The pair found themselves looking at what appeared to be several kites that had been combined together in order to form one very large kite. The kites were all diamond shaped, and painted black. They were currently hanging from a tree that they seemed to have gotten snagged on. Naruto was surprised no one had come to pick them up.
'Well, at least now we know how the Cursed Warrior was able to fly. He used these kites, and since their black, they blended into the night, essentially making them invisible.'
'The things you humans come up with to accomplish something beyond your nature.'
'We can't all be powerful spiritual entities made entirely from youki.'
'Very true. I'm so glad you've finally admitted to my superiority over you apes.'
Naruto ignored Kyuubi's words. She was probably just bitter about being sealed inside one of those 'apes' as she called humans by another 'ape'. That woman could carry a grudge with the best of them.
Deciding there was nothing more that could be learned from the outside, Naruto figured it was high time he took a look inside.
Walking into the shrine, the first thing Naruto noticed was that the place was empty. There was absolutely nothing there. The ground was covered in a thick layer of dust, the walls were barren. There was nothing to indicate that anyone, Cursed Warrior or otherwise, had ever used the ramshackle shrine before.
Of course, that just made the place even more suspicious to Naruto. That there wasn't even a footprint when he had seen the Cursed Warrior come out of this very shrine not but a day ago was enough to make anyone paranoid.
'There's a breeze coming through here.'
'I know,' Naruto looked around, his eyes narrows as a soft breeze ruffled his hair. He walked further into the room, trying to determine where the breeze was coming from. 'It's coming from below us.'
Kneeling down, Naruto began groping along the ground until he found where the breeze was coming from. A small crack in the floor. The dirt covered it well, but not well enough to mask the breeze coming through the floor. There was a secret entrance right there, and Naruto aimed to uncover it.
Pulling out a kunai from the seal written on his hand, Naruto spun the tiny implement around by the ring before grabbing it in a firm grip with the blade pointed down. He found it almost ironic that he was about to use the kunai for a purpose that was close to the original one it had been created for, rather than the ones ninja used them for.
After stabbing the kunai into the crevice several times, Naruto finally discovered the reason there was a breeze. A set of wooden doors that were often found outside of houses that led to the basement were embedded into the floor. Undoubtedly, this was why the Cursed Warrior always came back to this place after terrorizing the town. It was likely that this trap door led to the place where the Cursed Warrior was quartered up in.
Naruto was quick to pry his hands in between the doors and pulled them up. The hinges creaked a bit, showing they were old, but it was a lot quieter than he would have expected. Someone had been oiling these hinges recently.
With the doors lifted, Naruto saw the passage they revealed beneath them. A set of decrepit stairs descended into darkness. It was only thanks to Naruto's enhanced vision that he could see through the darkness creeping up from the depths of the passage way.
Curiosity got the better of him as he wondered where this passage would lead to. Taking the plunge, Naruto began walking down the stairs and into the darkness that engulfed the passageway.
'I hate being in the dark like this.'
Naruto raised his eyebrow at the strange inflection in the young looking woman's voice.
'Oh? So even the great Kyuubi has something she fears?'
'I do not fear the dark!' Though Naruto could not see her, he could practically feel the scowl she was giving him. Were she able to physically manifest herself outside of the seal, the blond was sure she would be drilling a hole through his head with her eyes at that moment. 'I just dislike the feeling of claustrophobia I get whenever I'm in dark, enclosed spaces. I am the Kyuubi no Yoko. Do not forget that. I enjoy open spaces and freedom.'
That was the whole reason she hated humans so much. They were the ones who took her freedom away, locking her up in a cage so they could use her powers for their own purposes. Oh sure, they might say it's because they thought she was too dangerous to let go, but she knew otherwise. Humans were greedy and selfish. They wanted power, and they didn't care if they forced others into servitude and slavery to acquire it.
'Well, I suppose that makes sense,' Naruto admitted. 'I know I would hate to have my freedom taken away like that.' Really, it did kind of put a whole new perspective on his perception of the woman who was sealed into him. She actually seemed to have a reason for not liking humans. The blond could only imagine how he would feel if he was locked away behind steal bars.
Eventually, Naruto reached the end of the tunnel. Frowning, the blond looked at the dead up before switching his gaze up towards the ceiling. There was a small square patch that was textured differently than the rest. Where most of the ceiling was dirt packed together and filled with rocks, this part of the ceiling looked like cement.
'A way out?'
'There's only one way to find out.'
Naruto nodded, climbing up the wall using chakra until he was 'standing' above the potential exit. The square patch that might very well lead to the outside world was small, he noted, only big enough to fit maybe someone a few inches wider than him. Just how did someone wearing all that armor fit through this?
Shrugging the thoughts away, the blond put his hands against the cement and pushed. Whatever the thing was, it was a bit on the heavy side. Nothing he couldn't handle of course, but something noteworthy. He pushed the object up and then began sliding the panel away, allowing sunlight to filter in through the hole. This was definitely the way out.
Grinning, the blond looked at his new surroundings, pleased to be out of that stupid passage. He was surrounded by a lot of greenery, mostly shrubs, but there were a few trees as well. The one thing he noticed the most was the large building he was next to. It was much more majestic than the rest of the buildings in Tori no Kuni, and it was familiar to him, even if he had only seen it from a distance.
'That's the Daimyo's residence.'
Within the confines of his mind, Kyuubi chuckled.
'If that isn't damning evidence I don't know what is.'
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