Chapter 583: Sage of Six Paths: One, Two, Three, Four Ways to Become Stronger
Who was Kaguya Otsutsuki?
She was the woman who had betrayed Isshiki Otsutsuki, caught him completely off guard, and fed him to the Divine Tree, forcing him to desperately search for a way to survive.
The moment Kaguya was released, Isshiki's attention would undoubtedly lock onto her.
There was probably no one in existence who could draw more hatred from Isshiki than Kaguya.
Likewise, once Kaguya learned that Isshiki was still alive, she would inevitably try to kill him.
As long as Isshiki continued breathing, there was no way she could feel safe.
The two were absolute mortal enemies.
That was precisely why Kenichi had suggested releasing Kaguya to Hagoromo.
Isshiki was simply too powerful.
Even though Kenichi spent every day developing new ninjutsu and combat methods based on his current abilities, he still did not dare claim that he had a one hundred percent chance of killing Isshiki.
"This..."
Hagoromo hesitated.
"Let me think about it some more."
Then he looked at Kenichi.
"Is Isshiki really that powerful?"
Hagoromo understood what Kenichi was suggesting.
And precisely because he understood, the situation became even more troublesome.
If even Kenichi considered Isshiki such a dangerous opponent, would everything the Shinobi World had prepared truly be enough?
Could they actually defeat him?
Hagoromo did not know.
He could not be certain.
But he needed to prepare for the worst possible outcome.
If Kenichi truly failed to deal with Isshiki, then Hagoromo might genuinely need another contingency plan.
"All I can say is that I don't know how many trump cards he still has."
Kenichi shrugged.
During their previous confrontation, he had barely been able to do anything before being trapped by Isshiki's strange genjutsu for an extended period.
Although Kenichi eventually broke free, the time machine had sent him into this timeline immediately afterward.
Because of that, even Kenichi had no idea whether the strength Isshiki displayed back then represented his full power.
Battles between ninja were often battles of intelligence.
When two ninja of similar strength fought, victory frequently depended on who possessed more hidden cards and who could counter the other person's surprises more effectively.
It was almost like two people continuously exchanging and countering moves.
That was why Kenichi's most important objective right now was to uncover Isshiki's hidden abilities.
At the same time, Kenichi also needed to prepare trump cards of his own.
His personal strength and scientific research were one side of that preparation.
Kaguya was another.
Her combat power was still excellent.
If everything went badly, Kenichi could release her and let her serve as both the main tank and primary damage dealer against Isshiki.
Then, once her usefulness was exhausted, they could simply seal her again.
"I understand."
Hagoromo sighed.
He looked down at Konoha.
During their conversation, night had gradually fallen over the village.
Lights now filled the streets below, giving Konoha a lively and peaceful appearance.
Yet behind that peaceful scene, an enormous crisis capable of threatening the entire world was approaching.
Hagoromo had spent so much time plotting and preparing within the Pure Land precisely because of that possibility.
The gods of the Otsutsuki Clan had not yet descended.
But someday, they might.
Kenichi also looked down at Konoha.
Unlike Hagoromo, he was not particularly pessimistic.
The future of the Shinobi World might be uncertain and difficult to predict, but Kenichi was not completely without alternatives.
If everything truly went wrong...
He could simply run.
Leave the planet.
Escape somewhere else.
Then, while fleeing, continue researching and strengthening himself until he possessed enough power to launch a counterattack against the Otsutsuki Clan.
Of course, that approach was rather cowardly.
It would also be extremely troublesome.
Unless Kenichi was truly driven into a corner, he had no intention of choosing that route.
"Hagoromo."
Kenichi turned toward him.
"Do you have any new methods for becoming stronger?"
"You should understand as well as I do that, at our current level, we've almost reached a ceiling."
"If we want to go any higher..."
Kenichi deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
Since he and Hagoromo were currently cooperating, Kenichi thought this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the things that interested him.
Especially methods of advancing beyond their current level.
In terms of bloodline evolution, Kenichi had nearly reached the limits available to him.
To advance further, he might need to obtain Isshiki's genetic material and study what the genes of a true Main Branch Otsutsuki actually looked like.
But even if Kenichi successfully integrated more Otsutsuki genes, he might still eventually face the same problem as the rest of the clan.
