Walking towards his final destination, Takuno played with a Gelel Stone in his hand, feeling the power it contained.
It felt very comfortable in his hand, as if a life energy was flowing into his body through it, improving and strengthening his physique, but the speed was too slow, almost negligible.
He looked at the distant, overlapping green mountains, his heart neither joyful nor sorrowful.
His attitude towards Temujin's family and Haido was clearly different, because deep down, he still retained some of his previous life's views on good and evil.
For beings that could be generally labeled as good, he would try to obtain what he wanted through non-lethal means.
But if communication was truly impossible, then he wouldn't mind taking action. From the beginning, he knew he was definitely not a good person.
Additionally, there were some unavoidable situations. For example, if the other party was a target for his Chimera Technique, then no matter how good they were perceived to be, he would still act.
Compared to those views on good and evil, he valued his own ability to become stronger more.
In contrast to Temujin's family, Haido was a standard villain. It didn't matter to him if the other party hadn't yet become the villain of later generations.
Trading with the other party was far less convenient than simply killing and plundering.
"This should be the location marked on the map."
Takuno surveyed his surroundings, confirming he had arrived at the spot. This was where the nomadic tribe passed through every year.
Even if they didn't want to use the power of the Gelel Stone, as people who knew about it, he would always feel compelled to come here and ensure it hadn't been discovered before feeling at ease.
This was an unavoidable habit of guardians; some even lived directly beside the lode to watch over its safety.
Takuno formed hand seals.
"Kujaku Myōhō: Wing!"
As the materialized Chakra surged from his back, forming a wing behind Takuno, it carried him directly into the sky.
Although Kujaku Myōhō mostly couldn't be used for movement when cast, being able to fly was indeed much more convenient.
Afterward, Takuno created several Shadow Clones, sending them in different directions to search for the power fluctuations of the Gelel Stone.
"Kujaku Myōhō: Eye!"
A purple color appeared in his eyes. Its ability was to see traces left by Chakra, but it might also be able to detect the power of the Gelel Stone.
Takuno planned to search for a while himself. If he couldn't find it, he would then look for the nomadic merchant caravan, and at that point, he might have to get a little rough.
Perhaps, he would have to resort to kidnapping hostages again.
Even though he disliked it, this method was simply too effective... A few days later.
Takuno was still searching for the Gelel Stone when a new Shadow Clone dispelled itself.
It hadn't used Kujaku Myōhō to find the power fluctuations of the Gelel Stone, but had directly seen the gate sealing the Gelel Stone.
"Hmm? That was quite fast." Takuno was a little surprised that it had been found in just a few days.
This way, the nomadic tribe also escaped a calamity.
Then, when he personally saw the sealed gate of the Gelel Stone, he understood what was going on. If this thing could fly, it really wasn't hard to find.
Its location was surrounded by mountains; normally, people who couldn't fly wouldn't bypass these large mountains, nor would they actively climb this very steep and towering mountain.
Arriving at the sealed gate, there was no Sealing Jutsu on it. He pushed open the gate.
What greeted him was a very spacious and complex path, constantly crisscrossing in height, looking somewhat like a labyrinth.
If it were a GBA player, they would probably turn this maze upside down to ensure no treasures were hidden before moving to the next level.
However, Takuno had no interest in this. He bit his finger and pressed it to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A large group of crows, summoned by Takuno, searched for the correct path throughout this 'labyrinth'.
Soon, one crow found the deepest platform, and another crow found a platform engraved with a pattern.
Takuno paused, then first went to the platform with the pattern, looking at the design.
It was said to be an ancient Summoning ritual array that could summon the Space-Time Hole, which was an ability that could absorb everything. It had no bottom and could hold all things.
However, according to the original story, no one ever dispelled it, so it should disappear on its own after a period of time.
It was hard to say what use this thing had; in the original story, it was just a black whirlwind.
Moreover, it didn't exhibit too much gravitational pull; Temujin, who was at its very center, could still be pulled out by Naruto.
So, any ninja who still had the ability to resist could easily escape from the range of the Space-Time Hole's effect.
It was unlikely for this thing to swallow people; at most, it was a space where one could infinitely throw trash, the kind that couldn't be retrieved.
Regardless, Takuno still carved it down; perhaps it could be used in the future.
And he remembered that this thing seemed to be activated with the blood of the Gelel royal family, so if he wanted to use it, he would have to thoroughly research the entire Summoning ritual array, then strip out this part of the Jutsu formula and change the activation method.
Why does it feel like it's becoming more and more useless?
Takuno sighed, feeling that the Space-Time Hole itself was less useful than the ritual array, which he could use to study ancient rituals, possibly applying them to Sealing Jutsu.
Thinking this, after carving the ritual array for summoning the Space-Time Hole, Takuno also arrived at the deepest platform.
This was where the Gelel Stone was sealed. Logically, he only needed to place the Gelel Stone on the ritual platform to draw upon the power of the Gelel Stone.
But the problem was, what use was this power that could only be used around the Gelel Stone?
Takuno watched the Gelel Stone in his hand glow, seemingly filled with energy due to the surrounding Gelel Stone.
After thinking for a while, he looked up. He remembered that in the original story, the Gelel Stone was directly above this spot, so he decided to let the people of ancient times witness the capabilities of people today.
Their sealing of the Gelel Stone's power was useless against modern Ninjutsu.
"Earth Release!"
Takuno's figure merged into the rock, continuously climbing upwards. Finally, when he bypassed the lode and reached the very top, standing on the wall, he saw the Gelel Stone, like a gigantic lake. The sheer volume of it surprised him.
Perhaps its destructive power wasn't strong, but with this magnitude, it should already be Tailed Beast level.
Moreover, it emitted a shimmering green light, looking quite beautiful.
Takuno used Earth Release to create a platform above this lode, standing on it and looking at the calm and beautiful lake surface, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
How exactly should he utilize the Gelel Stone?