The storm had raged for three days. Raizen stood at the cliff's edge, cloak whipping violently, eyes fixed on the desolate valley below.
No trees. No grass. Not even soil. Just ash and stone, stretching endlessly. The land was wrong—too still, as though even time avoided it.
"The Land of Ash…" he muttered. His Mangekyō spun once, bleeding scarlet light. "So this is where you fell… Kaguro."
He took one step forward. The world seemed to shudder.
A monk's warning echoed in his head—back in the mountains, that old man had whispered:
"Beware the Kaguro ruins. They do not test your strength. They devour your soul."
Raizen had only smiled then. That's exactly what I need.
---
The ruins greeted him with silence. Monolithic stone towers half-buried in ash pierced the clouds above. Symbols glowed faintly on the black surface—Kaguro script that even his Sharingan struggled to read.
As he stepped through the gate, a voice thundered across the void.
"Who dares enter the graves of the Kaguro?"
Raizen's hand slid to his sword. "Raizen Uchiha."
The ash swirled violently, forming a massive armored figure—its eyes glowing pure silver, no pupils, no humanity. The guardian's voice reverberated like thunder.
"An Uchiha dares?"
Raizen smirked, though his body tensed. "Not just any Uchiha."
The guardian's blade appeared from light itself, a weapon unlike any shinobi steel.
"Then you face the First Trial. Survive… or vanish as the others did."
The ground shattered. The guardian struck with impossible speed, forcing Raizen to parry instantly. The clash rang out like lightning splitting the sky.
Raizen was thrown back, boots digging trenches in the ash. He spat blood, eyes spinning violently into Mangekyō.
"Tch… so this is Kaguro power?"
The guardian advanced slowly, each step crushing the earth.
"This is but a fragment. And you are not worthy."
Raizen's vision blurred for a second. Not from exhaustion… but from voices whispering in his head.
He froze. He could hear… Itachi's voice.
"Uncle… why are you alone?"
Raizen gritted his teeth. "Illusions… damn it!"
The guardian's blade swung again. Raizen barely dodged, his shoulder slashed open.
He dropped to one knee, blood staining the ash beneath him. But instead of despair, his lips curled into a grin.
"…If this is just a fragment…" He rose again, Sharingan blazing with fury. "…Then I'll take it. Even if it kills me."
He lunged.
---
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