Border Patrol Arc: Haisai

Haisai was the opposite of Musoku. The land was flatter. The grass was greener. The town depended on agriculture. It was quaint, isolated, and dispersed, and they were even more formal with their speech to the point where she had heard multiple people use the -ue suffix.

The village was dependent on the nearby temple, sending a monk once a week to teach the children. Mostly reading and writing. The kids helped their families, mostly as farmhands, the rest of the time.

Haisai was near the border of the self-recognized the Land of Meadows. Self-recognized because the Five Great Lands refused to recognize their autonomy. Land of Lightning and Land of Water didn't care much about the territory, so they defaulted their standing of the region based on the statements of the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Stone with the expectation that their sentiments would be reciprocated with other lands that concerned them.

Kusagakure had been acknowledged as a shinobi village for diplomatic reasons, and even they couldn't change public opinion on the Land of Meadows when they had been a key proponent to establishing a government similar to a daimyo.

Yuina shouldn't have been surprised by the parallels of the Five Great Powers and the Colonial Powers of Earth, and for the second time she gained some benefits from the system even if she had other issues she faced. She felt bad about the power struggle, but she recognized how much worse she could have had it. Even then, she feared the day what little stability there was crumbled to destabilization.

Maybe it was all excuses. Maybe Yuina was acclimating to the world more than she wished to admit. Six years was both a long time and a short time simultaneously – even if she could only remember half of her current life in great detail. Some of her old memories had details fade from them. She had core memories, but she forgot details of other things like names, dates, what people looked like, things like that. Yuina wondered at time as what things she used to cherish but had been forgotten to time.

Her memories were volatile, but Haisai seemed stagnant. She wondered why someone would want a report of the town. Was it because of the geographic location? It could be a coincidence, but the implications of that option churned her stomach. She knew that despite people's claims that they lived in a time of peace there were tensions. There had been tensions for as long as she had been alive. Probably longer. Particularly with Iwa. Konoha's relationship with other Hidden Villages was poor, but Konoha's relationship with Iwa was ghastly.

She could understand to a degree. The Land of Earth had substantial rocky topography and life in the Land of Wind couldn't be any easier as they were known for having a lot of deserts. Sustaining life and planning couldn't be easy, but they must have methods to support their populations. Geography aside, she didn't understand why there needed to be political strife.

She should be happy that nothing sticks out here, but that only further unsettles her.

"Disappointed?" asked Orochimaru. "This is closer to the average village than Musoku."

"Less disappointed and more confused." Confused for several reasons. One, it was like a puzzle piece that didn't fit into her understanding of the world. Everything was so disjointed. It came across as feudal. Then she didn't understand why the town would be of importance. If she could get a straight answer, she'd be willing to skip the fumbling by swallowing her pride.

Okay, it wasn't something he could ask anyone, but she had at least that much trust in Orochimaru.

"You did well enough in the last town that I suppose I can help you." Orochimaru uncrossed his arms as he looked at the fields. "A spy was spotted here a few months ago. They've been dealt with, but it's best to verify that there haven't been irregularities since."

Yuina hummed. "Out far enough that people likely aren't paying attention or stopping by long enough to spot something amiss, but small enough that those who do would likely quickly take notice."

But…

Yuina looked over the town. The spy may have been caught, likely dead now if he wasn't killed on sight, but where had they hidden? Haisai was small enough that there was no inn and forests were far enough away. They would have had to make continuous trips into town or found a way to buckle down. "Did they kill and replace someone or did they take them in?" Did Orochimaru even know?

"From what I've heard, he was welcomed into a home of a crippled elder and two kids in exchange for labour."

Yuina's stomach twisted in disgust and regret. It was a small community. They should all know each other. Had no one offered to help? Someone clearly took advantage of the situation to conceal themselves. It should have never happened. She hated it.

It got worse when during her investigation she learned those who took the spy in had vanished. None of the implications were good. Were they shunned? Did they flee? Were they killed? If so, who did it?

A sudden pain sharply stabbed through her abdomen. Yuina brought up a hand to cover where it hurt, but there was no injury. No, she wasn't hurt, so why did her brain signal she was? Her head started to hurt again. Yuina brushed off the sensation. She couldn't help but feel there was something important she was forgetting.

"That's everything," said Yuina.

Whatever happened to the family wasn't her business. It wasn't her mission, and by investigation it wasn't because of Konoha.

"Everything is in order. We can walk for the rest of the day. Even if we ran, it would take over two days with your current speed, so we'll alternate."

Joy. Yuina didn't mind running or walking, but the time it would take to reach their next destination wasn't desirable. Continuously looking at trees, fields, hills, and lakes got boring after a while.

"Take the opportunity to catch up on training."

Was that allowed? They were being paid for a mission. Was it alright to do personal training when they were being paid even if there was nothing else to do? Though, it wasn't like they were being paid base on how long it takes, but for the task at hand, and who was she to disagree with Orochimaru if he said it was alright. It would certainly be less mind numbing.

"You'll help me with fire?"

"Practicing taijutsu would be difficult as we travel."

Yuina hadn't had a taijutsu lesson since leaving the village, which had been nice. Orochimaru was quite fearsome and adamant she continues to improve. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, and it was a fair expectation. She even knew she needed it, but appreciating the help didn't mean she looked forward to it. It always left her dirty, sweaty, and bruises. Oh, how she hated the bruises. Stupid blood thinners. "Is that a yes?"

"We'll focus on chakra, but that will also include your findings on those experiments of yours."

It wasn't a negotiation, but deal!

"Great, let's get out of here."