novelraw Chapter 502 The Altered Uchiha Stone Tablet
Chapter 502 The Altered Uchiha Stone Tablet
Chapter 502 The Altered Uchiha Stone Tablet
Naruto stood outside the vine-covered gate of Mikoto's house, craning his neck to look left and right, his bright blue eyes filled with curiosity, muttering to himself, "Is this the place? The address Mom gave me—the house number—it's right!"
He looked up at the house number again to confirm it was correct, but looking at the closed door and the quiet courtyard, he scratched his head uncertainly.
"Sasuke—does he really live here? Why is he so quiet? Is he still sleeping in?"
Naruto took a deep breath and continued shouting.
"Sasuke! Sasuke—!"
Then he grabbed the arm, ready to wake up the guy inside, who was probably still sleeping, in his best way.
However, before his slap could land on the courtyard gate...
crunch—
The front door of the house was opened from the inside.
Sasuke stood in the doorway, one hand in his pocket and the other on the doorframe, looking rather annoyed. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes seemed to say, "Are you an idiot?" He snapped at Naruto, who was already banging on the door, "Stop knocking! It's so noisy!"
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you see the doorbell over there?!"
"Wrong?" Naruto was taken aback. Following the direction Sasuke was pointing, he noticed that there was indeed an inconspicuous silver round button on the gatepost next to the courtyard gate, with a small sticker that said "doorbell" below it.
"Hahaha!" Naruto immediately withdrew his hand, scratched the back of his head, and let out his signature loud laugh, trying to cover up his embarrassment with laughter.
"Oh, there was a doorbell! I didn't notice! I was just thinking about how to wake you up, haha!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes at him, the disdain in his eyes almost tangible.
He didn't reply, but simply put his hands back in his pockets, strode out of the house.
Upon seeing Sasuke emerge, Naruto's face immediately broke into an even brighter smile, his azure eyes sparkling as he opened his mouth to greet him.
At that moment, another figure followed Sasuke out of the room he had just left.
She was a woman wearing light purple loungewear, with long black hair reaching her waist, and a gentle and beautiful demeanor.
She stood at the doorway, her gaze gentle as she looked at Naruto outside the gate, a curious and kind smile on her face.
Naruto's words caught in his throat. He blinked, looked at Sasuke, and then at the woman.
Although he had never seen her before, the woman's eyebrows and eyes, which were extremely similar to Sasuke's, as well as her calm yet gentle temperament, made him instantly guess what she was talking about.
"You're Naruto, right?" Sure enough, the woman spoke first, her voice gentle, like a spring stream.
"I am Sasuke's mother, Uchiha Mikoto. Sasuke mentioned you to me, saying that you are—a very important friend to him."
Sasuke retorted, "No, he's just a noisy idiot!"
"Hello, Auntie!" Naruto, unusually, didn't bicker with Sasuke. Instead, he put away his previous carefree attitude, stood up straight, and gave a bright, sunny smile, nodding vigorously.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Menma sent me to find Sasuke! He said he has something important to tell us!"
Looking at Aunt Mikoto's gentle smile, Naruto felt a sudden warmth in his heart.
This is Sasuke's mother.
She looks so gentle and beautiful.
Sasuke must be so happy to see his mother again, right?
Although you definitely couldn't tell from his face.
Mikoto felt a slight stirring in her heart as she looked at Naruto's unpretentious, energetic smile and clear eyes.
This child has a cheerful and straightforward personality, just like Kushina when she was a child.
But—thinking about what this child had gone through in Konoha over the past twelve years, Mikoto couldn't help but feel a pang of pity and heartache.
She suppressed her emotions, her smile softening further. Turning to Sasuke, who was already at the courtyard gate and about to open it, she gently urged him, "Sasuke, hurry up, don't keep your friend waiting. Menma must have something important to tell you."
"Okay, okay," Sasuke replied casually as he reached out and opened the courtyard gate, pulling it inwards.
Then, before stepping out of the yard, he suddenly paused, turned his head to the side, and said to Mikoto at the door, "Then I'm leaving, Mom."
Those five simple words, spoken softly, instantly filled Mikoto's heart with a surge of warmth, and her eyes welled up with tears.
She nodded vigorously, a happy and content smile on her face, and softly said to the backs of the two boys, "Yes, have a safe journey."
Sasuke stepped out of the courtyard.
Naruto turned around, waved vigorously at Mikoto, and shouted, "Goodbye, Auntie!"
