Chapter 322 — "The Sage of Six Paths Is an Ōtsutsuki Too? How Are You Any Different From the Others?"
"Did I… die?"
Bathed in the Sage of Six Paths' chakra, Naruto slowly opened his eyes.
But something felt wrong.
He remembered clearly—
his Kurama chakra avatar had been shattered by Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's attack,
and a golden blade had pierced straight through his own body.
By any logic…
He shouldn't be alive.
"Damn it… I died this early?!"
Naruto grabbed his head in despair.
"I haven't even become Hokage yet!
Dad and Mom are gonna be so disappointed…"
But then a new thought struck him.
"Wait—no, that's not right!
Someone could just use Edo Tensei and—
Hurry up and revive me already! Damn it!"
"Will you shut up?!"
Sasuke's voice suddenly snapped beside him.
"Eh?"
Naruto blinked.
He turned—and froze again.
"Sasuke! You died too?!
No way… what a pain—"
"Would you PLEASE shut your mouth?!"
Sasuke finally exploded, veins twitching on his forehead.
"Look around you!
This situation is not normal!"
"Huh?"
Still confused, Naruto looked around—
And instantly stiffened.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of familiar figures stood around them, all looking confused.
"Pervy Sage… Kakashi-sensei… Granny Tsunade…?"
He looked up—
And saw even more souls suspended in the space above.
"Second Hokage… Dad?!"
"Naruto! Sasuke!"
Minato's eyes widened in disbelief.
Tobirama looked equally stunned.
"Big Brother, you…"
"I don't get it… didn't I die already?"
Hashirama scratched his head, staring at the scene around him.
Then something else occurred to him.
"Huh? Where's Madara?"
"That bastard probably isn't dead yet," Tobirama muttered with irritation.
From the looks of things, they were all definitely dead.
"That so? Well, that's good."
Hashirama sighed in relief.
"As long as he's alive, we're fine.
He was becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki so—"
"Whatever you think death is, according to my definition…
you lot aren't quite dead yet."
A calm, gentle voice cut him off.
It flowed through every mind present—
and all heads turned upward.
Through layers of overlapping souls, everyone saw him:
A bearded elder floating in the air, cross-legged in meditation.
Faces went blank.
Wrinkled skin.
Rinnegan eyes with ripple-like rings.
Two horns atop his forehead.
A third eye faintly embedded between his brows.
Black truth-seeking orbs circled behind him,
a long beard hung to his waist,
and a black shakujo staff leaned at his side.
He radiated a pressure unlike anything human.
Naruto squinted.
"Uh… another super-serious, stiff-looking old guy?"
Sasuke frowned as well.
"Why does he feel… strangely familiar?"
Hashirama stroked his chin.
He felt no malice from the elder—
nor did most of the ninja.
But of course…
There were exceptions.
Tobirama's pupils shrank.
"This is…"
The next second, his face twisted into fury.
"EVERYONE BE CAREFUL—HE'S AN ŌTSUTSUKI!"
Sage of Six Paths: "…"
"!!!"
That one sentence shattered the silence.
And suddenly everything clicked—
The horns.
The Rinnegan.
The truth-seeking orbs.
This old man looked exactly like the others from that clan.
"Another Ōtsutsuki?!"
Deidara practically squealed—
half terrified, half thrilled.
Jiraiya immediately shouted:
"Prepare for battle!"
His hands flew through seals.
The two elder toads on his shoulders instantly understood and synchronized with him.
Sage of Six Paths: "…"
He was stunned.
What was happening?
He hadn't said anything, hadn't even moved, and they were ready to jump him?!
"I—"
He tried to speak,
but a plume of smoke erupted before he could finish.
BOOM!
Huge toads materialized all across the field.
The Sage stared wordlessly.
For a moment he seriously wondered…
…should I just go back home?
Then—
"Huh?"
Amid the smoke, a familiar presence reached him.
His old comrade—
a presence he hadn't felt for a thousand years.
Sure enough, when Gamamaru appeared, the giant toad froze.
He looked up, his ancient eyes widening.
"…Hagoromo?
What are you doing here?"
"I—"
Hagoromo opened his mouth.
But Gamamaru suddenly understood.
