When it came to exchanging books, Xiaotian naturally wanted the classic trilogy. He already had Mr. Jin's *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, leaving only *The Return of the Condor Heroes* and *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*. He only needed to redeem one of them, and could simply copy the rest.
And who would do the copying? The children, of course.
Using handwriting practice as an excuse, Xiaotian had the children copy the texts bit by bit. It didn't matter if they made mistakes in their characters; he wasn't going to read them anyway, and this way he could also teach the children simplified Chinese characters. It was a win-win.
One day, as Xiaotian was sipping tea with Hagoromo sitting beside him, Hagoromo asked, "Father, can they really be taught this way?"
Xiaotian put down his teacup and said, "Childhood is the most critical period. Not only must we teach them to care for one another, but we also need to instill a sense of righteous spirit in them, and these books can do just that. Besides, teaching them through the concept of martial arts heroes during childhood is the best approach."
Back when he was a child in his past life, Xiaotian had loved reading about these great heroes. Armed with a three-foot wooden stick, wherever he went, not a single patch of grass was left unscathed.
Mischievous as he was, those martial arts heroes had filled Xiaotian's heart with a sense of justice. Although everything changed when he grew up, it was because of this that he never did anything truly bad.
"Brother, let my Dragon-Slaying Saber test your skill today!"
Ashura brandished a wooden stick, pointing it at Indra.
"Hmph, overestimating your capabilities. My Heaven-Sifting Sword hasn't been drawn in a long time."
Though Indra was also holding a wooden stick, he cradled it with an air of complete indifference.
Seeing the children behaving like this, Hagoromo felt a bit worried about the future, but Xiaotian loved this kind of playfulness. As long as nobody got hurt, games were fine.
Suddenly remembering something, Xiaotian said, "That's right, I've placed a seal on Indra."
"A seal?" Hagoromo asked, puzzled.
Xiaotian nodded slightly. "Yes. He possesses the Sharingan and will eventually unlock the Mangekyo. I'm not worried about Indra himself, but I do worry about what his descendants might do. So I've placed a seal on him: the more the Mangekyo is used, the more it will gradually deteriorate into blindness."
Having read the script, Xiaotian naturally knew the advantages of the Mangekyo, so he combined Yin-Yang energy to place a layer of seals on Indra. This seal would be passed down through generations until the Mangekyo eventually ceased to exist.
Hagoromo, who naturally knew the power of the Mangekyo, said, "That's for the best. It can reduce wars."
At that moment, Ashura was defeated. Tears welling in his eyes, he cried, "It hurts, Brother!"
Indra dropped his wooden stick, walked over to Ashura, and stroked his hand. "There, there, don't be scared. Great heroes don't cry."
Xiaotian stood up and said, "That's right, heroes don't cry. And our Tang Clan must be the same—strong. But being a hero also means learning some medical knowledge. Come on, Grandpa will take you to learn how to identify medicinal herbs today."
Watching Xiaotian lead the two children away, Hagoromo smiled. This was the exact outcome he had desired.
***
The Ninjutsu Sect now had many members. However, because of Indra, ninjutsu was widely used; some people had even invented ninjutsu for irrigating crops or altering terrain.
Indra worried that this would change the status quo of the Ninjutsu Sect, and he worried about the future as well.
Seeing Indra standing there deep in thought, Xiaotian walked up and patted the little fellow's head. "What's wrong, Indra?"
"Grandpa, I see them always practicing ninjutsu, and I'm afraid ninjutsu will become a weapon for future conflicts."
Indra was truly worthy of being the eldest son; at such a young age, he could already foresee these things.
Xiaotian smiled faintly. "Is that all? It's very simple. Take me, for instance: back then, the Tang Kingdom unified the world, but what if there were no Tang Kingdom? The world would still be unified eventually; that's something that cannot be changed. Besides, ninjutsu can become a weapon, but it can just as easily become a power to help others."
"Everything has its good and bad sides, and ninjutsu is no exception. So you don't need to worry about it; leave the headaches to someone else."
Hearing this, Indra understood a great deal. "Yes, Grandpa, I understand. Things have both good and bad sides, so I shouldn't just look at the flaws—I must also look toward the bright side."
Xiaotian laughed heartily. "Right, exactly like that. Oh, by the way, I have a gift for you."
Xiaotian gently tapped Indra on the forehead, and the boy felt a burst of heat in his eyes, causing him to close them involuntarily.
When Indra opened his eyes again, he found that everything before him was crystal clear. Xiaotian handed him a mirror and said, "This is the Sharingan. Since you are my descendant, you naturally have the ability to awaken it."
Indra took the mirror and looked. To his surprise, his eyes were bright red, with three tomoe swirling around his pupils.
"Grandpa, since you gave me this power, what about my younger brother?"
As a good elder brother, Indra naturally didn't want to monopolize such power.
Xiaotian smiled and said, "Don't worry, I gave him natural energy, but his pace is still slow and will require time to comprehend. Well, I'll be going now—you carry on."
Watching Xiaotian's retreating figure, Indra breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, *As long as my brother has natural energy, everything will be fine.*
In the blink of an eye, Indra and Ashura slowly grew up. Perhaps influenced by Xiaotian, the two of them increasingly aspired to be martial arts heroes, even going out of their way to help others when they had free time—such as helping an old grandmother water her fields or driving away wild boars for the villagers.
Consequently, Indra and Ashura were adored by the people of the Ninjutsu Sect. Yet they still had one major annoyance: they had no desire to inherit the burdensome Ninjutsu Sect.
One day, seeing that his children had grown up, Hagoromo assigned them a task to go help out in other villages.
Upon hearing this, the two boys were overjoyed. Wasn't this just going out to act as heroes? They immediately set off for the other villages to begin their mission.
During this mission, the two did not use ninjutsu; instead, they taught the villagers how to become self-reliant. They had thoroughly grasped the philosophy that giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish, so rather than handling problems themselves, they worked alongside the villagers to solve them.
Hearing the news, Hagoromo was deeply gratified. When your children turned out this capable, a father could only be immensely proud.
"Father, look at how fast Indra and Ashura are growing." Hagoromo handed the intelligence report to Xiaotian.
After glancing at it, Xiaotian said, "Everything is within my expectations. That's just the way true heroes are: when helping others, they also teach them self-reliance. But since they are both so capable, which one do you plan to hand the Ninjutsu Sect over to?"
Mentioning this gave Hagoromo a headache. Because of Xiaotian's influence, neither Indra nor Ashura wanted the encumbrance of the Ninjutsu Sect; they both longed for the freedom to roam the world upholding justice.
Xiaotian smiled faintly. "Actually, there's no need to agonize over it. We can choose someone else. You could call this system an electoral system."
"An electoral system?" Hagoromo had never heard of such a thing.
Xiaotian produced a book and said, "Here is the explanation. The significance of an electoral system is that anyone can become a leader, but that leader is elected by the people. It's best to limit the term to one year per change, which will also allow the Ninjutsu Sect to maintain continuous development."
Hagoromo took the book and read it, finally grasping the true meaning of the electoral system.
Xiaotian stood up and said, "Take your time understanding it. Sometimes, fairness isn't a bad thing."
Meanwhile, having successfully completed his mission, Indra was leaving with a sense of fulfillment when he encountered a human figure clad in straw and pitch-black from head to toe.
"Do you wish to become the successor of the Ninjutsu Sect?" the dark figure asked.
Without missing a beat, Indra drew his treasured sword and said, "I don't know who you are, but you're so dark—definitely not a good guy."
Before his voice had even faded, Indra's entire body was crackling with lightning, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.
Startled, the dark figure scrambled to dodge, but the lightning-imbued sword had already lopped off his arm.
That dark figure was none other than Black Zetsu, who desperately wanted to curse right now. He had only managed to say a single sentence before Indra came at him with a sword—was this something a normal person would do?
Black Zetsu sank into the ground and vanished. Frowning slightly, Indra muttered, "Ran away just like that? Figures. Evil can never defeat righteousness."
When Indra returned, he reported not only on helping the village, but also on his encounter with the dark human.
When Xiaotian heard that it had been a dark human, a wave of bitter regret washed over him. He pounded his chest in frustration, thinking, *Why didn't I go check it out myself? If I had laid eyes on Black Zetsu, wouldn't I have been able to resurrect Kaguya? Ah... my chance is gone.*
Not long after, Ashura returned as well. Hagoromo announced that henceforth, Indra would inherit the Ninjutsu Sect.
This made Ashura ecstatic, as he no longer had to inherit the troublesome burden of the sect.
Indra, however, was thoroughly depressed; his dream was to roam freely and uphold justice.
Fortunately, Hagoromo produced a book and handed it to it to Indra, saying, "This is the electoral system. If you want to hand the Ninjutsu Sect over to someone else, study this thoroughly."
Picking up the book, Indra felt as though he had struck gold. Clutching it tightly to his chest, he said, "Father, I will study it well."
Hagoromo smiled faintly. "Good, take your time studying it. But your grandfather is leaving tomorrow, so you and Ashura should go send him off."
"What?!"
Indra froze. Xiaotian was leaving? This caught him completely off guard. Ever since he was a young boy, his grandfather had always been the one guiding him and accompanying him and his brother as they grew up.
That evening, Indra and Ashura went to find Xiaotian to ask why he was leaving.
Hearing their question, Xiaotian shook his head gently. "You've both grown up. There's no real use for me to stay here any longer, and seeing how well you've grown, I have nothing left to teach you."
Was Xiaotian leaving for those reasons? Of course not. He simply wanted to go out and search for Black Zetsu to ask how Kaguya could be resurrected.
"Grandpa!"
Reluctant to see him go, Ashura grabbed Xiaotian's hand and pleaded, "Can't you stay a little longer?"
"Yes, Grandpa," echoed Indra, who also didn't want Xiaotian to leave.
Xiaotian stroked their heads and said, "People must always part ways eventually. The two of you will experience this too. But I hope you won't forget the ancestral motto of our Tang Clan: unless absolutely necessary, do not pursue power. For carefree freedom is our true heritage—live freely."
The two brothers nodded, engraving those words deeply into their hearts.
The next day, Xiaotian set out. He was going to begin his search for Black Zetsu—and if he couldn't find him, he could always study more knowledge and use it to resurrect Kaguya.