Like a fleck of dust caught in a sunbeam, the point of light floated through the night sky. The burning gauze eventually all fell away, yet the skull-shaped artifact within remained afloat. A jutsu-aided cushion of air supported the weight of the skull even as it drew farther away from its source, but bit by bit the power keeping it airborne began to fade. By the time gravity once again won out, the object had already grown dark and moved a significant distance away from the unfolding fight below. The skull plummeted back to the earth with little fanfare. Once the artifact descended below the tree line and disappeared into the large leaves of the forest it might as well have fallen straight into the ocean. Not a trace of it remained to be tracked.

Any pair of eyes searching the horizon that night no doubt would have spotted its trajectory, though. Little balls of flame were hard to miss especially on cloudy nights. It wasn't quite the signal some were waiting for- Daisuke, after all, was much more famous for his overt and flashy incineration techniques. Those keeping an eye on the sky anticipated something much more dramatic: a massive pillar of green flame from his Hellfire, perhaps a dervish of wind from his Divine Wind, or maybe even one of those illusory unnamed jutsu that Daisuke always claimed to have up his sleeve. What they got was something that was scarcely more impressive than a cigarette butt burning out.

“Maybe he's tired.” Ringo mumbled entirely to herself. She held a shiny and freshly polished knife up to the campfire's light, squinted at it, then went back to cleaning it. “He wouldn’t be the only one.”

“No, no, we should stay put. That little fireball was clearly a trap.” One of the present Annitou soldiers, sporting the full combat regalia like his comrades, stopped for a moment from chugging from his canteen to sputter his response out at the squad's captain. “How are we going to surround General Daisuke if we're all running off after every distraction? We keep blundering into those stupid animal traps and if we step into another beehive I’m going to lose my mind. The Green Ghost probably rigged the whole jungle to go up in flames if we venture out too far, he’s famous for that kind of thing.”

“I didn't realize you lot were a bunch of cowards!” The captain, whose uniform looked indistinguishable from the rest of the men under his command, snorted out yet another rejoinder. “Daisuke ain't some heavenly sent chosen one. Maybe he looks like that to you grunts, but he's a man just like anyone else.” The captain briefly glanced towards Ringo and hesitated, but kept going anyway else. “Half the Annitou Navy is out here to back us up. Someone has to be the first to make contact. It might as well be us!”

“The cannons aren't even set up yet!” This time the voice came from somewhere outside the radius of the campfire. “General Gou gave everyone specific orders. Besides, we know where he's headed, there's no reason to jump the gun!”

Setting aside the weapon and picking up another, Ringo kept her opinions to herself. To be allowed to tag along with an active Annitou unit was already exciting enough and she had no inclination to jeopardize that by doing something as silly as vocalizing any original ideas. Cadets rarely got to do field work like this- hunting a General of another country! The encounter with those Agents the prior night had left her somewhat worse for the wear, though. Parts of her skin still felt very tender to the touch after that whole being set on fire thing, but the best medical minds of Annitou (or whoever happened to have been on call that night) had cleared her to keep working, so it was all good! Besides what type of soldier laid in bed when they had comrades to save? Rest was for the dead!

And besides that, Annitou was getting to be very short staffed. Though it commanded a mighty Navy and numerous boots on the ground, its Agent pool was spread very thin. More Generals and Agents were coming, allegedly, but at the moment all hands had to be on both the metaphorical and literal deck. Leaving Camp Monog too understaff put the Navy’s ships at risk of thieves or worse!

With that in mind Ringo might have been sent out anyway, even if she hadn't begged for it. In the squad of fifty or so men she had been assigned to, Ringo was the only present cadet and the only one with a jutsu to speak of at all. That’s just how few Annitou could spare during this big mobilization. That meant Ringo was important! Kind of.

Depending on who you asked, her Bubble didn’t really put her on the same level as an Agent, or even her fellow cadets. Ringo ranked at maybe a third of what her peers were capable of, or maybe a quarter. Compared to throwing fireballs, summoning tornadoes, or conjuring zombie armies, Ringo's jutsu didn't quite fall into that category of ‘divine power’ that others like to claim they wielded. It was hard to believe something as dinky as her or Hajime’s abilities would have been considered gifts of the gods in the past- apparently, the gods gave away all the cool powers early in humanity’s history, and were really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days.

