— — — — — —
"No, no!"
"War isn't always a bad thing. Sure, it's terrible for people—but when it cos to power, war pushes the world forward more than peace ever does. It's through conflict that people grow stronger—breaking past limits, again and again, until they reach the top."
"History proves it. Be it humans or their weapons."
He paused, then added with a sharp glint in his eyes, "Honestly... I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—your big brother—was planning all along."
"Maybe even the endless conflict between his two sons, that whole cycle of reincarnation, was just part of his setup. What if he was deliberately stirring up wars to forge stronger warriors?"
"Or maybe... maybe there's an even deeper motive behind it all."
Renzo's expression grew serious. He felt like he was starting to piece things together.
That Sage of Six Paths really was a crafty bastard...
His sches ran deep.
"What if that old man's been hiding in the Pure Land all this ti, using war to generate powerful souls—then harvesting them to boost himself even more?" Renzo muttered to himself.
Could it be that this so-called Sage was trying to tap into the souls of the dead, to achieve so form of immortality or godlike power?
Otherwise, how the hell did he manage to summon every legendary soul during the Fourth Great Ninja War like it was nothing?
And how could he, despite being long dead, still hand out those crazy power-ups to Naruto and Sasuke and help reseal Kaguya?
None of that adds up!
"This is..."
Ōtsutsuki Hamura furrowed his brows. "You're saying war is necessary—that it's what makes the world stronger and forges powerful warriors?"
"Isn't it, though?" Renzo shrugged. "In tis of peace, when the economy is booming, no one gives a damn about strength or fighting. That's when power becos outdated."
"But when people need power to protect what they care about... that's when they push themselves, when they're willing to fight and bleed to get stronger. Otherwise, who'd bother with all the pain and suffering of training?"
He sighed. "And let's be real—training's a hell of a grind."
To Renzo, the whole Boruto era was proof of that. Just look at how weak that generation turned out compared to the old days.
Even if we don't go that far ahead—think about the gap between the end of the Third Ninja War and the start of the Fourth. During that peaceti, Konoha's genin, Naruto's generation, were honestly pathetic compared to the earlier ones.
If they hadn't gotten their ridiculous power-ups later, there's no way they could hold a candle to guys like Uchiha Itachi or even Kakashi.
Twelve years of training, and most of them still couldn't master basic techniques like the Clone Jutsu trio. That's six years of wasted effort!
How bad do you have to be for that?
"So... is this the real truth?" Hamura muttered. "Did my brother realize this too? Is that why he kept reincarnating Asura and Indra's chakra over and over again?"
He looked shaken—clearly having a hard ti processing it.
This wasn't the world he thought they were building. And it sure as hell wasn't the future he and his brother agreed upon.
They sealed their mother away for a reason, didn't they?
It was because they couldn't accept how she sacrificed innocent people to create an army of White Zetsu.
But now... what had his brother done?
He'd stirred up war after war, letting countless people die in the na of "growth."
Wasn't that a thousand tis worse than what their mother did?
Wasn't it even more brutal?
"Can you let go?" Hamura suddenly asked, looking dead in the eye.
He'd realized it a while ago—he had no control here. His life, his freedom... they were all in Uchiha Renzo's hands.
"You want to find Hagoromo?"
"That's right."
Renzo looked at him for a mont and sighed. "Man... I don't even know what to say about you."
Hamura nodded seriously. "I want to ask him myself. If everything you just said is true, then both of us—my brother and I—were wrong. Or at least... he's completely lost his way."
Renzo couldn't help shaking his head. "Naive as hell," he thought. "No wonder Hagoromo ran circles around him in the original story."
"Well, whatever. Do what you want," Renzo said with a wave of his hand. "But just so we're clear—I'm keeping the Tenseigan."
As he spoke, he released the barrier of Takamagahara and let Hamura go.
"That's fine."
Hamura actually smiled as he nodded. "I can tell—you're incredibly strong. And what you've shown so far... it's just the tip of the iceberg, isn't it? If the Tenseigan helps you get even stronger, then by all ans, keep it."
"With soone like you around, I believe the Ninja World will be in good hands. You'll be able to stop whatever threats may co."
