Master Genichi watched Shanks leave. That man had left an indelible mark on the Earthly Sage Kingdom's will with his own strength.
And that mark… had landed squarely on Master Genichi himself.
He had succeeded. Facing Shanks' power, he used the Earthly Sage Kingdom's strength to glimpse a force that surpassed the world itself.
But he had underestimated Shanks. Even under the double pressure of the world's will and the Earthly Sage Kingdom, Shanks still had the power to kill both him and Fukuda Kiyomu.
But Shanks held back.
And in that moment, Master Genichi realized something was wrong…
His path hadn't been wrong. According to his plan, with enough backing, the Earthly Sage Kingdom's sages could have reached an even higher level.
Master Genichi, a sage unmatched through the ages, had expected that the Kingdom's collapse would allow the sages to glimpse his plan and achieve their final ascension.
But…
"How could this… why…"
Master Genichi trembled as he stared at the embodiment of the Earthly Sage Kingdom's will.
The slash on it was identical to the one that appeared on Fukuda Kiyomu.
Genichi wasn't foolish; in fact, he was one of the smartest men in the world.
Many in this world were smarter than Shanks, but most were limited by themselves. And in that moment, Genichi seemed to understand.
"Shanks!!"
For the first time, Master Genichi lost his usual calm. He looked up toward Shanks and screamed at the top of his lungs.
The power in his body was completely chaotic—he was utterly unbalanced.
Shanks stopped walking.
"Tell me!!"
Master Genichi roared, veins bulging on his forehead, blood seeping into his eye. A vicious aura radiated from him, like a mad poisonous snake fixed on Shanks.
Yet even so, he kept the gravely injured and unconscious Fukuda Kiyomu safely behind him.
"Tell me… who… am I?"
"Shanks!!"
"You've seen him, haven't you…"
"Hahaha!!"
Shanks heard that near-crazed voice behind him and started walking again.
Saying anything now was meaningless. Besides, Genichi probably already had the answer in his mind. For someone as smart as him, it was painfully obvious.
Shanks' silence drove Master Genichi into a blind rage, a murderous intent rising from him.
Feeling a faint movement from behind, Shanks let out a sigh.
"You're going to die!"
Shhh~
On the red sand, a footprint appeared. Master Genichi had charged directly into the New World's domain, the Earthly Sage Kingdom's will stripping away from his body as terrifying suppression descended instantly.
The floating white "Truth-Seeking Orb" behind him cracked at that moment.
Feeling the wave behind him, Shanks turned and threw a punch, black-and-red Haki coiling around his fist.
Shanks' figure seemed to flicker in place, and the punch landed right in front of Master Genichi.
"Bang!!"
The will of the Earthly Sage Kingdom around Master Genichi was completely shattered in that moment. The punch hit solidly across his face.
His body flew backward, crashing into the sea.
"If you really want to die, make it next time!"
Shanks' expression remained serious, but he didn't follow up with another attack.
Master Genichi lay on the water like a defeated dog, letting the waves wash over him.
Shanks' Conqueror Haki faded, and the sea returned to normal, but the sound of the waves couldn't cover Genichi's self-mocking laughter.
Shanks' action had been the clearest answer.
He had indeed already met the Sage of Six Paths.
And… Genichi and Fukuda Kiyomu were definitely not normal. No—more accurately, in this moment, Master Genichi finally understood his own identity.
"These were always two different paths, yet I forcibly dragged this guy back… ridiculous… truly ridiculous."
"If I hadn't done that, you could probably have become the sage of this era who surpasses all limits."
Drenched, Master Genichi lifted Fukuda Kiyomu, looking at the wound on his chest. The wound was mostly healed.
Above it remained a trace of the world's will.
Not every sage catches the attention of the world's will, and not every sage is worthy of receiving its blessing when facing the Otsutsuki will.
"But since I personally cut off your path, I will also personally restore it for you."
"Just… don't hold a grudge against me!"
Under Gecko, Fukuda Kiyomu's figure bent slightly.
If he and Fukuda Kiyomu were truly bound by the same fate, then Master Genichi could use his own life to restore the destiny he had severed.
In this moment, Master Genichi had gained clarity.
He understood many things.
"It's time… to see Ashura and Indra myself. Let me witness the Sage of Six Paths' handiwork!"
"After that, the coming new era… you'll have to witness it for me."
Master Genichi set Fukuda Kiyomu down, a surge of natural energy appearing around him. With Gecko carving a path across the sea, Fukuda Kiyomu's body was carried by the energy, flying toward the camp.
Master Genichi, meanwhile, chose another direction, heading toward East Blue.
As a top-tier sage, Fukuda Kiyomu had the strength to cross the sea directly without wasting much energy.
Looking at this unfamiliar world, Master Genichi felt a bit reluctant in his heart.
…
On the other side, Shanks frowned as he looked at his own wound.
"This hard to heal?"
Shanks admitted he had underestimated things a bit, but the other side still hadn't reached their final state.
"Such terrifying power and wisdom… able to reach this level. Could the Sage of Six Paths have done the same?"
Thinking of the Sage of Six Paths hiding deep in the world, Shanks was furious. He had never seen someone so sly and cautious.
He hadn't even met him directly—just a slight encounter and he ran away.
In fact, Rikudou Sennin himself got quite a scare. He had been sleeping peacefully, and then suddenly someone busted into his home.
Thousands of years ago, Rikudou Sennin had done a lot of things that ended up making the will of the world hunt him down.
Still, he was the Rikudou Sennin. He had plenty of tricks and wasn't afraid of that kind of thing.
Otherwise, how could he call himself Rikudou Sennin? Did they not understand what a true "all-rounder" was?
Anyway, after making all the necessary arrangements, Rikudou Sennin sank into the depths of the world, hiding together with the sealed dragon vein under the will of the world.
