This human head, shaped by the powerful molding abilities of the Shoggoth, slowly approached Sandayū. It still uttered the dying words of Yoshiro, who had been devoured by the Shoggoth.
"Brother, save me!"
"Save me!"
Yoshiro... you're alive! I knew I'd find you... Sandayū's mind clung to this false hope.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face. He completely ignored the fact that this head, which had suddenly appeared, was without a body and stretched out his arms to embrace it.
Yoshiro's head drew closer, its mouth, once human-sized, gradually widened until it could engulf Sandayū's entire head.
Suddenly, the head sharply dipped.
When it lifted again, Sandayū had been transformed into a headless corpse, standing in the middle of the corridor, still holding the posture of outstretched arms, as if ready for an embrace.
This entire scene was captured by Kakashi's eye.
No... Sandayū! I couldn't save him...
After Sandayū's head was devoured, the headless body was swiftly pushed aside by the Shoggoth, which then continued to roll its amorphous form toward Kakashi.
Kakashi's mind had no time to dwell on Sandayū anymore, and he turned and ran toward the nearby cave entrance.
Outside the cave, standing on the snowy ground, Nadare had not yet left.
Seeing Kakashi emerge from the cave unharmed, he was secretly surprised.
Still not dead? How did he survive? This complicates things... He reassessed his plan.
Nadare had stayed not because he didn't want to escape the ancient city filled with nightmarish creatures, but because he clearly remembered his mission from Dotō: eliminate Kakashi during the rescue mission.
Until he was sure Kakashi was dead, he wasn't going anywhere.
Although he didn't know exactly what kind of terrifying creature lurked in the cave below, it didn't seem as invincible as he had imagined, since Kakashi had managed to escape alive.
Now that Kakashi had fled to an open area, using the terrain would only make it easier for him to escape.
It seemed that he would have to take matters into his own hands after all.
"Kakashi! Over here, quickly!" Nadare called out.
"Get on!"
The chakra armor behind Nadare unfolded like wings, resembling a flying device, as he motioned for Kakashi to climb onto his back.
I don't trust him, but do I have a choice? Kakashi hesitated for a split second before making his decision.
He was a bit surprised to see Nadare ready to help him escape, as he had assumed that the shinobi had already left and wouldn't wait for him—just like how Kakashi hadn't stayed to help Sandayū.
But with the Shoggoth right behind him and little energy left to keep evading it, escaping with the help of Nadare's chakra armor seemed like a good idea.
Kakashi leapt onto Nadare's back, and just as the Shoggoth burst out of the cave, it tried to reach for Kakashi—but too late. Nadare had already taken off with him into the air.
His chakra armor was the latest innovation, designed to allow its wearer to fly by altering its shape. However, the drawback was the enormous amount of chakra it consumed, and only Nadare among all the Snow Ninja could bear this drain.
As they flew through the sky, far beyond the reach of the Shoggoth, even if it could expand its form, it had no way to catch a bird in the air.
Just a little higher... then I'll end this once and for all. Nadare's thoughts turned sinister as they gained altitude.
At this moment, Kakashi, sensing Nadare's tension, noticed a strange smile creep across his face. He wants to kill me?
There was no way Nadare planned to carry Kakashi all the way to safety. His plan was to fly to a sufficient altitude and then drop Kakashi.
"Kakashi, I think I see something below. Can you check?" Nadare asked.
Kakashi certainly wouldn't expect that the very person who had just saved him from the nightmare creature was about to toss him down from the sky.
As long as the height was enough, even if Kakashi didn't die from the fall, he would at least be crippled.
In this place, losing the ability to move meant certain death, even for a powerful ninja.
Just as Nadare tilted his body slightly, preparing to flip Kakashi off, he felt a cold sensation around his neck.
"Don't move!"
"I've wrapped steel wires all around your body. If you try to throw me off, you won't be leaving here alive, either."
Impossible! When did he...? Nadare tried to understand how Kakashi had outmaneuvered him.
As the steel wires tightened slightly around his neck and joints, Nadare felt the deadly pressure.
He had thought he had outsmarted Kakashi, but without realizing it, Kakashi had already seized his weak spot!
"You!"
"This armor of yours consumes a massive amount of chakra, right? I want you to keep flying south until you've drained all your chakra before we land."
"And don't try to conserve it. My eye can see the chakra flow inside your body clearly."
Kakashi coldly threatened, pressing the side of his head with the Sharingan closer to Nadare's.
Nadare's face twisted in fury. He hated Kakashi to his core but couldn't afford to risk his life by defying him, so he had no choice but to comply.
I can't die here... not like this. But Kakashi... I'll make sure to kill you!
Meanwhile, Kakashi let out a quiet sigh of relief.
I can't let my guard down. Not until we're safely away from here. Kakashi remained vigilant, knowing the danger wasn't over yet.
