Sasuke went to the tree and, following Naruto's instructions, focused chakra beneath his feet. He then walked up the trunk, but just like Naruto, he only managed a dozen or so steps before falling. After flipping over and landing, Sasuke stood in front of the tree and pondered.
Hinata came to the tree as well. She tried the method Naruto had described, and to everyone's surprise, she easily walked all the way to the top, then came back down just as effortlessly. Naruto and Sasuke were both stunned.
Naruto asked, "Hinata, you're incredible! How did you get it so quickly?" Sasuke wanted to know too, but his pride wouldn't let him ask her. Since Naruto had asked first, that was even better—he could learn the answer without having to ask himself.
Praised by Naruto, Hinata blushed a little. "Actually, Naruto-kun, you're a great teacher. I just tried the method you showed me, and somehow I got it."
Naruto didn't know what to say, so he could only suggest, "Then, Hinata, why don't you try Water Walking?" "Sure," Hinata replied. She went over to the pond, focused chakra beneath her feet, and walked onto the water. Once again, just like climbing the tree, she got it right away.
Naruto and Sasuke were at a loss for words. Naruto wondered why Hinata had such excellent chakra control. When he saw her White Eye, he suddenly understood, and silently cursed himself. When did I get so stupid?
Then he chuckled. "Hehe, I know why Hinata was able to master Water Walking and tree climbing so quickly." Sasuke asked curiously, "You do? Why?" Naruto answered honestly, "Actually, it has to do with Hinata's White Eye."
"White Eye? What's that?" Sasuke asked, confused. "Sasuke, do you really not know, or are you pretending? The White Eye is a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai, just like the one your Uchiha Clan possesses." "Kekkei Genkai?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, puzzled.
Seeing that Sasuke really seemed not to know what a Kekkei Genkai was, Naruto was speechless. Damn, you have one yourself and you still don't know.
Despite his exasperation, Naruto explained, "A Kekkei Genkai is a jutsu passed down through bloodlines. Your Sharingan and Hinata's White Eye are both dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai—jutsu released through the eyes."
Sasuke understood that Hinata, like him, had a Kekkei Genkai, and that both of theirs were dōjutsu.
Sasuke asked, "If dōjutsu are only one kind of Kekkei Genkai, are there other kinds too?"
"Of course. There are two other kinds of Kekkei Genkai. One is activated through the body, like the First Hokage's Wood Release. My own Kekkei Genkai belongs to that kind too. The First Hokage's chakra had powerful vitality and sealing abilities, and mine does too. After all, the Uzumaki and Senju are closely related."
Sasuke and Hinata stared at Naruto in surprise. "You have a Kekkei Genkai too?" Naruto asked, puzzled, "Is it that strange for me to have one?" As he spoke, several chains emerged from his body and whirled around him.
After putting away his Adamantine Sealing Chains, Naruto continued, "The other kind combines two different chakra natures to create a new one. I've never seen that kind, so I don't know what it's like."
Sasuke thought for a moment, then asked, "How do you know all this? You shouldn't know any of it."
Naruto nodded. "That's right. Someone told me—a strange old man who spoke to me in a dream." Sasuke asked curiously, "In a dream? What did he look like?" Naruto thought for a moment. "He said his name was Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Some people also called him the Sage of Six Paths." "The Sage of Six Paths?" Sasuke and Hinata exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. He also told me that the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki are all his descendants. The Uchiha are descended from his eldest son, Indra, and inherited his eyes. The Senju and Uzumaki are descended from his younger son, Asura, and inherited his physical constitution.
"The Sage of Six Paths also said he had a younger brother, Hamura Otsutsuki. He and his brother inherited their mother's Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan and White Eye, respectively. Hamura's descendants split into two branches: the Hyuga, who inherited the eyes, and the Otsutsuki, who inherited the physical constitution. So you could say the three of us are related by blood."
Sasuke and Hinata were both astonished, but Sasuke quickly recovered. "Did the Sage of Six Paths say anything else?"
Naruto thought for a moment. "He said someone had tampered with the stone tablet belonging to your Uchiha Clan, and the person responsible might be connected to his mother. He also said we must never let anyone cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. If they do, the seal on his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, will be undone, and the world will be destroyed."
Now calm, Sasuke lowered his head and thought. After a while, he looked up and asked, "Did the Sage of Six Paths say what it would take to break the seal?"
"He did. He said it would take all the Tailed Beasts and the Rinnegan. The Rinnegan can only be awakened by combining the chakra of Asura and Indra's reincarnations. But he also said an incarnation of Indra had awakened the Rinnegan decades ago, so it already exists. The Nine Tailed Beasts are in the hands of the various Shinobi Villages, so there's nothing to worry about."
