"Once the Sharingan's Ultimate Art is complete—is it like what Perfect Sage Mode is to the Sage Body?" Akaseki grew excited at the thought. If the boost is that big, wouldn't I really be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Indra?
Although Akaseki had never seen Perfect Sage Mode and did not know what a Sage Body was, he knew that Sage Mode from Mount Myoboku alone was Master Jiraiya's trump card, while the Uchiha Clan's Sage Mode had even left Orochimaru coveting it.
And from the sound of things, the main reason Ashura had defeated Indra in the battle over Ninshu's succession was this True Sage Mode.
In other words, its power had even surpassed Indra's ultimate Sharingan!
If the Sharingan had a corresponding Ultimate Art—
Ancestor Indra never obtained it back then, but if I did, I'm sure he would be pleased, Akaseki thought.
But—
At Akaseki's question, the Sage of Six Paths fell silent for a moment before saying, "It should be—not far off."
Akaseki: ...
Why was he suddenly being vague?
Seeing Akaseki's suspicious gaze, the Sage of Six Paths stressed, "The Rinnegan and Sharingan are different ocular jutsu, after all. As for the specifics, Indra never learned it back then."
(Ignore the anime team's original settings, or all the later settings concerning the Ōtsutsuki Clan fall apart.)
Akaseki understood when he heard that—
Ashura's Sage Body and the Sage of Six Paths' Sage Body differed, at most, in purity. They were fundamentally the same, so Perfect Sage Mode could be used directly.
But—
Did that mean the Sage of Six Paths really had never awakened the Sharingan, and had possessed the Rinnegan from the start?
The Sage of Six Paths had said as much earlier, but Akaseki had thought it was merely an excuse—after