68. Forbidden Test of Will (2)

Naruto had quite a dilemma. He promised his brother, Kakashi, that he would tell him everything he did, about his training, or the Trials of Will he was to participate in. However, now he was unsure and torn with conflicting emotions. If Kakashi were a stranger to him, Naruto would easily lie to achieve his goals, but their situation was entirely different, which made him feel bad about it.

When Kakashi first heard in detail about the Trials of Will, he forbade Naruto from participating due to the immense danger. Luckily, Naruto managed to convince him eventually because they weren't that terrifying yet. However, if Naruto did something without his permission, they could leave the Fire Temple at any moment, returning to the Leaf Village. Naruto couldn't do whatever he wanted since Kakashi could forcibly take him back home. That was the agreement, and Kakashi would firmly adhere to it for the safety of his younger brother. If Naruto were in serious danger, he wouldn't hesitate to take him away or prevent him from doing certain things, which in this case, meant taking part in the Forbidden Trial of Will.

Naruto was absolutely certain he wouldn't get permission for this. After all, the mortality rate in those catacombs was over 98%; how could Naruto survive there? There might be a chance of approval if they both went into the catacombs and Kakashi protected Naruto from the shadows, but that didn't provide what Naruto sought: a sense of death and danger.

A sudden disappearance for three days without warning could cause Kakashi to search the entire Fire Temple, turning it upside down in pursuit of Naruto. Attempting to deceive Kakashi was not only difficult, but something inside Naruto also told him not to deceive those close to him in such a manner. However, if he didn't, he wouldn't get permission to take part in the Trial of Will, equating to a lack of progress.

The only reasonably sensible option was to half-deceive Kakashi. Naruto would tell him the truth about the Trial of Will but hide a few details, like sealing Energy and Sensor abilities. With these things, Naruto's survival was certain, and Kakashi wouldn't have any worries.

...

Naruto was preparing to start the Forbidden Trial of Will. He had meditated the entire previous day without moving an inch. Over twenty-four hours ago, he had his last meal in the form of a herbal broth, which had long since digested in his stomach.

He meditated to calm and prepare his mind for the next three hard days in darkness. He also adapted his eyes to the lack of light, so he could see better from the start, even if just a little.

It was a few minutes before noon; the sun was shining from above, and its rays fell on Naruto's old and tattered robes.

Naruto stood with his eyes closed, also wearing a blindfold to block out the light, which was now unnecessary for him.

Ni Tian sealed the Gift of the Hermits and Chakra within Naruto's body, as well as his Sensor abilities, including echolocation and sensory perception. Without these things, the catacombs beneath the Fire Temple became tens of times harder.

Shoka-sen didn't escort him as was customary during the Trials of Will; he stayed in his courtyard, watching from a distance. Naruto had said goodbye to Kakashi a few hours earlier.

"This Trial of Will is truly tough; it's forbidden for a reason. With such significant limitations on the body, only a handful of people have managed to survive, and even fewer have been able to surpass themselves. Your task in this Forbidden Trial of Will is to make it to the other side of the catacombs; the entire journey takes about three days if you don't stop," the old man explained the final details.

They were in some abandoned part of the Temple, which hadn't been visited for a long time, as the area was heavily overgrown. In front of them was a narrow passage blocked by a stone with a seal engraved on it. The old man slowly unsealed it and moved the heavy stone aside, revealing absolute darkness inside. From here, one could already sense the grim aura of death dwelling within.

"You probably already know this, but I'll repeat it once more. The Trials of Will are not just about survival. You may want to survive, but then you'll remain the same as before. The Trials of Will are about growth, overcoming obstacles that stand in your way, and rising above them so they won't pose any difficulty next time. Don't just think about surviving this and getting out quickly, develop yourself, Naruto," Ni Tian encouraged him with appropriate words.

"You really care about me becoming stronger faster."

"Of course, do you really think I'll live much longer? I have little time left to pass on my personal technique to you, so you'd better hurry," the old man snorted, giving him a hard pat on the back.

Naruto smiled coldly, feeling a strangely strong pain in his back; the old man still had a lot of strength to kill someone. "Don't worry, old man. This is the perfect environment for me; I couldn't have dreamed of anything better. Wait for me."

Naruto raised his hand in farewell, then without hesitation entered inside, and the old man sealed the entrance behind him.

Naruto walked down the stone stairs; they were carved by someone and seemed still in good condition. Naruto felt the smooth surface with his bare feet; it was a bit slippery, but not enough to make him fall.

Finally, descending to the very bottom, Naruto stood on level ground, removed the blindfold from his face, and looked into the darkness ahead. The catacombs were utterly silent, with the sound of dripping water and occasional tapping against the stone echoing every few seconds.

Without Sensor abilities, Naruto felt stupidly disoriented, like an ordinary person...

He was used to seeing and feeling almost everything, so now his mind perceived the terrain as if he were half-blind. Such a narrow range of observation he had only experienced while still in his mother's womb or during birth, when he saw the tunnel of light.

