Chapter 607: Six Paths Level?
The young girl was like a blazing sun, hanging high in the sky.
Originally, Sakura was already a ninja at "that level"—
Her chakra, her realm, and her jutsu had vaguely surpassed the degree of "Kage" level, stepping into the so-called "Super Kage" level.
If she wanted to go further, how should she advance?
No ninja in the current world could answer this question!
But right now, as the energy surging out from the Yin Seal frantically, tyrannically, and forcefully poured into her body, forcefully and powerfully elevating Haruno Sakura's level of strength, in that instant, she suddenly saw the answer.
"Six Paths."
Calling this realm by the name of that mythical Sage was completely appropriate. Just the term "Six Paths" already explained everything.
Borrowing the power of the Yin Seal, Haruno Sakura was like a fish leaping out of the sea, seeing the vast sky for the first time.
Joy?
That was inevitable.
But there was no ecstatic rapture, no weeping tears of joy, and certainly no arrogant disdain or looking down upon the world.
In the eyes of this proud young girl, wasn't this only natural?
Breaking through to the "Six Paths" level, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sage, and even becoming the dazzling, blazing sun in the sky—even if she couldn't achieve it right now, she would surely attain it one day in the coming years or decade. To be wildly ecstatic over this single success felt somewhat beneath her.
Therefore, while Katsuyu the Slug Sage was still in a state of shock, Haruno Sakura had long since suppressed the faint joy in her heart. She began to try and control this overly powerful energy, attempting to understand what changes had occurred in her body.
Thus, when Katsuyu the Slug Sage called out the phrase "Sage of Six Paths," Sakura decisively denied that statement.
Far from it!
First of all, on the path of cultivation, one must admit that humans have limits.
If one wants to surpass those limits, one must rely on external power and absorb it for one's own use. In the context of cultivating immortality, it would be absorbing and breathing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. Haruno Sakura was unfortunately not transmigrated into such a world, but the ninja world also had similar logic; Sage Mode and Tailed Beast Jinchuriki were examples. But to reach the realm of the Sage of Six Paths, ordinary natural energy or Tailed Beast power was not enough. The Yin God Mode was certainly powerful enough, yet it was far too tyrannical and difficult to tame. The side effects were immense, making it far less convenient and easy to use than the Ten-Tails.
This was the biggest reason why she shook her head.
Unfortunately, Haruno Sakura didn't have a mother who passed down the Ten-Tails to her. (Of course, Kaguya didn't pass the Ten-Tails to the Six Paths either, but Sakura hadn't figured out this bit of history yet.)
In terms of chakra control, the young girl had absolute confidence; even if the Six Paths were alive, she would dare to claim herself number one in the world. For even her to find it thorny showed just how difficult this mode was.
However, this was also within expectations. At this thought, Sakura sighed slightly and said, "I'm still far from the Sage of Six Paths! However, I suppose I now have a general understanding of just how powerful the Six Paths was."
Katsuyu the Slug Sage looked over curiously.
"To some extent, by activating this mode, I no longer have a gap in realm compared to the Sage of Six Paths." The young girl gazed indifferently into the distance. "So I understand very clearly what kind of power this is..."
As she spoke, she raised her right hand, concentrating power into her palm.
The fluorescence that had just subsided surfaced on the young girl's hand once again, rapidly becoming blinding.
In Katsuyu the Slug Sage's heart, a strong sense of warning suddenly surged again. It didn't need the prompt of a sixth sense; its naked eye could see the danger of the energy gathering in the young girl's hand!
"Look."
The young girl said.
She gazed into the distance. The clothes woven from chakra on her body fluttered like a fairy's garments, the purple flowing light like a pool of autumn water, circulating constantly. A pair of delicate feet stepped on the air, smooth and light, as fragile as a white feather, weightless, rising and falling with the wind.
She raised her right hand flat to her shoulder. The brilliance in her hand became increasingly dazzling, bursting forth the instant the young girl's words fell, shooting out fiercely along her index finger.
Swoosh—!
A beam of light pierced through heaven and earth.
For an instant, the entire sky seemed to dim. Then, the faint crackling sound of lightning echoed in the air, and the smell of fresh air after rain spread throughout Shikkotsu Forest.
