Several more years passed.
Indra had officially established the Uchiha clan and developed it into a powerful force capable of standing on equal footing with the Ninshu.
———
[The Uchiha Clan]
[Inside The Clan Residence]
An old man lay dying on a wooden bed, his expression weak.
This person was none other than Indra.
The handsome face of his youth was now covered with traces left by the passage of time and scars from battle, while his black hair had long since turned gray.
Beside Indra stood several core elders of the Uchiha clan, as well as his eldest son, the young heir to the clan who had inherited his powerful ocular techniques and will.
Indra slowly opened his eyes, which had already lost their former brilliance.
"I... don't have much time left."
Indra opened his mouth, his expression calm.
"Father!!"
"Clan Leader, don't say that!"
"You'll definitely live to be a thousand years old!"
Everyone immediately knelt down, and some of them had tears in their eyes.
Indra merely waved his hand, interrupting their grief. He raised his head and looked toward the south, where the Ninshu was located, and complicated emotions flashed through his eyes.
"Mother... is probably no longer alive. When she suddenly disappeared back then, perhaps it was precisely to avoid the conflict between us brothers."
"She was always like that, hiding too many secrets... Forget it. There's no need to mention it."
Indra changed the subject and began entrusting them with his final wishes.
"Listen carefully, members of the Uchiha clan!"
"After I die, you must never forget your struggle with the Ninshu!"
"The path Ashura chose is too weak. That kind of peace relying on 'connecting people's hearts' is nothing more than a self-deceiving fantasy. Only absolute power can truly control order and the future!"
"This is my highest understanding of the Sharingan and chakra. I will pass all of it on to you."
"Remember, the Uchiha clan must always walk the path of pursuing the ultimate power. Never compromise with the Ninshu. Never forget the hatred and division of today!"
"One day... we Uchiha will use absolute power to stand above the entire Shinobi World!"
After saying this, Indra's pupils seemed ready to split apart.
A generation of warlord, the founder of the Uchiha clan, Indra, fell in the northern reaches of the Shinobi World.
———
At the same time, in the central part of the Shinobi World, in a quiet room at the Ninshu headquarters.
Ashura lay on a couch, his face aged but carrying a gentle smile that had never faded.
His children and loyal followers surrounded him, the atmosphere heavy.
Ashura weakly held his eldest son's hand and said in a low voice:
"Big brother Indra... should also be reaching the end of his life soon. In the end, the two brothers still couldn't come together."
Ashura sighed softly, a trace of longing for his mother flashing through his eyes. "Your grandmother Reiko suddenly disappeared back then and was never heard from again. Perhaps she had already seen through everything, which was why she chose to quietly leave... I hope she can find true peace."
Afterward, Ashura also began entrusting them with his final wishes.
"Remember my words.
"True peace lies in the connection between people's hearts, not in mere power."
"The Ninshu must protect this ideal. The struggle with the Uchiha may continue for a long time, but you must never lose sight of your original intentions."
"Do not take the initiative to start a war of extermination, but you must never give up on protecting yourselves."
Having said this, Ashura smiled in relief.
"Forget it, forget it. Do as you think best. I'm a dying man, so I can't control that much anyway...."
Ashura's breathing gradually steadied. A relieved smile remained on his face as he passed away with a smile amid the dappled sunlight.
In the years after Indra and Ashura passed away one after another, the Shinobi World appeared peaceful on the surface, but beneath it, under the lingering wills of the two founders, undercurrents were surging.
Friction between the Uchiha clan and the Ninshu increased day by day, and small-scale conflicts occurred from time to time.
During this period, Yumeko continued wandering alone throughout the Shinobi World.
She did not dare stay in one place for too long, nor did she ever approach any major clan's territory again. She simply wandered like a ghost between remote towns and mountain forests.
On this day, as the sun was setting, on the second floor of an inn in a remote small town.
The candlelight in the room was dim, and the windows were tightly shut. Yumeko sat before the table, having changed into a set of loose men's clothes. She wore an ordinary greenwood mask that revealed only her eyes.
She carefully tied up her hair and hid it beneath her hat. Overall, she looked like a taciturn young wandering swordsman.
She slowly raised her palm. The powerful chakra fluctuations that should have been there had now completely disappeared.
"...As expected, it's starting to disappear."
Yumeko murmured in a low voice, a trace of weariness and complicated emotion in her voice.
She closed her eyes and carefully sensed the power within her body.
With the deaths of Indra and Ashura, the powerful chakra she had obtained through the Chakra Mother Goddess System, which had fused the power of the two men's destinies, was slowly receding like a tide.
The confidence that had once allowed her to protect herself was gradually disappearing.
Her gaze became increasingly complicated. There was disappointment at the loss of her power, but also a measure of calmness that seemed almost like relief.
"System binding isn't omnipotent after all... They are the source."
"As this 'mother,' I ultimately only borrowed their karma. Now that they're gone, my power should be returned as well."
Yumeko gave a self-mocking smile.
The room fell silent for a while, with only the occasional faint crackle of the candle flame.
After a long while, she took a deep breath and suddenly shouted in a low voice, "Mayfly Technique!"
As soon as her voice fell, her right arm suddenly transformed into a mass of black matter, passing easily through the wooden table beside her like a flowing shadow before quickly returning to normal.
Black tendrils swayed slightly in the air, carrying a familiar, eerie chill.
Yumeko opened her eyes, a trace of delight flashing through them.
"...I can still use it." She gently let out a breath.
Because she had later bound herself to Black Zetsu, she now essentially possessed Black Zetsu's life characteristics and abilities.
Black Zetsu had not died, so this power remained firmly within her body, becoming her most reliable support for now.
Yumeko removed her mask, revealing a face that was still young but carried a few more traces of weariness.
She gazed at the deepening night outside the window, her expression difficult to read. There was both emotion over the past and confusion about the future.
"The Observer... should still be watching me, right? Hopefully, I can live until the Fourth Shinobi World War."
She put her mask back on, leaned against the back of her chair, and stared at the flickering candle flame without speaking for a long time.
Outside the inn, the night wind blew past, carrying the faint sound of dogs barking in the distance and the footsteps of pedestrians.
———
[Elsewhere, Beyond Earth]
Arisu stood with his hands behind his back, quietly standing before the largest light screen.
He had witnessed the deaths of Indra and Ashura with his own eyes.
Everything had been taken in.
After a long while, Arisu put his hands behind his back and, after confirming that everything was truly fine, nodded slightly.
"At last... it hasn't deviated too far from the original."
Arisu nodded slightly.
Although the unexpected variable Yumeko had appeared along the way, the destinies of Indra and Ashura, the inheritance of their ideals, and the establishment and opposition of the two great clans had ultimately completed their key milestones according to the established "causal line."
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