Ancient Ruins and History

Jiraiya emerged from the woods, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards a certain part of Hinata's body. He teased, "It's only been a few months, but I didn't expect you to have grown so much!"

Hinata, oblivious to Jiraiya's lewd gaze, humbly replied, "Yes! I have indeed made some progress recently!"

Naruto stubbornly got up from the ground, glanced at Hinata, and then looked away as if he had seen some kind of monster. He looked around and didn't dare to look at Hinata again.

"Pervy Sage, what exactly are these ancient ruins you've encountered?"

Hinata got straight to the point.

Speaking of which, Hinata was quite curious about the ancient ruins that Black Zetsu had created.

When Black Zetsu was questioned before, Black Zetsu gave vague answers and refused to tell her the Hinata.

Jiraiya walked over, recalled for a moment, and recounted, "Some time ago, I was guiding Naruto's training in the wilderness..."

Naruto complained, "I trained all by myself!"

Jiraiya coughed lightly, glanced at Naruto, and said sternly, "Shut up! We're talking about serious business."

Naruto: "..."

Jiraiya continued, "At the bottom of a cliff, Naruto attacked the mountain wall with the Rasengan. Unexpectedly, the mountain wall collapsed, revealing a cave inside."

Naruto entered the cave to investigate, but the Natural Energy inside was extremely volatile. Naruto lost control of his emotions, and even the Nine-Tails almost unleashed its power.

"Fortunately, I arrived in time, otherwise Naruto might have died in the cave."

Hinata nodded repeatedly and pressed for an answer, "And then what happened?"

Jiraiya's expression was somewhat solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Later... Naruto and Naruto wanted to explore the cave, but the cave was very strange and full of dangers. We only saw some written records on the outside."

At this point, Jiraiya said smugly, "This immortal is learned in both ancient and modern times, and I can tell at a glance that those are ancient characters."

"That cave is probably an ancient relic, and it may contain some ancient secrets."

Turning his gaze to Hinata, Jiraiya continued, "Hinata, you should also know that since the birth of ninjas, due to the 'Ninja Confidentiality Regulations,' much of the history has been unclear, and even Konoha doesn't have many related records."

"The discovery of ancient ruins may allow us to understand some of the truths of history!"

Hinata nodded knowingly.

Not to mention that the history of the Shinobi World was altered by Black Zetsu, the 'Ninja Confidentiality Regulations' alone have caused many truths to be buried in history.

In the Original Story, the ninjas of Kirigakure were unaware of even the abilities of their Second Mizukage.

Much of the history Hinata learned at the Ninja Academy has been altered, and much more has been concealed.

Some were made by Black Zetsu, and some were made by the ninjas themselves.

Hinata said seriously, "Indeed! Ancient ruins can help us learn some secrets from ancient times, so as to better understand the Ninja World and find the real reason for the chaos in the Shinobi World."

Jiraiya and said, "That's right! That's what I think too!"

"For many years, I have traveled throughout the Shinobi World in search of the true meaning of peace and the root of hatred."

"Only..."

Naruto looked at Hinata and Jiraiya with a completely bewildered expression. For Naruto, a poor student, he probably didn't even know what 'history' meant.

Hinata asked curiously, "Pervy Sage, didn't you see some written records at the entrance? What did they say?"

"This..."

Jiraiya embarrassed and awkwardly changed the subject. "It's getting late... Hinata, let's find a place to stay first, and we can explore the ancient ruins tomorrow morning."

Hinata looked up at the sky.

"Pervy Sage, it's still morning!"

"Cough cough!"

Jiraiya coughed and chuckled, saying, "Oh? Is that so? Then let's get going!"

Hinata couldn't bear to reveal the truth, after all, Jiraiya was already quite old, and she didn't want to hurt his remaining pride...

After calling out to Hinata and Naruto, Jiraiya said, "Let's go!"

The entrance to the ancient ruins was not far from where Naruto trained. A dozen minutes later, Hinata and her group of five arrived at the entrance.

Hinata looked into the cave, but it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything clearly.

Even the ability to Natural Sensing is hindered.

Hinata and Jiraiya exchanged a glance, Jiraiya explained, "The Natural Energy inside the cave is extremely chaotic and immense, as if it has connected the entire mountain into one whole."

Hinata's expression was grave.

Black Zetsu is really capable!

The entire cave was filled with chaotic and enormous Natural Energy. Under Natural Sensing, the entire mountain was a whole of Natural Energy, and the specific situation inside the cave could not be perceived at all.

Jiraiya continued, "It's relatively safe at first, let's go in and take a look."

Hinata nodded. "Wind God, Thunder God, you two guard the door."

"Yes, boss!"

Jiraiya glanced at the two fat men and laughed, "I didn't expect you two to be released too."

Their gazes shifted to Naruto and Hinata.

Let's go!

Jiraiya prepared torches and led Naruto and Hinata into the cave.

"Byakugan!"

Activating her Byakugan, Hinata could roughly see some things in the black and white world.

Although Hinata's Byakugan vision was somewhat obstructed, her Dojutsu power had been enhanced, allowing her to see the interior of the cave clearly.

"Pervy Sage, the cave is a giant labyrinth. The presence of Natural Energy will cause those who enter to become confused and lose themselves within. The center of the mountain is hollow; if we continue forward, we will see a huge pit, the bottom of which is filled with lava..."

"Hmm... it's a bit like a volcano, except it doesn't have a crater."

Jiraiya nodded. Now that they had a general understanding of the situation, the next step was to explore.

"Ugh... Ughhhhh!"

Naruto's expression suddenly turned ferocious, as if he was enduring great pain.

Jiraiya said gravely, "Naruto can't handle the chaotic Natural Energy yet. It wasn't this fast last time... The Natural Energy in the cave is even more chaotic now!"

Hinata turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto's current situation is somewhat similar to Jugo's; both are confused due to interference from Natural Energy.

However, the Natural Energy in this cave is obviously more chaotic and volatile, and those who have not cultivated Senjutsu are not qualified to enter even a step.

Hinata placed her hand on Naruto and asked with concern, "Naruto?"

Naruto's eyes regained their focus, and he nodded, saying, "Thank you, Hinata, I'm alright now!"

Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "Naruto, why don't you go out first?"

Naruto shook his head, his tone firm. "No! We've come this far, and I'd be unwilling to give up if I didn't see it for myself!"

Hinata reassured her, "It's alright! I can look after Naruto for now. If there's still danger later, we'll let Naruto go out!"

Jiraiya glanced at Naruto and said helplessly, "That's the only way!"