Ninja Ice House

Chapter 588 Test

If we look at it from a thousand years ago and stand from a human perspective, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was undoubtedly the main villain, there is no doubt about that.

But now, the conflict in the ninja world is caused by humanity itself. The Black Zetsu left behind by the "Goddess of the Rabbit" can only fuel the flames. She herself is sealed tightly, and in the final battle, she did nothing but be sealed again.

Many innocent people were killed by Nagato and Obito Uchiha. The Fourth Shinobi World War was instigated by Madara Uchiha, and he was the one who performed the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Advent of the Divine Tree.

By somewhat unconventional standards, the invincible Six Paths Madara had effectively destroyed the world. Whether it was the former Sannin or the new generation of "Sannin," the current Five Kage, or even the reanimated forms of the former Hokage, they were all defeated and routed. It was Black Zetsu who helped the Allied Shinobi Forces "turn defeat into victory" by ambushing and killing Uchiha Madara.

Isn't it weird?

Logically speaking, the most powerful villainous boss was not defeated by the "chosen ones," and in fact, everyone was wiped out. Kaguya Otsutsuki "entered the game herself," giving the ninja world a chance to save itself at the cost of being permanently sealed away.

and so……

"Whether it's Otsutsuki Hagoromo or Otsutsuki Hamura, or even from the perspective of the ninja world, you, the villain from a thousand years ago, are not actually placed in the position of 'final boss'. Instead, you are a driving force behind the 'plot kill' arranged by the power of fate."

She wasn't the most powerful, she didn't do the bad things herself, and no one even knew who she was until the very last moment.

Who knew that Black Zetsu was actually the "Goddess of the Rabbit" from a thousand years ago?

Even before Kaguya Otsutsuki appeared, some people speculated that the "Sage of Six Paths," who had been a background character from beginning to end, was the mastermind behind all the troubles in the ninja world.

As the true progenitor of chakra, "Goddess of the Rabbit" has long been considered by no one to have any special abilities. In the secular world, she has almost become a "goddess of fertility," and proper temples and shrines do not want to enshrine her. Apart from the usual meaning of praying for blessings and peace, she has almost no special divine power that is trusted by the general public.

Although she is much better than those wild gods worshipped by shamans of unknown origin, and is considered one of the eight million orthodox gods in the ninja world, her presence is passable. However, her popularity is very limited. Even ninjas are not very familiar with the origins of this "Goddess of the Rabbit" with the name "Demon," and are not very interested in or want to know.

For a legendary story with a beginning and an end, it's rather boring to have a final boss who only appears at the last moment, without any foreshadowing or even a name. This also reflects that the "screenwriter" is just making things up, has run out of ideas, or simply can't continue writing and just throws in a random ending.

"No matter what, this won't change the status quo of the ninja world. Unless someone from the Otsutsuki clan suddenly comes, no one is qualified to bypass you and become the mastermind behind this era."

"Let's talk about it later! If it really has to be someone like that, it's not impossible. In fact, just like there are alternatives for the 'Child of Destiny,' there are more than one possibility for the 'final boss.'"

In the real world, there is never just one path; Plan B always exists.

Just like in the Book of Seals mission, Mizuki was the mastermind; in the Land of Waves mission, Haku and Zabuza Momochi were the final "gatekeepers," but they were not the masterminds, but Gato; and in the "Konoha Crush Plan," the villains appeared to be Sunagakure, but were actually the rogue ninja Orochimaru; then, with Itachi Uchiha's appearance, the Akatsuki organization surfaced.

Looking back, at the very beginning, the "monster" represented by Naruto Uzumaki also had the potential to be a villain. Moreover, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had such a good image that it was easy to apply the stereotype of a hypocrite who said one thing to your face and another to your back.

Different stages have different "play styles".

Doesn't it give you a sense of "leveling up and fighting monsters"?

That's normal, because the game's design also has to follow human nature and the laws of natural development.

Those who do not "upgrade" step by step from easy to difficult are mostly not able to survive to the final battle. This is the bloody reality caused by "survivorship bias".

If the mastermind behind Naruto Uzumaki stealing the "Book of Seals" had been a high-level expert like Zabuza Momochi or Orochimaru, instead of a third-rate character like Mizuki, he probably would have died outside the forest cabin long ago and wouldn't have become the "Chosen One." Then, another "substitute" would have steadily grown up according to the "leveling up and fighting monsters" process to fill the void left by Naruto's early departure.

It's not that this "protagonist" and "villain" are favored by fate, but rather that the previous ones were given opportunities, which they failed to seize.

For example, Nagato, or Minato Namikaze, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Orochimaru, or even Jiraiya himself—which of them didn't have a legendary experience? Which of them was inferior to Naruto Uzumaki?

If we consider the events in the ninja world as an anime work of art, and look at the issues from Naruto Uzumaki's perspective, it's completely different from looking at them from Kosugi Bokusui's current perspective.

Anyone with a bit of ambition wouldn't feel like their life is just a backdrop for someone else's. Even Kiba Inuzuka had ambitions to become Hokage. Whether he was bragging or not, at least he dared to say it and dared to compete.

"Let's get back to Jiraiya's question! A ninja who has mastered Sage Mode and one who hasn't, or rather, one who can effectively utilize natural energy, are completely different beings..."

If we divide the levels of biological evolution into major stages, the gap between ninjas using their own refined chakra to perform ninjutsu and then sensing and utilizing external natural energy is even greater than the gap between ancient organisms moving from the ocean to the land.

The transition from the internal circulation mode of extraordinary energy systems to the external circulation mode, or even the super-idealistic mode of chakra and natural energy composite mode, lacks any standard for determining strength or weakness and is too subjective.

It took Naruto Uzumaki at most one or two years to go from being no match for Kakashi Hatake to facing Pain head-on.

In such a short time, an ordinary ninja would only be able to learn a B-rank ninjutsu and complete the training of Chakra Nature Transformation, one of the Five Elements Escape Techniques, which is the limit. The "Child of Destiny" has completed the path that a genius ninja should take in a lifetime in just a few months.

"Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune; for some, this is truly a profound truth. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha grew rapidly through countless life-or-death crises, and Jiraiya's gains this time were equally immense."