The consequences were easy enough to imagine.
With that thought in mind, everyone naturally worked even harder.
Before long, Pekoms suddenly let out a strange cry.
"I've got it!" he shouted.
At his words, Katakuri and the others all turned to look at him.
Charlotte Oven asked bluntly, "What have you figured out?"
"Did you find any traces over there?"
Pekoms shook his head, but a faint smile rested on his face.
He chuckled. "We've been going about this the wrong way!"
"Ochoku's trail disappeared in this area."
"But Ochoku can't possibly be in this area!"
Some understood what he meant, while others looked puzzled and lost.
Katakuri nodded. "Go on!"
He clearly understood at least part of it.
Pekoms continued, "The sudden disappearance of his trail is far too obvious a signal in itself."
"In a way, it actually makes his trail stand out even more."
"It's practically telling everyone behind him, 'This is where I started hiding for real.'"
"So when we can't find any traces, we naturally start searching this whole area."
"Wouldn't that only increase Ochoku's risk of being exposed?"
Everyone nodded at Pekoms's analysis.
By now, most of them had caught on.
Katakuri narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured, "So you're saying Ochoku did this deliberately."
"He threw us a decoy to mislead us."
"When in fact, he left this area long ago."
"And went somewhere else!"
Pekoms nodded firmly.
As a member of the Mink Tribe, he naturally knew a thing or two about concealing himself in forests and mountains.
That knowledge had finally come in handy.
The others who had spread out gathered together again.
Clearly, none of them had found anything.
Katakuri's eyes gleamed as he said, "In that case, let's not waste any more time here."
"Let's keep going and see