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Madara, blocking Shanks' iron fist, said smugly that this fight was truly frustrating. He had entered Six Paths Mode and thought he could easily defeat everything, sweeping away a large group of enemies. But here he was, stuck in a stalemate with his die-hard fan for so long. This die-hard fan was too difficult to deal with, seemingly able to block his next attack. Every time, he perfectly dodged and then punched him. If it weren't for the powerful defense of the Truth-Seeking Balls, he might not have been able to beat him in close combat. However, after entering Six Paths Mode, he had transcended the realm of humanity, and even with such a powerful die-hard fan, he was still just one person. He could see that Shanks was already very tired, only putting up a fight in close combat.

"what!"

"boom!"

"I've known this principle since I was a child: a man can't admit that he's incapable!"

Shanks punched the iron plate formed by the Truth-Seeking Ball again, continuing to talk, but in his heart he felt extremely aggrieved. He thought to himself that he, Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, had never felt so frustrated in all his decades of life. In the past, whether it was the Eight-Tails or the Nine-Tails, there was nothing that his fists couldn't handle.

But now he's encountered a cheater, and he's truly helpless. The Truth-Seeking Ball's defense is simply too shameless. The Six Paths Elder is really stingy; he won't even come out and give his eldest son's most outstanding descendant a cheat. He could at least give me some Yin Release chakra or something to activate Six Paths Mode.

"Lord Shanks! Leave the rest to me!"

Just as Shanks was complaining about how stingy the old man Six Paths was, a red light appeared in front of him and spoke behind his back.

"Holy crap... Green skin... Pfft! Kai, what are you doing? Is this the Eight Gates?"

Shanks stared at the glowing red-skinned Gai, feeling the explosive power emanating from his body. He nearly bit his tongue. This had to be so dangerous! He could have just held him off. Didn't he see Naruto and the second male lead had already closed their eyes? It was definitely the Six Paths Elder coming out to deliver a gift. The thought that the Six Paths Elder had already come out to deliver a gift, but hadn't given him one, made Shanks mentally conjure up a Six Paths Elder puppet in one hand and a long spear in the other, ready to stab the Six Paths Elder repeatedly...

"Lord Shanks, take a break! I'm going! Evening Elephant!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Greenskinned Kai finally managed to grumble at Shanks; if he kept going, he really wouldn't be able to fight anymore...

"boom!"

"The Eight Gates are truly formidable..."

Shanks stared blankly at the green-skinned Guy who had shattered Madara's Truth-Seeking Ball with a single kick and deformed Madara. He sighed, saying that he couldn't break through the Truth-Seeking Ball's defense even with all his strength, but Guy broke it with a single, casual kick.

He had considered learning the Eight Gates back then, but when he thought about the harm it would cause, he gave up. He wasn't a masochist. The Eight Gates were indeed powerful, but he didn't want to be the best in the world. With his current skills, he could have made it to the finale. Why would he want to learn some weird Eight Gates and suffer?

"Pop!!"

Just as Shanks was marveling at the power of the Eight Gates, a sound like dripping water echoed from the depths of his soul. His vision blurred, and when he could see clearly again, he found himself in an unknown space. An old man with a long cane sat in the air, staring at him strangely, with two small figures beside him.

833. I wanted to give him a gift, but he wanted to be recognized as my father.

The old man's appearance is somewhat similar to Madara's, and with Naruto and the second male lead standing obediently beside him, if he still can't recognize the old man's identity, then he must be a complete idiot.

calm down!

We must stay calm!

The great opportunity is right in front of you; whether you can seize it is up to you.

He blinked, trying to look completely bewildered...

"Why do I feel a deep, soul-deep connection with you when I see this kind old man, a fatherly warmth...?"

"anything else?"

The old man sitting in the air looked at Shanks strangely, wondering what this little rascal was going to say next.

Shanks gently wiped away the tears he had managed to hold back from the corners of his eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and began to tell his sad story, “I have never seen my parents since I was born. I was raised by my aunt. Whenever I walk alone on the street and see other people’s fathers playing with their children, I always wonder what my father is like.”

In an instant.

The space became desolate.

Naruto, who was not very bright, was moved by Shanks' story and tears and snot streamed down his face.

"I never imagined my great-uncle's childhood was so tragic...so lonely..."