Mikoto stood at the door, watching the two boys leave one after the other.
Looking at Sasuke's back, which seemed more relaxed than yesterday, and then at the lively blond boy beside him who seemed to have endless things to say, Mikoto was filled with mixed emotions.
If only things could stay like this forever.
Without hatred, without separation, children can walk side by side in the sunlight, striving for their goals and dreams, instead of being bound by a heavy fate and blood debts.
But she also knew that this was just a beautiful but unrealistic hope.
What lies ahead ultimately depends on the children's own choices.
After leaving the street where Mikoto's house was located, Sasuke walked forward with his hands in the pockets of his tracksuit at a leisurely pace.
He casually glanced at the various detached houses on both sides of the street.
He arrived in a hurry last night, and with darkness falling and his emotions running high, he didn't pay much attention to his surroundings.
In the morning light, he could see that almost every household had a nameplate with their surname hanging outside their gate.
Hinata, Hinata, Ibri—and, Miyajo?
"Are they from the Blood Pool Clan?"
It turns out that the Land of Stars not only took in the survivors of the Uchiha clan and the defectors from the Hyuga branch family, but also these once famous bloodline limit families in the history of the ninja world have a new settlement here.
What this reveals is the "inclusive" attitude of the Star Country, or rather Menma, towards Bloodline Limiters.
Sasuke's mind raced, but on the surface he maintained a cold demeanor.
Naruto, who was walking half a step away from him, didn't notice these details at all.
From the moment he left Mikoto's house, his mouth opened like a faucet, and he began to talk incessantly and animatedly: "Sasuke, let me tell you! I saw my parents yesterday!"
"They really did sacrifice themselves to protect the village and seal the Nine-Tails, just as the Third Generation Grandfather said! They are heroes of the village!"
'
Naruto's voice was filled with excitement and pride, but then it was tinged with confusion and a hint of grievance.
"But—I heard from my mother that after they died, some bad people in the village spread rumors that I was a fox spirit, deliberately inciting the common people to hate and fear me—"
"My third grandfather—although he seemed to have stopped it, for some reason, he didn't completely eliminate those rumors—that's why when I was a child, everyone—"
His voice lowered, and a hint of sadness flashed in his azure eyes.
Even knowing that her parents are heroes, and feeling the warmth of home, the cold rejection and disgusted looks from her childhood still linger.
The memories of shops where food was unavailable—these memories won't disappear instantly because of the "truth"; they've become part of the underlying tone of his life.
Sasuke initially thought Naruto's constant chatter was a bit noisy and planned to find an opportunity to shut him up.
But when he heard Naruto mention those "rumors" and the Third Hokage's ambiguous attitude, the sarcastic words he was about to utter got stuck in his throat.
Naruto was well aware of the villagers' rejection and fear of him.
Many of his classmates at the Ninja Academy gossiped behind Naruto's back, calling him a "demon fox," keeping their distance from him and even secretly bullying him.
Although Sasuke himself disdained to participate, he had also observed from the sidelines.
He always thought it was just because Naruto was a troublemaker who was academically poor and loved to play pranks.
Now it seems—someone deliberately spread rumors?
The Third Hokage knew about it, but didn't completely solve it?
A name jumped into Sasuke's mind almost instantly.
Danzo Shimura.
The leader of Root, hidden in the shadows of Konoha.
According to his mother and Shisui, Danzo was one of the direct planners and instigators of the Uchiha clan massacre!
That guy not only ambushed Shisui and stole one of his Mangekyou Sharingan eyes, but he was also secretly conducting Sharingan transplantation experiments.
Furthermore, under the guise of village peace and the "threat" of the Uchiha clan, they used coercion and enticement, and may even have directly given orders to Itachi Uchiha to slaughter his own clansmen!
A ruthless politician who would orchestrate the massacre of an entire clan, sparing neither women nor children, for the sake of so-called "village stability," secretly spread rumors after the Fourth Hokage and his wife's sacrifice, and with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki being young and of sensitive status. He transferred the stigma of "Demon Fox" and the villagers' fear onto Naruto, thus isolating and controlling the Jinchuriki and creating an obedient "weapon" for Konoha.
This is the most reasonable thing to do!
The Third Hokage's tacit approval, however, contained a great deal of political compromise, indulgence of an old comrade, or perhaps—
A similarly cold-blooded consideration?
