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Mount Myōboku—shrouded in heavy fog.
Manji laid White-Brow's remains to rest along the riverbank, letting a millennium of sage bones merge with the mountain's water and stone.
In the human world, burying someone near a river was considered ill-omened. But this was a toad—and for toads, a riverside resting place was the most auspicious send-off possible.
Gamamaru stood watch at the perimeter, eyes red and swollen.
Manji remained before the grave, gazing in silence.
Mountain wind threaded through the pines, carrying needles and amber light, draping itself across Manji's white robes—gentle as the brush of White-Brow's hand from a hundred years ago.
He stood there, watching the clouds drift and reshape above the peaks. His fingertips absently traced the hilt of the Six Paths Sword. White-Brow's final words lingered in the air around him like incense that refused to fade.
"Hold onto who you are. Don't let eternity steal the person you were meant to be."
.....
Meanwhile—on a distant plain.
The scars from the Kaguya War had long since been reclaimed by grass and wildflowers. Only the uneven terrain—craters and ridges half-buried beneath new growth—hinted that this land had once trembled under a battle of gods.
"Everyone—together! Let's build our home!"
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki had his sleeves rolled up, a thin sheen of sweat across his brow, working side by side with his followers to pack earth and lay stone.
His chakra alone could have raised a palace in seconds. But he chose to labor alongside them.
"The foundation of Ninshū isn't power. It's unity."
Hagoromo wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, his voice warm and steady.
"If Sage Manji had never guided me, I wouldn't be standing here today—and neither would any of you."
The followers threw themselves into the work with renewed spirit.
Days blurred past.
A hall rose from the barren plain—simple in construction but dignified in bearing, its beams still radiating the warmth of collective effort.
On the day of completion, Hagoromo personally carried a painted scroll to the central platform of the great hall.
The portrait depicted a young man in black-and-red robes, a sword strapped across his back, standing tall against a backdrop of Mount Myōboku's sweeping clouds and golden sunsets. The brushwork captured an air of quiet authority and otherworldly grace—Manji, exactly as Hagoromo remembered him from a century ago.
He had painted it himself, shortly after the battle with Kaguya. It couldn't fully capture the man's presence—but every stroke was layered with reverence.
Hagoromo hung the portrait at the center of the hall with meticulous care.
"Today—Ninshū is born!"
"I, Hagoromo, pledge my life to carrying forward the Sage's teachings and protecting the peace of this world. And the source of Ninshū—the one who lit the path for all of us—is my master: Sage Manji!"
"From this day forward, he is the Founding Patriarch of Ninshū—to be honored and revered by every generation that follows!"
Hagoromo turned to face the thousand-plus followers gathered below, his voice ringing like steel on stone.
A thunderous chorus of affirmation rose from the crowd.
But then, an elderly man stepped forward, his expression troubled.
He bowed deeply. "Lord Hagoromo—you've always spoken of being Sage Manji's disciple, and we believe you without question. But… the Patriarch's personal name is Manji. For common people like us to speak it aloud—isn't that disrespectful?"
The concern rippled through the assembly like a wave.
"He's right, the Founding Patriarch's authority is absolute. We can't just say his name!"
"We should bestow a proper honorific—something befitting his stature!"
The murmuring swelled. Hagoromo nodded slowly, rubbing his chin in thought.
"A fair point…"
His gaze drifted unconsciously to the portrait—specifically, to the sword on the young man's back. The weapon's name surfaced in his mind immediately.
The Six Paths Sword.
When Manji had named that blade, the words "Six Paths" had struck Hagoromo as particularly resonant.
Why not take those two words—and build the title from there?
Change "Sage Manji" to "Sage of Six Paths"?
"Six Paths…"
Hagoromo murmured the words—and his eyes lit up.
"Sage Manji wielded the Six Paths Sword to bring peace to the world and protect all living things. Let us honor him as—the Sage of Six Paths!"
