Chapter 51 – Sage of Six Paths
After leveling Iwagakure to nothing but dust and debris, Hatake Kyūjō calmly sifted through the wreckage. Beneath the rubble, he found two bodies—both coated in mud, blood, and ash. But they were still alive.
The first was someone Kyūjō recognized from the original timeline—Rōshi, the Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails, still loyal to Tsuchikage Ōnoki at this point in history.
The other was the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails... but not the one Kyūjō remembered from the anime. That made sense—this version must be from an earlier era. In the main story, the Five-Tails' host was still a child around this time.
After briefly checking their conditions, Kyūjō cracked his knuckles.
Without hesitation, he struck Rōshi square in the forehead with a firm punch.
A bright red bump swelled immediately.
"Really? You're awake and still pretending to be unconscious?"
With an exasperated sigh, he slung both shinobi over his shoulders—one on each side—and leapt high into the sky, leaving the scorched ruins of Iwagakure behind.
— — —
Over the next few days, Kyūjō examined their bodies in detail. He wasn't after power—he was making preparations.
"Ugh..." he coughed lightly one evening.
The issue wasn't strength. It was survival.
In the original timeline, whenever a Tailed Beast was forcefully extracted from a host, the Jinchūriki died. And Kyūjō didn't want that outcome.
Not for Rōshi.
Not for the Five-Tails' host.
And certainly not for Uzumaki Kushina—the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, who still lived peacefully in Konoha.
If he extracted the Kyūbi from her body and she died... wouldn't that golden-haired Minato come hunting him down?
Fortunately, Kyūjō already had a solution.
The reason Jinchūriki died after losing their Tailed Beast was due to total chakra fusion. The host's chakra became too intertwined with the beast's. Removing the beast meant ripping out their life force.
But—there was a loophole.
If even a small portion of the Tailed Beast's chakra remained in the host's body, their lives could be spared.
Of course, executing such a delicate extraction was impossible for ordinary shinobi.
But Kyūjō? He wasn't ordinary.
Using surgical precision and chakra control far beyond what most could comprehend, he extracted the chakra of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, leaving behind just enough residual energy to keep both hosts alive.
He then sealed the bulk of the chakra into each of his arms using the Four Symbols Seal—the Four-Tails in his right, the Five-Tails in his left.
The seals were reinforced with pure Senjutsu Energy, forming near-absolute locks that prevented even a trace of leakage.
This had been his goal all along.
Truthfully, Kyūjō didn't care much for borrowed power. The Tailed Beasts were strong, sure—but they weren't his strength.
In his eyes, power that came from others would always be a shackle in disguise.
Let the Bijū have infinite chakra if they wanted—
Natural Energy was far purer and infinitely more versatile.
Someday, he would complete his dream: Breathing Technique v4.0, a perfect fusion of Haki, Senjutsu, and Soul Power—the ultimate state: Eternal Sage Mode.
Compared to that... even a hundred Tailed Beasts wouldn't matter.
— — —
A day later, with his flight speed now ten times faster than before, Kyūjō soared above the skies of Kumogakure.
That day, the skies over the Cloud Village were furious.
Thunder rumbled endlessly. Lightning streaked like divine punishment, crackling from dawn until dusk.
He descended like a storm god.
After pummeling every elite ninja in Kumogakure—including the Fourth Raikage, A—until their faces were so swollen they resembled wild boars, he casually flew away...
...with both Matatabi (Two-Tails) and Gyūki (Eight-Tails) sealed in hand.
Later, the survivors gathered in front of their bruised and bandaged leader.
The Fourth Raikage sat slumped, his head decorated with a ridiculous series of egg-sized lumps. They looked almost like a necklace made of meatballs.
"Raikage-sama!" one jonin pleaded. "Please... can you stop being so stubborn? Look at your head! Do you really want us to start electing the Fifth Raikage already?"
Even Killer Bee, now drained of his Eight-Tails chakra, stepped forward and gently nudged his brother:
"Aniki... that guy from Konoha isn't someone we can mess with. We're lucky he didn't decide to wipe us out."
"If he wanted to kill us... Kumogakure would be a memory by now."
"I've never met the so-called 'God of Shinobi,' Senju Hashirama, myself..."
"But the one who came today... he's on that level. No doubt."
"The heavens clearly aren't on our side, Aniki. Let's pull back. We don't have as many resources as Konoha, but we're not helpless either. It's time to stop bleeding for pride."
The Raikage fell silent for a long moment.
And then, with a deep sigh... he finally nodded.
But deep inside, he was screaming.
Konoha's luck is insane...
Sage of Six Paths... this is so unfair!
— — —
Meanwhile, in the realm of the dead—Yomi, the Spirit World—
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the original Sage of Six Paths, suddenly sneezed.
Twice. Loudly.
He jolted awake in his astral palace.
— — —
After leaving Kumogakure, Kyūjō didn't immediately exit the Land of Lightning.
He traveled for days, soaring through the skies nonstop. Not once did he eat a proper meal.
Instead, he sustained himself by absorbing electrons from the atmosphere using a special ability—converting raw lightning into bio-energy.
But now, he was in the Land of Lightning—heaven for someone like him.
No way he was passing up a good meal in a place like this.
Within an hour, Kyūjō arrived at the capital. After asking a few locals, he launched a full-scale culinary adventure.
For three days straight, he ate his way across the region. Only when he was fully satisfied did he move on.
He took a one-day sea voyage across the ocean... and finally arrived at the Land of Water, home of Kirigakure.
— — —
The moment he entered the Hidden Mist Village, Kyūjō was met with a scene that honestly made him want to laugh.
The gates were wide open.
Hundreds of Kirigakure shinobi knelt in two perfect rows along the path.
At the far end stood the Third Mizukage, head bowed respectfully, waiting to greet him in person.
Kyūjō scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"People say shinobi are rigid and stubborn... but Kirigakure sure knows how to read the room."
Well played.
In the original story, the Third Mizukage had barely any screen time. A minor figure, barely mentioned—rumored to have died young.
Looking at the calm, narrow-eyed man in front of him, Kyūjō couldn't help but ask:
"You're... the Third Mizukage, right? Info travels fast in your village, huh? Just a few days across the ocean and you already knew I was coming?"
The Mizukage smiled faintly.
"You're being too modest. It's not just Kirigakure—the entire shinobi world is talking about you."
"Rumors say... you're the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths—the true founder of shinobi. So it's only natural for us to welcome you as if greeting... one of our own ancestors."
Kyūjō blinked.
...So that's what people do when they can't win.
They just promote you to ancestor.
Man, this really does feel like a small, overly polite Japanese world.
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