"Sage of Six Paths"

Senju Shinji envied Senju Genichi—he envied his talent, his connections, and having a future clan head as a "younger brother."

"Senju Genichi, you truly have such good luck."

Shinji sighed softly. Despite a lifetime of effort, he had only barely managed to keep pace with him. Yet, deep down, he did not feel he was much inferior; all he lacked was a qualified teacher.

He closed his eyes to rest and soon began to snore. It was unclear how much time had passed when a mass of black liquid emerged from a crack in the ground, revealing a smiling face as it crawled onto his body.

In his dream, Senju Shinji felt his body grow cold, and then a burst of golden light erupted from the darkness.

Senju Shinji reached out to shield his eyes from the glare, unable to make out the figure's features, seeing only a pair of eyes with purple ripples:

"Who are you?"

The figure spoke with a majestic voice: "The world calls me the Sage of Six Paths. Child, I can feel your resolve to use power to change everything. Now, I shall impart my ninjutsu to you, allowing you to walk the world in my stead..."

"The Sage of Six Paths?"

Senju Shinji was skeptical. He was certain he was dreaming, for even such a legendary figure to appear was absurd.

"Child, I know it is hard for you to accept this now. I will first teach you a technique so you may test it..."

At dawn, a violent explosion jolted every Senju ninja awake. Hiugo instantly activated his Three-Tomoe, draped himself in Wood Armor, and dashed outside.

Everyone arrived at the source of the sound to find the area flooded with water. Senju Shinji was kneeling on the ground, drenched and gasping for air, his face etched with disbelief.

He had simply tried the ninjutsu from his dream that morning, never expecting it to cause such a commotion.

"There is no Water Style in our clan that can produce an explosion like that. Shinji, did you create this ninjutsu yourself?"

Faced with Senju Genichi's question, Shinji wanted to tell the truth, but explaining how he learned a technique from a dream was impossible. Driven by a flicker of vanity, he didn't verbally confirm it, but he gave a slight nod.

The surrounding Senju ninja spoke up one after another:

"Shinji, I told you that you were a genius, but you wouldn't believe me."

"You could serve as a role model for Tobirama. Though, thinking about how Tobirama will grow up to look like this, I feel much better—after all, I'm still a bit more handsome."

"Have you named the technique yet? What is it called?"

Senju Shinji's face flushed slightly. Receiving praise for an honor that wasn't truly his felt strange, but he managed to steady his state of mind after a moment and said:

"This technique is called Water Style: Dance of Mizuchi."

Upon hearing this, Hiugo couldn't help but take a closer look at Senju Shinji. Generally, there were no issues with naming a ninjutsu, but certain techniques carried specific implications.

Among S-rank ninjutsu, there existed an "Ultimate" tier. Most of these were passed down from ancient times, possessing top-tier destructive power. The world regarded them as the power of "gods," and thus, the names of deities were often incorporated into them.

For instance, the Uchiha's strongest single-target Fire Style, the Sword of Kagutsuchi, and its corresponding strongest area-of-effect Fire Style, the Wrath of Kagutsuchi, both incorporated the epithet of the fire god Kagutsuchi.

Senju Shinji's use of the water goddess Mizuchi suggested he considered this technique to be at the pinnacle of S-rank ninjutsu.

"The commotion was quite large, but I wonder about its power. And the control seems strange—why would it affect the user as well..."

Hiugo frowned. When developing ninjutsu, the primary focus was usually on control to ensure the user didn't injure themselves while failing to harm the enemy.

Furthermore, developing a technique should be a gradual process. As the developer, one should know the approximate power of the jutsu; it was impossible to suddenly produce a finished product that caused such a massive disturbance.

Could it be that the people on the Western Battlefield were just reckless? They were clearly different from his own stable, methodical approach.

"What are you thinking about?"

A man's voice sounded beside him.

Hiugo looked up to find his nominal "older brother," Senju Genichi.

"Nothing, just a bit sleepy."

"Well, it's still early. You had a tiring journey yesterday, go back and get some more rest."

Hiugo gave a soft nod and went back to his books. After awakening his Wood Style, his recovery was rapid, and a short rest was usually enough.

Genichi watched Hiugo leave, then turned his eyes toward Senju Shinji and said:

"Shinji, come see me in a moment."

Senju Shinji's expression stiffened, then he nodded. He and Genichi had a very good relationship, and they often spent their days studying the war situation and ninjutsu together.

Developing a ninjutsu was a long-term endeavor; why he had done it, and why he had hidden it, were things he now had to consider.

Once a lie is told, countless more are needed to cover it up.

An hour later, the two met in the room they often used for discussions.

"Tell me, what's going on? Don't tell me you've been developing ninjutsu every night?"

Senju Genichi looked calmly at his old friend.

"Yes, I've been researching it in secret."

Shinji gritted his teeth. Lying to his friend made him feel uneasy.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Senju Genichi sighed slightly.

"Genichi, I trust your character. If I were developing a ninjutsu, you would never covet the fame or fortune to claim it as your own."

"But others won't see it that way. You are the adopted son of Lord Genma, already a peak Jonin at such a young age and still improving, while I am the same age as you, yet I remain stuck at Elite Jonin."

"If I were to research alongside you, they would think it was all your credit and overlook me."

Senju Shinji's expression was already somewhat twisted; he had projected his own emotions into the situation.

Genma lowered his gaze, his voice sounding somewhat desolate as he said:

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, don't take it to heart. This is my own problem. If there's nothing else, I'd like to go back and get some rest."

"Alright."

Senju Shinji walked out of the room and returned to his living quarters. Sitting on his bed, he suddenly struck his own face hard and whispered:

"Am I... really such a vain person?"

He did not notice a sliver of shadow crawling up from under the bed toward his feet.

A cold sensation mixed with drowsiness drifted into his dream. Because he had performed the ninjutsu, Senju Shinji somewhat believed in the "Sage of Six Paths" within the gate, so he stopped resisting and drifted off to sleep.

Golden light appeared once more, and a solemn voice echoed from all around: "Child, do you believe me now?"

Senju Shinji hesitated for a moment before nodding:

"I believe you, but I am very sorry that I claimed this technique as my own invention."

"It does not matter, child. I have said that you are my will walking upon this world; what is mine is yours. I will lead you to the very pinnacle."

Senju Shinji said guiltily: "But I deceived a friend who has always helped me..."

"Sometimes, certain lies are a necessary existence on the path to progress. Now, I shall tell you a piece of information regarding the Hyuga Clan. You only need to..."

In the outside world, black liquid slid off Senju Shinji's body, and the face revealed a trace of disdain:

"What a hypocritical brat. But that is fine; it makes him even easier to control."

Over the many years, it had thoroughly researched its possession abilities; the weaker the resistance, the shorter the time required to establish control.

For years, it had used this method to gain the trust of "ninjas" to achieve the result of instantaneous body control. For this, it did not mind giving these "vessels" a little enhancement.