Chapter 30: Sleeping Ghosts

More precisely, there was no ship.

Amid all the ruins and rubble, there was no sign of any ship.

Although someone had once taken great pains to build a dock here, there was not a single boat - either in the water or in the village.

He suddenly remembered that he seemed to have never seen any description of the ships of the Whirlpool Country in the report.

He just took it for granted that the Land of Whirlpools, like the Hidden Mist Village, had a large fleet. After all, the Nine-Tails once told him that the ninjas of the Hidden Mist Village were good at water-style jutsu, and their fleet was the village's main fighting force.

But he didn't see any masts or fragments of the hull, only a few tattered fishing nets.

Standing at the end of the pier, he found himself once again drawn to the sea before him.

The afternoon sun shines on the sea, and the originally gray-blue water turns into a warm azure. The water near the shore appears emerald green, while the water in the distance is a deep navy blue.

Naruto bent down and put his hand into the sea water.

His fingers slid across the water, creating ripples. The water was warmer than he had imagined, forming a small whirlpool in his palm.

As he stirred the water, it rolled back, forming a strange vortex around his wrist before slowly returning to calm.

This is another strange "greeting".

Maybe his previous feeling was not an illusion.

What exactly happened here?

Suddenly, the wind around him began to grow stronger, circling around him a few times before playfully running off to play on the water.

Something was attracting him, like an invisible rope connecting his deepest instincts, pulling him forward. It was a deep, ancient, wild call.

It attracted him to the north like a magnet, his eyes crossing the vast ocean.

He jumped off the dock and walked forward on the water. If this had once been part of the Whirlpool Kingdom, it made sense that they had no ships.

Because they don't need a boat.

The blue water was clear and warm, and colorful fish swam around him, chasing his sandals and playing around his feet.

Naruto wondered if the fish were used to this kind of life, if they had ever had ninjas running across their surface.

But now, this sea area is deserted, there are no ships, only the blue sky and endless sea.

The wind began to play with him again, blowing back and forth playfully, as if challenging him.

Naruto has never been a person who gives up easily, so he began to chase the wind, jumping between the waves and dancing with the wind.

A joy he had never felt before surged into his heart, and he forgot the pain in his blood vessels and chest. He smiled happily, letting the waves lap against his body.

His chakra also felt his happiness, so he switched the chakra attribute from yang to water, feeling the changes in the sea water under his feet.

He began to ride the waves, instead of running on them, he jumped on top of them and then used the momentum to launch himself into the air, spinning through the air like a gymnast.

The wind and water responded to his call, and the breeze formed small tornadoes around him, as if to help slow down his fall.

The water joined in the game, lifting his body as he fell into the water and sending him to the top of the waves as he jumped up.

He didn't even notice that his sandals had been washed away by the sea. He laughed out loud, letting the waves toss him up and the sea breeze pull his body.

At this moment, he seemed to have merged with the wind and water, and they were like old friends, close and intimate.

In the distance, an island appeared on the sea level, like a giant turtle, and a black figure was looming on the horizon.

The wind and water no longer played with him, but became his guides, directing him towards the island.

He felt the call from deep within his heart growing stronger and stronger, and an ominous premonition came over him.

He knew that he had to prepare himself for the upcoming challenges.

The chakra in the wind and water had now become tangible, grabbing his ankles and the corners of his clothes, pulling him forward.

He knew that this must be where his mother once lived.

The waves lapping against his legs, guiding him to turn south.

He followed the guidance of the waves and drew a graceful arc. As he got closer and closer to the island, the sea gradually became calmer.

Most of the island is surrounded by steep cliffs, on which stand strangely shaped stone pillars.

He remembered that the book said that these stone pillars were called "basalt pillars", but he didn't know what was special about them.

The stone pillars bend inwards, forming a natural barrier that encloses a hidden bay in the middle.

The wind guided him towards the bay, and he crossed the barrier and landed on a calm sea.

For some reason, he felt that the atmosphere around him had changed. The air became unusually quiet, just like the sea water under his feet, as if time had stood still.

He couldn't describe the feeling, but he felt as if he had returned to the past, the entire island was frozen in the long river of time, and only the wind and water around him were still flowing.

And when his power touched the island, everything that had been sleeping for a long time seemed to be awakened.

decades.

He walked up to the shore, a long, crescent-shaped stretch of beach whose black sand contrasted sharply with the lighter basalt like ink dripping on parchment.

He walked barefoot on the warm beach, the sand flowing between his toes, leaving a trail of footprints like a stone falling into calm water.

The world around me was silent, with only the sound of the breeze and the crashing of the waves. There were no living creatures, no lizards, no birds singing, just dead silence.

However, he could feel that the place was filled with chakra.

It was in the air, in the water, in the sand beneath his feet, but it seemed to be holding its breath, as if in silent mourning.

He felt as if he had been given a sacred mission.

He held his breath and walked along the coastline.

A trail of footprints was left on the black sand, but they were quickly erased by the waves.

He stepped on the naturally formed stone pillars and climbed up quickly. When he reached the top, he finally understood.

The ruins of the Whirlpool Kingdom appeared before his eyes. Only broken walls and ruins remained of the once glorious buildings. The once magnificent pagoda had now collapsed. Red rubble was scattered among the ruins. The cobblestone paths had cracked. The once prosperous city was now only a ruin.

There was no sign of life here, no trees growing among the ruins, no moss covering the fallen stones, no mold spreading over the rotting wood.

Nature seems to have deliberately avoided this place, and no life dares to touch it.

Is it out of fear or out of respect?

Naruto didn't know, but he could feel that the souls of the departed were here, and they were guiding him, directing him here.

Those souls buried under the ruins.