Chapter 47: Exploration

Feeling someone shake me, I quickly opened my eyes and looked around.

Seeing Anko smirking down at me, I stretched before collapsing into her embrace, ignoring how her hands roamed freely over my body.

Yawning, I sighed when I felt Kurenai hug me from behind, and after allowing my two girls to get their fill, I untangled myself from their embraces, much to their disappointment.

Quickly popping a nutrient pellet, I set about packing up everything in the room.

Anko and Kurenai sat at the table, watching me work before following me outside.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, I turned to Kurenai and said "Lead the way. We'll follow the streams and look for any signs of the tribe."

Nodding, Kurenai led us into the forest, taking us to the clearing from yesterday before turning north.

Jumping from tree to tree, we eventually reached the cluster of streams she found, and upon dropping to the forest floor I looked at each stream.

Seeing them all flow further west, I smiled before jumping back into the trees. Anko and Kurenai appeared beside me, and after giving a few hand signals we spread out, following the streams as best we could.

Staying a decent distance above the forest floor, we passed many animals, ranging from the rabbits we saw at the edge to large bears lumbering between the trees. Not only furry creatures either, as I watched a large snake slither underneath a root, a slight bulge in its stomach.

The streams slowly widened, before merging together into a singular river.

Smiling, I looked around the riverbank, noticing various animal tracks on the soft sand. Sadly, I couldn't see any footprints, so either we were still to close to the edge to find the tribe or they were just that good at moving through the forest.

Feeling Anko and Kurenai appear beside me again, I jumped further up into the tree, where we could speak without much worry.

"Alright, so we follow the river up, before spreading out and looking around. If you find either the settlement or a group of them, mask your chakra and hide, before making your way back here. Understood?"

Seeing them nod, I smiled at them before dropping back down closer to the forest floor, before making my way up along the bank.

Various animals would gather at the rivers edge, drinking from the crystal clear water before making their way back into the forest. The further we went, the larger the animals became.

Still, even with the abundance of animals, we couldn't see any signs of people.

Having traveled for almost half an hour, I signaled for Anko and Kurenai to spread out, watching as Anko jumped from one side of the river to the other, while Kurenai melded into the trees, disappearing from my sight.

I looked up river, seeing how it got wider and wider, and decided to follow it.

The deeper I went, the larger everything became, and the air grew thicker with more and more chakra.

I took in a shuddering breath, stopping as I took a moment to allow my body to adjust to the over abundance of chakra.

Leaning against the trunk of the tree I was in, I looked around, observing animals moving between trees as they avoided one another.

I could hear various growls and snarls, as well as the beating of wings and buzzing of insects. It was much louder than the forests edge, and I had to try hard to separate the various noises from one another.

Taking in a deep breath, I resumed my journey, keeping the river on my right as I carefully jumped from tree to tree.

Frowning, I realized that the forest was thinning out, and that the number of animals in the area had dropped considerably.

As I was about to jump to the next tree, I heard an animal cry out in pain. Turning, I watched as a large deer stumbled into a tree, three arrows sticking out of its hide.

Quickly masking my chakra, I stood as still as possible as I watched a group of four women stalk their way out of the bushes below.

Dressed in animal hides, they wielded metal weapons that gleamed blue, and I watched as pure chakra coalesced around one woman's axe.

They had olive skin which was covered in various tattoos, all differing colors. One of the women, the one with the axe, had more tattoos than the others, and her neck was adorned with three necklaces laden with animal teeth and claws. All four of them had long black hair, pulled into a braid that was decorated with bones and feathers.

Moving towards the deer, she raised her axe and brought it down, cleanly cutting through the deers thick neck.

Ignoring the spray of blood, the woman gestured for her three younger companions to come closer, where she then handed one the deer head, while the other two lifted up the large carcass.

Each one of the girls felt like a Chunin, while the woman with the axe was definitely a Jonin. I lowered my breathing, desperately praying that they wouldn't look up.

Flicking the blood off the axe head, the woman looked around the forest with narrowed eyes, scanning both the ground and the trees, before turning to follow her companions.

I watched as they walked further west, following the river before disappearing from sight.

I remained in the tree, waiting for a few minutes.

As I was about to move, I caught a glimpse of the woman moving through the brush.

I followed her movements as best I could, before eventually watching as she walked back out into the open where they killed the deer. Taking one last look around, she went back towards her companions.

Yet again waiting a few minutes, I took in a deep breath, wiping the large amount of sweat that had gathered on my brow due to the tension.

Quickly scaling the tree, I made my way back to the start of the river, keeping an eye out for another hunting party.

Thankfully the Sage was on my side, as I only saw animals and birds on my way back.

As I reached the meeting point, I finally relaxed slightly, the remaining tension in my body dispersing after I had checked my surroundings.

Leaning against the trunk, I only had to wait a few minutes for Anko to return, followed quickly by Kurenai.

Seeing me covered in sweat, my girls looked at me with worry. Smiling at them, I said "I think I found them. All the way up river, the forest thins out, and I watched a hunting party of four take out a deer before making their way further west. Did either of you see anything?"

Anko and Kurenai shook their heads, and asked me about the hunting party. I recounted what I saw, telling them about their looks and strengths.

"This place is coated in chakra; who knows if that woman was even among the strongest part of the tribe? She could be just some random woman for all we know."

I nodded at Anko, before saying "Well, lets go take a look. Remember though, we have no idea about anything, so be careful."

I led them back up the river, before reaching the area I was at earlier around an hour later.

Looking around, I signaled them for caution, and we slowed down considerably, carefully making our way from one tree to another.

While it wasn't physical demanding, the mental strain of having to be on alert at all times was great, and I could feel a dull ache spreading behind my eyes.

Shrugging it off, we made our way further, until eventually we crested a small hill.

Looking around, we saw a gigantic lake, with no trees nearby for hundreds of feet. Off in the distance, we saw a large wall, making a semi circle at the waters edge.

"Well, I guess we found the tribe huh?"

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Again, this arc will have many chapters like this, where little action will happen. I am trying to think of a way to mitigate that, but I can't really think of anything.

Anyways, the next few should chapters should be more... intense...

Enjoy~

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