WAB: Chapter 7

I took Asuma-Sensei's latest team out of the Village Bright and Early the morning after selecting a Mission. We made our way out of the gate and headed North through the Woods. It would take us two days of travel to reach Sakai Town on the Border, where Hakage and Natsu provinces met near the borders of Rice and Hot Springs Countries. We would begin our search for the Crimson Flake Bandits there. As we traveled, we mostly made our way through the many woodlands of Hakage Province, sleeping out in the woods instead of traveling along the roads. Of course, that only seemed to encourage speculation among the trio of Genin, something that I caught a whiff of as we set up camp the first night.

"I don't get why we have to keep sleeping outdoors. Wasn't the Forest of Death bad enough?" Questioned Akirao as he began to make a fire with some twigs and a D-rank Jutsu, the Katon: Chakka-Zai No Jutsu (Fire Release: Firestarter Technique).

"I think that Replacement-Sensei just likes sleeping in the woods." Grumbled Miho testily as she erected her tent.

"You think that's the case?" Queried Kanchi, busily putting up his own tent.

"Why else would it be? We could have taken the roads and slept at an inn, after all. I can't think of another reason, can you?" Asked Miho.

"I don't know if that's right. I mean, he's supposed to be the heir of the Akimichi, isn't he? And a Super Awesome Ninja to boot. A Guy like that just wouldn't do something for no reason, right?" Questioned Kanchi.

"I'm not so sure. My Great Aunt is called the Legendary Sucker because she likes to gamble all her money away even knowing she always loses bets. There's no real reason to do something like that, is there?" Queried Akirao.

"Yeah, come to think of it, I've heard similar things about other Elite Ninja. They say Lord Jiraiya is a huge pervert, for example, and I've also heard that Hatake Kakashi is chronically late to every Jonin meeting, even when there's no other reason for him to be so." Mused Miho.

It was at this point that I stepped out of the trees with the deer that I had hunted down for tonight's dinner slung across my shoulders, interrupting all the speculation with my sudden appearance. The three Genin, spooked by my sudden presence, whirled about as if startled, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Demanded Kanchi.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help but overhear your argument, though. Kanchi's correct, I do have a reason for doing this." I pointed out as I let the deer corpse down from my shoulders and began to rig up a roasting spit with some branches and bits of twine.

"Well, what is it?" Asked Akirao.

"We're up against bandits, yes? Bandits prey largely on merchant caravans. That's where the money is. It's a lot easier than attacking settlements which may be fortified and have Guards of their own, especially for Bandits who can't utilize Chakra, Chi, or Spiritual Energy in any meaningful way. Meanwhile, Merchant Caravans can be ambushed, and even if they have caravan guards, there usually aren't so many that the risk of fighting them would outweigh the risk of attacking an entire settlement." I explained.

"I think I see. The Bandits will be watching the roads for merchant caravans. If they see Shinobi traveling toward the area where they're hunting merchant caravans, it will spook them." Remarked Miho.

"Exactly. The Mission we took was to eliminate the bandits. We're here to solve the problem, not move the problem." I nodded.

"What's the difference? Especially if the Bandits flee to another part of the continent, I mean? How would the client even know?" Questioned Akirao.

"If you think like that, you'll never even be in the running for Senju Clan Head. If you get a reputation for cheating clients, you'll find a lot of doors suddenly closed for you." I pointed out.

"So tell us what the deal is already! I can't stand all this talking us through it crap!" Scowled Kanchi.

"You think I talk you guys through this step-by-step because I want to, because I don't." I informed.

"So why then?" Queried Miho.

"Because this is the sort of thing you'll need to learn if you want to be a successful Shinobi. Not just Survival Skills, Jutsu, and Combat Tactics, but Tradecraft. It's the sort of thing most only pick up with experience." I pointed out.

"Right, so then how will the Client know if we just moved the problem?" Asked Akirao.

"Our Client is the Kōshinryō Merchant Network. They do business across half the Continent. Unless the Crimson Flake Bandits move to the Eastern Continent or something, they'll know about cheating them sooner or later." I explained.

"Because Merchants Travel?" Questioned Miho.

"Not only that, but so does their money. With that Money, Merchants develop business relationships, and thus contacts. In a lot of ways, the interconnected trading networks of various Merchant Concerns are one of the most reliable ways to find out information on economic, military, and political movements throughout the Elemental Nations." I confirmed.

"Merchants? Useful for more than just funding? Are you sure?" Queried Akirao.

"I'm reliably informed that Lord Jiraiya makes sure to have at least a few moles in every Merchant Trade Network of note that he can manage." I answered.

"Huh. You know, this is a lot more involved than I thought it would be." Offered Kanchi.

"You'll find that a lot of systems have layers if you've been doing this long enough. Whether those systems are organizations or something more abstract like schemes and plans, they all tend to have different levels that they work on. You'll need to peel back those layers if you want to figure out the reasoning behind why something is happening more often than not. It's another essential Shinobi Skill. Looking underneath the underneath, some people call it." I informed.

"It's just a lot to digest." Pointed out Miho.

