Ashura abruptly sat upright and quickly turned toward Isamu. From where he sat, he could clearly see Isamu's eyes, and he froze in disbelief.
"How is this possible? Why would Father's power appear in a stranger?"
Hearing Ashura's confirmation, Indra could no longer remain calm. He pushed himself to his feet and strode over to Isamu. Just as he was about to speak, Isamu turned to face him.
The crimson Sharingan stared back at him.
The same scarlet eyes.
The same three black tomoe.
"That's right… there's no mistake. This is the power the old man left to me—the Sharingan."
Indra narrowed his eyes and studied Isamu carefully before asking,
"Stranger, tell me your name."
"Hmph. Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Isamu replied with a cold snort.
He was the Clan Head of the Uchiha and an unrivaled powerhouse of his era. There was no way he would lower himself before Indra.
The only reason he hadn't already challenged him was because Indra was the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan. If not for that fact alone, Isamu would have been tempted to teach him a lesson already.
A flicker of annoyance appeared in Indra's eyes.
He stared at Isamu for a moment, but seeing that the man remained completely unfazed, he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Good! Very good!"
"Apart from that idiot Ashura, no one else in this world dares speak to me like that."
"No matter where your Sharingan came from, I don't care."
"I am Indra—Ōtsutsuki Indra."
"You should recognize the name Ōtsutsuki. I am the son of the man who calls himself the Six Paths Sage, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki."
However, when he mentioned Hagoromo, obvious disgust flashed across his face.
"Hahaha, nice to meet you. I am Isamu—Uchiha Isamu."
Isamu was slightly surprised.
Given Indra's prideful personality, he had expected a fight to break out immediately. Instead, the man had responded with remarkable straightforwardness.
Since Indra had shown respect, Isamu responded in kind.
"Uchiha?" Indra muttered while stroking his chin. "I've never heard that surname before."
Isamu rolled his eyes inwardly.
Of course you haven't.
The Uchiha name wouldn't exist until long after Indra and Ashura were gone.
As generations passed, their descendants continued fighting one another. The wars became increasingly brutal, and relatives, siblings, and children died one after another on the battlefield.
Eventually, the descendants completely severed their ties. They abandoned the Ōtsutsuki surname and became the Uchiha and Senju clans of the future.
Indra didn't dwell on the matter.
Turning toward Ashura, he called out loudly,
"Ashura! I have a guest today, so let's call this battle a draw."
"But the next time we meet on the battlefield, I will defeat you completely."
"I'll prove to that old man just how wrong he was for choosing you instead of me."
"Only power can lead the world. Love is nothing more than a beautiful illusion."
"Wait!"
Ashura hurriedly called out to stop them.
"Uchiha, are you really planning to go with Indra? You should know what kind of person he is…"
He frowned as he spoke, unable to resist criticizing his brother.
Indra frowned slightly but remained silent.
He never interfered with other people's choices. Whether someone agreed with him or not meant nothing to him.
The only people whose acknowledgment mattered were Ashura and Hagoromo.
Everything he had done until now was to prove that those two were wrong.
To him, that alone was worth fighting for.
Looking at them, Isamu couldn't help but think that Indra and Ashura were practically the original versions of Madara and Hashirama.
If they weren't identical, they were at least ninety-five percent alike.
"Go with him?"
Isamu's expression darkened.
He turned toward Ashura and replied coldly,
"I, Uchiha Isamu, do not follow anyone."
"And I have no need to follow anyone."
"No one gets to tell me what choices to make or how I should live."
Ashura's words had genuinely irritated him.
He was simply accompanying Indra so he could learn more about the origins of the Uchiha and ask a few questions.
Yet Ashura had immediately interpreted that as "following" him.
To Isamu, that sounded like being treated as someone's subordinate—or worse, a dog.
That was unacceptable.
Whether Ashura intended it or not, the implication was clear: the world belonged to him and Indra, and everyone else merely chose which side to serve.
The more Isamu thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
No wonder Indra had raised an army to oppose him.
If Isamu had lived in this era long enough, he might have done the same.
Ashura always spoke of ruling through love and understanding, but in the end, he still viewed himself as the center of the world.
At best, it was ambition.
At worst, it was self-righteousness.
He simply thought too highly of himself.
Without another word, Isamu followed Indra into the darkness of the night.
"That's not what I meant…"
Ashura opened his mouth to explain, but both men had already disappeared from view.
He let out a long sigh.
"It seems the balance of this world is about to change once again."
Ashura's heart was filled with worry.
Although he had never fought Isamu, his Six Paths power allowed him to sense the immense chakra within him.
That chakra was no weaker than his own or Indra's.
A warrior of that caliber had seemingly chosen to stand beside Indra.
How could Ashura not be concerned?
"Lord Ashura, there's no need to worry so much."
One of his followers stepped forward and offered a suggestion.
"If things become difficult, we can always ask Lord Hamura's descendants for assistance."
Indra's followers and Ashura's followers had both arrived shortly after the battle ended. Neither side was willing to yield to the other.
"Second Uncle's descendants…"
Ashura stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he fell into deep contemplation.