HSU: Ch. 297

Hagoromo remarked that in all his long years of life, it was the first time someone had looked at him with such disdain. Although living for so long had made his memories somewhat blurry, he was quite certain that people always looked at him with reverence.

So, he decided to present himself with the dignity befitting an ancestor.

"Entering your and Matatabi's consciousness without permission, yes, that was my fault," Hagoromo said. "However, you were once very eager to meet me. Let's call it even."

Masashi made no comment on this seemingly meaningful statement. In the past, he had wanted to meet Hagoromo to reach greater heights. But after meeting him once, he had realized, this guy was stingy.

He was clearly not the so-called "Child of Prophecy" acknowledged by this old man.

Behind him, the calm surface of the water began to ripple, then churn violently, bubbling up. The water seemed to boil, swelling upward and rising like gelatin. In moments, the reverse-flowing water took form and transformed into Matatabi.

"Hi!" Upon emerging, Matatabi casually greeted Masashi as usual, then raised a paw seriously and introduced, "This is what you humans call the Sage of Six Paths, the old man who created us."

"…I know."

"Matatabi," said Hagoromo, "we've already met."

What's with this kid? Why is he so cheeky now?

He was unused to many things, and cheeky personalities were one of them. Having spent a lifetime being serious, and even in death, remaining serious, he felt a growing sense of disconnect every time he met descendants. Since his passing, the world had changed at a pace that rendered it unrecognizable to him.

It wasn't so bad in the earlier years, he couldn't yet be considered a man of another era. But as time passed and he gradually became a "myth," every person who saw him would say: So the myth is real, after all.

And the bloodlust in future generations only grew stronger. What comforted him was that the reincarnations of Asura's chakra tended to be relatively pure.

Still, he wasn't here today to complain about tailed beasts. Adopting the speech patterns of the current era, he began speaking to Masashi.

"I have been observing you for some time."

"The two chakra reincarnations you're watching over are doing well," Masashi said with a faint smile. "Don't worry. I'll protect them."

"No, you misunderstood. I've been observing you, for your own sake. Your power, in this era, can already be considered invincible. Like the original Asura and Indra. But you still actively participate in war. That, undoubtedly, is a very sorrowful thing."

Hagoromo truly felt this way. He disliked ninjutsu, but he acknowledged its effectiveness. The people of this era were far stronger than in his time. If such power were not used for mutual slaughter, but to protect the world, even if it was originally created to kill, it could still be considered a worthy choice.

"I must tell you a secret. Something that happened in my era," he decided. He was about to reveal a truth he had intended only for the reincarnations of his sons' chakra.

After all, it had taken so much effort for the world to finally forget about his mother. If possible, Hagoromo wished that no one would ever remember it again.

Kaguya was part of myth too, but no one knew anymore that she had once strung up everyone on trees. In the myths, she was a benevolent deity who blessed humanity. Now, people only knew that the Sage of Six Paths had defeated a monster called the Ten Tails and protected the world.

That was the image Hagoromo wished to preserve.

"A secret, huh..." Masashi put on a thoughtful expression. "If even you call it a secret, then it must be something serious. But I doubt you'd mention it for no reason, do you mean the past is about to repeat itself?"

No choice, he had to play along. Not liking someone and hating them are two different things.

Hagoromo didn't like Masashi, but it didn't affect Masashi in the slightest. However, if he hated Masashi, it definitely would have made a difference.

"You're very perceptive. That's exactly right," Hagoromo said, gazing at Masashi.

The possibility of their mother's resurrection had grown in this era, all because Madara had forcibly taken part of the Rinnegan's power from him. And so, in name, the world now had another pair of Rinnegan eyes. But all of this had been within his expectations. He had prepared himself mentally long ago, which is why he left behind the stone tablet. Unfortunately, the way Madara obtained the Rinnegan was the complete opposite of what he had hoped for.

Therefore, he had always been watching Madara. And Black Zetsu as well. But he had never expected this...

