Silence now reigned over the valley and the city, heavy, chilling, almost as terrifying as the horrors that had just unfolded there. Everyone was still in shock, shaken by the brutality of the battle and the ensuing terror: the death of four of the most powerful Shinobi.
Amidst this frozen chaos and mute sorrow, a man stepped forward toward the battlefield. He had long since ceased to fear horror; he knew too well the torments of war to be sickened by it.
Reaching the scene, Ashina knelt before what remained of his daughter: a few blood-stained bones, the only traces of what she had been, ravaged by demonic energy. Her monstrous chakra had reduced her to nearly nothing.
Suddenly, among the crimson splatters, a turquoise glow caught his eye. Slowly, he reached out, dipped his fingers in the blood, and pulled out a pendant. He immediately recognized the unique, precious medallion: it belonged to the Shodaime Hokage. This gem contained a small part of his chakra, allowing control over the Bijû he had once captured and distributed among the elemental nations. He had likely given this necklace to his wife to help her control the Kyûbi.
With infinite sadness, Ashina clutched this last memory of his daughter to his chest, a solitary tear falling into the pool of blood.
"Rest in peace, my daughter... I'm so sorry," he murmured, overwhelmed with remorse for having forced her into a marriage that, he now realized, had driven her to sacrifice.
The old man then turned, approaching Sakura's lifeless body. The young woman with pink hair lay there, pierced by a blade through the heart, her body covered in bleeding cuts. Her bloodless lips released a trickle of blood, and her half-open eyes, already dull, hinted that life had left her.
His gaze then fell upon Madara's body. Once, he had hated this man and his ideals, but in that moment, he wondered if it would have been better to offer him his daughter's hand.
But a striking thought suddenly crossed his mind: he had to remove Madara's Rinnegan to prevent anyone from seizing it. These Dôjutsu were coveted treasures, and this one, in particular, must not fall into the wrong hands.
Then, a detail caught his attention. In Madara's right hand, something glowed faintly.
He approached, surrounded by the grief-stricken Shinobi, amidst a chorus of cries and murmurs, Tsunade tearfully begging for her master's return. Ashina knelt again and saw a small scroll tightly clenched in the dead man's hand. He took it, noting the complex Fûinjutsu seal engraved in Madara's palm. With an expert glance, he understood it was a conditional seal, but he didn't yet know the criteria for activating it.
After a moment of hesitation, he diverted his gaze from the seal to examine the scroll. It bore no signature. Ashina broke the seal and unrolled the parchment, which contained only two words.
"Edo Tensei?" he read quietly.
He didn't understand the meaning of this inscription. His first thought was that it might be a name or technique, but he wasn't sure. After a moment's hesitation, he stored the letter in one of his pockets, promising to revisit this mystery later.
"Rest in peace… my friend," Ashina murmured, closing Madara's eyes, which seemed to stare into the void, where Sakura and Mito now lay.
Ashina then supervised preparations for the burials, or what remained of these four beings. Each deserved a dignified funeral, marked by the respect they had earned in life.
However, he hesitated for a long time about the fate of his son-in-law. Bitterness might have led him to consign Hashirama's body to a common grave, but he remembered that, despite the arranged beginnings of their marriage, Mito had sincerely loved this man. And Hashirama Senju himself had deeply loved his wife in life.
But more urgent than these reflections were the farewell rituals. An entire nation was in mourning, aware that their leaders had given their lives to protect them. A ceremony worthy of this sacrifice was needed, allowing the people to pay their final respects to these protectors before they joined their eternal rest.
In the private gardens of the Daimyô's residence, two finely adorned tombstones now marked the graves of Madara Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, the deceased Heikage and Daimyô of Heiwa. They had died defending their city, their country, their family... and their vision of peace.
Every day, Ashina came here to pay his respects. First at his daughter's altar, then at the graves of his former allies.
Yes, today, he had no shame in admitting he considered Sakura and Madara friends. He didn't merely come to mourn; he spoke to them, telling them what was happening in the country, sharing news of their loved ones and their child... And always, he silently posed the same question to Madara: what did those two words found on the scroll at his death mean?
Before the funerals, Ashina had immersed himself in intensive research on this mysterious inscription. But his efforts were in vain. When he spoke of it to the council, no one knew anyone named Edo Tensei, nor a technique by that name.
