Chapter 6

The forest was dark, barely illuminated by the stars above. Silence saturated the area, not even the leaves made a sound. Atop one such tree, stood a figure with glowing green eyes. This was Ashidon and he eyed the enemy camp some distance away. He counted each person, marking them in his mind. Going through his mental checklist of things to be wary of. Finished with his observation, He quietly leapt from his spot in the branches.

As he leapt two figures followed him in his descent. Black creatures with the body of a man but with wings of a crow. Each of them had two crow heads with eyeless sockets. They also carried a spear in their clawed hands. They followed Ashidon closely, as if they were his very shadows.

Landing, Ashidon looked into the eyes of five figures. They wore the attire of a leaf shinobi, they were Ashidon's squad. Nodding to them he ran towards the enemy camp and they followed close behind. They moved like wraiths in the forest, silent.

As they neared the camp a black smoke began to manifest from Ashidon's body. The others paid no heed to the smoke for they had seen it countless times before and had grown accustomed to it. The smoke enveloped the group with Ashidon being the epicenter. They moved closer to the camp until they were just a few feet away, the darkness making them blend in.

Ashidon formed a hand seal and the smoke slowly began to expand and encircle the enemy camp. Once the camp was completely encircled, it began making its way towards the camp. It moved quickly and soon the entire camp was engulfed in the smoke. A few shouts were heard before this happened, but they were snuffed out, swallowed by the dark abyss that was the black smoke.

Once the camp was silent, the five moved in. They entered the camp and went about the grim task of slitting the throats of every occupant of the camp. They died without even raising a finger in their defense. A peaceful death if there ever was one on the battlefield.

Ashidon quickly receded the smoke and absorbed it back into this body. Once done they went about searching the camp for any documents, anything that would be useful as intelligence. Gathering anything of note they silently left the camp in the same manner they entered, silent and unnoticed.

They reappeared some distance away in a cave and got comfortable. Ashidon went to the rear of the cave, but not before creating a wall of smoke near the entrance of the cave. He sat back before addressing the others."So, did we get anything of note?"

"Well captain, it looks like supply shipments. Locations of other camps, that's about it." Sumari replied, she was the only female of the group. A young woman in her late teens with brown hair and brown eyes.

"As expected." Ashidon replied.

"Captain, it's been five days now, don't you think we ought to head back to the main camp?" Nakko asked, he was an older man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Yes, I believe we have lingered here long enough. The site has already been cleared and we only need have the main force occupy it. Though if we leave the enemy might return and set up an ambush for our allies." Ashidon replied.

"Do you think we should split up? Have one group head back to guide the main force while the other remains and ensures the enemy don't reoccupy the area." Sumari added.

"That is plausible, however there is an issue with that plan. The force that would return to the main force will have to navigate the enemy we left behind." Ashidon voiced his concerns.

"There is risk no matter what we decide." Katto said.

"What do you suggest? I was only recently promoted to jonin and lack the experience each of you have." Ashidon said while eyeing each of them in turn. They each locked eyes with each other in amazement before looking back to Ashidon. After the ambush five days ago they had decided to elect Ashidon as acting captain. He was best suited to lead a scouting operation after all. But to so easily admit his own shortcomings, they were impressed by his awareness.

"Captain, I suggest you, Katto and Gamba head back to the main force. With your skills you should be able to navigate the enemies we left behind. And should you choose to eliminate them along the way I believe you can handle it. The rest of us will remain here, as I am the only other sensor in the group it doesn't make sense for the both of us to be in the same group." Sumari finished.

"Your reasoning is sound, Sumari senpai. Then we will follow your judgment, we split at first light. I'll be leaving behind three ghosts to bolster you numbers. I know you can't see them, and I'm still working on that, but think of them as a shadow that will cover your blindspot." Ashidon said.

"I understand, captain. Since you have a long road ahead, I'll take the first watch." Sumari finished.

"Thank you, Sumari senpai." Ashidon replied before heading to the rear of the cave and laying down to sleep. Katto and Gamba followed suit and promptly laid down for sleep.

Ashidon was deep in his thoughts, He thought on the events since coming to this world. In the span of two weeks he had done many things and his power continued to grow with each soul he absorbed. His two black ghosts, which he took to calling them his raven guard, were at mid jonin level. His crows were at high chunin level and he believed at some point he would be able to make them visible at will.

His void smoke became his most used ability by far. And he was finding new applications for it every day. His personal strength could only be counted at high chunin level, but he wasn't the front line fighter anyway. He would use his ghosts as the vanguard while imobilizing the enemy with his void smoke. His sensory abilities made sneaking up on him nearly impossible so he was confident in his fighting style. Though he would remain vigilant as he was still vulnerable.

Before he drifted off to sleep he smiled, he was a quarter of the way towards unlocking his final ability. He couldn't wait to unveil it to the shinobi world, these thoughts accompanied him to the land of dreams.