Since establishing the Ninja World Coalition Government, Hyuga Soushu had not left Heiankyo again.
Even when two tailed beasts previously belonging to Kumo were revived and needed to be captured, it was Uchiha Mahiru who led the mission.
After properly absorbing half of Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan power, Uchiha Mahiru had nearly perfected her Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo without significant chakra consumption.
With such overwhelming power, even tailed beasts said to have endless chakra were no match for her—like baby chicks in her hands.
Therefore, Matatabi the Two-Tails and Gyūki the Eight-Tails, both recently resurrected, were quickly brought back to Heiankyo by Uchiha Mahiru.
However, due to the Uchiha Clan's fondness for cats, Uchiha Mahiru felt somewhat attached to Matatabi.
"Hey, do you think I can keep half of the Two-Tails?"
As she handed the sealed container over to Hyuga Soushu, Uchiha Mahiru casually made a request.
"I'll try splitting it in half."
Of course, Hyuga Soushu wouldn't completely refuse his lover's request. However, considering the Remains of the God Tree's need for tailed beast chakra, he adjusted Mahiru's proposal slightly.
During this relatively peaceful period, Hyuga Soushu focused most of his attention on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Based on memories from his past life, and combined with knowledge gained after the Slug Sage assimilated Black Zetsu, he somehow stumbled upon a few methods.
The essence of this strategy lay in restoring merely the colossal body of the Demonic Statue while completely erasing any remaining fragments of its will, thereby achieving unquestionable absolute control over this massive entity.
Although doing so would prevent him from reaching Kaguya's level even after successfully absorbing the incomplete Ten-Tails formed from the restored Demonic Statue, for Hyuga Soushu, this was already sufficient.
After all, immortality alone was more than enough to satisfy him.
"Alright then. Just remember not to ruin their looks when you split them apart."
Uchiha Mahiru reminded him before returning to the Palace.
Hyuga Soushu played briefly with the sealed container before heading deep into the underground chamber.
Nowadays, aside from battles in the Underground World and the occasional hunting down of threats in the Savage Lands, most regions within the Ninja World enjoyed peace. The ninja assigned as bodyguards along the way were even bored enough to look for opportunities to randomly eliminate gangs of bandits just to kill time, clearly indicating how peaceful the ninja world had become.
Were it not for Hyuga Soushu's enduring authority, coupled with the Coalition Government's basic allowance system—providing every ninja with shopping vouchers and a Golden Certificate sufficient for living expenses, as well as standard ninja tools issued quarterly—many ninja might have deliberately allowed criminals to flourish or resorted to robbery and murder.
After all, given the vast size of the Ninja World, even tens of thousands of ninja spread out remained like mere sesame seeds scattered across a large pot; even with Administrative Zones established, ninja rule still struggled to exert direct influence over remote settlements.
So when Asura returned to the mainland of the Ninja World months later, he felt as though he had stepped into a completely different era.
The Ninja World had changed dramatically from when he last left for Ryuchi Cave.
Ninja rule had become brutally oppressive. They established centralized production workshops or villages on fertile lands and near mining areas, gathering enough labor through recruitment or capture, then leaving behind only a handful of Chunin and squads of Genin to maintain basic production order.
As for remote, impoverished regions, neither stationed ninjas nor the Coalition Government bothered with these people who had nothing left to offer.
And because of that, those half-wild, destitute villagers were practically never subject to taxation.
Yet in Asura's eyes, even under such conditions, the lives of these suffering commoners weren't too bad—though medicine and healthcare were scarce, at least most wouldn't starve.
Therefore, calling the current Ninja World Coalition Government a "prosperous age" wasn't entirely inaccurate.
"If things keep going like this, sooner or later, the Ninja World will become a stagnant pond and rot away."
But Asura also saw the hidden drawbacks in this method of governance.
The most immediate issue was this: without rivals, how could ninjas maintain their combat effectiveness and diligent cultivation instead of growing lazy and degenerating into obsolete fools—as happened to ancient samurai after the ninja era began?
"No struggle means no sense of crisis; without a sense of crisis, decline and destruction naturally follow."
After realizing this so-called truth, Asura felt deeply burdened.
