Among the trees, a shadow appeared, looked for a few seconds at the four people in front of him before disappearing without a trace.
At that moment, Yamato felt a glance, but it was only for a second.
(Could it have been my imagination?) Yamato thought as he looked at the leaves of the trees.
It had already been eight hours since Team 11 left Konoha, right now they were about to reach the border between the land of fire and the land of waterfall.
"Sensei, what are we going to do in this investigation?" asked Ino while looking at Yamato.
The latter just looked straight ahead without changing the neutral expression on his face and answered.
"The first thing we will do is ask questions, we will pick random people and ask questions regarding the disappearances."
Crossing his arms, Yamato continued speaking.
"What follows after that is to analyze the surroundings for clues that will provide us with more information. In the end, we will gather all the information and sort it out."
Yamato finished explaining, for some reason, after listening to the explanation there was a tired face on Ino, after all she thought that whole process was boring.
(Really this mission is B rank?) Ino thought, although it was kind of strange that such an easy research mission has a high rank, Ino decided not to think about it anymore.
As Ino walked away tiredly, Hinata sighed. A few hours had passed and Toru hadn't said a single word, this only made her look at the ground with a slightly sad expression.
After being assigned to the same team as Toru, Hinata thought that her relationship with him would be the same as in the past, but Toru is always distant with anyone, even her.
(This is very hard) Hinata sighed, every day she was trying to be a better version of herself so she could become someone strong and reliable, but as time went by, Hinata realized that changing her way of being wasn't going to be an easy thing.
(Toru-kun is very strong and always has solutions for everything, I wonder if one day I can be the same) thought Hinata, but realizing that she was comparing herself to Toru she shook her head a little and continued walking.
Minutes passed, it was still a little while before they reached the first village.
At that moment, Toru was thinking about how he should do her research. There were different methods of investigation, some stranger than others, but ironically the strangest methods were the most effective.
(Hm... I guess I'll stick to the methods Yamato-sensei would use, he's an experienced Jounin, so there shouldn't be any problem there) Toru closed his eyes for a few seconds as he let out a sigh.
(Still, according to what Yamato-sensei told us, the village we're heading to is only five years old, it's kind of strange, although villages can come out of nowhere, but...)
Toru looked up, the shadows cast by the trees made his eyes glow a little strangely.
(Still, it's strange)
Putting his hands in his pockets, Toru walked a little faster.
"That's it..." Ino said, causing everyone to look straight ahead.
In front of them, a large wooden Torii stood, it had some very well elaborated details that made the wood look very old. The red color with which the Torii was painted made Toru remember that shrine he once visited together with his mother.
"We arrived" Yamato said, at the same time, Ino sighed in relief, after all she was tired from walking for hours.
It didn't take long for team 11 to pass through that gate to enter the village.
In less than a second, the atmosphere changed completely, the old-fashioned houses and the clothes of the people made Hinata open her eyes, surprised by what she was looking at.
(It's so cute) Hinata thought as she looked at the yukatas the women were wearing.
The women's clothes were adorned with beautiful flowers of different shapes and colors. Even Ino was amazed by the beautiful yukatas.
"Well, we can't waste time" Yamato said as he handed a scroll to his students.
"Huh? What's this?" asked Ino.
"Before we start the investigation, read the contents of the scroll, so you will know what you have to ask the people of this village."
After listening to Yamato, they each opened the scroll and began to read.
The content of the scroll was information about the disappearances, there were names and descriptions of the missing people, there was also a detailed explanation on how to engage in a friendly conversation with a person.
A few minutes passed, everyone had already finished reading the scroll.
"So, in order for the investigation to be successful, you have to make sure to be respectful, we don't want to cause trouble in this town, so..."
"Who are you?"
Interrupting Yamato, a man's voice was heard. They all looked at the place where the voice came from and saw a man with brown hair, he had a white colored blindfold that hid one of his eyes, besides, he was wearing a strange mix between a yukata and a shinobi military uniform.
For a second Ino and Hinata looked at the man with fear, as he was carrying a large spear in one of his hands.
That spear had a golden tip glinting in the sun's glare and silver details could be seen on the base part, as well as a black colored scarf that was tied just two centimeters from the tip of the spear.
"We are ninja from Konohagakure, we were sent to complete a research assignment."
Keeping neutrality on his face, Yamato approached the man and spoke.
The man just looked him in Yamato's eyes.
"Konoha Ninjas, uh... wait here, I'll call the village leader" The man said, at the same time his body flashed and disappeared into thin air.
Toru looked at everything with an expressionless face, the place was completely different from the last village he visited, even the people were different in many ways.
