Naruto: From Ninja Academy to an Early Grave

Chakra is formed from a mixture of physical energy and spiritual energy.

And spiritual energy contains a person's consciousness. That was what made life in the ninja world unique—the soul itself had already become chakra.

That was why all kinds of tangible clone techniques used by shinobi could act independently.

Which raised a question.

Other than their lingering obsessions, did Indra's and Asura's chakra possess independent consciousness?

According to Makoto's perception, there was a little.

Though it was so little that it might as well have not existed.

If it did exist, then only a trace of self-awareness remained—barely enough to sustain its own existence. Everything else was a thousand-year-old obsession that subtly influenced Sasuke's and Naruto's personalities over time.

This was completely different from the reincarnation of souls in the legends of Makoto's previous life, or the body-snatching often seen in novels.

So when the Sage of Six Paths made his request, Makoto simply replied: "As you wish, Elder."

This whole family was basically made up of ghosts. They had been dead for who knew how many years. Even the old father had only managed to appear by gathering the chakra of his two sons. He might as well let the three of them reunite somewhere beyond the living world.

The Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly and personally separated the wills contained within his sons' chakra, drawing out two masses of chakra tangled together.

The moment they left his control, they instinctively tried to return to Sasuke and Naruto.

However, Makoto beckoned with a hand and trapped them in his palm.

The Sage of Six Paths did not stop him. Instead, he looked at Makoto and said, "I never expected parallel worlds to exist. Since you've been to one, young man, you should know why I left Indra's and Asura's chakra in the ninja world to continue reincarnating."

"I do. In that world, you could say you succeeded."

The Sage of Six Paths smiled.

"But that was merely a parallel world, not the one we live in. Still, with someone like you existing in the present era, I have nothing to worry about."

"I am already a dead man. It would be inconvenient for me to remain among the living for too long."

"So, everyone, this is where we part ways."

The old man glanced around at the crowd and prepared to return to where he belonged.

"Wait."

"Oh? Young man? Why have you stopped this old man?"

Makoto pointed at Sasuke and Naruto.

"They're your descendants, aren't they? Not to mention the reincarnations of your two sons' chakra. You finally made an appearance after all this time—aren't you going to leave them some sort of gift?"

He was planning to shake down the old geezer for some loot and get the Six Paths Yin and Yang Power into Naruto and Sasuke ahead of schedule. It was a genuinely useful thing and would save them a lot of training time.

The Sage of Six Paths chuckled and shook his head.

"Hehe. With a powerful sensei like you guiding them, they no longer need me to do anything unnecessary."

"Besides, this is Indra's and Asura's final reincarnation. Their chakra will awaken completely, and the effects will far surpass those of all previous reincarnations."

"So there are still some things I'd rather keep in reserve, just in case."

The old man finished speaking and immediately ran off. His chakra projection dispersed into nothingness.

He left decisively.

Perhaps he was worried Makoto might try to rob him by force.

After all, he knew perfectly well that he wasn't Makoto's opponent. He probably couldn't have won even while alive, much less now that he was dead.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

The old man... just left?

Kushina blinked.

"Huh? He's gone? Makoto, was that really the legendary Sage of Six Paths?"

"That was him."

"But... isn't he dead?"

"Kushina-sensei, in this world, the boundary between life and death is actually very blurry."

Minato and the others understood that point quite well.

The ninja world already possessed methods capable of reviving the dead.

Compared to that, dragging a deceased person out of the Pure Land for a chat wasn't particularly shocking.

The miraculous thing about chakra was that it could connect not only the living, but also different worlds.

It could connect the living world and the Pure Land itself.

Still, they were amazed.

Life really was full of surprises.

Today, they had actually met the legendary ancestor of the ninja world—the Sage of Six Paths.

At the same time, it indirectly proved that Higashino Makoto's strength had already reached, or perhaps even surpassed, that of the Sage of Six Paths himself.

The title God of Shinobi was clearly no longer enough to describe him.

...

With the Sage of Six Paths gone, Sasuke's and Naruto's Constant Sage Mode had finally been completed.

Now the only thing left was the intertwined chakra resting in Makoto's hand.

Minato asked, "What should we do with those two chakra masses now?"

Fugaku added, "Should we return them? They should be harmless now, right?"

Makoto did not answer directly.

Instead, he looked at the two people involved.

"This belongs to you. Decide for yourselves."

Sasuke immediately asked, "Will it make me stronger?"

"Yes. This is the purest chakra of the Sons of Six Paths. It used to remain dormant within your bodies, but now it has been fully awakened."

Naruto asked, "Makoto-sensei, what I'm more concerned about is whether Asura's will is still in there. I don't want my thoughts being influenced by some ancestor, inheriting some inexplicable obsession."

