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[hr][INDENT][sup][COLOR=silver][b]TIME:[/b] [i]Present Day - Approx. 9:00AM[/i] | [b]LOCATION:[/b] [i]Amegakure - The Great Hall[/i] | [b]INTERACTION:[/b] [i] [@Savato] [@J8cob] [@Rabidporcupine] [@Odin][/i][/COLOR][/sup][/INDENT]

Yuhi paid as little actual attention to Nagi as she did to him, and did the same with Soryu. If pleasantries were to be exchanged, there would be plenty of time to exchange them later--for now, the most important thing to Yuhi was ensuring that he understood everything in the briefing. Unknown territory came with unknown risks. Unknown risks were exceptionally difficult to mitigate, relying primarily on guesswork and conjecture. Yuhi did not like relying on guesswork and conjecture for anything but writing and theorising, and when his life was on the line it was even more important to him that he take as few actual risks as possible. If he could improve his - and by extension, he supposed, his teammates' - odds in the upcoming mission he would absolutely do so. As the briefing began, he readied the pen in his left hand and the book laid squarely on his lap and begun the process of taking notes. Ordinarily, if simply writing quickly for himself, he would not bother to encode his work - but given the amount of documentation pertaining to secrecy that had crossed his metaphorical writing desk he elected to take no chances and write his notes in a simple cipher.

The characters aligned themselves neatly across the blank page of the book, evenly spaced and perfectly legible, spilling forth from his pen as he took down the information that was relayed. He paid especial attention to the mentions of the afflictions, his brow furrowing more and more as he listened. He had heard very little of the attacks and getting definite information like this was equal parts concerning and exciting - he could have spent hours cross referencing his extensive collection of research to match the infection to something that he had encountered before but every connection that he offhandedly made felt incorrect. After the slides passed on the screen showing the progression of the victims' symptoms, he was quite certain that he'd never encountered anything like it before and that it was likely to be synthetic or to have evolved in isolation over a significant period of time in order to display such abnormality. His knowledge on such things was not quite as profound as it perhaps should have been offhandedly, but he had devoted a considerable portion of his extended life to the research of such things at Kinjiro's command and could comfortably theorise on such a disease's origins if little else about it. He wrote every detail down in cipher, making sure to describe the pictures as quickly as he could given the time that he had, and when he was satisfied that he'd written everything he felt necessary he turned the page in time for the next slide to begin.

As the image of Nori Kinsei showed up, Yuhi regretted that his artistic capabilities were sorely lacking. He would have liked to have at least gotten a good sketch, but instead settled for writing down every detail provided about him. As many details as Yuhi could objectively glean from the photos provided, Nori's involvement in the spreading of the unknown contagion and sketches of the blueprints. He made these in as much detail as the time allowed, mentally noting that they would likely be of great importance in the future--if not to him, then to someone on the expedition. He did not write down much regarding the tracker bugs--a small paragraph of ciphered text simply to remember exactly what the assignment entailed. With that finished, he closed the book and placed the pen into the left pocket of his jacket.

As the presentation finished, he wasted no time standing up and immediately setting off towards the VTOLs on the roof. He would have plenty of time to get properly acquainted with his new teammates on the journey to the New Continent.

[hr][INDENT][sup][COLOR=silver][b]TIME:[/b] [i]Present Day - Late Morning/Early Afternoon[/i] | [b]LOCATION:[/b] [i]The New Continent - God Tree Base Camp[/i][/COLOR][/sup][/INDENT]

Getting aboard the craft was quite simple. Another confirmation of identity, another set of directions to follow. Yuhi entered the vehicle and took the nearest seat without much fuss, settling in quickly and taking stock of his surroundings. He made sure to take the PDA intended for him and gave it a quick gloss over. It would be useful for its picture-taking capabilities, he thought to himself, but little else. He preferred to take notes down by hand by a significant margin--offering him a guarantee that he would be able to use the information and being able to cipher them to comply with the NDA. He idly wondered if he should send a copy of his notes to Kyoko, but thought better of it until he was firmly out of Amegakure. If he'd had time to wander around he could easily have made a dead drop that one of her various informants could have picked up and delivered to her, but the situation was far more pressing than that--and the thought of having his lungs endure even a second more of the vile smog within the borderline diluvial city was absolutely unbearable. He would ensure that she got her pound of flesh when it was less inconvenient for him to do so.

