Ch.178 Absolute Silence

Hidden Leaf Village.

The joint unit wasn't just numerous in size; the leaders were all elites from various villages. Against the Akatsuki, a bounty shinobi organization with few members, they were not afraid of any trap, as long as they remained cautious.

Despite knowing things probably wouldn't be simple and that the chakra signature ahead from Yugito Nii could very well be a ruse by the Akatsuki, the Fourth Raikage showed no hesitation. He led the entire unit, tracking Yugito's direction.

Hours later, the team reached a vast, primeval forest.

Facing the dark, silent forest, an instinctive sense of unease ran through the members of the joint unit.

The Fourth Raikage looked to a sensing ninja beside him. "Is this it?"

After confirming for a moment, the sensor nodded heavily, "Yes, Raikage-sama, Yugito's chakra signature is in there."

Cee leaned in closer, "Raikage-sama, this area is not only full of swamps but the forest is also filled with a deadly miasma that causes full-body paralysis if inhaled."

The Raikage nodded.

He didn't need Cee's reminder to realize that this place was dangerous.

Kakashi moved over to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sama, shouldn't we warn Raikage-sama that this might be yet another carefully laid trap by Akatsuki?"

Jiraiya glanced at Raikage in the distance, seeing his eager demeanor, and shook his head. "It's no use."

Asuma asked, "Should we move separately then?"

Jiraiya shook his head again, "No. If we stay together, no matter how strong Akatsuki is, they can't do anything. If we split up, we give them a chance to pick us off. We must stick together!"

At the same time, the Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure teams reached a similar conclusion.

The current scenario indeed seemed like an Akatsuki trap, but that meant they had to stick together all the more, keeping their full power intact.

After a moment, the sensors spread throughout the area reconvened, reporting to the Raikage, "Raikage-sama, we haven't sensed any enemies on the outskirts of the forest."

The Raikage commanded, "Advance!"

Without waiting, he charged ahead into the forest.

The shinobi from Kumogakure quickly followed, and the teams from the other villages followed suit, each disappearing into the silent, dark forest with a rush of wind.

Being an untouched forest, the dense tree canopies almost entirely blocked out the moonlight, leaving the forest floor in dim darkness.

Luckily, this was an elite group, and the low light couldn't impede their movements.

But as they ventured deeper into the forest, the unnaturally silent atmosphere, without even the chirping of insects, made the entire group's unease grow rapidly.

"Why is it so quiet? Where are the animals?"

"Is it because of the miasma? I didn't know there were places like this in the Land of Fire."

"What are those Akatsuki bastards planning?"

Seemingly to alleviate their growing anxiety, whispers began circulating within the group.

No leader intervened to stop it.

Even the Fourth Raikage and the leaders of the group were visibly affected by the ominous atmosphere.

The Raikage turned back to Killer Bee, who was keeping pace with him. "Stay alert!"

"Yeah!" Killer Bee gave a soft reply.

His usual carefree demeanor was gone, and the notebook he often carried was left back at their temporary camp in Hidden Leaf.

Cee, on the other hand, maintained his heightened vigilance, constantly using sensing techniques.

But like the other sensing shinobi in the unit, the feedback he received was identical: aside from Yugito's chakra flickering faintly ahead, there was nothing else in range—no suspicious chakra signatures.

At this point, Jiraiya took a few pills from his pouch and handed them to Kakashi and others. "These are antidote pills made by Tsunade. The moment something feels wrong, put one in your mouth!"

"Got it!"

Kakashi and the others quickly accepted the antidotes.

The other village teams began their own preparations as well, making last-minute arrangements before an inevitable battle.

No one was lulled by the forest's silence.

Instead, it made everyone in the joint unit hyper-alert, with their focus sharpened to the maximum.

Suddenly, one of the sensing shinobis came to a stop.

Shortly after, the other sensors also halted.

Seeing the strange actions of the sensors, the entire unit stopped moving, immediately taking a defensive stance.

The Fourth Raikage asked, "What's going on?"

The first sensor who had halted responded, "Raikage-sama, Yugito's chakra just disappeared!"

The other sensing shinobis nodded in agreement.

The Raikage glanced at Cee.

Cee's face was dark, "Yes, it suddenly vanished. I believe they used some technique to deliberately suppress Yugito's chakra signature."

Killer Bee asked, "Where was Yugito's chakra signature last detected?"

The sensing shinobi pointed ahead. "In that direction, about ten kilometers away!"

For the skilled shinobi present, ten kilometers was nothing; they could cover that distance in no time. Without wasting any more time in speculation, the entire unit moved out, heading straight for the location where Yugito's chakra had last been sensed.

Moments later.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

Amid the sounds of rushing wind, the entire unit surrounded an unremarkable cave in the middle of the forest.

The sensing shinobi gathered their courage, approached the cave, and used sensing techniques to verify. After a moment, they nodded to indicate that Yugito had indeed been there.

"Inside?"

"Is this the Akatsuki trap?"

"A cave? Are they underground?"

The entire unit wore puzzled expressions.

They had imagined numerous possibilities, but none of them involved a simple cave.

Suddenly, a set of footsteps echoed from within.

Instantly, everyone went quiet, their eyes fixed on the cave's entrance.

Soon, a figure dressed like a samurai emerged slowly, stopping just at the cave's entrance. The figure gazed indifferently at the surrounding shinobi.

"Only one person!?"

"Look at his eyes..."

"What's written there? Upper Moon... Two?"

Though the dim lighting made it hard to see, several shinobi noticed the unusual symbols within the figure's eyes.

Kakashi, who had experienced the battle on the main street, immediately recognized it. He quickly pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan, and warned Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sama, be careful! This is one of the Akatsuki members mentioned in the archives!"