Some black substance, hard and tarry, covered the gateway to the labyrinth. Loam covered the earth before the doorway, damp and cold like the rains that had fallen so recently on the path.
"What is it this time?" Naruto demanded sharply. He glanced over his shoulder, swallowing tightly. "I should go back and get the other two."
"Focus. You want to save Gaara, or worry about people who have it under wraps?" Sasuke demanded sharply.
Naruto's face grew stern. He stood straighter, his expression more serious.
Vines twined around the ceiling of the cavern, casting shadows across the earth. Seeing in the darkness was nigh-impossible, but the sun had set enough to allow some light to touch the ancient and many-storied stone.
Sasuke's face darkened as she touched the substance. "It's definitely gross, whatever it is," she replied in a deadpan tone. "Organic, probably. Kōju, you got any ideas?"
Kōju shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry. Last time I saw something like this was inside a Hidden Rain patient."
Naruto frowned. "Well, we aren't going to get anywhere by just looking at it," he muttered.
Sasuke's eyebrows rose. Even wisdom can come from the mouth of a fool. She studied the black stone doorway. Her eyes narrowed. "I can't see any way to get the door open. It's like solid stone."
"It is the result of the guardian of this place. Both the blockage and the solidness of the door come from that." Soyokaze descended into the cavern. Their voice remained quiet. "I will speak to it, and see if I can convince it to leave its roost." Their feet hardly seemed to touch the earth as they approached the doorway, their robe drifting gently over the ground as they approached the doorway.
"Why did it let those guys through?" Naruto demanded, glaring at the black form blocking the door.
Soyokaze spoke sharply in a strange, reverberating language, their voice echoing through the chambers.
The blackness receded, crawling up into the stone once again. A faint hum echoed from the darkness.
Naruto winced. "Yech." He stared at the blackness around him, suddenly wondering whether the entire space was covered in the same gooey sentience but concealed by the darkness of the chambers.
"They were permitted, it seems." Soyokaze paused. "Or had authorization from someone who did have that right. Allow me." They cleared their throat. Their hands clapped together. They pressed their slender fingers into the dark stone. Their hand suddenly lit with bright golden chakra. A humming resonance echoed from the depths of the stone. A set of edges formed in the door, creating the shape once more. "It states that we may pass. It recognizes my blood as granting that right." They studied the doorway, the shadows crossing the earth and touching the darkness.
Blocks of stone twisted to the side, circling outward until the form of the tunnel was fully revealed.
The circular opening glowed. Shards of light echoed from the labyrinth of passageways and tunnels, mirrored through some unknown source into the depths of the shadowy tomb.
"We'll never find him in here," Sasuke muttered. She glanced toward Naruto. Her voice grew quieter. "I'm sorry. But if we have to risk you dying, too, then it's not worth it to seek him out."
"We will find him, and bring him back to the village." Naruto drew in a sharp breath. "I probably have the best chance at finding him."
Sasuke's eyebrows rose.
"I'll go toward where the pain is strongest. That's where he'll be found." Naruto glanced toward Soyokaze. "What are you doing?"
Soyokaze glanced upward. "They have a comrade coming," they answered shortly. "Someone not associated with the two we met earlier—at least, in nothing but the vaguest sense." They stood motionless. "I'll be guarding your backs. Rest assured, I won't let anything happen to you."
Naruto nodded. He swallowed tightly.
"How should we tackle this?" Sasuke questioned. She drew out the scroll at her side, pressing a drop of blood to the scroll. A puff of smoke formed on the scroll. The kusari-gama appeared rapidly.
Kōju exhaled. "Clearly, we need to have some means of communication. If one of us runs into them in this labyrinth, we need to let the others know immediately. We should work that out before—"
Naruto rose to his feet. He ran into the maze rapidly, not hesitating for a moment in his rush.
"Naruto! Hold up!" Sasuke shouted. Her hand extended toward Naruto.
Naruto's pace didn't slow. He didn't look back. He hurried forward, his hand tightened on a kunai at his side.
Sasuke's teeth clenched. "That moron. He's going to die at this rate." She grasped the kusari-gama. Her feet kicked backward, gathering up speed and energy and strength. "I'm going after him."
"I don't blame him, but we need to think more carefully about how to approach this. Please wait a bit longer." Kōju held out her hand, repressively, kind and neatly impressive. "All right. Let's work out something between us—"
"Sorry, but we don't have the time." Sasuke glanced over her shoulder at Kōju. "Or do you want to lose him to these bastards, too? They have to be after the rest of the Tailed Beasts, too, so if he's alone he'll be stolen. Flash Technique!" She disappeared in a flicker of shadow.
Soyokaze remained silent. Their face darkened as they regarded the desert landscape beyond the walls.
Kōju sat on the rock outside the entrance. Her fingers rubbed her temples. "Oh, if only Sasori had made it over here. We need some more time to think over a strategy. Clearly these guys are well-put-together and effective, too," she fretted. "Whatever." She gripped the sword tightly. "There is one thing I know about Naruto. He's pigheaded and stubborn enough that even if he was killed he'd just keep going, heartbeat and blood stopped. He's that kind of person. So if he's that committed—if he's the same way he usually is—he'll be fine." She rose to her feet. Her hand rested against the hilt of the enormous sword, glimmering in the light of day. She glanced toward Soyokaze. "Can you handle whoever's coming?"
Soyokaze nodded firmly. "I'm sure I can. Do not worry about your rear guard. I'll cover it." They threw their thumb upward.
