Border Patrol Arc: A Step Into the Outside World

"Is it okay to be dressed like this?"

"For this mission? Yes."

They were assigned a recon mission. They were staying within the Land of Fire, so Yuina shouldn't have been worried about enemy-nin, but the unfamiliarity she was faced the moment they left the gates kept her on edge. It didn't matter that all she saw was wilderness and more wilderness.

"It's good to be vigilant, but nerves will only distract you,"

It was hard to unlearn things. She had gotten used to a surveillance-based society. Cameras and videos scattered throughout public and private spaces. Everything that had tracking through the internet and other devices. She had grown to grown comfortable living in such a society against her grievances. Considering the clunkiness of cameras in Konoha, her discomfort stemmed from other sources. Namely, too many people were trained to spy, so she wasn't comfortable even around neighbours. It would only get worse when technology improved.

Yuina tried to think about their positioning. They had left from the northwest gate and then traveled west. She thought about the where they were to observe. "Are we heading to Musoku first?"

"You already know of it then?"

"Not much." She would have had more time to learn geography if she hadn't been pushed out of the academy. It was tough finding the information she needed within the hour Orochimaru gave her to prepare. She managed, but barely. She had grumbled, wondering why one mission incorporated several stops rather than assign each destination as separate missions then did cost estimates and decided it was more economical to send one team, if she could even be considered a team.

"Our last destination is Mizushi," explained Orochimaru. "We'll start with Musoku and travel clockwise." Yuina was content with the guidance. She could never be certain when he would guide her and when he would observe until she figured things out on her own.

Musoku was on the Land of Fire's western border, near the most northern point before intersecting with the buffer zone created between the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth. Some called it a barren land because of that, but there were still plenty of inhabitants. Government claims didn't mean the people who lived there would move. Instead, something the Hidden Villages didn't want to happen happened. A few smaller ninja villages formed. More than that, they were regional authority, considering most didn't have a daimyo and couldn't rely on the Big Five due to agreements. For example, Amegakure was northeast of Musoku, and their Kage controlled the region. Yuina learned that when Sakumo told her where the title Legendary Sannin came from.

Mizushi was far south from Musoku, meaning they were traveling in one giant circle.

"We should start running," said Orochimaru said plainly, which put her on alert. "The mission will take months instead of weeks if we don't."

Oh. She felt the muscle tension in her shoulders relax as she accepted his words as nonthreatening. Yuina had seen maps a few times, but never one with proper scaling and never tried searching for one that did. She had enough on her plate without adding more.

Yuina was suddenly glad for chakra. It made running much less exhaustive. She was essentially her own high-speed vehicle. Faster than the speed limit on main city roads, but slower than a highway – a feat not impossible to reach but was beyond her current capabilities.

"Are you still intertwining your chakra with the tree's?"

"…Yes." Yuina had been embarrassed when Orochimaru called out her methods. She tried to emulate what he, and allegedly everyone else, did, but it felt more natural to continue on how she had been – binding the two. "I've reduced how much binding it requires," something that was beneficial to her anyway, "but it's simple and uses minimal chakra. It's not high priority." Her schedule was too stacked, as is with a growing list of new things to add when time allowed. "Though I made progress with elemental manipulation." It had been a pleasant surprise to learn Orochimaru could use all the standard elements. She should have seen it coming with the so called God of Shinobi as his teacher. How the Hokage ever had time for it all, she would never know. Her own learning was a hill. She was no better than a lighter with fire, and wind was more of a parlor trick by making light items float – a fan could do more.

"Keep working on it. And the results of your chakra input experiment?"

Technically, that experiment began long before she was ever met Orochimaru. Kakashi was even her helper for a while. However, having another set of eyes was useful, and he could actually contribute to the process and offer metrics that allowed her to quantify her data. He was also useful for learning new vocabulary. Reading and speaking were separate skills. One that had to be continuously honed.

"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. Though, I've only observed a small section of your list. 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. There weren't many who shared her enthusiasm on the subject. Plus, she couldn't deny that his help had helped her progress more in a few months than she had over two years.

"We can go over the data when we return."

They talked more as they traveled through the forest.

Eventually, the town became visible.

It wasn't what she expected.

Musoku was oud, bright, and vibrant. The buildings appeared newer than the homes in Konoha and Konohagakure wasn't even that old. The markets were bustling and lively, and yet the people seemed less personable. There were some sentiments of familiarity, but there were many speaking as if strangers. Perhaps they were.

Yuina even heard a few sale pitches! When was the last time she avoided salespeople? Konoha was fortunately more relaxed in that department. Not that no one didn't try advertising, but the need was limited.

Orochimaru maneuvered through the crowd with practiced ease. Yuina did her best to copy him, but the density of the crowd made it like navigating the way to the front of a concert. "Most people are excited when they come here."

"It's just a town."

"Hm." His tone was an airy lightness that signaled off precaution within her. "Don't tell the villagers that. It's been rebuilt thrice in the last 35 years."

"That…" was a lot. It had probably been destroyed during wartimes due to location. It was either that or some major natural disaster took everything forcing them to rebuild. "…explains the architecture. They must have deep bonds that keep them tied to this place."

"That's one motive."

That implied there were other reasons. Yuina watched the fragments of society as she tried to find another answer. "And wealth?" Though she didn't understand where the money would have come from. Certainly, they've had to spend their money on reconstruction, yet so many industries were thriving.

"Musoku may be in the Land of Fire, but these people care about local affairs instead of those of the national variety."

Commerce then. It wasn't like there were personnel guarding borders. It was something she was familiar with. "Their history isn't helping," added Yuina. She didn't understand. She wondered if she would have rebuilt in their situation. Once sucked, but was doable, but she probably would have quickly resorted to relocating.

"No, but there are various investors who ensure rebuilding continues."

A backer? Was it private? Daimyo-sama? Hokage-sama?

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 were speaking in keigo. Yuina wondered which was the outlier. Musoku or Konoha?

"That's enough of that. The best way to learn is to gather the information yourself."

Right, the mission.

"What do you think is the best place to start?" asked Yuina.

"I'll leave that decision up to you. You're in charge of your own actions for the remainder of our stay. I'll be here when you're done." Orochimaru gestured to the building they were standing next to.

Yuina liked taking on responsibilities. It made her feel fulfilled and accomplished even if she didn't always like the tasks. Still, this was asking a lot of her. It wasn't that she didn't have any ideas of what to do or places to check, but this was her first C-Rank. The first time she was out of the village. A town that Orochimaru knew plenty, while she knew practically nothing. She would be wasting so much time collecting information and sorting through anything that may be relative. It wasn't even like the mission was tailored to looking at something specific. It would be useful to at least know what they were meant to report on. "Shouldn't you be leading?" She was out of her depth and would take any crumbs she could get.

"Designation is a type of leadership."

Yuina didn't know why she expected different from him. "Then as my sensei?"

"Guidance and letting you learn through your efforts are part of my duties."

"Can't we start that in Haisai?" Musoku could have been a perfect example template.

"No better time than now. Or do you only say that when it's lab work?"

Orochimaru wasn't going to let this go, and she exhausted her reasonings. She'd bet that this was how the rest of the trip would be. She already felt the dread of a lecture if her debrief didn't meet standards or weren't thorough enough. She felt spiteful and considered doing a terrible job on purpose, but then she might have to face serious repercussions. It remained a daydream. She had never been that bold, nor had she ever purposefully sabotaged her own work before. Submitted stupid work, yes. Submitted sabotaged work, no.

"I'll get started then." She carefully took in the building's sign and surroundings. Hopefully, she wouldn't get lost.