Kazuki gradually intensified his ocular power.
This wasn't what he was looking for…
The characters on the stone tablet seemed to come alive, shifting and rearranging themselves, revealing new information.
This time, the content became more intriguing…
It spoke of the era of Ninshu, telling the story of the Uchiha ancestor, Indra, and the Senju ancestor, Asura—two brothers whose conflict arose over the right to inherit their father's legacy.
The Sage of the Six Paths had clearly favored Asura, expressing dissatisfaction with Indra's belief in strength and claiming that Asura's pursuit of mutual understanding was the correct path…
The Sage of the Six Paths also explained the original purpose of the chakra: to foster understanding between people.
But Indra had strayed from this path, creating ninjutsu as a means of warfare and turning chakra into a weapon.
The Sage of the Six Paths urged the descendants of the Uchiha to remember this lesson. Only through trust and cooperation between brothers could true peace be achieved.
This was the philosophy of—
By bringing together two opposing forces, all things in existence may be created.
Long ago, Uchiha Madara had once stood before this very tablet and said to Hashirama—This principle applies to everything in the world. If two opposing forces cooperate, true happiness can be attained. But… it can also be interpreted another way…
Tobirama silently studied the text. The Sage of Six Paths had even included an example to support Asura's ideology.
It was a test from the past—the selection of the successor to Ninshu.
A challenge to solve the water shortage in a village.
Asura had shared his chakra with the people, working together to find a water source.
Meanwhile, Indra had simply used his overwhelming strength to provide the village with water in a direct and efficient manner
The Sage of Six Paths believed that although Indra's method was more efficient than Asura's, it ultimately led to a different outcome.
The villagers Indra helped, having obtained water too easily, soon began fighting amongst themselves over control of the resource. The situation spiraled out of control, leading to chaos and destruction.
Meanwhile, the villagers Asura aided, having worked together to overcome hardship, managed the water source wisely. Their cooperation fostered unity, and their community thrived.
For this reason, the Sage of Six Paths did not choose his eldest son, Indra, as his successor. Instead, he selected his younger son, Asura, hoping that his belief in mutual understanding would bring peace to the shinobi world…
But Indra refused to accept this decision. He rejected the Sage of the Six Paths' request to support Asura, and, overcome with resentment for being denied his rightful place, he turned against his father's wishes.
Kazuki found the entire tale rather amusing, like watching a historical drama unfold before his eyes.
He was curious about where exactly Black Zetsu had altered the Sage's stone tablet, but so far, nothing seemed tampered with…
The reasoning behind the Sage's decision was absurd—so ridiculous, in fact, that it almost seemed too foolish to be a fabrication.
If his dear 'brother' Black Zetsu had been responsible for altering the tablet, he wouldn't have concocted such an illogical story to cover things up.
Kazuki had a certain level of respect for Black Zetsu's abilities, after all.
"Tobirama, have you finished reading?"
Despite the serious atmosphere—despite their prior discussion about passing on their final wishes—Kazuki couldn't help but smirk.
"Let's analyze this rationally, without bias. Objectively speaking, how would you evaluate the Sage of Six Paths, Indra, and Asura's story?"
Senju Tobirama rubbed his temples with visible frustration. He hadn't expected that his ancestor, Asura, had become the successor of Ninshu through such… questionable means.
Was the Sage of Six Paths joking?
From what the stone tablet described, Indra's pragmatic approach made far more sense to Tobirama. If one possessed power, one should use it to achieve efficiency.
Was that truly wrong?
As for the villagers' later conflicts over the water source—how was that related to the method of obtaining it?
The issue lay in the people themselves, not in how the water was provided.
After all, even in Konoha, which had been built through collective effort, conflict never truly ceased.
Choosing the younger son over the elder was one thing—after all, the Sage of Six Paths was the true master of Ninshu, and he could make whatever decision he wanted.
But to fabricate such an absurd justification and then force Indra to accept it? Even demanding that he assist Asura afterward?
That was nothing short of an insult.
