At the bottommost level of the stone tower, there was only a single passageway forward. The three of them simply had to follow this path.

With a ninja's sharp sense of direction, Kakashi was certain that the escape route of Sandayū was leading toward the core of the ancient city.

We're getting close. Urushi's tracking skills won't be necessary anymore.

The closer they got to the city's core, the fewer alternative routes Sandayū had to choose from. No longer needing the tracking abilities of his ninja dog, Kakashi ended his summoning of Urushi.

The walls of this underground corridor were adorned with intricate artistic murals, crafted according to the aesthetic tastes of the ancients. While these murals exuded a strange quality from a human perspective, their level of craftsmanship far surpassed even the finest human carvings in terms of detail.

If only the Hokage Rock had this level of detail... He imagined how much more vivid the images of the Hokage would appear.

Suddenly, a circular carving about two meters in diameter appeared on the wall, immediately catching his attention. This carving, unlike the others, was a bird's-eye view of a city—a map of the ancient city.

"Interesting..." he muttered, studying the map intently. "It's not unlike Konoha, but the structure..."

From this mural, Kakashi could imagine the grandeur this maze-like city must have once possessed. The city's overall shape was similar to Konoha, both being circular, but this city was constructed with rings as its primary structural layers, progressing inward. This design gave the dense clusters of buildings a unique structural beauty.

At the very center of the rings, the core of the entire ancient city, was a blank space.

At the same time, Kakashi noticed that their current path was also leading directly to this central blank area, without deviating at all.

What was there?

He did not know, but Sandayū was heading in that direction, and they had no choice but to continue following his trail.

"Let's go."

After pausing to confirm their location, Kakashi signaled the others to move forward. Nadare quickly caught up, but Sandayū remained standing, his eyes fixated on the blank center of the city map mural.

"Sandayū?"

"Sandayū?"

He called out twice before Sandayū slowly turned his head, his face filled with fear.

"Your face doesn't look good. Do you need to rest a bit?" he asked.

With a stiff smile on his pale, yellowish face, Sandayū replied, "No need, let's keep going."

As they continued, Kakashi couldn't shake an uneasy feeling. Something's not right with him. Is it just the darkness, or...?

The three of them pressed on, passing through an unknown length of underground corridor until they finally arrived in a stone chamber littered with debris.

In this chamber, they found several familiar items: empty food cans, tent cloth, animal fur blankets, kerosene lamps, and matches. These were supplies from the exploration team, now left here, indicating they must have been brought by Yoshiro.

Kakashi examined the scene and found that the grease inside the empty cans hadn't completely solidified from the cold, concluding, "He hasn't been gone long. He was likely here just half a day ago."

"Why would he leave behind essential supplies like the kerosene lamp?" Nadare questioned, picking up one of the abandoned lamps.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he responded, "He must have been in a hurry. The Elder Things were probably closing in."

However, while Yoshiro had typically only discarded the least necessary items, this time he had left behind essentials like kerosene lamps, which were crucial in the darkness. This indicated that the Elder Things pursuing him were extremely close, leaving him no time to gather his belongings before fleeing.

Seeing evidence that Yoshiro was still alive did not excite Sandayū. His expression remained one of terror.

To Kakashi, it seemed likely that the oppressive darkness of their surroundings was taking a psychological toll on Sandayū, but perhaps he would feel better once they left the shadowy tunnels.

After passing through the stone chamber, they finally returned to the surface, where light snow was falling, casting a gloomy veil over the once clear sky.

Before them stood a massive, eerie cylindrical tower, about sixty meters in diameter. Its outer wall had a spiraling stone ramp leading to the top.

In the snow near the tower, something immediately caught their attention—a sled, lightly covered in fresh snow, as if it had just been placed there.

Kakashi quickly rushed over to inspect it. The sled was heavily worn, and the supplies on it had been hastily bundled together, indicating the owner's sense of urgency at the time.

He wouldn't leave this behind unless... unless he had no other choice.

No matter how dire the previous circumstances, the owner had never abandoned the sled, their vital survival tool. Yet now, it was left behind, with no sign of the person.

This meant that the sled was no longer of any use to its owner, who had abandoned it in a desperate attempt to flee on foot.

After leaving the sled, human footprints led toward a half-exposed pit at the base of the tower. Following those were the long, twisted footprints of the Elder Things.

Realizing the urgency, Kakashi immediately broke into a ninja sprint, shouting, "We need to move, now!"