But the Third Hokage has already died in battle, and we may never know the answer to why he didn't completely dispel the rumor that Naruto was a demon fox.
At this thought, Sasuke's dark eyes instantly filled with frost.
My heart was gripped by a chilling current of hatred and murderous intent.
In addition to Uchiha Shu, another person has been added to the list of people to be killed.
Danzo Shimura!
One day————
"Hey! Sasuke! Are you even listening?!" Naruto's annoyed voice pulled Sasuke back to reality from his icy thoughts.
He looked up and found Naruto leaning close to him, eyeing him suspiciously as he drifted off into thought.
"Shut up, you loser." Sasuke turned his face away, habitually using a cold tone to cover up his earlier lapse in concentration.
"What's the point of talking about your old, sordid affairs?"
"What the hell! I'm sharing some very important feelings with you!" Naruto immediately jumped up, but seeing Sasuke's "I can't be bothered with you" profile, he deflated and muttered.
"Forget it, it's pointless to talk to someone like you — by the way, we're here."
Sasuke then noticed that the two of them had unknowingly walked into another residential area.
Not far ahead of them was a three-story detached house with a small courtyard.
As the two approached, the nameplate in front of the courtyard gate gradually became clearer.
"The Uzumaki Family".
Naruto saw his house number and immediately smiled, "Ah! We're here!"
He quickened his pace, ran to the courtyard gate, and reached out to push open the half-closed wrought iron gate.
Just then, a familiar, clear female voice, tinged with surprise, came from the side: "Wait, Sasuke? Naruto?"
Both of them were startled and looked in the direction of the sound.
On the wall of a similar-looking courtyard next to Naruto's house, a girl was squatting.
The girl looked to be about the same age as Sasuke and Naruto, with long, bright red hair and a few wisps of hair falling across her forehead.
She wore a pair of slightly intellectual-looking black-rimmed square glasses, and a rather daring light purple cropped long-sleeved bodysuit that accentuated her slender waist and budding curves. She paired it with extremely short denim hot pants, black stockings that reached her knees, and ninja toe boots, revealing a section of her fair thighs.
She looks energetic and has a kind of untamed sexiness.
It was Kaori Uzumaki, who had previously participated in the Chunin Exams as a Genin from the Land of Stars and had met Naruto and Sasuke.
At this moment, she was resting her chin on one hand and casually placing the other hand on her bent knee, squatting on the wall of her own courtyard. Her red eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked down at Sasuke and Naruto standing outside the gate of the Minato family's courtyard.
"Smells good?" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He pointed at her and then at the house behind her.
"You—you live here too?"
"Of course~" Xiang grinned, revealing two cute little tiger teeth. She pointed to the nameplate in front of her yard gate, on which the word "whirlpool" was clearly engraved.
"After all, I'm a member of the Uzumaki clan too!"
As she spoke, Xiang's gaze swept over Naruto's face. Suddenly, as if she had remembered something, a sly glint flashed in her eyes, and she smiled, "By the way, Naruto, you were born on October 10th, right?"
"Wrong? You know that too?" Naruto was even more surprised.
His birthday was almost forgotten in Konoha, except by Menma, Iruka-sensei, and the Third Hokage; hardly anyone else remembered it, let alone the exact date.
"Of course I know~" Xiang smiled like a kitten that had stolen a fish, and lightly jumped down from the courtyard wall, landing silently, showing her good physical skills.
She walked to the gate of her yard, crossed her arms, leaned against the gatepost, and looked at Naruto.
"I'm very close to Aunt Kushina, she often talks about you to me~"
She paused, deliberately drawing out her words, her right index finger resting on her chin as if in thought: "Oh, right—I was born on June 20th, strictly speaking—"
She suddenly leaned closer to Naruto, her red eyes gleaming mischievously behind her glasses, and said with a grin, "You still have to call me 'older sister'!"
"W-what?!" Naruto was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up, pointing at Kaori, his face full of indignation.
"You...you're only a few months older than me!"
"And, and Menma-san is my twin brother, so isn't he also older than you—"
His words were cut short before he could finish speaking.
Because the sweet and playful smile on Xiang's face vanished instantly.
Behind the glasses, his red eyes narrowed slightly, and an extremely subtle, chilling "killing intent" instantly pierced towards Naruto!
Naruto felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on his body almost stood on end. He swallowed the rest of his sentence that was on the tip of his tongue and looked at Xiang with some fear as her expression suddenly changed.
This woman's eyes—why are they suddenly so terrifying?!
However, that chilling "killing intent" only appeared for a moment.
The next moment, a smile returned to Xiang's face, as if what had just happened was just Naruto's illusion.
She tilted her head and said with a smile in a cloyingly sweet tone that made Naruto feel inexplicably dangerous, "Of course, each of us has our own opinion~"
She emphasized the phrase "each to their own opinion," and her red eyes glanced meaningfully at the door of the Minato family's house.
Just then.
crunch—
The door to the Minato family's house was opened from the inside.
Menma, dressed in a simple black hooded tracksuit and matching trousers, came out carrying a bag of kitchen waste.
Upon seeing the three people outside the door, Naruto was about to greet them.
"Meat Bro~!"
Xiang let out a cheerful, affectionate cry, and like a kitten seeing its owner, she pounced on him with lightning speed!
She wrapped her arms around Menma's arm and affectionately rubbed her cheek against Menma's shoulder, her eyes curving into crescents, her face full of infatuated joy.
"I miss you so much~ I didn't see you all day yesterday! Where did you go?"
Although he didn't know it was the first time he had seen it, Naruto was still somewhat dumbfounded.
Forget it, this red-haired woman seems a bit scary — I'd better not mess with her.
Mianma was clearly used to Xiang's enthusiastic "surprise attack," and the helplessness on his face became more obvious. He raised his hand, flicked the garbage bag, and accurately threw it into the garbage can outside the yard.
Then, gently pressing Xiang's forehead with his index finger, he pushed her head away slightly as she tried to rub against him again, his tone slightly indulgent and slightly annoyed: "Alright, Xiang, stop fooling around."
"Also, stop teasing Naruto. He's new here and doesn't understand many things yet."
"Okay, okay~" Xiang let go of his hand, but still stood very close to Menma. She turned her head and made a face at Naruto, then looked at Menma, her expression becoming slightly more serious, and said.
"By the way, Menma-kun, my mom's making lots of delicious food tonight to celebrate Kimimaro-nii and Haku-nii's promotion to Jonin! You and Aunt Kushina, Uncle Minato, Hikaru-neechan, Hydrangea, and ————"
Her gaze swept over Naruto and Sasuke, she winked, and smiled, "Naruto and Sasuke, you absolutely must come! I'll go tell Aunt Kushina and Uncle Minato right now!"
After saying that, she waved to Menma like a happy little bird, then ran straight to the Minato family's house, opened the door with practiced ease, and called out, "Aunt Kushina! I'm here!"
They skipped and hopped inside, as if it were their own home.
Watching Xiang disappear behind the door, Menma gently shook his head, turned around, and his gaze returned to Naruto and Sasuke, who had already entered the courtyard.
The hint of helplessness and indulgence on his face quickly faded, and his eyes became calm and serious.
"Alright, we've had our fill of gossip and excitement. Now, let's go somewhere together."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Sasuke's solemn yet expectant face, and Naruto's face, which, though still somewhat bewildered, had become serious as he sensed the change in atmosphere.
"It's time we had a serious talk. About you, about me, about this ninja world—and about the truths that have been hidden for a thousand years."
Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly, and his hand in his pocket clenched quietly.
He nodded heavily, his dark eyes gleaming with determination.
Is it finally here?
Naruto's eyes were filled with curiosity, nervousness, and a hint of longing.
He sniffed hard, puffed out his chest, and said loudly, "Yes! Brother Mianma! I'll do whatever you say!"
Menma observed the two men's completely different but prepared reactions and said no more.
He took two steps forward and, under the watchful eyes of Naruto and Sasuke, slowly raised his hands.
Bring your right index and middle fingers together, forming a sword-like shape, and gently touch your forehead.
His left hand was stretched out horizontally forward, with his five fingers spread and his palm facing Naruto and Sasuke standing in front of him.
This stance—does not appear to be the starting position for any known conventional ninjutsu.
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan instantly activated, attempting to capture the flow of chakra, but he could only sense the vast, unfathomable chakra within Menma's body, which began to fluctuate and resonate slightly in an incomprehensible way.
"Relax," Menma's voice was very soft.
"Don't resist, this is just a directional space-time ninjutsu."
The voice just fell.
Sasuke felt as if the world before him had been suddenly grabbed by an invisible hand and then twisted violently!
