That evening, Uchiha Sora and Hashirama Senju took Six-Tails Saiken with them. The two men and the tailed beast left the Senju Clan Compound and set out to find the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest.
After traveling cautiously through the night, the two men reached a mountain range in the southern Land of Fire at dawn.
The mountain range was enormous, stretching across almost the entire Land of Fire, and they were now in its deepest reaches.
Few people came here, and even ninja rarely ventured into the area.
That was because vast numbers of wild animals lived in these mountains.
These animals came in all kinds of strange forms. Some carried deadly poisons that even ninja struggled to withstand, while others were as enormous as tailed beasts.
"Sora, we're here. This is the area we suspect is connected to the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest," Hashirama told Uchiha Sora as the two men and the tailed beast entered a gloomy valley.
Towering trees stood everywhere, their branches thick with foliage. Even during the day, sunlight struggled to penetrate the canopy.
The air was heavy with dampness.
At Hashirama's words, Uchiha Sora's brow twitched. "The natural energy here really is much denser than elsewhere," he said softly.
Then he turned to the Six-Tails. "Does this place look familiar to you?"
"I think I've been here before," the Six-Tails replied. "But the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest doesn't look like this valley..."
Hearing that, Uchiha Sora sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
He carefully sensed the natural energy around him, and Mount Myōboku's Sage Face Markings slowly appeared on his face.
Suddenly, he sensed a wisp of unusual natural energy drifting toward him from somewhere in the gorge.
He immediately opened his eyes and waved a hand. "Come on, follow me!"