A breeze rustled the leaves in the Bamboo Forest. Seeing the last of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's stubborn resolve fade from his face, Manji smiled faintly. The air around him was calm as still water.
"All right. Class dismissed."
Manji spoke softly, then turned to leave, the hem of his blue robe lifting as he stepped away.
"Wait, teacher!"
Hagoromo called after him, his voice as faint as a candle flame in the wind.
Hagoromo slowly closed his eyes. "Teacher, I have little time left... My Rinnegan may be of use to you. Consider them your disciple's final gift."
Manji's expression tightened at once.
He stopped dead. Damn it. I got so caught up sounding wise that I nearly forgot what I came for!
Manji clasped his hands behind his back without betraying a thing. "Since you feel so strongly..."
Before he could finish, two sets of hurried footsteps approached, full of alarm.
"Grandmaster!"
"Father!"
Asura and Indra rushed over. The hostility around Indra had yet to fade, and he fixed Hagoromo with a vicious glare. He clearly still wanted to finish him off.
Manji raised a hand. An invisible pressure spread outward, stopping him at once. "Indra, the fight is over."
He did not want to see Hagoromo kill Indra. Nor did he want to see Indra kill Hagoromo.
Both were his disciples.
Hagoromo turned to Asura and reassured him gently. "Asura, it's all right. We're among our own here. Grandmaster is one of us, and so is Indra..."
The two gradually calmed down.
"Hmph! I have no need of the Ninja Sect. You can have it. I'm going to Mount Myōboku with Grandmaster."
Indra snorted. After this battle, he understood that the members of the Ninja Sect would never submit to him. Even if he forced them to, their infighting would only grow worse.
Hagoromo let out a quiet breath of relief, then turned to Asura with a solemn look. "Asura, I am dying. I have entrusted my Rinnegan to Grandmaster. As for my body, I ask you to cremate it."
Asura and Indra both trembled, their faces stricken with shock.
The next moment, Hagoromo's Rinnegan floated out of their sockets on their own. Glowing with an eerie violet light, they settled into Manji's palm.
Manji was delighted inside, though his face remained serene.
"These are precious. They have an affinity with my Mount Myōboku."
"To keep them from falling into wicked hands, I shall safeguard them."
Manji spoke calmly as he slipped the Rinnegan into his sleeve.
None of the three objected.
To them, Manji was a man of noble character who had never coveted power. Everything in the world was fleeting in his eyes.
A short while later, Hagoromo breathed his last and entered his final rest in the Bamboo Forest.
"Dad!!!!"
Asura dropped to his knees and wept bitterly.
Indra stood to one side, his expression conflicted. His father had tried to kill him, but the sudden loss of family still left him dazed.
Manji drew a deep breath and sighed. So this old friend is gone after all. One fewer remains from that era.
The next day, a solemn funeral stood ready in the heart of the Ninja Sect.
Manji stood at the center of a raised platform, straight as an ancient pine. Indra and Asura stood on either side of him, their faces grave with grief.
Below them, the disciples of the Ninja Sect knelt together, respect and curiosity filling their eyes.
They had often seen Hagoromo. But the Grandmaster, who had appeared only once since the Ninja Sect's founding, had always been a figure of legend to them.
"Welcome, Grandmaster!"
"Welcome, Grandmaster!"
Their deafening cries rang throughout the Ninja Sect.
Sarutobi stepped forward from the crowd and bowed deeply. "Grandmaster, your disciple Sarutobi greets you!"
Manji nodded slightly. Looking at Sarutobi, he could not help recalling the child from years ago.
"That child from back then has grown into a man."
Manji's voice carried a note of nostalgia.
"I owe everything I have achieved to your guidance, Grandmaster." Sarutobi lowered his head, his tone even more respectful.
Indra and Asura were puzzled by the exchange. Neither had imagined that this common-born disciple had such a connection to Grandmaster.
Indra looked at Sarutobi, and it dawned on him.
No wonder Sarutobi had never tried to curry favor with him or Asura. No wonder he had won Hagoromo's favor.
No wonder Sarutobi had never been afraid of him.
So that was his relationship with Grandmaster...
"All right. Prepare for the cremation."
Manji made the announcement in a deep voice, then slowly rose beneath everyone's gaze. An air of detachment spread around him.
