After this mission, Kamizuki realized for the first time just how little experience he had and how narrow his horizons were. There were so many tricks he couldn't see through. He was still too green. Sure enough, no matter what world you were in, there was always more to learn!
After Kato Taichi's death, Genma Team was one member short, so the higher-ups gave them a week to rest. They would assign a new teammate to the squad the following week.
Today was the first day of their break. Kamizuki wanted to find somewhere secluded where he could train in peace for a few days, and he thought of the cave where he had received Hamura's Inheritance: Firefly Cave.
He acted as soon as the idea struck him. First, he found Hiashi and briefly explained his plan. Hiashi knew what their squad had been through and that Kamizuki had lost a comrade, so he didn't object. He agreed to let Kamizuki go into seclusion to train.
Kamizuki returned alone to the shore of the beautiful Rose Lake. As he gazed at its pink waters, his mood slowly eased.
He sat quietly beside the beautiful pink lake for a while before deciding to enter the mysterious Firefly Cave, where he had received the inheritance.
Standing at the water's edge, Kamizuki raised both hands and formed several hand seals at high speed. Then he gently pressed his left hand against the pink water and murmured, "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
A series of seal-like symbols appeared on the surface of the lake. As they completed their formation, a "poof!" rang out, and Kamizuki vanished from the shore.
The Reverse Summoning Jutsu was a more advanced technique than the Summoning Technique. Normally, a summoner used their own chakra to summon a contracted creature from the summoning realm. The Reverse Summoning Jutsu, on the other hand, used the caster's chakra to send themself—or another living being—into the summoning realm.
Kamizuki had discovered this method of entering Firefly Cave in Hamura's Inheritance.
One thing baffled Kamizuki: why was the way into Firefly Cave the Reverse Summoning Jutsu? Was Firefly Cave in the summoning realm?
In the blink of an eye, Kamizuki was back inside Firefly Cave. The first time he had entered, Hamura had sent him out after he received the inheritance. He hadn't explored the whole cave, and there were still many secrets he didn't know about—secrets he couldn't uncover through Hamura's Inheritance, either.
The Reverse Summoning Jutsu had brought Kamizuki to the same spot as before: the cavern where he had found the wooden chest containing Hamura's Inheritance.
He looked around the cavern and found it completely empty. The large wooden chest was gone, too.
Kamizuki walked out of the cavern. Outside, the cave still glittered like a river of stars, countless lights in a vast cosmos illuminating the entire place like a dream.
Admiring the fantastical scenery as he walked toward the unexplored depths of the cave, Kamizuki decided to investigate the dreamlike Firefly Cave thoroughly before beginning his training.
Kamizuki walked on for some time. Surrounded by the cave's dazzling, starlit scenery, he felt as though he stood in an endless cosmos, and an illusion came over him that he could rule the entire universe.
As he walked, Kamizuki came upon the entrance to a cave within the cave. He sensed a strange presence emanating from within, so strong that it seemed to be drawing him closer to investigate.
Kamizuki hesitated at the entrance for a while, then activated his Byakugan and peered inside. His Byakugan swept over the interior.
He found nothing particularly special about the cave within the cave. It was simply a little larger than the others, and its floor was somewhat more level. That was all.
Just as he was about to deactivate his Byakugan and continue deeper into the cave, he suddenly spotted something beneath the ground inside the cavern, about two or three feet down: an oval object resembling an egg.
What puzzled Kamizuki was that the egg-shaped object could absorb Natural Energy from the air into itself.
The more Kamizuki looked, the more curious he became. In the end, curiosity got the better of him, and he entered the cavern.
Once inside, Kamizuki carefully dug the egg-like object out of the ground. It really was an egg. It was as large as his face.
Kamizuki studied it for a long time but couldn't tell what kind of creature had laid it. Strange, rune-like patterns marked the eggshell, giving it an eerie appearance.
Cradling the egg—which was as large as his face and covered in strange runes—Kamizuki left the cavern and headed deeper into the cave.
By the time Kamizuki left the cavern carrying the egg, he had already deactivated his Byakugan. He didn't notice that, the moment he crossed the threshold, the egg's absorption of Natural Energy from its surroundings suddenly sped up several times over.
Inside the eggshell, a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly opened. From those eyes came a strange expression, almost smiling, almost not...
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