The deep canyon was shrouded in mist. Dense smoke blotted out the sky like a white curtain, cutting off the light from above.
The gloomy, cracked earth was utterly lifeless. Even the nourishment of a pool of water could not dispel the desolation.
Mist hung over the blood-red surface. Bubbles kept rising from cracks between the rocks on the pool's bottom, floating toward the surface as if trying to breathe a hint of life into the stagnant water.
A pale hand emerged from the darkness and gripped the rocks on the cliff face. Its owner moved carefully, pressing his head close against the wall to listen to the whispers from above the canyon.
On his colorless face, the corner of his mouth silently lifted into a long-forgotten smile.
Heaven rewarded those who persevered. After listening day and night, he had finally uncovered crucial intelligence—information that could let their clan escape this wretched place, a sunless abyss.
He suppressed his elation and began retracing his steps. He had performed these movements hundreds, if not thousands, of times; he knew how to make them without a sound.
He also knew how to avoid detection by the Uchiha Clan elites watching over them from above.
Merging perfectly with the darkness, he sprinted down the passage. A faint Kakkō up ahead made him squint involuntarily.
He was embracing the light.
The instant the Kakkō reached his clothes, he could no longer contain his joy. He laughed wildly at the cliff face, overwhelmed with delight.
Ever since he could remember, his clan had been imprisoned in this lightless cave. None of them were allowed to leave.
Anyone who dared break that rule had become a skeleton, left to lie at the bottom of the pool in the middle of the canyon.
The Uchiha Clan who