--------------------------------------------------
"Matatabi... dead?"
Manji froze.
His usually calm and gentle eyes narrowed, disbelief filling his face. He had lived as a sage for centuries, and almost nothing could break his composure, but this news hit him harder than any attack before.
He turned toward the allied army, his gaze so intense it felt almost physical. Every shinobi who met his eyes felt their heart stop. Their legs grew weak, and the whole formation stepped back, their discipline breaking.
Manji acted at once, releasing his sensory perception. His powerful senjutsu chakra spread over the battlefield, picking up every trace of energy in the air and under the ground.
Then he found it.
Only fragments of Matatabi's chakra remained, broken and fading, with no life left within them.
Manji's heart dropped. Regret and grief tightened his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"So this is where my mistakes led..."
His voice carried a depth of self-reproach rarely heard from him.
Something about the battle felt off. Matatabi should not have died so easily, but her death was real. Manji's mind was so overwhelmed that he could not focus on what did not add up, or even care.
Only one thought remained.
He would avenge her.
Memories rushed through his mind: Matatabi's blue flames, her proud and lively spirit, and how she would stay close to him even when she acted distant. Of all the tailed beasts, she was one of the most obedient, and Manji had always been especially fond of her.
Now that vibrant life had vanished.
She might even have been burned alive by the Uchiha Clan's black flames.
That thought broke the last of his self-control.
"I am the Sage of Six Paths, the strongest of this age, but Matatabi still died before I could protect her. What good is all my power if I can't even keep my own student safe?"
At Manji's feet, Shukaku trembled as he wept. His voice had gone hoarse from crying. "TEACHER, YOU HAVE TO AVENGE MATATABI! THEY DID IT! THESE PEOPLE KILLED HER!"
Manji closed his eyes. His fingers clenched as Shukaku's cries rang in his ears and the last bits of Matatabi's chakra floated over the ruined battlefield.
Gamamaru, your dream has come true.
In that moment, all his doubts vanished. His caution, his hesitation, and every effort to stay out of the shinobi world were swept away by anger.
This was his fault!!
He had tolerated too much, and Matatabi had paid the price.
A crushing aura exploded from Manji's body—
Ancient senjutsu chakra shot upward, ripping into the sky. Fierce winds blasted across the battlefield, and the cloudy sky grew brighter under his power.
Manji's body changed amid the storm of chakra. His long white beard disappeared, the wrinkles on his face faded, and his skin became young again. His white hair turned black.
In moments, the old Grand Sage of Mount Myōboku looked like a young man again. He stood tall and imposing, and the force coming from him grew even stronger.
"COME, SIX PATHS SWORD!"
"..." Manji opened his eyes. His Rinnegan blazed with violet light, while the Tenseigan mark on his forehead shone like a sun.
He lifted his hand to the empty sky and called out. His voice carried across the shinobi world and the summoning realm.
Far away, inside the Grand Sage Hall of Mount Myōboku, the Six Paths Sword hanging from the ceiling erupted with blinding senjutsu light.
Patterns of Six Paths power and senjutsu ran along its black blade. The sword shook, sending waves of force through the whole mountain.
With a hum, the Six Paths Sword broke free from its restraints and flew through the barriers around Mount Myōboku. It turned into a streak of black light that cut across the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed thousands of miles and landed in Manji's waiting hand.
As soon as his fingers gripped the hilt, man and sword moved as one. A heavy pressure fell over the battlefield, and every voice went silent. Only the wind and the deep hum of the Six Paths Sword could be heard.
The stronger its wielder's conviction, the greater the sword's power became.
In that moment, Manji's resolve felt strong enough to shake the world.
The Six Paths Sword roared in his hand. His will broke through the invisible barrier that had held him back for centuries, and Manji felt himself reach a new level.
Pitch-black Truth-Seeking Balls began forming behind him.
[System Notification: Strength has reached the Beyond Six Paths tier.]
"This is... the Six Paths level?"
A sudden understanding appeared in Manji's Rinnegan.
Everything made sense.
He remembered the words the White-Brow Toad had once spoken to him. The old sage had already hinted at the path forward, but Manji had never understood the true meaning.
The barrier before him had never been a matter of strength.
It was a barrier of the heart.
He had changed over the centuries. He had become distant, watching the world from afar and telling himself that holding back was wise. Matatabi's death broke through that indifference and made him remember who he used to be.
"So that was the answer..." His fresh understanding brought him no joy.
"Matatabi is still dead..."
Manji gripped the sword tighter, his voice empty with grief. "If I can't protect my own student, what's the point of this power, no matter how great it is?"
..............
"..." The ten thousand shinobi in the allied army stared at the young man before them, now holding the huge black sword.
Fear spread through their ranks, and their hands shook on their weapons.
"Who... who is that man?"
"I've seen him before! There was a portrait of him in my clan's Six Paths temple. The clan leader made us kneel before it when I was a child!"
"That's impossible. It can't be real!"
"That sword... It matches the Six Paths Sword in the painting!"
"The Sage of Six Paths... He's the legendary Sage of Six Paths!"
"Wasn't that only a myth?"
Panic spread through the army. As more shinobi realized who Manji was, some dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the ground. Their bodies shook, and none of them could even think of resisting.
Senju Shima's hair whipped around his face as the wind battered his clothes. He stared at Manji in disbelief, then turned toward Uchiha Gen.
"Gen! What is happening? Is he real? Is this a Transformation Jutsu or some kind of genjutsu? Say something!"
Uchiha Gen had lost every trace of his earlier confidence. He stood frozen, staring at Manji as though his mind could no longer process what he was seeing.
"This... this can't be possible... The legendary Sage of Six Paths actually exists..."
His Mangekyō Sharingan had activated on its own. The complex pattern spun as he focused on the Six Paths Sword, yet everything his eyes told him only confirmed the impossible.
The other clan leaders were just as shaken. The heads of the Sarutobi, Shimura, Uzumaki, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans had turned pale. They stared at Manji as if the world was ending, frozen in place.
A legend had come to life.
None of them had ever thought that trying to capture the tailed beasts would bring out the legendary sage worshipped by the whole shinobi world.
Their carefully made plan was now out of their control!
--------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to drop some power stones!
--------------------------------------------------
~ Every 100 PS => Bonus Chapter!
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)