Ashina was also at a loss for words. No matter how he looked at it, he never expected this guy to forcibly take the Gate of the Underworld. This wasn’t just any ordinary tool.

This was an artifact left behind by the Shinigami, comparable to the Six Paths Ninja Tools of Kumogakure.

But now, it was too late to say anything. The other party had already privatized the Gate of the Underworld. He was just a fragment of consciousness, and the other party was the last hope of the Uzumaki Clan.

At this point, he had no choice. How could he make things difficult for his own descendant?

He was just a lingering thought, left behind in this deep valley. As for his purpose, even he wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps it was to guard the Gate of the Underworld, or perhaps it was to wait for a certain day to come.

"Sigh, the Uzumaki Clan couldn’t escape its destined calamity after all." Ashina sighed, no longer in the mood to continue bantering with Naruto.

After all, he was an old fox who had lived for centuries. He could see at a glance that Naruto wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Since they were both seasoned players, there was no point in beating around the bush.

"If there’s any hope, it would be best if you could revive the Uzumaki Clan."

After saying this, Ashina's figure gradually became illusory, and his voice grew softer and softer. Finally, with a kind smile, he turned into specks of light and dissipated.

Along with Ashina’s disappearance, the horde of corpses in the valley also vanished.

Naruto and Tenten exchanged a glance, neither of them eager to descend immediately.

After all, in war, deception was key.

After a long while, when they were sure nothing else would happen, the two slowly climbed down from the rock wall.

"What was that all about?" Tenten asked. Now that she knew what had happened, she no longer felt afraid of this unfamiliar valley.

"Probably some last wish, something about continuing the family line or something like that." Naruto said with a strange expression.

For some reason, Tenten remembered the lie she had told the old clan leader about having two or three children, and she immediately felt a bit awkward.

Luckily, Naruto didn’t bring it up.

"Then what about you...?" Tenten looked at Naruto.

"Me? What does his last wish have to do with me?" Naruto replied with a matter-of-fact expression and shook his head, "Making vague promises is a foolish move. I have no obligation to take responsibility for them."

"But, Naruto, aren't you a member of the Uzumaki Clan?" She looked surprised.

"Yeah, and I’m also a law-abiding citizen of Konoha." Naruto said, curling his lip. "Tenten, you’re too young. Reviving a clan isn’t as easy as it sounds."

"Murong Fu abstained for so many years, and he still didn’t restore his kingdom." (T/N: A character from a novel called the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.)

"Who is Murong Fu?" Tenten was confused.

"A… man." Naruto said vaguely. "That’s not important right now. The priority is to get out of here. We can’t stay here forever."

"Yeah." Tenten said. She’s smart enough to know that now was the time to listen to Naruto.

He dismissed the corpses summoned with Impure World Reincarnation and stood in the empty valley for a while, lost in thought. Then, he turned his gaze to Tenten, who felt a chill under his stare.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Tenten, we can’t go back." Naruto said suddenly.

"What?" Tenten exclaimed, but she quickly realized the reason. The valley was impossible to climb out of, and even if Konoha sent a rescue team, they wouldn’t be able to find them.

Because once you came down, you couldn’t go back up.

Looking up at the darkness above, Tenten broke out in a cold sweat. If Naruto hadn’t forcibly taken the Gate of the Underworld earlier, they would have had no hope of leaving this place.

This deep valley was itself a Sealing Technique, designed to trap the armies of the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning.

Earlier, she had thought Naruto was being reckless. After all, even Jiraiya had warned them not to approach that gate, and Ashina had even tried to stop him.

But Naruto still stubbornly took the gate anyway, forcing the old man to reveal the truth.

"Wasn’t that old man your Clan Head?" Tenten asked in surprise. "Why... why didn’t he lift the seal or at least help you figure something out?"

"Clan Head?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Does being a Clan Head mean he has to risk his life to help me?"

"But..." Tenten had no response.

It was true. The Clan Head was already dead. He had died even before the fall of the Land of Whirlpools. What remained here was just a fragment of his consciousness, not the real person.

"Now you understand my good intentions, right, Tenten?" Naruto patted her shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"I understand. Sorry," Tenten said, blushing a little.

As soon as she finished speaking, Naruto added, "I knew that old man was up to no good from the start. Anyone can talk big, but actions speak louder than words. He kept talking about reviving the Uzumaki Clan, but he wouldn’t even give me the gate."

"How are we supposed to revive the clan? By fishing?"

Tenten: "…"

Now, Tenten felt that she still didn’t truly understand the person in front of her.

Over the years, her old companions had matured and become more stable in their own ways.

For example, the once-arrogant Neji had become very gentle. Shikamaru, who loved freedom, had thrown himself into the heavy workload of administrative duties. Choji had gotten married.

But this person in front of her seemed to have never changed, staying true to his original self.

Some things were hard to judge, and only someone who wasn’t an orphan could do the things he did.

"What’s wrong, Tenten?" Naruto smiled at her.

"Nothing, it’s just that the Clan Head was really... despicable." Tenten forced a smile, trying to look cute, "So, what do we do now?"

Ever since they had fallen onto this island in the Land of Whirlpools, Tenten's most common phrase has been, "Naruto, what do we do?"

The deep valley seemed alive, silently watching the two of them. It was like a lurking beast, waiting for the next opportunity to strike, sending chills down their spines.

"At this point, there’s no other choice. We can only open the gate." He said.

"Open the gate?" Tenten instinctively looked up. The gate that had once been embedded in the rock wall was now gone, leaving behind an ugly scar.

Jiraiya had warned them not to approach that gate recklessly.

"Not everything others say is right. Pervy Sage doesn’t fully understand what this gate is." Naruto explained, "Maybe he doesn’t know as much as we do."

"Now, we have no other option but to take the risk and try." Tenten nodded.

Following the method given by Ashina, Naruto had already memorized the steps. He immediately summoned the Gate of the Underworld.

The five-to-six-meter-tall gate stood imposingly, truly awe-inspiring.

Without hesitation, Naruto cut his finger with a kunai and smeared his blood on the gate. As if sensing the blood of an Uzumaki Clan’s member, the gate creaked and came to life.

The golden light flowed through the patterns on the gate, like a swimming golden koi.

Tenten watched the gate nervously, her hands tightly clenched. She had already experienced the dangers of this gate. Even though Naruto seemed confident, she wasn’t sure if the gate would open.

And even if it did, what lay beyond? Would it be another deserted island, or perhaps an even more dangerous place? Follow current novᴇls on novel-fire.net

Just as Tenten was filled with anxiety, the gate creaked open with a crack.