When he had jumped onto Nadare's back earlier, he had already sensed the subtle killing intent from him.
In fact, Kakashi had never let his guard down around Nadare, especially since he had been briefed on the possibility of Snow Ninja betrayal before the mission.
So, Kakashi had planned to use this to his advantage, pretending to fall into Nadare's trap while secretly wrapping him in steel wires to ensure he wouldn't make a rash move.
As for exhausting all of Nadare's chakra, it was because Kakashi knew that after landing, Nadare might try to attack him again. With his own chakra already depleted, he had to make sure Nadare would be in no condition to fight afterward.
Flying with Kakashi on his back, Nadare gritted his teeth, burning with a desire to tear Kakashi to pieces. However, he wasn't willing to sacrifice his life just to take down a mere chunin from Konoha, so he had to hold his desire intact as they flew over the ancient city.
Boom!
Boom!
Suddenly, a series of massive explosions echoed through the once-quiet city of the Elder Things.
Nadare looked down and saw that the stone tower, where he had set explosive tags, was the source of the blasts, triggered by something unknown.
"What? But how...?" Nadare couldn't hide his surprise.
"What did you do, Nadare?"
There should be no Elder Things or humans left in the city—what had set off the explosive tags?
Looking toward the mountains surrounding the city, Nadare saw dense holes emitting white smoke, similar to the prelude to the appearance of the nightmare creatures he had seen earlier.
From these holes, the flute-like sounds emitted by the Shoggoths resonated, creating a reverberation across the basin that strongly irritated his ears.
"Tekeli-li!"
"Tekeli-li!"
At one point, hearing the sound, Nadare saw the connected black ridges of the mountains moving!
They squirmed like gigantic, living masses of flesh, and the flute-like holes resembled human nostrils, breathing in and out.
With each breath, the holes expanded and contracted rhythmically.
The black ridges were alive, and they were breathing!
No... it can't be. The mountains... they're alive!
In an instant, a flood of information that Nadare had once missed rushed into his mind: the history of the Elder Things, the massive, dark figure he had seen at sea, the origins of the Shoggoth.
He even realized a truth that Kakashi had yet to discover!
"Ah!"
Nadare suddenly screamed, clutching his head with an expression of extreme terror.
As he spiraled into hysteria, Kakashi, who was riding on Nadare's back, struggled to maintain his balance.
"Hey! Settle down! What's wrong with you?"
Kakashi had no idea what kind of pressure Nadare's mind had just endured. He assumed the man was still trying to throw him off, so he immediately tightened the steel wire wrapped around the critical points of Nadare's body to avoid falling off.
The tightened wire dug deeply into Nadare's neck, but showing no intention of stopping, he continued to thrash wildly and scream in madness.
"The mountains! They're alive! Can't you see?" Nadare's words came out in a frantic, disjointed stream.
Kakashi realized that this couldn't go on. If he ended up strangling Nadare with the wire, there would be no one to control the chakra armor, and both of them would fall to their deaths.
He had no choice but to manipulate Nadare's body with the wire while his chakra continued to flow into the armor, guiding them toward a safe landing area.
Kakashi gripped the steel wire with both hands, braced his feet against Nadare's wildly flailing hands, and forcibly made him stretch his arms out.
Then, using the wires wrapped around Nadare's arm joints like reins, Kakashi guided his body, steering them toward the exploration team's camp for a landing.
Finally, both of them tumbled to the snowy ground, the impact knocking the breath out of Kakashi's lungs.
Kakashi immediately jumped up from the ground, holding his kunai, cautiously eyeing Nadare nearby.
However, after slowly rising from the ground, Nadare ignored the steel wires wrapped around him and shouted loudly toward the mountain range behind them.
"Alive!"
"I know you're alive!"
"You're breathing!"
"Haha, it's that mountain of flesh!"
"That's the real body!"
"Tekeli-li!"
"Tekeli-li!"
Nadare raved in words that even Kakashi couldn't understand, his face filled with fanaticism as he walked straight toward the black mountain range from which they had just escaped.
Kakashi was bewildered. Had he gone mad?
Seeing him step toward the cave, Kakashi rushed forward, grabbing the steel wire still wrapped around him.
Yet even as Kakashi restrained him from behind, Nadare continued to inch forward, arms outstretched as if trying to throw himself into the embrace of the mountains.
"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! The mountain of flesh!" Nadare shouted.
With no other choice, Kakashi knocked Nadare unconscious with a palm strike, temporarily putting an end to his madness.
After some thought, Kakashi decided not to leave Nadare behind.
He placed him on a sled, and set off on his way back, driving the sled left by the rescue team.
---
A month later, a news article about the discovery of an ancient civilization in the far north of the Land of Snow became a hot topic among the people of the Five Great Nations and many smaller countries.