Though his worries might seem absurd to ordinary people whose lifespans barely reached fifty years, if viewed from the broader perspective of the Ninja World's thousand-year future, his concerns weren't baseless at all.
Now, the Ninja World Coalition Government had deliberately chosen an enemy to conquer and slaughter—the target naturally fell on Ryuchi Cave, already battered beyond measure.
Thus, Asura believed the peace proposal initiated by the White Snake Sage was nothing more than wishful thinking.
After all, the current Ninja World would never stop advancing militarily; otherwise, idle ninjas would eventually turn against the new order established by Hyuga Soushu.
Just as Asura wandered about observing the people's lives firsthand, he suddenly sensed an inexplicable shift taking place within the Ninja World.
The natural energy, which had slightly thickened after Mount Myoboku's destruction, abruptly began slowing, as if frightened.
Immediately afterward, Asura felt a deep, unexplainable tremor—an unsettling chill running through him, making his hairs stand on end!
"This is…"
Though born in the post-Ninja Sect era and never having personally encountered the Ten-Tails, from the deep-rooted intimidation and terror surging inside him, Asura still recognized its origin.
"The Ten-Tails!"
A voice suddenly sounded beside Asura's ear.
"This…?"
Instantly, Asura recognized the identity behind that aged voice.
Although they hadn't met face-to-face since their souls reincarnated, he quickly matched the appropriate title from his memories: "Father."
The one suddenly communicating with him was none other than the Six Paths Sage himself—the very person Asura had desperately called out to but received no response from in Ryuchi Cave!
In other words, the father of Asura and Indra—the two sworn rivals who had clashed for over a thousand years!
Yet just as shock registered, Asura quickly responded, "Isn't the Ten-Tails already completely separated and sealed away?"
"Didn't you see the Chakra Dragon emitted from the Remains of the God Tree when you were at Mount Myoboku?"
The Six Paths Sage's voice echoed once again in Asura's ears.
"Could it be that he has already—"
Asura couldn't help but gasp sharply.
"For someone who controls the entire Ninja World, gathering all the Tailed Beasts is no difficult task."
The voice of the Six Paths Sage had already grown somewhat somber. "But it's already too late to change anything now."
"But if you were to intervene directly, maybe there's still—"
Asura suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence.
After all, the Six Paths Sage—in other words, Hamura Otsutsuki—was already truly and completely dead. His soul could only persist by cleverly maintaining the Pure Land, but even then, he couldn't directly interfere in the Ninja World.
Moreover, if souls of past powerful ninja within the Pure Land were extracted through secret jutsu to meddle in the Ninja World, the strength of the Pure Land itself would weaken, directly threatening the very foundation of the Six Paths Sage's existence.
That's why it had become an unavoidable vicious cycle.
"From today onward, Mount Myoboku has been utterly destroyed, and the Ninja World government has now become the enemy of Ryuchi Cave. Henceforth, the Pure Land will likely no longer receive any deceased souls."
Once again, the Six Paths Sage's voice echoed in Asura's mind.
"Why?!"
Instinctively, Asura blurted the question aloud.
But immediately, realization dawned upon him: Once the coordinates left behind by the Six Paths Sage in the Ninja World were eliminated, the Dead World of the Ninja Realm naturally resumed its normal state—meaning the souls of the deceased would enter Yomi (the underworld), rather than being selected through the Pure Land anymore.
In other words, from now on, the very foundation of the Pure Land had been completely uprooted!
"But this is merely the beginning of the Ten-Tails' revival! We should still have a chance!"
Still unwilling to give up, Asura continued, "Besides, even if I team up with my brother Indra, we can definitely deal with this descendant of Hamura!"
"Better pray for your own good fortune."
The Six Paths Sage's voice gradually faded, "Perhaps, you won't even be able to return to the Pure Land anymore."
"Even the one on the Moon may end up being freed because of this."
"But that's no longer my concern. History has already been completely rewritten."
The Six Paths Sage's voice grew fainter and fainter, seemingly drifting further away.
"But—"
A cold shiver shot down Asura's spine. "If the seal on the Moon breaks, what will we do then?!"
