Ti slipped by faster than expected.
By the ti Fujimoto Tōma finished explaining how to absorb natural energy and convert it into chakra, the sky had already begun to darken. As the training below gradually ca to an end, he nodded quietly to himself.
He wasn’t worried about the thod spreading too quickly.
A faint, cold smile crossed his face.
If soone tried to "steal" it recklessly, they couldn’t bla him for what happened next.
One reason natural energy felt so gentle in Konoha right now was because he was here. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to personally oversee the process or step in whenever soone lost control.
If other villages copied the thod without him stabilizing the environnt, figuring it out safely would cost ti. And lives.
By the ti they managed it, Konoha’s unification would already be complete.
Of course, Tōma wouldn’t always be present when people trained. But once enough practitioners existed, they could supervise one another. The risks would remain higher without him, but with caution and experience, it would still be manageable.
More importantly, he believed that sooner or later, soone would develop a safer, more systematic way to learn it.
What he taught now was only a rough frawork, adapted from Mount Myōboku’s principles and simplified through his own experience.
It wasn’t ant to be final.
As for why he made the thod public, the reasons were simple.
First, there was the undeniable satisfaction of reshaping the direction of an entire world with his own hands.
Second, collective intelligence.
Tōma had no intention of walking the sa road as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, relying solely on innate advantage and abandoning growth. Even now, he could already derive ways to use natural energy directly in place of ninjutsu, each technique potentially rivaling S-rank jutsu.
But no individual mind could surpass the combined creativity of a world.
At first, people would convert natural energy into chakra and rely on familiar techniques. Over ti, though, soone would begin designing abilities built entirely around natural energy itself.
And when that happened, Tōma would benefit most.
At his level, understanding a technique once its principles were revealed was effortless. If soone else discovered it, that knowledge effectively beca his as well.
Not to ntion...
A certain obsessive researcher.
Tōma smiled faintly. Soone like Orochimaru would absolutely dive into natural energy from day one. Whatever twisted or brilliant techniques Orochimaru produced, Tōma was genuinely curious to see.
Hoarding knowledge was inefficient.
Letting the world refine it for him was far better.
With that thought, space beside him twisted open into a dark rift. The dinsional gate responded smoothly, stable and imdiate.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya’s space-ti technique was undeniably convenient. Faster and more reliable than anything Tōma had used before.
On the other side, two figures were already waiting.
Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
They had been summoned, though neither knew why.
Tōma stepped out of the rift and smiled. "Sorry. Took longer than I expected. They learned slower than I thought."
"It’s fine," Sasuke replied calmly. "We didn’t wait long."
Naruto, however, looked distracted. His usual energy was muted, his expression clouded.
"You’re still hesitating?" Tōma asked.
Naruto scratched his head and forced a grin that fooled no one. "Nah... I already decided. It’s just... well..."
He trailed off.
"If you don’t want to fight," Tōma said evenly, "you can step back once this starts."
"No!" Naruto snapped imdiately. "The faster this war ends, the fewer people die, right?"
Tōma nodded.
"Then I have to be there," Naruto said firmly, clenching his fist. "I’ll end it as fast as I can!"
Sasuke glanced at him sideways. "Then stop wearing that look. You’ve already chosen."
"Eh? That’s harsh..." Naruto muttered.
Tōma nodded once. "Good. Then let’s move on."
He looked at both of them. "Have you ever heard the story of Asura and Indra?"
They exchanged glances and shook their heads.
As expected.
"Asura and Indra were the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths," Tōma began. "They inherited different aspects of his power."
Naruto listened blankly. Sasuke, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Indra was the elder," Tōma continued. "A prodigy. He awakened the Sharingan at birth and possessed overwhelming talent. He created ninjutsu itself."
Sasuke’s gaze sharpened.
"Asura was the younger brother. He lacked that natural talent and struggled at first."
"And their beliefs differed," Tōma said. "Indra believed power alone could solve everything. Asura believed cooperation and bonds were the key to peace."
Naruto tilted his head, already half-lost.
"In the end," Tōma went on, "the Sage tested them to choose a successor. Indra relied on his own strength. Asura relied on others."
Sasuke frowned. "Asura inherited the Sage’s power."
"Yes," Tōma replied. "And Indra resented it."
He paused briefly.
"Black Zetsu manipulated that resentnt. The brothers fought. Asura won. But Indra swore he would reincarnate endlessly to defeat him."
"...Reincarnate?" Sasuke repeated.
"The previous incarnations," Tōma said, smiling slightly, "were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama."
Sasuke’s pupils contracted sharply.
Naruto stared between them. "Wait, what does that an?"
"It ans," Tōma said patiently, "that you are Asura’s current incarnation."
Naruto froze. "...And Sasuke?"
"Indra."
The silence stretched.
Finally, Sasuke exhaled. "So what? Their conflict was theirs. That doesn’t an Naruto and I have to follow their script."
Naruto blinked. Then nodded hard. "Yeah! We’re not enemies!"
"There is one conflict," Sasuke added flatly.
"Huh?"
"I’ll compete for the Hokage position," Sasuke said. "Even after unification, that seat will still exist."
"No way! That’s mine!" Naruto shot back.
Sasuke ignored him and looked at Tōma. "Win or lose, I won’t resent him. And I won’t beco his enemy."
"Sa here!" Naruto raised his hand enthusiastically.
Tōma chuckled. "Good."
He grew serious.
"Before my battle with Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths entrusted his remaining power to ."
Naruto and Sasuke both stiffened.
"I didn’t use it in that fight," Tōma added.
They stared at him in disbelief.
"...Show-off," both of them thought at the sa ti.
"The Sage asked ," Tōma continued calmly, "to pass that power on to you after Kaguya’s defeat."
Sasuke frowned. "Will it interfere with our own growth?"
"No," Tōma said. "It has no imprint. It enhances you temporarily. Once used, it fades."
He looked at them seriously.
"I don’t want you to rely on it. Seal it. Experience that level. Then make it your own."
Naruto nodded imdiately. Sasuke followed after a mont.
"So," Tōma asked, "do you accept it?"
They stepped forward together.
Tōma raised both hands. Golden sun and pale moon symbols glowed on his palms, perfectly balanced.
He had already rged Yin and Yang completely. Not divided. Not biased.
Naruto and Sasuke placed their hands against his.
Light exploded across the mountainside.
White and gold surged outward, shaking the air with a pressure that marked the birth of two new inheritors.
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