Chapter 128 — Five Seconds Too Long
Akira had been lost in the memory for what felt like a long time.
Voices. Names. Fate. Death.
Yet in the real world, only five—maybe six—seconds had passed.
"Looks like some chicken scratch to me."
The words snapped Akira back to reality.
His vision refocused. The mountain air returned. The weight in his chest hit all at once.
Obito was standing near the gravestone, hands on his hips, squinting at the carved letters.
Guy leaned closer, eyes shining with enthusiasm.
"No, no, Obito," he said proudly. "That chicken was clearly overflowing with the spirit of youth!"
Akira's fingers curled into a fist.
The sadness… the shock… the hollow ache of realizing whose grave this was—
All of it twisted into anger in an instant.
Chicken scratch?
Akira's jaw tightened.
What does he mean by chicken scratch?
That handwriting…
He stopped himself.
Calm down.
They don't know the language.
To them, it probably did look like meaningless scratches.
Before Akira could say anything, Rin stepped forward, crouching slightly to look closer at the stone.
"You two," she said seriously, "that's not chicken scratch."
Obito blinked. "Huh?"
Rin tilted her head, studying the letters.
"It looks more like an extremely old language. Something that might've existed long ago… maybe even before our recorded history."
Kakashi, who had been standing quietly behind them, watched Akira closely.
He noticed it—the shift.
The daze.
The sadness.
The shock.
And then… anger.
Something happened, Kakashi thought. Just now.
He said nothing, deciding to ask later—when they were somewhere safer.
Then he spoke lazily, eyes half-lidded.
"What did you expect from dead-last like Obito and Guy?"
Guy immediately gave a huge grin and a thumbs-up.
"Such sharp insight! Truly the words of a youthful rival!"
Obito spun around.
"Hey! You stupid Kakashi, don't talk like you know everything!"
Rin sighed. "Stop it, both of you."
She turned toward Akira, her expression gentle.
"Akira… what do you think?"
Akira exhaled slowly, forcing his emotions down.
"It's definitely someone who died," he said calmly.
Everyone went quiet.
"The structure of the language is far too old," Akira continued. "Older than the Sage of Six Paths."
Kakashi's visible eye sharpened slightly.
"According to records in the Uchiha clan," Akira went on, "before the Age of Chakra and before the Sage existed, the world used hundreds of different languages."
Obito blinked. "Hundreds?"
"Yes," Akira said. "After chakra spread across the world, everything slowly unified into one common language."
He looked back at the gravestone.
"This must be one of those ancient languages—from before chakra existed."
A strange pressure settled over the group.
Then Akira straightened.
"We should go back," he said firmly. "I don't think this place welcomes us."
Almost immediately, everyone felt it.
A subtle discomfort.
A quiet resistance in the air.
Like the mountain itself was watching them—and disapproving.
Guy laughed nervously. "Haha… yeah, even my youthful spirit feels… rejected."
Obito scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… same. This place is kinda creepy."
Rin nodded. "Let's leave."
Kakashi glanced once more at the gravestone… then at Akira.
"…Alright," he said. "Let's head back."
And without another word, the group turned away—leaving behind the stone, the name carved into it, and the memory that had awakened far too soon.