The marked coordinates were located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
At Takeshi's speed, going full throttle, it took him only a little over a day to arrive there.
The time was just around dusk.
"This place doesn't seem special at all. During the last war, there was even a Konoha supply station nearby. If there really were any treasures, they should have already been discovered long ago."
Takeshi muttered, staring at the remains of the supply station, which had been dismantled until only a few wooden structures remained. He couldn't figure out what this so-called coordinate was actually pointing to.
Because part of the code was missing, Tobitake Tonbo had only managed to crack a general location. The exact spot still required Takeshi himself to search.
"Let's try Sage Mode."
Takeshi quickly came up with a solution.
Once he entered Sage Mode, his sensory ability would be greatly enhanced.
He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. The natural markings appeared on his face.
Every blade of grass, every tree in the area, even the tiniest insect, unfolded clearly in his perception.
"Hm? This plot of ground…"
Opening his eyes, Takeshi suddenly turned his gaze toward a patch of earth not far away.
Forming hand seals rapidly, Takeshi slammed his palms down onto the ground.
The land in front of him began to tremble, and soon, a chunk of earth rose up under the effect of the Earth Release.
Except—there was one particular patch that only quivered twice but refused to rise.
"Found it."
A grin tugged at the corner of Takeshi's mouth. He pressed his palm lightly against that spot on the ground, carefully sensing the secrets hidden within.
"A double-layer seal… and the most complex Four Symbols Seal at that. Normally, this should require a key to unlock…"
Although he often messed up in actual combat, Takeshi considered his theoretical knowledge fairly solid.
The seal before him was indeed a rather tricky one.
Which also meant that something important was definitely hidden inside.
But what could it be?
A treasure? A secret technique? Or perhaps the coffin of some bigshot from the Sarutobi clan?
"Ice Release!"
Takeshi didn't bother thinking too much. Whatever it was, opening it up would reveal the truth.
The ground cracked under immense force. The originally stable seal began to flicker with an ominous light after suffering external damage.
It worked.
Seeing this, Takeshi poured more chakra into the attack, dismissed the ice crystals coating his arm, and unleashed a jutsu he had acquired from Minato: "Ice Release: Rasengan!"
The ground was blasted apart completely. Amidst a series of explosions, Takeshi distinctly heard the sound of chains breaking.
Soon, a dark underground chamber appeared before him.
Golden chains, still glowing faintly, lay scattered across the ground. But with the seal broken, their luster quickly dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, until they gradually lost substance altogether.
Yet, more eye-catching than the chains was the sight in the very center of the chamber—a girl standing there.
A person?!
Takeshi immediately felt something was wrong.
Two layers of seals on the surface—
"Who are you?"
Just as Takeshi was about to continue his observation, the girl suddenly snapped her eyes open and rasped a question about his identity.
Takeshi was about to answer, when a flash of red lit her eyes.
A Sharingan?
She was an Uchiha!
The instant her gaze landed on the Uzumaki clan insignia stitched into Takeshi's jōnin uniform, her previously lifeless eyes flared with hatred. A moment later, black flames burst forth right where Takeshi stood.
"Amaterasu?!"
Luckily, Takeshi hadn't yet dropped Sage Mode. Sensing her ocular jutsu in advance was the only reason he avoided ending up as roasted fish.
The girl, surprised he could dodge Amaterasu, immediately manipulated the black flames into a new form, spreading them through the cavern like a raging storm.
"Kagutsuchi as well? You've got to be kidding!"
Slapping his palms together, Takeshi summoned massive icy walls to encircle himself, shielding against the flames of Amaterasu.
Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi—this should have been Sasuke's combo. Why would it appear in a girl like her?
Could it be… some gender-swapped Sasuke who had time-traveled here to look for Naruto?
"Damn the Uzumaki clan! Damn the Uchiha clan!"
Before Takeshi could figure out his next move, the girl's shrill scream echoed through the chamber.
Her wail shattered the icy bulwark around Takeshi, and tongues of black fire pierced through the gaps, surging in to latch onto him.
"Sealing Technique!"
Takeshi hastily enveloped the Amaterasu flames with ice, then used sealing techniques to halt the spread.
Without waiting for her next strike, he immediately hurled three Flying Thunder God kunai in her direction.
The girl tilted her head, dodging the kunai. But in the next moment, Takeshi materialized behind her, hand clutching one of the marked kunai, his Eightfold Light Wheel already whistling with wind at his side.
"Eightfold Light Wheel!" Takeshi showed no mercy, slashing mercilessly toward her neck.
The girl suddenly ducked, spun, and lashed out with a backward kick, driving her heel into Takeshi's stomach. The blow knocked the Eightfold Light Wheel from his hand, sending it crashing into the earthen wall.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Taking advantage of her successful strike, the girl twisted her body, turned to face him head-on, and unleashed a Fire Release jutsu at near point-blank range.
The cavern shook with a violent explosion. Clouds of smoke billowed outward, flooding the chamber's entrance.
Moments later, two figures shot out almost simultaneously from the smoke, landing firmly upon the ground above.
"Since when did the Uzumaki clan possess an Ice Release kekkei genkai? Don't tell me you people intermarried with the Yuki clan?"
Seeing her close-range Fire Release blocked by an ice wall left the girl grinding her teeth at Takeshi.
He, on the other hand, deliberately avoided eye contact and explained,
"The Uzumaki clan was wiped out decades ago. Besides, I'm from the Shimura clan."
Hearing that the Uzumaki clan had been destroyed, a flicker of satisfaction flashed in her eyes—followed quickly by confusion.
Who had destroyed the Uzumaki clan?
What was this Shimura clan?
And just how many years had she been sealed away?
"What year is it now?" The girl halted her assault. At this point, she just wanted answers.
"Konoha Year 57." Seeing she had ceased her attacks, Takeshi also relaxed slightly.
Damn, his luck really was rotten. Just wandering around, and he had to stumble across a mysterious Uchiha.
And after all his efforts to improve relations between the Uchiha and the village, this was his reward—nothing but trouble.
And the Sarutobi clan, too—why would they go and seal something like this down here? Couldn't they have just destroyed her outright instead?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo