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Chapter 123: Alternate Dimension
...
In the uninhabited jungle on the border of the Land of Fire.
"It seems this is the place."
Konan, carrying Honoka and the Ninja Tool Clan Head, landed steadily from mid-air.
They were surrounded by a mountain forest composed of towering ancient trees. Before them stood a very primitive, dilapidated stone temple. The stone statue worshipped in the center had long since weathered and collapsed, making its specific appearance indiscernible.
Behind the statue was a pitch-black cave; nothing could be seen inside. A cold wind whistled as it blew out from the darkness.
Konan sized it up but couldn't make heads or tails of it, so she asked, "What does your clan know about this statue?"
"Not clearly," the Clan Head answered mechanically, still under the influence of the Sharingan Genjutsu. "Our ancestors speculated that this statue might be dedicated to some ancient god. The secret site behind it was likely this god's former dwelling. However, for unknown reasons, the god disappeared, and the dwelling was abandoned."
Gods again...
Alex was speechless.
Counting Earth Grudge Fear and the Miko's Sealing Jutsu, this was already the third "god" they had encountered. It seemed the ancient legends of the eight million gods weren't fake... You really could bump into one wherever you went.
"What is inside the cave, and when was the last time you entered?"
"Based on our years of research, the interior should be an alternate dimension," the Clan Head replied robotically. "Our last entry was sixty years ago. At some point, gray monsters began to appear inside. We had no way to deal with them, and coupled with the stagnation of our research on the space sealing runes inside, we stopped entering."
"Gray monsters?" Konan mused. "Explain in detail."
"They can attack people silently and without presence. It is impossible to detect them, as if they pop directly out of the void. Furthermore, physical attacks pass right through them. They can drill into a body in an instant and devour the person from the inside out. They are very dangerous."
That formidable?
Alex felt a spark of interest. He wanted to see this for himself. Since they were already here, they naturally had to go in and take a look.
Konan asked a few more questions, not stopping until she had squeezed every last drop of information the clan possessed regarding the cave.
"Let's go!"
She took the lead, entering the black cavern. The Clan Head and Honoka followed close behind.
The moment they entered the cave, the surroundings instantly fell silent. The inside and outside of the cave seemed to be two different worlds, completely isolated from one another.
According to the intelligence provided by the Clan Head, the tunnel was over a hundred meters long, with the entrance to the alternate dimension located at the deepest point.
Half a minute later.
Konan and Honoka stood before a door of gray light. A paper torch hovered above their heads, casting a warm orange glow.
"Lady Konan..." Honoka pointed at the flickering light door, worried. "This door looks like it could disappear at any moment. Are we really going in?"
Like a television set with a bad signal, the edges of the light door were ghosting and twitching intermittently.
Alex observed the light door secretly. This was the first time he had seen such a magical spatial gateway.
Isn't this just a portal...
Judging by the weathering of the stones outside, if this door had been open the whole time, it must have been maintained for at least several hundred, if not a thousand, years.
What kind of god is this badass? Even after disappearing, they can keep this door running for so long...
Honoka looked at the light door with novelty. "Lady Konan, do you think there really are gods in this world? Something magical like this is probably not something human power can create."
"Gods are nothing more than lifeforms with more powerful strength," Konan shook her head. "The ninja world is full of endless Ninjutsu, Secret Techniques, and Kekkei Genkai. In the eyes of ordinary people, Hashirama Senju is revered as the God of Shinobi. Is he truly a god?"
"That's true." Honoka thought about it and nodded. "This door might just be some kind of ability we don't understand yet."
"Lady Konan, what do we do now?"
"We'll probe it first before deciding."
Konan created a Paper Clone and sent it directly into the light door.
A ripple of spatial distortion, visible to the naked eye, immediately undulated across the surface of the door.
She soon frowned and sent five more Paper Clones into the light door in succession.
Honoka asked in confusion, "Lady Konan, is there a problem behind the door?"
"I'm afraid we can only know by entering in person." Konan's tone carried a hint of gravity. "This alternate dimension seems to have a strange ability to repel clones; they dissipate immediately upon entry. As for the world behind the door..."
Through the memories transmitted back before they vanished, she had caught a clear glimpse of the alternate dimension behind the door.
It was very dilapidated and desolate. The whole place wasn't large; you could see the end of it at a glance. It was full of exquisite stone architecture, but everything had collapsed.
As for the gray monsters the Clan Head mentioned, she didn't see any.
Konan looked at the Clan Head and ordered, "Go in, stay for one minute, then come out."
The Clan Head nodded and obediently walked into the light door.
One minute later, he came out safely.
Seeing that his physical condition was normal, Konan felt reassured. She immediately stepped in. Honoka followed close behind. The Clan Head naturally trailed after the two of them.
The moment they entered the light door, Alex felt a strong sense of spatial dislocation.
This alternate dimension was likely not located within the ninja world.
His gaze swept across the area, taking in the entire dimension. It was like a black-and-white painting with the colors drained away, permeated by an aura of decay and age.
The water had dried up, and the trees had withered. Various exquisite buildings lay in ruin, devoid of any vitality.
This alternate dimension was dying. It likely wouldn't be able to sustain itself much longer before dissipating and returning to the void.
Konan looked toward a gray stone stele in the very center.
It was about one zhang tall.
It was covered in black, twisted runes. They were extremely similar to the black runes that appeared when a Sealing Jutsu was activated.
The ancestors of the Ninja Tool Clan must have learned a portion of Sealing Jutsu through this stone stele, allowing them to create storage scrolls.
Although Honoka hadn't learned Sealing Jutsu, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan who had awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains, her sensitivity to Sealing Jutsu was extremely high.
She looked at the gray stone stele earnestly. "Lady Konan, those look like Sealing Jutsu from an ancient era."
"But they don't look exactly like Sealing Jutsu. To be more precise, they look like notes or comprehensions recorded while learning."
Konan didn't understand Sealing Jutsu well, so she couldn't give Honoka an answer.
Although Alex had mastered the Soul Sealing Technique, that was just one specific jutsu. The entire system of Sealing Jutsu was broad and profound, so he couldn't make heads or tails of it either.
It didn't matter if he couldn't understand it; once his Cheat ability copied it, he would understand immediately.
Konan knew this as well and stepped forward instantly.
However, before she could move, a sudden change occurred.
Honoka screamed, "Lady Konan! Look, are the runes on that stele moving?"
"They are indeed moving!" Konan stopped in her tracks.
The runes on the stone stele wriggled like worms, the black color retreating visibly. almost in an instant, the inscription strangely vanished.
The entire stone stele turned into a bare, wordless monument.
Not good!
Konan's intuition screamed a warning, and she subconsciously grabbed Honoka.
═════ To Be Continued ═════
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