Chapter 308 – This Is the Sage of Six Paths
"The truth… of the shinobi world?"
Uchiha Madara's words froze the battlefield.
Every shinobi wore the same baffled expression—
What did he mean?
Could there really be some hidden secret about the shinobi world?
Or… was this the reason these men started such a war?
Even Nagato and Kimimaro exchanged confused glances.
"You actually read what's inside?"
Obito murmured, clearly irritated.
If Madara planned to reveal something now, it would definitely derail his plans.
"If you haven't read it, then keep it to yourself.
We should stick to the plan."
"Hmph. I know what you're scheming, Obito.
But there are things I must confirm."
Madara ignored him and accepted the relic.
He set the ancient bark onto the ground.
"Hashirama. What you said earlier… you might be right.
But I still need to verify it.
Let's settle this—together."
"Huh?"
Kitagawa Gen blinked, glancing toward Hashirama and Tobirama.
"What exactly did you two tell him?"
"Hmph. Just the truth about the Sage of Six Paths.
Who knows what's gotten into this man."
Tobirama scowled.
He had mentioned the real story of the Sage—but he didn't expect Madara to immediately act on it.
And worse—
Madara had obtained the relic left behind by the Sage's younger brother.
That part irritated him most.
"Unbelievable…
The Hyūga clan hid this kind of history? Damn it."
"Let's not jump to conclusions yet.
Let's hear him out."
Minato said quietly, eyes narrowing.
"Maybe it's not as complicated as we think."
All units refocused on Madara.
Even the communication officers in the command tent paused, bewildered.
"What are they trying to do…?"
"We should listen first," Koharu advised.
"But keep the divisions in formation.
Be ready to attack at any moment."
Nara Shikaku nodded.
"Agreed.
Understanding their intentions may give us an advantage."
Inoichi and the sensor corps acknowledged the order.
Everyone turned to face Madara as he crossed his arms and spoke:
---
"I know you're confused.
But the shinobi world isn't what you think it is.
Even the truth behind the Uchiha and the Senju…
you don't know any of it."
"The Uchiha and the Senju?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"They were enemies for generations, weren't they?"
"Didn't the Uchiha go extinct after the First Hokage's era?"
Many older shinobi frowned—
but Madara cut through their murmurs with a single sentence:
"Their ancestors…
were named Indra and Ashura."
"And those two…"
He paused, letting the suspense settle.
"—were the sons of the Sage of Six Paths."
The statement hit the battlefield like a thunderclap.
Silence swallowed the world.
Indra.
Ashura.
The Sage's sons?
The Senju and Uchiha descended from them?
Everyone—from the shinobi alliance to the Akatsuki, even Edo Tensei shinobi—stared at Madara in disbelief.
Then they stared at Kitagawa Gen for confirmation.
Gen shrugged.
"It's true."
Hashirama sighed.
Tobirama looked disgusted.
But neither denied it.
"Yes. Both clans descend from the Sage.
Their founders were brothers.
Both inherited relics from him."
"Relics from the Sage of Six Paths?!"
"And brothers?!"
An uproar swept the battlefield.
Madara raised a hand for silence.
"But that's not all."
He lifted the ancient bark.
"The Sage's brother also left behind relics."
"The Sage had a brother?!"
Pain (Nagato) stiffened.
Obito's eyes narrowed.
Orochimaru licked his lips, clearly entertained.
And the Hyūga… were stunned.
Madara continued:
"The descendants of the Sage's brother…
still exist today."
His gaze slid toward Gen, then toward the white-eyed shinobi gathered behind him.
"They are…
the Hyūga clan."
"What?!"
Every Hyūga froze—
Neji, Hinata, Hiashi, and the resurrected Hyūga clan members included.
Even Hizashi looked disturbed.
"The Hyūga… descended from the Sage's brother…?"
"Correct.
Though I look down on the Hyūga…
their lineage is undeniably similar to ours."
Pain frowned.
But Gen?
Gen didn't look Hyūga at all.
"And now that all three relics have surfaced…
the truth can finally be spoken."
Madara took a deep breath.
"I have always wondered…
How can this world ever know peace?"
"When Hashirama refused my solution,
I foresaw it clearly—
once villages were formed, the shinobi world would drown in bloodshed."
"And I was right."
His tone hardened.
"Since the founding of the villages—
the wars have only grown worse."
No one could deny that.
"But at the height of my doubts,
I found the relic the Sage left for Indra's descendants."
"And what it said…
changed everything."
"The stone tablet spoke of truths long forgotten.
Such as the time the world nearly collapsed."
"It told how the Sage and his brother fought a godlike being—
the so-called 'Rabbit Goddess.'"
"Her true name…"
Madara paused.
"…is Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
Gasps spread across the alliance.
Kaguya.
Again that name.
And it matched what they had heard of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and "Ōtsutsuki Genshiki."
The dread grew heavier.
Madara pressed on:
"The Sage foresaw another Ōtsutsuki invasion.
So in the relic given to the Senju, he left warnings."
"But the relic for the Uchiha was different—it gave instructions.
And the relic of the Sage's brother…"
He held up the bark.