"Sasuke and I are rivals, but we're also friends. We're definitely not mortal enemies. As for that thousand-year-long conflict, I'd rather pass."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and nodded.

"I agree."

Makoto smiled.

"Do you really think I'd let something like that happen? Don't worry. The wills and obsessions of Indra and Asura were already taken away by the Sage of Six Paths."

"Then I'm relieved."

Sasuke said nothing more and simply nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Makoto conducted one final thorough inspection with his powerful perception. After confirming there were indeed no hidden dangers, he compressed the two chakra masses and accelerated their fusion.

Indra's and Asura's chakra represented Yin and Yang respectively. Letting them fuse a little more with each other would be beneficial.

Once the process had reached the appropriate point, Makoto forcibly separated them again and swiftly injected them into Sasuke's and Naruto's bodies.

The moment Sasuke fused with Indra's chakra, his aura surged dramatically.

The power of his eyes underwent an instantaneous qualitative transformation.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was activated. The three black tomoe began spinning at high speed.

Soon, as they rotated, they merged and split apart, forming a crimson six-pointed star. His originally scarlet pupils turned black.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan successfully evolved into a Mangekyō Sharingan.

But it wasn't over yet.

The six-pointed star continued rotating until a black circular pattern appeared at its center. Within that circle was a crimson design.

Only then did the transformation stop.

It was identical to the silver Sage markings on his forehead, except for the color.

One was silver.

The other was red.

This was neither an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan nor an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

It was an entirely new eye born from the combined blessings of pure Indra chakra and natural energy.

Sasuke had already reached Constant Sage Mode through his own training, and he had also obtained a portion of Asura's chakra. His body was exceptionally robust.

Naturally, using this new Mangekyō would not cause him to go blind.

Fugaku's face lit up with delight.

This was wonderful.

The Uchiha Clan now possessed three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan. Their strength had reached an unprecedented level.

He hurriedly asked, "Sasuke, how do you feel? What dōjutsu did your eyes awaken?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and carefully sensed the changes.

When he opened them again, his eyes had already returned to their normal black color.

Suppressing his excitement, he answered, "The dōjutsu of my left eye is called Amenotokotachi. The dōjutsu of my right eye is called Hihayahi no Kami. Their abilities are..."

Itachi immediately interrupted him.

"That's enough, Sasuke. You don't need to tell us that. It's enough that you know."

Fugaku quickly nodded.

"Right, right. I shouldn't have asked."

The two of them still retained the traditional mindset of shinobi.

Shisui, on the other hand, was somewhat different.

"It's fine. Everyone here is one of our own."

Minato merely smiled.

Fortunately, he wasn't a narrow-minded person and didn't care about such things.

Makoto cared even less.

"Sasuke, leave a little mystery. That way you can still surprise us in the future."

"Understood, Makoto-sensei. However, I don't think it's over yet. The Mangekyō feels like only the beginning. There's still power working within my eyes, but it seems like it will take some time."

"No rush. Let it develop naturally."

Compared to Sasuke, whose changes were limited to the visible evolution of his Sharingan, Naruto's transformation was far more dramatic.

The moment pure Asura chakra returned to his body, a torrent of chakra erupted from him.

A visible chakra aura, pale yellow and almost white, burst forth around his body.

The aura blasted outward like a raging gale, even causing Naruto's hair to float upward.

Makoto: "..."

For a brief moment, he felt as though he were witnessing the birth of a Super Saiyan inside the world of Naruto.

And that wasn't all.

Naruto's chakra contained astonishing vitality.

Simply standing near him made one's body feel lighter and healthier.

Taking a deep breath left one feeling refreshed and invigorated.

When his chakra swept across the wooden structures inside the training chamber, tender sprouts began growing from them out of nowhere.

One had to remember that these were dead trees created by Makoto's Wood Release.

Yet now, dead wood was blooming with new life.

Life was being born from death itself.

It was utterly ridiculous.

If what Sasuke obtained was the ultimate Yin attribute, then what Naruto obtained was the ultimate Yang attribute.

In Makoto's view, however, this was somewhat unbalanced.

Neither of them had achieved true Yin-Yang completeness.

The system he followed was founded upon the principle of Yin-Yang equilibrium.

The partial fusion of Indra's and Asura's chakra had automatically allowed them to reach the state where Yang served as the framework of Yin, and Yin served as the channels of Yang—a harmonious balance between the two.

But if Sasuke and Naruto wished to advance to the next stage, where Yin and Yang generated one another and evolved into their own Yin-Yang Power, they still had a long road ahead of them.

Even so, compared to everyone else, they were already practically using cheat codes.