Yuta, if you know something, you should say something," Kakashi intervened.
A few seconds passed with Yuta looking directly into everyone's eyes for a while, seeing their cautious state, and a ray of hope that he wasn't their enemy, but also an experience that says they'll cut him down if he was.
They didn't have strong enough ties to not do so yet.
"It's not here," Yuta said as he walked closer to the cages, closely examining them.
However, it was noted that each time he approached them, they moved backwards in obvious fear.
"What isn't here?" Kakashi asked.
"I apologize, Shikamaru, I assumed that you have the means to suppress negative emotions from taking tangible form and influencing the surroundings."
"Haah, what a drag!" Shikamaru said flipping his character from a hotheaded person to usual.
That was his test of Yuta's personality, to see how he acted in a situation that didn't favor him.
However, he was disappointed as he got no tangible feedback.
"What are we dealing with here, Yuta?" Asuma asked.
"Remember what I said about Negative Emotions?"
"The part about them influencing the surroundings?" Ino asked.
"No dummy, the part about the problem not being physical," Shikamaru said.
"How so?" Sakura asked.
"Indeed, Yuta, I want to know how," Kakashi added.
"In simple terms, a jutsu can't cast itself," Yuta said, deliberately not wanting to let them in on much about how cursed energy and spirits work.
"That Shinobi was definitely not a leaf Jonin," Shikamaru said with absolute confidence.
"So we have a Shinobi to track," Asuma said as he allowed his cigarettes to finish off on the earth.
"Well, what about these people?" Choji asked emotionally.
"Well, you should have a way to purify these people then?" Shikamaru asked.
"Purify? No, we just need to get rid of the corrupting energy here by looking for the person or item causing it, any ideas" Yuta said pointedly as they left the underground cellar.
Soon enough, a knock was heard on the village elder's door as it went through the usual series of unlocking processes, only to see it was the familiar Shinobi, and then finally open up.
"Ah, have you healed them" Hayato asked enthusiastically.
"Indeed, we have found a way to heal them; however, you made mention of the merchants selling some pieces of trinkets. Do you care if..." Kakashi said only to be interrupted.
"You thieves!!! Are you sure you're shinobis at all, get out before I report you to the land of fire." Hayato yelled unnecessarily.
"This Fool" Sakura rampaged and ended up throwing a punch that sent him across the room and unconscious.
"Sakura, you are supposed to carefully subdue civilians, not harm them," Kakashi said.
"Yeah, well, if she didn't do it, I would have done it," Choji said, annoyed.
"Enough of that, what are we looking for here Yuta?" Asuma asked clearly cautious
"It has a high concentration of cursed energy," Yuta said.
Everyone proceeded to turn and look at him stunned.
"Any other friendly descriptions?" Kakashi asked.
"Chakra is everywhere and in everything; however, chakra doesn't go well with cursed energy, so we are looking for an object that is completely devoid of chakra or repels one," Yuta said as a matter of fact.
"You're a sensory ninja, right? Can't you just find its location at the moment?" Ino asked.
"I'll need it to be in high quantities to do that, however, I can see it without needing physical touch," Yuta replied dryly.
In truth, he could try looking for it, as it would be way easier, but his mind was on something else, like how there was cursed energy suddenly in a world that had no idea of one.
The implications were heavy on his mind but of all that weighed, he hoped to get to the root of it all.