Unsatisfied desires from daily life. Suppressed longings. Another side of oneself unwilling to admit. Memories thought long forgotten… These discarded fragments did not vanish—they fell and accumulated, little by little, piling into mountains, weaving into dreams.
Yes, dreams were the struggles of abandoned things.
But dreams, after all, were only dreams. No matter how they struggled, they always ended in awakening. Whether beautiful or nightmarish, the moment they became dreams, they were destined to be burned away by the coming dawn.
As the seal wore down, the girl's spirit—which should have been suspended along with her life functions—gained room to stretch. In that hazy state between waking and sleeping, she repeated the same dream for a hundred years, like a curse.
The dream of her parents dying in war, causing her to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, then being modified and imprisoned as a "weapon of war" by her own clan, stripped even of her name, used as they pleased.
That was everything she had experienced in her short life.
Thinking this, perhaps remaining in that unconscious, suspended state would have been happier for her.
But in this world, there were no "ifs" or "maybes."
The faces of her parents, who had once gently protected her, were nearly forgotten. The hated figures of her "clan" gradually faded. The pain and fear she once felt slowly cooled.
Only her hatred—of ninja, of the world—grew clearer with time.
What should have been discarded had, without her noticing, become the only thing she had left—chains deeply entangled in her soul, leaving real scars.
Until now. Consciousness rose.
"Hmm... definitely old."
Hii Kōri crouched outside the seal, observing the glowing sealing formulas with interest. His brow furrowed slightly; his fingers traced shapes in the air as if mapping the technique's structure. After a moment, he made a firm judgment: "At least two hundred years old. Maybe more."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
Orochimaru played along, genuinely curious. Sealing techniques were not his specialty.
"Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll tell you generously."
As Orochimaru had expected, Hii Kōri launched into his explanation. He stood, brushed off his hands, and traced several complex formula patterns in the air. "These nested structures were completely abandoned by the Uzumaki clan about 180 years ago. Considering how long they were in use, seals employing them are at least 200 years old."
"Unlike conventional ninjutsu, which evolves rapidly through war, sealing techniques advance very slowly in terms of theoretical breakthroughs. When a long-used structure is entirely replaced by a better solution, it's a landmark event in the history of sealing arts."
Hii Kōri turned his gaze back to the seal, genuinely impressed. "To remain intact and functional for so many years with no maintenance, suffering only this degree of degradation… the caster who placed this seal was truly skilled."
"Even if I were to perform the sealing, achieving this level of stability and strength would probably take me several hours."
"Nonsense. I can't follow you."
Orochimaru's face fell slightly. He couldn't help a derisive snort. "Only several hours to create a seal strong enough to last centuries, and you say 'even I would take'? Isn't your scale a bit ridiculous?"
"There are people who created seals lasting over a thousand years."
Hii Kōri shrugged, pointing upward. But Orochimaru knew he wasn't pointing at the rock ceiling—but at something far above.
The moon.
"The Sage of Six Paths and the Rabbit Goddess? We've confirmed the former existed, but he's still a mythological figure. Hard to say if it's exaggerated."
"Who knows? Go back a hundred years—not that far. Before Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were born, the tailed beasts were as legendary as mythological monsters to people back then."
"Heh. Fair point."
Orochimaru nodded after a moment, turning his attention to the girl within the seal. "Sealed so carefully for centuries… perhaps this girl is as legendary as those monsters."
"Mm-hmm. Don't forget—as compensation for taking the Kusanagi, the finds from this ruin belong to me."
Ignoring Orochimaru's joking offer to return the sword, Hii Kōri quickly formed hand seals and began dismantling the ancient, stubborn seal.
Shatter…
The girl—stripped of her name—uncurled her limbs as the seal crumbled, landing on the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw the same underground cavern she had seen before losing consciousness, and two people standing nearby, conversing with interest.
"You..."
Her vision clearing, unused to speak, she murmured instinctively.
Then, noticing the hand signs Hii Kōri had just used to break the seal still not lowered—and his highly distinctive red hair in the seal's fading glow, she snapped fully awake.
