Chapter 33 - Meeting a Sage
Hiruzen then puts the rest of the scrolls away and says, "Using this contract will send you to Aurora Valley to one of the summoning bears there. Then, based on what little we know from Lord First, which isn't much, he never seemed to want to talk about it. You will be judged, and then you will either be accepted or killed. So, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure, Izuna?"
Izuna didn't think twice and nodded his head. This calling he felt deep inside him was something he couldn't ignore.
He thought, 'Maybe this is the god-like beings' way of pushing me toward the bear summons.'
Hiruzen then said, "Ok, here you go. All you have to do is run your chakra through the scroll, and you will be reverse summoned to Aurora Valley."
Izuna then took the scroll from Hiruzen and gathered his thoughts. 'I knew that one day I would need to learn sage mode, but I never thought I'd get an opportunity this early. Just please let this feeling work out.'
He then ran his chakra through the scroll, and everything went black for not even half a second. But during this half-second, his body felt so much pressure it was impossible to move. Then he was standing in a valley.
He now stood in the middle of Aurora Valley. To his left was a wide river that was slowly moving along. Above him were a myriad of colors in the sky. He thought to himself, 'These must be the aurora lights that Aurora Valley is named after.'
Then, he turned around and noticed he was standing in front of a massive bear.
The bear was huge, way bigger than any bear from his previous world. This bear stood 10 meters in the air while it was on all four legs. He couldn't imagine how tall it would be on two feet.
The bear just looked at him for what seemed like forever, then it finally said, "We've been expecting you."
Izuna then said, "You've been expecting me?"
The bear said, "Yes, now come. Our sage is waiting."
Izuna thought, 'Their sage? It doesn't seem like they are going to kill me. I guess this means I passed their test, and I'm already going to meet their sage. This is great.' He then followed the bear into the heart of the valley for around 1 hour at a brisk pace for the bear, but Izuna, being so much smaller, had to give a light jog.
The bear led him to a small mountain in the center of the valley that had a cave in it. They then entered the cave, and Izuna noticed several other bears of various sizes, but none quite as big as the bear that was leading him.
After 5 more minutes of walking behind the big bear and being stared at by the other bears, Izuna finally stood in a massive cavern in front of a large but clearly old bear that now had white spots sporadically spread across its fur.
The old bear then said in a raspy voice, "Everyone but Yama, leave."
Then, all the bears that were in the cavern left except the bear that Izuna had followed.
The sage then said, "Welcome, young one. I've been expecting you for some time now. It's been almost six years since I dreamed of you. Izuna Uchiha, the unseen guardian."
Izuna was surprised not only because the bear knew his name but because he was now six years old, meaning that the dream the bear had likely coincided with his entry into this world. He then was confused and said, "The unseen guardian?"
The bear then paused for a moment as if it was deep in thought, then said, "Yes, in my dreams, I see you guiding the shinobi of this world from the shadows."
Izuna was surprised, but as he thought, it kind of made sense, given that he knew the future. He could indeed guide future events to his liking, especially with the help of his save points.
He then asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?" wanting to get the seemingly wise sage's take on the matter.
The bear then said, "I do not know. That is just what I have seen. That is all for now. Do you have any last questions?"
Izuna then said, "So you're not going to kill me."
The bear simply said, "No, you have been prophesied; therefore, you have been chosen like Hashirama was before you."
Izuna was surprised. It seemed like to be selected by these bears, you had to be prophesied beforehand.
He then asked, "What was Hashirama's prophecy?"
The bear then said, "His prophecy was his own, and it has now passed."
Izuna waited for more, but it seemed like the bear wasn't planning to give him a more detailed explanation.
He then asked, "So, will you teach me Sage Mode?"
The bear then said, "If that is all, Yama will now answer the rest of your questions." The massive bear then led Izuna to a side tunnel, where they then entered a side chamber where it was just the two of them.
Read ahead on my Arcanist206. Currently 40+ chapters ahead.
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