Tenji walked through the forest heading west. The weight of what he had found out was weighing on him. Had he failed? He needed to find his wife and children. He needed to find out what had happened and how it was that humans could now use the elements. Jutsu, that's what the merchant had called it. The only way Tenji could explain this was chakra, the energy Kaguya had told him about.
Why did she share it with humans? It had to have been a long time as well, because he could feel the energy present inside him and even the merchant. The question was, how did he come to possess it? He hoped that Kaguya hadn't wasted her power on him, just to bring him back.
He had nothing really to go on, except the Land of That and This. All that connected him to what lay clearly in the past were those countries. To think that the Land of That, of all countries, survived the tides of time, but the Land of Ancestors didn't.
Tenji stopped.
That wasn't true, he realised. There was now something else that connected him to Kaguya. Chakra. He was nearly certain that Kaguya had done something to grant him access to it, and if that was the case, he might find a way back to her. He was Tenji, the most talented existence ever. The goal was set. He would study chakra and go to the Land of That and This, to look for information on Kaguya. From what his wife told him, there shouldn't be much that chakra and enough talent couldn't do.
So he looked for a comfortable small clearing, near a small lake and sat down. He had never been very spiritual growing up. Tenji was more interested in the physical aspects, like human anatomy. How each muscle behaves and how to get 100% out of each of them to function at the peak. Be that as it may, now, Tenji sat down in a meditative position and tried to look inwards.
He quickly got a feeling for the energy. Chakra was now connected to humans and even animals; it was part of them and tied to their lives. It was life, in a way. Should all your Chakra be drained from your body, you would die. But Tenji found that strange. Why was that? He could feel that it was true, but why? He never had Chakra before, but if he had used all his stamina, he wouldn't have died. So why was Chakra different? Not even half an hour later, Tenji understood why. Chakra was not solely tied to the physical body and produced by the cells; it was also tied to the souls of humans and animals. To release Chakra meant to bring out physical and spiritual energy and blend them within one's body.
This was a grand revelation for Tenji.
This was so grand, in fact, that he understood the implications of this. It was a metaphysical form of energy, capable of affecting and using souls. Kaguya was right; there weren't any limits to this. With enough time, Tenji could do almost anything and therefore would find out what happened to Kaguya and get her back. Once again, Tenji was semi-lying to himself. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew instinctively that Kaguya was gone. Whether she was dead or not, he didn't know. But he was sure they would reunite.
Without bothering with useless thoughts any longer, Tenji got to work. Humans seem to have used the gift Kaguya had given them to wage constant war on one another. It was ironic. Tenji had planned to remove the nobility from his land entirely because they cared solely about power. He knew they would do anything to stop that. And then, something, he didn't know what, happened and now humans waged war, caring solely about power. That was precisely why he never planned to abdicate as Emperor or anything like that. Someone had to hold the reins.
After a moment, Tenji managed to circulate Chakra inside his body and followed the breathing method he had created before death. He felt himself strengthen and his understanding and skill deepen. Despite his worries, this was fun. He loved finding new things and taking them to unimaginable heights. This was merely a new project for Tenji. Whoever it was who caused all of this, he would bring all of his rage when he met them.
.
In the clearing, Tenji could be seen moving through katas from several martial arts, all while weaving Chakra into every muscle he needed to perform the movements. It was ridiculous. By applying what he knew from his extensive research into anatomy and what he had learned about circulating his Chakra, Tenji enhanced every muscle, making his movements more fluid, faster, and stronger overall.
He appeared in front of a large tree. Without stopping, Tenji controlled his Chakra and condensed it as much as possible, punching forward. His fist hit the tree trunk gently, however...
A moment later, the entire trunk caved in and exploded, breaking into hundreds of wooden shavings. The tree fell to the ground. Tenji looked at his fist and at the result of that punch. All of this was merely an application of Chakra control, and it was already giving him ideas for techniques and the nature of Chakra.
"Push and pull... interesting."
He clenched his fist.
