Chapter 523: Otsutsuki Isshiki
As everyone knew, Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, was someone who enjoyed drawing inspiration from various sources, especially mythology.
The most famous examples were Izanagi and Izanami.
Of course, he was not limited to Japanese mythology.
For instance, the Gold and Silver Brothers, as well as the concept of Otsutsuki Kaguya, were clearly derived from the Japanese legend of Princess Kaguya from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
A princess from the moon who was adopted by humans and eventually returned to the moon.
This was how Otsutsuki Kaguya came to be.
Therefore, when Kishimoto named characters, there was sometimes a touch of dark humor to it, and clues could often be found from those names.
The name Isshiki reminded Kenichi of a famous figure from Japanese folklore.
Issun Boshi.
After all, Issun Boshi was quite famous in Japanese mythology.
However, Kenichi could not be certain whether Issun Boshi was truly the inspiration for Isshiki.
If it was, then could this Otsutsuki Isshiki also possess the ability to shrink his body?
"Sage of Six Paths, what are your thoughts?"
Kenichi looked at the Sage of Six Paths before him.
The Sage of Six Paths was a true heavyweight.
At least to the current Kenichi, he was.
Kenichi had not fully mastered Six Paths Mode yet, so confronting the Sage of Six Paths was impossible.
Only after mastering Six Paths Mode and the Rinnegan would he perhaps gain some qualification to directly confront the Sage of Six Paths.
But even then, it would only be qualification.
It was hard to say how many abilities that old schemer, the Sage of Six Paths, had hidden.
After all, he rarely made a move now.
However, Kenichi's wariness toward the Sage of Six Paths was not small at all.
Anyone who knew the Sage of Six Paths knew that his strength could not be underestimated.
Previously, sealing Kaguya required the combined efforts of the two Six Paths brothers.
But after the two brothers died, it became the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Then, the Sage of Six Paths personally gave Naruto and Sasuke, the reincarnations of his sons, the Yin and Yang seals, allowing them to finally seal Kaguya completely.
From having to personally fight a life and death battle to now being able to reseal his old mother while sitting in the Pure Land, Kenichi felt that the Sage of Six Paths, that old man, had probably become even more unfathomable in strength.
However, for now, this was a good thing.
The stronger the Sage of Six Paths was, the higher the chances of defeating Otsutsuki Isshiki.
"Although I think it's unlikely, I've thought it over and can't come up with any other possibilities. You're right. Otsutsuki Isshiki didn't die back then. For some reason, he survived and has been lurking until now."
The Sage of Six Paths rubbed his brow in annoyance.
"If you hadn't discovered his whereabouts, I might truly not have known about this guy."
Originally, he had just wanted to see whether his mother had changed at all after being sealed for so long.
Perhaps she had abandoned the idea of turning all humans into White Zetsu.
He also wanted to see whether his two sons could reconcile.
He never expected that before his sons even grew up, this Kenichi would appear.
Kenichi's appearance was already troublesome enough.
But then Kenichi dragged out Otsutsuki Isshiki, an even greater trouble, leaving the Sage of Six Paths unsure how to deal with him.
He was currently in the Pure Land, and the human world was no longer within his jurisdiction.
Although he could exert some influence, there were limitations to doing so, and he was not particularly inclined to interfere unless it involved his sons.
If Kenichi were the reincarnation of one of his sons' souls, he would have directly helped Kenichi master Six Paths Mode.
But Otsutsuki Isshiki could not be ignored.
He had been living in this world without the Sage of Six Paths' knowledge, and the Sage of Six Paths had no idea what he intended.
If left unchecked, this guy would undoubtedly become a huge problem for the entire Shinobi World.
"Sage of Six Paths, can you help? Although Madara and a host of powerful Edo Tensei bodies are there to assist, I'm still skeptical about whether they can handle Otsutsuki Isshiki. According to legend, he's a god, just like your mother."
Kenichi asked slyly.