"…reveals even more."
Hashirama frowned.
"Don't tell me… the method to face the Ōtsutsuki is written on that?"
"In part."
Madara nodded.
"The Sage intended the descendants of his brother—the Hyūga—
to shoulder part of the responsibility."
Shock rippled again—especially through the Hyūga.
"You see… the proper order was this:
1. Senju and Uchiha reconcile using their relics.
2. They awaken the 'Power of All Creation'.
3. They seek the relic of the Sage's brother.
4. They learn how to face the Ōtsutsuki.
5. After the war, the Uchiha enact the final peace."
"This was the Sage's plan for the world."
Shinobi all around fell silent.
This… was too much.
More than half the Hyūga felt faint.
The rest couldn't breathe.
Even Orochimaru's grin faltered.
Madara grimaced as he continued reading.
"The Sage built 'Ninshū'.
But he intentionally passed its leadership to the inferior son—Ashura ."
"Of course Indra was furious."
"And from that decision… the first great conflict was born."
Tobirama clenched his fists.
But Madara wasn't finished.
"The Sage deliberately created the conflict."
"What?!"
"He wanted them to fight.
He wanted Ninshū to fracture.
He wanted their clans to clash."
"Because what he needed…"
Madara's voice rose—
"…was not the conflict between two brothers."
"…but a war that would engulf the entire world."
Gasps.
Whispers.
Cries of horror.
Madara's eyes blazed.
"He wanted a war that would last centuries—
a never-ending cycle rooted in the hatred of Indra and Ashura."
"Because only through that long, grinding conflict…
could the world gather enough strength…"
"…to face the Ōtsutsuki."
---
This revelation shattered the composure of the entire shinobi world.
"What… WHAT?!"
"The Sage caused all this?!"
"No! That can't be—!"
"He's the one who set off the war between his own sons?!"
"It was all… calculated?!"
Everything they knew—every war, every conflict, all the blood shed over a thousand years—
was the Sage's doing?
Madara's final words crashed over them like thunder:
"The Sage of Six Paths…"
"…was the one who orchestrated the shinobi world's thousand-year catastrophe."
???
Wasn't he the one who saved this world from the Rabbit Goddess, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?
How… how did the Sage of Six Paths become a cold-blooded monster in his own brother's records?
Where did everything go wrong?!
"H–How can this be…?"
Nagato's eyes lost their focus.
He had dreamed all his life of walking the "Six Paths"—
dreamed of becoming someone like the Sage who once saved the world.
Yet now he was being told…
The very suffering he wanted to erase—
was created by the Sage himself?
"How… is that possible…"
Obito was equally destroyed.
He stared blankly at the rewritten "stone tablet," as if his world had collapsed.
Where was the promised peace?
Where was the path the Sage supposedly left behind?
Had everything… been a lie?
Was the Sage of Six Paths truly the one who created this world of suffering?
Even the Edo Tensei army wavered, stunned into silence.
The information was too terrifying—too absurd.
Just when everyone was on the verge of breaking—
Madara spoke again.
"But… we cannot blame the Sage entirely."
The entire battlefield stirred.
"Even his younger brother doubted him.
Even he wondered if the Sage had gone too far."
"But the Sage's answer… was clear."
Everyone turned to Madara.
Hashirama and Tobirama stiffened, knowing what was coming.
"According to the Sage himself…"
Madara raised his voice, quoting directly:
'Only through endless cruelty can the people of this world develop unshakable resolve and overwhelming strength.
Even if countless lives perish…
Even if a thousand years of war pile the land with corpses… so be it.
For compared to total annihilation at the hands of the Ōtsutsuki…
the survival of this world matters far more.'"
Ōtsutsuki.
The name alone froze the battlefield.
Kaguya.
Isshiki.
The gods who could split the sky with a gesture.
Every shinobi who had witnessed an Ōtsutsuki battle involuntarily trembled—
Meteorites falling like raindrops.
Blows that shook continents.
A presence that made one feel like an insect.
If the world did not grow stronger…
Then yes—
It would be destroyed.
"So the Sage laid his plan," Madara said.
"He didn't know how long the war would last.
Didn't know how much hatred would accumulate.
Didn't know if Indra and Ashura's descendants would ever make peace."
"But he still did it."
"Because without strength, this world cannot resist the Ōtsutsuki."
Madara exhaled deeply.
"The Sage…
was cruel.
Cold.
And heartless."
"But also farsighted.
And genuinely concerned for every life on this planet."
Silence.
Heavy, suffocating silence.
Because when they really thought about it…
The shinobi world did grow stronger through endless war.
If not for that strength—
Kaguya would have devoured them all already.
"So the Sage of Six Paths," someone whispered,
"was the true mastermind of the shinobi world…"
"The one who created Ninshū… then tore it apart."
"The man who engineered a thousand-year blood war…
cold and ruthless beyond imagination…
but doing it all to save the future."
"Is this… the real Sage of Six Paths?"
Shinobi across the world could only stand motionless.
And in a place no mortal could see—
A deafening roar erupted.
"I DIDN'T!
I'M NOT LIKE THAT!"
"…"