A Serpent's Shadow in the Mist and the Closing Barrier Gate

Dense fog, carrying the moist, rotting scent of grass and trees unique to the forests of the Land of Fire, clung to Kabuto Yakushi's nose and mouth like viscous liquid.

He instinctively pushed up the round glasses on the bridge of his nose, but a fine layer of water droplets instantly condensed on the lenses, making the world before him even more blurred.

"Lord Orochimaru, we've entered the Land of Fire."

Kabuto kept his voice low. There was a hint of relief in it, but even more was the instinctive vigilance of a top-tier spy.

Passing through that gap in the Barrier had felt bizarre.

It was like stepping from a dry, stifling sandbox into a cold, clammy swamp. The air's temperature and humidity, even the particles carried on the wind, had all undergone a fundamental change.

What made him most uneasy was the deathly silence.

There were no insects chirping, no birds calling, not even the rustle of wind through leaves—it was so faint that it was almost nonexistent. The forest seemed like a beautiful yet false oil painting from which every sound had been stripped away.

Orochimaru did not respond.

He stood behind Kabuto, his pale face appearing and disappearing in the mist. A nearly pathological gleam of scrutiny flickered in his golden serpentine eyes. He extended his unusually long tongue and lightly tasted the air, as if sampling the area's unique "flavor."

"Heh heh..."

A meaningless chuckle seeped from deep within Orochimaru's throat, raising a fine layer of gooseflesh on the back of Kabuto's neck.

Just then.

Bzzzt—!

An extremely faint yet utterly decisive vibration rang out behind them.

Kabuto whipped around!

The gap in the Barrier they had just passed through, resembling a crack in space, abruptly and inexplicably slammed shut at a speed beyond comprehension!