Funan clicked his tongue and remarked, "Hagoromo, tell me—how many times has the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts been divided?" There was one portion inside the Sage of Six Paths. Another inside Naruto. As for whether there were more... Funan wasn’t entirely sure. But chances were, yes. For instance, there was a small Nine-Tails at the Fire Temple. Wasn’t that also part of the Nine-Tails’ power? The Gold and Silver Brothers had some Nine-Tails chakra too. And even though Minato had the Nine-Tails extracted, to say not a single trace of its chakra remained inside him—that was simply impossible. You really deserve to hear this: "With great power comes great responsibility." You are a noble fox, worthy of my deepest respect! The Sage of Six Paths said coolly, "The power of the Tailed Beasts has indeed been scattered. It must be reclaimed." His indifferent gaze fixed on Funan. "The portion inside you... is quite substantial." "That part doesn’t count," Funan replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I only left a small fraction at first—then nurtured it slowly until it grew." "That may be true. But even so... the Nine-Tails?" Funan narrowed his eyes and chuckled darkly. "You actually noticed." "The Nine-Tails as the core... Not a bad choice," the Sage admitted with a sigh. "When I split the Ten-Tails, I deliberately left the largest share of chakra with the Nine-Tails. After all, every group needs a leader." "The Nine-Tails really is a magnificent fox." Funan let out a strange, ambiguous sigh. Though it sounded like praise, there was a sharp edge of sarcasm to it. At the very least, the fox within him couldn’t help but roll its eyes. Even so, it continued assisting Funan—managing the power within his body with full focus. If Funan won this battle, he had promised to release it. That included the sealed half trapped by Kaguya. And in that, the Nine-Tails had no doubt. While they spoke, both Funan and the Sage launched another Tailed Beast Bomb. Immediately after, they each grabbed their massive blades and clashed once more. Funan cursed inwardly. What the hell is this? I thought this fight was in the bag! After absorbing the power of hundreds of thousands of White Zetsu, I should’ve long surpassed Kaguya. And yet, fighting this one Sage is proving so damn hard? The Sage was cursing internally too. What’s with this bastard? I’ve been in the Pure Land for centuries, drawing in the souls of powerful shinobi to serve me. I’ve also absorbed countless weaker souls to strengthen myself. After thousands of years of accumulation, I still can’t overpower this guy? Just what is his strength made of?! Neither knew the other was thinking the exact same thing—each mentally cursing the other in full. And so the battle dragged on. At last, it was the Sage who began to lose his composure. Logically speaking, he should’ve been more patient than Funan. But as the fight went on, he realized something unsettling: Funan was growing stronger the longer they fought. His power was rising at an alarming rate. Could it be that the lack of experience fighting true elites had been holding him back—and now, this battle was rapidly helping him master his full strength? Or was there... something else? The Sage didn’t know what it was, but he was certain of one thing: Funan’s power was increasing at a terrifying pace. If this continued, he would likely be the one at a disadvantage. "What’s wrong? Not going to keep fighting?" Funan looked at him curiously. The Sage calmly pulled out a black-and-white sphere and said in a flat tone, "Uchiha Funan, do you know what this is?" Why the hell did I even ask? "Hmph. Uchiha Funan... this is something that brings immense joy." Funan blinked again and said awkwardly, "Yeah, I’m not into... that kind of thing. You can keep that for yourself—play with it on your own." Black lines formed on the Sage of Six Paths’ forehead. Even if he didn’t fully grasp the implication of Funan’s words, even a fool could tell this bastard was mocking him. "This sphere contains stored Sage Power," the Sage said coldly. "During my years in the Pure Land, I’ve been researching ways to store Sage Power for the long term." "The black-and-white sphere in my hand is the result of that research. The energy it holds... even I cannot ignore it." He gave the Sage a strange look and asked tentatively, "Did it never occur to you to just leave behind a few shadow clones and have them gather Sage Chakra on the side?" After a long silence, he finally replied, "I did think of that method back then. But creating shadow clones drains chakra—and if a clone makes a mistake while gathering Sage Chakra, it collapses." Funan stared at Hagoromo’s expression, and his look grew even more peculiar. Listen to that explanation. Sounds reasonable, right? That tiny bit of chakra... at our level, you’re calling that a drain? And what if the clones collapse? Just make a few hundred of them—at least some would succeed! You mean to tell me... you’ve spent thousands of years on this? Are you just painfully bored? Or genuinely incompetent? But looking at the Sage’s vaguely annoyed expression, he really didn’t come across as particularly clever. I’m actually being pushed to my limits by this guy? Am I seriously struggling against someone ? At that moment, the Sage—visibly frustrated—crushed both spheres on the spot, flooding his body with a torrent of Sage Chakra. Not only did it replenish all the energy he’d expended in battle, but he now had even more than before. That excess chakra visibly boosted his strength. Wisps of blue energy began rising from his Susanoo. "I’ve got mine too!" Funan called out, clapping his hands together. Two shadow clones dissipated instantly. They had been quietly gathering Sage Chakra all along. Now, that vast reserve of energy surged into Funan’s body—and his crimson Susanoo began to undergo massive transformation. "You..." the Sage was stunned. This bastard hadn’t just been running his mouth—he’d already prepared for this in advance. And that realization made him even angrier. The two shouted at the same time, unleashing their most powerful attacks. The moment they collided, the resulting shockwave was nearly overwhelming—enough to make one feel like the world itself might shatter. Elsewhere, the battle involving Hashirama and the other three was abruptly interrupted. All four of them were blown away by the blast. During the flight, a flash of insight lit up in Naruto’s eyes. His expression twisted into something strange. As if he had remembered something—something that now felt completely obvious. "What a powerful attack!" the Sage said in shock, bracing himself against the blast. Once again, he had poured his all into a strike—only to be countered and broken by Funan. Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled violently. A powerful repelling force erupted, slamming into everyone. "Is it trying to eject us?" Funan murmured. That thought had barely formed when the force physically threw them out of the battlefield. "If we don’t leave now, who knows where we’ll end up once this space collapses." "Can a space even be destroyed?" Funan murmured suspiciously, then added, "Yikes... if Kaguya ever wakes up and finds one of her spaces destroyed, how mad do you think she’ll be?" The Sage of Six Paths, who had just approached Funan, looked at him with suspicion. What did he mean by that? Wasn’t Kaguya already sealed? A cold glint appeared in the Sage’s eyes as he resumed the fight with renewed aggression. He had already made up his mind—Kaguya must never be revived again. This time, the seal was permanent. Even Black Zetsu had been sealed with her. What hope did Kaguya have left? Besides, the new ’little moon’ was right in front of him—and would remain so. She should just stay in the Pure Land. When the desert space finally collapsed, everyone was forcefully ejected and returned to the Pure Land. Now, however, the Sage suddenly grew more aggressive. For a while, he had Funan on the defensive. In the distance, the small moon hovering in midair suddenly warped—then vanished, as if swallowed. Obito’s eye was still in Funan’s possession. The Sage’s head whipped around at the sight, and he roared in fury, "You bastard! Give my mother back!" Funan clashed with him head-on and replied coldly, "What’s with the dutiful son act all of a sudden? Don’t forget—you’re the one who sealed her in the first place." The Sage’s face darkened, and he stopped speaking. Instead, his attacks grew far more forceful. "You absorbed power from Mother’s body, didn’t you?" the Sage growled through clenched teeth. "That’s right!" Funan sneered. "I knew you were thinking the same thing—but you didn’t have the guts. Would you dare seal Kaguya inside yourself? Of course not. Too bad. I did." The battle was still raging. Funan had transferred the small moon sealing Kaguya into a designated Kamui space, where he had begun absorbing its energy to replenish himself. As he continued to devour that power, his strength grew exponentially. He now had the upper hand, steadily suppressing the Sage. The Sage of Six Paths was running out of options. A cold gleam flashed in the Sage’s eyes. Suddenly, he shouted, "Warriors of the Pure Land—I am your king! I command you now: come to me and fight by my side!" As his voice echoed across the realm, a deafening roar erupted like a tidal wave. An endless tide of powerful souls came charging forth, howling with fury. Funan froze, pointing at the approaching horde. "Sage! Is this what you’ve been doing all these years in the Pure Land?!" "That’s right," the Sage replied coldly. "A few fighters may not matter to you—but hundreds? Thousands? I have hundreds of thousands at my command. And this... this is only the first wave." I will post some extra Chapters in , you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar