By the time the Third Raikage and Ōnoki arrived, all they found was devastation.
Their teeth clenched in frustration.
"Damn it! At least Killer Bee wasn't in the village, or he would've been in danger too."
The moment those words left the Third Raikage's mouth, he instantly became the target of several murderous glares.
Ōnoki and Senju Tobirama were both fuming.
What the hell was the point of hiding Jinchūriki on Turtle Island if you weren't going to send all of them there?!
The whole reason they hadn't agreed to move all the Tailed Beasts there in the first place was to keep it a secret.
And now?
All that effort had been wasted.
Uchiha Madara had taken exactly what he wanted.
Takuya actually found himself admiring the Third Raikage's persistence.
Even now, he still wanted to hide things?
Fine.
Let him keep hiding.
Let's see if Madara could find Turtle Island when the time came.
Takuya was betting he could.
If Black Zetsu successfully resurrected Madara, there would be no escape.
Unless they found a way to store the Rinnegan in a completely different dimension, Madara would track it down no matter where they hid it.
So, really—what was the point?
Takuya considered reminding the Third Raikage that Turtle Island wouldn't stay hidden forever.
Then he changed his mind.
If he wanted to keep his secrets, let him.
It was Yagura and the Hidden Mist that had paid the price this time.
The Fourth Mizukage had barely been in power, and now he was gone.
The moment the news reached the Hidden Mist, it was going to send shockwaves through the village.
"Let's go."
Takuya had no interest in arguing.
If Tobirama wanted to waste time quarreling, he was free to do so.
Ōnoki and the Third Raikage were both old foxes—after decades of conflict, their disputes weren't going to disappear overnight.
Minato grabbed Takuya, Kushina, and, as an afterthought, Rasa.
The Kazekage had lost an arm, but at least he was still alive.
Yagura wasn't so lucky.
Back at the center of the village, Minato handed Rasa over to Tsunade for treatment.
Then he sank onto the ground, looking dejected.
"It feels like everything we did was meaningless. Madara just undoes everything with a flick of his hand."
"At least it wasn't total chaos," Takuya said.
"If the Allied Shinobi Forces had taken heavy casualties, things would be even worse."
For him, as long as Kushina was safe, nothing else mattered.
As for whether the Ten-Tails could still be revived…
Wasn't that what the Gold and Silver Brothers were for?
Black Zetsu had been keeping them in reserve as backup Nine-Tails chakra sources.
Sure, using them would weaken the Ten-Tails.
But even a weakened Ten-Tails was better than no Ten-Tails at all.
As expected, Ōnoki and the Third Raikage ended up in a heated argument.
Tobirama had originally wanted to step in, but when he saw how close they were to outright fighting, he had no choice but to step back and try to mediate instead.
It took a lot of effort, but eventually, the two Kage calmed down enough to focus on the bigger picture.
No matter how angry they were, the reality remained—arguing wouldn't fix anything.
They needed to figure out what came next.
They had lost the Tailed Beasts, but the army was still intact.
Their only major casualty was Yagura.
Now, they had another problem—how to break the news to the Hidden Mist.
That was a headache for Tobirama to deal with.
Takuya patted Minato on the shoulder.
Then he took Kushina and Pakura with him and left.
Cleaning up the battlefield wasn't his problem.
Despite all the chaos, their living quarters were still intact—something Takuya found surprisingly lucky.
The entire battle had left an impact.
Even someone as lively as Kushina had gone quiet, sitting to the side with a frown, lost in thought.
Pakura, sensing her unease, sat beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Takuya leaned back in his chair and gazed at the starry sky.
Before he even realized it, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep.
"Shh!"
Pakura placed a finger to her lips, signaling Kushina to be quiet.
They didn't want to disturb him.
After all, blocking two enormous meteorites must have drained him.
Or so they thought.
In truth, Takuya wasn't tired at all.
It hadn't even counted as a warm-up for him.
The real reason he had fallen asleep?
A certain old man.
Somewhere in a strange, dreamlike space, Takuya blinked in confusion.
Where was he?
Floating beside him was a white-haired old man, cross-legged in midair.
…Wait.
Did he just get transported to some kind of hidden grandpa dimension?
No…
Wait a second…
That wasn't just any old man.
He had horns.
That meant—
The Sage of Six Paths?!
"Greetings, young one," the old man said.
Takuya stared blankly.
"…."
You can talk?
He felt strangely offended.
"I'm not some 'young one,'" he muttered.
Takuya pushed himself up, realizing that even in this strange space, he could float freely as if gravity didn't exist.
The Sage of Six Paths had met many people in his lifetime.
But this was the first time someone had interrupted his grand speech like this.
This… wasn't going the way he had planned.
Why did the Sage of Six Paths pull me here?
Was he trying to turn Takuya into a second Naruto or Sasuke?
Was this some attempt to make him fight Madara?
Or worse…
Was this about Kaguya?
After a long pause, the old man finally spoke again.
"It seems there was a misunderstanding in how we began this conversation."
"Uchiha descendant—"
"Stop."
Takuya cut him off.
"I don't see any problem with our conversation. I understand you, and you understand me. I just have one question—who are you, and why did you bring my consciousness here?"
Simple. Direct.
The Sage of Six Paths hesitated, then replied.
"My name… is complicated. I do not know how your world refers to me."
"…You don't have a name?!"
Takuya feigned shock.
"…."
The Sage of Six Paths was speechless.
This brat…
Come on. You've been watching the world for centuries, and you expect me to believe you don't know what people call you?
You're just messing with me.
Do I look like Naruto? Do I look easy to fool?
For the first time in centuries, the old man was caught completely off guard.
Takuya could see it in his face—this wasn't how he had expected things to go.
After another long silence, the Sage finally muttered,
"…My name is Hagoromo."
Oh, you must be dying inside right now.
Takuya smirked and acted as if he had just realized something.
"Ohhh, so it's Hagoromo? Here I was thinking you were so old you forgot your own name! That would've been tragic."
"…."
The Sage was on the verge of an existential crisis.
"Right," Takuya continued.
"So, Grandpa Hagoromo, why did you bring me here?"
"My girlfriend's waiting for me. If there's nothing important, I'll be heading back."
"…."
"…Wait!!"
Takuya had actually started floating away, fully intent on leaving.
The Sage of Six Paths panicked.
"Grandpa Hagoromo, what is it now?"
Takuya blinked innocently.
If the old man had something to say, he should have just gotten to the point instead of wasting time on dramatic introductions.
The Sage inhaled deeply, then declared:
"My name is Hagoromo. I am the founder of Ninshū—the Sage of Six Paths."
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING