Since the Shinobi World War, the Uzumaki Clan was left in ruins, with most of its members either dead or injured. Their homeland was destroyed, and their Sealing Techniques spread across various nations, becoming widely practiced by Shinobi.

Konoha has the Sealing Technique, and so do all the other Shinobi Villages. Almost every Shinobi Village has the power to seal the Bijuu. Sealing Techniques, such a formidable force.

"So, if future generations use the knowledge of their ancestors, how can that be called stealing?" Naruto said, pulling Tenten along, "Follow me."

"It's so dark in here." Tenten remarked as soon as they entered the cave, her vision immediately engulfed in darkness.

"Oh, you'll get used to it. Just stick with me for now, and call out when you've adjusted." Naruto replied, grabbing her wrist and leading her forward.

"Naruto, how come you're not affected?" She asked curiously.

"I've been here before. I know the way." Naruto lied casually. In reality, squinting his eyes before entering the cave helped him adjust to the darkness faster.

The cave had faint fluorescent lights, and after walking for a while, they reached an eight-foot-wide crevice that grew wider the further down it went.

Naruto stopped at the edge of the crevice.

Tenten squinted, finally managing to adapt to the darkness.

Below the crevice, a blue glow emanated. Tenten glanced down and immediately broke into a cold sweat.

The bottom was unfathomably deep, leading into an abyss of darkness.

"Is this the place?" Tenten asked cautiously.

"Yeah, we need to jump down." Naruto replied.

Hearing this, Tenten felt a wave of panic. Over the past two days, they had been crawling through caves and leaping into canyons, pushing her to the brink of developing claustrophobia.

The bottomless darkness below was enough to make anyone hesitate. After all, known fears are manageable, and it's the unknown that truly terrifies.

"The opening seems a bit narrow. What if I get stuck?" She blurted out.

"Huh?" Naruto gave her a puzzled look, then glanced down at the crevice and squinted his eyes, "Hmm, there is a narrow section down there."

"But you should be fine. I'm not saying you're not... well, you're already quite... uh, I mean, two of us could probably fit through."

"Though we might need some skill on the way down. Never mind, maybe you should wait here?"

"No!" Tenten shook her head vigorously. "I'm coming with you. I’m not staying here."

"Just follow me, and you'll be fine," Naruto reassured her, "We'll jump together, and halfway down, I can pull you along."

Tenten wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘pull,’ but when they both leaped into the crevice, she quickly understood.

Mid-air, Naruto yanked her toward him.

The two of them clung together, slipping cleanly through the narrow gap.

For a moment, the thrill of it made Tenten's heart race, her scalp tingling with adrenaline.

She didn’t expect Naruto really dared to jump, perfectly grazing past the narrow opening.

The crevice was narrow at first, but as the wind howled around them and they continued to plummet, the space below grew wider. Naruto didn’t let go of Tenten, holding her tightly.

He wasn’t thinking anything inappropriate, as it was just too dark, and he couldn’t fly. So if they got separated now, finding each other would be impossible.

He pulled out a large flashlight, but it only illuminated about ten meters below.

Given their speed of descent, ten meters of visibility wasn’t enough to react in time.

At first, Tenten panicked and struggled slightly. But when she realized they hadn’t landed after a full minute, her expression turned to sheer terror.

Not only did she stop struggling, she also clung to Naruto tightly.

It's not like she had never been on dangerous missions before, but her opponents had always been people. Nothing like the horrors she’d experienced over the past two days.

Constantly dealing with dark rivers and caves, the only response she got was from the darkness itself.

The feeling was absolutely adrenaline-pumping, making her want to scream at every moment. It was terrifying, far beyond the psychological limits of an ordinary person.

Even for a Shinobi, it was overwhelming.

Fortunately, Tenten managed to hold back her screams and stayed silent, afraid of affecting Naruto's judgment. After all, during such a high-speed fall, any distraction could be fatal.

Luckily, after some time, their descent began to slow.

"Have we reached the bottom?" Tenten asked.

"Almost." Naruto replied, his brow furrowed. He used Chakra on the soles of his feet to create an adhesive force, slowing their fall as they gradually landed.

"Naruto came back and then left again?" Choji's chubby face scrunched up in frustration. "Why didn’t anyone tell me?"

