Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 181 The Road to the Moon
The night in the Valley of the End is filled with the sound of rushing water.

The roar echoed between the towering Hashirama Senju and the statue of Madara Uchiha, stirring up a fine, icy mist.

“Uchiha, Kaguya, Uzumaki…” Hyuga Hizashi’s gaze slowly swept over the four people behind Shura, finally landing on the young Kimimaro.

"The Byakugan that Shura took... was transplanted into the Kaguya clan?" He was all too familiar with those Byakugan; they were the very eyes that Shura had gouged out of the elders' eye sockets right in front of him.

Hyuga Hizashi's figure, like a lone goose soaked in the heavy moisture, quietly slipped off the shoulder of the Thousand Hands Hashirama statue.

He landed steadily a few steps away from Shura, his dark casual clothes clinging to his taut body. The bluish-gray "Caged Bird" curse mark on his forehead, under the moonlight and moisture, looked like a mark of shame branded into his soul.

He took a deep breath of the watery, fishy air, knelt on one knee, bowed his head deeply, and said respectfully, "Lord Shura."

Menma slightly raised his white three-eyed fox mask, his two deep gazes falling on the lowered head of Hizashi.

"You've arrived." Without saying much, Mianma nodded slightly, the nine-faced Suvaha pattern on his cloak fluttering in the wind.

He then turned around, his black robes tracing a sharp arc in the damp night wind, and headed ahead towards the depths of the roaring waterfall, towards the darkness swallowed by the ancient forest.

Uchiha Hikaru, Shisui, Uzumaki Kaoru, and Kaguya Kimimaro followed silently like shadows.

Their movements were swift and light, skimming over damp rocks and gnarled tree roots as they traversed the forest.

As Uchiha Shisui moved at full speed, his gaze involuntarily swept over Hyuga Hizashi not far ahead once more.

That silhouette.

That branch family head, the one least likely to betray Konoha...

Shisui tried to find a trace of coercion in Hizashi, but only saw an almost resolute silence.

The sirens seemed to sense the watchful gaze, and paused almost imperceptibly, straightening their backs even more, but never turning around.

Between the two lies the surging river, the roaring waterfall, and even more so, the unfathomable chasm called "position."

In the end, all the complex emotions turned into a silent heaviness, which they swallowed and buried deep beneath their hurried footsteps.

Deep in the forest on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, the roar of the waterfall was deafening.

As the group followed Shura forward, they parted the thick, curtain-like, slippery vines, and a cold wind carrying the scent of moss and rock rushed towards them.

The entrance to the cave resembles the slightly open mouth of a giant beast. The emerald green spring water at the bottom of the cave quietly emits a mysterious and cool halo, making the uneven contours of the cave walls look ghostly.

"Keep up." Shura's deep voice came through the mask.

He was the first to jump into the icy spring water. The surface of the water only rippled slightly before his figure quickly sank.

Whirlpool vanilla followed closely behind, her red hair appearing like a burning flame in the water, fleeting in an instant.

Uchiha Hikaru, Kimimaro, Shisui, and Hizashi were swallowed up in turn.

A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped my entire body.

After diving several meters, the light suddenly changed, and everyone leaped out of the water.

What lies before us is a strange, open passage.

A pale green glow seemed to spread from nowhere, filling the entire space with a soft yet unnatural and eerie feeling.

The passage lost its normal gravity, and countless fist-sized bubbles, emitting a soft, pale yellow light, floated and drifted silently like jellyfish in a dream.

The grayish-white round stone spheres of varying sizes also lost their weight and floated haphazardly among the light bubbles, like solidified stars.

The group adjusted their posture and stepped onto the floating stone sphere.

A hard sensation came from beneath my feet. With a gentle push, my body leaped up as lightly as a feather and floated into the depths of the passage.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the sound of my own heartbeat and blood flowing amplified in my ears.

"Where is this?" Whirlpool Vanilla watched as the pale yellow light bubble silently floated past her, emitting a faint yet alluring mental fluctuation.

"Be careful, these are all illusion traps," Menma warned the group.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui cautiously avoided them, his sharp gaze sweeping ahead.

However, when his gaze fell upon a bubble, his eyes seemed to be drawn by some force.

hum!
Shisui's gaze instantly became unfocused.

The fantastical passage before them was distorted and faded, replaced by a blood-red sky and a burning homeland!

