Arrival at the Island

Western Coast of Shinobu Island (Kamui's Point of View) (1 Day Later)

It was noon on a dreary overcast day. On the western coast of Shinobu Island, an ominous beach with coal-colored sand stood against the powerful waves of the Kanshii Ocean. Surrounding it, were various tall trees with wide leaves, colored in bright reds, purples, and greens. A not-so-subtle buzz was heard in the distance as the native species of cicada made itself known to all.

Closing in on the island was a small dark brown wooden boat without a sail. It was just big enough to fit the three people that were riding on it. Slowly, it approached the ominous beach without any significant sounds. Below it, the waters moved to direct the boat to its destination. Of course, this boat carried the Konoha mission party.

"This place is kind of depressing…and dangerous looking." Kamui stated, eyes narrowing at the danger she felt from the beach alone.

"I agree, it would be wise to be careful in our approach. I can already see the movement of crustaceans on the beach." Yugao stoically noted.

"Yes, those are the demon-tail lobsters; as I mentioned on our way here, they're common on the coasts of this island. Be careful not to get stung by accident." Reina calmly stated, while getting up from her seated position. It was time to start their journey.

Shaking her head, Kamui responded, "They're certainly dangerous. I can already see some of them preparing traps for us."

Demon-tail lobsters were small one-foot-long crustaceans. They had thick black shells, thick powerful pincers, and a large black scorpion-like tail. The tails were their primary means of hunting, while the pincers were for close-range self-defense. These lobsters primarily hunted by burrowing underground and waiting for their prey to walk over them. Then, their tails would strike like lightning and liquidate anything it hit. Truly, they were a terrifying species.

"Kamui, do you mind making a way over this beach? I really don't want to risk getting stung if we can avoid it. Considering these lobsters are fast enough to sting jonin without difficulty, I'd rather not risk it." Yugao requested. They hadn't even landed on the island and she was already regretting taking this mission.

"I agree. Normally, our clan tries to launch ourselves over the beach using a variation of the water whip jutsu. I'd like to avoid that though. We train children from youth to master performing the technique in a way that allows for a safe landing. While you're sure to master it much quicker. I'm not confident both of you could avoid landing in a snake pit just past the beach…." Reina spoke, struggling to restrain a rueful chuckle. As much as she loved the natural defenses of this island, they could be extremely bothersome at times like this.

Kamui nodded in agreement. Why fight through multiple pits of death when she could circumvent a lot of that.

'So, how am I going to go about this?' she thought to herself, her head looking around for clues. Suddenly, her head snapped to the sky.

'That's it!' With that thought, Kamui's gaze snapped to Reina, startling the graceful young woman.

"Reina, this may sound like a dumb question, but is there poison in the atmosphere, the clouds specifically?" Kamui quickly asked.

Shaking her head, Reina responded, "I wouldn't recommend trying to fly high in the air for any real length of time beyond the quick jump. The poison mists saturate the atmosphere in heavy concentrations. Our clan isn't clear on the specifics, but there's something in the center of the island that exhales the mists into the atmosphere at an extreme rate. The only reason that we can travel over land at all is that the vegetation on the island inhales the majority of the mist before it reaches the ground, especially the trees. We actually don't know how the process works; it just does. With that, the density on the ground level is comparatively low. The antidotes I gave you may protect you at the concentrations we'll experience on the ground, but they can't for the heavier levels should you travel in the air."

"Dang. Well, there goes any aerial plans we came up with…." Kamui muttered, annoyance bleeding through her voice. "Oh well; we'll adapt. Right now, we'll just have to settle for clearing the beach. Wait here" Reina and Yugao nodded their heads.

With that Kamui created three shadow clones. Once done, she willed her chakra into the water, creating three large water whips that gripped the clones. With a flick, the clones flew, each propelled using different levels of force.