Even if the Ninja Sect is destined to perish, I should still give the customary speech.
People need a little hope.
Everyone dies in the end, but that doesn't mean they should give up living.
Besides, what happened in the Ninja Sect this time was an internal struggle.
The leadership's life-and-death power struggle had been laid bare for everyone to see.
It was hardly a good look.
Manji began to speak.
"As disciples of the Ninja Sect, you must remember why it was founded!
"Hagoromo founded the Ninja Sect, passed on Chakra, and taught compassion not to seize power or rule the world, but to connect hearts through Chakra, protect the people with strength, end conflict, and preserve peace for all living things.
"Today, Hagoromo has passed on. The dead are gone, but the living must not drown in grief.
"Remember this: Chakra itself is neither good nor evil. Right and wrong lie in the heart of the one who wields it.
"Indra has chosen his own path, and Asura will carry on Hagoromo's legacy. Each follows the course laid before him."
With a single phrase, Manji had made Indra's wrongdoing sound like a choice to follow his own path. It sounded much better that way.
From Asura's point of view, Indra had abandoned his ideals and convictions...
Manji added:
"The future is bright, but the road will be winding."
"The Ninja Sect's legacy has never rested on one person's shoulders. It lives in the hearts of all of you.
"In the years to come, no matter how the world changes or how power shifts, hold fast to your original purpose and keep kindness in your hearts."
"Only then will you honor Hagoromo's life's work, the wish on which the Ninja Sect was founded, and your own training."
His words ended, leaving a solemn hush. Every disciple of the Ninja Sect bowed their head and listened, engraving his words in their heart.
With that, Manji raised a hand slightly, and Hagoromo was cremated before them all.
"On that day, Hagoromo died, bringing an era to a close. From then on, the Ninja Sect welcomed its second sun: Asura!"
"The future may be bright, but the road will certainly be winding. What awaits the Ninja Sect? Perhaps only time can tell... This account was recorded by Black Zetsu, historian."
"Sage, is this all right as written?"
Black Zetsu respectfully handed Manji the scroll.
Manji glanced over it and nodded. "It's fine. You can record this part of the history. As for the earlier section, where Hagoromo and I fought, leave that out for now. Just say it was a struggle for power between Indra and Asura."
Black Zetsu nodded without objection.
"So history truly is the history of rulers, generals, and nobles. Across all these records, it's always the loves and grudges of those at the top. Ordinary people are only dust..."
Looking over the many histories, Black Zetsu could not help feeling wistful.
From Kaguya to Hagoromo, from Hagoromo to the Ninja Sect, and then to Asura and Indra, it was all one continuous thread.
"Oh? Black Zetsu, I didn't expect you to view history through the eyes of the people."
Manji turned to Black Zetsu with a faint smile.
Black Zetsu gave a rueful chuckle. "Sage, I've recorded so much history that I couldn't help reflecting on it."
Manji leaned back in his seat. "Reflection is good. It means you still have some humanity in you..."
"Black Zetsu, how have things been for you at Mount Myōboku?"
Manji asked quietly.
"Very good. My heart is at peace now."
Black Zetsu answered.
After so many years at Mount Myōboku, Black Zetsu had settled down.
He had gone from secretly biding his time to accepting life at Mount Myōboku.
Black Zetsu had once believed Manji was keeping a close watch on him.
In truth, Manji barely paid him any attention.
Black Zetsu had made his peace with it. Life at Mount Myōboku was good enough, and perhaps the future held something better.
"Keep up the good work. You're one of Mount Myōboku's core members now. In time, you might even work your way into a management position. Coming and going from Mount Myōboku as you please wouldn't be difficult then..."
With that, Manji walked away.
Manji genuinely had no fear that Black Zetsu would stir up trouble. With his strength, capturing Black Zetsu would be easy.
Besides, Manji had ties to both Indra and Asura. A word or two from him would be enough to make any scheme of Black Zetsu's fail.
Manji left the History Archive at Mount Myōboku, leaving a bright-eyed Black Zetsu behind.
Black Zetsu's eyes gleamed!
"That's right. Fukasaku and I joined around the same time, after all. If I do well, I might even become Sage Black Zetsu and earn my place as one of Mount Myōboku's old hands."
Black Zetsu broke into a wide grin.
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