"Unlike traps for animals, setting traps for people requires more finesse. It's best to take the camouflage a step further and place an even more hidden trap right next to the first one. Most people, after disarming one trap, tend to let their guard down. The arrogant ninja lords are especially prone to this, so the chances of them falling for the second trap are very high."
Standing in the snow, Uncle Beard gave Kaito a summary after he had finished setting all the traps.
"Right," Kaito said, nodding seriously. He understood the principle, but he lacked the skill to set such a perfect double trap. Just watching wasn't enough; this kind of technique required immense talent and a vast amount of hands-on experience.
In that sense, Uncle Beard was a hidden gem himself.
After sincerely thanking Uncle Beard, Kaito returned to his wooden hut. His head was swimming with all the knowledge he'd absorbed today, but he had no time to waste. He splashed his face with cold water, sat back down on his bed, and closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the rainbow-hued space within his body.
"Arceus, I'm here to collect the rent!"
When he received no response, Kaito took it as a silent agreement. He stroked his chin, sizing up the differently colored plates, undecided on which one to favor today.
"Having too many choices isn't always a good thing."
Logically, the Ground and Normal types suited his affinity best, succeeding almost every time. The next best were Fire and Water. Of the remaining types, he had tried everything except Bug, Steel, and Ice, and had failed to learn a single move. He should choose from one of those.
The Normal type had too many miscellaneous skills, making it easy to end up with useless moves like Leer, so he ruled that out first.
The Ground type had quite a few useful moves, like Fissure and Earthquake, but those could easily cause friendly fire if he couldn't control them well, so he set that aside for now, too.
As for Bug and Steel, Kaito felt the chances of success were too low, so he removed them from the list. And with the Water type, it would be difficult to do any real damage with his current abilities.
So, the choice was between Fire and Ice.
"Hmm, I'll go with this one." After a moment's hesitation, Kaito stood before the pale blue Icicle Plate and slowly reached out his hand.
I've lived in a cold region for so long, and my resistance to cold is outstanding. Logically, this should work, right?
As he prayed, his palm finally touched the plate. In an instant, a world of ice crystals appeared before his eyes.
"Hiss~" Kaito couldn't help but howl at the sky. "This is too damn cold!"
In his sleep, Uncle Beard shivered and opened his drowsy eyes. He had been woken by the cold. He pulled his blanket tighter, felt the pressing need in his bladder, and sighed in resignation. He struggled out of bed and shuffled outside to the large tree by the corner of his house, pulling out his "equipment."
A trickling sound filled the air, and Uncle Beard tilted his head back in satisfaction. Suddenly, something cold landed on his face. He opened his eyes in confusion and, by the faint light on the horizon, saw white feathers falling from the sky.
"Snow..."
He shuddered, now wide awake, and couldn't help but cheer. "It's finally snowing!"
At the morning assembly, everyone's face was beaming.
Seven days had passed since the village had been sealed off, and they had been on edge the entire time. Now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Luckily, they hadn't encountered any outsiders during that time.
In the crowd, Kaito yawned, a smile on his face as well.
It's best that nothing happened, but it's a shame all my hard work these past few days was for nothing.
"Quiet," Captain Okihira said, clapping his hands. "Everyone has worked hard these past few days, but we can't relax just yet. The heavy snow will make it difficult for people to travel, but it will also destroy most of the traps we've painstakingly set. So please, continue to be vigilant for a while longer."
"Yes, sir!"
After his usual hour or two of training with the captain, Kaito returned to his hut. He lifted the pile of dry straw in the corner, revealing a hole in the ground large enough for Uncle Beard to fit through. He grabbed a wooden stick and jumped right in.
He spat out a small flame to light the stick, then walked along the straight tunnel. It wasn't long before he hit a wall. In his spare time over the past few days, when he wasn't eating, sleeping, or training, he had been down here acting as an excavator. He had already dug a tunnel nearly a hundred meters long, an efficiency that could rival the Team Rocket trio. He had originally intended it as an escape route for the village, but it seemed it wouldn't be needed for now. Kaito, however, was not one to leave a job half-done. Since he had started it, he would finish it.
Besides, he had discovered that after completely exhausting his internal energy, he could last a little longer the next time. Whether it was his imagination or not, there was no harm in it.
The digging itself wasn't hard for him; the difficult part was moving all the excavated dirt. Kaito had been piling the dirt outside his house, planning to mix it with some cement to build a sturdier home. Such a large undertaking, of course, did not go unnoticed by the villagers, but he only told Captain Okihira the specifics. The captain was a little surprised but didn't say much, only reminding Kaito to take care of his health and that he could mobilize the other villagers to help if needed.
Kaito politely declined. Too many people would just get in the way.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked at the wall of earth in front of him, gathered his spirits, and got back to work.
The snow fell heavily, covering the land in a thick, white blanket. Suddenly, a patch of snow trembled slightly, and half a head poked out. Kaito didn't emerge rashly. He squinted, observing his surroundings for a long while. After confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary, he quickly climbed out.
He covered the entrance with the gray cloth he had prepared, weighing down the edges with a few stones. He didn't need to do much else; the falling snow would cover his tracks completely. Any kind of marker would be too conspicuous and would only draw unwanted attention. It was better to just remember the location.
Following the direction he had been digging, Kaito trudged through the wind and snow. With every step, his calves sank into the snowdrifts.
In this kind of weather, it's really unlikely anyone would be wandering around outside.
Just then, a shiver ran through him. He sensed that something was wrong.
What's going on? It feels like someone is watching me with ill intent. Is this a warning from Arceus? Could it be those wandering ninja? Just in case, Kaito subtly changed his direction, moving away from the village.
Should I use Dig to get away later? No, a tunnel might not fool a ninja. I'll wait and see. Maybe it's just my imagination.
After stumbling along for a while, Kaito's vision suddenly blurred, and three figures appeared in front of him. They were dressed in white cotton clothes, each carrying a bag of a different size on their backs and a small pouch at their waists. They wore blank forehead protectors and tight masks that covered their faces, their sinister eyes looking down on him.
The man in the middle spoke up. "Kid, the place you live..."
"Waaah, I finally found someone!" Kaito cried, tilting his head up. His tear-filled eyes conveyed a mixture of hope, surprise, exhaustion, and grievance.
"Big brothers, can you help me find my way home?"
"..." The three wandering ninja looked at each other, speechless.