be tempted?
The White Snake Sage snorted.
Humans. Always blind until you put something tangible in front of them.
Still… even he had to admit it.
Hashirama Senju really was that strong.