Whether on the battlefield or during her final sealing, the owner of that crimson hair had always been a steadfast ally of the Senju clan.
Not only that Uzumaki ninja—the cold-eyed man beside him was also dangerous.
In other words… enemies!
Instincts honed during the Warring States period, when she was used as a weapon of war, combined with her hatred of ninja and this world that had brought her endless suffering, made her act before fully understanding the situation.
She shifted into combat stance. Her jet-black pupils contracted sharply, turning a vivid, blood red.
"…Ninja… Uzumaki…"
Hearing her hoarse whisper—clearly from a different era—Hii Kōri turned to look at her.
The moment their eyes met—
"Uzumaki ninja...die!"
A pattern like three shuriken connected in a ring spun in her blood-red eyes—the Mangekyō Sharingan, an evolved form of Uchiha ocular techniques.
Eye contact established. Genjutsu: Sharingan, activate!
A technique that showed the target an instant of terrifying illusion to paralyze them, or used hallucinations to disrupt their movements. Named after the eye itself, this was a versatile technique maximizing the Sharingan's hypnotic abilities.
More than a "technique," it was the Sharingan's innate ability.
Regardless of one's prior talent in genjutsu, once awakened, it could produce devastating effects—essentially devaluing the entire genjutsu system.
This technique had directly rendered conventional close-combat tactics useless against awakened Uchiha.
One could say it was this genjutsu, more than the Sharingan's perception or copying abilities, that earned the Uchiha's fearsome reputation during the Warring States period.
"!"
Overwhelming resentment and hatred coalesced into a corrosive, dark Yin Release chakra. The resulting genjutsu assault was exceptionally aggressive and murderous. Even Hii Kōri's movements paused.
His constant triple chakra cycle and Rashōmon's interference rendered him nearly immune to genjutsu, but the sheer volume of negative spiritual energy still silenced the words of praise he had been about to offer for the girl's physical and mental condition.
Before being sealed, the girl's state had been poor both mentally and physically depleted. Though she had been suspended within the seal, as the seal wore down, its stasis effect had weakened.
Minutely, but accumulatively, her already meager life force had leaked.
Yet her physical deficiencies were compensated by the intense negative spiritual energy she had accumulated in her dreams.
By the time she was sealed, the twelve-year-old girl had spent most of her short life on the battlefield. Her combat experience likely surpassed some special jōnin of this era.
She quickly adjusted her chakra mixture, maximizing output from her depleted life force. As she cast her genjutsu, she stepped back, forming the Tiger Seal. Her flat chest swelled as blazing chakra gathered in her throat.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Her murderous words were distorted by the surging flames. Four fire dragons, each over ten meters long, roared from her mouth, charging at Hii Kōri and Orochimaru. They lit up most of the cavern, heat waves blasting outward.
A B-rank Fire Release with only the Tiger Seal—plus those Mangekyō Sharingan—this girl's strength would shame 99% of today's ninja.
Truly a survivor of the Warring States meat grinder. Even as a little girl, she's terrifyingly strong!
Thinking this, Hii Kōri's movements were anything but slow.
"Don't use such large-scale Fire Release this deep underground!"
He formed seals and stepped back, stamping his heel into the ground as he spoke, channeling chakra into the earth. "You'll use up the oxygen and suffocate us!"
Earth Release: Mud Wall!
A massive, thick rock wall rose like a dam, splitting the cavern in two. It braced against the four dragons' assault.
The dragons crashed into the wall with a deafening roar. Rocks and sparks flew; the cavern shook.
As he retreated, Orochimaru also formed Earth Release seals. Seeing the situation, he slapped his left hand against the cavern wall, taking over the task of maintaining stability.
"Ho… a Mangekyō Sharingan…"
The next moment, another wave of attacks came.
Using the Sharingan's dynamic vision to track Hii Kōri's movements, the girl kicked the rock wall nearly half a meter thick shattering a large hole as if it were paper.
Using the force of her kick, she shot through the dust like a ghost, straight toward where Hii Kōri had been standing.
