Chapter 11
It has been over a year since Utakata started participating in the war. Now he was eight years old, still a kid who could barely handle a shinobi alone. Utakata was currently stationed in one of the most northern islands of the Land of the Water. The island was close to the Land of the Lightning, so plenty of skirmishes existed.
Utakata's unit's job was to stop any advances of the Cloud shinobi into the Land of Water. Maybe he was lucky, but he barely got into fights in the four months he was on this island. And when the Cloud Shinobi came, Utakata's unit overwhelmed them with numbers, and battles were controlled to the point where there was barely any danger for him.
Most of the time, Utakata would relax and train. There wasn't much to do otherwise. After a year of going from one mission to another, Utakata finally felt that luck started to smile upon him and gave him time to relax. Even the shinobi in his unit were of lower caste like him, so everyone was friendly. Well, friendlier than shinobi from the clans.
But it only concerned Utakata more. There was no way Mist would send a unit made of lower-caste shinobi to a nice place like this. Every day, Utakata would wake up prepared to face a whole army. He could only relax when he couldn't sense anyone for half a day. He could only hope that Mist received false information about this island being attacked soon and sent shinobi that wouldn't matter if they died.
"Utakata," Meizu, an orphan three years older than him, called out Utakata's name. "What are you doing?"
"Training," Utakata replied.
"But you are lying on a branch. How is it training?" Gozu, the younger twin of Meizu, asked.
"Resting is part of the training," Utakata answered. "An important part."
Meizu and Gozu were twins that Utakata was sent with to this island. They became fast friends as all of them were orphans and knew how clan shinobi treated them. In the past four months, they stuck together. Utakata had no problem with them. The twins fought well together and could take most of the chunin-level shinobi.
They weren't invasive much and only were curious about Utakata once they heard that he had killed quite a few enemy shinobi. By now, Utakata had gained a bit of a reputation, as he was still relatively young but could handle himself on every battlefield. The twins started to become even friendlier when Utakata didn't take his successful missions to his head and wasn't an arrogant prick.
Utakata, on the other hand, didn't care much about them. He felt like he should know them but couldn't remember why. Together the twins were even stronger than Utakata, so he found no reason why he shouldn't use them in battles. Of course, Utakata didn't tell them of his sensing abilities, as even now, he tried to spread his senses as far as possible to see if any shinobi were closing on them.
"Do you want to spar with us, Utakata?" Meizu asked. "We came up with a new move, and our shift is ending."
"I am already deep into my training," Utakata replied. "I don't think I can give any of my time to the two of you."
"You are lazing around," Gozu said. "Common, you are the only one younger than us on this island and the only one we can ask."
"Maybe next time."
Utakata would have liked to spar with them, but as the sun set, it was the best time for a surprise attack. He had to keep his senses sharp in times like this. But he couldn't tell the twins the real reason, so he refused their invitation and lay on the branch of a tree on the outskirts of the camp. The unit had other sensors, but Utakata didn't think they were good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be stuck with kids like him on this island.
"Fine, but don't be surprised when we show off our new attack," Meizu said. "We won't teach it to you."
"I think I will survive without it," Utakata smiled and shooed them off.
Utakata was not used to quiet months where little was happening. With each passing day, he could feel that something big was coming. He couldn't be so lucky when war raged all over the elemental nations. If no one were trying to breach through this island to reach the Land of the Water, the Mist wouldn't have them stationed there, especially for so long.
Utakata couldn't accept it. He was a weapon for the Mist, and weapons were used to kill. There was no way the village wouldn't use him to kill their enemies. So, there was no way that he could be easygoing on this island. He had to be prepared for whatever was coming. He had to be sharp. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to kill, and without killing, he wouldn't be able to survive.
Yet another night had fallen, and Utakata couldn't sense anyone again. Realizing it would be a waste of time and energy to stay here all night, Utakata jumped down from the tree and went into camp to get some midnight snack before sleeping. It wouldn't do him any good if he was tired the next day and the enemy attacked.
…
When dawn came up again, Utakata was among the first to wake up and prepare for the day. But the academy has trained everyone on what time to get up and how little time they have to get ready. So, everyone was already out of their beds and prepared for the day before the unit leader came to check on them. Everyone was very disciplined in the Mist.
"I hope we get some action today," Gosu said. "It has been way too long since the last battle."
"Three weeks and four days," Utakata replied. "It isn't that long of time."
