A Hundred Steps Ahead

Meet the Fallen King

CHAPTER 10: Meet the Fallen King

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Orcas make three (3) types of vocalizations: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls.

Shino watched as his insects came back to him after nearly three hours of surveillance and scouting through what seemed like the west part of the forest. 'Two enemies, huh?' He thought before he placed a hand on the tree beside him. He briefly sent a burst of chakra through it, confident that his teammates would recognize his chakra. Enemies ahead.

It wasn't a moment later before he recognized Shikamaru's chakra. The Nara flared his chakra twice, Location check. And without hesitation, Shino flared his own chakra once, I'm here. A few moments later, he felt Sakura's own chakra flare a few miles from his own location. Satisfied that his team was still safe, Shino calmly waited for the next instructions.

Plan D was a relatively easy, yet dangerous, strategy that Shikamaru had devised. Their Heaven Scroll would be carried by Sakura, the only person in the team with enough knowledge with sealing. Shino would be the one to look for the second half of the scroll, the Earth Scroll, while engaging other enemies and rendering them incapable and / or burning their scroll. Shikamaru assigned himself the task of finding the Tower while also sabotaging the other Genin Teams. Sakura, with the use of Shunshin, will lay down the traps and genjutsu seals around the Forest. And while doing so, she would also be placing the seals that will give meaning to the D of Plan D.

Plan D was dangerous because Team 10 would have to go their separate ways without any means of communication. However, that was an issue that was easily solved by their resident bookworm. Inspired by a certain mammal, the team devised a system with the usage of body flare (pulse), sending numbered bursts through objects (clicks), and a chakra enhanced whistle (whistle).

Shino smirked in excitement as he felt Sakura's chakra travel through the ground twice. Engage the enemy. Without hesitation, he swiftly jumped onto a nearby branch and traveled to the nearest genin team.

X

"You've got to be shitting me," Shikamaru groaned as he felt the ground shake once more, "Who the hell's so excited in here?" He muttered as he calmly stepped away from the unconscious bodies of a Genin team from Otogakure.

Sharp onyx eyes narrowed as it watched the trees shake. Shikamaru frowned before he turned to look at the sky from the cracks of space that the giant trees allowed. As expected, the sky was beginning to soften. If the lazy genius would guess, there were only two hours left before sunset.

He sighed, calming his agitated nerves. He swiftly picked up the fallen Earth Scroll and quickly lit it on fire with a basic fire jutsu that he learned from Sasuke and Sakura back at the Academy. The Nara began to walk in a random direction as he mentally calculated their next step.

With only a little time left before the night falls, Shino must have completed his task already. The problem was Sakura. He acknowledged the fact that giving Sakura a heavy workload was his fault, but the pinkette was their only best bet in succeeding with Plan D. Despite the girl's assurance that she would get the job done before sunset, Shikamaru was still hesitant to believe on whether or not she had managed to keep her promise.

Shikamaru ignored the small earthquake, 'I have to believe in my teammates,' He thought before he smirked, 'What kind of strategist am I if I don't have the heart to believe in my allies? Plus, this is the Rookie of The Year we're talking about!' Shikamaru convinced himself.