Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Kazuki's POV
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed in the stone hallway.
But they didn't belong to Naruto.
Someone else was walking. Calm and slow, like the silence was his.
Kazuki moved without stopping.
His black cloak was ripped at the shoulder.
His left hand had blood on it.
And his eyes, glowing faint red, didn't blink as he stepped over the body in front of him.
The man on the ground was older. Covered in scars.
He used to be a Flame-Bearer.
Now he was still and quiet.
Kazuki bent down and touched the flame seal on the man's arm with two fingers.
The mark gave a small glow, then faded away.
"Another broken one," he said in a quiet voice.
He stood and looked at a big stone door ahead.
It was covered in glowing lines of gold and black chakra.
Kazuki lifted his arm.
His own flame mark had changed. It now spread deeper into his skin like branches.
The door glowed brighter.
It opened without a sound.
The room inside was made of smooth black stone.
In the middle was a shrine of old scrolls.
Some were still burning a little. Others were just ashes.
Above them, a huge carving showed a child on fire.
The child was holding the world in one hand and dropping it.
Kazuki stared at it.
Then he spoke to someone behind him.
"He saw me."
Another person was there. Covered in stone armor. Silent.
Kazuki didn't turn to look.
"I didn't think he would reach this place so fast."
The figure stayed quiet.
Kazuki took a slow breath.
"We'll let him keep going. Let him believe this is his story."
He walked to the wall and pressed his hand against it.
A wave of chakra spread across the room.
"He's Uzumaki. He won't stop."
He looked at the carving again.
"But I stopped waiting to be saved."
The Message
Before he left, Kazuki pulled out a kunai.
He scratched a message into the stone near the door.
You are not the first
You are not the flame
– K.Z.