The gilded door groaned in protest as I shoved it inward. The deep, grinding sound echoed endlessly into the darkness.
As I stepped completely through the threshold, a series of Fūinjutsu-powered torches lining the walls flared to life one by one, illuminating the chamber in a warm, flickering orange glow.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes widening as I took in the sight before me.
The room was massive—easily the size of a grand mansion or the main Konoha library. It was a multi-level archive filled with towering, stone-carved bookshelves that stretched all the way up to the domed ceiling. Thousands upon thousands of scrolls, bound books, and sealed stone tablets lined the shelves in perfect, dustless condition.
The Clan's entire archive of knowledge, I realized, walking down the central aisle and brushing my fingers against the spine of a thick leather book. Decades of Fūinjutsu, secret techniques, and history perfectly preserved. With the amount of knowledge plastered everywhere, I could probably spend years in here just absorbing information and—
My train of thought was cut short when my attention was quickly drawn away from the shelves and anchored to the center of the room.
Sitting there, resting atop a raised stone altar, was a single, intricately designed scroll. It was currently humming, radiating the exact same pulsing crimson light that my map had emitted.
I approached the altar, my eyes locking onto the kanji etched onto the front of the scroll.
[ADAMANTINE SEALING CHAINS.]
I reached out, my fingers wrapping around the thick, heavy parchment. The moment my skin made contact, a barrage of golden System screens materialized in front of me.
[INHERITED CLAN TECHNIQUE DETECTED: Adamantine Sealing Chains]:
Rank: S
Type: Growth Based Skill
Description: A highly coveted, secret Fūinjutsu technique unique to the Uzumaki bloodline. The user molds their chakra into virtually indestructible physical chains capable of restraining physical targets, suppressing chakra, and binding Tailed Beasts.
[NOTICE: THE ADAMANTINE SEALING CHAINS REQUIRE THE COMPLETION OF FIVE PROGRESSIVE SUB-SPACE TRIALS]:
1. Manifestation (Summoning raw, base-level chains).
2. Extension & Trajectory (Whip-like manipulation and range).
3. Adamantine Hardening (Indestructible durability).
4. Chakra Suppression (Draining and sealing a target's chakra network).
5. The Monarch's Binding (Full mastery, capable of subduing Bijuu).
[UPON CLEARING EACH TRIAL, A CHAIN LINK WILL BE PHYSICALLY ASSIMILATED INTO THE HOST'S BODY, PERMANENTLY UPGRADING THE SKILL.]
"Hold on, System," I spoke aloud, pausing before I agreed to anything. "Are there other lost Uzumaki techniques in here? Like Kagura's Mind's Eye, the Heal Bite, or the variation of Reaper Death Seal? Do they have trials like this too?"
[AFFIRMATIVE. DISCOVERING THEIR RESPECTIVE SCROLLS WITHIN THIS VAULT WILL TRIGGER THEIR OWN UNIQUE BLOODLINE TRIALS.]
Ight, bet, I nodded slowly. It keeps things balanced, and it means I have a lot more exploring to do in this library later.
I turned my attention back to the current scroll in my hand. "Alright. Let's knock out these chain trials. They seem relatively straightforward."
[WARNING: THE FINAL STAGE—THE MONARCH'S BINDING—REQUIRES A UNIQUE CATALYST TO UNLOCK.]
[REQUIREMENT: THE CHAKRA ESSENCE OF AN UZUMAKI WHO HAS ACHIEVED FULL MASTERY OVER THEIR CHAINS.]
"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "The essence of a master?! I'm so cooked! The only other pure Uzumaki I even know about right now is Karin, and she definitely hasn't awakened her chains yet. How the hell am I supposed to complete this?!"
[NOTICE: THE PLAYER CURRENTLY POSSESSES THE RESIDUAL CHAKRA OF KUSHINA UZUMAKI, SEALED WITHIN THE EIGHT TRIGRAMS SEAL. THIS CHAKRA CAN SERVE AS THE REQUIRED CATALYST.]
My eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That'll actually work?" I asked. "If so, then what are we waiting for? Let's infuse it now."