"Agreed," Nadare called back, matching his pace. He turned to Sandayū, who was lagging behind. "Sandayū, can you keep up?"

"I... I'll try," Sandayū panted, stumbling after them.

They rushed into the pit, with Sandayū barely holding onto his sanity as he followed.

Inside the pit was another deep stone passage. Kakashi and Nadare sped through it.

From ahead came a strange sound—a sharp, bird-like cry that echoed clearly.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Emerging from the narrow tunnel, Kakashi and Nadare found themselves in a vast underground plaza, its ceiling structured like a beehive.

Roaming the plaza were over a thousand large seabirds, each about two meters tall.

Unlike ordinary seabirds, these creatures were enormous, with fat, white bodies jostling against each other as they wandered aimlessly across the plaza.

"What are these creatures?" Kakashi whispered.

Nadare, equally stunned, replied, "They're like... oversized, blind seabirds."

Kakashi and Nadare stared in astonishment at these chaotic, uncoordinated creatures. For some reason, they both felt as though these birds were like livestock, kept here as a food source for some other being.

Could they be... livestock for something else?

This theory seemed reasonable because the birds had no eyes and couldn't possibly search for food outside. They could only survive if some other creature was feeding them here in this underground pen.

The seabirds were oblivious to Kakashi and Nadare's presence. Even when the two pushed through the birds, there was no resistance.

After crossing the plaza, they entered another long, narrow tunnel.

In this tunnel, a warm draft of air flowed from deep within, carrying with it a strong stench.

This stench was unmistakably that of the Elder Things!

"That smell... it's them. We're close," Kakashi said.

"How can anything live with this stench?" Nadare grimaced, covering his nose.

Kakashi knew they were close and immediately sped up.

The tunnel's shape became increasingly irregular, the once-smooth lines now jagged and uneven. The stone floor bore deep scars, as if something had violently lashed at it.

These marks grew deeper the further they went. The strongest blows had carved trenches over a meter deep into the stone.

Kakashi and Nadare marveled at this immense power, which was far stronger than what had left the dents in the iron plates back at the camp.

Was this really the power of the Elder Things?

Finally, at the source of the foul stench, Kakashi and Nadare made a startling discovery—seven long, barrel-shaped spines standing upright in the damp cave before them.

Kakashi and Nadare were momentarily speechless, overwhelmed by the shock of the scene before them.

"What... what happened here?" Nadare gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.

These were the Elder Things... but what could have done this to them? Kakashi surveyed the gruesome sight.

Once, these barrel-shaped vertical bodies had powerful limbs capable of writing and carving, and their miraculous pentagram heads.

But now, the skin and other tissues of these bodies had been torn away, leaving only the bare barrel-like spines, propped up weakly by the appendages below.

Green, mucus-like blood still clung to the skeletal spines, pooling on the ground and creating small puddles. This blood emitted a huge stench and a humid, oppressive atmosphere.

In the faint light of the flashlight, the broken bodies of these Elder Things looked like cleanly sucked bones, emitting a ghostly white glow.

Kakashi felt the blood vessels near his eyes pulsing furiously. The stench, the sight... it's almost too much to process. The intense images bombarded his brain, almost overwhelming his capacity to process other sensory information.

Nadare, too, could only make incoherent noises in his shock. "I... I've never seen anything like this," he finally managed to stammer.

No one had expected that the seven Elder Things who had not died completely, who had been tracking Yoshiro, would be killed in such a brutal manner.

The Elder Things, who had once caused a massacre in the camp, were now being consumed in the same way by some unknown force.

While running through the stone passage earlier, Kakashi had calculated numerous strategies for dealing with these powerful Elder Things.

Throwing shurikens and kunai? No, their skin is incredibly tough.

The fire techniques that are most effective against most creatures? No, their bodies can withstand high temperatures.

Close combat? No, their limbs are both agile and monstrously strong, making it hard to gain an upper hand quickly.

His most powerful attack method—chidori? It might work, but his chakra was too low; he could only use chidori three times a day, while there were seven Elder Things.

Explosive tags? This is an underground site built billions of years ago; mismanaging the explosive tags could turn this place into a living tomb.

After eliminating various options, Kakashi had decided that if he found the surviving Yoshiro, he would carry him on his back and use his ninja speed to escape from the Elder Things.

These ancient beings had spent half a month tracking Yoshiro, a mere human; escaping them with ninja speed should be feasible.

