Naka Shrine
"This is where the Uchiha clan worships our ancestors."
Due to years of neglect, the shrine was overgrown with weeds and wild plants. Sasuke pulled down a creeping ivy from the front gate and gently pushed the door open. A cloud of dust rained down like a storm.
"Why are we here?" he asked.
Shrines are places for worship, typically seen as dwelling places of gods, but they also serve as ancestral sites.
The Naka Shrine was exactly that—a place for the Uchiha to pay respects to their forebears, with a long, ancient history that traced back to the clan's origins.
During New Year and festivals, the Uchihas would come under the leadership of the clan head to pay tribute here.
The shrine itself wasn't large—you could see from one end to the other at a glance.
Sasuke glanced around before muttering,
"There's nothing here."
Having grown up in the Uchiha compound, he was no stranger to this shrine. As a child, he'd once knocked over a family spirit tablet while playing around—only to get severely beaten by Fugaku for it.
"There's a secret room," Naruto said calmly.
Sasuke gave him a look like he was being trolled.
This is my house. I grew up playing here. I'd know if there was a secret room—
But Naruto, ignoring Sasuke's expression, walked right up and opened the concealed entrance.
Sasuke: ???
How did I not know this?
Sasuke had heard that the clan had a secret gathering place, but he'd never been to it. Apparently, this was it—hidden right under Naka Shrine.
Only those who had awakened the Sharingan were allowed to attend clan meetings. Though he was the clan head's son, no Sharingan meant no entry.
---
The secret chamber wasn't much larger than the shrine above. Its furnishings were simple—even plain. Scrolls lay scattered across the ground, most detailing Uchiha fire-style secrets and internal documents.
To the left and right, the Uchiha clan crest was engraved into the walls.
In the center stood a stone monument.
"Activate your Sharingan," Naruto pointed at the weathered-looking stone.
"Take a look at what's written on it."
At this point, Sasuke practically trusted Naruto unconditionally. Without hesitation, he activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and focused on the monument.
"Th-This is…?"
Under the Sharingan, what looked like meaningless scribbles and glyphs began to transform—into legible text.
"Can you read it?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke glanced at him, noting that Naruto seemed unable to read it himself.
He slowly began to read aloud:
"A divine being once split yin and yang into two poles.
To restore peace, when the two poles return to one, all things in existence shall be revealed…"
"That's enough," Naruto said, interrupting.
"The content is wrong."
"???"
Sasuke blinked and turned toward Naruto in confusion.
Naruto patted the stone monument.
"The writing's been altered. It was tampered with."
---
Sasuke's mind filled with questions.
How did Naruto know about the Uchiha secret chamber?
How did he already know the monument's contents were wrong?
How did he even find this place?
But Naruto wasn't offering explanations—and Sasuke didn't press.
"The Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths," Naruto said, dropping a bombshell from the start.
"That stone tablet? It was left behind by the Sage himself."
"More specifically… it was meant for his son."
---
The Sage of Six Paths?!
What kind of mythological fairy tale was this?
The Sage of Six Paths had lived over a thousand years ago—his existence, to most, was legend, not history.
"Let me tell you a story," Naruto said.
"Over a thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths ended the wars and founded Ninshu.
He had two sons: the elder one inherited the Sage's body, and the younger inherited the Sage's eyes."
(Yes, Naruto had reversed the order intentionally—saying the younger was Asura and the elder was Indra.)
"Because of conflicting ideals—and the manipulation of a certain vile figure—the brothers came to oppose each other."
"That conflict was passed down to their descendants."
"The Senju are the descendants of Asura.
The Uchiha descend from Indra."
"The hatred between their clans never stopped."
"Until the First Hokage appeared—he put an end to the chaos and brought peace between the clans."
"He founded the shinobi village system, and clans like the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga joined together. That's how the Hidden Leaf came to be."
---
After finishing, Naruto fell silent—waiting for Sasuke to digest it all.
Sasuke closed his eyes and only opened them after a long moment.
"Sage of Six Paths, Indra, Asura... a thousand years ago, it doesn't matter what happened."
"What does matter—how do you know all this?"
---
"Yeah, exactly!"
Inside the seal space, the Nine-Tails spoke up, clearly shaken.
"You damn brat—how the hell do you know all this?!"
Kurama—who had personally known the Sage, Indra, and Asura—could confirm Naruto was telling the truth.
Well, almost all truth.
The only thing off was the birth order: Indra was the older brother, and Asura was the younger.
So if Naruto was claiming to be Asura… that would make him the younger brother.
Still—how could he possibly know?
---
Kurama lay sprawled across a massive plush mat inside Naruto's customized seal space.
Ever since Naruto figured out how to alter the space's internal layout, the Nine-Tails had constantly demanded upgrades.
Whenever he saw something interesting in the outside world, he'd insist Naruto make a version for him.
Currently, he'd fallen in love with a giant fluffy floor cushion and liked nothing more than rolling around on it.
---
Naruto, lying belly-down on the fox's stomach, looked up and said with utmost seriousness:
"Kurama… you know you talk in your sleep, right?"
"???"
Kurama's eyes bulged.
"Impossible! No way the mighty me would do something so undignified!"
Naruto replied:
"But you did. All this stuff—you told me while you were sleeping."
Kurama: ???
His face contorted with disbelief.
"You even told me about how you used to mess with Shukaku all the time because once in the desert he—"
"ALRIGHT! ENOUGH!!"
One massive paw covered his face.
The other tried to cover Naruto's mouth.
"You're absolutely forbidden from telling the other tailed beasts I sleep talk, got it?"
"Got it!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up.
"…Wait a sec—"
Kurama suddenly paused, pointing at Naruto and shouting:
"You damn brat, you almost tricked me again!"
"Some of this stuff—even I don't know! So how do you?!"
Naruto just gave a silly grin.
"Heh heh…"
"Heh heh, my tail! That's not an answer!"
---
Naruto finally spoke:
"I know all this because…"
He paused dramatically, dragging out the moment until Sasuke and Kurama were both on edge with anticipation.
"…Indra…"
"…I'm your brother Asura."
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