BOOM!!
A loud explosion that shook sky and ground suddenly burst out.
A thick purple-blue beam of light broke through the clouds and shot straight into the sky, lighting up the pitch-black night like broad daylight.
Ashura had not yet reacted.
But Hagoromo's face changed suddenly. His Rinnegan shrank sharply, the pale purple ripples in his eyes trembling violently, and huge waves rose in his heart.
'Indra actually… let evil thoughts take over and directly made a move!?'
It was not that Hagoromo had never expected Indra to take a risk and seize power by force, but he never thought Indra would be this impatient, unwilling to wait even a moment.
He did not even wait for him, his father, to reach the end of his life before completely tearing off all pretenses without caring at all.
Hagoromo thought, 'You could at least wait until I die before acting out, right?'
This kind of determination and violence was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
"Father! I'll go take a look!"
Ashura finally came back to his senses. His face turned pale, and a strong sense of unease rose in his heart.
Without time to think, Ashura tapped his toes against the ground.
His figure shot out like an arrow leaving the bow, crashing through the door of the quiet chamber and rushing toward the direction where the beam of light rose.
Inside the quiet chamber Hagoromo stood alone. In his Rinnegan flashed extreme complexity, pain, regret, and a trace of cold determination.
He had once sealed his own mother, Kaguya. He was no longer the soft and indecisive boy of the past.
If Indra remained stubborn and insisted on destroying the Ninja Sect and bringing disaster to the people, he would not mind striking down even someone close to him.
If it threatened the world, whether it was his mother, his son, or his brother, he would never hold back.
He could not afford to be soft.
Even if the Sage of Six Paths threatened the world ten thousand times, he, Hagoromo, would still fight him.
Once the thought was set, Rinnegan chakra surged around Hagoromo. His figure flashed and followed closely behind Ashura, rushing out of the quiet chamber toward the violent beam of light.
At the same time, above the Ninja Sect, at the top of the clouds a thousand meters high, a figure quietly floated in the air. His clothes were blown fiercely by the strong winds, yet he did not move at all.
This person was Arisu.
He was not here to help Indra, nor did he favor either side. He simply stood there, silently looking down at the violent chakra rising into the sky below and at the two figures rushing out of the Ninja Sect.
"Fukasaku, remember this moment. This battle will decide the history of the next thousand years.", Arisu said meaningfully.
Fukasaku nodded at the side, but soon felt something was off.
'Wait, how would the Great Immortal know this?'
But soon Fukasaku felt it made sense. 'It was normal for the Great Immortal to have some ability to see the future, right?'
———
[On The Plain OfThe Ninja Sect]
A giant pale purple Susanoo stood beneath the sky. The blade in its hand carried a cold light that could destroy heaven and earth, casting a shadow over the entire land.
"Brother! Why are you doing this!?"
"Are you going to destroy everything we built with our own hands!?", Ashura clenched his fists tightly and asked in confusion.
Inside the Susanoo, Indra lowered his eyes. His Sharingan was as red as blood.
He did not look at his shouting brother. His gaze went straight past him and fixed on the white-haired figure standing calmly behind Ashura, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.
"Hagoromo."
"Why didn't you pass the position of the Ninja Sect heir to me!?", Indra's voice was cold like ice, every word soaked in resentment and unwillingness built up over many years.
"Sigh...", Hagoromo stood quietly where he was. There was no joy or sorrow in his Rinnegan.
Indra's stubbornness, violence, extreme pursuit of power, and disregard for others had long erased him from the list of heirs. This was a result he had created with his own hands. No one could change it.
"Indra, what exactly do you want to do?", Hagoromo's voice was calm.
"What do I want to do?"
"Hahahahaha!!!!", Indra suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly.
His laughter was full of madness and hatred. The giant hand of Susanoo gripped the sword at its waist, and chakra burst out with a sharp ringing sound.
"What you see is what I'm doing! Since you won't give it to me, I'll conquer it myself! I'll take it with power and seize it with force!"
