Fujin's words surprised the Daimyo and the Yugakure ninjas who were rather offended by the statement. One of them asked, "What do you mean? Do you want to say that we couldn't find them despite looking in the right area?"
In front of the Daimyo, he didn't dare to explode in anger. However, his tone displayed his anger and dissatisfaction at being treated in this manner. He thought, 'Even if he is from Konoha, who does he think he is to look down on us? We fought in wars even before he was born!'
Unfortunately for him, Fujin wasn't in the mood to be patient with him. He nodded and nonchalantly said, "Yes."
Fujin's brazen disregard for their pride caught everyone, including the Daimyo, off guard. Even Fujin's teammates looked at him with surprise. Though they looked down on ninjas from the minor villages, they never spoke about it in front of them. For a moment, everyone in the room was left speechless.
Before any of the Yugakure ninjas exploded in anger, Fujin looked at the Daimyo and said, "These incidents resemble the way in which a cult called Jashin operates. I had faced them in a mission earlier in the Land of Grass and more than 200 kids would have died had we been late by a day.
Considering that the last missing case occurred one week ago, I'm afraid that it is already too late. So I would recommend helping me out and giving me the information I need if you want to have any chance of saving the missing people. If I was to start looking by myself, I'm afraid that it would be completely pointless. You will be better off by just giving up on them."
Fujin's words surprised the Daimyo and the ninjas in the room. Though the Yugakure ninjas were offended by Fujin's words, they knew that getting angry at that moment would be detrimental. The Daimyo looked at them and said, "Help him out."
Daimyo's words left little room for discussion. Without any delay, everyone gave Fujin the information he needed. They pointed out and marked the locations where they had speculated where the kidnapped people could be held. They also informed Fujin about how they had inspected those locations.
Fujin and his team pieced together all the information and clues and tried forming their own plans. While planning, Fujin enquired about the landscapes in each of the locations and marked them on the map.
Fujin analyzed, 'It seems like the rituals are always conducted in a cave, be it created artificially or with the help of jutsus. Regardless, the mountain has to be natural or these ninjas would have noticed the anomaly.
Even if Zankoku's ritual was an exception, they should still conduct such a ritual in a closed-off space to stay hidden. If not for caves, the only other possible location is if they create and hide in an underground base.
For now, I will only inspect the suspicious locations that have mountains. If I don't find them, I'll look at the other locations. The caves should be hidden with the help of Fuinjutsu. So it is no wonder that these guys couldn't find anything.'
Fujin quickly began planning which route he should take. While he did so, he said, "If you have a picture of Hidan and some of his belongings with his scent on them, give them to us."
He kept looking at the map. The Yugakure ninjas quickly handed a piece of cloth and a small picture to Fujin's teammates. Hyuga Hisao observed the picture properly while Inuzuka Shiro and his ninja dog memorized Hidan's scent.
After drawing up a plan, Fujin rolled up the map and left Yugakure in a hurry along with his team. A couple of minutes after they exited the village, 3 Shadow Clones popped next to Fujin. They dispersed along different paths.
Fujin's teammates immediately understood what Fujin was up to. However, they were confused. Yamanaka Ken wondered, 'Why is he so relentless? We have barely rested since we left Konoha. At this rate, we won't be able to fight at our full strength. He wasn't like this during the two missions I was with him earlier…'
The other two had the same confusion as well. Fujin could guess his teammates' thoughts. In order to not make them suspicious, he looked at his teammates and said, "I'm not sure who our enemy will be or what abilities they will have but I have a bad feeling.
We should capture them before they do whatever they are planning with the kidnapped people. After we find them, be ready to consume a soldier pill if the fight becomes intense as we won't be resting much until we find them."
Fujin's teammates nodded. Though Fujin didn't give a proper explanation, they knew that trusting one's instincts was crucial for a ninja. Several times, a ninja would have to head into a mission with little information. Even in their current situation, they were unaware of the reason behind the kidnapping and the identity of the kidnappers. As such, trusting your instincts becomes an important factor.
