The night in the Valley of the End is filled with the roar of water.
The roar echoed between the towering Uchiha Madara Senju Hashirama and the statue of Madara Uchiha, stirring up a fine, icy mist.
" Uchiha, Kaguya Clan, Uzumaki---" Hizashi Hyuga's gaze slowly swept over the four people behind Asura, finally landing on the young Kimimaro.
"Were the Byakugan that Asura took transplanted into the Kaguya Clan clan?" He was all too familiar with those Byakugan; they were the very eyes that Asura had gouged out of the Main House' eye sockets right in front of him.
Hizashi Hyuga's figure, like a lone goose soaked in the heavy moisture, quietly slipped off the shoulder of the Senju Hashirama statue.
He landed steadily a few steps in front of Asura, his dark casual clothes clinging to his taut body. The bluish-gray " Caged Bird " Cursed Seal on his forehead, under the moonlight and moisture, looked like a mark of shame branded into his soul.
He took a deep breath of the watery, fishy air, knelt on one knee, bowed his head deeply, and said respectfully, "Lord Asura."
Menma slightly raised his white Three-Eyed Fox Mask, his two deep gazes falling on the lowered head of Hizashi.
"You've arrived." Without saying much, Menma nodded slightly, the Nine Mask Svāhā pattern on his cloak fluttering in the wind.
Then, he turned around, his black robe drawing a sharp arc in the damp night wind, and headed ahead towards the depths of the roaring waterfall, towards the darkness swallowed by the ancient forest.
Uchiha Hikari, Shisui, Uzumaki Fuka, Kaguya Kimimaro followed silently like shadows.
Their movements were swift and light, skimming over damp rocks and tangled tree roots as they traversed the forest.
As Shisui Uchiha moved at full speed, his gaze involuntarily swept over Hyuga Hizashi Hyuga not far ahead once more.
That silhouette.
Shisui, the head of the Branch House who was least likely to betray Miyo, tried to find a trace of coercion in Hizashi, but only saw an almost resolute silence.
The Hizashi seemed to sense the watchful gaze, his steps faltering almost imperceptibly, his back straightening even more.
But he never looked back.
Between the two lies the surging river, the roaring waterfall, and even more so, the unfathomable chasm called "position."
In the end, all the complex emotions turned into a silent heaviness, which they swallowed and buried deep beneath their hurried footsteps. In the depths of the forest on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, the roar of the waterfall was deafening.
As the group followed Asura forward, they parted the thick, curtain-like, slippery vines, and a cold wind carrying the scent of moss and rock rushed towards them.
The entrance to the cave resembles the slightly open mouth of a giant beast. The emerald green spring water at the bottom of the cave quietly emits a mysterious and cool halo, making the uneven contours of the cave walls appear ghostly.
"Keep up." Asura's deep voice came through the mask.
He was the first to jump into the icy spring water. The surface of the water only rippled slightly before his figure quickly sank.
Uzumaki Fuka followed closely behind, her red hair appearing like a burning flame in the water, fleeting in an instant.
Uchiha Hikari, Kimimaro, Shisui, and Hizashi were swallowed up in turn.
A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped my entire body.
After diving several meters, the light suddenly changed, and everyone leaped out of the water.
What lies before us is a strange, open passage.
A pale green glow seemed to spread from nowhere, filling the entire space with a soft yet unnatural and eerie feeling.
The passage lost its normal gravity, and countless fist-sized bubbles, emitting a soft, pale yellow light, floated and drifted silently like jellyfish in a dream.
The grayish-white round stone spheres of varying sizes also lost their weight, floating haphazardly among the light bubbles, like solidified stars.
The group adjusted their posture and stepped onto the floating stone sphere.
A hard sensation came from beneath my feet. With a gentle push, my body leaped up as lightly as a feather and floated into the depths of the passage.
All around was deathly silent, with only the sound of my own heartbeat and blood flowing amplified in my ears.
"Where is this?" Uzumaki Fuka watched as the pale yellow light bubble silently drifted past her, emitting a faint yet alluring spiritual fluctuation.
"Be careful, these are all illusion traps," Menma warned the group.
Upon hearing this, Shisui Uchiha cautiously avoided them, his sharp gaze sweeping ahead.
However, when his gaze fell upon a bubble, his eyes seemed to be drawn by some force.
Buzz!
