In the human world, in a ruined corner of a desolate village, a shaky thatched hut was squeezed into place.
Wind leaked through all four walls. Most of the thatch on the roof had already fallen off in patches.
Inside the house there was almost nothing. Other than a cracked black clay pot and a few beds made of dry grass, there was nothing else.
Arisu estimated that even if a mouse came, it would leave hungry and disappointed.
In the middle of the house, a child about five or six years old was standing on his toes, struggling to poke the firewood under the stove to cook rice.
The child looked strange. On top of his head were clearly a pair of small pale horns. His little face was waxy yellow, showing the weakness of long-term malnutrition. Only his eyes held a toughness that did not belong to his age.
The firewood burned fiercely. The boiling steam wrapped with the fragrance of rice suddenly rose up, turning into a thick white mist that instantly covered the child's figure.
The next second, the child's body went limp. His eyes closed tightly, and without any warning he fell straight onto the cold muddy ground, completely unconscious.
The mist slowly dispersed, and two figures appeared out of thin air inside the thatched hut.
The young man in front wore a plain immortal robe, his face calm and indifferent. It was the Great Sage of Mount Myoboku, Arisu.
On his shoulder sat a small toad. It was Shima Sage, who was responsible for intelligence.
Arisu raised his eyes and glanced over this extremely ruined thatched hut. A trace of faint surprise flashed through his eyes, and then his gaze fell on the unconscious horned child on the ground.
"Sage, it is this one. The toads' sensing will never be wrong."
Shima Sage crouched on Arisu's shoulder and pointed at the child with his short toad claw, his tone firm.
Arisu walked forward slowly. His fingertip lifted slightly, and a faint strand of senjutsu chakra slowly entered the child's body.
In just an instant, Arisu withdrew the chakra, and a knowing smile appeared in his eyes. "As expected, it is Hagoromo's bloodline."
However, this bloodline was not pure. It carried mixed blood from a foreign race in the human world. It was messy and impure, but it truly carried the aura of Otsutsuki Hagoromo.
Arisu had already reached a conclusion in his heart.
In later generations, the famous brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku were clearly recorded to possess Hagoromo's bloodline.
But Hagoromo only had two sons in his life, Indra and Ashura. Ashura's lineage created the Senju clan, and Indra's lineage gave birth to the Uchiha clan.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku had neither the Senju surname nor the Uchiha's Sharingan. They had no connection with either clan.
After eliminating every possibility, there was only one answer.
This child was the descendant of an illegitimate child left behind when Hagoromo once traveled through the human world. Even Hagoromo himself probably did not know that such a bloodline still existed in the world.
"Most likely, that old fellow Hagoromo never knew until the day he died that he still had such a descendant hidden in the human world."
Arisu let out a light laugh and slowly said this to Shima on his shoulder.
Shima Sage blinked his toad eyes and respectfully asked, "Sage, then should we bring this child back to Mount Myoboku to raise?"
Arisu gently shook his head, and his gaze became a little deeper. "No need to interfere too much. Let him walk his own path."
After saying that, he looked at Shima and slowly spoke, arranging a far-reaching plan. "Shima, I have an important task for you."
"Sage, please give the order!"
Shima Sage immediately straightened his body, his tone full of respect.
"Mobilize all of Mount Myoboku's hidden lines within the human world. Send trusted toads to take the lead and establish a huge underground bounty exchange system across the world."
"But remember, let ordinary humans act as the backbone. We only control things behind the scenes."
"On the surface it will be a bounty exchange office, but in reality it will be our intelligence department."
Arisu's voice was calm. His gaze looked toward the vast world outside the thatched hut, as if he had already seen through the future storms of the ninja world.
He wanted to create a bounty exchange.
In the world of Naruto, the bounty exchange was extremely mysterious.
It dared to place a bounty on Asuma, the son of the Hokage, and it even dared to place a bounty on the guardian ninja of the Land of Fire.
It could be said that it existed outside the ninja villages and not within the Five Great Nations.
Right now it did not exist yet. Since that was the case, then he would create it himself.
But Arisu would not personally take control of it.
As a sage who rested high above the ninth heaven, Arisu disdained doing things like running underworld forces.
He only created it because he needed intelligence.
"Sage, you..."
Shima looked at the sage in shock. The sage truly had far-sighted vision and showed the demeanor of a master.
The feeling Arisu gave Shima was that everything was under control. He allowed anything to happen, yet his expression never changed, fully showing the bearing of a master.
