I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

"Big brother, big sister... is this the Child of Prophecy?" Gamabunta, who was smoking a pipe, couldn't help but ask. Fukasaku gestured for silence and quietly pointed to Gamamaru and Katsuyu not far away.

With two powerful figures present, even if something changes for Naruto, it's not their place to interfere.

Gamamaru and Slug seemed to be asleep, staring intently at Naruto on the stone platform like statues, until Naruto opened his eyes, at which point they came back to life.

After sensing the faint aura of Sage Mode emanating from Naruto, Gamamaru and Katsuyu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief. In terms of mastery of Sage Mode, Naruto had already surpassed the two great sages.

Instantly appearing in front of Naruto, Gamamaru spoke first, "Naruto, after practicing the Sage Mode of the Three Great Sacred Lands, did you feel any special reactions?"

Naruto nodded first, then shook his head and said, "Sage Techniques aren't very helpful to me anymore, but after studying the Sage Techniques from Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest, I've gained quite a few insights."

Naruto didn't directly state his specific insights, but instead headed towards the Toad Temple.

Once Gamamaru and Suzume caught up, Naruto smiled and said to them, "Thank you both for your help, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to develop my own Sage Mode."

Gamamaru was stunned for a moment, then looked at him with suspicion.

The slug pondered for a moment, then said, "Congratulations, Naruto-sama! I remember the last human to fully master Sage Mode was Hashirama-sama decades ago."

"Did the First Hokage's Sage Mode originate from Shikkotsu Forest?"

The slug shook its head and said, "Lord Hashirama developed it on his own, it has nothing to do with Shikkotsu Forest, I just provided some assistance."

"The Slug Immortal is joking..."

Naruto said politely, then, as if remembering something, he said, "How much time has passed outside Mount Myōboku? After training for so long, it's time for me to return to the ninja world."

"A week has passed..."

Gamamaru said lazily, "Naruto, you'd better hurry back to the ninja world. Indra's previous reincarnation has already captured many tailed beasts and will soon come looking for you."

Upon hearing this, Naruto gave Gamamaru a meaningful look, then used the Reverse Summoning Technique to leave the area.

After Naruto left, Gamamaru and Slug exchanged another glance. Neither of them said anything more, but simply looked at the sky over Mount Myōboku, which was covered by dark clouds.

A great upheaval is about to unfold in the ninja world.

……

After leaving Mount Myōboku, Naruto went straight to the Uzumaki clan's territory. After setting up a sealing barrier in his room, he immediately began meditating on the tatami mats.

If he were to simply cultivate the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, it wouldn't take more than three days in a space like Mount Myōboku, where natural energy is abundant. What truly concerned him was the product of his fusion of the chakra of three Sage Artes.

That special Sage Chakra, after coming into contact with the Rinnegan and the power of all things in the universe, became a special chakra.

This chakra is extremely similar to the Six Paths Power described by Sasuke, and can even be used to perform Six Paths Sage Techniques. However, thinking about it, it makes sense, since the so-called Six Paths Sage Techniques are just sage techniques developed by the Sage of Six Paths.

Although his own equipment couldn't compare to that of a real Otsutsuki, it was nearly the same.

However, the power of the Six Paths also reminded Naruto of the Otsutsuki clan's alchemy and the method of planting the Divine Tree to harvest chakra, further confirming that Gamamaru and others' Sage Mode originated from the Otsutsuki clan's experiments.

Naruto couldn't help but guess that a thousand years ago, or even earlier, the strongest member of the Otsutsuki clan had come to the ninja world.

Having reached the limit of the Otsutsuki clan, Shiba Inu no longer satisfied with collecting chakra through the chakra fruits that grew from the Divine Tree, but instead set his sights on the omnipresent natural energy.

Hoping to find a new path and create a new method of chakra conversion, this may be the origin of Sage Mode.

However, whether Otsutsuki Shibakai transcended this universe or died unexpectedly in the ninja world remains a mystery. Perhaps only those who become Six Paths level powerhouses can glimpse the secret.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Naruto felt that the path to becoming stronger was becoming clearer. At least he knew how to evolve from Kage-level combat power to Six Paths combat power with world-destroying capabilities.

