After the stone slab slid completely aside, a passage leading into an underground chamber was revealed.
A cold, rancid wind surged up from below.
Naruto and Sakura both shivered.
The oppressive atmosphere instantly made their nerves tighten.
But when they saw that Arata and Sasuke showed no fear at all, neither of them dared complain.
Sasuke turned to Arata.
In the past, his father had always brought him here. Sasuke didn't know whether the underground chamber still contained active traps, and he didn't dare recklessly lead everyone inside.
Arata smiled calmly.
"Let's go down first and take a look."
Sasuke nodded. He was worried that any hidden mechanisms might injure Naruto or Sakura.
Even though Sasuke often acted like he looked down on them, deep down, Naruto and Sakura had already become genuine friends to him.
Otherwise, he would never have allowed them into the Uchiha shrine in the first place.
Naruto and Sakura glanced around.
Then they realized something terrifying—
Staying up here felt even scarier than following Arata and Sasuke down.
They blurted out almost simultaneously,
"Arata! Sasuke! W-We'll go too! We're not scared!"
Arata looked at them.
Their fear was written all over their faces.
After a brief pause, he sighed.
"There may be traps down there. Moving together is dangerous."
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
Sakura stepped forward, forcing herself to sound confident.
"If Sasuke's been here before, it shouldn't be that dangerous."
Arata shook his head helplessly.
"Sasuke. Bring them along."
He didn't call them out on their fear.
Sasuke met Arata's gaze and immediately understood.
Though still uneasy, with Arata present…
He agreed.
Once they were allowed to follow, Naruto and Sakura finally breathed in relief.
Ever since entering the Uchiha district, they'd been overly sensitive to everything around them.
It was too quiet. Too cold. Too eerie.
They genuinely couldn't understand how Sasuke had lived in a place like this for so many years.
The four approached the underground entrance.
Stone steps descended into darkness.
From above, they couldn't see a thing—the chamber below was pitch-black.
Sasuke looked to Arata.
Arata nodded.
The two of them went first.
Naruto and Sakura followed carefully behind.
Even Sasuke was tense.
Before, when he came with his father, there were always people present.
Now, he had no idea what awaited them below.
Tap… tap… tap…
They descended step by step.
The passage was carved entirely from stone.
As they moved forward, lamps mounted along the walls lit up automatically, one after another.
And strangely, that only made Arata more alert.
After walking more than ten meters, they still hadn't reached the chamber.
The passage was long.
No one spoke.
The deeper they went, the heavier the tension became.
Sakura stayed close behind Sasuke, gripping the back of his shirt.
Naruto had drawn a kunai. With his free hand, he clutched Arata's sleeve tightly.
Only their footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
A violent tearing sound split the air.
It was too fast. Too sudden.
Naruto and Sakura didn't even have time to react.
Sasuke did—his Sharingan was still active.
But the instant he saw what was coming…
His blood ran cold.
A storm of kunai and shuriken was launching straight toward them.
Not thrown by hand—
Launched.
Faster. Heavier. Sharper.
Some even produced faint sonic cracks.
"WATCH OUT!" Sasuke shouted.
He could see them—
But his body couldn't keep up.
It was already too late.
The iron storm was right in front of them.
Regret slammed into Sasuke like a blade.
I should never have let them come down.
The sheer number was insane.
The speed was insane.
The force was insane.
He couldn't block it.
He couldn't dodge it.
If even he—who could see them—was helpless…
Then Naruto and Sakura were doomed.
They hadn't even seen the weapons.
They only heard Sasuke's shout, still confused, unaware that the blades were already less than a meter away.
At the exact instant the iron rain was about to pierce them—
Golden light erupted.
"Szzzt—!"
Arata's voice cut through the air, sharp and steady:
"Lightning Release: Lightning Net."
Clang—clang—clang—clang—!!
Hundreds of kunai and shuriken slammed into a golden barrier.
Metal screeched. Sparks exploded.
Fragments shattered outward, ricocheting violently into the stone walls, gouging deep holes.
The barrage lasted a full two seconds.
By the end, it felt as if several hundred blades had struck at once.
Then—
Silence.
The ringing of metal faded.
The sparks died out.
Only then did Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura truly understand what had just happened.
They stared at the golden light surrounding them.
Dense arcs of golden lightning crawled across its surface, sharp and oppressive, radiating terrifying power.
It formed a protective dome, sealing them safely inside.
Sasuke and Naruto had never seen a jutsu like this.
But Sakura had.
She turned toward Arata, her voice trembling from shock and lingering fear.
"Y-Arata… If it weren't for you, we'd be dead… That scared me half to death!"
Sakura was shaken—but not stunned.
Naruto and Sasuke, however, were frozen.
They had seen Arata fight before.
But they had never seen him use Lightning Release like this.
When Arata suppressed Naruto's earlier rampage, he'd used a similar technique—
But Naruto had been unconscious and remembered nothing.
This Lightning Net was blindingly bright.
Yet none of them noticed the glare.
They were too stunned.
None of them noticed something else either—
Arata hadn't formed a single hand seal.
Not one.
After relentless refinement, Arata's Lightning Release no longer required seals—only precise chakra control.
He had sensed killing intent—
And the Lightning Net had manifested instantly, like an extension of his will.
A long moment passed before Sasuke and Naruto snapped back.
They stared at him.
"Arata… is this your power?" Naruto asked quietly.
"Ask later," Arata replied flatly.
"Let's keep moving."
"Be careful. There are more traps down here."
Even though they were burning with questions, Sasuke and Naruto swallowed them.
Arata maintained the Lightning Net as they advanced—
Both as illumination…
And insurance against the next attack.
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