Meeting Hagoromo Again

Manji was preparing to leave the village.

So he decided to say goodbye to the old man and, while he was at it, give him something as a parting gift—a token of their connection.

But when Manji arrived at the old man's house, he froze.

"What happened? Is he dead?"

Manji's heart lurched. His senses couldn't be wrong. The old man was dead?

Manji hurried inside.

He saw the child from earlier hugging the cow and weeping, while the old man lay peacefully on the bed. He had clearly died only recently.

"Waaah, Immortal, my grandpa's dead... Waaah..."

The child sobbed.

Manji could tell at a glance that the old man hadn't been killed. His life had simply run its course, and he'd died peacefully, without suffering.

In that instant, Manji understood.

The old man had lived to a ripe old age. The reason he'd held on for so long was probably that he'd been waiting for one last chance to see Manji.

Now that his wish had come true, he could finally rest.

Of course, it was also possible that seeing Manji had excited him so much that, being so old, he'd simply dropped dead afterward.

"Ah..." Manji sighed softly and stepped forward to pat the child on the back.

"Kid, where's your father?"

Manji asked gently.

"I don't have a father. Grandpa said bandits killed him, and my mother died giving birth to me."

The child cried.

Manji fell silent. He glanced around the bare house and understood that the child probably couldn't fend for himself.

"Your grandfather and I were old friends. I'll find you a way to make a living."

Manji said softly as he looked at the child.

Since he was on his way to Hagoromo's Ninja Sect anyway, he might as well take the child there to study. It was a fine place to end up.

Safety and food were guaranteed there.

And his future prospects would be bright.

(That is, nearly all the descendants of the Ninja Sect went on to establish ninja clans and become major powers in the turbulent age that followed.)

With Manji recommending him, even if the child had no talent at all, Hagoromo would do Manji a favor.

Afterward, Manji buried the old man.

Then he brought the child to the Ninja Sect.

This time, Manji didn't conceal his presence or his Chakra. Hagoromo hurried out to greet him.

Meeting Hagoromo Again.

Hagoromo had entered middle age.

He looked much like the elderly Hagoromo in Naruto Shippuden.

Hagoromo stared at Manji in astonishment.

For just a moment,

Hagoromo seemed surprised that Manji still looked exactly the same, while he himself had clearly begun to show his age.

"Teacher, you look as impressive as ever..."

Hagoromo bowed and said with a sigh.

Manji nodded slightly and gestured to the child beside him. "This child is the grandson of an old friend of mine. He has no one to rely on now, so I'd like him to stay with the Ninja Sect."

At that, Hagoromo nodded at once.

"Master, there's no need to be so polite. You're my teacher and the Grandmaster of the Ninja Sect. You can leave anyone you like here."

Hagoromo said respectfully.

Then he turned to the child with a warm smile. "What's your name?"

The child answered honestly. "My name is Monkey."

Hagoromo frowned slightly.

It was normal for ordinary people to give their children such haphazard names. Most common folk weren't educated, and a humble name was thought to bring good luck. As long as they hadn't named him something like Dog Egg, he'd already drawn a lucky lot.

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

"From now on... you'll be called Sarutobi!"

Hagoromo kindly chose a name for the child himself.

"Sarutobi... Sarutobi... I like it! It sounds great!"

The child nodded.

Manji heard the familiar name and a glint flashed deep in his eyes.

So that was it...

Sarutobi... the ancestor of the Sarutobi Clan?

In this world, surnames didn't exist yet.

Even when Hagoromo named his children, he called them Indra and Asura, not Otsutsuki Indra or Otsutsuki Asura.

Sarutobi was a given name now. Perhaps, in time, it would become a clan name.

Manji couldn't help marveling at fate's unseen hand.

Fate was truly mysterious, wasn't it?

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With a casual nudge, with just a little guidance, he'd created a great ninja clan—the Sarutobi Clan, which would become famous throughout Konoha!

Afterward, Hagoromo had someone take Sarutobi to get acquainted with life in the Ninja Sect.

Only Hagoromo and Manji remained inside.

"Teacher, you're still the same as ever. I've never understood how long you can live."

Hagoromo blurted out the question he'd been wanting to ask most.

He used to think Manji wouldn't outlive him, and that he would surely be the first to go.

But now, he was already middle-aged.

Since Manji had been around in the same era as his mother, Kaguya, that meant Manji was incredibly old...

"What is it?"

Manji gave Hagoromo a knowing look.

"Ah, I can feel myself growing old. And the Ninja Sect isn't quite what I imagined..."

Hagoromo gave a helpless smile.

Over the years, he'd felt increasingly powerless.

Only now did he understand that saving the world wasn't so easy.

Because of his mother, Hagoromo could never turn the Ninja Sect into a war machine and rule the world by force. He'd wanted to achieve his goal by teaching and guiding people instead.

"The Ninja Sect has been around for a long time, but we've achieved nothing. We've established branches throughout the world, but there's no one to carry on our work..."

Hagoromo said with a bitter smile.

Manji glanced outside at the people sitting around the bonfire, singing and dancing, then said, "It doesn't look so bad to me. At least everyone's having a good time..."

Hagoromo: "..."

"Ahem, Teacher, I forgot to tell you. I have two sons now. The older one is Indra, and the younger one is Asura."

Hagoromo smiled.

"So that's how it is. Congratulations. I didn't bring a gift."

Manji said mildly.

"Heh..."

Hagoromo smiled. In truth, he had no idea what Manji meant by bringing a gift.

The two chatted for a while longer.

At last, Hagoromo couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and asked again.

"Teacher, may I ask how old you are?"

Hagoromo asked once more.

Manji smiled. "Hagoromo, why are you so intent on asking my age?"

Hagoromo stood and bowed.

"Please forgive me, Teacher. There's so much I can't understand. Why, despite your great power, do you want nothing from the world?"

"Do you truly have no dreams or ambitions?"

"If you really want nothing, then why did you fight my mother for the Chakra Fruit back then?"

"And now, I don't even know how long you have left to live. I can't help being curious."

Hagoromo poured out all his questions at once.

He truly couldn't understand what his teacher was trying to do.

He'd once hoped that Manji would help him govern the Ninja Sect. But later, he realized that Manji genuinely had no interest in worldly affairs!

But if Manji really wanted nothing,

then why had he fought his mother for the Chakra Fruit back then?

Hadn't he wanted the fruit to gain power?

And what would he do with that power?

Rule the world? Or had he wanted power for its own sake?

"Ah..."

Manji sighed inwardly.

Time had passed too quickly.

So much time had gone by since then.

Manji himself had changed.

Manji smiled wryly. How could he tell Hagoromo that, back then, he'd been young and reckless?

First of all, back then Manji had the typical mindset of a transmigrator. He was bold, and he had Senjutsu and the system on his side.

He'd been young and reckless, and he'd been willing to take on Isshiki for the sake of reaching the Six Paths Level.

Looking back, it still terrified him.

Manji probably hadn't even been Super Kage level at the time. If Isshiki had ignored Kaguya and gone after Manji, Manji would have been done for.

He couldn't help it. How old had he been back then?

Not even thirty.

It was the age when a man felt he could challenge the heavens.

Back then, for the sake of reaching the Six Paths Level, Manji had dared to seize the Orthodox Circle in the Martial State of his previous life.

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