Chapter 178: The Scent of the Forest

The wind had settled, but the air in the swamp remained dense, humid, almost unbreathable. The tree branches seemed to listen, the exposed roots traced broken paths. The group was gathered in a small clearing, surrounded by gnarled trunks and silence.

Suiren knelt down and calmly opened her mission pouch. From inside, she pulled out three small cylinders, each sealed with a different color: green, red, blue.

Kurara watched in silence. Shin and Shinji also drew closer, curious.

Suiren took the blue seal, observed it for a moment, then snapped it cleanly in two with a precise gesture.

A faint pulse of light, almost invisible, dispersed into the air like fine dust.

"What did you just do?" Shinji asked, scratching his chin.

Suiren placed the remaining seals back into her bag."It's a new long-range communication network. An idea developed by one of the village's emerging Seal Masters. The seals operate with simple codes."

She looked up at the sky, then continued.

"Green for standard mission. Red for critical emergency. Blue… for support request. No details, just the signal. That's all the Mizukage needs."

Shin nodded. "Efficient."

Suiren stood, brushing off her cloak. Then she turned to the group.

"But even if reinforcements are coming, we can't just wait. And the truth is… we don't have enough intel to continue this mission. We still don't know what their real objective is."

She paused, staring at the trees ahead.

"I don't know what connection these forgotten ruins have, or the symbols tied to Byakuren. The masked men… they seem affiliated with the Pranja Group, but something's off. Too much coordination. Too much precision. As if they've been looking for something… for a long time."

Kurara pulled her cloak tighter."Natsui told me his dream was to bring small villages back into the spotlight… but how could a cartographer be useful to an organization like that?"

Suiren slowly turned to her."That's exactly the point. Either Natsui isn't who he claims to be… or we're missing something. And if they're really trying to create new legendary weapons, new swords, then they'd need a smith. A good one."

It was then that Suiren's expression changed.

"Kurara." She turned to her."Is your grandfather… still on assignment?"

Kurara nodded, confused."Yes, he's… building a bridge. It's a long-term project."

Suiren stepped forward."Do you know where?"

Kurara searched her memory, then her eyes widened."In the village of Ramizu."

Suiren snapped open the map.

She drew a line. Studied the distance. Then, with a firm nod, she said:

"Ramizu is close enough to be their next logical move. If they're trying to forge something, they'll need materials, labor… and discretion. A village like that would be perfect."

Shinji groaned.

Shin nodded, already ready to go.

Suiren folded the map."Let's move. If there's even a chance your grandfather is involved — or in danger — we have to find out."

Kurara swallowed hard. Then nodded.

Kyōro said nothing.

The group set off again, leaving behind the carved symbols, the ancient ruins, and the promises of forgotten glory.

Ahead of them — a new direction.

A new trail.

- - -

Borei's clone moved swiftly through the twisted roots and soaked underbrush. He had veered toward an area that, on the map, seemed insignificant: a secondary branch of the swamp, right on the border between water and an old, rocky ravine.

But it wasn't the geography that had drawn him there.

It was the smell.

He had caught something in the air. A strange scent, similar to the one the children had described a few days earlier. It wasn't the usual swamp moss. It was stronger. Wilder. As if the entire area were breathing differently.

He stopped on a stone covered in lichen.

Inhaled deeply.

There. Again. Clearer.

"It's the same…"

He crouched down, touching the ground. Damp, but compact. As if something had walked there — something that didn't leave footprints. No tracks. Only… a faint crack.

A subtle tremor.

Something was watching him.

The clone spun around.

But saw nothing.

Among the distant trees, hidden between shadow and roots… a figure had slowly emerged from the earth.

Fused with bark and mud.

Silent.

Zetsu.

He made no sound.

He didn't move.

He never fully revealed himself.

He remained there, dozens of meters away, barely perceptible between two blackened trunks.

The black eye narrowed.

Then, with a muffled, slow voice, like he was whispering to the soil:

"This… could be a problem."

And he vanished once more, swallowed by the earth like a seed.

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