But now, everything he had previously considered was moot. The potential enemies had been eradicated, and the crisis here seemed to be over?

"All that planning, and now..." he muttered, shaking his head.

Nadare turned to him, his face pale. "What do we do now, Kakashi? The threat seems... different."

The air remained silent for several seconds. The green, stinking mucus on the ground had not solidified, and it still emitted a faint heat.

The mucus continued to accumulate, flowing toward Kakashi's feet.

He instinctively pulled his foot back to avoid stepping in the unclean liquid.

Seeing his own face reflected in the green mucus, he immediately realized something.

If the ancients are dead, then Yoshiro might still be...

"Yoshiro!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the cave. "Yoshiro! We're here to rescue you! Come out quickly!"

Kakashi's ninja instincts told him that he could no longer afford to investigate who had put the powerful Elder Things to death. The dark, abyss-like entrance ahead was a deadly domain.

There was no sign of Yoshiro here, nor any skeletal remains like those of the Elder Things. He assumed that Yoshiro might still be alive.

The immediate priority was to find the living Yoshiro and quickly leave this hellish edge closest to the abyss.

"Yoshiro!"

Kakashi repeatedly leaped across the small rocky ledges in the cave to avoid stepping in the green mucus, searching every corner of the cave for Yoshiro's presence.

But he did not find any human trace. Instead, he saw a crude carving.

This carving was nothing compared to the exquisite details seen in the passage, but from the twisted, rough lines, the sculptor's concept was still discernible.

It depicted headless Elder Things standing in a vast plaza, and the scene was created by the supernatural creation that had rebelled against its creator—the Elder Things.

The Elder Things... the Shoggoths... It can't be... Kakashi's eyes widened as understanding dawned on him.

Nadare approached, squinting at the carving. "What is it? What does this mean?"

Kakashi's reply was grim. "It means we're in more danger than we realized."

From the distant dark entrance, a sinister, pale mist began to pour out, spreading towards the two humans in the cave.

The mist seemed to have a consciousness of its own, swirling towards Kakashi and Nadare with the same foul stench as its master.

Within the mist, a monotonous flute-like sound mimicking its creator emitted three incomprehensible syllables.

"Tekeli—li"

"Tekeli—li"

"Get ready," Kakashi said urgently, his body tensing. "The real threat is coming."

Kakashi and Nadare immediately drew their shurikens, and the indicator lights on their chakra armor glowed.

Ignoring the mist, they could sense that the true threat lay in the massive creature hidden within.

In the mist, the nightmarish, dark, amorphous form finally revealed itself.

It was a nightmarish, black, shimmering shape, with an amorphous body exuding a foul odor and a constantly surging front end sparkling with strange, multicolored lights.

On the surface of this shape were thousands of bubble-like green eyes!

These strange green eyes, rolling with the amorphous body, constantly decomposed and generated, but no matter how they churned, they remained fixed on Kakashi and Nadare.

The body quickly expanded and pressed forward, soon filling the entire end of the cave.

This was the ominous creation endowed with life, filled with thought, and capable of self-shaping organs—the Shoggoth!

"What the hell is this thing!" Nadare's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, for unlike Kakashi, he had never seen the murals and had no idea what this entity was.

The murals didn't do it justice...

But Kakashi had no time to explain. He commanded urgently, "Quick, use your best ninjutsu! We need to attack it together!"

Although unsure of what exactly they were facing, their ninja instincts kicked in.

The two swiftly formed hand signs and called out their jutsu names.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted, his hands moving in a blur.

"Ice Style: Dragon vs. Tiger!" Nadare's voice rang out in response.

A fire dragon appeared beside Kakashi, shooting high-temperature fireballs at its amorphous body.

Meanwhile, a massive ice tiger charged directly at the dark shape from Nadare's side.

The ice tiger and fireballs attacked the Shoggoth simultaneously. With its enormous size, the Shoggoth couldn't evade the assault. The collision of three different forces created a huge cloud of white smoke.

"Did we succeed?" Nadare's voice was tight with tension.

But before Kakashi could relax, the amorphous body re-emerged from the smoke, with the green eyes still emotionlessly watching Kakashi and Nadare.

"Tekeli—li"

"Tekeli—li"

It's... unharmed? How is that possible? Kakashi tried to comprehend the creature's resilience.

The Shoggoth emitted the same dreadful, muffled flute sound as before, as if mocking the two for giving its body an enjoyable massage.