Chapitre 186: CH_6.15 (186)

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———

Takuma checked his gear for the n-th time before sighing as he leaned against the large earthen wall constructed from ninjutsu surrounding the village.

"It's amusing to see you this way, Takuma. I didn't take you for the type who gets nervous before a mission," said Daiki, standing beside Takuma. He was similarly outfitted in combat-ready gear.

Of course, he was nervous. He was in an unfamiliar location, accompanying a team with people he barely knew, and they were venturing out of the camp, which was in a conflict-intense region. He had every reason to be nervous because it was the complete opposite of the situation he was used to—he knew the streets of the Hidden Leaf, he worked with a team he had built up from the ground, and he was aware of the power dynamics in the village.

"It'll pass," Takuma smiled. He was more comfortable during the missions than the idle time before it.

By the time the rest of the team arrived, Takuma was unknowingly tapping his foot against the ground.

"Excited much?" Iori said to Takuma.

"Sure," he replied.

Kameko looked around as she commented. "Where's Anko? It's not like her to be late."

"True, I'm not late."

All five genin flinched and turned their faces to Anko, who was suddenly standing among them. Takuma even had a kunai in his hand from the surprise.

"Everyone's here, so let's leave. We have a long day ahead of us; I would like for us to keep on schedule so we can take it easy later on," she said. "Let's move out."

""Yup, yup!""

"Yup, yup," said Takuma, a full beat later.

Camp Banana was built on a strategic defensive location to halt the enemy's forward movement into the Land of Hot Water's territory. The location was chosen with broad coverage in mind. Camp Banana had access to numerous roads and trade routes in the area for quick deployment and shorter travel times. Hidden Leaf was given the responsibility to control the position because of its strategic importance, and because of that, two Hidden Leaf jonin were placed at Camp Banana.

The problem was a fixed infrastructure that couldn't be destroyed like roads that were very much usable by the enemy forces. To prevent exploitation by the enemy those routes needed to be kept under observation to prevent them from being exploited by the enemy.

For that purpose, hideouts and outposts were built in important places for scouts to keep an eye on and keep the enemy in check.

As the hideouts were being manned by people who required food and water for sustenance, the hideouts needed to be re-supplied with rations periodically.

That's where Anko's Team-9 came into play. They were charged to head north to hit a list of watch positions, and restock every hideout with enough rations to last the scouts until the next supply run. And as they visited each hideout, they were to collect detailed reports from each watch position about any activity the scouts had noted from the last visit—carrier birds took time to complete round trips and could only carry so much; as such, they were reserved for the most critical of information.

From what Takuma was told, the risk factor of the mission was low as they weren't going deeper into the field of combat. But they were still required to be vigilant about tails and ambushes as they visited the hideouts not to give away the positions.

Takuma was pleased to have a supply run as his first mission. Being new to the area, it was a great opportunity to understand the area and points of importance beyond what was specified on maps. Being aware of the terrain and territory was a critical advantage. Plus, the mission was perfect for him to observe his teammates and Anko to see how they operated—they had been working together for a couple of months, and it was expected that he would catch up to speed quickly.

So, he observed.

Because Anko's team had been a five-man band, they followed a pitchfork movement formation. Rikku and Daiki in the front with Anko between them and a couple of steps behind, forming a 'V'— behind Anko in a straight line, making up the shaft with Iori in the middle and Kameko as the rearguard. But with Takuma completing the team, they had reverted to the formation Anko preferred for her six-man group. Rikku, Anko, and Daiki made up the front 'V' while Kameko, Iori, and Takuma made up the back 'inverted-V.' The pitchfork had been a temporary alteration to the 'mirrored-V' formation, but Takuma took so long to arrive that it seemed that the team was more comfortable with the pitchfork.

It felt strange being at the back. As the team leader for the Narcotics Taksforce, he was always in the front. Even when he was working with Iruka, he always took the forward position. Being at the back was a new experience, and having his back exposed, an unpleasant one.

But he could see why Anko set the formation in the way she did.

Daiki was in the front because he was the tracker and scout, Rikku because she was one of the main combatants, and Anko in the middle, providing a stable backbone to round out the front, which was more susceptible to attacks. In the back, Iori was protected by being sandwiched between Anko in the front and two combatants, Kameko and Takuma, in the back, who had the responsibility of protecting the group from being hit from behind.

