Because of his position, Indra had no choice but to take charge of the Ninjutsu Sect while teaching everyone how to become self-reliant.
Ashura, on the other hand, was thrilled. Blessed with great strength, he could freely roam the land to dispense justice—something Indra often envied.
Yet Indra could do nothing about it. Who made him the older brother? Sometimes, an elder brother simply had to yield to his younger sibling.
Time flew by. Eventually, through an election system, Indra handed the management of the Ninjutsu Sect completely over to others so he could take up his sword and travel the world to uphold justice.
The two brothers' reputations in the martial world grew increasingly illustrious. Whenever two villages clashed, they would step forward to intervene, using their silver tongues to reconcile the hostile sides.
Still, this world was undeniably cruel; the brothers discovered that war raged everywhere they went. Rather than dampening their enthusiasm, however, these harsh realities only made them bolder and more determined.
One day, the pair returned to the Ninjutsu Sect, sat down side by side on the stone steps, and gazed up at the sky together.
"Brother, with the world in such turmoil, what should we do?"
Ashura genuinely wanted to solve the chaos of these troubled times, but relying on his single pair of hands made progress painfully slow.
Indra sighed softly and replied, "Though many people wander the land dispensing justice just like us, they remain far too weak. Yet, as Father once told us, we are different. Our chakra can be reincarnated. I've decided: I will carry this conviction through lifetime after lifetime of reincarnation until these troubled times finally come to an end."
Ashura's eyes lit up. "Brother, that's amazing! I'll do the exact same thing. I'll keep reincarnating right alongside you to pacify this chaos until peace finally descends upon the world."
The brothers exchanged a smile. Right there, they sealed their future.
Hagoromo, who had been eavesdropping nearby, felt a profound sense of comfort. Their Tang Clan had always carried the heavy responsibility of making the world a better place.
Wishing to contribute something as well, Hagoromo left behind a stone monument inscribed with the history starting from Xiaotian, ending with a crucial passage:
"Only by uniting everyone through love can eternal peace be attained."
Hagoromo also wrote down a duplicate copy of the inscription and handed it to Xiaotian. Knowing his father was immortal, he hoped Xiaotian might step in to help out with a small favor somewhere down the road.
As for Xiaotian? He stood alone in the forest with a bitter expression. "Where on earth is this Black Zetsu? Please, could you at least try looking for me? And besides, Kaguya is your mother—doesn't that make me your father?"
Xiaotian had gone to extraordinary lengths to track down Black Zetsu, yet he had no clue where the wretch was hiding.
Just then, a frog suddenly hopped into view with a book clamped in its jaws. Xiaotian picked it up and flipped through it. "Ah, it's something Hagoromo wrote. 'Uniting everyone through love to attain eternal peace'? Not bad, this kid's doing all right. Perfect—do me a favor and deliver this package for me."
Xiaotian produced a pouch—a Qiankun Pouch loaded with the weapons he had forged.
Speaking of these weapons, Xiaotian felt immense pride. Taking inspiration from Journey to the West, he had crafted the Golden-Band Rope, the Seven-Star Sword, the Crimson Gourd, the Plantain Fan, and the Amber Purifying Vase.
Since Xiaotian was immortal and had no use for such items, he wanted to leave these weapons to his descendants so they would have the means to protect themselves.
And this was no ordinary pouch; true to its name—the Universe Bag—it contained its own world within. Far superior to a Universe Roast Goose, it offered a hundred square meters of storage space, costing one thousand Stamina Value per pouch.
"Oh, right—tell Hagoromo there are two more pouches inside for Indra and Ashura."
With that, the frog nodded and vanished into thin air.
"Right then, back to the search."
Xiaotian resumed his hunt for Black Zetsu. He had to find him and discuss how they might resurrect Kaguya.
***
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, decades slipped away.
By this day, Hagoromo's life was drawing to a close. Knowing his time had come, he longed to see Xiaotian one last time so his father could send him off on his final journey.
Perhaps guided by some telepathic bond, Xiaotian actually returned. Upon seeing him, Indra and Ashura wept tears of joy.
Gazing at Hagoromo, who now flickered like a candle in the wind, Xiaotian said, "Son, I'm here."
"Father..."
Hagoromo was overjoyed. Though he had lacked a father's presence in his early childhood, Xiaotian had frequently visited him as he grew up and even helped raise his children.
Xiaotian sat down beside Hagoromo. "Go to the Pure Land and live a good life."
Hagoromo closed his eyes without uttering another word; simply seeing Xiaotian was enough to leave his heart entirely at peace.
Tears streamed down Xiaotian's face. The sensation of outliving one's child was an agony no ordinary person could bear.
Immortal life was both a dream and a cruel curse, for it forced you to watch friends and family wither and die—a torment beyond mortal endurance.
"Grandfather..."
Indra wanted to offer words of comfort, but he had no idea what to say.
Wiping away his tears, Xiaotian murmured, "Partings and reunions are a constant in human life. Besides, though Hagoromo has passed, his soul will reside in the Pure Land to govern the spirits there. Indra, Ashura, you two must keep striving."
Xiaotian left. He needed time to collect himself before resuming his search for Black Zetsu to resurrect Kaguya. If not for that goal, he might genuinely have cursed his own immortality.
As for Indra and Ashura, neither had inherited the leadership of the Ninjutsu Sect, which left them free to roam and dispense justice as they pleased. However, both had married and started families, forcing them to pause their adventures to look after their loved ones and build up the Tang Clan.
Tang Rui, Hamura's son, also married, fathered children, and continued expanding the Tang Clan.
Through the long passage of time, while Xiaotian remained alive, anyone bearing the surname Tang dwindled to near invisibility.
Readers should note that this story is not yet finished; please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content that follows!
Meanwhile, descendants gifted with the Sharingan began calling themselves the Uchiha Clan, those with the Byakugan formed the Hyuga Clan, and those possessing vast reserves of chakra became the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan.
Xiaotian understood this drift was inevitable. For instance, if a daughter of the Tang family married into the Uchiha clan, her children would naturally become Uchiha.
Yet every single one of these clans upheld an unalterable ancestral rule: whoever encountered someone bearing the surname Tang must treat them with absolute respect and obey their commands.
Xiaotian himself remained unaware of this decree, and right now he felt entirely lost. After searching for millennia, he had not found the slightest trace of Black Zetsu.
Had Indra not personally laid eyes on Black Zetsu before, Xiaotian would have suspected the rebellious brat had never even existed.
"Sigh... Black Zetsu, where on earth are you? Dad misses you so much I can't eat or sleep properly. Can't you just show up on your own?"
Xiaotian longed to track Black Zetsu down, give him a sound thrashing to make him experience the overwhelming weight of paternal love, and then demand to know why he never came looking for him.
Had Black Zetsu heard those thoughts, he wouldn't dare show his face. Just hearing the words—a beating followed by an interrogation—was enough to terrify any son.
Head bowed in disappointment, Xiaotian wandered onward, entirely unaware that he had drifted near an open clearing where two factions were locked in fierce combat.
Suddenly, a shuriken came hurtling through the air. Xiaotian raised a hand, caught it effortlessly, and looked up in startled surprise at the vast crowd assembled before him.
A warrior with a headband glared straight at him and demanded, "Are you from an outside clan?"
"Aren't you one of the Senju?"
Before the man with the Sharingan could finish speaking, realization dawned on Xiaotian. "The Uchiha and the Senju? Why are you two fighting again?"
The Uchiha were Indra's descendants, while the Senju descended from Ashura. Logically speaking, the two clans should have been like brothers, yet squabbles over territory drove them to endless warfare, as if they had completely erased their shared history from their memories.
Hearing his words, both sides furrowed their brows. Xiaotian covered his face with his hand and sighed, "I really didn't want to get involved, but you keep forcing my hand. Fine then—don't blame me for being impolite."
He drew out a reinforced rattan switch. "If I don't beat some sense into you lot today, it seems you'll just keep slaughtering each other."
Centuries ago, Xiaotian had intervened once with excellent results. Yet after a hundred years of peace, the two sides were at each other's throats again, leaving him with no choice but to step in since these fighters were all his descendants.
"Hmph! Whoever you are, since you're sticking your nose into this, don't blame us for showing no mercy."
Uchiha Tajima could see clearly enough that this was just some meddlesome outsider.
Senju Butsuma frowned slightly. "Who on earth are you, sir? I advise you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you."
"Fine, I'll talk to you two in a minute."
Brandishing his rattan switch, Xiaotian charged forward...
Half an hour later, a crowd of warriors knelt on the ground, clutching their rear ends with utterly demoralized expressions on their faces.
A moment ago, their adversary had waded into battle armed with nothing more than a switch—and rather than striking their bodies, he had targeted only their bottoms. Moreover, the man was monstrously powerful; every ninjutsu they threw at him failed completely, and even their Sharingan proved utterly useless. In the end, they had been thoroughly beaten into submission, stripped of every ounce of their former arrogance.
Xiaotian rested the switch across his lap. "I'm not trying to lecture you, but you're tearing into each other over a strip of land? What, have you all forgotten your own history?"
Butsuma rubbed his sore backside and protested, "We didn't want to fight! The Uchiha kept provoking us."
Tajima refused to take that lying down. "Who says we wanted to fight? Clearly, you people encroached on our territory, and we were simply rising up to defend ourselves!"
Xiaotian lashed both men across the posterior with his switch and scolded, "You have the nerve to start a war over such trivial nonsense? Your ancestors were blood brothers! Can't you unite your hearts to deal with outsiders instead?"
Despite the stinging pain, Butsuma had no idea who this man was. "Might I ask who you are...?"
"Tang Xiaotian."
At those words, the members of both clans instantly froze. They might have been ignorant of history, but they would never forget their ancestral teachings.
The surname Tang, coupled with the name Tang Xiaotian, meant this was the very person they were bound to obey.
"I'll be staying nearby for a while. If I catch you fighting again, don't blame me for what happens next."
Picking up his switch, Xiaotian turned and walked away. He chose to stay here for one reason: he simply could not bear to watch the two clans continue their endless feuds.
"I swear, I'm at my wit's end! These two clans are meant to be brothers, yet they spend all their time slaughtering each other. Can't they unite and turn their gazes outward? Doesn't this kind of mutual slaughter make your ancestors weep in heaven? It infuriates me!"
Muttering to himself as he walked, Xiaotian made sure every last person heard his words, leaving not a single soul with the courage to talk back.