"It seemed you had finally calmed down! Or perhaps you had other motives!"
With a faint smile, Mingye raised one hand. As he spoke, he pressed it downward, and everyone within the barrier felt an unprecedented pressure. The Reaper Mask above Mingye's head shone brilliantly, forcing them all to their knees before him.
"To rule the world and claim the throne of kings—the world has long since fallen into utter chaos. Have you truly never considered unifying it completely? Perhaps you will say that my true nature as a tyrant is plain to see, that I sought to seize the world and unleash slaughter. But everything I did back then was for one purpose: to bring true peace to the world!"
No one refuted Mingye's words. There had indeed been no falsehood in what he had done back then. Anyone who joined Konoha, whether they came from the Land of Fire or not, received equal treatment. Mingye had never cared about differences of clan or country. As long as they were willing to submit to Konoha and contribute their strength to its development, Mingye treated them as he would his own brothers.
As the pressure lifted, Mingye's body began to change as well. The First Raikage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage at the front were the most shocked, because they had seen this form before. Yet the person they had seen then had not been Mingye, but the legendary Otsutsuki Hagoromo—the Sage of Six Paths!
A pure white robe covered in purple tomoe patterns spiraled around his body. Two horns protruded from his forehead, and his hair turned pale white. As Mingye stepped into the barrier, everyone felt another wave of pressure—not upon their bodies, but upon their minds.
"I am an ambitious man, but I am also a dreamer. Back