He would need to plant a Divine Tree.
That was the Otsutsuki Clan's standard method of surpassing their limits.
Find a suitable planet.
Plant a Divine Tree.
Produce a chakra fruit.
Consume it.
Then undergo another transformation.
Unfortunately, Kenichi lacked the necessary resources.
He did not even know exactly how to plant a Divine Tree.
So using the Otsutsuki Clan's conventional advancement path was impossible for now.
That was why Kenichi wanted Hagoromo's opinion.
Perhaps if the two of them exchanged their research and experiences, they could discover some new direction.
"Why do you think I'd tell you?"
Hagoromo looked at Kenichi with a faint smile.
Naturally, he had also studied this problem while residing in the Pure Land.
Hagoromo understood perfectly well what kind of threats the Shinobi World might encounter in the future.
Because of that, he had spent a great deal of time researching ways to improve his own strength.
But none of those discoveries had come easily.
Hagoromo looked at Kenichi.
If Kenichi wanted those results, he would have to offer something in exchange.
Kenichi was not surprised.
He had already expected Hagoromo to demand some benefit.
"First, we're from different worlds."
Kenichi raised one finger.
"I'll return to my own timeline sooner or later."
"As soon as Isshiki is dealt with, I'm leaving."
"So even if you tell me, it won't affect this world."
Then Kenichi raised another finger.
"Second, I can offer you something in return."
He took out a storage scroll.
With a burst of smoke, a large bomb appeared.
A Fat Man.
Kenichi had personally manufactured it in this timeline.
After using the resources he had previously surveyed and then mobilizing the material and industrial capabilities of the Shinobi World, producing the world's first atomic bomb had not actually been very difficult.
He had also built the world's first hydrogen bomb.
But the hydrogen bomb was something Kenichi specifically intended to use against Isshiki.
He had no intention of casually showing that one to Hagoromo.
"What is this?"
Hagoromo stared at the atomic bomb in confusion.
He had never seen anything resembling it before.
Kenichi smiled.
Then he explained how the weapon worked and what kind of destructive power it possessed.
Hagoromo listened patiently.
By the time Kenichi finished, Hagoromo immediately expressed a desire to use it against Isshiki.
Kenichi naturally had no objection.
That had been one of his intended uses from the beginning.
He readily agreed.
Afterward, Kenichi even handed Hagoromo the method for manufacturing atomic bombs.
Hagoromo looked down at the information in his hands and pursed his lips.
He genuinely had not expected strength to be increased in this way.
For most of his existence, Hagoromo's research had focused almost entirely on chakra and ninjutsu.
Now Kenichi had shown him another path.
Technology.
If progress in ninjutsu became too slow, perhaps technological development could compensate.
Hagoromo had no reason to believe Kenichi was lying about the bomb's destructive power.
After all, they intended to use it against Isshiki.
A false claim would become obvious the moment the weapon was deployed.
From Hagoromo's perspective, the atomic bomb's destructive capability was already impressive.
Even better, it could be manufactured and stored for long periods.
Hagoromo was quite satisfied with the exchange.
"You already know that the Otsutsuki Clan is divided into different ranks."
Hagoromo finally began explaining.
"You can think of it in a way similar to the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch Family."
Kenichi listened carefully.
"The Otsutsuki must possess specialized advancement methods capable of leading their strongest members all the way toward the level they call gods."
"But those methods are controlled by the Main Branch."
Kenichi nodded.
That aligned almost perfectly with what he had already suspected.
The Otsutsuki Clan might appear overwhelmingly powerful from the outside, but ultimately, it was still a clan.
And its internal hierarchy seemed even more rigid than that of many shinobi clans.
Cases like Kaguya betraying and overthrowing her superior had probably been extremely rare.
That would explain why Isshiki had been so completely unprepared for her betrayal.
He likely had never imagined that a lower-ranked sacrifice would dare attack him.
"My mother did not know much about their highest advancement methods either."
Hagoromo continued.
"But there is one thing she knew for certain."
"Finding a suitable world and planting a Divine Tree is one of the advancement methods that members of the Main Branch must use."
Kenichi remained patient.
Again, this was almost exactly what he had expected.
Planting Divine Trees was clearly a major path of Otsutsuki evolution.