Zheng Shui's gaze instantly became unfocused.
The fantastical passage before them was distorted and faded, replaced by a blood-red sky and a burning homeland!
The piercing screams, the sound of cold blades cutting flesh, the falling figures of his clansmen, Sasuke's heart-wrenching cries—every detail of the Night of the Massacre carried a pain and despair more intense than reality itself, like a surging tide that completely overwhelmed him!
He felt as if he were back in that situation, gripped tightly by that profound sense of powerlessness and heart-wrenching guilt, unable to breathe, his body trembling slightly in the weightlessness, like a drowning person on the verge of death.
At almost the same moment, Hizashi Hyuga was also captured by another pale yellow orb of light.
Hizashi's Byakugan instinctively detected the abnormal fluctuations in mental energy, but the heavy shackles of the " Caged Bird " and his deep-seated worry for Neji's future made this illusion the perfect breeding ground.
The scene before him suddenly changed, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already in the rain in front of the Konoha Memorial Stone.
He "saw" his own body being buried.
Young Neji nestled in his mother's arms, weeping, rain mingling with his tears as it washed over his tender yet distorted face.
Those once pure Byakugan burned with a deep-seated hatred for the Main House, for fate, and for Konoha!
That look in his eyes filled Hizashi with more suffocation and terror than any form of torture!
It was as if the son he tried everything to protect was ultimately pushed into the abyss of hatred by a fate he could not escape.
The immense pain left him frozen on the stone sphere, as if his soul had been ripped away.
"Wake up!"
A low shout, like a thunderclap piercing through the fog, exploded deep within their souls!
The Asura held a bamboo scroll in his hand, which emitted a faint red glow.
The light spread rapidly like ripples on water, forming a semi-transparent, pale red light shield that steadily enveloped the entire team.
The moment the light shield formed, Shisui and Hizashi were as if dragged out of the deep sea by an invisible, enormous force!
Their eyes cleared instantly, and their heavy breathing could be clearly heard in the silent passage.
Cold sweat soaked through their undershirts; the excruciating pain and despair they had just experienced were so real.
The two instinctively looked at the Book of Vermilion Moon in Asura's hand, their eyes filled with shock and gratitude.
Uchiha Hikari's cold gaze swept over their pale faces as he spoke, "This kind of illusionary trap is activated by exploiting the infiltrator's strongest emotions or weaknesses to construct a corresponding illusion. Its strength isn't top-tier, but its advantage lies in its concealment and precision. Those with weak willpower or preoccupied with worries are easily captured and ensnared."
Upon hearing this, Shisui and Hizashi were both shocked. They pressed their lips tightly together, suppressing their surging emotions, and their eyes became more solemn and focused than ever before, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.
Protected by the pale red shield, the team continued leaping forward along this dreamlike yet dangerous passage.
In zero gravity, each jump using the stone spheres requires precise control. The passage seems endless, with only floating light bubbles and silent stone spheres.
After an unknown amount of time, a rich green halo finally appeared ahead again, along with another spring exuding the same aura.
"Export," Asura said succinctly.
Without further hesitation, everyone leaped into the green light one by one.
Splash! Splash!
The sound of water breaking through the surface rang out one after another.
The scene before them suddenly changed drastically; the intense light caused the group, who had just emerged from the dark passage, to instinctively squint.
A space even larger and more fantastical than the previous passageway cave unfolded before our eyes!
The cave walls were no longer rough rock, but were densely inlaid with countless huge, translucent cylindrical crystals!
These crystals, varying in length and thickness, shimmered with a silvery light, like giant natural light tubes, illuminating the entire cave and creating a surreal, mesmerizing atmosphere.
In the air, there were more pale yellow light bubbles, and their density was greater, like countless lazy eyes, silently drifting in this space.
The group had just regained their footing and were cautiously observing this extraordinary sight.
Sudden!
Boom!
The dense cluster of crystals on one side of the cave wall suddenly exploded without warning!
Countless colorful crystal fragments shot out like a torrential rain!
Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of metal scraping and rocks cracking, an enormous shadow suddenly burst out of the wall, carrying with it debris and violent air currents, and fiercely pounced on Asura at the forefront of the group!
It was a ferocious and terrifying giant crab with a carapace that shimmered with iridescent metallic luster. Its two house-sized pincers were raised high, and the joints made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, like two giant battering rams that slammed down!
