The Sage of the Six Paths and the creation of the ninja way — nearly every ninja knows the story, some believe it, but how much of it was true? In this series of events, it’s hard to know for sure but despite that it is a collection of stories that some take literally and others take lessons from whilst viewing it as more of a collection of stories with lessons to learn. There are many stories that the ninja of the world look back on and some of them hold on to it more than others. The Sage of Six Paths, the Chaos of the Heavens, and the Rise of the Shinobi World are all accounts of the world before the great nations of shinobi rose and planted their feet into the world.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths, and the prophet of ninshu.
It is said as the offspring of Kaguya that the enlightenment of chakra gave him understanding that no other man could comprehend and is the one who repurposed mundane thieves, monks, and ronin into one entity. The places he visited were said to be the ancestral beginnings of the great ninja nations of modern day. Hagoromo however, despite his complex understanding of chakra and ninshu theory he never found the time or vitality to continue his line as such the Otsutsuki Clan would die with Hagoromo, but to that point there was also sort of men and women that he would call his ten disciples, one of which that would continue the teachings of ninshu whilst the other nine would meet a fate that nobody could perceive: the biju.
The origin of the biju (or tailed beasts) is something deeply rooted into shinobi mythology and are important in conjunction with the early stories revolving around the prophet of the shinobi arts, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. Various sources cite the biju as beings sent to punish man for trying to challenge the gods while others claim they were always a natural force in the world. Whichever the case, the Sage and his disciples set out to bring peace to the realm and many of them were sacrificed to stop the world from collapsing from the sheer power of the biju. It is said that the sage himself died alongside nine of his disciples against the biju. The canonical and literal aspect of this story is unknown and it has many interpretations, but it is the foundation for all “fairytales” of the biju that are used to scare young shinobi into behaving properly.
The one surviving disciple, Tsuchigumo Musashi, continued to instruct until he too died which decades after his death brought forth the shinobi era.
After sixty-three years of spreading the ninshu philosophy, teaching the basis of chakra, developing kenjutsu, and forging a variety of swords a loss was felt when Musashi vanished; a disappearance that made many people believe he had passed on. Outside of his teachings (and the teachings of his master), Musashi only left two legacies: his clan and his legendary shinobi swords. The Tscuhigumo Clan’s temple on Mount Katsuragi and village that would in time become known as Yamagakure would become meccas for the Ninshu faithful — and as Musashi was known as a philosopher, prophet, disciple, and swordsmith it would in time lead many shinobi to travel to the locations for a variety of reasons. However, despite what was to come the Tscuhigumo Clan refused to be loyal to a daimyo or interact in any war; devoted to the beliefs of their founder.
Beyond the Tsuchuigumo Clan and the Swords of Musashi was the legacy of his teachings amongst three cultural factions: the monks, samurai, and shinobi. Outside of the monks, the factions would find themselves in a completive society where minor lords and people with power needed quick solutions to their problems. This would lead to infighting amongst shinobi clans and rivalries between the samurai clans and for several hundreds of years this continued constantly as a statement of humanity’s sins and false sense of virtue. This would continue until four individuals came to prominence amongst the shinobi in the realm that had become known as “The Land of Fire” following a conquest by the Hono Dynasty. These shinobi would lead to the centralization of the village that was renamed Konohagakure following the end of their rivalries and the rest would shortly become history. These shinobi would set a precedent for the future.
The Fukugen Period was established with the foundation of the major shinobi villages and their alliances within the elemental nations they called home.
The era has been for the most part defined as a time of restoration, change, and rebirth following the devastating warring states era that defined not only the shinobi world but the imperial world as well. Unfortunately, it seems the Fukugen Period is more than willing to repeat the mistakes of it’s predecessor. For the last several years, Konohagakure has been in a tense peace resulting from the peace accords signed by the major shinobi nations — though this hardly is absolute as other major conflicts are beginning to take shape that could bring another great war. It is here in the one hundred and twelfth year of this era that Konohagakure struggles with maintaining neutrality when rivals, enemies, and even allies alike are beginning to see how much they can encroach on before Konoha joins the conflicts outright.
