15 Mysterious Enemy

Although it was said to be nearby, the village was still nearly a day away. Shino and Team 8 had been on the road for what seemed like forever. The weight coming from his back only made the journey feel longer.

The sun was high in the sky, casting a bright light over the rolling hills and the small villages that dotted the countryside. Scouting these villages with his bugs, Shino noticed the villagers have a tendency to hide indoors, as if afraid of something.

It wasn't long before they arrive at the village that commissioned them.

As they walked through the gates of the small village, they were greeted by the village chief. It seemed he been informed of their arrival somehow. He was an older man with a kind face, but his eyes were filled with worry.

"Welcome to our village," he said, bowing deeply. "I am the village chief. We are honored to have you here to help us with our problem."

Kurenai led the group and nodded respectfully in return.

"We are here to assist in any way we can," she said.

The village chief nodded, his eyes darting nervously around. "As you may have heard, we have been experiencing some strange disappearances here in our village," he said.

"Yes, we heard about it on our way here," asked Kurenai, "Can you tell us more about what's been happening?"

Well, they didn't really, but it sounds professional. Shino inwardly mused as he let his bugs discreetly crawl out to investigate.

The village chief sighed heavily. "It started about a year ago," he began. "At first, it was just a few children who went missing. We searched the entire village, but we couldn't find any trace of them. Then, a few weeks later, it happened again. Months later, even some of the adults started to disappear as well. We tried everything we could think of to find them, but it was as if they had vanished into thin air."

Shino nodded, his mind already racing with possible theories. Human traffickers? Root? Uncle Snake?

"Do you have any idea who or what might be behind these disappearances?" Kiba asked the obvious while sniffing around with Akamaru.

The village chief shook his head. "No, we don't. That's why we've asked for your help. We think this is no longer a problem normal people like us can solve. So, we are placing our hopes on the ninjas of the Leaf Village, and we're hoping that you can find out what's happening here."

Kurenai nodded in acknowledgment as he red eyes swept around.

Hinata bowed slightly. "We will do our best," she said.

With that, the village chief led them to a small building on the outskirts of the village. Inside, there were several maps and charts spread out on a table, along with a few other village elders who were there to help with the investigation. After bowing respectfully, he left the group to their own devices.

Kurenai sensei, as a Jonin, immediately went to work, "I'll leave the investigation here to you three. I'll see if I can find anything in the dark."

With that announcement, she sunk into the ground. Who knows where she went to spy on others.

"Yo, I'll take Akamaru out for a walk. Maybe we'll sniff something unusual," Kiba said as he casually walked out with hands on his head.

It was doubtful if he could investigate anything, but Shino was sure he was escaping from the table of charts and maps. Well, can't blame him. There were memories of topography education in his mind, but even Shino can't understand some of the scribbles on these 'custom' maps.

Hinata on the other hand stared at the maps with interest. It seems she understood the scribbles. Perhaps topography was part of the education for the noble Hyuga clan. After all, if their eyes let them see terrains but not being able to recognize or accurately describe them, that would be embarrassing.

Shino, on the other hand, sent out his insects to scout the area. He wanted to get a sense of the village's surroundings and see if he could pick up any clues. If he really picks up any clues that points toward certain groups, then he can only do his best to advise Kurenai sensei to give up the mission.

As he watched his insects fly off into the distance, Shino couldn't help but recall the village of their first mission and feel a sense of familiarity. Perhaps this event was more wide-spread than they thought, but how come it wasn't until now that the investigators were sent out?

Strange. However, Shino didn't have any info to speculate any further. He could only take things step by step.

After a few hours of investigating, the team reconvened to discuss their findings. Kurenai had found several areas where the disappearances seemed to be centered, while Shino had discovered a strange scent in the air that he couldn't quite place.

As they shared their information, the village chief listened intently, nodding along with their every word. "This is all very helpful," he said. "But we still don't know what's causing these disappearances."

Suddenly, Shino's insects returned to him in a flurry, buzzing around his head. He pretended to listen to their buzzing, as if he was trying to decipher what they were trying to tell him.

In reality, their recorded information was already telepathically transferred back to him. Although there were no visuals, he understood what his little friends were trying to convey.

"What is it, Shino?" asked Kiba, noticing the commotion

He closed his eyes and allowed some time for himself to find the words to convey.

"There's something in the forest," he said, opening his eyes. "Something-"

The village chief's eyes widened in shock. "The forest?" he said. "But that's where we've been searching all this time. We've never found anything."

Shino adjusted his glasses. Well, he was used to it. Shino nodded and continued.

"It's possible that whatever is causing the disappearances is hiding from you, but my ins-."

"So, it's in the forest. That's all we need to know. Alright, let's go monster hunting, Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed in excitement.

Kurenai looked at Shino, then at the village chief. "We should go and investigate," she said. "If there's something in the forest, then that might be our best lead."

The village chief nodded. "Yes, I agree," he said. "But please be careful. We don't know what kind of danger might be lurking in there."

