Black Corruption

The air beneath Naka Shrine was colder than it had been that morning.

The barrier sealing the stone tablet was still intact, but the black residue that had once lurked only in its cracks had spread into several thin lines. They crept along the inscriptions like living things.

Uchiha Fugaku stood before the tablet with his Mangekyō Sharingan active, his expression grim.

Shisui and Itachi stood on either side of him.

Several Uchiha ninjas assigned to guard the chamber had retreated to the wall, their eyes red. Someone had clearly tried to read the tablet and had nearly fallen under its influence.

The moment Naruto entered the underground chamber, the Nine-Tails growled.

"Kid, the stench is stronger."

Naruto looked at the tablet.

The black corruption was indeed more active than before.

It was as if it were responding to the black trace inside the sealed bottle on Central Street.

Jiraiya followed him down, two little toads perched on his shoulders. Both looked disgusted as soon as they entered.

"Something's wrong with this," Jiraiya said grimly. "It doesn't feel like ordinary chakra. It's more like some kind of will mixed into the remnants of Yin Release."

Fugaku looked at Naruto.

"No one has touched the tablet since we sealed it. The corruption spread on its own."

Naruto approached the tablet and raised a hand.

Shisui warned him at once. "Careful. One of our clansmen merely glanced at it and started shouting that the Uchiha had to reclaim the power that was rightfully theirs."

Naruto did not stop.

He pressed his palm against the tablet.

The black lines lunged toward his palm as if they had scented blood.

Nine-Tails Chakra surged out at once, holding them away from his skin.

A system notification sounded.

[Detected: Yin Release consciousness corruption.]

[Corruption objective: induce the Uchiha to read the Distorted Stone Tablet and intensify their hatred and desire for control.]

[Attempt purification?]

Naruto's gaze turned cold.

"Purify it."

Golden Sealing Jutsu spread from his palm.

The black lines were forced out of the tablet's surface bit by bit, giving off a shriek too faint to hear.

Ordinary people could not make out the sound, but several Uchiha with their Sharingan active went pale.

Shisui gritted his teeth and took half a step back.

Images seemed to flash before his eyes.

Clansmen roared around Naka Shrine. His father stood above them, announcing a coup. Itachi stood in a pool of blood, sword in hand. Someone gouged out his eyes.

The images were not a full-fledged genjutsu. They were more like fears pried open by the corruption.

Naruto noticed his reaction.

"Close your eyes."

Shisui immediately closed his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Itachi deactivated his Sharingan too.

Fugaku held out for two more breaths before closing his eyes and stepping back.

The black lines were forced half an inch out of the tablet and gathered into a mass of writhing liquid. It tried to slip between Naruto's fingers.

Naruto clenched his hand around it.

Nine-Tails Chakra bore down on the liquid.

It let out a shriek and dissolved into smoke, which was sealed inside a golden sphere of jutsu.

The writing on the tablet changed subtly.

Several characters that the black lines had covered revealed their original engravings.

Fugaku reactivated his Sharingan. After reading a passage, his expression changed.

"The text is different."

Shisui opened his eyes to look.

The line he had previously read as "use ocular power to dominate the will of others" had become something else.

"Those who forcibly dominate another's will will ultimately be consumed by hatred."

Itachi stared at the line, his eyes visibly shaken.

It did not encourage the Uchiha to control others.

It was a warning.

Fugaku read on.

The passage about gaining greater power through the loss of someone precious had changed as well.

The original engraving read:

"The Mangekyo is most often awakened by extreme emotion. The greater its power, the more unstable the heart becomes. The clan must keep it in check together."

Fugaku's voice grew quieter and quieter.

What the Uchiha had revered for years as the destiny of their bloodline had been altered to encourage extremism and domination.

The effect on the clan went far beyond a few words.

Naruto put away the sealed sphere.

"See it clearly now?"

Fugaku was silent for a long time.

"Someone cut into the Uchiha."

"The same goes for Konoha," Naruto said.

The Third Hokage stood at the entrance. His expression was complicated when he heard that.

He knew Naruto was not making excuses for Konoha.

Naruto was distinguishing one enemy from another.

The things Konoha High Command had done would not vanish.

But something in the shadows had also been pushing the high command, the Uchiha, and the Nine-Tails' Attack toward the worst possible outcome.

"We need to keep this quiet for now," Jiraiya said. "If the Uchiha hardliners learn the tablet was altered, it could cause even greater chaos."

Naruto looked at Fugaku.

"Handle your clan yourself."

Fugaku nodded.

"Before tonight, every clansman who has come into contact with the tablet will be reviewed again."

"I'll take charge," Shisui volunteered.

Naruto looked at him.

"Don't shoulder it alone."

Shisui froze.

Naruto pointed at Itachi.

"Take him with you."

Itachi raised his head.

Shisui glanced at him and nodded.

"All right."

This time, he did not say he would sacrifice himself for the village.

Naruto turned to leave.

Fugaku suddenly spoke.

"Naruto."

Naruto stopped.

"The Uchiha won't forget what happened tonight," Fugaku said solemnly.

Naruto looked at him.

"Don't thank me yet."

"People in your clan still want a coup."

Fugaku did not deny it.

"If they keep acting like fools," Naruto went on, "I'll beat them down all the same."

Several Uchiha clansmen's expressions shifted.

Fugaku, however, nodded.

"Fair enough."

Both Itachi and Shisui looked at him in surprise.

Fugaku had accepted reality faster than either of them expected.

The Uchiha needed their name cleared, but they could not use that as a reason to lurch toward another extreme.

By the time Naruto left the shrine, the sun was high.

Sunrise had done nothing to ease the village's burdens.

The Raikage of Kumogakure was coming. So was the Daimyo's Envoy. Tsunade still had to be found to succeed the Hokage. The corruption on the tablet had revealed an unknown hand behind the scenes, and the investigation into the rotten finances had only just begun.

But at least the things hidden the night before were no longer all buried underground.

When Naruto returned to Central Street, the finance ninjas had already sorted out the first batch of recovered assets.

An account chest sat on the long table.

Inside were cash, contracts, and property deeds.

The Administrative Ninja in charge of the records spoke quietly. "Lord Naruto, this is the first batch of the Fourth Hokage's estate we've verified."

Naruto opened the chest.

A property deed lay on top.

The address was not for the shabby apartment where he lived now.

It was for the home Minato Namikaze had lived in.

Naruto picked up the deed.

Kakashi stood beside him, his expression turning grim.

"That place... it's been empty all this time."

Naruto looked at him.

"Empty for six years?"

Kakashi lowered his head.

"Yes."

Naruto pocketed the deed.

"Lead the way."

Just then, an ANBU ninja dropped down.

"Naruto, Lord Hokage, we found signs that the seal outside Minato's old home was broken."

"Someone went inside last night."