Ashura's words were essentially his final testament. With less than thirty seconds left, he entrusted the responsibility of ninshū back to his older brother, Indra.
As for his apology, he could no longer express everything he wanted to say in words.
All he could do was guide the last trace of chakra still flowing freely through his fingertips and into Indra through their tightly clasped hands, sending all his thoughts and feelings along with it.
Blue chakra flowed from Ashura's hand into Indra.
The overflowing chakra allowed Rin, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Obito, Kakashi, and everyone gathered around them to see Ashura's memories and the emotions contained within them.
When the brothers were children, they had a dog named Shiro.
Indra back then reminded Sasuke of his own older brother when they were young. Gentle, loving, and unconditionally partial toward him.
As they gradually grew older, the brothers drifted apart.
Just like Naruto and Sasuke, or Hashirama and Madara, they could always see each other's backs, yet neither knew how to take that one step forward.
Ashura was apologizing for failing to step forward and stand beside his older brother when he saw Indra beginning to change, for failing to pull him out of the loneliness that had swallowed him more and more deeply.
There was also the trial their father had arranged.
Ashura had believed that a year and a half would be more than enough time for his older brother to be naturally recognized as the successor of ninshū.
He had never expected their father to use Ashura's absence as an excuse to delay the decision for an entire year and a half, only to ultimately name Ashura the successor instead.
Afterward, Ashura had often regretted returning.
Would it have been better if he had never returned to ninshū from that village, leaving their father and Indra to believe that he had died during the trial?
The two brothers had become estranged because of it.
It was only after traveling to Konoha and meeting Naruto, Sasuke, and the others that Ashura saw his older brother begin to change because of Hashirama and Madara, as well as Naruto and Sasuke.
He had hoped Indra might return to the gentle older brother he remembered from childhood.
But Ashura could go no further.
The atmosphere was so oppressive that it hurt.
Sakura sobbed quietly.
Naruto pressed his lips together, blaming himself while still struggling to process the sudden tragedy.
Sasuke, Obito, and the others continued desperately searching for a solution.
They even considered taking some of Ashura's ashes back with them, so they could later use them as a medium for Edo Tensei or Nagato's Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth.
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki also received Ashura's memories and emotions through his chakra.
With a sigh, he realized that this second son from another parallel world in the future had almost no time left.
"Is there anything you want to say to your younger brother?"
Final words of farewell.
"I refuse to accept it..."
After several seconds of silence, Indra murmured those words.
He looked just like Obito Uchiha after witnessing Kakashi kill Rin, and just like the Obito who, in the depths of his madness, used White Zetsu to seal away his own personality and deny the existence of the entire world.
But Indra had no intention of casting Infinite Tsukuyomi and forcing himself and the world into a dream.
As the ancestor of the Uchiha and the Sharingan, he understood better than anyone what it meant to call the Sharingan an eye that reflected the heart.
An even greater and more deranged idea seemed to be devouring the last of his reason.
"You truly are just like Mother Kaguya."
After making that judgment, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki said, "Since you have nothing to say to Ashura, we will leave things here for now."
Ashura could no longer be saved. Given the current situation, joining the battle on the other side and sealing Mother Kaguya was far more important.
When Hagoromo lowered his hand, Ashura probably had only a few seconds remaining.
He looked disappointed that he had not heard any final words from his older brother. Even so, like the Obito Uchiha Naruto and the others had seen in the illusion, he offered one final blessing.
"Even though I don't have a mission scroll like Naruto and Obito, if I could have any one wish granted, I'd wish for Older Brother to become the gentle person he once was, surrounded by many companions and no longer alone."
It was the longest and most complete sentence Ashura could manage.
After saying it, he crumbled into gray ash, just like Obito Uchiha during the Fourth Shinobi World War that the others had witnessed in the illusion.
The young Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki sighed, then prepared to join the other battle.
His fight against Mother Kaguya had already lasted several months. Countless lands and villages had been destroyed, and innumerable humans and other living creatures had been killed.
If he gave up now, how could he justify everything they had risked?
Even more people would die in the future as Mother Kaguya continued feeding the God Tree.
Whoosh!
Naruto once again blocked Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's path.
"Even now, you still intend to stop me?"
Naruto's eyes were filled with grief. He gritted his teeth and stared at Hagoromo without saying a word.
"If you had not insisted on stopping me, none of this would have happened," Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki said.
Naruto could no longer endure it. He was so furious he felt ready to explode.
At that moment, someone stepped in front of him.
It was Minato Namikaze.
Because of where he stood, Naruto could not see Minato's expression.
But Obito, Kakashi, and the others could see it clearly.
They had never seen Minato-sensei this angry.
"What Naruto is trying to stop is your decision to seal your own mother."
Minato Namikaze suppressed his anger and drew a deep breath.
"And the person who just died was your son."
Nothing more needed to be said.
As a father, those were the only two things Minato wanted to say to the Rikudō Sennin of this era for Naruto.
That was all.
Hamura Ōtsutsuki looked anxiously at his older brother.
Their battle had lasted several months, and the burden they carried was undoubtedly beyond anything ordinary people could understand.
But...
He looked at Minato and Naruto.
At this moment, his older brother probably could not yet understand what it would feel like to have two sons of his own.
Then, just as everyone's attention was focused on Minato, Naruto, and Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki...
Indra, who had been kneeling blankly beside Ashura's ashes, suddenly sprang into motion!
He charged toward the battlefield where Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was fighting at an unprecedented speed!
Madara Uchiha was the first to realize that Indra's target was not Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
It was Hashirama Senju.
Madara could not clearly see that the approaching figure was Indra. He only noticed that something other than Kaguya was rushing toward Hashirama.
But the movement was too fast and too sudden.
By the time Madara tried to stop him, it was already too late.
Tobirama and Izuna noticed a moment later and prepared to use Flying Thunder God Technique and the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Only then did everyone see that the person who had appeared behind Hashirama Senju was Indra.
"Indra!!" Naruto shouted.
Just like Madara in Hashirama Senju's memories, Indra abandoned all dignity and sank his teeth fiercely into the flesh of Hashirama's shoulder!
Madara Uchiha stared in disbelief.
"...!!!"
Hashirama Senju let out a muffled groan of pain.
Everyone was stunned.
Their first thought was that Indra had lost his mind from the shock.
Their second thought was that he was trying to follow Madara Uchiha's example and awaken the Rinnegan!
He was using Hashirama Senju as an evolution stone!
The moment Hashirama Senju, the walking, human-shaped miniature God Tree, realized what was happening, he visibly wilted.
Although the wound healed in the blink of an eye, the emotional trauma of once again being treated as something other than human remained.
Indra, meanwhile, had already reached the emotional threshold required to awaken the Rinnegan through grief and despair.
As mentioned before, the only reason the fish had failed to leap through the Dragon Gate was that it lacked this final mouthful of Hashirama's flesh.
The moment that flesh, which no ordinary person could withstand and which contained the powerful, devouring genes of Wood Release, entered his throat and slid down his esophagus, it was as though fireworks exploded throughout his bloodline.
Thump.
A heavy heartbeat echoed.
Indra opened the pale purple eyes he had long desired. Concentric rings spread across them, identical to the eyes of Madara Uchiha and Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
They represented overwhelming power, unparalleled dominion, and despair deeper than the abyss.
"The Rinnegan..."
It was astonishing, yet somehow completely natural.
If Madara Uchiha, the reincarnation of Indra's chakra, could possess the Rinnegan, then why could Indra himself not do the same?
Madara Uchiha looked at Indra, then glanced toward the small pile of ashes on the ground beside Naruto and the others.
As an older brother himself, he and Hashirama understood Indra's feelings better than anyone.
So Madara remained silent.
He watched as Indra glared with hatred at Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, who had seized that very opportunity to seal Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
That was right.
At the height of Indra's despair, while he charged at Hashirama Senju, consumed a piece of his flesh, and evolved his eyes into the Rinnegan, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki of this era took advantage of the opening.
Using his authority as the older brother, he ordered Hamura to seal Kaguya Ōtsutsuki before she could react.
Because of the information he had received from Kurama, Hagoromo also noticed Kaguya Ōtsutsuki attempting to release Black Zetsu.
He cast both Kaguya and the newly born Black Zetsu into Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
"Don't leave Mother alone. Go and keep her company."
With that single sentence, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki sealed the fate of his youngest brother.
From the moment of his birth and throughout his entire life, Black Zetsu would remain beside Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. In the form of the moon, they would shine over the earth and watch this world forever.
"Bastards! Hagoromo! Hamura! You two unfilial traitors!!" Black Zetsu screamed. "I curse you! Sooner or later, you'll suffer the same fate as Mother and me!"
Hearing those words, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki glanced at Indra, then toward the place where Ashura had already crumbled into gray ash.
"Perhaps I am not suited to becoming a proper father. Therefore, I will leave no descendants."
"!!!!"
...
Don't ask me why Indra awakened the Rinnegan too.
The answer is simple. Are there any Saiyans who cannot become Super Saiyans, even if they are only half-blooded?