With that, the team set out towards the forest. As they walked, Shino's insects continued to buzz around him, guiding him towards their destination by following the scent. Kiba also had Akamaru sniff around, only to get a whimper from him.

It seems even the dog detected something out of the ordinary. The forest did appear a bit gloomy as faint cries seemed to be carried by the wind to their ears. Outside of this, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

But then, as they approached a clearing in the forest, they saw something that made their blood run cold.

There, in the center of the clearing, was a strange structure made of stones and bones. It was like an altar of some sort, nothing they had ever seen before. At least, Shino never remembered seeing it in the anime. However, it was clear that it was the source of the strange scent that Shino's insects had detected came from here.

As they approached the structure, they noticed something else. There were cages scattered around the clearing, each one containing a person or a child. They were all alive, but they looked terrified.

Kurenai motioned for the team to stay back, then approached one of the cages. "What's going on here?" she asked the person inside.

The person, a young woman, looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "We don't know," she said. "One minute we were walking through the forest, and the next thing we knew, we were here."

Kiba approached and squatted down before another cage this one containing a small child. "What happened to you?" he asked.

The child, a boy no older than six, looked up at him with a scared expression.

Hinata followed up with a soft voice, "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. You can tell us, we can help you."

The boy hesitated. Kiba scratched his head before putting Akamaru in front of him, "Akamaru, you tell him."

"Arf! Arf!" Akamaru cutely barked as his tail wagged.

Seeing the cute Akamaru, it seemed to have relieved of some of the boy's tension.

After hesitating a bit, he then replied, "I was playing with my friends in the woods," he said. "And then someone grabbed me from behind and put me in here. I only remember that bad guy saying they need more people."

It was clear that they had stumbled upon the source of the disappearances. But who was behind it?

As they continued to investigate, they noticed something else. There were strange markings on the walls of the structure, markings that none of them recognized.

Kurenai approached one of the markings, examining it closely. "This isn't just any kind of marking," she muttered with furrowed brows. "This seems like Fuinjutsu, but not quite? It seems a bit familiar."

Shino raised an eyebrow.

"Sealing technique? It doesn't look like anything is sealed under those bones, Kurenai sensei," Kiba chimed in.

Kurenai furrowed her brows deep in thought. Her red eyes scanned the markings once more before she utter, "Could it be remnants from that group?"

"Kurenai sensei?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

Kurenai hesitated for a moment before speaking. "They're a group of ninja who practiced a forbidden jutsu," she said. "It was a jutsu that allowed them to control people's minds and make them do their bidding."

Kiba looked at her in shock. "You mean...like mind control? Like Ino's clan?" he said.

Kurenai shook her head. "No. Rather than mind control, its more accurate to say corpse puppet."

Hearing this, Shino squinted his eyes as he swept them over the cages nearby. He noticed that some of them were strangely… quiet. Bugs began to discreetly spill out from his body and flowing on the ground…

"Corpse puppet? What' ya mean, Kurenai sensei?" Kiba asked, both his and Akamaru's head tilted a bit to show their confusion.

"Literally. Unlike the Yamanaka clan's mind control, this one is an unfinished forbidden jutsu that completely wipes out the will of the sacrifice, turning it into a living corpse with enhanced strength but no intelligence, completely under the control of the caster," Kurenai said with a solemn face.

"What, how could that be-" Hinata exclaimed in a soft voice.

"Yea, Kurenai sensei, I've never heard of this jutsu," Kiba exclaimed.

"That's because they should have been wiped out long ago. However, seeing this case, it seems there are some remnants who survived…"

"Then, then, Kurenai sensei, what about these people?" Hinata asked hesitantly while fidgeting her fingers.

"Yo, Hinata, they look fine to me," Kiba comforted.

Shino adjusted his glasses, "I'm afraid-"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of splintering wood echoed through the clearing, sending shivers down the spines of the team members. As the wooden cages crumbled, the pale, lifeless bodies within began to stir.

These were not ordinary bodies - their skin was pallid, their eyes dull and pupil-less. They moved with a slow, uncanny stiffness, their limbs creaking and cracking with each step.

Shino felt a wave of both fascination wash over him. Were these creatures truly what they appeared to be? Zombies?

Moments before, they still looked like normal humans, but now their appearance alone was enough to make the bravest warrior's blood run cold. They looked like corpses that had been unearthed from a long-forgotten tomb, their skin stretched taut over their bones, their limbs twisted and gnarled.

As the creatures stumbled out of their broken cages, their movements became more pronounced, their moans filling the air with a sense of impending doom.

His insects seemed wary of these creatures, conveying a sense of disgust because these corpses actually didn't have chakra!

On the other hand, Shino's pet Zerg wriggled and buzzed with anticipation, eager for the chance to feast on their decaying flesh. It seems they had something within them that could be useful for the horde's evolution!

What could it be? Shino had an excited glint in his eyes, anticipating the spoils of the battle.

Of course, no one noticed. Everyone else had tensed up, ready for battle.

Kurenai looked around the clearing, her red eyes scanning the forest. "It seems this was a trap meant for us- get ready for battle."

"Yes, Kurenai sensei!" (x3)