MM Racing Chapter 53: The Promise of the Year
Chapter 53: The Promise of the Year
In a dilapidated corner of a remote village, a crumbling thatched hut is crammed together.
The walls were drafty, and most of the thatch on the roof had fallen off. The house was bare, with nothing but a chipped black earthenware pot and a few beds made of dry grass.
Even if we estimate ten thousand times, the mice would come and leave hungry and dejected.
In the center of the room, a child of about five or six years old was standing on tiptoe, laboriously poking at the firewood under the stove to cook rice.
The child was born strangely, with a pair of small, pale horns prominently displayed on his head. His face was sallow, revealing the frailty of long-term malnutrition. Only his eyes held a resilience beyond his years.
The firewood burned brightly, and the scalding steam, carrying the aroma of rice, suddenly rose up, turning into a thick white mist that instantly enveloped the child.
The next second, the child's body went limp, his eyes closed, and without warning, he fell straight down onto the cold mud, completely unconscious.
As the fog slowly dissipated, two figures appeared out of thin air inside the thatched hut.
The young man at the head of the group, dressed in a plain-colored immortal robe with an indifferent expression, was none other than the great immortal of Mount Myōboku, Manjō.
A small toad perched on his shoulder was none other than Shima the Hermit, who was in charge of intelligence.
Wanci glanced over the dilapidated thatched hut, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before his gaze fell on the two unconscious children on the ground.
"The immortal, this is it. The toad's senses are never wrong."
Shima the Immortal perched on Manji's shoulder, pointed at the child with his short toad claws, and spoke with certainty.
Wanci slowly stepped forward, gently raised his fingertips, and a barely perceptible wisp of Sage Chakra slowly probed into the child's body.
In an instant, Manji withdrew his chakra, a knowing smile appearing in his eyes: "As expected, it is Hagoromo's bloodline."
However, this bloodline is not pure; it contains mixed blood from mortal races, making it impure and chaotic, yet it undeniably carries the aura of Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
Wanci had already made up his mind.
The brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who later became famous throughout the ninja world, are clearly recorded to have the bloodline of Hagoromo. However, Hagoromo only had two sons, Indra and Ashura. The Ashura lineage created the Senju clan, while the Indra lineage gave rise to the Uchiha clan. Kinkaku and Ginkaku had neither the surname Senju nor the Sharingan of the Uchiha, and had no connection with either clan.
After eliminating all possibilities, there is only one answer.
This child is the illegitimate child that Yu Yi accidentally left behind when she traveled through the human world. Even Yu Yi herself probably didn't know that such a bloodline still existed in the world.
"It seems that old man Yu Yi never knew until his death that he had such a descendant hidden in the mortal world."
Manji chuckled softly and spoke slowly to Shima on his shoulder.
Master Shima blinked his toad-like eyes and respectfully asked, "Master, shall we take this child back to Mount Myōboku to raise him?"
Wan Ci gently shook his head, his gaze darkening slightly: "There's no need to interfere. Let him walk his own path."
After saying that, he looked at Shima and slowly began to lay out a far-reaching plan: "Shima, I have an important matter for you to handle."
"Please give your orders, Immortal!"
Master Shima immediately straightened up, his tone full of respect.
"Mobilize all the hidden agents of Mount Myoboku in the human world, and send his trusted toad to lead the establishment of a huge underground gold exchange system around the world."
"But remember, ordinary people should be the backbone. We are just operating behind the scenes. On the surface, it is a gold exchange, but in reality, it is our intelligence department."
Wanci's voice was calm, his gaze fixed on the vast天地 (heaven and earth) outside the thatched hut, as if he had already seen through the changing winds and clouds of the ninja world's future.
He wants to set up his own gold exchange.
The gold exchange in Naruto is quite mysterious.
They dared to offer a bounty on Asuma, the Hokage's son, and also on the guardian ninja of the Land of Fire.
It can be said that they are outside the ninja villages and not among the five great nations.
There isn't one yet, so let's create one ourselves.
But Wanci will not personally take the helm.
As an immortal residing high in the nine heavens, he would never stoop to dealing with such dark forces.
It was created solely for intelligence purposes.
"You are an immortal..."
Shima stared in astonishment at the immortal, who truly possessed foresight and displayed the demeanor of a great master.
