Original God, But Chat Group

"The Uchiha clan's background is terrifying enough—they're actually descendants of the Sage of Six Paths' eldest son."

"What's more shocking shouldn't be the Senju clan? They're the ones who pacified the chaotic era, yet in truth, they were the root cause of that chaos a thousand years ago—an inherently evil clan. I wonder how the people of the Leaf Village feel about their First Hokage now."

Inside a cave in the Land of Rain, a group of people clad in black robes with red clouds gathered, chatting and laughing among themselves. As they talked, their gazes all fell on one person in particular.

He wore the same black-and-red cloud attire, but one thing set him apart from the others: his eyes were blood-red Three Tomoe Sharingan.

He was the subject of their discussion today—the man who had slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan and defected from the Leaf Village: Uchiha Itachi!

The people gathered here were the Akatsuki Organization, a group of the most powerful rogue ninjas from every major village in Naruto.

"Mr. Itachi, I never imagined that back then, you actually worked with the Leaf's higher-ups to massacre your own clan. Can you tell me why you cooperated with Shimura Danzo?"

Itachi's partner, Kisame Hoshigaki from the Mist Village, stared at him curiously, hoping to glean something from Itachi.

But Itachi didn't answer. He only stared coldly ahead.

"Uchiha Itachi, did you ever think the Uchiha clan had such a history? Especially that you had such a powerful butler, one who could single-handedly crush the entire Leaf Village?"

Sasori, the puppeteer from the Land of Wind and part of the art duo, also fixed his gaze on Itachi, curious about his state of mind.

When Itachi first joined the Akatsuki, his stated reason was to test his own capacity and seek greater power. Sasori didn't know if Itachi was telling the truth, but now, the greater power he sought was right in the Leaf Village—even right beside his little brother.

Hey, Uchiha Itachi, what are you feeling right now?

"Uchiha Itachi, I'd like to discuss a business deal with you."

Kakuzu from the immortal duo couldn't help but speak up.

"Because of your Otsutsuki clan identity, as one of the few surviving Uchiha, your bounty has risen to 350 million ryo. I think we could—"

"Kakuzu, forget it. Mr. Itachi still has things he wants to do."

As Itachi's partner, Kisame stepped forward to block Kakuzu.

While Kisame held Kakuzu back, the center of their conversation, Uchiha Itachi, was caught in a storm of thoughts.

What's going on? The Uchiha clan are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, a clan that ruled the ninja world and brought peace? The Senju clan is inherently evil? Shimura Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi were taught by the inherently evil Senju Tobirama, making them evil themselves—one now dead, the other resigned in disgrace? Does that mean everything he did, killing his entire clan for the village, was wrong?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. If what he did was wrong, then the sacrifices of every single Uchiha would have been in vain! He would be the greatest sinner in the clan's history!

Father... Mother... Could it be... Did I really make a mistake?

Uchiha Itachi spiraled into self-doubt, while the other Akatsuki members chatted cheerfully. As rogue ninjas, the events in the Leaf Village were amusing to them but had little real impact.

Until the leader of the Akatsuki appeared.

Pain!

A man with spiky orange hair, his body pierced with black metal rods, and the Rinnegan in his eyes stepped before them.

"I already know about what happened in the Leaf Village."

Pain didn't waste time on pleasantries. He spoke coldly.

"Rumor has it that a butler named Li Yue has appeared in the Uchiha clan, wielding Wood Style as powerful as the former God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama. He could interfere with the Akatsuki's future plans. So I need some of you to go to the Leaf and investigate—find out if he's really as strong as the rumors claim, and whether he'll disrupt our organization's plan for peace."

He glanced at Itachi, who was still lost in self-doubt, and Itachi immediately spoke up.

"I'll go with Kisame. I know the Leaf's barrier well; we can infiltrate easily."

"If he really can use Wood Style, you and Kisame won't be a match for him. Take Deidara and Sasori with you. The four of you will move together. Zetsu will support you from the outskirts. If he really does have Wood Style, at least he can cover your retreat."

Itachi glanced at Deidara and Sasori and didn't object.

"Fine."

"Then set out now. Take advantage of the Leaf's marriage campaign for the Uchiha clan."

At the mention of the marriage campaign, Itachi's expression turned complicated. He had been so caught up in doubting his past actions that he'd forgotten this part. His little brother, under the control of that butler named Li Yue, was being offered in marriage to the entire ninja world. If someone gained his approval, they could marry Sasuke and have children. The news left him with mixed feelings.

Especially when he thought about Sasuke having children afterward—a strange sense of anticipation welled up inside him.