He had also studied the Fûinjutsu seals engraved on Madara's body before his funeral preparations. Despite his expertise, he was still unable to fully decipher these conditional seals. The scroll found in Madara's hand could only have appeared in response to a specific set of conditions, yet even Ashina, a master of Fûinjutsu, could not identify them. Was it the work of Sakura? Or someone else?
It had been a week since the last battle of the Shinobi Gods. The country was still mourning the innocent victims, but especially the two leaders who had given this place dearly earned peace.
That day, as usual, Ashina went to the Daimyô's private gardens to pay his respects. This strictly reserved place never welcomed strangers. Yet he noticed someone standing before the two graves, and it greatly irritated him. He approached quickly to examine this unknown figure, tall, dressed in a white kimono, leaning on a staff of strange design.
"Good morning, Ashina," the figure said in a deep, gentle voice.
"Who are you?" Ashina asked, stunned that this stranger seemed to know him when he knew nothing of the stranger's identity.
"My name matters little, Ashina," the man replied calmly.
"It matters to me. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" demanded Ashina, drawing his katana, ready to attack if necessary.
"Put away your weapon, Ashina. I have only come to pay my respects at the graves of two friends."
Ashina slowly circled the figure to see his profile, and what he saw left him speechless, struck by disbelief. The stranger was an old man, his face marked with deep wrinkles, a long goatee extending halfway down his chest. But what disturbed the Uzumaki most were his eyes: Rinnegan.
"That's impossible," Ashina murmured, stunned.
"Nothing is impossible, my child," the stranger replied, slowly turning his head toward him.
"Who... who are you?" stammered Ashina, uncertain.
"I am the one your legends call the Sage of Six Paths."
This name resonated in Ashina's mind like a bell. No, it couldn't be possible. It was only a story, a legend for children. The tale of a man with divine powers who tamed the forces of nature and imposed peace on Earth for centuries.
"It can't be," he muttered, hesitating.
"Come closer," Ashina, there is room for two, said the Sage as he focused again on the graves. Still in shock, Ashina sheathed his katana and cautiously approached. He sat a respectful distance away, his gaze fixed on the gravestones.
"How did you know Madara and Sakura?" he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
"They represented what I waited a thousand years for as an arbiter," Hagoromo declared, his voice heavy with mystery.
"What do you mean?" Ashina insisted, increasingly troubled.
"What do you know of the legend of the Sage of Six Paths?" the sage replied.
"Only tales," Ashina murmured. "A man with the powers of a god, capable of turning armies to ash, ruling for centuries. But they're just stories, with no written proof, passed down by word of mouth."
"There is a part of truth," Hagoromo replied in a weary tone.
"But how does that connect to them?"
"What do you know of the Child of the Prophecy?" the sage asked, leaving his question hanging.
This change of subject exasperated Ashina, but his instinct whispered that he would get answers by following the thread of this conversation.
"The Child of the Prophecy? It's said that one day, a person will appear to bring peace to the world," Ashina recited, recalling ancient scrolls from his clan. A sudden thought crossed his mind. "Was Madara…"
"The Child of the Prophecy? No."
"No?" repeated Ashina, shocked. He had been so sure; Madara possessed the Rinnegan, he had to be the one foretold in the prophecies.
"Madara could not be the Child of the Prophecy. His destiny was different," the sage replied, his voice filled with ancient wisdom. "Since the world's beginning, war and hatred have continued to tear at the hearts of men. I wanted to put an end to this violence, but like everyone else, I had to pass the mission to the next generation. So, I entrusted it to my two sons. But they, too, ended up fighting for power. The cycle of hatred continued, their souls reincarnating over and over to wage war."
The sage's words, spoken with almost palpable weariness, struck Ashina. He wasn't a gullible man, but the fatigue in the Sage's voice made him strangely sincere. He realized that if this man spoke these words at Madara's grave, he must have known him closely.
"Madara… was he the reincarnation of one of your sons?"
"Yes. And Hashirama of the other. And for the first time in centuries, the two had a shared desire: peace. Yet, the cycle of hatred caught up with them, and they ended up clashing."
"And what does Sakura represent in all of this?" Ashina asked, his analytical mind racing. This mystery, this conversation—he needed to understand why a legendary being like the Sage was revealing these things to him.
"She is the reason I waited so long," Hagoromo replied enigmatically. "The reason for my patience... and my intervention, and why I remained passive the first time."
"Your… intervention?"
"Three years ago, I took Sakura back in time."
"You… you did what?" Ashina exclaimed, astonished. It was no longer a legend. This man was truly the god he had heard about in his childhood, a being with powers beyond imagination.
Hagoromo, undisturbed by Ashina's reaction, continued as if speaking about the simplest thing in the world.
"Sakura was born in the year 82 after the battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End. I sent her back to that era to end the cycle of hatred."
"Why?" Ashina stammered, stunned. Slowly, everything began to make sense: the seal, Sakura's knowledge, her techniques… It all became clear. She possessed a mastery that she could have only acquired in a future where she had learned, trained.
"Why?" Hagoromo repeated, his eyes distant. "Being the Sage of Six Paths grants certain gifts, and the ability to see the future is one of them. I waited a thousand years, silently watching the wars, the hatred of my reincarnated sons, until finally… Sakura Haruno was born."
Ashina, mesmerized, felt his spirit stir with curiosity and respect. He then asked the ultimate question, the one that echoed within him like an obvious truth.
"What did you see in her, to wait for her birth like that?"
"Over the centuries, the legend of the Child of the Prophecy continued to be passed down, a symbol of hope for humanity. But it was not just a reassuring myth; the prophecy was real and would be fulfilled one day. That is why so many claimed to have found the Chosen One, believed they had trained them. Many thought Hashirama was the child destined to bring peace. And later, in Sakura's time, many believed that Naruto Uzumaki would end the conflicts."
"An Uzumaki?" Ashina asked, surprised to hear his clan mentioned.
"Yes, one of yours, a descendant of your lineage, bore the soul of one of my sons. What he accomplished then led the world to a period of peace… but it wasn't enough. The cycle of hatred persisted, and it could not be otherwise. For Naruto was not the Child of the Prophecy. Only one person truly deserved that title… and that person was Sakura Haruno. It took me a thousand years to find her."
"Why bring her back to the past? Why couldn't she act in her own future to break the cycle of hatred?" Ashina asked, puzzled.
"In her time, the world was on the brink of extinction; the Fifth Great Shinobi War threatened to erupt. The cycle of hatred was still unbroken. So I decided to bring back the Child of the Prophecy to fulfill her destiny," the Sage revealed calmly.
"What destiny?" Ashina asked, his brows furrowing.
"To bring peace… but not as you understand it, Ashina."
"What do you mean?" he questioned, his mind churning with confusion.
"You must know, Ashina, that before I became what I am, I faced a being of terrifying power. This battle left a curse upon my lineage: my sons, and their reincarnations, were doomed to wage eternal war. This cycle was to last until one day, the Child of the Prophecy would put an end to this hatred."
"And did Sakura truly succeed? How could she accomplish such a thing?" Ashina asked, skeptical of the story's complexity.
"As I told you, being the Sage of Six Paths grants me the gift of foresight. I saw that Sakura would only fulfill her destiny if she returned to the Sengoku era, and specifically, in this very decade. For the first time, the reincarnations of my sons desired peace. Nothing guaranteed that the next ones would have the same intention. Moreover, Sakura was at an age where she could undertake the crucial role I had planned for her, thus beginning the first step of my own salvation."
Ashina turned sharply toward the old man, suspicion rising. Had he understood correctly? Was he implying that he had exploited Sakura under the guise of her prophetic mission?
"Are you saying… you manipulated Sakura just for your own peace?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
"Believe what you want, Ashina. But you know as well as I do that manipulation can be a way to achieve a greater goal. If these maneuvers bring about a greater good, then yes, I admit I manipulated Sakura… and, in fact, the entire world," said Hagoromo with a merciless tone, his gaze hardening, intense like an ancient fire. "I orchestrated events so Sakura would accept this one opportunity: to return in time and save Madara. I also guided her emotions, leading her to love him, to suggest implanting Hashirama's cells in him to awaken the Rinnegan. Sakura was indispensable to finally break the cycle of hatred, to free my descendants from this curse… and, above all, to free myself from my burden… and so that finally, a vessel could be prepared for me."
