The others all set off, twelve figures charging down from the earthen hilltop.
A kilometer was nothing to these elite ninja.
Trees flew past on either side, and the grass rustled softly underfoot.
Naruto stayed half a step ahead of everyone else, maintaining Sage Mode and keeping a firm lock on the coordinates of the underground space.
"Right up ahead!" Naruto pointed.
The patch of bushes was already in sight, looking no different from the surrounding terrain. Low brambles grew thickly, with a few stones half buried in the soil scattered among them. A thick layer of dead grass and fallen leaves covered the ground, soft beneath their feet.
Naruto stopped at the edge of the bushes, with Sasuke right behind him.
The others arrived one after another, spreading out around an area less than ten meters square.
Everyone instinctively fell silent, their eyes fixed on Naruto.
"Right here, directly below us."
Naruto stamped his foot. "The entrance isn't on this side. I can sense where the passage runs."
"About twenty meters east-southeast of here, there's a gap sloping downward. Most of it is blocked by rubble, but it should lead to the space below."
Huangyan crouched and brushed aside the thick layer of fallen leaves, exposing the grayish-brown soil and rock beneath.
"You can't tell at all from the surface."
He tapped the ground with his fingers and looked back at Sasuke. "Should we dig it open?"
"Dig."
Huangyan brought his palms together at the order, rapidly gathering chakra.
He walked to the spot Naruto had indicated, pressed both hands against the ground, and shouted in a low voice, "Earth Release: Split Earth Turn Palm!"
The instant he pressed his palms down, a dull tremor ran through the ground beneath their feet.
Then the soil cracked visibly. Fissures spread