Uzumaki Survival 011

The wind coming off the southern coast of the Land of Snow carried the smell of salt and kelp across the gray shoreline. Waves rolled steadily against the rocks, and the cold water frothed white before sliding back into the dark sea. The early afternoon sun hung in the sky piercing through the constant grey overcast of this northern land, bringing a smile to many a face. 

Oden stood on a jagged stretch of black stone, acting as a guardian for his team whilst he watched the group spread out along the rocky beach.

Two of the older Genin knelt near some tide pools, carefully pulling strands of thick seaweed from the rocks and piling them high before placing them into Storage Scrolls. A few of the younger children laughed as they pried clams from the sand, their small fingers wielded kunai with ease. Suzuki, meanwhile, was using her Adamantine Chains to sap the chakra from fish near the surface of the water, then collected them with such speed, she looked like a madwoman. 

Overall, it was a good day. The sun was high, and seagulls were chirping in the air. Setting up several Listening seals, he perked his ears, and tried to pick up something else besides the sound of the wind and waves. Although this mission to procure resources was going well, he still held out hope that they would find some yokai. 

‘Heh, look at me, acting like some wet behind the ears rookie hoping we'd get some action.’ Oden chuckled at himself, and shook his head. Looking down at the tide pools, he noticed something amiss, and raised his voice to be heard. 

“Don’t rip out the roots, we want it to grow back.” Oden gently called down to the Genin. 

The pair of teens glanced up and gave him a quick nod before returning to their work.

Further down the shore, Nozomi stood ankle-deep in the water with her eyes closed, and her hands forming a tiger handseal to focus her chakra. The breeze tugged at her hair as she concentrated, the tiny girl looked like she'd fall over as a stiff wind picked up. Furrowing her brow, she looked quite adorable-like a cute hamster-as she focused on sensing the movements beneath the surface of the ocean. 

“There's a school of fish, about fifty feet in that direction.” Nozomi quietly said. 

Suzuki-who had been collaborating with her this entire time-ran in the direction at great speeds. Watching her bound gracefully across the waves, Oden smiled, appreciating her skill. Before long, the tall girl had reached the spot Nozomi had pointed towards, and shot her Adamantine Chains under the surface. 

Within minutes, dead silvery fish were scooped out, and dozens of the now deceased, forearm-sized delicacies were placed into Sealing Scrolls. 

Cheers erupted from the young survivors, as everyone imagined themselves in Suzuki’s shoes. For these revenge oriented Uzumaki, the strength of a Special Jonin was a dream worth pursuing. Given time and dedication, any Uzumaki could achieve this strength. 

“Let's have lunch!” Suzuki shouted, and ran at him. 

Oden chuckled, and using his chains, started a spark on some driftwood, and other miscellaneous plants that the kids had gathered. Unfortunately, they hadn't cut down any trees, but much like Russia, or Canada, there were actually a LOT of forests in Snow Country. As they were on the southern tip of this land mass, it wasn't so cold that plants couldn't grow here. So, making due, he skewered the fish with his Adamantine Chains, and cooked them that way. It was pretty inefficient, but he had chakra to spare, and it got the job done. 

After an hour of eating, and relaxation, Oden informed the survivors about his plans for Suzuki to teach them Taijutsu, and that he would provide pointers for the Adamantine Chains everyday. There were a few groans of protest, as the Uzumaki, at their hearts, were lazy homebodies, but these kids & teens were motivated to get stronger, and the complaints were more half hearted if anything else. If anything, the biggest protest was over eating unseasoned fish, to which Oden had to solemnly promise he would spend the money earned from selling these Explosive tags on seasoning, and clothes. 

Not far from him, ten year old Hekutoru sat cross-legged on a flat stone, a brush in one hand and a small scroll spread across his lap. Whilst everyone else was taking a break from work, he used this time to improve his craft. Oden watched on in fascination as he carefully drew an image on the paper. Although he was interested in this style of jutsu, Oden figured it would be too much trouble to master. The very strongest ninja hyper focused in one direction, and then branched out once they achieved mastery. Naruto, Minato, Hashirama, these three guys were at the top of the food chain, but only spammed like 5 jutsu each. Oden was clear, his path to success would involve his chains, the yokai, and other miscellaneous Fuinjutsu. That being said, he appreciated Hekutoru's talent, and much like Nozomi's ability to heal or sense, Hekutoru’s unique jutsu helped their team become more versatile. 

Sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, and striking one last, violent stroke of the brush, the ink drawing shimmered, and came to life. Six more black birds peeled themselves from the paper and took flight. Their wings flapped silently as they circled high above the coastline.

Hekutoru watched them with distant, half-lidded eyes. During this trip, the boy rarely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary. His expression rarely changed either, giving him an eerie calm that reminded Oden of a true ninja. Whereas the rest of the Uzumaki were somewhat flamboyant, and perhaps a little arrogant, Hekutoru was reserved. 

After observing him for a while, Oden learned that so far, the boy could maintain an ink creation for about 3 hours before it collapsed. And, like a Shadow Clone, upon its demise, all of the information that the ink creature had learned, would be transferred to Hekutoru. In short, this was a game changing technique, and once he became more proficient at it, Oden intended to have the boy spy on the town, as well as the ‘Three Great Clans of Yukigakure.’ 

