[Hamura's Palace In The Depths Of The Moon]
Only a few dim eternal lamps were lit inside the hall. The faint yellow light and shadows swayed in the empty palace, covering everything in a hazy darkness.
A huge cold jade bed lay across the center of the hall. Otsutsuki Hamura was lying on it, barely alive.
Time had long drained the life from his body. His old skin was shriveled like the bark of a dead tree. His once clear eyes had turned cloudy and dim, showing the weakness of someone whose life was almost at its end.
From the background, it seems there were still quite a lot of Otsutsuki on the moon.
Yet the enormous palace was silent and empty. Only he remained, alone, quietly waiting for the final moment of his life.
"Sigh…"
An old and lonely sigh softly spread through the cold air.
Hamura felt the life force inside his body rapidly fading. He clearly knew that he did not have much time left.
A trace of regret flashed through the depths of his cloudy eyes as he muttered softly, "It's a pity I didn't see big brother one more time…"
The one he was thinking about was Otsutsuki Hagoromo, who was far away in the ninja world, his brother connected to him by blood.
At this silent moment, a calm and familiar voice suddenly came from deep in the darkness without warning, breaking the silence of the hall.
"Hamura, it has been nearly a thousand years since we last met, and you have already grown so old…"
This voice was like a key that instantly opened the memories sealed in Hamura's mind for a thousand years.
His cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and extreme disbelief burst out of them.
'That person… how could he still be alive?!'
The darkness inside the hall was suddenly pierced by two strange purple lights. They were a pair of Rinnegan eyes that flowed with deep purple light, especially eye-catching in the dim surroundings.
Right after that, a figure slowly walked out of the shadows.
It was Arisu.
"Hamura, you are very old now."
Arisu stood with his hands behind his back. His posture was still straight as he calmly looked at the aged Hamura lying on the bed.
Hamura opened his mouth, but his throat was so dry that he could not form clear words. His cloudy eyes were filled with shock.
"Immortal… you are actually still here… your eyes…"
He clearly recognized them. Those were Rinnegan eyes, the Rinnegan that belonged to his elder brother Hagoromo.
"Hagoromo has already passed away. His eyes were given to me."
Arisu gently raised his hand and slowly brushed his fingers over his eyes. After decades of being soaked and nourished by sage techniques, these Rinnegan had long washed away Otsutsuki Hagoromo's aura and had completely become eyes that belonged to him.
Hamura suddenly understood and nodded lightly. His breathing grew weaker.
"So that's how it is… I really don't have much time left. All these years, I often wondered whether you or big brother would come to see me. I didn't expect… you actually came."
Hamura had lived for nearly a thousand years. He had already seen through life and death, yet he could not hide his thoughts for old acquaintances.
Seeing Arisu appear now, only emotion remained in his heart. There was no longer any surprise about his long life.
"I came to see you. Have you arranged what happens after your death?"
Arisu slowly walked to the long chair beside the bed and sat down, asking calmly.
Hamura showed a faint and peaceful smile.
"Yes. I have already lived out my remaining years on this land. As for life and death, I stopped caring about it long ago."
Arisu simply nodded slightly after hearing this.
"I understand."
After a moment of silence, Hamura suddenly looked up at Arisu, his tone carrying a trace of earnestness.
"Teacher, can my body be kept by you?"
Arisu was slightly surprised when he heard this, but he soon nodded slowly.
"Alright."
After receiving permission, Hamura let out a deep breath, as if his final wish had been fulfilled.
He slowly closed his cloudy eyes. His chest rose gently once, and then there was no more movement. He completely returned to silence.
Arisu quietly looked at Hamura's lifeless body on the bed. With a casual wave of his hand, a faint light flashed, and Hamura's body was steadily sealed into a scroll.
'As for the branch family and the main family on the moon, I don't think there is any need to interfere for now. When they gather the Tenseigan, I will make my move.'
'They cannot control the Tenseigan. Something like that must be kept in my hands to ensure that it does not cause disaster.', Arisu said quietly to himself in his mind.
———
After Hamura died on the moon, about a few years later, a change that shook the foundation also happened within the Ninja Sect on Earth.
Inside the sleeping hall of the Ninja Sect, the nearly dying Ashura was lying on the bed. His life force had already been completely drained.
"Cough cough… Sarutobi, I… I'm about to die. I will leave the Ninja Sect to you."
Ashura's trembling hand slowly lifted and tightly grabbed the hand of Sarutobi beside him, whose hair had already turned completely white.
"Cough cough cough…"
Ashura breathed heavily. Every word he spoke consumed the last of his life.
"Sigh…"
Sarutobi lowered his head and looked at Ashura, whose life was almost completely gone. A heavy sigh quietly rose in his heart.
He never expected that Ashura, the second son of the Sage of Six Paths and a descendant of a god, would actually have a shorter lifespan than himself, an ordinary person.
"Don't worry, Lord Ashura."
Sarutobi gathered his thoughts and spoke with a serious expression, giving a solemn promise.
"The Ninja Sect now has many people, and the hearts of the people have long become scattered… Maybe, just as my brother said, I am really not suitable to be a manager.", Ashura forced out a bitter smile. His voice was filled with helplessness and self-blame.
Over the years, he governed the Ninja Sect with tolerance and kindness. His actions were hesitant and indecisive, far from the decisive and ruthless nature of his older brother Indra.
Inside the Ninja Sect, countless large and small factions had formed through blood relations. Conflicts continued endlessly, and chaos had slowly appeared.
Everything was barely held together by his identity. Now that he was falling, the Ninja Sect had become even more unstable.
Sarutobi closed his eyes. He clearly knew that every word Ashura said was true, but in front of someone who was about to die, it was still not appropriate for him to say any judgment.
"Sarutobi, I'm sorry. I left you with such a mess."
Ashura's voice became even weaker, filled with apology.
Sarutobi slightly lowered his head, his tone firm.
"This subordinate will definitely do his best to protect the Ninja Sect!"
Ashura looked with some difficulty at the core members of the Ninja Sect standing behind Sarutobi.
Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka…
"Sigh, as long as my conscience is clear."
Ashura finally felt relieved. What the future of the Ninja Sect would be like was no longer something he could control.
"Take care. Just do your best."
Ashura nodded lightly. The last bit of light in his eyes slowly faded away. He completely closed his eyes and passed away peacefully.
———
[A Few Days Later]
After Ashura's coffin was placed in the mourning hall, when no one else was around, Sarutobi stood beside the coffin. The tense expression on his face finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath from the bottom of his heart.
Sarutobi lowered his voice and murmured softly toward the coffin.
"This old man has finally waited for this day."
"The son of a god has finally died. Now, it is time for the son of a mortal like me to climb to the top and take power…"
———
One month later, the Ninja Sect held the ceremony for the new leader's succession.
Sarutobi finally sat on the seat of the Ninja Sect's leader. Wearing the pure white robe exclusive to the Ninja Sect, he slowly walked up the highest altar under the admiration and kneeling worship of countless Ninja Sect disciples.
Looking at the portrait of the ancestor of the Sage of Six Paths, Arisu, hanging in the center of the altar,
"Ancestor, I have also become the leader of the Ninja Sect…", Sarutobi bowed and knelt, and unprecedented pride and emotion surged in his heart.
"This old man has finally waited for this day…"
"From today onward, I am the Third Leader of the Ninja Sect!"
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