Back then, to be honest, Rikudou Sennin had no real opponents left. The only ones who could match him were the Otsutsuki clan.
And even then, ordinary Otsutsuki weren't his match—it would take an Otsutsuki sage at the very least.
Even an average sage from their clan would probably be beaten to death by him.
His original plan was to quietly keep improving his strength in the ninja world, wait thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and when the Otsutsuki invaded and the will of the world began to collapse, he'd come out and deal with them.
And he didn't actually seal himself away completely. Not only that, he even left entrances in various places across the ninja world.
Rikudou Sennin still had some hope for the people of the ninja world. What if, during those thousands of years, another "all-rounder" like him appeared?
If just one such person showed up, they could find the power he left behind and enter the depths of the world to train.
At that level, they'd no longer be ordinary sages—they'd already be faintly surpassing the world itself, to the point where the will of the world would start hunting them too.
As for those entrances and how to use them? In the "Roran" arc of Naruto, a man named Mukade opened the dragon vein.
If Mukade had been a bit smarter, or if his strength had reached the level of a top-tier sage, he might have noticed the backup plan Rikudou Sennin had left there.
But now, the entire ninja world was in chaos.
None of Rikudou Sennin's arrangements were working.
Especially because of Shanks.
When Rikudou Sennin went to sleep, he had left a bunch of entrances—over a hundred doors for himself. But Shanks didn't even use chakra.
Well, to be exact, he was the only one who had completely merged all of his chakra into himself. He didn't have any left.
He just forced the dragon vein open through sheer willpower.
And that wasn't even the worst part—the key thing was, Shanks started a "great era," which was basically like bringing a whole group of people to tear down Rikudou Sennin's home.
Rikudou Sennin had been sleeping soundly, until Shanks entered directly from the place with the densest dragon veins while starting the New World.
What was that like?
It was like Rikudou Sennin opening his eyes to find a red-haired man sitting on his bed, saying, "You're awake?"
Who wouldn't panic in that situation?
Rikudou Sennin was stunned on the spot.
He had put alarms on every "door," so whenever someone entered, he would wake up.
But neither Orochimaru before nor Shanks now had triggered the dragon vein through normal means.
These people just threw his "door" away entirely—they weren't opening it to walk in at all.
Rikudou Sennin was scared half to death when he saw Shanks—especially since Shanks was still moving under the suppression of the world's will. For a moment, Rikudou Sennin even thought the Otsutsuki himself had come to wake him up.
Of course, the only thing he could do was run. What else could he do?
Meanwhile, in one of the three great sacred lands—
The White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage both looked at the Great Toad Sage, who was still sleeping, with a hint of confusion on their faces.
"Why does it feel like the old toad is getting younger?"
"It's not just a feeling—he really is getting younger and younger. I don't know how it's happening, but an ordinary person could never do this."
Even the usually calm and easygoing Slug Sage became serious. She looked up at the sky.
From a perspective the White Snake Sage couldn't see, the Slug Sage could sense a pure and endless stream of life energy pouring down from the heavens.
The sleeping Great Toad Sage was steadily becoming younger.
The other party's control over life force was even greater than her own…
No—that wasn't right. As the ultimate sage of life, it was impossible for anyone to surpass her.
What they surpassed was not control, but the sheer amount of power they could use.
"So, they've shown up? I knew it—they wouldn't die that easily."
The Slug Sage muttered. The White Snake Sage had no idea what she was talking about.
"Slug Sage… do you think Dragon God could still be brought back?"
The White Snake Sage suddenly asked. The recent chaos in the world had stirred something inside her—Ryuchi Cave also wanted a share of the action.
"Not likely. Dragon God was suppressed by the world's will for over a thousand years before truly dying.
The fact that Orochimaru managed to recreate Dragon God's power with his own methods—without even using your help—is already incredible."
The Slug Sage shook her head. Dragon God was truly dead, beyond saving.
But Rikudou Sennin? He hadn't died at all—which was absurd.
"There's nothing I can do. If Orochimaru tried to make contact, he'd probably be killed.
Who could've guessed that guy would actually pull something like this off?"
The White Snake Sage sighed. Don't be fooled by how vicious and ruthless Ryuchi Cave looked to outsiders—there were still a few people she doted on.
Orochimaru was clearly one of them, though their relationship was… a little complicated.
In Boruto's time, the sages of Ryuchi Cave showed Boruto and Mitsuki a level of affection that went far beyond the norm.
"But if the old toad doesn't wake up soon, we three sacred lands really won't be able to take action this time.
Why don't we go help Shanks instead?"
The White Snake Sage suddenly suggested.
The Slug Sage froze, a dark line appearing on her round forehead.
"Hahaha, I'm just joking.
Still, it's worth building a good relationship with Shanks. After all, that guy already has the qualifications to establish his own sacred land."
"Fortunately, Orochimaru and Shanks are allies for now."
The White Snake Sage smiled proudly. Since Orochimaru and Shanks were allies, Ryuchi Cave could also count that favor as partly theirs.
"Mm."
The Slug Sage nodded without saying more. She had too many plans in motion—better to keep them quiet for now.
Especially now that Rikudou Sennin had most likely appeared, meaning that the focus from here on would surely be on Mount Myoboku.
But where exactly was this life energy coming from?
The Slug Sage couldn't sense it at all, let alone track it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, an old man in a robe stared toward the horizon with an expression like he was badly constipated.
"That guy… is he really a descendant of Ashura? How could a monster like that even exist?"
"Still, with that kind of spirit… no wonder you're a descendant of me, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, haha!"
The sea breeze blew past, and the old man felt a chill below his waist. The bounty poster in his hand rustled in the wind.
"So this is… the Great Pirate Era?"
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