The moment the title left his lips, the crowd erupted—first in startled silence, then in a roar of passionate approval.
"The Sage of Six Paths! A magnificent name!"
"It carries divine authority and avoids speaking his true name—perfect!"
Hagoromo watched the fervor sweep through his people, though a flicker of hesitation crossed his heart.
He hadn't asked his master's permission. Was it presumptuous to assign such a title unilaterally?
But then, his master had vanished into seclusion years ago. Ninshū was just beginning, and it needed a name powerful enough to unite hearts. If the Sage disapproved, it could always be changed later.
"Listen well!"
Hagoromo raised his hand, silencing the crowd. His voice carried the weight of decree.
"From this day forward—the personal name of Sage Manji is forbidden. The world shall know him only as the 'Sage of Six Paths.' This is his sacred title. Anyone who speaks his true name will be charged with disrespect!"
He paused, eyes settling on the old man who had raised the concern.
"Dispatch envoys to every Temple of Manji across the land. Replace every inscription with the new title. Let every soul on earth know the revered name—the Sage of Six Paths."
"At once!"
The elder bowed and hurried away.
Hagoromo turned back to the portrait at the heart of the hall, straightened his robes, and lowered himself into a deep, reverent bow.
Behind him—over a thousand followers dropped to their knees in unison, pressing their foreheads to the earth.
"We pay our respects to the Sage of Six Paths!"
The declaration echoed through the hall, across the plain, and carried on the wind to the farthest reaches of the world.
From that day forward—Sage Manji was officially known as the Sage of Six Paths.
.....
Another century passed.
For those hundred years, Manji devoted himself entirely to governing Mount Myōboku.
He established a council of elders. Stripped away the bloated, outdated practices that had accumulated over millennia. Refocused the mountain's culture—not around raw power, but around philosophy.
Manji transplanted the wisdom of his previous life wholesale—ethics, governance, logic, the great philosophical traditions—adapting them for toad consumption.
But the single greatest undertaking of that century was writing history.
Back when he'd watched Naruto, the thing that always frustrated him was how laughably incomplete the shinobi world's historical records were. Virtually nothing was documented.
So Manji decided—under Mount Myōboku's authority—to compile a comprehensive world history.
Scrupulously fair. Exhaustively detailed.
No narrative spin. No taking sides.
A purely neutral, objective account.
…With one small exception regarding Kaguya's chapter.
.....
Inside the Grand Sage Hall.
Manji sat enthroned on the elevated platform.
"I'll dictate. You record."
He looked down at the small, reverential toad below.
"Grand Sage—one moment, if you please. In our historical records, we wouldn't dare write your name directly. How should we refer to you?"
The little toad asked with utmost deference.
Manji considered briefly. In his past life's history, court historians always avoided using the reigning emperor's personal name.
"'The Grand Sage' will do."
"Let's begin at the very start. Two aliens descended from the sky. They sought to dominate the world. But the Grand Sage fought valiantly against them. Though the first attempt ended in defeat, the Grand Sage trained relentlessly and eventually triumphed…"
Manji edited judiciously—reshaping his story into a narrative of a native hero resisting foreign invasion.
He excised his initial collaboration with Kaguya—the scheme to steal the Chakra Fruit, the morally grey alliance. The darker chapters were quietly retired.
The complex reality of the Divine Tree and its fruit was simplified: the aliens came to conquer Earth. Full stop.
And his own mysterious origins? Erased entirely. The official world history began with the arrival of Kaguya and Isshiki—nothing before.
He dictated the chronicle all the way to the present day before finally exhaling.
"That's as far as I can take it. I haven't visited the human world in quite some time."
"Send word to Mount Myōboku's intelligence division—have them gather information from the outside world. Cross-reference everything. Keep it objective. And when the draft is complete, bring it to me for review."
Manji waved his hand in gentle dismissal.
The small toad completed its bow and withdrew.
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