Chapter 171: The Instinct for Evolution

Red Shoal Town

Sakura felt a little unsettled as she hurried away from the headman's house. Although Headman Soga had been forthcoming, she hadn't learned much truly useful information. She'd initially asked about the torii because she suspected it might be the source of the island's mysterious energy, but Headman Soga hadn't seemed to know its origins either. The conversation had then shifted to Tsugami, which also didn't appear directly related to the monster problem.

Lost in thought, Sakura found herself back beside the old torii gate. With a nimble leap, she landed on the top beam and sat there, staring blankly.

The torii is the sun? What kind of nonsense was that? No torii means no light? It looks like a perfectly ordinary, albeit ancient, torii gate.

If Headman Soga had been lying to her, his acting skills were truly top-notch.

Sitting atop the gate, Sakura scanned the structure again, hoping to spot something out of the ordinary. After a while, her persistence paid off. Hidden beneath the decaying surface of the wood, she discovered several small holes arranged in fine, neat rows.

The shape of the holes didn't look like insect damage. Searching further, Sakura found another row of these tiny, precise perforations.

She leaped down from the gate, landing lightly on the ground, and peered closely at the torii's weathered surface. Now that she was examining it with intent, she could see more clearly. The extensive decay camouflaged the minuscule holes scattered across the wood. They were densely packed, and their collective pattern looked like... bite marks. From something.

These marks were old, decayed along with the wood itself. Without careful observation of their dense arrangement, one could easily mistake them for boreholes left by insects.

These bite marks... Kiba might be able to help with this. Maybe he can figure out what kind of creature made them.

No longer hesitating, Sakura dashed towards the ship docked at the harbor. Since the monster emerged from the sea, the team had decided to rest aboard the vessel for a quicker response time.

Once on deck, she found Kiba fast asleep and gave him a sharp kick. Snatching up Akamaru, she turned to run.

Kiba, jolted awake from a deep sleep, saw Sakura making off with Akamaru and yelled indignantly, "Hey! Give Akamaru back!"

"No time to explain, just follow me!" Sakura called back over her shoulder without breaking stride. The mystery of the monster's true nature had definitely piqued her own curiosity now. This whole island was thick with the dust of history.

Kiba scrambled after her, finally catching up to her at the torii gate, panting heavily.

"Seriously... huff... Since when are you the taijutsu type? I could barely keep up!" Kiba gasped, leaning against the torii for support. "And... why are we here? This... huff... this is just that old gate, isn't it?"

"Cut the chatter and look here," Sakura instructed, pointing to a section of the torii where the marks were slightly more distinct than elsewhere.

"What about it?" Kiba leaned in, squinting, but didn't immediately see anything unusual.

"Look closer," Sakura urged. "See these tiny holes? They're packed together. The pattern looks like bite marks from some kind of animal."

Kiba widened his eyes, scrutinizing the area. "Whoa, you're right! They really do... but the teeth must have been tiny."

"So? Any idea what kind of creature could have done this?" Sakura asked expectantly.

Kiba gave her a slightly exasperated look. "Just from one set of marks? How am I supposed to tell? Are there any other features?"

"Nope, that's it," Sakura replied with a shrug.

"Is this related to the mission?" Kiba asked.

"Could be," Sakura said. "I might have an idea what the monster actually is. These could be bite marks it left behind."

"These marks?" Kiba examined them again. "They look pretty old, definitely not fresh."

"I know," Sakura confirmed. "Remember Headman Soga said this isn't the first time the monster attacks have happened? It's possible these marks are from back then."

"Huh? But isn't the monster supposed to eat meat?" Kiba questioned, confused. "Why would they be chewing on this torii gate?"

"I paid Headman Soga another visit earlier," Sakura explained, pausing briefly. "I asked him some things, specifically about this torii. According to him, the islanders used to revere it as 'The Sun'."

"'The Sun'?" Kiba looked even more bewildered. "How does this look like the sun?"

"Hold on, let me finish," Sakura said patiently. "You know how the beef from Ise Town is so delicious because the cattle are raised on this island, right?"

"Yeah, I know that! It's not just the beef, the fish here is amazing too! Never tasted meat this good. Right, Akamaru?"

"Woof! Woof!"

