This was a wide valley, with abysses standing on either side, the view blurred.
Faint lines could be seen in the distance, likely the outlines of mountains and rocks.
"It's so dark in here." Tenten said in a trembling voice.
"Tenten, did you hear that just now?" Naruto suddenly asked.
"Footsteps. There are only two of us, so why are there three sets of footsteps?" Naruto said in a low voice.
"Ah!" Tenten’s face instantly turned pale, "Where? Where? There can’t be…"
"Haha, how is that possible?" Naruto waved it off nonchalantly and laughed.
"You almost scared me to death, Naruto!" Tenten exhaled deeply and smacked him lightly, "You’re so annoying, always teasing me."
"Let's go, let’s check out that door," Naruto said, brushing it off. In fact, he wasn’t lying, and there really was a third set of footsteps.
But he didn’t care. No one understood the Shinigami better than he did.
Besides, this was the Land of Whirlpools, the nation that had mastered Sealing Techniques to an art form. It wouldn’t be surprising if a few consciousnesses were sealed in this sacrificial valley.
After all, back in the Kyubi’s prison, the consciousnesses of Minato and Kushina had been sealed.
If that was possible, then in the Land of Whirlpools, even if war had destroyed the nation, it wouldn’t have left nothing behind.
The valley floor was pitch black as the two of them walked forward, their goal being the door embedded in the stone wall ahead.
The harsh beam of their flashlight illuminated a cone-shaped area, and their footsteps crunched softly against the ground.
"Naruto, did the Land of Whirlpools fall into ruin because of the war?" Tenten suddenly asked.
"Why are you asking that?" Naruto was a little surprised.
"Because it’s strange. We’ve searched the entire island, but we haven’t found any weapons." Tenten said, sticking close behind Naruto, not daring to leave his side.
She had seen those kinds of movies and knew that in situations , if two people let embarrassment create distance between them, one might suddenly find their companion replaced by something else.
Tenten thought those clichéd scenes where people split up or argued and drifted apart were utterly stupid. If it were her, she’d want to stick to her teammate like glue.
In an environment , the emotional support a partner could provide was invaluable.
"Maybe they didn’t use weapons to fight. The Uzumaki Clan was famous for their Sealing Techniques. Maybe everyone had their own Sealing Technique." Naruto said dismissively.
"Really? But wouldn’t the Shinobi attacking them have brought weapons?" Tenten asked, puzzled. The more she thought about it, the more eerie it felt.
"Is this really the Land of Whirlpools?"
"One hundred percent genuine Land of Whirlpools’ ruins." Naruto said, still dragging Tenten forward, "If you don’t trust others, at least trust me, the Uzumaki Clan’s Clan Leader, right?"
"But it's really strange, there's no trace of anything." Tenten lowered her voice, "Naruto, I think there’s something off about this island."
"It's fine, Tenten. This place is safe." Naruto was only focused on getting the ‘Anywhere Door’, and didn't care about anything else.
"This place feels like home to me."
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A cold wind blew past, making Tenten shiver. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something and nearly screamed. She swallowed hard.
"Naruto! Someone just passed by!"
"You’re seeing things. There’s only the two of us here. There’s no one else?" Naruto said, completely unfazed. He still stubbornly held Tenten's hand and walked forward.
"I really saw it, I swear!" Tenten was on the verge of tears.
"Alright, you’re right," Naruto stopped and placed his hands on Tenten’s shoulders, speaking earnestly, "Tenten, they can hear us talking."
"Is it really okay for you to be discussing this so loudly and blatantly?" He asked.
"I…" Tenten was trembling, thinking to herself, ‘I have no idea. These things were just... instinctive reactions, right?’
But she quickly realized her mistake and immediately pressed her lips together, staying silent.
"It's fine. Keep talking. You’re too quiet, and it’s making me uncomfortable." Naruto suddenly interjected, leaving Tenten speechless.
"Anyway, we’re going to have to talk eventually. Let them hear if they want." He said.
"Naruto, who are they?" Tenten asked nervously.
"I don't know. Why don’t you call out and ask them to show themselves?" Naruto said, pulling Tenten closer to the door without looking back.
Fortunately, Naruto didn’t keep Tenten in suspense for too long. As they walked, he began to explain his reasoning bit by bit.
"This is indeed the Land of Whirlpools. Many years ago, a war broke out here. It was likely fought over the Sealing Techniques that could control the Biju. At least two nations sent troops to attack the Land of Whirlpools."
"The timing was probably shortly after the death of the Shodaime Hokage. Konoha became a target, and the Biju went from natural disasters to controllable weapons of mass destruction."
Hearing this, Tenten quietly swallowed hard.
"Then, the nation was destroyed." Naruto casually, "The Shodaime Hokage had a good relationship with the Uzumaki Clan, but times change, and things don’t always go as planned."
"That era had its fair share of lunatics. The Kaguya Clan from the Land of Water, for example, were a bunch of maniacs. From what I know, they were quite numerous before the Second Shinobi World War, and they didn’t use weapons."
"Because their weapons were their own bodies. The Kaguya Clan suffered from a bloodline disease that made them mentally unstable. Their bones could transform into sharp weapons."
"Naruto, are you saying they were deployed to the Land of Whirlpools?" Tenten was a little surprised. Looking around, she was more inclined to believe that the people hiding in the darkness were from the Land of Whirlpools.
As a result, she became even more cautious, afraid of saying the wrong thing and provoking them to leap out from the shadows.
"Do you remember the nations I mentioned that participated in the war against the Land of Whirlpools?" Naruto suddenly asked.
"Y-yes, you said at least two nations were involved." Tenten replied, her memory sharp even under stress.
"Which two nations? The Konoha archives don’t have any records of that period." She added.
"Well, it’s most likely that the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning were involved. It might have been a surprise attack, catching everyone off guard and quickly overwhelming the Land of Whirlpools."
Naruto was now very close to the stone wall. Just a little further, and they would reach it, so his speech naturally slowed down.
"From a geographical point of view, Kirigakure and Kumogakure have natural advantages. In addition, the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, is known as the Perfect Jinchuriki, and Kumogakure developed the Biju a long time ago."
"Sunagakure’s Biju, Shukaku, only obeyed the old monk, Bunpuku. After Bunpuku’s death, Sunagakure didn’t even have the ability to fully suppress Shukaku. Once the Jinchuriki fell asleep, Shukaku would regain its freedom."
"As for Iwagakure, their method of taming Biju was similar to Bunpuku’s… relying on rigorous training to build a relationship with the Biju."
Naruto’s reasoning was clear.