"I see…
Things must be dire indeed, if even you were forced to awaken."
"…Long time no see, Gamamaru."
The Sage sighed helplessly.
And everyone else—
stood completely dumbstruck.
Even the toads themselves stared in disbelief.
Gamamaru.
The Great Toad Sage.
This floating old man…
not only knew his true name—
but spoke it like an old friend.
The battlefield fell silent.
"How… how does he know the Great Toad Sage's real name…?"
"Isn't Gamamaru summoned by Lord Jiraiya—?"
Confusion washed over the crowd like a tide.
On the Allied Shinobi Forces' side, whispers of doubt spread like wildfire.
Even Jiraiya looked utterly baffled.
He stared at the Great Toad Sage, his expression silently begging for an explanation.
And finally—
"Uh… who are you, old man?"
Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Well… my name, huh? That's a good question."
The Sage of Six Paths—Hagoromo—actually felt relieved that Naruto had asked.
If this misunderstanding dragged on any longer, who knew what chaos would follow?
"I'm not sure whether the name passed down today matches my original one.
It's been far too long.
But you may call me Hagoromo. As for the rest—"
"Hagoromo, you're still so modest."
Before he could finish, Gamamaru let out a low chuckle.
"You should tell them your other identity."
"—!"
A spike of dread ran through Hagoromo.
He tried to stop him, but it was far too late.
"This man is the one written of in legend—
the one who shaped the shinobi world itself…
the Sage of Six Paths."
"WHAT?!"
Disbelief washed over the entire Allied Forces.
And beneath that shock—
a deep, creeping fear.
This was the Sage of Six Paths?
The one who created the shinobi system that plunged the world into a thousand years of bloodshed?
The one who built the Pure Land that could drag souls back to fight even in death?
The true mastermind behind the entire shinobi world?
"Th-the Sage of Six Paths…"
Naruto gulped.
Sasuke instinctively took a step back.
Even Hashirama sucked in a breath—
never imagining that the kindly looking old man floating above them
was actually the architect behind so many of the world's tragedies.
"The Sage of Six Paths…"
Tobirama's expression darkened.
He suddenly shouted:
"If you're the Sage of Six Paths, then why do you look EXACTLY like the other Ōtsutsuki?
What ARE you?!"
"Because—"
Hagoromo tried to explain,
but Gamamaru sighed again.
"His full name…
is Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo."
"…"
A chill swept through the Allied Forces.
How many secrets had been buried in this world?
Why was the fabled savior of humanity…
yet another true Ōtsutsuki?
What was this world even?!
Hagoromo clenched his fists in silent agony.
At this point, he genuinely regretted showing himself.
"Seeking revenge on me?"
While the entire world reeled from Hagoromo's identity,
Gen (Genshiki) floated above, arms crossed, staring down at Madara with an amused smile.
"Don't overestimate yourself, Madara.
I told you before—boasting only exposes your weakness.
And you are no exception."
"I am NOT the same as before!"
Madara roared.
Chakra surged from him like a raging storm—
the overwhelming power of a Ten-Tails jinchūriki.
"With the Sage's power flowing in me,
you really think you can still play with me like before?!"
"Oh?"
Gen tilted his head slightly.
Then his gaze sharpened, his voice softening to a whisper:
"And what part of you…
is different from before?"
Before the question even finished, Gen's chakra erupted.
It was colossal.
Terrifying.
So overwhelming that even Six Paths Madara felt his breath hitch.
He couldn't breathe.
FWIP—
In the blink of an eye, Gen vanished.
And reappeared directly in front of Madara.
The golden blade in his hand gleamed—
And fell.
"Too fast—!"
Madara hadn't even raised a defense.
He didn't even have time to activate Limbo.
But his instincts screamed—MOVE!
He twisted his body desperately, throwing both arms up to protect himself—
SHLICK—
A clean slash.
His entire arm was severed.
"Gh—damn it—!"
Madara burst forth with chakra, retreating as fast as he could.
But Gen's voice floated lazily after him—
"So tell me—
what exactly makes you different now?"
"A friendly reminder:
Distance only matters when two fighters are on equal footing."
Gen smiled.
"Between you and me…
distance is meaningless."