Chapter 393: I Suggest You Stop Suggesting
The Sage of Six Paths closed his eyes, drifting into deep thought.
"The fate of the entire world resting upon one man..."
This was a perspective he hadn't considered. Honestly, as a man of the ancient past, though Hagoromo had watched over the ninja world in his own way, his core values hadn't changed in a thousand years. His concerns were always focused on two points: the peace of the world and the fear of his mother breaking her seal.
Furthermore, for nearly a millennium, the world had barely changed. It was a stagnant cycle of killing and hatred. Then, in the last ten years, it felt as though the world had evolved more than it had in the previous thousand—moving at a speed Hagoromo couldn't begin to comprehend.
It was this realization that forced him to break his own self-imposed rules and send his sons back to observe.
"Resting the world on one man is indeed dangerous," Hagoromo said slowly. "But from Indra's memories, this Yotsuki Dana does not appear to be a villain. His actions suggest he genuinely cares for the common people..."
The Great Toad Sage's expression remained a mask of stone—it was hard to read a toad's face, after all.
"That is because he is only in his twenties," Gamamaru replied. "To a favorite of Natural Energy who could live for a thousand years, twenty years isn't even a starting line. If he were like the Three Great Sage Regions—living in isolation and tending to his own kind—it would be nothing. But he has gathered the combined might of the entire world. In a thousand years, do you truly believe he will never make a mistake?"
Hagoromo followed Gamamaru's logic. The thought of a single man holding absolute power over the world for a millennium was... suffocating.
He let out a heavy sigh. "But ultimately, this is an affair of the living, Gamamaru. To maintain the barrier of the Pure Land, I have very little power left. If nothing changes, my consciousness will likely blur and fade into nothingness within twenty years."
He was different from his sons. Ashura and Indra had been powerful in life, and in death, their chakra remained entangled, making their reincarnations feel like they were merely punching a time clock. Hagoromo had been far stronger, but to create a fail-safe against his mother and the enemies she feared, he had used his own chakra to sustain the Pure Land. A thousand years of exposure to the aura of the dead had eroded his consciousness.
He had a premonition that he would eventually become a mere symbol—a set of rules with no self-awareness, merged with the afterlife. He didn't have a thousand years to wait and see if Yotsuki Dana would lead the world to ruin.
The Great Toad Sage looked at him, his face devoid of emotion. "You still possess the supreme Yin and Yang Powers. Ashura and Indra carry portions of them as well. That power, at least for now, is enough to pose a threat to Yotsuki Dana..."
A spark of anger flared in Hagoromo's deep voice. "Gamamaru! Do you wish for me to defeat him with force?"
They were discussing peace, yet the conversation had shifted toward a military solution. Wasn't that a complete contradiction? Besides, Dana hadn't committed a crime; he had simply gained power through the natural development of the living world. The Yin and Yang powers were meant for his mother or other Otsutsuki threats.
"Not to defeat him," Gamamaru corrected. "But to provide a check. The blue-eyed boy and the Child of Prophecy may be one person or two. When they appear, I will guide them to become the saviors who bring peace. With the power you bestow upon them, there will at least be a second voice in the ninja world."
This explanation was easier for Hagoromo to swallow.
"But Dana has a thousand-year lifespan. Even the blue-eyed boy might not live long enough to see that day."
"No matter," Gamamaru said slowly. "If the time does not come, you can entrust the Yin and Yang powers to me for safekeeping."
Hagoromo's solemn face gave nothing away. Perhaps Gamamaru was right. If his fail-safe wasn't used within thirty years, it would become meaningless once his consciousness merged with the Pure Land. Entrusting it to the toad was an option.
"Perhaps you are right, Gamamaru... but I still have doubts."
His doubts weren't about the Federation; Indra's memories had given him a profound understanding of how it functioned. His doubt was about Yotsuki Dana the man.
"I need to see him with my own eyes."
Hagoromo sat in a meditative pose, and the Power of All Creation within him began to soar toward the heavens.
Cloud City.
It was deep into the night, yet the "City that Never Sleeps" was as vibrant as high noon. For many, the night was just the beginning of the day.
For Consul Yotsuki Dana, however, the night was the second half of a grueling shift.
The Federation's workload had spiked again. Not only had the "Heavenly Palace" Project reached a milestone, but Yoshitoki's "Root Source" Project was also showing progress.
The Root Source Project was the study of the essence of chakra itself. While "Heavenly Palace" was a step-by-step advancement in technology, "Root Source" was divided into three parallel research tracks.
Group 1: Energy. Finding a superior solution for chakra power. Tailed Beasts were finite—there were only nine. Although the Federation had them all, most were inside Jinchuriki. For the sake of social stability and basic human rights, Dana refused to simply extract them. Group 1 was currently researching chakra extraction based on Edo Tensei as a replacement. While the energy peak couldn't match a Tailed Beast, the reanimation jutsu shared the ability to draw infinite chakra from the world.
Group 2: Spirit Rice. Improving the yield and effects of Spirit Rice, investigating its internal principles, and seeking other applications. Spirit Rice had reached its eightieth generation and hit a bottleneck, but lateral development had produced chakra-infused nuts. While not as potent as the rice, it proved the path was viable. Dana's ultimate ambition? Perhaps in a few centuries, humans could grow their own God Tree.
Group 3: Chakra Attributes. Investigating the microscopic nature of nature transformations and the secrets of Yin and Yang Release. This was the hardest group, focusing on fundamental science. Ninjas had used chakra for a millennium, but few could explain what it actually was.
Recently, Group 1 had a breakthrough. They had completed a power supply scheme based on a modified Edo Tensei. It wasn't the crude method of stuffing dead people into cages to drain them—Dana had forbidden that. Instead, they used White Zetsu flesh. By using a cubic meter of Zetsu biomass—roughly a ton—and subjecting it to a specific Edo Tensei conversion, they could create a stable, permanent chakra battery.
Its output was lower than a Tailed Beast but far higher than an ordinary ninja. Like an Edo Tensei summon, it could endlessly replenish itself from the environment. For civilian use, this solved the Federation's "energy node" problem, moving them away from total reliance on physical cables and manual battery swapping. It would also massively boost the capabilities of the Floating Fortress Islands.
Just as Dana was about to cross-reference the research results from both sides, his consciousness suddenly blurred.
The scenery shifted instantly. He was no longer in his office but standing on a surface of water that stretched to the horizon. The sky was white, the water was white, and the entire space was blindingly bright.
"Genjutsu?"
Dana was intrigued. Someone actually managed to catch him in a Genjutsu at the top of the Cloud Spire? He felt he could break out at any moment—his massive chakra and tempered body meant he could shatter the illusion with a thought.
But he didn't. He was curious to see who could pull him into such a space.
"Do not struggle..."
An entity with two horns appeared in the vast white void, sitting cross-legged in mid-air.
Dana's lips curled into a smirk. As I thought.
"I am—"
Dana cut him off. "The Sage of Six Paths."
Hagoromo was silent for a moment. "...Yes. You do not seem surprised?"
"No, I'm quite surprised. I didn't think a man dead for a thousand years still had the power to drag me into a place like this. Is my strength still not up to par?"
Hagoromo paused. "No... in terms of combat capability, you are already close to what I was in my prime. I brought you here using the Power of All Creation. It is not a matter of raw strength, but the unique properties of the power itself. In truth, you could break free whenever you wish."
Dana nodded. "I see. So, Sage of Six Paths, why have you sought me out uninvited?"
"For a thousand years, I have watched the ninja world from the shadows," Hagoromo began. "Under your lead, the world has undergone a staggering transformation. I have watched for a millennium, and my only wish has been the peace of this world."
"However, in the last decade, the pace of change has accelerated beyond my expectations. I have questions, and I have come to ask the man leading this era—you."
Hagoromo was remarkably open, recounting his conversation with Gamamaru and the differing views of his two sons. Perhaps due to his status, he spoke with a slow, rhythmic cadence.
Dana listened intently, a faint smile on his face, never interrupting.
After thirty minutes, Hagoromo finished his explanation. "Yotsuki Dana, I fear the consequences of the entire world being tied to one man. It is dangerous. If one day you should stumble, the entire world and all its people will..."
"Wait a second..."
Dana raised a hand, cutting off the Sage's rhythmic voice.
"I have a suggestion."
"....What?"
The smile vanished from Dana's face. An icy, cold indifference replaced it.
"I suggest that you and your family find your way to the afterlife and stay there. Stop meddling in the affairs of the living. I suggest your two sons stop their endless cycle of reincarnation—if they have a score to settle, they can fight it out in the Pure Land. And that overgrown toad? Tell him to keep his mouth shut."
Dana leaned in, his gaze piercing.
"Does this world have a single damn thing to do with people like you anymore?"