-2756 words-
[Year 52, Iwa/Suna Border]
The forward operating base that Souei and the rest of the advanced party was sent to was a perfect representation of wartime bases. The moment they arrived at the middle of the night, it was to barely controlled chaos and bleak spirits from the stationed Shinobi.
'Well, that's what you get for having no commanding officer on site.' Souei guessed.
The previous person who led the operating base apparently died in a skirmish they had against the Iwa forces. Since then, they contacted the village for reinforcements and only now, with Ishito Sensei here, could the situation be salvaged.
"This place is a mess." Rukia commented as they walked the muddy path towards what could only be the main tent in the camp.
Souei could only agree with her statement. Mud and blood mixed freely on the ground and walls, several of the prepared fortifications were already heavily damaged.
"They must have suffered quite a few attacks. I'm surprised they survived without a commanding officer leading them." Rasa chimed in.
And it's true. Prior to their arrival, the remaining Shinobi here all looked grim and tired. They all looked nearly dead on their feet from their attempts at defending this position. But now, with reinforcements and supplies being confirmed to be arriving, it seems like hope has finally returned to them.
The advanced party, with Ishito taking the lead, finally arrived at the main tent. "Ishito Kazoku, here to take over command." He announced as they entered through the flaps of the tent.
"Welcome to base 8, Ishito-sama." The person who welcomed them was a middle aged man wearing a standard Suna Jounin Vest. He eyed the entire advanced party with clear relief in his eyes as a weight seemingly lifted from his shoulders.
"Who are you?" Ishito questioned.
"My name is Jun. Jounin. I took command after we lost our previous captain since I was the highest ranked left in the camp." The man, Jun, answered as he saluted Ishito in response.
"Very well, now report. What's the situation?" Sensei asked after nodding.
"Roughly 2 days ago, the base was attacked by a small assault team from Iwa. We only barely managed to push them back but it seems like they're planning another attack soon. We found out their base of operations to be a few miles northwest. It seems Iwa managed to set up quite a large one near the border to the Land of Stone. And the man leading them is Han, the Steam Bull." Jun said as he rubbed his face. Belatedly, Souei could see that dark bags had begun to form surrounding the man's brown eyes.
His last sentence also got the attention of every shinobi present.
Han? As in the Gobi Jinchuuriki?
Well, fuck.
Everyone else immediately broke out into murmurs. Jinchuuriki are known to be weapons of mass destruction. Capable of destroying armies by their lonesome. A human sacrifice with the sole purpose of deterrent and warfare.
And one of them is here.
"Oi, Souei. What's a Jinchuriki?" Rasa quietly asked him. At first, Souei looked at him at surprise, only to remember that Rasa is a civilian born shinobi. The knowledge about Jinchuuriki isn't one that can be freely accessed. Most of the people who know are ones who have personally met in the previous war.
"I'll tell you later." he said, and Rasa nodded.
"And what of the remaining troops? How many of your shinobi can still fight?" Ishito questioned. It seems like he's the only one who stayed calm after that particular bombshell.
"We have 18 remaining of the original 80 stationed here. Of that 18, we have 3 Jonin including myself, 10 Chunin, and 5 Genin. The rest are just civilians that do the administrative duties."
'Not a lot but better than nothing.' Ishito thought. 'The advanced party only consisted of 20, including me. The main army with over 2000 ninja will arrive in 5 days. That means we'll have to survive with roughly 40 shinobi in total. Considering Han is on the other side, this could be trouble.'
"You did good. For now, we need to take care of the wounded and fortify the village's defences." He said with an authoritative voice, earning the attention of all Shinobi present. "Rukia, you're in charge of the medical team. Set up what you need and get the injured there to begin treatment. The sooner the better."
"You got it, sensei." Rukia replied as she gathered all the medical ninja and left the tent.
With the experience and training she had, Souei agrees with his sensei's assessment that Rukia is indeed the best choice right now. Only a handful of medical ninja were a part of the advanced party with the majority following the main army.
Having Rukia take the lead of the medical team and set up the necessary tools and tents now would prove beneficial.
"Souei, Rasa." He immediately perked up at his name being called.
"Circle around the perimeter and make sure no spies are in the vicinity, and put up traps with your strings and sand while you're at it."
