The Six Paths founded the Ninja Sect and spread chakra—that marked the beginning of the Ninjutsu World.
Nowadays, even the number of ninja across just the six great villages has exceeded eighty thousand… The answer to Haseo's question was so obvious that no thinking was required—undoubtedly, chakra had become increasingly abundant.
Little by little, bit by bit—the accumulated chakra of so many ninja became an unimaginably massive amount.
And now, all the chakra in the entire world of ninja had been concentrated within Hashirama Senju himself.
From the One-Tail all the way to the Eight-Tails, along with part of the Nine-Tails' chakra and that of more than eighty thousand ninja—the combined total far exceeded the original Ten-Tails. Could even the full Nine-Tails truly surpass the power of ten thousand ninja?
It's hard to say.
Moreover, the tailed beasts weren't equally powerful; for instance, the One-Tail Shukaku was beloved by everyone because he was capable of defeating even Gamakichi.
Who knows what the Six Paths clan was really thinking—the purpose behind spreading chakra through the Ninja Sect might have actually been something like "sow in spring, reap in autumn."
"Why are you asking this?"
"Hashirama-sama should've noticed it too, right? Even after becoming the Six Paths, you can't control the chakra in your body as naturally as you once did because it's simply too vast—it completely exceeds the limits any human could endure… Even if you're the Ninja God, I still don't believe you can wield the Ten-Tails' power as freely as your own strength." Haseo said.
At the very least, this wasn't a force that could be skillfully utilized within a short time.
As long as one remained human, there would always be limits; differences between people were merely about how high those limits were—external power remained external power. This was a realization Haseo gained after becoming halfway Six Paths.
After transformation, Hashirama Senju was naturally much more powerful than before, yet conversely, he'd also lost his previous sharpness, and every attack carried a sense of "sluggishness."
This was only natural—advantage and disadvantage were two sides of the same contradiction… Still, such sluggishness wasn't a major issue; not only did it not hinder normal combat, but even when fighting Haseo, it barely affected his performance.
However…
"What you said is indeed a problem, but…it's not enough to break through my defenses."
"No, it really is possible."
Haseo smiled slightly, and immediately afterward, a complex technique formation emerged from beneath Hashirama Senju's feet.
[Binding Curse Technique]? [Sealing Technique]? [Consciousness Sealing]? Hashirama shook his head. "Do you really think Sealing Techniques like these can work on me?"
"These are mere tricks. If I were acting alone, they definitely wouldn't work. However… I do have a powerful ally." Although this battlefield seemed to be a two-sided duel, there were actually three forces involved. Among them, the alliance between two had already fallen apart—but Haseo was able to form new understandings and cooperate silently with one of them.
"Hashirama-sama, have you ever considered where all my chakra went?"
Why was Haseo so determined to engage Hashirama Senju directly in close combat? The reason was hidden within this answer.
Answer: He'd lent it to Black Zetsu.
Suddenly, Hashirama Senju felt an abnormal sensation coming from his right arm. Then, the chakra within his body began to grow restless—both the Tailed Beasts' and the ninjas' chakra were becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.
This turned things upside down. Black Zetsu's objective was to revive Kaguya; therefore, eliminating Hashirama Senju had become a necessary step. It was also what Haseo needed, thus forming a basis for cooperation between them.
Black Zetsu could actually come across as cute when it wanted to.
Just as Hashirama struggled to suppress the Ten-Tails, Black Zetsu took its next action… drawing upon the chakra obtained from Haseo, Black Zetsu regained its strength once again.
The Six Paths, Kaguya, and Black Zetsu all shared the same source of power.
Blackness began eroding Hashirama's right arm before rapidly spreading throughout his entire body.
At this moment, Black Zetsu truly regarded Haseo as Kaguya's son. Considering the Six Paths power within Haseo… yes, Haseo and Black Zetsu were actually brothers.
This sudden change made Hashirama pause for a moment. When he was about to deal with the threat Black Zetsu posed, Haseo charged forward again without hesitation, placing one hand directly on Hashirama's forehead.
Then, Haseo pulled something out from inside Hashirama's body, but whatever it was appeared intangible and immediately vanished.
Black Zetsu then absorbed Hashirama entirely, forming into a massive black sphere. Without much struggle, after just a short while, the black sphere expanded once more… revealing the figure inside.
Of course, everything had completely changed.
The person who emerged was naturally Kaguya otsutsuki.
Yet, even before Kaguya could react, Haseo swiftly approached, pressing their foreheads together—Haseo harbored no ill intentions toward this ancient hag; he simply didn't want to battle her here:
[Ninjutsu: Zero Light Shards]
"Consciousness Sealing…"
Kaguya had barely revived and hadn't even stretched yet before she fell into Haseo's Consciousness Sealing Technique.
"You're truly impressive, Chakra no Sō," Kaguya said.
Her three eyes fixed onto Haseo as she spoke calmly, "You carry the aura of my son… so in the end, you will betray me too.
Still, do you really think such techniques can trap me?"
Why did Kaguya start scolding people like this? Haseo wasn't truly her son after all.
"There's no question of betrayal. Your plan is to wipe this world clean off the map. As someone living in this world, I naturally must stop you," Haseo replied.
"I'm merely reclaiming my own chakra. As for those ninja... they are thieves who stole my chakra and deserve their punishment."
"Hmph, well said."
"Once my words settle, I'll turn my gaze elsewhere," Haseo said, shifting his eyes to another direction. "You see him now, don't you? The real mastermind has appeared. So all our previous battles were meaningless. Complete annihilation of the world—doesn't that differ from your goal? Would you truly allow Tsunade—and whoever comes after her—to die this way? Hashirama-dono, the Senju might end up with only this last surviving branch."
The consciousness of Hashirama Senju manifested within this sealed space.
Previously, Black Zetsu had taken over his body while Haseo had captured his spirit—well, regardless of that, this guy really knew how to pit one side against the other... Was this the legendary art of horizontal and vertical alliance strategies?
Twist after twist—how fast this came.
First team up with Black Zetsu to deal with Hashirama Senju, then prepare to collaborate with Hashirama to take down Kaguya otsutsuki—truly a perfect example of Virgo calculating precision.
"I naturally won't let Tsunade die. Yet her life has indeed been quite miserable—she trusted the wrong people; why must it come to this… By the way, as payment for cooperation, could Niyu take the Senju name?"
Hashirama felt completely out of step with the times. Right now, he really wanted to ask Haseo if he was born in 1998—he simply couldn't match his cunning.
"Completely fine. A name doesn't matter. Taking the Senju name would work fine, though it might save me from a beating."
Haseo agreed on the spot without a second thought. But still… was he seriously thinking straight, making his own daughter switch surnames?
Regardless, the deal was struck.
Haseo and Hashirama set their eyes on [Chakra no Sō] — the Primordial Source of Chakra.
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