Bloodline Regression

The image on the water's surface vanished.

"Old man, look, my body is still over there, so where exactly is this place? Why am I here? Am I dead or not? And why have you appeared here?"

Uchiha Cheng seized the opportunity to fire off a series of questions.

Sage of Six Paths said, "This is your mental world. As for yourself, strictly speaking, you are on the boundary between life and death. Although your physical body is nearing death, your powerful bloodline has preserved a sliver of vitality for you."

A powerful bloodline? Uchiha Cheng took note of a specific term.

"A powerful bloodline? Stop joking. You are the Sage of Six Paths; you should be well aware that I come from a branch family with only one-tomoe potential, and my mother was an outsider. Where could I possibly have a powerful bloodline? You must have made a mistake."

He gave a mocking laugh, filled with dissatisfaction and derision toward the Uchiha Clan.

"A parent's talent does not necessarily represent the talent of their child. It is just like my children, Indra and Asura. With the same parents, the elder brother Indra had outstanding talent, but the younger brother Asura's talent was less than satisfactory."

"The Uchiha Clan you were born into is precisely the descendant of Indra, while the Senju Clan is the descendant of Asura. They are my blood descendants. That child, Indra, had exceptional talent. I had hoped he would use his power to help others, but I did not expect him to be dissatisfied with my decision and become obsessed with power. The situation of the Uchiha Clan must surely be related to that child, Indra."

Speaking of this, the Sage of Six Paths remained expressionless, yet he paused slightly.

"Your father was a member of the Uchiha Clan and possessed the bloodline of Indra. Your mother was a descendant of Asura and possessed the bloodline of Asura."

His mother possessed the bloodline of Asura? Uchiha Cheng was stunned. He had never heard his mother mention this; he only knew she was an outsider. Even her name—Uchiha Mika—had been changed to the Uchiha surname after marrying into the clan. As for her original surname, even he did not know it.

The Sage of Six Paths continued, "Although the two bloodlines were weak, their combination triggered a miraculous mutation. A one-in-a-billion miracle created the you of today."

"What does that mean?"

"Simply put, your bloodline has undergone an atavistic phenomenon."

Atavism? If the combination of Asura and Indra resulted in atavism, who else could it revert to? Only the Sage of Six Paths standing before him.

"In other words, my bloodline has reverted to you, my ancestor?" Uchiha Cheng felt a surge of anticipation.

"That is correct," the Sage of Six Paths said cheerfully. "Just as there are occasionally humans born with tails, although the chance is infinitesimal, the possibility always exists; it simply requires an incredibly long time. I had originally thought this process would take at least hundreds of millions of years, but I did not expect you to be born so soon. Although your parents' bloodlines were thin, your own bloodline is unexpectedly powerful. The atavism has even surpassed my two biological children and is already very close to my own. It takes a one-in-a-billion chance to produce a freak like you."

"If things had gone smoothly, you should have been born with ocular powers like the Rinnegan, just like me. However, it is a pity that your body is too weak to bear the awakening of such a powerful bloodline. For some time now, your body must have been suffering from some strange symptoms."

"Could it be that the bloodline is to blame for everything?" Uchiha Cheng asked.

"Indeed. The awakening of the bloodline has caused your eyes to undergo a transformation, and the prototype of the Rinnegan has already appeared within you. It is just that the energy required to condense the Rinnegan is too vast. Unless one possesses the strength of a powerful ninja, the host will simply have their life force and all their energy drained away, eventually leading to death." The Sage of Six Paths explained the cause of the mysterious illness.