[Previous Title - One Piece: Hashirama's Voyage]
Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, the Wood Deity, was a legend in the Naruto World. But what if with that exact limitless power on his fingertips, an average man with questionable past is born in t...
A couple weeks later through the endless twists and turns of the maze, our journey felt less like an epic quest and more like wandering through a particularly sadistic theme park designed by someone with a very odd sense of humor.
"Aaaa~ I didn't sign up for this kind of boring adventure. All the monotony, none of the thrill," Mikita complained, her voice echoing down the stone corridors as she flung the core of an apple into the abyss of the missing floor behind us. It disappeared with a dismal splash, the maze swallowing it without a trace as if to mock our dwindling supplies.
We stared at the hole in the floor where green tiles used to be just a moment ago, before walking away.
"Fuck, why can't I just skip this scene?" I retorted, barely stifling another yawn.
Our movements through the maze had become so mechanical, a practiced routine to sidestep the endless of traps that seemed to have been placed with no other purpose than to annoy us. Either the floor would sink behind us or arrows would shoot from the side. It's so annoying, and deadly too. Dust-coated pressure plates and swinging blades that moved with unnecessary zeal, and surprise pits that appeared underfoot with irritating regularity—each were death traps made by some crazy architect.
And then, obviously, there were the wolf robots.
"Seriously, who's the brainchild behind these tin cans?" I mused aloud as another metallic creature lunged at us from the shadows, only to be promptly dispatched by Vivi's thunderous nunchucks. The clash of metal and magic echoed eerily in the dimly lit corridor. "...What are we dealing with here? Is it really just lost technology, or has the city's security defense system gone haywire?"
"Fuck this place. Shithole." Mikita cursed and Nami shook her head.
We laughed at her complaints, feeling a little light-hearted as we continued the walk. As we turned the corner, the sight before us was so startling it brought our weary procession to an abrupt halt.
"Ah..."
"No way."
There, towering in the distance, stood a grand white gate, bathed in a display of light that fell from above. The massive white gate's majestic presence in the midst of the relentless monotony of the dark green maze infused us with a sudden rush of adrenaline.
"Quak! Karoo!" Our duck, Karoo, made duck sounds in excitement.
"Look! Could this be it?" Mikita shouted too, her usual sarcasm replaced by a spark of optimism.
Our collective fatigue was momentarily forgotten as we raced towards the gate, buoyed by the possibility of escape.
Reaching close, we realized it truly was not a mirage. This was really a gate.
Our little archaeologists began examining the gate's intricate design. Her thin fingers tracing the symbols etched into its surface, searching for a clue, a mechanism to open it. "Give me a bit, guys," she said.
The rest of us hovered close, anticipating her answer any second now.
Meanwhile, Tsunade's patience wore thin. "Enough waiting around," she declared, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "Back off, I'm breaking the door."
Without warning, she launched a barrage of attacks against the unyielding gate.
Her fists, enveloped in a crackling aura of dark red lightning, collided with the door, sending impacts resounding through the corridor like thunder. At first, the gate stood as immovable as the walls of the maze itself, steadfast in its silence.
"It won't work, Sis. You are too-"
But then, to our astonishment, mostly mine, a faint red shudder ran through the structure.
[Will of a Supreme King Detected]
"Ah."
The gate began to open on its own, but my sister was too angry to care. With a final, determined strike from Tsunade, the gate groaned, the sound of grinding stone filling the air as it gave way to her assault.
– Crea....kkkchh~!
Inch by inch, it fell forward, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud that echoed like a victory cry through the maze.
Our surprise didn't end there, however.
"No way."
"No fucking way."
The girls cursed, but I was more surprised than any of them. "Is that a..."
Beyond the now-toppled gate lay a room bathed in the soft glow. In the center of it laid a pulsing orb, its light casting long shadows that danced across the walls. Our initial euphoria at the gate's defeat quickly gave way to a cautious optimism.
"Is that a fucking dungeon core or what?" I asked aloud, something that maybe I shouldn't have.
Since there was a core, there had to be a guardian guarding it. And indeed, our head turned to the side to see the core's guardian waking up with a loud, metallic groan.
[Image Here]
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What in the sci-fi was that...?
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