Kabuto was remotely adjusting the energy distribution among the ten beads-he had switched one bead to a high-consumption communication mode, using the steady consumption of the other nine to sustain the formation as a whole.
"He's controlling the energy consumption ratio of each bead." Chisen watched the bead that glowed steadily red. "That means Kabuto's control over each bead is precise enough to tune its frequency individually.
"It isn't crude, blanket control. Each one is adjusted independently.
"Remote control that precise requires enormous signal bandwidth. He must have a high-powered chakra signal transceiver at the old Otogakure site.
"If he were really rushing to evacuate, that equipment should be switched off and packed up by now.
"But he's using it, which means he did receive my message, and he's checking it."
"What can he check?" Tenten poked her head into the gap between Chisen and Guy to look outside.
"Only one thing-whether we're still in the branching gully." Chisen tapped the vine lightly with his fingers. "The only chakra signatures the beads can detect are the positions of the four of us.
"If the ten jinchuriki report that we're still inside the gully and haven't moved, Kabuto will conclude that my message is false.
"But if the distribution of chakra signatures he detects doesn't match the gully's terrain-for example, if he thinks we're deep inside when we're actually near the entrance, or if the number of people doesn't add up-he'll suspect we've split up."
"We haven't split up," Guy said.
"Right.
"But we can make him think we have." Chisen turned to Neji. "You said you could sense fluctuations in the chakra fields of the ten beads outside. Does that work both ways? Can the beads sense your chakra field?"
"Yes." Neji answered without hesitation. "When my Byakugan is active,