Kōju sighed. "All right. There's a limitation on what kinds of wounds I can stitch up, so please be careful." She ran into the labyrinth, her hand placed against the over-sized sword at her back. "Don't prove me wrong, please." She turned back, her gaze sincere.
Soyokaze nodded. They met Kōju's eyes. For a moment their blue eyes flashed with serious and meaningful intent.
Kōju smiled. Her green eyes glimmered. She turned and ran into the depths of the dark location.
Soyokaze turned their gaze toward the flat lands without. Their hands rose in a fighting posture, one hand ascending over the other, both palms out.
A lone figure wandered across the desert, clad in a deep white jacket. A long, black sword rested against their back.
Soyokaze stared across the desert. Their eyebrows furrowed. What a strange person. They don't seem to be making their way over here quickly at all. And furthermore they don't seem to be concerned about being seen. What kind of shinobi is this, after all?
Labyrinth
The interior of the labyrinth was comprised of hard-angled lines, walls meeting at corners, and deep whorls in bluish stone colored a faint golden by the rays of the sun reflected from within. The stone met at hard angles, hewn harshly from stone by human tools and gifts. High above the labyrinth the sun's light descended through a lens, refracted and enhanced by the lens's curvature. The position of the sun prevented the light from coming fully through the light of the day.
Sasuke turned slowly in a circle. Her nail, blood running beneath the blade of the nail, dragged along the edge of the wall. A white patch of stone ran along the wall, chipped away by the finger nail. "So I've been here." She glanced downward, studying the floor.
A thick layer of dust lay across parts of it, but the center showed the outlines of a hastily dragged person in the remnants of dust. One arm dragged at an angle, as though broken by some force.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. She glanced toward one of the side paths emerging from the central corridor of the labyrinth.
A thick layer of dust remained on the side path. No marks of human passage remained on the floor of that turning, replaced instead by a thick sheet of dust that rose to a full five centimeters above the stone floor.
In that case, I have a fairly direct path to the center of this labyrinth. The question is whether he noticed that, too. Sasuke paused. Her eyebrows furrowed. She sighed. No. Upon thinking it over, it's unlikely he did. Bearing that in mind, I have a choice. Do I try to rescue him from his own stupidity? Or should I keep moving? A pause followed. Sasuke leaned against the wall, carefully thinking and interpreting the facts. For a minute, backtracking, he said he could feel the effects of the ritual. That means that if he really does feel it and goes in the direction of increasing pain, he'll be coming to the same place as I am. In other words, I should keep going straight along this path. Sasuke walked forward, her footsteps muted in the depths of the abyss. It's so quiet here. Outside, I could hear everything. That weird ritual and all. All of those elements. But here it's just like complete emptiness. She swallowed tightly. It's strange. I feel more afraid now than I did facing my brother. There's something very strange about all this. She drew in a deep breath. Best to keep moving. She turned in a circle, studying the corridor for signs of passage. Nothing however remained in any path save the first. She started forward again.
The sound of footfalls echoed through the labyrinth. Muted, the footfalls seemed echoes, repeated in the silence of the sound.
Sasuke halted. Her hand grasped the kusari-gama at her side. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing.
The footfalls stopped. In the corridor no one made themselves visible, remaining hidden down a side passage or else a blocked passageway.
Hm, hm. Sasuke's lips curled upward. I'm being followed, am I? I think I'll set a trap for the pursuer. She turned to one side, receding back into the darkness of the labyrinth. Silence here would be a nice trick. I can do nothing of the kind, however. Her footfalls grew extremely quiet as she retreated from the passageway. I'll just have to rely on my own abilities of stealth.
Labyrinth
The gateway remained motionless. A strange feeling emerged from it. Cold and ominous, the gate loomed over the corridor. The gate was seamless, lacking a single source of entry or egress. Not a single hinge remained in the shape of the solid obsidian block. Only the block, huge, portending something of great terror and interest, remained in the corridor.
Naruto swallowed tightly. A chill ran down his back. He stared at the motionless hinges, his body shivering. What is this feeling? Like—it's different from before. Before, I felt despair, but this—it's like a certainty that if I enter that room I'm going to die. He rested his hand against the hilt of one of the kunai. Should I go in like this? He reached sideways, touching his heart. Yes, the feeling in my heart is still here. Should I go in? He's definitely in there. He stared at the black coverage. He drew in a tight breath. Now. I go now. He stepped forward, his hand pressed against the door.
The door loomed over the corridor, a darkness swelling up around it.
Naruto placed his hand against the stone. He exhaled. No, before that, I don't know that I can get in at all. What kind of place is this?
"There's no need to stand around the door like a thief. We've expected you. Come in, Naruto-kun," a calm, distant voice remarked. The gate rolled open in an instant.
Naruto looked upward. That's it. It's the presence this room exudes. This reality of events. This man—this person. This situation. He swallowed tightly. It's like having a sword drawn and at my throat the moment I step into that room. That level of killing intent. If I walk in there, I'll be fighting a monster far beyond my knowledge. He drew in a deep breath. But that's what I came here to do, isn't it? Regardless of winning or dying, I have to fight him to the death. That's all it is. That's all I came here to do. He reached downward into the pouch at his side. Softly, he placed a kunai with the orange tag outside the room. He stepped inward, his heart throbbing as he stared at the black-haired figure wearing the alabaster tengu mask.
A/N: Next week I'll be taking a break to prepare for the ending of this arc. (It's still a long way off, but putting all the pieces in place is going to take a while.) See you the week after next, and thanks for reading.