Entering the Altar

The scorched earth stretched nearly as far as the eye could see, while the searing air left mouths and noses dry.

After all, a hundred li was no small distance from an ordinary person's perspective. Even though ninjas could cross mountains and valleys as if walking on level ground, their eyeballs were not all that different from ordinary people's. Perhaps dōjutsu users were exceptions, but there were only three kinds of dōjutsu in the entire ninja world, and fewer than ten thousand people possessed them altogether. The wanted criminals currently racing through the Land of Fire clearly had no such fortune.

This group could certainly be called swift on their feet. Since completing their mission, they had not dared get entangled with Konoha's ninjas in any way. Even if they could win a fight, fleeing had always been their first choice. Their strict adherence to that rule was the only reason they had survived until now. Konoha Village's deployment of forces throughout the Land of Fire was nearly flawless. If they dared stop even once, they would have long since been surrounded by Konoha's ninja forces rushing to the scene.

"Look, it's right ahead. We've arrived."

Suddenly, one man shouted in surprise and delight. The instant he spoke, the others also saw the magnificent structure rising on the horizon.

The massive structure, built entirely from fiery-red stone, was the Fire Element Altar in the Land of Fire—the sole vacuum in Konoha Village's military presence throughout the Land of Fire.

It was not that Konoha Village did not want to monitor this place. They simply lacked the means. Anyone other than members of the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan would basically die the moment they came here, regardless of whether they entered the altar.

This altar was far from as harmless