Treasure Within [Ancient, Ryuu, Invite]

After walking past the damaged routes and roads, there lies ahead of him one challenge that he must pass. It was time to know if he truly knew himself. The Further he goes, the darker the cave becomes. An ordinary ninja would be blind in this dark cave and would be unable to proceed further. Thanks to his Byakugan, the young genin could see even in the dark just as he could in daylight. Further and further into the dark he would go, he would start  hearing voices, different kind of voices, echoes. It was as if there were a hundred thousand people with him in the cave, the voice were all crying, the voices were voices of all ages, babies, adults, teens etc. The hyuuga began to wonder what exactly was going on, he knew perfectly that his dojutsu gave him a complete vision. This voices, he couldn't see them yet they felt like they were right here with him. If these people crying were truly here, his white eyes would have caught their presence but all the hyuuga boy could see here was a dark cave, yet he could see clearly everything within. This is a test of fear. This is what it feels like...

TWC: 984

Murata steps through the cavern, Kato's efforts thankless - something deeper inside has caught her attention. The strange, distant sound of despair that vex Sakuragi have reached her, as well, and soon sing to Kato and Shinji in turn. Murata recognizes this feeling. A memory, tempting her closer. She cannot resist it, and has little inclination to do so. She steps wordlessly deeper in to the caverns, unafraid.

The path leads out into a large, roughly circular cavern. The eerie green of the chamber reflects the torchlight in a surreal fashion. To the Byakugan the walls shimmer with faint, slowly-twisting wisps of chakra, flowing through the veins of stone as though through viscous liquid. An altar of gleaming jade ore, carved in concentric circle steps from the cavern itself, lies at the center of the chamber. From its center rises an eerie stone monolith, carved with the image of a haunting, twisting tree with a singular flower bulb at its top. Imagery long forgotten, meaningless to the people of the world, remembered only by the ghosts that lie in the stone here.

Even in here, the cries are distant, half-real, Murata's vision roaming over the edges of flickering torchlight as though may stumble across somebody at any moment. The only thing there is to stumble upon, in truth, are the loose chunks of stone scattered across the floor - gleaming pale green. Their prize.

Murata runs her hand against the wall, fascinated. Her chakra dances with the palpable sorrow exuded by the stone, and draws no distinct memories or images from it - only the longing sadness of burying a loved one and being so tempted to follow them to their grave. The jade sings to her, voices of the dead as sirens, and Murata feels as though she would certainly fall into their arms it if not for the cruel properties of stone. She leans towards it, and her forehead brushes against the stone - cold and wet. It startles her back to awareness.

"This place has fallen under a curse," Murata says, voice a little distant.

[344]
[TWC: 939]

............................................
WC: 268
TWC: 1377
/exit
Claiming 5000 Ryo + Refined Jade
Claiming 200 words towards A-Rank Atomic Dismantling, unlocking it.
Claiming 933 towards B-Rank Searing Migraine, unlocking it.
Claiming 244 towards A-Rank Split Second.

Approved

Shinji started to pick up the pace as he followed Murata through the hole in the cave wall, had the test been passed? he wondered. Ahead of the appeared to be the jade, so maybe it was to find their way into this part of the cave. As the others muttered about curses Shinji froze, he then put his hands together, all of his fingers pointing directly upwards, and started to rub them against each other, a trick his mother had taught him about warding off spirits when he was younger, he, of course, did not realize she had just made it up. Shinji continued this action until they reach the various different section of jade that lay tightly grouped on the floor, he was not a fan of curses, so he agreed with Noboru that they should hurry, he picked up his own section of jade and then as quickly as it had started he was back in his home, no memory of the mission even taking place, however, he had acquired a piece of jade, and some valuable subconscious experience.

WC: 183
TWC: 1000
Claiming Refined Jade, B rank Jutsu Ticket, +10 Vigor, 1000/1000 for Rock Shelter C, then ticket to make it B

Approved

For some, the cry of the dead in the dark was enough to kill them, but for the hyuuga, it was a disturbing sound that would not bother him at all. His white eyes that pierced through the dark cave caught sight of nothing, the hyuuga who was confident in the ability of his eyes knew that these sounds were not real, he didn't think it was genjutsu, it just wasn't real. The true price lies ahead of the hyuuga, he would walk up to it. “Is this some kind of distraction?, these bastards think their shrieking voice would scare me , huh ? ” he would say to himself. The Hollykage would be glad to see his list of good ninjas return the lost Jade, an epitome of beauty. If this was a dream , Sakuragi would wish he was awake, but it was real. The sound of these demons, the closer he was to the Jade, the more and louder they persist. Perhaps these were the voices of the ones who stole the item. Did they meet with sudden death that they could not defend what they lost their live for? or were they hiding in the dark, still like a rock , unable to stop the set of ninjas that came to retrieve the precious Jade. Whatever the case may be, it doesn't seems to matter to the hyuuga. He would grab the precious Jade and and an illuminating light would move him through space and time.

TWC: 1229
Exit

Max Stat
Claiming 5100 ryo and 50 Ap
Adding 577 to Lion palm (already had 1485 + 577) = 2062/2062
Adding remaining  652 WC to Revolving Needle Shield (652/ 2212)

Approved

Like the others, Murata has little inclination to linger long once she is snapped from her reverie, particularly if she is to be left the last one remaining. She gently takes a hunk of jade from the ground, feeling its stories thrum against her spirit, and she affords the monolith once last glance over her shoulder as she returns from whence she came.

[Exit]

[63]
[TWC: 1002]

Claiming: B-Rank Jutsu Ticket, Refined Jade
10 stats, going into Vigor
747 words going into finishing Blacksmithing (previously trained 1253 words here), 255 words going into False Darkness at B-rank

Approved