By the time the sharp, screaming swoosh sound disappeared, the Shikkotsu Forest before the young girl's eyes had undergone a certain transformation:
The ancient forest that towered into the clouds and blotted out the sun had a gap cut straight through it, extending all the way to the end of the line of sight and up into the sky;
And in the distant sky where white clouds curled, it was as if someone had used the sky as a canvas, drawing a straight, thin line that cut the white clouds into two halves.
At first glance, it was as if heaven and earth had been cleaved apart!
The wind howled, and Sakura's beautiful hair fluttered elegantly in the wind.
"This is..." Katsuyu the Slug Sage murmured. "What jutsu?"
"Just the Water Gun Jutsu," Haruno Sakura said leisurely, her voice indistinguishable between joy and disappointment. "Just the simplest water cutter."
Because the chakra she channeled was too strong, she didn't even manipulate the water flow well, resulting in the worst Water Gun Jutsu she could remember.
Yet it was also the strongest Water Gun Jutsu.
Does absolute power... conquer all techniques?
Katsuyu the Slug Sage was speechless.
It could detect the faint disappointment in the young girl's tone, but it completely failed to understand Sakura's mindset—didn't you just complete a super successful experiment and gain unparalleled power? Why are you a bit upset now?
What's wrong with achieving a miracle through sheer force?
Is it that time of the month?
If it were the usual young girl, the slug might have teased her a bit, but right now...
It chose to remain silent.
Haruno Sakura, however, quickly adjusted her mindset. After all, that was her own power; there was no need to be pretentious.
Thus, she smiled and said, "This is just the crudest use of power. Actually, after stepping into this level, the biggest changes are more than just these."
She could feel it.
As that surging power circulated through her body, it brought her comprehensive enhancement.
As well as some extremely deep changes.
Just as Haruno Sakura had observed a long time ago: the physical body produces chakra, and chakra feeds back into the physical body.
This kind of feedback reaches the depths of life, affecting the genetic factors. Therefore, the descendants of those with Kekkei Genkai are more likely to awaken Kekkei Genkai. If they spread their branches and leaves, and the inheritance is stable, a Kekkei Genkai clan will be formed.
It was just that this effect was particularly obvious in powerhouses at the Six Paths level.
The most famous and powerful two clans in the ninja world, the Senju and the Uchiha, were the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
Similarly, if Haruno Sakura were to pass down her bloodline, her descendants would equally have the potential to inherit her talents—
They might be particularly skilled at manipulating chakra;
They might be born with a Yin Seal;
They might possess a super high talent for Water Release;
They might easily awaken the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai...
Of course, the Yin God Mode certainly couldn't be inherited unless they found a uranium mine.
Haruno Sakura could now clearly perceive that the circulating energy was silently mapping her abilities into her body and flesh, making them integrate even more closely with her body.
Inheritance was nothing more than a long-term manifestation of this effect.
In other words, as long as she maintained the Yin God Mode, even if she stood still, she was silently growing stronger.
"This..." Even Katsuyu the Slug Sage became somewhat unsettled. Although it had accumulated power for hundreds, even thousands of years, and its strength was extremely great, its level was ultimately not high enough to feel this kind of experience. "It's that exaggerated?"
"So this is the gap between me and the Sage of Six Paths." The young girl shook her head and smiled faintly. "How many years was he the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails?"
"Moreover..."
The Sage noticed Haruno Sakura shaking her hand; the fluorescence on her hand still faintly existed, not entirely dissipated. In its heart, it understood the young girl's unfinished words.
The Yin God Mode had inherent flaws. Let alone permanently activating it, she had to try to avoid even occasionally turning it on normally. Because every activation meant her physical body was absorbing strong radiation at close range. Although this kind of damage could be repaired, medical ninjutsu ultimately had its limits. Even with regenerative abilities as strong as the First Hokage's, he died young. With Haruno Sakura's small frame, how could she dare to forcefully endure it?
Yang God Mode was her true destination!
This Yin God Mode, a commodity with a low upper limit, was just a spare tire used for a temporary transition.
