"The target location should be just ahead. There's a fairly distinct chakra signature!"
Hinata, who was scouting ahead of the group, moved through the Forest. Suddenly, she seemed to notice something and hurriedly turned to tell the others.
Kakashi raised a hand at her words, and everyone stopped and gathered around him.
Following Hinata's directions, they advanced cautiously and spotted the hideout—
A Cave concealed by the surrounding trees, almost impossible to notice without looking closely.
"Hinata, can you see any sign of people inside?"
"...Most of the chakra signatures look like a Barrier or some other fixed, continuous source of chakra. There aren't any human chakra signatures, so they're probably traps or mechanisms. But the cave is very spacious, so I can't say for certain that there's nobody inside."
Hinata frowned as she answered after scanning it with her Byakugan.
"There's also a Barrier at the entrance."
Naruto focused his mind as well. His Malice Sense specifically detected living beings, but it likewise picked up no negative emotions nearby.
"...Looks like there's a good chance this is a decoy, but we still need to rule it out completely..."
Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought, then looked at Mei Terumi. "How about this? You and I will go in and investigate. That way, we can cover each other if anything happens."
"No problem..."
Mei Terumi nodded, then looked toward Naruto and the others, silently asking whether Kakashi needed to leave a clone or something to protect them.
"Don't worry. We'll be ready to back you up at any time!"
Naruto misunderstood Mei Terumi's slightly questioning look and grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.
I'm worried about you three...
But seeing that Kakashi also seemed to take it for granted, Mei Terumi said nothing more.
As far as she was concerned, these