"Evolution?"
Inside the temple of Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage's hazy eyes had already opened completely.
"You just said… evolution?"
"Hey, you old fool, were you even listening to me at all?!"
Shima's face darkened; she could barely hold back anymore.
"I've already told you the whole thing three times—three times! And you're still asking?!"
"The important thing is that it's better to repeat it three times."
The Great Toad Sage smiled carefreely.
"Besides, have some understanding—I'm already over a thousand years old."
"Tch."
Shima snorted in irritation, and Fukasaku immediately tried to smooth things over.
"All right, all right, it's no big deal. This time we've witnessed Kitagawa Gen's power, but that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki is very strange. Great Sage, what do you think?"
"I don't know either."
However, to Fukasaku's dismay, the Great Toad Sage also shook his head blankly.
Fortunately, after pondering for a brief moment, he finally spoke slowly.
"What they call 'evolution' is likely a leap in the level of life itself in the eyes of the Ōtsutsuki. To them, apart from the Ōtsutsuki, everything else is nothing more than lower lifeforms."
"Lower lifeforms? They've grown that arrogant?"
"That's right. Perhaps only Kitagawa Gen has unexpectedly completed his metamorphosis—his life ascending toward a higher level—thus making Ōtsutsuki Genshiki regard him differently."
"No wonder he alone can master so many Kekkei Genkai, even Kekkei Tōta, and can even use Yin–Yang Release—"
The old toad was indeed a being of a thousand years; he could quickly grasp the key to many matters.
This made Fukasaku and Shima both nod slightly, though neither noticed the trouble weighing on the Great Toad Sage.
Evolution had never been something simple.
Most crucially, in all his thousand years, he had never once witnessed the evolution of humankind.
Then what exactly did Kitagawa Gen's evolution signify?
'What a pity—he dislikes toads. Otherwise, if he came to Mount Myōboku, I could learn even more.'
The Great Toad Sage sighed, but soon his gaze turned serious again.
'But so what? Hagoromo and Hamura were once the children of the Rabbit Goddess!'
'No matter what Kitagawa Gen may become, he is still one of us. Mount Myōboku can bring out everything to help him.'
...
"That child actually—"
Compared to what the old toad was thinking, the faces of the two old men within the Pure Land looked much stranger.
They had always been curious about what kind of things Kitagawa Gen would stir up next.
Would he continue to make trouble under the name of 'Ōtsutsuki Genshiki,' or would he cause some other kind of mischief?
But when they saw that the boy had actually "fought himself," that "spectacular" clash, that energy eruption like mountains roaring and seas surging—both of them were left speechless.
Even a rigged match wouldn't be fought like that.
It was fortunate that no one else could approach or see clearly at all.
The two of them fought spectacularly, but it was sheer nonsense!
Such a display left the two old men at a loss for words for quite some time. At last, Hamura spoke.
"Perhaps we truly can't keep up with the times anymore."
"Young people… perhaps they just like to play."
The Sage of Six Paths was silent for a moment, and in the end could only bare his teeth and reply, "But in any case, with him here, both Indra and Asura have already changed enough—and his power keeps growing stronger."
"It must be the result of continuously developing his own bloodline power. With strength like this—"
"In the future, whether it's our mother or even greater crises, we'll have a better grasp of things."
The Shinobi World had always faced its own crises. Leaving aside their mother, those "people from the heavens" were continuously descending.
Perhaps before long, those celestial beings would completely arrive—and when that time came, it would be another catastrophe for the entire Shinobi World.
The stronger Kitagawa Gen became, the more peace he could bring to the whole world!
Thus, some of his "little skirmishes" didn't even count as problems at all.
"Maybe it's just to make things more interesting for the future—when Kitagawa Gen and 'Ōtsutsuki Genshiki' become one."
After a long moment, Hamura finally said with a smile, then turned his gaze toward his elder brother.
"Speaking of which, aren't you actually a bit more partial to Indra?"
"?"
The Sage of Six Paths was taken aback, his face full of confusion.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Those two children, I—"
"Then why did you only leave a stone tablet for Indra?"
"..."
"Why did you guide Indra, but not Asura?"
"..."
"Even if it was advice, it should have been for both sides—why did you do that? Could it be that deep down, you actually liked Indra a little more?"
"..."
The Sage of Six Paths looked at his younger brother's smiling face, and without asking he already knew exactly where this damned rumor had come from.
No doubt about it—it had to be that bastard who loved spreading rumors the most!
At that moment, the Sage of Six Paths not only clenched his fists but also couldn't help sighing inwardly.
"In just a thousand years, has the Shinobi World's education really fallen to such a level?"
"Such an excellent child, and yet he's been educated into this?"
"The Shinobi World's education… is truly finished."
...
Across the Shinobi World, bits and pieces of intelligence had been received, and even the shinobi villages allied with Konohagakure had obtained the information passed on from Konoha.
Some were astonished, some deep in thought, some incredulous, and some excited.
But everyone realized one thing—Konohagakure might be returning to the 'Era of the Two Gods.'
Of course, that was merely speculation born from not having actually witnessed the battlefield, and no one felt inclined to explain it to them.
"How long will it take for that Naruto fellow to finally figure things out?"
On a high platform in Iwagakure, Kitagawa Gen leaned there resting, while Jiraiya handed him one of the two bottles of lemonade he had brought.
"I don't know—probably still needs some time. Naruto's situation is a bit complicated, after all. There are quite a few 'tenants' inside him, so—"
"That's not even a problem. How can he waste so much time not figuring it out?"
Kitagawa Gen yawned, casually stuck the straw in, and began drinking.
"Better to go back early. Sasuke's not doing too well now, Naruto's not doing too well either—they both need more training, need to improve, need a heavy punch to drive it in!"
"..."
Jiraiya swallowed hard, wondering whether this time Gen had set his sights on those two brats because he himself hadn't ended up in the hospital.
After all, this time, it seemed he couldn't use the excuse of "the Second Hokage's already dead, so he can't be angered into the hospital."
"Sigh, I'll go take a look. They do need to speed up, and I want to head back too."
After thinking for quite a while, Jiraiya decided it was better to let Kitagawa Gen be the one to send those two kids to the hospital.
This old body of his couldn't handle much more, but then another thought came to him.
"Right, once we get back, there's something I hope you can support me on."
"What is it?"
"The Akatsuki. I want to conduct a thorough investigation on them. Even if you're not afraid of them, they've become too dangerous now."
At this point, Jiraiya's expression turned serious.
"Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara, Nagato, and that whole lot—you not fearing them doesn't mean everyone else is fine, so—"
"That kind of thing, huh?"
Kitagawa Gen's expression turned a bit strange. He couldn't figure out why Jiraiya was suddenly thinking about Akatsuki again.
But after thinking for quite some time, he ultimately gave no promise.
"We'll talk when we get back. This matter isn't that simple—and besides, what can you do alone?"
"Tch, fine then."
Jiraiya didn't get a satisfying answer, but he didn't press further. He stood up and walked straight toward Naruto's direction.
Kitagawa Gen stayed where he was, watching Jiraiya's departing back. After a moment, he shook his head, and suddenly his figure flickered and vanished.
Within Ame-no-Minaka, his figure appeared atop a giant tree, and at the same time he took out two scrolls.
"Time to take a look at the spoils. After all, this time's harvest wasn't small."
Murmuring softly, a panel appeared before his eyes.
[Special Side Quest Completed: Who Dares Speak of Invincibility, Who Dares Claim Unbeaten]
[Reward Obtained: Information on Isshiki's 'White Kāma']
"?"
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