Uchiha Demon Dragon - Chapter 10
Chapter 10: The Archives of the Demonic Rocks
The morning sun broke over the Hidden Leaf Village, casting brilliant golden rays across the bustling streets and the newly manicured lawns of the Uchiha compound. Today marked the official first day of the Ninja Academy semester. Hundreds of children, dressed in their finest clothes and clutching beginner’s gear, were excitedly—or nervously—making their way toward the grand gates of the school.
However, Yami Uchiha was not among them.
Instead of walking toward the Academy, Yami found himself standing before the imposing, traditional sliding doors of the Clan Patriarch’s personal estate. He adjusted the pitch-black sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose, hiding the subtle gleam of his Sharingan, and bowed respectfully to the guard at the entrance. Within moments, he was escorted inside, directly into Fugaku Uchiha’s private study.
Fugaku was sitting behind his wide mahogany desk, reviewing a stack of morning patrol reports. He looked up, his permanent scowl softening into an expression of profound bewilderment as he took in the sight of the young boy standing before him.
“Yami,” Fugaku said, his deep voice echoing slightly in the quiet room. “Shouldn’t you be at the Academy right now? Today is your first day of orientation.”
“I know, Fugaku-sama,” Yami replied smoothly, his voice completely even. “But I came to retrieve the library entry token you promised me last night. I decided that reading and expanding my knowledge base takes priority over the introductory lectures.”
Fugaku stared at the six-year-old for a long, silent moment. The idea of a child willingly skipping their very first day of school just to read dusty old scrolls was incredibly bizarre to the hardened clan leader. A low, rumbling chuckle escaped Fugaku’s chest, and he shook his head in fond disbelief.
“Skipping your first day of school… you truly are a very peculiar child, Yami,” Fugaku said, standing up from his desk and walking over to a locked cabinet. He retrieved a small, intricately carved wooden token bearing the Uchiha crest and tossed it gently to the boy. “Very well. If you are that eager to study, I will escort you myself. The library is not a place wandering children are permitted to explore unguided.”
“Thank you, Patriarch-sama,” Yami said, catching the token securely.
Fugaku led Yami out of the estate and through the winding, peaceful paths of the compound until they reached the ancient, secluded Uchiha Shrine situated at the very edge of the district. Moving behind the main altar, Fugaku pressed a hidden mechanism on the stone wall, revealing a dark, descending staircase illuminated by flickering torches.
“The Uchiha clan’s true archive,” Fugaku explained as they walked down into the cool, subterranean depths. “It is built directly beneath the temple. Perfectly guarded, warded against intruders, and containing centuries of our collected history and combat arts.”
At the bottom of the stairs, the dark stone corridor opened into a massive, cavernous library. Thousands of scrolls, ancient tomes, and neatly organized wooden racks lined the walls, stretching as far as the eye could see. The air smelled faintly of old parchment, ink, and cedar wood.
Fugaku stopped at the entrance, gesturing to the vast room. “The first two floors are entirely yours to explore, as per our agreement. Do not damage the scrolls, and do not attempt to venture into the deeper restricted sections without my explicit permission. I will return to fetch you before evening.”
“Understood, sir,” Yami nodded, already stepping eagerly into the archive.
Fugaku turned and left, leaving Yami alone in the silent, sprawling library. Yami took a deep breath, letting the magnitude of his opportunity wash over him. Thousands of jutsu were at his fingertips, but he knew he had to be highly strategic.
He completely bypassed the sections dedicated to Fire, Lightning, or Wind Release. Elemental Ninjutsu was entirely useless to him right now; extracting and molding chakra elements wouldn’t trigger his demonic Talismans. He needed specialized, unique techniques that matched the magical properties of the remaining animals.
Yami made his way toward the dense, dusty racks dedicated to physical conditioning and close-quarters combat. He began pulling out ancient, yellowed scrolls, scanning the dense text with his Sharingan active beneath his sunglasses.
After browsing for nearly an hour, his fingers brushed against a heavy scroll bound in dark red silk. He unrolled it on a nearby study table and began reading. It was a comprehensive training guide detailing the Senju Clan’s legendary ‘Chakra Enhanced Strength’ technique.
Given the thousand-year history of warfare between the Uchiha and the Senju, it made perfect sense that the Uchiha had managed to acquire, dissect, and archive their rival’s prized physical arts.
As Yami’s eyes absorbed the final characters of the intricate chakra-molding pathway, a sharp, crystalline chime rang out in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Host has comprehended a technique matching the magical parameters of the demonic animal.]
[Ox Talisman is now UNLOCKED.]
‘The Ox Talisman grants its bearer the magical power of super strength, dramatically amplifying natural physical might to superhuman levels.’
‘How much maximum strength will increase depends on the Talisman’s current level and the amount of chakra feedback provided.’
Yami smiled faintly, rolling the scroll back up and returning it neatly to its shelf. “Super strength,” he muttered to himself. “Paired with the Rabbit’s speed, I’m slowly becoming an absolute nightmare in close combat.”
