In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 516 Otsutsuki Hagoromo

"Yes, that's right."

The Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly in response, seemingly not angry that Shimizu's shadow clone had forcibly entered the Pure Land; in fact, he even seemed somewhat pleased.

Perhaps it's because the old man hasn't spoken to anyone much in over a thousand years.

"So, Senior Yu Yi should have realized what was happening the moment I walked in, right?"

"Indeed, but after I woke up, I spent some time reading some memories from the souls of these recently deceased people, learning about the speaking habits and language culture of your era, and also understanding the changes that you have brought about in the ninja world."

Although your methods were cruel, instigating war and killing countless lives, I must admit that your ultimate goal is the same as when I founded the Ninja Clan: to use chakra to bring change to this world and create peace and a future.

What surprised me even more was that you are outstanding and powerful; even in my lifetime, I wouldn't have been much stronger than you.

As the Sage of Six Paths spoke, he changed his previous pedantic, ancient tone and adopted the normal speaking habits of a modern person.

Shimizu looked at the Sage of Six Paths, who held a staff and, despite being a spirit, seemed like a real person. Feeling the energy emanating from him, which was even more powerful than his own physical form, he spoke:

"It seems that Senior Hagoromo does not object to my actions in the ninja world."

"Actually, I'm still a little resistant."

"Otsutsuki Hagoromo replied."

Although this sentence seemed to be said in a joking tone, Otsutsuki Hagoromo's expression and tone were quite serious and formal.

"However, a thousand years ago, after Ashura passed away, the Ninja Sect fell apart, and war broke out again in the world. In my hands, chakra was a tool to help people grow food, prevent natural disasters, and protect themselves. But after my death, it immediately became a weapon to kill our own kind and start wars."

I have no right to criticize you; you are simply doing what I am doing from a different perspective.

You and I differ only in our methods. I am a simple idealist, while you are someone who puts your ideals into practice through realism. In this respect, you may do it better than I do.

The Sage of Six Paths' expression turned somewhat sorrowful.

More than a thousand years have passed, and he has long since seen through it all.

The world he dreamed of, where people understood each other and all things coexisted peacefully, was nothing but a mirage.

Even though he possessed the power to overturn the entire world, he was unable to reshape it into the way he wanted it to be.

Shimizu smiled slightly and said:

"As long as humans have humanity, no, as long as the world continues to operate in this way, such things are unavoidable. Even among animals, there will be fights with fangs and claws over food and territory."

Before the birth of chakra, people used spears, swords, and flames to plunder each other's lives. Before that, flames, along with metals and stones used to forge weapons, were treasures that allowed humans to survive, drive away wild animals, cook food, and make tools such as hoes.

From this perspective, chakra is actually no different from fire or metal.

Everything has two sides, and as human society develops, it will emphasize one side at different stages. I think the things I bring are the same.

What we need to do is simply analyze human nature, then guide it, and use it to propel the world's future in the direction we desire.

The Sage of Six Paths held his staff, savoring Shimizu's words.

"This doesn't sound like something a seventeen-year-old would say."

"I am only seventeen years old, but human history is more than seventeen years old. As long as we can read and analyze history, we can always build on the foundations laid by our predecessors and go further."

The Sage of Six Paths nodded steadily, acknowledging Shimizu's statement.

“You are very smart, and naturally you are the best teacher. History is the sedimentation of natural wisdom. Perhaps I shouldn’t have spent so much time sleeping over the past thousand years. Sometimes I need to get involved in the world to understand and learn the precious wisdom that mankind has left behind after the sedimentation of time.”

Hagoromo Otsutsuki asked again:

"So, after you end the war in the ninja world, will Sunagakure, like the former Ninja Cult, use the changes you created to bring a longer-lasting peace to the ninja world? How long will this peace last?"