[ADVISORY: TO WITHSTAND THE FORMULATION OF THE FINAL CHAINS AND SURVIVE THE UNLOCKING PROCESS, THE PLAYER MUST POSSESS AN IMMENSE RESERVOIR OF YIN CHAKRA. ACQUIRING THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINE-TAILED FOX IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TRIAL 5.]
So it all connects, after all, I realized, letting out a sigh. I need the other half of Kurama to handle the chakra load, and I need Kushina's residual chakra to act as the key for the final trial.
I looked back down at the scroll. This quest might take longer than I thought, I mused, placing my hand firmly over the glowing parchment. Well, there's no time to waste.
"System. Initiate Trial One."
[INITIATING SUB-SPACE INSTANCE...]
[CLAN TRIAL 1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF IRON]
[COMMENCING IN 3... 2... 1...]
The library around me violently distorted, twisting and stretching into darkness as I was pulled directly into the scroll.
***********
The darkness was the first thing that hit me.
As my vision adjusted, the endless, pitch-black void gave way to a single source of light. Beneath my feet was a massive, glowing crimson Uzumaki crest, suspended in the middle of nothingness. It was easily a hundred yards wide, acting as the arena floor.
It looks like the 'Final Destination' stage from 'Smash Bros', I thought, drawing my newly forged [Ivory Shortsword]. Let's give this thing a test go.
"COME FORTH!" I shouted, calling upon my army to sweep the arena.
But nothing happened.
The shadows around my feet remained completely still. Now what's going on here? I frowned, trying to pulse more chakra into the connection I shared with my army, but it felt like a thick wall had been dropped between us.
[NOTICE: ANCESTRAL TRIALS MUST BE FACED WITH ONE'S OWN POWER. SHADOW SOLDIER SUMMONING DISABLED FOR THE DURATION OF THIS INSTANCE.]
Ah, the enemies don't wanna get jumped, huh? I mused, a smirk slowly spreading across my face. That's completely alright with me. Don't wanna make things too easy now.
At the edges of the crimson crest, the darkness began to ripple. Thick, heavily compressed stacks of paper tags flew out of the void, swirling together like a small hurricane. The tags rapidly folded, interlocked, and hardened, forming three massive, hulking figures.
They were Fūinjutsu Golems—easily ten feet tall, built entirely out of densely layered sealing tags that looked as hard as steel. In the center of each of their broad chests burned a glowing, orb-like red chakra core.
Those orbs are for sure their weak points, I analyzed, my eyes darting between the three targets. Time to test their durability.
The Golem on the left lunged forward with surprising speed. It reeled back a massive, paper-layered fist and slammed it down toward my head.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHISUI UCHIHA'S BODY FLICKER]
VUUUSH.
I left an afterimage behind that was instantly pulverized. The Golem's fist struck the glowing floor, and I felt the force of the impact ripple through the air.
If that hits me, it might actually hurt, I noted, reappearing mid-air directly behind the Golem.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU]
A duplicate of me appeared and we channeled a massive burst of chakra into our lungs.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: WIND STYLE: WIND SCYTHE JUTSU (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
[SKILL ACTIVATED: FIRE STYLE: DRAGON FLAME BOMBS (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
We unleashed a tempest of razor-sharp wind blades, immediately igniting them with a torrent of roaring fire. The combined elemental storm slammed into the Golem's back. The intense heat and shredding wind violently ripped through the outer layers of its armored tags, burning the paper away to expose the glowing red core in its chest.
Without missing a beat, I whipped my arm forward, launching my sword directly past the Golem's guard.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHADOW THUNDER GOD]
In a flash of shadowy spatial distortion, I instantly teleported to my blade, caught the hilt of the sword with my left hand and simultaneously formed a max output [Rasengan] in my right.
"Take this!" I roared, slamming the jutsu point-blank into the exposed core.
The rotational force completely shattered the Fūinjutsu matrix holding the Golem together. It let out a bizarre, static screech before violently exploding into a flurry of burning, harmless paper confetti.
