Chapter 367: This Is, Of Course, Saving the Shinobi World
"Your ability is impressive, but it's too one-sided," Hagoromo Gengetsu remarked calmly as he observed the incoming cataclysmic meteors, known as the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star.
In the next moment, as the first meteor descended, Hagoromo Gengetsu extended his hand, raising it slightly.
Contrary to expectations, he didn't lift the meteor with one hand. Instead, the surface of his hand took on the texture and color of the meteor.
Like a river merging into the sea, his hand seamlessly fused with the meteor upon contact. Then, his entire body disappeared, merging completely with the meteor as if he had become one with nature.
Hagoromo Gengetsu, who had mastered the Bloodline Encompassing, could perfectly integrate himself into the natural environment. Although the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star was a Rinnegan technique used by Uchiha Madara, the summoned meteors were still part of the material world. They could bypass the Shinra Koushi no Mikoto but could not ignore the unity with nature.
The Bloodline Encompassing, though less directly overpowering than Rinnegan abilities, significantly enhanced the wielder's overall foundation. At the Six Paths level, the difference between having the Bloodline Encompassing and not having it was substantial.
While Uchiha Madara had ascended to the Six Paths level with the chakra bestowed by the Sage of Six Paths, the Sage couldn't pass on his Bloodline Encompassing to Madara. Even with the power of Kaguya Otsutsuki, who possessed the Bloodline Encompassing, her strength never reached its peak due to her fear of the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei in Hagoromo Gengetsu's hands. Thus, with both Six Paths and Bloodline Encompassing power, Hagoromo Gengetsu could suppress two opponents at once, dominating them throughout the battle.
Boom! Seven enormous meteors broke through the atmosphere, trailing long fiery tails, and finally collided with the earth. The impact shattered mountains and cracked the land, affecting an area nearly covering the continent's center.
As Uchiha Madara blew away the thick dust that had surged into the sky, he looked down into the newly formed giant crater.
From one of the shattered meteors, a hand slowly reached out.
Soon after, Hagoromo Gengetsu, appearing unharmed, calmly stepped out from the meteor fragments.
A fierce wind howled, making his white Six Paths robe billow. Hagoromo Gengetsu looked up at the incredulous Uchiha Madara, smiled slightly, and said, "That was a good dance. Want to go again?"
Uchiha Madara's face darkened. Without saying a word, he attacked once more, along with his Limbo: Border Jail shadow.
Hagoromo Gengetsu maintained his smile as he watched Madara approach. He extended his left hand into the air, and the Great Sealing Pole, wrapped in golden paper, appeared again.
The duration of the Heavenly Absolute Order, which could affect the entire planet, was only one minute before it entered a cooldown phase. After a prolonged battle with Uchiha Madara and Kaguya Otsutsuki, the cooldown period had ended, and Hagoromo Gengetsu was ready to unleash his Rinnegan technique once more.
"I declare… no movement shall be allowed in this place!"
As his words fell, the golden paper on the Great Sealing Pole began to burn. Uchiha Madara suddenly found himself unable to move, not just him, but even his Limbo: Border Jail shadow was immobilized.
Thus, the three of them stood frozen in place, unable to move.
In the next instant, dazzling light from ninjutsu erupted from Hagoromo Gengetsu's body.
"Omniversal Way!"
Hagoromo Gengetsu's majestic voice resounded.
Time passed swiftly.
The Konoha reconnaissance team advanced determinedly towards the source of the light. When they arrived, they were met with a strange scene.
Three people, all wearing identical Six Paths robes with tomoe, stood motionless, while their ninjutsu clashed continuously in the space between them.
"Hagoromo Gengetsu!" Naruto immediately noticed Hagoromo Gengetsu and was about to rush forward.
Suddenly, his feet stiffened, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take another step.
"Don't get any closer!" Having encountered this technique once before, Naruto quickly warned the others.
Seeing this, Jiraiya and the others immediately halted.
After Naruto explained the situation, they realized that the current state was caused by the Heavenly Absolute Order, the same technique that had previously caused chaos with the sealing scroll and tailed beasts.
"Even the caster is affected?" Minato looked at Hagoromo Gengetsu, with whom he had a brief encounter before, his expression grave.
On the other hand, Tsunade, who had seen Hagoromo Gengetsu multiple times, carefully examined him before loudly exclaiming, "It really is you, isn't it!"
Hagoromo Gengetsu, already aware of Konoha's arrival, paid them no mind. He merely nodded casually when Tsunade called out to him.
Seeing this, Tsunade couldn't help but think about what she had seen and heard before, and blurted out, "Is this what you meant by saving the Shinobi world?"
Hagoromo Gengetsu finally responded, "This is, of course, saving the Shinobi world."
The two before him, one aiming to turn everyone on the planet into his livestock, and the other, having seen his lifelong ideals shattered, had become an extremist. No one knew what further extreme actions they might take.
As for the Sage of Six Paths, this old schemer had haunted the Shinobi world for a thousand years, constantly suppressing any juniors who threatened his position, fearing they might dethrone him. Such a parasitic figure, who had ignored the Shinobi world's centuries of bloodshed, obviously needed to be eliminated for the future of the Shinobi world.
Compared to these individuals, Hagoromo Gengetsu considered himself the most normal.
The wheels of history continue to turn.
Having become the leader of a new era, Hagoromo Gengetsu felt it was his duty to eliminate these dangerous individuals.
At this moment, after hearing Hagoromo Gengetsu's words and seeing the current situation, Tsunade suddenly began to understand.
Indeed.
Hagoromo Gengetsu had eliminated Kaguya Otsutsuki and another... Wait, that guy looked familiar. After the battle ended, peace returned to the Shinobi world.
As for Hagoromo Gengetsu himself, Tsunade looked at the terrifying ninjutsu he casually unleashed, which made her sense of danger go wild. Then she looked at the group of Konoha shinobi.
In the face of Hagoromo Gengetsu's overwhelming ninjutsu, how many rounds could they survive?
No matter what he intended to do next, with such a disparity in power, it wouldn't cause much more destruction to the Shinobi world.
Thinking about it this way, it didn't seem so bad.
At this moment, it wasn't just Tsunade who noticed the vast gap in power. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and the others also recognized the reality.
If their understanding of chakra was merely about techniques, they hadn't grasped its essence. But the three before them had reached an almost divine level in chakra manipulation, able to perform all kinds of chakra-based techniques without hand seals.
For a while, the only sounds were the continuous explosions of ninjutsu. The scene was otherwise silent.
Until Jiraiya suddenly noticed something.
"Wait, isn't that Uchiha Madara?"
Uchiha Madara?
Compared to Hagoromo Gengetsu, the name Uchiha Madara had been well-known to the Konoha shinobi since childhood.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others instinctively looked over.
Sure enough, he was the spitting image of the statue in the Valley of the End.
But why was Uchiha Madara, who was supposedly killed by the First Hokage in the Valley of the End, here now?
At that moment, Uchiha Madara snorted coldly.
If he weren't immobilized, he would have already crushed these Konoha ants who were staring at him like he was some kind of sideshow.
But, his current situation wasn't good at all!