July 1st, Konoha, Year 62.
On this day, Konoha was abuzz with excitement because the second half of the year's Chūnin Exams were starting again.
Recently, many unfamiliar faces had appeared in the village—Genin from various countries, wearing forehead protectors of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and even Amegakure.
Since the Five Great Nations signed a mutual alliance, although their grudges had not fully disappeared, they had at least stopped shutting each other out.
In the past, Konoha and Sunagakure were allied, so every year they would exchange invitations to the Chūnin Exams. Now that all five great nations are nominally allies, each extends invitations to the others.
To avoid providing Ame with a pretext to go to war, the Five Great Shinobi Villages rather tacitly each sent an invitation to Amegakure as well.
Nagato likewise accepted graciously—whenever the Exams were held, he would send Amegakure's Genin to participate.
At a glance, it seemed Konoha and Amegakure got along perfectly, but everyone knew that this peace was as thin as paper, always on the brink of being torn. Once it tears, the resulting conflict could well surpass all three previous Shinobi World Wars in scale.
Fortunately, Konoha had Izayoi, and the Five Great Nations each boasted their own super-spec combatants, or else the Five Great Villages' Genin might not even dare lift their heads before Ame's Genin.
Thus, in this Chūnin Exam round, two particular Genin seized all the spotlight:
1. Hyūga Hanabi—the second person after Uchiha Itachi to attend the Chūnin Exams alone, having graduated early, hailing from a renowned clan, and the sole disciple of Izayoi.
2. Ajisai—Amegakure's "angel" Konan's student, proficient in space-time ninjutsu, known for her "Unsealing Technique: Paper Drizzle," marking her as a super-rookie.
This Ajisai was, in the original storyline, the second Animal Path of Pain's Six Paths. As Ajisai's teacher, Konan had naturally come to Konoha as well.
…
"Konan…"
Seeing her escort her disciple to the exam hall and then emerge from the Academy, Jiraiya—assigned to keep an eye on her—looked at the cold, beautiful woman with a complicated expression.
Konan, who had already let go of her knots in life, smiled and greeted him proactively:
"Long time no see, Jiraiya-sensei."
Faced with her gentle manner, Jiraiya's mind flashed back to the time of the Third Shinobi World War, recalling the three years he spent with Yahiko's trio. For a moment, he couldn't say a thing.
It was a while before he, with somewhat reddened eyes, gave a relieved smile:
"You guys… you're still alive. That's truly wonderful!"
Konan, no longer saddened by memories of Yahiko, kept smiling:
"Nagato also wanted to come see you, but he's the leader of Amegakure. If he shows up here uninvited, it could create unnecessary suspicion."
"Haha… that boy's still the same—shy and kind," Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh, realizing Nagato had already given up his extreme ways.
He then turned to Konan with a grin:
"You've come of age now. Care for a drink with your old teacher?"
"Sure," Konan agreed pleasantly.
So the two, master and disciple, headed to a tavern. Under the summer sunshine, their surroundings seemed to shimmer like a mirage.
The regal, mature Konan seemed at that moment to transform back in time—into a worn, simple-clothed girl from those old days.
Jiraiya, past middle age, appeared like his younger self, though his smile and bearing remained the same. Clouds replaced the sun, and the two strolled, laughing as if returning with groceries, exactly like the old days.
…
At the veranda of the traditional house…
Having sent Hanabi off to the exam hall, Izayoi then teleported back home, resuming his usual intense training.
Though seated cross-legged, he was not on the floor but floating in midair. Around him floated several black orbs, plain to the eye and nearly impossible to sense any chakra from unless one reached a similar level.
Only Izayoi and Six-Paths-tier opponents could perceive the terrifying energy hidden in those black spheres.
Izayoi's hands formed a meditative seal, his eyes closed, as if merging into nature. Even powerful sensors or Uzumaki's "Mind's Eye of the Kaguya" technique could not detect his chakra presence.
If Hinata used the Byakugan, she would see his physical form but not the chakra within him, just as she couldn't perceive nature energy. Only those with an ultimate dōjutsu or mastery of Sage Mode would realize how frighteningly strong he was right now.
Nearby, training in Sage Mode themselves were Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Even after countless exposures to Izayoi's aura over the past days, they still stared at the direction of his home, minds reeling.
"He's just entering Sage Mode, but natural energy from all directions floods him? Could he be nature's chosen child?"
"It's like a vortex—our village's natural energy is denser than even Mount Myōboku!"
Sasuke and Naruto were both astounded. Now that they'd each reached the level of "elite forces," possessing Sage Mode themselves, they no longer aimed to chase Izayoi's back. They knew it was impossible to catch up to him. After all… how can a water jar match an ocean?
Their painstaking attempts let them store a jar's worth of sage chakra. Meanwhile, Izayoi's is like a vast sea. Even though they were from the same village, their own sage training was somewhat smoother with him around—but the difference in their levels was unimaginable.
At this moment, Izayoi was using Yin-Yang Release, manifesting matter from nothing and endowing it with life while infusing natural energy into every cell.
He wanted to convert all 130 trillion cells in his body to hold physical, spiritual, and natural energy.
Once done, his "Sage Body (Red)" would evolve into a "Sage Body (Multi-Color)." This body type could even be inherited by future descendants like a Bloodline Limit.
