"Your question has no meaning,"
the Sage of Six Paths said as he looked at Naruto. After a moment of contemplation, he continued,
"Because in every future I have foreseen, you never give Indra and Ashura to me."
"You have already changed everything. This conversation itself is nothing more than an attempt born of my own wish—much like when I foresaw the future of the ninja world long ago and chose Ashura as the inheritor of Ninshū."
"But I am willing to answer you."
"If Indra's reincarnation had not escaped my surveillance, he would have accepted my power and acted as my proxy to deal with the Ten-Tails' husk. As for Kurama… originally, Hamura and I believed we could use it as another medium to communicate with you. That was also why Hamura wanted you to go to the Moon of your own accord."
"But now it seems we underestimated you."
"With the world prototype you have already opened, Kurama could no longer play any role at all."
Naruto glanced sideways at Sasuke and said calmly,
"Old man, do you think this kind of answer is easier for someone my age to accept?"
The Sage's expression did not change.
"You are an exceptionally outstanding young man. Knowing the truth as you do, you should be able to understand my choices."
Naruto laughed softly.
"When praise comes with a 'but', it loses its flavor. I still have things to do, so I won't keep you."
"And even if you wanted to stay—there's no chance anymore."
As his words fell—
Two pitch-black gates opened instantly, swallowing the shadows of Ashura and Indra.
Congratulations! You have successfully harvested an independent soul of top-tier quality: Ōtsutsuki Indra!
Congratulations! You have successfully harvested an independent soul of top-tier quality: Ōtsutsuki Ashura!
Sasuke froze.
Before his eyes, the mysterious elder floating across from them dissolved into pale smoke and vanished. The water beneath the Sage merged seamlessly with the surrounding space, becoming one with the world Naruto controlled.
Naruto summoned two interface windows. Just as he was about to open Ashura's memories, a massive surge of energy suddenly flooded into his soul.
Warning! Mental world under invasion. Defensive mechanism has detected top-tier foreign energy. Immediate absorption recommended!
Top-tier foreign energy detected. Immediate absorption recommended!
"Hm?"
The warning tone cut itself off mid-sentence.
"…Don't tell me—"
Naruto's soul instantly withdrew from Sasuke's body. Rising into the air, he saw that Kurama was gone, and his own physical body—still seated on the ground—had once again donned the golden cloak. Kushina sat nearby, her face tight with anxiety.
A soul separated by the Spirit Transformation Technique still maintained its connection to the body—otherwise, death would have already occurred.
Naruto dropped back into his body and opened his eyes.
"It's fine now, Kurama."
"Heh! Told you you'd be fine,"
Kurama's voice echoed in his mind. A flash of light followed, and the massive fox appeared before him.
Sending a strand of consciousness to the Mirror World, Naruto stood and said,
"I met the Sage of Six Paths. The conversation… did not go well."
"You actually met the old man?"
Shukaku leaned in, claws scraping the ground. The other Tailed Beasts exchanged looks and gathered closer.
"I did. And I also captured Indra and Ashura."
Almost simultaneously, within the Mirror World, Naruto's other consciousness began absorbing the brothers' power.
Countdown complete. Absorbing top-tier energy: Ōtsutsuki Ashura.
The instant the process began, Naruto felt his chakra swell at an unimaginable rate.
"You captured who?"
Kurama stiffened, thinking he had misheard.
Kushina stared at Naruto in shock. She could feel his chakra skyrocketing—just like when he absorbed Mōryō and the Dragon Vein before. In mere moments, his chakra rivaled Kurama's.
Then it surpassed it.
And it still didn't stop.
Several breaths later, the turbulence finally settled.
Naruto smiled at Kushina.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm not in danger."
Kurama sat upright and extended a clenched fist toward Naruto, confusion clear in his eyes.
"What exactly happened?"
"Be patient," Naruto said lightly.
"Let me finish dealing with Indra first."
"…What?"
Kurama froze mid-motion, then glanced at the other Tailed Beasts. Noticing their curious expressions, he immediately shot them a glare.
Kushina felt Naruto's chakra surge again. When it finally stabilized, she could no longer even measure him through perception alone.
"Now it's done."
Naruto gently touched fists with Kurama.
Warning! Mental world under invasion detected. You may forcibly expel or forcibly capture!
Kurama snorted. The voice was as dull as ever—
—but then his eyes bulged.