"Sure thing, sensei." Souei said while Rasa nodded. The both then immediately left the tent to do their sensei's orders. Looking back inside the tent, he could see Ishito issuing orders to the rest of the remaining Ninja.
He and Rasa then walked to the edge of the camp before a golden platform formed beneath them and flew upwards. They continued to circle around the perimeter of the base, keeping their eyes peeled and springing up traps all the while.
For Souei, he realized long ago that trap making would be easy with his threads. Attaching strings between trees to create trip wires. Springing up a bundle of strings in a pathway so anyone who goes through it gets cut. Applying a pressure effect to his string grenades and burying them, so anyone who steps on them would get slashed to pieces.
Rasa simply planted pockets of Golden Sand beneath the rocks and the earth. This will allow him to summon them at a moment's notice and even affect the terrain if needed.
"So talk. What the hell is a Jinchuriki? Some of the senior ninjas seemed to panic after hearing that this Han person was leading the enemy."
Souei just sighed. "Jinchuriki means human sacrifice. Literally. Have you ever heard of tailed beasts?"
Rasa raised an eyebrow at that. "Of course I have. The magnet release was an original technique used by the Ichibi. The Third Kazekage learned from it, and I learned from him."
"Good, if you know about them then that makes things easier." Souei said as he mentally recited the information he once read in the Matsuri library. "Jinchuriki refers to the people who have tailed beasts sealed inside them. Around 40 years ago, the first Hokage distributed the 9 tailed beasts to different nations. These tailed beasts are beings of pure chakra that possess immeasurable power. So to harness this power, the tailed beasts were sealed inside newborn babies so when they grow up, their power would belong to the villages that own them. Usually, it's very difficult for jinchuriki to control the power of the tailed beasts. But Han is among the people to have been a jinchuriki for a long time. Which means he has had ample time to master his power-"
"Which means that most likely, when he gets to the battlefield. Chances are we'll be fighting someone who has control over one of the tailed beasts." Rasa said as he narrowed his eyes. "I see, that is indeed a troubling thought."
Souei shrugged. "Now you know why everyone seemed to have the jitters the moment they got that news. But Ishito Sensei was apparently pretty calm about it."
"Well if it's him, I've learned to never say never. Might I have to remind you how many times that man saved us from getting brutally killed in one of our missions back when we were Genin?"
"Heh, nope." Souei chuckled.
They then continued to prepare traps around the base. However, Souei and Rasa both perked up as they glanced at each other.
"Souei." Rasa said in a quiet voice.
"I got it." He replied.
They kept their faces blank and neutral as they passed by an innocent looking tree. Suddenly, Souei whipped his hand strings extending from his fingers that attached to a figure hidden behind the thick leaves of the tree. He pulled back his hand and a shinobi wearing Iwa garb was pulled out from his hiding spot.
"Urk!"
Souei held him by the neck before slamming him to the sand platform. Rasa immediately made him sink into the golden sand so he couldn't escape.
"Well well, looks like it's a rat from Iwa. I'm sure Ishito sensei would love to have a word with you." Souei smiled a menacing grin as the man grew wide eyed in fear.
A punch to his temple immediately knocked him out as Souei stood back to full height. "Get him back to camp to Sensei. I'll finish the perimeter check."
Rasa nodded as he turned the platform around to get back to the camp. Souei simply jumped off and stayed in the air as he watched Rasa's retreating back. He then turned around and flew ahead, intent on finishing the job.
.
.
Around 20 minutes later, Souei returned back to camp to their assigned quarters. Team 11 chose to bunk together in a medium sized tent that could fit 4 people usually. Ideally, Ishito Sensei would be with them, but apparently the commanding officer of the base has their own room.
Opening the flap to the tent, he could see Rukia inside sharpening her weapons. After the training with Chiyo, she now often uses senbon laced with poison in her repertoire.
"Hey Souei. I heard that you and Rasa were on perimeter duty." Rukia greeted him.
Souei nodded at her statement. "I just got back, We caught a spy on our run and Rasa brought him back to sensei for questioning. Hopefully we'll learn something by the end of the day."
"Sorry to disappoint you then." A sudden voice interrupted them as Ishito and Rasa made their appearance as they joined them inside the tent.
"What do you mean? Are you saying that the guy didn't crack, sensei?" Souei said with slight surprise. That guy seemed pretty meek if Souei remembered correctly. He found it hard to believe that Ishito couldn't manage to get any bit of information.