Tobirama's Sharingan glowed with a deep crimson flash, and he objectively found himself sympathizing with Indra.
Especially when the Sage of Six Paths criticized Indra for transforming chakra—a tool meant for communication—into ninjutsu, a weapon of war.
That particular claim irritated Tobirama deeply.
Inventing the sword was not the problem—the issue was how people chose to wield it.
If humans wished to fight, even without ninjutsu, they would still resort to fists, teeth, or any weapon they could craft.
For the first time, Tobirama genuinely began to question the intelligence of the Sage of Six Paths.
"I don't care whether he was a so-called Sage or not," Tobirama muttered darkly, his gaze turning cold. "He was either naive… or deliberately malicious."
"Eliminating a capable and intelligent firstborn while forcing the younger one onto a pedestal… Something about this doesn't sit right with me."
"If I were Indra, I wouldn't accept it either. But I still find it hard to believe that the so-called Sage could make such a foolish decision."
Kazuki chuckled at Tobirama's reaction.
As far as Kazuki understands, this story is actually a fact that happened...
Yet the Sage of Six Paths' excessive obsession with mutual understanding seemed to have led Tobirama down a path of conspiracy theories.
Could a Sage truly be this foolish?
Well… yes.
"Keep reading, Kazuki." Tobirama's voice was deep. "You were right earlier—this stone tablet is crucial. By analyzing its contents, we can gain insight into the Sage of Six Paths' mindset. This is valuable intelligence."
Kazuki nodded and intensified his ocular power, but the tablet's inscriptions did not change.
He chuckled, then fed a sliver of Tailed Beast chakra into his Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan.
The moment the chakra was absorbed, his greedy eyes gleamed with renewed vitality, emitting a brilliant white light!
As though responding to that radiance, the characters on the stone tablet began to shift and rearrange.
In reality, the information did not require the Rinnegan to be read. Uchiha Madara had already deciphered the Infinite Tsukuyomi with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
With the unique combination of Kazuki's eye power, he could easily access the tablet's deepest secrets.
But what he truly wanted was for Tobirama to connect the Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan to the Sage's stone tablet.
The ever-analytical Second Hokage had already formulated an interesting conspiracy theory on his own…
Kazuki was curious to see where his imagination would take him.
Tobirama glared at the glowing Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan before turning his attention to the shifting inscriptions on the tablet.
He let out a sharp, disdainful snort.
There was undoubtedly a connection between the two.
With that realization, Tobirama was now certain—Kazuki's Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan had a direct link to the secrets left behind by the Sage of Six Paths!
Considering how Kazuki's body was being eroded, could this so-called sage really be a good person?
For now, Senju Tobirama suppressed his temper, holding back his fury as he read the words above.
[To the descendant who has reached this place, you have likely inherited my power and possess the eyes that see through everything...]
[Is the shinobi world at peace now?]
[If it is, then I am relieved. The Ninshu I founded was meant to help people understand each other, to let happiness and harmony flourish in everyone's lives.]
[But if peace has not been achieved—if war, slaughter, and senseless violence still plague the world—then it seems my nindo has failed. If you have no better way to save this world, then reset it.]
[I call this method the Infinite Tsukuyomi—a technique that can sever the chains of hatred born from conflict, sending everyone into a perfect world while reclaiming the chakra that fuels their battles...]
[If my choices have not brought peace to the world, then I ask you, my worthy descendant, to correct my mistakes.]
[The details are as follows—]
What followed was an explanation of the origins of the Ten-Tails and the God Tree, as well as the method to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, seal the Tailed Beasts within it, and finally, execute the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Kazuki nodded slightly.
The part written by the Sage of the Six Paths was utter nonsense, but the alterations made by Black Zetsu were actually quite convincing, framing the Infinite Tsukuyomi as the sage's final contingency plan...
It was surprisingly reasonable.
After all, if a so-called sage blindly believed in peace through mutual understanding without any contingencies, it would make him seem utterly brainless.
That would be way too bizarre.
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