"Yeah, you know, I always thought most of being a Ninja was in kicking everyone's asses who are trying to mess with your clients. I guess there's more to it, though." Frowned Kanchi in Thought.

"Of course, there's more to it. Did you think everything would be as easy as punching the problems away?" Scoffed Akirao.

"Let's not start an argument. Now, who wants to learn how to clean, prepare, and cook a deer in the field?" I asked, forestalling an argument.

Even after the Forest of Death, Akirao and Kanchi still got into arguments every now and again. They weren't nearly as vitriolic as before, but they still happened. I guess forcing this team to gel together was a process that wouldn't be solved with a field trip to the Forest of Death. It would have to happen over time. Yet another reason why I chose to take the forested route to Sakai Town, to give the kids more time to bond. These lessons, talking them through tradecraft like this, would also hopefully help solidify the idea that they were being trained in stuff as a team that most Shinobi only learned after hard-won experience. The idea behind that was to make them identify as an actual team more than as individuals who just happened to be put on the same team by dint of tradition. I could only hope it was working.

Regardless, the next day we exited the woods onto a flat plain that was full of farmland. This was one of the areas where various orchards that grew some of the fruits that Fire Country Exported could be found. Mostly, these were Persimmon and Plum Orchards, harvested by the Women of Sakai Town while the Men worked in the Sakai Iron Mine. Sakai Castle, the Seat of Lord Sakamoto, sat among the persimmon and plum orchards, defending the lifeblood of the Town with its fortified edifice. Sakai Town itself was a large mercantile town with a long main street lined with shops and restaurants, making its way from north to south through the town. In the distance, off to the North, Mount Sakai rose up into the sky, the solitary edifice home to an Iron Mine which gave in abundance. Halfway between Sakai Town and Mount Sakai, a Shrine to the Kami of the Mountain, Sakai-No-Kami, who blessed the plain with fertile soil and the mine with abundant Iron ore, sat, never wanting for tributes for the Kami.

As you can tell, the locals were either not very creative or very devout when it came to naming. They named practically everything after the Kami of the Mountain, even the local Lords took the first few characters of the Kami's Name and incorporated it into their own Clan's Surname. Honestly, the locals were probably a bit of both, but it worked for them. The near-constant tributes seemed to ensure good harvests of persimmons and plums, both of which were exported abroad to places with less hospitable climates or less fertile soils, while the abundant iron from the Sakai Iron Mine was made into whatever the locals needed and the extreme surplus smelted into ingots for export to more mineral-poor areas. Honestly, a lot of the fruits went to places like Wind and Rain Countries, while a lot of the Iron went to areas like Grass and Rice Countries. It was a lucrative business.

Unfortunately, as I was traveling with Genin, instead of stopping at a Bar or Tavern that served almost exclusively Sake and Yakitori, I instead opted to take the team to a far more kid-friendly place. The Mountain Swallow Teahouse served all sorts of drinks and foods, catering to a wider audience that didn't have to be just adults. Of course, I still got Sake for myself, but the Genin got different types of tea. Funnily enough, Kanchi got Mugicha, while both Akirao and Miho got Koucha. Mugicha was considered a pretty weak tea, something that little kids normally drank, but Koucha was considered a strong tea, something for adults. Akirao, it seemed, was used to it, but Miho scrunched up her face as she tried to drink her cup, clearly not enjoying the tea. Had she only ordered it because Akirao had? That was worrying. I flagged down a waitress, resolved to fix this particular issue.

"Excuse me, Miss. When you get a chance, can you get my Student some Oolong? Thank you." I ordered with a sigh. The waitress bowed and hurried off to get that, only for Miho to fix me with a sidelong glare.

"I didn't order Oolong." She huffed.

"No, you ordered Koucha, which you clearly only did because Akirao did it. You're just as clearly not enjoying it. We're on a mission, there will be enough time for discomfort when we're fighting the Crimson Flake Bandits, there's no need to add to it like this, too." I retorted.

"I'm not a kid." Insisted Miho.

"Oolong isn't a Kid's Tea, not like Mugicha. It's a medium-strength tea." Pointed out Akirao.

"Hey, I drink what I like." Shrugged Kanchi.

"Just try it. You don't have to pretend to be so grown up all the time." I intoned.

When her Cup of Ooling Tea finally did come, Miho took a sip and seemed pleasantly surprised at both the flavor and strength. I took her unfinished cup of Koucha and downed it myself to help offset the two cups of Sake I'd just had, not that two cups would be enough to even slightly impair me. Still, it was just good practice. Soon, however, our food came out and we tucked in. As we ate, I ran the Genin through the plan for the search for the Crimson Flake Bandits. It was one that was fairly simple, all things considered. There was a map of the area with a selection of Grid Squares. From the locations where various caravans were attacked, we only had a limited number of Grid Squares we needed to search, around twelve or so. It would take us one day to search a grid square, so we would be here for at most twelve days, give or take a day for combat.

