1
-Team Sasoriza-
WARNING
*This is based in the alternate universe from New Horizons. It would be wise to read that as well/before reading this.*
4:56PM; Konoha; Hokage Office
Amid the weakly lit room sat a sole shinobi surrounded by papers. As an essential portion to the position of village leader, the man devotedly filled out stacks of paperwork. Running a hand through his spikey blonde hair, Namikaze Minato sighed quietly to himself.
"Hm?" the intellectual leader questioned aloud. A more concerning folder fell into view after he acquired a fresh heap, filling out the final document of his last batch. 'This must have been what Inoichi was talking about.'
Opening the manila envelope, Minato looked over the solitary file within.
_Classified; Mission Rank 'A'_
Location: Land of Rivers – Southern Region
Enemies: !Suna~; !Unknown
Details: Anbu Black Ops intelligence along Konoha borders have detailed suspicious shinobi activity in western neighboring country. Signs indicate small Suna escort and rendezvous with third party contact. As Suna aligns itself further from Konoha, we grow weary of their activities as a close threat.
Shinobi Allocated: _ _ _ _
_l_
Assignment: Investigate suspicious activity; confront enemy with intent to capture for purpose of interrogation. Eyes open for third party variable; gathering intelligence is essential to operation. Lethal force granted.
_END_
'Suna…hm,' the Hokage thought calmly, pondering his resources. 'The team should be small for this. Two, with utmost discretion. Alright…'
"Daisuke-san," he called casually, standing to approach a wide filing cabinet.
"Yes Minato-sama," the Hokage's hand entered from his place monitoring the hallway.
"Bring these Anbu to me," he said calmly as he shuffled through the documents, handing the man two ninja dossiers.
"Yes sir," he responded with a bow, disappearing in a burst of smoke.
Not a minute went by before a shinobi's presence caused Minato to look up from the pages before him.
"Hello Hokage-sama," a man in a signature Anbu mask greeted evenly, smooth red lines displaying the visage of a wolf against the white porcelain.
"Ah, Kinushi. Thank you for being so prompt," Minato said in genuine appreciation.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," the stoic man replied in his low baritone voice with a slight bow before another, much shorter Anbu member appeared instantaneously with Daisuke arriving shortly afterward, returning the shinobi manifests.
"Ynoshi as well, thank you both for your haste," the Hokage said gratefully, observing as the taller shinobi acknowledged his fellow Black Ops member with the slightest of nods. The simple gesture was quietly returned in kind as Ynoshi observed serenely through the curved slits of a violet lined boar mask.
Both ninja wore modified Black Ops equipment that reflected their own unique styles, separating them from their standard-clad comrades.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," the small woman answered in her soft but unyielding alto voice, bowing her masked form to their caring leader respectfully. The kunoichi had dark hair that fell softly between her shoulder blades and wore a matt silver chest piece that did well to contain her exceptional chest. Ynoshi wore matching forearm and shin guards that bore gentle, elegant flower engravings. All of which she wore atop tight black pants and a long sleeve body piece.
Her taller counterpart sported the usual all black pants and body piece, but donned a long katana across his back. Guarding most of his upper body were intricate armor sections of a sturdy and flowing nature, designed so that they didn't clang together (there was in fact no sound emitted by any of his movements). The armor covered his chest, belly, back and shoulders as well as his outer arms, hands and fingers. Made out of a near-black metal, Kinushi's thighs and shins were protected as well.
"I need you two for a classified assignment," the powerful leader informed, raising the file to the male Anbu who swiftly relieved him of the document. "Secrecy is of utmost importance here, which is why I chose you two. You will make an effective team, as I believe you complement each other. This, and I trust you have the effective power to be in and out swiftly and silently."
"Thank you Hokage-sama," the two ninja said in peculiarly harmonious unison.
"Ynoshi, your code name for this mission is Yagiza. Kinushi, yours is Sasoriza," he finished, smiling coolly at the two masked shinobi. "Sasoriza, you are the captain of this mission due to your greater pool of experience. You are dismissed. Return to me safely."
"Yes sir!" they accepted together, replying in unison once more. In an instant, the duo made a phantom departure that mirrored their arrival.
En Route; Team Sasoriza
Traveling for less than three seconds, the specialized cell traversed several blocks before halting together in the shadows of a tight civilian alley.
"Gather what you need and rendezvous here in three minutes," the captain ordered in near silence, keeping his senses open for signs of eavesdroppers. When it came to stealth and secrecy, Sasoriza erred on the side of supreme caution.
"Yes sir," she responded, equally quiet as they split up; traveling at insane speeds to her own home to prepare for the imminent trip with battles to come.
Before two minutes could pass, Sasoriza reunited with Yagiza.
Arriving like a ghost, the tall ninja stared at his subordinate as he realized she had beaten him. Regarding his short companion for a moment, the captain seemed to be in thought as Yagiza caught a glimpse of his deep aqua-blue eyes from the moonlight that slipped through the curved view-slits. After the man finished his brief thought Sasoriza made a small motion and the two elites set off on their journey to the Land of Rivers.
2:01AM; Land of Rivers
After roughly nine hours of quiet tree bounding the shinobi duo breached the confines of the Land of Fire's southwestern border.
With a raise of his fist, Sasoriza slowed to a stop within the cover of trees and brush with his partner.
"Set up camp," Sasoriza directed as he installed a perimeter guard. Diligently setting wire traps coupled with smoke bombs and poison gas, he glanced toward the smaller kunoichi.
Looking down, Sasoriza redid the wire fold he had previously been working on. He had not realized his eyes lingered on her curving, black-suited figure.
After a few quick minutes, Yagiza finished setting the sleeping space for the two of them and leapt into the branches of the tree above their beds; still within the confines of their invisible dome of defense.
"I will keep first watch if it's all the same to you, taichou," she spoke quietly, barely audible to the man just below her.
"I will rest," Sasoriza accepted after a short pause, matching her audibility. "Wake me in three hours."
"Yes sir," Yagiza replied softly, staring off into the dark as she listened to her commanding officer curl up below her.
8:13AM
A cool breeze signified Yagiza of her consciousness as she awoke, unmoving. Not bothering to open her eyes, she searched in three-hundred-sixty-degree vision to locate her captain; which she did successfully in less than half a second.
Acquiring her subject, she decided to watch him before she signified that she was up. Studying his body and chakra closely, Yagiza observed as he sat on his heels in a crouch, staring straight in the enemy's direction. His heartbeat was normal, and his energy was potent and strong.
A fierce shinobi he must be, with such strained chakra pools. She could feel the power radiating from him, but as she studied she understood he had a natural gift of which he put to full potential.
'He must constantly push his limits,' she thought in curious admiration. 'Only way he could reach chakra levels of that magnitude.'
"I'm ready, taichou," she informed him, instantly appearing by his side. "Shall we break camp?"
The captain turned a masked face in her direction before smoothly looking forward once more.
"Quickly," he answered evenly, disappearing as he set himself to undo every elaborate, tedious trap he had set six hours prior.
Once they erased all traces of their presence from the surrounding area the shinobi duo raced toward their objective in silence. Moving from tree to tree in unseen grace, the Special Operations ninja made it to the coordinates given to them for their assignment.
"Taichou," the smaller woman spoke as they halted their advance. "I see them."
"… How many?" Sasoriza asked, disregarding his question of 'How?' The seasoned jonin easily worked the math to mark her as a Hyuga clan member, noting his discovery of her dojutsu ability.
"Their temporary settlement is a sort of reinforced camp. It seems to be split into two sides; fifteen on the southern and twenty three on the northern," she answered plainly. "They appear to be mobilizing, but not for battle."
"A meeting between the two, maybe. Who are they?" he inquired, keeping his senses open to ambush as they whispered despite his new knowledge of her visual ability.
"Both sides are Special Operations units," Yagiza informed, looking over all the darkly-suited masked men and women among the foreign ranks. "There's a few impressive specimens, but one of the southern group members has chakra sealing wrappings covering most of his body. He has a terrible aura about him."
"Hm. If one of our enemies are indeedSuna like our report suggests then it may be safe to assume that he is the Hidden Sand's jinchuuriki. If this is the case he may be even more unstable than previously recorded," Sasoriza said, a molecule of emotion reaching his tone that did not go unnoticed by the Konoha kunoichi. "We need a plan."
"Our mission is to capture them," Yagiza stated simply, motionless as she investigated their adversaries through her gifted white eyes. "I do not know if success will arise from this course of action. It may be difficult to incapacitate them all."
"Then I'll modify the mission. We must invent and execute a surgical ambush on a select figure," the Anbu captain stated coolly, his bright mind working hard for a solution. "One of the jonin rank."
"From which side?" Yagiza asked before mentally answering her own question.
"The southern group is the Sand if that wrapped boy is Gaara. It would be unwise to choose them in this situation when a third party has presented itself. Secrecy would be lost in starting a war," Sasoriza summed up, still envisioning a game plan. "We observe. Determine the highest rank among the northern group and seize them."
"How will we perform this?" she asked, genuine curiosity reaching her tone.
"Well that's simple," the man in the wolf mask informed in dry amusement, tilting his head in thought as he continued to face their adversaries. "With my sharingan."
End
For my loyal followers/readers, yes. This is canon to New Horizons, you may take your safety breaths now.
PSA!: This is the only other Naruto story I will be doing for the foreseeable future (I'd say ever only because I do not know how long NH or UC are going to take).
Also: If you enjoy Destiny & Star Wars then you're in for a real treat. I'll be releasing a short crossover story that will be finished within the next few months.
Also if you like Destiny, I have a solo story for it: Power Without
Hope you enjoyed!
Good day, and thank you for reading.
-Kyzer-