Azula and company make it to the approximate reported location of the bandit hideout in a careful, but leisurely, manner after Hinata and Naruto’s departure. Shikamaru is able to sense movement through his shadow affinity, so they wait until late afternoon so that the sun lowers for the shadows to cover more area. This is Shikamaru’s strategy after losing their team’s primary sensor, Hinata.

Kakashi and Azula are only there to chaperone. Ideally, the kids can take care of the bandits on their own. Azula watches Ino, Sasuka, and Shikamaru carefully.

Perhaps to gear them against the threat of the tailed beasts, the skills taught in Konoha schools are heavily focused on teamwork and synergy, even to the detriment of individual strength. For example, they are always taught to plan a way for everyone in the team to be useful, to defend each other in the most efficient ways possible, and to develop unspoken coordination. To that effect, missions are never as important as the lives of their teammates, so they are careful every step of the way.

Sasuke probes the ground with an earth sensing jutsu to check for underground caverns and points to a large tree a short distance to the west. The three take some time to make sure they have their battle seals on hand and fan out to check the radius for traps. They each find no traps and regroup to cautiously approach the tree. Nothing happens even when they are at its base. Kakashi says, “Tree roots can be mistaken for empty space if you are using earth sensing jutsus. You may have only sensed a large network of roots instead of caverns. Check if the tree is dead and if the roots are hollow. That and empty spaces higher than the average height of a man are usually good clues towards potential hiding spots.”

“Yes, Sensei.” responds Sasuke.

Sensory jutsus produce tuned vibrations emitted to detect specific types of substances. Unlike chi, chakra is more precise, so it treats loose soil, packed soil, and rocky soil, soft rock, and hard rock as different. Jutsu are not as generalizable as something like Toph’s earth sense. Azula would require 3 different jutsus and a series of hand signs to obtain the same information now that Toph could obtain with a single stomp back when she had been a teenager. Jutsus also do not require high experience to perform, so despite the quality of the information sensing being high, it is difficult to interpret for young and inexperienced students.

Sasuke works the hardest out of everyone his age, except for Rock Lee, and is a rare genius at utilizing a variety of jutsus. He performs a sensory jutsu targeting wood and, upon obtaining the results, he says, “It is hollow!”

It is Ino’s turn next. She has used mental suggestion jutsus, a subset of illusionary jutsu, on several small animals and many bugs to compel them to enter the tree. The bugs and animals file down the tree, going for maximum coverage to set off any potential trap. Even if the detection seals trigger and they lose the element of surprise, it doesn’t matter.

Bandits are more so nuisances than actual threats above ground. The only major threats are the traps they set up in tightly enclosed spaces. The sad thing is that most bandits are utter morons for even choosing such a lifestyle in the first place, so teams often underestimate them. The rest is self-explanatory. Even a simple mass-produced explosive seal can kill an unsuspecting young teenager without many Gates open.

So far, Azula believes the team is going slow, but otherwise, has done well. Oddly enough, no traps are triggered by Ino’s sacrificial lambs, so they head down cautiously. Once underground, the team enters a chamber that is wide and approximately the height of a man. There are two tunnels in either direction so Ino sends some animals one way and some into the other.

Shikamaru has a difficult time dealing with how different his beloved shadows feel while underground. It’s like finally taking the panties off of his long-time girlfriend and seeing some huge pussy lips that he could theoretically fit his entire head into. Extremely awkward and unattractive! “Cheh.” He mutters with irritation.

One of Ino’s rats discovers a sound farther down the left tunnel. The team goes down together along a path dimly lit with luminescent seals and eventually hear a distant thumping sound. When they get closer, they hear a moaning sound accompany it. Sasuke whispers, “Someone is engaging in sexual intercourse.”

Ino’s delusions cause her to misinterpret what he said as ‘someone engage me in sexual intercourse’ so she bashfully says, “I’ll do it, Sasuke.” She doesn’t bother to wonder why he would say that at this moment.

Sasuke and Shikamaru look at each other with confusion. They think she wants to take the banging couple out by herself. Sasuke replies, “We should do it together as a team.”

