The road stretched long and uncooperative beneath their feet, winding through forests and border towns that offered nothing but dust, wary looks, and answers that went nowhere.
Sukuna used to think that tracking was bad. Well, he didn't know that tracking had levels to it. Tracking common bandits had nothing on tracking a rogue shinobi, one capable of killing a Mangekyō user.
He doubted they were going to find anything, honestly. Besides himself, who had a little tracking experience, and Kakashi for his ninken, the team wasn't suitable for this kind of job.
'What the hell was Sarutobi thinking!'
"This is pointless," Sasuke muttered for the fifth time that morning, eyes scanning the treeline as if the culprit might leap out simply to prove him right.
While the boy was more eager to rip the rogue shinobi responsible for Izumi's death and his sister's current comatose state apart, even he knew that he wasn't suitable for tracking missions.
Finding anything without clues or hints to go after was like a nightmare.
Naruto stomped a rock off the path. "Hey! We're investigating. That's what detectives do!" he shouted, though only to refute Sasuke as his eternal rival. Internally, he didn't like this job any better than Sasuke.
Sukuna glanced sideways. "Detectives usually have leads."
"We don't have enough to work with here. Considering that whoever killed Izumi would be a strong shinobi, almost jōnin rank, it's reasonable that that person is somewhat famous.
That kind of skill tends to attract attention.
Almost every strong and capable shinobi has an entry in the Bingo Book, outside the Kages, of course. The enemy shinobi make sure that this happens.
Our only other lead is that he or she is a very capable Genjutsu user, seeing how Kiyomi is currently in a coma due to Genjutsu.
I checked all the entries that might match these two criteria. Outside some really big names who wouldn't personally come all the way to the Land of Fire just to kill one Konoha shinobi, there is not even a single person who matches our criteria," Sukuna explained, sounding equally lost.
It had been two days since they were at it, and they couldn't find any leads so far. It was getting tedious.
Kakashi walked ahead of them, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed but eyes constantly moving. "We knew this would be difficult. Whoever killed Izumi Uchiha didn't want to be found."
Sakura frowned. "Then why send us?"
Kakashi didn't answer right away.
Sukuna did. "Besides, someone wanted eyes on Sasuke as well, not clues."
That earned him a sharp look.
"You don't have to say it like that," Sakura snapped at her brother.
"I do," Sukuna replied. "Izumi's eyes were taken, but Kiyomi's weren't. However, we know for a fact that both of them unlocked their Sharingan. So why only take Izumi's?
A simple answer would be that the assailant only needed a single pair. If so, then my argument settles itself there. However, what if the person was after stronger Sharingan? I can't say, but I'd pick Sasuke as stronger than his sister currently. What if it was that… Just saying."
Sasuke said nothing, jaw tight. His silence followed them like a shadow.
"If that is the case, then I wish for him to come at me. I'd rather face him directly than waste my time searching aimlessly," Sasuke muttered under his breath, anger clear on his face.
"Relax. That is just my hypothesis. If it's really true, then tiring us should be their aim to begin with. If we are too tense, then we'll just fall into their trap more. Just relax," Sukuna added, half assuring and half not believing his own words.
They stopped at a small trading village near the border. Izumi and Kiyomi had passed through here weeks ago—at least, that was the assumption. The group split up to ask questions, though "ask" quickly became "receive blank stares."
"No," an old shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "Haven't seen anyone like that."
"A woman with red eyes?" Naruto tried again. "Tall, serious, scary?"
"Kid, that describes half the shinobi who pass through here."
Naruto slumped. "Man…"
'Half of the women in this profession have red eyes...?' Sukuna just rolled his eyes. However, he understood that hundreds of people passed by here daily; no one could remember whether they saw them or not.
Sakura returned empty-handed, brushing dirt off her gloves. "Nothing. No sightings, no rumors, no suspicious travelers."
Sasuke rejoined them last. "Same."
Kakashi exhaled quietly. "As expected."
Naruto blinked. "Sensei, you don't sound surprised."
"I'm not," Kakashi admitted. "A professional wouldn't leave tracks. And whoever did this was very professional."
Sukuna leaned against a post, arms crossed. 'I somehow miss hunting bandits now...' That was much easier.
Naruto scratched his head. "So… what now? We just keep walking until something happens?"
"That's usually how it goes with you," Sukuna said dryly.
"Hey!"
They moved on, repeating the same pattern across two more settlements. Each time, the answers were the same. No witnesses. No strange chakra. No signs of a fight. No bodies. No rumors.
Nothing.
By late afternoon, frustration settled in.
Sakura finally broke. "This feels useless."
Sukuna glanced at her. "It's worse than useless. The longer we waste time here without any lead, the leads that actually exist somewhere will be getting cold. A week's worth of time is more than enough for shinobi to cross nations. If whoever did this intended to run away, then we most likely wouldn't find them in the Land of Fire. At least, I wouldn't have stayed here after robbing a bloodline clan of their Kekkei Genkai and putting a hidden village behind my back."
Kakashi stopped walking.
Everyone followed his gaze to the dirt path ahead—undisturbed, clean, and unmarked.
"Whoever did this," Kakashi said slowly, "knew how investigations work. They erased the beginning but not the end."
Naruto frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Sukuna said, pushing off the post and walking forward, "that the mistake wasn't here. It was where they thought no one would look."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. "You're saying we're in the wrong place."
"Yes."
"Then why are we here?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded.
Was it only her, or was everyone talking in a mysterious way while actually having no clue…!
Kakashi's visible eye darkened slightly. Sukuna was very suspicious that their teacher was thinking right now about what to say next.
"Because sometimes, missions aren't about finding answers."
Naruto tilted his head. "Then what are they about?"
Kakashi didn't reply immediately. His single eye looked at the blond, then somewhere else, then back to the blond.
'He definitely has no idea… what to do next.' Sukuna was left speechless.
"We'll improvise..." Kakashi finally replied.
"That sucks..." Naruto replied in a deadpan tone.
"Welcome to real missions," Sukuna said, recalling his early days of being a tracking noob.
They stood there a moment longer, the wind rustling leaves above them, before Kakashi finally spoke.
"We'll continue until nightfall," he said. "Then we reassess."
Sasuke clenched his fists, eyes burning with quiet fury.
xXx
A/N : Okay, I too was completely confused on how to write them being lost. Lacking necessary tracking skills and so on.
That little awkward moment at the last was just for fun sake.
Do tell me where to improve my writing. I appreciate it.
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