While Madara had indeed awakened the Rinnegan by triggering Hagoromo's power,

Masashi... he had inadvertently connected himself to the very force that he and Hamura had sealed away with great difficulty: their mother, Kaguya!

Still, Hagoromo believed that Masashi was unaware of this himself.

Kaguya and the Ten Tails had long become inseparable. To gain the chakra of the Ten Tails was to gain the chakra of Kaguya. Just as Madara had triggered his power and awakened the Rinnegan,

Masashi had triggered his mother's power, and thus obtained his Rinnegan.

In the quiet, enclosed space, two pairs of Rinnegan stared at each other.

Hagoromo was genuinely tempted to ask: the one looking at him now, was it really Masashi, or was it his mother?

"Once, I had a beautiful, kind, and gentle mother. That was the happiest time of my life."

He began to speak. Deep inside, he vaguely held on to a certain hope. He observed Masashi's expression and noticed, this guy actually seemed to be listening with great interest.

This gave him a touch of emotion; it had been many years since he had spoken like this.

"In short, that's how it was. After consuming the Chakra Fruit, my mother's personality changed drastically. In the end, my brother Hamura and I sealed her away, and what you now know as the Moon was formed."

"Sounds… pretty terrifying," Masashi commented. He felt that Hagoromo really wasn't much of a storyteller. Not even as good as Black Zetsu, whose stories might be dull too, but at least it knew how to build suspense.

Hagoromo's storytelling, by contrast, was bone-dry. Still, when he mentioned his mother, he clearly tried to speak of her in the best possible light. Probably, even after sealing her, some part of him still regretted the nature of their relationship.

"It is terrifying," Hagoromo agreed. "With your current power, even your Sharingan alone surpasses all others. It would be best not to rely too much on the power of the tailed beasts."

"I'll take your advice into consideration," Masashi replied with a smile. "Since you're observing the world, then you must know, there's another pair of Rinnegan out there. Just because I don't use mine… doesn't mean he won't."

What a joke, telling him not to rely on tailed beasts? So just because he was not the "Child of Prophecy," he was not worthy of using that power?

He felt even more disappointed in Hagoromo.

Just by looking at Masashi's expression, Hagoromo could tell that his "advice" would most likely not be heeded. As for the so-called second pair of Rinnegan eyes, of course, he knew that it was the work of the previous Indra.

Even though Indra's chakra had already been lost, this reincarnation of the former would not lose the Rinnegan.

However, Indra was an Uchiha deeply accustomed to war. He preserved his Rinnegan, and the vessel meant to store those eyes ended up becoming one of the most powerful existences in the ninja world.

These troublesome descendants really gave him a headache.

"Do you know where those eyes came from?" Hagoromo asked.

"I do," Masashi replied. "Those eyes are, in legend, considered equal to your own dōjutsu. Who would dare pretend not to see them?"

Hagoromo understood then, this person before him knew everything without needing to be told, or at least had a good idea.

Madara had carried out this plan through Black Zetsu. Being able to recognize that these were Madara's eyes indicated that Masashi had a deeper understanding of the now-legendary history.

"If I help you send the previous reincarnation back to the Pure Land, will you stop using the Rinnegan?" Hagoromo offered sincerely.

From his perspective, this was the most he could offer. He did not wish to see the reincarnated one before him gain control over the power of the tailed beasts.

The power of Edo Tensei originates from the Pure Land. As the one in control of the Pure Land, he could send the reanimated souls back there, though it would be a bit troublesome. Despite his dislike for ninjutsu, Hagoromo developed techniques out of necessity. The Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei was based on the Rinnegan's abilities. Izanagi was used to create the nine tailed beasts, and the Yin-Yang Release technique was designed for the reincarnations of his sons' chakras.

He developed very few techniques for personal use, with the Pure Land being the most representative. His existence in this form was also thanks to the Pure Land. After so many years, his control over it had become instinctual.

"You can do that?" Masashi asked.

"It's troublesome, but yes, I can."

"Then I have conditions too," Masashi said. "Return what is mine, and erase all of my loved ones, including my brothers. Can you agree to that?"

