Chapter 42: Land of Mountains

Like the previous day, we took turns keeping watch, and I was the last shift. Nudging my girls awake, I quickly placed a nutrient pellet in my mouth, with them doing the same.

Stretching, I moaned slightly from my tense muscles loosening slightly. Sleeping in a cave was quite... taxing.

"Anything I should know about this place?"

Hearing Anko yet again ask about our current location, I sighed.

"Did you not pay attention in the Academy?"

She shook her head, a grin on her face.

"I only paid attention to my Taijutsu teacher. Her name was... Hoshiko Hyuga. She had some nice breasts..."

Seeing the reminiscent light in her eye, as well as the slow rising of her 'leg', I glared at her before sighing again.

"Kagero Village is located in the Land of Mountains. It was also known as Heat Haze Village due to the founding clan having a Scorch Kekkei Genkai. They were one of the minor villages that put up one hell of a fight during the Wars, and were quite strong. Both Jiraiya and Lord Third personally fought here, causing Kagero Village to declare a ceasefire. They were, supposedly, wiped out by Tanigakure, from the Land of Rivers. These mountains... well, they've seen a lot of bloodshed."

Shrugging, Anko looked uninterested in that little history lesson.

"So are they here or no? Do we need to worry about them or are they just a part of the past?"

I shook my head, saying "They should all be dead, but we should still be careful. They were still shinobi, after all."

Both Anko and Kurenai nodded, before making sure their gear was all in order. After double checking everything, we set out into the Land of Mountains.

It was the final land that separated the Lands of Wind and Earth. Like the name suggested, it was a large mountain range, which connected to the mountains on the Land of Earth's southern border.

Large, jagged peaks littered the sky, and a sharp wind passed between the mountains. With little vegetation, the wildlife of the mountains was sparse. We could see various birds creating nests in small crags and caves around the mountains, as well as a few small rodents darting to and fro. Making sure none of the wildlife were contracted beasts, we started the trek up the mountain, towards the west.

The wind was buffeting us; without the cloaks we would have been shivering already. Thankfully there were no dark clouds in the sky, meaning we wouldn't have to worry about traversing the perilous mountains in the rain.

Wrapping the cloak tighter around myself, I looked back towards the lush, green Land of Fangs. Sighing, I continued climbing the mountain, trying to ignore the cold.

We slowly traversed the rocky paths, walking on one of the few routes that cut through the mountains. These had been carved into the mountains way back during the Warring States periods, which was centuries ago. They were, supposedly, used to either escape the Eastern lands or move to them. It was a heavily debated subject among the various scholars in the Eastern Lands, but honestly? I could care less. I just knew that they were over a hundred years old, and led towards the Land of Demons. Whether or not they were still fully traversable was also something I didn't know.

Cresting over the small peak, we looked down towards the path to find it...

Gone.

This whole section of the mountain had been destroyed.

Gritting my teeth, I looked around, trying to find another possible route.

"Over there!"

Hearing Kurenai, I looked towards where she was pointing. It was a small path, roughly three feet wide. It was a bit above us, and would make it so we had to walk single file, but...

Looking towards the clean, smooth cliff that was in front of us, I sighed again before moving towards the thin path above us. Running chakra into my feet, I gradually climbed up the side of the mountain, eventually making it to the path. Looking back towards the original path, I saw hundreds of boulders littering the path for as far as I could see.

Waiting for Anko and Kurenai, I looked around, narrowing my eyes slightly. For some reason, my instincts were telling me we were being watched...

I continued looking around, but couldn't see anything. I sighed, keeping my eyes roaming in hopes of figuring out what was happening.

Seeing my serious look, the other two looked around as well.

"Do you sense something Koko?"

Hearing Kurenai, I nodded. I kept looking around, before saying "Just be careful now. Keep a look out. By the Sage do I hate these mountains..."

Slowly trudging along the path, I kept looking around, hoping to either see the end of the Mountains or whatever was making my senses flare.

"Anko, can you smell anything different in the air?"

Hearing her flick her tongue out, I continued moving, waiting for her answer.

"No... wait. It smells like... hmm... something burning over by the peak over there..."

