Now I'm the Strongest in the World... Grandmaster, Save Me!

Chapter 45: Now I'm the Strongest in the World... Grandmaster, Save Me! BOOM—!!

A thunderous blast shook heaven and earth!

A massive violet-blue pillar of light tore through the clouds and shot into the sky, turning the black night bright as day!

Asura had yet to react.

But Hagoromo's expression changed drastically. His Rinnegan contracted, their pale-purple rings trembling as shock surged through him!

Indra had actually decided to attack!?

Hagoromo had considered that Indra might seize power by force. But he had never imagined Indra would be this impatient. He would not even wait for his father to die of old age before casting aside every pretense!

Couldn't he at least have waited until I was dead?

He was not even bothering to keep up appearances.

Indra's ruthlessness was far more frightening than Hagoromo had expected!

"Father! I'll go see what's happening!"

Asura finally came to his senses. His face went pale, and dread rose in his heart.

With no time to think, Asura pushed off the ground.

He shot through the doors of the Quiet Room like an arrow and raced toward the pillar of light.

Inside the Quiet Room,

Hagoromo stood alone. Pain, regret, and cold resolve flickered through his Rinnegan.

He had once sealed away his own mother, Kaguya. He was no longer the indecisive boy he had been back then.

If Indra insisted on destroying the Ninja Sect and bringing suffering to the world, Hagoromo would kill his own son if he had to.

If someone threatened the world, whether it was his mother, his son, or his brother, he would not hold back!

He could not afford to!

Even if the Sage of Six Paths Manji threatened the world, Hagoromo would fight him!

His mind was made up!

Rinnegan Chakra surged around Hagoromo. He flashed out of the Quiet Room after Asura and sped toward the raging pillar of light.

Meanwhile, atop the clouds a thousand meters above the Ninja Sect, a figure hovered motionless in the air. The fierce winds whipped his robes, but he did not budge.

It was Manji.

He had come neither to help Indra nor to favor either side. He simply watched from above as violent Chakra surged into the sky and two figures raced out of the Ninja Sect.

"Fukasaku, remember this moment. This battle will decide the next thousand years of history."

Manji's words carried a deeper meaning.

Fukasaku nodded beside him, then quickly noticed something odd.

Wait. How could the Great Sage know that?

But he soon decided it made sense.

The Great Sage could see a little of the future. What was strange about that?

On the plains of the Ninja Sect,

a gigantic pale-purple Susanoo towered beneath the sky. A world-ending gleam gathered along its blade, casting the entire land into shadow.

"Brother! Why are you doing this!?"

"Are you going to destroy everything we built with our own hands!?"

Asura clenched his fists and demanded an answer.

Inside the Susanoo, Indra lowered his gaze. His Sharingan glowed bloodred.

He ignored his shouting brother. His eyes fixed instead on the white-haired figure standing behind Asura, his expression perfectly still: Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.

"Hagoromo."

"Why wouldn't you make me the heir to the Ninja Sect!?"

Indra's voice was icy. Every word carried years of resentment and frustration.

"Ah..."

Hagoromo stood quietly, neither joy nor sorrow in his Rinnegan.

Indra's obsession, brutality, hunger for power, and disregard for others had long since removed him from consideration. He had brought this outcome on himself, and no one could change it.

"Indra, what exactly do you intend to do?"

Hagoromo's voice was calm.

"What do I intend to do?"

"Hahahahaha!!!!"

Indra threw back his head and laughed wildly, his voice thick with hatred. The Susanoo's giant hand gripped the Tachi at its waist, and its Chakra shrieked!

"Exactly what you see! If you won't give it to me, I'll conquer it myself! I'll take it by force!"

"I'll seize everything in the Ninja Sect! I'm the one worthy of ruling it, of ruling this world!"

His roar scattered the clouds. Hagoromo's heart sank, bitterness rising in his throat.

He had sealed his own mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, to protect the world, believing it would bring peace. Did he now have to turn against his own son?

"Brother! Have you forgotten the days we trained together and protected the Ninja Sect? Have you forgotten what we wanted in the beginning?"

Asura's face twisted with anguish, his eyes red. He still wanted to make one last attempt to bring his brother back, but Indra cut him off with a furious shout.

"You weakling! Shut up!"

Indra's Sharingan contracted sharply, and the Susanoo's aura surged. He looked at his brother, who still believed in warmth and bonds, with nothing but contempt and jealousy.

"You only know how to rely on others and cling to these so-called bonds! You know nothing about the true meaning of power!

Now I'm the strongest in the world! No one has the right to lecture me!"

With that, Indra hesitated no longer. The Susanoo raised its massive Tachi, Chakra blazing along the blade, and brought it down on Asura and Hagoromo!

"It's over!"

BOOM—!!!

The moment the Tachi fell, a towering wave of force and dust erupted!

A bottomless trench was carved through the ground. Rocks and fragments of Chakra flew everywhere, as though the blow had split heaven and earth in two.

The people of the Ninja Sect went pale with terror. But when the dust cleared, their eyes widened—

Several pitch-black Truth-Seeking Orbs floated around Asura, slowly revolving and radiating immense pressure!

With a Black Receiver formed from Yin-Yang Release in his hand, Asura had blocked the lethal blow. Far from scattering, the Chakra around him had grown denser and stronger.

"What!?"

Indra's pupils contracted. Shock distorted the patterns of his Sharingan as he stared at Asura's Truth-Seeking Orbs. Even his voice trembled. "The old man's Six Paths power... You inherited all of it!?"

In the next instant, jealousy and rage erupted within him like a volcano. His face contorted with hatred.

Why!?

What gave him the right!?