Perhaps you can continue to watch over it, but as someone who's been there, I must tell you, we are too strong. Constantly looking after the ninja world like a babysitter will only lead to people taking the protection of the strong for granted, causing regression. One day, when we face an unprecedented and much stronger enemy, the ninja world will not only be unable to help us, but will even force us to divert more of our resources to protect it.

"As long as Senior Hagoromo doesn't object to me ruling the ninja world through war, that's fine. The alternation of peace and war is what brings progress to humanity. As long as Sunagakure unifies the world and brings a long period of prosperity and peace, then even if one day this peace is broken and war returns, there will always be all sorts of people who will appear. They may be ambitious and want to achieve the great things of their predecessors, or they may have ideals and yearn for the peace and prosperity of the past, but in the end, they will eventually achieve unification again."

History is always a spiral, with troughs and climaxes, and as long as cultural knowledge is passed down, this spiral will always go upward.

Furthermore, knowledge is a better vehicle for the transmission of power than bloodline. Given enough time, perhaps other unexpected people will step onto this stage in the future?

The Sage of Six Paths remained silent for a long time, seemingly deep in thought, before finally nodding slowly and then changing the subject.

"So, do you know the Otsutsuki? The more powerful enemies I'm worried about are them. My mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, is from beyond the heavens. Their goal is to plunder the life and energy of this entire planet as offerings. To avoid such an end, my brother Hamura and I had to seal our mother away. And what I'm worried about is not only my mother, but also her clansmen who are far more powerful than her."

I must admit that I am the one who spreads chakra in the hope of helping people understand each other, but I am also the one who wants to cultivate enough chakra to be strong enough to resist the Otsutsuki invasion that may one day in the future.

My two sons, Indra and Ashura, both possess great talent. If they can truly comprehend the Yin-Yang power I transmit through my bloodline, or if they reconcile and unite Yin and Yang to evolve the myriad phenomena of the universe, they too can awaken the Rinnegan like me, and perhaps even surpass me and Hamura in their ability to seal our mother.

Unfortunately, even after a thousand years, they still fell short by that one crucial point.

The Sage of Six Paths sighed and said to Shimizu.

Shimizu lowered her eyes slightly, lost in thought. This old man looked kind and longed for peace, but in reality, he was not a simple person.

The spread of chakra brought fierce wars to the ninja world that lasted for a thousand years, giving birth to countless powerful ninjas. The reincarnations of Indra and Ashura who grew up in this environment became the best of each era, producing outstanding figures such as Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

They are both powerful beings with the potential to reach the Six Paths level. With just a portion of the Six Paths Yin-Yang Power, they would be able to mold the two of them into beings capable of sealing Kaguya.

This power doesn't actually need to be given by the Sage of Six Paths; the two of them only need to comprehend it through the Yin-Yang power hidden within their own chakra. However, none of the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura throughout history have been able to do so.

Even the most outstanding Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju only pushed their inherent talents to the limit, rather than breaking through their limits. Otherwise, they could have truly crossed the threshold of the Six Paths level.

If one could possess the combat power of the Six Paths level, it would be enough to play an important role in the fight against the Otsutsuki—the Six Paths level is considered a strong one among the Otsutsuki.

"I know the story of the Otsutsuki, Hagoromo-senpai. As I just said, I have a very clear understanding of history. However, the history recorded by our predecessors is often one-sided, and even contains excessive subjectivity and distortion. Truly intelligent people know how to unravel the mystery and synthesize multiple sources to corroborate each other in order to find a history that is close to the truth. Even though the ninja world's records of you and the Goddess of the Rabbit have been processed and evolved many times over thousands of years, I think I still understand them."

"I will not interfere with your reforms of the ninja world, because your very existence is enough to prove that your path can also produce strong individuals, more and stronger individuals, who are free from dependence on chakra."

The Sage of Six Paths raised his head, seemingly seeing the powerful figures emerging one by one across the land of the ninja world.

Puppetry, freezing bombs, scorching cores, breathing techniques, human immortal arts...