The people were a bit strange, but when that man appeared, Toru only sighed, he still believed that the town was strange, but he decided not to think about it, after all he only had to do one thing and that was to investigate.
"Who was that guy?" Ino asked, to which Yamato just sighed and answered.
"He's most likely one of the people protecting this town" Yamato said as he crossed his arms.
A few minutes passed after that and everyone was still waiting at the entrance of the village.
(How long are they going to take? I already want to finish this boring mission to go home) thought Ino, seconds later she crossed her arms while looking ahead with an annoyed expression.
It had already been a long time, and that was visible in the sky, which had a beautiful pale orange color.
Toru looked at this and sighed, they had traveled for a whole day in order to get to that town, but in the end it looked like they wouldn't be able to complete their research on the first day.
(Are they wasting our time on purpose?) Toru thought, although it could be considered that thinking like this was a bit paranoid, his thoughts in the end always ended up being logical.
"Ara~ Do we have visitors?"
A woman's voice was heard. Everyone looked to where the voice came from and what they saw was a beautiful woman with silver hair, blood red eyes and a beautiful black colored yukata.
For a second, Yamato looked at the woman, and all he could think of was how beautiful she was.
"They are Konoha ninja aren't they?" the woman asked, causing Yamato to react.
"Yes, my name is Yamato, my students and I were sent to complete a research assignment" With a neutral expression on his face, Yamato looked at his students.
"Hm... I understand. My name is Kuchikase Miroku, I am the one in charge of this village" Miroku crossed his arms, making her breasts look bigger than they already were.
"I'm aware of the investigations, and that's something that scares me a little. People disappearing just like that out of nowhere, I'm afraid something will happen to the people in my village" Miroku said as a sad expression formed on his face.
"That's why we were sent, we will take it upon ourselves to find the reason for the disappearances. For that to happen we need you to let us interrogate some people" Yamato said.
Miroku looked at the ground and sighed.
"I understand..." Miroku said, instantly his face from sadness changed to a kind smile.
"Then I suggest you stay here to sleep, it's already a bit late and until you finish it will be night. We have an inn where travelers usually stay overnight."
Yamato thought for a second. Staying overnight in the village wasn't something necessary, after all he had a jutsu that allows him to build shelters, but, still, Yamato thought he would waste the kindness of the woman in front of him.
"Thank you for your kindness, we will gladly accept" Yamato said while bowing.
(We're going to stay at an inn tonight, huh.... I guess that's good, I'm already tired of sleeping on a wooden bed that makes my back hurt) Ino thought.
-Minutes later.
A few minutes had passed since Miroku left together with a man who had both eyes blindfolded. After that, Yamato took advantage of the moment to start with the mission, assigning a place to each of his students.
At this moment, Toru was looking for people to interrogate, it didn't take him long to find someone.
That person was a woman no more than twenty years old.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but can I ask you a few questions?" Toru said.
The woman looked at Toru, but didn't respond for a few seconds.
"Oh, hi, I didn't see you. a few questions?" The woman tilted her head slightly, confused by Toru's sudden interaction.
"Uh... yes. Could you tell me what you know about the disappearances?"
Toru asked, and again the woman took a few seconds to answer.
"Disappearances? Sorry, I don't know anything about that" The woman said with a poker expression on her face.
"I understand..." Toru closed his eyes for a second, after that he continued searching.
A few seconds after Toru spoke to that woman, his eyes caught sight of the man Miroku was with.
He had a black blindfold that covered his eyes completely, plus he had strange spiked rings on his hands.
Toru stopped for a second to think. That man was in front of the biggest house in town, something that seemed strange to Toru's eyes.
(Should it?) Toru thought as he approached the man.
"Uh... Can I ask you a few questions?" Toru said.
The man turned his head, looking at the place where Toru stood. A slight sigh came out of his mouth before he answered.
"About the disappearances?" The man said.
"Yes... about that" Toru's eyes sparkled for a second after hearing what the man had said.
"Hm... the little I know is that the area of the disappearances is on the border of the fire land, near this village" With a muffled voice, the man spoke.
(That's information we already have) Toru thought, everything the man had said was already on the scroll he received from Yamato.
"Is that all you know?" Toru asked, causing the man in front of him to sigh.
"Is that all I know, or do you want me to say it again?" The man said.
"No need..."
After that, Toru walked away from the place.
-Somewhere-
Miroku watched the sky, it was slowly starting to get darker.
"How many does that make already?" Miroku asked herself, after all that wasn't the first time Konoha sent an investigation team.
"I don't know, Miroku-sama, I've already lost count" Said the man, who was carrying a spear in one of his hands.
"Hm... It seems your memory is failing, Yasu-chan" Miroku said as he smiled seductively.
"But never mind, we'll take care of them tonight."