51. The Recon Class

Yuji, Chomu, and Haru enter the forest. Every group has picked a random direction to search for the bells. So, they also picked a direction with the least number of students.

The trio carefully search their surroundings for any traces or tracks of those rabbits.

Yuji carefully scrutinizes his surroundings. He senses multiple gazes locked on his back.

'As I expected, there are a few students who would wait for others to do the hard work and will later seek an opportunity to seize the bell from them. Since Koga-sensei didn't state any condition or rule to recover the bell, then that means such unfair means are allowed to some extent. However, to attract the hostility of others, the moment we enter the forest looks like my two teammates are quite an eyesore in the class.' Yuji speculates.

"Look! I found something." Haru notices some footsteps.

"These are…" Chomu murmurs.

"There is no doubt, these are the footsteps of those rabbits!" Yuji nods.

"But aren't they being too obvious with these tracks?" He remarks.

"Yeah, that's kind of suspicious. Are those rabbits trying to mislead us by leaving false tracks?" Haru points out.

"That doesn't seem to be the case. Take a look at the depression of those footsteps on the ground. Rabbits are quite fast and agile. They run by hopping on their legs. Rabbit's hind legs are stronger than their forelegs, so the depression caused by the hind legs is deeper than the forelegs."

Yuji points towards the alternate deep and shallow footprints.

"Wow, I never knew that!" Haru and Chomu look at him in amazement.

"The orphanage raised some rabbits." Yuji makes an excuse.

The trio slowly follows the trails.

(Hey, what should we do about the group following us?) Haru whispers to them in a feeble voice.

(Someone is following us?) Chomu is surprised to hear this.

(You didn't notice them.) Yuji remarks.

(Yuji, you noticed them!) Haru is surprised.

(They aren't even trying to hide.) Yuji remarks.

(But why are they following us? Yuji is a new student and I don't have a good reputation in the class.) Chomu raises a question.

(They are probably here because of me.) Haru replies in a sheepish tone.

(You!)

(Yes, me! Although it may not look like it, but I have some experience in recon and tracking. I haven't spent seven years in the academy for nothing.) Haru boasts.

(That's not something to be proud of and why can't you graduate if you are strong?) Chomu questions him.

"Because I don't have any talent in Ninjutsu. I can't even perform the most basic clone technique.) Haru sighs depressingly.

"Wait!"

He signals the group to the stop. The tracks left by the footsteps disappeared.

"Where are the footsteps?" Chomu looks around to search for a new trail.

Yuji also surveys the area with a frown.

"Looks like we hit a dead end!" Haru declares and shakes his head.

"Bad luck! Looks like it was a decoy trail. Let's look somewhere else." Yuji also shakes his head.

"We spent half an hour nothing," Chomu grumbles.

The trio turns around and walks in a different direction.

A few meters away from the group.

"Tch… And here we thought we can reach the end by following him. Whose idea was this?" The leader of another group grumbles.

"My elder brother who just graduated from the academy told me that he is the best tracker in the academy. Was he mistaken?" One of the kids questions himself.

"He might be. There is no way someone with skill can't graduate from the academy. Your brother was surely mistaken." Another kid remarks.

"Tch… we wasted our time for nothing. Let's look for that Uchiha kid. He might find the bell. At that time, all four of us will overpower him and snatch his bell." The leader forms a plan.

They turn around and stop chasing the trio.

A few minutes later,

"Looks like they are gone!" Haru and Yuji heave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you noticed them." Haru stares at Yuji in surprise.

"Their hiding choice was quite obvious, and they were leaving lots of tracks for others to spot." Yuji points towards the mangled bush the previous group was hiding in.

"Hmm… you are right! But I didn't expect you to spot them so easily. Looks like you have some pretty good detection skills." Haru praises Yuji.

"My younger sister likes to hide in obscure spots every time I play hide-and-seek with her. So, I am pretty used to it." Yuji waves his hand.

"Hmm… you are right. Also, those morons don't know how to hide. Didn't sensei teach us that the first step to becoming a good recon shinobi is to hide your trail?"

"Huh… what are you guys talking about?" A clueless Chomu questions them.

