"Everyone's chakra originated from him. Their bonds of thought and connections of soul all came from him. If he wanted to sense it or reclaim it, all it would take was a thought!"
The more the people of the Shinobi World considered it, the clearer it became. They finally understood the deepest secret at the heart of the chakra system.
Inside Konoha's Hokage Office, the atmosphere had grown utterly strange.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat frozen in place, his eyes slightly widened and his mind buzzing. He had yet to recover from the shock.
Sarutobi...
A young Sarutobi...
The child who had happened upon the Sage of Six Paths a thousand years ago...
Was this the founding ancestor of their Sarutobi Clan?!
He had never imagined that his clan's origins could be traced back to the era of the Sage of Six Paths, or that their ancestor had met the Sage face-to-face as a child and received a promise from him!
Beside him, Jiraiya burst out laughing, slapping his thigh as he teased, "Hahaha! Old man, there's your proof! That's your ancestor! Who would've thought your ancestor from a thousand years ago was such a cute little airhead as a kid? He didn't even recognize the Sage of Six Paths!"
His teasing eased the atmosphere a little, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's face twitched. Torn between laughter and tears, he had no idea how to respond.
Tsunade looked just as surprised. She sighed softly, as though she had seen through a thousand-year cycle of fate.
"A thousand years ago, the Sarutobi Ancestor happened upon the Sage and formed a bond with Ninshu. A thousand years later, the Sarutobi Clan settled in Konoha."
"After all those twists and turns, cause and effect came full circle. I suppose this is the cycle of fate."
Hiruzen Sarutobi