"Hmph! Blind fool! Don't regret it!" Indra's face was cold as frost. He snorted angrily and flicked his sleeve as he turned and left.
A strong wind swept across the ground. There was not the slightest bit of hesitation in his figure. He strode out of the hall, and his proud, firm back disappeared behind the pillars in an instant.
———
[Inside The Main Hall]
Otsutsuki Hagoromo slowly frowned.
His thin fingers lightly tapped on the table. A trace of something complicated flashed through his eyes... and then only certainty remained.
"It seems my choice was right....", Hagoromo muttered softly.
He had not expected his eldest son to be this stubborn. But it was exactly this moment of violent anger that made Hagoromo completely certain his decision was not wrong.
Indra was born with unmatched talent. He created the Ninjutsu of the Ninja Sect with power and united the clan, yet in his heart there was only strength and conquest, never bonds or mercy.
If the Ninja Sect was handed to him, this sacred place that carried the original wish for peace would sooner or later be forged into a blade of war that swept across the world, dragging it back into the flames of battle.
Once the thought was set.
Hagoromo lifted his eyes and looked at Ashura, whose build was solid and whose brows and eyes were gentle.
"Ashura, from today on, you are the rightful heir of the Ninja Sect!", Hagoromo's steady and dignified voice echoed through the hall.
Like thunder falling from the sky, the announcement landed heavily. Every gaze in the hall turned toward Ashura, filled with expectation, unease, and also confusion.
Ashura froze suddenly. His warm eyes were full of shock, and then something deep and tangled rose within them.
Since childhood, he had followed his elder brother. All he ever wanted was to protect the Ninja Sect and assist his father. If his brother took the position, he would assist his brother.
He had never once thought about fighting for power. Now that he was pushed to the front, he only felt lost, his fingers curling slightly.
'Sigh...', Hagoromo saw all his hesitation clearly and let out a quiet sigh in his heart.
Soft-hearted and indecisive, this personality was exactly the same as his own when he was young.
Back then, when his mother Kaguya ravaged the world, he still held affection for her and turned a blind eye to her cruelty.
It was not until Haori died miserably under his mother's demonic hands that all warmth and hesitation vanished, and he personally killed his own mother.
Hagoromo steadied his mind. His voice suddenly grew heavy, each word striking Ashura's heart like a hammer.
"Ashura, you carry the great responsibility of Ninja's survival. You must not be soft and indecisive again!"
"Being kind to a fault and hesitating will only harm all the clansmen who trust you and destroy the foundation of Ninja!"
Ashura trembled when he heard this. He raised his eyes and saw his father's serious face, then glanced at the hopeful looks of the clansmen. The chaos in his heart suddenly settled.
Ashura took a deep breath and nodded firmly, "Father, I understand. I will never let everyone down. I will never let the Ninja Sect fall onto the wrong path!"
At last, firmness gathered in Ashura's eyes.
———
Night was as dark as ink, spreading over the mountains. A cold wind carried dry branches across the desolate valley.
Inside a hidden cave, it was dim and without light. Only a rough candle by the cave wall burned with a weak glow.
Indra sat slumped on a stone seat in the center of the cave. His scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan stared straight ahead.
"Why!? Why!?", Indra suddenly threw his head back and roared. His voice was full of unwillingness and resentment, shaking loose stones from the cave ceiling.
He was the eldest son of the Otsutsuki, born gifted, the creator of Ninja techniques. With his own strength, he had led the Ninja Sect toward prosperity.
He poured all his effort into building a powerful Ninja. In the end, he was discarded like worn-out shoes by his father, while the position of sect leader was given to Ashura, who only talked about bonds and had no sharp edge at all.
He never admitted he had lost, not even a little.
What he lost was never strength, talent, or even his devotion to Ninja. He only lost to his father's bias that leaned completely to one side.
It was Otsutsuki Hagoromo, this so-called father, who favored Ashura and wiped out all his efforts.
That was not his damn father.
Just his biological father.
Indra held his forehead with one hand. Veins bulged at his temple. The candlelight flickered over his twisted face, making the Sharingan look even more scarlet and terrifying.
Outside the cave, the night was deep and silent. Only his heavy breathing echoed again and again inside.
That night, he sat on the stone seat, restless and unable to sleep, thinking for a long time, turning over half a lifetime of effort and persistence again and again in his mind.
He improved chakra, spread hand seals, made the Ninja Sect stand firm and shake the four directions. All his effort had only brought him this ending?
He was so unwilling...
"I, Indra… what exactly should I do...", Indra muttered to himself, hollow and desperate.
Slowly, he raised his trembling hand. His fingertips gently brushed over his burning eyes, touching the three-tomoe Sharingan that represented supreme power.
The moment his cold fingertips touched the burning pupil.
An extreme violence and killing intent suddenly exploded from the depths of his heart, sweeping away all unwillingness and pain.
'What to do?'
'Only kill!'
'Only kill!'
'Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!'
Only with absolute power could he take back everything that rightfully belonged to him.
Indra suddenly stood up. Chakra around him erupted like a tsunami. Violent energy swept through the cave, and the candle was blown out instantly.
Purple-blue chakra burst from his body, layer by layer forming a massive Susanoo skeleton. Armor, arms, and a giant blade took shape with a roar. Terrifying pressure swept across the valley, making the earth tremble.
The huge Susanoo stood in the night like a demon god descending. Indra stood at its brow. His scarlet eyes looked toward the Ninja hall in the distance.
His voice was cold and resolute, echoing through the night sky, "In that case, I will seize power by force!!!"
———
[In A Quiet Chamber Deep Within The Ninja Sect]
This was the place where Hagoromo usually secluded himself to cultivate. At this moment, it became a hidden place for a father and son to speak privately.
Hagoromo dismissed all attendants. In the large quiet chamber, only he and Ashura remained.
Hagoromo raised his eyes and looked at Ashura, whose expression still carried some unease.
"Ashura, I will pass all the chakra and sage power of my life into you. Only in this way can you have the strength to stand against Indra."
The light purple ripples in Hagoromo's Rinnegan slowly flowed as he spoke earnestly.
"Father!", Ashura suddenly lifted his head, his eyes full of shock. Just as he was about to speak, Hagoromo raised his hand to stop him.
"Indra has already been swept away by obsession and hostility, falling into the demonic path. His threat to the Ninja Sect is already pressing and urgent."
There was exhaustion in Hagoromo's voice.
"My lifespan is almost at its end. If after I pass away, Indra boldly attacks the Ninja Sect, remember this."
"If you cannot resolve it, you must contact Mount Myoboku at once and find our grandmaster, the Sage of Six Paths. Only if he personally takes action can Indra's disaster be completely put down."
Hearing this, Ashura's eyes instantly became extremely complicated. His throat moved, yet for a long while he could not say a single word.
He had never imagined that blood brothers would reach the point of facing each other with weapons, fighting until one died.
He had never imagined that his father would place such a heavy mission entirely on his shoulders.
Just at the moment when he had not yet come back to his senses...