Chronicles of Shivaroku: Part 4
Treasure Hunt
About a month passed since Shivaroku and Shikamaru's encounter with Orochimaru and the Hidden Sound. Since then, Shivaroku has been taking it pretty easy. He was assigned mostly C-rank missions, missions that he could do on his own or with one of his new friends. As for the two B-rank missions, he worked with Asuma, Choji, and Ino, reinforcing their teamwork and building stronger bonds of friendship. The three even started to plan out an InoShivaCho formation, but without Shikamaru's complex intellect, it was hard to come up with a combo technique. Every now and then they would meet up and try to come up with an attack that utilizes all three of their best techniques, which was Shivaroku's Kamehameha, Choji's Expanding Boulder, and Ino's Mind Transfer. One thing was for certain, the combo technique would be awesome and unstoppable.
Shivaroku was called into the Hokage's office one day, where he stood next to Neji, Lee, and Tenten. It seemed that the entirety of Guy's team was there, but Guy himself was not. Tsunade had already dispatched Guy on a recon mission in the Land of Grass. This specific B-rank mission would go to Shivaroku and the Genin of Team Guy. Tsunade felt the four of them were enough.
"The Kununa Village in the Land of Flowers holds a fighting competition every year. The best warriors of their village battle it out to be named Kununa Champion. Along with the title, the winner also receives a golden statue, modelled after the very first Kununa Champion. Unfortunately, it was reported missing a few days ago. With the competition coming up in a couple days, the villagers are getting more restless, as they are accusing each other of stealing the statue. Your mission is to track down and find the ones who stole it, and then return the statue before the competition begins," said Tsunade.
"A fighting competition?! No words have ever made me more excited!" shouted Lee. "Oh how I wish I could enter!"
"Unfortunately, Shinobi are not allowed to enter the competition, because of how important Taijutsu is in combat. Besides, this competition is honestly more about brute strength than actual fighting. It's a bit too primitive for my taste," replied Tsunade.
"Are there any leads present so far?" asked Neji.
"As of now, there are no leads, but the village's previous champion is willing to lend you any resources or help, along with the village elder."
"Right so all we gotta do is find the statue and return it right? Piece of cake!" yelled Shivaroku, prompting Lee to yell "YES!" in response.
"Honestly…I think Naruto may be rubbing off on you," said Tsunade.
The four Genin packed their things and headed straight for the Land of Flowers. When the entered the Kununa Village, they were met with glares and grimaces from bulky men and women. A tan-skinned man walked up to the Genin. He towered above them and his biceps were almost as big as Lee's head. He looked like he could crush an average man's skull with his fist. He lifted his arm slowly. At first the team thought he was about to attack, so they partially ready themselves, but it turns out the man was only lifting his arm for a handshake.
"I am Atrebus. You are from the Leaf, correct?" asked the man.
Neji shook his hand and nodded. "Come with me. I will take you to our village elder," said Atrebus.
"Hey, mister, why does everyone keep looking at us like that?" asked Tenten.
Atrebus answered, "Most of the men and women of Kununa Village do not respect Shinobi."
"Why's that?" asked Shivaroku.
"It is because they believe Shinobi fight without honor. They utilize deception and lies. They often try to take out their enemy from behind. We in Kununa Village believe that when we defeat our enemy, we do it face to face."
"Interesting. What about stealth tactics. If you had to acquire information but did not want to engage, what would you do?" asked Neji.
"There is no such thing as stealth for us. If we want information, we will invade and retrieve it."
"That sounds like it would cost many lives," said Tenten empathetically.
"You are not wrong, but it is the way here in this village." These words from Atrebus made the Genin look at each other solemnly. "Sometimes I wish this village focused on something else other than just raw strength, but to suggest such a thing would bring shame to one's family."
Atrebus led the Genin into the Village Elder's hut. Even the Village Elder was bulky, but his age made his skin look wrinkly. Nevertheless, one could tell that he was strong. "This is our village elder Nobara. He was the strongest of his generation and is a former Kununa Champion," said Atrebus.
Nobara heartily laughed and welcomed the Genin. He also made a comment about how Atrebus was the Kununa Champion for three years in a row, making him the most favorite to be next in line to become the Village Elder. Atrebus bowed and stepped out, saying he was going to train more. Neji asked the Elder for any information regarding the statue. In response, the Elder turned around and picked a piece of paper off the table. He presented the note to Neji, who read it and made a thoughtful face.
"I see. When did you receive this note?" asked Neji.
"The statue was taken during the night. The next morning, the guards were found unconscious, and this note was left on the pedestal where it used to sit," said Nobara.
"Have the guards regained consciousness?"
"Yes, but they say they couldn't recognize the person who attacked them."
"May we speak to them? Afterwards I would like to take a look at the place the statue usually is."
Nobara nodded and called for one of the other guards. A bulky guard donning minimal armor and a large spear stepped in. Nobara asked the guard to take the Genin to the ward. When the team entered the ward, they saw the two guards still in bed, wrapped in bandages. They were beaten up pretty badly, but at least they were still alive and could speak. Neji asked both guards to describe the assailant. Both of them said that they could not see the face, but the attacker was dressed in full black. He was of a large build and carried no weapons. The assailant walked right up to the guards and knocked them both unconscious. The guards said the only thing they remember afterwards was waking up in the ward and learning that the statue was stolen.
The Genin looked at each other. It seemed that they came to an agreement about an important part of the investigation, without having to say any words. Neji then asked to be taken to the place the statue was stored. They were led to a smaller building, which was pretty distant from the rest of the village. Shivaroku noticed marks on the door that indicated heavy blows. Before the Genin stepped inside however, the guard warned them of traps that protected the statue. Heeding this warning, they tread carefully once they stepped into the building.
"Byakugan!" yelled Neji as veins became more visible around his eyes and his pupils became more intense. "I can see all the traps. Follow my movements exactly."
Neji cautiously walked on a specific path that allowed him to avoid all the traps, and the rest of the team copied his every step. Unfortunately, Lee tripped on a rusty nail and ended up stepping on a wrong floorboard. Neji yelled at everyone to stay perfectly still, as a creaking noise echoed in the chamber until a heavy ball was shot directly at Lee. Lee was in an awkward position since Neji told him not to move at all, and nobody else was able to make any movements without setting off any other traps. Lee closed his eyes and shielded his face, attempting to block the ball, but just before impact, Shivaroku fired a ki blast from his palm, deflecting the ball and making it go through one of the walls. When Lee realized that Shivaroku saved him, he thanked him profusely, while almost making another misstep. Fortunately, Tenten summoned one of her staffs and held Lee's foot up just enough that it didn't trigger the next trap.
"I think that's far enough. I will just use my Byakugan to find anything else," said Neji.
Neji found nothing out of the ordinary and deactivated his byakugan. He then signaled everyone to head out, going by the same pathway the entered. Once they exited the building, the guard asked how they avoided the trap of the heavy ball shot at them, mocking them for using their "shinobi skills." Tenten was about to respond angrily, but Neji stopped her and shook his head, silently saying that it was not worth it. The Genin went back to Nobara's hut and shared whatever new information they learned.
"The building that holds the statue. Were there any signs that traps were triggered when you investigated after the statue was stolen?" asked Neji.
Nobara replied, "No, the attacker just knocked out the guards and was able to escape with the statue. No traps were triggered."
"That confirms one of our theories then," said Neji.
Nobara looked at Neji confused, so Shivaroku stepped in. "We think one of the villagers took the statue."
"That's impossible. I don't think any of my fellow villagers would take the statue just before the competition. The only reason its is guarded and surrounded by traps is that it is made of pure gold," said Nobara.
"Our first clue was when the guards in the ward described the attacker's build. They said he was tall and muscular, about their size," said Lee.
"Right. Then they also said that the assailant had no weapons on them, which was odd," said Tenten. "Obviously it meant that he was confident in his own strength to take down both guards. We saw large dents in the door, which could have only occurred because of heavy blows from the assailant."
Nobara's eyes widened as he was slowly understanding that the Genin may be right. "Our final clue was the last thing the guards said. They said their assailant literally walked up to them and attacked them," said Shivaroku. "Normally, if your objective is to steal something, you would do so surreptitiously. But this person not only attacked the guards, but also made sure the guards knew he was coming at them."
"I think I see where you are going with this," said Nobara.
"Actually I do not completely understand what you are saying, Shivaroku. I understood the other two clues, but I did not notice this one," said Lee.
"Well remember what Atrebus told us? He said that the way of the village was to attack face to face. Anyone else would have either avoided the guards or taken them out stealthily. But the assailant did the opposite," said Shivaroku, as Lee nodded, finally understanding.
Neji decided to finish the argument with one final piece of evidence, saying, "And since no traps were triggered, it means that this person knew exactly where to step to avoid them. I'm assuming all the villagers know of these traps, since they respect the statue so much. It's clear that the person who stole the statue was from this village."
Nobara looked down in shame, unable to believe that one of his own villagers would commit such a disgraceful act.
"Have any of the villagers left recently?" asked Tenten.
Nobara looked up, saying, "No. They are all here. None of them would dare leave before the competition."
"Then whoever took it must still possess it. Furthermore, the person who took it had to have been one of the strongest in the village, since they were very easily able to take down both guards," said Neji.
"Then we will question everyone at once," said Nobara. "And we will search everyone's homes."
"No that would not be efficient. Besides, in the chaos, the thief can easily change the location of the statue. We only need to pay attention to the strongest ones," said Neji.
Nobara tried to refuse, but there was no other option. The competition was in two days and the statue was still missing. He reluctantly agreed with Neji. The Genin stepped out along with the Elder, who called for everyone's attention. The Elder said that one of the villagers stole the statue. He gave the thief one chance to return it, or they will suffer a great punishment when captured. Nobara stepped back inside his hut, and Atrebus walked up to the Genin. He asked to provide some assistance with the search. However, just as he was asking, one of the other villagers yelled out to the Shinobi.
"Hey you! You Shinobi think you can just walk in here and accuse one of us of taking the statue? How dare you! The statue is sacred to us. The competition is sacred to us. STRENGTH is sacred to us!"
The four Genin did not respond but just looked at him. None of the villagers were supposed to hear what they discussed with the Elder. Now the thief was alerted to their plans and would try to find a different hiding place for the statue.
"You Shinobi always thinking so highly of yourself. You're weak! You don't know what real strength is. You rely on your little tricks and jutsus. You don't fight with honor. We don't need you here, you should just leave!" The random villager's words sparked yells of agreement among the other villagers. Things were starting to get hairy, and they had to find a way to calm everyone down.
Shivaroku stepped forward. "I was not a Shinobi until just a few months ago, yet I was able to gain power. True strength comes from within. It does not matter whether it is physical or mental strength. Your will is what drives victory. As long as you have a strong will, you have the ultimate strength."
The random villager retorted, "What you're saying you have true strength? You're just a scrawny kid. You can't defeat anyone without using your special techniques. As I said no honor."
Tenten was angry at the way the villager was mocking Shivaroku, and she tried to step in, but Shivaroku told her to stand back. "Do you care to test that theory?"
"Are you challenging me, boy?"
"Hand-to-hand combat. I will not use any of my techniques."
"Heh, I don't know if you are stupid or overconfident. Sure kid, I'll gladly pummel you into the ground."