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In the backyard of the Uchiha residence on Ōeyama.
Kaito and Yūrei were setting up an array, while Sasuke and Izuna observed from the side.
"Alright, Yūrei!"
Kaito finished drawing the final rune and reminded Yūrei.
"Got it."
Yūrei raised her hands, and countless butterflies flew out from her wide sleeves, spreading throughout the array.
Kaito swiftly formed hand seals, and a spiritual light surged around him.
Huge, translucent butterfly wings grew from Yūrei's back as she rose into the air above the array, scattering countless points of light from her magnificent wings.
Both spoke in unison.
"Butterfly Dance, Bewildering Enchantment Array!"
The array on the ground lit up, and the fluttering butterflies turned into specks of fluorescent light and dispersed.
Kaito lowered his hands, and Yūrei, fluttering her wings, landed beside him.
"It's done. Sasuke, go ahead and give it a try," Kaito said, turning to Sasuke.
Sasuke looked at the array, eager to try it, but Izuna suddenly stopped him.
"Let me try it first," Izuna said, stepping forward. "After all, most of the enemies in this illusion are from my memories."
"Then you can go first," Kaito stepped aside.
Izuna walked directly to the center of the array and sat down, falling silent.
The four people outside the array observed Izuna's state closely.
Izuna had his eyes closed, initially expressionless. After a while, he started showing some expressions, indicating that he had begun battling in the illusion.
Some time later, he opened his eyes, revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan, yet he was still immersed in the illusion.
It wasn't until a crack appeared on his forehead, and Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan slowly opened, that he finally broke free from the illusion.
He stood up and walked out of the array, commenting, "The effect is good. Although the enemies are weak, the combat experience feels very real. But if it's Sasuke, he probably wouldn't be able to escape on his own."
"Hmph." Sasuke walked to the front of the array. "Then I'll give it a try."
"It doesn't matter," Kaito patted Sasuke's shoulder. "The goal of this array isn't to escape the illusion, but to increase your combat experience."
He pushed Sasuke into the array and reminded him, "According to my settings, the enemies inside will become stronger and more numerous. The illusion will only break when you lose your fighting power, so do your best!"
Sasuke nodded and walked to the center of the array, sitting down.
"Let's leave him to his training," Kaito stretched. "I'll go back to researching the Divine Tree."
"I'm going to prepare lunch," Chiri said as she headed to the kitchen.
"Wait for me, Chiri. Let me take care of the cooking today!" Yūrei quickly followed her.
"You two go ahead," Izuna waved his hand. "I'll keep an eye on this kid."
"Thanks, Izuna-senpai," Kaito said as he turned and headed to his lab.
Kaito went to his lab, first pulling out his recent research notes on the Divine Tree and starting to read from the beginning.
He quickly flipped through the experiment records but couldn't find any new ideas.
Kaito still couldn't figure out how the Sage of Six Paths had done it back then.
The Sage of Six Paths...
Suddenly, an idea struck Kaito, and he began searching through his hidden stash.
"Here it is."
He raised his sleeve, revealing an ancient stone tablet before him.
This was a stone tablet he had taken from the Naka Shrine in Konoha. At the time, he found it odd but couldn't discover anything else, and over time, he almost forgot about it.
Now, he crouched down and began carefully inspecting the stone tablet.
"Hmm? So that's it."
A smile appeared on Kaito's face.
No wonder he hadn't discovered anything before.
Because he hadn't yet deeply connected with Ryūmyaku at the time, he could only sense something was off.
Kaito stood up, and his entire body was instantly covered in a golden mist as he silently entered a state of communication with Ryūmyaku.
He lightly stomped his foot, causing ripples to spread across the floor. Golden chains emerged from the ripples, wrapping around the stone tablet and dragging it into the ripples.
Kaito then opened the door and hurried towards the backyard.
"Izuna-senpai!"
Kaito appeared beside Izuna in a flash.
"Why are you back again?" Izuna was watching Sasuke in the array.
"I made a major discovery about the stone tablet I brought back from the Naka Shrine!" Kaito said excitedly.
"What?" Izuna was slightly surprised. "Weren't you researching the Divine Tree?"
"Ah, that." Kaito scratched his head. "Since I couldn't come up with any ideas, I started thinking about how the Sage of Six Paths did it, and that led me to remember the stone tablet."
"So you had forgotten about the stone tablet," Izuna said, looking at him disdainfully.
"Hahaha..." Kaito laughed awkwardly. "There were just too many things going on afterward."
Izuna crossed his arms, slightly impatient. "Alright, what did you discover?"
"Well..." Kaito continued awkwardly. "I'm wondering if you'd agree to let me destroy the stone tablet."
"You mean..." Izuna pondered, "Is there something inside the tablet?"
"That's right!" Kaito clapped his hands. "Izuna-senpai is so smart, you guessed it right away."
"Be serious!" Izuna's face darkened, and he scolded, "You're the patriach now, so make your own decisions!"
"I understand." Kaito instantly switched to his clan leader persona. He extended his right hand, palm down, and solemnly declared, "I, Uchiha Kaito, current clan leader of the Uchiha Clan, hereby confirm the opening of the Uchiha Clan's ancestral treasure."
Ripples appeared on the ground, and the golden chains dragged the stone tablet out from under his palm.
"Break!"
Kaito clenched his right hand.
The golden chains tightened around the stone tablet, making creaking sounds.
Crack.
Cracks immediately appeared on the stone tablet.
The hidden inscriptions, which could only be seen with the right eyes, emerged all over the stone tablet.
Crack.
The cracks continued to spread until they covered the entire stone tablet.
The ancient stone material on the surface of the tablet fell off, revealing a glistening, translucent core.
"What is this?" Izuna's eyes widened in shock.
"It looks like something's inside."
Sasuke, who had walked out of the array at some point, sat nearby, exhausted, curiously looking at the golden crystal core revealed within the stone tablet.
"This is a complete Ryūmyaku crystal."
Kaito commanded the chains to release the crystal and crouched down to examine it closely.
The surface of the golden crystal was covered in complex runes, while a blurry shadow moved rapidly within.
"If I'm not mistaken," Kaito said with interest as he touched the crystal's surface, "what's sealed inside is the Divine Tree's consciousness."
"Consciousness? Didn't the Divine Tree merge with Kaguya?" Izuna asked in surprise.
"Kaguya did indeed absorb the Divine Tree, so it's likely that this consciousness was sealed by Kaguya herself," Kaito replied with a smile.
"Impressive," Izuna said flatly. "And how does this help your current research?"
"It doesn't." Kaito's excited expression instantly fell.
"But," he quickly perked up again, touching the unfamiliar runes on the crystal's surface, "this will greatly help my research on the Ōtsutsuki clan."
"I don't think it will help much," Izuna said with a sidelong glance. "If you want to study the Ōtsutsuki, you might as well take a trip to the moon."
"The moon, huh?" Kaito looked up at the sky. "I'd like to go, but are Hagoromo and Hamura's positions really as they appear?"
He looked down at Ryūmyaku crystal.
"Until I obtain King Enma's power, I'm not confident about facing them."