What does the future have in store for the world?
Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths, and the prophet of ninshu.
It is said as the offspring of Kaguya that the enlightenment of chakra gave him understanding that no other man could comprehend and is the one who repurposed mundane thieves, monks, and ronin into one entity. The places he visited were said to be the ancestral beginnings of the great ninja nations of modern day. Hagoromo however, despite his complex understanding of chakra and ninshu theory he never found the time or vitality to continue his line as such the Otsutsuki Clan would die with Hagoromo, but to that point there was also sort of men and women that he would call his ten disciples, one of which that would continue the teachings of ninshu whilst the other nine would meet a fate that nobody could perceive: the biju.
The origin of the biju (or tailed beasts) is something deeply rooted into shinobi mythology and are important in conjunction with the early stories revolving around the prophet of the shinobi arts, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. Various sources cite the biju as beings sent to punish man for trying to challenge the gods while others claim they were always a natural force in the world. Whichever the case, the Sage and his disciples set out to bring peace to the realm and many of them were sacrificed to stop the world from collapsing from the sheer power of the biju. It is said that the sage himself died alongside nine of his disciples against the biju. The canonical and literal aspect of this story is unknown and it has many interpretations, but it is the foundation for all “fairytales” of the biju that are used to scare young shinobi into behaving properly.
The one surviving disciple, Tsuchigumo Musashi, continued to instruct until he too died which decades after his death brought forth the shinobi era.
After sixty-three years of spreading the ninshu philosophy, teaching the basis of chakra, developing kenjutsu, and forging a variety of swords a loss was felt when Musashi vanished; a disappearance that made many people believe he had passed on. Outside of his teachings (and the teachings of his master), Musashi only left two legacies: his clan and his legendary shinobi swords. The Tscuhigumo Clan’s temple on Mount Katsuragi and village that would in time become known as Yamagakure would become meccas for the Ninshu faithful — and as Musashi was known as a philosopher, prophet, disciple, and swordsmith it would in time lead many shinobi to travel to the locations for a variety of reasons. However, despite what was to come the Tscuhigumo Clan refused to be loyal to a daimyo or interact in any war; devoted to the beliefs of their founder.
Beyond the Tsuchuigumo Clan and the Swords of Musashi was the legacy of his teachings amongst three cultural factions: the monks, samurai, and shinobi. Outside of the monks, the factions would find themselves in a completive society where minor lords and people with power needed quick solutions to their problems. This would lead to infighting amongst shinobi clans and rivalries between the samurai clans and for several hundreds of years this continued constantly as a statement of humanity’s sins and false sense of virtue. This would continue until four individuals came to prominence amongst the shinobi in the realm that had become known as “The Land of Fire” following a conquest by the Hono Dynasty. These shinobi would lead to the centralization of the village that was renamed Konohagakure following the end of their rivalries and the rest would shortly become history. These shinobi would set a precedent for the future.
The Fukugen Period was established with the foundation of the major shinobi villages and their alliances within the elemental nations they called home.
The era has been for the most part defined as a time of restoration, change, and rebirth following the devastating warring states era that defined not only the shinobi world but the imperial world as well. Unfortunately, it seems the Fukugen Period is more than willing to repeat the mistakes of it’s predecessor. For the last several years, Konohagakure has been in a tense peace resulting from the peace accords signed by the major shinobi nations — though this hardly is absolute as other major conflicts are beginning to take shape that could bring another great war. It is here in the one hundred and twelfth year of this era that Konohagakure struggles with maintaining neutrality when rivals, enemies, and even allies alike are beginning to see how much they can encroach on before Konoha joins the conflicts outright.
What does the future have in store for the world?