As his new squadmates would board the ship, he'd give them a nod of greeting and a smile - both fairly genuine, though any attempt at seeming genuine could just as easily seem disingenous.

[color=#7293DC]"I apologise for my earlier terseness. I wanted to be sure that the brief got my full attention, as we'll have each other's attentions for the foreseeable future! I am Yuhi of the Jikangai clan, and I presume that I am here to serve in a strategic and informational capacity--I'm more of a librarian than a shinobi, to tell you the truth, but I shan't be found lacking in martial prowess should I be required to do so. If there's anything you'd like to know of me, please ask. Otherwise, I will be acquainting myself with the PDA and making preparations for the trip."[/color] Yuhi explained once everyone was assembled, and would reply to any questions asked of him. Otherwise, he busied himself with preparations for the expedition.

As the craft veered off from the others, Yuhi grew more curious than ever. Adding another squad to explore the three locations mentioned would have ultimately been pointless, but what could have required the level of secrecy that they had been subjected to? As the distinctive blossom came into view over the distant horizon, Yuhi very audibly gasped. It was quite unmistakeable, and [i]exceedingly[/i] rare - he thought that he might not have seen a God Tree for an exceedingly long time. Very little was known about them, and what little was known was sequestered away by powerful and influential collections of people. Fortunately, when the shinobi world had been young, the Jikangai clan had been one such collection of people - and accordingly, there was still literature in their library regarding God Trees. He had a copy of every book in their collection with him, but it would likely provide little other than a solid foundation to base assumptions on - after all, very little was actually known about them even now--never mind when the material in question was written.

[color=#7293DC]"Amazing... I wasn't sure I'd ever get to see a God Tree..."[/color] he mumbled, largely under his breath, taking a closer look out of the window to admire the scope of the thing from afar. Though a little overtaken by awe, he made sure to survey the land around the God Tree also--and he was unsurprised by what he saw. This would not have been handled with the delicate care and secrecy that it had been if it would have been easy to just stroll up to what was essentially one of the wonders of the world. As he began to process the fact that the VTOL would not have anywhere to land over this sort of terrain, the pilot's voice came through the headset advising them that they'd need to jump. Yuhi made sure to gather everything that he needed (though he had largely bundled everything together already) and prepared himself to exit the craft. The green light blinked, and he was the first to jump off of the craft. The drop was quite short, around 20 to 30 meters, so it only took a quick concentration of chakra in the legs to hit solid ground comfortably--or at least, hit the wooden planks as instructed. Solid ground, it appeared, was not a phrase that should be used lightly in the area they had landed in.

When the Doctor greeted them, Yuhi offered him the same greeting and confirmation of his identity that he had everyone else in Amegakure. He also took a deep lungful of the air in around them - and though it was not necessarily [i]pleasant[/i], it didn't feel like inhaling acid and smoke. That alone made it smell decidedly sweet. As the group were led them into the camp, Yuhi looked around and began surveying his surroundings as analytically as possible. The terrain was an inconvenient mixture of swampy and forested, so movement would need to be precise and careful. It would be useful to attempt some amateur cartography of the region, though that could be addressed after the immediate issue of the God-Tree and the quandary they were undoubtedly stuck in. The air was thick with humidity, but felt quite like how he had imagined it feeling after reading about this sort of climate - he decided then that gleaning little details such as these was less helpful now than it would be later, but mentally catalogued his observations regardless.

Upon hearing about the scientist's demise, Yuhi was immediately confused. To be restrained by the local fauna and swallowed by the swampy marsh in what was essentially plain sight of the camp seemed wildly implausible - no matter how one envisioned the situation, there was something not right. A detail omitted, or an external force at play. 

[color=#7293DC]"You said local fauna? I presume that your missing scientist was supervised from afar during his foray - can you describe the animal for me?"[/color] Yuhi asked the doctor, simultaneously pulling out his pen and book and getting ready to write down whatever the scientist said - this time, without a cipher. His companions might find it useful to have the information available to them, and this was not something that he would need to keep later. When the time came, he would be sure to write an encoded summary of the events that transpired. 

After his question was answered, he would progress up to the boundary with everyone else. There, he would wait for the others to speak and collect their thoughts. They could create a plan of action for themselves after everyone had had time to get to grips with the situation.