The Slug Sage stopped Hashirama, saying, "Lord Hashirama, you cannot go see Madara now. You know his personality very well; only someone with power equal to his can make him listen seriously."
"Otherwise, he will just think you are making things up!"
"Besides, the dark shadow behind the scenes is just a conjecture; we have no substantial evidence to prove its existence."
"Perhaps Madara was inadvertently possessed by Kaguya's will!"
Hashirama found this a bit troublesome.
The Slug Sage said, "Lord Hashirama, don't worry about it anymore. Continue practicing Yin-Yang Release! You have already entered the threshold of Yin-Yang Release."
"My guess was correct; Asura will not be left too far behind by Indra. Madara's Rinnegan is stimulating the changes in the chakra within your body."
"You have already grasped the basics of Yin-Yang Release and will soon be able to integrate it into battle."
"Continue your cultivation! Lord Hashirama, you were once stronger than Madara, which is why you were able to subdue him and establish Konoha together."
"Now, if you want to bring your dear friend back, you must become even stronger than him."
Hashirama nodded, "Master, let us continue!"
The Slug Sage nodded with satisfaction; this time, Hashirama's cultivation was clearly more spirited than before.
Previously, Hashirama had been pushed along by the turmoil of the Shinobi World. He was brought back by Orochimaru through Edo Tensei and told that only by going to Shikkotsu Forest to learn the Truth-Seeking Orb could he save the world.
Hashirama had been pushed to Shikkotsu Forest by Orochimaru and Tobirama.
But this time, after learning that Madara had been deceived, Hashirama felt invigorated. He was determined to rescue his dear friend from the scam.
The Slug Sage watched Hashirama cultivate while simultaneously responding to the Six Paths chakra from the Pure Land that traversed Yin and Yang.
"Lord Hagoromo, as you instructed, I have told Lord Hashirama about Kaguya. Lord Hashirama now knows that Madara is being used."
Part of the reason the Slug Sage told Hashirama about Kaguya was to cheer him up and strengthen his resolve to stop Madara.
As for the other part, it was a request from the Sage of Six Paths.
The Sage of Six Paths's chakra can travel freely between the Pure Land and the living world, but only in extreme circumstances will the Sage of Six Paths break the balance of Yin and Yang to enter the living world.
For example, if the Shinobi World is in absolute chaos, the Sage of Six Paths will appear to entrust his power to the reincarnations of Indra and Asura, allowing them to save the world.
However, the Three Great Sage Regions are different from the living world; they are located in separate dimensions. The Three Great Sages represent the past, present, and future of the Shinobi World.
The Sage of Six Paths maintains the Pure Land, while the Three Great Sages maintain the living world; together, they form the balance of Yin and Yang.
There is a specialized communication channel between the Sage of Six Paths and the Three Great Sages.
The Sage of Six Paths thanked the Slug Sage: "Senior Katsuyu, thank you!"
The Slug Sage shook its head: "No need, I am also doing this for Lord Hashirama! He is the most special Asura I have ever seen."
The Sage of Six Paths's chakra was hidden within the Slug Sage's body, and through the Slug Sage's perspective, he saw Hashirama practicing Yin-Yang Release.
"Yes, this generation's Asura is very special. He awakened the unique Wood Release and has steadily suppressed Indra."
The growth of previous reincarnations of Asura was never smooth sailing; they started out mediocre and only slowly revealed their talent with the help of others.
If Asura were a genius from the start who could do anything easily, he wouldn't understand that love is the key to achieving peace.
But Hashirama is different. Hashirama was a genius from the start, born with the unique Wood Release.
In his many battles with Madara, he was always the one suppressing the other.
Miraculously, as a genius, he didn't have the typical flaws of heroes—being arrogant, aloof, or lacking empathy...
He still possessed Asura's personality of valuing his comrades.
The Slug Sage asked the Sage of Six Paths: "Lord Hagoromo, have you detected the dark shadow hidden behind Indra?"
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head: "I cannot perceive it. There is indeed such a shadow, likely Mother's power. Mother's power level is above mine and Hamura's."
Kaguya Otsutsuki is a pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki who developed her bloodline to perfection after eating the fruit of the God Tree.
Although her combat relies purely on raw stats, her power is overwhelming.
Kaguya is immortal, but her sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, are not.
Their chakra can exist forever, but their bodies are subject to the erosion of time and will eventually die.
Excluding the Boruto series, Kaguya's power is the highest in the chakra system because she is the progenitor of chakra.
Neither the Sage of Six Paths nor Hamura can perceive the backup plans she left behind.
The Slug Sage added: "What does the Great Toad Sage say? Can he still dream?"
The Sage of Six Paths replied: "Gamamaru can still dream of parts of the future's direction, but he can no longer predict the major future."
"Gamamaru once dreamed of a blue-eyed youth calling out the names of the nine Tailed Beasts; that was the child of prophecy he spoke of."
"But Gamamaru has been unable to have any more prophetic dreams about that blue-eyed youth since over thirty years ago."
"He has lost his prophetic insight into the main timeline of the future."
The Slug Sage sighed: "Madara's resurrection was never within the expectations of us Sages."
"According to Gamamaru's calculations, Madara's lifespan should have been exhausted some time ago, and then the chakra of Asura and Indra would have reincarnated again."
"The world's transformation should have been triggered by the next generation of Asura and Indra."
"But Madara defied his established fate. With his life extended by Ryou, he brought forward the transformation that should have happened over a decade later to the present!"
"The future of the Shinobi World has become unpredictable! Lord Hagoromo, is this one of the reasons you are interfering with Yin and Yang?"
The Sage of Six Paths nodded: "I suppose so! I am an unqualified father, favoring Asura once again!"
He had no choice but to show favoritism. Madara, the reincarnation of Indra, already possessed the Rinnegan, and his power had surpassed the progenitor and approached his own.
Even if the Sage of Six Paths wanted to love Madara, there was nothing he could give him.
Madara was also special, having developed the Rinnegan without relying on the Sage's power.
The Slug Sage looked at Hashirama and said, "There is no problem with Lord Hashirama practicing Yin-Yang Release, but for the Truth-Seeking Orb, an Impure World body is ultimately a dead person's body after all."
"Lord Hashirama needs to be resurrected!"
The Sage of Six Paths said, "I have already spoken with Gamamaru. He will give the method for creating the sages talisman to Senior Katsuyu."
The sages talisman, a secret treasure of the Toad Kingdom on Mount Myōboku.
In the original animation, Kaguya controlled Hamura to duel the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage of Six Paths killed Hamura and then used the sages talisman given by the Great Toad Sage to revive him.
Although it was to revive a dying Hamura, that sages talisman is capable of resurrecting mortals.
In the eyes of true masters, the boundary between life and death is not that absolute.
If the Sage of Six Paths or Hamura wanted to be resurrected, the rules of the Pure Land could not bind them at all.
This is because rules are set by the strong, and moral powerhouses follow rules strictly.
"Senior Katsuyu, I'll leave it to you this time. You are the Sage with the most chakra."
The Slug Sage nodded: "It is no trouble; it is all for the sake of the Shinobi World. However, Lord Hagoromo, resurrecting Lord Hashirama is not difficult."
"The difficulty lies in whether he is willing to return from death to life?"
"As you know, Lord Hashirama's personality is not that of one who craves life."