"Don't you think it's better to introduce yourself? I find it hard not to attack you if you observe me like that," he stated.
"..."
Tenji turned around and looked forward. He narrowed his eyes, bothered by this lack of reaction. He picked up a small stone, infused it with Chakra, and then flicked it forward. The stone shot through the air and hit the toad sitting on the stone in the lake.
"KAAHH!"
Tenji looked at the water and waited for a moment. Then, just as he predicted, the toad slowly broke through the surface.
"AHHH, that hurt!! Aaaaaahhh...."
"I warned you."
"I didn't know you were talking to me!" the toad moaned in pain.
"Do you sense anyone else around here then?"
"Uhh..."
The toad looked around, realising that Tenji was right. He narrowed his eyes, asking himself how Tenji could already sense that. He was here with a purpose, though, and pulled himself together.
"I apologise about that. I am not used to getting noticed. My name is Gendaru, a toad from Mount Myoboku. I was tasked with approaching you and inviting you to our land. The Great Toad Sage would like to meet you."
"Gendaru, huh. Fascinating. To think that animals had evolved to this stage. Why should I care about meeting this Great Toad Sage?" Tenji asked.
"I was told that you would like to get information."
"..."
"About the past. What happened and how you came to be here," Gendaru specified.
"Oh? What do you know about all of this?" Tenji was wary.
Without the toad realising it, Tenji was prepared to attack and kill the toad at a moment's notice. He might have wanted information and to find Kaguya and his children, but he wouldn't expose himself to danger. He needed power first and foremost; that was how you survived. Now more than ever.
"Well, I personally don't know anything about it. But the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru-sama, has told us about you and that you would most likely return. If you agree, I shall show you the way to Mount Myoboku."
"How would the Sage know about that?"
"Well, he had already been alive back then. He was there to witness what happened."
Tenji thought about this. If what the talking toad said was true, then there existed an even older toad who not only was very old, but could prophesise that he would return. Still, if it were true, then he would finally get more information. After going through the pros and cons, Tenji asked something.
"Compared to me, how strong are the toads on Mount Myoboku?"
"Strong? Hmm... well, there are grown toads who specialise in combat. They would be stronger than you, physically. But you are already powerful and have a strange constitution."
"I see. Very well, I agree to follow you to Mount Myoboku."
"Great! Then follow me," Gendaru said and jumped into the water.
.
Gendaru and Tenji broke through the water and appeared in an entirely different area.
"Welcome to Mount Myoboku, the Land of Toads."
The land was rich in energy and resources and looked beautiful. Tenji didn't say anything, only observing for now. Standing at the shore, another two toads waited. A green one with white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk, very thick eyebrows and a small goatee. He even wore a cape. And a female one, who was of similar height. Seeing Gendaru arrive with Tenji, he bowed slightly in respectful greeting.
"Greetings, and welcome to Mount Myoboku, Lord Tenji. I am Fukasaku, and this is my wife, Shima. If you follow us, we'll bring you to the Great Toad Sage."
Tenji nodded as he followed along, studying the toads and the land as they made their way.
"I am excited to finally meet you, Lord Tenji. I have heard about you and seen what you did all those years ago."
"I see. Everyone seems to know me. How is that?" Tenji asked.
"Oh, well, you will surely come to see it yourself. Mount Myoboku holds a great treasure called the Memory Stone. It records everything that happens up above, outside the Lands of Sages. And it has existed for over a thousand years."
"...Then how long has it been since I died?"
"Oh, over a thousand years easily."
!!!
"I see..."
Tenji didn't show any reaction outside. But inside, his mind was running faster than ever.
'It's fine,' he told himself. 'It matters not.'
They entered a cave and came to stand before a large toad. Gamamaru was one of the largest inhabitants of Mount Myōboku. He was brown, with a white belly, and looked very wrinkled. He wore a professor's hat with tassels and an orb on top. He sat in a shallow pool of water with the kanji for 'sage' inscribed on it.
Tenji studied the toad, and neither of them said anything for a while. The moment of awkwardness, which only seemed to affect Fukasaku and his wife, Shima, passed when Gamamaru started speaking.