How could the Sage of Six Paths, that old geezer, not contribute anything?
This old man had such strong control over the Pure Land and could even seal Kaguya.
Kenichi did not believe he was truly a complete dead person.
In this wretched Shinobi World, the Sage of Six Paths was clearly not the same type of deceased as the others.
So the Sage of Six Paths, that old man, had to cough up something.
"...I will help when the time comes."
The Sage of Six Paths was silent for a moment before giving a reply.
He could not avoid intervening in this matter, but he was still cautious about helping Kenichi.
This little brat, Kenichi, was different from any ninja he had seen before.
He was more dangerous and more insane.
Although the Sage of Six Paths did not always know everything Kenichi did, he would learn some things whenever a soul entered the Pure Land.
Kenichi's actions during this period had also entered the Sage of Six Paths' view.
This had led the Sage of Six Paths to check countless times whether Kenichi was his descendant or the descendant of his brother.
However, no matter how he checked, Kenichi was just an ordinary person.
A very ordinary person.
So, after much thought, the Sage of Six Paths decided not to interfere with Kenichi, nor to help him.
He knew what Kenichi was doing, but he would neither help nor stop him.
He wanted to see whether Kenichi could succeed.
If he could, perhaps it would bring other changes to this world.
Then, the Shinobi World would have more ways to face a potential invasion from the Otsutsuki Clan, avoiding the need to activate his ultimate plan.
Therefore, the Sage of Six Paths decided to observe Kenichi's growth and see how far this young man could go.
The Shinobi World had been in great turmoil recently.
But in the current situation, the Sage of Six Paths felt that things were generally stable and improving.
There were no obvious flaws or mistakes, and Kenichi was doing quite well.
If the Sage of Six Paths had not died so early, he might have been able to see just how far Kenichi could lead the Shinobi World.
But it did not matter.
All life would eventually enter the Pure Land.
At that time, he could learn about Kenichi's actions from other souls.
The only trouble was Kenichi's teacher, Orochimaru.
That ninja was not very strong.
Although he had some talent, it was nothing too special.
At least, not enough to catch the Sage of Six Paths' eye.
However, it had to be said that Orochimaru was an unconventional genius.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation ninjutsu he created, as the Sage of Six Paths could see, had only one drawback.
It required a body that perfectly matched the soul as a vessel.
Forcing the process would damage the soul, and soul damage was very difficult to heal.
But now that Kenichi had unified the entire Shinobi World, it would not be too difficult for Orochimaru to find new bodies.
So, the Sage of Six Paths subtly influenced Orochimaru.
"Sage of Six Paths, what did you do to my teacher, Orochimaru?"
Kenichi looked at the Sage of Six Paths.
This old man, as expected, showed favoritism.
Kenichi was not the reincarnation of one of his sons' souls, so the Sage of Six Paths simply ignored Kenichi's current state and did not even plan to help.
When he said he would help, did he mean he would give some power to Hashirama and Madara to help them fight Jigen?
Well, that would not be bad.
Even if the Sage of Six Paths, that old geezer, offered to help him, Kenichi would not accept it.
Because that would be someone else's power, not Kenichi's own.
If he rashly absorbed it, who knew what kind of influence it would have?
So, the Sage of Six Paths not helping was within Kenichi's expectations.
However, since he rarely met the Sage of Six Paths, Kenichi intended to learn more from him.
For example, about his teacher, Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's changes during this period had been immense.
If the previous Orochimaru was a normal madman, then the current Orochimaru was a madman in a female body.
Although it was only a few extra words, the meaning was completely different.
The previous Orochimaru, while using a male body, was still the same Orochimaru in soul.
But the current Orochimaru was becoming increasingly feminine.
Kenichi even suspected that sometimes his teacher's every movement looked very feminine.
If this was not the Sage of Six Paths' doing, Kenichi would eat the table on the spot.
"Me? I merely made his soul more compatible with his body."
