Chapter 4: C-Rank mission! Disturbance in Konalvera
A/N: Konalvera is just a civilian-dominated village I dreamed up for the sake of needing to come up with a good mission. Anyone who was hoping for Zabuza… sorry, but that will not be a mission for team six or an arc in this story though I considered it.
It was a bright and sunny early morning in the village, Kiba observed as he walked through the streets as children were playing in the street occasionally getting in the way of Kiba's destination. Akamaru quietly rested on his shoulder almost like a parrot or something. He stopped a second to adjust his hood and realized Shikamaru was turning the corner from a side road.
"Shikamaru!" He waved.
His lazy teammate glanced around and spotted Kiba, nodding his head. "Hey," he greeted, walking over to Kiba. Akamaru gave him a bark but he couldn't tell if the dog was trying to say 'hi' or didn't like Shikamaru because the Genin slapped Kiba a few times when he needed to wake him up from his genjutsu spell. That day had passed about a little less than two weeks ago now; squad six had since then took on their first eight missions in seven days, tacking on two yesterday. Anko-sensei for some reason pushed them harder and insisted they do two missions as fast as they possibly could but she wouldn't elaborate on why.
The duo was heading to meet with Anko right now, and Naruto was supposed to be there as well of course. "I hope she doesn't make us to do two missions again," Shikamaru decided to share. The Nara had a habit of complaining about things, but at least he did what he was supposed to do for his team.
Kiba thought about it for a moment before responding. "I kinda like it," he decided. "Only because two missions means two payments. But she was pushing us to go so fast that it isn't worth the bonus," He inputted.
Shikamaru shook his head. "No," he said. "Doing two missions in one day get us paid for two, but then we do another mission or perhaps two the next day anyway. Which means we're just doing more work… when we could've done one mission each day to get the same amount of pay, this just means we get paid quicker to do more work than we have to," Shikamaru complained.
Kiba snorted. "How do you manage getting around all the time when you're so negative about everything?"
"Why be positive about things when I can see it's gonna be a drag?"
Kiba made a dismissive gesture. "Man, you're hopeless."
Anko and Naruto were already at their meeting place, which wasn't too surprising that Naruto had beat them there because for some reason Anko chose for the squad to rally at Ichiraku's. Naruto was probably here an hour early. "Hey sensei, Naruto," Kiba greeted, announcing their presence.
"Good, you two are finally here," Anko stated, as she handed Ichiraku some money. Shikamaru noted that there wasn't any sign that there had been food where she was sitting. Did Naruto just get a free meal? He wondered as Naruto have them a wave 'hello' as he continued to chow down.
"I know you're all going to hate me for this," Anko smiled cheerfully. "But you're going to be taking on three D-rank missions today."
"THREE?!" The trio spat, Naruto in fact quite literally since he had ramen in his mouth.
"Yup," she replied winking at them with one eye. "The three of you will accomplish three missions today as fast as you possibly can. That is why I asked for you all to meet with me earlier than usual."
"But sensei… why do we have to do so much extra work I mean come on… I know we didn't get to start taking missions until later than the other squads but why is it so important that we catch up?" The angry Nara asked.
"We aren't trying to 'catch up,' we're trying to prove ourselves worthy of moving on to C-rank before the other squad's Jonin are even considering it," Anko revealed. "By completing three missions in record times all in one day… we have ammo to do so. Then tomorrow Naruto and I will have a few words with the Hokage to make sure he agrees with me."
"Uh but why me, sensei?" Naruto asked, surprised to hear her say his name.
"Because I have something special in mind if he says no. We'll discuss it later," she told him dismissively. Great, what the hell is she up to now. Shikamaru could only imagine.
"Anyway," Anko continued. "It's also why I told Naruto to arrive even earlier than you guys. I knew he would dread the idea of doing three D-ranks so I paid for him to go 'all-you-can-eat.' Don't take that as favoritism though; Shikamaru gets dibs on all of the absolute easiest tasks in our missions today because he's lazy and wants even less to do with all of it than Naruto, I suspect. Kiba, I'm going to increase the training time between us tonight to work on your jutsu as your reward."
Kiba nodded at that taking it as a suitable reward. Shikamaru didn't really show any reaction at all. At least she's not gonna make me work… hard. He thought. But it's still work… Urgh.
