"All dōjutsu, ninjutsu, and even the origins of kekkei genkai all come from the progenitor of chakra—that is, my mother, who consumed the chakra fruit. But…"
But this thing Hagoromo was playing with? The Sage of Six Paths understood absolutely none of it.
Among the various kekkei genkai, the highest evolutionary form of the eyes was undoubtedly the one on Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's forehead… the Rinne Sharingan was the limit. But what was going on with Hagoromo's eyes right now? Why did they come with color gradients, fade-in and fade-out effects, and rendering?
How much had those colored contacts cost?
Hagoromo shook his head. He did not think there was anything wrong with the Sage of Six Paths claiming everything as belonging to his family. After all… all the good stuff shinobi had really did come from their family. But were Hagoromo's Mystic Eyes actually a dōjutsu?
"My moves can be broadly classified as a kind of 'technique,' but this is not a dōjutsu. It only manifests its effect through the eyes. To put it correctly, these eyes are actually…"
"A weapon."
Even if someone really could gouge out Hagoromo's eyes, or if some incredible person seized this death-seeking expert's eyes the way one might seize a Sharingan, his eyes themselves were actually meaningless. Even without his eyes, Hagoromo would still be able to see what he should see, and the ability of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception would not disappear.
Because this was not an ability floating on the visual level. It was something deeper—far, far deeper.
"As expected…"
The Sage of Six Paths said "as expected," but in reality, his understanding was still different from what Hagoromo was trying to express.
It could be broadly summarized as a kind of "technique," but the "technique" here referred not so much to ninjutsu as it did to a foreign power system.
"In other words, although I do not know how you obtained this power, your goal is to use another power outside the shinobi system to destroy the origin of shinobi and thereby collapse the entire shinobi world system?" the Sage of Six Paths asked. He felt his guess was almost certainly correct. This young man's state of mind was far too dangerous.
Was that actually the case?
No.
"You're right about one part. As for the rest… completely wrong." Hagoromo explained the Sage of Six Paths' cognitive mistake in one sentence. "The abilities I possess are unique to me. They cannot be spread at all."
Even if Hagoromo could level himself up to Level 10, he could not build an Academy City in this world. The system for developing esper abilities could not be spread through the shinobi world, much less the magic system represented by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. In the end, the shinobi world was still the shinobi world. Hagoromo had no intention of overturning the entire shinobi system, nor could he do it.
Why was the Sage of Six Paths so absurdly powerful? It was not because he could fight incredibly well. In the beginning, the only people who possessed chakra were the three members of the Ōtsutsuki family. What Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo did was create the chakra training system. He taught others how to refine and use chakra, and turned this world into the shinobi world. That was the cornerstone and foundation of this world's system.
That was something Hagoromo could never accomplish no matter what. His abilities could not be copied or transferred. No matter how strong an individual was, he could not turn his own abilities into a system.
Therefore, this world would only have "Ninshū." There would be no "Esper-shū." The thing the Sage of Six Paths was most worried about right now was something Hagoromo did not want to do, would not do, and could not do.
Theoretically speaking, the bug-like Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could of course erase the chakra system. But that would be far too difficult. It could be regarded as an impossible task. It was like how, in theory, Hagoromo could erase all the air in this world. But doing something like that would be massive, tedious, and meaningless. That would be what you called truly seeking death.
More importantly…
"To be honest, I actually quite like the shinobi system," Hagoromo said.
That was the truth. The "like" he spoke of did not refer to the death and killing brought about by the shinobi system. But at the same time, he did not hate that part either, because any institution or system came with war.
More essentially, what Hagoromo liked was "ninjutsu." Just like a certain shinobi once said, "Art is an explosion," Hagoromo's idea was somewhat similar. He felt that ninjutsu—or rather, the way chakra was used as an energy source—was very artistic.
Not to mention, if this were a technology-based world setting, there would definitely be far more wars and deaths than under the ninjutsu system.
"But if that is the case, why did you appear before me?" the Sage of Six Paths asked, and the question circled back to where it had begun.
Hagoromo raised a hand and pointed at his own eyes.
