It didn't take long for Natsuhiko and Kakashi to arrive outside Kubisaki Castle.
Looking at the massive structure before him, Natsuhiko felt a stir in his heart.
The castle was enormous.
Standing before it, humans seemed incomparably small.
And even more strangely—
Though more than thirty or forty years had passed since Kubisaki Castle fell, the structure still maintained its polished, pristine appearance.
That alone spoke volumes.
I'm getting more and more excited… I just wonder how strong this lizard really is. Natsuhiko thought to himself before glancing at Kakashi with a faint smile.
"We're about to enter that big guy's body. Ready?"
"There's no need for that tone, Captain," Kakashi sighed lightly. "Besides, I'm not going in alone. You're coming with me."
Natsuhiko's words hadn't scared Kakashi.
If anything, Kakashi's reply was even more cutting.
His meaning was clear:
"At worst, if something happens, I won't be dying alone."
Though Natsuhiko knew it was a joke, it was still somewhat irritating.
Fortunately, he didn't dwell on it.
After hearing Kakashi's answer, he walked straight toward the castle gates.
The castle didn't even seem to be locked.
With a light push, the doors swung open.
But the moment they fully entered—
With a loud clang—
The doors shut automatically behind them.
Even Kakashi frowned.
"How interesting." Natsuhiko let out a soft sigh.
His sensory perception instantly flared outward as he carefully observed everything around them.
"Captain," Kakashi suddenly said in a low voice, "this is the summoning beast's mouth. It has fairly strong genjutsu abilities. Everything we're seeing is an illusion."
With his Sharingan, Kakashi could see through much of the deception.
Under its vision, the room's true form was revealed.
He also noticed chakra flowing through the fleshy walls—
Pulsing and writhing in a deeply unsettling way.
"Mm. I understand." Natsuhiko nodded.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
He grabbed Kakashi and leapt upward.
The instant he left the ground—
Dozens of red, cylindrical tentacles burst out, striking toward them.
What was more troublesome was that the tentacles coordinated with one another, forming a dense attack net, crossing and weaving as they continuously assaulted the pair.
Kakashi reacted instantly after being pulled up.
He drew his ninja blade, lightning chakra rapidly coating it.
With a fierce swing, he slashed at the incoming tentacles.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" Natsuhiko formed hand seals swiftly and spat out a sharply compressed stream of water.
Wherever the high-pressure water jet passed, tentacles were cleanly severed.
However—
While their destructive power was formidable, this was still the enemy's home ground.
And Natsuhiko quickly realized something else.
This summoning beast's regenerative ability was terrifying.
Even severed tentacles retained vitality.
Supplied by a constant flow of chakra, new flesh rapidly sprouted from the wounds.
What's going on? I don't remember Naruto and the others being attacked immediately after entering. Natsuhiko frowned.
His sensory perception spread wildly through the castle.
To improve accuracy, he focused specifically on scanning the entire "stomach."
In the original story, the scroll had seemed to be found on the top floor.
But Natsuhiko couldn't afford to rely on memory.
After all, he had already encountered the remnants of Kubisaki Castle—something that hadn't happened before.
"Not below."
Following logical reasoning, Natsuhiko first checked the deepest area.
But he quickly ruled it out.
That area was the summoning beast's stomach.
Even without seeing it directly, Natsuhiko could sense it clearly—
It was filled with terrifying digestive acid.
And the skeletons lying or sitting within were more than enough proof of how dreadful that acid was.
There weren't many bones left.
Some had already been dissolved completely.
So it's already starving this badly… no wonder there's no waste at all.
With a sharp swing of his kunai, Natsuhiko sliced through a tentacle and spun aside to evade another attack.
Fighting while gathering intelligence posed no difficulty for him.
If it wasn't below—
Then it had to be above.
In an instant, his sensory perception pierced through layer after layer of flesh within the beast's body, spreading upward.
The summoning beast's genjutsu was indeed powerful.
The upper area had been disguised as rows of rooms and houses.
Anyone else would have struggled to tell the difference.
But under Natsuhiko's sensory perception, there was nowhere to hide.
He could clearly tell that those "rooms" were simply organs and body parts.
And in the highest chamber—
He found it.
A massive scroll lying flat inside.
"Good. It's still here!"
After confirming it several times, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
There was no mistake.
Now that he had confirmed its location, there was no reason to continue tangling with the tentacles.
The correct choice was obvious—
Secure the objective as quickly as possible.
"Follow me! Don't get bogged down!"
He called back to Kakashi, who was still fighting fiercely, then dashed upstairs without hesitation.
Kakashi reacted instantly.
He severed a tentacle with one clean slash, leapt forward, and landed behind Natsuhiko—providing cover as they rushed upward together.
The massive castle began to tremble.
It seemed the lizard had guessed their objective.
More and more tentacles surged forth.
Smaller lizards began emerging as well.
Even the illusory walls created by genjutsu started revealing their true fleshy nature.
Countless small lizards split from the meat walls and lunged at them.
Natsuhiko leapt into the air, stabbing one through the skull mid-jump.
He frowned.
The sheer number was overwhelming.
He really had to marvel at Naruto's luck—how the kid's team had survived this without a scratch was a miracle.
They sprinted through the final stretch, slaughtering every lizard that lunged at them.
Soon, Natsuhiko and Kakashi reached the top floor—
The room where the scroll was located.
The door was tightly sealed. And due to their intrusion, the beast's genjutsu was faltering.
The illusion of a door flickered and overlapped grotesquely with writhing flesh.
Natsuhiko didn't slow down.
While moving at full speed, he formed hand seals with one hand.
His kunai was already coated in blue chakra.
"Water Release: Water Blade Slash!"
Guided by compressed, razor-sharp Water Release chakra, the kunai stabbed fiercely into the "door."
With a loud crash, it shattered open—
Revealing everything inside.
At once, Natsuhiko saw the scroll resting on the table.
A bright smile spread across his face.
"It looks like… we succeeded."