The So-Called Rumor

Time was enough to warp every truth, whether it concerned people, objects, or events. Qi had gained an extremely firsthand understanding of that now.

Who was Qi? Others might not know, but how could Qi himself not know? He had been so pure it was almost like he had a screw loose, and he had died before even reaching thirty.

Yet after so many years, someone like that had somehow become a vicious figure of legend in Tobi's mouth.

Still, when Qi considered how modern shinobi worshipped the Sage of Six Paths like a deity, he could understand it. In human society, even written records were not necessarily reliable, much less oral accounts. Though Qi had indeed been rather bloodthirsty back then, killing almost every nonhuman creature he encountered, slaughter had been commonplace in that era. He had not necessarily been all that exceptional—at most, he had simply killed a little more than others.

Still, looking at Tobi beside him, who had been chattering away nonstop and spraying spit ever since he started talking, Qi found him especially irritating.

There was no doubt that this guy was an absolute fanatic of violence. He showed immense admiration for Qi, who had been twisted by rumors into an unparalleled ruthless fiend.

Just how irritating was that? This guy worshipped his first life, yet glared and bristled at his current one. What kind of nonsense was that...?

"Did you know that most shinobi today only know the Sage of Six Paths as the ancestor of ninjutsu? But only a very few know that Yang Release ninjutsu was actually a path created by that last Human King. Without him, there would be no Yang Release ninjutsu today. Far more shinobi use Yang Release than Yin Release nowadays. If you really count it, that Human