Ishito just looked amused. "No. I just postponed the interrogation to tomorrow. Other things take priority right now. We have to prepare for the main army to arrive and fortify the defenses."
"What do you need us to do?"
"Right now, nothing. Just sit down and listen." Ishito said.
Although confused, Souei, Rasa, and Rukia did just that as they sat down on the rocky floor as Ishito joined them.
"Alright, I wish I could say for you three to always stay alive, but we never know what to expect in a war." He said in a quiet tone as all three immediately grew tense at the topic of conversation. "Although I have absolute faith in all three of you, there are chances that some of us might die soon. So before that happens, I would like to do this with each of you."
Their sensei then opened up a scroll before unsealing 4 cups and a bottle of sake. He gave the cups to each of them before pouring the drink into each cup. "I shouldn't be doing this considering your ages, but you know what they say."
"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink?" Souei said with a small grin, to which Ishito replied back with a smile.
"Indeed. As your sensei, I would like to share your first drink with you." Ishito held his cup out, the three of them returning the gesture. "I have seen you three grow from being Rookie Genin into the fine ninja you have become today. And while I may never have any children, if I had a son or daughter and they turned out anything like you three. I would be very proud."
Tearful smiles could be seen on each former student at Ishito's speech.
"May each of you live on and grow to become splendid shinobi." He whispered gently towards the three of them. "While we may march towards our deaths, we shall not fear. For we are family and we march side by side as one." He then raised his cup.
Recognizing the cue, the three immediately spoke up. "To family."
Their cups then clinked together as they all downed their drinks in one gulp. And promptly started coughing as the alcohol burned their throats.
Ishito simply chuckled as he watched their first experience with the beverage.
It was a surreal experience for the three of them. Ishito had always been stern and foreboding. He was a sadistic sensei who would always use insane methods to bring out the best in them. He always stayed supportive whenever they boasted their dreams loudly. A warm and kind man who cared about their well being. The man who scoffed but always looked out for them in his own quiet special way.
Souei never had a father. But he does wonder if this is what it would feel like if he did.
'To live and die not for the village, but for the people living in it.'
Those were the words his sensei had told him once. And Souei can't help but finally understand what he meant by it.
Ishito sensei's dream is to bring peace to the village he calls home. Till now, Souei never had a proper motivation as to why he grows strong. But now, perhaps he's finally found it.
Remembering Sasori and how the deaths of his parents affected him. Remembering Rukia and her goals to become a great kunoichi. Rasa with his dream of reaching the level of a Kage.
Souei closed his eyes as he made a vow to himself. From now on, he'll have his own dream. And that is to create a world where no children has to cry for the loss of their parents. A world where his friends are free to reach for their dreams. A world where people are free from the reality where they have to kill to survive.
A hand suddenly found itself on his head as Souei looked up to see the proud and understanding look of his sensei. "Looks like you finally figured it out, huh? About time."
"Heh, thanks sensei." He smiled genuinely. "But how did you know?"
"They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, Souei. Those who have found their conviction are very different to those who haven't."
"Care to share with the rest of us?" Rasa asked with a knowing smile. It seems like he too realized.
Souei's soft smile grew wider as he told his team his dreams. They all gained their own smirks and laughs after hearing it.
"My my. That's quite an ambitious one indeed. As expected of you." His sensei had a slight smirk on his face.
"That's amazing Souei!" Rukia cheered him on.
"Looks like we're gonna have to work hard to help you make that dream come true." Rasa sighed overdramatically. "More work for us."
Rukia slapped him on the shoulder at the comment, but even if she knows it was made in jest.
Ishito refilled his cup before all three of them did the same thing. They then clinked their cups and continued to drink and talk as they shared what they believe to be their last moment of peace before the war.
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A little bit of relaxation time before we get to the good stuff.
Souei also finally realized his motivation for the future. I don't know if people remember but in the earlier chapters, Souei's characters was intentionally made for him to lack a clear purpose.
But with his experiences from learning under Ishito to the Chunin Exams, then his solo mission. He's learned enough of the world to finally find his calling.
Next chapter starts the first conflict of the war, hopefully.
Advanced chapters on my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get up to chapter 25 along with a few other benefits.
P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle
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Anyway, that's all from me.
Cheers!
Trivia: Who is your favorite father-son duo from anime?