As the Hell Yama King was speaking, he suddenly revealed his Rinnegan. Alarm bells immediately rang in Akaseki's mind. He poured dojutsu power into his eyes while springing backward, landing in a defensive stance...
After all, the last Rinnegan wielder he had encountered had attacked him right away. And... Akaseki had his suspicions about that man's identity!
"This is... the result of another's hold over me. Fear not." The Hell Yama King had already closed his eyes again.
"Another's hold over you?" Akaseki remained on guard.
"The Sage of Six Paths entrusted me with dominion over Avici Hell. Yet... two years ago, Madara Uchiha stole Six Paths Power and awakened the eyes of Six Paths, placing me under his control..." the Hell Yama King explained.
Akaseki immediately understood.
Sure enough, the Hell Yama King was the same sort of being as the "Demon Gods" and "sages"...
He simply wasn't as oblivious to reality as the Demon Gods, nor had he sided with the Sage of Six Paths as early as the sages had, whose descendants had already begun cultivating chakra and coexisting with humans...
The Hell Yama King had probably taken a beating before obediently agreeing to serve as Six Paths' "gatekeeper"!
As for this business about "stealing Six Paths Power," Akaseki didn't understand the specifics, but clearly...
It really was Madara Uchiha who had awakened the Rinnegan. With Six Paths no longer around, those eyes were practically proof of succession. Perhaps when Six Paths recruited this king of hell as his "gatekeeper," he had imposed some restriction that left the Hell Yama King directly subject to Madara Uchiha, the Rinnegan wielder!
Clearly, the Hell Yama King was so eager to offer Akaseki a trial because he didn't want to remain under someone else's control.
But...
"What Madara Uchiha? Madara