Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, Konoha Leadership's Doubts

"What... what kind of monster is that?!"

Shikaku Nara's legs went weak as he stared at the two half-bodied demon gods towering dozens of meters high, his mind utterly blank.

The ninja hound beside Tsume Inuzuka, usually ferocious beyond compare,

had rolled its eyes back and fainted amid the ruins, while Shibi Aburame staggered backward again and again.

"Solidified chakra... It can actually condense chakra into such an indestructible demon-god form!"

The veins at Hyuga Hiashi's temples bulged.

Through his penetrating vision,

the chakra within Fugaku and Shisui had already reached a magnitude he simply could not comprehend.

Compared to those two Susanoo, the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and Eight Trigrams Palm were not worth mentioning.

No one in the banquet hall spoke.

Konoha's highest authorities—the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two advisors—all stood frozen in place.

Lu Ming stood at the seat of honor,

looking down at the clan heads and Konoha Leadership below before letting out a laugh.

His purpose of establishing dominance had been achieved.

"Everyone."

Lu Ming's voice, surging with chakra, drowned out the Susanoo's roar.

"Have you always believed that our Uchiha Clan was merely one of Konoha's founding clans?"

Everyone raised their heads and looked at Lu Ming.

"Did you think the Uchiha and Senju stood side by side in fame merely because we forged our reputations during the Warring States Era?"

Lu Ming looked down at them.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!"

Lu Ming spread his arms, casting that earth-shattering secret—enough to overturn the Shinobi World's understanding—before his entire clan and Konoha's great clans.

"Our Uchiha Clan is a divine shinobi clan whose legacy has endured for a thousand years!"

"Our progenitor was named Indra Ōtsutsuki."

"And the First Hokage Hashirama, whom you revere as a god—the progenitor of their Senju clan—was named Asura Ōtsutsuki!"

Lu Ming's voice rose to its peak, shaking the heavens.

"Indra and Asura were brothers, born of the same blood."

"And their father was the mythical being who created Ninshū and opened the entire shinobi world—the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki!"

His words caused an uproar in the banquet hall.

"The Sage of Six Paths?!"

Hyuga Hiashi was the first to react. He cried out in shock.

"That mythical figure who existed only in ancient legends and created Ninshū?! How is that possible?!"

"Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths? The Uchiha and Senju are actually brothers?!"

Shikaku Nara stood there dumbfounded.

The surrounding clan heads looked at one another.

Lu Ming did not stop. He continued explaining loudly.

"Before his death, the Sage of Six Paths divided his power between his two sons!"

Lu Ming pointed at the two Susanoo emanating destruction in the hall.

"The elder son, Indra, inherited the Sage's eyes. That was the origin of our Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan."

"The younger son, Asura, inherited the Sage's body. That was the source of the Senju clan's Wood Release and immense vitality!"

"The Uchiha's Sharingan and the Senju's Wood Release have nothing to do with ordinary Kekkei Genkai at their core. They are entirely inheritances of Six Paths power!"

Lu Ming clenched his fist and swept his gaze over Konoha Leadership.

"But look at the Senju clan now! To supposedly integrate into the village, they abandoned their surname and their glory. Now they have completely withered away, without even a single descendant worth mentioning!"

"Look across the Shinobi World today!"

Lu Ming raised his head, red light blazing in his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Only our Uchiha Clan still preserves the purest bloodline."

"Only we Uchiha bear the supreme glory of being descendants of the Sage of Six Paths!"

The entire banquet hall fell silent for more than ten seconds!

Then, the Uchiha clansmen erupted into cheers!

"Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths! We are descendants of gods!"

"Long live the Uchiha! Long live the Clan Head!"

"Return to the pinnacle of the Shinobi World! Reforge the glory of the Six Paths!"

The Uchiha clansmen outside shouted at the top of their lungs.

How many years had it been?

They had been suppressed by Konoha Leadership and watched at all times by ANBU.

But now, Lu Ming had not only shown them the invincible strength of three Mangekyō Sharingan, he had also bestowed upon them a noble status above the entire Shinobi World!

Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths!

This pride exhilarated the Uchiha clansmen.

Everyone stared at Lu Ming standing at the seat of honor.

As long as Lu Ming gave the order, they would dare wage war against the entire Shinobi World!

Meanwhile, the clan heads of Konoha present had been utterly overwhelmed by the Uchiha Bloodline's foundation.

Hyuga Hiashi lowered his head, his face full of bitterness.

He finally understood why the Byakugan had always been inferior to the Sharingan. The Uchiha had inherited the eyes of the god of creation!

Shikaku Nara, Tsume Inuzuka, and the others remained silent.

They understood clearly that the Uchiha, with three Mangekyō Sharingan, mastery of the Temple Formation, and the Six Paths Bloodline,

had completely surpassed the category of Konoha's great clans,

becoming a colossal existence that even the village had to look up to!

This breathtaking celebration came to an end amid the Uchiha clansmen's fervent cheers and the deep awe of the various clan heads.

Late at night.

Inside the Hokage Office on the top floor of the Hokage Building.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed ready to freeze solid.

Bang!

Utatane Koharu slammed her palm onto the desk and roared.

"Shameless! Utterly shameless to the extreme!"

"That Uchiha Lu Ming, just to elevate his own status and intimidate the great clans, actually dared claim a mythical figure like the Sage of Six Paths as his ancestor! Why doesn't he just say he's the Sage of Six Paths reincarnated?!"

Mitokado Homura, seated on the sofa, chimed in.

"Hmph. He merely fabricated some illusory myth to win people over."

"The Uchiha Clan is inherently evil. They are best at using such bewitching methods to manipulate people's hearts."

"Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths? What an absolutely ridiculous joke!"

Faced with the two advisors' fury, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated in the Hokage's chair, looked at them.

"Advisor Koharu, Advisor Homura, this matter is not as simple as you think."

"Lu Ming's words may not all have been fabricated."

"The Uchiha's Sharingan and the Senju's Wood Release possess power far beyond common sense."

"If traced back to the origins of Ninshū, it is entirely logical that they might share a bloodline connection with the Sage of Six Paths."

"However!"

Mitokado Homura's brow furrowed tightly as well.

"If all of this is true, then Lu Ming's public declaration of his origins is extremely abnormal."

"Abnormal? Minato, what do you mean by that?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head and looked at the young Fourth Hokage.

Mitokado Homura walked to the desk, bracing both hands against it, his expression incomparably grave.

"According to ancient records, the eyes possessed by the Sage of Six Paths were the legendary Rinnegan, said to govern life and death."

Mitokado Homura pointed out the flaw.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan is immensely powerful and can even manifest a demon god like Susanoo."

"But compared to the legendary Rinnegan, there is still an unbridgeable gulf between them!"

"Lu Ming is an extremely intelligent and deeply calculating man."

"Since he knows his clan's eyes have yet to reach the Sage of Six Paths' ultimate realm, why would he so publicly reveal this bloodline foundation to everyone?"

Mitokado Homura's tone was filled with deep concern.

"Other than satisfying a momentary vanity, this gains him no practical benefit at all. Instead, it will only draw the entire Shinobi World's frenzied covetousness toward the Uchiha Bloodline!"

Hearing Mitokado Homura's analysis, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes shifted slightly.

He tapped the pipe in his hand against the ashtray, producing a sharp sound.

"Mitokado Homura is right."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to his feet, pacing back and forth through the office with his hands behind his back.

"Shinobi have always valued concealing their strengths. Their trump cards must always be hidden in the deepest place."

"Even if the Uchiha truly possess the Six Paths Bloodline, they should have kept that secret tightly hidden!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped and turned to look out the window, toward the Uchiha District.

"Lu Ming's approach of exposing both his trump cards and bloodline beneath the sunlight completely violates the most basic principles of a shinobi."

"All this will do is bring the Uchiha endless scrutiny and covetousness from the entire Shinobi World."