While the major villages and the Akatsuki prepared to move toward the Leaf, inside the Uchiha clan grounds in the Leaf Village, Sasuke, the protagonist of the marriage campaign, was putting up a futile resistance.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"You may be useless and incompetent, but I'm not kidding."

"Can you stop saying those words?!"

"I'll stop if you stop being useless and incompetent."

"You!"

Uchiha—no, Otsutsuki Sasuke—glared at the expressionless Li Yue in front of him, fists clenched and teeth grinding, but utterly powerless. He had tried to resist yesterday, only to be pinned to the ground, then bound by six strange light panels and hung up all night.

"Anyway, I'm not getting married. Not until I kill that man!"

"Is that so? Then I'll go kill him right now and bring his corpse back. Then you can get married, right?"

"I want to kill that man myself!"

Li Yue looked at the stubborn Sasuke and nodded in acknowledgment.

"I understand. I'll beat him half to death, then throw him in front of you so you can kill him yourself."

"That's not what I meant! I want to rely on my own strength, kill him with my own hands, and make him realize that the so-called capacity and power he pursued were so pathetic, and that he was nothing but useless and incompetent!"

"Not bad, learning on the fly." He'd probably heard it enough times that Sasuke could actually use that line now.

"Really? Just because you're a useless piece of trash like that? I don't believe it!"

Li Yue squinted at Sasuke, making the boy clench his fists in fury.

"Even though Uchiha Itachi is garbage too, at least compared to you, he's a little stronger."

"It's true, I'm weak right now. But you're strong, aren't you?"

Sasuke stared at Li Yue. On this man, he saw overwhelming power—whether it was those terrifying Root ninja, Elder Shimura Danzo, or all of Leaf Village's jonin gathered together, they were all effortlessly subdued by Li Yue. He even had Wood Style as powerful as the First Hokage's. Someone this strong could kill Uchiha Itachi with ease.

Because even Uchiha Itachi couldn't do something like that!

If it was Li Yue, he could definitely make him stronger!

"Heh, I can make others stronger, but do you deserve it?"

"As long as you can make me strong enough to kill Itachi, I'll do anything you want. Don't you want me to spawn a new Otsutsuki clan? If I don't cooperate, you might not be troubled—someone as strong as you probably has plenty of ways to force me into it. But it would definitely sour your mood, wouldn't it!"

For once, Sasuke, who usually just acted like a clueless show-off, had a rare moment of cleverness.

"But if you can make me stronger, I'll cooperate unconditionally. I'll do whatever you want, as long as you can make me strong! That way, your mood will improve too, right? For someone as powerful as you, your mood matters even more."

"Please, I'll do anything!"

After saying this, Sasuke looked at Li Yue expectantly. Having spent a day with him and observing his behavior, he'd roughly analyzed Li Yue's personality. This was an ancient monster who had lived who knows how long, looking down on everyone except his ancestor Indra. Anyone who annoyed him got directly dealt with—a scolding was the lightest punishment. So appealing to his good mood had a chance of success!

By saying this, he was completely throwing himself into it. To get stronger, he'd sacrifice everything without hesitation!

Li Yue narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, staring intently for a long moment before speaking again.

"Good. It seems you do have some resolve."

Hearing this, Sasuke's hanging heart finally settled. Li Yue saying that meant he'd agreed!

"Even though you're useless and incompetent, for the sake of quickly breeding new Otsutsuki blood, I can grant your request. Starting tomorrow, I'll give you special training!"

"No problem! Whatever kind of training it is, bring it on!"

Uchiha Sasuke nodded readily. As long as he could gain power—power to kill Uchiha Itachi—what was just producing offspring? He'd do it! First, kill Uchiha Itachi to avenge his parents and clan, then rebuild the Uchiha clan's glory!

"But as the price! When it comes to continuing Indra's bloodline, you're not allowed to resist in any way!"

82. Sage of Six Paths, I'm Not Lying

Meme Lord: Yifu, found the person... oh wait... found the soul yet?

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Not yet, but I'm getting close. I've figured out his escape method.

Meme Lord: Escape method? If that got out to the ninja world, everyone would be terrified, right? The legendary Sage of Six Paths, being chased all over the place by someone—hahaha.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: He's not a Shinigami, but he's survived in soul form all this time. Chakra is a very interesting energy. In this world, Chakra even makes up the main part of soul energy.

Meme Lord: Right? Chakra is pretty amazing, isn't it? It's a special energy that exists alongside the soul.

While Li Yue was causing trouble in the Leaf Village, Aizen naturally wasn't idle either. After getting the world's background from Li Yue, the first thing Aizen wanted to study was Chakra—especially the Otsutsuki clan's Chakra, that race that could keep reincarnating by attaching their Chakra.

