NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 183: Chapter 193
"Then there's no need for Naruto and me to go back," said Sasuke calmly.
"Yeah," Naruto nodded in agreement.
"???"
The Sage of Six Paths was stunned.
Wasn't this the part where your comrade Kitahara Kaede is entangled by an evil rabbit and you two rush back to help?
"But Kaede-kun is super strong," Naruto explained with innocent sincerity."If I went back… I wouldn't be much help."
"Same here," Sasuke added, though he clicked his tongue slightly. He still had to admit it.
"…" Hagoromo was silent.
"…I don't think you two understand."
"To seal the ninja rabbit requires a special method."
"And special power as well."
"Your friend Kitahara Kaede may be powerful, but his power system is different."
"However… inside your bodies…"
"…reside the chakras of my two sons."
"If I unlock and awaken those chakras and bestow upon you the Six Paths Power, then the two of you will be able to seal the ninja rabbit," said the Sage of Six Paths.
"…" Sasuke.
"…" Naruto.
"You're sure?" Sasuke asked, clearly surprised.
"Our bodies… really have that kind of chakra?" Naruto also asked.
"Yes," the Sage affirmed. "You were both chosen as inheritors of my sons' chakra."
"And…"
"You two are the ones destined to save the shinobi world."
At that moment, the Sage of Six Paths felt an odd pang in his heart—because he still felt like he was lying to kids.
But his time was running out…
So if Sasuke and Naruto truly cared about Kitahara Kaede, then for the sake of saving their comrade, they'd immediately set out to seal the ninja rabbit, wouldn't they?
"I see…"
"I knew I was talented," said Sasuke confidently.
"…"
"If it's for Kaede-kun… then…"
"I'm in too!" Naruto declared.
The two bumped fists.
"Oh great founder of the ninja world, Lord Sage of Six Paths…"
"Please awaken our powers."
"I may be weak now, but I want to protect Kaede-kun," said Naruto.
"I want more power too," Sasuke said. "I want to protect my comrades."
"..." The Sage of Six Paths.
At that moment, he was stunned that the two boys trusted him so easily.
No—
Or perhaps…
This is the power of inherited bloodline.
It wasn't just Asura—he hadn't expected even Sasuke, who carried Indra's chakra, to value his comrades so highly.
Which meant, maybe the last Indra heir, Uchiha Madara, was the anomaly.
And this generation's Sasuke… was the real deal?
And he… believed in Asura.
He believed in the power of love.
"Very well!"
The Sage of Six Paths spoke.
"Raise your hands, both of you."
"I'll need to remove the seal placed upon the chakra you've inherited."
"But don't forget—this power won't last forever, so…"
"Your first mission is to return to Konoha and seal the ninja rabbit beside Kitahara Kaede."
"Of course!"
"Not knowing would have made it harder. But now that we can protect him with our own hands, we…"
"We'll give it everything we've got!" Sasuke said firmly.
"Got it!"
The Sage of Six Paths was finally satisfied.
He raised both hands, pressing Sasuke's left hand and Naruto's right hand together with his palms.
In that instant—
Sasuke's eyes widened.
His Sharingan bled—and directly evolved from two-tomoe into a Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Ah…"
Naruto was shocked too.
Because his entire body began glowing gold.
"This is…"
"This is your chakra overflowing," the Sage explained. "That's Asura's chakra."
"This… is the power that belongs to both of you," he added.
At that moment, Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other.
The sky instantly turned black.
From the moment the Sage of Six Paths appeared before Sasuke and Naruto, the skies over the shinobi world had darkened.
Even in Mount Myōboku, the darkness descended.
"Is it nighttime?"
"No…"
"This is…" Sage Shima was stunned.
"Probably means the Sage of Six Paths has reached Sasuke and Naruto," said Fukasaku.
"…" Shima.
"Dear… what do you mean when you said you're saving Mount Myōboku?" Shima quickly shifted the conversation.
She'd already realized that her husband had been talking suspiciously to both the Great Toad Sage and the Sage of Six Paths.
"You still don't get it?"
Fukasaku turned, his frog eyes staring seriously at his wife.
Shima was taken aback.
"Your eyes…"
"Byakugan!"
Though surprised, she recognized it right away.
She knew the Hyuga clan of Konoha possessed the Byakugan—but now, Fukasaku's eyes had changed from toad's to white.
"No…"
"That's not Byakugan…"
"That's…" Shima realized something.
"It's brainwashing," said Fukasaku. "I've been brainwashed."
"The Ōtsutsuki Clan—they possess the true Byakugan."
"Their Byakugan is ranked above even the Rinnegan."
"And its first ability is… to brainwash those with weaker ocular ranks," he explained.
"…Don't tell me…" Shima could hardly believe it.
"Yes." Fukasaku nodded. "Back when I was summoned during that reverse summoning to bring back little Jiraiya… I accidentally summoned Kitahara Kaede."
"And he brainwashed me."
"..." Shima.
"...I don't understand."
"What's that got to do with him? Why was he the one summoned instead of little Jiraiya?" she asked, baffled.
"You still don't get it?"
Fukasaku continued, "The Great Toad Sage told Jiraiya to find the Child of Destiny, but then dismissed the one he found."
"So…"
"Eh, that's a story for another day."
"But…"
"What you need to understand now is—everything I'm doing is for Mount Myōboku."
"We were almost annihilated by Uchiha Madara, but thanks to the Great Toad Sage sending out the senjutsu sealing talismans, we survived."
"And now…"
"The Sage of Six Paths and the Great Toad Sage want to seal Kitahara Kaede's ninja rabbit."
"And Kitahara Kaede is even stronger than Madara."
"Next…"
"What do you think we can even offer this time?" Fukasaku asked.
"…So what you're saying is—" Shima started piecing it together. "Even if the Sage of Six Paths gives his soul power to Sasuke and Naruto to seal Kaede's rabbit…"
"You don't believe it'll succeed?"
"Because…"
"Sasuke and Naruto are Kaede's comrades—they might seal his rabbit, but they won't fight him."
"And after that…"
Shima Sage suddenly froze with dread.
"…Then we'll still have to face Uchiha Madara… and Kitahara Kaede."
To be continued…