Indra, I'll teach you something awesome.

Indra, I shall teach you something quite exhilarating...

In the Bamboo Forest near the Ninja Sect, the afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded.

Indra remained slumped on a large boulder, gazing at the darkening sky, his eyes filled with dejection.

He had searched for so long, yet he hadn't even caught a glimpse of a toad. Was it truly impossible for him to meet the Sage of Six Paths?

Just as he was overcome with melancholy, the space before him suddenly dimmed. A figure appeared out of thin air, blocking the final sliver of daylight.

"I hear you have been looking for me?"

A detached voice echoed from above, carrying an air of ancient distance.

Indra jerked his head up, his pupils constricting sharply as his entire body froze.

The person before him was clad in black and red robes that fluttered without a breeze. A faint mist swirled around him, and a primitive longsword hovered at his side—it was exactly the Six Paths Sword from the portraits.

Looking at that face, handsome and peerless, the indifference in his eyes was identical to that of the Sage of Six Paths in the paintings.

It was him!

It really was the founder, Manji!

Indra's heart hammered against his ribs, his body trembling with excitement. He scrambled off the boulder and knelt on the ground with a heavy thud.

He kowtowed respectfully: "Disciple Indra pays respects to the founder!"

Manji floated in mid-air, looking down at the boy kneeling on the ground.

Indra was handsome and refined. Though still young, one could already see the heroic spirit he would possess in the future, yet at this moment, his face was full of youthful innocence, and his eyes still held traces of lingering excitement and trepidation.

"You have been searching for me these past few days. For what purpose?"

Manji's voice remained flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Indra quickly raised his head, his gaze firm and his tone filled with earnest pleading: "Founder, this disciple has a request. I beg you to bestow power upon me!"

He kowtowed deeply once more, his forehead nearly touching the ground, his heart consumed by a thirst for strength.

"You desire power?"

"The Way is not easily imparted. Tell me, what do you intend to do with this power?"

Manji raised an eyebrow slightly. To think this child craved power at such a young age; he was truly identical to the Uchiha of later generations...

"This disciple wishes to protect my family, to protect my younger brother, Asura!"

"Two days ago, Asura and I encountered wolves. Had it not been for our senior brother's intervention, we would have been injured. I do not wish to let my brother fall into danger again, nor do I wish to rely on others!"

Indra spoke without hesitation, his voice youthful yet imbued with an unquestionable firmness.

Manji watched him, pondering in silence.

According to the original trajectory, Indra should have been left to explore on his own, eventually creating the method of Hand Seals. But now, because of his own presence, Indra had turned to him for power, causing the timeline to deviate slightly.

It stood to reason; without a "founder" present, Indra would have had no path to power and would have been forced to develop Hand Seals through his own efforts.

Now that a shortcut existed, he would naturally choose to seek instruction.

"Sage, I beg of you!"

Indra pressed his palms together, his eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at Manji pitifully, his usual composure entirely gone.

Watching him, Manji weighed his options.

Since humanity had yet to master the use of chakra, Hand Seals were the key to channeling it.

It would be better to use Indra to pass down this method, which could be considered conforming to the hidden threads of fate.

Manji slowly raised his hand, a wisp of pale golden chakra gathering at his fingertips, tracing simple patterns in the air: "If you desire power, I shall teach you a method known as Hand Seals."

"Chakra is hidden within the body. By forming seals with your hands, you can draw out that chakra to perform various techniques. This is the foundation of power."

Upon seeing the Hand Seals, Indra began to learn in a daze; he discovered that by using these gestures, he could indeed manipulate his chakra.

Thus, he began to learn slowly.

It was not until late at night that Indra suddenly snapped to his senses, realizing how late it had become.

Indra turned his head and found that Manji was still floating in the air.

Indra felt a surge of emotion, never expecting the founder to still be waiting for him.

"Founder, will you come again tomorrow?"

Indra asked cautiously.

Manji remained expressionless, lost in thought.

