Naori was always helpless whenever she saw him like this.
Time quickly slipped away. Torifu spent two full days in the village dealing with various miscellaneous tasks. Today, he was finally free. Torifu woke up early, changed into a clean set of clothes, and mentioned his departure to Naori.
"Are you going today?"
Torifu nodded. "Mhm. I should be back quickly. Nothing will happen."
"Okay, be careful." Naori said, a slight concern in her voice.
Torifu waved the map in his hand, signaling to Naori to go back inside. Then, he transformed into a cloud of vapor, flew into the sky, and disappeared.
Naori looked up at the sky, but Torifu was already gone. Although she didn't know what Torifu was going to do, she could only wish him success and hope he would return soon. Afterward, she went back into the house.
Meanwhile, Torifu was advancing at a steady pace within the clouds. Although his speed was incredible as a Six Paths-level ninja, he had never been to the location marked on the map. Therefore, he was afraid of going too fast and overshooting the spot.
"The more I look at this map, the stranger it feels. There's a place in the Land of Fire that I haven't been to?"
He thought the map might just be a prank, something the system used to trick him. After all, Torifu had been in the Land of Fire for so many years and considered himself knowledgeable enough about it, having even been to the deepest parts of the densest forests. The spot marked on this map was clearly a valley, located near the border of Konoha. He had often gone to the border to clear out rogue ninja when he was younger. How could he have missed this valley? Even the route Torifu was traveling now was the route he used on missions as a child. He was extremely familiar with this area. If there really was a large valley, how could he not remember it?
This feeling of confusion grew stronger and stronger. Torifu couldn't help but speed up, wanting to see what was suspicious about the location marked on the map. What could possibly make a local of the Land of Fire have no impression of it whatsoever?
At Torifu's speed, he reached the vicinity of the map's marker in the blink of an eye. But from the sky, Torifu could clearly see that the area was a vast, dense forest. Forget a valley, there wasn't even a single mountain. There were no roads within this dense forest, and it looked like a typical primeval forest. What here was worth the system marking?
Torifu used Perception Jutsu to scout the area, but even with his Six Paths-level strength, he didn't detect anything unusual. This area was clearly an ordinary forest, as common as could be, with plenty of similar ones throughout the Land of Fire.
"Did this damned system really just try to mess with me?"
However, with the attitude of "since I'm already here," Torifu landed on the ground at the spot marked on the map. He looked around but still didn't find anything. Torifu looked at the map and was certain he hadn't taken a wrong turn and that he had truly reached the marked location. Yet, nothing was there, and nothing happened. He walked back and forth several times, even digging out the roots of a few of the thickest trees, but still found no treasure.
This made Torifu frustrated. It seemed the system had truly tricked him, making him waste a trip.
I'll try one last time. If that doesn't work, I won't waste any more time.
Torifu performed the Cloud Mist Perception Jutsu, wanting to use the cloud mist to detect if there was anything different about this forest. With his current chakra reserves, it would only take a moment to blanket the entire forest with Cloud Release, with practically no chakra consumed.
But as soon as Torifu released the first wisp of cloud vapor, an invisible suction force suddenly arose, absorbing that single wisp of cloud vapor. Though the speed was extremely fast, Torifu still noticed it.
"Something is wrong."
He didn't stop but continued to increase his chakra output! A vast, powerful amount of cloud vapor surged out from his sleeves! The current Torifu feared no one in the ninja world; he had reached the pinnacle of ninja strength! Even if this was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's lair, Torifu would not be afraid.
After a large amount of cloud vapor poured out, the result was still the same: it was swallowed by the invisible suction force, leaving not a trace behind. This undoubtedly aroused Torifu's competitive spirit. He concentrated his mind, mobilizing all his chakra to release a massive amount of cloud vapor! However, the speed at which he released the cloud vapor was almost equal to the speed at which it was being absorbed, so it looked as if Torifu was just standing in place, doing nothing. But in reality, he was locked in a struggle.
After releasing cloud vapor for a full ten minutes, Torifu finally felt the suction force gradually weakening. Before he could celebrate, all the absorbed cloud vapor surged out simultaneously! It instantly enveloped Torifu, leaving only white in front of his eyes.
Torifu was astonished to find that he couldn't control this cloud mist. It completely ignored his command. Even when he injected his own Cloud Release into it, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, instantly vanishing without a trace. This was the first time such a thing had happened since Torifu successfully mastered Cloud Release.
He didn't panic, but condensed a Truth-Seeking Orb to protect himself. The Truth-Seeking Orb would automatically defend against attacks. At this moment, Torifu knew nothing about what was inside the cloud mist. Since he didn't know if there was danger, being cautious was only natural.
Just as Torifu prepared himself for a major fight, the surrounding cloud mist gradually began to dissipate. As his vision cleared, he saw houses?
"What... what is going on? Did it send me back home?"
Seen vaguely through the cloud mist, the surrounding houses looked almost exactly like those in the Kumotsuru Clan compound. But once all the cloud mist dissipated, Torifu realized that these houses were all in the old style—the original appearance of the Kumotsuru Clan compound. And this place was now terribly dilapidated. The courtyard was covered with fallen leaves, and weeds were spread across every corner. The house windows were shattered, and some of the buildings had even collapsed. The whole scene was desolate. Torifu felt a strong sense of familiarity with this place, yet it was also completely foreign. He had never been here before, but everything was identical to the Kumotsuru Clan compound.
As all the cloud mist cleared and his surroundings became distinct, Torifu finally realized that he was indeed standing in a valley. A circular mountain range enclosed the area, neither too high nor too low, allowing the sunlight to shine in perfectly. Upon closer inspection, the mountain peaks seemed to have been carved, with many exposed surfaces.
"What the hell is this place?"
Torifu didn't know if he was asking himself or the system, and no one replied to him. His questioning voice echoed in the valley, utterly ethereal.
[T/N: Ancestor left a holy hidden land for the young master.]