I landed lightly on my feet, spinning my shortsword as the other two Golems locked onto me.
If it's gonna be this easy, you two might as well self-destruct, I smirked, my chakra flaring for another attack. Let's Marvin Gaye, and get it on, shall we?
The remaining two Golems didn't hesitate. They lunged at me simultaneously, their massive, paper-layered fists raised high as they sought to crush me between them.
I predicted their trajectories perfectly, and channeled chakra into my legs. I kicked off the glowing crest, blurring right between them as their heavy fists collided with each other in a deafening shockwave.
While they were momentarily staggered by their own friendly fire, I spun in mid-air, channeling wind chakra down the length of my sword. The blade hummed, extending into a three-foot glowing edge of hyper-compressed air.
With a swift, horizontal slash, I cleaved through the thick, armored tags on the back of the right Golem, exposing its red core. Without wasting a single movement, I threw a spread of kunai tagged with explosive tags directly into the opening.
BOOOOM!
The Golem detonated from the inside out, completely shattering its matrix.
The final Golem swung around, swiping blindly through the smoke. I dropped into a slide to avoid its massive arm, popping up directly beneath its chin.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RASENGAN (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
I slammed the violently spinning sphere straight up into its chest, boring through the layers of Fūinjutsu paper like a drill until the [Rasengan] connected directly with the core.
The Golem froze, let out a violent, high-pitched screech, and then exploded into a storm of confetti.
I landed on the ground, dusting a few burning scraps of paper off me. Not wanting to leave my reserves low, I quickly pulled a [Chakra Potion] from my inventory and downed it, letting the blue liquid restore my energy.
[TRIAL 1 CLEARED: THE FOUNDATIONS OF IRON]
[REWARD: +50,000 XP, +250,000 Ryo]
[RYO BALANCE: 32,807,650 Ryo → 33,057,650 Ryo]
Ooo, I get paid too? Bet, I thought as the space around me suddenly started to warp.
The endless black void collapsed in on itself, and in the blink of an eye, I was standing back inside the massive, Fūinjutsu-lit Uzumaki archive.
The S-Rank scroll resting on the altar flashed with a blinding light.
A single, physical chain link made of pure, glowing energy floated up from the parchment. It darted through the air, wrapping itself securely around my right forearm.
"Tss—!" I hissed as it sank directly into my skin, burning like a hot iron for a brief second before the pain completely faded, leaving behind a dark, intricate spiral seal tattooed directly onto my flesh.
[SKILL ACQUIRED: ADAMANTINE SEALING CHAINS (STAGE 1: MANIFESTATION)]
Just like that?! I thought, flexing my wrist and pushing my chakra into the new seal. Shit, then let's see what we're working with,
With the sharp sound of sliding metal, a sliver of chain shot out from my wrist. But it wasn't the pure, golden light I had seen from my memories of Kushina.
The chain hovering in the air before me was a black-purplish color, pulsing with a deep, shadowy aura. Yet, intricately woven through the dark metal were glowing, golden Uzumaki Fūinjutsu runes.
Not bad, I grinned, admiring the shadowy chains before retracting them back into the seal. But it takes a bit of concentration, as well as a good amount of chakra to get these out. But it'll probably be easier once the full chains get unlocked. Speaking of which—
"System," I called out. "How long has it been since I went in there?"
[TIME ELAPSED: 2 DAYS, 12 HOURS]
My eyes widened slightly. Two and a half days?! Get the fuck outta here! I thought in disbelief. It only felt like I was only in there for like ten minutes.
I shook my head, but a grin slowly spread across my face as the realization hit me. Two and a half days had passed in the real world. Which meant my Soldiers had been grinding for a whole 'nother day while I was doing my thang.
I opened my status window, watching my unallocated Stat Points jump from 58 to 72.
"Perfect," I said. "Now, allocate 69 points into [CON].
[ALLOCATING STAT POINTS...]
[CON: 431 → 500]
A sudden, deep, thrumming warmth spread through my entire skeletal structure. It felt like my very cells were hardening, fortifying themselves to an insane degree. I clenched my fist, hearing the air literally pop from the sheer density of my grip.
