Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 172 Ninja World Secrets 5

Hyuga Kanan was confident that Orochimaru would believe him. The information he was about to reveal was far from baseless; its veracity was beyond question. Considering Orochimaru's penchant for exploring the unknown, he would undoubtedly try to verify this information. At this moment, Kanan's task was to provide Orochimaru with more detailed information so that the latter could easily verify the truth.

And so, Hyuga Kanan sat there calmly, his thoughts drifting back to the distant past. He first mentioned the founding of the Ninja Clan, then recounted how, as time passed, the power struggles within the Ninja Clan intensified—what began as mere verbal disputes escalated into physical conflicts, ultimately evolving into an irreconcilable and irreconcilable conflict. The entire ninja world was plunged into chaos, with countless ninjas caught in the crossfire, fighting to the death.

As the war intensified, those eager to win this brutal conflict and inherit the chakra tradition accelerated their research into ways to utilize chakra, giving rise to a diverse array of ninjutsu techniques. These newly created ninjutsu not only made the battles increasingly thrilling but also propelled the world of ninjutsu forward.

However, those who were fortunate enough to inherit chakra initially possessed incredibly pure and refined chakra. With this exceptional chakra, they successfully pioneered and expanded the field of ninjutsu research, transcending the realm of ordinary ninjutsu. These unique ninjutsu shone like brilliant stars, eventually evolving into a special ability that could be passed down through bloodlines—this is the Kekkei Genkai widely celebrated in the ninja world today.

Among this group, the two children who inherited the purest chakra were those from the lineage that founded Ninshu. Time passed, and these two individuals, who had once instigated internal strife within Ninshu, each established their own clans. As time went on, both clans grew increasingly powerful, but their animosity and hatred did not diminish with the passage of time. On the contrary, their conflicts intensified, and fierce battles erupted frequently. After countless clashes, the two clans finally stood on opposite sides, becoming each other's greatest enemies.

Over hundreds of years of inheritance and evolution, these two families gradually grew and prospered, one being called the Uchiha clan and the other the Senju clan.

Throughout history, the Senju and Uchiha clans have been fierce rivals. However, this situation was dramatically altered by the emergence of two incredibly powerful ninjas: Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the original founders of Konoha! They possessed the purest and most concentrated ancestral bloodline power, their terrifying strength surpassing that of ordinary ninjas and even approaching the level of their respective clan's progenitors!

It was precisely because of the unparalleled power emanating from these two peerless experts that the nearly thousand-year-long Warring States period finally came to an end and a new chapter began: the era of ninja villages descended upon the world!

In fact, this is exactly the result that the mysterious forces manipulating everything from the shadows are happy to see. After all, in the Warring States period, a time of constant warfare and chaos, each clan relied on internal inheritance to continue the chakra seed, thus limiting those who could master this power to a small number of clans. However, with the establishment of the ninja village system, it means that chakra will spread at an unprecedented speed, making it easier to penetrate the entire ninja world.

However, Hashirama Senju's strength was simply too extraordinary; the entire ninja world had to operate under his will. This great figure was not only a powerful ninja but also a resolute defender of peace. Therefore, the ninja world could only follow his wishes and move towards an era of peace, daring not to easily provoke conflict.

Unfortunately, this didn't align with the conspiracy of the person hiding behind it all. Madara Uchiha became a pawn in his meticulously planned scheme, forced onto a different path, seemingly foreshadowing the return of the Ninja Sect era. This inevitably led to the most intense conflict between the two. And, manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes, Hashirama Senju's fall became the catalyst that plunged the ninja world back into war.

In the long years that followed, there was no longer a "God of Shinobi" who reigned supreme over all the ninja villages, a figure akin to a god, to suppress the various forces. With just a little instigation, the ninja villages would immediately descend into war. Moreover, these wars were far larger in scale than those of the Warring States period, involving more people and becoming increasingly brutal. The number of ninjas who perished also far exceeded that of the past, allowing those behind the scenes to reap even more ninja souls.

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru was filled with shock. The secret hidden in the shadows for millennia was truly astonishing! His eyes widened, as if trying to imprint what he was seeing into his mind.