"That's the key point," Sakura stated, her expression serious. "There might be some kind of invisible energy on this island affecting the growth of living things, making them taste so good. It was just a theory before, but last night, Shino's insects confirmed it. There is a unique energy signature on this island, and this torii gate is the source."

"This...? But it looks like plain old wood," Kiba said, sniffing cautiously at the pillar.

"I know, it does," Sakura agreed, gently touching the torii. "But what convinced me were Headman Soga's words combined with these bite marks. He said this torii represents light, that without it, the island would fall into darkness. I didn't understand what he meant at first, not until I found these marks."

"What do the bite marks have to do with the torii being the 'sun'?"

"It's just speculation, but there might be a connection," Sakura mused. "If this torii really is the source of that mysterious energy, perhaps it attracts the monsters, and they try to consume that energy by gnawing on the wood. If that's the case, Soga calling it 'The Sun' starts to make a strange kind of sense. Because the energy radiating from the torii affects the whole island, it makes plants and animals thrive, providing abundant food for the residents. But since the island had no written language, history was passed orally. Gradually, the 'life-giving energy source' might have been metaphorically compared to the sun, something indispensable. Passed down generation after generation, it eventually became the belief Soga shared – that the torii is the sun." Sakura carefully pieced together the observations and information she'd gathered over the past two days.

"So... you think the monster definitely left these bite marks?" Kiba asked, still uncertain.

"It's a strong possibility," Sakura replied. "After all, the most primal biological instinct is evolution – seeking resources to become stronger. Kiba, can you tell anything about the creature from these marks?"

"Hmm..." Kiba studied the marks again intently. "It's tough to say. I've never seen bite marks quite like this. If we were back in the village, I could check the clan records, might find something there." He scratched his head.

"We don't have time for that now," Sakura said, a little disappointed. "Can you at least tell what type of creature it might be? Mammal, reptile...?"

"Looking at the size of the holes, they're about as fine as senbon needles," Kiba observed. "And they're packed incredibly densely. The alignment pattern... it resembles a canine bite, but no canine species has teeth this fine."

"Could it be a marine creature with teeth like that?" Sakura wondered, remembering the monster originated from the sea.

"I don't know much about marine biology," Kiba admitted. "But the distribution of the marks is definitely canine-like. I can say that for sure."

"What about an amphibian? Could any of them have teeth like this?" Sakura pressed.

"An amphibian?" Kiba considered. "Probably not... but I can't be certain."

"Okay, keep thinking about it. There's plenty of time, and there are more marks all over this gate," Sakura encouraged. "Oh, right – it might be nocturnal. Try to think if any creatures fit those characteristics. I'm going to check something else out." Sakura wanted to investigate the location of the old Tsugami altar. Even though it had been dismantled, there might still be clues left behind.

She headed back to the ship. This time, she planned to bring Hinata along; the Byakugan might reveal something hidden. disturbing Hinata's rest was necessary for the mission, unfortunately.

When Sakura reached the ship, however, Hinata and Shino were already awake and preparing to disembark.

"Oh, you're both up?"

"Mm. Sakura, you rushed off with Kiba earlier. Did you find the monster?" Hinata asked gently.

"Haha, no, not yet. Sorry if we woke you."

"It's alright. You haven't rested either, have you, Sakura?" Hinata offered a small smile.

"Comes with being the captain, I guess," Sakura replied lightly. She took a small bottle from her ninja pouch and tossed it to Shino. "Here are your insects back. Thanks, Shino. They were a huge help, led to a bit of a discovery."

"Ah, since you're both awake anyway, why don't you come with me into town?" Sakura suggested. "I can brief you on the intel I've gathered so far."

"Okay, Sakura. Let's go," Hinata agreed readily.

Shino carefully secured the bottle of kikaichū, hopped off the ship, and fell into step behind Sakura as they headed back towards the town center.

Along the way, Sakura recounted her conversation with Headman Soga, her discovery of the bite marks on the torii, and her evolving theory connecting the energy, the gate, the monsters, and the island's history to Shino and Hinata.

"So," Shino inquired logically, "our current objective is to investigate Tsugami?"

"Right," Sakura confirmed, feeling a surge of self-satisfaction. "Even if it's not directly related to the monster, the more we understand about this island's past, the better our chances of uncovering useful intelligence."

She was, admittedly, quite pleased with her own clever deductions today. Sakura practically puffed up with pride.