Spoiler:

OOC: If you are already on this mission, you can post in this thread if you like since Yamazu's monkeys will be keeping watch over the scene.

I.C:
Yamazu had been making his way leisurely towards the training fields where the woman listed as Arcadia Kinzoku was last seen going to, keeping a sharp eye out for any other clues or vital information that would assist in discovering his fellow jounin's current whereabouts.

At least, that was what he would be claiming he was doing anyway. Truth was, thanks to the heavy fog that had descended upon the Village, he had gotten himself rather turned around. Telling his comrades that he had managed to get lost in his own home was something even the easy-going Yamazu could not stand doing and so he was walking leisurely down to the training grounds, looking for clues and vital information.

The fog was pretty bad though, as if someone had sent it down personally to hamper his investigation. The thought played around in his head for a moment before he dismissed it. If the fog had been anything but a natural occurrence then there would be sirens and tons of other shinobi milling around, preparing for an attack. There was no way that this would go unnoticed if it was ninjutsu. Besides, the amount of chakra that would be needed to get this amount and thickness of fog would be insane. Although he knew that there were people out there who possessed such chakra. Suddenly, ninjutsu did not look so outrageous as a theory.

It was not long before he inevitably walked into something. With a crash, Yamazu fell backwards onto his backside. With a tut, he looked up to see what he had bumped into and it was with horror that he realised that it was the Memorial. Quickly getting to his feet, he put his hands together in prayer and took a minute to beg forgiveness from those that had passed on for so rudely disturbing their peace. The faces of his team-mates, sensei and master flashed into his mind as he prayed and with a sad smile he turned away, knowing he still had a job to do.

The fog was going to make this difficult, Yamazu knew. He was going to have a hard time simply finding which training field Arcadia-san went to, never mind finding clues to her location when he did. This would take a long time, even if he used clones. But maybe, with a little help from some little friends...

Biting down on his thumb, he made some handseals and slammed his hand down onto the ground. In a puff of smoke, ten small monkeys appeared, jumping around and chattering away to each other until Yamazu cleared his throat.

"Alrighty my friends", Yamazu said, rubbing his hands together. "We need to split up and look for any signs of a recent fight on one of the training fields. If any of you find something, teleport yourselves back to me and show me where to go. Now, let's do this!" he exclaimed punching his fist into the air. With a round of chittering calls, the group split up and began their search.


Yamazu sighed and bowed his head wearily. It had been hours since he and his group of friends had begun their search for clues and still they had nothing. It was not overly surprising however. Neither he nor the monkeys he had summoned where tracking types. That was something that really should be remedied. Perhaps when this mission was over he would make a trip to the Land of Monkeys and learn more from them. He had been so busy with missions lately that he had not had time for training. Maybe it was time to get some fresh techniques?

At that moment, one of the monkeys appeared at his side suddenly, pulling on his sleeve and chattering at him, pointing into the distance. Finally, something had been found! Hopefully it would not be like the last time, when the monkey had dragged him into an active training exercise and almost had him blown up. He proceeded to follow the small golden monkey, making sure to be extra cautious. But this time, when they came upon the empty field, there no explosions or flying weapons. The summon led him further into the clearing. It reached down with one of it's long, slender arms and picked something up, holding out a clasped hand. Yamazu held out his own and the monkey dropped some bizarre sand like iron into his palm. A frown creased his forehead.

This was odd to say the least. A quick search of the ground came up with more of the strange iron sand. Very odd indeed. This would be a rare, or at least specific, technique. If this was Arcadia-san's then this would indicate that she fought here with someone. Yamazu struggled for a moment, deciding whether to carry on searching or to bring this to the ANBU immediately. With a grunt of resignation, he brought the rest of his monkeys to him to watch the area in case someone disturbed it and took off in (what what he hoped was) the direction of Konoha.

He got lucky when he ran into an ANBU operative on his way back. He explained his findings and handed over some of the iron sand he had found. The ANBU operative claimed that he would take this news to the top straight away and took off. For a moment, Yamazu stood there. He was tired, and the sun was beginning to set. He wanted to continue the investigation, but even without the fog it would be almost impossible to look for something that he did not even know what he was looking for.

Yamazu would turn in, for now. He would sleep nearby in the trees as he usually did. The monkeys would alert him if anyone drew near. Returning the the training grounds with the iron sand, Yamazu found the comfiest branch and settled down for the night. Tomorrow, he would look for more clues.

A shiver ran down his spine and it was then the Monkey Sage knew. Wherever this investigation led him, he would not like what the end of the road held.

Yamazu sighed to himself. He had been searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of the one called Arcadia Kinzoku since the sun had rose over an hour ago and he had still found nothing. Well, not just him. The five of his monkey summons who had remained behind to alert him of anyone that came near whilst he slept had returned to the search alongside him, although at this point they had been of little help.

Yamazu had been unsure of taking on this mission at first, mainly because he had very little tracking experience or techniques that would help. However, since the Village was stretched thin thanks to the the disappearing act the Hokage had pulled off, he had reckoned that they would need all of the help they could get to find anything about this second missing persons case. In the hunt for the Hokage, the Monkey Sage doubted that the higher ups would have many men to spare looking for even a missing jounin.

Deep in thought, Yamazu missed a branch and slipped. With a high pitched yelp he fell, but managed to regain his footing before he hit the ground. Brushing himself off, he was about to move on when something in the brush caught his eye. Heading towards it, Yamazu felt the dread he had experienced earlier on returning at full strength when he saw what it was.

An Konohagakure ANBU vest.

Yamazu did not pretend to know every item of every shinobi in the Village by memory. But he recognised that vest. He had seen the person who had worn it. It had been non other than the current stand-in Hokage, Shihouin Uchiha.

What had happened here? From the looks of things, there had been a big fight here between two powerful shinobi. Could it be that it was Shihouin-san who was responsible for the disappearance of Arcadia Kinzoku? Another, far more chilling thought popped into the Monkey Sage's mind. Could it be that he was responsible for the Hokage's unexplained absence? Was this a play for power?

Without a seconds delay, Yamazu dashed off back into the direction of Konohagakure. Recalling his summons, he ordered them to spread out and find Shihouin Uchiha. A deep frown was etched onto Yamazu's face. He would get the answers that he sought. He would bring this mystery into the light and expose it to the truth. And if everything he dreaded was proved true...

He would bring this threat to his home to a permanent end.

[Topic Completed]-Archived