The Sage of Six Paths, who had always looked down upon the Shinobi World, had willingly faded into legend and rarely intervened directly in worldly affairs.
He seemed to have been waiting all along.
Waiting for the prophecy left behind by the Great Toad Sage to come true.
A blue-eyed boy.
One who could call the Nine Tailed Beasts by name.
Who would frolic with the Tailed Beasts.
And ultimately bring forth a miracle.
The Great Toad Sage, then still called Gamamaru, had told the Sage of Six Paths about this dream.
Later, Naruto, Asura's reincarnation, fulfilled the prophecy.
Lie Yang looked back at the scroll.
The so-called Six Paths Sage Mode had never been a power one could obtain through ordinary training.
It required the Sage of Six Paths to bestow it willingly.
And it required the recipient to possess a sufficiently resilient heart.
On the surface, it seemed that the Sage of Six Paths chose his successor.
But at a deeper level, it was as though fate first selected a suitable candidate, then the Sage of Six Paths personally delivered the final piece of the puzzle.
"Fate chooses the successor."
Lie Yang lightly pressed a finger against the scroll.
"Then the Sage of Six Paths completes the gift."
Yet this very system still contained far too many inexplicable points.
The Sage of Six Paths possessed a Sage Body.
He had also mastered Yin–Yang Release and the power of the Ten-Tails.
His younger brother, Hamura Otsutsuki, was likewise no ordinary lifeform.
At their level, extending their lifespans would have been no difficult task.
Even Tailed Beasts could be reborn after death.
Yet the Sage of Six Paths, their creator, had died of old age.
The same was true of Hamura.
The matter itself was full of oddities.
Tailed Beasts