Strolling Amongst Stalactites

Trust

Last Time:

The bird with the bug watched them leave and flicked a switch on the bug's back that made the eyes close ... This bug was a camera!

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Yobaba made her way to Jade's home, but didn't knock on the door. She just watched through the window. The curtains were mostly closed, but there was enough of a gap for her to get a glimpse of the young blonde as she sat down to watch a movie with her mother. It was a peaceful sight to see especially since the scare the young girl had when she thought she saw the leaf anbu Dog a week ago.

It's actually for that very reason the elder in pink showed up today. She wanted to see for herself that Naruko was doing better before a meeting was about to take place. This stern untrusting elder has made it her mission to protect this village at all costs and that little girl was being hunted by outsiders. Naruko was a Cave villager and therefore Yobaba refused to take this situation with Jiraiya and Kakashi lightly.

After a few seconds she continued on her way. It took a few minutes for her to make it to the tower where Queen Reine lived, but for a woman of her age it wasn't too surprising. As she made her way through the halls she came upon Yumi, sporting her usual blue kimono, and Queen Reine ...

"The tapes seem to show very genuine reactions," Yumi said and ignored the snort from Yobaba who sat across from her.

Reine nodded, "It does look very promising. I received a report only ten minutes ago. Both Kakashi and Jiraiya have arrived in Firefly village. Our allies have eyes on them-"

"Then I will go meet them," Yobaba said suddenly as she stood up.

"Is that a wise idea?" Reine asked.

Yumi frowned, "You don't have to, you know? We can observe them from a distance through the eyes of our spies in the village."

"This is too delicate to rely on second hand information. I will approach them directly and see for myself if they're trustworthy. If they can convince me then Naruko will be fine. Do you have Naruko's medical file?" Yobaba asked.

"Yes and there's many of the drawings she made when she first came here too." Reine said as she handed a thick file over to the elder in pink before she headed out. It won't be a very long trek for her because the village lies just a few miles outside the chakra warping forest that surrounds the cave entrance. You could try running across shark infested waters to get to the island that is hiding the village of Cave. However, the cliffs surrounding the entire island that houses the village are guarded by ninjas and a near constant fog on the water ... and sharks. Let's not forget those sharks. The underground cave system is really the only safe way into Cave.

There's actually a reason for that though. Firefly village is considered an extension of Cave. It's a connection to the outside world that helps connect the village to clients. Also many of the residents are men born in Cave or the families of Cave ninjas who married someone outside the village and can't bring them into the main village because of the deadly forest. There are even cave systems that connect Firefly to Cave for trading supplies in secret or emergencies.

Yobaba casually went into the cave system and paused for a moment in the dark stone tunnels. The cool air of the cave brought back so many memories. So much time has passed in her life and it's not over yet. The elder avoided the traps that lead to the shark infested water and soon felt the roots of the trees above. She knew she was close ...

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"We're here." Kakashi said to no one in particular as he and Jiraiya went into the small village.