Chapter 42: A Fruitless Mission
Team Five left the Land of Earth on a mission for the very first time. Aware of the harshness of the shinobi world, the three rookies were more tense than curious.
Once they exited the Land of Earth's border and entered the Land of Taki, the entire group fell silent. Even without Kitsuchi's orders, they instinctively began communicating with hand signals.
While traveling through Taki, they moved very cautiously. Every evening they hunkered down, refusing to wander around after dark. They didn't stay at inns and avoided big towns, only making quick stops at small villages for supplies.
This anxious routine continued until they reached the outskirts of the hidden black market in the Land of Sound. Following intelligence from the mission data, they located a tree hollow where the operative had left a message.
Gathering around, the four took turns reading. Kitsuchi signaled for Ishiro to analyze the intel.
Ishiro, who hadn't spoken much these past few days, cleared his throat softly and began:
"Up to now, the informant hasn't sent new updates. That suggests, assuming the informant isn't compromised, that Aoyan never returned to this black market. There are two possibilities:
> 1. Aoyan accepted an assignment that isn't confined to the Land of Sound. It could be a cross-border task, so he doesn't have to come back here.
2. He's still on his mission and hasn't finished yet.
"In the first scenario, we can't do much. If it's the second, we'd have to wait around here, searching. But being so close to a major black market means a lot of wandering mercenary ninja will pass by.
"If we attempt to check every passing ninja, we'll inevitably run into conflicts. Regardless of the outcome, we'll fail our mission."
He paused to see their reactions, then continued:
"So for safety's sake, we can only pick one likely route Aoyan might use and lie in ambush. That drastically lowers our success probability."
He looked at the other three.
The rest nodded. Tanaka said, "Aoyan's only a chūnin. Large-scale, cross-border tasks seem unlikely. We've got a fair chance if we wait him out."
Ishiro and Shouhara agreed. Ishiro added, "He left the black market going northeast, so let's scout that terrain, then pick a place to hide."
With that decided, the four advanced in search formation, heading northeast.
Because they dared not be conspicuous, they spent half a day reconnoitering the area near the black market. Eventually, they selected a small hill for their ambush spot. From that vantage, Ishiro's sensor ninjutsu could detect movement kilometers away, plus the open terrain to the northeast let them observe who came and went from the black market.
Henceforth, Kitsuchi, Tanaka, and Shouhara took shifts on lookout, scanning the distance. Whenever they spotted anyone, they'd signal Ishiro, who would quickly sense whether there were any high-level chakra signatures. If it wasn't a jōnin-level presence, they'd move closer to observe. Otherwise, they kept away.
They kept watch like this for five whole days. During that time, well over a hundred groups – perhaps three to four hundred individuals – came through. Some groups had just one or two men, some had dozens or more.
From Ishiro's perspective, at least a dozen arrivals contained a jōnin-level chakra presence, at which point Team Five avoided them. Even more were chūnin-level – well over a hundred. Surprisingly, there were fewer genin. This pattern of "many capable ninja in a small state" overturned Ishiro's earlier preconceptions about minor countries and hammered home just how dangerous the shinobi world truly was.
Spending five days like that meant Ishiro used his sensor ninjutsu over a hundred times. Though each sensing only took a short interval, it strained him mentally. Luckily, mental energy was his forte, so he endured.
According to their plan, they would do this for ten days. If Aoyan didn't appear, they would abort the mission.
But on this particular day, Tanaka spotted a team of three approaching from the northeast. As usual, she informed Ishiro, who initiated sensor ninjutsu once they were in range.
Over the last days, Ishiro's awareness of different chakra "flavors" had grown. Shinobi without nature transformations gave off a mild vibe. Those who had learned an elemental nature displayed a distinct after-feel:
Water felt gentle,
Fire was warm,
Earth felt heavy,
Lightning gave a faint shock,
Wind caused a slight pricking sensation.
Some shinobi like Kitsuchi possessed multiple natures – Ishiro would sense multiple overlapping "colors."
Now, sensing these three newcomers, Ishiro noticed one was jōnin-level with a wind-water dual nature, primarily water. Another was chūnin or lower-mid chūnin with no strong affinity. But the third one's chakra felt extremely cold – startling Ishiro enough that he paused to double-check. At once, that third shinobi seemed to notice Ishiro's probing and readied chakra.
Ishiro realized he'd been caught. He quickly turned to his squad. "We've been exposed; let's withdraw to the trap zone. I'll explain on the way."
Without debate, the four quietly departed, hustling to a spot thick with hidden wire traps. During the run, Ishiro summarized:
"There are three shinobi. One is a jōnin with water-wind dual nature, mostly water. One is a mid-lower chūnin. The other… I sense a frigid aura from his chakra. Likely an Ice Release bloodline user."
All three companions reacted gravely. One jōnin plus a bloodline user spelled trouble. They were more powerful than Team Five.
Sure enough, Kitsuchi soon said, "They've picked up our trail."
Bad news. Everyone sped up, heading for the prearranged trap area. Once there, they each hid in pre-dug holes, lying in ambush. If these three unknown nin found them, it would inevitably lead to a fight. The world of shinobi rarely favored a friendly "talk-it-out" approach – if conflict arose, deadly force was standard.
Meanwhile, the trio who detected Ishiro's sensing paused at the trap perimeter. From behind a cluster of trees, they conferred:
The jōnin leading them was named Imamura Koazuki. He glanced at the man with an ice bloodline: Mizunotsuki Kagami. "You said you felt a sensor? Can you gauge his strength?"
Kagami frowned uncertainly. "It's tricky, Koazuki-san. Possibly a chūnin or special jōnin. The vibe is unusual, but… not that strong."
Imamura Koazuki nodded, then asked the final member, a female shinobi named Kawano Oda: "What do you think?"
Oda reasoned: "We can't confirm the composition, but from footprints it looks like four individuals – one adult ninja and three kids. The kids are about one or two years younger than Kagami and me. They've likely been staking out the area for a while. Maybe they're just on a mission and bumped into us by accident.
"But if that sensor nin's decent, they might be led by a jōnin. Kagami also says it's 'not that strong,' so it might simply be a special jōnin… It's ambiguous."
Koazuki hesitated, not wanting to clash with an unknown jōnin. Then he turned to Kagami. "Your ice-bloodline identity is compromised?"
Kagami nodded. "Yes, definitely. Once that sensor locked onto me, he paused, and I sense he realized something. We can't risk them leaving with that intel."
Imamura Koazuki's expression turned grim. "Then we fight. No choice."
He sighed that they only had three members – it would have been safer if they'd recruited more. But they couldn't let an unknown Iwa squad carry word of an Ice Release user – that would sabotage the mission.
With that resolve, Koazuki formed a chain of hand seals and unleashed a broad-range B-rank Suiton technique, sending a giant watery dragon into the presumed trap zone. The violently raging water triggered multiple traps but didn't flush out a single enemy. This made Koazuki's trio more on guard than ever.
Team Five had predicted an AoE ninjutsu possibility. They'd hidden a portion of the traps underground and hunkered in custom-dug holes. When the water receded, none of them had been forced out.
In their hiding place, Ishiro quietly initiated sensor ninjutsu again, monitoring the three enemies. Meanwhile, Kagami told his group, "That sensor's back, watching us. Our moves are being tracked."
Koazuki asked, "Can you pinpoint them?"
Kagami shook his head. "Not exactly. He's got abnormally strong mental energy. If not for my bloodline's heightened awareness, I wouldn't sense him at all."
Koazuki scanned the silent thicket, steeling himself for a potential clash.