"A vessel?"
"Yes. My sons have always reincarnated in male form. Thus, the genes of my two children could never mix… until Sakura intervened. By implanting Hashirama's cells in Madara's body, she allowed him to carry the bloodlines of my two reincarnations, down to his own seed. That is how Sakura fulfilled part of her destiny: to conceive a child capable of containing the souls of my two sons."
"Only part? What was the other part?" Ashina asked, barely able to comprehend the machinations of this ancient being.
"Another condition had to be met for my salvation to be complete. For a vessel without contents is useless…"
Ashina didn't like what he was hearing. The cold manipulation of this young woman, as well as so many others, revolted him. So, this was how a supposedly divine being treated human destinies…
"And what else was she supposed to accomplish?"
"For the cycle of hatred to end, the souls of Hashirama and Madara had to disappear within a very short interval so that they could merge into the most suitable person."
"You… so you orchestrated their deaths?" Ashina said, shocked, nearly disgusted by this lack of compassion toward these two men and their families. Sakura herself had now left an orphaned child behind.
"No… Hashirama and Madara were destined to wage war against each other, no matter what. That was the curse; nothing could prevent their clash. But yes, I nudged fate, allowing Hashirama to die that day. It had to be so, and only she could accomplish it."
"How so?" Ashina asked, torn between anger and curiosity.
"I prevented Hashirama from dodging Sakura's final blow, so he succumbed. Today, the souls of my sons are finally united in a single person: Nozumi."
Ashina looked at the hermit with a mix of understanding and disdain.
"I understand what you wanted to achieve… but in my eyes, you remain a monster," he spat, furious.
The Sage said nothing. Yet Ashina realized that as long as his sons continued to reincarnate, war and bloodshed would flow endlessly. Now, a chance for lasting peace might finally be possible.
A long silence settled, broken only by the wind. The two old men stared at the graves before them, one in a form of gratitude, the other lost in reflection.
Finally, Ashina broke the silence.
"If Nozumi bears the power of your two sons, doesn't that make her equivalent to a new Sage of Six Paths?"
"Who knows…" replied Hagoromo with a slight smile, which then turned into an expression of infinite fatigue.
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was weary. This encounter with Ashina required a monumental effort, for he had left this world long ago. With the curse finally lifted, he could now project this extension of himself one last time to impart his teachings.
"You were the one who placed the Fūinjutsu seal on Madara's right hand, weren't you?" Ashina asked suddenly.
"That's correct."
"What were the activation conditions?"
"You are perceptive, Ashina, to have deciphered that seal," Ōtsutsuki praised him.
"I try my best," replied the Uzumaki.
"Madara's seal had two distinct conditions. The one you discovered required this: Madara had to die, followed by Sakura."
"And the other condition?"
"I wanted Madara to be able to resurrect Sakura if she died before him."
"What would have happened then?" Ashina asked, even more intrigued by the complex manipulations of the Sage.
"Another scroll would have appeared, with a single word: Rinnegan. That eye has the power to bring the dead back…" the hermit explained before being interrupted.
"Are you here to bring them back to life?" Ashina asked, hope in his voice.
"No."
"Why? You are nearly a god and possess the Rinnegan!"
"Because that is not my role. I have guided the Child of Prophecy, and now that the cycle of hatred is finally broken, I can entrust this world to the new generation without fear."
"I don't understand! You orchestrated all of this, manipulated Sakura her entire life! And this is how you thank her? By preventing her from seeing her daughter grow up, from enjoying the peace she created with Madara?" Ashina said, his voice rising.
"Tell me, Ashina, if the first scroll contained a way to bring Sakura back, what makes you think that the scroll in your pocket does not contain the same?"
The question hit Ashina like a shock. Frozen, he searched for words.
"You… you mean…"
But as he struggled to find words, the Sage of Six Paths began to fade slowly before his eyes.
"The key to Edo Tensei lies within the scroll of forbidden techniques you took from Konoha No Sato…"
Then, the Sage of Six Paths disappeared for the very last time, leaving this world in peace and, more importantly, leaving Ashina to decide the future.
What is real peace?
Thank you for reading this story!
[Thank you... thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments, and I'll answer them in the next chapter.
Thanks again for everything :)]