Isn't he in position yet? We need to hurry; we are running out of time!
Look there.
Well it is about time. Alright team 26 move in!
In silence the three men moved in to surround the enemy squad of ninjas. With speed so quick the team struck attacking the unsuspecting men and killed two men in the process alerting the others to their presence. The men reacted drawing their weapons and shouting "we're under attack" and "ninjas be on your guard" but it was too late for them. In a matter of seconds the ambush was sprung, and it was over.
Well that was easer then I thought said one man.
Too easy if you ask me said the other. The two men standing in the midst the bodies where shinobi from the village hidden in the sand, the first man, checking to make sure all the men where in fact dead, had large brown eyes a build that resembled that of an athlete and a mop of black hair brushed to one side so it covered half of his face. The other man was of the same high but more muscular then the last with short blond hair green eyes and a trimmed beard.
Where is Genji said the second man?
I'm right here! Out from the rushes walked a man, he was somewhat short with brown hair and deep blue eyes. In his hand he held a scroll with a brown cover and yellow string tied around it to hold it shut. Sorry I'm late, had to put the others away.
"You and your puppets said the first man. Well lets head back to the village. With that the three men set off toward home making stops along the way to rest and eat. It took two whole days before the men reach the village. The team was sent to deal with a group of rouge ninjas in the land of rivers on the edge of the border next to land of fire. Their mission was a sensitive one for the enemy ninjas had been raiding both the wind country and fire country. Both the village hidden in the leaves and the village hidden in the sand had sent teams to take care of the ninjas but team 26 gotten lucky and was able ambush them first preventing the rouge ninjas from fleeing across the border in to the land of fire, potentially causing an incident between the two nations.
The village hidden in the sand is located in the south east part of the land of wind around one of the many large oases. Despite the country's extremely harsh environment, it has a large population. Although they have warred with the village hidden in the leaves in the past, the Land of Wind is on good terms with the Land of Fire, with a great deal of trade going on between the two countries. The village its self is surrounded by a high wall of stone preventing anyone from attacking the city from any direction other than the front gate, which has a long narrow causeway to funnel enemies if needed. On either side of the causeway the wall was constructed with three tired landings that allow soldiers to stand and defend the village.
After walking the causeway team 26 entered out onto the large open square.
Meet at the sands later to celebrate our victory said the man with the black hair.
Sure replied Genji and the man with the blond hair. With that they all took off in different directions. Genji Monogatari, a water style user, member of team 26 and the sands puppet core he had distinguished himself in battle when fighting with two other teams against a large enemy force. During the battle most of the sand ninjas where injured, Genji in a last effort took control of the two other puppets on the field and was able to hold off the enemy force till backup arrived. For this Genji was made a Jonin and for his advance skill with puppets was assigned to team 26 along with Shinn Asuka a skilled swordsman and wind user who reserved special commendation for holding his own against enemy shinobi form the village hidden in the mist who are renowned for their brutal ways of creating deadly warriors. During one of his bouts he took a slash to his face, cutting him from above his left eye diagonally down the side of his face to just below he left ear, he hated the scare so much he covered it with his long black hair. This gave him a sense of mystery that he enjoyed when talking to women and they responded to it in kind. The last member of team 26 was Hayato Sakurai tall, blond, and a powerful earth user. Nicknamed the titan, like medical ninja, Hayato could condense his chakra to a single point giving him the appearance of having incredible strength paired with his high level earth style Justus he was a forced to be reckoned with. The team had been created three years ago after the death of the forth Kazekage who had been killed by Orochimaru on his way to the village hidden in the leaves, during the Chunin exams. Scene then team 26 had under taken missions of either great importance or had I high level of danger.
That night Shinn, Hayato, and Genji meet at the shifting Sands a local favorite. After every mission many of the sand village's teams would spend the night eating, drinking, and swapping stories about what happened on their missions. Genji was running late tonight he had fallen asleep at his workbench after fixing his puppets. When he arrived he found the others sitting in a booth off to the side along the far wall. Shinn was talking to one of the waitress, while Hayato stared out the window. Genji sat down next to Hayato, who looked over when Genji sat down then turned back to the window.
So maybe later if you're not doing anything we could meet up, what time you get off work?
That's enough Shinn leave the poor girl alone she doesn't know any better. Off with you girl don't you have some tables to clear.
Rosy, why'd you have to go and do that?
