I found myself helping out at the medical stations or more specifically under the supervision of Kenkou Shinsetsu, a kind young medical nin who looks to be somewhere near twenty.
"So Kenkou-san how difficult is medical jutsu," I said, removing a bandage from an unconscious Shinobi so a fresh one could take its place.
"That depends on which stage of medical jutsu and how severe the wound is. Something simple like a cut that isn't too deep could be healed relatively quickly with little knowledge on the human body. While fixing a broken bone varies depending on how severe the damage is. A nice simple snap in two pieces is much easier than fixing a shattered bone," Shinsetsu said, never looking away from his current patient.
"So it varies depending on how far one advances in the medical field?"
"Yes. I believe most Shinobi could learn the basics but unfortunately there's a bit of a stigma around the difficulty of medical jutsu so most don't bother."
"So do you think I could learn the basics while I am here?".
Shinsetsu didn't respond, taking a moment to just think before speaking.
"How good is your chakra control?"
"Good I think? I've never really tried to get it… measured?" Is that the right word?
"There are a few exercises we can use to determine whether you're up to the task but that will have to wait."
I spent a few hours just helping Shinsetsu before I was told to report to Orochimaru.
Making my way to the command tent I pushed aside the flaps acting as a door. Inside were various older looking Shinobi who all looked towards me as I entered.
I feel a little out of place.
"Sozo-kun I have a mission for you," Orochimaru said smiling.
.
.
Hopping from tree to tree moving this fast was a little nerve wracking. I keep thinking I was going to land on a tree and just keep sliding forward even though I can stick myself to any surface.
I was being escorted to one of the forward bases to replace a sensor stationed there temporarily. My escort, which consisted of four Shinobi, had to slow down as I adjusted to traveling like this. While tree hopping wasn't something I was new to, I've never had to do it at this pace. And I will admit it i am nervous about being this close to the enemy where being able to sense them was a real possibility.
Arriving at our destination I wasn't tired, not even a little which I guess was a good thing even if I did understand why I sometimes don't get tired.
Genetic advantage for the win. Then again maybe it's just an advantageous side effect of something that's going to kill me.
Who knows?
"Alright so which one of you is our new sensor," said a Shinobi who I presume is in charge here.
He looked at my four escorts who didn't say a thing before his gaze landed on me.
"That would be me… Sir," he didn't look happy about putting the safety of this base in the hands of a child.
But orders are orders so he begrudgingly accepted my presence and showed me to my temporary position. Which was a neat hidden spot burrowed into the upper part of a tree.
"So am I expected to keep on guard twenty-four seven?" I asked
"No, you will have rest time when the majority of Shinobi are up along with the patrols."
"How often is that?" I asked a little worried.
"Not often."
Nice that my sleep schedule won't be changing.
"You came in with the reinforcements and supplies correct?"
"Yes Sir."
"How many Shinobi arrived with you?"
"I'd say around sixty?"
Seems he did like my answer grumbling to himself before leaving me to my duty.
Well guess it's time for my long and uneventful life as a living radar.
.
.
God this is boring…
This is the first time I've actually wished I wasn't a sensor. Sure I would feel blind without it but at least I wouldn't have to do this.
Unfortunately this was inevitable. Not taking advantage of my sensing capabilities would have just been wasteful. Plus this is temporary. I only have to fill this position until the previous sensor returns. Which hopefully won't take long.
Does every base have a sensor?
There are other types of sensing with quite a bit of cross over with tracking. Like Kakashi and his excellent sense of smell that allowed him to track me from far enough away that he was out of my range. I have since extended my range but it was still an annoying few weeks trying to track Kakashi when he knew generally where I was. So I doubt someone like me is positioned at every base but they probably still have other means.
Then there's this position. Unfortunately I don't have any other base to compare this one to other than command so I don't know if this place is heavily reinforced or if this is just standard. But what I do know is that natural sensors are rare and this place not only has one but is important enough for a second one to be deployed when necessary. So to put it simply this is either a high risk position or is valuable for one real or another.
Regardless, the longer I stay here the higher chance something will go wrong.
Shifting a bit, I laid down on my back. Closing my eyes I focused on all the chakra I could feel. Form my fellow leaf-nin to the various wildlife prowling about. I've never been around this many Shinobi in the village. The amount of chakra mixing together in the air at command was a bit overwhelming.
Ironically as a result I preferred being alone with Orochimaru.
Here the amount of Shinobi is significantly less so I can try and trase the ambient chakra in the air back to its source with some success. Like this guy his chakra is all warm and bubbly, a stark contrast to the majority of Shinobi who typically don't feel as positive as he does.
I wonder what kind of person he is? Sure he feels like a good person but who knows maybe killing just makes him feel all bubbly and his chakra reflects that.
I really have no idea how emotions and chakra are connected. Sure I have a few theories but I'd like to actually collect some data.
But that will have to wait.
.
Ok so new problem. I can't sleep. I've been trying for two hours now and I'm getting a little worried. At this point I've been up for nearly two days and I don't even feel tired or sluggish. I noticed on my way here that I wasn't getting tired. This persisted during my watch and now is getting in the way of my sleep.
This is not the first time I had seemingly endless energy but it's never lasted this long before. At most an hour before I went back to normal. I don't really have a way to just turn it off so i'll have to wait until I return to normal.
.
It's been seven days and I haven't slept. I'm worried for my well-being. Going this long without rest can't be good for me.
On the bright side watch duty has been a breeze with no incident or unusual activity. Pushing my worries to the back of my mind I distract myself with sorting ambient chakra again.
I spent another week on this mission before the original sensor returned and I could return to command. I still haven't slept all this time but I can worry about that when I return right now I'm just happy to be putting distance between me and the front lines.
While command wasn't that far less than six hours travel at my top speed. Last time I traveled no problem thanks to my at the time boundless energy. Right now I'm not feeling so great. Just keeping my eyes open feels like quite the task.
Stopping, I collapsed to my knees on a tree. My escort quickly stopped as well. Craning my neck I see they are speaking to me but I can't make out what they are saying.
The last thing I remember is falling sideways off the large tree before losing consciousness.
----------------------
Ok so the next couple chapters are gonna take longer than usual as I plan out the third war. I have a lot of things to figure out. I haven't even decided where Akinori is in the world. So it's research time.