If he were to make a change, Takuma would've switched his and Rikku's positions so he wouldn't have to match with Kameko. He had told her he would be professional and civil, but he preferred if they kept their interaction to a minimum.

During their travel, Daiki and Anko chatted to each other, with Iori chiming in, and Rikku seemed to be intently listening to them.

However, things were entirely dead on the rearguard.

Takuma sighed. He was bored. He glanced at his companion to the side.

He said, "So…"

Kameko looked at him. "What?"

"I don't keep up to date with what's happening with our classmates. I was wondering if you would catch me up," said Takuma.

Kameko stared at him for a moment. "I thought you weren't interested. You never showed up for any of the get-togethers and parties," she said.

'I didn't show up because none of you fuckers invited me.' Of course, those thoughts went unsaid. Takuma awkwardly chuckled, "Unfortunately, I let my personal social life slip away due to work. I am curious how everyone's doing though."

"Really? If I remember correctly, you weren't interested in us during the academy," she said.

Takuma shot her a look. He wasn't the only one who showed disinterest; the rest of the class, too, didn't seem to be interested in him. Why wasn't she just taking the hint that he was making idle conversation? He narrowed his eyes. No… she did notice the hint; she was just having fun at his expense.

'The little…!'

"Who do you want to know about?" she asked.

"Well… how about Uchiha Izumi? How's she doing?" he asked. After Taro and Arisu, Izumi was the person he was 'closest' to, even if it was just on the level of classmate acquaintances, much different from the other two, who were his close friends.

'I wonder if Lady Mikoto got my letter,' the thought passed through Takuma's mind, but he pushed it away quickly.

"Really? I thought you would run into her with you working in the Police Force and all," she said.

"If I ran into her, why would I ask you?" he sighed, looking pitifully at the silly girl who was asking redundant questions.

Kameko's eyebrow twitched. "She's participating in the Chunin Exams with her team."

"That makes sense. I guess that most, if not everyone, who got selected by the jonin would be participating in the Chunin Exams."

"They are."

"Is it everyone's first time, or did a team make an attempt last year?"

It had been more than two and half years since Takuma and Kameko's batch had graduated from the academy. In a few months, both Takuma and Kameko would complete their third year as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.

She scoffed, "No one takes the Chunin Exam after their first year. There was a team who participated in the last exam," the Chunin Exam happened bi-annually, "but they failed out in the first round. It's going to be everyone's first time."

Having lived in the world for nearly three years, Takuma was, of course, aware that, on average, most genin participated in their first Chunin Exam after four or five years of service. That average was so because of the Genin Corp. But when only considering jonin-lead genin, many of them had their first attempt after their third year, with a few of the jonin teachers registering their teams right after the second year.

But he astutely remembered that Naruto's generation did all register for the Chunin Exams right after their first year, and thought that some jonin might have wanted to make a statement with their own genin.

"What about you? Were you planning to participate?" he asked.

Kameko wordlessly nodded.

"Oh."

Not everyone had the option to defer conscription like Takuma. Even those with connections and access to jonin, people couldn't escape a conscription order. Escaping the conscription was a black mark on a shinobi's record, something that would stay with them throughout their lives, being a hindrance every step of the way. It was one of the worst things one could do for their career.

The only reason Mikoto had given him the option was because he had managed the Narcotics Taskforce before the order came. The case for Takuma was that he was needed at the Narcotics Taskforce to ensure its success and that his contribution at the Police Force was equal to or more than he would contribute at war.

Most other people didn't have that option. No one could reject the conscription just because they didn't want to go to war. Not even the precious clan scions could reject the order. Any selfish attempt to do so came with heavy scrutiny and punishment if found to be invalid. A shinobi village couldn't afford their shinobi to be averse to war, so no matter, clan or not, if they were called to war, they had to pack their bags and fight.

Takuma sympathized with Kameko. Having one's plans thwarted by unforeseen circumstances didn't feel good.

"Who else?" she asked, moving the conversation along.

"What about the Okubo Momoe?" he asked.

"The golden girl, huh," Kameko's eyes narrowed. "If she weren't participating, no one would."

Takuma didn't know the girls well, and nor was he aware of the dynamic between them, but even someone as detached as him knew what was going on. Kameko's clan, Taketori, was the premier kenjutsu clan in the Hidden Leaf. She was burdened by the expectations that she would be the best with the sword and kenjutsu. It would've been true if not for the existence of Okubo Momoe, the Rookie of The Year from their batch, who used the sword as her weapon of choice.

Their swordsmanship was often compared, and because Okubo was overall stronger than Kameko, the prevailing view was that Okubo was better skilled at kenjutsu than Kameko.

Takuma, who had fought both, couldn't give an opinion as Kameko's combat style heavily revolved around kenjutsu while it was only a part of Okubo's combat. Unless they fought each other using only kenjutsu, it was difficult to judge who was better.

He could tell that Kameko was bothered that Okubo, who had a civilian background, was seen as better than someone from a kenjutsu clan like her.

"Well, she probably would make chunin soon even if she doesn't get promoted right after the exam," said Takuma. "But those guys sure have it tough, huh, being used as show horses."

The current Chunin Exam was a popularity contest, a show of strength, between the numerous Hidden Shinobi Villages. It was the 'alternative to war.' Every Hidden Village sent their best genin and made them fight each other to see who had the best young talent and thus the brightest future. The Chunin Exam was one big advertisement for the Hidden Villages to attract big clients and gain their confidence that their Hidden Village was the best.

This was why every genin on a jonin-led team was 'unofficially' mandated to participate in the exams as soon as their jonin deemed them ready, even if the genin themselves might not want to participate in the exam.

"I would love to be used as a show horse," she said.

"It's a win-win for sure." He laughed. "Taro wouldn't have liked it at all though."

"What about you? Did you prepare for the Chunin Exams?" asked Kameko.

"No, I was aiming and hoping for a field promotion," said Takuma, "but I would have loved to participate in the final round if nothing else."

The Chunin Exams were altered every iteration to prevent genin from preparing for scenarios so that it would truly be a test of their preparedness. Every host had their own preferences, but because five different villages hosted, the exams were diverse in nature. But the final round was always the same— Arena Combat—the best-of-best duking it out in a tournament format.

It was the only event open to an audience and the main 'advertisement' for clients.

"Huh, why?"

"I want to experience how genin from other villages fight. I wonder how different they are from us."

The underground prizefighter in him wanted to understand how shinobi from other villages fought. What were the key differences in combat philosophies? What was the current popular meta? He wanted to see if he could take something from them and assimilate it into his combat style. The potential of it all excited him.

"Wait… does that mean none of the genin on a jonin-led team are participating in the war?" asked Takuma.

"If the team is younger than four years, they don't have to," she said.

Kameko explained that the jonin stayed with the genin for four years, after which the teams were usually turned inactive if not for the jonin and the administration both wanting the team to remain active. The usual case for teams remaining active after four years was when all the genin had been promoted to chunin.

As the Hidden Leaf was an ally helping the Hidden Steam and the Hidden Leaf as a whole wasn't at war, the genin on jonin teams younger than four years weren't sent conscription orders.

"That's shit," he said.

"We are about to reach the first hideout. Focus up!" Anko said.

Takuma and Kameko stopped talking and focused ahead.

———

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Chapitre 187: CH_6.16 (187)

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———

Anko asked the team to stop a kilometer away from the first scout hideout.

"Why did we stop?" asked Iori.

"It's a concealed post. They have a clear view of their target location, but that goes the other way around as well— we have to ensure it's safe to approach the post and we aren't compromising their cover and location." Anko turned to Takuma. "Send a message to them."

Takuma nodded. He set his backpack on the ground, retrieved a portable communication radio, half the size of a shoe box, and began turning the dials to tune to the radio frequency of the radio in the post.

"You know how to work a radio?" Iori asked in surprise.

"l learned it last year," said Takuma.

He had spent good money to join a short course, buy a second-hand communication radio to train, and studied a very thick instruction manual with detailed everything from maintenance and standard communication procedures to make himself competent with a radio. With their current equipment, they could communicate around two kilometers before the reliability tanked. It took up too much space in the backpack, however.