Originally, his only goal was to pass the seals to Indra to facilitate the development of the Ninja World.

Manji did not want to interfere in the affairs of the Ninja Sect, especially the conflict between Indra and Asura; he had no desire to participate in that.

However, seeing Indra, Manji thought again that perhaps he could make Indra his pawn—a pawn used to connect with the outside world.

After Hagoromo died, Manji had no pawns left in the human world; why not cultivate Indra before Hagoromo's death?

Let Indra become his pawn in the mortal realm?

Manji made up his mind, then looked at Indra indifferently: "Very well, but do not speak of our affairs to anyone."

He then vanished instantly.

"Thank you, Ancestor!" Indra was overcome with excitement and knelt directly on the ground to kowtow.

From then on, that secluded Bamboo Forest became a place Indra visited daily for his training.

Whether the north wind swept through the bamboo tops with scattered snow, or cold rain tapped against the leaves with a rustling sound.

Indra would always appear there on time.

He would respectfully salute Manji, then hold his breath and focus, learning the variations of Hand Seals and the manipulation of chakra from the Ancestor.

Manji's teachings never contained a single redundant word; every exertion of force in a gesture and every flow of chakra was precisely dismantled for Indra to see, from the basics to more exquisite chakra transformations, and then to combinations of Hand Seals never before seen in the Ninja World...

Indra absorbed this knowledge with insatiable hunger, the light in his eyes growing brighter day by day, and his respect for Manji was already carved into his very marrow.

On this day, before the morning mist in the Bamboo Forest had dispersed, Indra had already begun practicing the newly learned method of chakra condensation.

He performed Hand Seals repeatedly, attempting to compress the chakra within his body to the limit. The seals at his fingertips changed faster and faster, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples, sliding down his cheeks to soak the fabric at his chest.

The chakra in his body was nearly exhausted, and a wave of soreness and fatigue spread through his limbs.

Finally, the last Hand Seal was cast.

Indra let out a long sigh of relief. His body swayed, and he subconsciously leaned to the side, resting right against Manji's shoulder.

Manji was looking down at the bamboo shadows on the ground when his shoulder suddenly sank.

He saw the youth beside him with his eyes closed, long eyelashes trembling slightly, his breathing gradually becoming steady and long. This kid, Indra, had actually fallen asleep leaning against him.

Manji raised an eyebrow slightly and turned his head to look at Indra's face.

The youth's features still held a touch of callowness, yet the sharp contours of his future self were already visible. At this moment, his expression, relaxed by exhaustion, shed the focus and persistence of his daily training, gaining a rare softness.

Manji's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and a strange sense of emotion stirred in his heart.

Recalling the past, Gamamaru had received his guidance, but it was merely a few words, and he had explored his cultivation in Mount Myōboku on his own; Hagoromo was the same—he had only imparted the foundations of chakra and Hand Seals, leaving the rest of the path for Hagoromo to explore himself.

So-called master and disciple, to him, had always been a fate of "leading through the door." He had never provided such hands-on instruction, nor had he ever guarded a disciple like this, from sunrise to deep into the night.

Indra was the first.

This bond of personal instruction caused a faint, imperceptible ripple in his heart, but it was only a ripple.

Manji quickly composed his thoughts, his gaze turning indifferent once more.

The destined struggle between Indra and Asura was the calamity of the Ninja Sect and the fixed fate of the Ninja World; he had no need to interfere, nor any reason to let this trace of anomaly disrupt his plans.

In any case, regardless of the process, Indra would eventually walk his own path and establish the Uchiha Clan; this was a trajectory already set in stone.

He only needed to wait quietly. When the day came that Hagoromo's lifespan was exhausted, he would take the Rinnegan and fulfill his purpose—that would be enough.

Indra was, after all, merely a pawn he had placed in the mortal realm.

The evening breeze brushed through the Bamboo Forest, the bamboo leaves rustling. Manji remained motionless, allowing Indra to sleep soundly against his shoulder.