Torifū's mood was also good about this. His teacher accepting the Oyashirō clan meant his choice was not wrong; bringing the Oyashirō into Konoha Village was the correct decision.
Thus, the three left Konoha Village and embarked on their journey to the Land of Lightning. Because Hashirama did not want to be too high profile, the three departed from the back mountain. Hashirama ran on the ground, while Torifū and Naori rode on the cranes in the sky. As they had already been delayed by a day, Hashirama suggested increasing their speed.
The three of them took less than two days to reach the Land of Lightning. They encountered no mishaps along the way, and the journey could be considered quite smooth.
"How long until we reach Hell Valley?"
Hashirama was not visiting the Land of Lightning for the first time, but he had truly never been to the so-called Hell Valley. He only hoped it wasn't too far, or the Oyashirō clan might grow impatient waiting.
"Don't worry, Sensei, we'll reach Hell Valley in less than half a day."
Hashirama heard this and said, "Then let's go a bit faster. Let's try to reach Hell Valley before sunset." After Hashirama spoke, he accelerated and dashed forward. Torifū and Naori, seeing this, also increased their speed to keep up with Hashirama. To communicate with Hashirama, Torifū continuously kept Aokumo and Ryūfū flying at low altitude. Upon arriving in the Land of Lightning, Torifū dispelled his Summoning Jutsu; after all, entering another country, it was best to avoid being too conspicuous. Their current speed could also keep up with Hashirama without expending too much stamina, which seemed to be intentional on Hashirama's part.
As the sun began to set in the west, the three finally arrived at Hell Valley. This was Hashirama's first time visiting this place. As he observed the surrounding environment, Hashirama couldn't help but frown. How could humans survive in such an environment? But upon reaching their destination, he realized he had still underestimated Hell Valley. For dozens of miles around, there was almost no vegetation, only crimson rocks and dust, and many unknown animal bones.
Led by Torifū, the three arrived at the entrance of Hell Valley. Hashirama gazed at the opening, which was only wide enough for half of him to pass through, and fell into contemplation.
"Sensei, you can fix this, right?"
Hashirama nodded: "No problem. Both of you stand back." In fact, even before Hashirama finished speaking, Torifū and Naori had already run far away. However, Hashirama's attention wasn't on them.
For dozens of miles around, there was almost no life, let alone human activity, unless someone deliberately sought death. This allowed Hashirama to unleash his full power without worrying about attracting the attention of Kumogakure.
"Wood Release: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
A giant tree trunk soared from the ground, a peerless colossal tree appearing out of thin air on this lifeless land! Then the trunk twisted and trembled, gradually separating into the shape of a giant. When the wood golem emerged from the trunk, Hashirama leaped onto its head, controlling the golem to attack the cave entrance. Each of the wood golem's punches could shatter the mountainside, breaking off countless colossal rocks. At this point, the wooden dragon coiled around the wood golem began to move, biting huge chunks of rock into pieces with its massive mouth and sweeping them aside with its tail. This efficiency was extremely high, and soon, Hashirama had literally punched a cave the same size as the wood golem itself. This cave was more than wide enough for the Oyashirō clan to exit, even for a Tailed Beast to pass through.
Torifū and Naori watched, dumbfounded. Good heavens, this was simply too crazy. Indeed, using brute force was the most efficient way, and it perfectly suited Hashirama's status, directly carving out a mountain cave!
Hashirama was busy outside, still feeling his speed was too slow, worried that the Oyashirō clan would be kept waiting too long. But who knew that the Oyashirō clan members inside the valley were already terrified? A day had passed since the agreed time, and they hadn't received Torifū's reply. Now, why were there earthquakes as well? Mountainsides continuously collapsed in the valley, having already destroyed several homes, including Oyashirō Tsuki's house. This was truly adding insult to injury. Was Heaven really trying to destroy the Oyashirō clan? They had no choice; their current location was uninhabitable. In such a confined space, falling rocks could easily cause casualties. Reluctantly, the clan members could only follow Tsuki to the 'holy land,' which was also their ancestors' mass grave.
The area was very wide; even if rocks fell, they wouldn't hit anyone. Tsuki planned to have the clan members return after the earthquake subsided. Earlier, Tsuki had distributed the medicine Torifū gave him to the clan members. After taking it, everyone felt much more comfortable; their backs no longer ached, their legs weren't sore, and they weren't coughing anymore. Normally, even normal exercise would exhaust them to death, but now, dragging their families and belongings, they had all managed to come here, merely gasping for a few breaths. They could clearly feel their bodies improving. They now only hoped that this earthquake had merely delayed Torifū's arrival. Everyone was silently praying, hoping to see the lord their patriarch spoke of after the earthquake ended.
Hashirama continued to smash with increasing vigor, completely unaware of the Oyashirō clan's predicament inside the valley. With each smash, his next punch would be even more powerful! The rumbling sounds, amplified by the valley, echoed in all directions. Many people in the Land of Lightning heard these sounds but paid little attention. They simply treated it as another earthquake, nothing unusual.
"Torifū, how much longer do you think it'll be?"
Hashirama had already delved deep into the cave. Torifū and Naori, standing outside, could no longer see what was happening inside. All they could see was billowing smoke and flying dust. Occasionally, small rocks would ricochet out and hit them. The two could only cover their swelling bumps and accept their bad luck.
Hashirama continued smashing for about twenty minutes. He could already feel the heat from inside the valley. He suddenly unleashed a punch onto the mountain wall in front of him. With a boom, the mountain wall before Hashirama shattered, and colossal rocks scattered and fell! Torifū and Naori heard Hashirama's laughter and knew that he had broken through, so they rushed into the cave. With a casual Wind Release, Torifū blew away all the smoke and dust inside the cave.
Once the visibility was clear, Torifū and Naori were terrified. The rocks in front of Hashirama began to tilt towards the valley. And amidst the thunderous crash of falling rocks, Torifū caught a familiar sound. A bad thought immediately popped into his mind.
'Those guys aren't going to be smashed into paste, are they?!'
As this thought appeared, his body involuntarily sprang into action. Hashirama, out of the corner of his eye, also noticed that something seemed wrong! He immediately conjured countless massive wooden pillars, propping up the largest boulders. Just as he was about to deal with the other scattered rocks, a chill emanated from behind him.
"Ice Release: Extreme Cold Ice Prison."