"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 199: The Long Journey
All along, Yūshin had thought that the black-haired members of the Uzumaki Clan were all idiots. Well, that was basically equivalent to insulting himself.
Misunderstanding resolved—the black-haired Uzumaki were those who carried Yūshin's blood, the Uzumaki among Uzumaki... A cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest? No, no, no—it was clearly two bloodlines coexisting harmoniously.
Both were pairs of brothers, but compared to Indra and Asura, Chisui's son and his stepson, along with their respective descendants, seemed to get along quite well.
However, the great-grandson was a bit restless. Within the Uzumaki Clan, there was a trend of "Yūshin rising up"... Come on, your grandfather already married your grandmother—you've got the benefits, so why care about empty titles?
Does "Uzumaki Clan" sound bad, and "Yūshin Clan" sound good?
Yūshin decided to correct his thinking.
After a new leader takes power, they often like to engage in municipal projects: "That streetlight looks ugly—tear it down and install a new one."
In comparison, the great-grandson's desire to rename the family followed the same logic... Image projects are the most important projects.
But the ambitious plans of the elderly great-grandson with his full beard and mustache were cut short by Yūshin before they could even begin.
"First and most importantly, if someone wants to participate in war, let them participate. But a family's most important mission is to continue its lineage... How to ensure the family continues for a thousand years without perishing in the river of history—that's what you should be considering most."
The great-grandson hadn't expected to receive criticism and education at his age, but who told his ancestor to look younger than him? This counted as mandatory "lifelong learning."
No choice—your great-great-grandfather will always be your great-great-grandfather.
The key was that Yūshin made perfect sense, and the great-grandson couldn't refute it.
"I understand, Great-Great-Grandfather. Just like the war between Asura and Indra over a hundred years ago—once you get involved, it's very difficult to extricate yourself... The families they each founded are still in a state of war."
The great-grandson not only understood Yūshin's words but could even draw analogies.
When facing something like war, if you can avoid getting entangled from the beginning, then you might become the final winner... Fight however you want—we'll stay out of it anyway.
Seeing Yūshin fall silent for a moment, the great-grandson thought he had misunderstood, so he asked cautiously:
"Great-Great-Grandfather, is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Nothing wrong. I was just thinking..."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Hmm, I was just thinking that Indra and Asura were already events from over a hundred years ago, yet it feels like not much time has passed..."
This statement left the great-grandson somewhat bewildered. He felt his great-great-grandfather's mental state was somewhere between wisdom and senile dementia.
"Ahem, what I mean is, you need to change your goals. Don't think about becoming king or hegemon. Every era has so many families trying to dominate the entire world, but what are their endings?"
"Grand ambitions are nothing more than a handful of yellow earth. You should focus your energy on how to establish a thousand-year family."
Yūshin was just talking nonsense. After all, didn't the Senju and Uchiha fight for a thousand years without going extinct? He was just following habitual thinking, telling a kindergarten child not to fight with classmates.
"I understand, Great-Great-Grandfather. But... you mentioned having an important mission to entrust to us—what specifically does that refer to?"
The great-grandson worried that Yūshin might slip into senile dementia, so he reminded Yūshin to focus on business first—family education could be postponed... This was indeed a display of filial piety.
It was just somewhat divorced from reality—this was unnecessary concern. Even if the great-grandson developed dementia, Yūshin never could.
"Handle Uzumaki Clan affairs yourself. Back to business—this time I came to find you, I indeed have an important task to entrust to you. First..."
As he spoke, Yūshin took out a scroll. After removing the seal, a heavy coffin appeared out of thin air in the room.
The respectful Yūshin helped his lifelike old master out of the coffin, then laid him flat against the wall like stacking sandbags.
"Great-Great-Grandfather, this elderly gentleman is... could he be my great-great-great-grandfather?"
"You're overthinking it. This is the Sage of Six Paths. From now on, his remains will be entrusted to your care."
It wasn't that Yūshin hadn't figured out how to handle the Sage of Six Paths' remains by the end—it was that he hadn't thought about it at all during these years. Or to put it more directly...
He had forgotten.
Now Yūshin hadn't suddenly remembered the Sage of Six Paths either—he had suddenly remembered this coffin... because he had a use for it.
