Chapter 114

And the Rinnegan reappeared on his body,

This proves he is the true Chosen One!!!

Heaven itself has entrusted him with this mission!!

Only he can bring peace to the world!!!

……

After hearing Hashirama Senju's inner concerns,

The expressions of the Three Sages grew serious,

Even they themselves had never considered,

That the ninja world might still conceal beings no less formidable than themselves.

These beings might even be stronger than they are.

But their forms are too concealed,

So they overlooked even minor details,

Now that Hashirama Senju has mentioned it,

They realized,

Perhaps there truly are a few masterminds lurking behind the scenes in the ninja world? ……

"……If the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, is still alive, this could be troublesome."

"We don't know in what form he exists."

"We don't know how much of his peak power he still possesses…"

The Slug Sage spoke in a low tone.

Thousands of years have passed,

The Yin-Yang Release of the Sage of Six Paths,

Including the world-shattering power he wielded as the jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails,

Is still deeply etched in their memories!!!

Upon hearing this, Hashirama Senju's face showed only curiosity.

"Slug Sage…"

"Your impression of him must be from thousands of years ago…"

"You've grown far stronger than you were a thousand years ago…"

"Even if the Sage of Six Paths is stronger than all three of you, he shouldn't cause such concern…"

The Toad Sage sighed and shook his head.

"Hagoromo… the Sage of Six Paths' power far exceeds your imagination…"

"Though we've grown far stronger than we were a thousand years ago…"

"We still fall just short of the Six Paths level…"

"And that one-line gap is the distance between heaven and earth…"

"Even all three of us plus you would not be his match!!"

The White Snake Sage then spoke with clear displeasure.

"Though I despise that man, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo…"

"I must admit, his power is fundamentally different from ours."

"Without reaching the Six Paths level, even if he stood still and let you strike, you couldn't even wound him!!"

Turning his head,

The White Snake Sage scanned Hashirama Senju from head to toe.

"Kid! Though your current power has surpassed us,"

"Don't think you're a match for the Sage of Six Paths."

"You've come infinitely close to that level… but you still haven't broken through that line!!"

【Fourth Raikage: The First Hokage has already grown this strong… and still isn't a match for the Sage of Six Paths?!】

【Daimaru: I thought the First Hokage now rivals the power of legendary gods…】

【Terumi Mei: It seems the First Hokage's power has far surpassed the Kage level… Six Paths—this is how they define divine power??】

【Orochimaru: Six Paths must be the dividing line between gods and humans. The First Hokage has reached the absolute peak of human potential—but still hasn't crossed into the divine realm!!】

【Naruto Uzumaki: So Kage isn't the strongest… I thought Kage were the most powerful ninja… I had no idea it goes far beyond this…】

【Jiraiya: Naruto, Kage does represent the limit of ordinary ninja… but even among Kage, the differences are vast!!】

【Orochimaru: That's true… for example, among the five villages, the weakest Kage is probably the Kazekage.】

【Rasa: Orochimaru!!! Are you trying to make the Sand Village your mortal enemy?!】

The Slug Sage shook his head and chuckled.

"Though the White Snake speaks truly,"

"You've already gained the ability to challenge the Six Paths level…"

"Besides ascending to that realm yourself, the only other way to threaten a Six Paths being is through senjutsu."

"Normal chakra attacks have no effect on a Six Paths being."

"But your senjutsu can threaten them!!"

The Toad Sage nodded in agreement.

"That's correct…"

"Your senjutsu cultivation has far surpassed us—even without relying on chakra at all."

"Right now, in the entire shinobi world, I fear you are the only one who can do this."

Having said that, the Great Toad Sage could not help casting a startled glance at Hashirama Senju.

When a person casts ninjutsu, it relies on mobilizing the chakra within their body,

ordinary chakra is obtained by mixing one's own physical energy and spiritual energy,

and senjutsu chakra is formed by absorbing natural energy (the energy circulating throughout the world) on this basis and completely fusing it together.

However, to maintain the balance of the three kinds of energy,

each must be exactly one-third before it can be activated.

If there is too much natural energy, one will be devoured by the power of nature,

and if there is too little natural energy, one cannot condense the Sage's power to activate Sage Mode.

But on Hashirama Senju's body, there is not the slightest effect,

because he can already completely cast senjutsu without borrowing any chakra at all!!

He can directly wield the natural energy between heaven and earth to attack his enemies,

this point,

even the three Great Sages cannot do.

"Perhaps... you truly can create an entirely new cultivation system!!..."

The Great Toad Sage looked deeply at Hashirama Senju,

unable to conceal the shock in his heart no matter what!!

He still remembered even now,

a few years ago when he had first met Hashirama Senju,

Hashirama Senju had told him,

that he would surely create a cultivation system completely different from chakra,

and that he would spread the practice of senjutsu to the whole world,

so that everyone could cultivate senjutsu.

At the time, the Great Toad Sage had only taken it as the rashness of youth,

not knowing the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth!!

The cultivation of senjutsu was simply too difficult!!

If one did not grasp natural energy well,

it could cost one one's life!!

Whether in difficulty or in risk,

the cultivation of senjutsu far surpassed that of chakra!!