Due to the prevailing darkness, Naruto could barely see anything; even a whole day of adapting his eyes to the darkness had done little good. He could barely figure out where to place his next step without tripping over something.

The catacombs had a vast number of tunnels, and traversing them took about three days of continuous movement. If he ran, Naruto could cross them in half a day, but the dreadful darkness prevented that. Additionally, he would have to face hungry wolves that would eagerly hunt his fleshy body.

Touching the cold walls with his hands, Naruto oriented himself to the layout of the room, or rather the tunnel. It was terribly narrow, a little over two meters high and half a meter wide. Naruto blinked repeatedly, wanting to get his eyes accustomed to the darkness as quickly as possible. He wanted to see at least something as soon as possible. This narrow tunnel seemed safe for now, so Naruto decided to sit on the steps and meditate with his eyes open; honestly, he didn't feel much difference from normal meditation.

About fifteen minutes passed before Naruto's eyes adapted, allowing him to see the area in front of him. His vision was still poor, but it was better, and he could see the stone walls of the tunnel he was in.

He decided it wasn't worth wasting time and slowly moved along the narrow tunnel, which would probably lead him to another, wider tunnel or some cave, anything. Two minutes and twenty seconds later, the surrounding darkness became thicker, like a dark fog.

Naruto's steps were silent as he moved using the Sleeping Turtle Technique, hiding his presence as best as he could. Eventually, he found himself in a wider space, which was a cave, with a terribly uneven floor that almost made Naruto fall.

Naruto couldn't see how big this cave was; he only saw the wall beside him and decided to follow it, moving to the right. There were only two exits from the catacombs: the first, through which he had entered, and the second somewhere at the end of all these tunnels. There was only one path leading to it, so if the right side turned out to be a dead end, Naruto would turn back and search for a way elsewhere.

Something was probably flying over his head, as Naruto heard some strange sounds along the way. Most likely, they were bats, fortunately probably sleeping. If he accidentally lit a light now, it would be really troublesome.

Naruto's vision improved with every passing minute. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed anything strange in these catacombs yet, except for a few scattered, chipped bones. That was all that was left of the monks who entered here; even their skeletons had been eaten by the animals prowling around, leaving only the thickest bones that were hard to consume, usually skulls.

At some point, Naruto felt something walking over his bare foot. It was a blue beetle; Naruto recognized its species as an oil beetle. A very toxic species, whose poison, even in a dose of 0.03 grams, can kill an adult human, more precisely a civilian not using Chakra.

Of course, one beetle wouldn't produce that much of the dangerous substance; many would be needed. However, getting this poison on the skin irritates it significantly, and if it got into the eyes, one could go blind.

"In the Trials of Will, it's not just about survival, but about growth..." — Naruto silently repeated Ni Tian's words.

After a moment, Naruto caught the escaping beetle and immediately put it in his mouth, chewing it. Cantharidin, when ingested, among other things, severely irritates the gastrointestinal tract and can cause glomerulonephritis and bladder inflammation.

Naruto had been building resistance to poisons back in the Leaf Village, and the monks also had strong bodies resistant to some poisons thanks to training and a special diet. However, this was the first time Naruto had taken such a strong poison into his system.

Fortunately, he was able to expel it from his body in time if he was about to die. By controlling its spread through his body, Naruto slowly but effectively built resistance to it. The adaptation speed was faster than ever before, so after just an hour, all symptoms of the poison disappeared.

Naruto felt a bit puzzled after developing resistance. Not because of the poison itself, but the fact that this type of beetle usually didn't inhabit caves, but rather meadows and sunny places. It also seemed to him that this beetle had a bit more poison than usual. It might be a mutation caused by Chakra or the conditions in the catacombs under the Fire Temple. However, he could swear there were no visible differences in the appearance of this beetle; maybe the internal structure was slightly different, but Naruto couldn't check it due to his sealed sensory abilities.

After a moment of lethargy, Naruto resumed his journey. He suspected that this Trial of Will might last longer than just three days and nights.

With every step, Naruto was cautious and prepared for a surprise attack. Even if he hid his presence well, there were people and animals that could still detect him, for example, through scent, echolocation, or instinct. He kept to the right side, occasionally touching the wall with his hand, assessing its surface. One can gather a lot of information through touch, more than people might think.

Since encountering the beetle, he had been walking for almost forty minutes without encountering anything significant. His eyes were becoming more accustomed to the thick darkness, but he still couldn't see the wall on the left side; apparently, this part of the cave was several, if not a dozen, meters wide.

Suddenly, he saw that the stone wall on the right side ended. Taking a few more steps, he found a narrow passage, and the tunnel continued further.

"It's a bit like a labyrinth..." — Naruto muttered and entered the narrow corridor. He immediately heard strange sounds, causing his senses to sharpen instinctively, listening to who might be there.