Bellicism Arc: Into the Woods

If he had to guess based on his current observations, Yuina hadn't been nominated for the chunin exams due to how much she deferred to others. She had been trying to piece why she was brought along, but never questioned his motives.

Asa, Touma, and Haruto were oblivious as they excitedly chattered about 'go on an adventure.'

"What do you think it is? I bet it's a tiger. I'm gonna be the one to kill it," said Touma tilting his head upward.

"Why would it be a tiger? I bet it's a bear. They eat a lot." Asa threw her hands in the air.

Haruto thought about it. What kind of animal would consume that much food but be problematic for the village? "Are we sure it isn't just a thief?"

"No way," countered Asa. "Shikaku-sensei, how far is the village anyway?"

"We could reach there in an hour or two if we run. It's your first time out so I'm letting you walk a bit, but we should pick up the pace soon unless you want to get back late."

"It's really that far?" Asa's eyes widened.

"On the contrary, Mennaka is relatively close."

Asa thought back to the maps she had seen. Everything looked so tightly compacted. Maybe she should have paid more attention to scaling than the visuals. She hadn't thought much of it. A place was a place. Who cared how far it was? Now she did.

"What do you think, Yuina?" asked Haruto.

Touma crossed his arms and looked to the side so he didn't have to look at Yuina, who walked next to sensei.

"Traitor," muttered Asa in a low voice.

Shikaku observed their interactions. Yuina gave no reaction as proof that she heard Asa. It was the same detachment he witnessed previously, when she was at home with Sakumo. He deemed Haruto level-headed, so in comparison Yuina was acquiescent – accepting without protest and willing to do what others wanted.

"About the scenery or the mission?" Yuina asked, but she didn't stop for a clarifying response. "The scenery isn't anything new. I may have never been to Mennaka, but I have cut through Akuaku Forest. There's a lot of dense woodland. It would be best to get more details from the locals than idly speculate."

"How old are you anyway?" asked Asa.

A minute silence passed. "I'll be seven in September."

Asa's eyes narrowed. "It's only June."

Touma coughed. He thought Yuina was young, but thought she was on the short side or something. Like eight or something. Stupid considering his brother was eight and would probably tower over her, like a carrot taller. "No way you're six." It wasn't the age he disbelieved, but the implication of how early she graduated.

Shikaku cut in, hoping an explanation from him would cut down the headaches from the aftermath. "Yuina is indeed six. She graduated last year with her brother who's also graduated at five. As it is now, she is more capable than the three of you." His students clearly didn't appreciate the confirmation, or that there was another like her. Shikaku understood. He had been among those skeptical of the motivations that led to the acceptance of graduating two five-year-olds.

They had been working well with Minato and Orochimaru respectively, so they really were their own special freaks of nature. He was even more sure of that with the way Yuina spoke and held herself. It's a wonder Sakumo hadn't been pushed to have more children by the Clan Council if this is what they were like.

Thankfully, Shikaku didn't have to deal with all the politics yet even if his dad was pushing more and more responsibilities on him.

They picked up the pace. Shikaku went slow enough to not leave them behind. They eventually reached Akuaku forest, so it wouldn't be much longer until they arrived.

They were getting close to Mennaka when Yuina stopped. Shikaku stopped on a branch and Asa, Touma, and Haruto steadied themselves on other branches, still adjusting to using their chakra in such a way strenuously.

"Why'd we stop?" asked Asa. She looked around, looking for anything out of place.

"Yuina stopped. Is she tired already?" Touma glared.

Haruto knew Touma and Asa weren't happy with Yuina's inclusion. He, too, didn't want to have others tackled on to their first 'big' mission, but he also wasn't letting his anger blind him. They had to know deep down that Yuina didn't stop for no reason. She didn't look tired, and she was looking around the forest. It put him on edge the way she scanned the vicinity. Sensei kept bringing up that she was more advanced, so Haruto tried to keep his jealousy in check to learn what he could from her. She was a little anti-social, though.

Shikaku was glad someone picked up on it. Names didn't always mean anything, but other times they were deceptively telling. Shikaku knew from his years that these names mattered.

"It's quiet," said Yuina.

"So what? It's the middle of the forest. Not exactly much to do out here," said Touma.

"This is Akuaku Forest approaching Mennaka," said Yuina. She closed her eyes and seemed to be focused on something.

"Do you have to say it like that?" asked Asa. The way Yuina emphasized words made Asa feel like she was being spoken down to.

"The further inwards we go the quieter it's gotten." Yuina opened her eyes and her lip twitched downwards in dissatisfaction. She didn't get her the results she wanted.

"The forest is named Akuaku after the chirping sounds the birds make. A theme the village took when naming themselves Mennaka. Men is from the kanji in menban and naka signify their position as the centre of the forest."

"That's true. For now, we should continue to meet up with the village leader." Her vocabulary and kanji knowledge were beyond what Shikaku would ever expect from someone her age. Naka he could understand. It's one of the easier kanji and introduced early, but menban was an oddly specific word. Many would use koe as it was another definition of the word for a bird singing while being more commonly used for voice and sound. It was almost irritating. If Yuina transformed herself to look like someone older, he would probably believe she was.

Shikaku guided them a little further before descending them back on the ground to enter the village. Asa, Touma, and Haruto went back to talking among themselves while Shikaku questioned Yuina. "What were you doing back there?"

"I extended my chakra into the tree's. The proximity of the trees means their roots intertwine, so I was hoping to note some kind of disturbance in the earth. No luck. It could have been that my chakra thinned too much given the distance, or whether there isn't something that could be considered a disruption it could pick up on. Most birds don't live on the ground, but it could be affecting the other animals too if the birds have left."

Shikaku agreed with the potential disturbance in the ecosystem, but was a little lost on the earlier claims. Chakra through the roots? Sakumo came to mind. More specifically, Shikaku thought of Sakumo's tanto. It was said to give off a white streak of chakra. He'd never seen it personally, but one of his cousins had. A product of either the construction or a product of chakra being conducted through it. An inanimate object was one thing, but to project it through nature made him question many more things.

They navigated through the village, receiving a few stares.

"It's likely that man over there is Ueji," said Shikaku. The elderly man fit the description of the requester.

Yuina walked forward while the other three looked towards him for guidance. This was part of the reason Shikaku didn't think they were ready. They were each individually motivated and would immediately act if there was an adversary in front of them, but when there wasn't a clear path, they struggled to decide a starting point.

"Yuina's going to get all the credit at this rate." Haruto was the first to notice and rushed off with Touma following him. Asa took a few more moments to clue in before she rushed off too.

Shikaku had wanted an opportunity to better measure Yuina, but having her act as a guide was working in his favour. Less work for him.

"Large wings?" Touma's face scrunched as Shikaku reaches them. "Like a condor? An ostrich?"

Ueji leaned on his walking stick. "Wings longer than my arms. Donbei swears he saw a long nose too, but I'm not convinced that wasn't a beak. He's not all there in the head, and it was hard to see since it only shows itself at night. It makes a mess and destroys property if needed, but usually goes after food and shiny things."

"Leave it to us!" cheered Asa. They separated from the old man, but Asa didn't know where to start. The forest extended in every direction. They could split up and each take a direction.

Shikaku analyzed the situation as his team decided on a plan of action. Something was wrong. Being enclosed by forest meant that this village has had a few problems before with the wildlife. He even had a similar mission when he was a genin. It had been a wild animal getting too used to a human society. Shikaku pieced it together. Food and valuables. Haruto's initial guess on the way over had been right. "Let's ask around before getting hasty."

Asa grumbled, but Shikaku believed this was the best course of action. The nuisance has been ongoing for a month. A little more time to be cautious was in their best interest.

Asa and Touma made it a game to see who could find the best intel. Haruto played along because he didn't have much of a choice. Yuina had already wandered off after the suggestion was made.

The three reconvened, hopeful to prove to Shikaku they could handle it.

"Whatever it is, it's smart and has a good nose. Even when taking extra measure to lock things up, they get broken into, like it knows exactly where it is," explained Touma.

"There are a few families confused because they've had things go missing too, with no sign of damage or break-ins. It's learning and adapting," added Asa.

"I found Donbei. He claims it's a demonic spirit. Long nose, long wings. He was the only person who could give me any description beyond 'it has wings," said Haruto.

"It doesn't sound like any animal I know." Touma tilted his head to the side as he looked up to the sky. "No one has ever seen it fly, though." He wanted to circle back around to an ostrich considering the reported size, but he doubted an ostrich was intimidating enough to clear out a section of the forest.

"They're east, east north from here."

"Gah!"

Shikaku watched his students flounder as Yuina regrouped with them. "Report."

"Niji, 8 years old. Reina, 16 years old. Akira, 32 years old. They've confessed to be helping the 'spirit' out in the woods. Niji idolizes him. Reina has been cooperating to spite her family. Akira is fearful and has been helping as a tribute offering. They've been acting on their own, on orders, and collaborate on pillages while the 'spirit' causes a distraction." Shikaku noted that Yuina worked fast. "I don't have the name to give him, but he lives out in the woods and bears a sword.

Shikaku thought about how to proceed. A single person taking advantage of a small isolated community was a minimum threat. Something within the constraints of the mission. It was doubtful that it was a shinobi, so it was something his students could handle.

"If I may speculate?"

"Permission granted."

"It's likely someone has disguised themselves as a tengu. Wings could have been made from killing and plucking birds, and all it would take is a mask and loose fitted clothing to make himself appear less human. There's bee a bandit problem north of here for months, so it wouldn't be out of scope for one to have wandered off alone. And he is likely alone if he's relying on the townsfolk to help. Furthermore, his activities are too coordinated for this to be his first crime, and his past showings are an indication that he thrives on lording power over others – he's portraying himself as something supernatural. The issue will persist if he isn't eliminated as he's taken up a nearby den as his cove.

"Our task is to eliminate the problem. Permission to dispose."

Asa's head spun as she tried to understand. It wasn't a creature? "I'm glad we didn't bet," said Asa as she tried to disguise her frustration at being beaten again. At least they had another opportunity to prove themselves. Asa was glad she didn't say that out loud as Yuina took control of the situation once more before they could do anything.

They traveled back out into the forest in the direction Yuina provided.

Haruto, Touma, and Asa each took out their weapons and moved into formation in preparation to take action against the thing the villagers described. A large being with a red face, a ridiculously long nose, short snow-white hair, and large wings. His hand dived for the sheathed sword on his left side.

Shikaku's students took a moment to react defensively whereas Yuina immediately took offensive action.

A kick to the hand made the tengu looking man drop his sword before Yuina twisted her weight to ram into him full force, using her elbow for impact. The man fell to the ground and his mask twisted ninety degrees, making it look like the man's neck snapped from Asa's view. The only tidbit that allowed Shikaku's team to know he wasn't dead was his continued resistance against Yuina. Her right foot was on his right wrist. Her left foot was on his torso, and she grabbed his other arm to better hold him still.

Asa was unnerved, but also wanted to punch her for showing that same bored face even now. This was her team's mission.

"Right, I should do it." Yuina twisted her foot slightly deeper into his rib cage.

Team Shikaku saw a few sparks of lightning generating around Yuina's foot. The man cried out in pain and convulsed. Skin bubbled, then charred, before he fell limp, silently.

Asa shivered. She would have rather killed him in action, in the heat of battle. Like a predator and prey battling it out. Being pinned down and killed so methodological didn't categorize in her head as a needed action. It somehow seemed wrong even though she knew it was the right thing to do.

Shikaku sighed. That was that. "Yuina, you've done enough. Touma, prepare to report to Ueji."

"Me? I mean– yes, sensei!" Touma stood straighter.

The mission had been insightful to Shikaku. It showed the areas of growth he would need to guide his team moving forward. It also allowed him more time to analyze Yuina, though there was a still a gap that bothered him on that front. Even talent required fostering. How many hours would Yuina have had to practice to be as competent as she currently was? What motivated her to work towards something she didn't show pride or ambition towards? Familial expectations would have been a nice simple answer, but regardless of Sakumo's contributions that wasn't it. He had a short list of theories, but it appeared he wouldn't be getting answers soon.