"So you're here, eh? Hmmm... Emperor Tenji... you haven't aged at all..."
"I was told that you held information about me? About what happened after I died?" Tenji got straight to the point.
"Oh yes, yes, yes! Hmm... quite impatient..."
"You called him here, you senile old fart! Don't be rude now," Shima reprimanded Gamamaru.
"Old Fart?! Ma! Don't call the Great Sage an 'old fart'!" Fukasaku said.
"No fighting, children. A husband and wife have to be nice to each other. Isn't that right...?" Gamamaru interrupted the two.
"I agree."
"Now then... who are you, young man?"
"That's Tenj--"
"I believe you know that very well. I am getting bored with this farce. Will you tell me what I wish to know, or not?" Tenji interrupted.
"Hohoho, quite shrewd. It seems your sons took after you, after all."
That got a reaction out of Tenji. He almost couldn't hold back now, fighting every cell in his body to stay still.
"I had a revelation. A dream, more like. Toads rarely, if ever, dream. But that dream was more like a prophecy... I dreamed of you returning. That's how I knew that you would return," Gamamaru said.
"..."
"This orb," he continued, taking the orb off his hat and laying it down in front of Tenji, "is called the Memory Stone. I'm sure Fukasaku already told you, everything that occurs aboveground is recorded in this stone and can be viewed at a later date. I will show you this because I had another dream. And for that, you will need to know the truth."
"Over a thousand years ago, when both of us were still young... Well, me at least... the Divine Tree fell from the sky..."
Gamamaru went on to tell Tenji the story of the Divine Tree, the arrival of Kaguya and her role. He skipped over the part where Tenji was obviously present.
"...A few months later, she gave birth to two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura."
Tenji didn't take his eyes off the memory stone. He was hypnotised, seeing his sons for the first time. He took a step forward and unconsciously touched the orb, seeking its warmth. His sons, he could tell they were his sons right away, they had the same black dot on their foreheads as he did.
"They're beautiful..."
"Yes, they were cute children. Sadly, it couldn't remain this way. Your death and the betrayal at the hands of the soldiers of Ka caused your wife to start ruling through cruelty and use her power to spread fear, awe and reverence. The Chakra Fruit, which she had consumed and which had given her power, had changed her, and she slowly grew to lust for more power. She was waiting for something, and sacrificed more and more humans to the Ritual of the Divine Tree.
The problem was that the Divine Tree absorbed the Nature Energy of the lands and would have killed everything, had it not been stopped. Your sons had been kept in the dark their entire lives. They didn't know what the Ritual of the Divine Tree entailed until they disregarded their mother's law and set out to find out for themselves. And what they found, shocked them."
Tenji saw the moment Hagoromo and Hamura discovered Haori and the others.
"After this experience, they met with me again, and I took them to here, to Mount Myōboku, to tell them the history of Kaguya. Confronted by Kaguya's disregard for life, her unfortunate change of personality due to the Chakra Fruit, and the fact that the Divine Tree drained the land of its natural energy, Hagoromo decided to face his mother.
Hagoromo started training here, on Mount Myoboku, hoping to grow strong enough to stand on equal footing with his mother and finally get the answers he and his brother sought. And to get her to stop the Ritual of the Divine Tree. I saw his talent firsthand, which he clearly inherited from you, and he mastered Sage Power in a matter of weeks, instead of months as I had foreseen.
When he returned, he found Kaguya pressuring Hamura with her superior Byakugan and tried to stop her. Hagoromo reasoned with her and begged her to remember the love she held for you. Kaguya had been visiting you every day since you had died. I don't know what she did, but it seemed she used her power and the Divine Tree's to preserve you somehow and prevent you from decaying.
Sadly, it didn't work.
Kaguya saw it as a mistake when she followed your last wish and shared her Chakra with your sons. She thought that she should have rather used that power to bring you back somehow, and was adamant about taking it back and killing her sons. So a battle of unimaginable destruction and length ensued."