Gamamaru's words made Jie frown.
This world had once had no humans?
Then how long had this old toad lived? If Gamamaru had existed since an age before humans, then his lifespan was far longer than Jie had expected. But if that was true, another question followed immediately.
After living for that long, how had he still not crossed into the Six Paths level?
Gamamaru seemed to guess what Jie was thinking, but he did not stop to explain. Some answers would naturally appear as the story continued.
"Several thousand years ago," Gamamaru said, "there were no humans in this world. Natural energy filled the land, and what you now call the ninja world was once the paradise of summoning beasts."
His voice was slow, but there was no hesitation in it. This was not a legend to him. It was memory.
"Then, roughly two thousand years ago, everything changed. A seed fell from the sky and grew into a towering tree in only a few days. Humans arrived with that seed. At first, they existed only to tend the Divine Tree, and they had little conflict with the summoning beasts, so both sides lived in peace for a time."
Jie's eyes narrowed slightly.
Humans had arrived with the Divine Tree?
That was different from what he knew. But after thinking about it, the idea was not impossible.
The ninja world had never really had a clear history before the Sage of Six Paths. It was as if everything before Hagoromo had been swallowed by a blank space.
If humans had truly come from outside this world along with the Divine Tree, then that blank space made a strange kind of sense.
Gamamaru continued, "Over time, some summoning beasts discovered that the natural energy of the world was slowly disappearing. As natural energy faded, many races began to degenerate. The beasts you see in the human world today are the descendants of those degraded summoning beasts."
Jie thought of Ryūchi Cave. Even the descendants of the great snakes were not always true summoning beasts. Some were only stronger-than-average wild animals. If natural energy affected their bloodline, then Gamamaru's explanation was not impossible.
"At first, the summoning beasts believed humans were responsible," Gamamaru said. "They thought humans were trying to cut off their future in this world. That belief led to the first war between summoning beasts and humans."
There was no emotion in his voice, only the weight of something long past.
"It was not an equal war. Humans at that time were weak, and they did not know how to use chakra. Against the summoning beasts, they died in great numbers. Only a small portion survived."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"That war nearly wiped humans out, but the loss of natural energy did not stop. As time passed, it only grew worse. After a long period of recovery, humans multiplied again, and the second war soon began."
"This time, the summoning beasts were no longer as strong as before. The loss of natural energy had weakened many races. Humans had also changed. After their first defeat, warriors known as samurai began to appear among them."
Gamamaru's tone remained calm.
"But samurai were still not enough. Compared to true summoning beasts, their strength was insignificant."
"Humans were pushed to the edge of extinction once again, though this time, the summoning beasts also paid a heavy price. Some weaker races disappeared completely, leaving behind only their degraded descendants in the human world."
"The natural energy continued to fade," Gamamaru said. "To preserve their races, the remaining summoning beasts used everything they had to create a separate space, one different from the ninja world. They wanted to seal away enough natural energy for their survival."
"By the time that space was complete, only a few powerful lineages remained: the toads of Mount Myōboku, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, and Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest, who alone could be considered an entire race."
"Then came the third war. Humans had multiplied again, and this time, they challenged the summoning beasts once more."
Gamamaru let out a quiet sigh.
"This time, the result was different. The summoning beasts lost. They retreated from the ninja world and hid within the separate spaces they had created. From then on, the ninja world truly became the world of humans, while summoning beasts withdrew from history."
Jie listened without interrupting. If all of this was true, then Gamamaru had not personally witnessed the earliest age before humans, but he had been born close enough to the end of that era to inherit its aftermath.
As if confirming his thoughts, Gamamaru continued.
"Not long after the summoning beasts fully withdrew, I was born."
"After I gained some strength, I began searching for the true cause behind the loss of natural energy. That was when the Divine Tree finally entered my sight."
"Before then, it had only seemed like a massive tree. Strange, but not obviously dangerous."
"But once I investigated it more deeply, I discovered that enormous amounts of natural energy were being absorbed by the tree, transformed into a different kind of energy, and stored inside a flower at its crown."
He had found the source of the problem.
"At that time, I was excited," Gamamaru said. "I thought that if the tree was destroyed, the world might recover."
"But the Divine Tree had already been rooted in this world for thousands of years. It had absorbed an unimaginable amount of natural energy, and its body was far beyond what the young me could damage. At that time, I could do nothing."
"So I returned to Mount Myōboku and learned Sage Mode. Only after gaining enough power did I believe I might finally be able to bring the Divine Tree down."
Gamamaru's ancient eyes lowered slightly.
"But before I could act, Kaguya appeared. Not long after her arrival, she obtained a power great enough to shake the world. Against that kind of strength, I knew I had no chance of winning directly."
"So I could only stay hidden," Gamamaru said, "and wait for an opportunity."
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