After endlessly searching for two days, their group still hadn't found any clues that could lead them to Airi or her kidnapper.
During this period, Tsubasa continued to move in 'Venom' mode, which allowed him to carry out the search mission more quickly and effectively.
In addition to his enhanced speed, Tsubasa also relied on his unique perception ninjutsu.
This secret technique, which he developed himself, allowed him to sense the chakra traces of an individual.
For him, every person left behind a unique chakra resonance, like an energy fingerprint.
This ability made him an unparalleled tracker, like a hunting dog scenting its prey.
Amidst the growing weariness, Kyoya let out a heavy sigh. "What now? Should we just give up on this mission?" The tone of his voice reflected the frustration and despair that was beginning to erode his spirit.
Ozora, although his face showed the same lines of fatigue, responded with a determined tone. "Don't talk like that, Kyoya! We can't give up this quickly. Airi is still out there, and we have to find her!"
"Besides, I can't imagine delivering this bad news to Yuuto-san and Nanami-san so soon. We have to try harder, at least for a full month, I think." A shadow of sadness crossed his eyes as he imagined the sad faces of Airi's parents.
Tsubasa, who had been mostly silent and listening, finally nodded in agreement. "Yes, I agree with you this time, Brother." He paused his explanation for a moment, staring at the surrounding forest with a sharp gaze.
"One of our goals in traveling the world is to observe the state of the ninja world and gain insight, but our main goal is to gather as much experience as possible. A difficult mission like this is precisely in line with our main objective," Tsubasa continued in a serious and confident tone.
After a brief silence, Tsubasa spoke again, this time with a more tactical tone. "But it's true, we need to change our approach to this mission. We can't keep doing this random search without any clear results." He scratched his chin, thinking hard. "So, I have an idea. How about we try looking for information in the black market?"
Tsubasa's proposal was met with questioning glances among the group members.
"The black market?" Benkei asked with a bit of confusion.
"Well, there might be a lead there. We haven't tried it before," Tsubasa replied with considerable confidence.
"The black market... sounds quite interesting!" Ginga, who was always eager to try new things, seemed enthusiastic about the idea.
"Wow, why didn't I think of this sooner, huh?" Ozora exclaimed, clapping his fist into his other palm, producing a 'thump' sound.
"Probably because we've never been there before," Kyoya replied calmly.
"Yes, this will also add to our experience," Tsubasa explained, "So, if everyone agrees, let's go to the nearest black market immediately." He looked at each member of the group, making sure no one objected.
"Do you know where such a place is, Tsubasa?" Ozora asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Yes, follow me," Tsubasa replied briefly, then turned around and began walking, leading the group out of the place.
Tsubasa led them towards the outskirts of the town, to a shop that looked deserted and isolated.
The building looked dilapidated and neglected, far from the hustle and bustle of the city center.
Thick dust coated its dirty windows, and the signboard above the door looked worn and almost unreadable.
Upon arriving, Tsubasa unhesitatingly invited his group inside and walked towards the dimly lit back of the shop.
There, amidst piles of dusty and used goods, sat a man with a face full of scars and sharp, piercing eyes, as if he could see through the soul of anyone who approached.
A mysterious and dangerous aura emanated from him, indicating that he was no ordinary person.
Without further ado, after sitting down in front of the man, Tsubasa immediately stated his purpose. "Can you take us to the cave?"
The man narrowed his eyes, looking Tsubasa and his group up and down with a suspicious gaze. "Oh, you're new kids, huh? How did you find out about 'this place'?" His voice was low and hoarse, filled with a threatening intonation.
"I know from my friend," Tsubasa replied calmly, his gaze unwavering under the man's intense stare. "Besides, even though I'm new here, don't mess with me..."
As Tsubasa uttered his last words, he released an extremely powerful killing intent.
A wave of cold and intimidating chakra pressure spread throughout the room, startling the man and making him tremble slightly.
The air in the room suddenly felt heavy and cold, as if the temperature had dropped drastically in an instant.
'This is terrifying... a killing aura like this... looks like I have to make an honest transaction this time,' the man thought with cold sweat trickling down his temples.
He hadn't expected the young man in front of him to possess such a terrifying and threatening aura.
"Alright, alright," the man said in a slightly nervous tone, trying to hide his surprise behind a flat expression.
"Follow me." He got up from his chair and walked towards a door behind him.
The Yorozuya group followed the man through a narrow and dark hallway behind the shop.
There, hidden behind shelves of dusty and haphazardly stacked merchandise, was a hidden gate leading into the darkness of a cave.
The entrance was very well camouflaged, making it almost impossible to find for someone who didn't know about it.
After entering the labyrinthine cave for about fifteen minutes, following narrow and winding corridors filled with sharp stalactites and stalagmites, they finally arrived at a fairly crowded place, even though it was deep within the earth.
