Chapter Thirty One- The Progenitor of Shinobi

Before what was known as ninjutsu there was simply chakra. Where there are now shinobi, warriors were originally monks.

Before ninjutsu came ninshu. A way for people to connect and learn to work and thrive in harmony.

What we know as chakra was not always given so freely to us mortals. No, the sage traveled the world and shared his power and views with us. The power of a God given freely to mortals in an act to show his desire to connect the world together.

But that is the thing with humanity, you give them a branch to build a shelter and they will learn to sharpen it into a spear.

Whether it was from irony or the disregard of a loving father, the Sages' own son would create the very building blocks of ninjutsu.

"So you're saying Indra created jutsu? Created shinobi as we know them today?" I asked in disbelief. Sure he was the child of a god but when I imagine jutsu creation, at least from the beginning. I pictured a host of small breakthroughs by the common man that culminated over centuries.

"He was ingenious, a prodigy unlike any to come before or after. Before the age of ten, I watched the child create hand signs, and even begin the process of nature transformation and chakra shaping" Peru claimed, and though I found it hard to believe the conviction he spoke with continued to sway me.

"Though that was the beginning to his descent to madness" Peru sighed and relit his pipe in reminiscence. "I know little of the cause, as the years passed the young lord would summon me less and less"

"Madness? But why, he seemed to have everything going for himself?" I asked in confusion. To be the originator of ninjutsu and lay many foundations that are still used today. You'd be loved by all and remembered eternally. Yet I have only heard his name spoken in fear and respect only a few times in my life.

"I, personally, fault the Sage." Peru paused and looked up as if he awaited thunder to strike him for his blasphemy.

"In his infinite wisdom, he decided only one could take his place. One that could be the spreader of ninshu and the watcher of mortal kind. The problem was that he had two very willful sons" Peru spoke solemnly.

"When they both spoke of their goals and ideals for what Ninshu could become, the Sage couldn't discount either. So he created a set of trials and tribulations to test his sons and the ideals"

"Long story short Indra performed his duty to the exact words of his father. One of his tasks was to help a farm thrive despite constant bandit attacks that would come from the mountain to the north. Lord Indra simply cut the mountain in twain creating a giant ravine that would allow the village to see any future attacks for miles ahead. He believed that people needed a helping hand at times but to completely solve their problems with his great power would only harm them in the long run." I could agree with the reasoning, he would not always be there to bail them out.

"Indra was wise beyond his years but he failed in a regard that pushed his brother ahead of him. He could not look beneath the underneath. He unintentionally looked over the bigger question, why did these men turn to banditry? Where lord Indra simply split a mountain and left, Asura would subdue every bandit in the mountain, offering them guidance and a new purpose. Months later the very same bandits became hunters, guards, and farmers. Years later the once small settlement became an actual city." Peru finished with a hum.

"Woah, how could he convince men to abandon their ways so easily. Sure that was the best answer as everyone walked away happy and alive but....That sounds like a fairy tale." I voiced my opinion and doubts that a problem could be solved in such a way without outside interference.

"Whereas the Lord was gifted greatly in battle and his strength was only second to the Sage, Ashura excelled at the other part of Ninshu, connecting with others"

"Easy or simple you say, it was anything but. Lord Asura had only finished that single quest as he spent an entire year among the bandits he spared. Living with them, teaching them. Tentatively and slowly bringing those ingrates back into a society. I guess it would be better to paint a picture for you, that same village would one day come to be known as Azulan." Peru continued to drop dumps of lore onto me. The Sage's second son had created the basis of the Land of Fires capital city. The Diamiyos seat of power.

"So despite Indra completing the seven missions the sage had sent him on, Ashura was chosen while only completing one." Peru stopped and let off a huff. "Thus the cycle of hatred began to plague our world. Brother against brother, till the end of time"

{BloodLine Quest Completed}

The Ancestry of The Sharingan

Objective: Learn of your ancestors and the truth of the Uchiha clan's creation.

Rewards: Epic Item Cache, 40,000XP, Minor Contract-Crows

[Level up x5.... Level 16 reached! +50 Stat points]

The rush hit me and lit my blood on fire, I was still slightly shaking moments after the rush but it seemed everyone around me was too engrossed in the history of the shinobi world to notice.

