After everything settled and the soldiers were dead, Raijin tried to leave Isshin's body.
But he couldn't.
He paused.
"What is this…?!" he muttered.
He tried again, but something held him back. It felt like he was being pulled, restrained by something he couldn't break.
"Why can't I leave?!" his voice echoed.
He looked around and quickly realized what had happened.
The necklace.
His expression darkened. He immediately understood.
It was a creation of the Sage. A prison meant to seal all seven dragons.
Raijin went silent for a moment.
At first, he thought this was a trap. Something planned. But the more he thought about it, the less that made sense. Isshin had found the necklace by chance. There was no way a child like him could have planned something like this.
That meant one thing.
He was stuck.
Raijin had no choice but to wait.
Some time later, Isshin slowly woke up.
His head felt empty. He couldn't remember what had just happened.
He sat up, still a bit dizzy.
Then he heard a voice.
"Why are you wearing this Necklace?!"
Isshin froze.
"What…?!" he said out loud, looking around.
There was no one.
His breathing became uneven.
"Who said that?!"
Raijin decided to appear.
He formed a figure in front of Isshin, something like a human shape, but not fully solid. Only Isshin could see him.
Isshin's eyes widened.
"Who are you?!" he said, his voice shaking.
Raijin looked at him for a moment, slightly annoyed.
"That's my question. How did you trap me here?"
Isshin just stared at him, confused.
"I… I didn't do anything," he said.
Raijin let out a breath. It was clear now. The boy had no idea what was going on.
He decided to explain everything from the start.
"Listen carefully," Raijin said. "Your village is gone. Your family too."
Isshin didn't respond.
"They were killed by those two soldiers over there," Raijin continued, pointing toward the bodies. "You were about to die. I saved you."
Isshin slowly looked in that direction.
Everything came back.
The fire.
The bodies.
His mother.
His hands started shaking.
"What… do I do now?!" he asked quietly.
Raijin didn't hesitate. "You get stronger. Strong enough to kill the one behind this."
He didn't care much about Isshin personally, but he was tied to him now. If Isshin stayed weak, it wouldn't benefit him either.
Isshin lowered his head.
"I don't know how to get stronger…" he said.
"I'll teach you," Raijin replied. "I help you out here so that you can help me get out as well okay?."
Isshin didn't say anything, but he listened.
After that, they moved through what was left of the village.
Burned houses. Broken ground. Smoke still in the air.
Isshin searched quietly.
He found some food that hadn't been destroyed.
"Take whatever you can," Raijin said. "You'll need it."
Isshin nodded and gathered what he could.
Then his eyes moved toward the bodies of the soldiers.
He hesitated.
He had never been this close to death before.
"Check them" Raijin said.
Isshin swallowed, then slowly walked over.
Their armor didn't fit him, "yeah you shouldn't be wearing this..." Raijin says.
But he found a sword, It was heavy.
He dragged it along the ground as he walked back.
After a while, Isshin spoke.
"Who do I have to kill?"
Raijin looked at him.
"Call me sensei," he said first. "I'll be teaching you from now on."
Isshin didn't react much, just waited.
"The one behind all of this…" Raijin continued, "well... how do i put this so a kid like you can even understand" Raijin thought for a few seconds. "Listen kid, long story short, the soldiers that tried to kill you.... they are the soldiers of the strongest person in all of existence.... somebody that can destroy multiple universes in the blink of an eye.... The Sage..."
The soldiers were completely ordinary soldiers, but they were under some kind of hypnosis, Raijin could tell, the power was too familiar for him to not notice it, after all, he had fought with the Sage before. but for the Sage to layout such a plan to catch Raijin was something completely unpredictable.
Isshin's eyes widened.
"That's… possible?"
Raijin didn't soften it. "Look there isn't much you can do, atleast not right now. but you need to keep on living, and you will understand everything one by one. calm down."
Isshin stayed quiet for a moment.
"Strength isn't just about your level. There are other factors. I'll teach you everything."
He then instructed Isshin to sit down.
"Close your eyes. Focus."
Isshin did as he was told.
At first, there was nothing.
Then slowly, he started to sense something around him.
Particles. Movement.
"There are different types of particles around you at all times," Raijin said. "Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide… and mana."
Isshin focused.
"Try to gather the mana."
Isshin reached out with his senses.
It wasn't easy.
His body started to feel heavy.
"Don't stop," Raijin said.
Isshin pushed through.
Slowly, he began pulling the mana toward himself.
The moment it entered his body, pain followed.
His breathing became unstable.
"Spread it evenly," Raijin instructed.
Isshin tried.
The pain got worse.
His body wasn't used to this at all.
Raijin placed a hand on his back, helping him stabilize.
With that support, Isshin managed to continue.
After a while, it stopped.
Isshin opened his eyes, breathing heavily.
"…Did I get stronger?" he asked.
"Not really," Raijin said. "you didn't even try long enough for anything to happen."
"Do i really need to teach a 6 year old on how to cultivate now? if he dies i will end up dying as well, i don't have a choice" Raijin thinks to himself. He could only take a human form and show things to Isshin to teach him.
He was not able to interact with the outside world, and if he stayed out of Isshin's body other people and beings could see him, so he was completely powerless.
The only thing he could do is believe and rely on Isshin who could use Raijin's qi.
Isshin looked down, still trying to understand what he just felt.
Raijin continued.
"There are twelve main realms for mortals in this world," he said. "Body Refinement, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, True Soul and so on, i won't go too far here since you won't even understand yet"
Isshin listened carefully.
"And that's not the end," Raijin added. "There's more beyond this world."
Isshin looked up.
"Then let's start," he said.
"Good. There's no time to waste."