"Heh heh heh!"
Ashura laughed like a great demon king.
The gentleness of the past was completely gone. His cold gaze fixed on the Six Paths.
"My dear father, how about it? You didn't see this coming, did you?"
Inside Sasuke, Indra was even more direct. He stared at the Six Paths coldly. His expression wasn't one of a son's but more like another powerful role: a debt collector!
He was here to collect his debts.
And with interest!
"Otsutsuki Hagoromo, how about the gift I prepared for you? You should love it, right?"
His voice dripped with hatred.
He had every reason to feel this way.
The two brothers once had a pretty good relationship—or so Indra had believed.
But they ended up becoming enemies. Wasn't it because of the Six Paths?
Whether it was or not, Indra had decided it was.
Because of you, we've been fighting for thousands of years.
Now, it's time for you to pay your debts.
We are your sons, so why did you manipulate us like this?
"Indra, calm down. You're misunderstanding!" Six Paths shouted in a panic.
His true self was still in the Pure Land. Although a projection of him, along with some of his power, was in Naruto and Sasuke, he was still able to fight. But Ashura and Indra had come for this very power. Were they unprepared?
They came to devour his power.
"Misunderstanding? What exactly are we misunderstanding?" Indra's voice was chilling. "Otsutsuki Hagoromo, let me ask you one thing: over these thousands of years, did you have the power to stop Ashura and me from fighting?"
Six Paths fell silent.
Everyone's power had reached the level of the Six Paths—a near-transcendent level.
At this level, lying would only invite ridicule.
It was like a grown man asking another man if he could lift a 20-kilogram object.
If you shamelessly say you can't, does that even make sense?
Can you be that fake?
Indra's voice was icy: "You clearly had the power to stop us, but you didn't. You watched us fight, even secretly encouraging our battles. Ha!"
"No, it's not like that…"
"Then what is it like?"
Indra's voice was filled with hatred. "You chose Ashura as your successor, so why didn't you just give him your power? Every generation we reincarnate, we fight. If I lost every time, would I keep fighting him?"
I'm not insane; why would I keep going back for more?
Like a baby challenging an adult—knowing full well I can't win but still fighting.
Ha!
Aside from getting beaten up more, it's pointless.
If Six Paths had given all his power to Ashura in every generation, Indra would have surrendered after a few.
Fight? No thanks, I won't set myself up for that.
Indra's words left Six Paths speechless.
He had nothing left to say.
What could he say?
Indra had already anticipated his response, leaving nothing more to argue.
"Got nothing to say? Then let's begin!" Indra sneered, forming hand signs quickly.
His power surged toward Six Paths' power.
He was going to devour it completely.
"No!"
Six Paths roared, "Indra, I gave you life, I raised you. Your life is mine. How dare you rebel!"
"Shut up!"
Indra didn't even bother looking at him.
Seriously?
You can strike at me, but I can't fight back? Where's the justice in that?
Especially since it was Indra. He was vindictive and loved revenge.
Speaking of revenge, Indra admired his descendant, Uchiha Izuna!
Any grudge, no matter how long ago, had to be avenged.
And…
He would make sure it hurt!
"Buzz!"
As Indra formed his seals, his power surrounded Six Paths' power.
Inside Naruto, Ashura seemed to sense it and began to act as well.
The two forces wrapped around Six Paths' power, starting to gnaw and devour it.
Six Paths roared in anger but was powerless to stop it.
The two rebellious sons had calculated the amount of power he had sent over.
It was just below Ashura and Indra's combined strength. Against the power of his two rebellious sons, he was completely helpless.
Now, Six Paths had two choices: one was to continue sending power. If he sent enough to surpass Ashura and Indra, he could counterattack.
At that point, he could devour the power of his two rebellious sons, increasing his strength dramatically.
The other option was to do nothing.
Let the two rebels devour his power.
Six Paths wanted to continue transferring his power. Once he devoured the essence of Ashura and Indra's strength, his own would grow again, and he wouldn't need to worry about the Otsutsuki clan.
But…
After a brief hesitation, he decided to give up.
Ashura and Indra's power was fairly equal.
The amount of power Six Paths had sent into their bodies was about halfway there.
To send more and equal their strength would require a great cost and time.
By then, they would have already devoured his power.
So!
Six Paths had no choice but to give up and watch his power be devoured.
"Ashura, Indra, do you really want to do this?" Six Paths roared, "I am your father, and yet you're destroying me!"
Ashura remained silent.
Indra sneered, "And how many times have you destroyed us?"
"I am your father!"
"That's debatable!"
"What?"
Six Paths nearly spat blood.
Even the God of Shinobi couldn't handle the thought of betrayal.
"You… what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Just a guess!" Indra said casually. "If you were really our father, why would you treat us this way? Maybe because of that… you treat us like this!"
Six Paths gasped for breath.
After a long silence, he suddenly said, "Do you know about the Otsutsuki clan?"
"We know a bit," Indra said indifferently. "We've reincarnated enough times to understand some of the truth, though only fragments."
"Good!" Six Paths said seriously. "Since you know about the Otsutsuki clan, you should understand. I had no choice. My mother, the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya, was so powerful that to deal with the Otsutsuki clan, she turned the entire shinobi world into a White Zetsu breeding ground."
"I had to treat you this way to prepare for the Otsutsuki clan. I hope you can understand. I need to be strong enough to protect you."