He didn’t stop. He turned down another aisle, specifically looking for espionage and infiltration arts. His sharp eyes scanned the shelves until he pulled out a scroll labeled ‘Transparent Escape Technique’, more commonly known as the Camouflage Jutsu.
Yami unrolled it and began reading:
‘The user controls the reflection of light around their body using chakra, causing their form, shadow, and even breathing to become invisible to the unaided eye. Because they perfectly blend in with their surroundings, the user can sneak up behind an enemy without being noticed. Since both their appearance and scent are camouflaged, their presence can only be revealed by the sounds they make.’
As he finished internalizing the mechanics of light refraction and chakra concealment, the system chimed once more.
[Ding!]
[Snake Talisman is now UNLOCKED.]
‘The Snake Talisman grants its bearer the magical power of invisibility, rendering the user unseen to all forms of visual detection. Upon activation, the bearer’s body, clothing, and any items in direct contact vanish completely from sight, leaving no visible trace.’
‘However, the Talisman’s power influences only sight; while invisible, the user can still be detected through sound, touch, or other non-visual means.’
Yami carefully put the scroll away, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. Invisibility and super speed were incredible survival tools. He pivoted toward the medical wing of the archive, determined to find a healing technique.
He bypassed the highly advanced, lethal medical operations and pulled out a basic, introductory scroll on cellular regeneration and wound closure. He sat down and read through the simple exercise of channeling green, medical chakra into damaged tissue.
‘Ding!’
[Horse Talisman is now UNLOCKED.]
‘The Horse Talisman grants its bearer the magical power of healing, capable of fully restoring health by curing both injuries and illnesses. It can close wounds, mend broken bones, and purge the body of poisons or infections. Beyond living subjects, the Talisman can also regenerate and reconstruct non-living matter.’
Yami eagerly pulled up the system interface to inspect his new parameters and check the Talisman’s specific statistics.
—
[Shendu System]
Health: 100%
Chakra: 328/328
Talisman: Tiger Lv3 (40%), Pig Lv2 (66%), Dragon Lv2 (3%), Rabbit Lv2 (7%), Monkey Lv1 (2%), Ox Lv1 (0%), Snake Lv1 (0%), Horse Lv1 (0%)
—
Eight Talismans unlocked. Only four remained: the Rooster, the Sheep, the Dog, and the Rat.
Yami studied the system’s notes on the Horse Talisman’s regenerative capabilities. At Level 1, the Talisman allowed him to heal himself or others at a rate of 10% of total health per minute. According to the system’s internal database, Hashirama Senju’s legendary passive cellular regeneration operated at a blinding 50% recovery per minute—meaning the legendary Hokage could heal completely from fatal wounds in just two minutes. Yami, at his current level, would require ten minutes to fully regenerate.
Furthermore, the magic was not a free cheat; using the Horse Talisman’s healing actively drained his chakra pool. If he ran completely dry in the middle of a battle, his regeneration would instantly halt.
“Still,” Yami thought, tapping his chin, “unlike Hashirama, who can only regenerate his own body, the Horse Talisman lets me heal other people. That’s an incredibly valuable diplomatic and tactical asset.”
Yami spent the next several hours searching the library for any scrolls that might unlock the remaining four talismans. He looked for flight techniques (Rooster), spirit transformation or soul projection (Sheep), extreme longevity or anti-aging seals (Dog), and forbidden reanimation arts (Rat).
However, flying techniques were entirely non-existent in the Hidden Leaf’s standard archives, and the other forbidden arts were locked deep within Fugaku’s restricted, personal vault on the lowest levels. He found absolutely nothing on the open floors.
Sensing he had exhausted the immediate value of the upper levels, Yami decided to focus on utility techniques that would help him survive and train more efficiently. He quickly located a scroll for the ‘Shadow Clone Jutsu’ (Kage Bunshin no Jutsu).
Although it wasn’t a direct trigger for a Talisman, Yami knew that learning the Shadow Clone technique would be remarkably easy with his Sharingan copying the hand seals and chakra flow. Furthermore, if the clones retained experiences and physical training, they might theoretically help him level up his existing Talismans at an accelerated rate.
Finally, while exploring the summonings and contracts section, Yami found a large cabinet filled with animal summoning contracts: toads, snakes, eagles, lions, and crows. He knew from lore that powerful shinobi like Madara and Hashirama famously avoided signing standard animal contracts because their own abilities made them superfluous, and the chakra drain could be significant.
However, after careful consideration, Yami decided to sign a contract with the Nintsu (Ninja Cats).
The reasons were purely pragmatic. The cats maintained a highly favorable, long-standing relationship with the Uchiha clan, and more importantly, the Cat Clan operated the largest, most efficient intelligence and information brokerage network in the entire ninja world. Having eyes and ears everywhere would be an incredible defense against unexpected ambushes or political conspiracies.
By the time the heavy stone door creaked open and Fugaku arrived to escort him out, Yami had successfully memorized the Shadow Clone Jutsu and pricked his thumb in blood to sign the feline contract.
Tucking his newly acquired knowledge safely into his mind, Yami smiled beneath his dark sunglasses, ready to face whatever the Academy and the village had in store for him.