The search I had us doing was systematic, grid square by grid square, however, I left the choice of which grid square to start our search in up to the Genin. Each of them had different ideas. Kanchi wanted to search closest to the border, Miho wanted to search the forested grid square near the road into Hot Springs Country, and Akirao wanted to search the section of ravines and gulleys near where the Road diverged in a Y-Pattern, going off toward Rice Country in one direction, Hot Springs Country in another direction, and toward Sakai Town in the last direction.

"All right, you three have made your choices, now I want to hear your reasoning behind them." I commanded.

"Well, these guys just came from Hot Springs Country, so I figured that if they're that hard to catch, they could have a way over the border into Hot Springs Country that lets them keep giving patrols the slip." Spoke up Kanchi.

"That's not a bad thought, we've been stretched far enough, thanks to recent events, that we're not patrolling the borders with the same caliber of Ninja we used to. It's definitely possible, but I think it's unlikely. For one thing, regular Mercenaries like this don't tend to be able to pull off feats like that. After all, it's not like they can use the Doton: Himitsu Kōdō no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hidden Tunnel Technique) to make such stable routes through the borders. For another thing, Shimo also has bases in Hot Springs Country, and even if we didn't notice thanks to our staffing problems, they would have." I rejected.

"Well, then, how about my suggestion? The Woods along that stretch of road are good cover for ambushes, and they're just about deep enough to hide a small bandit fort." Tried Miho.

"Also, not too bad a thought, and definitely plausible, but it's also on the southern edge of the Grid Squares, close enough to Sakai Town that Lord Sakamoto's Troops would have dealt with them by now if they were that close to his domains. I don't think it's likely, not unless Lord Sakamoto is being paid off to look the other way or is in league with the bandits. In that case, we have bigger issues than the Crimson Flake Bandits." I refuted.

"Which just leaves my suggestion. A win by default is still a win, I guess." Smirked Akirao.

"Not necessarily. I could just as easily decide to have us search my own way, you know. With that in mind, let's hear your reasoning." I demanded.

"Fine. It's pretty simple, striking from the gullies and ravines in the Y-Section of the Fork in the Trade Road lets them hit caravans traveling to and from both Rice Country and Hot Springs Country, plus its far enough away from both the Borders and Sakai Town to avoid being rooted out by the Border Guard or Lord Sakamoto's Men." Insisted Akirao.

"That's well-reasoned, plausible, and even likely. I think we're going to go with Akirao's suggestion. You should all get a good night's sleep because tomorrow morning, we're heading out for the Ravines in that Grid Square." I agreed.

And with that, we finished our meal and headed to a local inn to book rooms for the night, as the sun was now setting. I had my own room, and the three Genin had one of theirs. Surprisingly, Miho didn't protest when I told her she would be rooming with her teammates. I guess she wasn't quite as much like Sakura as I had thought. After all, Sakura would have definitely put up a stink about being a girl forced to room with boys. At least that was something, even if she was still trying too hard to impress Akirao. I could only hope that she grew out of that soon. I was working on their flaws as a team, of course, but I still got the sneaking suspicion that I would only be giving Asuma-Sensei a head start in fixing those flaws. He would likely have to do most of the work when I returned control of the team to him on our return to Konoha.

The next morning, we headed out of Sakai Town, heading North toward the Grid Square that Akirao had wanted us to begin our search with. When we left Sakai Town, none of us realized it, but it would be the correct square to search right off the bat. Unfortunately, we would be dealing with more than just normal, non-Chakra-using bandits. The Crimson Flake would also have a Chunin Missing-Nin from Shimogakure's Tsurara Clan, Tsurara Kaede, the Ice Queen of Shimo.

And we would be stuck dealing with her clan's famed Kekkei Genkai, the Ondo Sōsa no Jutsu (Temperature Manipulation Technique) when we attacked the Crimson Flake Camp. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. Choji has been trying to use this time to help the latest incarnation of Team Asuma gel together as a team instead of as a collection of individuals who happened to be put on the same team thanks to tradition. He's also trying to teach them tradecraft while he works out the kinks in their various teamwork issues. He's made a good start, but it's likely that's all he'll have time to do. After all, he is effectively done as their Substitute Sensei when they return from this mission. It's Asuma who's going to have to do most of the work to get them the rest of the way. Of course, Asuma wasn't expecting miracles anyway, though he wouldn't have been surprised if Choji pulled one off.

Speaking of the Mission, it turns out that the Crimson Flake Bandits are currently being led by a member of Shimogakure's Tsurara Clan who turned Missing-Nin. The Tsurara Clan has the unique Clan Ability to raise and lower temperatures using their Chakra. Missing-Nin are also very rare in Shimo, because the other big clan of Shimgakure, the Yukihyō, has the Snow Lion Contract, and has at least two summoners on duty with their Hunter-Nin at all times. That Tsurara Kaede managed to escape Shimo even when the Hunter-Nin could call on Summons to literally sniff her out suggests good things about her capabilities with stealth, as well as bad things for Team Asuma potentially being ambushed.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the start of the fight with the Crimson Flake Bandits. I'll also have more images out before then, and another couple of Ninja Info Cards for Hinata and Shino out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .