| abstract | - Yuiitsu rubbed his tired eyes, letting his binoculars dangle around his neck. The large man rose to his feet, despite now being noticeable above the foliage that had concealed his position. After over an hour of staring through his binoculars, Yuiitsu's legs finally demanded he stand and once again allow the blood to properly flow. It had been so long since Yuiitsu had been tasked with something as menial as observation that he had almost forgotten about the less glamorous side of being a ninja. Long hours spent motionless in the shadows while waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. Yuiitsu was not built for this task. He was bred for war, not made to be sitting in a bush staring at a seaside cliff. The mission had sounded exciting when the Raikage has assigned it to him. A joint mission to capture a known criminal, suspected of playing a key role in the human trafficking operation that had plagued both the Lands of Lightning and Water in recent years. Though Yuiitsu wasn't too fond of working with the man Kirigakure had sent, it had sounded like a straight forward mission with plenty of action. So far it had consisted of a long quiet walk with Kiri's man, Ichiru, and staring at the cliff face in case the smugglers opened the suspected secret passage that allowed the ships in and out of their underground headquarters. Yuiitsu had at first been intrigued at the mentioning of a secret passage large enough to allow a ship through, but at this point he was beginning to suspect this theory to be bad intelligence. Yuiitsu could only hope that Ichiru was having better luck on his end, scouting out a potential entrance into the hidden base. At a corridor of his own, Ichiru stood at the front gates of the large facility posing as an entrance guard. Behind him were two guards both hooded just as he was. As the leader over the two, he listed his head up high so that if anyone approached they could see him first. His head and neck covered in various jewels, the best disguise granted to him by his brother. In a situation where he would be sent off on a mission with a foreigner, it was impossible for him to reveal his true appearance to a complete stranger, and the fact that he would be trying to take down a potential threat with an unknown man, would only help his cause. He too, just as Yuiitsu, would have been out there for hours. At first he took the position of hiding, though as the main guard stepped away, he easily took him down and assumed his disguise. Ichiru peeked around the side of the entrance, and let off a sigh. "This just isn't going to cut it. Sorry Lord Mizukage." He states as he began to walk off the the hiding place of Yuiitsu. Walking behind him were two beings as well, which also took the position of a fake guard and since they follow Ichiru, it was clear that they were his subordinates. The winds currents blew in the opposing direction that Ichiru walked, causing the jewelry he worse to clash against each other making loud clanging sounds. Finally, after just a short walk, he'd reached his destination. Staring at Yuiitsu he finally began to speak. "I'm sorry if this displeases you, but I'm going to go on ahead. If their forces are weak enough for me to pose as a guard, there is no reason to dawdle around here. You are more than welcomed to come with me if you insist." Turning around back into the direction he'd came, Ichiru headed for the entrance. His head still ducked under his hood, his subordinates followed as well. "Well it doesn't seem I'm doing any good here." Yuiitsu muttered, following close behind Ichiru. "So what did you find? How many entrances are there? What are we looking at in terms of the enemy's strength?" Picking up on the fact that Yuiitsu had actually decided to tag along with him, forged a smirk to be born upon his face. As he made his way back to the entrance, he looked left and right on various different occasions. Everything seemed as if it where in place just as it was when he'd had left. Finally they reached the large door that separated them from the inside of the facility. The man to his left began to approach the door, and after a few short seconds, stepped away before returning to his side. "Kumo-nin, could you do me a favor?" "I have a name." Yuiitsu replied, notably annoyed. Letting out a sigh, Yuiitsu rolled his eyes and asked what sort of a favor Ichiru desired. "What is it?" There was an awkward silence in the air. The wind currents picked up just enough to push the cloaks of the three beings aside. The man that was once at the door nodded his head slightly. Ichiru picked up where he left off after receiving an answer, and he bluntly states, while rising his two fingers in front of his face; "Shut up." An explosion occurred, knocking the doors right off their hinges. The explosion was great and grand, the perfect debut for someone like Ichiru. The mood went literally from 0-100. The debris kicked into the air, and the wind currents were as violent as ever. Ichiru and his two followers walked into the facility with their heads somewhat up high, and their hoods over them. "Now, which one of you will partake in my collection?" The sudden explosion caught Yuiitsu off guard, leaving the veteran ninja to do nothing but protect his face with his burly arms. Had that been what Ichiru had been doing the entire time? Setting up those explosives? Though Yuiitsu was not one to frown upon a show of force, the sheer devastation of Ichiru's entrance seemed like overkill. Any guards that had been standing on the other side of the surely perished in the blast. What is their target had been on the other side of that gate? His death would have rendered the mission a failure. If Ichiru didn't restrain himself then the mission would surely be in danger. "Damn it, what are you doing?" Yuiitsu shouted as flaming debris form the explosion began raining down around him. "There are people in there, not just the target, but innocents he kidnapped. You just put them all in danger with that blast Ichiru!" The debris cleared, and as it did shinobi stood in front of Ichiru and his subordinates. Ichiru had to answer to Yuiitsu's last statement, as it would be rude of him to ignore the man's words. "Kumo-nin, sit back and relax. They were able to get kidnapped in the first place, correct? So what's a little bruise to them?" He finished and as he did his two men charged at the opposing shinobi. The one on the left utilizing close range taijutsu, taking down half of the shinobi in the process. The man to the right threw a number of shuriken and kunai at the other half clearing the men out of the way. Before Yuiitsu could retort Ichiru was already off, cutting his way through the foolish bandits that poured from the gaping hole in their front door. The debate over Ichiru's ethics would have to wait, though Yuiitsu didn't completely approve of this method of attack, it was too late to go back now, and complaining about it wasn't going to change that. With a mighty battle cry, Yuiitsu rushed into the fray, both arms outstretched and crackling with lightning. The sheer destructive power of his Twin Lariat crashed through several of the smugglers, who were either emerging to engage the intruders or escape the scene before things escalated further, if that was possible. Rushing past even Ichiru and the two hooded figures, Yuiitsu smashed his way into the corridor the newly formed opening had led too, which was little more than a large room surrounded by stone, and smashed through the back wall of the chamber. Ichiru seemed more than capable of dealing with the fodder that seemed to flow out of the compound. Yuiitsu was going to get the mission done and over with. Watching as the Kumo-nin tore his way through the shinobi a large smile emerged on Ichiru's face. He held his head up high, and his jewelry and turban became visible. "So you've joined in on the action as well, Yuiitsu, What tremendous power you have! If you died in here, I might take you back with me!" After his two subordinates defeated the rest of the men, Ichiru took off behind Yuiitsu. As she took off, a being jumped out right in front of him holding his sword high. "You will not pass here." The man stated. "Well, well. If it isn't you, Yura Getsu! What a magnificent discovery, indeed! You're a man on Kirigakure's wanted list. If I kill you, your bounty will plunge. But it's okay, because you'll look just as new!" Ichiru's subordinates dash at Yura, one from his left the other from his right. Yura manuever between the two, dropping to the floor then rolling and flopping to his feet dashing at Ichiru. With his blade at his hand, Yura slash at him quickly, and placed it back in his sheath. Ichiru dropped to the ground, his mouth wide open from defeat. Yura, dashed at the other two as well cutting them down dropping them to the floor as well, then quickly turned around and began weaving hand seals in rapid successions. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!" From his mouth, he released a mist that was completely different from what Kiri-nin used. "You'll be dead in a few minutes, your bodies will burn. Now, to deal with your friend." Turning to the wall that Yuiitsu collapsed he made his way to follow his tracks. There was a silence three men laid on the ground. Ichiru's finger's twitched, and he mumbled. "Secret Blue Move: Beheading Slash.." Just as silent as the mist, one of his subordinates jumped to their feet disguised in silence, withdrew two blades and completely beheaded Yura. Ichiru slowly stood to his feet, as did his other partner. "Mist like this doesn't work on me boy, neither would a pitiful attack like that." Ichiru dashed towards the wall as well, "I'll gather your body later. For now, I gotta catch up to that Kumo-nin." Yuiitsu smashed through several large chambers, but each was devoid of life. One contain a series of bunk beds, supposedly where the smugglers slept. Another had been set up like a massive dinning hall, sporting three long tables that were several times longer than Yuiitsu was tall. It was impressive yo Yuiitsu how so much work had gone into the compound, even if Earth Release was used for a majority of the construction. He guessed the compound could easily house a hundred men, and likely had before Ichiru began cutting into their numbers. But so far Yuiitsu had spotted neither his target or any of the hostages being prepped for smuggling. Smashing into a room that appeared to be some sort of infirmary, it first appeared that he had again smashed into another room, but out of the corner of his eye Yuiitsu detected movement. A cloaked man dashed out of the infirmary, a bag of medical supplies dangling from his hand. As the man began to make his exit, his path was blocked as Yuiitsu dashed in front of him. Though the man's face was covered with a plane white mask, Yuiitsu was sure this was his target, known only by the codename Bishop. Only a man who knew someone was looking for him had a reason to hide his face. "I take it your Bishop?" Yuiitsu growled threateningly. "You can come with me or I can break your legs and drag you, your choice." Silently taking several steps back, Bishop seemed to be preparing to flee, but much to Yuiitsu's surprise, Bishop vanished in a puff of white smoke instead, leaving nothing but a log covered in explosive tags in his place. The blast quickly engulfed Yuiitsu, rattling the cavern as the blast echoed throughout the entire compound. "You'll be lucky if you can drag yourself out of here." Bishop's muffled voice stated form down the tunnel of the compound. Making haste, Bishop ran to a staircase at the end of the hall opposite the explosion. As the smoke cleared, Yuiitsu stud vertical, shallow trenched in front of his feet form where the explosion had bushed him back. "Going downstairs are we?" Yuiitsu stated as he cracked his neck. Pulsing his Earth Release chakra into the ground beneath him, Yuiitsu began sinking as if he was standing in quicksand. Yuiitsu quickly passed through the rock until emerging on the other side in the chamber that had been below him only moments before. Falling to the ground with a loud thud, Yuiitsu quickly took in his surroundings in preparation for Bishop's arrival, but was shocked by what he saw. He wasn't standing in another empty chamber. To his right was a large ship floating in a shallow body of water, likely the same ship used to transport the smuggler's "cargo." To his left the wall was lined with said "cargo," people of all shapes and sizes, young, old, man, woman and child. All were standing against the wall absentmindedly, apparently under some type of Genjutsu. Just as Yuiitsu began to refocus himself on the mission, a powerful jet of water began tearing into the ground, rapidly moving in Yuiitsu's direction. With barely enough time to react, Yuiitsu jumped back, his feet latching onto the chamber's stone wall. On the opposite end of the chamber, Bishop stud one hand adjusting his mask. "Water Release huh." Yuiitsu sounded pleased. "Fighting Water Release users is kind of my specialty." "The I guess this should be interesting." Bishop sated from behind his mask. It appeared as if Ichiru had been left behind greatly, as each time he made a stop, the trail seemingly continued. Finally within an enclosed room, he could clearly see a tunnel leading underground. "I swear, when I catch this man..." Ichiru without even knowing what was underground jumped in completely blind. His two subordinates following behind him jumped down as well. In this distance, Ichiru could see that Yuiitsu had already gotten into the action. "Damn Kumo-nin." When Ichiru finally arrived, Yuiitsu was in the middle of dodging another concentrated jet of water from Bishop, which again sliced into the stone of the chamber. As Ichiru and his two clocked figures dropped down into the chamber as well, Bishop quickly redirected his attack towards the new targets. "Ichiru!" Yuiitsu shouted, quickly clasping his hand together in a futile attempt to erect a defense before Bishop's attack reached Ichiru.
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