"Why does your chakra feel this much stronger?!"
"You'll see in a moment."
Naruto reassigned Kurama's World Guardian permissions, and the two of them entered the Mirror World together.
"…Why is this kid here?"
Kurama frowned at Sasuke.
"He's a stakeholder," Naruto replied calmly.
"And he's been swearing in his heart to kill me. I thought it'd be good to let him experience a bit of existential doubt."
With that, Naruto opened a display window.
Sasuke ground his teeth, powerless to move, his crimson eyes locked onto Naruto.
Kurama's eyes lit up. He swiped a claw, expanding the display dozens of times. Skimming the portraits, he instantly recognized two familiar figures.
"Those really are Ashura and Indra?!"
He was about to tap Ashura's icon—
"Wait," Naruto said.
"Start with Sasuke's memories. That way you'll hear my conversation with the Sage."
"So it really was the Sage of Six Paths…"
Sasuke's face drained of color. If even a being of legend was powerless against Naruto, then the world itself felt utterly hopeless.
The playback began.
Kurama watched intently. But before long, shock crept across his face.
The recording ended quickly, yet Kurama remained silent for a long time before speaking with a sigh:
"We never knew the old man could resurrect through a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki…
I also didn't know I could be used as a medium between him and the reincarnates."
"That's not communication," Naruto said evenly, eyes on Sasuke.
"That's control."
"You heard everything. In the original fate of the ninja world, you and I would have sealed the resurrected Ten-Tails in Kaguya's Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball."
"He didn't mention the prerequisite—but he revealed it when answering my questions: he would give his power to Indra's reincarnation."
"Which means this—"
"If fate had proceeded as planned, you Tailed Beasts would have been devoured by the Ten-Tails. When we inevitably failed, he would appear and distribute power to us."
"You and I both know how strong the Ten-Tails is. But if even the empowered reincarnates couldn't defeat Kaguya—what do you think would happen then?"
Kurama closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly.
"I… don't know."
"You do."
Naruto's voice was calm, almost gentle.
"Even the Three Great Sage Regions believed Indra and Ashura were mere chakra reincarnations. But you saw it yourself—I captured their souls."
"So if the reincarnates failed—either the brothers would possess new bodies, or the Sage himself would directly take control."
Kurama said nothing. He dissolved into light and vanished.
"You should understand by now."
Naruto released Sasuke's restraints and shrank the display window. He opened Great Toad Sage's memories instead.
"Indra and Ashura were the Sage's sons,"
Sasuke said coldly.
"And you and I are their reincarnations."
Naruto nodded.
"Now you'll see the truth of the ninja world—especially your own."
The images began to play.
A meteor streaked across the sky and struck the earth.
Time passed. The vision ended.
Sasuke stared at Naruto, dark and hollow-eyed, and finally spat out:
"You're inhuman."
Only at the very end did he learn the truth—
His parents and clan were alive.
What Naruto had killed were White Zetsu, transformed via Mirror Body Substitution, a technique that prevented reversion upon death.
Naruto had done all of this for one reason only:
To force Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, fully stir Indra within his soul—
—and then eradicate both of the Sage's sons in one move.
Elsewhere — The Pure Land
The Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura floated quietly beneath a dreamlike starfield. Below them flowed a brilliant river, identical to the one shown to Naruto.
"Brother… must it really come to this?" Hamura asked.
"Are you certain he can directly seize my power?"
"We have no choice," the Sage replied.
"I can no longer see the world behind him. I've completely lost contact with Indra and Ashura. It's only a matter of time before he acquires my Senjutsu."
"The eye you left on the Moon cannot oppose the rules of that world. If we don't sever the connection between the Pure Land and the ninja world now, once he obtains full Yin–Yang Release from the Moon, he will find the entrance here."
"The aggression of his world is overwhelming," Hamura said grimly.
"If I hadn't sealed the Pure Land during your meeting, he might not have needed our power to enter."
"…If only Toneri had awakened the Tenseigan sooner," Hamura added bitterly.
"It's nearly complete," the Sage said.
"The Pure Land has already formed an independent tributary. We still have other choices—countless ones within the cosmic river. It will only take time."
"And the Tailed Beasts?"
"They have already made their choice."
The Sage fell silent.
At that moment, one tributary of the cosmic river rose as a thin stream, gently bending before merging back into the greater flow.
The figures of the Sage and Hamura faded away.
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