Chapter 948 : Strange Discoveries...

‘Weird… I only sense 36 disturbances…’ Fujin's brows furrowed. From Ketsueki’s memories, the population of the cult had never dropped this low, even when their attempts to expand into the ninja world failed. Considering they hadn't made any such attempts in recent times, their population should have been over 300 at the very least.

Fujin wondered, ‘Did they transfer most of their forces away to avoid the upcoming battle, leaving only the elites or cannon fodder behind? Or did they go crazy and sacrifice nearly all of their disciples for some reason? Or…’

Fujin narrowed his eyes as he thought of the worst case scenario, ‘Do they have seals capable of blocking my Space Time Sensing Technique?’

Fujin couldn't be sure of any possibility. To this date, his Space Time Sensing Technique had never failed him. However, the Jashin cult was at a higher level than the ninja villages in terms of Fuinjutsu. Fujin wouldn't be too surprised if they possessed such seals, despite Ketsueki being unaware of them.

Given his experience chasing after Hidan, Fujin had a feeling that it was his speculation. He thought, ‘Interesting… If they were somehow aware of me, just like back then, and haven't retreated, this must be a trap… Hehehe, I'm not looking forward to it… It's a shame my Space Time Sensing Technique still can't identify who causes the disturbancss or their strength. I can only roughly judge their shapes and sizes…’

Since he hadn't used his chakra field, Fujin couldn't judge the strength of the people he was sensing. Given the circumstances, he couldn't use his chakra field for several reasons. For one, his chakra field couldn't extend for 10 kilometers. No sensor, no matter how good, could do so. More importantly, any competent ninja would sense the chakra field and prepare themselves for a battle. Fujin, who preferred to ambush and eliminate enemies silently, wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Luckily, he had another method at that moment.

“Kaito, how many people do you sense around 10 kilometers in that direction?” Fujin asked while pointing towards the island which they could barely see only because of how high they were flying. While Fujin still hadn't learnt Senjutsu, Kaito could freely use it. Just like the Space Time Sensing Technique, the Senjutsu based sensing techniques could also not be detected by others. And, it was also far more reliable and had a considerably greater range than using chakra fields.

Kaito concentrated on the island and quickly said, “There are 36 humans. However, all seem normal. They don't feel like ninjas. Or they all excel at disguising their chakra as normal humans. That said…”

Kaito focused again, confirming what he felt, before saying, “I don't feel any threat from them. Be careful. If they're capable enough of fooling my instincts, they must extremely capable.”

Kaito's tone was serious. No matter how much he observed them, his instincts simply failed no danger. However, Kaito didn't believe Fujin would target civilians for no reason. Even if he did, he wouldn't be so on edge, even asking Kaito to check. So, despite his instincts not warning him, he had a bad feeling.

Fujin chuckled, “I don't feel any danger either. These cultists are rather interesting. Don't worry, I'll escape if anything goes wrong.”

Kaito nodded. He had already seen Fujin dropping kunais while he was flying over. So, Fujin already had several escape spots. Even without them, Kaito knew how skilled Fujin was at escaping. With his Wind Cloak, Fujin could fly even faster than Kaito, albeit in very short bursts. While someone like Kaito would eventually catch up, most ninjas didn't have the luxury of flight. Not to mention, it was just one aspect. Fujin was also very skilled at escaping underground, a skill that had become much better since he absorbed a small portion of Shukaku's chakra.

Fujin said, “Alright, I'll move ahead alone. Return to Mount Muteki for now. If I burn the tag, reverse summon me immediately.”

As he spoke, Fujin started floating above Kaito, the Wind Cloak slowly taking shape around him. Unlike his usual Wind Cloak, this one consisted of minimal chakra and couldn't be used to create powerful Wind jutsus or transform into the Wind Domain.

Kaito agreed and said, “I'll be prepared.”

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, while Fujin's figure disappeared as well. He stealthily moved through the clouds, suppressing his chakra to the limit while also using the clouds to hide his presence. Since he was over a couple of kilometers in the air, Fujin wasn't worried of any stray chakra fields nearing him. As long as he didn't cause a massive chakra spike, he couldn't be noticed unless someone with peculiar abilities like the Byakugan was focusing towards the skies.

Very soon, Fujin reached exactly above the island and peered below as he studied the patchwork of rooftops and dirt paths. The layout was identical to Ketsueki’s memories, yet the aura of the place felt… wrong. The village below bustled at a lazy, unthreatening pace — people tending small fields, repairing fishing nets, children chasing each other through the narrow lanes. Not a trace of the hard working disciples, intricate seal formations, or concealed barriers that should have been there.

He thought, ‘Sigh… How bizarre… Maybe I should have sent a few clones immediately to verify… Hmm, no. Attacking without learning about their seals would have been foolish. Even now, there's a huge risk of falling into a trap. Also, I can't ignore the possibility of them being prepared from the very day I chased after Hidan…’

He gazed at the island again and decided, ‘It's time to descend… Let me see if you possess seal formations that can hide from the eyes of a Grandmaster…’

Fujin transformed into one of the birds he spotted and slowly descended with the help of his Wind Cloak, which had grown even weaker. Landing in the shadow of a rocky outcrop on the island’s north edge, Fujin ended his transformation jutsu activated his Space Time Sensing Technique again, confirming there were only 36 humans on the island.

He slipped from shadow to shadow, weaving through the treelines at the edge of the island. Each step was deliberate, measured — not a single pebble displaced.

Without bothering about the village, Fujin first inspected the edges of the island, the beaches and treelines surrounding it. This was the area not protected by the barrier in Ketsueki’s memories. Even so, Fujin expected several seals to be left behind, perhaps by the disciples who trained rigorously to become Bishops. However, he failed to detect even a single seal!

His only observations in this part of the island was the agricultural lands, where some men were working hard to secure food supplies for their village. Fujin noted, ‘The agricultural area is same too. However, they are only farming in a tenth of the area. I suppose that makes sense as their population a tenth of the cult's population…’

Fujin inspected the farms that weren't being farmed. While he lacked experience in this area, he could tell that it hadn't been used for agriculture for years.

With no more point in searching the edge, Fujin moved towards the center of the island and entered the valley where the village was located. In Ketsueki’s memories, this area was protected by a powerful barrier, even stronger than the one Kumogakure used to protect the village when Konoha lured out Ay and Fujin eliminated their military based. However, there were no longer any traces of the barrier. If not for Ketsueki’s memories, Fujin wouldn't even suspect this area to once be protected by such a powerful barrier.

Fujin quickly reached the village, once again failing to detect any seals on his route. Staying hidden from the villagers, Fujin observed the entire village in great detail.

Fujin discovered, ‘They're staying in the same houses that once housed the disciples. Most of the houses are unoccupied, but except for a few, the rest are well maintained and used for other purposes. A village for 400 being used by merely 36 people… How convenient, even the citizens in Konoha don't have this luxury, unless one is insanely rich.

Anyway, even this village has no seals left behind by Jashin… It's almost as if that cult never existed here. Ketsueki’s memories before he became a Bishop were wiped out even from his soul. Could the remaining memories be planted in him somehow? However, other than the presence of the cult here, everything else is true… The only difference is…’

Fujin glanced at a few mountain walls. The houses aside, there were several caves in the village in Ketsueki’s memories, all of which had been occupied by the cultists other than the disciples. However, no such cave existed in the village. Or rather, their entrances were missing, sealed by normal mountain walls which weren't touched by the villagers!