Her crimson Mangekyō seemed to burn with pure killing intent, trailing two scarlet streaks like ominous incense sticks.
Caught off guard, Hii Kōri could only raise his arms in a hasty block.
BOOM!
The force of her kick enough to kill snapped the bandages around her foot. The impact transmitted through Hii Kōri's arms, sending him sliding backward, carving deep tracks.
"This is an undeserved calamity," Hii Kōri grumbled inwardly. But his complaint wasn't baseless.
The girl had shouted "Uzumaki ninja, die!"—but though he carried Uzumaki blood, Hii Kōri had never even visited Uzushiogakure before its fall.
Aside from Nagato, the only Uzumaki he had sensed were Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki during his trip to Konoha.
Why should he take the blame for relatives he'd never met?
Relatives from centuries ago, no less!
Complaining to himself, Hii Kōri's expression grew serious.
Whether because she heard his complaint or sensed the limited air in the cavern, the Uchiha girl stopped using large-scale Fire Release and closed in, attacking Hii Kōri with vicious, unorthodox kicks and punches, relentless as a storm.
In her understanding, Uzumaki ninja excelled at sealing and barrier techniques. While their physique kept their taijutsu from being weak, it was never their strength.
If she stayed close—prevented him from using barriers or seals—she would win!
So thinking, keeping one eye on Orochimaru with her Sharingan, the girl was charged recklessly.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, had no interest in joining.
He could see her taijutsu had no fixed style—it was pure battlefield killing technique, honed through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Every strike aimed to maximize damage and disable the enemy: throats, hearts, joints, temples—anywhere that would cause pain or impede movement.
But consequently, this efficiency-focused style meant her targets were limited.
Against a weaker opponent or from a good ambush position, it was effective.
But… taijutsu against Hii Kōri?
Orochimaru wasn't optimistic (and was suppressing a smile).
Feigning weakness again…
Maintaining the cavern's stability, Orochimaru clicked his tongue, watching Hii Kōri pretend to be barely coping—narrowly dodging and blocking the girl's attacks with apparent difficulty. He wondered how the man had developed such a habit.
If Hii Kōri knew Orochimaru's thoughts, he'd have scoffed.
Didn't Orochimaru have plenty of unshown trump cards? Sharing research progress was one thing—no one revealed their true abilities so casually.
They got along famously, but even brothers kept accounts straight.
Trump cards were like underwear. If someone saw them, they saw them—but you never showed them deliberately.
After several dozen seconds, the girl sensed something odd in Hii Kōri's responses, but the gap in their thinking prevented her from taking the instinctive warning seriously.
Outmatched in physique and lacking even a decent kunai, the girl's kick was dodged again. She sprang off his thigh, flipping in the air, aiming to choke him with the shackles binding her ankles.
Then, suddenly, Hii Kōri—who had been responding "clumsily" and taking her blows—moved with far greater speed, catching the chain connecting her shackles. Before she could react, he yanked it downward, slamming her into the ground.
"Ugh—"
Before she could fully cry out, her small body left the ground again. Hii Kōri swung her by her ankle.
The centrifugal force made escape impossible. The world spun; wind screamed in her ears; her eyes reddened.
From front to back, back to front, her form became a blur.
After a dozen seconds, bored with this one-sided game, Hii Kōri casually tossed her forward.
CRASH!
Her small body flew like a cannonball, slamming into the cavern wall, leaving a large crater.
"I thought taking that hit might knock some sense into you."
Hii Kōri shook his wrist, sighing as he watched the girl struggle from the rubble, her gaze even fiercer. "I'd like to explain that I'm not your enemy, but judging by your eyes, you won't listen until you've vented."
He clapped his hands together, forming a series of Earth Release seals, and called to Orochimaru: "Cover me, won't you? I'm sure you weren't planning to wait until I'm exhausted and then swoop in, were you, Orochimaru-senpai~"
"Ha. Only at times like this do you call me senpai."
Seeing the seals Hii Kōri formed, Orochimaru snorted but didn't refuse.
"Earth Release: Mud Split."
"Earth Release: Rising Rock Platform."
***
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