Even before the giant pincers arrived, the strong wind they generated already made everyone's clothes flutter loudly!
"Watch out!" Uzumaki Fuka reacted the fastest.
" Adamantine Sealing Chains!" With a sharp shout, several chakra chains, each as thick as an adult's arm and covered in golden runes, appeared out of thin air!
The chains, as if possessing a life of their own, wrapped around the two massive pincers of the giant crab puppet with perfect precision as it swung down!
A powerful binding force erupted, firmly holding the massive pincers in mid-air. No matter how much the puppet struggled and roared, its metal joints emitting ear-piercing groans, it could not fall even an inch further!
The moment the giant pincers were locked, a cold figure shot out from the side like an arrow!
Kaguya Kimimaro's pale face was expressionless, her Byakugan filled only with pure killing intent and focused concentration on battle.
" Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!" With a low shout, the skin on the tips of his ten fingers instantly shattered, and ten sharp, white finger bones, gleaming with a cold metallic light, shot out like cannonballs, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, transforming into ten white streaks of light that were indistinguishable to the naked eye!
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
Precise! Ruthless!
All ten bone spurs hit the crab's shell without the slightest deviation!
Crack! Boom!
A teeth-grinding cracking sound was followed by a muffled explosion.
The Cancer Puppet's massive body stiffened abruptly, the light in its eyes vanished instantly, and all its struggling movements ceased abruptly.
The colorful shell was pierced, and the giant crab, like a collapsing hill, crashed to the ground with a broken groan, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"Puppet." Kimimaro landed lightly, his voice flat and emotionless, as if he had merely crushed an insect.
Menma Fox slowly stepped forward, its cold face looking down at the lifeless remains of the puppet at its feet.
If I remember correctly, this puppet is the guardian responsible for producing illusion bubbles, and also the final guardian of this passage.
His gaze swept over the crab's broken structure, and a deep voice came through the mask. "It seems the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon already knows of our arrival."
Menma finished speaking, an invisible sense of crisis instantly filled everyone's hearts.
The group did not linger there.
Led by Menma, they remained highly vigilant, cautiously navigating the eerie cave filled with glowing crystal pillars and floating light bubbles.
Finally, the endless crystal forest ahead was no longer there; a huge cave appeared before them, which invigorated everyone, and they quickened their pace and ran towards the cave entrance.
The moment they stepped out of the cave, the intense light caused everyone to instinctively raise their hands to shield their eyes.
"Where is this?" As their eyes adjusted, the scene before them unfolded like a miraculous scroll, instantly captivating everyone's attention and even causing them to hold their breath!
Vast! Boundless!
A vast, calm ocean filled almost the entire field of vision, stretching to the very limit of what the eye could see!
Across the sea, a mountain range appeared, behind which lay another ocean, but in a completely illogical, enormous, upward-curving arc!
The curve was so pronounced that one could clearly see the azure sea surface, like the inner wall of a giant bowl, extending upwards and closing towards the dome!
On this winding ocean, several islands covered with lush green vegetation and of various shapes seem to be held up by an invisible hand of God, quietly and steadily "floating" on the curved "sea surface"!
"How... how is this possible?!" Uzumaki Fuka exclaimed in shock, her face filled with astonishment.
"Islands floating in the sky?!"
Menma stood quietly watching, his black robe fluttering slightly in the wind.
"It's not floating." He looked up at the very top of the dome, at the "sun" radiating warm and gentle light.
"We have now reached the interior of the moon. The 'sea' you see curving upwards is not an illusion, but the inner dome of this vast, enclosed space. Those 'islands' are landmasses attached to the inner wall of the moon. The 'sky' we see is merely the inner wall on the other side."
"And this—" he pointed to the blazing "sun" at the center of the dome. "This is our destination."
The interior of the moon?!
Those four simple words exploded in everyone's mind!
They had looked up at the sky more than once when they were in the Shinobi World, and even looked at the moon with a telescope, but they only knew that the moon was a huge, lifeless sphere, and had never heard of such a world inside the moon.
Is this the legendary hidden world that Otsutsuki Hamura younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths, has protected for a thousand years?
Everyone looked up in unison, their gazes fixed on the "sun" radiating warm light at the center of the dome.
" Nine Mask Svāhā!" Menma Hand Seals, and two formations appeared behind him.
The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird, both wearing masks, leaped out of the formation.