A few meters beneath a massive boulder, a stone coffin hung in the darkness, covered in densely packed, intricate characters that glowed faintly. The mysterious patterns made it seem as though the coffin had escaped time itself, quietly waiting for the day it would see the light again.
"...Dig, dig, dig, plant the tiny seed, and watch the tiny flower bloom..."
Inside the stone coffin, a figure that had been lonely for years slowly lifted her head from the confined space. She hadn't heard any sound in ages, but now, she faintly picked up a song from above.
"What a terrible voice..."
The space in the coffin was limited, and she couldn't even raise her hand to cover her ears. Frustrated, she shut her crimson eyes and tried to block out the annoying song, silently cursing in her mind.
"If I find out who's singing, I'll tear their tongue out."
"In the big, big garden, dig, dig, dig, plant the big, big seed, and... huh? What's this hard thing?"
Singing as he dug, Uchiha Gin suddenly paused when his shovel struck something hard beneath the ground.
"Did I just hit something?"
Surprised, Uchiha Gin activated his Byakugan to scan the object, only to find his vision blocked. A force had twisted the space, preventing him from seeing the object clearly.
"Come on, I don't believe this."
Determined, he pushed his Byakugan to the maximum, flooding it with chakra. Gradually, his eyes began to pierce through the spatial distortion, revealing a faint image of a stone coffin.
Still not clear enough. For the so-called "strongest vision," it's not doing the job. Fueled by a strange sense of competition, Gin poured more chakra into his Byakugan until his eyes felt like they would burst. The vision gradually sharpened until suddenly, with a flash of blue light, the discomfort vanished.
If Uchiha Gin could see his eyes now, he'd realize they had transformed. What had been pure white was now tinged with color—black had spread across the sclera, and the pupils had turned a fresh shade of light blue.
"Why can I see colors now?"
Blinking his refreshed eyes, Uchiha Gin noticed that his 360° field of view was now in full color, unlike the previous X-ray-like perspective.
"I've heard the Byakugan can evolve, but this doesn't seem like the Tenseigan."
Taking out a mirror, he examined his newly transformed eyes, stroking his chin as he tried to sense their power. It wasn't as overwhelmingly strong as the Tenseigan described in the original texts.
"Whatever, this can be studied later."
He put the mirror away and used his eyes to take another look at the object underground. With his new vision, he easily pierced through the spatial barrier, revealing a stone coffin covered in sealing runes. Inside, he could even make out a girl lying with her head bowed, her face hidden.
"Tch, nothing special... but she's really pale—wait, what?!"
Still not used to his upgraded vision, Uchiha Gin had unintentionally seen through the girl's entire body. Realizing what he'd done, he hurriedly shut off his Byakugan, muttering to himself, "Ignorance is innocence."
Now that he was sure the object underground was the sealed girl named Nameless, Uchiha Gin spat into his hands, grabbed his shovel, and resumed digging with vigor, determined to free her as soon as possible.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who the hell is knocking now?"
Just as the annoying singing had finally stopped, the girl inside the coffin heard a persistent knocking from above. Furious, she clenched her fists and grit her teeth, wishing she could rush out and unleash a Tsukuyomi attack on whoever was responsible.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Is anyone home? Community outreach service!"
Having finally unearthed the entire stone coffin, Uchiha Gin wiped away non-existent sweat and walked over to knock on the coffin door. In a polite tone, he called out, "Excuse me?"
"This guy must be an idiot..."
Inside the coffin, the girl rolled her eyes, baffled by what she was hearing. She had no idea how many years had passed, but surely humans hadn't regressed this much, right?
"Why does that voice sound familiar?"
As the girl listened to the muttering outside, she couldn't help but feel like she recognized the voice. It sounded weak and lethargic, but there was something oddly familiar about it.
"...I know you're in there! If you've got the guts, open the door! Stop hiding inside!"
"No, definitely not someone I know."
Shaking her head vigorously, the girl fiercely denied any association with the person outside.
"Gin, did you find it?"
Looking up from his deep pit, Uchiha Gin saw a familiar figure standing at the edge. He put away his shovel, jumped out of the hole, and patted the dust off his clothes. "Uncle, you're late. I've already unearthed the seal."
The newcomer was none other than Uchiha Tajima. With a grave expression, Tajima glanced at the stone coffin, its surface covered with runes, and frowned.
"This is the Sarutobi clan's seal. That's going to be tricky."
Tajima, with his vast experience, immediately recognized the Sarutobi clan's emblem and the unique runes they used for sealing.
"Is it that tough?"
Seeing Tajima's troubled face, Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow. If even his uncle was finding it difficult, the Sarutobi clan must not be pushovers.
"Hmph, mere child's play."
Prideful as always, Uchiha Tajima wasn't about to be intimidated by a minor challenge. Activating his Sharingan, he scanned the entire coffin, looking for a flaw in the seal.
"Found it."
After examining the seal for some time, Tajima suddenly smiled and leapt down into the pit, motioning for Gin to follow.
"It's here—the weak point in the Sarutobi clan's seal."
Pointing to a small emblem resembling a person, Tajima explained, "This emblem of the Sarutobi clan is the key to breaking the seal."
Placing his hand over the emblem, he infused it with chakra. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, his expression complicated as he gazed at the coffin.
"It's a spatial seal. No wonder the coffin's been frozen in time."
"A spatial seal?"
Hearing this term for the first time, Uchiha Gin looked up curiously, eager for an explanation.
"The Sarutobi clan used a sealing technique to anchor this coffin to a point outside of time, effectively exiling it from the flow of time."
"This is my first time seeing something like this."
Tajima added, clearly trying to shift any blame.
Uchiha Gin was confused. It sounded like a storage scroll, but those couldn't store living beings. This seal, on the other hand, could imprison someone alive.
"So, what about her now?"
Exiled outside of time—what had the girl inside the coffin experienced all these years?
"She's in the same state as when she was sealed. Her consciousness should still be—"
Tajima cut himself off, remembering that Uchiha Gin had regained his memories, and quickly stopped mid-sentence.
"So you're saying Nameless has been fully conscious, lying in a pitch-black coffin for over a decade?"
Uchiha Gin fell silent. Before, he hadn't felt much emotion about this, but after watching several days of drama, he found himself deeply moved by the story of the girl named Hikari. No matter what, he had to save this pitiful girl.
"You old geezer, step aside and let me show you my secret weapon!"
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