The Genin listened to Anko intently, deciding she was actually being very helpful even though at first it seemed like she was being an asshole. She was pushing them so they could advance past missions they all hated and then went out of her way to reward each of them in some way to accommodate for the work she decided to force on them without warning. At that moment, it seemed pretty nice to have Anko as their Jonin instructor, even though she flirted with the grey lines of unstable and psychotic at times.
"Now, let's get started!" She commanded.
Kiba and Shikamaru for the second straight day found themselves arriving at about the same time (though not from the same path this time) and just like yesterday… Anko and Naruto were already waiting for them.
Anko smirked at them. "Ready for your first C-rank mission, boys?"
Kiba and Shikamaru were genuinely surprised to hear her say that. "Wow so that actually worked?" Kiba asked referencing the three D-rank missions.
"Uhm… not exactly," Anko chuckled, and began sharing the story of what she and Naruto did.
Anko walked into the Hokage's office in her normal attire, with the exception of a backpack that she hadn't been wearing recently due to its lack of purpose on a D-rank mission. However, as she promised the boys, she had no intention of taking a D-rank mission today.
The Hokage smiled warmly as she approached. "How many missions do you plan to take on today, Anko?"
"Just one," she replied.
He nodded acceptingly, though he hadn't expected that answer but he had no reason to push considering she made them take three the previous day. Perhaps she had a special training day planned out. Sarutobi then began to describe one of the D-rank missions but Anko merely shook her head before he even got very far into it.
"I'm requesting a C-rank today," She stated bluntly.
Sarutobi's eyes widened but recovered admirably. "Your squad hasn't been doing missions for two weeks yet, and you actually think they're ready? I'm amazed you think I would even consider such a request."
Anko waved a hand through her hair kind of awkwardly. "Well… I can't say it's exactly a request," she admitted.
He raised an eyebrow at her openness. "Then what is it?" He laid out, starting to suspect Anko was operating on Orochimaru's manipulation teachings.
"A demand."
The Hokage stared at her hiding that he was impressed she could come into his office and speak like that without being disrespectful and show absolutely no shame or fear in doing so. Not that it changed his mind of course.
"Denied," He decided, but this didn't discourage Anko.
"My Genin did THREE missions in near RECORD time yesterday! I strongly advise you reconsider… Lord-Hokage."
He noted that she took the formal approach that time and could smell a scheme radiating off of her tongue.
"I am pleased with team six's progress, but I will not permit them to graduate to C-level missions just yet. You will have to remain patient."
Anko gave him a sigh that he translated as 'last chance old man, or you're going to regret it!' but Sarutobi stood his ground and remained unfazed. Anko dropped her backpack to the ground suddenly. Sarutobi stared at the gesture blankly until a poof of smoke occurred and the backpack transformed back into… Naruto?
"You know what to do kid…"
"Shadow clone jutsu!"
Sarutobi didn't have time to react as about twenty Naruto's filled his office and then all of them prepared another jutsu he was (unfortunately) all too familiar with.
"SEXY JUTSU!" They simultaneously shouted and the third Hokage knew he was screwed.
After a looong moment trying to regain his composure he eyed Anko angrily… Though it was kind of hard to actually keep his eyes on her. "ANKO MITARASHI!"
"Ha, don't freak out on me too much! I'm willing to give you one last chance to give in before Naruto sends these clones out through the whole village… except… they won't be beautiful curvy women, they will be imitations of you," she threatened confidently, though she was careful not to directly insult the man's looks… particularly what no one could or wanted to see.
"Sorry old man! I'm just following my sensei's orders!" Naruto protected himself.
The petrified Hokage looked like he wanted to kill Anko. "Sometimes I really wish Orochimaru had neglected to teach you some of his specialties…" Sarutobi growled. Manipulative tactics like this were not supposed to be used on the Hokage!
Shikamaru and Kiba couldn't believe what they were just told…
They gaped at their comrades like they lost their minds and then they bursted up laughing. "I can't believe that actually worked!" Kiba shouted.
"I was pretty nervous while it was going down…" Naruto admitted. "But my sexy jutsu is unbeatable!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Hey, I saw that Shikamaru! You're just jealous that I've gotten the better of the Hokage with a jutsu of my own twice!"
"What? Jealous? You're an idiot," he brushed off.
Anko watched the bickering ensue with amusement for awhile but eventually grew weary and cleared her throat. "Are you all forgetting we have a mission to carry out?" She reminded.
Konalvera was a decent sized village that focuses on economic profit above all else. There were no ninja, just hired mercenaries to defend the riches those who resided acquired. Though expensive, the mercs were effective enough to keep the thugs and crooks in line. Only a skilled con artist would get out of this village alive if he tried to rip anyone off. Konalvera rarely had a need to put a bounty on anyone's head because if they did get out of the village… they didn't get very far. Another perk of using mercenaries instead of ninja was that when someone was murdered and another was highly suspected, it was easy to find someone willing to take the job for revenge. On the other hand, that also tended to have an intimidating domino-effect for with each assassination came a new bounty on the person most likely to have made the previous. That domino-effect is what held the village together… the fear of the domino-effect kept them in line. Well, for the most part. Not everyone is sane after all.
However… recently there were civilians coming to the Hidden Leaf begging for help. The clients claimed they had to escape from the village they resided in because of the rise of some sort of religious cult calling themselves 'The Order.' At first, the fleeing Konalverans came to the Hokage for help in startling consistency, but suddenly it stopped. Rumor said the cult was still in power, but it would seem they found a way to prevent anyone from escaping their clutches. Of course, none of the people being held within Konalvera's walls were ninja… On the other hand, none of the followers of this cult were said to be ninja either. That is why it was just a C-rank mission, and it was a given that a team featuring Anko Mitarashi would rain hell on a bunch of outclassed thugs.
Squad six eagerly approached the gates with anticipation. Their mission was simple, all they had to do was confirm who the members of the cult were, and… dismantle their grip on the village. Anko prepared them ahead of time for their cover story, stopping at a different village on the way to swap out of their uniforms and put their headbands away for stealth purposes. A group of mercs stopped them at the gate and questioned them. It took awhile, but Anko and her team were eventually admitted inside the village after the mercs were sure they had never seen any of them before and also that their possessions truly marked them as simple folk.
After they were out of ear-shot of the gates Shikamaru could be heard grumbling. "I don't like this, no weapons right in hostile territory."
"Try to relax, they don't even know we're coming for them," She stated with a sadistic glee that sounded like she saw the cult as her prey. Naruto let out a shudder at her sudden change of tone.
Konalvera was a lot different than home. The streets were more crowded with people and it probably didn't help now that nobody was allowed to leave. To the right they could see in the distance that new houses were being built to accommodate for the consequential growth in their village's population. The buildings themselves actually looked pretty nice, but Naruto had to remember that Anko-sensei did tell them the village prided itself on its economy. As for people walking around, they seemed very… tense. It reminded Naruto of how the common people back in the Hidden Leaf would act when he pulled pranks, though albeit not as angry… but they had a similar aura.
Anko lead the group through the crowd keeping a watchful eye on her Genin while trying to observe the people as well. She managed to find a closed store with no one standing around it and brought them over so they could talk privately and issue orders.
"Kiba, I want you and Akamaru to look for the mayor's hall… and survey them. Find out if the head of the cult is there or if the mayor still retains any power."
"Sure, but why is that important?" He asked.
Anko eyed him neutrally, reminding herself they are only Genin. "If we're going to take them down, we're going to have to figure out how things work around here. It's important information to see if the mayor is cooperative with the cult, being forced to cooperate, or dead." Seeing the trio still needed detail, she continued.
"This will clue us in on a lot of unknown facts. For example, if he's dead… we can assume the cult simply took over by force. If he's alive and not being monitored or threatened by the cult, they're in his pocket so he can gain more control than his political powers provide him."
A general understanding flushed over the rookies who nodded. "Well, don't just stand here, get going!" She beckoned.
Kiba grunted and took off with Akamaru. "Shikamaru… I want you to take a walk through the village and observer the defenses. Those mercenaries that let us in didn't look like they belong to some cult, so we have to learn more about the relationship between them. The obvious guess would be the cult is paying the mercs off."
"Paying them off? For them to sweep the mercenaries onto their side it would take a large amount of ryo… a sustainable amount. This is why you're interested in the mayor?" He asked, connecting one and two together.
Anko snorted. "Sharp as a knife, kid. But I'm not surprised you picked up on my hypothesis so far," she admitted, thinking about how the Nara managed to plan two steps ahead of her during the Genin test and catch her with his family jutsu. As irritated by that as she had been, she found the lazy teen very interesting.
"I'll analyze the village and get back to the two of you as fast as I can," He departed in the opposite direction. Naruto had a facial expression that gave Anko the impression he didn't believe the Nara really meant that last part.
"Wait, so what's my job sensei?"
"You're going to find a hotel that doesn't smell like a flaming pig carcass," She delegated, handing him the ryos.