Because you are distracting my staff, Rosy the owner of the shifting sands was a tall woman with tan skin and reddish cheeks, her hair was brown and tied in a tight bun on top of her head, a sweet women most of the time she had no children, her only son died some years ago from an ambush by a beast with solid black eyes and strange markings. In the report the creature was said to look more man then beast, Rosy's son and Genji were the same age when he died. Rosy's son and Genji had known each other for they had attended the ninja academy together as well as graduated the same year. That is why when it came to her staff or Genji you did not want to cross her, they were the only family she had left and that is when most people realise that roses have thrones. What can I get you boys?
Well scene you sacred her away maybe you would like to meet up after work and... With a quick slap to the back of Shinn's head rosy brought down her note pad and struck him. What the heck was that for?
I'm old enough to be your mother. Now then what can I get you? After placing their orders Hayato turned to Genji and asked. What took you so long?
Sorry, I had fallen asleep…
Working on your puppets again Shinn interrupted. Those things are too much work if you ask me just give me a sword any day blurted Shinn. True as it was Genji loved his puppets they were a labour of love and the result of many battles. When Genji was given the rank of Jonin he was given access to the puppet cores supply house where members could use whatever they wanted to create their own puppet, but in Genji's case it was puppets. He had constructed three puppets named Deimos, Phobos, and Mars. Of the three Deimos and Phobos were small only about 2ft in high as where Demos was purple with small horns on its fat head, it had a big stomach, and large arms and legs. Phobos was teal with long horns atop his long almost spear like head, it had a thin body and small arms and legs. Both had sharp finger like claws, pointed rows of fangs and their tails that had a sharp arrow head on the end of them. Deimos could open its chest to reveal thousands of sharp nettles that could ether be ejected at a large group of enemy's or used to impale one enemy. All the nettles were coated with a toxin that caused terror in enemies making them flee before falling very ill. Phobos with its small body was different, with its thin arms they were more flexible and able to extend outwards with cable increasing its range of attack also hidden within it could also spew forth a cloud of panic enduring gas making allies turn against each other. Both puppets were quick and agile meant for attacking fast and causing terror and panic among the enemy. Mars on the other hand was tall nearly 6ft with steal and leather armor covering its arms, legs, and chest. Upon its back a red cape and atop its head a steal helm with a crest of stiff red fur, the helmet covered the head front to back apart from a section where the face could be seen past the nose guard. It was a puppet dressed for war with a steal long sword in its right hand and a tower shield in its left. The sword was weighted at the point to give it more power when it was swung. The shield was almost as tall as mars, it was curved inward toward the body and in the centre of the shield was a brass plate that could open and fire a torrent of nettles or a jet of searing flame. Genji loved his puppets and took great care to make sure that they were always in fighting condition.
The team spent the night eating, drinking, and conversing with the other patrons till it was time for the sands to close. They left the sands at 2am walking down the empty street when Shinn started to speak. Tomorrow we need to be at the Kazekage manor by noon they got some new mission for us, I don't have any details more than that. I will see you all there and with that he left making the turn toward his house.
Well I will see you tomorrow then Hayato. Genji said and with a nod Hayato turned and left.
The next day the team met outside the manor in preparation for their next mission. All right shall we go in and find out what is in store for us next. The team nodded its approval and went in.
Another job well done by team 26, you never fail to impress. Thank you councilman replied the team. The Lord Kazekage has a new mission for you. He wants you to go investigate a report of a strange organisation that is currently operation in the five great countries. They are said to be highly skilled, and it is still unclear as to what they are up to. So do not engage the targets this is a reconnaissance mission only find out what they are up to and report back. Is that understood? Yes, councilman they replied. The last confirmed sighting of the organisation was in the land of fields to the north through the land of rain. They were sighted wearing black robs with red clouds on them. That is all for now. Gather your equipment and make any necessary preparations. When you are ready head out and make us proud. Yes councilman.
After leaving the Kazekage's manor the team gathered what they would need and met at the square in front of the causeway. With everything in hand they departed. They left the village in the late afternoon just before evening as to avoided the extreme heat of the afternoon sun. For most people the deserts of the land of wind would confuse most travellers causing them to get lost among the ever shifting sands but not for the people of the sand village to them it was home and could read the land knowing which way to travel, same as a sailor knows this seas and a farmer knows his own fields. The group headed north to the land of rain stopping at the border to rest for the night. Their trip up until this point was uneventful, as they had expected but the next few days would be more treacherous for they would be in crossing two boarders and starting their mission. They woke early to eat a small breakfast before dawning some of their rain gear. In the land of rain it was common for storms to appear at random times and without warning. Their journey took longer than they had wanted for the rain slowed their progress and more than once they had to double back to correct their direction. It was late on the third day when they reached one of the board towns between the land of fields and the land of rain. Here they would be able to get a hot meal a warm bed. They would also be able to regain some of their strength they lost along the journey.
