Things That Happened a Thousand Years Ago

Night.

In the Hexagonal Hall with its imposing eaves extending outwards, a tall willow tree hangs down with thousands of strands. When the night breeze blows, the willow branches sway gently, stirring the smoke from the incense sticks rising from the incense burner into a thin mist.

This place was originally an abandoned Buddhist temple on the border of the Land of Fire. After being simply repaired by Tobirama and his men, it was temporarily used as the Dwelling of the monk who was "found".

Although it wasn't a prison, the surrounding Barriers and the rotating Ninjas didn't grant people much freedom to leave.

However, the people living here don't seem to care about those restrictions.

Jigen sat on the veranda, an oil lamp placed on the wooden floor beside her, and a string of prayer beads in her hand.

He was dressed in white, his hair was completely sparse, and his face had more color in it than when he was first brought back, indicating that he had been having a comfortable time these past few days.

Seeing three figures emerge from under the willow tree, he put his prayer beads back on his wrist, clasped his hands together, and bowed.

"What brings you three benefactors here so late at night?"

"Just came to see you." Hashirama stepped onto the porch steps and sat down naturally by the porch. "Are you settling in alright? Is the blanket thick enough?"

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Hokage. Everything is fine." Jigen bowed slightly, his tone calm and pleasant.

Ban leaned against the willow trunk, arms crossed, and looked Jigen up and down before letting out a cold snort.

Tobirama stood on the other side, holding a small Sealing Scrolls in his hand. He did not sit down, his Red Eyes fixed on Jigen's face.

Jigen seemed completely unconcerned; the attitudes of these two menacing figures were naturally quite calm.

Hashirama looked around and saw that one of them was standing there like a door god, and the other was watching over him like a supervisor.

The monk in front of him remained calm and composed, showing no intention of speaking, so he had to ask the question first.

"It's like this, Master Jigen. We've come to ask about some things concerning the Isshiki. If it's convenient for you..."

Jigen paused for a moment as he plucked the prayer beads, then continued, "Please speak, Lord Hokage."

"Then I'll just ask directly. Why is Isshiki targeting Izuna? What is his relationship with Black Zetsu? And..."

"You said that Izuna's Light Blade severed your connection with Isshiki, allowing you to regain control of your body. Will Isshiki make a comeback?"

Instead of answering these questions, Jigen clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

Before answering, please allow this old monk to express his gratitude to the three benefactors. Thank you, Lord Hokage, for your care over the past few days. Your food, clothing, lodging, and transportation have all been arranged so well and thoughtfully.

"I also thank Lord Tobirama for covering for this old monk, saving me a lot of unnecessary trouble."

He looked at Madara and bowed deeply. "I must also thank Benefactor Izuna. If it weren't for his intervention in banishing that evil spirit, this old monk would probably never have regained his freedom. I have no way to repay such a great kindness."

Ban snorted coldly, which could be considered as accepting the thank you.

Hashirama: "But even so, we cannot let you leave here, sir. We are truly sorry."

Jigen waved his hand with a smile, "This old monk also knows that he is not a free man."

"Isshiki you did those things with my face on your person, the Ninjas outside don't recognize me, they only recognize this face. If I were to suddenly appear in front of them, not only would I be in danger, but I would also bring trouble to you all. So please rest assured, I will not step out of this courtyard."

Being Underground Passage so earnestly Hashirama feel a little embarrassed. "It would be great if you could cooperate. Now, please answer our questions."

Jigen nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"Alright then," his voice was calm and slow, though it was a young man's voice, his manner of speaking was like that of an old man, "This old monk will begin the story from the beginning."

He sat up Hashirama by the corridor.

Tobirama leaned silently against the wooden pillar of the Hexagonal Hall, his Red Eyes fixed on Jigen.

Madara remained leaning against the willow trunk, arms crossed, motionless, but his Sharingan had somehow been activated.

Jigen's gaze fell on the flickering flame of the oil lamp, as if he could see a very distant place through that single point of light.

"A thousand years ago, the old monk was just an ordinary monk."

As he spoke, a slight smile played on his lips, and a sense of nostalgia, diluted by time to the point of being almost transparent, flowed slowly from his narration.

At that time, he practiced Buddhism in a small temple whose name has now been lost to history. Every day, he chanted sutras and recited Buddhist scriptures, ate vegetarian food and begged for alms, told villagers who came to offer incense a story of Karma, and recited a prayer scripture for seriously ill elderly people.

Life was hard, but I felt at peace.

He thought his life would pass by like this, with the morning bells and evening drums, spring turning to autumn, until he finally passed away peacefully in his meditation room on a quiet night, leaving no trace.

But one day, that thing came looking for me.

That evening, on his way back from begging for alms, he saw a man lying on the ground on the mountain path.

Dressed in white with white hair, his face as pale as paper, he lay motionless among the rubble.

Out of compassion, a monk stepped forward and checked the man's breath. He was still breathing, but as faintly as an incense stick about to burn out.

Just then, the man suddenly opened his eyes.

The grayish-white eyes stared at him, making him feel uneasy, but he still wanted to help him up. Whether it was to help with treatment or to give him a proper burial, he hoped the other person would have a good ending.

