The next day the Team left for Yugakure, since they once had ninja posted for fighting against this banished clan. Itachi was extremely quiet during the journey to Yugakure, as if fighting an inner battle. Jun decided to confront him one night while the team was taking a break."What is bothering you Itachi ? You have been very off ever since you heard about this clan ." Jun asked while sitting beside him
"It is nothing major, but this was the first time I have been exposed to the past horrors of my clan and its ancestors. I always knew Uchiha Clan has been all about power and supremacy and if it was not for Senju and Uzumaki clan there would have been none that would have stood up to it. But hearing they used their power in such way , to destroy an entire clan just because someone had a.s.signed them to and that too because they were afraid of the clan"s power doesn"t sit well with me."
"I know it might be hard to stomach, but your ancestors sins are not yours. If they were the ones to sin , we can wash it off by helping others. All we can do is keep our hands free of the blood."
"Maybe you are right. Anyway we need to focus on our mission for now."
"Yes, we need to find the mirrors as soon as possible. We have already spent around one and a half months of the 2 year maximum limit master gave us; and it is not even sure that he will be able to hold on for that long. The sooner we complete this the better."
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Two weeks later, they finally reached Yugakure through a.s.sistance of a few small villages that usually employed their services. The team also enjoyed a few excellent Hot-springs on the way there, Jun especially had a very nice time since he found that hot springs are laced with traces of pure nature energy due to their geothermal relations. On reaching the village, Kakashi discussed with the village guards and they were escorted to the Yukage"s office to meet the Yukage.
The meeting with Yukage went extremely smoothly. The Valley of h.e.l.l was thought to be uninhabitable. Ninja from the nearby Yugakure checked in on the Chinoike clan a few months after they were relocated to the valley and found them drinking what appeared to be blood (Niks : it was actually only water, turned red by minerals in the earth). Unwilling to investigate further, Yugakure declared the Valley of h.e.l.l off limits. Over the years, the valley"s location was forgotten and the Chinoike clan faded from history. He told them that they suspected everyone of the Chinoike Clan had already died since they found that the whole valley was covered in blood like substance from distance and the whole valley emitted a strong smell of rust and sulphur.
"The Chinoike were famous for their Ketsuryugan, a dojutsu that, when active, makes their eyes appear blood‒red. The Ketsuryugan allows them to perform powerful Genjutsu, of comparable strength to your Uchiha clan"s Sharingan. They can also use the Ketsuryugan to manipulate liquids such as blood " the Yukage explained the supposed "Devil"s eyes" of the clan. "The white parts of the eye glows blood red while the pupil turns into a double layered on with a slit in middle like those of some amphibians. Its said they need conflict and blood of others spilled for it to awaken. It was quite unfortunate we had to lose such rare bloodlines."
Itachi was at his limit by then so he excused himself and rushed off. Jun followed him at Kakashi"s signal. Following his tracks, Jun found him at the entrance of the building, leaning on the wall while clenching his fists. He sensed Jun coming and opened an eye to look at him.
"You left very quickly . Are you okay ?" Jun asked
"Is that all we are to such people? Just weapons with special abilities that can be pointed at their enemies to scare them? Look at that guy, he is proud of what he did to those people and the only regret he has is losing their abilities? " Itachi was incensed at Yukage"s att.i.tude towards the Chinoike Clan"s plight.
Jun had no answer for Itachi and could only silently ponder at what Itachi said.
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Armed with the directions the Yukage had provided , Jun and the team left on the search for the "Valley of h.e.l.l" , also known as the "Sulfurous Valley" before the Chinoike Clan was exiled there. It took them a few days to fined the river that bordered the extent of the seal Madara Uchiha had placed . As Jun and the team crossed the river using an old wooden bridge , they could feel an uneasiness they didn"t feel before. They saw a haze that covered a range of hill like structures in the distance.
"That is the entrance to the so called Valley of h.e.l.l" Kakashi said as they trudged forward.
"They very air feels … polluted somehow" Yak.u.mo replied while starting to sweat. In fact, all the team members had started to perspire by now as they temperature rose quickly the deeper they went.
"There is a peculiar smell of rust here as Daimyo said. But is it really blood? How much blood would have to be shed to shroud the very atmosphere of this place? Even major battlefields would not be like this. " Yugao countered while wrinkling her nose at the smell.
"No. Everyone was wrong about this place." Jun said while pointing at a red colored puddle at distance. The team rushed to it and Jun bent down and dipped a hand in it to check. He felt a slightly rough texture floating in the red liquid. Bringing it close to his nose , Jun finally recognized it by the smell. "This is not blood, this is a water saturated with high concentration of minerals which make it dense like blood, chief among which is Iron. The unpleasant smell is a combination of rust and sulfur. As you obviously know , Land of Hot Springs is known for its hot springs that cure variety of diseases and is good for health due to high content of minerals. It just so happens that it is exactly what responsible for this h.e.l.lish place, an over content of minerals like iron that rust when exposed to high temperature of the hot springs. There fore animals don"t live in this place since they cant adapt to it, and only few types of vegetation can handle it. The question is : How did the Chinoike Clan people survive after drinking such water. I would suspect anyone would die within days with such constant consumption of such water."
"How about I answer that for you?" a voice called out from the haze in front of them.