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.
Since no one answered, he could only explore on his own. However, the courtyard was simply too cluttered. Weeds and fallen leaves already blanketed the entire yard, which was about the same size as the Kumotsuru Clan compound. If it were fully inhabited, it could probably hold over a hundred people. Torifu figured this must have been a private residence of one of the Kumotsuru Clan's ancestral elder, perhaps used as a retreat. He had no idea why the system had led him here.
In any case, if he wanted to explore, he had to tidy up first. He pointed a finger towards the ground, and a flame erupted from his fingertip, spreading onto the surface. Weeds and fallen leaves were highly flammable. In an instant, a raging fire swept through the entire courtyard. But with Torifu's control, the flames only cleared the debris and destroyed nothing else. In just one minute, all the clutter was burned to ashes, leaving only a courtyard full of black soot. This could be easily cleaned up with a small Cloud Release sphere.
Once the entire courtyard was clean, Torifu finally took his first step. He walked slowly through the yard, carefully examining every structure.
"Since it's similar to the Kumotsuru Clan compound, there should be a main hall, right? Maybe there will be some useful information."
The main hall was very conspicuous, and Torifu didn't take long to find it.
"Thankfully, you haven't collapsed."
However, just in case, before walking in, Torifu generated several crystal pillars to prop up the building. This was to prevent it from suddenly collapsing due to Torifu's intrusion, which would be disastrous.
With all the preparation work done, Torifu entered the main hall. The basic layout inside the main hall was no different from that of the Kumotsuru Clan compound. Even the secret room in the sleeping quarters was in the same location. Torifu found a lot of money and weapons inside, as well as a scroll containing the training method for Cloud Release. Torifu opened it and immediately noticed it was completely different from the method he had practiced back then. The scroll stated that the chakra ratio needed to practice Cloud Release varied for each person. The scroll only provided a basic concept; the rest required the student to slowly figure out through trial and error. The method Torifu practiced back then, however, directly gave a set ratio, which was why he couldn't train it no matter what, until he eventually succeeded through his own attempts and improvisation.
"Damn it, did someone tamper with my family's Cloud Release?"
As soon as this thought arose, Torifu immediately thought of Black Zetsu. Uchiha Madara had been severely harmed by that guy, so Torifu had reason to believe that his own family's Cloud Release was also his doing!
"He nearly caused my clan's downfall. Don't let me catch you."
Torifu searched again, but there was nothing else. Although the harvest this time was valuable, it consisted of the things Torifu needed the least.
"Forget it. A gain is better than nothing. I've gone through the main hall, but didn't find a single clue." Torifu didn't even know who the owner of this valley was.
He then proceeded to explore the side halls, but found nothing there either. The remaining houses in the front courtyard were either rickety or already collapsed. Torifu sent his cloud mist in to investigate. As he expected, there was nothing inside; they were just ordinary houses.
He could only check the back courtyard next. If the back courtyard was also empty, Torifu would use Perception Jutsu one last time. If there was still no useful information, he would have no choice but to leave with the pile of gold, silver, and jewels. Getting a windfall could at least be considered not leaving empty-handed.
Following a stone path, Torifu arrived at the back courtyard. This area was even more desolate than the front. Last year's dead weeds were already man-high and covered every inch of the back courtyard. Torifu casually waved two Air Slashes, cutting all the weeds at the waist. In the distance, something gray seemed to be poking out of the weed piles. It looked like a stone block?
Torifu quickly cleared away all the weeds and then ran over to the stone block. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a stone block at all; it was clearly an altar. Engraved on it was the Kumotsuru Clan's crest, indicating that this object belonged to the Kumotsuru Clan. Torifu, as the clan head of the Kumotsuru Clan, naturally had the right to study it.
"What is this thing used for? For training?"
Torifu fiddled with it for a long time but saw no reaction from the stone block. He pondered it repeatedly but couldn't figure it out. Then, a thought suddenly struck him. "Hey! The circular groove on this stone block seems to be the same size as the Chakra Condensation Bead."
This deduction also made sense. The map and the Chakra Condensation Bead were rewards from the same event, and Torifu still hadn't figured out the purpose of the bead. It was highly likely that this was a step-by-step process orchestrated by the system. Torifu took out the bead but was a little hesitant. The blue bead looked just like a gem, making it hard to imagine such a beautiful bead having any connection with the drab altar in front of him.
However, to test his hypothesis, Torifu still placed the bead on it. He figured he had nothing to lose and no other options anyway. As the condensation bead embedded into the groove, the altar immediately began to change. The formerly dull altar gradually started to exhibit blue, vein-like patterns. The scene instantly became quite magical. Torifu couldn't believe such a simple stone block was transforming. And the purpose of the condensation bead really was to activate the altar.
But what now? Is it over after a flash of light? Keep going!
"Hey! Put some effort into it! I didn't come all this way just to watch your light show!"
"Hehehe, young people are always so impatient." A man's voice sounded in Torifu's ear.
Torifu felt that the voice was very familiar, but he couldn't immediately remember whose voice it was. Then, a large amount of cloud mist surged out from the altar, enveloping Torifu.
When Torifu opened his eyes again, he had arrived in a small courtyard where cooking smoke curled upwards.