"Asura had no interest in leadership. He genuinely wanted his brother to become the village leader. But Hagoromo wouldn't allow such a simple solution. Instead, he intervened and created this competition task."
Yusuke said this, and everyone looked at him with confusion.
They weren't clear about what happened afterward, so their faces showed bewildered expressions.
Seeing their reactions, he continued with a smile.
"The Sage of Six Paths explained the competition to both sons and immediately sent them on their missions. He declared that upon completing their tasks, they would determine who would become the next village leader. Everyone around him considered this method reasonable."
"This approach would test which brother was more suitable for leadership. Since the village leader held absolute power in the Sage's village, he needed to ensure the selection would convince everyone. Otherwise, it could lead to future problems."
"This was the Sage's original intention for the competition. What followed was straightforward — Indra and Asura set out on their tasks."
"Both brothers traveled light, carrying minimal equipment for their missions. However, their arrival times differed significantly. Asura, lacking powerful chakra, could only travel slowly, while Indra, possessing vast chakra reserves, reached his destination in just one week."
"When he arrived there, he discovered that there were indeed massive remnants of the Ten-Tails tree on the ground. His purpose for coming here was to deal with these remnants, and ensure the villagers were free from disease, while also ensuring the village's water supply returned to normal. Because the water source had been corrupted by the Ten-Tails tree's remnants, so his purpose for coming here was to solve this problem."
"At that time, Hagoromo thought this matter was simple. He merely wanted to test his sons' methods and solutions. What he never anticipated was that this incident would create a deep rift between the brothers, leading to tragic consequences."
"The Sage of Six Paths bore the main responsibility for these events. He failed to detect Black Zetsu's presence — had he done so, he could have eliminated it with his Six Paths power. Unfortunately, by then, the Sage had distributed the tailed beasts' power and dispersed his vast chakra, drastically weakening his fighting abilities."
"Meanwhile, Indra, who had inherited most of the Sage's power, was becoming the world's strongest being. This prompted Black Zetsu to approach him. Its desire to resurrect his mother, Kaguya, drove it to seek even greater power and awaken the Rinnegan. Only with the Rinnegan could he implement the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan."
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi was crucial because it alone could gather all the world's scattered chakra — the essential condition for Kaguya's resurrection. Behind everything, Black Zetsu carefully orchestrated these events."
Yusuke took a deep breath at this point and twisted his stiff neck.
"At this time, both Indra and Asura arrived at their designated villages. These shinobi villages were nearly identical, both affected by the Ten-Tails tree's remnants from the previous battle. The contamination had made their water sources dangerous — drinking from them would corrupt people with the Ten-Tails' power, draining away their life force."
"Their mission was straightforward: help rebuild the villages and address all remaining issues from the Ten-Tails tree. The Sage would use their performance on these tasks to choose his successor."
"However, two serious problems arose. Indra had inherited nearly ninety percent of the Sage's power and possessed the Sharingan naturally, while Asura wasn't as fortunate."
❆❆❆
T/N: An important announcement! This book is on hiatus on Patreon!
Only available up to Chapter 234 because I can't understand a shit of what's happening anymore. It has become really difficult to translate this book because the author is simply banging their head on the keyboard and praying to some Chinese god to fix the words.
So when this book reaches Chapter 230 here on Webnovel, I will also announce a temporary hiatus.
I hope you enjoy and have a good read! (-‿◦)
"Believing he had transcended human limitations, he no longer saw value in ordinary followers. Instead, he sought those who would grow stronger for his ambitions, using them to maintain control over the villages and everything under his command. He preferred to rule through his internal power."
"Hagoromo's other son, Asura, was Indra's complete opposite. Though he lacked his brother's abundant chakra and Kekkei Genkai — including the powerful Sharingan — his warm personality and sociable nature drew many followers in the village."
"The Sage of Six Paths had hoped these contrasting personalities would complement each other perfectly. However, this hope led him to overlook Indra's true thoughts."
"The Sage assigned both brothers to different villages facing identical crises. Their water sources had been corrupted by the remnants and roots of the Ten-Tails, destroying their water supply. Though the Ten-Tails' remnants retained little power, even this trace amount proved overwhelming for ordinary villagers who relied on these water sources."
"When Indra and Asura arrived at their assigned villages, they had two clear objectives."
Yūsuke took a deep breath, then continued to look at everyone before him.
"First, they needed to eliminate these corrupted roots. Second, they had to restore the villages' water sources."
"Both brothers completed their tasks, but the time they took varied dramatically. Indra finished in less than a week, while Asura needed two to three years. After completing their missions, they returned to report their results."
"As expected, Indra returned first, having taken only seven days to complete his village's trial. Once finished, he promptly departed and returned to his own village."
"Upon Indra's return, his followers erupted in cheers. They were deeply impressed that he had completed the Sage of Six Paths' trial not only the fastest but in mere days while solving numerous problems."
"This remarkable speed earned Indra even greater respect from his followers. They believed following him was both the most important and wisest choice they had ever made."
"When the Sage of Six Paths saw his eldest son's return, he inquired about the mission. Indra responded simply and directly: he had removed the Ten-Tails' remnants, solved the village's water crisis by digging a deep well, and ensured their continuous water supply. He believed this well would gradually resolve other issues in their ninja village."
When Yūsuke finished speaking, his smile faded.
He knew this incident changed how Hagoromo viewed Indra, which led to numerous significant events that followed.
"After hearing Indra's report, Hagoromo didn't immediately pass his position to him. Instead, he told him to wait until his brother's village had resolved their problems. Only then would he decide, based on both their performances, whether to pass his position to Indra or Asura."
"Though Indra's face remained expressionless at this news, he felt deeply displeased. After all, he had completed his task swiftly and perfectly — why did his father still insist on waiting for Asura?"