"Looks like someone here didn't notice the enemies lurking in the dark. If you were on a mission as a shinobi then you would be dead by now." Haru shakes his head.

"Huh! Someone was stalking us." Chomu is surprised to hear this.

"I will spare the details. Let's return to our previous spot." Haru pats Chomu's shoulder. He immediately removes his hand as the sweat from Chomu's body sticks to his hand.

Sniff…

"You stink!" He closes his nose.

"Wait, a sec…" Chomu quickly pulls out a liquid vial from his pocket and sprays it on himself to suppress the order.

'That looks like some sort of odor removal agent."

"Why are we returning to the previous place again? Wasn't it a dead end?" Chomu wonders.

"That was an act from me and Yuji. Even though the footsteps end at that place, if you look closely, you will notice some claw marks and broken branches of the nearby tree. I suspect the rabbit hopped on a tree at that place." Haru speculates.

"Let's continue our search." Yuji nods.

-----------------------------

A few hours later,

Huff… Huff…

"We are finally here!"

Yuji, Chomu, and Haru breathe heavily as they return to the starting point.

"It's here!"

They dig out the bell from the roots of a nearby tree.

"We finally got it!"

The trio collapses on the ground with the bell.

"That damn rabbit! I will cook it in a stew. A fried rabbit doesn't sound too bad!" Chomu grits his teeth.

"That rabbit did a number on us!" Haru also sprawls on the ground with his clothes soaked in sweat.

Only Yuji has a slightly better complexion.

"That rabbit… it… it fooled us by making us roam the entire forest when the bell was buried right at the starting point." He sighs helplessly.

"It must have used some sort of technique to fool us. Otherwise, how could its trail be scattered all over the forest? How fast did it even run to leave these trails in such a short time?"

"Congratulation, you are the first and the only group to find a bell."

Koga walks towards them with a smile.

"Sensei!" Haru hands over the bell and leans against a tree.

"You all did a great job!" He nods his head in approval.

Koga takes out a flare from his pocket and lights it up to release a smoke signal.

Soon, all the students gather at the spot.

"Is that everyone?" He looks around to count their number.

"Hmm… where is that Uchiha boy? Not only him, but four more students are missing!" Koga frowns and turns towards Yuji's group.

"Wasn't he a part of your group? Where is he now?" Koga questions them.

"Umm… sensei, Akio separated from us at the start of the activity. So, we aren't sure of his whereabouts." Haru shakes his head.

"Hmm… so he didn't help you three at all."

"No, sensei!" Chomu shakes his head.

"I was about to exempt him from the task next week. But now I will make him complete his share of the task. This was supposed to be a team activity and yet he… Let's wait for them for a few more minutes." Koga frowns.

Fifteen minutes later,

"There are not here yet! I have already used three smoke signals." Koga gnashes his teeth. He takes out a whistle from his pocket and blows.

Soon, an eagle flies toward the group and sits on Koga's shoulder. Koga relays some instructions to the eagle, and the eagle takes off.

A few minutes later,

The eagle returns. It circles in the air at its position. Koga quickly follows after the eagle.

Half an hour later, he returns with five students in tow, Akio and the group of students who chased after him.

"YOU! It's your fault." The kid who is the group leader of his team walks towards Haru and grabs his collar.

"You misled us and almost sent us to our death."

Haru, Yuji, Chomu, and the rest of the students stare at him in confusion.

Before Haru could reply, Koga yells at him.

"Stop blaming others for your mistake. Do you think I didn't notice what your group was trying to do? You aren't the only group with such thoughts?" He glances at a few other groups.

The other groups lower their head in embarrassment.

"And also!" Koga glares at the Uchiha boy.

"How did you even manage to reach the entrance of the Forest of Death from this place? Although training grounds are connected, there is a long stream separating both forests. And why didn't you stick with your group instead of acting alone? Punishment is due for your course of action. And you four…" Koga glares at the stalker group.

"Did a donkey kick your head or something? How can you blindly follow someone, even if the latter is dragging you to your death? Forget about exemption from the task; your five will do three times the usual amount of work."