Chapter 47: The Fūma's Secret Revealed
As Fūma Rivei opened the door, a wave of potent Sage chakra washed over Uchiha Raizen. This wasn't the primary-level energy he had been collecting; this was intermediate, dense and powerful. This is it. This is the source.
"Patriarch Fūma, this large urn..." Uchiha Raizen's eyes were fixed on the central vessel.
"It was an artifact our clan found long ago," Fūma Rivei explained. "Because of its seemingly limitless capacity, we began using it to hold the... remains of our ancestors."
"I see. And these markings on it—were they carved by your clan, or were they there when you found it?" Uchiha Raizen asked, his gaze tracing the intricate patterns covering the urn's surface.
"They were already there. It has been passed down for so many generations, the details of its origin are lost to us," Fūma Rivei admitted with a shrug. His clan had never paid the markings any mind; they were just part of the ancestral vessel.
But Uchiha Raizen was not a Fūma. His attention was solely on the patterns, and the more he looked, the more they resembled a complex summoning contract seal. If laid out flat, it would be a perfect summoning array.
Driven by this hunch, he picked up a nearby stick and began meticulously copying the pattern from the urn onto the packed earth floor.
He worked quickly, replicating the complex design. The moment he completed the final line, Fūma Rivei let out a choked cry and collapsed to his knees, his body beginning to convulse and swell.
"Patriarch Fūma! You... you're transforming!" Uchiha Raizen watched in alarm as the man's muscles bulged and his skin took on a reddish hue.
Realization struck. The array! It's the catalyst! He immediately scrambled forward and scuffed out the lines he had drawn with his foot.
As the pattern was erased, Fūma Rivei's transformation halted, and he slumped forward, panting heavily. The array was not just a source of energy; it was a trigger for their cursed transformation.
"Patriarch Fūma," Uchiha Raizen said, helping the man to his feet. "You must take your clan and evacuate this area immediately. Find somewhere else to stay. If anyone begins to transform, have the others use genjutsu to subdue them. It will minimize the physical damage. I believe I have found the cause of your sudden transformations."
"Understood. But... which Uchiha should we seek?" Fūma Rivei asked, his voice weak.
"Go to Uchiha Oki. Tell him I sent you. He is my master and will provide assistance."
"Understood. Please be careful, Elder Raizen."
With that, Fūma Rivei gathered his clansmen and led them swiftly away from the ancestral hall and the Rainbow Pond.
Uchiha Raizen waited two hours, ensuring the entire area was deserted. Then, he gathered his chakra, now infused with the Sage energy he had absorbed, and began to redraw the summoning array on the ground.
This is incredibly taxing! he thought, sweat beading on his forehead. The process drained his entire chakra reserve, leaving him feeling hollowed out. But as the final line was completed, the array glowed with a faint light.
"Alright, let's see what this... WHOA!"
The ground beneath him vanished. He was falling. A scream tore from his throat, but it was cut short almost instantly.
Thud.
He landed on something soft and damp. The fall had lasted less than a second. He looked up, expecting to see the hole he fell through, but there was only a strange, opalescent sky.
Wait... where am I?
He pushed himself up, taking in his new surroundings. The air was thick, humid, and carried a strange, organic scent. This was definitely not the Fūma clan's territory.
Then, his blood ran cold. Crawling towards him from the mist was a creature he had loathed more than anything in his previous life.
A slug. A gigantic, glistening, mucus-trailing slug. And it was looking right at him.