In Aizen's view, the ninja world was pretty strange. There was no real underworld here, no place like the Soul Society, but ninja souls existed independently in a world called the Pure Land, which was filled with Chakra. The Sage of Six Paths was hidden there, secretly watching over the entire ninja world.

According to the Naruto world's setting, Chakra was the product of both spiritual and physical energy. This power could be used to perform Ninjutsu and strengthen the body. It could flow and persist along with the soul. In Li Yue's eyes, those so-called elemental Ninjutsu were mostly the same, but some special techniques released through Chakra were truly interesting.

Impure World Reincarnation—a technique that could pull out the souls of the dead and make them fight for the caster. As long as the caster didn't release the technique and the summoned soul wasn't sealed, they could fight endlessly, with infinite Chakra!

This technique was truly worth studying as a special art, and the way Chakra flowed in this mode was also worth investigating. Where did that infinite Chakra come from?

After learning about this technique, Aizen naturally wanted to study it thoroughly.

And if Aizen was going to study Chakra, he wanted the best. So with Li Yue's help opening the way, Aizen directly entered the Pure Land and started hunting the Sage of Six Paths.

The moment Aizen entered the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths immediately sensed something was wrong and came to check. When they met, he was shocked to find that Aizen was a soul—but one with clear self-awareness and not a trace of Chakra! And then, his escape began.

Heaven have mercy—the Sage of Six Paths, a thousand-year-old elder, was being chased all over the Pure Land by Aizen, a few-hundred-year-old youngster! What a miserable sight!

Meme Lord: Yifu, if you catch the Sage of Six Paths later, remember to find Senju Hashirama's soul for me.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Oh? That Hashirama that breakdancer guy mentioned?

Meme Lord: That's right. Hashirama has already reincarnated into another world, so naturally he can't exist in this one anymore.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Mm, no problem. I'll find him for you.

After replying to Li Yue in their private chat, Aizen turned his gaze into the distance.

In the distance, a pale figure was staring coldly at him.

"We meet again, Sage of Six Paths. Looks like your injuries have healed."

Aizen smiled, holding Kyōka Suigetsu as he watched the Sage of Six Paths.

"Who exactly are you? The ninja world shouldn't have humans as strong as you."

The Sage of Six Paths watched Aizen back, extremely wary.

"Haven't I told you? I am Aizen Sousuke, a Shinigami."

A Shinigami? How could something like that really exist! The Uzumaki clan created the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and that so-called Shinigami was just a construct of Chakra. There was no such thing as a real Shinigami!

But this young man before him had no Chakra at all, yet was absurdly strong!

He came straight to the point upon meeting, saying, "First meeting, I am Bleach," and then swung a slash at the Sage of Six Paths.

That single slash nearly killed the Sage of Six Paths outright!

The Sage's soul was gravely wounded, but immediately after being struck, he used a Space Technique to flee, retreating deep into the Pure Land. There, he continuously used Chakra to repair his soul. Fortunately, he was of the Otsutsuki clan, and the Pure Land was brimming with Chakra, allowing his soul to fully recover.

Now, Aizen had found him again.

"You're not from the ninja world, are you!"

Though he felt Aizen was deceiving him, the Sage of Six Paths also realized that Aizen was not from the ninja world. The ninja world had always been under his watch. Over the past thousand years, ninjas had abused the power of Chakra, bringing great calamity to the world, but he had not intervened, for he was already a dead man.

Yet this man before him bore no trace of Chakra at all. He was clearly a soul, yet he possessed self-awareness and the ability to act. Such a thing should be impossible in the ninja world!

"Oh? It seems you've figured it out. I'm pleased."

The Sage of Six Paths' judgment earned Aizen's approval. The old man who had lived for a thousand years indeed had insight. Still, after saying those words, Aizen felt a strange sensation, as if the copyright to that line no longer rested with him.

"Not from the ninja world, then you are an enemy!"

The Sage of Six Paths glared with his Rinnegan.

"I don't know how you infiltrated the ninja world and found the Pure Land, but for the safety of the ninja world, I will seal you here!"

"Sealing instead of killing?"

Aizen was curious about the Sage's decision, but the Sage of Six Paths did not intend to answer. He raised his right hand, and a black Tin Staff appeared in his grasp. Behind him, nine black spheres also materialized.

"These must be the Truth-Seeking Orbs."

Aizen gazed at the nine black spheres behind the Sage of Six Paths, recalling what Li Yue had told him about the Sage's power.

"It seems you know much about my abilities."

The Sage of Six Paths pointed his Tin Staff at Aizen, and the black Truth-Seeking Orbs instantly surrounded him, enclosing him on all sides.

"Not attacking immediately?"

Aizen smiled at the Sage of Six Paths, remaining as calm as ever.