"Speaking of which, it's about time to go see the nine tailed beasts…"
Arisu raised his hand and gathered up his long hair that hung down, tying it all into a neat ponytail. The clean style made his immortal-like figure look even more upright and refined.
His plain green robe was cut to fit perfectly, and the fresh scent of plants from the immortal mountain still clung faintly to the edges of his sleeves.
All these years, he had still cared deeply about the nine great tailed beasts he had raised.
Now the ninja world had already fallen into chaos. The Ninja Sect had collapsed and scattered.
In this turbulent mortal world, ninja clans from every side circled like hungry wolves, each one staring at the world-destroying power of the tailed beasts.
They wanted to tame the tailed beasts.
In the past, he had watched coldly from the sidelines and never interfered in mortal affairs. Ordinary people were too weak. Even if they coveted the tailed beasts, they could never cause any real harm.
But times were no longer the same.
After the Ninja Sect disintegrated, the ninja clans inherited Hagoromo's legacy. Their strength was no longer what it once had been, and they were now capable of posing a deadly threat to the tailed beasts.
He was the teacher of the nine tailed beasts. By reason and by feeling, he should protect these disciples of his.
Arisu swung the Flame Fan behind his back. The patterns faintly visible across its surface glimmered under the soft light of the immortal mountain.
With a light tap of his foot on the bluestone steps, he leapt out of Mount Myoboku and teleported straight to the mortal world.
He finally stopped at the same crossroads where he had once taken in Sarutobi.
But the village that once had curling cooking smoke and the sounds of chickens and dogs had long turned into a silent wasteland.
Broken walls and ruined houses lay buried under wild grass. The scorched black earth could not grow even a blade of grass.
Only a few withered trees stood crookedly, their thin branches holding several black-feathered crows that cried hoarsely, adding even more desolation to the scene.
"So the village was wiped out…", Arisu's expression shifted slightly.
From the layers of dust and rot gathered on the broken walls, it was clear that the destruction of this village had happened decades ago.
Arisu looked at the devastation before him and let out a heavy sigh. In a low voice he murmured, "Sigh. It truly saddens the places where Indra and Ashura once passed. Ten thousand houses have all turned to dust."
"When they rise, the common people suffer. When they fall, the common people suffer."
When the Ninja Sect flourished, its rules restrained everyone and spread teachings across the land, though its care for the people was limited.
Now the Ninja Sect had been destroyed. In this chaotic age there was no master. Ninja clans fought each other endlessly, and the common people were still displaced and homeless.
No matter what happened, they could never escape suffering.
Arisu thought quietly to himself.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo possessed power that reached the heavens and the earth, yet he had only become a religious leader who spread teachings.
If he had been a political leader who guided the world, a revolutionary who swept away chaos, or a ruler who protected the people, then with his supreme power he surely could have built a peaceful and prosperous era.
Perhaps the endless conflicts of the ninja world in later generations would never have appeared. It would have been far better than the devastation seen today.
If that had really happened, the story of Naruto would not exist in the future...
After his sigh of reflection, Arisu turned and headed toward the ruins of the Ninja Sect.
The once grand and magnificent buildings of the sect were long gone. Only scattered, broken foundations remained, buried deep in waist-high wild grass.
Only the overgrown weeds still silently proved that this place had once known glory and noise.
"How fast time passes. In the blink of an eye, the seas have turned into fields."
Arisu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping across the broken walls and wild grass. His voice was as light as the wind.
Everything from the past had already become empty.
Arisu chuckled softly. Back when the Ninja Sect was thriving, he might not visit even once in a hundred years. Now that the Ninja Sect was gone, why was he standing here sighing?
Arisu gently pinched his fingers together. Immortal energy rippled around him, and his appearance slowly began to change. In the end, he fixed his age at around sixty or seventy.
His hair and beard turned white like frost. His brows and features became open and relaxed. His green robe gave him the air of a sage, completely the image of a hidden elder.
The old man still carried the Flame Fan on his back as he walked calmly along the ancient road.
"Which tailed beast should I go see first?"
The closest one to the ruins of the Ninja Sect should be the Nine-Tails.
———
The ancient forest was thick and lush, its canopy blocking out the sky and sun. Massive trees twisted together, supporting heavy crowns of leaves.
The trees of this era were truly thick and powerful.
"ROAR!!!!!!"
Violent crimson chakra surged like a tidal wave.
Nine enormous fox tails swept across the forest. Ancient trees as thick as two people hugging them snapped instantly, and shattered stones and wood fragments flew everywhere.
"You humans! You actually dare to capture me!?", The Nine-Tails, Kurama, roared in fury.
Caught in raging anger, its scarlet beast eyes glared at the ninjas surrounding it, and a thunderous roar rolled from its throat, shaking the mountains and forest.
The hunters were elites of the Uchiha clan. Dozens of ninjas spread out in a fan-shaped formation, and the fan crest on their robes flapped violently under the surging chakra.
The man leading them stood at the very front of the formation with his hands behind his back.
His posture was straight like a pine tree, and his face was sharp and cold. He was the current head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Izumichi.
He was now recognized as the number one genius of the Uchiha. The moment his eyes snapped open, three tomoe spun rapidly in the scarlet pupils.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the end, they transformed into the complex and fierce Mangekyo Sharingan. The eerie glow of those eyes locked onto the Nine-Tails, and invisible eye power spread out instantly, firmly suppressing the Nine-Tails' violent chakra.
"Hand signs! Fire Style: Great Fire Extinction!"
"Sealing barrier technique, rise!"
"Sharingan, synchronize genjutsu interference!"
The Uchiha clan members moved as if they were a single person. Their hands formed signs in rapid succession, and towering flames burst from their palms, turning into fire dragons that coiled toward the Nine-Tails.
The rest of the clan activated their Sharingan. Countless threads of illusion wrapped around the Nine-Tails' mind, trying to disrupt its consciousness.
"Damn it! Descendants of Indra, you damned things!"
The Nine-Tails howled endlessly. Its nine massive tails slammed wildly against the ground while a Tailed Beast Bomb gathered inside its mouth, crimson destructive energy about to erupt.
The Mangekyo in Uchiha Izumichi's eyes spun even faster. He leapt into the air, pushing his eye power to its limit.
"Freeze!"
A powerful surge of mental force suddenly locked the Nine-Tails' movement. The gathering of the Tailed Beast Bomb instantly slowed.
However, Uchiha Izumichi suddenly shut his eyes.
He dropped straight down from the air.
"Damn it, these eyes hurt so much! Could the rumors be true? If the Mangekyo Sharingan is used too much, will it really lead to blindness?"
Uchiha Izumichi clenched his teeth and knelt on the ground.
His mind was in chaos. If that was really the case, how could he fight Senju Shuichi?
He could only capture the Nine-Tails to increase his combat power.
Just then, a figure in green clothing silently appeared among the trees.
The old man had white hair and beard like frost, with the bearing of an immortal sage. His green robe was spotless.
A Flame Fan rested on his back as he quietly stood beside a dead tree at the edge of the battlefield.
There was no chakra fluctuation at all. Not a single footstep sound.
It was as if he had always been rooted there. Even though the surrounding chakra storm raged violently, it did not disturb him in the slightest.
It was Arisu, who had come from Mount Myoboku.
"Quick! Protect the clan leader!"
"Don't let that beast fire it out!"
The Uchiha clan members threw chains toward the Nine-Tails, trying to restrain it.
"Nine-Tails! Accept the rule of the Sharingan! Submit to me!"
Uchiha Izumichi activated his eye technique, attempting to forcibly control the Nine-Tails.
At that very moment, Arisu lightly appeared in the center of the battlefield.
"Who are you?", Uchiha Izumichi froze for a moment.
But the Uchiha clan members could not hold back at all. They immediately began cursing, "Old man, are you trying to die?"
[🎉 Shoutout to Yago for joining p@treon. Muuuuda! Muuda! Muuda! Muda! Thank you very much.🤗]