Ch. 161A Blow from the Sage of Six Paths!
The Sage of Six Paths struck Hozuki Gengetsu from the Yellow Springs Pure Land, destroying much of the Forest of Death, while Yuki Yoru identified the attacker and left Konoha with Shisui and Gengetsu. After the Nine-Tails disaster, Sarutobi Hiruzen resumed the Hokage position as Konoha’s leaders met to discuss the village’s future and Minato’s child.
- The Sage of Six Paths used Soul Karma to gather power from the dead, then attacked Hozuki Gengetsu when he threatened to destroy the Shinigami.
- Hozuki Gengetsu unleashed his Bankai against the Sage’s strike, but the clash devastated the Forest of Death; Yuki Yoru revealed that the attacker was the Sage of Six Paths.
- Yuki Yoru confirmed that he had Kushina Uzumaki’s soul, then left Konoha with Hozuki Gengetsu and Uchiha Shisui, leaving Minato’s newborn child behind.
- Konoha’s villagers mourned their losses and blamed the Nine-Tails, while Sarutobi Hiruzen considered candidates for the vacant Hokage position.
- At a funeral and subsequent leadership meeting, Nara Shikayoshi proposed that Sarutobi Hiruzen continue as Hokage, and Hiruzen accepted; the meeting then turned to Minato’s child.