"The Nine Tailed Beasts? What are those?" Hinata asked curiously. Naruto smiled at her. "They're nine creatures in this world with immense chakra. The Sage of Six Paths split the Ten-Tails into nine parts, then created them using his Yang Release and his younger brother's Yin Release. The Tailed Beasts are currently sealed inside the Jinchuriki in the various villages, so they're still safe. Nothing will happen."
"Then what's this stone tablet of the Uchiha Clan you mentioned? I've never seen one," Sasuke asked, puzzled.
"Even if the tablet were right in front of you, you wouldn't be able to read it. Only the Mangekyō Sharingan can decipher it. By the way, the Mangekyō Sharingan is an evolution of the Sharingan. There's also the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, which requires two brothers to exchange their Mangekyō Sharingan. Using the Mangekyō Sharingan for too long causes your eyesight to deteriorate, but the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan has no such side effects.
"But someone has tampered with the tablet, so don't believe what it says," Naruto replied. Sasuke asked, "How do you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, you have to lose someone you love most. Do you still want it?" Naruto told Sasuke the condition without holding anything back. Sasuke quickly shook his head.
"Naruto-kun, you said there are Jinchuriki in all the major Shinobi Villages. Does our Konoha have one too?" Hinata asked Naruto. Naruto answered openly, "Of course. I'm the Jinchuriki of Konoha—Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke and Hinata were stunned again.
But the ones truly shocked at that moment weren't Hinata and Sasuke. They were the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku, and the Hyuga Clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, far away in the Hokage Office.
The Hokage's office was quiet and oppressive. The Third Hokage looked at the crystal ball and asked Fugaku and Hiashi beside him, "Is what Naruto said true? What do you make of the information he shared today?"
Fugaku looked helplessly at Naruto in the crystal ball and replied, "There really is a stone tablet like that in the Uchiha Clan's shrine." "So Naruto was telling the truth," the Third Hokage said, looking at Fugaku.
Fugaku activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and looked at the Third Hokage. "That's right. I've also used my Mangekyō Sharingan to decipher all the writing. It does say that the Infinite Tsukuyomi can bring about true peace. But I don't think that's possible. Making everyone live inside an illusion—how can that be called peace?"
The Third Hokage and Hiashi stared at Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan in surprise. "I never thought you'd awakened it. It seems the war brought you great sorrow."
"That's all in the past. Now, what I care about most is my family. I'd do anything for Itachi and Sasuke, so, Third Hokage, we must protect this hard-won peace."
The Third Hokage nodded. "Yes, we must protect this peace, for the sake of the next generation too. Is there anything else you'd like to add about what Naruto said?"
Fugaku replied, "According to our family records, the Uchiha and Senju really are descended from the Sage of Six Paths, but so much time has passed that most people have forgotten. As for the Rinnegan being awakened by combining Asura and Indra's chakra, I'm not sure. But based on what Naruto said, if anyone could awaken the Rinnegan, it would have to be Madara. The First Hokage and Madara Uchiha are also the most likely candidates for the reincarnations of Asura and Indra."
The Third Hokage considered it. "That does seem most likely. I also remember Jiraiya saying that he once took on a student with the Rinnegan in the Land of Rain. According to Naruto, the Rinnegan can only be awakened by combining the chakra of Asura and Indra's reincarnations—in other words, the First Hokage and Madara. So that boy might have Madara's eyes, and Madara may even have given them to him. This could all be a plot by Madara Uchiha."
Fugaku replied, "But Madara is already dead. Why would he have set all this up before he died? What good would these preparations do if he was dead?"
"I don't know. The Rinnegan is too mysterious; no one has ever had anything to do with it. But we can't afford to be careless," the Third Hokage replied. He then looked at Hiashi and asked, "Hiashi, do you have anything to add?"
"Nothing. According to the records of the Hyuga Clan, our clan came from the moon. Our ancestor really was Hamura Otsutsuki. Tenji Hyuga brought the Hyuga branch to this world, and they changed their name to Hyuga to distinguish themselves from the other branch of Hamura Otsutsuki's descendants. So everything Naruto said is true."
Now that Naruto's words had been confirmed again, the Third Hokage felt deeply uneasy. "Nothing that happened here today can be allowed to get out.
"As for the person who altered the Sage of Six Paths' stone tablet, their goal is obvious: to break the seal placed by the Sage of Six Paths. Madara Uchiha has clearly already been deceived. Our most urgent task is to protect the Jinchuriki in every Shinobi Village," the Third Hokage said calmly.
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