In the bamboo forest, the clear wind rolled through the leaves with a soft rustling sound.
Seeing that all the stubborn obsession in Otsutsuki Hagoromo's brows had finally been released, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Arisu's lips, and the aura around him was calm like water.
"Alright, class dismissed."
Arisu spoke lightly. As soon as the words fell, he turned around. The corner of his green robe lifted slightly as he was about to step away.
"Wait, teacher!"
Hagoromo suddenly called out to stop him, his voice light like a candle about to go out in the wind.
Hagoromo slowly closed his eyes and spoke calmly, "Teacher, I do not have much time left… these Rinnegan of mine may be useful to you. Consider them the last gift from your disciple."
Arisu's face suddenly tightened.
His body stopped abruptly, and he secretly complained in his heart, 'Damn it, I was so busy acting cool and talking about great principles that I almost forgot the important matter!'
Arisu quietly placed his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, "Since you insist…"
Before he finished speaking, two hurried footsteps suddenly rushed through the air, carrying panic and urgency.
"Grandmaster!"
"Father!"
Ashura and Indra hurried over. The hostility around Indra had not yet faded. His fierce eyes stared at Hagoromo, clearly still wanting to step forward and give a finishing strike.
Arisu raised his hand slightly. An invisible pressure spread out and immediately stopped him.
"Indra, the battle is already over."
He did not want to see Hagoromo kill Indra, and he also did not want to see Indra kill Hagoromo.
Both of them were his disciples.
Hagoromo also looked at Ashura and comforted him gently, "Ashura, it's alright. Everyone here is our own people. Grandmaster is one of us, and Indra is also one of us…"
Hearing this, the two gradually calmed down.
"Hmph! This Ninja Sect can be thrown away. You can keep the Ninja Sect. I will follow Grandmaster to Mount Myoboku."
Indra snorted coldly. After this battle, he had already seen clearly that the people of the Ninja Sect would never submit to him.
Even if he suppressed them with force, it would only make internal conflict grow worse.
Hagoromo secretly let out a breath of relief. Then he turned to Ashura and said seriously, "Ashura, I am about to die. I will give the Rinnegan to Grandmaster. As for my body, you can cremate it."
Both Ashura and Indra trembled in shock, their faces full of disbelief.
The next moment, Hagoromo's Rinnegan floated out of his eye sockets on their own. They glowed with a faint purple light and steadily landed in Arisu's palm.
Arisu secretly felt happy inside, but his face remained calm and relaxed.
"This item is precious. It has a connection with Mount Myoboku."
"To prevent evil people from coveting it, I will keep it for now.", Arisu said lightly, while placing the Rinnegan into his sleeve.
The three of them had no objections.
In their hearts, Arisu had noble character and integrity. He never desired power. Everything in the world was nothing more than passing clouds to him.
A moment later, Hagoromo's breath stopped, and he slept forever in the bamboo forest.
"Dad!!!!"
Ashura fell to his knees on the ground and cried loudly with tears streaming down his face.
Indra stood at the side, his eyes complicated. Even though his father once wanted to kill him, the sudden death of a family member still made his heart feel dazed.
Arisu took a deep breath and sighed softly with emotion. This old acquaintance had finally left. Another person from that era was gone.
The next day, deep within the Ninja Sect territory, a solemn funeral had already been prepared.
Arisu stood in the center of the high platform, his posture straight like a tall pine tree. Indra and Ashura stood on his left and right, their expressions sorrowful and serious.
Below the platform, all the disciples of the Ninja Sect knelt together. Their eyes were full of respect and curiosity.
They often saw Hagoromo, but this Grandmaster who had only appeared once since the founding of the Ninja Sect had always been like a legend in their hearts.
"Welcome, Grandmaster!"
"Welcome, Grandmaster!"
The thunderous shouts echoed throughout the Ninja Sect.
Among the crowd, Sarutobi quickly stepped forward, bowed, and greeted respectfully, "Grandmaster, this disciple is Sarutobi!"
Arisu nodded slightly. Looking at Sarutobi, he could not help but think of the little child from those years.
"That child from back then has grown into this now.", Arisu spoke with a tone of reminiscence.
"It is all thanks to Grandmaster's guidance that this disciple has today's achievements." Sarutobi lowered his head, his tone becoming even more respectful.
When Indra and Ashura saw this scene, they felt puzzled. They did not expect that this commoner disciple would have such a connection with Grandmaster.
Indra looked at Sarutobi and suddenly understood.
No wonder this Sarutobi never tried to flatter him or Ashura.
No wonder this Sarutobi could gain Hagoromo's favor.
No wonder this Sarutobi was never afraid of him.
So it turned out he had this kind of relationship with Grandmaster…
"Alright, prepare the cremation ceremony."
Arisu announced in a deep voice. Then, under everyone's gaze, he slowly stood up as an extraordinary aura spread from him.
