Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 382

Fujimoto Tōma stood before the towering trunk in silence.

The tree rose into the sky like a pillar holding the world together, its surface pulsing faintly, as though it were breathing. After a brief moment of thought, he stepped closer and placed one hand against the bark.

"Heh. It’s pointless," Black Zetsu sneered from behind him.

"Trying to cut off the chakra flow now is already too late. My mother’s revival is inevitable."

In Black Zetsu’s eyes, Tōma was making a last, desperate attempt to interfere with the resurrection. But the chakra gathered within the Divine Tree was already more than sufficient. Even if the connection were severed, it would change nothing.

Tōma didn’t respond.

He slowly closed his eyes.

The moment his palm rested against the tree, his senses expanded outward. Countless chakra signatures washed over him, layered atop one another, vast beyond measure. His lips curved slightly.

Just as he thought.

This branch, closest to Kaguya herself, functioned like a hub. Every living thing in the world fed into it. Human. Animal. Even the smallest lifeforms were part of the network.

And that was exactly what Tōma wanted.

He wasn’t trying to stop the flow.

He was listening to it.

Not chakra as power, but chakra as life.

Black Zetsu watched uneasily. A faint sense of dread crept into his thoughts. He didn’t understand what Tōma was doing, and that alone unsettled him.

Still, he reassured himself.

Once Mother awakened, everything would be erased. Tōma included. No matter what this man attempted now, it would amount to nothing more than resistance from an insect.

Yet that feeling of unease only grew stronger.

Meanwhile, Tōma hesitated.

Before Kaguya fully revived, there was still one thing he could do.

If he chose to do it, it would give him a final safety net for the coming battle.

And that was exactly why he was hesitating.

He wanted pressure.

He wanted to break through his final limit under Kaguya’s overwhelming presence.

But if he failed...

This time, there would be no mercy. Kaguya would not leave survivors behind. Humanity would be wiped out completely, reshaped into White Zetsu.

If that happened, even the Sage of Six Paths returning in the flesh wouldn’t be able to change the outcome.

Tōma exhaled softly.

I really am overthinking it.

At this stage, hesitation itself was a luxury.

Without alerting Black Zetsu in the slightest, Tōma transferred control of his physical body to his secondary soul for the first time.

His main consciousness slipped away.

The world fell silent.

He found himself in a vast, empty void. No sky. No ground. Only stillness.

"You came after all."

A voice echoed calmly through the emptiness.

Tōma looked up.

An elderly man sat cross-legged in midair, supported by nine black orbs that floated behind him in a perfect circle.

The Sage of Six Paths.

"Long time no see," Tōma said evenly.

"Legendary Sage."

The Sage opened his eyes, studying him.

"This should be our first true meeting," he said slowly.

"Not quite," Tōma replied.

"At Mount Myōboku. I wasn’t fully conscious back then, but I felt you observing me."

The Sage chuckled.

"Sharp senses."

His gaze lingered on the faint marking on Tōma’s forehead, and he sighed quietly.

Tōma already knew what it meant.

It wasn’t divine favor. It wasn’t destiny.

It was simply the sign of someone who had walked far enough along the path of harmony between chakra and the natural world. Anyone who reached that depth would develop it eventually.

Like the markings of Sage Mode, it was a byproduct. Nothing more.

"When I first noticed you," the Sage said, "I was only curious. In an age like this, someone choosing that path was rare. I never imagined you’d reach this point."

"Honestly," Tōma said, "neither did I."

The Sage laughed heartily.

"Still... your existence may open a new possibility for the shinobi world. At the very least—"

His eyes darkened slightly as he looked toward the unseen distance.

"Your suspicion may be correct. There may be others watching this world besides my mother."

The Sage understood the limits of chakra better than anyone. Even after spreading it to all humanity, he had never believed anyone could surpass him through chakra alone.

Against beings like Kaguya, that path was fundamentally stacked against humanity.

And yet—Tōma existed.

A variable he had never foreseen.

"I know why you came," the Sage continued.

"And I can give you my power."

Tōma raised an eyebrow.

"But?"

"But I ask that you rely on it as little as possible," the Sage said seriously.

"You have your own road. Don’t abandon it at the very end."

"That was always the plan," Tōma replied casually.

"This is just insurance."

The Sage nodded in satisfaction.

"Then I have one more request. If possible... share this power with my sons’ reincarnations. Their conflict has finally ended in this era."

Tōma smiled faintly.

"Naruto and Sasuke, right?"

The Sage nodded, then explained their origins and his own past. This time, however, he intended to divide his remaining strength evenly, not into Yin and Yang.

Tōma shook his head.

"Don’t split it."

"Why not?" the Sage asked.

"Because that kind of division creates temporary gods," Tōma replied.

"They’ll burn through your power and fall back to their limits."

"And they shouldn’t walk your path anyway," he continued.

"This power should be a reference point, not a crutch. Splitting Yin and Yang would just create weaknesses."

The Sage was silent for a long moment.

"You understand," he said at last.

"But that road is harder. They may never reach this level in time to help you."

Tōma laughed softly.

"That’s fine. If I win, I might get bored otherwise."

The Sage smiled.

Yes.

Even if stronger beings came later...

Would Tōma really stop growing?

"There’s nothing more for me to say," the Sage concluded.

"Come closer."

Tōma did.

The Sage placed his palm against Tōma’s.

Light exploded through the void.

Power surged. Not shallow, not fleeting, but vast and profound. This wasn’t entry-level Six Paths chakra. This was the Sage at his peak.

Tōma absorbed both Yin and Yang together, calmly, steadily.

So this is the Sage of Six Paths...

If this man were still alive, he truly would have been an insurmountable wall.

When it ended, Tōma looked down at his hands.

A sun.

A moon.

Balanced.

Complete.

Six Paths power: acquired.

And now—

It was finally time to face her.