Meanwhile, beyond the dust and smoke.
Seeing Uchiha Asuka walking over slowly, Hashirama Senju was first stunned, then his eyes widened as he stared at the other man like he was some rare animal, letting out amazed exclamations from time to time.
"This eye... is it the Rinnegan? And it isn't exactly the same as Madara's."
"The Uchiha power of Indra, within you—"
At that point, Hashirama paused, and his tone abruptly turned strange. "The Six Paths Sage once explained the matter of Indra and Asura as well. I never expected you to be Indra's reincarnation in this generation."
Uchiha Madara was also taken aback upon hearing that.
Just now, he had only noticed that Asuka had awakened the Rinnegan and had not looked into it further. But thinking carefully now, the whole thing was strange in every way.
"You are Indra's reincarnation in this generation," Uchiha Madara said thoughtfully. "Then who is Asura's reincarnation in this generation? Someone among Konoha's younger generation?"
"The younger generation?!"
Hashirama followed that line of thought and muttered to himself, "There shouldn't be anyone stronger than him among the younger generation. I died early, and Asura's Chakra must have reincarnated early too..."
"Hereditary enemies? Fated rivals? Uchiha, Senju... Could it be Little Tsunade?? It isn't impossible. After all, your relationship with Little Tsunade certainly can't be called good."
Seeing the two of them getting more absurd with every guess, Asuka hurriedly waved a hand and explained, "No. Indra and Asura's reincarnations in this generation have not grown up yet. The reason I was able to awaken the Rinnegan and bear the power of the Six Paths—"
Asuka paused before continuing, "—is because I have a trace of pure Otsutsuki blood in me. And because I used Impure World Reincarnation on Indra, becoming a temporary