Naruto caught the rice ball as if holding some rare treasure. He took a bite, and the cold and stiff rice spread in his mouth, but it made him feel a sense of peace that he had not seen for a long time.
"Thank you." Naruto said vaguely, "When we go out, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen. A big bowl of barbecued pork, plus Naruto roll."
"Let's get out alive first." Sasuke turned around and looked at the closed door, "There is a sound of wind behind the door. That is the only way out."
The metal door was at least half a meter thick, with Land of Snow's unique hexagonal snowflake emblem engraved on it. There were several broken bones stuck in the rusty door cracks, and the shape did not look human.
"I can't push it open." Naruto put his shoulder against the door, his face turned red from suppressing it, and the metal floor under his feet was scratched, "Is this thing welded to death?"
"This is a hydraulic door. It is not driven by electricity. Even if you are Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, you can't push it open with just brute force... forget it, you couldn't push it open before." Sasuke fiddled with the control panel next to the door and took off the cover. There was a mess of wires inside.
"Hey, don't hurt me at this time." Naruto gasped and came back, rubbing his frozen hands, "The same goes for you. You used to cut this kind of door open with just one knife."
The two looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.
This is the price of growing old and the reality after losing strength. Two people who once could flatten mountains with just a snap of their fingers are now blocked by a broken door.
"The wiring is completely aged." Sasuke threw away the broken wire in his hand, "But the mechanical structure is still there. Look for a manual crank or a spare hydraulic pump."
They rummaged through the surrounding ruins. It was like a huge garbage dump, filled with abandoned "Chakra Armor" prototypes. Some had only half a torso, and some had weird prosthetics.
Naruto pulled out a long metal pole from a pile of scrap metal. "Will this work?"
"That's Drive Shaft, it can't be inserted."
"Where's this?" Naruto raised something that looked like a steering wheel.
"That's the valve."
"Tsk, this is really troublesome." Naruto kicked away a tin can at his feet.
Clang.
The jar rolled several times and hit a skeleton in the corner. The skeleton was holding a thick notebook in its arms. Although the cover was rotten, the paper inside was still intact due to the low temperature.
Sasuke walked over to pick up the notes and dusted them off.
"What is this?" Naruto came over.
"It's a log left by an engineer here before." Sasuke quickly flipped through it with the help of a weak fluorescent stick, "..."Master Kazahana Dōtō is too ambitious. He wants to create an armor that can automatically absorb Natural Energy, but this is simply impossible. The experimental subjects have all lost control and turned into monsters that only know how to devour... We will seal them at the bottom, hoping that no one will ever open this door."
"Monsters that only know how to devour..." Naruto thought of the "Subject 01" just now, "It seems that Code guy dug out old antiques from decades ago and added some new materials."
"It's not just new materials." Sasuke pointed to the last few pages of the diary, where the handwriting became wildly scrawled, "Black blood... black blood seeping out from the ground... it gives life to metal and makes dead flesh start to beat. That's a curse, not technology."
"Black blood... is that kind of thing Black Oil." Naruto frowned, "Where did that thing come from?"
"I don't know. But this diary mentioned that behind this door is a huge Elevator Platform, leading directly to the surface." Sasuke closed the note, "As long as you can hit Gate of Opening."
"Since you can't find the key, let's pick the lock." Naruto inserted the Drive Shaft just now into the crack of the door, "Here, help me with the handle."
Sasuke didn't object. One on the left and one on the right, the two of them held the rough iron rod.
"One, two, three!"
Crunch--
The harsh sound of metal friction echoed in the silent underground. The rust in the crack of the door rustled down, and the heavy door was finally pried open with a gap that only allowed one person to pass through.
A biting cold wind mixed with a musty smell hit my face.
Behind the door is a huge shaft, which is bottomless and has no end. There is a huge square platform in the middle, surrounded by only a few shaky cables.
"Is this the so-called elevator?" Naruto looked at the platform that might fall apart at any time, "I think it's even less reliable than that door."
"This is the only way." Sasuke got in first and jumped onto the platform.
The platform shook and let out a panicked groan.
Naruto follows closely.
Just when the two of them had just stood firm, there was a sudden ticking sound above their heads.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
A drop of black mucus landed on the tip of Naruto's nose. He subconsciously reached out to wipe it, but felt a burning sting.
"Hiss--this thing!" Naruto shook his hand, and the drop of Black Oil smoked on the ground.
The two men raised their heads suddenly.
I saw that the wall of the well dozens of meters above my head was densely covered with black things. They were not insects, but the Black Oil that had been blown away before. They were regrouping and flowing down the well wall like a waterfall.
"It's coming!" Naruto shouted.
"Damn, it's sensing Chakra." Sasuke looked at a winch in the center of the platform, "Quick, turn that! Raise it up manually!"
The two of them rushed to the winch. The winch was so huge that it was originally supposed to be driven by a steam engine, but now it could only rely on manpower.
Naruto and Sasuke grabbed the handles on both sides respectively, gritted their teeth, and began to exert force.
Click. Click.
The winch rotates extremely slowly. The rusty gears bite together, and each rotation requires a huge amount of effort.
"This is too heavy!" Naruto had veins popping up on his forehead, "Is this really for people?"
"Shut up and try harder!" Sasuke's face turned a little pale, and there was an excruciating pain from the fractured bone in his left arm, but he remained silent.
The platform began to rise slowly.
The Black Oil waterfalls below are getting closer and closer. They are no longer in liquid form, but condensed into countless black arms, scrambling to catch them on the platform.
"Hurry up! Hurry up!" Naruto shouted.
A black arm reached the edge of the platform and instantly corroded the railing.
Sasuke let go of one hand, pulled out Kusanagi Sword and cut off the arm with a wave.
"Don't be distracted! Keep spinning!"
The two of them were like grinding donkeys, desperately squeezing out the remaining energy in their bodies in this rusty mechanical cemetery.
The sweat turned to ice as soon as it came out, and was melted by the steaming heat in the body. Naruto felt like his lungs were about to explode, and every breath he took felt like he was swallowing a razor blade.
"Sasuke..." Naruto breathed heavily, his voice a little hoarse, "If... if we really tell the truth here this time..."
"Shut your crow mouth." Sasuke gritted his teeth, "I haven't seen Sarada become Hokage, and you haven't managed that broken village yet."