Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 256 Exploration in Progress

The door that blocked the entrance did not stop them; the cover was neither locked nor rusted to the outer wall, and could be opened with a gentle lift.

"This thing was definitely not created by current human civilization." Tobirama picked up the disc, tossed it around, poked it with a kunai, and then made this comment.

"Take your time studying it, let's go." Izuna jumped down first, followed by a special plant grown from White Zetsu seeds and ordinary Wood Release vines.

Since the situation inside the ruins is unclear, what you see through "sense" is completely different from what you actually experience. "Sense" doesn't require consideration of survival issues or triggering dangerous mechanisms, but entering the ruins requires taking both scenarios into account.

Hashirama will not enter for the time being, but his Wood Release is a crucial element in ensuring Naruto's safety. He made the plants bloom with many flowers that are sensitive to poison and oxygen. As long as the flowers do not wither, Naruto can safely pass through those areas; otherwise, he must evacuate immediately.

The next cave, fifty meters deep, wouldn't be difficult for the ninjas. This cave was about five meters in diameter; the cover they opened was just a small opening about the width of one person. While a larger opening was possible, this cover at least provided a buffer should anything dangerous rush out. Even though they were likely the strongest team in the ninja world, caution was still necessary when needed.

Using the rope and occasionally cushioning his fall with chakra, Izuna quickly reached the bottom. Just as Naruto had said, there was even a railing—a rather thoughtful design feature. He landed in what was likely a passageway, a circular passageway encircling a central spiral gate. He released several small fireballs to illuminate the surroundings, but there seemed to be no clues visible to the naked eye.

[No danger confirmed, but no doorway visible. Over.]

"Let's go down."

According to the formation, Izuna was in the forward position, Kinrin in the middle, and Kazuyu in the rear. Kazuyu, the last to be selected, was chosen after passing an adventure and first aid knowledge test and defeating all the other candidates. Naruto hadn't originally planned to go through all that trouble, intending to simply grab someone, but his seniors insisted on this because his safety couldn't be compromised, resulting in Kazuyu being chosen again—a dark horse chosen through a roundabout approach.

"Om."

The remaining two descended using Naruto's Light-Weight Rock Technique, making their descent extremely fast. However, when they reached the last five meters, a buzzing sound suddenly came from below, and the underground gate suddenly began to glow. Startled, Izuna immediately pulled out Susanoo Half-Complete and completely covered Naruto.

"*******, ****".

A string of incomprehensible, slightly mechanical female voices rang out, and the spiral-shaped door slowly opened.

“…How about we put us down first?” Naruto peeked out from above Susanoo.

Izuna calmly observed for a long time, and only after confirming that there was no danger did he retract Susanoo, but half of his body was still blocking the way. He looked into the cave for a while, but could not make out anything.

The material inside the gate was denser than the material outside, unlike anything Naruto had ever seen before. Furthermore, the interior wasn't a smooth, continuous surface; instead, it had several grooves. Hashirama's branches had already entered, and even though they covered the entire entrance, there was no movement inside.

"Stay alert, maintain formation." Izuna threw his rope in and entered the cave first. However, the miraculous scene only occurred after Naruto entered. The moment he stepped into the cave, the three of them felt a strange sense of loss of control. The three well-trained ninjas quickly adjusted their posture, landed safely, and froze when they looked up. The cave entrance that should have been above their heads was behind them; they were inexplicably standing on the "cave wall," and looking from there, they could even see the light shining from the exit.

"**!" A Senju member couldn't help but utter a Sengoku-style curse, immediately earning Izuna's glare. Luckily, Naruto didn't understand it.

"What kind of operation is this? Is it some kind of gravity control system similar to light and heavy rocks? Although this ruin was indeed built according to this top-to-bottom principle, but..."

"******, ***, ****, language module switched."

"??? What the hell!" Izuna almost exploded again.

"The spacecraft's gravity system is operating stably. Please enter with confidence."

Another damn silence ensued. The three of them looked around but couldn't see where the sound was coming from, so they exchanged glances in silence.

Kazuhiro: 〖What the hell is this? Someone's talking to us from underground!〗

Tobirama: [Huh? There are living people underground?]

Hashirama: "I heard it too. It sounded like it was coming from inside the wall, but there's no gap in the wall, so I can't get through."

Jinlun: 〖I didn't sense any "people". This sounds like some kind of electronic notification tone, like the one that beeps before a machine starts up, only this one is more...human?〗

Izuna: 〖This is so human-like! We couldn't understand the first half of the sentence, but suddenly we could understand the second half.〗

He Yu: 〖And this thing just answered Lord Jinlun's question!〗

Izuna: 〖This wasn't the only time; the gate only opened when the golden wheel approached, and that gravity system only started operating after he entered.〗

Jinlun: 〖Perhaps it's because... I'm someone who can breathe?〗

Tobirama: [I think I understood a bit. Kinrin, ask some more questions and try.]

"Are you there?"

"..."

Izuna: [Ask something useful!]

Jinlun: [I can't think of anything right now!]

In short, the advance team was in a state of chaos for a while, and only resumed their operations after Hashirama said that he had found a door ahead.

They temporarily abandoned their plan to continue investigating the voice and quickly ran forward. As expected, the door only opened when Naruto got close.

Why did they only open the door when I arrived?

"This spaceship is open to all intelligent life."

Izuna was speechless, "...So it really is because you're the only one who can breathe."

"Haha, stop complaining, let's get down to business." Naruto pointed in a direction and said, "Let's take this road and turn off the signal source first."