We would like a room for the night if you have any available.
Of course, we don't get many travellers these days with all the fighting going on. The inn keeper was an elderly man with a bald head and I wide smile. Fighting, Asked Genji. Why yes, it seems that bandits have taken over one of the villages to the north on the road and are now attacking caravans and travellers that pass by. I would avoid going that way if you can help it. You could always take the road east and by pass the village it is a little longer but it is safer.
Thanks for the heads up, old man said Shinn. Genji took the key from the inn keeper and the team headed to their room on the second floor. After dropping their things in their room they made their way to the dining room for some dinner and to discuss their plans.
I say we take out the bandits, and follow the road north. It is the shortest way to get us where we need to be, Argued Shinn. I mean it is not like we can't handle a few bandits.
The bandits are a problem, stated Hayato. But that is not our mission we are already behind schedule, plus we do not need to be getting into any unnecessary fights before completing our mission.
Hayato has a point Shinn, started Genji. However we can't just leave this threat unattended who knows how many more people might get hurt if we don't do something about it. My vote is for taking on the bandits. If we can get rid of them we can make up the lost time taking the road north and help clear the road for people to travel safely. There is one last thing we should consider on this matter. It is also possible that the people we are trying to find are behind this.
Then I say we take them out, said Shinn slamming his hand on the table. We take them out and see what they know.
Then Hayato started to speak again. We will need to handle this delicately, we don't want to cause too much of a commotion that will alert the other nations as well as the people we are looking for about our operations here.
After finishing their dinner they returned to the room to rest for the night.
The next morning after breakfast in the dining room they started north on the road toward the bandit encampment. It was almost midday when they saw the village. Some of the houses had been burned and most of the other buildings were destroyed. From a distance the village looked deserted. The team left the road deciding it would be better to wade through the tall grass. 200ft from the village the grass became shot and they no longer would be able to hide. They moved quickly to the closest building, a partly burned house. They could hear voices coming from inside. The team learned that the bandits were planning on moving on for travellers no longer used the road.
What's the plan? Asked Genji in a hushed tone.
Here's the plan. Leaping through the hole in the wall Shinn drew his sword and killed the two men inside.
You idiot said Hayato. Now they know we are here. With that Hayato launch himself at the closest bandit smashing him through the wall. Shinn turned launching a blast of wind at three men charging at him knocking them back into the house adjacent him. By then the whole of the camp knew that they were being attacked. The bandits were bearing down on the two men when Hayato use his jrising stone spears jutsu, causing 6ft long stone nettles to rise from the ground killing four men and wounding some others. The bandits were still closing in on Shinn and Hayato when from down the ally way a steady jet of fire burned forth separating the two sides. Shinn cessing the chance cast Air Current Wild Dance justu which forced the air to redirect the jet of flame at the charging bandits. When the fire stopped Shinn and Hayato charged at the enemy killing as they went. Genji now stood where the other two just were Mars by his side as he loosed Deimos and Phobos striking, slashing, and biting the bandits. The battle raged for a time with the bandits attacking in groups of two and three wall Hayato punched using his earth release armor giving him the ability to shape the stone armor he wore in to blunt weapons on his hand. Shinn slashed at anyone he could using his sword and firing wind blades knocking enemies back giving him a chance to strike. Genji had mars right in the middle of the battle hacking and slashing at those around the puppet. He then had Deimos and Phobos attack the bandits who were focused on fighting mars and his teammates. The battle had ended almost as quickly as it had started with most of the bandits dead, and with a few knocked unconscious. The team decided to question some of the bandits to find out what they knew about the people they were looking for but the prisoners knew nothing of use. They tied the men up to a wooden beam that was left standing form a ruined house with the intent to find the local authorities to deal with remaining bandits. After a brief period of rest team 26 continued their mission going from town to town searching the country side for any information or someone fitting the description of the people they were looking for. They had spent five days looking with nothing to show for their effort when a hawk carrying a message form the sand village that said they were to return at once for the Kazekage had been kidnaped by the same people they had been trying to find.