"Well, the current influx of souls has raised its strength to the Half Six Paths level. Sealing it won't be easy anymore, as it will definitely resist again. With its increased power, even that little guy might get overwhelmed."
Itachi understood the problem as well.
With his EX-Level Fūinjutsu, he possessed many sealing techniques capable of handling such situations, but most of them required the target to remain relatively unresisting. More importantly, they demanded absolute concentration from him — something difficult to maintain while dealing with Sagittarius who could influence him. It's like asking child Naruto to practise Sage mode in three-tails mode.
Maybe...
He would have to take extreme measures once again.
"I do have a way... but it's a bit extreme."
"Hm. I expected as much from Indra's descendant."
Hearing this, Itachi's lips twitched slightly in annoyance.
"If evil gods can exist, then good gods should exist as well. I'll simply create a good god and use it to seal Sagittarius. However, for that, I may require some magical energy from the Pure Land."
Hagoromo fell silent upon hearing that.
One uncontrollable god was already more than enough trouble, yet Itachi wanted to create another — potentially an even stronger one.
As expected...
The extremeness of Indra's lineage only increased with each generation.
"And how are you so certain it will become a good god?"
"First, I won't use the corpse of an Evil God as the base material, which drastically lowers the chances of corruption. Second, from what I've observed, the magical energy here isn't highly corruptive under your supervision. Combined with the power of the Priestess from the Land of Demons, the resulting god should naturally oppose Sagittarius, which serves our purpose."
Itachi paused briefly before continuing.
"And last but not least... if everything fails, I'll simply throw both of them into the Kamui Dimension. Inside there, without a constant influx of souls, the speed at which they develop sentience should slow down significantly, giving me enough time to grow stronger."
"Without true consciousness, they won't be capable of escaping Kamui."
Hearing this, Hagoromo fell into deep thought.
After Itachi's explanation, he realized that Itachi had not completely abandoned Magical Power. And honestly, it was expected. With Sage Mode and Natural Energy alone, one could battle beings like Kaguya, and they were among the very few powers besides Taijutsu that remained effective against the Ōtsutsuki.
Naturally, a stronger form of energy would attract Itachi's interest.
"How many do you want?"
"Half."
Hearing Hagoromo agree, Itachi smiled.
"Half a million ????"
That was already equivalent to nearly six months of Hagoromo's accumulated soul income.
"No."
"Five million?"
Seeing Itachi continue shaking his head, Hagoromo gritted his teeth and raised the amount.
"Fifty million?!"
At this point, even Hagoromo was beginning to regret agreeing in the first place.
"Well... I meant half of the total souls present here."
SILENCE
Hagoromo simply closed his eyes and ignored Itachi entirely.
Seeing this, even Itachi felt slightly helpless. The situation strangely gave him a sense of déjà vu.
In his previous life, he had once watched a documentary about obtaining a gun license.
The first step was meeting with the government representative and filling out forms. He had already met Hagoromo.
Next came giving a valid reason for wanting the weapon. He had done that too.
After that came the mental health check and background investigation.
"With that many souls, the strength of the new god could surpass even me," Hagoromo finally said slowly. "I don't know how you intend to create such a being, but how can I guarantee that you won't lose control, become possessed, or grow too extreme and destroy the Ninja World?"
"I occasionally observe the Ninja World to pass time. And during your mere thirteen years of life, you have changed sides multiple times."
"When you were younger, you stood with the Uchiha. After witnessing war, you became lost and even attempted suicide. Then, after being influenced by Sarutobi Hiruzen, you sided with Konoha and betrayed the Uchiha for several years."
"After that, you suddenly switched again — protecting the Uchiha and seeking revenge against Konoha. For the past year, you've slowly carried out that revenge, and only moments ago you were once again influenced into attempting to destroy Konoha entirely."
"I could trust you with five hundred thousand souls, perhaps even one or two million. Even without my help, you could likely suppress the situation or at least stall things by sealing them inside Kamui."
"But half of the entire Pure Land amounts to well over a billion souls."
"How can I trust someone who changes sides like a chameleon with power of that scale?"
Itachi felt speechless.
Could he seriously explain that he was technically a reincarnated soul who had taken over Itachi's body and therefore became "smarter"?
And why was Sagittarius entirely his fault anyway? It was literally his first attempt.
As expected of the Sage of Six Paths.
When it came to Ashura's descendants, Hagoromo freely handed out powers.
But the moment it involved Indra's descendants, suddenly there were investigations, psychological evaluations, and trust issues.
Clearly...
He had failed miserably at the final stage. ( Background Check by the authorities. )
"Then how about this?" Itachi said after a moment. "Two hundred million ordinary souls... or ten million powerful souls. I can safely handle that amount for now, and you can provide the rest gradually over time."
Hearing this, Hagoromo only had one thought.
Why does it feel like I am the problem here instead of you?
It's not like I lack the money. Why would I pay in installments? Just make me trust you first.
Itachi, meanwhile, could only sigh internally.
Prejudice truly was endless.
Perhaps Tobirama inherited it more from Hagoromo than anyone realized.
It wasn't that he, Itachi — an innocent Uchiha — couldn't be trusted.
It was all the fault of the previous Itachi.
"Sigh... Fine. Ten million it is," Hagoromo finally said. "But I won't assist you with the Rinnegan for the next few years until I'm certain your mental state remains stable."
"Okay, okay."
With that, Itachi left the Pure Land and returned to reality.
"Uchiha Itachi... I understand your feelings.
I, too, once created many weapons and safeguards for the sake of future generations. Some failed, like the Box of Bliss. Others succeeded, such as the Six Paths Treasured Tools.
But in the end... even they are still insufficient against the Ōtsutsuki."
Hagoromo slowly closed his eyes.
"Perhaps you truly are the hope the Ninja World has been waiting for.
I still do not understand how your Mangekyō Sharingan is capable of holding power that surpasses even a complete Rinnegan.
Nor do I understand how you possess knowledge of the future."
Hagoromo looked at Itachi outside Pure Land quietly, as if trying to see through him.
"Perhaps some of those mysterious gods are still alive, guiding you from the shadows... just as Gamamaru once guided me against my mother.
Or perhaps...
For reasons beyond even my understanding, your future self has somehow intervened."
"Thankfully, you were born in a later era. Otherwise... perhaps I would have fought you myself for the sake of those countless souls, just as I once fought my own mother."
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
Then Hagoromo softly sighed.
"I am getting old."