Jie's accusation changed the atmosphere in the temple at once.
Jiraiya had come here expecting an argument over the old prophecy. He had not expected Jie to accuse Gamamaru of arranging a conspiracy that began in the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
Fukasaku and Shima were furious, but even they did not interrupt immediately. This was no longer something that could be answered with anger alone.
Gamamaru looked down at Jie in silence.
For the first time, the old toad began to wonder how much Jie actually knew.
Did the Uchiha clan leave something behind?
Unlike most people in the ninja world, Gamamaru knew the true origin of the Uchiha and Senju. Their ancestors were Indra and Asura, the two sons of Hagoromo. If any family had a chance of preserving records from that distant past, it would be them.
But the thought only lasted for a moment before Gamamaru rejected it.
A thousand years was too long. The Uchiha and Senju had spent most of that time in war. Even if some ancient records had once existed, it was almost impossible for them to survive intact until now.
More importantly, what happened back then had been hidden too deeply.
Even Hagoromo himself had not seen through everything at the time. Indra and Asura were born long after those events. How could their descendants know the truth?
Unless Jie was truly Hagoromo's reincarnation and had awakened memories from that life, there was no reason for him to know the full truth.
After that thought passed through his mind, Gamamaru settled back into silence. Whether Jie was bluffing or not, he wanted to hear what this young Uchiha would say next.
Jie looked at him for a moment, then began calmly.
"Everything started with a woman."
His voice was not loud, but inside the quiet temple, every word reached clearly.
"A thousand years ago, a woman came from beyond this world and descended into what was then called the Land of Ancestors. At that time, there was no ninjutsu in this world. There was not even chakra."
Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, but he did not interrupt.
Jie continued, "The ruler of the Land of Ancestors was named Tenji. After meeting that woman, he fell in love with her and brought her back with him. Along with her came a seed. When that seed was planted, it grew into the Divine Tree."
The name made Jiraiya listen more carefully. He had heard many legends about the Sage of Six Paths, but none of those stories had ever begun like this.
"After many years, the Divine Tree bore a fruit. Around that time, rebellion broke out in the Land of Ancestors. Some people believed the woman who had fallen from the sky was an omen of disaster, so they demanded that Tenji execute her."
Jie's gaze remained on Gamamaru.
"In that crisis, she ate the fruit of the Divine Tree and gained the strongest power in the world. That power was chakra."
Jiraiya's face changed completely this time.
Chakra was the foundation of all ninjutsu, the power every ninja relied on. In the stories passed down through the ninja world, chakra had always been connected to the Sage of Six Paths. But according to Jie, the first person to possess chakra was not Hagoromo.
It was this woman from beyond the world.
Jie did not give anyone time to digest it. "With chakra, she destroyed the people who tried to harm her. Later, she turned many of them into weapons, preparing for the day others from beyond the sky might come after her."
Gamamaru's earlier calm had faded by now. He still did not speak, but Jie could see that the old toad was no longer treating this as an ordinary accusation.
The Land of Ancestors. Tenji. The Divine Tree. That woman.
Those names should have disappeared from the world long ago. After that ancient battle, almost every trace of her existence had been erased.
Even the legends that once spread among humans had been swallowed by time. Indra and Asura had been born long after those events, so even their descendants should not have known the full story.
Yet Jie was speaking as if he had seen it himself.
Gamamaru did not ask how he knew. He only watched and waited.
Jie continued, "After a long time, the woman grew lonely. Using Yin-Yang Release, she created two children who carried her blood."
He looked around the temple and smiled faintly.
"I do not think I need to remind you who those two children were."
Fukasaku and Shima both understood what he was implying, but the answer was too heavy for either of them to say first. In the end, it was Jiraiya who broke the silence.
"You mean... the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and his brother?"
His voice was filled with disbelief, but he immediately realized the larger problem.
"Wait. If that is true, then the first person to possess chakra was not the Sage of Six Paths."
Jiraiya looked at Jie, then at Gamamaru.
"It was that woman?"
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