Chapter 223: Hell Valley!
As the supreme commander, Nara Keisuke couldn't easily leave the Konoha camp. Although he was intrigued by the "Evil God of the Land of Hot Water" that Kakashi had mentioned, with both Minato and Kagami on standby, assigning one of them to investigate was the more appropriate course of action. At his signal, the chief of staff quickly drew up an A-rank mission to "Investigate the Immortal Ninjas" and assigned it to Minato and three others.
"Haha! Kakashi!" Obito stood behind Minato, gloating at his injured teammate. "You just wait for my good news from this A-rank mission! It won't be long before I surpass you!"
"Idiot," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes and turning away, seemingly unbothered by his foolish teammate's clumsy attempt at provocation.
"Obito-kun, this is the medical area. Don't be so loud," Rin said, glancing worriedly at Kakashi, who was still wincing with every movement. She then directed her frustration at Obito, though her tone didn't sound angry at all. In the next moment, her gaze was back on Kakashi, her voice gentle. "Kakashi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," came the muffled reply from under his mask.
Seeing this, Obito scratched his head. He was suddenly getting the feeling that accepting this mission was a mistake.
"Obito, let's go," Minato said, patting his head and signaling for him to follow. The team for this mission consisted of Inuzuka Ago, Hyūga Retsu, Kōmaru the ninken, and Obito. Ago and Retsu were chosen for their wide-range sensory abilities, and Obito because he was an eyewitness who could help identify the enemy.
Under Obito's guidance, Minato's team set out, quickly arriving at the site of the attack. It was a desolate patch of wilderness, the damp earth still stained with dark red patches of blood.
"This is the place!" Obito pointed. "They attacked from that direction first, and then a lot more appeared... anyway, there were a lot of them."
Listening to his report, Retsu was speechless. They're both Uchiha, and about the same age. The gap between this guy and Shisui is... just too big.
"Thank you, Obito," Minato said calmly. He turned to Retsu. "Hyūga-san, if you would."
"Byakugan!" Retsu nodded, focusing chakra to her eyes and activating her Kekkei Genkai. At the same time, Inuzuka Ago took out a blood-stained scrap of cloth—torn from one of the attackers—and held it to his dog's nose. After a few deep sniffs, Retsu deactivated her Byakugan and shook her head. "Nothing unusual in the surrounding area."
It seems they've moved beyond the Byakugan's range. Minato's brow furrowed. He glanced at the sky, then at Ago. The Land of Hot Water was humid and rainy; he hoped the weather hadn't washed away the scent...
"Woof! Woof!" Kōmaru suddenly barked excitedly.
Ago, a "level-10 dog-language speaker," smiled. "Minato, Kōmaru found something!" As comrades who had fought together for years, they were on a first-name basis.
"Then please lead the way, Ago-san," Minato said, relieved. "But let's stay hidden. Our mission is only to investigate. Avoid a direct conflict if possible. Once we confirm their location, we report back immediately."
"Yes, sir!" the other three replied.
Kōmaru took the lead. The specially trained ninken's speed was even greater than that of an ordinary ninja. Following its lead, the team weaved through the wilderness, bypassing several steaming hot springs, and finally arrived at a treacherous mountain valley. From a distance, they could see a sickly, yellow-green miasma shrouding the valley, obscuring their view.
"Grrrr..." Kōmaru let out a low, warning growl and, in a very human-like gesture, covered its nose with its paw.
"Kōmaru says the miasma is poisonous," Ago translated.
"That yellow-green gas looks disgusting," Obito said with a look of revulsion. "Minato-sensei, let's just burn the whole place down!"
"Quiet, Obito." Minato knelt, his fingers touching the earth as he used his own sensory technique. "There are dozens of people inside... they're fighting each other. This is very likely their base. Hyūga-san."
Retsu activated her Byakugan again. Its powerful vision pierced through the thick miasma. "The people inside... they're killing each other. Chakra is flowing from their bodies, through the ground, and into a pool in the center of the valley." She reported what she saw in as much detail as possible. "That pool contains an immense amount of chakra, like a Tailed Beast... Someone just threw a ninja's corpse into it. The pool... it's full of white bones. It just... devoured all of the ninja's chakra!"
By the end, even her usually calm voice was filled with shock. A miasma-filled valley, people slaughtering each other, a corpse-devouring pool... all signs pointed to this place being incredibly dangerous.
Minato's brow furrowed tightly. He gave the signal to retreat. Once they were a safe distance away, Obito asked, "Sensei, what do we do now?" Having seen a real Tailed Beast, he was no longer so cavalier.
"Just as we planned," Minato said, quietly leaving a "Sword of Ninja Love" marker near the valley. "We report back!"
"A valley filled with miasma?" Keisuke looked at the map of the Land of Hot Water spread on his desk and found the location they had indicated. "The name of this valley is... Hell Valley."
A thunderclap went off in his mind. Kakashi's report had linked the attack to an "Evil God." If it were anywhere else, he might not have known. But the "Evil God" of the Land of Hot Water... when "Land of Hot Water," "Evil God," and "Immortal Ninjas" were put together, the result was always the same: the future Akatsuki member, Hidan, and his cult of Jashin.
But the name "Hell Valley" added another layer. He remembered the history of the Chinoike Clan.
'The Chinoike clan was exiled to Hell Valley in the Land of Hot Water. A few years ago, Oyakata En massacred almost all of them. And now, a new group of "immortal ninjas" has appeared in the exact same place.'
He connected the dots. Hidan's power was explicitly linked to blood. The Chinoike clan's Kekkei Genkai was blood manipulation.
'Could the 'Evil God' of the Land of Hot Water be connected to the fall of the Chinoike Clan?'
In a world filled with chakra and natural energy, it wasn't impossible for strange gods and demons to mutate in forgotten corners. He hadn't seen the "immortal ninjas" himself, but he knew that Hidan's abilities were all centered on blood. And the Chinoike clan were masters of blood. The connection was too strong to be a coincidence.
Keisuke rubbed his chin.
"It seems I'll have to make a trip there myself..."
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you