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Chapter 172: The Moon Passage
"Lady Konan," Kameda caught his breath and pointed south. "In this direction, about an hour's flight away. It's located inside a cave. I have arranged for a squad to guard the entrance."
"Lady Konan, should we set off now? This subordinate can lead the way."
"No need," Konan said, looking at Shion, Hinata, and the others. "You all return to the Sky Fortress immediately."
Naturally, she couldn't take them to the Moon. The surface still held threats like Obito and Black Zetsu. While she was away, it was safer for them to remain in the Sky Fortress with its high defenses.
They nodded without saying much and quickly stood up.
Alex shook his paper body slightly. Six sheets of white paper inscribed with black runes pasted themselves onto Kameda, Shion, and the others respectively.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the next instant, the Flying Thunder God Technique activated!
The six of them disappeared instantly, teleported back to the Sky Fortress. Thanks to the black fragment, Alex's profound understanding of the nature of space allowed him to use the Flying Thunder God without needing to physically transport people himself. He only needed to attach a paper tag with the Flying Thunder God seal to the target to perform a point-to-point teleportation.
The lakeside instantly became quiet, save for the crackling sound of the bonfire. Konan waved her hand, extinguishing the fire in an instant. The light vanished, and the surroundings turned dim.
"Alex, let's go."
"Okay." Alex nodded, lying on Konan's shoulder.
Sensing the location of the Sky Ninja squad, he activated the Flying Thunder God again.
Whoosh!
The two vanished without a trace, and the location returned to complete tranquility.
On the other side, hundreds of kilometers away, a five-man Sky Ninja squad in black robes guarded the entrance of a cave. They were silent, carefully alert to their surroundings.
Suddenly, Konan's figure appeared abruptly in front of them. They all carried Flying Thunder God papers, making it easy for Alex and Konan to arrive instantly.
"Lady Konan!" The Sky Ninja squad leader hurriedly stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "The place you are looking for is the cave behind me. However, there is a giant crab inside. Its size is terrifying and its strength is formidable. My squad is no match for it, so we couldn't explore further."
A giant crab?
Alex smiled. It seemed they had found the right place. He vaguely remembered a giant crab living at the entrance of the Moon Passage, acting as a gatekeeper.
"Good," Konan said calmly. "Return to the Sky Fortress."
As she spoke, Alex used the Flying Thunder God papers again to send the five men back to the Sky Fortress.
The two flew into the pitch-black cave. As they went deeper, instead of getting darker, a light began to emanate from the end.
"Looks like we're here..."
Alex flew in front. Passing through the long, narrow tunnel, they reached the end. The soft light was coming from behind the opening in front of them.
"Let's go."
He beckoned, and he and Konan stepped inside.
The interior opened up豁然. It was a massive cavern space. On the ground was a water surface shimmering with multicolored light. The colorful halos reflected against the cave, making the entire space incredibly dazzling.
A giant crab was spitting white bubbles by the lake. Discovering intruders in its territory, it immediately raised its sharp pincers and clamped down viciously. A fishy wind assaulted their noses, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.
"Heh." Alex chuckled lightly. "A crab this big... the taste should be pretty good. I'll throw it to Kameda to make into a seafood dish."
Sheets of white paper covered it with lightning speed, emitting a slight chill. The giant crab was frozen instantly, unable to attack further. A mere crab that hadn't even reached Kage level could be subdued with a flip of a hand.
With a thought from Alex, Flying Thunder God runes appeared on the white paper, and he activated the jutsu. The giant crab vanished with a whoosh, teleported back to the Sky Fortress as ingredients.
Konan surveyed the rippling water surface and looked at the surrounding walls. "Alex, the entrance to the Moon Passage?"
She didn't see anything obvious that looked like an entrance.
"It's underwater." Alex pressed against Konan's cheek. "Move towards the direction where the colorful halo in the water is thickest, and you'll find the entrance."
Konan nodded. With a splash, she jumped into the water.
Her body surface reflected light slightly. With her current strength and Chakra control, she could form a thin film outside her body, isolating the water. Her clothes, hair, and body wouldn't get wet at all.
Unimpeded by the water, Konan moved rapidly toward the place where the brilliance was most intense.
"Don't slow down, go straight in," Alex reminded her with a hint of excitement.
Konan did as told, crashing headfirst into a multicolored light barrier.
With a soft pop, the light barrier rippled. She passed through the barrier completely, entering the Moon Passage.
"Whoa," Alex exclaimed. "It really is bright and colorful."
Before their eyes was a fantastical, glazed scene. Visible streams of light and colorful stardust drifted everywhere. There were also clusters of multicolored light spheres of varying diameters scattered all around. It was dazzling to the extreme.
Konan was also momentarily stunned by the beauty before her eyes. It was indeed the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
The Moon Passage was like a flowing river of light. There was no need to confirm the direction; as long as they flew forward, they would reach the Moon. She spread her wings, taking Alex with her as they sped through the brilliant Moon Passage.
Along the way, they passed small phantom bubbles. Inside, they could actually see scenes from various places in the Ninja World.
Looking at the end of the passage ahead, Konan couldn't help but exclaim, "Alex, such a magical passage connecting the Earth and Moon... how was it achieved? Is it man-made or naturally existing?"
In any case, with her current strength, she couldn't create something this mystical.
"It's man-made, of course." Alex glanced to the side. "Konan, did you forget? The Moon of the Ninja World was created by the Sage of Six Paths using Chibaku Tensei. Before that, there was no Moon Passage."
"Was it opened by the Sage of Six Paths?"
Alex shook his head slightly. "I'm more inclined to believe it was his brother, Hamura Otsutsuki, who opened the Moon Passage using the Tenseigan."
One blast of the Tenseigan's Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion could slice the Moon in half. In terms of destructive power, it surpassed the Rinnegan. Furthermore, the Tenseigan possessed space manipulation abilities. With Hamura Otsutsuki's power, he could totally use the Tenseigan to open a passage.
"Hamura Otsutsuki?" Konan frowned slightly. This younger brother wasn't as widely known as his older brother, the Sage of Six Paths. "Why did he go to the Moon back then?"
Alex recalled for a moment. "Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed inside the Moon. According to Hamura himself, he was worried about his mother being lonely, so he took his family to settle on the Moon. Incidentally, he was also guarding the husk of the Ten-Tails for his brother."
Konan couldn't understand this. As a son, he personally sealed his mother. After it was done, he hypocritically worried about her being lonely on the Moon and went to keep her company. Atonement? Or did he simply want to ease his conscience?
"We're here!" Alex's reminder interrupted Konan's thoughts.
Konan gathered her thoughts. Without slowing down, she passed through the multicolored light barrier at the end, leaping out of the Moon Passage.
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