As Guy entered Hell Valley, the dark red mist around him grew thicker and thicker, and even the air became increasingly viscous.
The smell hanging in the air was not merely unpleasant.
It also carried a pungent odor. Guy could tell it contained a mild neuroparalytic toxin.
Long-term inhalation would allow the toxin to accumulate within the body and gradually erode it.
However, given Guy's current physical condition, this amount of poison posed no threat.
As he ventured deeper, he discovered traces of human habitation in a relatively thin patch of mist not far from the valley entrance.
Several crudely piled stone fire pits, now abandoned.
Scattered fragments of standardized ninja tools, along with several uniformly issued campaign tents.
"This should be where the Uchiha clan's people stationed here to guard the Blood Pool Clan once lived."
"But by now, they should have withdrawn."
Guy nodded slightly.
After the upheaval within Konoha, the Uchiha clan clearly no longer had the leisure to concern themselves with such a remote place of imprisonment.
Around the abandoned camp, Guy noticed quite a few dark red, strangely shaped mushrooms growing from the ground.
He bent down, picked one up, and held it beneath his nose.
A fishy stench mixed with rust and rotting vegetation reached him.
Guy hesitated for a moment, then pinched off a small piece of the cap and placed it in his mouth to taste.
It was incredibly bitter, with a heavy metallic taste and an indescribable astringency, almost entirely lacking the savory flavor mushrooms should have had.
More importantly, a faint numbness spread across the tip of his tongue.
"Mildly toxic, but not lethal."
"Still, consuming it over a long period would be extremely harmful to the body."
"It should be a special plant produced by Hell Valley's environment."
Guy