Skytop Scavenger (Solo Mission)

The air was crisp with a dry heat. Unlike usual, Zettai wasn’t inside the training barracks. Instead, he was on the surface outside the entrance. Today was a day for the future War Ender to take a mission. He had plucked a D rank off the village request board to find a specific bird egg shell for pigment manufacturing. He had also decided this would be a perfect time to try and learn a new skill. This time, he planned on trying something unrelated to Fire Release techniques. Instead, he was going to practice his chakra control. This mission was the perfect chance to try a jutsu he read about in the library.

As Zettai wandered into the nearest wood marked on his map suitable for farming egg shells, he began to scan the branches for a nest. It was surprisingly difficult to spot them, their structures blending into the crooks that held them nicely. After several minutes, though, he found a pattern to it, and they began to pop up in his vision all over the place. One of the only issues was the mothers. They were particularly large and nasty, and he was forbidden from harming them. That, however, was a task for the new jutsu he wanted to learn.

Taking a deep breath, Zettai closed his eyes. Unlike when he normally called upon chakra, this time, he ignored the Fire Nature chakra that was found at the surface and delved deeper into his capacities. Finding the purer chakra beneath it, he grabbed it. Moving it from his core to the tips of his fingers, he placed the prints together and slowly pulled them apart. The chakra that had pooled there was pulled, but wasn’t of the correct consistency. It dripped and fell the ground as a viscous liquid before evaporating. Attempting again, he put a bit more solidity into the mix. What he thought was a little was actually a lot, and ended up gluing his fingers together.

Sighing, he knew he was close but wasn't quite sure of the mixture. He needed a different trigger to focus on. As he scratched his chin, the chain on his waist rattled as his elbow hit it. Glancing down on it, he grasped it to feel the surface texture. It reminded him of copper wire and the idea of malleability. That’s exactly what he needed. Placing his hands together again, he conjured his chakra once more to the tips before pulling them apart in one smooth arc. There they were. Binding his fingers together, semi-transluscent threads of chakra hung loose. Now all he needed was to figure out how to use it.

Glancing up once more at the bird nests, he reared his arm back and threw it forward, releasing a strand of chakra from each individual finger. They flew without much resistance before striking the nest itself. Freezing in place, Zettai quickly exhaled before releasing the threads. They evaporated in a moment, leaving the nest undisturbed. Trying again, he aimed a little higher and managed to snag onto the top of a small egg. Carefully pulling his index finger back, the egg flipped out of the nest. Pulling the rest of his hand back, the rest of the threads aligned with the egg as he reeled it in.

Holding his prize up into the sky, Zettai peeked into the yolk, the sun as his blacklight. It was empty, showing no signs of fertilization. It was a successful claim! Placing the egg carefully in a small pouch attached to his thigh, he moved on down the woods. It was important to not take too many eggs from the same area or you would enrage the locals. Still, there were many nests around, and it wasn't long before Zettai used his new skill to acquire the appropriate number of eggs. Their color matched the sky perfectly, and would be excellent for grinding into a dye.

As Zettai circled around to return home, he heard a great, thundering sqwuaking. Behind him, a flock of angry female birds were flapping their feathered butts off as they swooped toward him. Taking off, Zettai wasted no time in scrambling out of there as his feet pounded along the forest floor. Narrowly, he evaded the birds and returned to the receptionist. Greeting her with a pleasant smile, he placed the pouch of eggs on her counter, along with the ad. She politely took both and paid him his reward. Pocketing the xel, Zettai’s stomach growled loudly. It turned out he had worked up quite an appetite running from the birds. Jingling the xel in his pocket, he turned toward the market, his mind lost to his lunch fantasies.