Even though he missed them dearly, he didn't want his past loved ones to be brought back through Edo Tensei again. That also included preventing the man before him from doing so using the Pure Land. Although the chances of someone else gaining control over the Pure Land were slim, Hagoromo may have been biased, but Masashi believed he had enough integrity not to toy with the dead, Edo Tensei was a different matter.

To be fair, the technique was classified as S-rank in difficulty and did have a technical barrier. But the difficulty of learning a jutsu has never just been about the technical challenge.

Hiruzen and Danzō both managed to learn it.

The only techniques that couldn't be learned just through study were bloodline limits, which required special physical or spiritual energy combinations.

Masashi could use the Uchiha clan's Sharingan to copy others' bloodline techniques, not just because of the powerful chakra perception of his dōjutsu, but also because the opponent's bloodline limit was a pure chakra transformation.

Outside of that scope, it wouldn't work. And Edo Tensei, which had no such restriction, seemed to Masashi like a technique that would flood the streets the moment it leaked. Faced with Masashi's conditions, Hagoromo began to seriously consider whether he could accept them.

Filial or not, biased or stubborn, there was no denying that Hagoromo was still a good person at heart. He truly hadn't considered forcing Masashi to separate from the tailed beasts. Nor had he thought about stripping Masashi of his power. Even after all these years, his instinct was still to discuss and negotiate with others, rather than simply impose his will.

Soon, he had an answer. And he didn't intend to deceive Masashi.

"For the others, that's fine. But the reincarnations of the previous generation, especially the Kage from the past few decades, they're indispensable to the defense of this world," Hagoromo said. "I know this might be hard for you to accept, and you'll likely think I'm shameless for doing this, but I truly need their help. In principle, I also need yours. However, since you insist, I will return what is yours."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit too blunt?" Masashi asked, clearly impressed.

Whether it was sincerity or arrogance, he figured it was probably both. Hagoromo gave off an impression of honesty and confidence.

Just like Hashirama.

Genetics could be terrifying.

This was the kind of opponent the double-standard type found hardest to deal with. And as a self-proclaimed master of double standards, Masashi decided to be honest as well.

"Giving up power that I've worked so hard to obtain, it's not easy for me to accept either," he said, then partially activated Susanoo.

Chakra ribs formed around him, enveloping his body, and a skeletal right arm extended outward. The chakra of Matatabi appeared on the arm.

"As you can see, with the tailed beasts' willingness to help me, Susanoo can serve as a highly effective vessel for their power. Against powerful enemies, this allows me to end battles quickly and efficiently."

Hagoromo looked at the vibrant blue chakra dancing on Susanoo's hand. Indirect observation was different from seeing it up close. Now, up close and personal, Hagoromo could confirm: the two forces were perfectly fused in Masashi.

Among his two sons, the one who valued teamwork and rallied others with the slogan "Follow me!," Asura, was the first to use the power of the tailed beasts. The later jinchūriki system was essentially modeled after this ability.

Indra, who believed in his own power above all, with the slogan "Leave it to me," had developed Susanoo to counter such threats.

Now that these two powers had been merged, the result was… almost too effective. Putting aside his personal impression of Masashi, Hagoromo couldn't deny that the forms of power passed down from Asura and Indra had, in fact, fused into one within Masashi.

As for Masashi himself, he was a fusion of their chakra natures.

This made him the second descendant to walk the path of Bloodline Encompassing.

In theory, Hagoromo should have been happy. After all, the way the person before him had integrated both powers was far more acceptable to he than the method Madara had used.

What bothered him was Masashi's mindset. Though clearly a child of Asura, he bore the ideology of Indra. He understood unity, but deep down, only trusted himself.

How was he supposed to judge such a descendant? He himself felt conflicted. Another serious concern: Masashi's chakra was now linked to his mother.

When he used the Rinnegan's power, his mother could observe everything through his eyes.

But as the progenitor of chakra, her abilities extended far beyond that, she could use his chakra to probe into all of Masashi's memories. That meant, if she ever escaped, she would be intimately familiar with this world.

Sealing her again would become far more difficult.