"These eyes, to put it simply, are a path leading to 'death.' As long as something can be 'seen,' anything can be erased—whether it is the nine tailed beasts, who do not die in the usual sense, or the progenitor of chakra, who does not die in the absolute sense…"
"My goal is correction. I came here to eliminate the consciousness of the Sage of Six Paths, who founded Ninshū. Even if I merely prevent your chakra from gathering together again, one day it will eventually vanish without a trace."
"Perhaps, Sage, you believe my ability is an heresy outside the shinobi system. But in reality, the tailed beasts and the Ōtsutsuki are the heresies within the shinobi system. Creation, followed by influence and control—there is nothing wrong with that. But there should always be a time limit. Infinite control is extremely twisted. And yet, what you are doing right now is precisely infinity itself."
No matter how abnormal Hagoromo was, he was ultimately only a single point. Once he died, that abnormality would disappear with him. But the Ōtsutsuki and the tailed beasts were lines that had continued from the past into the future. They could even intertwine with each other and weave themselves into a net. Without complete destruction, they would continue forever.
"The reason a system is a system is that it should not collapse merely because of one person's disappearance. It can be controlled, but it cannot be controlled forever."
"So… I am not trying to destroy this system. Quite the opposite. What I am doing is correcting, maintaining, and repairing it."
What Hagoromo said was entirely his own personal viewpoint. His belief that the tailed beast system and the influence of Ōtsutsuki blood should be erased was his own perception, and he merely acted according to that thought.
But should those things truly be eliminated?
In reality, whether they should or should not was not important at all. Just as Uchiha Madara believed the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the correct answer for this world, and so he went to prepare the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Hagoromo's actions were no different. He believed it would be better for the tailed beasts and the Ōtsutsuki to disappear, so that was what he did.
In essence, both of them had the attitude of "I'm doing this for your own good." But whether it was actually good or not, this world had no choice but to accept it.
However, did Hagoromo's words make no sense?
They made a great deal of sense. His words left the Sage of Six Paths unable to answer… Shiraishi Hagoromo had unintentionally learned the ultimate secret technique of the shinobi world: Talk no Jutsu.
"If your ability truly possesses the power to erase even my mother, then try it. And if…"
The Sage of Six Paths did not say the second "if," but Hagoromo understood what he meant.
One could only say that the Sage of Six Paths was indeed worthy of being the Sage of Six Paths. Although he had long since died, the word "resolve" meant nothing more than this.
"Then allow me to witness your ability. But before that, I still do not know your name."
"Hagoromo. Shiraishi Hagoromo," Hagoromo answered.
The Sage of Six Paths froze for a moment, then actually began to laugh.
"Hagoromo, is it… What an interesting coincidence."
The final end of Hagoromo would be completed by Hagoromo, and the system Hagoromo created would be corrected by Hagoromo. Was this an interesting coincidence?
It was probably the malicious hand of fate.
"Then let us witness whose end this will be, Hagoromo."
Hagoromo lowered the iron-sand sword he had been gripping all this time. After saying those words, he immediately charged toward the Sage of Six Paths.
The Sage of Six Paths' response was exactly the same as it had been at the beginning. What he had to do at this moment was simply use Shinra Tensei to blast Hagoromo away.
But at this moment, the situation was completely different.
As Hagoromo moved at high speed, his gaze was indifferent and cold. In the field of vision granted by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Shinra Tensei had nowhere to hide.
Lightning wrapped around the iron-sand sword. Then, faced with the wide-range ninjutsu coming head-on, Hagoromo decisively swung his sword.
At this moment, he was strangely calm. The thoughts in his mind were even a little odd…
He should not be using the iron-sand sword, should he? In Lightning Release mode, the chakra blade at his waist would be better suited to unleashing power.
What he was thinking was that switching weapons would be more appropriate.
Within Hagoromo's vision, the spherical area affected by Shinra Tensei split in two!
The might of divine power collapsed into nothing before the strike of exorcism.
And Hagoromo's next sword strike shattered the layered Truth-Seeking Ball defensive barriers into fragments scattered across the ground—fragments that would never recover again.
After that, the Sage's shakujō, which had been raised to block, was also cut in two.
Along with the arm holding the shakujō.
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