After storing the Six Paths power within his body in his brain, Naruto sensed a chakra hidden deep within his body.

Although this chakra is not as powerful as the Nine-Tails, its quality surpasses that of the Nine-Tails. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the chakra of Ashura's reincarnation, the power that allows every Ashura reincarnation to become a strong ninja in the ninja world.

Unfortunately, Ashura's chakra remained huddled in the corner, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.

Naruto didn't want to touch this chakra, increasing the risk of meeting the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage of Six Paths was the old man who gave Sasuke and Naruto power-ups, but it might not be the same for him.

Chapter 302 The Five Kage Summit

Not long after Naruto returned to Konoha, he received a message from the Hokage Building.

Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage at the time, was preparing to attend the Five Kage Summit and invited Naruto, the leader of Uzushio Village, to participate in the discussion on how to deal with the threat from Madara Uchiha.

After listening to the guard's report, Naruto narrowed his eyes. How could he be absent from such a grand event as the Five Kage Summit?

After agreeing to participate in the Five Kage Summit, Naruto went to the Hyuga clan's territory. In the main family's old house, he met Hinata, who was wearing a blue and white kimono, and invited her to become a member of his Shadow Guard.

"Will you participate in the Five Kage Summit?" Hinata nodded with her head down.

Naruto glanced at Hinata's Byakugan, which was evolving into the Tenseigan. He could sense that the quality of Hinata's chakra had improved significantly, if her strength was only that of an elite Jonin before.

Even without using the power of the Great Tenseigan, Hinata's strength has now reached the average level of a Kage.

This is because Hinata lacks combat experience; otherwise, she could even fight against a tailed beast based solely on her physical strength. This is the power that Hamura inherited.

After finding Hinata, Naruto joined the Konoha team and headed towards the Land of Iron.

While passing through a certain place in the Land of Fire, they encountered Sasuke, who had been waiting there for a long time. After transplanting Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan reached the Eternal level. As long as he had enough chakra, he could use his eye techniques without restraint.

Unlike their previous encounters, Sasuke wasn't brimming with confidence when challenging Naruto this time.

Because he had already been taught a lesson by Shisui while he was in Uzushio Village, it was then that he realized that Shisui had no intention of actively seeking out Uchiha Itachi, otherwise Itachi would have been no match for Shisui.

According to Shisui's description, Naruto should have possessed this strength after leaving Konoha.

Upon hearing these rumors, Sasuke's eyes were filled with disbelief. He was several months older than Naruto, so why was there such a huge gap in their strength?

Moreover, whenever he tries to turn his life around through hard work, reality always delivers a crushing blow.

As a result, he no longer dares to provoke Naruto rashly. He must accumulate enough strength or completely abandon Naruto before he can fully demonstrate the Uchiha family tradition.

"Sasuke, why don't you spar this time?"

What's meant to happen will happen... Naruto smiled broadly.

Sasuke turned his face away, pretending not to hear Naruto's taunts, and said coldly, "Sparring and competing are just child's play. Mature ninjas only silently carry out their missions."

"But does someone like you even need the Shadow Guard? Why is she the other member of the Shadow Guard?"

Sasuke pointed at Hinata. After the Uchiha Night, he and Hinata still had some contact, but he quickly focused his energy on revenge, and Hinata stayed at home practicing Gentle Fist. They hardly had any chance to talk.

However, in terms of strength, Hinata is at most a Jonin, so how could she serve as a member of the Shadow Guard?

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and chuckled, saying, "In most of the encounters between the Five Kage, the Shadow Guard is just for show. Since they're just for show, why not choose more trustworthy ninjas? Besides, you and Hinata both have the strength of the Five Kage and are my most trusted partners."

Sasuke snorted coldly and remained silent without answering.

Kakashi Hatake, who had rushed over to report the information, had a black line appear on his forehead when he heard Naruto's words.

He suspected that Naruto was implying something about the Second Hokage's Shadow Guard, but he lacked evidence. Moreover, although most of the members of the Second Hokage's Shadow Guard were already dead, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were still burning themselves out for Konoha.

Walking up to Naruto, Kakashi Hatake said with a serious expression, "Information from Kumogakure indicates that the Kumogakure stronghold where the Seven-Tails and Two-Tails are hiding has been attacked and has likely fallen into the hands of Madara Uchiha."

“Naruto, if we can’t find Madara Uchiha soon, they might be able to collect most of the tailed beasts.”

Naruto, with a serious expression, said to Kakashi, "That's really troublesome. Hopefully, this lesson will make the other Jinchuriki more careful."

"I hope so..." Kakashi's face was full of worry, hoping that things wouldn't turn out too badly in the end.

……

Within the Land of Hot Water, members of the Akatsuki organization gathered to report on their battle results.

After Madara Uchiha hunted down the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, Kakuzu and Hidan's team, and Deidara and Sasori's team, brought back the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails respectively.

Yugito, the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, is a perfect Jinchūriki who excels in Fire Release and speed.

However, after confidently cutting off his own escape route, he was wounded in countless battles and fell victim to Hidan's curse ritual, becoming the third Jinchūriki to be harmed.

The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was skilled in flight, but he couldn't hold out for long under Deidara's relentless bombardment.

He was eventually struck in the abdomen by a scorpion and fell into a coma due to poisoning.

However, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki have temporarily disappeared, and there is no trace of them in Kirigakure.

During the Akatsuki meeting, Black Zetsu, the mastermind behind the scenes, quietly observed the other Akatsuki members, his attention gradually shifting to Madara Uchiha.

These days, Madara Uchiha hasn't been contributing much to the collection of the tailed beasts.

However, faced with Madara Uchiha's absolute power, the Akatsuki united like never before. Even members like Sasori and Kakuzu, who relied on their seniority, became much more obedient, achieving an effect that Nagato had never achieved.

However, Obito Uchiha's disappearance has left Black Zetsu in a bit of a mess.

Several months have passed since Obito Uchiha left Amegakure, and there has been no news of him since. Could it be that he was killed by Naruto and his friends?

But with Kamui and Izanagi as his backing, Obito couldn't possibly die so easily.

Without Obito, who would have used the Rinne Rebirth technique to revive Madara Uchiha? The Edo Tensei body couldn't become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, nor could it use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to recover chakra.

Does this mean we can only find anyone to transplant the Rinnegan into and use the Rinne Rebirth technique?

Thinking of this, Black Zetsu recalled Orochimaru's followers who were imprisoned in the clan's base. There were a few good candidates among them, but transplanting the Rinnegan was an extremely risky thing.

After letting out a soft sigh, Black Zetsu received a message from White Zetsu.

After digesting the news, Black Zetsu walked to the front and said to Madara Uchiha, "Lord Madara, the Five Kage Summit is about to be held in the Land of Iron. Many Jinchuriki will be there, which may be our opportunity to quickly collect the Tailed Beasts."

Madara Uchiha paused for a moment, then burst into a confident laugh, waving his hand and saying, "Let's go, let's set off for the Land of Iron."

Chapter 303 Berserk Killer Bee

The Land of Iron, the Land of Samurai.

To be precise, it is a nation where a group of samurai who use chakra gather.

In the distant Warring States period, samurai could still enjoy a prominent status by virtue of their relationship with daimyo and nobles. However, after Hashirama Senju pacified the chaotic world and established a system of one village per country, the situation changed.

The outdated samurai were forced to come to the Land of Iron and establish a permanently neutral nation.

Because of the Land of Iron's permanent neutrality, the leaders of the various ninja villages tend to favor the Land of Iron when holding meetings to avoid any unexpected incidents.

Stepping onto the snow, Naruto and his group, led by the armored samurai, headed towards the meeting place.

Hinata asked the armored samurai with curiosity, "Naruto, won't their heavy armor affect their fighting?"

Naruto shook his head slightly and explained with a smile, "These chakra armors can amplify the user's chakra, allowing genin to have the fighting power of chunin, and their excellent defense also makes up for the lack of speed."

"In fact, our Uzushio Village has also researched similar chakra armor, which can give ordinary Chunin the destructive power of Jonin, and is more advanced than their technology."

Hinata nodded as if she understood, then continued to look around curiously.

As the heir of the main family, even when she was on a mission, she only operated within the Land of Fire. This should be her second time traveling far away, and she was very curious about everything.