Chapter 594: Yes, I Want to Be the Sage of Six Paths' Stepfather
"Sakura Haruno has been found."
Minato quickly located Sakura's records once Kenichi gave him the name.
"She graduated in the same class as Naruto and Sasuke. She's already a Chunin after passing the Chunin Exams, and she's currently training with Konoha's medical ninja unit."
Kenichi was slightly surprised.
Even though Sakura had never joined Team 7 alongside Naruto and Sasuke in this timeline, she had somehow still ended up becoming a medical ninja.
That was genuinely unexpected.
"Did she become very strong in the future?"
Minato asked curiously.
Kenichi nodded.
Just as Minato had said earlier, Sakura could already be considered a genius among ordinary people.
In the future, she would eventually reach a level comparable to Tsunade.
Of course, against someone like Isshiki, her performance probably would not amount to much.
But if Sakura could begin learning directly from Tsunade now, then developing her as a high-level medical ninja would still be an excellent choice.
Kenichi explained his thoughts to Minato.
Minato readily agreed.
"I'll arrange an introduction later."
He put Sakura's file aside.
"If Lady Tsunade is willing to take her as a student, that should be the best path for her."
Kenichi nodded.
After learning that Sakura had ultimately drifted back toward roughly the same path despite his interference, his curiosity faded somewhat.
He had wondered how drastically her future might change.
But apparently, the deviation was not that large.
Now the more interesting question was...
Who would Sasuke end up with in the future?
His circumstances had already changed dramatically.
The Uchiha Clan had been destroyed, but Fugaku and Mikoto had returned.
Itachi's misunderstanding with Sasuke had also largely been resolved.
So the future Sasuke probably would not become the same bitter, emotionally isolated person from the original story.
Thinking about the Sasuke from his own world, Kenichi suspected this version might eventually become a little more cheerful.
Of course...
That assumed they actually had a future.
Only a year and a half remained before their planned confrontation with Isshiki.
Once that time arrived, the entire Shinobi World would face disaster.
The weaker ninja would not be expected to participate directly.
But if Kenichi and the others lost...
Those weaker people probably would not survive for very long either.
After all, no one knew exactly what Isshiki would do once all resistance was gone.
"What a pain."
Kenichi sat atop the Hokage Rock and looked down at Konoha.
Dealing with Isshiki was not going to be simple.
Their greatest advantage was that they knew about him, while Isshiki still believed he was hidden.
If the Otsutsuki side failed to notice anything unusual before the battle began, then Isshiki would suffer badly from the opening ambush.
Kenichi intended to begin by hitting him with a hydrogen bomb.
The blast should force Isshiki to reveal more of his current condition.
After that, the other fighters could be sent in to probe his abilities, gather intelligence, and expose whatever hidden trump cards he possessed.
That would create a much safer foundation for Kenichi's own confrontation with him.
"You don't seem particularly confident."
Hagoromo suddenly appeared beside him.
The Sage of Six Paths sat down and also looked over Konoha.
His expression was calm.
Almost indifferent.
But Kenichi noticed the slight trembling in Hagoromo's hand.
Clearly, he was nowhere near as calm internally as he appeared.
"It's not quite that bad."
Kenichi shook his head.
"Isshiki might still be slightly stronger than I am right now, but the difference shouldn't be enormous."
Isshiki had been severely injured, after all.
He had remained hidden for many years and recovered somewhat, but he was clearly still far from his original peak.
Against an Otsutsuki in that condition, Kenichi believed that as long as he successfully awakened the Tenseigan, dealing with Isshiki would become much easier.
And this time, they had prepared far too many contingency plans.
If all of that still failed...
Kenichi felt he might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head into it.
So what truly worried him was not Isshiki.
It was the future.
The gods of the Otsutsuki Clan who had not yet appeared.
Those unknown beings were the real problem.
Only after eliminating them could Kenichi completely relax.
Without the Otsutsuki Clan looming over everything, Kenichi could confidently say that he had already reached the point of being practically invincible in this world.
Anyone else could be crushed however he pleased.
"I heard you talking about the Otsutsuki Clan."
A third voice suddenly joined them.
"They're really that strong?"
Madara had somehow arrived without either of them paying much attention.
He sat beside Kenichi, his brows tightly furrowed.
Madara had not been in a particularly good mood lately.
Originally, he had believed himself to be invincible.
Then, after being resurrected, he learned that his entire grand plan had effectively been manipulated by someone else.
For someone as proud as Madara, that alone had been a tremendous blow.
Then things became worse.
The Rinnegan that Madara had once believed represented the absolute pinnacle of power turned out to be little more than an entry point compared with the Otsutsuki Clan.
With Madara's current strength, he might barely qualify as something equivalent to a Branch Family member.
Perhaps not even that.
How could someone as arrogant as Madara accept such a thing?
He could not.
"They're extremely strong."
Kenichi answered helplessly.
"My current strength is probably around the level of the severely injured Isshiki."
"So imagine how strong he would be at his peak."
Madara fell silent.
He had personally experienced Kenichi's strength.
So he understood very clearly what that comparison meant.
If Kenichi, as he was now, was only comparable to a crippled Isshiki...
Then the full Otsutsuki Clan was absurd.
Madara suddenly felt that everything they had once fought over in this tiny world was ridiculous.
They had slaughtered each other.
Schemed endlessly.
Calculated against enemies and allies.
In the end, from the perspective of truly powerful beings, perhaps all of them had simply been pieces on a board.
Toys that could be manipulated at will.
The realization irritated Madara.
Then, slowly, another emotion rose within him.
Defiance.
If Kenichi could become this powerful...
Then there was no reason Madara could not do the same.
He would become stronger.
He would push his strength even further.
Reach the level of the Otsutsuki.
Then surpass them.
Only that would be worthy of the name Uchiha Madara.
"Hmph."
Madara folded his arms.
"So what if they're strong?"
"They were simply born at what we currently consider the finish line."
"I'll turn that finish line into my starting point."
Kenichi and Hagoromo both glanced at him.
Their expressions were difficult to read.
A faint trace of pride appeared in Hagoromo's eyes.
After all, Madara was Indra's reincarnation.
Kenichi, however, felt somewhat helpless.
Madara probably did not yet understand just how absurd the strongest Otsutsuki could actually be.
Thinking about it, Kenichi took out a specially sealed jar.
Inside floated a faint wisp of Kaguya's consciousness.
To prevent the fragment from coming into contact with chakra and causing an unexpected reaction, Kenichi had stored it inside a specially isolated container.
"Kaguya."
Kenichi looked at the jar.
"How much do you actually know about the Otsutsuki Clan?"
Hagoromo remained silent.
Given Kenichi's current power, he had the right to speak to Kaguya in such a casual manner.
If an ordinary shinobi tried doing the same thing, Hagoromo probably would have slapped them away immediately.
Strength determined whether familiarity sounded natural or arrogant.
At a major business gathering, someone of equal status might casually address a famous tycoon by a nickname.
But if the owner of some tiny company tried doing the same thing without the necessary standing, it would simply look ridiculous.
"The Otsutsuki Clan?"
Kaguya's voice emerged from the container with clear disgust.
"Hmph."
"They're a family of madmen."
"Everything within the clan is decided by strength."
"The Main Family possesses purer bloodlines and stronger power."
"As for Branch Family members like us, even the most talented among us may ultimately be used as sacrifices for the Divine Tree."
Hatred was obvious in her voice.
Kenichi nodded.
That was almost exactly what he had expected.
In a sense, the Otsutsuki Clan resembled an exaggerated version of the Hyuga Clan.
Main Family.
Branch Family.
Rigid hierarchy.
Only the Otsutsuki were vastly stronger and possessed actual methods to continue evolving beyond ordinary limits.
Still, Kaguya's explanation made Kenichi think of something else.
A horrifying possibility.
If Boruto continued long enough...
Would the story eventually reveal that the Otsutsuki Clan was merely one powerful family inside some enormous interstellar ninja village?
Then perhaps there would be even stronger ninja above them.
Maybe the strongest Otsutsuki were only equivalent to jonin by the standards of that greater civilization.
Then the protagonist would be told:
[The Otsutsuki Clan is only one family within a far greater shinobi civilization. There are far stronger beings beyond them. Even the strongest Otsutsuki merely stand at the jonin level there. Protagonist, you still need to become stronger. Prevention is better than cure.]
Kenichi's mouth twitched at the thought.
If that happened, the escalation would never end.
As long as Naruto still had readers, the story could simply continue adding stronger generations forever.
"However..."
Kaguya continued.
"The truly powerful members of the clan are terrifying."
"Someone at my level, back within the clan, could be captured and imprisoned almost casually."
A trace of fear entered her voice.
Kenichi immediately understood.
That fear was probably one of the main reasons Kaguya had become so desperate to create the White Zetsu army.
"If someone as strong as you could be treated like ordinary property..."
Kenichi sighed.
"Then those White Zetsu you created would probably be nothing more than dust."
"A sufficiently strong enemy could wipe them away with a breath."
White Zetsu appeared impressive when compared with ordinary shinobi.
Some of them were even reasonably strong.
But compared with Kaguya...
There was no comparison.
Kaguya herself could change dimensions with a thought.
Against her, White Zetsu were almost meaningless.
Yet Kaguya, despite possessing that much power, still regarded herself as insignificant before the strongest members of her clan.
The difference in scale was simply absurd.
The power system had practically collapsed under its own escalation.
"Hmph."
Kaguya's voice became noticeably less confident.
"It was still better than doing nothing."
She had learned more about the current Shinobi World during the time Kenichi kept her consciousness fragment with him.
Originally, Kaguya had viewed humans as ants.
Completely useless.
But the modern Shinobi World was different from the civilization she remembered.
Some ninja were still weak.
But several had reached levels she could at least acknowledge.
Kenichi.
Madara.
The various Kage.
Compared with the White Zetsu army she had originally planned to create, these people were unquestionably superior combat assets.
Of course, Kaguya also understood one major problem.
If she wanted to be fully revived, she would inevitably come into conflict with the people of this world.
She still needed enormous amounts of chakra.
Kenichi rested his chin on one hand.
Then he sealed Kaguya's consciousness away again.
He intended to return to the laboratory and continue experimenting on it.
At the same time, he needed to begin advancing another plan.
Kenichi intended to transform the strongest ninja in the Shinobi World into Otsutsuki-like beings.
If he could help them awaken the Rinnegan and improve their bloodlines, their combat power would rise significantly.
That would give them a much stronger lineup for the coming battle.
After Kenichi left, Madara also stood up.
He still needed to continue training Sasuke.
Soon, only Hagoromo remained sitting atop the Hokage Rock.
He quietly stared down at Konoha.
No one knew what he was thinking.
...
After returning to the laboratory, Kenichi brought out the instrument he had previously prepared.
Then he placed Kaguya's consciousness fragment inside.
Without warning, Kenichi transferred Hinata's recorded memory and emotional experience directly into Kaguya.
The fragment immediately began struggling violently.
Then, little by little...
It became still.
Occasionally, it twitched.
Kenichi watched with great satisfaction.
Good.
Kaguya genuinely could not break free.
If that was the case...
Then he could move on to the next stage.
A strange grin appeared on Kenichi's face.
He left the laboratory and found an adult woman whose build was somewhat similar to Kaguya's.
Then he placed her under genjutsu.
This time, Kenichi designed something completely different from Hinata's horror experience.
A romance.
A ridiculously sweet, idealized love story.
Within the genjutsu, the woman was given Kaguya's identity.
Kenichi inserted himself into the scenario as Kaguya's husband.
He filled the false memories with excessively affectionate scenes, domestic happiness, emotional dependence, and the kind of dramatic romance he remembered from movies in his previous life.
The entire goal was simple.
Kenichi wanted to see what would happen if Kaguya's consciousness was repeatedly forced to experience this kind of emotional conditioning.
He even incorporated several classic romance-movie scenarios designed to strengthen the fictional Kaguya's sense of attachment and trust toward him.
If repeated often enough, perhaps those memories could gradually reshape the consciousness fragment's instincts.
That would make Kaguya easier to control and much more willing to cooperate.
Only then could Kenichi reliably integrate her into his future plans as an ally or assistant.
Kenichi rubbed his hands together.
Admittedly...
This was somewhat unfair to Hagoromo.
After all, if his plan worked exactly as intended, then in a very strange sense Kenichi was effectively attempting to become the Sage of Six Paths' stepfather.
But there was no helping it.
Kaguya was far too troublesome.
If Kenichi wanted to completely neutralize her hostility and turn her into a reliable ally, conventional persuasion alone might not be enough.
Sometimes unconventional problems required unconventional methods.
Once the recorded memory was ready, Kenichi left the exhausted woman to recover and returned to the machine.
Then he inserted the newly created emotional memory into Kaguya's consciousness.
This time...
The reaction was far more violent.
Kaguya's consciousness thrashed wildly inside the device.
The entire fragment trembled with obvious resistance.
Kenichi immediately focused on stabilizing the machine to prevent anything from going wrong.
Watching Kaguya struggle so fiercely, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Her resistance was much stronger than expected.
Fortunately, the container had been sealed extremely well.
Kenichi had even removed the air inside and maintained it under vacuum.
So at the very least...
He did not have to listen to Kaguya screaming insults at him.
Hopefully, everything would proceed smoothly.