Ch. 22: You Can't Take Me

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~Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it, don't push me I'll fight it, never gonna give in never gonna give it up, no~

Kiyomi's POV

As soon as I was far enough away from my team, I activated Yasei quickly. I was getting more and more comfortable with it, and apparently stronger as well. I could smell more, see more, and hear more. It was great!

I inhaled, taking in all the different smells of the forest. It was comforting, all these trees with their tree smells. I mean, sure, there were other smells as well. But trees were the strongest.

'I wonder why...' That was Fenrir. Being sarcastic.

But knowing I had a job, I bypassed the nice tree smells, and focused on some of the other things. A whole lot of blood, which wasn't surprising. Metal, meaning weapons were in use. Again, not surprising. The individual scents of the people closest, which was... Seems like Team Gai, Team 10, and a team also from Konoha who were all older than my team.

Let's see.... Team 10 and the other Konoha team are quite a ways away, so I'm not worried about them. And also, Shikamaru is said to be really smart, meaning that the chance that that they're going for the lone scroll is low. Shikamaru would probably have another, probably better, plan. No idea about the other team, though.

And Team Gai probably wouldn't either. Lee and Aoi would both want a fair fight to test their strength, so they'd probably think finding the lone scroll was dishonest or whatever. Admirable, but it isn't smart in a world where trickery is king.

So... Let's go around them. Don't want them seeing me alone, then going after my team because they're weakened.

I abruptly changed my direction again, smelling a distinctive smell of sand and blood coming from the right. That would be Gaara, probably killing someone. Don't want to go that way either.

'Is it better to stay on the ground, or be in the trees?' Fenrir asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows, then glanced around. 'Trees. Definitely. Being high up gives you a better vantage point to see any opponents or suspicious movements.'

'Good. So go.'

I nodded, and leapt up, landing on a thick branch that was above my head. Here I paused, sifting not only through everything I could smell, but also everything I could hear and see. What kind of things were around here...?

Starting with living things. Anko said there were various animals in here, and she wasn't wrong. Besides the millions of bugs I hear, there are a few vertebrae. Bears, tigers- Is that a huge snake!? Not going that way either....

To be honest, snakes are my least favorite animals ever. They're sneaky and slithery, and can kill you with a single bite. And in most legends, they're liars. So just no.

'This isn't getting you anywhere,' Fenrir grunted. 'If you want to find that scroll, then you've gotta search. Be thorough, and start on the edges of the forest. That's where a lazy Chunin would place it. Gradually move inward, and don't engage in fights. You'd lose in a minute, being on your own.'

'Got it.' I should really think of these things. I depend on Fenrir way too much. But he does make a good point. So I headed in the direction of the edge of the forest, where the smell of rusting metal was the strongest. The fence surrounding the forest was partially oxidized, and it had a distinctive smell that I could pick up from anywhere.

I soon reached the fence, and started my search. Using all my senses I examined the area, looking for something different. Then I would move on, continuously doing this. I moved along the fence line, and when I reached the place I started then I'd move into the forest a bit.

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