The first one barely cleared the beach and gazed at a large tree just beyond the sands. The tree would act as a good safe haven against the snakes it started to see below. Using its sharingan, it marked the location for teleportation. Then, it dispelled before hitting the ground.

The second one managed to get about half way through what appeared to be the serpent's pit before placing its mark.

The third got a little farther than the second before suddenly dispelling in mid-air.

Receiving the input for her clones, Kamui shuddered. "Sensei, we have to be very careful here. I think Reina might have understated the threat of the poison. When I threw my clones, my third clone popped without warning. It didn't even feel any pain before it 'died'. That's the scary part." She cautiously stated.

Yugao's eyes narrowed. She knew this would be dangerous, but poison like this could be a ninja's best friend, or worst nightmare. This would be tricky.

"How far in was it?" Yugao asked. She didn't need to ask what her student's plan was. It wasn't hard to figure out. What she needed to know was how far the last clone got before the atmosphere killed it.

"A little further than halfway through the serpents' pit. The concentration's likely fatal before that point. The clones were moving pretty fast, so they likely sailed beyond the fatal point without realizing it. The second clone likely would have shared the same fate if it didn't dispel itself." Kamui replied, her concern at an all time high.

It's a good thing Reina was with them or they may have died on this island without realizing. It's not hard to image quite a few aspiring jonin discovering this place and dying without warning.

"That's worrying. At least we know our boundaries." Yugao said, while shaking her head. "Alright, teleport us to the second marker." She commanded.

Kamui nodded and prompted them to get out of the boat.

Slowly, they all got out of the boat and stood on the water; there wasn't too much need to rush at this point. It would be a while before they reached the village and it would only increase the risk to their safety if they rushed through this treacherous environment.

A second later, the boat was gone, stored back in Kamui's storage sash. Then, two tendrils of chakra extended from her hand to connect with the two Kunoichi next her, her intent actively protecting them from its harmful effects. In a silvery-white flash, they were gone.

(Serpents' Pit) (Kamui's Point of View)

The three landed on a raised rock in the middle of a dense jungle. Around them were a mix of medium and tall-sized trees stretching toward the sky. On the ground was a myriad of dense vegetation that concealed most of the jungle floor.

True to its name, hisses and rattles could be heard from various points stemming from burrows scattered across the jungle floor to the top of the highest trees.

Looking around, the two Konoha kunoichi looked around in awe. Although this was likely one of the most dangerous natural locations on the continent, it sure was beautiful.

"Be careful not to damage the jungle too much. Avoid any fire ninjutsu." Reina warned.

Slightly confused, Kamui asked, "Why fire specifically? With the humid climate and our extensive jutsu repertoire, it shouldn't be hard to put out any jungle fires."

"Do you remember what I said about these trees absorbing the airborne toxins?" Reina asked.

Kamui nodded.

"Well, destroying them releases a different form of toxins that they naturally produce. Normally, it's released slowly in harmless amounts. Burning them increases the rate of this expulsion to a ludicrous and very lethal level. Long story short, it's a risk that we shouldn't take if we don't have to." Reina explained, her face tightened in a serious countenance to convey the risk of the situation.

"She's right Kamui. Let's stay away from jutsu we'd expect to start fires. Just to be sure, keep lightning release on hold unless absolutely needed. We'll focus on water, wind, and earth for our jutsu on this mission." Yugao ordered.

It was a good thing Kamui had as strong elemental control as she did. Most Uchiha would practically be crippled on this type of mission. They may be able to use all five nature transformations relatively easily, but most of them trained specifically in fire and a small subset trained in lightning. Uchiha clan members that trained in the other three were outliers.

"That makes sense. Well, at least it looks like the creatures around us have chakra. It should make it a lot easier to navigate." Kamui thoughtfully replied, causing Reina to nod in agreement.

Confused at her assertion, Yugao asked, "Why would them having chakra make this easier for us?"

