After Uchiha Katsu left the northern town, he did not rush to travel far.
He repeatedly thought over Arisu's reminders in his mind, and finally chose a place that was rarely visited by people, yet happened to be somewhere that a destined person in later generations could discover, Falling Katsu Cliff.
Because that was where he had left it in his previous life.
It was a steep cliff on the northwestern border. The cliff face was as smooth as if cut by a blade, eroded by cold winds all year round, while the deep valley below was shrouded in clouds and mist.
Legend had it that a giant Katsu had fallen here, hence the name.
Of course, that was only a legend. Uchiha Katsu knew the truth. In fact, it was the Nine-Tails that had fallen down.
However, because there were many differences between this life and his previous one.
Because this time, the Nine-Tails had not fallen inside.
Uchiha Katsu stood at the top of the cliff for a long while before confirming that this was Falling Katsu Cliff.
Over the course of three days, Uchiha Katsu began writing the true essence of Izanagi down bit by bit into a scroll.
The scroll was made of specially crafted chakra paper, with a secret seal applied to its surface that could block ordinary perception.
Only someone who possessed both sufficiently strong mental power and a deep understanding of "falsehood and reality" could undo the outermost barrier.
Put simply, it required the Sharingan to unlock.
Izanagi was simply left for the descendants of the Uchiha.
The swordsmanship, on the other hand, was left for everyone else.
After writing the final stroke, Uchiha Katsu carefully hid the scroll deep inside an almost imperceptible crack in the cliff wall, then completely covered it with fallen rocks and traces of weathering.
"Izanagi... will stay here."
"Waiting for those who come after to learn it..."
Uchiha Katsu muttered softly, his voice scattered by the wind.
Afterward, he drew his long sword and stood before the smooth stone wall.
The flash of the blade flickered in the morning light.
He did not rush to carve the techniques. Instead, he first used the blade to draw countless fine lines across the stone wall, pouring into them everything he had understood about the sword throughout his life, his control over killing intent, and his pursuit of the ultimate one-hit kill.
Swordsmanship was not a rigid set of techniques. It was the unity of heart and sword.
Uchiha Katsu carved stroke after stroke. Gradually, the entire stone wall was carved into a swordsmanship inheritance without words, yet with a soul.
When the final stroke fell, the marks on the stone wall faintly reflected the sunlight, as if they were alive.
Uchiha Katsu sheathed his sword, took several steps back, and quietly looked at everything he had left behind.
"If someone in later generations can understand these..."
Uchiha Katsu said softly, "...then that is fate."
After saying that, Uchiha Katsu turned and left Falling Katsu Cliff without looking back.
The scroll of Izanagi was hidden deep within the crack in the stone, while the swordsmanship was forever carved into the stone wall of Falling Katsu Cliff.
As for himself, he completely disappeared into the dust of history and never appeared again.
———
Time passed.
Hundreds of years passed like a white colt flashing past a crack. From the day Uchiha Katsu completely disappeared into the dust, the flames of war in the shinobi world had never truly gone out.
The reincarnations of Indra and Asura were born one generation after another.
They might be surnamed Uchiha, or Senju, or they might live under other names in some remote small country.
But no matter how their identities changed, the chakra bond originating from ancient times always bound them tightly together.
Sometimes they were brothers who turned against each other. Sometimes lovers who turned against each other. Sometimes friends who turned against each other. Sometimes strangers who became enemies.
Almost every encounter ended with them facing each other with swords and blades.
The battlefield spread from the northern wastelands to the southern rainforests, from coastal fishing villages to inland plateaus.
The clashes between the Sharingan and Wood Release, the intertwining of Fire Release with Water and Earth, and hatred repeatedly cycling through reincarnation became the heaviest theme of these hundreds of years.
Because people gradually forgot the original names, but remembered the opposition between the two clans, the Uchiha and the Senju.
They fought from generation to generation, spilling blood like rivers, yet were never truly able to sever their ties with each other.
Like two shadows destined by fate, they forever chased one another, and could never truly escape.
And above all of this, someone was quietly watching.
Arisu did not interfere.
He merely watched the cycle continue turning, watching the plot slowly move into the distance according to its predetermined direction.
"This time, there isn't a gap period created by the Six Paths Demon Suppression, so there are more reincarnations of Indra and Asura."
Arisu closed his eyes. In his previous life, he had personally created a gap period of nearly eight hundred years, resulting in there being no reincarnations.
Things were different now. Everything was proceeding step by step, naturally resulting in many reincarnations.
Time continued moving forward.
When the blood and fire of countless reincarnations finally settled into a certain morning, history quietly arrived at the era of Uchiha Tajima.
That day, Uchiha Tajima suddenly opened his eyes while sitting in the chair in the clan leader's office.
Uchiha Tajima first stared blankly at his callused hands, then lowered his head and looked at the familiar Uchiha clan uniform on his body. The next moment, his entire body froze in place as if struck by lightning.
"I... Where is this?"
Uchiha Tajima subconsciously pinched his own face. The pain was clear.
The next second, a huge amount of memories that did not belong to him surged into his mind like a tide, the layout of the clan grounds, the names of the clan members, recent battles, and two young sons.
Uchiha Madara, five years old.
Uchiha Izuna, four years old.
Uchiha Tajima instantly sprang up from his chair, his voice trembling from extreme shock:
"Fuck... I've transmigrated?! And transmigrated into the Naruto world?! And I'm Madara's father?!"
"Rising suddenly from my deathbed, Madara's father turns out to be me?!"
Uchiha Tajima paced around the clan leader's office several times, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes unable to believe it as he slapped his forehead.
"Tajima barely had any scenes in the original work, and he was born in an era of turmoil... Doesn't that mean I've got a cheat?! The Sharingan, clan authority, and two cheat-level sons... Oh my god."
After his surprise, Uchiha Tajima quickly calmed down.
As a transmigrator, he knew exactly what he needed to do most.
"I can't just sit around and wait for death. In the original work, the Uchiha and Senju fought until both sides were severely weakened before barely reconciling... How stupid. I need to end the war early and establish Konoha early."
"This time, Senju Hashirama and that cheap son of mine, you two aren't the protagonists anymore. Just obediently be my accessories. Establish Konoha? You two can't handle it. It's better to let me, your father, take charge!"
Uchiha Tajima's gaze gradually became sharp.
Influenced by conspiracy theories, he remembered that Konoha in the original work was quite dark, while this time, he was going to turn Konoha into a beacon.
From that day onward, Uchiha Tajima changed.
Uchiha Tajima began carrying out large-scale reforms within the clan: reorganizing military preparations, optimizing chakra training methods, reducing meaningless border conflicts, promoting truly capable young people, and even secretly sending people to contact some neutral minor clans to test the possibility of forming alliances.
Uchiha Tajima was no longer like before, knowing only how to respond to the Senju with blood and hatred. Instead, he began carefully accumulating strength while establishing absolute prestige within the clan.
These actions were not small in scale, and soon stirred up ripples in secret.
And all of this was seen by someone.
Arisu stood quietly at a high place, gazing from afar in the direction of the Uchiha clan grounds, his eyes calm and emotionless.
"This..."
Arisu silently watched this "Uchiha Tajima," who had suddenly been taken over by a transmigrator, push his plan forward step by step.