For months, Izayoi had pursued this method. Because now, he no longer needed Shion's Priestess chakra to enter Six Paths Sage Mode.
The difference between Sage Mode and Six Paths Sage Mode was the lack of "Six Paths authority," i.e., the power of the Six Paths.
Uzumaki Naruto lacked that authority, while Izayoi—who possessed the (Multi-Color) tier Ōtsutsuki bloodline and Tenseigan—did not lack it at all. He simply needed to refine his Sage Body (Red) to a Multi-Color-tier level, then harness Tenseigan's Chakra Orbs to extract the energy in each cell, forging his own Six Paths senjutsu chakra.
Hence his current Six Paths Sage Mode. For now, though, since too few of his cells had been remodeled, the transformation only lasted a few minutes at a time.
Suddenly, Izayoi opened his golden eyes mid-training. Gazing at the figure now in his courtyard—Uchiha Madara—he calmly asked,
"What do you want here?"
"So that's Six Paths Sage Mode?"
Madara examined Izayoi's present state, using the Rinnegan to see the power in his body, clicking his tongue.
"Such an amount and quality of senjutsu chakra… not even Hashirama had this. And those things…"
He looked at the black spheres around Izayoi, eyes filled with caution and dread, simultaneously summoning four Limbo clones via "Limbo: Border Jail," distributing them fore, aft, left, and right, to guard against a sudden attack from the black orbs.
His Rinnegan perceived that each orb held energy vastly more fearsome than a Tailed Beast Bomb—these spheres were akin to the ones Otsutsuki Toneri used, but the nature was reversed. Toneri's were about creation, while Izayoi's reeked of destruction.
Izayoi noticed how quickly Madara recognized his state, so he gave a small test:
"You've been to the Land of Demon's temple?"
"Of course. I found something you left behind," Madara answered with a playful smile. "Pity you lack an ultimate dōjutsu; you never realized what treasure you missed."
"What treasure?" Izayoi asked, feeling some relief inside. It seemed Madara didn't know he was actually Otsutsuki Toneri—nor had the Sage of Six Paths revealed their meeting.
Possibly the Sage had only bestowed something on Madara via that vanished altar. Perhaps more knowledge rather than direct power, as Izayoi's Six Paths Sage Mode vantage told him Madara's body didn't carry any special foreign energy.
So the Sage might have told Madara more truths without instructing him to fight Izayoi. Did the Sage intend for Madara to test Izayoi, or was there something else?
"You tell me: how to trade?" Izayoi asked.
Madara smirked.
"Let me absorb your current chakra. Then I'll give you that object. Right now, you're not truly complete. You need the other half of a legacy to perfect your Six Paths Sage Mode."
"You think that's likely?" Izayoi snorted.
"If you gained my chakra, you might straightaway gain an even more perfect power—and who can say if you'd hand over anything real?"
Madara didn't argue but abruptly changed the subject:
"Have you heard of the Rabbit Goddess?"
"What?" Izayoi genuinely looked puzzled.
They were discussing the Sage's legacy—why mention the Rabbit Goddess?
"So your ally never told you the truth of this world," Madara sneered.
To him, Izayoi's reaction obviously indicated ignorance.
That made Madara inwardly breathe easier.
Evidently, the arrogant "god" on the moon had no ties to humankind, nor was Izayoi allied with that figure.
The rumor that Otsutsuki Toneri and Izayoi formed a coalition was fake.
Now, this boy, who possessed power akin to Hashirama and half the Sage's legacy, might become Madara's ally.
Thus, crossing his arms proudly, Madara said:
"So you are also but a frog at the bottom of a well. Let me show you the truth of this world."
With that, he unleashed enormous Rinnegan might, trying to drag Izayoi into an illusion domain. The next second, an awkward moment arose:
The intangible power tried to invade Izayoi's five senses and sink into his mind—only to be bounced back by some invisible force, as though crashing into Shinra Tensei.
"…"
Both men fell silent.
Especially Madara, arms folded, looking so imposing until the moment turned him into a bit of a clown. The last time he felt so embarrassed was likely in his youth.
"Er…"
Izayoi mocked him lightly:
"So that's the famed ocular power of your 'Sage Eye'? Doesn't seem so great—need me to cooperate?"
"Ugh… yaho!"
Madara, flustered like Sasuke might be, barked:
"If you want to know the truth, let me cast you into my illusory world!"
"Can't be helped, let's do it." Izayoi shrugged, controlling his Six Paths senjutsu chakra.
That Rinnegan power came again, and Izayoi finally let himself be drawn into the genjutsu realm. Inside, he saw precisely the same "Truth of the World" he'd once shown Madara, which Madara then showed Nagato and Obito.
Izayoi's expression became somewhat strange.
What was this if not a returning boomerang?
Why was Madara showing him these scenes?
When the illusions finished, Madara's figure manifested in that mental realm, extending a hand, voice brimming with fervor:
"Izayoi, join me and save the world!"
"..."
In that illusory domain, Izayoi nearly laughed out loud.
The "former villain" now wanted to be a savior, inviting a supposedly upright hero—who was actually the biggest behind-the-scenes boss—to help "save the world"… Such a scenario was the first time Izayoi had seen anything so hilarious.
~~~
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