โ Arashigakure | Chunin | ANBU Regular โ
โ Chakra: 1250/1250 | Stamina: 1480/1480 โ Sonic Chakra: 600/600 | Nature Chakra: 000/000 โ
โ A Rank Bukijutsu Specialist โ
As the last glimpse of sun fell under the horizon beyond this quiet stretch of land nestled deep in the Land of Floods, a breeze began to billow in from the east. It started gently, picking up speed over the span of a few minutes until it was strong enough to sway the treetops. Blowing over a distant body of water it brought a slight chill with it, sending shivers down the spines of the unfortunate souls who were expecting a warmer night. Lights flickered in the windows of a few of the buildings. โSeems that we have some restless souls tonight,โ a voice whispered from the cover of overgrown foliage near the forest floor. Pale eyes watched the town from behind a kitsune-themed mask. From several meters to his left, a man in fairly noble looking clothes exited the forest, making his way towards the town. โAnd now, we wait.โ
This had the makings of a fairly easy mission. Shinji was assigned to be an escort for one of the economic benefactors for Arashigakure as he traveled to meet with a few of his advisors. They had chosen this village as a meeting place for reasons that the white haired ANBU agent did not know, nor did he care to ask. His superior had handed this down to him, and duty dictated he followed the order to the letter. There had been rumors in the underground circles of the village that an important criminal figure had a few grievances with this particular lord, and was looking for whatever opportunity that might present itself to exact his retribution. Which brings us to this moment. Shinji had hidden himself in a cluster of shrubs to keep from being seen, while ensuring he would be able to clearly see the path that Lord Nashibiru would take towards the village. Just on the edge of town was the building that the lord and his advisors would be settling into for the next few hours. Once he made it safely inside, Shinji would move to a new location and keep an eye on the outside. He had already employed the assistance of a few other agents to vet any other person who would be within the walls of that building, and anyone whoโs name or background couldnโt be verified, or was in any way tied to less-than-legal activities was removed for the night. For further measure, a couple of the other agents were placed inside.
As the lord crossed the threshold into the building, Shinji visibly relaxed. He breathed out a sigh, consisting of a mixture between relief and disappointment. Sure, he was more than happy that things were going smoothly, but somewhere deep down he was hoping for at least a bit of resistance. Though, getting him to admit that would be like pulling teeth from someone who didnโt have any. He put a hand to the bottom portion of his mask, and with a quick and precise movement, disjoined it from the top half, revealing the dark cloth covering his mouth. He lowered it, and produced a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. Moments later, he was exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. The wind, thankfully, blew it away fast enough to keep his location from being revealed. Shinji moved away from the bushes, sticking to the shadows, holding his burning nicotine specifically to hide the embers.
He found his new spot, safe enough for him to avoid detection, but close enough that he could jump in if there was any movement by a would-be assassin. Shinji finished his cigarette and replaced the bottom portion of his mask. He rarely ever smoked while in uniform, and only seemed to do so during or after a mission like this. The slow pace of it had a way of giving him that craving. Silver eyes glued once again upon the building. Using his peripherals to watch for incoming men and women, and the bulk of his visual field to keep tabs on the direct surroundings of the Lordโs meeting place. The only spot he couldnโt see clearly was the side opposite him. However, the agents within the building were most likely keeping track of anything happening over there. It would be a few hours before any activity of note would break his focus. A shadow near the building shifted unnaturally, prompting Shinji to unfurl a scroll that he had tucked away on his person and a brush, writing a quick series of strokes into the scroll and applying some chakra, sending his message to the matching scroll inside the building. He was telling the agents to not allow the Lord or his advisors to leave until further correspondence was sent. Another shift in the shadow he was now closely observing, and Shinji used the body flicker technique to move closer.
As he had suspected, the cause of the unusual movement was a cloaked figure. The way they had applied camouflage to themselves was commendable for one of their ilk. Skillful enough for a criminal, but not skillful enough to avoid the specially trained eye of an ANBU agent. Shinji drew his shortsword from his back and rushed the figure from behind. He slid the blade in front of their throat and applied just enough pressure after their initial startle to draw blood if they tried to escape. He used his free hand to place two extended fingers in the middle of their back, ready to push the individual forward into his blade if needed. โState your name, and your purpose,โ he ordered, pushing ever so slightly against the figures back to dissuade any sudden movements. Instead of speaking, the cloak over the figure went slack, falling to the ground. Behind his mask, a smirk crept into Shinjiโs face. The hunt was on, as he leapt to the top of a nearby building to get a higher view of the surroundings.
As he had suspected, the cause of the unusual movement was a cloaked figure. The way they had applied camouflage to themselves was commendable for one of their ilk. Skillful enough for a criminal, but not skillful enough to avoid the specially trained eye of an ANBU agent. Shinji drew his shortsword from his back and rushed the figure from behind. He slid the blade in front of their throat and applied just enough pressure after their initial startle to draw blood if they tried to escape. He used his free hand to place two extended fingers in the middle of their back, ready to push the individual forward into his blade if needed. โState your name, and your purpose,โ he ordered, pushing ever so slightly against the figures back to dissuade any sudden movements. Instead of speaking, the cloak over the figure went slack, falling to the ground. Behind his mask, a smirk crept into Shinjiโs face. The hunt was on, as he leapt to the top of a nearby building to get a higher view of the surroundings.
Towards the edge of the town he saw two running bodies. One glanced over their shoulder in his direction before they split up and went in two different directions. Shinji formed a hand sign and a shadow clone appeared beside him in a cloud of smoke. The two silently dropped off of the roof they were standing on and made to intercept the targets. The clone vanished from sight, but Shinji was more than confident it would do its job. He, meanwhile, rounded a corner and stopped. From the pouch on his hip, he withdrew three shuriken, a length of wire attaching them as a group. Mentally, he counted down from five, making a single hand seal as he approached zero, throwing the shuriken. They flew through the air, with illusory copies preceding them by several feet, a combination of the Honshi Artโs Snare Toss and Shadow Sling techniqueโs. Right on schedule the perpetrator stepped into view and saw the incoming arsenal. They pulled out a blade of their own and guarded, slipping through the illusion, allowing for the real shuriken to wrap around them. The wire pulled their arms close to their bodies and pinned them in place, the shuriken, redirected by the wire, lodged themselves into the arms of the target, one in each bicep and one in the forearm wielding the blade they had defended with, causing their hand to spasm just enough to drop the weapon. Shinji followed their capture with a swift strike to the jaw to knock them out and dragged them back to the center of the town to randevu with his clone.
The clone disappeared back into a cloud of smoke after they finished tying up the unconscious perpetrators. Shinji was planning on having a couple of other agents bring them back to Arashi while he carried out the rest of the mission. As he turned to make his way back to the Lordโs meeting place, he saw, barely, a third shaded figure escaping down an alleyway. โSubtle.โ Shinjiโs body vanished in another body flicker. He stood in the middle of an open field on the edge of town, waiting for his opponent to appear. They left the town in a sprint, then slowing to a walk once they saw the ANBU agent waiting for them. โMister Shinoda, itโs good to finally meet you. Iโve been waiting for you,โ Shinji greeted, the shaded figure removing his hood and grinning at him from afar. โI guess I should have taken a different route,โ the self-declared crime boss replied. Shinoda had a large build. Roughly six and a half feet tall, thick muscles spanning his entire frame. He was ruthless and cunning, and that is what allowed him to claim such a title in the underground criminal sects of the Land of Floods. Strapped to his back was a comically large meat cleaver. When he was going through all of the documents concerning this mission, he remembered thinking that a weapon like that, while unconventional, was probably intimidating in his hands.
Shinji narrowed his eyes at the man, who was slowly closing the distance between them. He was likely thinking that his size and strength would give him an advantage over the admittedly smaller Ketsueki. โYou know I canโt let you walk away from here now, right?โ โFunny, I was going to say the same to you!โ The larger man swung wide with the side of his fist. Shinji stepped backwards, giving him a hairโs breadth distance between his nose and the incoming strike. Shinoda used his other hand to pry the cleaver off of his back and swung downward towards the agent. โYouโre not half bad, but..โ Shinjiโs voice trailed off as he unsheathed his short sword once again, using his own skill with the blade to parry the larger weapon. Sparks flew as he traced the edge of his sword along the flat side of the cleaver, tracing upward towards the criminal before him. Before the blade could connect, Shinji jumped, using his feet to propel himself backwards and into the air off of the incoming knee strike. โ.. I can read you like a book.โ Shinji pooled a bit of chakra into the bottom of his foot as he fell towards the ground, waiting for the moment that Shinoda tried to strike where he would be landing to activate his wind walking technique, standing on air as easily as the solid soil below him, taking a step forward in the air and bringing his own knee directly into Shinodaโs chin. The titanic man stumbled backwards from the strike. Shinji released the technique and landed lightly on the ground.
Normally, ANBU missions involving someone like Shinoda were over quickly. They would use their stealth and speed to take him out before he knew what was coming. However, this situation wasnโt normal. Shinoda not only had seen Shinji tying up his goons, but there was no doubt that those same goons had given him some details regarding the building that the Lords were in. So now, it was less about taking him out and more about biding some time. Any random passerby watching this from the outside, as the two exchanged their blows, with Shinoda landing a few here and there when Shinji couldnโt dodge, would likely assume that Shinji was on the backfoot against his clearly more physically oppressive opponent. All it would take is one clean, strong hit and that would be the end of it. But to anyone with enough experience in fighting, theyโd see it as a lion playing with their helpless prey. Size had no hand in this theater they were putting on. Shinji was letting Shinoda get in just enough hits to keep him entranced here, but not enough to lose the fight.
Shinji retreated a few feet back after a heavy blow from Shinoda. โI think itโs about time we wrap this up,โ he said as he ran forward. Shinoda snarled and readied his ridiculous weapon for a heavy swing. โCocky brat,โ he jeered before letting loose. The blade connected with Shinjiโs midsection and cleaved through. Shinoda grinned triumphantly, but his celebration was cut short as the bifurcated sections of Shinjiโs body exploded into clouds of white smoke. โA clone?โ The question had barely escaped his lips before a blade sunk deep into his back, missing vital spots with scrupulous precision. Shinji left the blade in his body and stabbed a shuriken into the back of the hand holding onto the giant cleaver to disarm him. Shortly after, two more ANBU agents arrived and tied up Shinoda, one of them, a specialist in the sealing arts, restricted his ability to mold chakra. Shinji instructed them to take Shinoda and his goons in the town to lockup at the C.O.R.E compound. He escorted the Lord on the way back, and answered a few questions that were directed his way. He laid out a simplified story explaining how he had acted as a clone, using a small smoke bomb to hide his quick escape, letting the clone toy with Shinoda long enough for him to scout the town for more of his minions. He took out the remaining three that were trying to make their way for the meeting, then made his way towards where Shinoda was being held up by his clone to finish up. The rest of the journey back was made in silence.
ANBU Mission: A Rank, 109 sentences, 27 Total Paragraphs
Stats:
Strength โข 9
Speed โข 10
Agility โข 9
Endurance โข 4
Activations / Technique's Used