"The post has given their clear," said Takuma. "The instruction is to remain below the summit and wait for one of them to guide us to the hideout."

"Excellent, let's go," Anko nodded.

The post was built near the summit of a hill that oversaw a valley that served as a viable point of entry into the Land of Hot Water territory. Both sides knew its importance. The post was responsible for observing the valley and reporting their observations. If the Hidden Frost shinobi decided to use the valley as an entrance point, they needed to pick them out before they penetrated deeper into the territory.

One of the shinobi from the post met them behind the summit.

"It's better if only half of you come up," said the scout.

Anko nodded and asked Iori and Takuma to follow her while Daiki, Rikku, and Kameko stayed behind.

As they reached the concealed post, Takuma could see why the location was chosen as a scout hideout. They had a vast view of the valley from a high altitude. It was a perfect vantage point.

The hideout itself was a hole in the ground on the slope of the hole. One look told that it was built from using Earth-Style ninjutsu. Perhaps because it was made with ninjutsu, the hole was very spacious for four people who lived in it.

It was standard procedure for each hideout to have four people who would take six-hour shifts keeping watch. Two people would remain awake, with one on the lookout and the other on standby, and the remaining would sleep and rest until their shifts. Standard procedure was at times broken due to a lack of manpower, but it was essential that every hideout had at least three people.

"Welcome," said one of the scouts.

"I hope we aren't late," said Anko.

"Not at all," said the man.

Takuma noticed that all four scouts were Hidden Steam shinobi. He thought since they were making the supply runs, they would be supplying food and water to Hidden Leaf shinobi.

Iori handed the storage scrolls with rations to the scouts and sealed the garbage they had accumulated into empty storage scrolls. They couldn't litter as it could attract birds, which could attract the enemy's attention—burying was an option, but taking it away from the site was the safest option.

Takuma watched Iori work. Storage scrolls were perhaps the most important part of logistics for shinobi. The simple ability to seal something into a scroll was of tremendous use. It eliminated the weight and space occupied, making it so that a civilian could carry more than the strongest shinobi. There were limitations to storage spells—they were one-time use only, and higher-grade storage scrolls capable of carrying a lot of weight were difficult to make, requiring masterfully skilled fuin-nin—but the world of shinobi would look much different without the existence of storage scrolls.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Anko asked.

The scout handed Anko the report scroll.

"A few sightings here and there, but other than that, there hasn't been anything to be worried about," the scout replied.

"Do you recommend we use the valley to advance?" she asked.

Takuma gazed out at the valley. If they had a good look at the valley, it was safe to assume that the enemy would be keeping on it as well. Any sign of aggressive advancement from either side could quickly turn the valley into a conflict hotspot with high tension from both sides.

"No, our recommendation would be to be on the defensive stance," said the scout. "Mounting an advance would be a high-cost affair. The Frost scum would use the sloped mountains to pick at our troops while we struggled down at the ground. The potential for lost lives is too high. Our recommendation is in the report."

"Thank you. That will be all," said Anko.

The two sleeping scouts had woken up. Anko asked everyone some more questions before ending the conversation, which is when everyone relaxed.

She then asked, "Any letters you would like to be delivered?"

"Yes, please." The scouts handed Anko a thin stack of letters.

Takuma stared at the letters. He hadn't thought about it, but the people back at home would be worried about him. He decided that he would be sending letters periodically to his friends.

They exited as quickly as they came.

As they were walking away from the hideout, Anko ordered. "Takuma, check if there are people nearby."

Takuma was surprised but complied. He knelt on the ground and weaved hand seals before pushing his palm on to the ground.

Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu

The jutsu allowed him to sense the presence of people in a one-kilometer radius. He had gone from being able to sense the simple presence of people to being able to detect their detection to finally reaching a level where he could tell how far away they were from him. It worked best in the wilderness, away from any man made structures, as the jutsu couldn't search for people if they were on the higher floors of a building, making the jutsu much less useful in an urban landscape.

A thrum of earthen chakra rippled out from his palms as the epicenter. Takuma closed his eyes and waited for a few seconds before the ripples returned to him. He breathed out as he interpreted the input, filtering out the unnecessary until he had what he wanted.