The second male lead stared at Shanks with his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. Was this really the same arrogant Konoha boss who was always so cool outside? He had absolutely no idea why Shanks was trying to make the atmosphere so emotional.

"so what?"

The old man of the Six Paths was also puzzled. What kind of trick was this little rascal playing?

"The moment I first saw you, the image of my father kept swirling in my mind, and a voice seemed to keep calling out to me from the depths of my soul: You are my father! My dear father! I have finally met you!"

Shanks, with tears and snot streaming down his face, rushed over and hugged the old man's leg, wiping his tears and snot all over his pants.

He was secretly pleased with himself.

This wave is stable!

"Holy shit..."

"Shameless...!"

Naruto and the second male lead were stunned; they never expected such a thing to happen.

"That's outrageous!"

"That's absolutely shameless!"

The second male lead was dumbfounded. All that rambling before was just setup; the real point was recognizing him as his father. This guy's a Six Paths Sage, old enough to be your ancestor, and you call him your father...?

"You little brat, get out of here..."

The old man from the Six Paths almost fainted as his vision blurred. His face darkened, and he kicked the shameless bastard aside. He'd only brought this brat in because he'd seen him fighting so hard for world peace and wanted to reward him with a gift. But this little rascal was so shameless! He wanted to give him a gift, and this brat wanted to be his father…

Although Hagoromo Otsutsuki was handsome and dashing in his youth, he was a respectable man who only had two sons, Ashura and Inshura. For the descendants of his younger son to acknowledge him as their father, he was practically a descendant of countless generations...

"No! Please don't disown me, Father!"

Shanks, despite being kicked away, was not discouraged and pounced on the leg again to hug it. For the sake of the big gift, what is a face? Can you eat it?

"...Let me go! I'm not your father, I'm your ancestor, Ootongki Hagoromo, also known as the Sage of Six Paths!"

The old man Liudao was furious. This little bastard was utterly shameless, but when he mentioned his identity, he exuded an air of superiority.

"Alright, ancestor... ptooey, Sage of Six Paths, I wonder what business you have with me. If it's about saving world peace, then don't bother me. That guy outside is my idol; I can't possibly beat him."

Shanks stopped crying and said seriously, "Since there is room for negotiation, we must turn the tables and let the other party know how strong their opponent is before we can bargain. Unlike Naruto and the second male lead, who are two idiots with no experience, they just accept whatever the Six Paths Elder gives them without knowing how to bargain."

"........."

Shanks' style changed so quickly that even the Six Paths Elder was dumbfounded. One second he was clinging to Shanks' leg and calling him his father, and the next he's calling him his ancestor.

"Old Immortal Liudao, don't you have anything to say?"

Seeing that the old man of the Six Paths remained silent, Shanks worried that his tricks would be useless against this ancient relic, so he cautiously asked.

"...You have absolutely no doubt that I am the Sage of Six Paths?"

The old man of the Six Paths managed to squeeze out a sentence. Although he had been dead for a long time, he had been wandering the ninja world. These days, who would dare to say that they were the Sage of Six Paths? They would be considered crazy.

"Hmm... I've been in the ninja world for so many years, I've seen all sorts of storms, but since you've asked, I'll assume you have some doubts. Please speak your mind..."

He'd been around for decades, and the old man from the Six Paths clearly wanted to find a way to tell them a story and get some screen time, so how could he not give him face?

"Hmm... Speaking of which, do you know how the ninja world came into being?"

The old man of the Six Paths gave Shanks an approving look. This little rascal may be a bit shameless, but he is very perceptive and knows how to behave.

"do not know!"

Naruto and the second male lead shook their heads like obedient children.

"And what about you?"

The old man of the Six Paths turned to Shanks, who was idly gazing at the sky, and asked him a question.

"So you kids should spend your free time reading books and learning about history instead of fighting all the time. You don't even know how the ninja world was formed. Legend has it that in ancient times there was a giant tree that could support the sky, which is the divine tree outside. It was covered with all kinds of fruits..."

"Shut up, you little brat!"

The old man of the Six Paths knew that Shanks was going to brag about the awesome things he heard in Iwagakure back then and steal his spotlight.

Do you think it's easy for employees to get some screen time when they finally get a chance to be out in public?

"Uh...yes, yes, please say it, please say it."