Arisu looked across the disciples below the stage. Seeing their confused but hopeful faces, he sighed slightly in his heart.
Although he knew that the Ninja Sect was destined to perish, he might as well give a speech for formality.
People always need a bit of hope.
Just like everyone will eventually die, but you cannot stop living just because death exists.
Moreover, the situation of the Ninja Sect this time belonged to internal conflict.
The life-and-death struggle among the Ninja Sect leadership had been directly exposed in public.
No matter how you look at it, it was not very pleasant.
Arisu slowly spoke, "You who are disciples of the Ninja Sect must remember the original intention of founding this sect!"
"When Hagoromo founded the Ninja Sect, he spread chakra and taught the path of compassion. It was never for fighting over power or profit, nor for dominating the world."
"It was to connect people's hearts with chakra, to use strength to protect all living beings, to calm the conflicts of the world, and to protect peace for all things."
"Today Hagoromo has passed away. The dead are gone, but the living must not drown in sorrow."
"You must remember clearly that chakra itself has no good or evil. Only the heart that holds the sword can be righteous or wicked."
"Indra chose his own path and left, while Ashura inherited the mantle. Both are part of fate."
With a single sentence, Arisu turned Indra's wrongdoing into "choosing his own path," which sounded much better.
If Arisu were standing on Ashura's side, it would be called Indra losing his ideals and beliefs…
After that, Arisu added, "The future is bright, but the road is full of twists."
"The inheritance of the Ninja Sect has never been the responsibility of one person, but the hearts of everyone."
"In the years to come, no matter how the world changes and no matter how power shifts, you must keep your original intention and hold onto kindness."
"Only then will you not fail Hagoromo's lifelong effort, not fail the purpose of the Ninja Sect's founding, and not fail your own cultivation."
When the words of instruction ended, the world became solemn. All the Ninja Sect disciples lowered their heads and listened respectfully, carving these words into their hearts.
After speaking, Arisu raised his hand slightly. Under the gaze of everyone, Hagoromo was cremated.
———
"On this day, Hagoromo died, marking the end of an era. From this moment on, the Ninja Sect welcomed its second sun, Ashura!"
"The future may be bright, but the road will surely be twisted. What will become of the Ninja Sect? Perhaps only time can prove it… The recorder of this historical record is: Historian Black Zetsu."
"Immortal, do you think writing it like this is alright?"
Black Zetsu respectfully handed the scroll to Arisu.
Arisu glanced at it briefly, then nodded.
"It is fine. You will be responsible for recording this part of history. As for the earlier part, the section about my battle with Hagoromo, just delete it for now."
"Simply say it was a struggle for power between Indra and Ashura."
Black Zetsu nodded and had no objections, "Indeed… history is always the history of kings, generals, and nobles."
"In countless histories, they are filled with the love and hatred of the upper class, while ordinary people are just dust…"
Looking at all these historical records, Black Zetsu could not help but sigh with emotion.
From Kaguya to Hagoromo, from Hagoromo's Ninja Sect to Ashura and Indra, it was all one continuous line.
"Oh? Black Zetsu, I did not expect you to have a people's view of history."
Arisu suddenly looked at Black Zetsu with a faint smile.
Black Zetsu laughed bitterly when he heard this, "Immortal, I record history. After writing so much, it is only natural to feel some emotion."
Arisu leaned back in his seat.
"Having emotions is good. It means you still have some humanity…"
"Black Zetsu, how is life at Mount Myoboku?", Arisu asked slowly.
"It is good. My heart is already calm like still water.", Black Zetsu replied.
After coming to Mount Myoboku for so many years, Black Zetsu had also calmed down.
From secretly enduring at the beginning, to already accepting life at Mount Myoboku.
Black Zetsu used to think that Arisu was guarding against him.
But in reality, Arisu hardly paid attention to him at all.
Black Zetsu had come to terms with it. Life at Mount Myoboku was quite good. Maybe the future would be even better.
"Work hard. You are already considered a core member of Mount Myoboku now. In the future you might even become a manager. Freely entering and leaving Mount Myoboku will not be difficult…"
After saying this, Arisu slowly walked away.
Arisu truly was not afraid of Black Zetsu causing trouble. With his strength, capturing Black Zetsu would be extremely easy.
Moreover, Arisu had connections with both Indra and Ashura. With just a few casual words from him, Black Zetsu would have no chance of succeeding.
Arisu left the Mount Myoboku History Pavilion, leaving behind a Black Zetsu whose face was full of excitement.
Black Zetsu's eyes sparkled.
"That's right. After all, I'm from the same generation as Fukasaku. As long as I perform well, I might even become Immortal Black Zetsu someday, and become one of the old seniors of Mount Myoboku."
Black Zetsu immediately broke into a wide smile.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/XenosX
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