"I will take everything in the Ninja Sect by force. I am the one who deserves to be its master, the one worthy to rule this world!"
His roar shattered the clouds. Hagoromo's heart sank, and bitterness rose in his throat.
Back then, to protect the world, he had killed his own feelings and sealed his mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya. He thought it would bring peace. But now, did he have to raise his hand against his own son?
"Brother! Have you forgotten the days we practiced together and protected the Ninja Sect together? Have you forgotten our original wish!"
Ashura's face was full of struggle. His eyes were red. He still wanted to use his last bit of strength to persuade his brother, but before he could finish, Indra's furious shout cut him off.
"You weakling! Shut up!"
Indra's Sharingan shrank violently. The aura of Susanoo surged again. Looking at his brother who always lived in warmth and bonds, his eyes were filled only with contempt and jealousy.
"You only know how to rely on others and talk about so-called bonds. You don't understand the true meaning of power at all!"
"Right now, I am the number one in the world, the strongest being in this world! No one is qualified to lecture me!"
The moment his words fell, Indra no longer hesitated. He controlled Susanoo to raise the giant sword.
The blade, wrapped in chakra that could burn everything, slashed fiercely toward Ashura and Hagoromo.
"It's over!"
BOOM!!!
The moment the sword fell, huge waves of air and dust exploded.
The ground was carved into a deep trench. Broken stones and fragments of chakra filled the sky. It was as if heaven and earth had been split in two by this strike.
The people of the Ninja Sect turned pale in fear. But when the dust cleared, everyone widened their eyes...
Several black Truth-Seeking Orbs floated around Ashura, slowly rotating and releasing powerful pressure.
In Ashura's hand was a black staff formed from Yin-Yang Release, firmly blocking the deadly strike. Not only had his chakra not scattered, it had become even more solid and heavy.
"This is!?", Indra's pupils shrank sharply. Even the pattern of his Sharingan twisted in shock. He stared at the Truth-Seeking Orbs around Ashura, his voice trembling.
"The old man's Six Paths power… you actually inherited it completely!?"
In the next second, extreme jealousy and anger erupted like a volcano. Indra's face twisted, and hatred surged wildly in his heart.
'Why!?'
They were both Hagoromo's sons. Since childhood, his talent had been outstanding, his understanding far beyond Ashura.
His ninjutsu and eye techniques were the best in the Ninja Sect. Yet Hagoromo had never truly valued him.
Thinking carefully, in these past years, the one who taught him cultivation, passed on power, and guided his understanding was never his father Hagoromo, but that calm yet unbelievably strong grandmaster, Arisu.
And Hagoromo, this so-called father, gave the core power and the position of heir entirely to Ashura, who had average talent and only knew how to rely on others.
They were both sons. Why was the difference like heaven and earth! Clearly he was the better one, the one more worthy of everything.
Just as Indra's mind surged with hatred, the backbone of the Ninja Sect finally reacted.
Sarutobi took the lead. Countless disciples formed hand seals together. Fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth techniques rained down on Susanoo like a storm. The light of chakra lit up the entire sky.
"Heh… hahaha! Good, good, good!"
As Susanoo's outer wall was struck by countless techniques, Indra's anger finally broke through his reason.
So angry he laughed instead, his voice full of coldness and madness.
"I was the one who taught you to control chakra. I was the one who passed on the foundation of ninjutsu to you. And now you use the power I taught you to fight with me!?"
In that case, this the Ninja Sect, everything he once wanted to control, had no need to exist.
'Destroy it!'
'Destroy it all!'
'Hahahaha, kill them all!'
'Hahahaha die die die die!'
'Hahahahahaha all of you just go die!!!!!'
Indra's chakra completely went out of control. Susanoo's size expanded again. Purple-black chakra carried an aura that could destroy everything, about to turn the entire the Ninja Sect into scorched earth...
At that moment, a warm yet heavy hand gently rested on Ashura's shoulder.
It was Hagoromo.