Shanks said, his face close to Shanks's, "The gift package hasn't arrived yet, and my biggest concern is..."

"Sigh... what you said before wasn't entirely wrong. This divine tree did exist a thousand years ago, and back then my mother..."

Perhaps because he hadn't chatted with anyone in a long time, the old man of the Six Paths wanted to get to the point, so he told the story of his mother's birth into this world, his two sons' struggle for the throne, and their subsequent reincarnation and fighting, for what seemed like several hours. Shanks was almost asleep listening to him. It was only in the mental space that he had time to ramble on. If time here were equal to time outside, the ninja world would have been destroyed by him long ago.

"So, you're saying all the trouble the ninja world has caused over the years was orchestrated by your son after being misled by your nominal third brother? And your nominal third brother is actually your mother, and all she's been doing is trying to escape that lonely, desolate moon? And your mother is, in name, our ancestor, and you want us to organize our ancestors to break the seal... Wait, this relationship is a bit messy, let me sort it out..."

Shanks got so caught up in his own explanation that he couldn't make sense of it anymore.

834. The Otsutsuki Family's Court Drama

"...You're not wrong to say that."

After counting the relationships on his fingers, the old man of the Six Paths spoke.

“This is not good. From what you’ve said, your mother is the progenitor of chakra, even more resilient than you. Even you and your brother, two such powerful people, could only seal her together. We weaklings definitely can’t beat her. We can’t even handle Madara outside now. If the ultimate boss comes out, what will we use to fight her? You said it yourself, she can’t be killed, only sealed. That’s even more dangerous.”

Shanks shrugged. It was a rare opportunity to see the Six Paths Elder, so he'd grab as much benefit as he could. As for sealing Kaguya, he'd let Naruto and the second male lead handle it. That's how Kishimoto had set it up anyway, and he wasn't going to do something thankless. He was already exhausted from just fighting Madara; only a madman would go head-to-head with Kaguya. The outcome was already predetermined, so he might as well just sit on the sidelines, eat sunflower seeds, and be a cheerleader.

"...I brought you in because you don't have the ability to seal my mother right now. Originally, I only needed Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, because they are the reincarnations of Ashura and Inshura in this generation. However, I brought you in to prevent any accidents."

The old man of the Six Paths didn't give Shanks a friendly look. If he wasn't worried that these two brats were too weak to handle his mother, he wouldn't have bothered to bring this little rascal into the picture. Shanks had slandered him so many times before, and he was supposed to give him a big gift. Just thinking about it made him feel more disgusted than eating shit. Besides, this little rascal was a seasoned pro, not as easy to fool as the two brats. A tiny bit of benefit would be enough to get rid of them.

"Sigh! You saw me when I was evenly matched with Uncle Ban. I thought my Sage Mode was already pretty powerful, but I didn't expect his mode, which looks like you, to be even more powerful, like he's cheating. And your modes are pretty cool, why don't you help me transform too?"

Shanks wiped his drool and looked at the old man of Six Paths with shining eyes. If he could also enter Six Paths Mode, he wouldn't even need Naruto and the second male lead; he could beat Madara to a pulp.

"...The Six Paths Sage Mode requires a person guided by reincarnation and destiny, and also possesses the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts within their body. You do not meet these requirements, so you cannot enter this mode..."

The old man of the Six Paths shook his head and said a lot of things that Shanks couldn't understand.

"Crack!"

A heartbreaking sound came from Shanks' chest.

Although he didn't quite understand, he grasped the general meaning: your level is too low to enter the Six Paths Mode.

"Then why did you bring him in here? Is he just looking for someone to chat with when he has nothing better to do?"

Shanks angrily berated the old man of Six Paths. This was the first time in his life he had been belittled like this. He thought he was getting a big gift, but he wasted his time.

"It's true that I said you can't enter the Six Paths Mode, but I didn't say I wouldn't give you the power of the Six Paths. As for what kind of person you become, that's up to you."

The Six Paths Elder casually split a beam of light into three and shot them towards the three people. After gently sending Naruto and the second male lead away, he kicked the still bewildered Shanks. The first two were his sons' reincarnations, so he was naturally gentler with them. However, he didn't know what politeness meant when it came to this despicable brat who had slandered him several times. He only refrained from kicking him in the gut because he couldn't bear to kill him...

......

"hiss......"