MusicUnit 294 had always kept it a secret. He'd never once truly spoken on the nature of his mission to others, before--and if anybody pried, he simply divulged that he was "looking for someone". It had always been enough to get people off of his back, before. And while many people had been curious what his goal was as he raced from place to place--many didn't think too much about it.
To many, Unit 294 was a simple man. He didn't speak much, and to be set out looking for someone--usually, it wasn't worth the trouble trying to question him further. He never gave complex answers, and it was usually easy enough to assume that there wasn't much more to his story.
It would be
easy to assume that he was simple. And under most circumstances, Unit 294 held no interest in correcting any of those beliefs. The less strangers understood about him, the better.
But Arashi was not one such person.
She was, supposedly, the daughter of the Kazekage. While Unit 294 did not yet have enough information to truly confirm her claims, with all else evidence placed in before him, it was reasonable enough to believe. There
were several inconsistencies with his own understanding of the situation, and if what she said was true--then it was possible she was the key in putting all of the pieces together. If what she said was true, she was a superior in rank, and it was his place to obey her command anyway--no matter how confidential the subject was. She wasn't just some random chūnin. No, she held a significant position.
So, while he would otherwise have kept the details of his mission secret, this time, Unit 294 would instead tell her all he knew.
Pulling out his notebook once more, he'd approach Arashi and flip it around so she could see the detailing of the mission. Rather, his target. There was a detailed drawing of the man's portrait, as well as his age, rank, and the nature of his crimes. Arashi would not be allowed to take the notebook from his hand--but the information was still displayed to her nonetheless.
"Aiel, Goro. Age, 25. Jounin. He turned against his teammate who had been assigned with him on a mission, brutally killed him, kept the spoils for himself, and defected from Sunagakure. He was discovered and spotted two weeks later, and I was sent to locate and execute him." Unit 294 had been, as it were, a member among the Hunter Nin.
Most Shippai could barely be trusted with simple tasks--transferring an item from point A to point B. Staying vigil as a guard over a certain period of time, and things like that.
Despite this, though, Unit 294 had been especially skilled in what he did. While the nature of his missions were not usually as complex as they might have been if he were an actual human, it was true that he would still be assigned missions that required a great level of skill to complete. Let alone, complete with the level of efficiency that he had. He was no ordinary Shippai at all.
Flipping through the pages, Unit 294 would then reveal the map to the young woman--the hundreds of markings filling it to its entirety, to the point where it could barely be recognized as a map, anymore, save for the vague outlines of the countries and continents.
"When I went to the designated location, I was unable to find him. Sometimes targets will move from place to place if they suspect they're being hunted. But searching every nearby town within a few hours isn't difficult." Especially for someone who would move as quickly as he could, and for someone who didn't need to stop or rest.
"But I could not find him in any of the nearby locations, either. I've been looking for him this whole time, but he's never shown up. If I were to have completed my mission, I would have returned to Sunagakure--so I don't believe I've already executed him. If we were to have sparred, I would have fought until either he was slain or this body had been broken down and destroyed to the point where I could no longer move or function further to complete my mission. Based on my current state, I don't believe I have even encountered him. But neither have I ever had any trouble finding a target." It took him a couple of days at most.
Usually, his mind and memory would not even have the time or opportunity to reset--so while he kept details of his missions with him just in case, until this situation, it had never once been
needed.
"If I have truly been searching for as long as you imply I have been, and I have not been able to locate my target, I believe it may be possible he had already been eradicated before I'd even been dispatched to find him. It's the only explanation that would make sense to me, your Highness. I am not defective." Despite what any of the nearby shinobi might have been quick to assume.
Unit 294 may have gotten lost or misplaced, but he was not
stupid. He understood his limitations, and it was why a system had been put in place to counteract any of those flaws he held. It was a good system, and it worked. Unit 294 had always had to rely on it--and it was because of this that he was able to, then, reliably try to connect what pieces of evidence he could to come to a logical conclusion.
Arashi was a young woman. Several years must have passed. Unit 294 had been sent to the location of his target, and being unable to find him, spread out further in his search. If the man had not been there, or anywhere else nearby, Unit 294 had continued to search every part of the world and yet
still, for nothing to have come up, after all of these years... If Unit 294 had
not engaged in any kind of battle with the man... And if Goro had not otherwise been brought back to the village--then there was only one reasonable conclusion.
It was the
only thing that made sense, to him.
He'd had such a good record, before. He didn't want to believe he'd grown defective, somehow. There was the fear, of course, of what would happen to him if he no longer served any use or purpose to Sunagakure--but even that aside, this was an
outlier. He didn't believe it could have been his doing that caused such an error. He wouldn't make such a big mistake like that...
Nonetheless...
Unit 294 would pocket the booklet once more, still keeping his gaze on Arashi as he continued to speak to her.
"Arashi-sama. What would you have me do?" If what he believed about his mission were actually true... then, well, Arashi was still his superior in rank, and had the authority to reassign him. If she so desired.
Oonakayama ArashiNote: I just want to put it here that Unit 294
is correct in his hypothesis. The nukenin he'd been sent out to find did happen to be killed by coincidence before he was able to locate him, hence the cause of his whole situation.
However, Unit 294 had no way prior to have known this~
SAs Active:
Unflagging Endurance
Armored Bodies
Titanic Speed
Enhanced Sensory
Enhanced Reflexes