They were both Hagoromo's sons. Indra had shown extraordinary talent from childhood and had far surpassed Asura in understanding. His ninjutsu and dōjutsu were unmatched in the Ninja Sect, yet Hagoromo had never truly valued him!

Come to think of it, the one who had taught him, passed on his power, and guided his training all these years was never his father, Hagoromo. It was Grandmaster Manji, who seemed so carefree despite his overwhelming strength!

Yet Hagoromo, his so-called father, had given the Ninja Sect's most essential power and the position of heir to Asura, who had mediocre talent and knew only how to depend on others!

They were both his sons! Why were they treated so differently? Indra was clearly the better one, the one who deserved everything!

As Indra's emotions churned and his hatred soared,

the Ninja Sect's strongest members finally reacted.

With Sarutobi leading them, countless disciples formed Hand Seals. Fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth techniques poured down on the Susanoo like rain, their Chakra lighting up the sky.

"Heh... Hahaha! Fine! Fine!"

Countless techniques struck the Susanoo's outer shell, and Indra's fury overwhelmed his reason!

He laughed in rage, his voice filled with hurt and madness.

"I taught you to control Chakra! I gave you the foundations of ninjutsu! And now you use what I taught you against me!?"

In that case, the Ninja Sect and everything he had once wanted to rule no longer needed to exist!

Destroy it!

Destroy it all!

Hahahaha, kill them all!

Hahahaha, die, die, die!

Hahahahahahaha, every last one of you can die!!!!!

Indra's Chakra ran completely wild. The Susanoo swelled again, its violet-black Chakra carrying a force that threatened to reduce the entire Ninja Sect to scorched earth—

Just then, a warm yet heavy hand settled gently on Asura's shoulder.

It was Hagoromo.

He looked at his younger son, his eyes full of hope and trust. His voice was firm. "Asura, accept everyone's power. This isn't the strength of one person fighting alone. It's the strength of connected hearts, of bonds."

Before he finished speaking, every disciple of the Ninja Sect joined hands. Warm streams of Chakra flowed from them like golden brooks, gathering into a vast sea that poured into Asura.

HUM—!!

Power unlike anything Asura had ever felt swept through him. It was not his alone. Everyone's hopes and desire to protect what mattered surrounded him, and his wavering heart grew firm.

If it meant protecting everyone, what did it matter if he set aside his love for one person?

He would preserve the Ninja Sect's peace!

Asura drew a deep breath and brought his hands together. Hagoromo's Senjutsu Chakra and power merged completely with the strength of everyone's bonds, unleashing a force that shook the ages!

"Hah—!!!"

RUMBLE—!!!

A colossal Thousand-Handed Buddha burst from beneath the plain and rose toward the heavens!

Golden light blazed!

Its face was both compassionate and imposing. A thousand giant palms spread across the sky, and its body dwarfed Indra's Susanoo, blotting out the heavens.

"How is that possible!?"

Indra trembled.

He could clearly sense that this power had surpassed his own limits. It was the power he had pursued all his life, yet it had been born in Asura's hands this way!

"Brother!"

"This is the strength of bonds! Of hearts joined together! This is the true foundation of the Ninja Sect!"

Standing on the Buddha's shoulder, Asura spoke with resolve and sorrow, his voice ringing across heaven and earth.

Then, with a roar, he swung his hand!

Countless giant palms crashed toward Indra's Susanoo like an avalanche!

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM—!!!

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM—!!!

"Aaaah—!!!!"

The relentless impacts were deafening. Golden palms slammed into the violet-blue Susanoo, each strike powerful enough to devastate the land. Its outer shell cracked like fragile glass, breaking apart layer by layer as purple fragments of Chakra rained down.

"Aaaagh—!!!"

Indra screamed in agony inside the Susanoo. It felt as though every bone had been crushed, while the backlash of his Chakra stabbed through his organs like thousands of steel needles!

On the ground, Hagoromo's face remained cold, though a faint pain hid in his eyes. He did not intervene.

Atop the Buddha, Asura poured out Chakra without pause. The palms kept striking, and his eyes held only the resolve to protect everyone.

High above, an impassive figure stood watching. It was Indra's grandmaster, Manji.

Manji had lived for countless years. He had long since grown accustomed to life and death, meetings and partings. His composure was nearly unmatched.

Yet as he watched the Thousand-Handed Buddha batter Indra below, leaving him in agony, Manji's brow furrowed slightly. A faint discomfort stirred in his heart.

Indra was the first disciple he had personally taught, a younger man into whom he had poured so much effort. Seeing him reduced to this did not sit well.

So be it...

Manji shook his head to himself and suppressed the urge to intervene.

But just then,

amid the Buddha's unceasing blows, Indra

seemed to glimpse a familiar figure in the sky through the dust and golden light.

With the last of his strength, he opened his bloodied mouth. His voice was weak and desperate, pleading like a child.

"Grandpa... Grandpa, save me..."

"Grandpa, I'm going to die..."

Manji's frown deepened.

The giant palms struck even harder, every blow carrying their full force. Indra's screams grew more piercing and heartrending.

"Aaaaaah—!!!"

"It hurts... It hurts—!!!"

"Grandpa, save me!!!"

"Grandmaster, save me!!!!!!"

Indra's face was white as paper. He coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, his presence fading as his life slipped away like sand. Even his once-crimson Sharingan began to lose their light.

Manji's pupils contracted. The near-unfeeling detachment around his heart began to crack—

Manji suddenly realized that this time, Indra really was going to die!

(Some readers asked where Manji's name came from. It's the name of the immortal protagonist of Blade of the Immortal. Takuya Kimura played him in the film. It's pretty good, and the heroine is also named Rin.)