A gift from Sage of Six Paths

Naruto's fate was indeed a miserable one. Starving to death was certainly not something Naruto had anticipated. Even the Third Hokage, who had instructed Anbu to take him to the hospital, couldn't have foreseen that the hospital staff would mistake Naruto for the reincarnation of a demon fox.

In the end, Naruto's breathing came to a halt. He died, succumbing to starvation.

Human babies, just a day old, were incredibly fragile. It could be argued that human infants were among the weakest of all animal offspring. Even a newborn deer could stand and move because of the harshness of nature. But human babies couldn't. It took more than a decade for them to grow into self-sufficient individuals.

Just as Naruto's soul was about to be drawn into an unknown place, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, his eyes were bathed in light, and his soul found itself in an inexplicable space.

"Actually, this is your own spiritual realm."

A strange voice echoed around him, and Naruto realized there was someone else in this space.

Looking ahead, he couldn't help but be astonished.

Before him stood an old man with reddish-brown hair and a long beard that cascaded down his chest. The man wore a white robe and was seated cross-legged above several slowly rotating black orbs.

In awe, Naruto couldn't help but exclaim, "Sage of Six Paths?"

Indeed, it was the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki himself, who had appeared before Naruto.

The Sage of Six Paths looked at Naruto with surprise and raised an eyebrow. "You know the old man?"

Naruto nodded instinctively but then realized something peculiar. "Wait a minute, I can talk? And I'm so tall."

Having been a baby for just two days, he realized that he had reverted to his adult body. However, as he noticed this change, his body began to transform rapidly. He shrank back to the baby form he currently had, lying on the ground and unable to stand.

Naruto was left speechless, staring at the Sage of Six Paths with a bewildered expression.

The Sage of Six Paths, with a somewhat irritated look, twitched the corners of his mouth and explained, "It has nothing to do with me. It's not my doing."

It really wasn't any of his tricks.

Naruto struggled to sit up and said in an old-fashioned manner, "You should change the way you talk."

It seemed that he didn't quite like the Sage of Six Paths' archaic way of speaking, finding it somewhat troublesome.

The Sage of Six Paths couldn't help but feel exasperated. This child was on the brink of starvation and still had the energy to complain.

Clearing his throat, the Sage of Six Paths modified his speech, saying, "Since you recognize me, do you also know who you are and where you come from?"

"I know who I am. I'm Naruto, the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and I'm the Jinchūriki of Nine Tails Kurama. Wait, I remember now, damn it, am I still the reincarnation of your son? Wait, who am I exactly? Or am I the reincarnation of Ashura?" Naruto clutched his head in confusion, his thoughts spiraling into chaos.

Finally, it dawned on him. Naruto wasn't just granted some special power; he was the reincarnation of Ashura, the youngest son of the Sage of Six Paths, a figure of immense stature and strength.

The Uzumaki clan, from which Naruto hailed, was originally descended from Ashura, with the Senju and Uchiha clans also having distant connections to him.

But Naruto found himself utterly bewildered. Who was he really? Was he Naruto? A transmigrator? Or Ashura's reincarnation?

Even the Sage of Six Paths himself, Kakuzu, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his eyes and mouth. He felt the need to explain, "Don't overthink it. While you possess Ashura's Chakra, you are not Ashura. Your soul is your own, but you carry Ashura's Chakra within you."

In essence, Naruto was still himself, a time traveler who had become the Naruto he was now, with only the added presence of Ashura's Chakra. There was no possession of his soul by Ashura.

"But you're facing imminent death," the Sage of Six Paths suddenly declared.

Naruto's entire body jolted, then he slumped, his voice a whisper, "So what if I am? What can I do? My parents sacrificed themselves to protect the village and me. They lost their lives for the sake of guarding and caring for me, yet here I am, on the verge of starving to death just a day after being born. Do you think that's fair?"

The Sage of Six Paths remained silent, offering no answer, but he fixed a deep gaze upon Naruto, as if he had perceived something extraordinary.

Naruto raised his head, gazing at the Sage of Six Paths with curiosity. "What are you looking at?"

The Sage of Six Paths furrowed his brow slightly and replied, "You might bring about unforeseeable changes."

Naruto shrugged, "No, I'm dying."

The Sage of Six Paths shook his head, "I won't let you die so easily. The reason I've appeared before you is to help you activate Ashura's Chakra. It's what he inherited from my divine body. It's what's making your body so frail. I won't let you die easily."

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he asked instinctively, "Does that mean I'll have the power of the Six Paths?"

The Sage of Six Paths' expression darkened. In the original story, the power of the Six Paths he had bestowed upon Naruto and Sasuke wasn't the same as the level as the Planetary Devastation. It was a unique seal technique specifically related to the Six Paths. It vanished after being used.

However, the power of the Six Paths granted by the Sage of Six Paths himself was permanent. It wasn't Ashura or Indra's Chakra but a separate power bestowed by him.

Frankly, Naruto was feeling a bit cheeky.

"Ashura's reincarnation, whether you choose to become a changer or make any other decision, I want to see what path you, as the bearer of Ashura's Chakra, will ultimately take."

"Also, Kurama will look after you."

In the end, the Sage of Six Paths didn't grant him the power of the Six Paths but assisted Naruto in awakening the Chakra that Ashura had bestowed upon him.

"Understood."

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