Ino looks at Sasuke with surprise and then Shikamaru with hesitation. Seeing them both nod and look at her, she feels pressured, but her crush on Sasuke will not allow her to back down. She grits her teeth and says, “Okay..! I agree. When the time comes, please be gentle.”

Sasuke and Shikamaru nod, then point towards the couple, indicating Ino to begin approaching them for a ‘gentle?’ sneak attack. Ino switches gears immediately, thinking that the prior conversation had nothing to do with the current situation, and her long training with teamwork allows her to pick up on what they wanted to do anyway.

Azula and Kakashi watch that trainwreck of a misunderstanding be accepted without issue by Ino. They look at each other and giggle quietly. Azula comments, “How ironic, for a mind-reading Yamanaka heir to get into a situation like this.”

Kakashi states with a slight smile, “It’s a good thing. Dual cultivation with diverse partners is encouraged after adulthood. Helps stabilize the chakra and the mind.”

Azula growls, “..What are you trying to imply saying that to me..?”

“No! I mean..” Kakashi quickly whispers, “Science is one thing and preference is another. I was just stating the truth. I personally go with preference and have only ever dual cultivated with the girl I love even though I’ve had other offers.”

“Oh.. ok. Then why did it seem like..?” Azula awkwardly replies, “Well, never mind. Glad we resolved that misunderstanding.” To make some small talk, Azula asks, “So who’s the girl?”

Kakashi says nostalgically, “Rin. She’s not around anymore.”

“Oh..” Azula decides to shut up. Nothing goes right for her in a conversation with Kakashi.

Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Ino venture closer and stop next to a thin earthen wall that seems to have been erected only as a door for the couple’s lovemaking. Shikamaru raises his hand and closes his eyes to sense the shadows of the couple. Unless they are in a pitch black room, he should be able to sense something. Sure enough, he can sense two writhing shadows floating up and down, melding with and bouncing atop the shadow of a bed.

Shikamaru clenches his fist, indicating to his teammates that he has them bound with his shadows. Sasuke knocks down the thin wall by breaking through it with his body and Ino follows behind. The couple are taken by surprise and the orgasm the lady had been holding back is promptly released on their juvenile assailants. The couple break out of the weak shadow bindings, but Shikamaru’s approach allows his own shadow over theirs to supercharge his shadow bindings upon them.

Sasuke and Ino are showered in girl cum and basically had forgotten to attack for a moment. They wonder for a moment, ‘Should girls squirt that much if they aren’t peeing?’ Thinking back to their sex ed class, they recall that it is indeed normal for females to squirt when they orgasm and the quantity of their squirts can vary wildly in volume depending on the lady’s genetics, orgasm quality, and hydration.

The team finds that the couple in question are dirty and unkempt as most bandits are. What’s odd about the situation is that the girl has fox ears and a tail.

Shikamaru shouts, “Hurry up and take them down! I can’t hold them forever!” These particular bandits were only as strong as the kids, but that was enough for Shikamaru to have trouble holding two down at once in a full body paralysis with shadow bindings. Sasuke and Ino snap out of it and knock the two out with a chop to the neck.

Kakashi had been watching the action with his Byakugan, ready to step in if need be. He and Azula enter the cavern-like area at this time. The 5 of them take their time to observe their surroundings. There are miscellaneous items on the solidified floor such as materials for creating seals, travel gear, stolen packaged food, and most jarring of all, a shrine to Kurama, the 9-tailed Fox Beast. The shrine consists of an altar with a lit candle and a realistic miniature sculpture of Kurama’s massive form towering over a town with a halo behind its head. The girl’s ears dissipate upon losing consciousness, indicating she had used some transformation jutsu to mimic fox ears, but her tail remains. It is a well-designed prop.

Sasuke pulls hard at it and triggers a series of popping sounds as it exits her asshole. He sees four anal beads that had been keeping it in place and scrunches his face in disgust.

Disguising or cosplaying in forms that resembled the tailed beasts had been illegal for centuries. Some furries, those who have a sexual fascination with animal spirits, find this tragic. These cosplays tend to resemble members of animal tribes from the Spirit Realm more so than the tailed beasts themselves, but it had been bad for town unity and propaganda efforts to try to humanize the beasts in any way. Therefore, blanket bans had been instantiated upon all animal cosplay. Furries either had to go live with animal spirit tribes or risk being put in jail for expressing their sexual urges if caught.

