The night had a stillness that didn't belong to peace. It was the kind of silence that followed a scream — one too deep for ears to hear.
Konoha slept, but beneath the streets, something ancient stirred.
Ryuzen moved quietly through the lower levels of the Hokage Mountain, guided only by the faint pulsing of the Obsidian Codex within his mind. The system's faint hum had turned into a rhythm — like a heartbeat, syncing with his own.
[Obsidian Signal: Stable]
[First Seal proximity: 43 meters below current depth]
His breath fogged faintly in the cold air as he descended a narrow staircase hidden behind a storage room's false wall. The stones were old — far older than Konoha. Moss covered symbols that no known language could translate.
He touched one. A faint vibration crawled up his fingertips.
This wasn't built by the Senju, he realized. This was here before them.
The system flickered again.
[Warning: Unknown interference detected.]
[Source: Internal.]
Ryuzen froze. "Internal? What do you mean, internal?"
The text dissolved, replaced by something else — a single word, written in burning violet script.
[Observe.]
The ground beneath him shuddered.
The Descent
Stone cracked. Dust rained from above as part of the tunnel gave way, opening into a massive cavern.
Ryuzen landed lightly, his boots splashing in a thin layer of ancient water. He raised his hand, forming a faint orb of chakra light — but it barely pierced the darkness.
The space stretched endlessly. Pillars of stone carved with symbols spiraled upward like petrified flames.
And at the center…
A seal — circular, vast, and breathing. It wasn't painted. It moved, the markings shifting like liquid shadow, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.
The system glowed furiously.
[First Seal: Identified]
[Designation: Obsidian Core – Dormant]
[Warning: Direct contact may trigger irreversible synchronization.]
Ryuzen took a slow step forward. His hand trembled slightly — not from fear, but recognition. The chakra emanating from it felt like his own, but stretched through time, older and colder.
As he drew closer, the whisper began again.
Soft.
Ancient.
Familiar.
"A thousand lives to open the path. You've met the toll, Reaper."
Ryuzen's eyes widened. "Who—"
"You bear our mark. Our will. We are the ones who waited in the void, long before chakra found form. Long before Konoha."
He clenched his jaw. "If you're part of this system, tell me what you want."
"Not want. Remember."
And then the seal flared.
The Vision
The world folded.
For an instant, Ryuzen's mind wasn't his own.
He saw a battlefield unlike any in history — not ninja, but gods. Titans of chakra and shadow clashing over a fractured world. Above them, an eclipse — a black sun burning over an endless plain.
At the center stood a figure cloaked in darkness, his eyes silver-white, his voice cutting through creation itself.
"When mortals forget the source, we shall return through the chosen blood."
The vision shattered like glass. Ryuzen stumbled, gasping, clutching his head as the system screamed warnings.
[Cognitive Overload: 92%]
[Anchor Stabilizing… Complete.]
He dropped to one knee, sweat dripping down his face.
"Chosen blood," he muttered. "Then this—this Obsidian thing—it's… alive."
A Flash of Gold
He didn't hear the footsteps until a golden shimmer flashed through the darkness.
Minato appeared beside him, kunai in hand, the Flying Thunder God seal faintly glowing on his glove. His eyes darted from Ryuzen to the seal.
"What is this place?"
Ryuzen took a shaky breath. "Something beneath Konoha. The system led me here. It's—Minato, this is older than anything in the village."
Minato crouched beside the seal, careful not to touch. The chakra radiating from it made the air thick. "This energy… it's not chakra as we know it. It's like it's alive."
The seal pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
[Synchronization Level: 30%]
[Host – Ryuzen: Link partially established.]
Minato's gaze sharpened. "Ryuzen, what did you do?"
Ryuzen looked at his hand — the skin beneath his wrist faintly glowing with violet lines like veins of crystal. "It called me."
"You mean—"
"Minato," Ryuzen interrupted quietly, "whatever's sleeping here… I think it's connected to me. To the war. To why I have this power."
Minato's expression darkened. "Then we need to seal this place off. Now."
But before they could move, the cavern trembled again.
The Awakening
The seal blazed to life, flooding the space with black and violet light. The system's voice grew distorted.
[Critical Error: External Control Detected]
[Obsidian Core Reactivating]
[Foreign consciousness detected – Unknown entity initializing link.]
Ryuzen's body froze. His eyes widened as shadows crawled from the seal, wrapping around his ankles, his arms, pulling him toward the center.
Minato lunged forward, marking the ground with a kunai. "Flying Raijin—!"
In a flash of gold, he grabbed Ryuzen's shoulder, but the moment their hands met, both men were pulled into the seal's glow.
They fell through darkness — no ground, no air, only an endless void filled with whispers.
"One carries the light of fate."
"The other carries the weight of the void."
"Together, they will decide the next dawn."
Then, silence.
Minato and Ryuzen landed hard on stone. But this wasn't the same cavern. It was a hall — vast, lined with statues of unknown warriors, each holding blades of obsidian crystal.
At the far end, a throne. Empty.
Ryuzen took a cautious step forward. "Where are we?"
A voice echoed from the darkness.
"At the beginning."
A shape emerged — tall, shrouded, its face hidden beneath a mask carved from black stone. Eyes glowed faintly silver beneath.
Ryuzen's system flickered violently.
[Entity recognized: Obsidian Prime]
[Access Level: Locked]
[Attempting synchronization… denied.]
"Obsidian Prime…" Ryuzen whispered. "You're the source."
The being tilted its head slightly.
"I am the echo that birthed your path. You carry my fragment. But the world is not yet ready for remembrance."
Minato stepped in front of Ryuzen instinctively. "If you intend to harm him—"
The being raised a hand.
Light fractured. Minato froze mid-motion — not paralyzed by force, but by time itself.
Ryuzen's heart raced. "Stop! He's not your enemy!"
The Obsidian Prime's gaze softened.
"Neither are you, child of light. But the balance must return."
He turned to Ryuzen.
"You have awakened too early. The Obsidian Codex was not meant to open in this era."
"Then why me?" Ryuzen demanded. "Why give me this power? Why let me slaughter a thousand people for it?"
The being's reply was quiet — almost sorrowful.
"Because peace demands blood. And destiny demands a vessel."
The world began to collapse again.
Back to Reality
The light vanished.
Ryuzen gasped, stumbling backward — the cavern had returned. Minato was beside him again, panting, eyes wide as if waking from a nightmare.
The seal's light had faded. Only faint violet dust lingered in the air.
"Minato—did you see—"
He nodded slowly. "I saw something. A presence… ancient. It wasn't trying to kill us. It was… warning us."
Ryuzen's hands trembled. "Then we're in deeper trouble than the war ever gave us."
Minato's gaze met his, calm but grave. "Whatever this Obsidian Prime is… we can't tell the Council. Not yet."
"Agreed."
As they turned to leave, the last line from the system appeared in faint text:
[Codex Incomplete – 6 Seals Remaining.]
[Next Signal: Hidden within the Fire.]
Ryuzen's eyes narrowed. "So it begins again."
🕯️ Author's Note
The descent has begun. The Obsidian Arc officially opens here — not just mystery, but legacy.
In this chapter:
Ryuzen and Minato uncover the first Obsidian Seal beneath Konoha.
They briefly encounter the entity known as Obsidian Prime, who calls Ryuzen a "vessel."
The system's evolution continues — there are now seven seals total, with one awakened.
Shadows of ancient chakra hint that something predates all shinobi history.
Next chapter (74) will dive into the aftermath — Minato and Ryuzen deciding how to hide the truth, Danzo starting to move again, and hints of the next Obsidian signal — "Hidden within the Fire." 🔥