But then those eyes suddenly loomed close to him, so close that he could smell their breath, which carried a rotten, sweet scent.

Then the person transformed into a streak of black light and entered his ear.

"From that moment on, the old monk was no longer his own master."

It was like Isshiki hermit crab burrowing into a snail shell, parasitizing his ear.

At first, it just lay dormant, occasionally letting out a cold laugh while he was chanting scriptures, and occasionally causing his hands and feet to twitch uncontrollably while he was sleeping.

Jigen could also soothe the worshippers in the temple, complete her morning and evening prayers on time, and silently recite "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows" to the Buddha statue when she was alone late at night.

He thought his will was strong enough, and that the power of Buddhadharma was sufficient to ward off any evil spirits.

He was wrong.

"It is unknown how much time passed, but the old monk's body was also taken away."

He lived longer and longer, ten, twenty, thirty, forty years, yet his appearance remained as young as ever.

The young man was so young that even a normal person would notice something was wrong, and he had to move frequently.

He didn't feel any bitterness; at the time, he simply considered it a gift from heaven and lived a peaceful life.

Then, countless years passed.

It was an ordinary afternoon, just like the one in which he was parasitized.

He was adding oil to the lamp in front of the Buddha when his right hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Then he heard his mouth make a sound, but it wasn't what he wanted to say, and the tone of his voice wasn't his own.

The voice was talking to itself, its tone carrying a condescending indifference, as if it were surveying an empty house that was about to be requisitioned.

This body is barely usable.

"The old monk became an insignificant part of his Mental Power." Jigen's fingers unconsciously twirled the prayer beads, as if counting the years she had been trapped. "Normally, I could only watch helplessly as he used the old monk's body, the old monk's tone, and the old monk's face to speak and act."

Hashirama's brow furrowed.

Tobirama and Madara couldn't help but feel a chill. If this parasitism was real, then the old monk before them truly needed to be treated well, just as the person who spoke through Izuna had said.

Jigen closed his eyes.

"However, it was precisely because of this that the old monk was able to understand his scheme."

Isshiki did not shy away from discussing her plans in front of him.

Perhaps in his view, the monk's consciousness, compressed into a thin sheet of paper, was not worth guarding against at all; perhaps he just needed a listener, even if it was a forced, silent listener who couldn't even shake his head.

"He is a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan." Jigen slowly opened his eyes. "They come from beyond the heavens. Not from any country on this planet, not from any continent, but from a place beyond the starry sky above."

The Ōtsutsuki Clan possesses a tremendous power that can traverse the stars, and a matching greed.

They travel through the universe, searching for habitable planets, and then sow seeds on those planets.

It is not a seed that sows plants, but God Tree.

After the God Tree takes root, it will draw on the life force of the planet, transforming all the energy contained in the earth, ocean, and atmosphere into a single fruit.

That fruit embodies the essence of the entire planet; if the Ōtsutsuki Clan eats it, they can gain power equivalent to that of a god.

"According to their rules, they usually act in pairs," Jigen said. "Isshiki is the 'Craftsman' in charge of supervising the planting, and his partner is his guardian. According to the clan's rules, the guardian must sacrifice everything in times of crisis, being devoured by the God Tree Roots and transformed into nourishment for the fruit. To dedicate oneself to the Ōtsutsuki Clan is considered the highest honor."

Tobirama couldn't help but say with disgust, "How primitive."

Jigen's gaze fell on him for only a brief moment before she continued speaking.

"But Isshiki's partner didn't want this honor. He guessed that his partner had probably sensed something."

"Perhaps it was the hypocrisy behind this so-called glory, or perhaps it was resentment at his impending fate of becoming nourishment. In any case, just before he was about to be devoured by the God Tree, she made her move. Not against the God Tree, but against Isshiki."

Hashirama took a deep breath. "She severely injured Isshiki?"

"It's more serious than a serious injury." Jigen lowered his voice, "At Isshiki time, Yishi only had half a body left. His physical body was destroyed, his soul dissipated, and only a wisp of consciousness remained, barely clinging to life in his dying shell."

He used his last bit of strength to parasitize the old monk, and remained dormant within the monk's body for a thousand years. During these thousand years, he tried every moment to regain his strength, but having lost his original body, the speed of recovery was as slow as a snail's crawl.

"It wasn't until recent decades that he barely managed to accumulate the energy that had started that war."

Hashirama opened his mouth, as if to ask something, but swallowed the words back.

He wanted to ask, "Why aren't you dead?"

How could an ordinary monk's body live for a thousand years? But before he could finish speaking, he already knew the answer: Isshiki would not allow his vessel to die of old age; he must have some means to force this body to continue functioning.

After realizing this, he suddenly didn't want to hear the specific details anymore.

Tobirama asked the question for him, "What about Black Zetsu? What is the relationship between Black Zetsu and Isshiki?"

Jigen said, "Black Zetsu is the embodiment of that person's consciousness."

"That one?" Tobirama frowned.

"The Isshiki who ambushed Isshiki," Jigen said, "Is his partner, who you now call the Rabbit Goddess, Otsutsuki Kaguya."