Goodbye Hagoromo

Manji prepared to bid the old man farewell, intending to bestow a gift upon him as a token of their fated meeting.

However, Manji froze the moment he arrived at the old man's doorstep.

What is going on? Is he dead?

Manji felt a jolt of shock; his perception could not be wrong, yet the old man was truly gone.

Manji hurried into the house.

He found the child he had seen earlier clutching a cow and weeping, while the old man lay peacefully on the bed, clearly having passed away only moments before.

"Waaah, Immortal, my grandfather is dead... waaah..."

The child sobbed as he spoke.

At a glance, Manji could tell the old man had not been murdered; his lifespan had simply reached its end, and he had died of natural causes without a hint of pain.

In an instant, Manji understood.

The old man had already reached a great age, and the only reason he had held on was likely to see Manji one last time.

Now that his wish had been fulfilled, the old man's heart was at peace, and he had departed. Of course, it was also possible that the excitement of seeing Manji had simply been too much for his frail, elderly body to bear.

"Sigh..." Manji let out a soft sigh and stepped forward to pat the child on the back.

"Little one, where is your father?"

Manji asked in a gentle voice.

"I don't have a father. Grandfather said my father was killed by bandits, and my mother died giving birth to me," the child said through his tears.

Manji fell silent. He looked around the bare, impoverished house and realized the child would likely be unable to survive on his own.

"Your grandfather and I were old acquaintances, so I shall secure a future for you."

Manji looked at the child and spoke softly.

Since he was heading to the Ninja Sect of Hagoromo anyway, he might as well send the boy there to study; it was certainly a good place to be.

Safety and sustenance were guaranteed there.

His future career prospects would also be bright.

(Note: The descendants of the Ninja Sect almost all established ninja clans, becoming the various warlords of the chaotic era that followed.)

With Manji as his sponsor, even if the child lacked talent, Hagoromo would still give him face.

Afterward, Manji buried the old man.

He then took the child and traveled to the Ninja Sect.

This time, Manji did not conceal his aura or chakra, and Hagoromo hurried out to meet him.

Meeting Hagoromo again.

Hagoromo had entered his middle and later years.

He looked quite similar to the elderly Hagoromo seen in the Shippuden era.

Hagoromo stared at Manji in astonishment.

For a brief moment, Hagoromo seemed surprised by why Manji remained unchanged while he himself showed clear signs of aging.

"Teacher, your grace remains as it ever was..."

Hagoromo bowed and sighed with emotion.

Manji nodded slightly and pointed to the child at his side: "This child is the grandson of an old acquaintance. He has no one left to rely on, and I wish to leave him here at the Ninja Sect."

Upon hearing this, Hagoromo nodded quickly.

"Master, you need not be so formal. You are my teacher and the founder of the Ninja Sect; you may leave whoever you wish."

Hagoromo said respectfully.

Hagoromo then looked kindly at the child: "What is your name?"

The child answered truthfully: "My name is Monkey."

Hagoromo frowned slightly at the reply.

It was common for commoners to give their children sloppy names; they lacked education, and there was a belief that "cheap" names were easier to raise. It was already a blessing he hadn't been named something like "Dog Egg."

"Hmm, 'Monkey' doesn't sound very good. How about this? Shall I give you a name?

From now on... you shall be called Sarutobi!"

Hagoromo gently bestowed a name upon the child himself.

"Sarutobi... Sarutobi... that sounds wonderful!"

The child nodded as he spoke.

Standing to the side, Manji felt a flicker of light deep within his eyes upon hearing this familiar surname.

So that was it...

Sarutobi... the ancestor of the Sarutobi clan?

In this era, the concept of surnames did not yet exist.

Even when Hagoromo named his children, he used only Indra or Asura, rather than Otsutsuki Indra or Otsutsuki Asura.

Now, Sarutobi was merely a given name; perhaps in the future, it would evolve into a clan name.

Manji could not help but marvel at the invisible hand of fate.

Fate is truly wondrous, is it not?

Self-indulgent as it was, a mere casual point of his finger had created a great ninja clan, paving the way for the Sarutobi clan that would one day shake Konoha to its core!

Afterward, Hagoromo ordered someone to take Sarutobi to familiarize himself with life in the Ninja Sect.

Inside the room, only Hagoromo and Manji remained.

"Teacher, you remain the same as ever. I have always wondered, just how long can you live?"

Hagoromo could no longer suppress the question he most wanted to ask.

In the past, he had always assumed Manji would not outlive him, believing that Manji would surely depart before him.

But now, he himself was already entering middle and old age.

Knowing that Manji was of the same generation as his mother, Kaguya, the thought of Manji's age was terrifying...

"Why do you ask?"

Manji cast a meaningful glance at Hagoromo.

"Sigh, I feel myself aging, and furthermore, the Ninja Sect is not what I imagined it would be..."

Hagoromo offered a helpless smile.

Over these years, he had felt a sense of powerlessness.

Only now did he realize that saving the world was not so simple.

Because of his mother, Hagoromo was destined never to train the Ninja Sect into a war machine to rule the world through force; he preferred to achieve his goals by enlightening the masses.

"The Ninja Sect has been established for a long time, yet it has achieved nothing. Despite building many branches across the world, there are no successors..."

Hagoromo said with a bitter smile.

Manji glanced indifferently at the people outside, who were singing and dancing around the bonfire, and spoke:

"I see nothing wrong with it; at the very least, it is quite lively..."

Hagoromo: "..."

"Ahem, Teacher, I forgot to tell you, I have sons. Two of them. The elder is named Indra, and the younger is Asura."

Hagoromo said with a smile.

"Is that so? Then congratulations to you. This old man has no gift to offer."

Manji said softly.

"Hehe..."

Hagoromo smiled, though in truth, he had no idea what a "gift" meant in this context.

The two chatted for a long time.

Finally, unable to contain his previous doubts any longer, Hagoromo could not help but ask again.

"Teacher, may I ask your honorable age?"

Hagoromo asked once more.

Manji laughed: "Hagoromo, why do you question my age?"

Hagoromo stood up and bowed.

"Please forgive me, Teacher. There is much I cannot understand. Why is it that despite possessing such immense power, you remain without desire or ambition for this world?"

"Does Teacher truly have no ideals, no aspirations?"

"If Teacher truly has no desires, then why did you contend with Mother for the Chakra Fruit back then?"

"And now, with your lifespan unknown, your disciple is truly curious."

Hagoromo poured out all his doubts in one breath.

He truly could not understand what his teacher was trying to do.

At first, he had hoped his teacher would govern the Ninja Sect alongside him, but he later realized that Manji truly had no interest in worldly affairs whatsoever.

Yet, if he were truly devoid of desire, then how could one explain his teacher's struggle against his mother for the Chakra Fruit back then?

Wasn't the struggle for the fruit meant to obtain power?

And what was the purpose of obtaining that power?

To rule the world? Or simply to possess the strength?

"Sigh..."

Manji sighed slightly in his heart.

Time had passed too quickly.

Too much time had elapsed between then and now.

Manji's personality had also undergone a transformation.

Manji smiled bitterly to himself; could he really tell Hagoromo that he had been young and reckless back then?

First of all, Manji had possessed the typical mindset of a transmigrator back then—bold and daring, bolstered by his practice of Immortal Art and his system.

Young and impetuous, he had dared to challenge Isshiki for the sake of reaching the Six Paths Level.

Thinking back on it now, it was truly terrifying.

At the time, Manji probably hadn't even reached the Super Kage level; if Isshiki had ignored Kaguya and hunted him down instead, Manji would have certainly been finished.

There was no helping it; how old was Manji back then?

He wasn't even thirty.

It was the age of wanting to compete with the heavens themselves.

During that period, for the sake of the Six Paths Level, Manji had dared to seize the Orthodox Circle within the Martial State of his past life.