[In The Bamboo Forest Near The Ninja Sect]
The afterglow of the setting sun slowly faded away.
Indra was still slumped on the big rock, looking at the sky that was gradually getting darker, his eyes full of disappointment.
He had searched for so long and had not even seen a single shadow of a toad. 'Could it be that there is really no way to meet the Six Paths Sage?'
Just as he was feeling down, the light in front of him suddenly dimmed. A figure appeared out of thin air before him, blocking the last trace of daylight.
"I heard you've been looking for me?", An indifferent voice sounded above his head, carrying a distant, ancient feeling.
Indra suddenly raised his head, his pupils shrinking sharply, his whole body freezing in place.
The person in front of him wore a black and red robe. The hem of the robe moved without any wind, and a faint mist lingered around him.
An ancient long sword floated beside him. It was the very same Six Paths Sword from the portrait.
Looking at that face again, it was strikingly handsome. The calm indifference in his brows and eyes was exactly the same as the Six Paths Sage in the painting.
'It's him!'
'It's really the Grandmaster Arisu!'
Indra's heart pounded wildly. He was so excited that his whole body trembled. He quickly slid down from the rock.
With a thud, he knelt on the ground.
Arisu floated in midair and lowered his eyes to look at the boy kneeling on the ground.
Indra had clear and handsome features. Although he was still young, one could already see the heroic spirit he would have in the future.
But at this moment, his face was still childish, and in his eyes there was excitement and nervousness that had not yet faded.
"You have been looking for me these past few days. For what reason?", Arisu's voice remained calm, without any hint of emotion.
Indra quickly raised his head. His eyes were firm, and his tone carried a sincere plea. "Grandmaster, I have something to ask of you. Please teach me!"
He bowed deeply again, his forehead almost touching the ground, his heart filled with longing for strength.
"You want power?"
"The teaching is not lightly passed on. Tell me, what do you want power for?"
Arisu slightly raised his brow. 'This child wants power at such a young age. He was really just like the Uchiha of later generations...'
"I want to protect my family, to protect my younger brother Asura!"
"The other day, Asura and I ran into a wolf. If our senior brother had not come to save us, we would have been hurt."
"I do not want my brother to be in danger again, and I do not want to rely on others anymore!", Indra spoke without hesitation. His voice was childish, yet it carried a firmness that could not be doubted.
Arisu looked at him and thought to himself.
According to the original path, at this time Indra should have been exploring on his own and creating the method of hand seals. But because of his own existence, Indra had turned to him to seek power, and the path had shifted a little.
It made sense. Without him, this "Grandmaster," standing before him, Indra would have had no way to seek power and would have had to rely on himself to study and develop hand seals.
Now that there was a shortcut, he would naturally choose to ask him for guidance.
"Please!"
Indra pressed his palms together, his eyes full of hope, looking at Arisu pitifully. All of his usual calmness was gone.
Seeing his expression, Arisu made up his mind.
Up until now, humans had not yet mastered the method of using chakra. Hand seals were originally the key to guiding chakra.
He might as well pass this method down through Indra's hands. It could also be considered following the invisible flow of fate.
Arisu slowly raised his hand. A wisp of pale golden chakra gathered at his fingertips, tracing a few simple patterns in the air.
"If you want power, I will teach you a method called hand seals."
"Chakra is hidden within the body. By forming hand seals, you can guide chakra and use various techniques. This is the foundation of power."
After seeing the hand seals, Indra began to learn in a hazy way. He discovered that by using these hand gestures, he could move his chakra.
So he began to slowly practice.
He studied until late at night before suddenly coming back to his senses and realizing it was already late.
When Indra turned his head, he found that Arisu was still floating in the air.
Indra felt touched. He had not expected that Grandmaster was still here waiting for him.
"Grandmaster, may I come again tomorrow?", Indra asked carefully.
Arisu showed no expression and thought to himself.
Originally, his purpose had only been to pass the seals to Indra and then promote the development of the ninja world.
He did not want to interfere in the affairs of the Ninja Sect, especially not the conflict between Indra and Asura. He did not want to take part.
But seeing Indra, Arisu thought that perhaps he could make Indra his own chess piece, a piece to connect with the outside world.
After Hagoromo's death, he would have no pieces left in the human world. Before Hagoromo died, why not cultivate Indra?
Let Indra become his piece in the human world?
Having made up his mind, Arisu looked at Indra calmly. "You may. But what happens between you and me must not be spread."
Then he disappeared.
"Thank you, Grandmaster!" Indra was overjoyed and immediately knelt on the ground and bowed.
From that day on, that quiet bamboo forest became the place Indra visited every day to train.
Whether the cold wind carried broken snow over the bamboo tips, or cold rain struck the bamboo leaves with a rustling sound,
Indra would always appear here on time.
He would respectfully bow to Arisu, then hold his breath and focus, following Grandmaster to learn the changes of hand seals and the movement of chakra.
Arisu's teaching never had a single unnecessary word. The force behind every hand gesture, every flow of chakra, was precisely broken down and shown to Indra, from the basics to more delicate chakra changes, and even to combinations of hand seals that had never appeared in the ninja world before.
Indra absorbed this knowledge like someone starving. The light in his eyes grew brighter day by day, and his respect for Arisu had long been carved into his bones.
On this day, the morning mist in the bamboo forest had not yet dispersed, and Indra had already begun practicing the newly learned method of condensing chakra.
He repeatedly formed hand seals, trying to compress the chakra in his body to the limit. His fingers changed seals faster and faster. Fine beads of sweat seeped out at his temples, sliding down his cheeks and soaking the clothes on his chest.
The chakra in his body was almost exhausted, and waves of weakness spread through his limbs.
Finally, the last hand seal fell.
Indra let out a long breath. His body swayed, and he subconsciously leaned to the side, just resting against Arisu's shoulder.
Arisu was looking down at the bamboo shadows on the ground when his shoulder suddenly sank.
He saw that the boy beside him had closed his eyes. His long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his breathing gradually became steady and long. Indra had actually fallen asleep leaning against him.
Arisu slightly raised his brow and turned his head to look at Indra's face.
The boy's brows and eyes still carried some youthfulness, yet the sharp outline of his future self could already be seen.
At this moment, because of exhaustion, his relaxed expression had shed the focus and stubbornness he showed during training, replaced by a rare softness.
Arisu's gaze stayed on his face for a moment, and an unusual feeling rose in his heart.
Thinking back, when Gamamaru received his guidance, it had only been a few words, and he then explored cultivation on Mount Myoboku by himself. Hagoromo had been the same.
He had only passed on the basics of chakra and hand seals, and the rest of the path had been explored by Hagoromo on his own.
For him, the so called master and disciple relationship had always just been a matter of "leading through the door."
He had never taught someone step by step like this, nor had he ever stayed beside a disciple from sunrise to late night.
Indra was the first.
This feeling of personally teaching him caused a faint ripple in his heart, but it was only a ripple.
Arisu quickly gathered his thoughts, and his gaze became indifferent again.
The destined conflict between Indra and Asura was the calamity of the Ninja Sect and also the fixed fate of the ninja world.
There was no need for him to interfere, and no need to disrupt his own plan because of this slight feeling.
After all, no matter how the process unfolded, Indra would eventually walk his own path and establish the Uchiha clan. That was a trajectory already set.
He only needed to quietly wait for the day when Hagoromo's lifespan ended, take the Rinnegan, and complete his goal.
Indra was only a chess piece he had placed in the human world.
The evening wind brushed through the bamboo forest, and the leaves rustled softly. Arisu remained motionless, letting Indra lean against his shoulder and sleep deeply.