"Long enough to get us restless," Meizu said.
The three got a quiet place to sit and eat breakfast. It was the simple porridge that filled and warmed the stomach. It was enough for them, even if they wanted something more delicious. But Utakata knew that rations had to be used sparingly. Even though they were still within the Land of the Water, the island was on the outskirts of the country, and supplies couldn't come as fast as some wished.
Once the three of them finished their breakfast, they left to train as they had some free time. They had time till midday when the unit would change the scouts. Their duty was to oversee the sea, as that was the only way the enemy shinobi could arrive on the island. All ships would be noticed making their way toward them, making it hard for enemies to attack the Land of the Water.
So far, only a few ships from Cloud tried to come in. They were probably checking the defenses and were ready to lose. Yet it meant that the Cloud might be preparing for a full-out battle. That was what made Utakata uneasy. But he was prepared for such an outcome as well as he could be. He only had to wait and see now.
…
Another day was getting to the end without anything happening. Utakata watched the sunset from a cliff on the island's west side. There was a limit to Utakata's patience. Something didn't sit right with how peaceful the last four months were for him. He should be fighting at one or another battlefield. The war would last at least another one or two years.
What was the Mist doing sending him and others to this island when there are plenty of battlefields where they might be needed? Utakata almost snorted at the idea that he would be complaining about taking a rest. After the Land of the Frost mission, he dedicated all his time to getting stronger. He fought on many fronts against shinobi from Leaf and the Cloud and the other shinobi from lesser villages.
He has become a weapon that Yagura advised him to be. Killing people without hesitation, and now he was stuck on this island. It felt like the Mist was playing with him. His name was already known to the other villages. Utakata was considered one of the best talents from Mist, so why weren't they using him? They would have sent him to the bloodiest parts of the war if they were afraid of his talent, to die, but they put him on a peaceful front instead.
"Meizu, what do you think of this?" Utakata asked.
"Of what?"
"Of this island," Utakata added. "It has way too little fighting for us to stay here."
"Maybe they are reserving us for something," Meizu said.
"Look at us," Utakata pointed at himself and the twins. "We have no names, no family. We are meant to be sent to our death, but instead, we are stuck here."
"Am I hearing you right, Utakata?" Gozu asked. "Weren't you the one who said that we should be happy for a bit of peace and not ask too much?"
"There is a limit to it," Utakata replied. "In the past four months, we fought six times, and they were nothing but minor skirmishes. There wasn't a time when we needed to mobilize the whole unit of our sixty shinobi."
"What are you trying to say?" Meizu asked.
"I come to a couple of conclusions," Utakata answered. "First, the Mist was given false information and has sent more shinobi than needed into this island. Second, we are not here to defend this island."
"What? But the captain said that our priority is not to let anyone past this island," Gozu responded, surprised at Utakata's words.
"This island doesn't even have a name, Gozu," Utakata said. "It isn't a vital island to the Land of the Water. Behind us are still half a dozen similar islands. Why would anyone even want to come here? They could easily sail by us, and we wouldn't even notice them."
"Then why are we here?" Meizu asked.
"To hide us," Utakata answered. "Mist wants to hide our unit, so the village chose this little island. Nobody will suspect that sixty shinobi are in there."
"But why?"
"To let us surprise something," Utakata answered. "They will send us somewhere to attack."
"And what of it?" Meizu asked. "It doesn't change anything."
"But it gives a question of why us?" Utakata responded with a severe tone. "We aren't that strong. Only seven Jonin are in our unit. The others are a mix of chunin and genin."
"You are overthinking, Utakata," Gozu laughed at Utakata's words, not taking them seriously. "How about a spar? It should clear your mind."
Utakata didn't feel like he was overthinking. There were some isles not far away. They were big isles, closer to the Land of the Lightning than the Land of the Water. It was called the Paradise Isles. They were a small nation without a shinobi village, so they relied on the Cloud. A target that the Mist needed to destroy so that the Cloud couldn't settle their foot into the sea of the Land of the Water.
It wouldn't be a difficult target to take for Utakata's unit, especially if they were caught by surprise. But leaving it was another matter. It became clear to Utakata that the Mist planned to massacre the Land of Paradise, and they will use Utakata's unit. He wished he could not care about it. It would be easier. But just the thought of him killing innocent people who couldn't even protect themselves made him sick. Yet it was better that he prepared for it now and not hesitate in the future. He had to pretend to be a weapon, after all.