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Shin looked at the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru, and nodded with satisfaction. Gamamaru’s attitude was clearly more reasonable than the White Snake Sage’s.
As the saying goes—”He who understands the times is a wise man.”—Those who don’t… well, the White Snake Sage’s fate served as a prime example—not even a corpse remained.
“Rest assured, Gamamaru. If you answer my questions honestly, I won’t harm Mount Myōboku.”
Shin offered Gamamaru this reassurance. Whether the toad truly felt at ease, Shin couldn’t say.
“My first question: Is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki truly dead?”
After asking, Shin stared intently at Gamamaru. If it dared to lie, Shin would know instantly.
Gamamaru, having lived for at least a thousand years, was undoubtedly cunning. But under Shin’s gaze, even the slightest ripple in its soul wouldn’t escape his notice. Deceiving him was impossible.
“I didn’t expect you to know that name.” Gamamaru sounded somewhat wistful. A thousand years had passed, yet someone still remembered the name Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
Countless people knew of the Sage of Six Paths—even civilians knew of him.
In the Naruto world, the Sage of Six Paths’ status was no different from a legendary God.
Some even worshipped him…
The world knew the title “Sage of Six Paths,” but who knew his real name was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki?
“Enough with the nostalgia. Answer my question.” Shin stared impassively at Gamamaru.
“He is not dead.” Gamamaru’s eyes held a hint of complexity. With that level of power, how could he die?
Shin nodded calmly, showing no surprise. After all, Hamura Ōtsutsuki hadn’t died (until Shin killed him).
It was natural for his older brother, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, to still be alive. In Shin’s eyes, Hagoromo’s strength definitely surpassed Hamura’s.
Gamamaru had been watching Shin closely.
Seeing Shin remain so composed upon hearing the Sage of Six Paths wasn’t dead, Gamamaru suspected Shin already knew.
“Then, my second question: Where is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki now?”
The previous question was just a casual inquiry, a way to test if the Toad Sage would lie. This second question was what Shin truly wanted to know.
“I cannot answer that question. I simply do not know where Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki is—” Gamamaru looked at Shin candidly.
Shin observed Gamamaru—the Toad Sage wasn’t lying. It seemed he truly didn’t know…
That makes sense. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki is in hiding—how could he let others easily find him?
“A thousand years ago, after separating the Nine Tailed Beasts, the Sage of Six Paths vanished. No one knows where he went. Perhaps he has already left the Shinobi world.”
This was Gamamaru’s own speculation.
After all, for a thousand years, there had been no news of either of the Sage brothers.
Gamamaru chose to withhold information about Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths’ younger brother.
Shin hadn’t asked, and Gamamaru didn’t know if Shin was aware of Hamura. In any case, Gamamaru wasn’t going to volunteer the information.
Gamamaru didn’t know that the reason Shin didn’t ask about Hamura Ōtsutsuki was because Hamura had already been killed by him.
Who would inquire about a dead person??
“Last question. You can prophesize the future. Can you prophesize ‘my’ future?” Shin was somewhat curious about this.
Gamamaru’s prophetic ability could see fragments of the world’s future.
Could it see his?
And now, with Shin’s arrival in this world, the so-called future should have already changed.
What kind of future would Gamamaru see now??
“No. I can no longer see fragments of the future…”
Gamamaru shook his head, not hiding anything. For over a decade now, he had been unable to see future fragments, as if his ability had vanished.
Shin looked deeply at Gamamaru.
“Then I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Shin turned and used Yomotsu Hirasaka to leave, not causing any further trouble for the Toads of Mount Myōboku.
Gamamaru had been honest. Besides, harassing these toads offered no benefit—Shin wouldn’t do something pointless.
After Shin left, Gamamaru finally let out a sigh of relief. Shin’s presence had been incredibly stressful.
Animals, especially, had a keen sense of danger. Though Toads might not be as perceptive as snakes, they were certainly more sensitive than humans.
Gamamaru felt that Shin Uzumaki was even more dangerous than Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—the woman who wanted to destroy the world.
It was best to avoid angering him in the future.
But why did he ask about the Sage of Six Paths? Is he planning to confront him?
Gamamaru didn’t know and didn’t intend to get involved. Though his own strength wasn’t weak, his intuition told him getting involved would have severe consequences.
——
“You’re back already?”
Mikoto looked at Shin, who had returned home. Shin had been gone for less than half an hour in total.
“I just had some questions for the Toad Sage. Got my answers, so I came back.” Shin smiled, walked over to Mikoto, and joined her in watering the flowers.
“By the way, where’s Hinata?” Shin remembered Hinata had been watering flowers with Mikoto when he left. Why wasn’t she here now?
“Hinata was dragged off by Hanabi to train,” Konan informed Shin.
“Dragged off by Hanabi to train? When did Hanabi become so diligent?” Shin was puzzled.
That little bum Hanabi wasn’t exactly the hardworking type—she usually liked to slack off during training.
“She said she wants to defeat Karin, so she’s training hard to beat Karin.” Konan said with a smile.
Shin nodded, then walked over to Tsunade and the others, who were still playing cards. Tsunade’s face was covered in paper strips.
The loser had to stick paper strips on their face.
Tsunade kept losing, so her face was completely covered. Kushina and Mei Terumī looked much better, with only a few strips each.
“Tsunade, you’re in such a sorry state, yet you’re still persevering?” Shin asked Tsunade.
“I was about to win!! You came over and distracted me, making me lose!” Tsunade angrily blamed Shin, much to Shin’s exasperation.
It’s clearly your terrible luck…
“Someone’s blaming others for their own shortcomings. Mei, don’t you agree?” Kushina shot Tsunade a provocative look.
“Yes. We’ve been playing for hours, and she hasn’t won once. That kind of luck is impressive.”
Mei Terumī said, genuinely impressed by Tsunade’s consistently terrible luck. Every time, Tsunade managed to draw the worst possible hand.
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