Pure Land, this Eternity place where souls rest and wander, is as always shrouded in hazy and quiet light.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as Sage of Six Paths to the world, is suspended cross-legged in the void, surrounded by a faint Truth-Seeking Orb, eyes closed, Sensing looking at Shinobi World.
Regarding Naruto Uzumaki, the variable that stirred up the Shinobi World situation, reached Hokage Position in advance, and even began to touch the Kekkei Mōra threshold, Sage of Six Paths's attitude is quite subtle.
He didn't care at all. Naruto's growth rate, acting style and even the potential within him made it impossible for Hagoromo to completely ignore it.
However, compared to Naruto, what he cares more about at this moment is another existence Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
"You can actually hide it from my thousand years of observation..."
Sage of Six Paths whispered in his heart, with a hint of solemnity and confusion.
He believed that although his monitoring of Shinobi World was not meticulous, he should have been aware of the residual aura of the Ōtsutsuki Clan and the fluctuations of Chakra that were as powerful as his mother Kaguya.
But Isshiki is like a poisonous snake lurking in the deepest shadows. It was not until he recently had a heart-to-heart talk with his mother that he learned of the existence of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
This concealment ability forced Hagoromo to reassess the danger level of Isshiki.
As expected of a being from the same clan as his mother, he is truly mysterious.
Hagoromo sighed slightly, and his vigilance towards Isshiki was raised to the highest level.
This "comatriot" who came with his mother Kaguya, but chose a completely different path, has huge unknowns about his purpose, strength, and conspiracy that has been hidden for thousands of years, and may be more difficult than expected.
Temporarily suppressing his thoughts about Isshiki, Sensing of Sage of Six Paths once again scanned the vast area of Pure Land, trying to find the Rinnegan Young Naruto, Yūji that once aroused his great interest.
However, the result is still nothingness.
It was as if Young Naruto had never appeared before and completely disappeared within the range of Pure Land and Sensing. Along with the souls of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju who had been in contact with him, the memory of that encounter also seemed to have been erased.
If it is a seal, Sealing Jutsu can be unlocked by relying on Sage of Six Paths's Sealing Jutsu attainments, but it is a pity that he does not have the ability to restore the lost memory.
Hagoromo clearly remembers that an extremely powerful force with an indescribable nature suddenly came and instantly blocked his access to that area Sensing.
When the power receded and he arrived, there was only a void left, and the mysterious Rinnegan Young Naruto, whose strength had been greatly reduced and was being hunted by Madara Uchiha, was nowhere to be found.
This incident sounded the alarm for Sage of Six Paths.
He originally thought that with his own strength and understanding of Pure Land, he had basically taken control of this soul's destination.
But this incident showed that Pure Land is far deeper and more mysterious than he knew, and there may be ancient existences or unknown realms hidden in it that even he was not aware of.
It's really embarrassing. I think I have control over everything, but I'm just sitting in a well and looking at the sky.
Hagoromo felt a sense of self-mockery in his heart, and at the same time became more cautious.
Is the being who took away Rinnegan Young Naruto an enemy or a friend?
What is the purpose?
All this is shrouded in fog.
The unknown cannot be eliminated, but if possible Sage of Six Paths would like to know more.
In order to deal with these potential threats, especially the clear Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Sage of Six Paths did not sit still.
He used his ultimate understanding of Senjutsu and Yin-Yang Release, combined with the special environment and rules of Pure Land, spent a lot of effort, and finally created the world's first "Six Paths Treasured Tool".
Six Paths Treasured Tool has its own advantages and disadvantages compared with Otsutsuki and Treasured Tool.
Unlike the Six Paths Tools left behind by Sage of Six Paths during his lifetime, Six Paths Treasured Tool incorporates the power of Senjutsu and also has the talisman and seal amplification that Hamura learned from Mount Myōboku.
In fact, this thing was originally prepared for the sealed Kaguya, just in case Kaguya ran out of the seal one day, and Shinobi World did not have the power to resist Kaguya.
Sage of Six Paths made two preparations.
One hand is Pure Land's many strong men and Six Paths Treasured Tool, and the other hand is Chakra's reincarnation of Asura and Indra.
Sage of Six Paths once promised Hashirama that he would return their souls to Konoha at the appropriate time.
And these former strong men may become an important force against Isshiki after their resurrection.
This newly created Six Paths Treasured Tool was named Six Paths Life-and-Death Shogi by Hagoromo.
Its shape is not a physical weapon, but more like a shogi set Chessboard.
Its core rule is: when Sage of Six Paths selects a specific opponent, he can activate this magic weapon to build a temporary special space directly between Shinobi World and Pure Land, that is, Chessboard of Six Paths Life-and-Death Shogi.
Above Chessboard, the rules are self-contained.
Sage of Six Paths and the selected opponent will serve as King General at both ends of Chessboard, and their respective Ninja, psychic beasts, and even some special beings will become chess pieces on Chessboard.
These chess pieces can be living or dead.
The battle will take place on this special "Life-and-Death Shogi board". The rules of victory and defeat are similar to those of Shogi, but more complex and cruel. They are often directly related to changes in the situation in the real world, and may even determine the life or death of important figures.
After the chess piece is promoted, the Ninja of the corresponding chess piece will also be enhanced, for example, Rook becomes Dragon King, Bishop becomes Dragon Horse.
This is equivalent to colliding and gaming some of the forces of the Yin and Yang worlds in a highly regularized form.
The original intention of Sage of Six Paths to create "Life-and-Death Shogi" was mainly to deal with his mother, but now it has become Isshiki.
He expected that when Isshiki really showed its fangs and launched a full-scale invasion, he could activate Life-and-Death Shogi, pull Isshiki into this special battlefield, and use the rules to fight against the power of his own chess pieces.
However, Hagoromo's considerations go far beyond that.
His deep gaze seemed to have penetrated the barrier of Pure Land, casting it towards the ambitious Blond-Haired Boy--Naruto Uzumaki in Mortal World.
If this young Hokage, who is stirring up trouble, eventually poses an uncontrollable threat to the balance of Shinobi World and the future of the world, and goes astray...
Sage of Six Paths thought silently in his heart, then, this 'Six Paths·Life-and-Death Shogi' might have to be used on him.
The chess pieces are ready, Chessboard has been cast.
The chess player sits high on Pure Land, watching the changes in Shinobi World, waiting for the moment when he needs to make a move.
Whether it is to deal with the Otsutsuki threat from the stars, or to check and balance the forces within Shinobi World that may be out of control, Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo is ready to intervene.
Only this time, his intervention method will no longer be a simple dream or power, but a grand chess game that may sweep both the world of life and death and use the world as a bet.