"Hello… I'm so sorry, that Nine-Tails is my Pokémon."
Just as Ash frowned in confusion, a voice suddenly came from behind him and Sabrina. His Sharingan instantly activated, the pupils shrinking sharply.
"Impossible… when did this woman appear behind me and Sabrina? I didn't sense her at all."
Staring at the woman in a cherry blossom kimono, Ash's gaze turned sharp and vigilant. Almost instinctively, he pulled Sabrina behind him.
"Ash, what are you doing? That's rude," Sabrina said, confused, trying to step forward and introduce the kimono-clad woman, only to be stopped again.
"Who are you?" Ash asked coldly.
The woman was visibly startled. The lantern in her hand slipped and fell, her expression filled with shock. Clearly, she had not expected Ash to see through her so easily.
"Nine-Tails, let's go, quickly!" she called out nervously.
Hearing her command, the Ninetales glanced back at Ash with reluctance before dashing off in one direction. The kimono woman vanished instantly after it.
"How is that possible? Was she using psychic powers too?" Sabrina asked, surprised but not afraid. Teleportation was something she herself could perform.
"No… that woman wasn't human," Ash replied, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the spot where they disappeared. "Even with my strength, I couldn't perceive her at all."
"This is getting interesting…"
A ripple of purple light flashed through his eyes as the Rinnegan activated, piercing through the surrounding white mist.
"Is that your new ability after breaking through?" Sabrina asked curiously. She could clearly feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from his eyes, something almost instinctual.
"Yeah… but forget that for now. Follow me."
Ash's tone turned serious.
"Pikachu, protect Sabrina. I need to figure out what happened here."
"Pika!" Pikachu patted its chest confidently before jumping from Ash's shoulder into Sabrina's arms.
Ash absolutely refused to believe that someone could evade his perception so completely. Even back in the world of Naruto, his sensory abilities were among the best, and now, with his current level of power, that should be even more true.
Using the Rinnegan, he scanned the terrain, quickly locking onto the faint traces left behind. Following the tracks of the Nine-Tails, it took less than ten minutes before they arrived at the entrance of a massive structure.
"In such a deep mountain… how can there be a mansion this big?" Sabrina asked in shock. The area it occupied was at least half the size of a football field, though it looked aged and worn.
"No… this isn't a mansion," Ash said calmly. "It's an altar."
Through the Rinnegan, what appeared before him was not a building, but a decayed and ancient sacrificial altar.
"But this is clearly a mansion," Sabrina insisted, pointing at the grand gate.
"Release."
Ash formed a hand seal. A surge of chakra and ocular power burst outward, shattering the illusion completely.
The scene distorted.
In an instant, the grand mansion vanished, replaced by a massive, dilapidated altar.
"A… an altar…" Sabrina's expression stiffened. "So I was under an illusion… and one strong enough to affect me. That means the other party's mental power is at least on my level."
Even with her strength, the eerie atmosphere made her uneasy.
Ash observed the surroundings carefully.
"This is strange. An altar this large should have been discovered long ago. But look at the ground… there are no human footprints anywhere."
"Only the tracks left by that Nine-Tails."
"And this path leads directly to the next Gym. Logically, someone should have found this place already."
Around the altar stood numerous humanoid stone statues. Each one was different. Some had their hands bound, others their legs, and some were broken entirely. Judging from their appearance, Ash could already tell…
This place had once been used for something extremely sinister.
Not far from the altar…
The kimono woman hid in the shadows, her face pale with fear as she looked toward Ash and Sabrina.
"Nine-Tails… what should we do? That person… he's too strong."
"Ash, let's get out of here quickly… this place is too eerie," Sabrina said, her voice tense as the oppressive atmosphere made her instinctively clutch Pikachu tighter in her arms.
"Pika… Pi…!" Pikachu's face turned purple, its expression full of distress as it struggled to breathe.
"Ah! Pikachu, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" Sabrina immediately loosened her grip, her face filled with guilt.
"Pika!"
The moment it was freed, Pikachu took a deep breath of fresh air, then exhaled heavily, looking like it had just escaped a life-threatening situation.
"I'm not leaving until I understand what's going on here," Ash said firmly. "If you're scared, go to my space first."
Ash's personal space was a vast sea. To make it livable, he had used Mokuton to construct a wooden house that floated on the water. The entire structure had then been pulled into his separate dimension.
He had come up with this idea back at the Whirl Islands. With a house floating on the sea, his space could now support people living inside it. Although not large, it was more than enough for five or six people.
"…Alright," Sabrina replied after a brief pause.
Seeing how determined Ash was, she gave up on persuading him. She rarely argued with his decisions, choosing instead to trust him and follow his lead.