The Ironroot Mountains stood like a silent wall against the sky—jagged, dark, and unwelcoming.
Team Nine advanced under the cover of dusk. Shisui led the way, Kaien at his flank, with Himeya and their third teammate, a sharp-eyed kunoichi named Ren, watching their rear. Naoko had stayed behind in the village per Shisui's request—this mission was too dangerous.
They followed a winding trail until Kaien raised a hand, signaling a halt. Just ahead, nestled within the rocks, a narrow crevice opened into a stone tunnel—unnaturally smooth, clearly man-made.
Shisui activated his Ferro-Spiritual senses. Iron... lots of it, buried beneath this rock. Metallic channels running under the soil—it's not just a tunnel. It's a bunker.
They entered, silent as shadows.
The further they went, the more the tunnel's stone walls shifted into reinforced steel laced with Arch Energy conduits. Flickering lights powered by residual chakra pulsed above them. The air stank of rust and ozone.
Finally, they reached a sealed door engraved with the symbol of a wilted flower—the emblem of Project Hollow Bloom.
Kaien pressed his palm to a chakra seal. The door creaked open.
What lay beyond turned Shisui's stomach.
Dozens of shattered containment pods lined the chamber. Inside many were dried blood stains, torn clothing, and notes etched in desperation onto glass with bloody fingernails.
> "I can't feel myself anymore…"
> "The bloom is in my brain. I hear it singing."
> "ARCH ENERGY HURTS. MAKE IT STOP."
In the center, a massive conduit pulsed with sickly pink and grey energy, feeding into a humanoid-shaped chamber—empty.
Ren stepped forward. "Someone's been here recently. Footprints—chakra-stabilized. They're… still active."
Suddenly, a pressure wave hit them.
A red and black blur dropped from the ceiling.
A man, gaunt and pale with veins glowing pink, snarled through cracked lips. His skin flickered with unstable Arch Energy.
"WELCOME BACK," he hissed. "We've been… waiting."