The air beneath Konoha was thick with tension, the silence almost unbearable. Every breath Ryuzen drew seemed to echo against the stone walls of the cavern, a hollow reminder that he was alone — yet not alone.
The Obsidian Eye pulsed faintly beneath his skin, synchronized with the system's hum in a rhythm that matched his heartbeat. Shadows danced across the walls as if alive, responding to the energy surging through him. He knelt, gripping the edge of the jagged stone pathway, and whispered under his breath, "It's… watching me."
> "Yes… I am. But not as you fear."
The voice of the system resonated in his mind — familiar, almost comforting, yet undeniably alien. It was him, yet it wasn't. A fragment of his own will, amplified, conscious, aware.
The cavern shuddered violently. Dust and debris fell around him. Ryuzen braced himself as cracks snaked across the walls and floor. The Obsidian Core — the first seal they had discovered — pulsed with a deep violet light, illuminating the cavern in bursts.
He could feel it calling. Pulling. A part of him screamed to resist, but another part — the part that had survived a thousand enemies — urged him to embrace it.
> "Do not fear. You have carried the burden, faced the thousand, and survived. Now is the time to ascend beyond the flesh and bone you once were."
Before he could respond, a faint golden shimmer appeared in the darkness. Minato. His presence cut through the chaos like a beacon, his calm aura a stark contrast to the violent energy enveloping Ryuzen.
"Ryuzen," Minato said, stepping forward cautiously, kunai at the ready. "The system… it's reacting to something beneath the village. I can feel it through the air itself. You need to be careful."
Ryuzen raised his eyes, which glowed faintly violet now, threads of light running through his iris. "Minato… I can't stop it. The Obsidian Core… it's… it's alive. It's calling me. Watching me."
Minato studied him, noting the subtle changes in his friend — the twitch of his muscles, the unnatural pulse beneath his skin, the intensity in his gaze. "Then we do this together," he said firmly. "Whatever is down here, you won't face it alone."
Ryuzen inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling in sync with the Core. "Together," he echoed.
---
The ground beneath them trembled again, louder this time, as if the cavern itself were alive. Shadows curled toward Ryuzen like tendrils, wrapping around his limbs, lifting him slightly off the ground. The Obsidian Core's light expanded, blindingly intense.
> "Do not resist, Reaper… you are the vessel. The one chosen to bear what was sealed long ago."
He shouted, the word echoing across the stone halls: "I am not a vessel! I am Ryuzen! Not this… this… system!"
But the voice persisted, soothing yet commanding: "You are both. And both are necessary."
Minato moved quickly, forming a kunai seal and sending it hurtling into the shadowy tendrils. They sizzled and recoiled, but the Core's energy surged back instantly, stronger, brighter.
"Stay back," Ryuzen warned, his voice low but trembling. "I… I can control it… maybe."
Minato didn't argue. Instead, he took a careful step back, observing, ready to intervene if necessary. The cavern seemed to breathe around them, exhaling waves of raw power that made the air hum with electricity.
---
Then the first vision came.
Ryuzen's surroundings warped, the cavern melting away into a battlefield that spanned eternity. Colossal figures clashed in the void — beings whose chakra was older than any living ninja. Mountains rose and fell in moments, rivers of fire and ice snaked across plains of shadow, and stars burned as if struck by lightning.
At the center stood a towering figure, robed in darkness, silver eyes piercing the void. Its voice, deep and resonant, echoed directly into Ryuzen's mind:
"You are the one who carries the fragment. You have been chosen before the leaf, before the Senju, before the Uchiha. And now, the Obsidian Codex awakens through you."
Ryuzen's breath caught. "Why… why me?"
"Because the balance demands it. The flame of the thousand lives is yours to bear. Without you, it cannot exist."
> "No… this isn't balance. It's blood!"
> "Necessary. Remember."
The vision collapsed in on itself like a whirlpool of light and shadow. Ryuzen gasped, clutching his head, staggering to his knees. His entire body trembled, his Obsidian Eye burning brighter, threads of violet light spreading across his skin like living veins.
Minato ran forward instinctively, grabbing his shoulders. "Ryuzen! Focus on me! Hold onto something real!"
He looked up at Minato, eyes blazing, and whispered, "It's… too much. It shows me… everything. Every life, every war, every choice… and what comes next."
Minato's hand remained firm, grounding him. "Then let it guide you, not consume you. You're stronger than any system, stronger than any seal."
> "But I am both," the System murmured within him, "and both is what will save or destroy."
---
The cavern quaked once more, and the Obsidian Core's light shot upward, hitting the ceiling. The energy fragmented into shards, floating midair like suspended stars. Each shard reflected a fragment of the universe — some familiar, some alien, some terrifying.
> "Observe," whispered the System. "Know what you are to protect. Know what you are to face."
One shard showed a fiery battlefield with the ghosts of the Third War, thousands of shinobi falling, all their deaths counted in the rhythm of his Obsidian Eye. Another shard revealed ancient warriors — the first bearers of the Obsidian power — standing in judgment, their eyes hollow, their arms outstretched toward him.
Ryuzen staggered, but Minato held him steady. "You can survive this. You must survive this."
The Core pulsed faster, shadows stretching toward him, and Ryuzen realized with a chill that the Obsidian power was no longer just watching — it was testing him, learning from him. Waiting for a moment to merge completely.
> "I am ready," he whispered. But his voice trembled. "I do not know what ready means."
The System answered immediately, softly, intimately: "Then define it."
---
Suddenly, the cavern erupted in violet light. Shadows formed into shapes — faces, weapons, creatures, all swirling around Ryuzen. The Obsidian Eye flared, and he felt a pull not of the mind, but of the soul.
> "The flame of the thousand lives burns within you. Use it to open the path or be consumed by it."
Ryuzen's body floated inches above the ground as the energy spiraled around him. Minato formed sealing signs furiously, sending strands of chakra into the light, attempting to stabilize the surge. But even Minato's skill could not contain the storm completely.
Then, the first true voice of the Obsidian Prime echoed clearly for the first time, deep and melodic:
"Reaper… do you see it now? The name that was lost to time… the name that wakes with you?"
Ryuzen froze. He knew that name — or at least, he shouldn't know it. It was a name older than Konoha, older than chakra itself. It made the hairs on his neck stand up.
> "No… this cannot be…" he muttered.
The shadows converged, the Obsidian Core flaring to a blinding brilliance. Minato shielded his eyes, shouting, "Ryuzen! Don't let it take you!"
The system's voice, now fully harmonized with him, whispered: "It is not taking you… it is revealing you."
And then, as the light reached its zenith, the chapter ended.
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🕯️ Author's Note
The Obsidian Arc is officially in motion. Here in Chapter 74:
Ryuzen faces the full power of the first Obsidian Seal.
The System has begun merging with him, showing visions of the past and hints of future wars.
Minato stands as the anchor, the human counter to the system's rising power.
The Obsidian Prime speaks directly — a force older than Konoha itself.
Cliffhanger: the name revealed by the Obsidian Prime will change everything.
💎 If you're enjoying the story, adding a Power Stone or Library support helps the Obsidian saga continue!
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