Kakashi spits on the ground and speaks menacingly, “Not only are they furries, they worship Kurama! Traitors of humanity! You kids are lucky to run into these degenerates. You might lose a few days of sleep if your first kill is a bandit begging for mercy, but these guys.. Heh heh. Watching them bleed out is truly satisfying. Go ahead.” He uses a water jutsu to remove the fluids and lets them take care of the rest.

Azula is shocked at the glimpse of darkness she is looking at hidden behind the peaceful town she had been living in for a year. She knows this is a subjugation mission, but do they have to go this far? There is no evidence that these people killed anyone or did anything wrong other than joining a cult and stealing some food, which is very cheap even in town.

Sasuke and Ino hesitantly put their kunai to the couple’s throats. They gulp, grit their teeth, activate their Gates, and press down at the same time on the unconscious bodies. Sasuke pulls his kunai out, but Ino recoils backwards and looks like she is about to throw up. The two cultists immediately wake up and grasp their throats with desperate panic. Shaking her head, Azula looks away.

Sasuke’s victim, the man, is bleeding out from this throat and *urk*ing periodically, trying to speak before he gives up, looks at the ceiling, and waits for death to claim him. Ino’s victim, the lady, is able to get up until Shikamaru kicks her back down. Her fall makes the kunai that is still in her throat snag her spine, causing her to instantly die.

“Nice work.” says Kakashi as he confirms the man’s death 30 seconds later.

Azula looks back at the bodies with discomfort and asks, “Do we have any use for those or can I do what I want with them?”

Kakashi replies, “Not really, if we were above ground, we would bury them with earth jutsu so that they do not attract the tailed beasts, but here we would let them decompose.”

Nodding, Azula leans over and starts to burn them away. Similar to the tailed beasts, Azula’s consumption of the spiritual bodies of these recently deceased provides a great deal of nourishment to her Dao Core. The public has yet to become aware that Azula’s abilities are derived from an Animal Dao. Kakashi looks at her actions with narrowed eyes and slight suspicion, but he guesses that it must be a cremation ritual from Fire World.

The team storms through the rest of the cultists cavern by cavern easily. The ones who run are hunted down by Kakashi and Azula. She doesn’t kill them, but they end up dead seconds after she retrieves them to the team. Ino is also less disgusted by the act of killing them as time goes on.

These cultists have minimal shinobi training. Faced with death, they do not hesitate to surrender and beg for mercy. Azula would have put a stop to the killings and sent them to rehabilitation if it had been up to her, but she is a foreigner here. The predominant culture here, dictated by the towns and their populace, among conservatives and liberals alike, is to show no mercy to those who betray.

Only traitors who make it hundreds of miles beyond the jurisdiction of the towns, into the remote eastern isles or past the vast western desert, are free to conduct banditry without having to fear the retribution of the major shinobi towns. The shinobi towns in those areas are less frequented by tailed beasts, and therefore, have less of a unified purpose among their populace. Occasionally, they go to war with each other, so acts of banditry are common. For this reason, most normal citizens would rather live in peaceful towns like Konoha, and the similarly large towns around it, despite the threat of tailed beasts.

There is no sight of the cultist leader, but Ino checked the memories of several of them to develop a profile for a wanted dead-or-alive poster. With that, their mission ends. The base had been deceptively easy, likely because of its young age. The cultists had no time to set up traps, or whoever was supposed to set the traps was very lazy. Another possibility is that the leader took all the functional trap seals with him on the run.

On the way back to Konoha, after decomposing the 13-odd bodies that made up the cultist group, Azula feels jittery. It might be the high quantity of spiritual bodies her Core took in, but she starts feeling anxious about what would happen if she would have to go against the town one day. Even if she could escape, her relatives on Fire World wouldn’t be able to. She reasons out that maintaining good relations with Lo, Li, and Tsunade is of utmost importance. These moral dilemmas can take a backseat. She had only come here for power and not to doom her family!

(A/N: RIP furries owo”)