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Chapter 90: Searching and Arranging
"Let's go!"
Konan stepped forward, her snow-white paper wings spreading as she flew rapidly toward the ground. Honoka and Ryūzetsu, wearing flight devices, followed closely behind.
Kameda's expression was extremely serious. He turned to the rows of Sky Ninja behind him and barked, "This is the first time we are following Lady Konan on a mission! You must all be on your absolute sharpest!"
He looked at each Sky Ninja, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. "If any of you messes this up, don't blame me for being merciless!! What is our motto?!"
"Loyalty!!!" All the Sky Ninja roared in unison.
Kameda tapped the flight device on his chest. "Do a final check on your flight packs! I don't want any mistakes! The flight packs must be able to fly!!"
"Sir!"
"Loyalty that isn't absolute, is absolutely not loyalty!"
"Sir!"
"What is Lady Konan?!"
"The Sun!!"
"And what must we show the Sun?!"
"Loyalty!!!"
While the Sky Ninja checked their flight packs, Kameda drilled them loudly. In their daily lives, whenever he had time, he would indoctrinate every Sky Ninja with the concept of "Loyalty." He would make them carve their loyalty to Lady Konan into their bones, into their very genes. This was an extremely sacred duty, and he would not slack off in the slightest. He would strive for this noble cause with the highest fervor. One day, he would make the entire ninja world, and perhaps even the world beyond, sing of Lady Konan's greatness! This was his life's mission!
Every time he thought of this, Kameda's heart surged, and he trembled with excitement. He was fired up, completely fired up! Seeing that all the Sky Ninja had completed their checks without any omissions, he waved his hand fiercely and shouted, "Move out! Follow in Lady Konan's footsteps! Take off!!"
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!!"
...
In mid-air, Honoka, who was at the rear, faintly heard the shouts from above and subconsciously looked back.
"What is Uncle Kameda doing? It sounds so... intense..."
Ryūzetsu, seeing her slow down, turned her head and urged, "Don't daze out. Hurry up and fly down. We're about to lose sight of Lady Konan..."
"Oh, oh, sorry! I'm speeding up. But this flight pack really can't compare to Lady Konan's wings."
Ryūzetsu pouted. "Lady Konan is a powerful Kage-level expert. Of course her flight ninjutsu is faster than a flight pack they cobbled together."
The two said no more and accelerated toward the ground. By this time, Konan had already arrived above the destination. With a light flap of her wings, she instantly decelerated, hovered smoothly, and then gently landed. On the overgrown ground, the traces of a dirt-and-stone road could still be vaguely seen. At the end of the road was an extremely dilapidated mountain village. Most of the houses had collapsed, their surfaces covered in moss. There was no sign of human life. After Jūgo's childhood rampage where he killed all the villagers, this small mountain village had fallen into complete ruin. He had left and never returned. Konan was the first person to come here since its fall.
The surroundings were lush with trees, filled with the chirping of insects and birds, and the sound of babbling brooks. Located deep in the mountains, it was full of primitive scenery, a rather nice mountain landscape. Swoosh! Swoosh! Honoka and Ryūzetsu flew down. After stowing their flight packs, they came to Konan's side.
Honoka took a deep breath, her expression joyful. "Lady Konan, the air here is so fresh! And I don't know why, but I felt so comfortable the moment I arrived. The scenery is beautiful, and there's this... this..."
"A sense of transcendence," Ryūzetsu offered, seeing her struggle for the word.
"Yes! That's it! It's so transcendent!! It's like every cell in my body is breathing. It just makes you relax."
Konan had noticed this long ago. She stood, sensing her surroundings carefully. She knew exactly why it felt this way. It was undoubtedly due to the high concentration of natural energy. But after a moment of sensing, she was still unable to perceive this "natural energy." What was natural energy, and what did it feel like? She was completely in the dark. Without understanding it, of course she couldn't sense it. It required a special knack and method, which only the three great Sage regions possessed.
Alex, nestled in Konan's chest, was also trying. But it was useless. He couldn't sense a thing. He didn't know the trick either, nor did he know what kind of feedback or feeling to expect from sensing natural energy. It was definitely not as simple as it looked in the anime, where Naruto just sat still and sensed it. Not to mention, he had needed the help of toad oil in the beginning.
Konan stopped sensing and asked, "Can you two sense anything unusual in the air?"
Honoka and Ryūzetsu were stunned. Though confused, they closed their eyes and began to sense. After a moment, Ryūzetsu opened her eyes. "Lady Konan, I don't sense anything unusual."
A little while later, Honoka finished sensing and also shook her head. "Lady Konan, I didn't find anything either, other than the air being fresher."
Konan looked at the small mountain village in the distance but chose not to enter. There were only about ten buildings, all visible at a glance. There was nothing worthy of attention. She then looked around at the surrounding mountains, hesitating for a moment. She couldn't sense natural energy, so she couldn't determine where the concentration was highest or where it was coming from. This mountain forest was vast. If there really was an entrance to one of the three Sage regions here, she would have to resort to the stupid method: a carpet search. But that would consume a massive amount of time, and she wasn't even guaranteed to find it.
One by one, black dots appeared in the sky. It was Kameda and his contingent of Sky Ninja. Seeing Lady Konan on the ground thinking, he quickly gave a silencing gesture to the men behind him. Everyone landed silently, without making a sound. They lined up neatly, standing in place, awaiting orders. After getting the Sky Ninja settled, Kameda walked softly to Konan's side and waited quietly.
Konan didn't think for long. After a silent exchange with Alex, she made a decision. For now, she could only arrange for men to search this mountain forest for a possible Sage region entrance. If they couldn't find it in the end, then she would have to go through one of the Sage contract holders, like Naruto, Sasuke, or Anko, to go to a Sage region and learn senjutsu.
She looked at Kameda. "Kameda, arrange for half of the Sky Ninja to stay here and search the entire forest. The targets are..." Konan thought for a moment. "Slugs, vipers, or toads. Any place where one of these animals is abundant. Or, the place with the freshest air, or the densest forest. See if there are any discoveries like caves or entrances." This was the best she could do to describe it, as she had never seen an entrance herself.
"Yes, Lady Konan!" Kameda accepted the order. Even though the mission was vague, he just had to execute it. No questions asked.
Konan looked at Ryūzetsu. "Ryūzetsu, you will be in charge of this search mission." Ryūzetsu had been in the Village Hidden in the Grass's Anbu. She should be relatively skilled at searching for clues.
Ryūzetsu's expression turned serious. "Lady Konan, I will give my all to complete this mission!" This was her first mission. She had to complete it, one hundred percent, no matter what.
Seeing Kameda and Ryūzetsu go off to assign search sectors to the Sky Ninja, Honoka couldn't hold back any longer. She said eagerly, "Lady Konan, what about me? What about me? What mission do you have for me?"
Konan shook her head. "You have other arrangements."
Three minutes later, Kameda came back to her. "Lady Konan, all arrangements have been made. Ryūzetsu has already led the Sky Ninja into the surrounding forest to begin the search."
Konan nodded, acknowledging. She then led the other two up into the sky. There was no telling how many days the search would take. She couldn't just waste her time here. Since she couldn't make progress on Sage Mode for now, she would go collect the next Kekkai Genkai.
Alex gazed at the rapidly shrinking forest below. He suddenly thought of that sinister fellow, Kabuto Yakushi. He wondered if he had found the Ryūchi Cave and learned the White Snake Sage Art yet...