Sasuke studied the stone monument only briefly before turning away. Whatever it held was not meant for him yet. He had no intention of forcing it open with his eyes.
The rest of the chamber mattered more.
He moved to the shelves lining the wall. The books were arranged with care, spines aligned, bindings intact. Dust had begun to settle, thin but even, a sign that no one had visited since the night everything ended.
He pulled down a volume titled Clan History.
It was exactly what it claimed to be. Records. Names. Dates. No techniques, no seals. After a few pages, he returned it to its place and continued searching.
Time slipped by quietly.
He skimmed titles, opening those that stood out, ignoring travelogues and geographic surveys. At last, two volumes earned his attention.
Uchiha-Style Fire Release Techniques.Uchiha-Style Genjutsu.
The first detailed advanced fire techniques, from Great Fire Annihilation to Dragon Flame Release, with notes on chakra shaping and battlefield application. The second cataloged illusion arts, including several Sharingan-specific techniques that relied on ocular power rather than hand seals.
Useful. Both of them.
One absence stood out.
The most forbidden techniques were nowhere to be found.
That was expected.
This chamber was accessible to dozens of clan members. Certain knowledge would never be left here. If it existed at all, it belonged to the head family and the elders.
Sasuke closed the books and slipped them into his pouch.
He continued searching.
Half an hour passed. No lightning techniques. No cultivation manuals. Nothing beyond those two volumes.
He was about to turn away when a book caught his eye.
It didn't belong.
The binding was different. The title, too.
The Will of Fire.
Sasuke paused, then pulled it free.
He opened the cover.
Written on the first page was a single name.
Uchiha Shisui.
That explained its presence.
He flipped through the pages. The margins were filled with handwritten notes, reflections on the village, loyalty, responsibility. The tone was earnest, thoughtful, deeply personal.
Sasuke read carefully, not dismissing a single line.
Then, two-thirds of the way through, the content shifted.
The philosophy ended. In its place were training records.
Genjutsu applications. Sword drills. High-speed movement techniques. Methods for combining body flicker with fire release and blade work, sketches of hybrid forms that blurred the line between ninjutsu and kenjutsu.
These were not theoretical musings.
They were field-tested.
Sasuke studied the handwriting, then the ink.
Too fresh.
Shisui had been dead for two years.
"So it was you," Sasuke murmured.
The strokes were flawless imitations, down to the pressure and rhythm. Only someone intimately familiar with Shisui's habits could have written this.
The intent was just as clear.
Guidance. Strength. Direction.
A path shaped carefully, meant to lead his brother somewhere specific.
Sasuke closed the book.
Whatever else could be said, the material itself was genuine. The techniques were sound. The experience was real.
He placed the books back neatly, then selected three.
When he left the chamber and sealed the passage behind him, the shrine returned to silence.
The river outside flowed on, unchanged.