"Mmhmm," Indra nodded repeatedly, "We understand you. Please understand us too. After being used by our father for so many years, we're full of resentment. We just want some payback. In the end, we're only taking a bit of your power. You understand, right?"
"I…"
Six Paths felt like his words had been wasted.
"Indra… ugh!"
Just as Six Paths was about to speak, he let out a groan.
Ashura and Indra had begun devouring his power.
"Are you really insane?" Six Paths gritted his teeth. "What's the point of devouring such a large amount of power? You're both already dead, and you can't use this power."
"Our successors can!" Indra glanced at Sasuke, smiling faintly. "Sasuke is my reincarnation. He inherited my power and now has a portion of yours. His strength will be immense. Father, what do you think he'll do with it?"
Six Paths' expression grew serious.
He had only been lamenting the loss of power.
But now he realized it was more than that.
Not only had they devoured some of his power, but they had also nurtured an extraordinary fighter.
Worse, this fighter harbored deep resentment toward him.
In the future…
They could very well become enemies!
The momentary calm was broken as Itsuki, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
A playful smile appeared at the corner of his lips, mixed with a trace of surprise.
"Commander!"
Shikaku immediately shifted his gaze over.
"An enemy is approaching!"
Itsuki stood up, sneering, "Uchiha Obito!"
"What?"
Shikaku was taken aback. "He's coming to attack us?"
"Yes."
Itsuki responded calmly, "Maintain the status quo at headquarters. I'll go take care of him. It's about time this guy was dealt with."
Shikaku immediately offered, "Commander, let me assist you!"
"No."
Itsuki shook his head, "You stay here and keep things running at HQ. We've already stretched our manpower to the limit."
He wasn't wrong.
Inoichi and the others were monitoring the entire ninja world, Mabui was resting to recover from the use of her teleportation technique, and Shikaku was coordinating the entire ninja alliance's operations.
Apart from them, there were only two guards left, leaving no one to spare for supporting Itsuki.
Besides, did Itsuki really need support?
He walked out of HQ, used the Flying Thunder God technique, and appeared atop a large tree, casually sitting down to wait in silence.
Before long, he chuckled and said, "Black Zetsu didn't come with Obito?"
Black Zetsu's voice came from the shadows, though his form wasn't visible.
"Obito will be here soon. This time, he'll give you a surprise."
"Oh, really?"
Itsuki smiled faintly, "That line sounds familiar. Haven't I heard it many times before? Black Zetsu, am I remembering wrong?"
Hidden in the shadows, Black Zetsu's face darkened, but he couldn't respond.
What could he say?
Itsuki's words were true.
Obito always acted high and mighty, but when it came down to it, his actual combat power was a mere fraction of what he claimed.
Pfft.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"
At that moment, a light, airy voice suddenly sounded next to Black Zetsu's ear.
Black Zetsu stiffened.
After a moment, he turned his head slowly.
Itsuki was standing right beside him, smiling lightly as he watched him.
Despite the smile, Itsuki's expression was cold.
Deep in his eyes, there was only indifference.
Black Zetsu shivered involuntarily and forced a smile, "Itsuki, Obito is your opponent, not me. I have nothing to do with this."
Itsuki continued to smile as he said, "Black Zetsu, no need to be nervous. Actually, I've always been curious about you. Can you tell me what exactly you are?"
"You seem like a product of Yin Release."
"You're not human, are you?"
Sweat began to form on Black Zetsu's forehead.
There were many strange ninja in the world, so Black Zetsu never bothered to hide the fact that he shared a body with White Zetsu.
After White Zetsu's original body was killed by Uchiha Itsuki, Black Zetsu had used other White Zetsu clones for a while.
Eventually, he preferred acting alone.
After all, in a world filled with odd ninja, he didn't stand out too much.
But now!
Itsuki had spoken his greatest secret.
He wasn't human. He was a product of Yin Release!
Did Uchiha Itsuki know something?
Or was he just talking nonsense?
Black Zetsu's breathing grew heavier.
Instinctively, he felt certain that Itsuki knew something.
But what?
How much did he know?
Black Zetsu's face twisted in a gloomy expression.
Swish!
At that moment, a figure appeared in front of Itsuki.
Itsuki smiled slightly and turned to meet the newcomer.
Bang!
The two clashed heavily, each retreating backward.
Uchiha Itsuki! Uchiha Obito! They were fighting again!
As for Black Zetsu, Itsuki hadn't bothered to kill him.
Killing him would be meaningless.
Itsuki didn't believe that killing Black Zetsu would stop Madara or prevent Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths from emerging.
After all, if the Sage didn't want Kaguya to return, she wouldn't.
But he did, so she was revived.
Even without Black Zetsu, there could be a Blue Zetsu, or a Purple Zetsu…
The Sage would always find a way to let his mother out for some fresh air before sealing her away again.
"It's been a while, Obito!"
Itsuki smiled at the man before him and said, "Tell me, who gave you the courage to show up in front of me? Or are you just not afraid to die anymore?"
"Hmph!"
Obito snorted coldly through the metallic mask with three eyes, glaring at Itsuki. "Uchiha Itsuki, don't get too cocky. Today, I will kill you with my own hands."
"Well, you'd better try your best!"
Itsuki chuckled softly, "But could you promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
Obito paused, then coldly asked.
He didn't need to think too hard. Whatever Itsuki was about to say definitely wouldn't be serious.
And indeed, it wasn't...
(End of chapter)