It was the reason why Fujin used such a reason. It saved him from having to explain his urgency. After all, he couldn't say that he was hurrying them just because he wanted to catch the Bishop and read his memories before he completed the ceremony and kicked the bucket.
The group moved rapidly. So did Fujin's clones. Though Fujin wasn't from the Land of Hot Water, he had taken several dozen missions in this country, most of which entailed hunting down rogue Kiri ninjas and bounty hunters. Apart from the Land of Fire, this was the country where he was the most active. As such, he knew the area very well.
Fujin and his squad began moving directly towards the place where Hidan had done the massacre. As for his clones, they began scanning the decided locations one by one.
Within six hours, several of the suspicious places were searched. The location where Hidan had killed civilians and fellow ninjas didn't have any clue to track Hidan. Though Shiro picked up some scents, he couldn't use them to track Hidan.
His clones didn't have much luck either. Each of them had properly searched 3-4 locations without much success. One of Fujin's clones kept moving in the direction of the Land of Frost. He was only a couple of dozen from the border when he reached a small mountain range that existed there.
He thought, 'I have already looked through 3 locations and haven't found anything. Since I didn't receive any message, the others shouldn't have had any success either. Sigh, I hope I find them in time.'
He activated his Space-Time Sensing Technique. Just like all the previous times, he didn't sense any disturbances in the Space-Time field, implying that there was no ninja in a 4.5 kilometer radius. The clone moved around for a bit to cover the entire mountain range but still didn't find anything.
Finally, he deactivated his technique and activated his chakra field. He began inspecting the Mountain range once again. After a couple of minutes, he sensed a location that he couldn't sense. His eyes widened. He immediately deactivated his chakra field and hid himself.
He wondered, 'Is this it? But why didn't I sense anything with my Space-Time Sensing Technique? Hmm, normal seals shouldn't be able to hide themselves from my Space-Time Sensing Technique. This means that either the seals here counter Space-Time Techniques or, more likely, there is no one inside whatever is being hidden by the seal.
I hope that it is the former. Konoha's library didn't have any seals to stop or block Space-Time techniques. If this cave does have such seals, then I can use them against Obito. As long as his intangibility is neutralized, killing him wouldn't be that difficult.'
Fujin's clone was excited by that possibility. However, he turned his focus back to the matter at hand. He analyzed, 'It wouldn't be strange to have an abandoned base inside this country. It could have been created by them during wartime. Or perhaps it could be created by any other major villages during one of the Great Ninja Wars. So, I can't be sure that this is done by Jashin. I need to inspect it while taking care to ensure that no one inside the hideout gets suspicious.'
He created a Shadow Clone with a very low amount of chakra. The clone immediately transformed into a rabbit and began moving towards the area being blocked by seals that he had detected earlier.
The rabbit reached that location in a few minutes. He hid in bushes and observed it. The area looked completely natural. It was a mountain wall and nothing else.
The rabbit analyzed, 'It looks like the entrance to the cave is properly sealed off, making it look completely normal. Now, let me see the level of the person who inscribed seals here.'
The rabbit concentrated chakra in his eyes as he began observing the wall. Soon, several dozen seals appeared in front of him. The rabbit properly analyzed every seal he could see and dispelled itself.
The clone immediately received the memories. He analyzed, 'This level of sealing… Whoever did it should be a Grandmaster. More importantly, the style of the seals and symbols is quite similar to the ones in Zankoku's memories. It looks like this is it!'
The Shadow Clone wasn't the only one to receive the memories. Fujin and his other clones received the memories as well. Fujin immediately began moving towards the Land of Frost. As for his two Shadow Clones, they dispelled themselves, sending memories and chakra back to the main body. The Shadow Clone that found the base kept hiding there, ensuring that no one escaped.