He couldn't believe that the entire history of the ninja world, spanning nearly a thousand years, was under someone else's control. What kind of power was this? And what kind of person could achieve such a feat?

Finally, Orochimaru could no longer contain his curiosity and astonishment and asked Hyuga Kanan, "How has he managed to continue manipulating the ninja world for a thousand years? Could it be... that he has truly survived all this time?"

When Orochimaru saw Hyuga Kanan nod in agreement without hesitation, a flicker of disbelief crossed his eyes. For thousands of years, that mysterious being had been lurking behind the scenes, silently manipulating the gears of fate in the ninja world—this was simply beyond reason and hard for him to accept.

Orochimaru fell into deep thought, trying to make sense of this unbelievable reality. However, faced with such a vast and complex mystery, he felt that even his wisdom seemed to be limited.

"Could it be that in all these long millennia, no one truly saw through their conspiracy?" Orochimaru muttered to himself, his face full of suspicion, his heart filled with confusion and bewilderment. He simply couldn't imagine that in such a long span of time, not a single person of exceptional talent and intelligence could have seen through this colossal deception and attempted to reverse the entire ninja world's fortunes.

However, Hyuga Kanan shook his head, replying firmly, "Of course not. Many people have noticed something amiss, but you've clearly underestimated their control over the ninja world. It's no exaggeration to say that whenever even the slightest ninja who might threaten their plans emerges, they invariably encounter various unexpected events. They are either misled by deeply hidden contingents and led astray, or their entire clan is brutally wiped out, disappearing completely from the world."

At this point, Hyuga Kanan suddenly turned his gaze to Orochimaru, a wise glint in his eyes. He then slowly said, "And the clan that most recently realized something was amiss happens to be one you know quite well, one you've even dealt with yourself."

Orochimaru was startled by these words, his face showing astonishment. He stared wide-eyed at Hyuga Kanan in disbelief, countless thoughts racing through his mind. He had actually had contact with that clan... and even knew quite a bit about them? How could this be? For a moment, Orochimaru fell into deep thought.

Orochimaru pondered which clan it was—a clan he had encountered and knew about! If they could detect the anomalies in the ninja world, they were definitely not an ordinary family. Countless well-known clans flashed through his mind, but he still couldn't pinpoint the exact clan. If this clan could uncover the ninja world's conspiracy, then it must be extremely famous and hold a very important position. Among the clans Orochimaru had encountered, only the Senju and Uchiha clans possessed such status. However, while these two clans no longer held their former power and influence, they were still present in the ninja world. Moreover, these two clans were of the opposing bloodline; they shouldn't have noticed anything amiss.

Orochimaru pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out which clan it was. He could only look up at Hyuga Kanan again, his eyes filled with a questioning look, hoping that Hyuga Kanan could provide an answer.

Seeing Orochimaru's questioning gaze, Hyuga Kanan didn't pretend to be mysterious and explained directly, "It's the Uzumaki clan. It seems that this clan has been forgotten by the ninja world. They brought very important knowledge to the ninja world, and the entire ninja world enjoys the legacy of their clan."

"The Uzumaki clan?!" Orochimaru's expression shifted to surprise, then he quickly composed himself. Indeed! The Uzumaki clan had created many incredible sealing techniques, even those capable of sealing the soul. Almost all the sealing techniques used by all the ninja villages in the ninja world to seal the tailed beasts originated from the Uzumaki clan, who had even developed sealing techniques that could be inherited into one's bloodline. Furthermore, they had a very good relationship with the Senju clan, making it highly likely that some clues could be found in their clan records. Moreover, their physical energy was naturally incredibly powerful, far exceeding that of any other ninja in the ninja world; even the Senju clan, renowned for their physical strength, would have to admit defeat.

Hyuga Kanan smiled slightly and continued to explain, "The Uzumaki clan is a very creative family. They were able to develop training methods other than chakra, specifically for developing physical energy. This allowed the Uzumaki clan's physical abilities to far surpass those of any other ninja in the ninja world, and they were almost on the verge of true evolution. Unfortunately, their clan only had some awareness of this and did not truly understand the conspiracy of the ninja world before they were wiped out in the long river of ninja history."