From the outside, the castle that had risen from the ground looked quite small.
Yet Zou Hyuga had been walking through it for over ten minutes without finding an exit or an end. At his speed, that was enough time to cross Konoha's entire urban district.
That alone proved how strange this castle was.
Zou Hyuga slowly stopped and looked at the wall beside him. He reached out to rub some dirt off it, considering whether to use brute force to destroy this seemingly endless castle.
After a moment's thought, Zou Hyuga abandoned the idea and sat cross-legged on the ground.
He had agreed to the test because he wanted to see Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu for himself. Learning how to enter Sage Mode was not much of a priority.
Besides, this was practically his only chance in the near future to witness Senjutsu other than his own.
Viewed that way, rushing to get out was hardly his best option.
Drawing his sword, Zou Hyuga cut through the wall beside him, removed a chunk of rock, and set it aside. Then he began studying the hollow he had made.
Soon, Zou Hyuga noticed the severed wall beginning to writhe, slowly repairing itself as it moved.
A few breaths later, the hollow had returned to normal, leaving no trace of damage. The rock that had been lying on the ground had also merged into the floor and vanished.
"So this is the power of Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu? It's completely different from Jiraiya's Mount Myōboku Senjutsu."
Narrowing his eyes, Zou Hyuga looked toward either end of the castle. He now understood why he could not get out. The castle was alive, given life through Senjutsu.
Every time he took a step, the space ahead expanded while the space behind shrank accordingly.
By now,