The superstorm in the Demon Desert continued to rage. Taking advantage of it, Shihōin Naraku had slipped into the Gold Dust Mine unnoticed, then plunged underground and headed for his destination.
Naraku's proficiency in Earth Release ninjutsu was not particularly high, but it was far from poor.
It was mainly his abilities in other areas that forcibly elevated his Earth Release.
One thing did have to be said, though: with his current chakra reserves, Naraku could spend twenty-four hours a day underground without any trouble.
There was no helping it. With that much chakra, he could do as he pleased.
And so he kept heading down toward his target.
As Naraku drew closer to the cavern, he increasingly sensed what made this place different.
At the very least, he could clearly sense the tremendous chakra energy contained in the soil constantly parting around him.
And the farther underground he went, the more he could feel the breath of life coming toward him.
It was an extremely peculiar sensation. Had Naraku's perception not reached a whole new level, he would never have noticed it.
This also gave Naraku a rough idea of how his earlier conjecture might turn out.
The cavern roughly a thousand meters below the surface was pitch-black and silent. This was a place ordinary humans could scarcely reach, with only the faint sound of flowing water occasionally coming from the underground river.
Today, however, there was considerably more noise than usual.
Crack!
Rumble...
Several cracks suddenly appeared in the stone ceiling. They swiftly spread and widened, followed by the sound of rocks breaking apart.
Amid dust and rubble, Naraku leaped out of the cavern ceiling, flipped in midair, and landed steadily on the ground.
"It's way too dark in here."
Naraku waved away the dust before his