Their eyes met, and almost instantly, Haori noticed the change in her gaze.
A deep, intense hatred—the kind he often saw on the battlefield—was building in her eyes.
That look sent a chill through Haori, and he now felt as though his own words had come back to bite him.
He'd been thinking that in the Warring States era, there was no Impure World Reincarnation, and he didn't believe people who'd been dead for a hundred years could climb out of their graves and bite him.
And yet someone really had come back from the dead!
"Wait, she's breathing. Her heart's beating. She's alive?"
Suddenly, Haori realized something even more unbelievable, and he was left even more bewildered.
Those seals were definitely from a hundred years ago, so why was this person still alive?
"Uchiha..."
While he was still in shock, the girl suddenly murmured, and the chakra inside her began surging wildly.
"Die!"
She abruptly drew a kunai and lunged at Haori like a streak of lightning.
Clang—
The sound of metal clashing rang out beneath the moonlight.
Haori's reflexes were lightning-fast, too. Even though the shock had momentarily left him dazed, years of honing his skills on the battlefield meant he would never let his guard down around an enemy.
Still, he was completely baffled. Wasn't she an Uchiha weapon? Why was she attacking a fellow clan member the moment she saw him?
"Could there be some misunderstanding between us?"
Haori parried the girl's kunai and quickly asked her.
"Why is this only happening to me?"
But the girl didn't pay him any attention. She kept muttering as though talking to herself.
"This world... these shinobi, and this so-called Uchiha... I hate it. I hate it the most!"
As her voice suddenly rose, Haori could clearly feel her strength growing even further.
She suddenly swung a vicious kick at Haori!
Seeing this, Haori leaped into the air without hesitation. As he jumped, he saw the girl already forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
She spewed out an enormous fireball. Haori couldn't dodge in midair, so he could only form hand seals as quickly as he could.
The two fireballs collided violently in midair. Flecks of flame fell onto the grass, and soon the field was ablaze.
The roar of the impact startled a flock of birds, shattering the peace that had settled over Qiuyue Valley.
Haori landed on the ground, and the girl quickly leaped out of the pit.
"Why..."
Her gaze remained fixed on Haori, and her voice sounded especially agitated.
"Why me? Why only me?"
"What are you talking about?"
Haori was utterly confused. He felt like the woman before him was a complete lunatic.
He'd gone out of his way to dig her up, and she'd attacked him without a word. Besides, they were both members of the same clan.
It was true that Haori had been thinking of turning against the Uchiha, but someone who'd been buried for over a hundred years shouldn't have known that, right?
Forget it. I'd better think about how to deal with this crazy woman.
Haori considered the situation in silence. He could feel the woman's presence growing stronger by the moment.
Though I don't know why she's the Uchiha Ultimate Weapon, she's so young—she probably hasn't awakened the Mangekyō yet.
Haori analyzed the situation quickly, but in the next instant, the firelight revealed a sight that made his blood run cold—
"Why?!"
As the girl demanded the answer in a near-hysterical voice, the Three Tomoe in her eyes quickly merged.
A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan had quietly appeared in her eyes!
For a moment, Haori felt as though he could barely breathe.
Now he was sure: this girl really could be some kind of "ultimate weapon"!
But what the hell had he dug up?
"Still, you think you can take me down that easily?"
Haori's determination hardened. He didn't have the Mangekyō, but he had other abilities!
In an instant, the power of nature surged through him, and strange markings appeared around his eyes.
Sage Mode was undoubtedly his strongest power, and the one he relied on most.
Even if he couldn't keep it up for long, he had no choice now.
"Why..."
But the girl spoke again, her voice suddenly growing weak. She swayed unsteadily.
The next moment, she slowly fell to her knees, then collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
"..."
Haori stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to make sense of what had just happened.
He'd activated Sage Mode and prepared to fight for his life, only for his opponent to collapse on her own?
"She really did pass out..."
Haori didn't dare move from where he stood. He carefully sensed her condition with Sage Mode.
The enhancements Sage Mode gave him were comprehensive, and his sensory abilities were stronger, too.
After confirming the girl's condition again and again, Haori finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This was his first time using Sage Mode. He wasn't even sure he could withstand the Mangekyō with it.
"Did she use up too much chakra?"
Looking at the unconscious girl, Haori finally walked over to her.
Haori had no idea how the girl had survived.
But after being buried and sealed for over a hundred years, there was no way her physical condition could be good.
Yet the moment she awoke, she attacked like a madwoman and even awakened the Mangekyō afterward.
Given how much she'd expended, the fact that she'd only passed out instead of exhausting herself to death was already incredibly lucky.
"But why does she hate the Uchiha so much?"
Looking at the unconscious girl lying on the ground, Haori couldn't help wondering.
She'd kept asking "why" and "why only her," but Haori had been focused on defeating her and hadn't had the time to think it through.
Now that the fight was over, he thought back on the girl's behavior—especially how she'd completely lost control after seeing his Sharingan.
Could it be...
In an instant, Haori had a troubling thought.
Was she made into the so-called Uchiha Ultimate Weapon against her will?
Once the thought occurred to him, he couldn't stop himself from considering the possibility.
Of course, it was also possible that the Uchiha had fled after she was attacked, leaving her feeling betrayed.
But in that moment, Haori thought of Uchiha Setsuna—the old man who'd also tried to bind him to the clan through "family honor," and even control him.
Haori couldn't stand that man, and he'd already decided to get rid of him.
If this girl had gone through something similar, then her intense reaction to seeing a member of the Uchiha Clan made sense.
"Still, she has the Mangekyō. Surely that shouldn't have happened, right?"
With the power of the Mangekyō, even if the Uchiha Clan had treated her terribly back then, she should've had some ability to fight back, shouldn't she?
Had the Uchiha Clan had some way to control her, or was Haori simply mistaken?
For a moment, Haori couldn't help furrowing his brow, his thoughts growing more complicated.
He looked at the girl lying on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind.
"I'll ask her about it first. I'll figure out what happened before deciding anything."
Haori intended to rebel, but he'd need help to do that.
If this girl had gone through something similar to him, perhaps they could help each other.
And even if that didn't work, what could she do in her current state?
Besides, Haori planned to seal her chakra, so he wouldn't have to worry about her pulling any more dangerous stunts.
"You should be grateful I'm not interested in your eyes. Otherwise..."
After thinking it over, Haori crouched down to seal the girl. But just then, a message appeared in his mind.
[Side quest complete: Independently find the location where the Uchiha Ultimate Weapon is sealed] [Reward obtained: Dojutsu Transplantation Technique]