With that, Hamura turned and disappeared—leaving the moon behind.
"…That was Hamura? And Hagoromo's descendant?"
Deep within the moon, in the darkness of a seal, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya slowly lifted her head, gazing toward Renzo's direction.
"Oh?"
Renzo suddenly felt a powerful gaze on him and turned to et it—his eyes cutting through layers of space, locking directly with Kaguya's.
"Heh."
He smiled and sent her a casual ssage across space: "See ya next ti, Big Bunny."
With that, he didn't even bother using the old portal he ca in through. He simply waved his hand and opened up a new spatial gate connected to Earth and walked right in.
"Hmm… only used up about one ten-thousandth of my source energy. Not bad! Definitely way more efficient now. Thanks, Eevee! Hehehe…"
As soon as he got back, Renzo calculated his energy expenditure and grinned when he saw how little had been drained.
But just then, he felt a sudden, intense sensation—like soone was watching him.
Then ca a spatial pull, like sothing was trying to drag him in.
Renzo narrowed his eyes and followed the force with full awareness.
And sure enough, his gaze locked straight onto Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, deep within the Pure Land of the Underworld.
"Ho ho~?"
Renzo raised a brow. "That fast, huh? So Hamura already t with you?"
"…Guess it didn't go well. Got suppressed, did he? Idiot and weak!"
"Well, since you're pulling in, I might as well stop by."
With that, Renzo didn't resist the pull. He let the spatial force draw him in—and disappeared from the ninja world.
. . .
He reappeared inside the Pure Land.
A vast, gray void stretched in every direction. Deathly silent. In the distance flowed the River of Souls, and behind it, a gaping, bottomless pit. Aside from that, there was nothing but countless wandering spirits.
The whole place had an eerie similarity to Hueco Mundo from the Bleach world.
"Nice to finally et you, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo."
Renzo greeted him with a friendly smile.
Hagoromo slowly stood up from his dramatic, floating lotus pose and fixed his gaze on Renzo. His eyes were sharp and probing.
"You… You're not from this world, are you?"
"I've been watching you for so ti now. There's too much about you that doesn't add up."
"I had planned to observe you a bit longer… but you shouldn't have pushed Hamura to confront . And you definitely shouldn't have deceived him."
"Huh?" Renzo blinked, then burst out laughing. "Deceived him? You seriously have the nerve to say that? Everything I said was true!"
"Maybe it was all just theory before I got here. But the mont I laid eyes on you—yeah, I knew it. Everything I said was spot-on."
He stepped forward, his tone sharpening. "So it was you stirring up conflict all these centuries, huh?"
"And that giant toad? He's in on it with you, isn't he?"
"You two really pulled a fast one on the entire ninja world. A millennium of war and chaos—manipulated by you—and you've got the guts to accuse of lying to Hamura?"
"Let's be real. If anyone lied to him, it was you."
Renzo's expression darkened.
His body shifted, transforming into his Shinigami form—cold, detached, and lethal.
"So that's what this is about… You dragged here to the Pure Land, thinking the environnt would corrode . Break down. Weaken ."
He let out a snort. "Tough luck, old man. This place? It can't corrupt ."
"Because I'm the true God of Death."
With that declaration, Renzo's terrifying Reiatsu erupted outward.
BOOM!!!
The sheer force of it flattened every soul in the vicinity for dozens of kiloters.
Even Hagoromo staggered, feeling an unbearable weight pressing down on his soul. It felt like his very essence was being crushed.
But in the next instant, he summoned the powers of the Pure Land—drawing in soul energy from countless spirits, reinforcing himself, and regaining control.
"Incredible… Such overwhelming spiritual force! And the way he's manipulating it—so precise, so refined…"
"This… This is the true path I've been seeking! The path of the Shinigami!"
Hagoromo's eyes burned with obsession.
Without hesitation, he raised his staff and lunged toward Renzo at blinding speed.
Right now, there was only one thing on his mind—capture Uchiha Renzo, analyze this form down to its very core, and make it his own.
Because in this Shinigami form… Hagoromo had seen the future he had always dread of.
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.
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