In the silent, pitch-black space, the only thing illuminating the world was the moonlight.
The ground was covered in water, reflecting the vast night sky.
But only the full moon stood out clearly.
Sakura lay on the water's surface, staring blankly at the glowing orb above.
"What a lovely young lady."
A deep, slightly amused voice reached her ears.
In an instant, Sakura jumped up, eyes wide as she spotted an elderly man in the distance.
He wore flowing white robes, adorned with—
…Well, there was no need to describe him.
It was *the* Sage of Six Paths.
Sakura didn't even have the energy to elaborate in her head.
Hagoromo shook his head with a helpless smile, then looked at her with gentle eyes.
"Don't be surprised. I am the founder of Ninshu, the legendary Sage of Six Paths—Otsutsuki Hagoromo."
"Six… Sage of Six Paths?"
Sakura was completely stunned.
Of course, she had heard of him.
In the ninja world, the only ones who *hadn't* were little kids who hadn't even graduated yet.
Every ninja knew his name.
But that was *all* they knew.
Even Sakura's knowledge of him mostly came from Naruto and Sasuke.
At that moment, she realized the situation she was in.
She quickly straightened up, let go of her cautious stance, and respectfully bowed.
"My apologies, Sage of Six Paths. This is our first meeting. I am Haruno Sakura, a medical ninja from Konohagakure."
This was *the* Sage of Six Paths.
He had to be a very serious, dignified person, right?
Sakura couldn't help but feel nervous.
"I know who you are."
Hagoromo stroked his beard and smiled meaningfully.
"You were the one Naruto had a crush on… and now, the one who has a crush on Sasuke."
Sakura: "..."
Why did this old man sound *exactly* like Kurama?
Was he really *not* that fox in disguise?
"Hahahaha~"
Hagoromo let out a hearty laugh.
"Let me guess—you're thinking that I must be Kurama pretending to be me, right?"
"..."
Sakura wiped away imaginary sweat and forced an awkward smile.
"N-no, of course not! I wouldn't think something so rude."
"Oh?"
Hagoromo narrowed his eyes playfully.
"So you're saying… Kurama is rude?"
Sakura: "..."
…Was this guy *really* not just that fox in disguise?
Just from the look in her eyes, Hagoromo could tell exactly what was going through her head.
He burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Looks like Kurama left quite the impression on you all."
*Of course he did!*
A once fearsome Tailed Beast had practically turned into an overgrown, goofy dog.
Sakura wiped away another nonexistent cold sweat and gave an awkward chuckle.
"Well, um…"
"Lord Sage of Six Paths, is this…?"
"This is your inner world."
Hagoromo stroked his chin and chuckled. "You can call me 'Six Paths Grandpa,' just like Naruto and Sasuke."
He didn't ask Sakura to call him "Grandpa" directly because he figured she might not be able to say it.
Even Naruto, who was usually carefree, couldn't bring himself to say "Grandpa" and could only manage "Six Paths Grandpa."
The only one who had no problem with it was Kurama, who just called him "Old Man" without a second thought.
"Six Paths Grandpa?"
Sakura mumbled softly.
Honestly, it felt a bit… weird.
After all, this was the legendary Sage of Six Paths, the origin of all shinobi.
Calling him "Grandpa" made her feel like…
She was skipping too many generations?
Well, maybe not.
That thought made her feel a little better.
With that in mind, Sakura looked at Hagoromo and asked, a hint of doubt in her voice,
"Six Paths Grandpa, Naruto and Sasuke have told me about you. But I'm not a reincarnation of Indra or Asura, I don't have your chakra, and I don't have a Tailed Beast's power. So why can I see you?"
This didn't really make sense…
Not in the world of shinobi logic, anyway.
"You're right—you didn't have any of those things before. But now, you do."
Hagoromo stroked his beard and smiled.
"When you were healing that Root ninja earlier, Naruto gave you a portion of the Six Paths Yang Power. That power is the key to why you can see me now."
Sakura froze.
Now that she thought about it, that had indeed happened.
That Root ninja was currently in the hands of the interrogation squad, handed over by Kakashi.
She nodded in realization.
"I see."
"You're probably wondering why I sought you out, right?"
Hagoromo smiled.
Sakura felt a little embarrassed but still nodded.
She was indeed curious.
Hagoromo's smile deepened.
"Because you're too weak."
Sakura: "…"
I CAN'T.
If it had been anyone else, Sakura would've punched them on the spot.
But this was the Sage of Six Paths.
If even he thought she was weak… just how weak was she?
The color drained from Sakura's face as she collapsed onto the water's surface, staring blankly at her own reflection.
She was exhausted.
Just let everything end already.
But Hagoromo, seemingly unaware of her reaction, continued talking as if nothing had happened.
"You're too weak.
Even though you've already reached the level you would have been at by the end of the original timeline—about six months ahead of schedule—you're still too weak."
"Compared to Naruto and Sasuke, the difference is even more obvious."
"They've both surpassed their original selves and reached the highest level I could guide them to.
But you—"
"Your progress hasn't been as impressive."
Naruto and Sasuke had already gone beyond their original versions.
Naruto had even awakened some strange Tenseigan Chakra Mode, and Sasuke had acquired a Karma Seal.
Although Sasuke hadn't fully mastered it yet, once he did, his power would undoubtedly surpass what he had in the original story.
And Sakura?
She had only unlocked the Yin Seal ahead of schedule.
Well, not even fully unlocked it yet.
Aside from that, she had merely reached the level she was supposed to be at in the original story.
Compared to Naruto and Sasuke, the gap was way too big.
So far behind she couldn't even see the taillights.
Sakura was on the verge of breaking down. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I know everything you said is true, but… don't you think you could have said it a little nicer?"
I have my pride too…
Waaah~
Hagoromo shook his head, unconcerned. "That's why I came to find you, isn't it?"
Sakura froze. Her pale, drained face instantly regained color, and a hint of excitement appeared in her expression. "Are you saying… you came here just to help me get stronger?"
"You can think of it that way." Hagoromo nodded.
Seeing how quickly Sakura's face lit up, he sighed helplessly. "But in return, I need you to do two things for me. Two things that will affect the future."
Sakura's excitement faded. Her expression turned serious. "Tell me."
"First, my brother's descendant is currently watching the ninja world from the moon. And in the future… he will try to crash the moon into the Earth." Hagoromo's face grew solemn. "I need you to stop Kurama from killing him."
"Got it! I'll make sure to stop—" Sakura started to respond immediately, but then her entire body stiffened. "Wait, did you just say… 'stop Kurama from killing him'?"
Did I mishear that?
"You heard me right." Hagoromo sighed. "Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama… those three are too strong. Toneri doesn't stand a chance against them. But he's still my brother's descendant. So after stopping him, I need you to save him too."
The bigger problem was… knowing Kurama's personality, if he realized Toneri was planning to bring the moon crashing down to destroy the ninja world, he wouldn't hesitate to blast the entire moon apart along with Toneri, just to make sure nothing interrupted his game time.
Now that Naruto and Hinata no longer needed him to play matchmaker, Kurama wouldn't hold back.
Toneri, you better start thinking things through…
Sakura felt awkward all of a sudden. This wasn't how she expected things to go.
Hagoromo looked just as helpless, but he continued. "And the second thing…"
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