Hagoromo looked at his youngest son. His eyes were full of hope and trust. His voice was firm.
"Ashura, accept the power of all of us. This is not the power of fighting alone. It is the power of hearts connected, the power of bonds."
Before his words even fell, all the disciples of the Ninja Sect joined hands and hearts. Streams of warm chakra flowed out from each person like golden rivers, gathering into a vast ocean and pouring entirely into Ashura.
Buzz!!
Ashura instantly felt a power he had never experienced before sweep through his whole body.
It was not his own power alone, but the wishes and protective hearts of every person, tightly wrapping around him and making his struggling heart become completely firm.
'To protect everyone, what was wrong with giving up small personal love?'
'To protect the peace of the Ninja Sect...'
Ashura took a deep breath and suddenly clapped his hands together.
Hagoromo's sage chakra and power fused completely with the power of everyone's bonds, bursting out with strength that shocked the ages.
"Ha!!!"
BOOM!!!
A gigantic Thousand-Armed Buddha suddenly burst out from beneath the plain.
Golden light shone brightly.
The Buddha's face was kind yet majestic. A thousand giant palms covered the sky. Its size far surpassed Indra's Susanoo, blocking out the entire sky.
"How is this possible!?", Indra trembled all over.
He could clearly feel that this power had already surpassed his limits. It was the power he had chased his whole life, yet it was born in Ashura's hands in this way.
"Brother!"
"This is the power of bonds! The power of hearts connected! This is the true foundation of the Ninja Sect!"
[T/N: Power of friendship... Not again...]
Ashura stood on the Buddha's shoulder. His voice echoed through heaven and earth, full of firmness and sorrow.
With a roar, Ashura waved his hand.
Countless giant palms crashed down on Indra's Susanoo like a collapsing mountain and overturning sea.
"Ah!!!!"
The dense, endless crashing sounds were deafening. The golden palms collided violently with the purple-blue Susanoo.
Every strike carried world-destroying power. The outer shell of Susanoo cracked inch by inch like fragile glass, layer by layer shattering. Purple chakra fragments fell like rain.
"Ahhh!!!"
Inside Susanoo, Indra let out screams of extreme pain. It felt as if his bones were being crushed completely. The backlash of chakra was like thousands of steel needles piercing his organs!
On the ground, Hagoromo's face was cold, but a trace of pain hidden deep in his eyes. He did not make a move.
Ashura stood atop the Buddha, continuously pouring out chakra. The palms did not stop. In his eyes there was only determination to protect everyone.
———
Above the sky, a calm figure stood quietly. It was Indra's grandmaster, Arisu.
Arisu had lived endless years and had long seen through life and death. His state of mind was almost unique in the world.
But watching Indra being bombarded by the Thousand-Armed Buddha below, suffering unbearably, his brows still furrowed slightly, and a faint discomfort rose in his heart.
This was the first disciple he had personally taught by hand. He had poured effort into him. Seeing him end up like this, it was hard to feel nothing.
"Forget it…"
Arisu shook his head inwardly and suppressed the thought of intervening.
But at that moment, Indra, who was being continuously struck by the Buddha's palms, seemed to see that familiar figure in the sky through the dust and golden light.
With his last bit of strength, he opened his blood-covered mouth. His voice was weak and desperate, carrying a childlike plea.
"Grandmaster… Grandpa save me..."
"Grandpa, I'm going to die...."
Arisu's brows tightened further.
Below, the Thousand-Armed palms struck even more fiercely. Every hit carried all their strength. Indra's screams became even more miserable, tearing the heart apart.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"It hurts… it hurts!!!"
"Grandpa save me!!!"
"Grandmaster save me!!!!!!!!"
Indra's face was pale as paper. Mouthful after mouthful of blood sprayed out. His breath grew extremely weak.
His life force flowed away like sand. Even his once scarlet Sharingan began to lose its light.
Arisu's pupils suddenly shrank. The almost heartless calm in his heart gradually broke...
Arisu suddenly realized that this time, Indra was really going to die.
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