If all phenomena were consciousness-only, were merely the guiding principle of this young monk's school and the doctrine he preached, then that would be one thing. It would simply prove that his understanding of Buddhism was profound.
But what if it were not merely a doctrine, but the very source of his power?
What if Genjo's power truly originated from these words?
Then everything would make sense.
Why could this Genjo, despite clearly not being his descendant and possessing not the slightest trace of the God Tree or ten-tails, use Wood Style and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?
The answer was that powers like Wood Style and the Sharingan, which others believed required bloodlines, lineage, and extraordinary circumstances to obtain, to him were no different from flowers, trees, birds, or beasts.
They were all merely one among the myriad phenomena, all capable of being manifested through consciousness. They were nothing more than fleeting reflections born from a single thought within the sea of awareness. Once he perceived them and understood them, he could bring them into existence.
By using consciousness to contemplate the countless phenomena of existence, those very phenomena took form through him!
Having reached this realization, the Sage of Six Paths fell into even deeper silence. Rationally, he kept telling himself that such a thing was impossible. That all phenomena arose solely from consciousness; what an ethereal and unfathomable realm that was. Even he himself could never accomplish such a feat.
Yet reality lay before his eyes. Other than this explanation, there was no other reason capable of connecting every contradiction surrounding Genjo.
And this was precisely what Shinichi had intended.
Long ago, Shinichi had repeatedly contemplated a question.
In the future, he would inevitably continue researching everything related to the God Tree, the Ten-Tails, and even the Otsutsuki. Someday, he would incorporate those powers into himself and reveal them openly before the world.
Yet there was one conviction he had always held fast to: he would always maintain the identity of being born a commoner.
He was not the inheritor of any Kekkei Genkai, nor was he a descendant of the Otsutsuki. He was simply Shinichi Higashino, a ninja who had climbed his way up from the very bottom.
Only in this way would his image be inspiring enough, and only then would his talent appear extraordinary enough, so extraordinary that those who looked up at him would strain their necks in awe.
But that inevitably gave rise to another problem. If he were to reveal abilities related to the God Tree, the Ten-Tails, or the Otsutsuki in the future, how could he use them openly without making others suspect that he had secretly conducted unethical experiments such as bloodline transplantation?
How could he turn what might have become criticism into yet another testament to his unparalleled genius?
Thus, Shinichi thought of two possible paths.
The first was a path of profound mystery, one that appeared completely unrealistic and utterly beyond reason; all phenomena are consciousness-only.
You ask why I can use Wood Style?
All phenomena are consciousness-only!
You ask why I can awaken the Sharingan?
All phenomena are consciousness-only!
Everything that appeared impossible could simply be attributed to these four words.
Although this path seemed absurd, it perfectly matched the nature of the Consciousness-Only School from his previous life. Among all Buddhist schools, the Consciousness-Only School had the highest barrier to entry and the strictest requirements for one's innate aptitude.
It embodied the principle of transcending ordinary understanding.
Therefore, the more unreasonable it appeared, the more fitting it became.
At present, only Genjo was walking this path alone, and when the time was ripe in the future, Shinichi could also intersect with this path, giving the world a corresponding explanation and allowing people to draw their own conclusions and imagine the rest.
The second path, on the other hand, seemed to possess a measure of logic and practical foundation, though it was equally difficult to achieve: the origin and fundamental nature of chakra.
The ancestors of every human living in the Shinobi World today had all once been suspended by the God Tree a thousand years ago. During that era, traces of the God Tree and even the Otsutsuki had already been imprinted deep within humanity's genes.
The fact that people today could refine chakra was the most direct manifestation of those ancient traces.
In other words, nominally speaking, every person in the Shinobi World, whether commoner or ninja, possessed dormant genetic remnants related to the God Tree and the Otsutsuki; the only difference was how much remained.
What Shinichi intended to do was, when the day came for him to display those powers, attribute everything to having traced chakra back to its most fundamental source.
He had not transplanted any bloodline, nor had he conducted any unspeakable experiments. Through his unrivaled talent and by tracing chakra back to its very origin through cultivation, he had forcibly awakened those ancient remnants that had lain dormant within humanity's genes.
As for why no one else could do it while only Shinichi Higashino had succeeded, the answer was simple: because Shinichi Higashino was the greatest genius in the history of the Shinobi World.
Once the world truly believed this explanation, the evaluation of his talent would rise to an unimaginable height.
"... Sigh..."
After remaining silent for a long time, the Sage of Six Paths let out a long sigh.
He had never expected that as the thousand-year deadline his mother had spoken of drew nearer, the ripples in the river of fate would become increasingly strange and unpredictable.
First came the anomaly among anomalies, Shinichi Higashino, and now there appeared Genjo, a man whose true nature even he could not see through.
The successive appearance of these two individuals made him feel that the Shinobi World he had guarded for a thousand years was becoming more and more unfamiliar.
Yet after much deliberation, the Sage of Six Paths ultimately made the same decision he always had: observe, but do not interfere.
Unless this unfathomably mysterious Genjo truly did something that threatened the survival of the entire Shinobi World, until then, he would remain silent and continue watching over it.
...
So what was Genjo, whom even the Sage of Six Paths could not understand, doing at this moment?
After the Land of Iron conference concluded, Genjo returned with the Konoha group but did not head for Konoha. Instead, after bidding everyone farewell, he returned alone to the valley outside the Fire Temple to continue his secluded cultivation.
Although late winter had not yet fully passed, the valley already carried faint hints of spring.
During the day, the icicles hanging upside down from the cliffs melted beneath the sunlight, only to freeze again when night fell. This endless cycle produced a steady dripping sound that resembled the natural chime of a Buddhist temple bell, echoing day and night without end.
Genjo himself stood upon a naturally level bluestone in the valley, his eyes gently closed as his body moved slowly.
The movements he practiced were an extremely slow and tranquil martial form. Every transition between techniques seemed stretched out several times longer than normal. At first glance, it resembled some variation of gymnastics, yet upon closer inspection, it was clearly far more than that.
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