The moon shone brightly in a sparse field of stars, and its light spilled across the earth.
In a deep valley, Haori walked slowly forward, carrying tools like a hoe and a shovel on his back.
The vegetation here was incredibly lush, and the dense trees blocked the moonlight.
But the dim surroundings didn't hinder him. His crimson eyes kept scanning everything around him.
"This place is huge."
Haori had made all the preparations to dig up a grave, and he had arrived at Qiuyue Valley.
The place was much larger than he'd imagined, so he had no choice but to spend more time searching.
Fortunately, he had been prepared for that. After all, the document from the Uzumaki Clan hadn't given an exact location.
All he could do was keep observing with his Sharingan and search as thoroughly as possible for any traces left behind.
"Good thing I have the Sharingan. Otherwise, I'd have to give up."
More than a hundred years had passed, and very few traces remained.
If he had to search with the naked eye, Haori might as well give up. The passage of time had already transformed everything around him.
And don't forget that several decades ago, the great battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had a tremendous impact on the entire Land of Fire.
Although Qiuyue Valley was far from Konoha and hadn't suffered enough damage to become something like the Valley of the End, it wouldn't be strange if the force of that battle had changed this place, too.
So it would be very difficult to find anything here.
The Sharingan, however, could use its exceptional perceptiveness to find traces left behind.
"Besides, my Sharingan isn't weak."
Haori's Sharingan was pretty powerful, even though he had only awakened it recently.
And thanks to his method of training Yin Release, his eyes were improving at a decent pace.
Still, he felt that the rate of progress was nowhere near fast enough.
After all, he was going to rebel. How could he feel secure without enough strength to back him up?
Besides, Uchiha Fugaku had a Mangekyō Sharingan, and that old fox had barely ever shown what his ocular technique was.
Information was crucial. With it, he could make the necessary preparations and make victory that much easier.
"But didn't he use a technique similar to Tsukuyomi on his eldest son to show him what would happen if the Uchiha seized power?"
Haori seemed to recall a scene like that, but he wasn't sure whether it had actually been an ocular technique.
He was certain of one thing, though: no matter what power someone else had, he needed to have the corresponding strength himself!
"Let's see what the reward is this time."
Shaking his head, Haori stopped thinking about it. He tightened the hoe on his back and resumed his careful search.
Searching like this was dull. In the pitch-black forest, the only sounds were the breeze rustling through the branches
and the birds perched in the trees, calling out at intervals.
The quiet surroundings seemed peaceful, but Haori couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He wasn't sure why, but he had endured the brutal trials of the battlefield. His heart had long since grown unshakable.
"Even if this place saw countless wars and countless people died here, I still don't believe any of you can crawl back up and bite me without Impure World Reincarnation!"
Thinking to himself, Haori continued exploring the area, his crimson eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, as Haori emerged from the forest, he froze in place.
Before him lay a vast clearing. The pristine moonlight spilled down from the sky, making the place look especially beautiful.
Standing there, all he had to do was look up to see the full moon, seemingly right above his head and close enough to touch.
Under the silver moonlight, Haori's view opened up. To his surprise, he also found traces of chakra here!
"That's... traces of a Sealing Jutsu?"
Haori was full of questions, but a delighted smile appeared on his face.
He had searched for so long without finding anything. Now he had finally discovered some clues. Whether they proved useful or not, it was enough to make him happy.
But he was just as puzzled. If this Sealing Jutsu was really what he was looking for,
then what kind of grudge could make someone seal a person away even after death, never allowing them to appear again?
"Wasn't there even Impure World Reincarnation a hundred years ago?"
Haori couldn't help grumbling to himself. But no matter what, he had found something, and he wasn't about to let it go.
He hurried over and began examining the Sealing Jutsu.
The seal was extremely ancient, and Haori had never seen a design like it before.
Still, he could tell that it had been here for at least a hundred years!
"Whether this is the right one or not, I'll open it first."
There was only one way to find out: open it.
Fortunately, the seal before him had endured countless years of weathering. It might have lasted for many more,
but if he found one of its nodes and damaged it slightly, the seal would fail completely!
"Luckily, I got a Sealing Jutsu reward before, and I have the Sharingan, too."
Thinking this, Haori extended a finger, blue chakra swirling around its tip.
His eyes continued scanning the seal before him. Before long, his finger shot toward one particular spot.
In an instant, the seal faltered, then began to crumble!
The light from the shattered seal scattered in all directions. Before long, it merged into the moonlight and vanished completely before his eyes.
Watching this, Haori nodded slightly. It had gone exactly as he'd expected.
"Now then..."
Time to dig up a grave!
He made a Shadow Clone, grabbed the hoe and shovel, and began rapidly digging up the soil.
He was more motivated than ever. If he had found the right grave, he would be able to complete his mission!
Although the person had lived a hundred years ago, they had been called the Uchiha's ultimate weapon. No matter how he looked at it, they had to be incredibly powerful.
They might even have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!
"I wonder what the reward will be this time. Could I get their eyes?"
Haori wondered to himself, though he knew that was unlikely.
Besides, he didn't need someone else's eyes. He could increase his own strength with [Zhuo Er Bu Fan].
If he gained this person's ocular power—or their eye-related abilities—that would be more than enough for him!
"Yin Release would be best. It'd help my eyes grow faster."
Haori kept musing as his hands moved faster and faster.
As he dug deeper and deeper, he finally unearthed something that looked like a coffin.
He could clearly sense traces of a Sealing Jutsu on it, too. It was obviously connected to the seal aboveground.
"Looks like this is the place..."
Haori stared at the coffin, holding back his excitement as he reached out to open it.
He wanted to see just how terrifying this peerless figure from a hundred years ago had been—the one who forced the Senju to join with other clans to ambush them.
"And I want to see what you left behind."
Thinking this, Haori heaved the coffin lid open. But the instant it came all the way off, his entire body went rigid.
"Th-this is..."
Haori stared blankly at what lay before him. The coffin didn't contain the bones he had expected.
Instead, there was a girl about his age, wearing a traditional Uchiha robe, her eyes closed!
"Th-this is the Uchiha's ultimate weapon?!"
Haori couldn't keep it together. This was nothing like what he'd imagined!
But as he stared at the girl in a daze, she suddenly opened her eyes.
Their crimson gleam looked even more eerie beneath the silver moonlight, and her gaze fell upon Haori.