At the border of Land of Mountains,

"We are here." ​​

Izuna and Kimimaro scale a very tall mountain as they gaze at a gorge located in between two mountains.

Hmm…

Izuna takes out the map from his pocket to assure the location.

"This is the location, but I can't see anything out of ordinary here."

A long river flows through the gorge, parting two mountains in half.

"SHARINGAN!"

Izuna activates his Sharingan and gazes down on the slope of the hill.

"I see… that makes sense."

He nods his head as the truth appears in front of his eyes.

"No wonder… they call this place as the 'Valley of Lies'. This entire mountain range is shrouded in a very large-scale genjutsu.

To any outsider, the place will just look like a normal mountain range, but it can't fool my eyes."

Izuna turns towards Kimimaro.

"Have you done skydiving before?"

"SKYDIVING?!"

Kimimaro tilts his head in confusion.

"No problem… there's first time for everything."

Izuna lifts Kimimaro and points him towards the base of the hill.

Gulp…

"UH!… Angel-san! I am afraid."

Kimimaro gulps his saliva.

"Daijoubu! Daijoubu! Besides, I am also here with you."

Whoosh…

"Here you go!"

Izuna swings his right arm and launches Kimimaro towards the foothill.

"This is the actual test of your skills."

Whoosh…

Izuna takes a leap of faith from the peak of the mountain.

---------------

At the base of the Mountain,

Ha… ha… ha…

Kimimaro is breathing heavily as there are various bruises on his body.

"I… I did it."

"Well done." Izuna nods his head.

"Mystic Palm Technique"

Izuna heals Kimimaro's wound.

"With the Snake Sage Mode, your body has gained the traits of a snake. Your body has become more flexible and it will help greatly with your Kekkei Genkai."

"Yes, Angel-san." Kimimaro nods his head.

'Maybe I am too harsh to him. But only life-threatening situation can awaken the true potential.'

Izuna shakes his head.

"Kimimaro, our destination is here." Izuna remarks as he stares at a giant boulder.

He walks towards the boulder and investigates it.

"Found it."

Kacha… click…

He activates the mechanism and a passage opens in a nearby hill.

"Let's go."

Kimimaro stands up and dusts his clothes. Both of them walk inside the cave as Izuna explains the details.

"Shangri-La is a small village hidden deep in the valley of Lies. This village is a haven for rogue ninja who abandoned the life of shinobi and aims to live peacefully.

A genjutsu barrier is erected on the hill and is maintained by the villagers to deter bounty hunters from the village. The ninjas of the village use Transformation Jutsu to hide their actual identity."

Izuna turns towards Kimimaro.

"So… let's change our appearance."

Izuna makes some hand signs.

"Transformation Jutsu"

He transforms into a burly middle-aged man with a scar on his right eye.

"As for you, Kimimaro… you are fine as you are. You just need some touch-ups."

Whoosh…

Izuna takes out a make-up kit from his storage scroll and 'paints' Kimimaro's looks.

"Well… I think I did a good job with my make-up." Izuna nods his head as he stares at his masterpiece on Kimimaro's face.

"Just a few touch-ups here and there!"

After half an hour later,

"It is a nice cosplay. You are ready to go."

Izuna stores his make-up kit and nods at Kimimaro's new appearance.

Kimimaro takes out the small diary from his pocket and scribbles on it.

"Cosplay is good."

Both of them continue to walk through the underground passage as they approach the village.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Three masked ninjas appear in front of them. They draw their kunais and point them towards the duo.

"Halt!"

Both of them stop as they warily stare at the group.

"Outsiders aren't allowed are here. Please return to where you came from."

One of the shinobi walks in front of them and threatens them.

"No… no… we aren't here for trouble."

Izuna shakes his hands.

"My name is Akihito, and this is my son, Akifumi. We are from a small shinobi village from the land of Grass.

The head of our village was a lecher and a sexual deviant. While I was on a mission; he assaulted my wife.

Out of guilt and sorrow, my wife committed suicide. When I came back from my mission, I learned about the truth. Enraged by this, I murdered that son of a bitch and fled the village.

Since then, I have been on a constant run with my son. It has been five years since then."

Izuna gently pats Kimimaro's head.

"He is my only family in this world. I want to give a stable and peaceful life to him. A life where he would never have to live in fear of death.

Recently, I heard about this place from someone. So, we climbed all the way to this mountain to reach this haven."

Tears fall from his eyes as he hugs Kimimaro.

Sob… sob…

The eyes of one of the guard shinobis tear up.

"I feel you, brother. I share the same story as you. But in my case, I had no family."

"We share the same sentiment as you, brother. All the residents of Shangri-La have suffered one way or another."

The remaining two shinobi also nod their head as their eyes tears up. They withdraw their weapon and guide them towards the village.

"Shangri-La welcomes you. All of us are the rogue criminals of this cruel world. We hope you will be able to achieve peace here."

The group continues to walk deeper into the cave.

'Damn! I never expected my third-grade drama to melt their heart. Does this mean I am a natural-born actor? Maybe I should have opted acting as a career path rather than medical studies.'

Izuna silently stares at their back as they walk along the bank of the river.

"Would you mind telling me more about this village?"

Izuna turns towards one of the shinobis of Shangri-La.

The shinobi nods his head as he explains.

"Shangri-La was originally a small cave which was part of this giant mountain. After the end of the First Shinobi War, a group of shinobi from smaller nations fled to this place to preserve their life.

They dug out the mountain and found this village. Since then, the village has continued to expand. As the village is carved out from the mountain, there is always a risk of landslide.

So, the previous village Head planted a giant tree to acts as a support for the base of the mountain."

The shinobi points towards a gigantic tree situated in the middle of the cavern.

"I see."

Izuna nods his head as he secretly activates his Sharingan to investigate the tree.

'Hmm… there is nothing unusual about this tree other than the fact that it is surrounded by large amounts of Nature energy. Maybe it is the effect of its immense vitality.'

"We are here."

The group stops as they reach the base of the giant tree.

Knock… Knock…

One of the shinobi knocks on a small door embedded in the tree.

Creak…

The door creaks open as an old man with a long white beard walks out of the treehouse.

"What's the matter, Fusao?"

Fusao bows in front of the old man.

"Chief, there are newcomers."

He points towards the 'father-son duo.

Hmm…

The old village chief scrutinizes Izuna and Kimimaro and nods his head.

"Good! It has been almost three years since someone new joined the village. Fusao! Explain the drill to them."

The old chief turns around and returns to his treehouse.

Fusao turns towards the duo and remarks.

"You must have already encountered the barrier around the village."

Izuna nods his head.

"Yes, we came across the barrier. Since we were specifically seeking for the village; it didn't fool our eyes."

"Hmm…" Fusao nods his head.

"The barrier requires an enormous amount of chakra to maintain, as such many of the villagers spent four hours a day to help maintain the barrier.

Since you are now a member of the village; you would also have to fulfill this duty."

"I will fulfill this duty."

Izuna nods his head.

"Good! Let me escort you to an empty house. Whenever a villager dies; he leaves behind an empty house. You can live in one of these houses."

He directs the pair to one of the old houses.