Sea Realm.
Wantuluo was already twenty-five, and he had three children.
In the end, Wanhualuo got married, tying the knot with Hatake. But since Hatake had no surname, the children they had together still bore the Otsutsuki name.
Sea Realm, Otsutsuki City.
The population had now surpassed one million. Thanks to the family-planning policies Otsutsuki Yuhao had introduced over the years, everyone was doing their best to have children. Nearly every family had at least five, and some had as many as thirteen or fourteen. The most astonishing record was held by one family that had thirty-five children—one born every year, sometimes twins.
This directly caught Otsutsuki Yuhao's attention, and he awarded the family a family-planning prize.
That only encouraged the other ordinary people to have children even more fervently.
After all, in the Sea Realm, children didn't just represent the future of a family. They also embodied boundless potential and possibility.
Otsutsuki Yuhao's family-planning policy wasn't merely intended to increase the population. More importantly, it was meant to cultivate a new generation of strength to face the challenges that might come. So he placed special emphasis on education, ensuring that every child had the chance to receive the best possible schooling and become a useful member of society.
Across the lands of the Sea Realm, schools could be found everywhere. They offered not only traditional academic education, but also various forms of instruction, including combat training and technological research.
In this vibrant new world, full of life and hope, Otsutsuki Yuhao's prestige continued to rise.
Otsutsuki Yuhao led the people of the Sea Realm, guiding them step by step toward a brighter future.
"Today, the Sage Art Kingdom is officially established."
"I, Otsutsuki Wantuluo, will serve as its first chairman.
From now on, a new chairman will be chosen through a public vote every ten years. No chairman may serve for more than twenty years.
This is the first order I issue as chairman."
Otsutsuki Wantuluo spoke over the radio, his voice reaching the ten cities of the Sage Art Kingdom.
Rumble!
Brilliant fireworks burst across the sky, their dazzling colors intertwining in a spectacular visual feast.
The fireworks unfurled like magnificent paintings, radiating light and seeming to illuminate the entire kingdom. Their colors were so vibrant that every streak of light shimmered like a rainbow.
The founding ceremony was both spirited and solemn. Under the bright sunshine, flags fluttered as the people's laughter and reverence came together in a stirring hymn...
A few hours later.
Wantuluo arrived at the chairman's office.
Good grief!
The moment he opened the door, he was struck by the sight. As Wantuluo pushed it open, he saw his enormous desk buried beneath a mountain of files.
"I hate you, you old geezer Otsutsuki Yuhao!"
Wantuluo let out a despairing howl.
He finally understood why Otsutsuki Yuhao had refused to become the kingdom's first chairman.
Instead, he had handed the position to him. Wantuluo had even thought his father was giving him something good, since he had contributed so much to the kingdom.
So it turned out his father had dug a huge pit for him.
At the thought, Wantuluo slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon.
He stared numbly at the mountain of files before him, his mind blank and all light gone from his eyes.
"No way! There are so many files!"
"Even if I read until my Rinnegan goes blind, I still won't get through them all.
Looks like I'll have to appoint a few vice-chairmen to help me handle these files.
Right!"
"Isn't the Nara family supposed to be full of geniuses?
Nara in particular—he even ranked first nationwide in agricultural studies."
"Ha ha! I'm a genius!"
At the thought, Wantuluo laughed.
With Wantuluo establishing a nation in the Sea Realm, five great kingdoms—Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Earth—also emerged in the Ninja World, along with countless smaller countries. Their leaders, however, were called daimyo, not chairmen.
The Warring States Era began.
Year 80 of the Sea Realm.
Otsutsuki Yuhao had just turned one hundred and was now a centenarian.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura were both one hundred and eight. They had reached the twilight of their lives.
Yet Otsutsuki Yuhao still looked young.
The sea.
Otsutsuki Yuhao walked alone across the ocean. Waves crashed against the reefs, sending up sprays of white foam. Countless shells and seaweed covered the rocks.
All around Otsutsuki Yuhao, ancient ships of every size sailed across the ocean. The people paid no mind to him walking on the water.
They had seen plenty of shinobi like that.
"I can't believe I've been in this world for a hundred years already.
The story of Naruto is still about nine hundred years away, isn't it?
But then again, I'm not sure. There's no precise timeline for whether Indra and Asura's chakra reincarnated over a thousand years or several thousand. It's only ever been described vaguely. Looks like I'll be waiting a long time yet."
As Otsutsuki Yuhao walked across the sea, he headed toward the Ninja World.
That was right. Otsutsuki Yuhao wanted to walk all the way to the Ninja World.
He had spent more than twenty years traveling through the Ninja World, but had never walked across the ocean. Now, he was simply taking in the sea.
More accurately, Otsutsuki Yuhao wanted to comprehend the power of the ocean. The ocean was even larger than the land, and he had already comprehended the Natural Energy within the land to its limit. He could no longer grasp any further principles from it.
So Otsutsuki Yuhao began to turn his attention to the sea.
Time flew by. The years were merciless, and the moments slipped away in the blink of an eye.
Otsutsuki Yuhao spent fifty years walking across the sea.
During those fifty years, Otsutsuki Yuhao encountered members of the Uchiha Clan, the Senju Clan, the Akimichi Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Aburame Clan.
He witnessed vendettas and love affairs at sea, as well as countless human tragedies. He also saw people make names for themselves across the world.
He had helped the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan, saved ordinary people, and killed pirates.
After who knew how long, the Purple Golden Core in Otsutsuki Yuhao's dantian began to slowly turn black, with gold glimmering within it.
Some of the dormant cells in his body were suddenly nourished, like parched land finally receiving rain.
Otsutsuki Yuhao began to feel a pleasant warmth throughout his body.
He realized that his strength was rising once more. He had advanced from the Purple Golden Core Realm to the Black Golden Core Realm.
Chakra: Twenty Super Kage's worth of power
Sage Power: Twenty Super Kage's worth of power.
Physical Strength: Twenty Super Kage's worth of power.
At last, he had reached the fifth step of the Six Paths.
"My Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and Senjutsu have all reached the fifth step of the Six Paths. My strength should be about on par with Naruto in Baryon Mode now. I might even be stronger than Naruto, but at the very least, we're in the same league."
Otsutsuki Yuhao muttered to himself.
Though the fifth and sixth steps of the Six Paths were only one rank apart, and the difference in power between them was only twofold, their actual combat strength differed like heaven and earth.
Someone on the sixth step could overwhelm five or six Ōtsutsuki Isshiki with sheer force, leaving them completely unable to fight back.
The difference in their power was like comparing steel and wood of the same weight. Their hardness was different, and steel was heavier, too.
The only exception would be a perfectly coordinated pair like Naruto and Sasuke. Despite their enormous gap in strength, they had somehow forced Jigen in Karma Stage Two, whose strength was at the fifth step, to give it his all before they managed to defeat him.
Although Jigen in Karma Stage Two defeated Naruto and Sasuke with ease, he had used up a great deal of power in the process. By the time he faced Jiraiya, he had less than half his strength remaining. [In the original story, Jigen in Karma Stage Two had only ten percent of his strength left, and Jiraiya eventually forced him to reincarnate as Isshiki ahead of schedule.]
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