With just his and Indra's power alone, sealing Kaguya again seemed utterly impossible. And he had unconsciously overlooked the existence of Hyuga Soushu, the one who always bore the burden himself!
"What the future holds, only the heavens know."
After uttering those final words, the Sage of Six Paths' voice and presence completely vanished.
Suddenly, Asura felt as if something—perhaps within his heart or even his soul—was missing.
"Everything has already changed."
Immediately afterward, Asura sensed an inexplicable aura of death spreading over him.
Though it wasn't enough to kill him on the spot, Asura suddenly felt as though his life now had limits—like a soul previously sustained by the unique Yin-Yang Release had suddenly lost its foundation.
"This..."
Asura's heart pounded like a drum. He immediately focused his mind to enhance his Yang Release power, only to find that Yang Release was all he had left.
The Yin-Yang Release he'd gained through cultivation—the so-called power of myriad phenomena—seemed to have completely dissipated.
Or perhaps, this world simply no longer had room for such forces outside its rules.
"So I'm the one who's truly unnecessary."
Sensing the subtle rejection radiating from across the ninja world, Asura finally understood: apparently, he was now in the absolute minority—a being deemed abnormal and rejected by the world itself.
Since Kaguya Otsutsuki came into this world and planted the God Tree, this was the first time anything like this had happened.
Far away in Heiankyo, Hyuga Soushu sat quietly within the Underground Chamber, appearing nothing more than an unremarkable young man.
The Uzumaki ninja originally maintaining the Sealing Barrier had long since fled the area under some inexplicable pressure, leaving the surroundings completely empty.
When Hyuga Soushu slowly opened his eyes, his most immediate sensation was that the very air seemed to rejoice, with Natural Energy practically throwing itself into his body.
Even Sage Art Chakra had seemingly become unnecessary—he could directly harness Natural Energy to wield all sorts of great powers.
"So this is what it feels like to be a Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails."
Feeling the boundless joy permeating the air, Soushu found himself nearly intoxicated by it.
This feeling of becoming one with the world was beyond what any mortal among fleeting-lifers could ever experience.
"Lord Soushu!"
Just then, a series of cries rang out beside him.
"Mahiru-chan!"
Only now did Soushu—who had lost track of how much time had passed—snap back to reality. He discovered his crossed legs had fused with the earth itself, rooted in place. Meanwhile, Mahiru Uchiha stood before him, her Mangekyo Sharingan wide open, sweating as she shook his shoulders.
"I..."
Only at this moment did Soushu realize the danger of indulging too deeply in the world's embrace.
"Just a moment—I'll be fine right away!"
Soushu gently squeezed Mahiru Uchiha's delicate hand to reassure her.
Seeing that her lover had regained his senses, Mahiru Uchiha finally relaxed.
After half an hour of effort, Soushu finally broke free from his unconscious fusion with the world, returning to his normal human form and presence.
"Could this really be... the Power of the Sage?"
At that moment, a golden Katsuyu slowly slithered through the entrance of the Underground Chamber.
"Is that so?"
Hyuga Soushu glanced at his hands, as if merely clenching his fist could tear apart the fabric of time and space.
"Birth and death, past and future, will henceforth be completely severed."
The golden Katsuyu continued speaking in cryptic tones.
"What about you then?"
If Hyuga Soushu remembered correctly, during a previous conversation, the Slug Sage had hinted that it too possessed a force at the level of cosmic laws.
"I embody the present, so I am the sole existence, unlike those two Great Sages who sought to occupy the past and future to achieve immortality."
The Slug Sage wiggled its antennae as it spoke: "As for life and death, they've already begun returning to normal since the moment the God Tree revived."
Though countless questions lingered in his mind, Hyuga Soushu chose not to press them just yet. Instead, he gently pulled Mahiru Uchiha into his arms, her eyebrows and eyes betraying an expression of astonishment she couldn't quite hide.
"Hmph."
"The last trace of anxiety in Mahiru Uchiha's heart dissipated like smoke."
Still clings to his humanity quite a bit, doesn't he?
The watching Slug Sage couldn't help but ponder while wiggling its antennae: "Still, maybe this is for the best. It's definitely better than someone like Kaguya, an outsider—an external deity."
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