"It’s because Jiraiya-sama went missing. That’s why he left in such a hurry." Kakashi explained, lying lifelessly on a stone bench below the Hokage Tower, his mind blank.

He finally got the rare chance to take a break and take a walk, but I was accidentally caught by the chubby Choji.

"Jiraiya-sama went missing? Has he been found yet?" Choji was slightly stunned and asked. "Do we need more people to search for him?"

"He’s been found. Jiraiya-sama already informed us through his Summoned Beast. As for Naruto and the others... they’ve run into some trouble, but I’m sure they’ll resolve it soon."

"Trouble?"

"It seems they encountered a spatial teleportation. Naruto and Tenten were sent to the island of Land of Whirlpools, while Jiraiya-sama, Neji, and Lee ended up in the far north."

"What do we do now?" Choji asked urgently.

"A rescue ship has already been dispatched to Land of Whirlpools, with Guy leading the team." Kakashi said lazily, "As for the other group, thanks to our diplomatic relations with the Land of Snow, we’ve already contacted them for rescue."

Hearing the matter was settled, Choji finally relaxed, scratching his head before taking his leave.

Kakashi continued to lie on the stone bench, one dead-fish eye exposed as he stared blankly at the lush tree canopy above.

The village had too many things to handle, and he was completely overwhelmed.

…

At the Nara Clan’s compound, Shikamaru listened as Choji enthusiastically recounted the events. He picked up his teacup, taking a tactical sip to calm himself.

"Spatial teleportation?" Shikamaru frowned and said, "It might be due to external magnetic field changes. Anyway, it’s not impossible for something like this to happen in the wild."

"It's pretty amazing, though it’s tough for them right now, stuck on a deserted island or in the far north." Choji rambled, feeling parched. He grabbed his tea and gulped it down.

"Since they’ve already made contact, it’s not a big problem." Shikamaru said.

The far north.

"Ugh! What kind of lousy place is this?!" Jiraiya grumbled, staring at the endless expanse of snow ahead. His heart sank. "With this blizzard, who knows how long we’ll be stuck here."

"Don’t worry, Jiraiya-sama," Lee said cheerfully, holding up a frozen fish, "We’ve got plenty of fish stored up. We won’t starve to death here."

Hearing this, Jiraiya felt a wave of fishy taste rise in his mouth.

"I’m so sick of eating fish these past few days. But in this godforsaken place, there’s nothing but fish, and we can’t even start a fire." Jiraiya lamented.

Neji gazed at the howling snowstorm, his brow slowly furrowing.

"I wonder how Naruto and Tenten are doing. They should be safe, right?"

"They are in the Land of Whirlpools and have no shortage of supplies, so how could they be in danger!" Jiraiya said, "But if they don’t listen to advice and insisted on looking for that underwater gate... well, that’s another story."

"Gate?" Lee scratched his head, his thick eyebrows rising as he asked in a comical expression, "Jiraiya-sama, were we also sucked in by that gate?"

"Not necessarily. There are two gates at the bottom of that river." Neji added.

"How many?" Jiraiya suddenly perked up, looking at Neji with disbelief, "You’re saying there’s... another gate down there?"

"Yes."

"Where is it?" Jiraiya asked, his expression serious.

"In another part of the river. We passed by it but weren’t pulled in. Instead, we were dragged into the vortex where you disappeared, Jiraiya-sama."

Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent, stroking his chin as he sank into deep thought.

…

Meanwhile, Naruto and Tenten had been exploring the bottom of the valley for quite some time.

The two of them worked together, navigating through the darkness. Their flashlights pierced the gloom as they moved forward slowly.

After crawling through twists and turns for a long distance, they finally reached the end.

A door, its material unidentifiable, was quietly embedded in the stone wall. It was almost invisible unless examined closely.

The door had no handle, and its surface was covered in intricate, bizarre patterns.

They looked like cryptic, indecipherable symbols, and Naruto couldn’t make sense of them. Tenten glanced at him, silently asking what they should do next.

Without hesitation, Naruto made his decision.

The valley was empty, and aside from this door, there was nothing else. It was clearly a trap, an ominous thing.

So, he chose to take it with him.