Chapter 169: Vacuum Zones

Red Shoal Island

Night fell, and Sakura found herself feeling rather bored as she watched over the herd of cattle near the shore.

Earlier that evening, Kiba's display of techniques had drawn gasps of admiration from the Red Shoal islanders. Even Headman Soga had been left speechless by the performance. Afterwards, the headman had treated Sakura and her team to a meal featuring local delicacies. Sakura noted that the beef and fish served here were even more delicious than what she'd tasted back in Ise Town.

This only deepened her curiosity. What exactly was it about this island that could produce such effects?

"Ryuichi-san," Sakura called out softly, her gaze sweeping over the calm, moonlit sea from their hiding spot in a pasture near the water's edge. "Shouldn't the sea monster have shown up by now?" They were currently staking out the pasture that Ryuichi claimed was most frequently attacked. "You mentioned the creature attacks ships too, but we sailed for two days without seeing anything unusual."

"The monster typically moves at night," Ryuichi replied, his posture tense and ready. "This pasture has suffered the most attacks. It will come."

"Speaking of which," Sakura shifted on the rock she was perched on, "why are you here too, Ryuichi-san? Our team is sufficient for this."

"Ahem," Ryuichi cleared his throat, a touch of awkwardness in his voice. "While that's true... I also wish to see this monster for myself."

Oh, really? Even without Karin's sensory abilities, Sakura could tell Ryuichi wasn't being entirely truthful. But it didn't really matter, as long as he didn't interfere with the mission.

And so, Sakura continued her tedious wait, playing the patient hunter. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, however, were actively engaged. Leveraging their excellent scouting capabilities, Sakura had deployed them to patrol the coastline beyond the pasture. They each carried firecrackers – purchased earlier in Red Shoal town as a makeshift communication method – ready to light one at the first sign of trouble.

The night wore on into its latter half, yet silence reigned. The cattle in the pasture had long since retreated into their pens to rest.

Growing restless, Sakura began to pace. The sea breeze carried a distinct chill. Stepping outside the pasture fence, she spotted Hinata standing near the water's edge, Byakugan activated, diligently scanning the surroundings.

"Hinata, you should take a break," Sakura suggested, noticing the faint sheen of sweat on Hinata's forehead.

"I'm alright, Sakura-san," Hinata replied without turning, her Byakugan still active.

"Any findings?" Sakura asked, impressed by Hinata's unwavering focus.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary on the sea," Hinata reported, her gaze fixed on the waves.

"This is strange," Sakura muttered to herself, looking out at the moonlit water. "According to them, the monster harasses the island frequently. Why haven't we seen any sign of it since we left port?"

Hinata remained silent, having no answer.

Sakura felt a surge of frustration. If the monster simply appeared, she could deal with it directly. But with it staying hidden, she was entirely reliant on her teammates' sensory and scouting skills, as she wasn't specialized in that area. It was a somewhat humbling position.

"Where are Shino and Kiba?"

"They're patrolling the other section of the coast," Hinata answered.

"Alright. I'll go check if they've found anything," Sakura said, giving Hinata a nod before heading off to find the other two boys.

When Sakura located Shino, she found him crouched down, intently examining a few insects crawling on the ground.

"Hey, Shino! Seriously? You're disappointing me," Sakura admonished, completely straight-faced. "You can study your bugs all you want after the mission is over. Right now, we're on duty!"

"No," Shino corrected, turning around as he heard Sakura's voice. "I am conducting reconnaissance. I've discovered something, though I am not yet certain of its significance."

"Oh? What is it?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Have you not noticed that the environment on this island is particularly conducive to life?" Shino began.

"That's obvious, Shino. You don't need to point that out. Even I can see that," Sakura retorted impatiently.

"No," Shino pushed his glasses up slightly. "That is not my point. Since arriving on this island, my insects have become unusually active, significantly more vigorous than normal."

"I know that already," Sakura waved a dismissive hand. "I've suspected the island radiates some kind of energy that enhances biological growth – affecting the local flora and fauna. If that's all you wanted to say, then don't bother."

