Chapter 11 Planting Trees During the Ninja Clan Era (11) A Tribute to My Father...
Under the barrage of letters from Ashura, Indra did not linger any longer and left Mount Higanbana for the Ninja Sect.
A few days later, a song and dance troupe came to the village. Seeing that Xilin Village was wealthy, they asked if they wanted to see a song and dance performance. After the performance, they were warmly received by the villagers and felt the abundance of the place. The troupe leader cautiously asked if they could rest there for a few days, and the villagers agreed.
The song and dance troupe may lack many other things, but it has no shortage of mastery of the art of dance. The villagers of Xilin Village, who are well-off and have begun to pursue spiritual fulfillment but have little artistic talent, are in need of a suitable teacher. So, after the song and dance troupe has taken a break, it is only natural that they will move in.
As Xilin Village developed more and more comprehensively, Indra was so busy in order to secure his succession to the Ninja Clan that he became increasingly reserved and unassuming in front of Hagoromo Otsutsuki. In addition, the suspicious Black Zetsu was following him with ulterior motives. In order to find out why Black Zetsu was targeting him, Indra decided to take a risk, which made him consciously reduce the frequency of his trips to Xilin Mountain.
Indra did not want those troublesome matters to affect his carefree elder brother.
For Indra, winning people's hearts was incredibly easy. As long as there was mutual benefit, people would stand firmly together. For ordinary people who were always striving for something, what was friendship or love? Only mutual benefit was the most stable and solid bond.
Talking about feelings and the future with a poor person is foolish. It's better to be realistic and just give them a huge amount of gold coins. They will absolutely love you to death and become your most loyal 'friend'.
Coupled with his absolute power, Indra believed he had no reason to lose.
Under the patient tutelage of his taciturn and sparingly worded but doting and overprotective older brother, Senju Takeya, Indra made remarkable progress in strategy. Senju Takeya himself probably never imagined that his simple, down-to-earth motivational speeches and Mao Zedong quotes could cultivate a strategist.
Adhering to this approach, Indra's plan to win over the hearts and minds of the Ninja Clan was quite successful. The speed of his progress made even Hagoromo Otsutsuki uneasy. He knew that hidden beneath Indra's gentle exterior was a harsh and righteous indignation. Once Indra gained power, he would inevitably govern the Ninja Clan with iron-fisted methods, not tolerating the voices and thoughts of others. Useless people would also be ruthlessly abandoned by Indra. This did not conform to Hagoromo Otsutsuki's ideals and ideas.
Indra was an extremely strict and self-disciplined person. He was very harsh on himself, let alone on others. Once the egoistic Indra started to take action, he would never allow outsiders to disturb him.
Therefore, even though his eldest son smiled so humbly and gently, and was so polite to everyone, exactly as he had always imagined his eldest son to be, in Hagoromo Otsutsuki's eyes, his eldest son's faint smile clearly conveyed the dangerous meaning of "Has I done enough? Old Man, you've done enough, hurry up and abdicate."
Indra has already risen to prominence, but Ashura, the true successor whom Hagoromo Otsutsuki admires, has made no progress and still acts as if he can take care of everything. How can this not make Hagoromo Otsutsuki anxious?
The issue of who will be the next leader of the Ninja Clan is becoming increasingly heated in the territory. As time goes by, Indra's momentum is growing stronger. Finally, Hagoromo Otsutsuki could no longer hold back and assigned a task to his two sons, who are both over twenty years old: whoever can solve the problem better will be the next leader of the Ninja Clan.
The task was for the two of them to each be responsible for solving the problem of a village suffering from famine due to lack of water.
Senju Takeshi didn't know exactly what happened, only that Ashura became the leader of the Ninja Clan, and Indra launched a magnificent rebellion against his father, fought with him, and finally stabbed his father in the kidney at the cost of serious injury before leaving in anger.
After Indra returned to Mount Xilin, Senju Takeya learned that although the two brothers had both successfully resolved the problem, their methods were different. Ashura had dug a well and worked with the villagers to draw water, while Indra had used the power of chakra to solve the village's problem with maximum efficiency.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki, citing the principle that "it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish," determined that Ashura's solution was the best.
“When I arrived, the villagers were dying of thirst. I chose to dig a well as quickly as possible to save them from dying of thirst, and then help the village resume farming.” Indra’s eyes were downcast. “Asura did something similar to me, except that he first took water from a river further away and filled each household’s water tank, so that everyone could drink their fill, and then gathered the villagers together to dig a well.”
In terms of the speed at which the village recovers its vitality, Asura's method is no match for Indra's.
"The use of chakra exists to benefit the lives of ordinary people, to make their lives more convenient and efficient." Indra frowned. "Am I wrong?"
“Those who possess chakra are few,” Senju Take said as he watered the sapling. “The area protected by the Ninja Clan is small.”
Ultimately, the plan to establish a base during Indra's years of travel was never implemented because he was not yet the leader of the Ninja Sect, so the territory protected by the Ninja Sect was still limited to its original boundaries.
If Indra were to inherit the Ninjutsu, the ninja world might actually develop into a great nation that uses chakra as its energy source. Senju Takeshi has already learned from Indra that chakra talent can be inherited through bloodlines.
“As long as I can inherit the Ninja Clan…” Indra gritted his teeth. Although his elder brother had healed him, he still felt a dull ache in the wounds on his body. “In the end, I still have to start from scratch and establish a power center that belongs to me alone. The plan to expand with the Ninja Clan as the center has not only been completely overturned, but I also need to spend time overthrowing the Ninja Clan. There are now more troublesome enemies.”
Now that his 'dictatorial and tyrannical' ideas have been exposed, his ideology is completely incompatible with that of the Ninja Sect.
It was with Senju Takeya that Indra always spoke his mind, completely unafraid of being feared or disliked, because he believed that Senju Takeya was the person who understood him best and loved him the most in the world, a family member who would unconditionally stand by his side and think of him.
Indra felt a dull ache in his heart when he recalled the words Ashura had said during his fight with his father.
During his travels, Ashura had completely inherited his father's will, becoming accustomed to thinking from his father's perspective and falling into the same blind spot as his father, unable to see the true suffering of the common people.
Now, the thought of Ashura calling him "brother" makes Indra feel even more agitated. Ashura is no longer the little brother who was completely devoted to him when he was a child. His brother is not only his brother, but also his father's son and the leader of the Ninja Sect's compassionate doctrine.
"Asura..."
Hearing his sworn brother grit his teeth and call out this name with deep obsession, Senju Take remained silent, just like a statue, letting Indra lean his head on his shoulder.
"I'm not reconciled, elder brother, I'm so unwilling to accept this!"
Ashura, his younger brother whom he had raised single-handedly, the younger brother to whom he had poured out his love...
— Rather than feeling resentful, he felt more aggrieved. Indra had long accepted the reality that his father did not love him, but his beloved younger brother did not understand or support him, just like their father.
In the end, he was always spoiled and pampered by Senju Takeya. Apart from sparring, Indra had never suffered any grievances from Senju Takeya. Therefore, the child's heart was always very soft, and he was easy to coax as long as his bottom line was not crossed.
Although Indra was self-disciplined and extremely strict with himself, he was not a heartless and rigid person. He would not demand the same things of others as he demanded of himself. He always remembered the saying that teaching should be tailored to individual students, as mentioned by Thousand Hand Bamboo, and he also knew what it meant to bounce back from rock bottom.
The child only wanted to fight evil with evil, to fight violence with violence. What's wrong with that? If you show mercy to criminals, then who will provide redemption for the victims whose lives, property, and even dignity have been taken away by criminals?
"Brother, you're all I have left..."
Thousand Hand Bamboo also looked down at Indra and rubbed his sworn brother's head.
Now, in his heart, he already has three punches to deliver to the Sage of Six Paths.
Indra leaned on Senju Takeya's shoulder, holding his brother's waist tightly. His kaleidoscope eyes spun rapidly as he planned what to do next. Indra had completely forgotten about Ashura and Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Now, he would ruthlessly abandon anyone who hindered his goal, disturbed his mind, or had a negative impact on him.
He has his older brother, which is enough for him.
"Don't be sad." His brother's clear, calm voice came through the phone. "I'll make you a cake."
After speaking, the elder brother paused and then added, emphasizing, "Strawberry cake."
If you're feeling bitter, eat more sweet things to counteract it.
Making cakes in this era without ovens is troublesome, but people can always come up with a solution.
“Brother, I’m already 23…” Indra muttered in a low voice.
Of course, Senju Taken remembered his sworn brother's age: 23. What's wrong?
Isn't 23 the same height as him? A younger brother will always be a younger brother.
At 16 years old, Senju Takeya had grown to 186cm tall and had a muscle density far exceeding that of ordinary people, making him a prime example of a genetically superior individual. Even if Senju Takeya's time were frozen at that point, Indra might be able to catch up to his height, but he would probably never surpass him in this lifetime.
Indra chuckled softly and said nothing more.
There are people who can comfort you and want to make you happy, what more needs to be said?
Since Indra was going to stay for a long time, Thousand Hand Bamboo expanded the treehouse and officially built a large single-level house.
It wouldn't be accurate to say he built it; the large flat-roofed treehouse grew out of its own accord. Seeing itself rise from the ground and connect with the original treehouse to form the new large flat-roofed treehouse, Qian Shou Zhu could only pat the trunk and praise it as a "good tree" and say "thank you." The four words in those two sentences almost shook the little white gold tree off the tree.
Big Flat Tree: Hehehehehe, the Mountain God praised me! The Mountain God praised me as a good tree and even thanked me! I'm so happy I'm swaying!
“I’ve always had a question,” Indra couldn’t help but ask.
Thousand Hand Bamboo also looked at Indra, tilting his head as if asking a question.
"Does elder brother also know Wood Release?" Indra asked.
The reason Indra couldn't determine was that when these trees were growing for Senju Takeya, Senju Takeya didn't mobilize the natural chakra that existed within his body at all.