The article reported that an exploration team in the northernmost region of the Land of Snow had discovered a city built by beings known as the Elder Things.
This city was built a billion years ago!
It contained numerous advanced architectural structures and intricately crafted sculptures of a level of civilization no less than that of modern humans. The exploration team also found five biological samples of the Elder Things, whose physical structures were far beyond human comprehension and held significant importance for studying prehistoric geological environments.
These specimens are now on display at the National Museum of the Land of Snow, and visitors from all nations are welcome to visit.
However, tragically, the exploration team perished in an avalanche during the investigation. Another ninja accompanying them was left with severe insanity.
"17 brave souls lost... and for what? Some old ruins and bizarre creatures?" A villager muttered, shaking his head as he read the article.
Sōsetsu, mourned the loss and declared them heroes, engraving their names on a monument to honor them for generations.
To prevent further casualties, he decreed that the city be designated as a permanent forbidden zone, banning anyone from entering for further exploration.
The report concluded with a photograph of one of the Elder Thing's specimens. Despite its incomplete structure, the grotesque and bizarre nature of the creature was still evident.
In the Hokage office of Konoha, Sarutobi, holding the newspaper and gazing at the photo of the Elder Things, recalled Kakashi's account of the mission. Even now, he couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine.
The Old Ones... Could this be the beginning of the prophecy?
From Kakashi's report, he finally learned the name of the power foretold by the Great Toad Sage.
The Old Ones!
That was their name.
Long before the dawn of human civilization, these entities ruled the Earth. Their existence was far beyond the comprehension of mortals.
And that evil statue Kakashi encountered? It was merely a carving of one of the Great Old Ones—Cthulhu.
The once-mighty civilization of the Elder Things was nearly wiped out by Cthulhu. Even now, Cthulhu still exists somewhere, in the depths of an unknown ocean.
It's like a ticking time bomb lurking in the world, ready to plunge it into chaos at any moment.
According to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, when that time comes, it won't just be a bloody storm within the ninja world—it will be an apocalyptic catastrophe for all humanity.
The sun beat down on the rocky terrain of Iwagakure's training grounds. Kurotsuchi wiped sweat from her brow, her once-childish features now showing hints of the woman she was becoming. She turned to Akatsuchi, who was catching his breath after their sparring session.
"Akatsuchi, did you read that news about the Land of Snow from the other day?" Kurotsuchi asked.
"Yeah, I saw it. But it doesn't concern us in Iwagakure," Akatsuchi shrugged, picking up a water bottle.
"But a billion-year-old city! Can you imagine?" Kurotsuchi's hands moved animatedly as she spoke. "I wonder if it's as impressive as my earth-style castles."
"Nothing's as impressive as your castles,"
Akatsuchi stood next to her, smiling indulgently, while Deidara looked on from a distance, full of disdain.
"Hmph. Art from a billion years ago? Nothing but ancient trash."
Deidara snorted loudly. "True art is fleeting. My art is the ultimate art!"
The Raikage's muscular arm came down hard on his desk, leaving yet another dent. "Where is that fool?" he growled, his patience wearing thin.
His assistant winced. "Lord Raikage, there have been more complaints about Lord Killer B. Apparently, he's been—"
"Yo, I'm here!"
A voice suddenly called out from the balcony. The Raikage looked back and saw a bizarre figure.
The middle of the figure's body was barrel-shaped, with fleshy wings sprouting from its back. Atop its head was a five-pointed star, while its lower half was covered with reddish-brown octopus tentacles.
"What the hell!"
The Raikage dashed to the figure in an instant, ready to unleash one of his signature moves. "Lightning Style: Lariat!"
"Whoa, bro! Don't go low, it's your Killer B, yo!"
A human voice came from inside the strange figure, which quickly removed the star-shaped headgear, revealing the black-skinned, white-haired face of Killer B, wearing sunglasses.
"Killer B?"
"What the hell are you wearing?!"
Killer B grinned proudly and started rapping:
"Elder Things, that's my new style~"
"Eight-Tails' legs make it worthwhile~"
"Gonna rock the village with this look so fly~"
"My concerts gonna make the ladies sigh, oh my~"
The Raikage grew more and more furious, veins popping on his forehead until he couldn't take it anymore. "Concerts? CONCERTS?! Is that why the villagers have been complaining?"
B, oblivious to the danger, continued:
"Complaints, schmomplaints, they just don't get my art,"
"This Elder Things costume, it's just the start,"
"Gonna bring some new flavor to my beats,"
"Cthulhu ain't got nothing on my sick—"
The Raikage punched B's head, sending him crashing, along with his costume, into the balcony floor.
From a distance, the Raikage's secretary, Mabui, sighed helplessly.
"There goes our repair budget... again," she muttered, already calculating the increased costs in her head.
It seemed the construction repair budget would need to be increased again this month.
---
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