Hearing Sosuke's words, Tokino and Minato immediately followed in his footsteps.
The three of them slowly made their way into the altar.
Meanwhile!
Near the Altar of Wind, several Sand Ninja stared toward the altar in surprise.
The loud explosion from the altar earlier had caught their attention!
"Lord Yagui! Th-that noise just now... could something have gone wrong with the Jinchuriki!?"
A Sand Ninja looked worriedly at the man beside him, whose face was half-hidden by bandages, and asked in a trembling voice.
At this, the Sand Ninja named Yagui looked grave and replied in a low voice.
"I don't know what happened, but if the altar is involved, the situation could be very bad..."
"Go back to the village at once! Report the situation to Lord Kazekage. I'll take a few people and investigate!"
"Yes!"
The Sand Ninja answered gravely, then immediately vanished from the spot.
Yagui watched the altar with a grave expression and muttered under his breath.
"I hope nothing's happened to Shukaku... Otherwise... it'll be a disaster for the Land of Wind..."
Sosuke and the others entered the altar's vast interior.
The space inside the altar was enormous.
"Tap!" "Tap!"...
The three of them walked along the broad corridor at an unhurried pace, looking completely at ease.
Suddenly, some strange images caught their attention.
The stone walls inside the altar were covered in murals depicting all sorts of scenes from different eras.
Yet every one of these murals from different periods featured the same figure!
A gigantic tanuki covered in all kinds of markings!
It towered over the tiny people around it, creating a striking contrast!
"Th-this is the Tailed Beast from the legends!?"
Standing in the corridor, Minato stared at the murals in shock.
Sosuke studied the paintings on the wall. A glint