206 - Beyond the Six Paths
[Name: Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo]
[Career: None]
[Active Traits:
{Gold: Six Paths Yin-Yang Reincarnation, Sage of Six Paths, Wheel of Reincarnation, Royal Bloodline (Fragmented)},
{Red: Founder of Ninshū, Origin of Jutsu, Yin-Yang Creation and Destruction, Thousandfold Enlightenment},
{Purple: Ascetic Path of Unity, Heaven's Heart},
{Green: Benevolent Heart},
{White: Seed of Emotion, Attachment},
{Gray: Solitary Walker}]
Note: In soul form, bloodline-related traits may appear incomplete or adaptively mutated when copied.
---
Strong! Extremely strong!
The Sage of Six Paths was definitely the strongest person Kei had seen so far.
Even though the bloodline trait had a "Fragmented" tag, this guy clearly surpassed Kaguya, whose panel might seem luxurious but was rather thin in other aspects.
He commanded the power of Six Paths Yin-Yang Reincarnation, perfectly mastered the use of Sage Techniques, and held the authority of pure reincarnation...
After a thousand years of accumulation, he had fully integrated and mastered all of his abilities.
Hagoromo's strength was absolutely beyond comparison with Isshiki, who had merely survived for a thousand years relying on the power of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
Moreover, [Thousandfold Enlightenment], [Ascetic Path of Unity], [Heaven's Heart]... these three traits almost represent that the Sage of Six Paths had taken a path completely different from most Ōtsutsuki, a path unlike any other.
"Greetings, Sage of Six Paths." Kei stood in front of Tsunade and Hikari, eyes repeatedly scanning Hagoromo's trait panel.
Although he didn't seem to have any traits that screamed villain, and even had [Benevolent Heart] and [Attachment], a person with such immense power having [Heaven's Heart], that might not be a good thing for ordinary people.
As Nietzsche wrote: "When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
In Hagoromo's case, this meant that even with benevolent intentions, one who held tremendous power often became detached from humanity, viewing others with cold indifference rather than compassion.
Having this trait, it was likely that in his eyes, the humans of the shinobi world were no different from other creatures.
He viewed people like animals, and animals like people. He treated all beings equally, neither particularly kind nor cruel. Instead, he simply allowed nature to take its course.
Who could afford to lower their guard?
"No need to be so wary of me, we are not enemies." Hagoromo didn't mind Kei's wariness, maintaining a gentle smile on his somewhat aged face.
A human child, able to carve a transcendent path completely different from the Ōtsutsuki clan's in just a few decades... This was the first time he'd seen such a thing in a thousand years.
Moreover, the young man's actions had, unknowingly, helped him take the final step of his journey.
"What have you been doing in the Pure Land all these years?" Kei remained silent for a moment, then chose to ask directly. Facing a millennia-old fox, beating around the bush would only entangle himself.
Before clashing with Isshiki, he had observed the Pure Land for a long time, but Hagoromo had made no moves.
As if... He no longer cared about the fate of the Pure Land.
Now that the Sage had suddenly appeared, some questions had to be answered, he couldn't allow someone like Hagoromo to continue controlling the Pure Land unchecked.
After all, the world's function relied on the Pure Land. He didn't want this fragile planet drained dry one day.
Besides, how could one rest easy with a potential threat at their side? Such an immensely powerful figure with unclear motives lurking in the shadows, who could possibly feel at ease?
"Observation, comprehension, transcendence." Hagoromo wasn't surprised at all by Kei's question.
Smiling faintly, he began to slowly recount his insights from over a thousand years. After sealing his mother together with his brother, Hamura, he wandered across the entire shinobi world.
Repairing the damage caused to the planet during their battle with their mother. By coincidence, during his travels, he came across a corpse left behind by the Ōtsutsuki clan.
The body of Shibai, hailed as the God of the Ōtsutsuki.
Even though it was already dead... Yet even that immortal and powerful body, just by releasing a mere trace of its residual power, still left him profoundly shaken from the depths of his soul.
Through studying and comprehending that power, he gradually began to realize—the other party was not truly dead, but had transcended life and death, broken free from the constraints of the physical body, and crossed into a higher dimension, leaving this world entirely.
The Six Paths were not the ultimate limit of power; beyond them lay an even higher realm, one beyond the imagination of ordinary beings.
He never considered himself a saint free of all desires, he too wished to pursue that kind of transcendence.
However, if one only sought personal transcendence, treating each planet as mere pastures, planting God Trees to absorb planetary energy and cutting off the life paths of all living beings on them, how was that any different from what his mother had done?
His long travels across the shinobi world had long made him keenly aware, every independent living being possessed its own thoughts and emotions.
All life deserved respect!
After rejecting the method of transcendence used by the Ōtsutsuki clan, he once again journeyed the world, seeking another way.
Ninshū was one of his attempts.
Shibai's method of transcending by shedding the physical form proved that transcendence wasn't achieved by mere bodily strength.
The vast number of chakra fruits he had consumed, what truly helped him take the final step, was the power of the soul! And the shallow expression of soul power was the power of the mind.
By connecting the minds of all people in the world, and letting this power accumulate quantitatively until it transformed qualitatively, the world could welcome eternal peace.
And Hagoromo could borrow that power to strengthen his own soul, helping himself complete his metamorphosis and transcendence.
Unfortunately, he failed.
The experiences of Asura and Indra made it clear to him that this path might be completely unworkable.
Helpless, he had no choice but to walk his final path, to completely discard his physical body, enter the Pure Land, observe and comprehend the most fundamental state of all souls, to feel their spiritual power, in the hope that, like water wearing away stone, he could take that final step.
Fortunately, during this process, by relying on his own [Six Paths Yin-Yang Reincarnation], and the power of the Pure Land, he saw the true nature of the world's workings.
The continuously refined mental power allowed his soul strength to steadily grow.
However, the failure of Ninshū in the early years unknowingly became a thorn in his heart.
"With my heart still attached, the power of my soul could never reach the purest state, and so my soul strength could never take the final step. But now, you have helped me fulfill my last wish."
Hagoromo had a relieved smile at the corner of his lips. He had once used Shibai's body to unleash an ultimate ocular technique, and caught a glimpse of the future.
He originally thought that the opportunity to take the final step would come decades later, but due to an unexpected variable, he was able to undergo his final transformation decades early.
"Shouldn't you at least give me a reward for that?" Countless thoughts raced through Kei's mind, carefully analyzing every word Hagoromo had just said.
Combined with information from the original storyline, he could roughly judge that most of what the other party said was true.
But to say all of it was true, he absolutely did not believe that this guy had frozen the operation of the Pure Land just to experience others' mental strength more directly!