"This low-grade ninjutsu... actually fooled me?" The Sage’s voice betrayed neither shock nor admiration. Funan reappeared just a few meters away, smiling pleasantly. "Old man, you’re past your prime. This is no longer your era—it’s the era of Uchiha Funan." Naruto raised a massive Tailed Beast Bomb and slammed it downward. The Sage dodged swiftly, forming hand seals mid-air. With his command, both Naruto and Sasuke froze in place. "So now they can’t move. You and I can fight fair and square." The Sage’s voice was cold as his gaze locked onto Funan. Funan chuckled, shaking his head. "Sounds noble enough. But really—you’ve lost control of them, haven’t you? If you could still control them, would you really fight me one-on-one?" "This sudden sense of fairness... you’re just afraid I’ll gang up on you, aren’t you?" The Sage of Six Paths stared coldly at his opponent. "Say whatever you want." "Alright, then I’ll go ahead and do just that." Funan formed a series of hand seals and shouted, "Naruto, Sasuke—kill him!" The Sage froze for a moment. Had his sealing technique failed? But before he could assess the situation, Funan suddenly rushed forward. In his left hand, Funan summoned a Tailed Beast Bomb; in his right, a Truth-Seeking Orb. The Sage was forced to retreat. Each of Funan’s attacks was infused with a heavy dose of Sage power. The Tailed Beast Bomb and the Truth-Seeking Ball collided, releasing a thunderous explosion. The Sage dodged in time, but his expression darkened. Funan had taken the opportunity to rush to Naruto and Sasuke’s side. Funan knocked each of them lightly on the head and called out, "You two better not be napping!" A surge of high-level chakra shot from Funan into the two boys, instantly unraveling the seal. "How could we possibly be sleeping at a time ?!" Naruto shouted, wide awake, glaring at the Sage and rolling up his sleeves as if ready to throw hands. Funan barked, unable to help himself. "We don’t need you on the front lines—not for direct combat!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto and bowed slightly toward Funan. "Hokage-sama, what should we do?" "Provide long-range support." Funan kept his gaze on the Sage as he smiled faintly. "Both of you have ranged techniques—make sure to back me up when I need it." Sasuke answered first. Satisfied, Funan turned and walked toward the Sage. The Sage of Six Paths gazed at Funan and sighed. "I never imagined that one of my descendants might one day stand shoulder to shoulder with me." Funan let out a soft chuckle and said, "You are indeed the ancestor. But it’s a pity—you didn’t do right by people. The shinobi world has suffered through so many years of war, and countless lives have been lost." "I don’t know much about the distant past, but in more recent times, Senju Hashirama clearly had a chance to unify the shinobi world—and yet he gave it up. I think that had something to do with you." Funan stared directly at the Sage. The Sage of Six Paths let a faint smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "You believe that was my doing?" "That’s right!" Funan replied with a bright smile. "Hashirama usually listened to his younger brother. But that one time, when his brother and Uchiha Madara actually saw eye to eye, Hashirama uncharacteristically rejected them both. I thought that was... pretty strange." The Sage chuckled softly but said nothing. Instead, he silently drew his shakujo staff. Funan curled his lips. He hadn’t gotten the answer he was hoping for— So he drew his own weapon as well. The Sage froze for a moment. "It used to belong to Uchiha Madara," Funan said. "But now it’s mine." He gave the Gunbai fan a casual swing. Both figures vanished from where they stood. When they reappeared, they had already collided. A thunderous impact echoed through the air. The shakujo met the Gunbai. Then, in the blink of an eye, they vanished again. When they reappeared, it was several hundred meters away—clashing once more. And again—they vanished. [BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!] The pace of their collisions grew faster and faster. Their appearances became more and more frequent. In the end, afterimages filled the battlefield. Naruto clenched his fists. Just a moment ago, he had been ready to jump in—eager to fight alongside Funan-aniki against this strange old