The afternoon continued peacefully, and more clams, fish, and seaweed were collected without incident. During this time, hundreds of locals had taken their boats out to go fishing. Hekutoru had also handed him a note, telling him that a squad of four Yuki-nin were watching them from about five miles out. Much to the Snow ninjas initial fear & then confusion, he had openly approached the canon fodder Genin, and handed out an Explosive tag with a smile. Afterwards, he went up to every civilian that passed nearby, and slapped a Heat seal on their clothes for good measure. Like that, hours had passed, and night was approaching. Since they were so far north, the sun still hung high in the sky, but everyone was about ready to go home and unwind. 

When everyone was back on the shore, packing up, counting their gains, and joking between one another to try and ignore the depressing thoughts of clan annihilation, Nozomi’s head snapped toward the open ocean, and she yelled his name: 

“Oden!”

The lithe girl's scream was like a bolt of lightning to the hearts of the survivors. Everyone froze in place, and several people began to breathe rapidly as panic settled in. Many more clenched their fists, subtly shaking in fear, but the repressed hatred in their hearts, and pride in their bloodline made them stand in place. A few looked at both him and Suzuki, finding strength in their presence. Meanwhile, only Hekutoru and two others took Nozomi's warning in stride, and calmly prepared themselves for whatever may come. Oden took all this in within a few seconds, paying special attention to Hekutoru & the other two, before turning towards Nozomi. 

She pointed toward the horizon.

“The boat on the left, something is about to happen to it!” 

Oden squinted his eyes to get a better look. About five fishing boats were still on the water at this time of the day, and glancing to the left, he perked his ears, trying to notice something. 

A small fishing vessel bobbed in the distance, perhaps a few hundred feet offshore. Five men stood aboard it, their figures tiny against the gray sea as they hauled something heavy up from the water.

For a moment, everything appeared normal, it was just some guys capturing a successful haul. Furrowing his brow, Oden heard a high pitched voice muffled by the waves, then the water around the boat began to form a whirlpool. 

The ship lurched violently as it was knocked all over the place, threatening to tip over. One of the fishermen screamed as he fell into the ocean, asking to be saved. Seconds later, the hull flipped sideways as if something massive had yanked it from beneath. The vessel capsized in an instant, throwing the men into the freezing water.

“What was that?” A Genin whispered in fear. 

The waves churned violently, whilst the crewmen splashed and shouted, trying to swim back to the half submerged, half floating overturned boat. Then, the water turned red. A fisherman disappeared beneath the surface with a strangled cry. Another screamed as something dragged him down. Blood foamed across the waves, and formed a thick pool at the sight of the ship's demise. 

The younger children recoiled in horror, and Oden’s eyes hardened. Whilst he wanted a yokai appearance, that didn't mean he wished death upon the innocent. 

“Everyone back away from the water. Nozomi, what are we dealing with here?” He turned to ask the expert sensor. 

But before she could reply, Hekutoru spoke.

“There are six of them.” 

Oden glanced toward him, his gaze all but asking for more details. 

The ink birds circled above, far out at sea, their black silhouettes slicing through the gray sky with ease. Hekutoru’s gaze was distant as he watched through them.

“They surfaced briefly, but I caught sight of their appearance.” Hekutoru said slowly. 

“What are they?” Oden asked.

The boy blinked once, and then nodded. 

“They have green skin, with shells like turtles on their backs, with beaks for mouths. They are hunched, and are slightly taller than I am.” Hekutoru said, and began to draw the image. 

Whilst the boy gave his report, the final fisherman vanished beneath the surface, and the screaming had stopped. The other boats, having witnessed this grim scene, had pulled out oars, and were rowing away in panic fueled fear. 

“Based upon the chakra they emit, I think that they should be as strong as a Genin.” Nozomi added onto Hekutoru’s depiction with her own analysis. “However, there are many more of them beneath the surface, at least 20 in total. And one of them is likely to be a Chunin.” 

Upon seeing Hekutoru's drawing, he was 80% certain that this yokai was a Kappa. One of the most well known, and common creatures of Japanese folklore, Kappas loved water, playing pranks on people, and dragging them under. 

Oden drummed his fingers against his thigh in thought. Those were slightly unfavorable odds. He was certain that they would win, but fighting a group of Kappas underwater seemed like a terribly stupid idea. As anyone with a brain knew, terrain was a major part of any battle. On an open plain, a lion could kill any man. In a jungle, the tiger reigned supreme. Or when he fought the first few Yukinyudo, he used the terrain to his advantage, and kited them one at a time. And underwater, confronting a Kappa was virtually suicide. 

The smart thing to do, would be to retreat, and plan to use something like poison or numbers to fight this menace. Maybe if he was cruel & bloodthirsty, he could use the remaining fishermen as bait, and draw the Kappa to shore. 

However, there was a third option. 

Reaching into his sleeve, he thumbed the scrolls that contained the Yukinyudo. Why worry about such small matters when he had a small army? Then, pulling out the 457 Explosive tags, a wild, Joker-like smile spread across his face. 

“Hey, Suzuki, you ever go blast fishing?”