"Hah? You little—! I'm going to catch you and throw you into the river!" I laughed, springing back into the chase.
Just as I was about to dive at Ashura for payback, a voice rang out, loud and clear, halting all movement.
"Master Indra, Master Danava, and Master Ashura—Master Hagoromo has called you three to meet him in the house."
All the kids froze.
I, Ashura, and Indra looked at each other.
It was one of the attendants from our home—an old man with a kind face, standing at the edge of the playground, hands folded respectfully.
Indra nodded and started walking toward him without question.
Ashura scratched his head. "Eh? Already? But we just started playing!"
I shrugged. "You've been running like a lunatic for over an hour; what do you mean 'just started'?"
Ashura pouted but followed along.
We walked through the village path, passing by the wooden houses and market stalls, kids waving goodbye as we left. The villagers looked at us with warm smiles—after all, we were the children of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.
But still, I couldn't help but wonder…
"Why call all three of us right now?"
We reached the house and stepped inside the wide hall where our father usually meditated or gave us occasional lectures.
There, sitting with his usual calm but powerful presence, was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, our father.
His Rinnegan eyes were closed at first, but as we entered, they slowly opened.
Calm. Focused. Deep like the ocean.
"You've all grown stronger," he said softly. "It's time we begin your real path."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it begins, huh?"
We stood in front of Father—no, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths himself—as he looked at each of us with that unreadable calm.
Then his voice came, deep and steady:
"Today, I will explain to you three about Ninshu and Chakra. From now on… your lessons begin."
Ashura blinked and leaned toward me, whispering, "Uh… what's Ninshu again?"
I resisted the urge to smack him.
Indra, of course, straightened up, eyes glowing with curiosity and attention like a proper prodigy.
Hagoromo stood slowly, his robe brushing softly against the floor as he walked toward a small scroll placed on a wooden table. He opened it with a wave of his hand.
"Chakra is the energy that exists within all living things. It is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual," he began, his voice filled with authority.
We listened silently.
"Ninshu," he continued, "is the way to use chakra—not for fighting—but for understanding. It is meant to connect people, to share their hearts and emotions. A way to bring peace."
I nodded slowly.
"So chakra isn't about power. It's about connection. to share emotions and peace, huh? Yeah, we will see the future of the so-called ninshu."
Hagoromo's voice echoed gently in the quiet room.
"Now sit down in a meditative position and focus."
Then we three did as we were told and sat in a meditative position.
"Now… feel your chakra. It will feel like a warm sensation inside your stomach. Let it flow naturally—don't force it."
I kept my eyes closed. At first, there was nothing. Just silence. My thoughts wandered a bit—what were we having for dinner tonight? Why did Ashura always drool in his sleep?
But then…
A faint warmth.
Right in the center of my gut.
It was small at first, like the flicker of a candle in a cold room. Then it slowly began to grow, spreading through my chest and limbs like gentle waves. It wasn't hot or overwhelming—it felt natural, like it had always been there, waiting.
"So this is chakra…"
For a moment, I could feel my breathing sync with it. My heartbeat slowed. Everything became still.
"This is… kinda nice," I muttered without realizing.
"Focus," Indra said, eyes still shut.
Ashura grunted beside me. "Wait, I think I feel it too! It's all tingly!"
Hagoromo watched us, his eyes calm. "You three have great potential. Each of you holds different strength…."
I slowly opened my eyes. Nothing had changed—but I felt different. Lighter. Aware.
"This is only the beginning…"
And for the first time in this new life, I felt it.
I was excited. This was the first time I awakened a chakra.
After what felt like a huge moment in our lives—our very first step into understanding chakra—Father just waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. Go play now."
Just like that.
Ashura was practically jumping in the air with excitement as we stepped out of the house.
"Elder brother!" he beamed, grabbing my arm. "Now we too will be able to use fire! And do all kinds of awesome things!" His eyes sparkled like a kid who had just been handed a toy store.
I chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, yeah. We'll be walking fireballs before you know it."
But Indra... he wasn't smiling.
He stood a little behind us, looking down at his hand with a serious expression. Like he was already imagining how to control chakra perfectly or pondering the deeper meaning behind it.
"Hey," I called, waving a hand in front of his face, "don't go into genius mode already. Let's go play again before dinner."
Indra looked up slowly, blinking, like he'd just been snapped out of a trance.
"Hm? Oh. Right."
Ashura had already started running toward the field, shouting, "Last one there's a rotten peach!"
I shook my head with a smirk and sprinted after him. "Oh hell no, I'm not being the rotten anything!"
Indra followed after us silently, but with a small smile.
Danava's Perspective
(Age: 10 Years Old)
By now, life had settled into a kind of rhythm. We'd play with the other kids in the morning, train under Father during the day, and at night, we'd be nose-deep in scrolls and books, reading by candlelight until one of us—usually Ashura—dozed off mid-page.
It had been five years since we began learning about chakra and Ninshu under Father's teachings. And though we had no fancy jutsus or combat techniques like in modern shinobi times, our understanding of chakra had grown immensely.
Handsigns? Yeah, those weren't a thing—yet.
After all, Indra was the one who'd go on to invent them.
Honestly, I couldn't help but wonder sometimes—if Tobirama Senju found out the ancestor of the Uchiha invented ninjutsu, he'd probably be like:
"What? Uchihas invented ninjutsu?! You know what? Fuck ninjutsu. From now on, only taijutsu. Someone bring me the Eight Gates."
Yeah, that'd be peak Tobirama.
But anyways, today was a historic day.
Not that anyone knew it yet.
We were all gathered outside our house. The sun was warm, casting long shadows across the ground.
Indra sat on the stone stairs in a meditative posture. His eyes were closed, his breathing calm and centered. Surrounding him were a dozen of Father's disciples, watching with curiosity and expectation.
I stood beside Hagoromo and Ashura. Ashura looked like he was fighting the urge to run straight into the circle and start asking questions.
Then, it happened.
Indra's fingers moved. Slowly, deliberately. A sequence of gestures—the very first hand signs.
And in the next moment…
FWOMP.
A small flame burst to life in his hand.
Everyone went silent.
And then, the noise exploded—
"Woah!"
"Amazing!"
"Was that chakra?!"
The disciples were stunned, staring with wide eyes, whispering among themselves like excited kids seeing magic for the first time.
Ashura rushed forward, grinning from ear to ear.
"Wow! Elder brother, how did you do that?!" he said, grabbing Indra's wrist and inspecting the flame like a curious monkey.
Indra smiled, calm and composed as ever.
"I think… different hand movements—signs—let you invoke chakra in different ways. I was meditating on it for days. I just followed the flow."
Even Hagoromo looked genuinely surprised, his rinnegan blinking slowly as he stared at Indra.
"Indra… you truly are a prodigy. Doing things even I have not considered yet, Father thought to himself, though he remained outwardly composed.
Meanwhile, I stood there watching everything unfold.
And thought,
Yup. That's our Indra. Always five steps ahead.