On the night of the full moon, three hundred meters beneath Naka Shrine.
Lin Ye stood before an enormous stone door, ten meters tall and six meters wide. It was pitch-black, its surface covered in intricate sealing formulas. Moonlight passed through a specially designed opening at the top of the shrine and shone precisely on the center of the door-where a fan-shaped recess lay.
Lin Ye took out the Three-Color Key he had synthesized and inserted it into the recess.
The key fit perfectly. Three-colored light spread from it, flowing along the sealing patterns on the door. The entire door glowed an eerie blue as the sealing formulas unraveled layer by layer.
Rumble-
The stone door slowly swung inward, revealing a pitch-black passage that descended into unfathomable depths.
Lin Ye drew a deep breath and stepped inside.
The long passage sloped downward. Murals depicting Uchiha history covered the walls on either side: from the era of the Sage of Six Paths to Indra founding Ninshu, then the Uchiha Clan's migrations, the founding of their villages, their wars with the Senju, the establishment of Konoha, the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the night of the massacre...
The murals were lifelike. The last few were clearly recent, recording everything that had happened since Lin Ye transmigrated: fulfilling last wishes, synthesizing Sharingan, the mission in the Land of Tea...
Could these murals... predict the future? A chill ran through Lin Ye.
At the end of the passage lay a vast underground chamber the size of a soccer field. An enormous stone tablet stood at its center-an enlarged version of the tablet in Naka Shrine, but with a more complete inscription.
Countless stone pedestals surrounded the tablet, each holding an object: kunai, shuriken, forehead protectors, photographs, letters, dolls... These were the belongings left behind by members of the Uchiha Clan.
An altar stood in the deepest part of the chamber. Above it floated the spectral image of an eye-an eye with intricate patterns, bearing the tomoe of the Sharingan, the ripples of the Rinnegan, and the starlight of the Tenseigan.
"The Rinne Sharingan..." Lin Ye murmured.
"Not quite," a voice said.
Lin Ye spun around and saw a translucent figure emerge from the stone tablet. It was a middle-aged man dressed in the Uchiha Clan's robes, with refined features and gentle eyes.
"Kagami Uchiha?" Lin Ye recognized him.
"A fragment of chakra consciousness I left behind." The apparition smiled. "If you've made it here, you must have gathered all three keys and fulfilled quite a few of our clansmen's last wishes. You're younger than I imagined."
"Elder Kagami, what exactly is going on here?" Lin Ye asked.
"Sit down, child. It's a long story." Kagami's apparition sat beside the altar. "First, you know the legend of the Sage of Six Paths, don't you?"
Lin Ye nodded.
"The Sage of Six Paths had two sons, Indra and Asura. Indra inherited the Sage's eyes and founded Ninshu. He was also the ancestor of the Uchiha. Asura inherited the Sage's body and was the ancestor of the Senju and Uzumaki."
"But what few people know," Kagami continued, "is that before Indra died, he split his chakra into countless portions and cast them into the cycle of reincarnation. In every generation, an Uchiha infant would inherit a portion of that chakra and become 'Indra's Reincarnate.'"
Lin Ye thought of Madara Uchiha, and of Sasuke from the original story.
"The reincarnates are born with extraordinary talent for ocular powers, but they also bear curses." Kagami's voice grew somber. "The first curse: bloodline strife. Every generation of Indra's Reincarnates must fight Asura's Reincarnates-the Senju or Uzumaki-until death. From Indra against Asura, to Madara Uchiha against Hashirama Senju, and on into the future..."
"The second curse: the loss of love. A reincarnate must suffer the pain of losing the person he loves most to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. And the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan requires the eyes of a close blood relative. These are shackles buried deep in the bloodline."
"The third curse: a lonely end. A reincarnate is destined to be alone. Everyone close to him will die because of him."
Lin Ye clenched his fists. "So the Uchiha's tragedy was destined from birth?"
"Yes and no," Kagami said. "The Sage of Six Paths left behind a way to break the curses, but Black Zetsu altered it. The true inscription records three requirements for breaking them: first, gather all the Uchiha's 'eyes' and synthesize the Rinne Sharingan; second, find the source of Indra's chakra and purify it; third, sever the chain of reincarnation."
"Black Zetsu altered the tablet, replacing the method with 'Infinite Tsukuyomi,' which would trap everyone in a dream. He wants to resurrect Kaguya, and to collect the chakra he needs, he must have Indra's and Asura's reincarnates slaughter each other."
Lin Ye recalled the original plot. "Then my Wish System..."
"Did you bring it with you, or did someone give it to you?" Kagami asked.
Lin Ye hesitated, then told the truth. "I came from another world. After I died, I transmigrated here. The system came with me when I transmigrated."
Kagami fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "I see... You're an 'unforeseen variable.'"
"A variable?"
"This world is like a script that's already been written. The Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya, Indra, Asura, the Uchiha, the Senju, Konoha, the Akatsuki, the Fourth Shinobi World War... Everything is part of that script," Kagami said. "But your arrival introduced a variable from outside it. That's why you received the 'Wish System'-it's this world's mechanism for correcting itself, using your hands to change the Uchiha's fate."
Lin Ye was stunned.
"By gathering the Uchiha's last wishes and resolving their lingering attachments, you're collecting 'fragments of Indra's chakra.'" Kagami pointed at the spectral eye above the altar. "Once you've gathered all the fragments and synthesized the Rinne Sharingan, you'll be able to see the source of the chakra and sever the chain of reincarnation."
"Then why didn't you do it yourself?" Lin Ye asked.
"I tried." Kagami smiled bitterly. "But I was also one of Indra's Reincarnates. The curses were within my chakra. I couldn't open the Forbidden Grounds or use the Wish System. Only a 'variable,' someone from outside this world, can break those shackles."
"So I need to fulfill all 1,344 last wishes?"
"The 1,344 last wishes correspond to 1,344 Uchiha chakra imprints. Every wish you fulfill purifies one portion of the curse," Kagami said. "Once all the wishes have been fulfilled, the Rinne Sharingan will appear. Then you'll be able to see the real truth."
"The real truth?"
"About how this world was created, about Kaguya, about the Ōtsutsuki, about... everything." Kagami's apparition began to fade. "My time is running out. Child, remember: Danzo knows the Forbidden Grounds exist. He will come. The Akatsuki is also watching the Uchiha's secrets. Your path is strewn with thorns."
"One last thing for you." Kagami's apparition dissipated completely, turning into a streak of light that sank into Lin Ye's forehead.
A flood of information poured into his mind:
[Acquired: Kagami Uchiha's lifetime insights (Genjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, political wisdom)] [Acquired: Complete map of the Forbidden Grounds (includes methods for opening seven secret chambers)] [Acquired: Mangekyō Sharingan shards ×20 (Kagami's gift)] [Current Mangekyō Shards: 28/100]
The light faded, and the spectral eye above the altar vanished as well. Only a single sentence lingered in the air:
"I leave the Uchiha's future in your hands."
Lin Ye stood where he was, absorbing everything.
The world's script, Indra's curses, the truth behind the Wish System, the Rinne Sharingan...
It turned out he wasn't simply collecting cheat abilities. He was undertaking an immense task: purifying curses and changing the fate of the world.
He looked around at the stone pedestals and the belongings the Uchiha had left behind. Now he understood. Every object represented a cursed soul, a clansman waiting to be freed.
"I'll see it through," Lin Ye said softly. "Every last wish, every curse-I'll bring them all to an end."
He turned to leave, but suddenly, the system's alerts rang out urgently:
[Warning! Large number of hostile chakra signatures detected approaching! Distance: 500 meters, 400 meters, 300 meters...] [Personnel: 12] [Strength: Jōnin ×3, Chunin ×6, Special Jōnin ×3] [Identity: Root members. Leader: Shimura Danzō]
Lin Ye's expression changed.
Danzo had come fast.
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