Arisu lowered his eyes countless times, his gaze sweeping faintly over Uchiha Izumichi and Senju Shuichi, who were kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed and their bodies trembling.
Then his eyes fell back on the Two-Tails, Matatabi, who was rubbing pitifully against his sleeve beside him.
From the beginning, he had never intended to take these two men's lives.
They were the first reincarnations after Indra and Asura descended into the world. The destined struggle between them had not truly begun yet. If he were to kill them now, this battle would instead end in a dull draw.
However, Matatabi had been injured.
As her teacher, it was only natural for him to stand up for his disciple.
"Heh heh heh. Considering that the Senju and Uchiha clans have both offered worship to this Immortal for generations, I can overlook today's offense."
Uchiha Izumichi and Senju Shuichi both shuddered. Joy flooded their pale faces in an instant, as if they almost thought they had misheard.
But the next moment, Arisu's tone suddenly changed, "However, you injured my student to this extent earlier. You should at least give an explanation for that, shouldn't you?"
Arisu's gaze fell on the marks left on Matatabi's body. The wounds had already healed, but they still left him displeased. His tone turned slightly heavier.
The joy on the two men's faces instantly froze. Their expressions stiffened, and they immediately understood the deeper meaning behind his words.
They could escape death, but punishment while alive was unavoidable. This hurdle had to be faced.
Senju Shuichi was open-minded. He immediately bowed deeply again, his voice extremely sincere.
"Lord Tailed Beast, I, Senju Shuichi, in the name of the Senju clan's patriarch, solemnly apologize to you!"
"If the anger in your heart cannot be calmed, you may beat or punish me however you wish. I will not utter a single word of complaint!"
Uchiha Izumichi frowned tightly, his face troubled. But at this point, this was already the best possible outcome.
There was no longer any arrogance left in him. He cupped his hands and bowed slightly, his tone stiff.
"Lord Tailed Beast, I, Uchiha Izumichi, was wrong. Please punish me."
Matatabi lifted her eyes and quietly blinked her cat eyes at Arisu.
Her gaze was full of playfulness and pride, and she muttered happily in her heart, 'As expected, Teacher understands me best!'
She had followed Arisu for many years and had long since stopped liking killing and violence. She had never wanted to take anyone's life.
She was even less willing to reveal a fierce side in front of her teacher. Besides, she knew the two men were reincarnations of Indra and Asura, so she simply chose to be generous and not bother arguing with them.
Matatabi shook her smooth fur and stepped forward with graceful catlike steps. Her huge purple tailed-beast claw slowly lifted. Her voice sounded soft and childish, yet carried a hint of slyness.
"Alright then! Since that's the case, I'll give you a little back stomp to loosen up your muscles!"
The enormous cat paw, wrapped in tailed-beast chakra, instantly covered Uchiha Izumichi and Senju Shuichi. Their pupils shrank sharply.
'Holy... If that claw stepped down, wouldn't we end up bruised all over!?'
The two instinctively tried to pull back and dodge, but an invisible force suddenly surged around them, locking them firmly in place. They were nailed to the ground and unable to move even a fraction.
Arisu stood in the air, his robes fluttering lightly, his expression calm.
"Ah!! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!"
"Hiss... please be gentler, Lord Tailed Beast!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy, muffled sounds rang out one after another. Miserable screams tore through the forest as Matatabi's cat paws landed on them again and again.
It looked like playful stomping, but it left their bodies aching everywhere, so sore they could barely stand.
After a while, Matatabi withdrew her claws and hopped back to Arisu's side, looking completely satisfied.
Afterward, the two of them swore an oath together.
"I, the Senju clan (and the Uchiha clan), swear here that in this life we will never attack any tailed beast. If we break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy us!"
The sun was setting, and golden-red afterglow filled the forest path, stretching two battered figures into long shadows.
Senju Shuichi supported Uchiha Izumichi, who was also limping badly. Both of their faces looked utterly miserable.
"Uchiha Izumichi! And you said you weren't scheming against me! You clearly said we were going to find some reclusive old man to settle accounts with, but you didn't mention a single word that this old man was actually the Sage of Six Paths!", Senju Shuichi couldn't help complaining.
"How was I supposed to know that the reclusive old man who never showed himself was actually the legendary Sage of Six Paths?", Uchiha Izumichi rubbed his aching back. His face looked just as awful as he replied helplessly.
"Izumichi, let's call a truce for another half year. Injured bones take a hundred days to recover. Look at the state we're in now. How could we possibly fight a war?"
Senju Shuichi shook his head with a bitter smile, his tone full of resignation.
This time, Uchiha Izumichi did not argue fiercely like usual. He only snorted coldly, "Forget it, forget it. My bones are practically falling apart. Hurry up and go!"
Uchiha Izumichi said, "I shouldn't have believed you and come here with you, Izumichi. You clearly set me up! The oath you made before we left... does it still count?"
Senju Shuichi raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously.
Before coming here, in order to make him feel safe about going together, Uchiha Izumichi had sworn with great confidence that if he deliberately schemed against him, then the Uchiha clan in the future would surely slaughter one another and head toward destruction.
Uchiha Izumichi's face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He really had said that...
"Heh heh. This time doesn't count. Besides, how could our Uchiha clan possibly kill each other?"
Uchiha Izumichi said through gritted teeth.
It was obvious he was trying to wriggle out of it.
"Alright, alright. You really are something else. There's nothing I can do with you!", Senju Shuichi shook his head helplessly.
"Stop talking, Shuichi. Let's go!"
The two figures supported each other as they stumbled forward, walking farther and farther away under the glow of the sunset, until they finally disappeared deep into the forest.
Arisu stood in the air, quietly watching their departing backs. A trace of complicated emotion flashed through his eyes.
He raised a hand and brushed his sleeve lightly. The immortal light slowly faded as he murmured softly to himself.
"In this world, have I already become a distant legend and myth? I didn't expect those two boys to react as if they had seen ghosts and gods when they saw me…"
He still remembered that in the late period of the Ninja Sect, everyone firmly believed in the existence of the Sage of Six Paths. Even if he appeared in person, people only felt it was natural.
But now, after only a few generations had passed, he had already been categorized by the world as a vague myth.
So when Izumichi and Shuichi saw him and looked as if they had seen a ghost, even he, the real person himself, could only feel both amused and helpless.
In the original story, the Sage of Six Paths didn't even leave behind a portrait. At least he had left one.
It was hard to imagine that a thousand years later, when the time of Naruto arrived, whether his existence itself might even be questioned by the world...
"Sigh..."
Arisu withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes toward the Two-Tails, Matatabi, beside him. He raised a hand and gently rubbed her.
"Alright, Matatabi. It's fine now. Go get some rest. You really suffered today. Those two just now have special identities. They are the reincarnations of Asura and Indra.", Arisu said warmly.
"Mhm."
Matatabi raised her cat face and affectionately rubbed against Arisu's palm.
Her eyes were full of obedience and understanding as she softly replied, "Teacher, I'm completely fine. I would never ruin your greater plan just because of my own pride or humiliation. Besides, my life wasn't in danger."
Arisu replied gently, "Good."