"To think you killed Second Brother's son in battle. This is bad. The grudge between you two can never be resolved now. Second Brother values his companions and family more than anything!" Garuda sighed and shook her head helplessly.
"It's normal for people to die in war. Besides, tens of thousands of them ganged up on me alone. If anything, I'm the victim here, right?" Isamu rolled his eyes.
Although he felt a little sorry about accidentally killing Ashura's son, those people had chosen to attack him. If they were willing to kill him, they should have been prepared to die themselves. As far as he was concerned, he had done nothing wrong.
Victim?
Garuda gave Isamu a speechless look, secretly worrying to herself. With the death of Ashura's son, the feud between Ashura and Isamu was now impossible to resolve.
The two continued following the crescent-shaped marks Indra had left behind.
However, before long, Isamu realized something was wrong.
At their speed, they should have reached the South Sea long ago. Yet all he could see were endless mountains and forests. There wasn't a single trace of water anywhere.
"Isamu, what's wrong?" Garuda asked after noticing his confusion.
"Did we take the wrong route? I've been to the shores of the South Sea before. This place should be covered in ocean, but look around—where's the water?" Isamu pointed toward the mountains ahead.
"How is that possible? The southern region has always been a primitive forest. How could there be an ocean here? I've never heard of such a thing. I think you remembered wrong."
Garuda looked at him as though he were speaking nonsense.
"It's always been a forest?" Isamu scratched his head awkwardly. "Then I guess I remembered wrong."
Only then did he realize his mistake.
This was the Naruto world from a thousand years ago.
The terrain was naturally different from the world he knew.
After confirming they were still on the correct path, Isamu grabbed Garuda's hand.
"Isamu, you…!"
Garuda's face instantly turned red.
For a moment, she thought Isamu had finally changed his mind.
In that single second, she had already imagined countless scenes of their future life together.
Seeing her expression, the corner of Isamu's mouth twitched.
"Don't overthink it. I just think traveling like this is too slow. I'm going to show you a faster way to move."
"Oh… is that all…"
Garuda's excitement instantly vanished.
So she really had misunderstood.
"Kamui!"
Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Isamu pulled Garuda into a spatial vortex.
After several consecutive spatial jumps, they quickly arrived at Indra's location.
"What? Big Brother Indra!"
Garuda stared in shock.
They had caught up to Indra's group in less than a minute.
This spatial ability was simply too convenient.
"Isamu? Garuda? You're here."
Indra looked slightly surprised before quickly regaining his composure.
Looking ahead, Isamu saw ten elderly men dressed in the white robes of the Ninja Sect standing before a large building.
At that moment, he finally understood the situation.
Where there were buildings, there were people.
However, he hadn't expected those people to be members of the Ninja Sect.
Judging from Indra's attitude, he clearly knew them well. Otherwise, Indra would have already forced his way through.
"Indra, what's going on here?" Isamu asked, pointing at the elders.
The elders were also observing Isamu.
They could sense an enormous amount of energy emanating from him.
Logically speaking, only descendants of the Ōtsutsuki clan should possess such terrifying chakra.
Naturally, they were extremely curious about his identity.
"They were among the first people to follow the Old Man. They were also the people he trusted the most."
"After the Old Man passed away, they voluntarily came here and became the guardians of his mausoleum."
Indra curled his lip slightly.
If not for their past relationship with him, he would have already broken through by force.
"So they're the earliest followers of the Six Paths Sage."
Isamu glanced at them.
"But judging from their condition, their strength is long gone. Why not just force your way in?"
That definitely didn't sound like Indra's usual style.
"You brat! How dare you show such disrespect!"
One white-haired elder stepped forward and pointed angrily at Isamu.
"This is the mausoleum of Lord Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo! Let me see who dares to break in!"
"Don't."
Indra immediately stopped Isamu.
"These elders still have some connection to me. Let's try talking first."
"They're just a bunch of old fossils." Isamu brushed Indra's hand aside. "If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
"Isamu…"
Indra opened his mouth, only to close it again.
Ashura would probably arrive soon.
He knew Isamu was acting for his sake.
At this point, all he could do was pretend not to notice.
"A bunch of weak old men daring to put on airs in front of me?"
Isamu looked down at them arrogantly.
"Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo did you a favor, not me."
"I, Isamu, don't owe him anything."
"If you want to speak to me as equals, then show me strength."
"If you have no strength, then stop barking like dogs."
The elders nearly exploded with anger.
"You insolent brat!"
"Do you really think we're easy to bully?"
They immediately turned toward Indra.
"Indra! Is this how you teach your subordinates?"
"Still barking?"
Isamu couldn't be bothered arguing further.
"Kamui!"
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
A spatial vortex instantly engulfed all ten elders.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished completely.
"Isamu! You—!"
Indra's eyes widened.
For a moment, he thought Isamu had killed them.
Although their ideals differed from his, these elders had cared for and supported him throughout his childhood.
Seeing them disappear so suddenly left him with an uncomfortable feeling.
"Relax."
Isamu waved his hand.
"They're fine."
"I only locked them inside my personal dimension. Their lives are completely safe."
"So that's what happened."
Indra let out a sigh of relief.
"It's good that they're unharmed."
"After all, they were people who once cared for me. I truly couldn't bring myself to kill them."
"Isamu, please make sure they remain safe."
"No problem."
Isamu flashed an OK gesture.
"I guarantee I won't hurt those old men."