Senju Takeshi also knew about Indra's chakra ninjutsu system. Techniques that were created by manipulating chakra through hand seals were called "escape" techniques, and then defined according to their nature as Fire Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, and so on.
“I don’t know,” Senju Take replied. “I never intended to control nature, it’s just…”
"But?" Indra patiently waited for Senju Takeya to finish his thought.
“They are willing to help me,” Qian Shouzhu also said. “That’s all, let nature take its course.”
Indra was stunned.
Senju Take also looked up. Rays of brilliant sunlight filtered through the overlapping canopy of trees, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the sun was shining brightly. As if on a whim, he asked Indra, "Want to learn?"
"Is that alright?" Indra exclaimed in delight.
Senju Takeya closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, the surrounding natural energy surged into his body as enthusiastically as swallows returning to their nests, transforming into a large amount of natural chakra. Fiery black markings climbed onto his cheeks, winding along his face until they disappeared beneath his collar. Senju Takeya slowly opened his eyes, and the cold, silvery-white halo in his dark pupils spun like the horizon of a black hole.
"I don't know what this should be called," said Thousand Hand Bamboo, who seemed to have descended from the heavens like a god. "But I think you should be able to learn it."
Indra reached out and tentatively touched the markings on Senju Takeya's forehead. He felt that they were like the real starry sky, with the illusion that his fingers would pass right through the void when he touched them.
Once Indra had satisfied his curiosity, Senju Takeshi left the mode that had given him a huge boost and made him feel like he was being helped by the heavens without any hesitation, and returned to his original state. "Since you have decided to completely oppose the Ninja Clan, then you must become stronger."
Indra's eyes shone like stars: "Yes!"
If he learns this trick, does it mean that he and his older brother will become more alike?
“That state… since my elder brother doesn’t know what to call it, let’s call it Sage Mode!” Indra’s lips curled into a wide smile. “It suits my elder brother perfectly!”
There should have been more than just my father among the sages of this ninja world long ago.
His rebellion will not end with the battle against the Ninja Clan! This is just the beginning!
Indra was filled with determination!
—Either erupt from silence or erupt from silence!
Ninja sect.
The room, with its doors and windows tightly shut, was dimly lit. The young man, dressed in a white ninja robe, stared blankly at the flickering candlelight in front of him, as if he could see his brother's Sharingan burning with rage through it.
"Since that's the case—Asura, I don't need you anymore!"
Did he do something wrong? His father taught him from a young age to value harmony and to prioritize love... He began to fear being abandoned by his brother after realizing that he could only see his brother's back and that they had fewer and fewer things to talk about.
So he stopped being lazy and afraid of hardship, and stopped being playful. He tried hard to become stronger and better so as to catch up with his brother. He didn't have the Sharingan, nor did he have his brother's talent and intelligence. He could only clumsily follow his father and learn everything from him.
But it seems he did something wrong again, and his brother doesn't want him anymore.
In the dim light, Ashura's eyes, which should have been clear and bright, were now as deep as Indra's. These two brothers, whose temperaments and thoughts were completely different, were strikingly similar at this moment.
Whether he was the leader of the Ninja Clan or not was irrelevant to him. He respected and admired his father, but he also deeply loved his older brother who had raised him since childhood. He was aware of the conflict between his father and brother and realized that his brother's ideas were too extreme and ruthless for the current Ninja Clan.
Ashura couldn't understand his brother's thoughts, just as he couldn't catch up with his brother's back.
But Ashura now harbors a deep obsession—
Let my brother return to the Ninja Clan and come back to my side.
"Brother, you can't abandon me." Ashura murmured softly, "If you just tell me where I went wrong, I will try my best to correct it, but you are becoming more and more silent and distant towards me."
Brother, what are you thinking about when you're silent?
As long as his brother comes back, he will try his best to understand his brother's complicated thoughts and actions. Before his brother comes back, Ashura has no time to think about anything else. He just wants his brother to come back.
In the darkest corner of the room, an amorphous mass of blackness surged with malice, its sinister face now giving the impression of being bruised and battered.
Damn Xilin Village, that hateful Xilin Mountain God, that overly perceptive, difficult, and stubborn brother Bao Nan Indra, it will definitely go back!
A note from the author:
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[Mini Theater]
Indra: (All his efforts have been in vain, he's enraged to the point of rage) You old bastard! Do you think I have nowhere else to go but here?! I still have my elder brother! And besides, I've put up with you for too long! I'm launching a magnificent rebellion against my father—I'll stab you in the kidneys!!! Asura, since you're on Father's side, then dare to stop me? I'll stab you too!
Black Zetsu: The thought that my bruised and swollen face is due to Indra's elder brother makes me tremble with anger—it seems I have no choice but to start with Ashura.
Ashura: Brother, why don't you want me anymore? Why don't you tell me anything? Did I say something wrong? Why could you abandon me so decisively? Brother, why can't we understand each other anymore? Why can't I understand your thoughts and feelings, brother, brother, brother...
Black Zetsu: This damn world is filled with heavy brother complexes, can I still successfully split the moon to save my mother?
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