To the toads, it felt like Arisu was always planning some huge strategy.
Arisu remained expressionless.
Planning a huge strategy?
You could say that.
He simply wanted to gain intelligence faster. There were still more than a thousand years before the main storyline began.
Since there was time now, it was better to arrange everything quickly and prepare.
First, to secretly control the world from behind the scenes. Second, to cultivate and fuse senjutsu and keep getting closer to the strongest power.
Besides that, Arisu also wanted to study things like the Dragon Vein. The Dragon Vein was still useful, but Arisu felt that it was not the right time yet.
Right now the Dragon Vein had not been activated.
Arisu did not want to touch it. Once it was activated, who knew what strange people from different times and spaces might appear in this world.
Arisu did not want to make this era too chaotic.
The era he lived in was too early.
So early that even the smallest change he made could create a huge butterfly effect in later generations.
For example, Sarutobi. If he killed him, the entire Sarutobi clan in later generations might disappear.
If he persuaded Indra to become a monk, the Uchiha clan would directly disappear, and two-thirds of the Naruto storyline would vanish.
"With me backing you up, go and do it boldly."
Arisu waved his hand lightly and disappeared.
Shima nodded slightly and left to carry out the task.
———
Another ten or so years passed. Ashura led the Ninja Sect forward steadily and continued carrying out Hagoromo's conservative plan.
They did not participate in the struggles between human nations and simply guarded their own small territory.
Indra's side was different. By accepting subordinates and having many children, Indra established an organization that worshiped force.
At the same time, Indra actively cooperated with various nations and became a weapon of war.
Indra even controlled a general of a certain country and obtained an endless flow of money and land.
It was probably winter.
Indra and Ashura once again welcomed another destined duel. The collision of the two great forces swept across the frozen wilderness. The roar of chakra shattered the snow flying through the sky.
The two used all their abilities and fought from morning until dusk, using everything they had learned in their lives, until both of them were exhausted. In the end they were evenly matched and neither side won.
When the battle ended, the two looked at each other. Their eyes still held obsession and fighting spirit that had not faded.
They silently turned around in agreement and stepped through the snow together toward Mount Myoboku.
Inside the Sage Hall of Mount Myoboku, warmth filled the room, completely separating it from the freezing world outside.
Arisu sat on the main seat. Black Zetsu stood quietly on the left side, and Fukasaku Sage stood on the right, their expressions calm.
In the hall, Indra and Ashura, who now looked like middle-aged men, knelt on the ground together. Their posture was respectful, their voices firm as they spoke in unison.
"Great Ancestor! Please witness this for us!"
Arisu lowered his eyes and looked at the two of them. After years of time passing, the two had long shed their youthful immaturity. Their brows and eyes were filled with their own sharpness and steadiness.
Arisu already understood their purpose. He slowly spoke. "Oh? What do you want to do?"
"Great Ancestor! We want to set a thousand-year pact!"
Indra and Ashura spoke at the same time. Their voices echoed through the hall, carrying a feeling of absolute determination.
Indra spoke first, his tone full of obsession. "After I die, I ask Great Ancestor to preserve a part of our souls."
"Let the rest of our souls reincarnate and fight again life after life without stopping. The time limit will be exactly one thousand years!"
Ashura immediately added, his expression serious. "During these thousand years, we ask the three sages to witness it for us and record the victory and defeat of every life truthfully."
"When the thousand years end, Great Ancestor will release our souls. The final victory will be decided by the number of wins in reincarnation. The one with more victories will be the true winner!"
Arisu felt a slight movement in his heart when he heard this. 'A thousand-year pact?'
Naturally he had the means to protect part of their souls.
Just like Hagoromo did.
A soul could be preserved for a thousand years.
Arisu did not say much. He slowly nodded in agreement.
"Black Zetsu, bring that stone tablet over."
"Yes!"
Black Zetsu immediately answered and quickly brought over a heavy ancient stone tablet, respectfully placing it in the hall.
Arisu gathered senjutsu chakra at his fingertips and slowly carved two totems onto the stone tablet.
They represented Indra and Ashura.
After finishing the carving, Arisu spoke in a deep voice.
"For every life where one of you wins after reincarnation, I will add a mark under the corresponding totem. After a thousand years, when you return, one look will show who the winner is."
[🎉 Shoutout to Quinton for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
[T/N: I am really sorry for forgetting to post these last 2 days. I have posted them today. Next time, just comment me to post the chapter if I don't post by 00:45. Because I schedule for that exact time everyday. Enjoy~]