章節 199: Chapter 199 The Land of Ruins
Standing at the top of the cliff, Naruto looked out over a vast, desolate forest. The towering trees and vines that blocked out the sun couldn't completely conceal the ruins and remnants of a once-existing village.
The shady hillside was covered with exposed rocks, and low bushes spread recklessly. The contrast between the dead trees and the nearby lush vegetation was stark, like the landscape of the Mediterranean.
The sound of waves filled his ears, and as he looked further ahead, there was a stagnant pool of water. Naruto nodded and turned his head, noticing white smoke rising on the other side of the island where the three women were staying.
Retracting his gaze, Naruto moved away. When he rejoined the three women, Anko had already prepared some food. Naruto sat down directly, eating while saying, "There are some ruins here. It doesn't look like anyone lives here."
"I really admire you for not showing any excitement when we came ashore." Anko glanced at Naruto and sighed, "Sometimes I really doubt whether I've reached the end of my career as a Jonin."
"Tokubetsu Jonin." Naruto cheekily corrected her.
"What's so special about going ashore?" Naruto said nonchalantly, "We've been floating on the sea for almost a month without any problems. It's impossible not to come across any land eventually."
"Fine." Anko conceded. She felt completely disheartened after drifting for a month, making her doubt her capabilities as a Jonin.
None of her Ninjutsu had anything to do with water, and facing the endless ocean felt like staring into an enormous, boundless blue coffin.
This new team of three Shinobi, each having inherited the legacy of the Sannin, still found themselves overwhelmed by the sea. At one point, Naruto even regretted not having signed a contract with the Mount Myoboku's toads.
At least the toads in Mount Myoboku could transmit messages in both directions, but Katsuyu couldn't. When Katsuyu's clone returns to her main body, Tsunade can only get the message when she summons Katsuyu herself.
"This place could be the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools." Naruto suddenly said.
"The ruins of the Land of Whirlpools?" Anko stared at Naruto for a long time with a perplexed expression, "Isn't that a country that was destroyed in the war a long time ago?"
Naruto nodded and said, "That's what I've heard."
"I heard it was a country famous for its Sealing Techniques. When Konoha was founded, Shodaime Hokage had a good personal relationship with the leader of the Land of Whirlpools, and the two villages established a cooperative relationship."
"But the Sealing Techniques of the Land of Whirlpools was too strong, and the country was destroyed under the joint attack of several sides." Anko explained, "That's all I know, just things I read in books."
Naruto shook his head and said, "For now, we still can't confirm whether it is really the ruins of Land of Whirlpools. Let's find an opportunity to explore in the next couple of days."
"Alright, I'll go with you so we can look out for each other." Anko agreed.
"Okay." Naruto had been waiting for her to say that.
Two more days passed, and finally, there was news from Konoha. Tsunade, upon learning the situation of Anko's team, immediately halted Kakashi's mission and ordered him to lead a team of Anbu to assist them.
When it came to experience in overseas missions, no one could surpass Konoha's most famous person, Kakashi. Tsunade appointed him to lead the rescue team, especially since the mission was in the Land of Whirlpools.
Kakashi had traveled extensively and, while he hadn't been to the Land of Whirlpools, he knew how to handle matters between great nations.
…
In the Land of Whirlpools.
It was a clear day.
Naruto and Anko wandered around the hillside several times and found a circular pit at the site of the Land of Whirlpools ruins. The edge of the pit was inscribed with cryptic text.
"Can you read it?" Anko asked.
"I'm not a local, how could I possibly understand it?" Naruto replied, slightly annoyed, "You can't just assume that just because my last name is Uzumaki, I can read this. I haven't even left Konoha that many times."
"Besides, aren't you a Jonin? Shouldn't you be well-informed?"
"That's just prejudice!" Anko's face turned red as if she had been stabbed in the sore spot. She then said angrily, "Who said that a Jonin must be well-informed? Do you think everyone is Kakashi?"
"Can Kakashi-sensei understand this?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Maybe. He's been to many places, so he might know more." Anko replied, glancing at Naruto again and mumbling.
"Let me say something that might not need saying. Now that Konoha has sent people to rescue us and they might arrive tomorrow, why not wait a little longer? We've survived so far, taking risks now could mean losing everything."
"Yeah, we've made it this far." Naruto unsheathed his sword, gave Anko a side glance, and then jumped into the pit, using his sword to slide down slowly along the rocky walls
He looked up, watching as Anko's figure at the pit's edge grew smaller, and said, "I remember there's a saying: 'since we're already here…'.'"
Inside the ruins, images of Shinigami were everywhere. The walls were carved with various sacrificial rituals. The vibrant and detailed murals covered nearly every inch of the partially collapsed walls.
Naruto stayed at the bottom of the pit for a while, and suddenly heard a scream behind him. He instinctively turned around, just in time to see Anko fall, crashing heavily on top of him.
"Sorry." Anko apologized sheepishly, "I lost my grip halfway through my descent, and fell straight down."
"You are a Jonin now, right?" Naruto's face turned dark.
"Tokubetsu Jonin," Anko reiterated.
"You're really holding a grudge, huh?" Naruto grumbled, "Damn it, just get off me first! If you don't, my bones are going to break!"
"I'm not that heavy!" Anko said annoyedly as she stood up.
"When we go back up later, you'd better not ask me for anything!" Naruto sneered, "You are a half-baked Jonin, and you still want to come down even though I told you not to."
"If you die, I, as the leader of the team, will also be responsible." Anko said nonchalantly, "If I can't go up, I will use my beauty to seduce you."
"You think I'd care? It's not like I haven't seen it before. I remember that you have a small mole under your chest." Naruto chuckled.
"So what if you've seen it?" Anko sneered back, "No matter what you say, I have to keep an eye on you. If you die here, Tsunade-sama would tear me apart."
"Trashy Jonin."
"Perverted Genin."
As they continued to mock each other, they ventured deeper into the ruins. Down below was a structure resembling a sacrificial palace, mostly collapsed and in ruins.
"Why would they build a sacrificial place underground? Is it to save space?" Anko wondered aloud, circling the area with a puzzled expression, "Is it because land was scarce in the Land of Whirlpools, so they moved the altar underground?"
"The Land of Whirlpools is small, but most of its land shows no signs of being cultivated, which means there weren't many people." Naruto said, "It can't be about saving space."
"These statues are terrifyingly grotesque. They must be the deities worshipped by the Land of Whirlpools. But it's odd… Why would they move the worship of gods to such a sunless underground?"
"Who knows." Anko said with her hands folded, " Maybe those gods liked this dungeon-like sacrificial site. After all, who knows what the gods are thinking?"
Naruto stopped, staring at the statues with ferocious expressions, with Anko's words echoing in his mind.
'Dungeon?'
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