Naruto: From Ninja Academy to an Early Grave

As Makoto had said, Sasuke and Naruto really were special.

The two chakra figures that emerged from their bodies looked ancient in appearance. Their clothing didn't resemble anything from the modern era, and their faces shared a certain resemblance.

The figure above Sasuke's head had a sharper, more imposing expression. More notably, his eyes contained a three-tomoe Sharingan. However, his tomoe pattern was slightly different from the traditional Uchiha design, with the three tomoe almost connected into a single shape.

Regardless, the presence of the Sharingan made it clear that this person had a deep connection to the Uchiha Clan.

The figure above Naruto's head looked much gentler and more approachable. However, he didn't have red hair, making it impossible to tell whether he was related to the Uzumaki Clan.

Neither figure appeared to possess any independent consciousness. They couldn't speak, couldn't communicate, and simply stared at one another with vacant eyes.

It seemed that an irreconcilable hatred existed between them. Even after losing their awareness, they still retained the obsession to continue fighting each other.

Since appearing, they had remained suspended in the air, facing one another while jointly resisting the annihilating force of the natural energy.

But in the end, they were nothing more than chakra imbued with lingering obsessions. It wouldn't be long before they were completely erased.

Makoto sighed inwardly.

As expected of the reincarnated chakra of Indra and Asura. They really did have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Still, letting them be annihilated entirely felt a little wasteful. After all, they could be considered a small cheat for Sasuke and Naruto.

So Makoto secretly intervened, gradually separating the lingering obsessions while preserving the pure chakra itself.

The moment the reincarnated chakra was forced out of their bodies, Sasuke and Naruto's training was already complete.

Identical silver Sage markings appeared on both of their foreheads.

Moreover, the markings did not disappear even after they stopped absorbing natural energy.

This proved that they had successfully entered the third stage of Natural Energy Training: Constant Sage Mode.

At the moment, however, both young men were staring upward at the ghosts floating above their heads, completely unsure what to do.

All they could do was remain seated and wait for the outcome.

At the same time, both of them recalled the horror stories they usually read.

They felt like they had run into actual ghosts, and the thought made their scalps tingle.

Kushina looked thoroughly displeased.

"Why is something like that hidden inside Naruto? Who is that guy? Don't tell me ghosts really exist in this world?"

Mikoto studied the figure above Sasuke.

"The person above Sasuke's head is a member of the Uchiha Clan."

"It certainly appears so, Mother," Itachi agreed.

Minato nodded.

"No wonder you said they were special, Makoto. You were right."

Shisui asked, "Makoto, you probably know who they are, don't you?"

Fugaku spoke next.

"Could this be one of our Uchiha ancestors? Makoto, if you know the answer, please tell us. I'm worried Sasuke might be affected by this in some negative way."

Everyone understood.

Since Sasuke and Naruto had indeed displayed the strange phenomenon Makoto predicted, he must know the reason behind it.

Makoto wasn't the type to play riddles.

Besides, the world had already become what it was. A little spoiler wouldn't hurt anyone.

If anything went wrong, he could always blame it on Urashiki.

Sometimes dead people were more useful than living ones.

Pointing at the chakra figure above Sasuke's head, he explained: "Fugaku-san, your guess isn't wrong. He is indeed one of your ancestors. His name is Indra."

"But he's not just some ancestor."

"He's the source of the Uchiha bloodline itself. Indra's descendants eventually adopted Uchiha as their family name, and over time they developed into the clan you know today."

"As for whether there are any other branches descended from him, I don't know."

Fugaku was visibly surprised.

"So he's our original ancestor."

Kushina hurriedly pointed at Naruto's figure.

"Makoto, what about this one? Is he an ancestor of the Uzumaki Clan?"

"That's right."

Makoto nodded.

"His name is Asura. His descendants still survive today in two bloodlines."

"One is the Uzumaki Clan."

"The other is the Senju Clan."

"Kushina-sensei, the Uzumaki have always said they're distant relatives of the Senju. This is the reason why.

"The Uzumaki and Senju originally came from the same ancestor."

Realization dawned on Kushina's face.

"So that's how it is."

Minato then asked the crucial question.

"But why would the chakra of the two clans' ancestors appear inside Sasuke and Naruto? Do they have some sort of purpose?"

Makoto replied: "According to the information I gathered in Boruto's world, Indra and Asura were actually full brothers born to the same father and mother."

"However, the two eventually became enemies. The obsessions they left behind before death were so strong that their chakra continued reincarnating through their descendants generation after generation, carrying on their conflict and mission of opposition."

"In other words, the Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha Clans all originated from the same ancestor."