"Although the flaws are huge, the power is very strong," the Sage also smiled. "I am very curious, between the Ten-Tails mode and your Yin God, which is stronger?"
"The Sage must have seen the power of the Six Paths, right?"
"No, no, I was just a little slug back then," the slug shook its head. "I only sensed the power of the Six Paths from afar; I wasn't able to feel his heroic bearing up close like today."
"Then I know even less." The young girl lightly tapped her lower lip, pondering, "Speaking from common rationality, the energy used in the Yin God Mode is energy that a mortal body cannot endure, so it should be stronger. But the Ten-Tails itself can hardly be considered a mortal body..."
She shrugged her shoulders.
For this kind of question, unless they directly faced off on the battlefield, there would be no answer.
"However, if it's the Yang God Mode, the answer is quite obvious."
She smiled, simply adding one sentence without giving a reason.
The Sage could see that strong confidence in the young girl's glances; such confidence was a reason in itself, right?
The two (one person and one slug) exchanged a glance and both began to laugh.
After experimenting with a few more jutsus and thoroughly experiencing the power of the Six Paths level, Haruno Sakura said to her heart's content, "Alright, let's stop here for today."
Ending the Yin God Mode was also quite complicated. Just gathering that powerful energy back into the seal was quite difficult. Fortunately, it wasn't as hard as activating the seal. After some operation, Haruno Sakura finally locked that untamable power back inside the Yin Seal.
Losing the support of this power, she instantly fell from the Six Paths realm, and the various anomalies on her body disappeared along with it.
First, the luxurious purple clothes completely dissipated, and the complex sage markings on her forehead faded. Then, her body went from light to heavy, and she plunged downward.
Katsuyu the Slug Sage caught her.
"Be a little careful!" it teased. "You are the strongest existence in the current world; you need to have a bit of a powerhouse's demeanor."
"I was just now, but not anymore." Sakura shook her head with clear self-awareness.
"Still savoring the feeling from just now?"
"Yeah," the young girl admitted honestly. She pursed her lips and said, "Once you experience the feeling of soaring in the sky, it's hard to get used to the heaviness of returning to the ground."
This textbook straight girl rarely felt sentimental.
The taste of possessing power at that level was truly wonderful, making it harder to refuse than anything else.
"You can enter that mode at any time; as long as you don't use it frequently, your body can handle it," the Sage reminded her.
"There's no need." Haruno Sakura shook her head. "In the future, unless it's necessary for training or combat, I won't enter this mode again."
Her willpower was very strong.
It should be said that the young girl, having lived into her second life, placed great emphasis on cultivating her willpower in this life.
Katsuyu the Slug Sage didn't persuade her any further.
Unknowingly, its attitude towards her had undergone some subtle changes.
"Sage, please give me the spare scroll and clothes." Haruno Sakura glanced at her wrist. The jutsu formulas printed there earlier, as well as the scrolls she carried on her, had long been destroyed by the overly powerful energy during the experiment just now. Naturally, the luggage and items stored inside were destroyed as well, which made her slightly distressed.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to leave spares in the custody of Katsuyu the Slug Sage, otherwise she would absolutely make the headlines of tomorrow's Konoha Entertainment Daily...
"Are you heading back?"
"Yeah." While changing her clothes, the young girl gazed into the distance and said flatly, "There are some things that need to be handled."
During this period, Tsunade routinely summoned Katsuyu the Slug Sage every afternoon to pass on the latest information to her. When Haruno Sakura returned to Konoha, she could hitch a ride by entering the body of a slug clone and accepting the summoning to return to the village.
"Alright," the Sage nodded.
It originally wanted to add a blessing for peace and remind her to activate the Yin God Mode in advance if she encountered a strong enemy, because activating this current mode was truly too slow, and no one would give her that time. But thinking about it again, it seemed she didn't need its reminder.
Thus, it stopped speaking, and the two remained silent, quietly waiting for Tsunade's summoning.
It followed the young girl's gaze and looked over; that was exactly the gap in Shikkotsu Forest she had just cut open. The sun was already slanting west, and rosy clouds could faintly be seen on the horizon.
Clouds rolled and unrolled, and the sky was incomparably open.