Manji gave Shima the feeling that everything was under control, allowing anything to happen, his expression never changed, showing the demeanor of a master!
The impression the toad gives is that it's always playing a grand game, countless times.
Is he playing a grand strategy, maintaining a blank expression ten thousand times?
I guess so.
He just wanted to gather information faster; he was still thousands of years away from the main storyline.
Take advantage of the present moment to make plans and preparations.
First, there's the mastermind behind the scenes secretly controlling the world; second, there's the cultivation and fusion of immortal techniques, constantly approaching the strongest power.
In addition, Wanci still wanted to study things like dragon veins, as they were still useful, but Wanci felt it wasn't the right time yet.
The dragon vein has not yet been activated.
Wanci didn't want to touch it; once it was triggered, who knew what kind of strange people from different times and spaces would come to this world.
Wanci doesn't want to make this era too chaotic.
The era I live in is too early.
It is early enough that even a simple change made by oneself could cause a huge butterfly effect in future generations.
For example, if I were to kill Sarutobi, the entire Sarutobi clan might cease to exist in future generations.
If Indra were persuaded to become a monk, the Uchiha clan would be wiped out, and the Naruto storyline would be cut short by two-thirds.
"With me backing you up, go for it!"
He waved casually a thousand times and disappeared.
Shima nodded slightly and left to take care of it.
------
More than a decade later, Ashura led the Ninja Sect forward steadily, continuing to implement the Feather Robe Conservative Plan, not participating in the struggles between mortal nations, but simply guarding their own small territory.
Indra, on the other hand, was different. By taking in followers and believing that having many children was a blessing, Indra established an organization that revered military force.
At the same time, Indra actively cooperated with various countries and became a weapon of war!
Indra even controlled a country's general, gaining a continuous flow of money and land.
It's probably winter!
Indra and Asura faced off once again in a fateful duel. The clash between the two forces swept across the frozen wilderness, and the roar of chakra shattered the snow falling from the sky. The two used their strengths to fight from dawn to dusk, displaying all their life's knowledge until they were both exhausted. In the end, they were evenly matched and could not be defeated.
As the battle ended, the two exchanged a glance, their eyes still burning with unwavering determination and fighting spirit. They turned around in tacit agreement and together trudged through the snow towards Mount Myōboku.
Inside the Sage's Hall on Mount Myoboku, a warm and inviting atmosphere completely shut out the icy and snowy world outside.
Manji sat upright in the main seat, with Black Zetsu standing quietly to his left and the Immortal Fukasaku standing calmly to his right.
Inside the hall, Indra and Asura, both appearing to be middle-aged, knelt respectfully and spoke in firm voices, saying in unison, "Grandmaster! Please bear witness for us!"
Looking down at the two of them countless times, the two had long since shed their youthful naiveté, their eyes now revealing their own sharpness and composure.
Wanci already knew what the two men meant, and slowly asked, "Oh? What do you want?"
"Grandmaster! We must make a thousand-year pact!"
Indra and Asura spoke in unison, their voices resounding throughout the hall, carrying a resolute determination to burn their bridges.
Indra spoke first, his tone filled with obsession: "After my death, I implore the Ancestral Master to preserve a portion of our souls, while the rest of our souls are reincarnated, fighting endlessly life after life, for a full thousand years!"
Ashura added solemnly, "During these thousand years, I hope the three immortals will bear witness and record the victory and defeat of each life truthfully."
"When the thousand-year period is over, the Ancestral Master will release our souls again, and the final winner will be determined by the number of victories in our reincarnations. The one with more victories will be the true winner!"
Wanci's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. Was it a thousand-year promise?
He naturally had the means to protect parts of their souls.
Just like a feather robe.
The soul can remain for thousands of years.
Wanci didn't say much, but slowly nodded in agreement.
"Black Zetsu, bring that stone slab over here."
"yes!"
Hei Jue immediately responded, quickly bringing over an ancient and heavy stone tablet, which he respectfully placed in the hall.
Ten thousand times, sage chakra was gathered at the fingertips, and two totems were slowly engraved on the stone tablet.
They represent Indra and Asura respectively.
After finishing carving, Wanci spoke in a deep voice.
"For each of your reincarnations, the victor will have a mark added to the corresponding totem. A thousand years later, when you return, the outcome will be clear at a glance."