The Warring States Era [Promoting to the Black Golden Core Realm]

Sea Realm.

Otsutsuki Mandara was already twenty-five years old and had three children.

Wanhualuo had eventually married, choosing Hatake. However, because Hatake lacked a surname, the children born to them still carried the Otsutsuki name.

Sea Realm, Otsutsuki City.

The population had now surpassed one million. Thanks to the family planning initiatives Otsutsuki Yuhao had implemented over the years, everyone was frantically having children. Most families had at least five, with some reaching as many as thirteen or fourteen. The most terrifying record was a household that had produced thirty-five children—meaning they had one every year, sometimes even twins.

This directly shocked Otsutsuki Yuhao, who personally sent that family a "Family Planning Grand Prize."

This only further encouraged other commoners to reproduce like mad.

After all, in the Sea Realm, children did not just signify the future of a family; they represented endless potential and possibility.

Otsutsuki Yuhao's family planning policy was not merely intended to increase the population; more importantly, it was designed to cultivate a new generation of power to face potential challenges. Therefore, he placed special emphasis on education, ensuring every child had the opportunity to receive the best training to become a capable talent.

Across the lands of the Sea Realm, schools were scattered everywhere, offering not only traditional academic knowledge but also practical combat training, technological research, and various other forms of education.

In this vibrant and hopeful new world, Otsutsuki Yuhao's prestige grew ever higher.

Otsutsuki Yuhao led the people of the Sea Realm, step by step, toward a brighter future.

"Today, the Sage Art Kingdom is officially established."

"I, Otsutsuki Mandara, shall serve as the first Chairman."

"From now on, the next Chairman will be decided every ten years through a popular vote, and no Chairman may serve for more than twenty years."

"This is the first order issued by this Chairman."

Otsutsuki Mandara spoke through the broadcast, his voice reaching all ten cities of the Sage Art Kingdom.

BOOM!

Bundles of brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky, their gorgeous colors weaving together like a visual feast.

The fireworks were like radiant scrolls, overflowing with light as if they were illuminating the entire kingdom. The colors were so rich that every beam of light was as iridescent as a rainbow.

The founding ceremony was enthusiastic and solemn; the sun-drenched grounds were filled with fluttering colorful flags, and the laughter and reverence of the people composed a magnificent anthem...

Several hours later.

Mandara arrived at the Chairman's office.

OH! MY! GOD!

He was struck by lightning the moment he opened the door. Before his eyes, his massive desk was piled high with a mountain of dense, towering files.

"I hate you to death, you old fossil Otsutsuki Yuhao."

Mandara let out a wail of near-collapse.

He finally understood why Otsutsuki Yuhao had refused to serve as the kingdom's first Chairman.

He had handed the position to him instead. And here he had thought his father wanted to pass on something good to him, especially since he had made so many contributions to the kingdom.

It turned out he had been digging a massive pit for him all along.

Thinking of this, Mandara slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon.

He stared numbly at the mountain of files before him, his heart filled with confusion and the light fading from his eyes.

"This is impossible, there are so many files!"

"Even if I stare until I go blind with my Rinnegan, I won't be able to finish these. It seems I must appoint a few Vice Chairmen to help me handle this paperwork."

"Right."

"Isn't the intelligence of Nara and his family quite high?"

"Especially Nara; he even scored first in the nation for his agricultural studies."

"Haha! I am truly too clever!"

Thinking of this, Mandara began to laugh.

Following Mandara's establishment of the nation in the Sea Realm.

The Ninja World also saw the emergence of five great kingdoms—Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Earth—along with countless smaller nations. However, their rulers were called Daimyo, not Chairmen.

The Warring States period began.

Sea Realm, year 80.

Otsutsuki Yuhao had just turned one hundred years old this year; he was now a centenarian.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura were already one hundred and eight, both having reached their twilight years.

Yet, Otsutsuki Yuhao still maintained his youthful appearance.

The ocean.

Otsutsuki Yuhao walked alone across the sea. Waves crashed against the reefs, sending up sprays of white foam, while the rocks were covered in countless seashells and seaweed.

Surrounding Otsutsuki Yuhao were numerous ancient ships of various sizes drifting across the water, yet the people paid no mind to him walking upon the surface.

Because they had seen far too many ninjas like this.

"I never expected that a hundred years would pass since I arrived in this world. It should be another nine hundred years until the start of the Naruto storyline. Or perhaps not—there is no accurate timeline for how long Indra and Asura's chakra has been reincarnating, only rough estimates. It seems I still have a long wait ahead of me."

Otsutsuki Yuhao walked across the sea, heading toward the Ninja World.

That was right; Otsutsuki Yuhao intended to walk to the Ninja World on foot.

Having spent over twenty years in the Ninja World, Otsutsuki Yuhao had never walked across the ocean before. Now, he was simply taking the time to observe it.

Or rather, Otsutsuki Yuhao wanted to comprehend the power of the sea. The ocean was even vaster than the land, and having reached the limit of his comprehension regarding the natural energy of the earth, he could no longer glean any further Great Daos from it.

Thus, Otsutsuki Yuhao began to focus his attention on the sea.

Time flew like a shuttle, years passed without mercy, and the seasons slipped away in the blink of an eye.

Otsutsuki Yuhao walked upon the sea for fifty years just like that.

During these fifty years, Otsutsuki Yuhao encountered the Uchiha Clan, the Senju Clan, the Akimichi Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Aburame Clan.

He witnessed the vendettas and romances played out upon the sea, saw the tragedies of the human world, and watched as some rose to fame across the four seas.

He had intervened to help the Uchiha Clan, assisted the Senju Clan, saved commoners, and slaughtered pirates.

He did not know how much time had passed, but the Purple Golden Core within Otsutsuki Yuhao's dantian had begun to slowly transform into black, with gold flecks appearing within the darkness.

The dormant cells in his body, which had never been activated, felt as if parched land had suddenly been nourished by rain.

Otsutsuki Yuhao began to feel a warm, incredibly comfortable sensation spreading throughout his entire body.

He realized that his power had begun to rise once more, advancing from the Purple Golden Core Realm to the Black Golden Core Realm.

Chakra: 20 times Super Kage power.

Sage Power: 20 times Super Kage power.

Base Strength: 20 times Super Kage power.

He had finally reached the fifth step of the Six Paths.

"Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Senjutsu have all reached the fifth step of the Six Paths now. My current strength should be on par with Naruto in Baryon Mode, perhaps even stronger, but at the very least, we belong to the same tier," Otsutsuki Yuhao muttered to himself.

Do not be fooled by the fact that there is only one level of difference between the fifth and sixth steps of the Six Paths, or that their power only differs by a factor of two; in reality, the gap in combat effectiveness between the two is like heaven and earth.

A user at the sixth step could use overwhelming power to suppress five or six Otsutsuki Isshiki, and do so in a way that left those five or six with absolutely no room to fight back.

The difference in their power is like comparing steel and wood of the same weight; their hardness is different, and the steel is inherently denser.

Unless one encounters opponents with perfect coordination like Naruto and Sasuke, who—despite the massive disparity in strength—forced Jigen in his Karma State 2 (which possessed fifth-step strength) to use his full power to defeat them.

Although it is said that Jigen in Karma State 2 easily defeated Naruto and Sasuke, he expended a significant amount of power in the process. Furthermore, when Jigen in Karma State 2 later faced Jiraiya, he had less than half of his power remaining. [In the plot, Jigen in Karma State 2 had only 10% of his power left, and was ultimately forced by Jiraiya to reincarnate into Isshiki prematurely.]