Sasuke Uchiha closed his eyes for a moment and forced down the turmoil stirred up by the stone tablet and Obito's file.
This was no time to dwell on fear and speculation. He took a deep breath. The cold air cleared his head, and his gaze swept sharply over the neatly arranged scrolls once more.
His hunger for strength burned within him. His eyes passed over the ordinary Fire Release, Lightning Release, and Genjutsu scrolls and turned toward the deeper sections, where certain scrolls bore special markings or were hidden away.
At last, on a separate stone pedestal in an inconspicuous corner, he found a scroll wrapped in a deep-purple cover and bound with a special Chakra chain.
The scroll was small, but the word "Forbidden" written on its cover in dark-red ink seemed as sharp as a blade. It seized his attention at once.
A Forbidden Technique? Sasuke's heart beat faster.
He approached cautiously, gathered a thin thread of Chakra at his fingertip, and touched the chain to test it.
With a faint click, the chain came loose.
He swiftly unfurled the scroll. What met his eyes was not the sinister Cursed Technique or self-destructive training method he had imagined, but an exquisite set of Taijutsu and swordsmanship diagrams that perfectly combined Chakra, physical strength, and the rhythm of breathing.
The written instructions were archaic, but the illustrations were exceptionally clear. Every move showed not only its path but also, through diagrams of Chakra flow, the breathing rhythm and the precise moments to unleash power.
"Sun Breathing..." Sasuke murmured the name at the beginning of the scroll.
The name seemed to carry the warmth of sunlight, utterly at odds with the chill of this forbidden place, yet strangely compelling.
He immediately activated his Sharingan. The scarlet single Tomoe turned