So…
That benevolent progenitor… might be the instigator behind everything—and the ultimate beneficiary?
Am I… merely a "fruit" cultivated by the Sage of Six Paths?
Countless people asked themselves in silence, yet found no answers.
The ground beneath their feet felt unreal.
The sky above seemed unfamiliar.
Even their own bodies—and the chakra flowing within them—began to feel suspect.
Tsunade's gaze remained hollow. The shadow of Nawaki, layered atop the shattering revelations about the world, left even the steadfast Hokage mentally exhausted—unable to think clearly.
Jiraiya's expression had never been more grave. He stroked his chin, eyes dark and thoughtful.
"The Great Toad Sage… has lived for over a thousand years… There's no way he doesn't know something…"
He muttered under his breath. A decision had already formed in his heart: once the projection ended, no matter the cost, he would go to Mount Myōboku and demand answers.
In one of Orochimaru's hidden bases, the scientist's eyes burned with manic excitement.
"A civilization overwritten? History rewritten? A higher-dimensional 'experimental field'?"
"How exquisite… This… this is the ultimate mystery!"
His body trembled with exhilaration.
Civilians. Genin. Chūnin. Jōnin. Even the Kage.
All were cast into a dark abyss of doubt—forced to question the nature of their world and their own existence.
"I can't see it clearly… I truly can't…"
The Pure Land
The Pure Land was no peaceful paradise of legend.
It was a strange dimension where consciousness drifted and memories flowed like mist.
Most souls wandered in a hazy stupor. Only a rare few—those whose will and strength had reached extraordinary heights in life—retained fragments of clarity, like isolated islands in a black ocean.
They could not communicate.
They could only observe—alone.
The projection in the sky had become the only dynamic "window" in their endless silence.
And at the deepest point within that sea of consciousness, the largest, densest, most ancient presence of all—
Was the Sage of Six Paths.
From the moment the projection first appeared—showing fragmented visions of possible futures, ambiguous yet disturbingly coherent—the Sage had felt something he had not experienced in a thousand years:
Unease.
He tried to trace its origin.
The power behind it was like a reflection in water—untouchable, untraceable. As if it existed outside the laws of the world itself.
Even he could not grasp it.
But this latest development—
Had transformed his vigilance into astonishment.
Then into shock.
And finally—
Into blazing fury.
First, "he" had appeared.
In the guise of a benevolent elder—granting power to Sasuke and Neji, guiding them against Naruto.
The Sage's consciousness flickered in agitation.
Yes, he had been observing. Yes, he had hoped someone would stop the extremist path taken by the reincarnation of Asura.
But then—
"He" had helped Hyūga Neji awaken the Tenseigan.
The Sage nearly lost control of his own spiritual stability.
The Tenseigan?
That was the power of his younger brother Hamura's lineage. Its awakening conditions were extraordinarily stringent.
Even he could not simply "grant" it.
An impostor.
It had to be.
Then came Naruto's ruthless accusations—
Chakra as invasion.
Civilization overwritten.
A thousand years of war as nourishment.
The Sage as hidden mastermind and ultimate beneficiary.
"Absurd! Slander! Outrageous defamation!!"
His consciousness surged violently within the Pure Land, radiating immense anger. Nearby wandering souls recoiled instinctively, trembling before the ancient pressure.
He had founded Ninshū to end war.
He had spread chakra to foster understanding.
He had endured the endless reincarnations of Indra and Asura as a tragic consequence of his sons' ideological divide.
How could he possibly be the cold "gardener" Naruto described?
A vampire treating the world as pasture and humanity as fuel?
The hidden manipulator had not only impersonated him—but twisted his intent and cast all blame upon him.
It was an attack on the very foundation of his legacy.
An attempt to turn him into the enemy of the entire shinobi world.
"Who is it?!" his consciousness roared like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Who is trying to destroy me like this?!"
He felt an invisible net tightening—its target unmistakably the "source" of the shinobi system:
Him.
And just as his fury reached its peak—when he nearly disregarded ancient constraints to forcibly interfere in the living world—
Another anomaly occurred.
The Shinobi World — The Sky
The projection showing the crater confrontation was abruptly overwritten.
In its place appeared an enormous face—vast, clear, eclipsing the heavens themselves.
It was a kind, bearded face with horns upon its forehead.
Identical to the Sage of Six Paths.
The colossal visage loomed across the sky like a god gazing down upon insects. Its presence radiated overwhelming pressure—mingled with fury.
A thunderous voice rolled across the entire shinobi world:
"Which old fool is meddling in my plans?!"
"Don't let me find out who is sabotaging my plan!!"
The roar shook the air itself. Eardrums rang. Hearts trembled.
Then—
Just as suddenly as it appeared—
The face vanished.
The sky returned to normal.
Only the projection remained.
And a suffocating silence blanketed the world.
For dozens of breaths, no one spoke.
At last, a trembling whisper broke the stillness:
"Th-that was… the Sage of Six Paths, wasn't it? I saw that face in the projection… exactly the same…"
"He said… 'plan'…"
"Does that mean… what Naruto said… is true?"
The murmurs were sparse—and terrified.
Most people simply stood frozen, faces pale, eyes hollow.
A chill shot from their heels to the crowns of their heads.
If Naruto's words had once been dismissed as conspiracy—
This sudden manifestation—admitting to a "plan," radiating anger and possessive control—was like a crushing hammer blow.
The final shred of doubt shattered.
The Pure Land
The real Sage of Six Paths…
Was completely dumbfounded.
Then—
Overcome by boundless rage so immense it threatened to fracture his very consciousness.
"WHO—?!"
"WHO DARES—?!"
His spiritual presence surged like a tidal cataclysm, fury shaking the dimension itself.
He was in the Pure Land.
Watching.
And yet someone had the audacity to use his face, imitate his aura, and publicly confirm Naruto's accusations before the entire world.
He could only watch—
As his name was sealed as the villain of a thousand years.
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