This time, Reina responded, "It's because beasts with chakra, commonly known as chakra beasts, are susceptible to genjutsu. It's really the only way the Kocho clan was able to survive on this island."

Kamui's eyes widened in excitement.

"So did you use normal genjutsu on these creatures or did you create a new set of techniques!?" Kamui asked excitedly.

Smiling at the young shinobi's question, Reina responded, "We developed our own techniques. Regular attempts at genjutsu only agitate chakra beasts. You have to develop genjutsu specific to the type of animal you're dealing with; even then, you need to tweak it to fit the individual species."

Hearing this, Kamui barely contained her excitement. Her eyes shined in interest at the new methods she could learn from these people. This was just what she wanted to see. New techniques created by ninjas to adapt to their environments. She couldn't wait to learn them.

To capture any genjutsu Reina might cast, Kamui shifted from her dragon eyes to her sharingan. Her elementary earth pulse wasn't too helpful at the moment anyways. It was still crude and a jungle was far too advanced an environment to scope out now. She may switch back when she's seen a good portion of Reina's techniques, but not until that point.

To make sure she didn't lose out on training opportunities though, she created four shadow clones as a guard detail, each one of them using their dragon eyes to scan the environment through that lens. This way, she would get the experience of sensing a jungle environment without losing the opportunity to personally witness these new genjutsu Reina was likely to use.

Turning to Reina, Kamui said, "These shadow clones will help watch for any sneak attacks."

Shaking her head at her student's well-veiled lie, Yugao marveled at how she could get so excited at the mention of a unique type of genjutsu. She did notice one thing though.

'I knew I wasn't imagining it! Those shadow clone's eyes don't look human; that's something I have to ask about. Is there a reason she'd rather use those instead of the sharingan for perimeter awareness? Clearly, the sharingan in the original's eyes are more focused on seeing Reina perform the genjutsu; that's likely why she made the clones.' Yugao pondered, her mind racing through the possibilities of these newer facets of her student. Although she would get answers later, this type of speculation was a good exercise in deductive reasoning for her.

Reina nodded seriously at the additional guard detail, secretly appreciating the diligence of this Konoha genin.

"Good. Let's be off then. We have a long way to travel and we won't be able to do it with near the speed we used to get here. With the pace we'll be traveling at, it'll take us about three days to clear this jungle, two to reach the fog swamp, and five to clear it. That is, if we travel with safety in mind." She explained, her purple pupilless eyes focusing in the distance.

The two Konoha Kunoichi nodded in agreement.

With that, the group started toward the northeast. Maintaining a brisk walk, the group took care to maintain awareness of the different snakes, centipedes and lizards around them. What really spooked them though, was a swarm of dark green marble-sized flies; they actually looked pretty similar to bees.

The very sight of them caused Reina's expression to change. She quickly raised her hand to stop the two other Kunoichi.

"What's up with those flies?" Kamui had watched Reina use a variety of sound and scent-based genjutsu to ward off the various species of venomous predators, so it was a little surprising to see her worried by a swarm of flies, regardless of how freaky they looked.

"Those are Demon Botflies. As adults, they feed on the ambient toxins at the upper levels of the tree line. If that were all, they wouldn't be too serious of a problem. The issues that we have with them are their breeding habits." Reina explained, her hands grabbing a sealed marble from a small compartment in her belt. Then, she threw it forward and to the left of the flies' position, baiting them to move away from the Kunoichis' chosen path. Quietly, the group waited as the flies noticed it and started moving toward it. Once the flies took the bait, she continued her journey forward, closely followed by a confused set of Kunoichi.

"Does their aggression rise or something?" Yugao asked, not having much experience with exotic insects.

Despite what most people think, Anbu aren't well traveled in exotic locations like these. They're focused on operations concerning the five great nations. This meant that their specialty tended to be dealing with people. They didn't explore uncharted areas. At best, they found hidden segments of well traveled ones; that's where their targets were after all.

