Naruto : Sequence 0 Visionary

A wise man knows when to bow.

Although the Sage of Six Paths may not have heard this saying, he certainly knows similar expressions.

Just moments ago, he tried to use the vertical eye between his brows to probe the essence of Adam's soul, but the result was nothing less than disastrous.

Deep within Adam's pale golden eyes, there was an invisible vortex that dragged his consciousness down, plunging him into a vast, boundless ocean.

The ocean was dark and deep, filled with raging winds and lightning that interwove, creating towering waves that seemed to echo with the cries of countless beings. 

The fury of the waves, filled with powerful, violent energy, collided with his soul like a meteor striking the earth. The excruciating pain tore at him, causing the vertical eye between his brows to crack, leaving a trail of bright red blood.

Dark clouds, as thick as ink, churned above, while jagged bolts of lightning slashed across the sky, accompanied by deafening thunder.

In an instant, the dark ocean surged with waves. A terrifying pressure, like the floodwaters of the heavens, rushed down, almost suffocating the Sage of Six Paths beneath its weight, as if mountains themselves were pressing down on him.

He struggled to lift his head and saw the dark clouds parting above him.

A massive, gray-white dragon emerged from the clouds, its thick limbs stepping across the stormy sky. 

Behind it, two large wings of misty gray, each flap creating violent storms of lightning. 

Its scales, etched with countless intricate, three-dimensional, and mysterious symbols, seemed to reach into its flesh, extending into the void of space.

The dragon loomed like a divine being seated at the edge of the heavens, its pale golden vertical pupils staring directly at the Sage of Six Paths.

In the next moment, countless frenzied thoughts and emotions, like a plague of viruses, wrapped around his mind, growing uncontrollably, until they consumed his entire brain.

The terrifying mental storm constantly tore at his soul and spirit.

Finally, just when the Sage of Six Paths could no longer bear it, the whispers and the storm faded away. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself back in the Pure Land.

"Heh, what did you see?" Adam said with a smile, as if he didn't mind the Sage's earlier rude actions.

"What... was that dragon? What... was that ocean?" The Sage of Six Paths asked, clutching the searing pain in his vertical eye, now too afraid to casually probe Adam's 'soul' again.

A single glance had nearly killed him.

If he dared look any further, he was sure that his life would end here.

"Is this the first question you've asked?" 

Adam tilted his head and asked. 

The Sage of Six Path's already aged face seemed even older, and his voice grew weak as he looked at Adam, slowly nodding: "Yes, this is my question." 

"This question will require two answers in exchange. Do you agree?" 

Adam looked at the Sage of Six Paths, his expression gentle as he spoke. 

Two questions for one answer? 

The Sage of Six Paths thought for a moment in his mind and felt it wasn't a bad deal, so he nodded. "Alright, I will exchange the answers to two questions." 

"What I am... The answer to this question is somewhat broad."

Adam lifted his large white robe and sat down on the ground, smiling as he said, "In a sense, I am a 'god.' Does this answer satisfy you?" 

Upon hearing this, the Sage of Six Paths's pupils immediately contracted. He nearly lost control of his chakra, exclaiming, "Is there really a 'god'?!"

Even someone as powerful as his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, was not truly a 'god,' but just an incredibly powerful individual. 

He had pondered countless times whether there was, in fact, a true 'god' who controlled all living things. But with the passage of time, and until his death and arrival in the Pure Land, he had confirmed that no such 'god' existed. Even he himself was just a powerful 'individual.' 

But now... someone was telling him that 'gods' are real! 

The shock this brought to the Sage of Six Paths was no less than when he first learned that his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, was an alien. 

"This is the second question," Adam said, his voice calm and unhurried. "Now, it's my turn to ask. Why do you remain in the Pure Land?" 

"I..." 

The Sage of Six Paths was about to offer a lie to brush it off, but when he looked into Adam's soft golden eyes, he hesitated. 

Adam wasn't in a rush. He quietly waited for him to think it over, always holding a serene smile. His innocent and pure eyes, like those of a baby, reflected the image of the Sage of Six Paths. 

After a while, the Sage of Six Paths sighed lightly, as if letting go of some inner burden, and slowly spoke: "Alright, since you came to find me, you must have sensed that thing. Even if I try to hide it, it would be futile. I might as well just tell you."

"The reason I stay in the Pure Land is partly to prevent my mother, Kaguya Ootsutsuki, from being resurrected."

"And the other reason..." The Sage of Six Paths paused for a moment, then pointed below him and said, "What you are seeing now is just a small part of the Pure Land. The real Pure Land, I have hidden away. The reason I stay here is also connected to that thing."

Then, the Sage of Six Paths slowly stood up, holding a staff and struck the ground forcefully.

Bang!

The Pure Land trembled violently, with space gradually cracking apart around the two of them.

Just as the Sage of Six Paths had said, after the false Pure Land shattered, an endless, pitch-black abyss suddenly appeared before them.

"I thought that after my death, my soul would completely disappear," the Sage of Six Paths said, gazing at the abyss. "But I never expected to end up here, in an unknown abyss. I once tried to explore further down, but every time I tried to go deeper than a hundred meters, I was forcefully pushed back."

"So, you're the first person to come here?" 

Adam looked at the dark abyss, feeling an inexplicable sense that something was calling to him from below.

"Yes, to be precise, the Pure Land only appeared after I came here."

The Sage of Six Paths sighed deeply before continuing, "I found that all souls that die enter this abyss and eventually disappear. So, I built a space above the abyss to hold those souls, allowing them to reincarnate."

"The system didn't give any hints, so it seems I need to go in," Adam thought briefly before slowly walking toward the abyss. "Stay here. I'll go down and take a look."

Without waiting for the Sage of Six Paths to speak, Adam stepped directly into the abyss.

Inside the pitch-black abyss, countless murmurs echoed, and in the narrow space, the wind intensified, roaring in his ears.

"No wonder, after staying here for centuries, he still couldn't go deeper than a hundred meters," Adam frowned. The murmurs contained a sense of 'corruption,' which would require mental protection even for demi-gods who pass through, let alone ninjas.

After constructing multiple layers of mental defenses and tightly guarding the entrance to his mind, Adam continued his descent.

Finally, beneath the suffocating black mist, Adam's pupils suddenly contracted. His calm, pale gold eyes revealed an uncontrollable shock and horror.

He saw a dense curtain of shadows and a sea whose color could not be described in words, hiding all secrets. At the center of the sea, amidst the undulating waves, stood a white stone tablet, towering several hundred meters high, emitting an indescribable aura.

Upon seeing the white stone tablet, an overwhelming sense of familiarity surged within him, and the sudden urge to approach it made his heart fill with dread.

[Side Quest: Pure Land or Not (Completed)]

[Your attempt to infiltrate the virtual persona of the Pure Land was directly eliminated by the Sage of Six Paths. Clearly... he is hiding the secrets of the Pure Land. Go explore deeper secrets within the Pure Land!]

[Reward: Unlock Low-Level Sequence Path Materials Shop]

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