The place turned out to be quite bright due to stalactite formations that emitted natural light in the depths of the cave, coupled with several torches mounted on the stone walls in strategic locations.
So, the atmosphere there wasn't completely dark at all, but rather dimly lit with dancing light.
There were various kinds of shops and stalls selling all sorts of illegal goods, secret information, and strange artifacts.
"I can only take you this far. From here on, you have to find what you need yourselves," the man said in a flat, emotionless tone.
He pointed towards the crowd of people milling around the stalls.
After leading the Yorozuya group to the heart of the underground black market, the man immediately turned around and walked back towards the entrance, disappearing into the shadows of the cave.
After the man disappeared from sight, Ozora couldn't contain his great curiosity.
"Have you ever been to a place like this before, Tsubasa?" he asked inquisitively.
"No, this is my first time. I only saw some memories of this place from a ninja who attacked me a few days ago," Tsubasa replied briefly, his gaze scanning his surroundings warily.
"Okay, don't be too curious," Tsubasa said, diverting their attention from the strange sights of the market. "Now follow me, I'm going to look for an informant who can help us."
He started walking deeper into the bustling area of the black market, with his group members following behind.
After walking for a while through the crowd of suspicious-looking people and stalls selling strange goods, Tsubasa arrived at a small shop that seemed to sell all sorts of information.
The shop looked more like a small hut made of rough wood, but from the memories of the ninja who attacked him a few days ago, this place was an excellent provider of information.
The shop looked simple, just an old wooden table whose surface was filled with scattered scrolls of paper and ancient books.
The smell of ink and dust filled the air around the shop.
An old woman with thick glasses perched on her nose sat behind the table, staring at Tsubasa with a probing gaze from behind her thick lenses.
Without further ado, Tsubasa immediately conveyed what he was looking for to the shop owner. "Have you heard of any suspicious places in this country? Maybe a place that could be a transaction location for child kidnappers?"
The old woman nodded slowly, her eyes hidden behind her thick glasses seeming to think for a moment. "Yes, I've heard of such a place. But information like that doesn't come cheap."
She held out her wrinkled hand, showing her fingers, gesturing for a sum of money to be paid.
"Okay, here's the money you need," Tsubasa said as he took out several shiny gold coins from his storage scroll and placed them on the table.
The old woman took the gold coins with her trembling hands and put them into a small pouch at her waist. "You can try looking for information on Mist Island. There are several groups of child kidnappers who seem to run their business there."
After the transaction was complete and they were about to leave, the old woman suddenly said, "I'll give you an additional piece of information for free. Just a few hours ago, a group of ninjas who looked hurried also came here asking for the same information. So, if you don't want to lose track of your target, you have to act fast."
Slightly surprised to hear that additional information, Tsubasa said, "Thank you for the information," and then immediately left the black market along with the other members of his group.
Thanks to the valuable additional information from the old woman, they immediately moved quickly towards Mist Island.
They didn't have time to linger.
They ran without paying attention to the difficult terrain, leaping over rocks and pushing through bushes at high speed.
Even to speed up their journey across the ocean separating them from the island, they didn't rent a boat.
Instead, they chose to run on the surface of the water using their chakra abilities.
They leaped nimbly from one water surface to another, creating small ripples behind them as they moved as fast as lightning across the waves.
Upon arriving at Mist Island, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a large battle raging in the center of the island.
The sound of ninjutsu clashes and battle cries echoed clearly in the humid air.
Terrifying Suiton ninjutsu was visible, creating huge waves tens of meters high, like a flash flood ready to wipe out the entire island.
The immense power of the water looked invincible.
Just when they thought the ninjutsu was performed by a ninja from the Land of Water, they saw another ninjutsu that was no less powerful.
Giant chains made of chakra emerged from the ground and writhed in the air like giant snakes, as if preparing to seal the enemy fighting against them.
As Tsubasa almost reached the battle location, amidst the cacophony of battle sounds, he heard a faint but familiar voice, "... Jukai Kōtan!"
What happened next shocked the entire Yorozuya group.
In the blink of an eye, almost the entire island transformed into a vast and dense ancient forest, with giant trees towering into the sky and thick undergrowth covering the ground.
An extraordinary and terrifying sight stretched before them.
Tsubasa swiftly rescued all the Yorozuya group members who were shocked by this sudden change in the situation.
He released a portion of the 'Venom' layer from his body and channeled it into the ground beneath them, sinking their bodies into the earth.
'Isn't this Hashirama's Wood Release? What is he doing here?' Tsubasa thought with a furrow in his brow, still deep underground, observing the giant forest above them with full vigilance.
It seemed this situation was far more complicated than they had imagined.