The surrounding scenery instantly twisted, stretched, and rotated like a shattered kaleidoscope, turning into countless bizarre and colorful streaks of light that flew backward at an astonishing speed!
A strong sense of weightlessness and spatial dislocation washed over him, making him instinctively want to mobilize his chakra to resist it, but he forcibly suppressed the impulse when he remembered Menma's instructions.
Naruto, standing next to him, let out a soft "Wah!" and instinctively closed his eyes.
This feeling lasted for less than half a second.
The next moment, all the distortion, the flowing light, and the feeling of weightlessness vanished abruptly.
My feet were firmly planted on the ground again.
Sasuke suddenly raised his three-tomoe Sharingan, scanning his completely new surroundings warily.
"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.
They were currently in an extremely wide and tall silver-white metal hall!
Preliminary estimates suggest that the height exceeds ten meters and the area is at least the size of a football field.
The interior of the hall was brightly lit and softly lit. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of a special alloy plate with a metallic sheen, and the seams were almost invisible.
In the center of the hall, the most eye-catching thing is a stone tablet that is half a person tall.
The stone tablet is about two meters wide and more than half a meter thick. Its surface is engraved with extremely ancient characters and symbols, giving people an incredibly heavy and mysterious feeling.
One wall of the hall is a huge, transparent glass panel.
Through this huge observation window, you can clearly see the scenery outside.
It was a boundless desert, gleaming with dazzling golden light under the blazing sun!
The yellow sand stretches endlessly, the dunes endlessly, reaching the horizon where they meet the azure sky.
The scorching, dry air seemed to penetrate the glass, creating a stark contrast to the cool, constant temperature and humidity inside the hall.
"This is a research city located deep in the desert of Wind County." Menma's indifferent voice rang out from the side, answering their shock and doubts.
He had already reached the stone tablet, his back to the huge desert observation window. Against the backdrop of the endless yellow sand outside the window, his figure appeared exceptionally upright, carrying a sense of aloofness as if he were conversing with the ancient and the unknown.
Menma continued calmly, "And this stone tablet was secretly moved from the underground chamber of the Nakagawa Shrine in the former Uchiha clan territory by Masamizu during the Chunin Exams a few years ago."
"Their history can be traced back to the time of the Sage of Six Paths a thousand years ago."
"What is recorded above is the evolutionary path of the Uchiha Sharingan, as well as the ancient secrets of Indra and Ashura."
As he spoke, Menma chuckled again and added, "Of course, there's also some content that was altered."
"!!!"
Sasuke's pupils contracted violently!
It felt as if an invisible hand was gripping my heart tightly!
The stone monument of Minagawa Shrine!
The stone tablet containing the ultimate secret of the Sharingan is passed down through generations of the Uchiha clan and is known only to the clan head and a few high-ranking members!
After the massacre of his clan, he secretly returned to the Nakagawa Shrine, which had been reduced to ruins, to search for the stone tablet that supposedly recorded the power of the Uchiha clan. However, his Sharingan at the time could not decipher the inscriptions on it.
This stone tablet, which the Uchiha clan regards as a treasure, has actually been altered by someone?
Six Paths Immortals?
This name, which only exists in mythology and at the very beginning of ninja school textbooks, is actually related to the Uchiha clan?
No, judging from what Mianma said, it seems to be more than just a simple matter!
Moreover—Indra and Asura?
Who are these two?
Naruto scratched his head. He had no concept of the "Uchiha Stone Tablet" and was not even familiar with the legendary name "Sage of Six Paths".
After all, when he was in the ninja academy, he did nothing but sleep and cause trouble; he didn't listen to most of his academic classes.
Menma ignored Naruto's bewilderment, turned to face Sasuke, raised his hand towards the stone tablet in the middle, and gestured, "Sasuke, come here."
"Use your Sharingan to examine this stone tablet carefully. Try it—with your current three-tomoe eye power, how much can you see, how much can you understand?"
Sasuke's heart pounded wildly with tension and a strong premonition.
He took a deep breath, and then, step by step, like a pilgrim, he walked toward the ancient stone tablet.
As he approached the stone tablet, the three tomoe in his eyes began to spin uncontrollably and slowly at an accelerated pace.
It was as if the stone tablet itself had a natural attraction and resonance with his eye power and the Uchiha bloodline.
He stood before the stone tablet, tilted his head back, and stared intently at the seemingly alive characters on the surface of the tablet with his scarlet Sharingan eyes.
The next moment, his body trembled violently!
>