Chapter Twenty: A Step Into the Outside World
"Is it okay to be dressed like this?"
"For this mission? Yes."
They were assigned a recon mission. It wasn't like they were leaving the country, so she shouldn't be worried about enemy-nin, but the moment they left the gates everything was unfamiliar – even if they've only passed wilderness and more wilderness.
"It's good to be vigilant, but nerves will only distract you."
It was hard to unlearn things. First, she had gotten used to a surveillance-based society. Cameras and videos throughout public and private spaces, and everything being tracking through the internet and her devices. Then, she grew up in a place where a significant number of residents were trained to spy.
"If we are heading west then we are heading to Musoku first?"
"You already know of it then?"
"No, I did background research." Maybe if she had been allowed to stay at the academy longer she would be better at local geography. It was tough finding the information she needed within the hour alongside her preparations, but she managed. Barely. Yuina wondered why one mission incorporated so many stops rather than assign each destination as separate missions. As most things, her deductions turn to money and available staff. At least it meant that it wasn't urgent.
"Our last destination is Mizushi, so we'll start with Musoku and travel clockwise."
Musoku was a city situated near the Land of Fire's western border, near the most northern point of the Land of Rivers where it intersected the buffer zone between Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth. Said buffer zone still had plenty of inhabitants. Just because governments claimed it didn't belong to anyone didn't mean the people who lived there just upped and moved. Instead, it led to new ninja villages being developed. They were likely the main authority of those regions considering they didn't have a daimyo. For example, Amegakure was north-west of Musoku and, from what she heard, their Kage controlled the region.
Mizushi was further south, meaning they were essentially travelling in on giant circle.
"We should start running."
Orochimaru's words put her on alert.
"If we don't, this mission will take months instead of weeks."
Oh. That was fair. She's seen maps a few times, but never one with proper scaling. She never tried searching for one that did. She had enough on her plate as it was.
Yuina was suddenly glad for chakra. It made running much less exhaustive. She was essentially her own free high speed vehicle. Faster than the speed allowance on main city roads, yet slower than highway speed - and likely would be for some time.
"Are you still intertwining your chakra with the tree's?"
"...Yes." She tried to do what Orochimaru instructed but it felt so much more natural to bind the two. "I've reduced how much binding it requires, but it's easy without it requiring much chakra. My agenda is stacked as is. Though, I did make progress with elemental manipulation." It had been a surprise to learn that Orochimaru was capable of using all the outlined chakra elements. "I can alter my my lightning affinity to fire, though it's not stable enough to make practical use of it yet." She was no better than a lighter at this point. Actually, even a lighter would be better because it was sharable.
"Keep working on it. And the results of your chakra input experiment?"
She had technically started that long before Orochimaru, but he was able to offer considerations and metrics that actually allowed her to quantify her data. Not to mention some new words for her Japanese vocabulary. Reading was one skill. Speaking was a separate skill she still developed every day. "Biotic materials appear to have a greater capacity for chakra absorption than their abiotic counterparts in relation to their size and volume, but it's also true that chakra melds better when the chakras possess similar attributes. Not just better, but faster. I've only gotten through a seventh of that list you gave me, though. There also seems to be a maximum capacity each item can hold that's dependent on their properties and fluidity. Liquids can usually withstand more input. Gasses have yet to be tested, but I expect they'll be capable of holding even higher inputs." Yuina didn't mind sharing. At this point it was a joint project. The only other person who has shown as much enthusiasm on the topic was Kakashi, but even that dwindled a bit with his new routine. Plus, she couldn't deny that his help has helped her progress more in a few months than she had over two years.
"We can go over the data when we return." He jumped down from the tree branch as they approached a clearing. She followed suit.
The town was a little further but it was visible from there.
It wasn't what she expected.
At first glance, Musoku was loud, bright, and vibrant. The buildings seemed newer than homes in Konoha. Konoha wasn't even that old - there were people older than the village. The markets seemed bustling and lively, and yet the people seemed less personable. She heard some sentiments of familiarity, but most it seemed like many were strangers. Acquaintances at best.
She even heard a few sale pitches! When was the last time she avoided salespeople?
"Most people are excited when they come here for the first time," he said as he meuneuvered through the crowd with practiced ease. The density of the crowd similarily mincing that of a concert.
"It's just a town."
"Hm," his airy light tone drew caution from her. "Don't tell the villagers that. It's been rebuilt thrice in the last 35 years."
"That…" was a lot. Due to location it probably was destroyed during wartime. At least one of the times. "...explains the architecture. They must have deep bonds that keep them to this place if they keep rebuilding."
"That's one motive." That implied there were other reasons. "The temptation of wealth another. Musoku may be within the Land of Fire but people across the border regularly buy from here. Most importantly there are people who will continue to fund it's rebuilding who don't live here."
A backer? Was it private? Daimyo-sama? Hokage-sama?
Ah, that was another thing she noticed. People spoke more formally here. Just when she thought she was readjusting to Konoha's more casual form of talking outside of ranks, people here seemed to use more respectful speech. Which was the outlier? Or maybe both were. There couldn't be that many places that continuously receive special treatment.
"That's enough of a history lesson. The best way to learn is to gather the information yourself."
Right. The mission. They needed to surveil the towns given to them. "What do you think the best starting point is?"
"I'll leave that decision up to you. For the remainder of our stay here, act like you're in charge. I'll be here when you're done." Orochimaru gestures to the building they were now standing next to.
Yuina liked taking on responsibilities. It made her feel fulfilled and accomplished even if she was sometimes annoyed with the tasks. Still, this seemed to be asking a bit too much from her. It wasn't that she didn't have any idea where to start, but this was her first C-Rank; first time she was out of the village; she didn't know enough about this place to know what was common information and what was worth noting. She was out of her depth."Shouldn't you be leading?"
"Deaignation is a type of leadership."
"Then as my sensei?"
"Guidance and letting you learn through your own efforts are part of my role."
"That can't start when we reach reach Haisai?"
"No better time than now. Or do you only say that when it's lab work?"
He wasn't going to let this go. She could bet this is how the rest of the trip will be.
Orochimaru will be to blame if her debrief isn't thorough or adequate. Part of her wants to be spiteful and do a bad job, but then she might actually have some repercussions to face. She had never been that bold nor has she ever purposefully sabatoged her own work.
"I'll get started then." She carefully took in the building's sign and surroundings. Hopefully she wouldn't get lost.