Looking towards her, I followed her gaze, however I couldn't see anything. Taking a deep breath, I said "Well, let's keep going. That's towards the north, and should be far enough away that we shouldn't need to worry about it..."

They gave me a grunt of affirmation, before falling into silence.

We continued walking along the path, and the feeling only grew stronger the closer we got to the west.

Stopping, I looked around. It felt like someone was just a few feet away, staring at me with a mixture of anger and fear.

Ignoring the questions coming from Anko, I continued peering around the mountains.

The various caves were empty, with no movement inside of them. No shadows or shapes flickering by...

The crags and peaks were barren, with not even birds resting on them.

Narrowing my eyes, I drew my chokuto.

No birds? When they've been something we have seen this entire time?

I continued scanning the surroundings, before eventually grinning.

I saw the edge of someone's cloak billowing in the wind.

Nodding in their direction, I heard Anko draw her tanto and Kurenai grab a kunai. Placing a senbon between my lips, I looked over the large canyon separating us and the person.

"You saw someone?"

Hearing Anko's serious tone, I nodded.

"I saw a cloak over by that peak there..."

Nodding, we all quickly ran chakra through our legs before jumping towards that side.

Sticking to the edge, we made our way towards where I had seen the cloak, and slowly made our way towards the top of the peak.

Looking down, I pursed my lips when I saw a small plateau, where a group of people were camping.

A man in a long grey cloak rushed back towards the group, his arms moving frantically and pointing towards us.

The people stood up, grabbing weapons and warily looking towards the direction the man pointed.

They were equipped with various weapons, ranging from kunai to naginata. One short girl had a longbow in her hands, and it looked well made, as did the other weapons.

The people also held them with practiced ease, and even though they looked wary, they had a slight confidence in their stance.

Each one wore long, grey cloaks. I looked over the rest of their bodies, hoping to find some form of identification, but found nothing. They wore no symbols, no distinguishing colors.

Sighing, I said "Look's like they may either be veteran bandits or shinobi. They way they hold their weapons is too practiced and comfortable to be novices. So, what should we do?"

My girls were silent, and upon turning I saw them looking at one another.

"I think we should try to avoid them. They look wary..."

Hearing Kurenai, I nodded, before taking one last look towards the group. They stood in the same place, looking towards our direction. Sighing, I slid down the peak, before jumping back towards the path. Making sure Anko and Kurenai were with me, I started making my way down the path again, a small frown on my face when I didn't feel the stare again.

It was better this way, but I was so... bored.

Sighing, I continued down the path, towards our destination.

"Who do you think they were?"

Hearing Anko, I shrugged.

"They could be either Iwa or Suna shinobi, they could be bandits, they could even be remnants of Kagero Village. I have no idea. There was nothing identifiable on their bodies..."

Anko grunted, before saying "Well, I just hope they try something. They didn't look that strong..."

"Arrogant..."

Hearing Anko and Kurenai bicker, I smiled.

Minutes passed, with them continuing to bicker, before I froze. Looking over my shoulder, I saw someone quickly lower their head behind a rock.

"Look's like they couldn't help themselves..."

Sighing, I summoned my bow as Anko and Kurenai armed themselves.

"Come out! We know you're out there!"

Hearing Anko shout that, I gave a wry smile before looking at the rock.

Moments passed, and I saw a man walk out, two swords in his hand. Wearing the grey cloak from earlier, he looked towards us.

"Are you from the Major Villages?"

Hearing his gruff voice, Anko chuckled before saying "Maybe, maybe not. Why does it matter?"

He glared at her, before raising one blade slightly. More people rose from the surroundings, their weapons held at the ready.

"It matters because they are the reason we live like this now..."

His voice held utter disdain for the villages, and the others nodded in agreement.

Anko just shrugged, saying "Well, that sounds like a terrible reason to hate someone. Honestly, I don't really care. Are we going to fight, or are you all going to stand there looking pitiful?"

Growling, the man took a step forwards, his chakra flaring slightly.

"With arrogance like that... you must be from the villages..."

"Village this, village that... could you be more pitiful?"

I chuckled at Anko, while Kurenai just shook her head.

He growled again, before raising his swords.