But that was fine! Fine! The soldiers eventually finished their meal break and were beginning to pack things up again. Ringo stored the weapons back into their respective packs as the men shuffled into formation to resume the march. Regardless of the slurs outsiders might throw at them, an Annitou soldier's most important trait was their loyalty. That is to say, an Annitou footsoldier held the remarkable ability to ignore individual opinions and to follow orders into oblivion if need be. These brave, unquestioning men would continue to advance to the graveyard regardless of any distractions! Despite the temptation of the flaming beacon in the distance! General Daisuke was dangerous prey, it would take the combined might of the Annitou Navy to bring down such a beast. They weren’t out to hunt for glory, but for justice!

And at any rate, the group had too many problems already to deal with. Teams of men swapped out every so often to pull along a single wagon that brought up their rear, a task normally completed by a beast of burden. Horses and donkeys, for a variety of reasons, simply didn’t exist on Jinchi- but who needed those when you had strapping young lads to exploit instead? Atop the wagon lay an artifact more powerful and deadly than anything found on Jinchi as well, an object whose individual might secured Annitou's strength among nations. For all the mystical arts, divine jutsu, and untold secrets the world held, no soul had yet to find a way to outsmart the most powerful and unbeatable of the island nation’s warfare strategies:

Getting blasted by a heavy chunk of metal shot out of an Annitou cannon.

Well, excluding that garbage General Daisuke had pulled a few nights ago. That had clearly been a fluke. Ringo gazed proudly at the long metal barrel of the squad’s cannon as it rattled with every bump in the path. The Annitou cannon was a peerless work of art, ignoring that little mistake!

The uneven jungle floor, with its knotted roots and frustratingly frequent boulders and cliffs, made hauling the cannon (and its necessary gunpowder) a tenuous ordeal. Progress was slow, but most of the obstacles were easily overcome by the addition of more manpower. Ringo offered to help carry it as well, but 'pulling your own weight' in this sense was quite literal. The small girl couldn't contribute much in the muscle department and had to content herself with very occasionally delivering canteens to the soldiers doing the most back breaking of the work.

But that didn't matter! Everyone helped in their own ways! Every bit counted!

By torchlight the group continued to progress. Their sweep had yet to come up with anything and none of the messengers sprinting between the different advancing teams of Annitou soldiers held any good news either. The massive combing of the jungle required that each squad had started at different ends of the island, fanning out from Camp Monog then reversing trajectory so that they could converge on one spot. Reports of some massive deforestation and a fire earlier that day had gotten everyone excited, but nothing else was found at the site. Some other evidence of fights breaking out hadn't turned up anything either, and it wasn't even clear that Daisuke had been involved. No doubt the jungles of Jinchi were teaming with rogue Agents looking to snatch away the island's prizes for themselves- but Ringo wouldn't let herself get her hopes up. She needed to be ready for the climactic battle with the General!

Even if her contribution would almost certainly be nothing but packing gunpowder for the cannons for the duration of the conflict. No, no- no discouragement here. Every person played their own part! Every drop of water came together to form an unstoppable tsunami! Just, some drops were bigger and cooler than others. It was nothing to get hung up on.

A sopping wet leaf from a large palm smacked her in the face as the squad moved into a particularly overgrown thicket and broke her out of her idle thoughts. Around Ringo came various grumbles about mosquitoes, or the mud, or the humidity. The air itself smelled faintly of ash. As the minutes turned to hours the black curtain above her began to fade and recede, the night’s impenetrable blackness shifting to the deep dark blue and purple hue of the very, very early morning. The graveyard was still perhaps half a day away but every moment that crept forward put Ringo closer to (hopefully) recovering her lost comrade Gekko and (not really) avenging her wounded comrade Hajime. Their progress was only so slow because of all the extra cargo they carried, Ringo bet that she could have sprinted back to Camp Monog in only a day given the opportunity. An excitement was welling up in her chest despite her best efforts to ignore it. This was just like all those stories in the picture books! Annitou forces, marching off to war against an evil foe! Those tales always had a happy ending, so she had no doubt Gekko would be saved and Daisuke dispatched. Anything short of that was unthinkable.

And then Ringo and her reunited team could go back to punishing people illegally getting onto Jinchi. Hajime would spend too much time fixing his broken spear, and Gekko could complain about the food, and at night they’d resume General Gounomouno’s harsh training regime! The future looked brighter than ever, figuratively speaking. Ringo still couldn’t see much since the torch bearers were pretty far away.

The captain called a halt to the advance. Not an uncommon occurrence, every now and then the group needed to take stock of their current location. Ringo exhaled a heavy breath as she came to a rest with the rest of the men. After some map consulting and lots of pointing into the sky, word got around pretty quick on the latest update. “That nasty weather system brewing before we left isn't letting up. Look at those clouds!” Attention turned to the few spots between the trees where the sky could be seen. The sun had yet to rise but the roiling overcast sky could be made out well enough from the way it obscured what few stars still twinkled. “Bloody hell, the mist is rolling in too. Keep the powder dry, I don't want us shootin' blanks cause you idiots weren't minding the stash.”

Despite the rumblings of discontent with advancing into limited visibility, mists like these were fairly common on Annitou's home soil. Had not General Yasumi once held off an entire invading force with a single ship through her clever fighting in the mist?!? This was the stuff legends were made of!

Yet Ringo could see where the anxiety was coming from. Their torches had done a fine job shining through the shadows of the night but weren't as good in the rapidly thickening white fog growing around them. Their path took them through a valley-like section of Jinchi, where this type of mist tended to congregate. It wouldn't make any sense for Daisuke to be lurking around here given the area's limited avenues for retreat, so really, what was anyone complaining about? If anything they should be thankful! Actually, Ringo thought the fog was quite refreshing! These were ideal conditions! Ideal! Think of how cool the pictures in the book would look with all this swirling fog amongst the spindly trees! It was the perfect aesthetic!

She could already see it in her head. Rows of perfectly in formation Annitou soldiers, weapons held at the ready. The smell of expended sulfur and gunpowder lingering in the air. The concussive sound of cannons firing off in sequence like rolling peals of thunder. Boom, boom, boom.

BOOM. A distant but still distinct single rumble trembled through the air. The entire company fell silent. That noise was unmistakable.

If any doubt lingered, another low, muted boom sounded off shortly after. Now the source of the noise was clear. Ringo’s squad wasn’t the only one deployed in the jungle, and somewhere in front of the squad was another deployment of Annitou troops.

And that other nearby squad were firing their cannon. The cannons that were not to be fired for any reason except to thwart the enemy.

A swift discussion broke out but was settled within minutes. “There’s only one thing worth firing at in this jungle!” “They’re engaging the General, there’s no other option!” “Everyone nearby is gonna be running towards them, we’ll all converge on him at once!” “Leave the cannon, we can come back for it!”

The captain cleared his throat and barked out his orders in quick succession. “We’ll send back-up, but some will stay behind to keep moving the ordinance. General Daisuke might choose to retreat once he understands the size of the force he’s dealing with. As we discussed, forward team, move out!”

For the duration of the brief discussion the cannon had not fired off again. Was the battle already been settled? Would Ringo arrive only to find they didn’t need her at all? Actually, that was almost certainly a given they didn’t need her, so really the worry was ‘is the excitement finally over’? Fruitless speculation. Ringo prepped herself and fell into line behind her assigned team, which was about two thirds of their original force. Any other nation might have left their youngest soldiers behind, but not Annitou! Age didn’t matter if you were a devoted patriot! Even so she was kept to the back lines as the reformed squad sprinted off into the jungle with renewed speed, aimed in the general direction of the original cannon blast. The back lines were not nearly as exciting. It couldn’t be helped, though. Ringo was one of General Gou’s personal cadets- nobody wanted to be the one to have to tell that absolute unit of a man that they had killed a soldier under his charge. The weight General Gounomouno could put on a person was tremendous, and the gravity of being the one to deliver such news...better to avoid the possibility altogether. So in the back Ringo would stay!