But carrying it out required several conditions.
First, one needed the ability to travel through space.
Without that, finding another habitable planet was already impossible.
Second, one needed an extremely long lifespan.
Otherwise, a person might simply die of old age while traveling through the vastness of space before ever finding a suitable world.
And finally...
One needed a Divine Tree seed or whatever biological material served that purpose.
Without the means to actually grow a Divine Tree, none of the other requirements mattered.
Those were precisely the reasons Kenichi had never seriously considered following that route.
He lacked too many necessary conditions.
So he needed another method of advancement.
"I've done some research of my own."
Hagoromo's tone became more serious.
"If I want to increase my strength further, I believe the simplest method is to improve several things."
"The power of my dojutsu."
"My control over attractive and repulsive forces."
"And my use of space-time."
"I've already developed a set of ninjutsu based on those directions."
Kenichi immediately focused.
Now they were finally reaching something useful.
He wanted to know how Hagoromo, after spending so many years conducting research, viewed the problem of strengthening himself beyond his current level.
Even if Kenichi did not directly copy his methods, Hagoromo's ideas could provide valuable inspiration.
For a while, Hagoromo explained his research.
Kenichi listened carefully.
Eventually, however, he noticed a limitation.
Hagoromo's thinking was still centered almost entirely on ninjutsu.
Nearly every method involved deeper applications of chakra.
That did not mean the research was useless.
Hagoromo had genuinely developed several impressive techniques.
But none of them represented a fundamental breakthrough capable of completely changing the future.
The progress was simply too slow.
One of the gravity-based techniques Hagoromo described had required three full years of repeated failures before finally succeeding.
Kenichi nearly felt speechless.
If he had three years available to devote to a single ninjutsu, he might as well continue researching the fundamental nature of time.
Still, several of Hagoromo's techniques were extremely valuable.
Kenichi memorized and incorporated the useful ones into his own arsenal.
When the time came to confront Isshiki, every additional technique increased his confidence.
"I have a few ideas of my own."
Kenichi's interest had also been stirred.
In terms of genetics, the current upper limit was probably Isshiki.
A true member of the Otsutsuki Main Branch.
But if Kenichi wanted to go even further than that...
He needed deeper knowledge.
Information belonging to the Otsutsuki Clan itself.
Kaguya probably did not possess enough of it.
Isshiki, however, might.
That meant there were two obvious options.
Capture Isshiki alive.
Or convince him to cooperate willingly.
Of course, having an equal conversation with Isshiki required a prerequisite.
Strength.
Enough strength that Isshiki could not simply ignore Kenichi.
Kenichi had already noticed that Isshiki was extraordinarily arrogant.
He looked down on everyone in the Shinobi World almost equally.
His gaze always carried the casual contempt of someone observing lower life forms.
If Kenichi wanted Isshiki to treat him differently, he would first need enough power to force that recognition.
Only then would negotiation on equal terms become possible.
Otherwise...
Kenichi would simply have to capture Isshiki and use ninjutsu to forcibly extract every useful piece of knowledge from his mind.
That would be extremely difficult.
But if it succeeded, the rewards would also be enormous.
...
"Naruto, look who's here to see you~"
When Naruto finally returned home exhausted from training, he immediately spotted Hinata sitting on the sofa and quietly drinking tea.
The moment Hinata saw him, her face turned bright red.
Naruto also froze.
Then he became visibly embarrassed.
Originally, Naruto had never thought about Hinata romantically.
He had simply considered her a friend.
For a time, he had vaguely liked Sakura.
But after Kenichi appeared, Naruto had gradually let go of that childish crush and focused almost entirely on becoming stronger.
After Hinata became his teammate, he naturally began paying slightly more attention to her.
But only slightly.
That changed after Minato and Kushina returned.
Especially because of Kushina.
Several things his mother said had finally caused even someone as dense as Naruto to slowly realize what Hinata actually felt for him.
And once Naruto understood...
He suddenly had no idea how to behave around her.
Looking at Hinata now made him embarrassed.
Hinata was already blushing.
Naruto's face soon followed.
"These two..."
Minato watched them from the side and sighed helplessly.
It seemed the time had finally come.
He needed to teach Naruto a few techniques for talking to girls.
....
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