Shino looked momentarily speechless at being cut off. That was indeed part of what he intended to say, but...

"It is different here," he stated, getting to his specific finding. "In this precise area, that phenomenon is absent. The insects are not exhibiting heightened activity." He paused. "However, if I move just a short distance away, they become agitated once more."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Observe," Shino demonstrated. "Standing here, I can feel the insects' heightened energy." He took several steps sideways. "But standing here, they return to a normal state. Do you understand now?"

After the demonstration, Sakura grasped Shino's meaning immediately. If her theory about an unknown energy influencing life on the island was correct, then Shino had discovered spots—like vacuum zones—scattered across this beach where that energy didn't reach, or was strangely absent.

It was the kind of subtle anomaly that likely no one else could have detected without the sensitivity of Shino's kikaichū.

While Sakura had sensed the island's vitality and theorized about a special energy based on the Ise Beef, she hadn't found concrete proof or felt a difference herself compared to the mainland. Shino's insects, however, provided the first tangible evidence that such an energy field did indeed exist here.

This is a headache, Sakura thought. She wasn't a research prodigy like Orochimaru; she had no idea where to even begin investigating this. Furthermore, she couldn't yet be sure if this discovery was connected to the monster attacks at all. The two phenomena might be entirely unrelated.

"Shino," Sakura decided, opting for tangible action in the absence of the monster. "Walk around this area. Mark out every spot like this – these vacuum zones."

"You wish for me to delineate all areas where the insects show no heightened reaction?"

"Yes. Mark the approximate boundaries of these inert zones. Then check other locations nearby. If you find more, mark those too," Sakura instructed. With no other leads, mapping these anomalies seemed like the only productive course of action.

Shino set to work. As he identified the pockets of energetic stillness using his insects, Sakura followed, outlining them with circles of stones gathered from the beach. The zones varied in size, forming irregular shapes. On this initial stretch of beach alone, Shino identified over twenty such areas. The largest were roughly wide enough for three people to encircle with linked arms, the smallest perhaps two.

"Are there any more nearby, Shino?" Sakura asked, studying the marked patterns, unable to discern any obvious meaning yet.

"Not in the immediate vicinity," Shino replied, looking further down the coastline. "But there are indications of similar zones farther away."

"Alright. Since the monster isn't showing up, let's map as many of these as we can. We'll have Hinata and Kiba continue the watch," Sakura declared.

And so, Sakura and Shino became busy, meticulously outlining the dead spots Shino's insects pinpointed.

As dawn began to break, Sakura wiped sweat from her brow. They had worked through the night, marking somewhere between two and three hundred of these vacuum zones. Most were roughly similar in size. They were scattered across the beaches and even extended into the pastures near the coast, appearing most densely near the water and thinning out further inland.

Sakura performed a quick Earth Release jutsu, raising a pillar of rock to give them a vantage point. The four teammates gathered atop it, looking down at the landscape dotted with stone circles.

"See anything?" Sakura asked the group.

Hinata shook her head. "If this energy you speak of truly exists, Sakura-san, my Byakugan cannot perceive it."

"Yeah, I don't smell anything special either. Right, Akamaru?" Kiba added, glancing at his partner.

"Woof!"

"Considering only the distribution," Shino offered thoughtfully, "the pattern somewhat resembles the tracks of something large having crawled from the sea onto the land."

"It does look a bit like that," Sakura agreed, tapping her chin. "That was my thought too. But I dug into a few of the spots earlier – there's nothing underneath. No tunnels, no disturbed earth. So it doesn't seem to be physical tracks."

"Aaaaaah," Kiba yawned widely. "A whole night of nothing! I thought we'd finally get some real action."

"What are your orders now, Captain?" Shino inquired.

"Hmm..." Sakura considered. "You three go get some rest. According to the locals, the monster only appears at night and has never been seen during the day. I'm going to pay another visit to Headman Soga." She leaped lightly from the earthen pillar.

Time to gather more intel on Red Shoal Island, she resolved. They've lived here for generations. There must be things they take for granted, things they haven't noticed, that might hold the key.