Indra, Let Me Teach You Something Really Cool

In the Bamboo Forest near the Ninja Sect

The last rays of the setting sun gradually faded.

Indra was still slumped on a large rock, gazing at the darkening sky. His eyes were full of disappointment.

He had searched for so long, yet hadn't even seen a toad's shadow. Was there really no way to meet the Sage of Six Paths?

Just as he was feeling dejected, the light before him suddenly dimmed. A figure appeared out of thin air, blocking the last sliver of daylight.

"I hear you've been looking for me?"

A dispassionate voice rang out above him, carrying an air of distant antiquity.

Indra jerked his head up. His pupils contracted, and his whole body went rigid.

The man before him wore a black-and-red robe, its sleeves fluttering despite the absence of wind. A faint mist swirled around him, and an ancient-looking long sword floated at his side—the very Six Paths Sword from the portrait.

Then Indra looked at his face. He was peerlessly handsome, and the detachment in his eyes and brows was exactly like that of the Sage of Six Paths in the portrait.

It was him!

It really was Grandmaster Manji!

Indra's heart pounded wildly. He was so excited that his whole body trembled as he hurriedly slid off the rock.

He dropped to his knees with a thud.

He bowed respectfully. "Your disciple Indra pays his respects to Grandmaster!"

Manji floated in midair, looking down at the boy kneeling before him.

Indra had handsome, refined features. Though still young, he already showed signs of the heroic bearing he would one day possess. At the moment, however, his face was still boyish, and his eyes held traces of excitement and nervousness.

"You've been looking for me these past few days. What for?"

Manji's voice remained calm, giving no hint of his feelings.

Indra quickly raised his head. His gaze was resolute, and his voice earnest as he pleaded, "Grandmaster, I have a request. Please teach me how to gain strength!"

He bowed deeply again, his forehead nearly touching the ground. His heart was filled with a longing for strength.

"You want strength?"

"The Way is not taught lightly. Tell me, what do you want strength for?"

Manji raised an eyebrow slightly. This boy already wanted strength at such a young age. He really was just like the Uchiha of later generations...

"This disciple wants to protect his family and his younger brother, Asura!"

"The other day, Asura and I encountered wolves. If not for my senior's help, we would have been hurt. I don't want my younger brother to be in danger again, and I don't want to have to rely on others!"

Indra answered without hesitation. His voice was still childish, but it carried an unquestionable resolve.

Manji looked at him, thinking to himself.

According to the original course of events, Indra should have been figuring things out on his own at this point and invented Hand Seals. But now, because Manji was here, Indra had turned to him for strength, causing things to veer off course.

That made sense. Without him, the "Grandmaster" to turn to, Indra would have had no way to gain strength and would have had to develop Hand Seals himself.

Now that there was a shortcut, of course he would ask Manji for guidance.

"Immortal, please!"

Indra pressed his palms together. His eyes were full of hope as he gazed at Manji pleadingly, no longer carrying his usual composure.

Manji looked at him and made up his mind.

Humanity still hadn't learned how to use Chakra. Hand Seals were the key to guiding it.

He might as well pass down the art through Indra's hands, following the course fate had laid out.

Manji slowly raised his hand. A thread of pale golden Chakra gathered at his fingertips, tracing several simple patterns in the air. "You want strength, so I'll teach you a technique called Hand Seals.

"Chakra is stored within the body. By forming Hand Seals, you can draw it out and perform all kinds of techniques. That is the foundation of strength."

After seeing the Hand Seals, Indra began to learn them, still somewhat bewildered. He discovered that he could control Chakra by using these hand gestures.

And so, he began learning bit by bit.

He studied until late at night, when Indra suddenly came to his senses and realized how late it had gotten.

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

Indra was deeply moved. He hadn't expected Grandmaster to stay here waiting for him.

"Grandmaster, will you come again tomorrow?"

Indra asked cautiously.

Manji's expressionless face gave nothing away as he considered the matter.

At first, all he'd intended to do was pass the Hand Seals on to Indra and help advance the Ninja World.

Manji had no intention of meddling in the affairs of the Ninja Sect, especially the conflict between Indra and Asura. He didn't want to get involved.

But looking at Indra, Manji had another thought. Perhaps he could make him a pawn, a piece that would connect him to the outside world.

After Hagoromo died, Manji would have no more pawns in the human world. Why not cultivate Indra before Hagoromo's death?

Make Indra his pawn in the human world?

Manji made up his mind, then looked at Indra and said calmly, "Very well. But don't tell anyone about this."

Then he vanished.

"Thank you, Grandmaster!" Indra exclaimed, overcome with excitement. He dropped to his knees and bowed.

From that day on, the secluded Bamboo Forest became a place Indra visited every day to practice.

Whether the north wind swept broken snow across the bamboo tips or cold rain pattered against the leaves, Indra always showed up on time.

He respectfully greeted Manji, then focused his mind and followed his grandmaster's lessons on the variations of Hand Seals and the control of Chakra.

Manji's instructions were never a word too long. He precisely broke down the force behind each gesture and the flow of every thread of Chakra, teaching Indra everything from the basics to more sophisticated changes in Chakra, and even combinations of Hand Seals never before seen in the Ninja World...

Indra eagerly absorbed all this knowledge. The light in his eyes grew brighter with each passing day, and his reverence for Manji had long since sunk into his bones.

One day, before the morning mist had cleared from the Bamboo Forest, Indra began practicing the new method he had learned for refining Chakra.

He formed Hand Seals over and over, trying to compress the Chakra within him to its limit. His fingers moved through the signs faster and faster. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, trickling down his cheeks and soaking the front of his clothes.

His Chakra was nearly depleted, and waves of weakness and exhaustion washed through his limbs.

At last, he completed the final Hand Seal.

Indra let out a long breath. His body swayed, and he instinctively leaned to the side, coming to rest against Manji's shoulder.

Manji had been looking down at the bamboo shadows on the ground when he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

The boy beside him had his eyes closed. His long eyelashes trembled, and his breathing gradually grew steady and deep. Indra had actually fallen asleep leaning against him.

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

The boy's features still held a touch of youth, but the sharp lines he would one day have were already visible. Now, exhaustion had softened his expression, stripping away the focus and determination he showed while training and lending him a rare gentleness.

Manji's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and an unusual feeling stirred within him.

Thinking back, Gamamaru had learned from him through only a few brief words, then explored and trained on Mount Myōboku by himself. Hagoromo had been the same. Manji had taught him only the basics of Chakra and Hand Seals; Hagoromo had found the rest of the way on his own.

To Manji, being a master had always meant little more than showing someone the way in. He had never given such close, hands-on instruction, nor watched over a disciple like this from sunrise until late at night.

Indra was the first.

The bond formed through teaching him personally stirred the faintest ripple within Manji's heart, but it was only a ripple.

Manji quickly gathered his thoughts, and his gaze turned indifferent once more.

The fated conflict between Indra and Asura was a trial for the Ninja Sect and an inevitability for the Ninja World. There was no need for him to interfere, much less to let this unusual feeling disrupt his plans.

Whatever happened along the way, Indra would eventually follow his own path and establish the Uchiha Clan. That course had long been set.

All Manji had to do was wait quietly for the day Hagoromo's lifespan ran out, take the Rinnegan, and accomplish his own goal.

Indra was merely a pawn he had placed in the human world.

The evening breeze swept through the Bamboo Forest, and the bamboo leaves rustled. Manji remained motionless, letting Indra lean against his shoulder as he slept soundly.