These are abilities that can truly harm the Otsutsuki, even if they are freed from the chakra system.

If one day the ninja world needs to fight against the Otsutsuki, these things will be an important force.

If this young man continues to lead the ninja world in this way, then the chances of defeating the Otsutsuki will continue to increase as all of this progresses.

Under the threat of the Otsutsuki clan, the Sage of Six Paths had no reason to refuse the young man before him from unifying the ninja world.

Because he could sense from the youth's vibrant life force and powerful human Sage Chakra that the other party's lifespan was likely to be extremely long.

As time goes by, most things in the ninja world will become a thing of the past, not to mention that in terms of power, the ninja world can no longer offer him anything new.

The only thing that can bring him something new is himself.

Just as Hagoromo Otsutsuki was pondering these things, Shimizu continued:

"The unification of the ninja world will be completed soon. However, there are some rats hidden in the ninja world by the Otsutsuki clan. We can take this opportunity to dig them out, but we will need Hagoromo-senpai's cooperation."

Are the Otsutsuki a rat hiding in the ninja world?

"You also discovered the contingency plan Mother left in the ninja world? That guy's abilities are too secretive, and he's too cautious and cunning. Although I guessed he existed, I still couldn't uncover him. But you can rest assured about him. If you want to release Mother who is sealed on the moon, you must use the power of the Rinnegan. And right now, there is a pair of Rinnegan awakened by the reincarnation of Indra in the ninja world. As long as you keep an eye on those eyes, he will eventually reveal himself and expose his weakness."

The Sage of Six Paths was very confident, as if he had everything under control.

Shimizu shook his head.

"Although this guy is in the way, he is ultimately not powerful enough. As long as the Goddess of Rabbit is not released again, he will not pose a threat. But the problem is not only him, but also another one."

The Sage of Six Paths frowned slightly.

"And another one... is it the Otsutsuki who came to the ninja world with my mother? But he didn't leave behind the [Karma] and was killed by my mother in a sneak attack, or did he escape death in some other way?"

The Sage of Six Paths had no doubts about Shimizu's words.

Although he was surprised that Shimizu was able to discover the contingency plan left by Kaguya Otsutsuki and the clues left by another Otsutsuki, the other party was, after all, no less powerful than himself in his lifetime. The forces under his command were the most powerful in the current ninja world, controlling almost half of the ninja world's territory.

If there really is a hidden Ōtsutsuki, then it's not surprising that he could find clues.

What do you need me to do?

The Six Paths Immortal asked the question.

“His condition must have been very bad, which is why he has remained hidden for a thousand years.”

Shimizu began to analyze the situation for the Sage of Six Paths:
"This means that he needs capable subordinates to do things for him. At the very least, he needs those people to help him recover, and those people must be people from the ninja world, and they must be ninjas. Only ninjas have enough power to do things for him."

Over the course of a thousand years, these people must have formed a secret organization with him at its head, lying in hiding, and inevitably died of old age, in battle, or in various other ways; many have perished.

At this point, Hagoromo Otsutsuki understood what Shimizu meant.

The job was to make him do hard labor, searching and sifting through the memories of these dead ninjas.

Although it would definitely be tiring, Hagoromo Otsutsuki slowly nodded and agreed:
"The Rinnegan has the ability to read the memories of souls. Even the seals placed in the brain of the body cannot stop it. I will use Yin-Yang Release to modify a batch of Yama Kings and search for information on the souls of dead ninjas in batches. As long as I find any clues, I will inform you in time."

In any case, as long as it involves the Otsutsuki clan, the Sage of Six Paths always has the highest priority.

This concerns the very survival of the ninja world.

"Then, I'll have to trouble you, Senior Yuyi."

The Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly and said:
"It doesn't matter. Our goal has always been the same: to protect this beautiful world that gave birth to us and is full of infinite possibilities and a future."

(End of this chapter)