Chapter 394: Humanity Will Enjoy the Victory, or Swallow the Bitter Fruit Alone
"Does this world have a single damn thing to do with people like you anymore?"
Dana spoke with a cold, detached indifference.
At this moment, he was the Leader of the Alliance, the Consul, and the most powerful man in the entire ninja world. His expression was not that of a mortal facing the legendary Sage of Six Paths, but that of a ruler facing a redundant rebel who had overstayed his welcome.
"For centuries, the ninja world was locked in ceaseless war. The dead were beyond counting, and the average lifespan was less than thirty years. Where were you then?"
"Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha established the hidden villages, making the world even more treacherous. Where were you then?"
"Countless orphans starved in the streets while families were displaced by the fires of war. Where were you then?"
"There are eight hundred million people in this world, and six hundred million of them live under the Federation's rule. While we reform agriculture, increase yields, liberate labor, and fill every hungry stomach... what part did you play in that?"
"The Federation has finally secured a chance for a unified world. The Six Great Villages are working as one, and every shinobi on the continent is united in a single purpose. Where do you fit into that?"
Dana leaned forward, his aura intensifying. "War or prosperity, these are the affairs of humanity—the affairs of the living. We will struggle, we will suffer, and we will either enjoy the fruits of our victory or swallow the bitter dregs of our failure by our own hands. If you think being called a 'Sage' gives you the right to look down and lecture humanity on how to exist, then I'll tell you plainly: your wisdom is insufficient, and your strength is no longer enough to command us."
"If you wish to offer counsel to the world, then come to the living realm. Do the work of a man, not the work of a 'God,' just as Tobirama Senju is doing. But if you insist on playing the 'God,' keeping your hands clean while trying to pull the strings... then the Federation won't mind marking you as another enemy, whether you're a Sage or a Deity."
Despite the fact that the Sage of Six Paths was levitating, Dana's massive, imposing frame made it feel as though he was looking down on him. He had lost all interest in politely listening to the old man's ruminations.
Hagoromo looked at him. "And what about you? Will you become a 'Sage'? Or a 'God'?"
"Why? Is there only room for one?" Dana countered.
"No... but if you become a 'God,' will you not simply be commanding the world according to your own whims as well?"
Dana pointed a finger at the Sage. "I'll tell you the difference. The difference is that I work fourteen hours a day. I inspect the Federation's territories four times a year. I make time to cultivate my strength, to sleep, to raise my children, and to be with my wives. I have so many subordinates I can't remember all their names, and I have to stand at ceremonies smiling for an hour until my face goes stiff. And you? In a thousand years, you haven't saved a single soul, produced a single grain of rice, or stopped a single war. Yet you have the nerve to come here and preach your 'concerns' for the world to me."
Hagoromo's face remained a mask of solemnity, but he fell into a long, heavy silence.
Dana crossed his arms. "Sage of Six Paths... if you truly wish to contribute to this world, the Federation can grant you the status of a shinobi. But if you truly wish to 'guide' us from on high... then the Federation can grant you the status of an enemy."
"Regarding Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Federation already has a contingency plan. In fact, we will have that settled within ten years. Will you choose to be the next threat to the world after her?"
The calm, infinite surface of the water in the mental space suddenly rippled.
Like a single drop falling into a silent lake.
The conversation that no soul would ever know ended.
The result remained a mystery.
Inside the Administrative Headquarters, the staff seemed completely unaware that their Consul had just spent thirty minutes in another dimension.
When Dana opened his eyes, he felt no urge to reprimand them. The Sage's abilities were too esoteric; even with the countless seals and barriers protecting the top of the Cloud Spire, there had been no detection. No alarm had sounded.
Regardless of how the talk went, the sensation of being snatched from his own base into a foreign space was not pleasant.
As the Sage had said, it had nothing to do with raw combat power, but the unique properties of the Power of All Creation.
Dana believed the Sage's claim that Dana's current combat strength was close to his own prime. Cultivating his body in forty times gravity was no joke—would Six Paths Madara even dare to take one of Dana's kicks head-on?
Coupled with the Eight Inner Gates, the Yin Seal, and his other trump cards...
He hadn't even reached his limit yet. He was simply too busy to dedicate 100% of his energy to personal power. He lacked a certain sense of urgency, subconsciously feeling that the true "endgame" crises were still over a decade away.
In a straight brawl, it was one thing. But in terms of esoteric miracles and utility, he was still leagues behind the Sage. For instance, Dana couldn't pull people into mental dimensions or seal them into a moon to launch them into space.
Their paths were different. Even if Dana pushed his physical training to four hundred times gravity and could shatter the moon with a punch, he still wouldn't have those specific "hacks" unless he tried to branch out.
Unless... I try to pursue both paths? Maybe use the Gedo Mazo?
He shook the thought away. He was the Consul; he had the entire Federation as his backer. He had too many options. When he set a goal to increase his strength, the entire world would pave the way for him.
Thinking for a moment, Dana spoke into his Communication Snail. "Notify Yoshitoki: I want him at the Cloud Spire tomorrow."
"By your command, Consul-sama."
After giving the order, Dana lost his motivation for paperwork for the night. The new results from the "Heavenly Palace" and "Root Source" projects were complementary. With a brand-new energy source, the Floating Fortress Islands could perform even better. The original plan relied on stacking Bionic Metal—effectively using batteries—which was cumbersome and expensive to maintain. With this new energy, the islands would be self-sufficient.
However, the real value of the new energy was in the civilian sector. The Federation had gathered all nine Tailed Beasts, but only three were without Jinchuriki and could be used as pure power plants. For the sake of human rights and social stability, Dana refused to extract the other six.
Bionic Metal required a Jonin-level ninja to manually inject chakra at a very low efficiency—it was basically a manual charger. This meant the civilian rollout was limited by the number of Tailed Beast energy cores. In underdeveloped or remote areas, "Chakra Tech" was inconvenient and expensive because energy transmission via "cables" or transporting "batteries" was a logistical nightmare.
But that was about to change. The energy source derived from White Zetsu biomass, the counterpart to Bionic Metal, was named "Bionic Energy."
Bionic Energy would soon be rolled out to all 63 Federation cities and down to the rural towns. The promotion of Chakra Technology was about to experience a massive explosion.
Word was that Orochimaru had played a significant role in the first project group's success, allowing Bionic Energy to be brought to light so quickly.
The ninja world has so many extraordinary talents, Dana thought. With all of them serving under the Federation, it's impossible not to soar.