Motoichi was ready to get out of the village on a mission. He couldn’t wait to even get away from the village and head to the farms. After he left the Administration building where he received the mission, he grabbed his pack and headed out to the farmlands.

The farmlands were on the opposite end from where his family worked, but he was quite familiar with the rolling hills that the farm families called home. Filled with rows of vegetables and grains, the farms were a lush variety of greens, and were often quite peaceful compared to the center of the village. Closer to the village people might come and go every minute, in the farmlands, people often stayed on their own land or their neighbors. Motoichi made his way through the winding paths around the different farms until he stumbled on an older home around the outskirts of the farms.

This house, unlike the others, seemed much older. Motoichi walked closer and knocked on the door before a frail voice said, “Come in.”

Motoichi turned the old wooden knob and entered the quiet home. Inside, the cozy cottage was much more warm and inviting than the exterior of the home. Inside was an older couple sitting down on some chairs. They seemed married and quite old for being active farmers; both were at least sixty-five years old.

“Hello,” Motoichi began, “my name is Motoichi Mitarashi, and I’m a shinobi from the Hidden Rock village. I’m here to help with your mole infestation.”

The older gentleman moved his hand towards the ninja and greeted him. “My name is Itachi Watanabe, and this is my wife, Haru,” he said quite slowly, after all, he was old. “We’re so glad you’ve come to help,” said his wife.

“Now what exactly is the problem?” asked Motoichi. He was aware that there were a few moles in the ground but not any of the specifics.

“Well son, there are six moles in our fields, and we’ve tried everything we can think of to get rid of them. I’ll warn you, they don’t seem quite smart, but they are incredible intelligent for hiding in the ground all day.”

This seemed odd. Motoichi had grown up in a farming community, and he never had problems with moles.  Most of them were quite stupid and could be trapped. “Are you sure?” Motoichi questioned. “Most moles back at my village are quite dumb.”

“Not these moles,” the old man interjected quite rapidly for his age.

Motoichi stepped out on to the plot and noticed all of the empty holes across the field. For only six moles there must have been sixty holes across this small field. Motoichi knew moles leave about two holes in their burrows, but this was ridiculous. These moles had filled so many tunnels across that it would be impossible to trap them inside their holes. Motoichi then gathered a few sticks and a few pieces of string from around the barn, and made six small snares to catch the moles. This is one of the easiest fixes for moles, and after a bit of Haru’s warm food hit as bait, Motoichi was sure he would find moles trapped in the morning.

Motoichi wished the old couple a good night and promised to return in the morning. As night fell he traveled a slight jog to an old country inn out by the farms. He was sure they would be delighted with his coming as a ninja, and were they. The innkeepers welcomed him in to their inn and cheered his new found success as a ninja. Even though he was a Genin, he hoped to become one of the Hidden Rock’s most well known ninja. Motoichi knew he had a job to do tomorrow and briefly told the lady at the inn about the older couple and the relentless moles. The innkeeper quickly whispered Motoichi a last resort solution to his problem, should anything else not work.

As the sun rose over the edge of the horizon, Motoichi awoke. He quickly said goodbye to the innkeepers and left for the older couple’s farm, and his snares. After arriving he looked over all six of his traps to find all the food had disappeared from last night, but no signs of any moles. He became frustrated, the old man was right, these moles were a breed all their own. Motoichi did not want to resort to this method the lady innkeeper had told him, and he hoped the moles were smart enough to think this one out.

Motoichi ran back to the old home and asked the old man, “Itachi-san, do you have a hose I could borrow?” he asked.

Itachi quickly responded, “Yes, we have one out back.”

Motoichi was already out the door. He ran around back behind their house to a small shed. He grabbed a hose and dragged it out, uncoiling it as he went. He found the highest point along the mole holes and placed the hose inside the mole home. He ran back to the valve attached to the hose, and set it to one hundred percent. Water began to gush through along the hose, and poured down the tunnels. As time passed, water began to leak out of the other holes, slowly eliminating the moles homes. Finally, Motoichi could see the furry critters pop out of the last few untouched holes, and ran into the woods along the farmlands, seeking a home without water. Motoichi quickly shut off the water, and coiled the hose back up for the family.

“Oh thank you,” said Haru. “I don’t know how we could have done this without you.”

Motoichi was flattered, “No worries, that’s my job as a shinobi of the Rock.” With that, Motoichi said his goodbyes to the old family as they wished him luck in his life. He grabbed his pack once again, and walked down the winding paths of the farmlands, and out of the rolling hills. He openly welcomed the atmosphere of the village, with all of the people running around daily.

Motoichi reconfirmed his choice to become a ninja today. While farm life was quiet and peaceful, he could never stay there forever. Motoichi loved the busy life of being a ninja and living inside the bustling village, and it’s something he would never give up for the rest of his life.


Post: 1083
Mission: 1000/1000