ตอน 36: Test
The sun was rising in the east, and Hawks started flying around the cloudless sky of the Desert.
In between two mountains, lied the entrance of the village hidden in the sand. There, three young Genin, accompanied by their Sensei, were getting ready to leave.
While Shira looked excited, Gaara was nonchalant. On the other hand, Kyo could hardly suppress her fear. The thought of going on a B-rank mission without any experience was tormenting her.
Seeing the state of his students, Baki could only sigh reluctantly. Although there was a chance that they could complete this mission, he didn't have much faith. Since it was an order from the Kazekage, he couldn't disobey.
Looking at the trio one more time, he cleared his throat and grabbed everyone's attention before speaking.
"Alright, I hope that you have all rested enough. Did you bring the necessary supplies?"
"Yes!"
Shira shouted, while Kyo nodded nervously and Gaara remained silent. Taking it as a yes, Baki turned around and started running. The three Genin followed him closely.
They ran through the desert for two days straight, with some lunch and sleep breaks in between. Kyo looked exhausted, Gaara seemed fine, and Shira looked like he had taken a light jog.
Baki was used to this of course and didn't tire out easily.
Anyways, after all that running, they finally made it to the border between the land of wind and the land of fire. On the way here, greenery became more and more common until they reached the end of the desert.
Stopping, Baki spoke up.
"Alright, we have arrived at the border. The next village to go under attack should be the Miyazawa village, about a kilometer north from here."
"This village is one of the many agricultural villages that the Sand manages, and are our lifeline when it comes to sustainable crops."
"Only two small villages have been attacked so far, so if we take care of them now there should be little to no repercussions. Let's continue."
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Team three made it to Miyazawa village before daybreak, and they decided to rest at a local inn. Baki paid for a large room, and the receptionist yawned before giving him the keys.
"Yawn… Your room is number twenty."
Ignoring the clerk's rude behavior, they all settled down in the room to plan.
"Alright, according to the scroll, the enemy will either strike tonight or tomorrow… Each of us will be assigned one end of the town to monitor. I'll take North, Gaara will take East, Kyo will have South and Shira will take West."
Baki then retrieved some stuff from his backpack. They were four earphones connected to a microphone collar that went around the neck.
"These are some communication devices. We'll use them to keep in touch while we survey the area. If you notice anything strange, notify the rest immediately."
"We'll stay up all night, if you feel tired, do not hesitate to take a soldier pill. With that said, disperse!"
After he said that, the four Sunagakure ninja disappeared from the room. Each reaching high ground at one end of the small village.
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'I hope that they attack soon… I'm itching for some action.'
Feeling good, Gaara sat on top of a small tower, watching the horizon.
A couple of hours later, it was almost midnight and nothing happened.
Gaara was starting to get annoyed, but with all those years of meditation, his mind as calm. He remained there, sitting down until the morning. Still, there were no signs of an attack.
Confused, he suddenly heard Baki's voice thought the microphone.
"No movement North. What about you? Copy."
Pressing the microphone, Gaara replied. The other two did so in quick succession.
"Roger. Nothing East."
"Same West."
"No signs of the enemy at North."
Hearing this, Gaara sighed but was interrupted by Baki's monotonous voice once again.
"Remain on standby until tomorrow morning. Copy."
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The sun rose once again, and there were still no signs of the enemy. Feeling suspicious, Baki had the team regroup at the inn's entrance.
Shaking his head, Baki started thinking.
'This is weird… The scroll said that the attackers would come by now, but they still haven't. And why am I feeling so tired?'
Interrupting his thoughts, Shira yawned and his shoulders drooped.
"Aghh I'm so tired… I feel like I could sleep for a whole day right now."
"Same…"
Both Shira and Kiyo seemed to need rest, and Gaara looked alright. What was weird was that even Baki seemed lousy.
Interrupting their discussion, a little girl ran up to the group, with tears in her eyes. She grabbed hold of Kiyo's pants and started pleading for help.
"Please help! My mother is about to die!"
Hearing the kid's words, Baki suddenly had a thought pop up in his mind.
'Could this be…'
"Take us to your mother."
Hearing Baki's words, the girl struggled to stop crying and started running. Team three followed closely.
Soon after, they arrived at a humble house, and the girl opened the door before letting them in. She then quickly guided them to the living room, where a woman was lying on the ground, unconscious.
Her skin was shrivelled, and she looked like a mummy. No matter how one looked at it, there was no way this old lady was the mother of such a little girl.
"Is this really your mom?"
"Yes! Please save her!"
Still unconvinced, Baki placed his hand on the woman's forehead and sent chakra her way. He quickly found the problem.
"She's suffering from chakra depletion. If this continues, she'll die in two days maximum. What's going on?"
As he was thinking, Baki's eyes suddenly lit up, and he checked his student's current chakra reserves.
They were all running out of chakra.
"Quick! Eat a soldier pill!"
Apart from Gaara, they all took a pill and immediately started to feel better. Baki then gave one to the woman and a half to the little girl.
'What's going on here?'
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AN: This chapter was an experiment with third person. I don't think I liked the results much, so I'll be sticking to first.
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