Handing the Sage of Six Paths over to the Uzumaki Clan was essentially like buying the box and returning the pearl.
"Great-Great-Grandfather, from the maternal side, our clan all carries the blood of the Sage of Six Paths. If you're planning grave robbing... well, it's best not to let everyone see the Sage's remains."
After seeing the legendary Sage of Six Paths, the great-grandson was first shocked, then contemplative, then positioned himself correctly... Yūshin was his blood great-great-grandfather—which side to support wasn't obvious?
"What are you thinking? With my moral standards, would I do such a thing? Didn't I tell you? I was the Sage of Six Paths' disciple, followed the Sage in founding the Shinobi Sect... I was even the Sage's most trusted disciple. After the Sage passed away, he entrusted his remains to me for handling."
"You... that's a bit much to ask. How could I possibly know you were the Sage's disciple?" The great-grandson sounded somewhat aggrieved.
"Huh, didn't I tell your grandfather about this? Impossible—he just didn't tell you."
Yūshin thought about it and realized he indeed hadn't told anyone else about this, but it didn't matter—his son could take the blame.
"As expected, I knew it was like this. No wonder clan affairs have always been decided by grandmother. That grandfather of mine... he didn't even share such important information."
The great-grandson couldn't help but shake his head, clearly disappointed in his grandfather.
"In any case, you must properly safeguard the Sage's remains and not disappoint the Sage's trust in me," Yūshin said.
Ahem, the Sage of Six Paths trusting Yūshin was truly eight lifetimes of bad luck.
Yes, Yūshin did complete everything the Sage entrusted to him, but the process of each task was questionable. He wasn't as respectful to his teacher as he claimed.
"Understood, Great-Great-Grandfather."
"Mm, put this small matter aside. Another matter is more important... Next, I will fall into eternal sleep. I naturally know when I should awaken, but I have no way to precisely control this timing. So when the time comes, the Uzumaki Clan will bear the heavy responsibility of reawakening me."
"Great-Great-Grandfather, you..."
Yūshin waved his hand and said:
"Don't ask for reasons, don't ask about results—just do as I say... Consider me a prophet, bearing an important mission entrusted by the Sage of Six Paths that concerns the life and death of the entire world."
"This critical moment of life and death—is it in the future, Great-Great-Grandfather?"
"Yes."
The great-grandson looked at the Sage of Six Paths' remains and instantly felt the sense of mission Yūshin carried, as well as the Uzumaki Clan's sense of mission.
Yūshin had brought out the Sage of Six Paths as his endorsement, so the great-grandson naturally trusted his words completely... The Sage's identity, Yūshin's identity as the Sage's most trusted disciple—wasn't that enough to explain everything?
More than enough.
Yūshin glanced at this old grandson, thinking that he hadn't expected the Sage teacher to still be helping him after being dead so long... He had discovered from the beginning that this old grandson actually had a bit of chūnibyō syndrome.
"Great-Great-Grandfather, how should future generations judge that so-called critical moment? If you can't explain clearly, how can we know?"
"Very simple. When the descendants of Indra and Asura end their war, when people no longer shed blood, the world will enter a brief period of peace. At that time, they will establish a village called Konoha..."
Yūshin naturally didn't need to mention anything about the Fireflies. In comparison, the reconciliation of Indra's and Asura's descendants was more symbolic.
"After this village is established, after another thirty-two years pass, before June 21st of that year, the Uzumaki Clan must summon me back and awaken me..."
As he spoke, Yūshin handed the summoning technique and ritual to his great-grandson.
With such specific timing, the great-grandson trusted Yūshin's words even more. This was equivalent to a Saiyan arriving via time machine at a certain point in time, telling everyone that world-destroying androids would be born on a certain year and month.
He solemnly accepted those things, not missing a single word Yūshin said, and even offered Yūshin strategic advice.
"Great-Great-Grandfather, if you're going to sleep for a very long time, you'll need to find a place that absolutely won't be disturbed. Perhaps it would be better for us to protect you—it would be more convenient when awakening you."
Yūshin shook his head. Just having everyone awaken him would be sufficient—no need to trouble future generations in other ways... If the Uzumaki Clan suffered massive casualties protecting him while stubbornly believing they couldn't awaken him before the appointed time, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
"No need. I've already found a place that absolutely won't be disturbed by anyone."
"...Great-Great-Grandfather, does such a place exist in the world?"
"It does."
As he spoke, Yūshin pointed straight upward.
A place that absolutely wouldn't be disturbed by anyone—of course, not on the rooftop, but...
"The moon."
"You..."
"Yes, I'm going to achieve the feat of manned lunar landing."
"..."
"Great-Great-Grandfather, I have one final question... After you return, can we cast off the false surname Uzumaki and restore the true surname Yūshin?"
Yūshin looked at him, then nodded with a smile: "Of course."
"That's truly wonderful. Good things come to those who wait; good food isn't afraid of being late."
The great-grandson somewhat misjudged Yūshin's sleeping duration. After so many years passed, would Uzumaki or Yūshin matter? The Uzumaki clan name would definitely have solidified long ago.
After explaining these matters, Yūshin stayed in the Uzumaki village for a period, enjoying family happiness. Then one day, he chose to leave again... Of course, he also took the Sage of Six Paths' coffin with him.
Returning to the place where he and Shichimi had lived, Yūshin took out a small box. He used this box to conduct one final communication with the descendants of Ōtsutsuki Nagatsuki on the moon.
This was an extremely precious thing, because over these years, Yūshin had consistently maintained friendship with Nagatsuki's lineage.
The descendants of Hamura on the moon also had a need to understand what was happening on the surface, so communication between the two sides had never been interrupted.
Not long ago, Yūshin had informed Nagatsuki's descendants of his desire to travel to the moon. They agreed to his request and indicated they would hide it from their family, quietly summoning him to the moon.
Afterward, communication between earth and moon would be severed, but that was fine—it could be explained with reasons like "Lord Gan finally died"... reasonable and without flaws.
The friendship between Yūshin and Nagatsuki's lineage, lasting over a hundred years, was truly moving.
The small box made from the God Tree returned with a new letter informing Yūshin that the summoning would take place in three days.
Next, Yūshin erased the summoning technique from the small box, then re-engraved it onto the coffin... Yūshin had prepared extremely advanced and high-grade equipment for his lunar mission.
It was not only a branch of the God Tree but also the coffin the Sage of Six Paths had lain in. Undoubtedly, this was a first-class cultural artifact of the Shinobi World.
After finishing the technique engraving, Yūshin ate, washed his face, brushed his teeth, bathed, changed clothes, used the bathroom both large and small, changed into new clothes, then lay down in the coffin...
Closing the lid, everything was ready.
Three days later, the teleportation technique activated, and the coffin with Yūshin inside instantly disappeared.
Yūshin felt the spatial jump complete, reached out to push open the coffin lid, and after merely sitting up, a desolate scene appeared before his eyes.
He found himself in a cave, but the view here was quite good—looking into the distance, he could see both the lunar landscape and the azure earth in the void.
"Hello, are you Lord Gan?"
A girl of about ten came to the coffin's side, reaching out to try to help Yūshin up.
Yūshin at this time appeared as a kindly old grandfather, smiling with particular warmth.
"Hello, Mutsuki. You... look very much like your ancestor Nagatsuki."
...
After Yūshin successfully launched and landed, the Uzumaki Clan still didn't know.
At this time, Yūshin's old great-great-grandson was sitting cross-legged in front of a black stone tablet, holding a chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other, seemingly deep in contemplation.
To prevent future generations from forgetting, some things were more reliable when carved in stone.
Yūshin was an excellent judge of character—his assessment of his great-great-grandson was completely accurate. This old fellow indeed had chūnibyō syndrome.
"If I write it plainly according to Great-Great-Grandfather's words, wouldn't it lack mystery and sense of mission?"
He stood up, spun around in place, then...
"Got it!"
Using hammer and chisel as brush and ink, the stone tablet as paper, he began writing a prophecy:
"From when the bright fire ignites
Those who bleed shall find respite
A thousand years of lamentation begins to turn
People of Uzumaki
Inscribe prayers with true names
As calamity gradually rises
Only you
Can shatter it
Twenty-first day of the sixth month, Hinoe-Uma year
Complete the mission
Return to true form
Uzumaki is Yūshin"
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