"You don't understand people's hearts."
This sentence fell like a pebble into a calm lake, sending ripples through Otsutsuki Hagoromo's heart.
He stood beneath the great banyan tree, his gaze passing over the busy little mountain village before him and looking toward somewhere farther away.
Toward the things he had watched for a thousand years, yet perhaps had never truly seen clearly.
For a thousand years, his chakra had wandered the Shinobi World, witnessing the rise and fall of countless nations and ninja clans, witnessing the rise and fall of countless heroes, witnessing countless cycles of war and peace.
He had seen people's laughter and tears, seen their love and hatred, seen their hope and despair.
He had thought he understood it all.
But now, the boy standing before him had shaken him with one simple sentence.
Especially when he thought of his two sons.
Indra and Asura.
This was the burden Hagoromo had been unable to let go of for a thousand years.
Back then, he had chosen to let his younger son, Asura, inherit the Ninjutsu Sect because Asura was better at understanding others, better at cooperating with others, able to unite people and lead the Ninjutsu Sect toward a better future.
As for his eldest son, Indra, although he had inherited the Sage's Eye from birth and possessed unmatched power, his nature was too aloof, too reliant on his own strength. He did not believe in others, nor was he willing to understand them.
So in Hagoromo's plan, he had wanted Indra to assist Asura in bringing the Ninjutsu Sect to greater heights.
He had believed that this choice was the best arrangement for the Ninjutsu Sect.
But he had never expected that this decision would ultimately stir Indra's resentment, ignite the jealousy and hatred in his