"Why do I get the lame job?"The stated the disappointed Naruto as he accepted the cash.
"We're not doing the whole mission in one day you know… I only have so many tasks that need to be done until we've assessed the situation. That is what ninja do when they go undercover with little vague information to no knowledge at all. You'll get your chance when the time comes, now go on," Anko lectured.
Naruto sighed and walked off to do his part. He wanted to ask Anko what she was going to be doing but he figured that if she was doing it personally it was probably a lot cooler and more important than his job, which was a little depressing. Naruto counted the ryos and reasoned he could spend at least part of it on himself but decided against it. He wasn't sure how Anko would react towards him for that one… and he didn't have a death wish.
Shikamaru casually made his way through and around the village. He didn't walk fast of course, mission or not there was no immediate danger, so the Nara had no reason to rush. He was lazy after all. However, the lazy pace also made him more acute and thorough. There were three gates in total in between the fortified walls and basic defenses. A five-man squad of mercenaries tended to each gate at a time, but he couldn't determine what kind of signal they used to call for backup if the townspeople rebelled and tried to force their way through.
When he walked through the village itself he noticed the crowding issue. There was no way people wouldn't rebel when they have the numbers and enough anger-fueled support to overthrow the cult, it didn't make any sense. What were these people afraid of?
After searching for a long time, he finally spotted what he assumed was an actual cult member, a man in purple robes with a three-man mercenary escort. When the man turned the corner, Shikamaru's eyes widened at the symbol on the back of his robes. He'd seen that symbol before…
Kiba spent two whole hours staking out the mayor's hall. He knew immediately when he arrived that someone, mayor or not… was in there because security was overflowing. Mercenaries were all over the surrounding streets and to the side of the entrance. Hell, they even put a squad on the roof… someone was paranoid.
He and Akamaru determined with their noses that there were about thirty guards… but he couldn't come up with an exact with civilians constantly coming and going so he could only estimate based on the ones who were always there. He was starting to lose some of his self-discipline when nothing had happened for so long. He was getting very bored until a pair of men in purple robes arrived with an entourage of additional mercenary escorts. A third man in purple robes joined them, stepping out of the mayor's hall. The mercenaries that previously guarded the building signaled each other and filtered the streets out of civilians while others gathered around the trio Kiba concluded were the cultists. The squad on the roof remained, likely assigned to make sure no one broke in for one reason or another.
Akamaru quietly growled to get his masters attention. "What?" Kiba responded, looking closer at their backs.
"No way… that symbol," He muttered. "I want to follow them… but there are so many of these damn mercenaries it might be a very bad idea."
Akamaru wagged his tail and seemed to bark in agreement. "Right. Let's go find Anko-sensei."
Anko took it upon herself to listen to the villagers of Konalvera talk, paying visits to different restaurants and coffee places for recon purposes. There were few areas as a ninja in which Orochimaru did not excel, and he made sure that his student was much the same. Actually, he not only took her on reconnaissance missions personally, but also convinced Jiraiya to do a few with her. So Anko definitely had the best tutoring in the entire shinobi world when it came to gathering information off the streets. Not that she actually approved of like half of Jiraiya's methods of course… or even believed half of his methods were truly aimed at the goal he claimed them to be.
That said, she knew the perv was good at what he did, she saw it observed him first hand, even if a lot of it was regrettable. In the end, she had to admit… he contributed to what Orochimaru had already taught her. In just a couple hours she managed to scavenge a lot of pieces around the puzzle of the cult just by enjoying her small meals at each place and keeping her eyes and ears open.
As she expected, the people of Konalvera were very fearful of the cult. At one of the coffee places she visited, a member of the cult she presumed, wearing strange purple robes entered and the entire place suddenly fell near silent. Those who dared talk did so at a mere whisper and no one would look up but Anko. If the cultist noticed Anko's lack of response or change in demeanor, he probably figured she was just an outsider who didn't yet know her place. If he cared, he didn't show it. The man sat at a table with his back to Anko and drank slurped his coffee audibly, as if he was just trying to intimidate the people even more or perhaps see if Anko would try and say something to him about his lack of manners.
Ignoring the bait, Anko did accidently spill on herself when she noticed the symbol on the back of the man's robes…
A/N: I reaaallly wanted to make the chapter longer but I felt like leaving everyone in suspense of the symbol would be the way to go :P Ok fine I'm cruel… taking pleasure in your suspense! Maybe I've been writing Anko too much lol
At any rate, hope you're all enjoying my made up arc.