"Um, if you don't mind my asking, Mr. Gin Ichimaru, where are you from? Your name sounds a little like a Japanese name from my world. Are you also Japanese, from the Otherworld?"
"More or less. I'm not from this world. I wandered into it at some point, then met Ye and became his subordinate."
"Is Miss Princess Kaguya the same?"
"Yes, more or less."
The three walked into the abandoned Mine, Gin Ichimaru and Naofumi Iwatani's conversation echoing through the enclosed tunnels.
Naofumi Iwatani lowered his gaze in thought, digesting what he had learned. He had assumed that only the five of them had been summoned to the Otherworld. He had never expected there to be people from other worlds as well.
A game?
Reality?
What exactly was this world?
Recalling the virtual reality games Motoyasu Kitamura and the other two had mentioned, Naofumi Iwatani's mind was a jumble. He did not know what to make of it.
At first, like Motoyasu Kitamura and the other two, Naofumi Iwatani had treated the Otherworld as an immersive VR dream game.
Killing monsters to level up, grinding proficiency, crafting equipment, learning skills, a status interface resembling a game panel...
However he looked at it, Naofumi Iwatani felt those mechanics were no different from the social network games he had played.
But as he lived in this world and interacted with its flesh-and-blood inhabitants—Raphtalia, who followed him, and the weapon shop owner, who believed in him—Naofumi Iwatani had found it increasingly difficult to regard the Otherworld as a game.
And now, having learned that people from still other worlds had crossed into this one, Naofumi Iwatani felt lost.
Just what kind of world was this?!
A derelict mine cart sat on rust-covered rails, and a damp, musty smell hung in the air. As the three ventured deeper, the temperature dropped. Water droplets collected on the conical stalactites hanging high overhead, then fell into small pools with a steady series of clear drips.
The depths of the Mine were dim, obscuring the view ahead. The faint howl of wind in the air, combined with the dark, chilly surroundings, made the place eerie and frightening, like the gaping maw of a beast waiting for someone to venture inside so it could swallow them whole.
Loose stones and jutting rocks littered the corners along the edges of the Mine. The uneven ground was rather slick, and a moment's carelessness could send someone stumbling or slipping. No matter how Naofumi Iwatani looked at it, he could not imagine living here.
Naofumi Iwatani's eyebrows twitched. "Are you sure this place will work?"
"We need to get a clear picture of the Mine's layout before we can judge, but so far, it looks viable."
Ye Uchiha surveyed his surroundings, committing the Mine's layout to memory as he considered how to renovate it.
Meanwhile, Gin Ichimaru examined the area through narrowed eyes, his unchanging, insincere smile resting on his lips. He was curious to see how Ye Uchiha would reshape the Mine.
As a Soul Reaper, Gin Ichimaru had seen soul-devouring Hollows and human Quincies skilled at manipulating spirit particles. Even so, the systems of the Otherworld, so different from those of the Soul Reapers' world, still filled him with curiosity.
After walking for quite some time, the three finally reached the end of the Mine. A vast cavern opened before them, with a deep pool at its center whose bottom was lost from sight. Sunlight streamed through an opening in the rocky ceiling and shone on the water, making its surface shimmer.
"According to the villagers of Lute Village, this Mine originally had rich mineral deposits. After the kingdom discovered it, they stationed members of the Knight Order here and gathered workers to extract the ore. But unrestricted mining exhausted the deposits in just a few years, and the Knight Order eventually abandoned it."
After surveying the surroundings, Naofumi Iwatani told Ye Uchiha what he knew.
Ye Uchiha gave a quiet acknowledgment. He did not care about the Mine's history. It was his base now.
Now, then, time to start renovating.
"Earth Release: Earth and Stone Transformation Technique!"
Ye Uchiha formed hand seals and called out, then slapped his palm against the ground. Black, ink-like patterns spread from beneath his palm, slowly emerging across the floor, while the stone walls of the empty, silent cavern began to hum and tremble.
Crack, crack-
The surrounding walls, the floor beneath their feet, and the rocks overhead compressed and shifted. The entire mass of stone changed shape like modeling clay kneaded by enormous, invisible hands.
The once-pitted ground became perfectly level. Protruding rocks, loose stones on the floor, and patches of moss and weeds all receded into the earth and stone. Every uneven spot was smoothed out and filled in.
At the changes around him, Gin Ichimaru's long, narrow eyes opened a fraction, revealing his pale blue irises. His voice held a note of wonder.
"Well, well, what an extraordinary power. To think you can manipulate earth and stone to reshape the terrain. I never imagined such strange and wondrous powers existed beyond Zanpakutō."
Naofumi Iwatani stared in shock as the terrain twisted and changed around him. He could not begin to understand how it worked. Ye Uchiha's display had clearly stunned him.
Although he knew Ye Uchiha possessed some kind of supernatural power, Naofumi Iwatani had never seen him use it since they had met. This was his first glimpse of Ye Uchiha's abilities.
What a bizarre ability. Absolutely terrifying!
Using his chakra to sense his surroundings, Ye Uchiha had already mapped out the Mine's structure and was now reshaping it with Earth Release ninjutsu.
Since the pool connected to bodies of water elsewhere, Ye Uchiha did not intend to fill it in. It would serve perfectly as the new base's drinking water supply.
Only after more than an hour did the Mine's rumbling finally stop. The newly leveled, smooth stone walls and floor had not a single flaw or seam. They looked naturally formed, a marvel of craftsmanship without the slightest sign of human alteration.
Apart from the untouched pool at its center, almost the entire cavern had been transformed. Clean and tidy, it no longer looked anything like a mine.
This was the power of ninjutsu. By combining chakra with hand seals, one could easily reshape the terrain.
Renovating the entire Mine was a major undertaking. Not only did it demand his concentration, but he also had to keep monitoring the changes with his chakra to avoid making any mistakes.
Looking over the completely transformed cavern, Ye Uchiha finally stopped and let out a soft breath.
His once-brimming chakra reserves had fallen by nearly half, so he sat down cross-legged and began replenishing the chakra he had spent.
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