Uchiha Kirin opened his eyes.
They were no longer Sharingan or even the Tenseigan—but Sharingan with the ripple-pattern of the Rinnegan.
Like any ordinary Rinnegan, it granted him access to the basic Six Paths abilities, but his Ocular Power was on an entirely different level.
To unlock higher levels and awaken his own unique ocular techniques, he would need to gather all nine tomoe and elevate his eye power to its absolute limit.
Still, even without exclusive techniques of his own, this level of eye was already enough to replicate other Rinnegan abilities.
That meant, whether it was Infinite Tsukuyomi, Limbo: Border Jail, Amenotejikara—or even the ocular powers used by someone like Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki—if he could observe it clearly enough, there was nothing stopping him from mastering it.
The road ahead remained long and uncertain. But for Uchiha Kirin, who had broken through the genetic seals hidden by the Sage of Six Paths himself...
Any road he could see—was a road he could walk!
The path was beneath his feet.
Uchiha Kirin drew in a long breath, stood up, and a golden flash flickered in his eyes. Reaching out, he caught a wisp of energy as it flew by.
The Rule of Yang!
Obtaining something like this was no easy feat. If he hadn't previously condensed large amounts of Divine Arts, improved his Breathing Art of the Sage Path multiple times, and stacked enhancements like the Battle Saint Scripture and the Eight Inner Gates...
If he hadn't managed to comprehend the "Five Elements Cycle," a Divine Art on par with an upgraded version of the Truth-Seeking Orbs...
He would never have been able to function freely within the sun, let alone seize the Rule of Yang hidden within it!
"This is insanely difficult,"
Uchiha Kirin muttered to himself.
No wonder the Sage of Six Paths didn't go this route. Instead of taking the direct path, he chose to wait a thousand years, sending his two sons into cycle after cycle of reincarnation, locked in eternal conflict...
Eventually fusing into a fruit of yin and yang.
Still, not acquiring the fruit meant not acquiring it.
At this moment, Kirin could feel the surging power of his bloodline nearly bursting from within. His Uchiha lineage, after fusing with so many rules and the Divine Tree's essence, had undoubtedly surpassed the Ōtsutsuki blood that previously dominated him.
It even gave rise to a wild thought—perhaps he didn't even need to activate all ten layers of the Battle Saint Scripture to surpass...
The current Sage of Six Paths, who had yet to fully reconstruct his body!
This idea wasn't just empty bravado.
On the contrary—it was well justified:
Having faced death head-on so many times, Uchiha Kirin had developed an instinct to risk everything in pursuit of strength.
He always used the shortest time, the harshest conditions, and the most extreme methods to obtain the greatest power.
Even at the cost of his own life.
Of course, much credit went to the Simulation System backing him up—
Without it, he might've accidentally killed himself in the real world several times over.
Meanwhile, the other sages, with thousands of years of life and overwhelming power, approached growth with a slow, meticulous strategy.
They always opted for the lowest risk, the most stable approach—scheming through the Shinobi World, harvesting its chaos again and again to steadily grow stronger.
Even the Sage of Six Paths, the youngest and strongest of them all, followed this rule-bound path without deviation...
And that was why Uchiha Kirin believed...
He had already surpassed the Sage of Six Paths.
The Shinobi World was like this.
No doubt, the stars above and the Ōtsutsuki clan scattered across them were the same—possessing immense power, long lifespans, ruling over the universe, with countless life-filled planets within easy reach...
All of this would inevitably breed a preference for comfort and an inflated ego.
Beings like Ōtsutsuki Isshiki were the exception.
The arrogant and incompetent types like Momoshiki and Urashiki—powerful but foolish—were probably the norm.
And that was precisely the confidence that gave Kirin his unwavering belief: that he could transcend the world.
Even if his level of existence hadn't quite caught up yet—so long as he had power, and with each simulation...
He would eventually reach a level that surpassed this world.
Of course, imagining the Ōtsutsuki this way was just a way of mentally lessening the pressure—after all, they were considered the strongest race in the universe, the only ones to truly transcend.
When he truly faced the Ōtsutsuki, he would give it everything he had—no holding back.
After adapting to his new powers, Uchiha Kirin remained within the sun, using the immense gravity and extreme heat as external pressure to test and refine his abilities.
Under this intense pressure, he succeeded in further tempering his Sword Dao's Ultimate Meaning, and with the spirit that had just been destroyed and reborn, he pushed it to the legendary Tenth Layer.
Unbreakable. Unstoppable.
At least, within his current perception, there was nothing in existence that could stand against it.
His Eight Inner Gates were also fully unlocked, now capable of stacking with the Battle Saint Scripture—but he hadn't yet mastered compressing the power through the Breathing Art, so the destructive force was still too vast to control.
Still, it was more than enough...
To take on two Sages of Six Paths!
Satisfied with his newfound power, Uchiha Kirin returned to the Shinobi World, eager to witness the grand finale of the Shinobi War.
The moment he arrived, he received a message—transmitted by energy from the Sage of Six Paths himself.
It declared: No one was allowed to interfere in the Shinobi War using powers arranged outside of the story's original plan.
Only once the war was over would the results be divided accordingly.
In other words, even someone as strong as the Slug Sage could only provide what was pre-arranged—only Tsunade and Sakura could summon her, and only a fraction of her healing ability could be used. Nothing more.
The Snake Sage and the Toad Sage were similarly restricted—they could only intervene through the summoning contracts their respective shinobi had established.
Only the Sage of Six Paths, whose core pieces on the board were Indra and Asura, could personally descend and break the rules—handing out cheats and blessings.
Uchiha Kirin, who had replaced the White Ape Sage, was left with only the scraps.
By the rules, he could only intervene through Enma and the old Third Hokage.
At most, he'd get a drop or two of soup from the table.
Without the foresight to set up pieces in advance, what use was his identity as a reincarnated god?
He was just a spectator—watching these so-called sages feast.
Faced with the smug, mocking smiles from the toad and the old man, Uchiha Kirin chuckled.
"But who said... My layout ends there?"
From the Hoshigakure—the Pangolin's Mountain God, emerge!
Neji—come forth!
As Kirin's body trembled with power, far away in the Land of Iron, Neji—deep in meditation—sensed the call.
And within the still-young Hoshigakure, the Mountain God opened its eyes.
The scent of war was unmistakable.
And one thing was clear—
If this battle was lost, the entire Shinobi World...
Would fall.
No one would be spared.