Orochimaru frowned at the sand before him. In an instant, a strange feeling rose within him.
Nai Hyuga's expression also grew somewhat grave, but her movements did not slow in the slightest. She carefully dug through the yellow sand with both hands, trying to discover exactly what lay beneath it.
Big Bear leaned closer and sniffed hard at the scent beneath the sand, only to freeze as a sense of familiarity struck him.
He wondered, Huh... why does the smell down there seem a little like Nai Hyuga's scent?
At that thought, he shook his head sharply. No, that can't be right. Maybe I smelled it wrong, or Nai Hyuga standing beside me affected it!
To make sure, he wrinkled his nose and sniffed hard again, but the familiar scent reached him once more.
This time, he no longer doubted it. He furrowed his brow and watched Nai Hyuga's movements, astonishment showing on his face.
No, the smell really is coming from underground... Big Bear murmured silently.
Soon, Nai Hyuga unearthed a corpse lying faceup. At the sight of it, everyone's breath seemed to catch.
Orochimaru stared intently at the corpse, quickly analyzing what he could glean from it.
The corpse lay on its back, its body dotted with patches of a sticky black substance. Judging by its curves and hair, it appeared to be a woman.
"This is..." Nai Hyuga could hardly believe it. After studying it for a while, she looked down over her own body, ran a hand through her hair, and carefully compared their figures. Soon, she discovered a startling truth.
Big Bear had already noticed something amiss from the scent. Now, seeing the woman's corpse, he was immediately overcome by a strange, eerie feeling.
He moved beside Nai Hyuga's feet and poked her calf with