Soon enough, the age of clans came to an end, and the Warring Clans period began.
The real reason for the shift seemed to be that too many clans were around, many of them weak, and there wasn't enough land for them all.
That, along with the weak grip the clans now had on their lands, which at this point was but a formality at most.
Things quickly turned to war and conflict.
And it wasn't pretty.
Because with so many clans, and other nobles who ruled those lands, all wanting money and wealth, there wasn't enough, so war broke out as everyone wanted more.
War wasn't without its positives, as tools of war advanced a lot. And given that ninjas were the main fighting force, they grew a lot. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, everything advanced by leaps and bounds.
All of which I made sure to watch and learn from.
Still, while I might benefit from the war, it didn't mean I approved of it. I had once ended all wars, brought true peace to this world, so it hurt seeing it back once more lost in war of this scale.
Still, under the shadow of war, more clans were still born, and for the first time ever, clans fell. Such was the nature of war; it was ruthless and uncaring.
And this war showed no signs of stopping. There was so much death and loss. The world changed once more. The once great legends of my sons and their clans were slowly forgotten, in part thanks to Zetsu, which I finally saw.
Finally, he wasn't hiding as much as before. Instead, he finally took the chance of the war to set up everything. I happened to see him leaving the Uchiha clan's home. And I could see why he was there. He had changed the stone tablet.
And it was a good time to do it. The wars were brutal, so many adults died, and even young kids had to learn to fight, which meant they weren't taught their own history.
The perfect time to help them forget the truth and embrace what he wanted.
However, the fact that he started his plans so late did make it more difficult. As the Uchiha clan and the Senju, for that matter, had both grown weaker over time.
The mixing of blood and the dilution of mine.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was no longer a thing, and even Mangekyō Sharingan were rare these days.
So getting a pair of Rinnegan was a tall order for sure. No wonder it would take so long for him to get all the pieces gathered together.
He needs the Uchiha to be weak enough for him to be able to manipulate, but also strong enough to be of use.
Yeah, he worked hard, the poor obedient child. My only obedient son.
I wasn't entirely sure how hard he had worked, how much was his doing, and how much was just the foolishness of man.
Because not only was my legend all forgotten, but my sons had gone from fact to fiction. None really remember them anymore; at most, Hagoromo was remembered under his title of the Sage of Six Paths, his name long forgotten.
And with that, came his own legacy, peace was long gone, his ninshu was forgotten, even his children, the tailed beasts, had long since gone from divine guides to fearsome demons.
The temples built for them turned to dust, their homes gone, their purpose forgotten.
But with the downturn of some things, others blossomed. In particular, the once weak Hyūga Clan had truly taken on a new life of its own.
Finally, after such a long time, they had mastered the gentle fist. It wasn't easy for them, and they suffered greatly.
When war began, none were spared, and such was the once noble clan that was attacked, and while their use of sniping tactics did help them somewhat, it wasn't enough to keep them safe forever.
The attacks continued, and many were killed; worse yet, their eyes were taken. And the truth was revealed: anyone could steal their eyes. Sure, it wasn't quite that simple; they still needed someone able to do the transplantation, but if you had that, you could gain the Byakugan.
So, the Hyūga Clan experienced a very hard time. Almost all other clans hunted down their members to steal their eyes, and in response, they started to work on a way to stop that.
For one, they never went out alone, and always remained on guard, their home turning into a true stronghold. Large fortified walls with towers. Everything one could imagine, yet it wasn't enough, they needed something more.
Which came in the form of a seal.
A seal that would stop anyone from stealing their precious eyes, and taking the target off of their backs.
I was impressed at how quickly they created such a thing, but they were truly desperate, and desperation is a powerful motivator.
The seal wasn't very good at first. Any Uzumaki would be able to break it easily, and it was only a matter of time before others, who were even more desperate for the Byakugan, would crack it too.
They continued to work on it, refining it over the years, decades, and even centuries. As they did so, a division occurred.
Some people weren't marked, mostly because they needed someone around at all times without the seal, so they could test new seals on or in case something happened to the seals.
Initially, this was entirely innocent, involving only individuals who had never entered the battlefield and were under the clan's protection, not sealed.
I washed as the main family slowly came together, from little more than a talent in sealing arts and a willingness to experiment.
I kept a close eye on the cursed seal, and I knew it better than any living member of their clan. I had watched them invent it step by step, knowing every path they had taken, every wrong step, every correction.
I had a plan, I didn't know if it was possible, but it was better than nothing. And while it likely wouldn't let me escape my seal anytime soon, any little bit sooner was still worth trying for.
So, with me watching from inside the moon, years passed as clans rose and fell, nations were born and destroyed, and new nations grew old, then broke apart into more wars.
It truly felt like the world was afraid of peace, and I grew ever more certain that only I could ensure it, that only ultimate power could tame the wickedness of human nature.
Then finally, after centuries of that, I saw them born within the Uchiha and Senju.
Madara Uchiha.
Hashirama Senju.
The newest generation of Indra and Asura, and the most important people in the coming age, but even more importantly for me, was Tobirama Senju, who might just give me the final piece of the puzzle to begin my grand plan.
It was interesting, watching them go through their struggle, though it was hardly anything special. I had seen so much war that even the wars they saw in their young lives seemed unimportant.
However, I must admit that Zetsu had done well, ensuring that the two clans fought fiercely, while never allowing either to fall, thereby creating the best environment for the Rinnegan.