My body's finally ready, I thought. But before I can leave to accomplish the next objective on my list, I need to make sure I can come back to finish the rest of these trials whenever I want.
I navigated to my [System Shop] and went to the utility section.
[ITEM PURCHASED: Waypoint Anchor Orb (x2)]
[-500,000 RYO]
[RYO BALANCE: 33,057,650 → 32,557,650 RYO]
Two smooth, heavy silver orbs materialized in my hands. I set the first one down directly onto the stone altar beside the scroll. It hovered an inch off the stone, locking its spatial coordinates in place.
With the first orb set, I locked onto the sensory tether of the Lizardman Soldier I had left standing guard up on the cliffside before I dropped into the ocean.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHADOW EXCHANGE]
The massive library vanished into shadows, and a second later, I was standing back on the windswept cliffs of the Uzushio mainland. I quickly deployed the second silver orb onto the rocky earth, setting up the fast-travel network.
Now it was time to move on.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHADOW EXCHANGE]
***********
The biting ocean breeze of Uzushio was instantly replaced by the smell of rotting wood, stale air, and decades of undisturbed dust.
I rose smoothly from the floorboards of the ruined Uzumaki Shrine Temple, the shadows peeling off my body as I stepped fully into the dimly lit, dilapidated room.
I took a moment to look around. Through the broken roof, streams of moonlight pierced the gloom, illuminating the ruined state of the shrine. Collapsed pillars, debris, and thick cobwebs covered almost every inch of the floor.
I stepped carefully over a pile of broken timber, making my way to the far end of the main hall. Despite the heavy damage to the rest of the building, the main altar wall was surprisingly intact.
Hanging on the wall, staring back at me in the darkness, were twenty-seven Oni masks.
Which one is it again? I wondered, scanning the collection of demonic faces.
Before I could overthink it, a familiar crimson light began to pulse from my right forearm—originating directly from the new spiral seal tattooed into my skin. Taking the hint, I held my hand out, hovering it over the row of wooden faces.
As my palm passed over the first few masks, the crimson glow remained dim. But when I moved my hand toward the center, hovering over a pale, demonic face with sharp, curved horns and a sinister, jagged grin, the light flared brightly, illuminating the dark wood.
There you are, I smirked, reaching out and pulling the mask off the wooden peg.
The moment the mask left the wall, a heavy, oppressive chill instantly filled the room, making the hairs on my arms stand up. A golden prompt materialized in front of me.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: Mask of the Shinigami]:
Rank: S
Type: Divine Artifact
Description: A ritualistic mask carved by the ancient Uzumaki Clan. It serves as a medium to summon the Shinigami (The Death God). By wearing the mask, the player allows the Shinigami to possess their body, granting them the ability to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal (Shiki Fūjin).
[WARNING: UTILIZING THIS ITEM COMMANDS A SEVERE PHYSICAL TOLL. A HIGH CONSTITUTION (CON) IS REQUIRED TO SURVIVE THE RITUAL.]
"Yea, yea, I'm aware," I muttered, brushing a layer of dust off the pale wood. "It's a good thing I just upgraded my durability."
I observed the mask more closely. It had an oppressive feeling about it, even though I hadn't done anything with it yet. Maybe my [Sense] is warning me about just how dangerous it is, I thought.
Now that I've got the mask all that needs to be done is to actually perform the unsealing, I mused internally. But I definitely can't do it here. When I pull Yin Kurama's chakra out of Minato, the resulting chakra spike is going to be absolutely massive. Every sensory ninja and Anbu operative in Konoha will definitely feel it instantly. I need a place where a massive, Tailed-Beast-level chakra signature could go completely unnoticed. But where…
I thought about it for a brief moment, then snapped my fingers and pulled out a [D-Rank Gate Key].
Solutions are always closer than they appear, I thought as I slipped the mask, as well as the twenty-six others, into my [Inventory]. As I did, the oppressive chill in the air finally faded.
As I twirled the key between my fingers, a confident smirk adorned my face. Time to operate.