A hint of schadenfreude flashed across the Sage of Six Paths' face.
Orochimaru's ninjutsu should not be allowed to spread.
In fact, it would be best if it died in Orochimaru's mind.
So, the Sage of Six Paths was eager for Orochimaru to abandon this ninjutsu.
Otherwise, how would people enter the Pure Land?
If only the old, weak, and sick came, would his grand plan still proceed smoothly?
Therefore, the Sage of Six Paths subtly influenced Orochimaru.
The spiritual influence would not be noticeable in the short term.
But over time, it would gradually deepen.
By the time the person involved noticed, it would be irreversible.
This was the Sage of Six Paths' cleverness.
However, Orochimaru was clearly not an ordinary person.
He sensed something was amiss and tried to save himself, but naturally failed.
"So, Teacher will become a woman in the future?"
Kenichi's expression was a little strange.
He even suspected that the Sage of Six Paths was a prankster.
How else could he do something like this if he was not?
The Sage of Six Paths nodded.
When a soul became compatible with a body, it would naturally become more and more like that body.
Even if Orochimaru used the Living Corpse Reincarnation to change bodies later, his soul would take on the appearance of that body.
Kenichi's mouth twitched when he heard this.
So that was how it was.
No wonder he felt his teacher had been acting strangely lately.
It turned out to be the Sage of Six Paths' doing all along.
However, what the Sage of Six Paths did was truly extremely covert.
If Kenichi had not noticed something amiss, he might not have felt Orochimaru's abnormality at all.
But his teacher becoming more feminine actually suited Kenichi's thoughts.
Because his teacher was indeed much gentler now, no longer like the complete lunatic he was before.
Now, his teacher was a gentle lunatic, the kind who did not often have episodes.
"Alright."
Kenichi was torn between laughter and tears, but still accepted it.
After all, it was his teacher who was changing, not him, so he did not care.
The Sage of Six Paths also left.
He seemed to have nothing more to say to Kenichi.
Kenichi felt a bit of regret.
He had originally intended to ask the Sage of Six Paths to leave some things for him to study, or to bring out the divine tools the Sage of Six Paths had once used so he could use them.
But now that the Sage of Six Paths was gone, Kenichi had no choice.
He stretched.
This meeting with the Sage of Six Paths was generally fruitful.
At the very least, Kenichi's goal had been achieved.
He wanted the Sage of Six Paths to know about Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Once he knew, the responsibility would fall on the Sage of Six Paths.
Kenichi did not think the Sage of Six Paths would ignore Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Now, the Sage of Six Paths was indeed going to intervene, just as Kenichi had thought.
This would allow him to see the Sage of Six Paths' influence on reality.
It would also allow him to see how strong Otsutsuki Isshiki truly was.
If Otsutsuki Isshiki could kill the Sage of Six Paths, that would be the best news in the world.
Without the Sage of Six Paths, there might be some issues in the Pure Land, but they would not be significant.
Compared to the harm brought by the Sage of Six Paths, they were negligible.
Moreover, it would also lead to the death of Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Then Kenichi would have enough time for scientific research, without worrying about anything else.
Once the Five-Tails was revived, he would directly kill Madara, then use Black Zetsu as experimental material for daily research.
After all, Kenichi was confident that he would enter Six Paths Mode and master the Rinnegan by then.
Madara and Black Zetsu would naturally no longer be a problem.
This could be considered the best outcome.
A typical outcome would be Otsutsuki Isshiki dying, while Madara and the Sage of Six Paths survived.
Kenichi could accept this too.
After all, the Sage of Six Paths did not seem to intervene much in Boruto anyway.
The Sage of Six Paths should still have some limitations and was not the type who could simply act freely.
The worst possible outcome would be Otsutsuki Isshiki and the Sage of Six Paths reaching a consensus, then coming together to kill him.
However, this possibility was minuscule.
Therefore, Kenichi believed that at worst, Otsutsuki Isshiki should still die.
.....
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