As Sasuke regained consciousness, disoriented and uncertain of his surroundings, a sense of confusion gripped him.
[Where am I ? I've been trapped…]
His gaze swept around the cavern, but the strange fissure that had sucked him in was no longer visible. The air was thick and unnaturally warm compared to the icy cold outside. He felt no physical harm on his body, but the question of what had just happened lingered.
"The fissure... that thing... it's all gone. What's the meaning of this ?"
Sasuke stood up slowly, brushing off the dirt from his clothes, and surveyed his surroundings. This place was unfamiliar. He recalled the path he took and how the exit should have been in this direction.
"First, I need to find my way back."
After a few moments of searching, Sasuke shook his head.
"Wait, I don't know how long I've been unconscious, but I'm sure the exit should be here. And yet… it's a dead end."
Confusion started to mount within him as his footsteps took him further down the cave, now making his way to the opposite side. After walking for another minute, the path ahead seemed no different—another dead end.
But then, Sasuke's senses kicked in.
There's a presence behind this… It's just look like, but not a dead end at all.
He could feel it.
"This is clearly how a trap looks"
Sasuke's sense narrowed as he tracked the multiple energy signatures.
"Ten... twenty—no—thirty. I sense thirty."
A sense of disgust flared in him. The energy felt unnatural, tainted, and unclean.
"What are they ? They're not human."
His instincts as a shinobi immediately took over. He knew there was no easy way to solve this puzzle.
"They're just behind... But I don't think they sense me."
That was the advantage he had. His years of training made him the master of stealth, and this wouldn't be any different.
The moment I break through…
He felt the charge of battle ready to ignite. Without a second thought, Sasuke took action.
[Sharingan] activated read to fight.
[Chidori]
The instant Sasuke unleashed his lightning hook, the crackling sound of Chidori reverberated through the cavern, its blinding light illuminating the darkness. The piercing attack tore into the stone wall in front of him, erupting in a cascade of shattered rocks.
"I don't know how thick this rock is, so l'lI go all in."
The sheer force of the Chidori was overwhelming, blasting straight through the wall with explosive intensity.
On the other side, the energy didn't dissipate-- it surged forward, striking the creatures that was behind. The attack was so devastating that several of them were instantly engulfed, their bodies writhing and disintegrating into ashes before they even hit the ground.
As the dust settled, the sharp crackling of lightning still echoed faintly, the passage now open, revealing the stunned and chaotic scene ahead. Sasuke lowered his arm, his sharp gaze scanning the exposed creatures. "Perfect," he muttered, stepping through the debris and into the fray.
The monsters were confused, causing disruption throughout the entire space. It took them a few seconds to locate Sasuke, and another moment after seeing him to realize he was the threat.
It was clear - they didn't have good senses.
"You finally notice me,"
He tightened his grip on his sword and drew it from the saya.
[Chidorigatana]
A nearby monster rushed at him, attempting a powerful punch. Sasuke parried with his sword, swinging from the inside to the outside, and from downward to upward. With a small jump, the blade crackling with lightning effect effortlessly cut the monster's arm.
Without hesitation, Sasuke continued the motion, swinging his sword from left to right, cleanly swiping the monster's head away.
He moved quickly—swift, precise. His speed and focus made short work of the strange creatures. But as the fight progressed, it became clear these monsters weren't like anything he'd seen before. Sasuke took a powerful blow to his forearm.
"That was something… but won't stop me."
For a moment, the fight paused as he reevaluated his enemies. They were still a threat, but only a few remained standing.
[Sharingan]
I can see their chakra…
Sasuke scanned the monsters carefully, tracking the flow of their energy. The chakra was disturbingly low, almost at a human level that had never trained, but something strange hovered around their hearts.
"What are these two circles ?"
He saw superposed circles turning around the beasts' hearts. Looks like their power is coming from these.
Before he could fully process it, the monsters closed in once more.
Sasuke performed a reverse chakra dash to make distance.
[Chidori Senbon]
He launched few of lightning needles with pinpoint accuracy, aiming directly their hearts with the strange circles floating around. His precision was unmatched.
"got you all "
"... ??? "
Unexpectedly, the creatures exploded when the chidori senbon struck the circles.
"...!"
The explosions were massive, and Sasuke was almost caught in the blast. A bone-shaped energy shield formed around him—[Susano]—just in time.
"That was close."
Within ten minutes, it was all over.
Sasuke wiped his brow, briefly scanning the cavern for more threats.
I don't see any more, but this disgusting feeling hasn't faded. Maybe there are still more of them. I need to be on guard.
For the time he put back his sword Kusanagi to the saya and deactivate the sharingan.
The creatures, once menacing, were now nothing more than lifeless husks—grotesque, gray-skinned beasts with gorilla-like features. Their sharp fangs, scaly arms, and hairy lower bodies gave them a menacing appearance.
{These were Ogres.}
But Sasuke had never encountered such monsters before. He didn't know exactly what they were. Looks like these monsters live deep inside the mountains, so it's rare to encounter them outside.
As his gaze shifted downward, he saw something horrifying. Human skulls. Piles of them scattered throughout the cave.
"What in the world happened here ?"
"They were eating humans… "
His stomach churned with the thought. He couldn't stay there any longer.
"I've been trapped long enough. I should get out of here and report all of this."
As Sasuke stood amidst the cavern's eerie silence, two paths lay before him. One was the passage he had carved with Chidori, the jagged edges of the destruction still crackling faintly. The other was a wider, seemingly natural path.
"This one should be the exit," Sasuke muttered to himself, stepping toward the broader path with cautious determination.
But just as he moved closer, an overwhelming wave of disgust coursed through his senses, freezing him in place.
"What's this again?" he hissed, his guard instantly heightened.
Before Sasuke could analyze the sensation further, the ground beneath him trembled violently, deep cracks racing along the cavern floor. Then, with a deafening roar, a monstrous figure erupted from the earth. Towering over the previous creatures, this one was larger, more grotesque, and oozing a thick, oppressive energy.
"So, you're the source of that disgusting feeling," Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes.
[Sharingan]
He activated his sharingan, his vision sharpening as he focused on the creature's core. Three glowing circles rotated around its heart, emitting a vile energy far stronger than anything he'd sensed before.
"Three circles... Looks like this one's on another level," he observed. "I need to be careful, especially avoiding its heart. If it explodes in here, this cave will be my grave."
The creature let out a guttural snarl and reached for a massive boulder nearby. Lifting it with terrifying ease, it prepared to hurl the colossal rock at Sasuke. The boulder loomed high above, casting a long shadow over him.
"stupid monster," Sasuke sneered.
[Rinnegan : Amenotejikara]
In an instant, Sasuke swapped places with the boulder, vanishing from the spot and reappearing above the creature. Before it could even register what had happened, he drew his sword once more.
"This time, I'll hit the head," Sasuke channelled his raiton chakra through his blade.
[Chidorigatana]
With a swift and decisive strike, his lightning-infused sword slashed clean through the monster's thick neck. Its massive body crumbled, and the monstrous head tumbled to the ground with a sickening thud. For a moment, all was still.
Sasuke landed gracefully, wiping his blade before sheathing it. The oppressive energy that had disturbed his senses moments ago now faded completely, dissipating into nothingness. He looked down at the fallen beast and exhaled, his expression cold and calculating.
"It's done," he muttered before turning toward the wider path once more.