The piercing screams, the sound of cold blades cutting through flesh, the falling figures of clansmen, Sasuke's heart-wrenching cries...

Every detail of the night of the genocide, filled with pain and despair more intense than reality itself, overwhelmed him like a surging tide!

He felt as if he were back in that situation, gripped by the unforgettable sense of powerlessness and the heart-wrenching guilt, unable to breathe, his body trembling slightly in the weightlessness, like a drowning person on the verge of death.

At almost the same moment, Hyuga Hizashi was also captured by another pale yellow orb.

Hizashi's Byakugan instinctively detected the abnormal fluctuations in mental energy, but the heavy shackles of the "Caged Bird" and his deep-seated worry for Neji's future made this illusion the perfect breeding ground.

The scene before him suddenly changed, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already in the rain in front of the Konoha Memorial Monument.

He "saw" his own body being buried.

Young Neji nestled in his mother's arms, weeping, rainwater mingling with his tears as it washed over his tender yet distorted face.

Those Byakugan eyes, which should have been pure, burned with a deep-seated hatred for the main family, for fate, and for Konoha!
That look in his eyes was more suffocating and terrifying to Hijika than any torture!
It was as if the son he tried everything to protect was ultimately pushed into the abyss of hatred by a fate he could not escape.

The immense pain left him frozen on the stone sphere, as if his soul had been ripped away.

"wake up!"

A low shout, like a thunderclap piercing through the fog, exploded deep within the souls of the two!

Shura held a bamboo scroll in his hand, which emitted a faint red glow. This light spread rapidly like ripples on water, forming a semi-transparent, pale red light shield that steadily enveloped the entire team.

The moment the light shield was formed, Shisui and Hijika were as if they were being dragged out of the deep sea by an invisible force!

Their eyes cleared instantly, and their heavy breathing could be clearly heard in the silent passage.

Cold sweat soaked through their undershirts; the excruciating pain and despair they had just experienced were so real.

The two instinctively looked at the Book of Crimson Moon in Shura's hand, their eyes filled with shock and gratitude.

Uchiha Hikaru's cold gaze swept over the two pale faces as he spoke: "This kind of illusion trap is activated by the infiltrator's strongest emotions or weaknesses to construct a corresponding illusion. Its strength is not top-notch, but it excels in its concealment and precision. Those who are not strong-willed or have mental burdens are easily captured and ensnared by it."

Upon hearing this, Shisui and Hizashi were both shocked. They pressed their lips together, suppressing their surging emotions, and their eyes became more serious and focused than ever before, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.

Protected by the pale red shield, the team continued leaping forward along this dreamlike yet dangerous passage.

In a state of weightlessness, each jump using the stone spheres requires precise control. The passage seems endless, with only floating light bubbles and silent stone spheres.

After an unknown amount of time, a rich green halo finally appeared in front of them again, and there was another spring exuding the same aura.

"Exit." Shura said succinctly.

Without further hesitation, everyone leaped into the green light one by one.

Wow! Wow!
The sound of water breaking through the surface rang out one after another.

The scene before them suddenly changed drastically, and the intense light made the people who had just emerged from the dark passage instinctively squint.

A space even larger and more fantastical than the previous passageway cave unfolds before your eyes!
The cave walls were no longer rough rock, but were densely inlaid with countless huge, translucent cylindrical crystals!

These crystals vary in length and thickness, and their interiors shimmer with a silvery light, like giant natural light tubes that illuminate the entire cave, creating a surreal and mesmerizing atmosphere.

In the air, there were more pale yellow light bubbles, and their density was greater, like countless lazy eyes, silently drifting in this space.

The group had just regained their footing and were cautiously observing this extraordinary sight.

suddenly!

Boom!

The dense cluster of crystals on one side of the cave wall suddenly burst open without warning!
Countless colorful crystal fragments shot out like a torrential rain!
Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of metal scraping and rocks cracking, an enormous shadow suddenly burst out of the wall, carrying with it debris and violent air currents, and fiercely pounced on Shura at the forefront of the group!
It was a giant crab with a ferocious and terrifying appearance. Its shell had a colorful metallic sheen, and its two house-sized pincers were raised high. The joints made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, like two giant battering rams that slammed down hard!
Before the giant pincers even arrived, the strong wind they generated already made everyone's clothes flutter loudly!

"Watch out!" Whirlpool Vanilla reacted the fastest.

"Diamond Lock!" With a sharp shout, several chakra chains, each as thick as an adult's arm and covered in golden runes, appeared out of thin air!

The chains, as if possessing a life of their own, wrapped around the two massive pincers that the crab puppet was swinging down with perfect precision!
A powerful binding force erupted, firmly imprisoning the massive pincers in mid-air. No matter how the puppet struggled and roared, its metal joints emitting piercing groans, it could not fall even an inch further!
Just as the giant pincers were locked, a cold figure shot out from the side like an arrow!

Kaguya Kimimaro's pale face was expressionless, her white eyes filled only with pure killing intent and focused concentration on battle.

"Ten Fingers Piercing Bullets!" With a low shout, the skin on the tips of his ten fingers instantly shattered, and ten sharp, white finger bones, gleaming with a cold metallic light, shot out like cannonballs, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, transforming into ten white streaks of light that were indistinguishable to the naked eye!
puff! puff! puff! puff!
Precise! Ruthless!
All ten bone spurs hit the crab's shell without the slightest deviation!
click-

boom!
A teeth-grinding cracking sound was followed by a muffled explosion.

The giant crab puppet's massive body stiffened abruptly, the light in its eyes went out instantly, and all its struggling movements came to an abrupt halt.

The colorful shell was pierced, and the giant crab, like a collapsing hill, crashed to the ground with a broken groan, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Puppet." Kimimaro landed lightly, his voice calm and even, as if he had merely crushed an insect.

Mianma slowly stepped forward, his cold fox-faced expression looking down at the lifeless remains of the puppets at his feet.

If I remember correctly, this puppet is the guardian responsible for producing illusion bubbles, and also the final guardian of this passage.

His gaze swept over the broken structure of the crab, and his deep voice came through the mask: "It seems that the Otsutsuki clan on the moon already knows of our arrival."

As soon as Mianma finished speaking, an invisible sense of crisis instantly filled everyone's hearts.

The group did not linger there.

Led by Mianma, they remained highly vigilant, cautiously navigating the eerie cave filled with glowing crystal pillars and floating light bubbles.

Finally, the endless crystal forest ahead was no longer there; a huge cave appeared before them, which invigorated everyone, and they quickened their pace and ran towards the cave.

The moment they stepped out of the cave, the intense light made everyone instinctively raise their hands to shield their eyes.

"Where is this..." As their eyes adjusted, the scene before them unfolded like a miraculous scroll, instantly captivating everyone's attention and even causing them to hold their breath!

Vast! Boundless!
A vast, calm ocean filled almost the entire field of vision, extending to the very limit of what the eye could see!

Across the sea, a mountain range appeared, behind which lay another ocean, but it presented a completely illogical, enormous, upward-curving arc!

The curve was so pronounced that one could clearly see the azure sea surface, like the inner wall of a giant bowl, extending and closing towards the dome above!
On this winding ocean, several islands covered with lush green vegetation and of various shapes seem to be held up by an invisible hand of God, quietly and steadily "floating" on the curved "sea surface"!
"This...how is this possible?!" Vanilla Whirlpool was the first to exclaim in shock, her face filled with astonishment.

"An island...an island floating in the sky?!"

Mianma stood quietly, his black robe fluttering slightly in the wind.

“It’s not floating.” He looked up at the very top of the dome, at the “sun” that radiated a warm and gentle light.

“We have now reached the interior of the moon. The ‘sea’ you see curving upwards is not an illusion, but the inner dome of this huge enclosed space. Those ‘islands’ are landmasses attached to the inner wall of the moon. The ‘sky’ we see is just the inner wall on the other side.”

“And this—” he raised his hand and pointed to the “sun” radiating intense heat in the center of the dome: “This is our goal for this trip.”

The interior of the moon?!
Those four simple words exploded in everyone's mind!
They had looked up at the sky more than once when they were in the ninja world, and even looked at the moon with a telescope, but they only knew that the moon was a huge, lifeless sphere, and had never heard of such a world inside the moon.

Is this the hidden world that the legendary brother of the Sage of Six Paths, Hamura Otsutsuki, has protected for a thousand years?
Everyone looked up in unison, their gazes fixed on the "sun" radiating warm light in the center of the dome.

"Nine-faced Suvaha!" Mianma formed hand seals, and two formations appeared behind him.

The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird, both wearing masks, leaped out of the formation.

(End of this chapter)