Just a story told to me by an ancient panther gave me what it had taken me a month to achieve on the battlefield. Maybe my desire to rejoin the war effort so venomously was misguided from the beginning. Just like my main takeaway from the story of the Sage's two sons, there are multiple ways to solve a problem and probably just as many ways to gain the the power I need.

It was morbid to know I'd have to walk through a literal river of blood to gain my life back. But here it was, a hint to another path. Would I find a way to grasp it? Or just let it slip. 

Did I even have a choice anymore, I doubted it.

Why was I suddenly having second thoughts about my life, to the point I'd considered hiding on this island and grinding until I was strong enough to topple Lord Hiruzen…. Golden eyes opened in my mind, a cascade of tendrils rising blocking out the very sun.

'Oh... I'm scared.'

"So the two sons fought, neither won. The Sage remained neutral until his dying days. Thus the two sons, Ashura and Indra created two clans. They were destined to fight and reincarnate in an endless cycle. This was the fate of the two sons and the fate of the Senju and Uchiha" Peru finished his story.

"Reincarnate?" I asked with renewed worry as if two demigods could appear from a Senju or Uchiha at any time….. 

"Just so, even now they walk the earth, out of sync but not in limbo." Peru hummed his answer which caused my eyes to bulge and hackles to rise.

{Hidden Quest Found}

Two Suns

Objective: Find the two who are the living reincarnations of Ashura and Indra, before they die.

Rewards:???,???,???

That was a pack of worms I wasn't interested in opening.

"I believe that is enough storytelling, my throat hurts and my eyes have begun to droop. Can't remember the last time I've talked for this long" Gone was the theatrical bard that was among us and back was an old panther way past his time.

"I'd say smoking for seemingly a thousand years can't be helping" I tried to jest but the panther's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Oh, we have a cheeky child among us." He paused as he brought a claw up to scratch under his chin. "Don't judge others for their vices, hell, with the amount of dried blood I can smell on you. I'd give you less than a decade to develop one of your own. Whether that's women or smoking, that many bodies piled up could break anyone"

A dark look entered my eyes as I could understand what he was getting at. The powerlessness that comes from watching people you love or care for die. My mother and squad entered the forefront of my mind. 

Fifty people, humans. I doubt I'd even remember that number off the top of my head if it wasn't for the 'scroll' morbidly tracking it for one of its questlines.

"Take this child before the council and tell them of my decision. Be sure to enlighten him of the power he now wields from simply becoming our summoner." We waved his paw dismissively toward the three of us. We looked at each other before simply shrugging and heading out of the chamber.

"Oh and child, when your eyes have changed I expect you to return before me. I will try to save you as I tried with your predecessor." That was the final statement he left me with but it only confused me. The Sharingan only had two stages, two tomoe and three. Was he hinting at their being further power hidden in my bloodline?

My mother's warning played once more in my mind, followed by a feeling of despair and anger as it reminded me of her final stand.

'Don't rush to unlock your eyes dear, everything comes at a price, and every time you open them you will pay that price.' Her voice was just as crystal clear as the first time I heard it.

If it would be worse than what was required for my third tomoe, I would be foolish to pursue it. What scared me was that I didn't believe it was preventable. The Grand Elder spoke of it as if it was enviable that I'd find myself standing before him again, with more pain and a madness equal to Indra himself.

Are we that cursed?

Destined to either be an average warrior or be consumed by a madness that forces us to relive our most painful moments daily. Everyone has a breaking point, I just hoped I wouldn't have to find mine.

Level 16 (2,900/12,000)

Name: Tometsu Uchiha

Chakra: 1100/2600

Title: Fang's Apprentice- Boosts the learning speed of Kenjutsu and Lightning release by 20%

(Secondary) Title: Prodigious Killer- Boosts stats by twenty percent when fighting an enemy of a higher level than yourself

Strength:49

Dexterity:67

Agility:62

Endurance:40

Intelligence:104

Stat points:10-(60)

Perk Points:1