"So not only do Sasuke and Naruto share the same bloodline origin, but if you look at it from the perspective of chakra reincarnation, they're actually a pair of brothers."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance.

The revelation felt strange.

Although neither of them liked the idea of being influenced by the wills of their ancestors, they were unexpectedly not opposed to that relationship.

Itachi asked curiously, "Makoto-senpai, if the two ancestors have been reincarnating and fighting each other all this time, that means it has happened over many generations. Who were their previous reincarnations?"

"Asura's previous reincarnation was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. As for Indra's previous reincarnation, I think you can guess."

Fugaku answered immediately, "The previous clan head, Uchiha Madara."

"That's right."

Fugaku let out a sigh.

"So that's where the hatred between the Uchiha and Senju came from. They were originally brothers, yet they've been killing each other for over a thousand years."

Shisui then asked, "If they were brothers, who was their father?"

Makoto looked toward both families.

"Their father? Everyone here knows him."

"He was the legendary figure of the ninja world—the Sage of Six Paths."

"His name was Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo."

"Indra and Asura also bore the surname Ōtsutsuki."

"In other words, all of you are actually descendants of the bloodline the Ōtsutsuki left behind in the ninja world."

That was an unexpected revelation.

Naruto and Sasuke both felt completely screwed over.

So the Ōtsutsuki were actually us all along?

Fugaku immediately rejected the idea.

"No. The Ōtsutsuki have nothing to do with us anymore. The Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju are all ninja of the ninja world."

Minato agreed.

"Exactly. No matter why the Ōtsutsuki left descendants behind, too much time has passed."

"Now, they are enemies of the ninja world."

Kushina waved her hand impatiently.

"I don't care about any of that. What are we supposed to do about these two guys?"

"Obviously, annihilate them."

Makoto looked at the lingering chakra figures.

"It's time to put an end to this pointless cycle of reincarnation."

However, just as he was about to accelerate the destruction of Indra and Asura's lingering wills, the two masses of chakra suddenly began showing signs of merging together.

Makoto did not interfere.

He simply allowed the two streams of chakra to combine.

Moments later, the two brothers vanished.

In their place, an entirely new figure appeared, floating cross-legged before everyone.

An old man.

Two horns protruded from his forehead.

A red target-like mark sat between his brows, resembling a third eye.

Nine black Truth-Seeking Balls floated behind him, while a black Sage's staff hovered above his knees. Both hands rested upon the staff as he maintained a dignified posture.

His Rinnegan slowly swept across the crowd.

After briefly pausing on Sasuke and Naruto beneath him, his gaze ultimately settled on Makoto.

Everyone felt a considerable amount of pressure.

Since Urashiki had appeared before—and his corpse was currently in Konoha's possession—people like Minato and Fugaku immediately recognized the old man's identity.

Horns.

Rinnegan.

There was no mistake.

He was an Ōtsutsuki.

And considering his connection to Indra and Asura, his identity was obvious.

The Sage of Six Paths.

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.

Makoto, however, felt no pressure whatsoever.

Meeting the legendary figure's gaze head-on, he said, "Oh? You've finally decided to show yourself, Sage of Six Paths?"

"It seems you know who I am, young man."

"I do."

"The man who pacified an age of chaos."

"The founder of Ninshū."

"The origin of all shinobi."

"I've heard of your achievements in a parallel world, Sage of Six Paths-sama."

"And in this world, I've also sensed your existence."

As he spoke, Makoto likewise floated into the air in a cross-legged position.

Nine Truth-Seeking Balls appeared beneath him.

With a single thought, his outfit changed.

A black robe covered in silver runic patterns replaced his previous attire.

At a time like this, he absolutely could not lose on style.

You have Six Paths Mode.

I have the True Sage outfit.

The Sage of Six Paths studied Makoto's appearance.

"So you can perceive my existence through the barrier between life and death and the mortal world?"

"Of course."

"It's all a matter of understanding space."

"The living world, the Pure Land, parallel timelines—every one of them is a real space."

"When one's abilities reach the necessary level, all of them can be observed."

The Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly.

"Indeed."

"You truly are extraordinarily gifted."

"You've already reached a realm of power that someone like me—a dead man—can no longer advance into."

"Then if you're no longer among the living, why return to the mortal world?"

The Sage of Six Paths smiled faintly.

"Naturally, I came to ask you to show mercy."

"Your two sons are already dead. What remains are merely their lingering obsessions. Why speak of mercy?"

The Sage of Six Paths let out a soft sigh.

"Then consider it a request from a father wishing to preserve one final keepsake of his children."

"And, as you said yourself, let us bring this thousand-year cycle of reincarnation to an end."