Reina ruefully shook her head.

"I wish. No, it's their method of breeding that's the problem. They breed by laying their eggs deep in the flesh of anything with a chakra network; that includes humans."

"What!?" the two Kunoichi exclaimed, the surface of their skin prominently showing visible goosebumps.

"In human cases, they lay their eggs in your skin. Once they hatch, the larvae latch onto the chakra network and firmly attach themselves to it. From that position, they drink the victim's chakra and feast on their blood. The worst part is that it's almost impossible to detach them after they're discovered. They make it a point to make themselves an integral part of the victim's chakra pathways and can only be removed if they do so voluntarily. They've evolved to leave graciously to incentivize their victims to allow them the full time to incubate. Once they become adults, they sedate the victim by injecting a sedative poison into their blood vessels and emerge from the skin in the victim's sleep. This gives them the maximum time to adjust to their surroundings before they fly off. If multiple larvae reside in the same host, they usually come out at the same time. We're not sure how they communicate with each other, but they do." Reina explained, her form shuddering at the thought of being infested with those things.

Kamui and Yugao's bodies shivered at the reality of the potential disaster they could have unknowingly walked into. If Reina wasn't here, they may have discounted that swarm as an annoying, but non-threating brood. In short, they may have become victims. Kamui herself wasn't even sure whether she could be a victim of those flies, but she couldn't take the chance. Well, she refused to take the chance.

"You're really well learned Reina." Kamui complimented, glad to have such a knowledgeable guide.

"I agree. You're one of the best escort clients I've worked with. Not many know their homes as well as you. I do have to ask though. Why couldn't you have used your genjutsu methods to affect those flies?" Yugao commented, voicing her confusion at the change in procedure.

Reina chuckled.

"I appreciate the compliment. To answer your question, it's because those flies can absorb chakra from any area of their skin. Simply put, the chakra infused into the sound or scent would be eaten before it could have an effect on their minds. Therefore, our tribe crafted small bait balls that emit the scent of the blood-type we've found they favor the most. It's a precious commodity due to its expensive creation cost." Reina explained, her smile expressing the pride she felt in the achievements of her people. Not only had it taken a lot of sacrifice to find out this information, but hours were invested in the development of this method.

"An impressive ability. It's a similar method to what the byakugan uses, just in absorption rather than perception. I wonder if it could be replicated? I'm sure an omni-directional chakra absorption field has other applications." Kamui silently considered to herself, ignoring the shaking head of her sensei.

'I guess it's only logical for her to take inspiration from how these creatures manipulate chakra. From her perspective, someone with her abilities should surely be able to replicate anything they could accomplish. Yet another thing I need to inform the fourth about his daughter I suppose; I'm sure he'll love this one.

"Hmph" Yugao snorted, drawing Kamui's attention. "Only you could take inspiration from a fly."

"A fly that we're too scared to let approach us." Kamui tersely refuted. These flies were not comparable to other flies, so it shouldn't be too surprising, at least in her opinion.

"It'll still make for a great story." Yugao replied, only slightly joking with her statement.

"Anyways, while we travel, I'll see what I can come up with to mitigate these flies. If that bait is as expensive as Reina said, then we should use a less expensive solution." Kamui stated, shifting the subject.

"That's a good plan. We'll be traveling for a while, so it would be wise to make good use of that time." Yugao seriously replied, having switched away from the joking mood. Kamui was right, they needed a contingency in case that bait either ran out or didn't work, especially if they couldn't do much else during the slow travel.

Reina remained silent at the twos' conversation. Truthfully, she had doubts on whether the girl could even come close to developing a working solution. After all, the Kocho clan spent many generations slowly developing theirs. They had entire textbooks detailing the evolution of single techniques, so it was a little difficult to believe that Kamui would be able to do something comparable in such a short period of time.

'Good luck Kamui' She thought with a smile. If nothing else, she'd root for her.