Things got spicy once. One particular fool of the Senju clan, their leader at the time, thought it was a good idea to steal the Sharingan to gain an advantage.
And the Uchiha wasn't happy with that at all. They called out to their allies, the Hyūga Clan, with whom they shared a decent relationship due to both being dojutsu clans, as well as the Inuzuka Clan and Aburame Clan.
Given that stealing a dojustsu and Kekkei Genkai was such a sore topic, they united for a devastating attack, nearly wiping out the Senju clan altogether; only their arrogance made them show mercy.
It could have been Zetsu, but it sure got close; had it happened, all of his plans would be for nothing. However, it did ensure that people didn't try to steal the Sharingan again.
Something happened while I watched those two men go about their whole remaking the entire world.
A few years before they were old enough to take over their clans, another clan fell, which wasn't anything special, it happened all the time, but this particular clan was special.
The Hagoromo clan, the first clan to be born after the Senju and Uchiha. One of the oldest clans, and one that shared the blood of the Senju clan, they were no weaker than them, yet they still fell in the end.
It was a slow end. I didn't keep a close eye on them, but they had been growing weaker and weaker over time, losing too many people in the age of endless war.
And in the end, one big attack wiped them out, the few survivors going to the Senju and Uzumaki Clans to seek shelter with their distant relatives.
It was a sad sight, but it mattered little, especially when Madara and Hashirama took over their respective clans and finally had their epic duel, ultimately leading to Konoha's founding.
A lot of this happened very quickly after that, much of which was never mentioned in the anime.
For one, the great nations were born; something like the country of fire was just a loose collection of allied nations, but with all the clans joining forces, one family decided to ally itself with the budding village.
And rather quickly, all the small nations were united under their leadership, thanks to the overwhelming military power of Konoha.
Both clans quickly drew in their allies, and while the Hyūga Clan was reluctant to join, they ultimately did so, as other clans living near them began to gather, which slowly led to the formation of Iwagakure.
They could clearly see that they only had one choice: to join or be left alone to fend off the combined might of many clans, which even they weren't foolish enough to face.
So, rather than suffer a loss before coming crawling to join Konoha, where their old allies lived, they joined up while they still had their dignity intact.
That, however, was secondary to what I really paid attention to.
Tobirama's research.
He was smart, not the most intelligent person I had seen; there had been many people far smarter than him. But he was far more lucky than any of them had been, except for some of the early ones.
Because he had peace, now at least. Peace, and something just as important, resources. With Konoha and the Land of Fire established, he had far more resources than anyone else before him, allowing him to push forward with his research.
And it was thanks to that that I was able to watch as he created one particular technique, one jutsu, that I had waited for more than two hundred years.
Edo Tensei, the reanimation jutsu. The ability to summon a soul from the pure lands and infuse it into a body, bringing someone back to life to a certain extent.
His current version wasn't worth much, not compared to what it would become. But it was enough.
With the insights from his work, and all my knowledge of sealing from watching the Uzumaki Clan, I was confidant in my own plan working. And it should be completely without risk.
Well mostly.
If I somehow failed badly enough, I might lose my ability to see the world outside my seal, but it should only be a matter of a few decades before Zetsu would free me, in any case, so I could surely handle that without losing what little sanity I had left.
And so, while everything unfolded, Hashirama Senju died, and the great nations broke into war once more, I finally prepared myself for my great escape.
For the first time in over a thousand years, I activated my sealed chakra and used every bit of willpower I could muster, finally unleashing my first jutsu ever.
Kagura Fukkatsu no Jutsu!
My very own Divine Revival Technique, and it worked. One moment, I was trapped inside the moon, the next, I felt cold, the first real feeling in so long. And I couldn't help but cry out as millennia of stress were released all at once.
I cried.
Of course I cried. What else could I do?
After so long—so damned long—trapped in silence, in darkness, in stillness… to suddenly feel again, to breathe, to exist in flesh—it was overwhelming. The air felt too sharp, the light too bright, the sensations too raw.
So I screamed.
Loud and shrill and undignified, I screamed as loud as my new lungs could manage, the cry of a goddess reborn as a mortal child.
"She's strong," I heard a voice say, soft and proud. "Just listen to those lungs."
"Stronger than her cousins were," came another, older voice, worn but warm. "It's a good sign."
I didn't recognize them. Obviously, I hadn't bothered remembering every face of every person I had ever seen. A woman—my mother, I assumed—held me close, her chakra weak and unrefined, yet filled with that protective warmth I had seen so often in others but never felt myself.
"She'll be a fighter," the old voice continued. "A child born crying like that doesn't let go of life easily."
If only they knew. But none could possibly know that, as of this moment, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess, is the ruler of the earth. Had returned.
(End of chapter)
Here we are, one chapter I properly could a split into a few, but honestly, it was getting pretty boring going over the same old shit, so with just skipped past all the important bits.
Still, a lot happened, we had two big people be born and die, well Madara isn't dead, but who cares.
What we all care about, is Kaguya, and she is free!
How did that happen? Well, she had a thousand years to get it done, and it's hardly perfect, but at least she got out with her sanity intact right? Right?...
The next chapter will be the start of the taijutsu segment of the story, which will last for a good while. Plenty of taijutsu will happen, who would have guessed? A Hyūga kid in an arc called taijutsu would do taijutsu? Yeah, I know, shocking!