"I sense ten people in a one-kilometer radius. From the directions, they're the four scouts, the three of us, and the rest of our team. Unless they're above ground, I don't sense any additional people," he said.

"Let's move," she said.

As they ran to the summit and down the other side, Takuma asked, "May I ask why we did that scan? Do we not trust our own scouts? Was it because they're from the Hidden Steam?"

"I trust our scouts, even if they are from the Hidden Steam, but these guys are responsible for keeping an eye on the valley ahead… there's a good chance that they end up ignoring what's near them. There's no harm in checking; it's for their safety."

"Understood," said Takuma.

He glanced back at the vast valley for a moment before they left it behind.

———

Their next location wasn't another hideout; instead, it was a message drop location used for messages that couldn't be sent through carrier birds in fear that they could potentially be intercepted along the way. The messenger would personally deliver the message to the drop box, and someone else would collect it and bring it to the final destination.

So Takuma was immensely confused when Anko pushed away the leafy camouflage to reveal what looked like emergency supplies. She lifted a backpack out of the small hole and replaced all the canned food, sealed water, checked on the dry clothes, tent and survival kit, and the three weapons pouches.

"I thought this was a message drop location," he asked.

"It is," Anko laughed. "As one of the commandments goes: a shinobi must look underneath the underneath— but the problem is that they don't." She used her hand to dig some of the ground out to reveal a tube container. "When people find something hidden, they stop looking, thinking that they found all there was to be found. But in truth, they might have only found what they were allowed to find."

Anko removed the cap from the tube without pulling the container out of the ground, looked inside, recapped the tube, and buried it back to hide it underground.

"This way, even if someone did somehow find this location, they might miss its real purpose because of the emergency backpack," she said. "But always remember, this is the final life of defense—when approaching a hidden drop location, so you don't have a tail or someone waiting at the location in hiding."

———

The rest of the day, Team-9 went from place to place, visiting watch positions, checking up on the scouts, replenishing their rations, and receiving their reports. They moved quickly and with caution, and thankfully, they encountered no danger. The only hindrance they faced was the heavy rain they encountered.

Traveling in the rain was a hassle because they eventually got soaked even with their rain gear, and they struggled to find a good campsite to rest for the night. They ultimately found themselves in a shallow cave to camp under.

Anko spoke to him to the group as they were drying themselves in front of a fire,

"We had an easy time today, and I want tomorrow to be the same. And it's imperative that we are like ghosts tomorrow," she said.

"Because of the mines?" asked Iori.

"Yes, the hideout near the gold mine is of utmost importance. We can't risk breaking their cover no matter what the cost."

Takuma stopped tending to the fire, opened a map, and looked for the gold mine on it. He frowned when he saw that the gold mine was on the border, but it was in the Land of Hot Waters territory. Even if the border was a disputed territory, it was still well within the control of the Land of Hot Waters.

"Did the enemy take control of the mine?" he asked.

"They captured the gold mine quite early in the conflict. It was one of the first areas they targeted," she said. "From the previous reports, they have been directing the mined gold into their territory."

A gold mine was an essential resource for a nation as gold was one of the most valuable metals. Losing territory was one thing, but losing access to an entire gold mine was a matter of another magnitude altogether.

"Why haven't they taken the mine already?" he asked.

"That's something only the people in the capital know," Anko shrugged. "The gold mine is the property of the Hot Water Daimyo, and he has left the decision to the Hidden Steam. They haven't made a move, so even if the Hidden Leaf wanted to retake the mine for them, we can't move unless they approve it."

"What about the civilians in the mine?" asked Takuma. If the gold was still being mined, then it meant that someone was mining it.

"… The miners are all there as punishment," Anko said.

Takuma sighed. He didn't need to be told more. Forced labor was an acceptable and popular form of punishment in this world. It was much more popular than traditional prisons as the governments were able to turn criminals into dirt-cheap labor. Many of the people Takuma had arrested and sent to trials were sent to plantations and mines. While they served shorter times than they would in a traditional prison, working in mines was a very arduous time.

The Land of Hot Waters had decided that the lives of the criminals in the mine weren't important enough for immediate rescue.

———

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