Chapter 24: Indra and Ashura
"Nine years…"
Hagoromo and Hamura looked at each other, and in the other's eyes, each saw the same weight of time.
In nine years, they had both changed drastically.
Their once youthful features had sharpened into something steadier and more mature. They looked less like boys now and more like young men.
More frightening than their appearance, however, was the power within their bodies. Whether it was chakra or Natural Energy, both had brought it to an entirely new level.
"I can hear the world crying out."
Hagoromo's expression was grim. "After years of being drained, the world is close to its limit."
"If this continues, before that fruit even ripens, the world might already face a disaster that ends everything."
"We have to go back."
Hamura's face was just as heavy. "Even if we can't persuade Mother to stop, we have to make her slow down."
"If we don't give the world time to recover, the consequences will be catastrophic."
With this world's foundation, as long as the God Tree's absorption of Natural Energy was slowed to match the rate at which the world produced it, a balance could be maintained.
But Kaguya was far too impatient.
From the very beginning until now, she had shown no intention of letting the world recover. She kept allowing the God Tree to draw Natural Energy at its maximum rate.
That kind of reckless extraction could only lead to disaster.
If it went on like this, the world would collapse before the chakra fruit on the God Tree could even fully mature.
The brothers had seen enough. They made their decision and returned to the capital in the Land of Ancestors.
Nine years had passed, and the city looked more prosperous than ever.
The capital had continued to expand, growing larger and larger. Tall buildings had begun to rise in many places. With newly developed materials, fresh styles of architecture appeared one after another.
With chakra as an energy source, all kinds of new equipment could be seen everywhere. It felt as if the city was changing by the day, with something new emerging at every turn.
Most of the people living here had decent lives. They might still have complaints, but as long as they worked normally, it was easy to provide for an entire family.
There was no hunger, no fear of survival, and no chaotic troubles to endure. By any standard, the quality of life was already excellent.
Productivity was so abundant that even stray dogs roamed the streets, digging through household waste, yet still living quite well.
Hagoromo and Hamura stood off to the side, watching the scenes of daily life, both momentarily dazed.
"A few years have passed, and everyone's lives have improved again."
Hagoromo couldn't help feeling emotional. "As expected, Father ruling the Land of Ancestors was the right choice."
"Yeah."
Hamura nodded in agreement.
After the era of chaos ended, the people of the Land of Ancestors already lived in peace. In the brothers' eyes, that alone was an incredible achievement.
But Yuu had not been satisfied with that.
Under his rule, production kept advancing, and people's lives improved again and again, at a pace others simply could not match.
To the brothers, this had to be the art of governance.
Either way, if it were the two of them, they knew they could never accomplish the same.
"Let's go back."
After walking through the capital for a while, Hagoromo spoke.
A moment later, the wandering princes returned home.
They did not return alone.
After being away for years, both had started families. They now had wives.
Hagoromo even had two sons of his own: Indra and Ashura.
So this time, they returned with their families.
"Is this the capital?"
Indra followed behind Hagoromo, his eyes filled with curiosity as he took in everything around him. "The place where Father grew up…"
"Is Grandfather the Daimyo here?"
Indra was still young, only a few years old, yet he already carried himself with an unusual maturity.
Compared to ordinary children, his eyes were strikingly different. They held a deep, heavy calm, and within them spun three tomoe.
A pair of Sharingan.
His thoughts seemed older than his age.
In contrast, Ashura was far simpler and more direct.
"Hahaha, what a pretty garden!"
Ashura bounced around the palace grounds, touching decorations here and there, peering at anything that caught his attention. He was bursting with energy from start to finish.
Compared to his older brother, he seemed far more ordinary, no different from any other child at first glance.
The one clear difference was the vitality in his body.
His life force was vigorous, like a young tree growing strong and steady, brimming with living warmth.
Neither child was very old, yet both had already begun to show their distinct traits.
A moment later, deeper within the palace, they met Yuu.
Nine years had passed, and even Yuu had changed.
Because of the Karma planted by Kaguya, his body was no longer like an ordinary man's. His life force was far stronger than normal.
Even so, nine years had not left much mark on him. He only looked slightly more mature.
"You're back."
Seeing Hagoromo and the others return, Yuu smiled and rose to greet them. He reached out, pulling the two children into his arms.
"Are these your children, Hagoromo?"
After a brief reunion with Hagoromo and the others, Yuu's gaze fell on Indra and Ashura, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
Compared to the Six Paths Sage of long-ago legends, these two boys actually left a deeper impression on him.
One would become the ancestor of the Uchiha. The other would become the ancestor of the Senju.
In later generations, even the existence of Konoha could be traced, in part, to the struggle between these two brothers. Their conflict would carve deep marks into history.
Of course, right now, they were still children. Even Indra, the older one, was only five, still in the middle of his growth.
As Yuu looked at Indra, his attention naturally drifted to the boy's eyes.
Those black Sharingan, with three clear tomoe, were unmistakable.
This was Indra's Sharingan, the origin of the Uchiha bloodline.
Back when he was in Konoha, Yuu had seen the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan before. Some had also reached three tomoe.
But the Sharingan of those people had always given him an uneasy feeling, as if a cold chakra lurked within them.
Indra's chakra, however, felt clean and pure.
Clearly, although Indra had inherited the Yin side of Hagoromo's power, he did not carry the abnormalities that would later appear in the Uchiha of future generations.
.....
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