man. Sure, the guy had given them power, but he still gave Naruto a weird vibe. Even so, Naruto believed he should follow Funan-aniki’s lead. Watching the two men clash, Naruto fell silent. Only after a long pause did he glance at Sasuke and mutter, "Hey, Sasuke... don’t you think they’re—" Sasuke’s face darkened. Those two were way stronger than them! That carefree, unpredictable Funan— That same Funan who was Hokage. Sasuke had always known he was powerful. But this was just ridiculous. [Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!] After another fierce exchange, the two briefly separated. "Not bad," Funan said, stroking his chin with a sigh. "As expected of the Sage of Six Paths—you actually managed to stand your ground against me, even if only briefly." The Sage let out a cold snort, his eyes locked tightly on Funan. "Let’s see if you can keep up with what comes next!" The Truth-Seeking Orbs before the Sage of Six Paths changed form, merging into his shakujo staff. Funan smiled faintly. The Sage snorted again and waved his hand. Several Truth-Seeking Orbs shot forward. Funan flicked his wrist, and several black rods formed from Truth-Seeking Orbs flew out to meet them. The black rods clashed with the orbs mid-air, producing a crisp sound before both sides veered off to one side. At the same time, a familiar suit of armor manifested around the Sage of the Six Paths. A massive blue Susanoo emerged— Complete Body Susanoo! The Sage of Six Paths’ Susanoo! "Impressive," Funan murmured, his own pupils flickering. Another equally enormous Susanoo appeared beside him. But Funan’s Susanoo was crimson, its hue burning like flames— An ominous aura radiated from every part of its body. The Sage’s Susanoo surged forward and swung its blade at Funan— Only to be blocked by Funan’s sword. The two colossal figures immediately locked into combat. Naruto shouted again, eyes glowing with excitement. Sasuke nodded repeatedly. Earlier, the two had been clashing at high speed. Now, it was a contest of raw power. With their movements slowed, both Naruto and Sasuke felt confident they could land a hit. Especially considering their sheer size— "They’re huge targets!" "If we miss now, we don’t deserve to call ourselves ninja!" "Don’t rush in, Naruto," Sasuke suddenly said. "We won’t get many chances—probably only one. Once we attack, the Sage won’t give us another opening. So this time, we need to pour all our power into a single strike. Hit him hard. Injure him badly. End it in one shot." Naruto shouted, full of enthusiasm. "We’ll definitely help Funan-aniki defeat him!" The two giants clashed relentlessly. As the fight continued, the Sage found it even harder to accept that Funan was so powerful. He stared at Funan with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. "How is this possible? A brat like you—how can you be this strong?!" It was absurd! Like some kind of joke! Almost instinctively, the Sage recalled the method Funan had used to help Kaguya regain her strength. He murmured to himself, "That’s your secret. Heh... your secret..." His gaze grew more intense—like flames were burning in his eyes. A way to continuously grow stronger... That method—he had to obtain it. If he did, who needed the Pure Land? He could grow stronger anywhere. He would no longer have to maintain his current half-existence... He could become fully alive again! He wouldn’t have to fear the Ōtsutsuki clan anymore. At that moment, the Sage’s heart was set. Funan charged in at high speed and slashed with his sword. The Sage met it with his own blade, but the sheer force sent his body stumbling—he nearly dropped to one knee. Funan raised a foot and kicked the Sage violently away. At the same time, his hand crackled with black lightning. The lightning transformed into a sword-shaped bolt and shot toward the Sage like a javelin. The Sage raised his longsword horizontally, blocking the attack—but the power behind it still sent him flying backward. Two voices shouted at once. Naruto had fully Tailed Beast transformed. Sasuke had activated his Susanoo. And not just any Susanoo—his Susanoo was armored with the Nine-Tails. Now, seeing the Sage knocked off balance by Funan, the two immediately launched their attack. I will post some extra Chapters in , you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar