Naka Shrine
The shrine had been left to the elements for years, its stone frame covered by weeds and twisting plants. Sasuke tore a thick vine from the main gate and pushed the heavy door inward. A thick cloud of dust billowed out, catching the light as it fell.
"What are we doing here?" Sasuke asked, his voice echoing slightly in the empty space.
He remembered this place. The Naka Shrine, where the Uchiha clan had honored its ancestors for generations. He recalled the New Year festivals, the entire clan gathered under his father's watch. Now, it was just a dusty, forgotten hall. A single glance was enough to take in the whole room.
After looking around, Sasuke spoke. "There's nothing here."
Growing up in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke had come here before. As a mischievous child, he'd once even knocked over an ancestral tablet by accident, earning him a thorough thrashing from Fugaku.
"There's a secret room here," Naruto said, his voice low.
Sasuke looked at him as if he'd just told a terrible joke. 'This is my home, the place I grew up playing in. How could I not know about a secret room here?'
Ignoring his disbelief, Naruto walked to the far wall, pressed a sequence of stones, and a section of the floor slid away, revealing a dark staircase.
Sasuke stared, speechless. 'How? How did I never know about this?'
He had known, of course, that the clan had a secret meeting place, but he had never imagined it would be hidden here, right under the main shrine. Then again, only those who had awakened their Sharingan were permitted to attend the clan's inner councils. Even as the clan head's son, he had never been qualified.
The room below was basic, similar in size to the shrine above. Scrolls lay scattered across the floor, records of Uchiha fire jutsu and internal clan documents. The clan's fan crest was carved into the walls on either side of a single stone tablet that stood in the center of the room.
"Use your Sharingan," Naruto said, gesturing toward the ancient-looking stone. "Look at what's written on it."
Sasuke didn't hesitate. His vision sharpened as the three tomoe of his Sharingan spun into place, and he focused on the tablet.
'What- what is this?'
As he focused, the dense, swirling script on the stone rearranged itself, sharpening into characters he could read.
"Can you make it out?" Naruto asked.
Assuming Naruto couldn't read the script himself, Sasuke began to read aloud. "Seeking stability, one god was divided into yin and yang, these opposing two acting together obtain all things in creation."
"That's enough," Naruto interrupted. "The contents of that tablet have been changed. It's wrong."
Sasuke stopped, his focus snapping from the ancient text to Naruto. "What do you mean, it's wrong?"
Naruto patted the stone tablet. "The content has been tampered with," he continued.
A storm of questions brewed in Sasuke's mind. How did Naruto know about this secret room? How did he know the tablet had been altered? But he could see from the look on Naruto's face that he wasn't ready to explain, so Sasuke held his tongue and waited.
"The Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths," Naruto said, his words dropping into the silence like stones. "This tablet was left behind by him. For the Uchiha." He paused. "Or, to be precise, for his son."
'The Sage of Six Paths?' Sasuke thought, the name echoing in his mind like something from a children's story. 'What does a myth have to do with any of this?'
"Let me tell you a story," Naruto began.
"Over a thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths ended the great wars and founded the practice of Ninshu. He had two sons. His eldest, Ashura, inherited his father's body and physical energy. His second son, Indra, inherited his eyes and spiritual energy."
Naruto's version of the tale was concise, though he altered one crucial detail, swapping the brothers birth order. 'No way I am letting him have chance of acting as my elder brother.'
"Because of their different beliefs, and with a little push from someone working in the shadows, Indra and Ashura ended up on opposite sides. Their struggle continued on through their descendants. The Senju are the descendants of Ashura, and the Uchiha are the descendants of Indra. The two bloodlines have been sworn enemies ever since."
"That lasted until the First Hokage appeared. He ended the wars once more and stopped the fighting between the clans. He created the hidden village system, and powerful clans like the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Hyuga joined together to build the Konoha we know today."
When Naruto finished, silence fell over the room again. He waited patiently, giving Sasuke time to process it all.
After a long moment, Sasuke finally looked up, his dark eyes fixed on Naruto. "The Sage of Six Paths, Indra, Ashura... None of that history matters to me," he said, his voice low and steady. "What I want to know is, how do you know all of this?"
'That's right,' a deep voice rumbled in Naruto's mind. 'The kid has a point. How do you know all this, brat?'
Kurama knew the stories of the Sage and his sons. But in the true history, Indra was the elder and Ashura the younger. Naruto had it backward. And yet, he spoke of events from a thousand years ago with an unnerving certainty. Where did he learn things that at impossible to know in this era?
Inside the seal, the great fox was sprawled across a ridiculously large plush cushion, a recent demand he'd made after seeing one in the outside world. Ever since Naruto had figured out how to change the scenery of his mental prison, Kurama had been making constant requests. This cushion was his current favorite, perfect for lazing about.
Naruto's spiritual form, which was currently resting on Kurama's stomach, looked up at the fox with a perfectly serious expression. 'Kurama, did you know you talk in your sleep?'
'Huh?' Kurama's eyes widened, and he shook his head wildly. 'Impossible! Absolutely Impossible! I would never do something so undignified!'
'But you did,' Naruto insisted earnestly. 'You told me all of this after you fell asleep.'
Kurama stared blankly for a second.
'You also told me you used to bother Shukaku just for fun,' Naruto continued, pressing his advantage. 'Something about that time in the desert when you-'
"Alright, stop talking!" Kurama growled, covering his face with one massive paw then joining his paws together in request. "Not another word! From now on, you are forbidden from telling the other Tailed Beasts that I talk in my sleep. Got it?"
'Got it!'
Kurama narrowed his eye. "Wait a minute..." He slowly lowered his paw, then shouted at Naruto. "Brat, you almost tricked me again! Some of what you said... even I don't know those details! How did you find out?"
"Haha..." Naruto chuckled, a sheepish grin on his face, trying to play it off.
"Don't you "Haha" me!" Kurama snarled. "What's so funny?"
Both outside in the dusty shrine and inside his own seal space, Naruto let the tension hang in the air. He looked from Sasuke's waiting face to Kurama's suspicious glare, a slow smile spreading across his own.
"I know all this," he said, his voice suddenly taking on a strange, ancient weight, "because of a very simple reason."
He met Sasuke's gaze directly.
"Indra, I am your elder brother, Ashura."
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