The three caravan leaders each returned to their people in order to reassure them but, her samurai spirit getting in the way of her better judgement, Tomoe approached the Shiki clone.
"Excuse me child." She cleared her throat and called out.
"Is there a problem Tomoe-dono?" Shiki calmly asked.
"No, no! Merely wished to inquire on some matters." The woman responded.
"Is talking to this . . . clone of yours, the same as talking to the original?" Tomoe then asked.
"Pretty much." The boy replied with a look of curiosity.
He was sitting on the carriage at the core of the caravan which was the woman's young lady Beni, with Ema as the carriage driver, so both were listening in.
Not that Beni herself required physical closeness to "hear" things.
"May I ask your age?" Tomoe inquired.
"I'm almost five." Shiki replied.
'Damn! I'm barely out of the womb and yet talk like a soulless politician sometimes but no one even finds it that strange . . . Every once in a while I'm reminded how messed up this world is.' The boy thought to himself as he gave his answer.
"Aren you not . . . A bit too young for this sort of . . . work?" Tomoe struggled a bit to pick her words.
She was usually far more confrontational when seeking information but she did not want to antagonize the shinobi responsible for their group's safety, especially when her people specifically were the ones being targeted.
There was no reason for her to worry however.
Shiki himself was of the same opinion and, if in the far future, he ever had children himself, he would never let them start as young as him.
But considering shinobi society's nature and his own greater mental age, he had no issues about starting as young as he currently was.
"That's just the way things are for shinobi but I'm a rare case." The boy said.
"A rare case?" Ema inquired from the carriage driver's seat.
Shiki's eyes wandered over to her.
She was much like a younger version of Tomoe, wearing a near identical attire composed of an open black robe over a deep red kimono and black hakama pants but unlike the older woman whose kimono showed swirling wave-like patterns, Ema's resembled artistic depictions of wind.
Her long hair was tied in a loose bun that showed her long neck but was warm brown colored which, combined with her large, green doe eyes, red lips and pale skin with a beauty mark below her left eye, gave her a softer, slightly more seductive yet gentle sort of beauty.
"Most young new shinobi are nine to thirteen years old. Only those who show exceptional prowess in earlier ages enter active duty early. The conditions are relaxed in case the village needs to replenish ranks like in wartimes." The boy explained.
"I can't understand sending such younglings, the very future, to die in battle like this." Tomoe admonished.
"It was worse before the Hidden Villages were founded. Back in the Warring States Period, you were lucky if you even made it to thirteen." Shiki replied.
"Besides, with the power of shinobi, even the young and inexperienced can make a difference in battle." He added.
"You don't talk like a child at all." Ema's soft voice sounded out again.
"So I've heard." Shiki just shrugged, unconcerned and making her lightly chuckle.
"I still do not believe children belong on the battlefield though, regardless how capable or mature they are." The woman declared and her mentor, Tomoe, very much agreed with the sentiment.
"Understandable but you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't make those decisions, neither am I a good standard to measure against." Shiki responded.
"Why not? Even a talented and mature child like you would deal well with the realities of warfare." Tomoe claimed.
"Most talented and mature children? Sure. Me on the other hand, past events have already proven how well I deal with real combat. Though war is not as simple as a single combat encounter." Shiki replied.
"You killed people before?" A cute young voice suddenly sounded out.
Beni's head adorably popped out of the curtains hiding the carriage's interior, her long, straight and glossy black hair framing her young face, hanging about as the rest of her body remained hidden, making the girl look like a floating head.
"Beni-sama!" Tomoe's scolding voice, harsh but filled with love, made the little girl instantly disappear behind the curtains again as Shiki gave a cute chuckle of his own, making the two women swoon.
Cute children are the weakness of women with strong maternal instincts, Tomoe and Ema being included in that category.
The boy's chuckles drew Beni out again, her open black robe over the perfectly tailored, pinkish red kimono with what looked like moon patterns and dark red hakama pants, made her look like a petite doll of a noblewoman.
Shiki was truthfully amused but he did not miss how easily and naturally the word "killing" sounded coming out of that little girl's mouth.
Despite Tomoe and Ema's beliefs, neither woman seemed surprised by their young lady's casual approach towards violence which set off all kinds of alarms in the boy's head, warning there was something there.
As for Beni's question to him . . . It went without an answer, for the time being at least.
*
Away from the caravan, Team, including the original Shiki, slowly crept up onto the ambushers' position before coming to a stop to settle on a more concrete battle plan before they "went in", so to speak.
At this shorter distance, analyzing and evaluating the opposition was significantly easier and the obtained date was far more accurate.
The general plan had been decided upon before they even left the caravan, all there was left was to determine exact positioning to ensure everything went smoothly.
"Alright. We caught them before they assumed ambush positions." Inori started.
"It would be safer for us to wait until they spread out so we can pick them off but that will give the enemy a lot of opportunities to escape." She informed.
"So better to hit them now. Shinka's abilities will allow us to encircle them when they are all bunched up like this." Mei commented.
The Aburame nodded in agreement, signing to the others that she was up to the task.
"Examining that camp from closer made the leader of the ambushers quite obvious since he is very evidently the one directing the whole show. He's one of the three possible high level opponents I talked about earlier." Shiki commented.
Inori confirmed his findings with her own sensory abilities.
"Shiki. You and I will assassinate the other two and then try to take the leader alive for interrogation. Something is off about those three ladies and I intend on finding out what." The Violet Rose declared.
"Just keep him busy for a little bit while I neutralize him with my jutsu." She added.
The boy nodded in agreement and the Yamanaka turned towards Mei.
"After your initial Fire Release, your mission will be to keep the fodder off of us so that the capture goes off without a hitch." Inori told the bespectacled girl.
Mei solemnly nodded.
"Shinka. Establish the encirclement while we take position, Mei's Fire Release will be the signal for the operation to start, look for the right moment." The Violet Rose ordered.
"Move out."
And with that final command, it was on.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -