Setting out before the crack of dawn the following morning the group of five Konoha shinobi immediately made their way north-most points of the nation. According to Konoha's intelligence units Ibaraki had originally set off in this direction during his escape and had since been spotted in several villages along the main roadway heading along the Land of Fire's borders, though it was at a significantly sluggish rate for a shinobi, leading doubt to form as to whether or not this man was the same shinobi.
However, with as little information about Ibaraki available as there was, Tokuma determined that their best bet in locating the target was to look ahead, leading them to plot a course to the next major civilian populace; a small, industrialized mining town named Kinzoku Town nearing the Land of Fire's border with the Land of Canyons. Once there they would investigate if Ibaraki had yet passed through, and if not set, an ambush for him just outside the city.
Coming to within an hour's reach of Kinzoku Town following a brisk two day's trek north, the group made camp atop a cliff overlooking one of the large ravines the Land of Canyon's was named for. Hidden almost completely from the world by the forest that surrounds it entire stretch south from the border, the obscure location made their area both easy to hide and hard to access and easy to defend should the man in question discover he was being followed. This proved to be completely precautionary however as under guard of the group's medical ninja, who had offered to take both first and second watch, the group was able to sleep soundly throughout the night with little interruption.
Diverting her gaze from the campfire below where she was perched as she took Akito's necklace in her hands, Kisa adjusted herself to a more comfortable position and let out a small yawn as she readjusted her attention to the clear, early morning sky; the full moon she had watched slowly moved across the stars nearing the mountains to the west as it prepared to set and issue in a new day.
Normally she should have only been responsible for half of the night's watch but with how anxious she was for the following day's investigation she found it impossible to sleep, leading to her to keep lookout rather than wake Takao up for his shift. It was worth it though, as from her position high above the treetops she had the perfect view of the rising sun as it painted the sky red, mimicking the sunset from atop Hokage Rock almost perfectly and casting a great bit of foreshadowing of what was hopefully to come.
With their destination just a short hike away it wouldn't be long before they made their way into its borders to begin their search for Ibaraki and with him hopefully the answers she had been selfishly hoping for. If their target appeared in the mining town it would be the closest point to Iwagakure he had ventured since becoming known after his attack, leading her to assume this to be her best chance at finding Akito and causing the butterflies in her stomach to again take flight despite her best efforts to keep them from doing so.
Ever since leaving Konoha two days before she had been trying to remain both calm and collected in order to avoid showing any kind of weakness or doubt, driven to do so by the sense that showing insecurity to the others in the group may cause them to distrust her; something she could now allow to happen. This mission's success and her chance to be placed on further mission of this significance in the future depended on it, and she wasn't going to screw it all up.
Taking a deep breath she remained focused on the sun for a moment later before averting her eyes to her side, just as the from the branches and leaves below a familiar presence emerged and came to a stop at her side with a brief flicker, causing her to grip a kunai in her pouch. However, as her eyes focused on Tokuma and confirmed that it was indeed who she thought it was, she let out a small sigh and released the grip on her blade in relief.
"I'm back. How's everything here?" He questioned while looking down at the campfire below as Kisa sat back against the trunk of the tree and returned her hands to her lap.
"Everything is fine, not a single peep aside from Koji and Takao constant snore battle." She replied as she too looked back down at the camp. One thing she'd learned about Tokuma over the course of the last few days was that he was extremely cautious to the point of bordering on the paranoid, though it was clear that this behavior was almost entirely because of his vow to do the best that absolutely could and to keep others safe.
"Did you find anything out there?" She asked as she looked back to their leader, who upon turning his eyes to meet hers subtly shook his head.
"Nothing out of the ordinary and no signs of our friend, though it appears we are closer to the town then I originally thought. It's only about a forty minute journey from here to Kinzoku Town, so we should be there by early morning if we get the others up and moving soon." Tokuma replied, instantly bringing Kisa to stand up and brush her legs off to clear any bark that may have become stuck to her from the tree.
"Alright. I will get them up and let them know." She stated as she took a step towards the edge of the large branch, but as she did so Tokuma stepped forward as well to stop her.
"No Kisa that's alright, I will do it. You've been up for a while now on watch and we've got a long day ahead of us. Why don't you shut your eyes for a few minutes?" He stated, causing Kisa to look to him with a tinge of irritation. Sure, she had been up all night, but she had gone a lot longer than a single night without sleep on several occasions and was still quite capable of handling her own. Did he really believe that she couldn't handle being a little tired?
"I'll be alright." She replied, to which Tokuma formed a small, sincere smile on his face.
"I'm sure you are, I just think that since we have the time it wouldn't hurt to grab a few moments of rest." He stated as Kisa, who upon looking into his featureless irises could tell his words came completely from concern rather than condescension, reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. Thank you, Tokuma." She stated, though just as she did so her eyes redirected up to the sky, this time to the mountains leading towards Iwa in the west as a flash of lightning lit up the disappearing darkness of the night.
"Looks like the rain we were warned about a few days ago has finally caught up to us." Kisa added as Tokuma let out a small sigh of disgust at the impending inclement weather.
"This day is about to get a lot longer." He muttered as he looked to the girl, nodded and jumped down to the camp below, leaving the girl to look back at the coming storm with her own short sigh. This was the direct opposite of the good fortune she had hoped was foreshadowed by the bright rising sun, leading her to hope this wasn't a bad omen.
Making their way the village's entrance and coming to a stop just as the storm centered itself overhead, the group looked around with a keen eye. The village was larger than they had originally believed and despite the fact that the rain was beginning to fall at a steady rate it seemed that there were still quite a few residents out and about, adding a positive note to the otherwise challenging day.
"Alright, we are here." Tokuma stated as he turned back towards the group and looked at them individually, each now covering their heads with cloaks to protect them against the cool water raining down.
"It seems like even though it is raining there are still plenty of people who may have witnessed Ibaraki's presence around, so our best option will be to split up and start interviewing the locals to see what they've noticed." He added while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wireless, neck-style radio.
"We will use our radios to stay in touch. Remember, we don't want to scare anyone, so simple questions about Ibaraki that don't reveal what he's done; appearance and name. See if anyone's seen him, talked to him or maybe even dealt with him as a customer as far as the shopkeepers go." Tokuma continued as he opened up the radio's choker-like attachment, strapped it around his neck before placing the earpiece around his left ear and watched as the others did the same, though his eyes focused on Kisa who carefully adjusted the golden necklace around her neck to ensure that it wouldn't get tangled in the ear piece's cord.
"I will let the local authorities know, and if you do by chance find the man himself nobody is to approach him alone. Call for help and we will all come running. Understood?" He instructed before heading off into the city on his own following his team's acknowledgement, leaving just Kisa and Takao standing at the city gates as the others followed in Tokuma's lead.
"Well, looks like we're spitting up." Takao stated as he tightened the radio's throat-mic around his neck and grinned, catching Kisa's attentive vision in the process.
"Yeah, it does. Be careful out there, okay Takao?" She questioned as the man's smile grew wider.
"Psh, me? Be careful? I'm going to be just fine. But don't worry, I'll make sure to give you a call when I find him." The man replied jokingly before darting off into the crowd as well, leaving Kisa standing alone for a second before she too set off in search of any sign of either of the men she was searching for; a task that proved to be rather challenging despite the sheer amount of Kinzoku Town residents and visitors out and about in the storm.
With everything that had been happening in recent months since the attack on Sunagakure she knew that seeing Konoha-nin scouring their otherwise shinobiless town would likely cause a great deal of anxiety amidst the mostly miner population, but she never imagined that people would be so concerned that they would be unwilling to assist in the hunt for what could be what they were afraid of, and even when they did find someone willing to cooperate they offered little if any information regarding Ibaraki.
For nearly four hours the group searched the town for any sign of their prey to no avail, though this itself was not necessarily a bad thing. Part of their mission was to plan an ambush to capture the man should the opportunity present itself and since it did not appear that he had made it to Kinzoku Town yet that meant that they would have plenty of time to do so, though they needed to be sure of the man's latency before planning such a risky move.
However, just after noon, the team was handed a clue that they couldn't pass up, prompting Tokuma to recall all of his team members to Kinzoku Town's police station at the heart of the sprawling mining town.
Rushing as fast as she could, Kisa jumped down from the rooftop to the streets below with a watery thud, bringing Tokuma, who had been standing by himself beneath a recessed porchway that led into the police station's entrance, to focus on her.
"You got here fast." He stated as the girl came to a stop beside him and pulled down her hood, allowing the maroon-colored knitted cap she wore over her head to become visible.
"I was only a few blocks away when you called for us. Is everything alright? Where are the others?" She questioned, to which Tokuma nodded to reassure her as he looked back towards the police station's doors.
"Everything is fine, we've just finally gotten a lead. A young woman and her son were tending to a small rooftop garden on the outskirts of town when a man fitting Ibaraki's description approached them." He stated as Kisa tilted her head a bit out of curiosity.
"Did they say what he wanted?"
"No, not yet at least. The authorities were just beginning to speak to her when I got her, but to save her from having her to repeat herself I wanted at least one other person to be here before I went inside. From what I've heard she's a bit shaken up over the whole thing for some reason." The team leader replied as Kisa looked to the door and nodded.
"We should wait for the others then, I'm sure they aren't too far behind." She responded, causing Tokuma to shake his head.
"No, I don't want to risk this woman getting cold feet and deciding not to help us like the others, nor do we want to wait so long that Ibaraki escapes. The two of us will do just fine." He interjected as he stepped forward towards the entrance, took the handle in his hand and looked back to Kisa who had followed his lead without further question, bringing him to open the doors and step inside.
Once inside the station's lobby the two shinobi were immediately greeted by three rather uneasy local police officers, all of which were wearing different articles of clothing with the only uniform part of their attire being the teal flak jacket style vests placed overtop bearing the mark of Kinzoku Town's police agency. It was not unheard of for these small towns to utilize an almost militia-like approach to their policing methods, especially those run by the mining companies, though with their relatively close proximity to the border with foreign nations she found it rather off that they would not have at least some sort of Hidden Leaf presence.
"Inspector Motoko is just about finished with her interview process Mr. Tokuma, so whenever you are ready we can proceed." One of the officers stated, to which Tokuma nodded and waved for them to proceed while Kisa stayed close behind, unsure of how she felt about the town's police force. Ever since entering the station they had yet to take their eyes off of either of them, causing her to feel uneasy and hesitant to head deeper into the building without at least Takao, though as they entered into what looked to be a secluded interview room where the woman and her son sat she eased a bit.
"These are the two?" Tokuma questioned as a woman who had been sitting across from the witnesses stood from the table and turned towards him. Unlike the other police officers she seemed to be wearing some sort of uniform beneath her flak jacket which coupled with her militarized haircut consisting of tight bun at the back of her head indicating that she, unlike the others, may have been in the policing profession full time.
"They are indeed, Mr. Tokuma." She stated as she readjusted her glasses and turned to Kisa with a rather unfeeling glare, bringing Tokuma to motion towards her.
"This is Miss Kisa. She will be listening in on the interview process as well." He stated as the woman stared for a moment longer before redirecting her eyes back to the young woman and her son.
"Very well. This is Hisako and her son Eito. According to what she has said, she may have seen the man you are all searching my town for." Motoko stated as Tokuma stepped forward and sat down at the table across from them watching as she carefully stroked the hair of the little boy sitting beside her. It wasn't clear what exactly the instructor had been talking to the woman about before they entered but it seemed that she was afraid, more afraid than they originally stated she was following the incident, making it imperative that he be as tactful as possible.
"Is this true Mrs. Hisako? Did you are your son encounter a suspicious stranger earlier this morning?" He asked softly as the woman looked up to him and slowly nodded; her eyes shifting back between himself and kisa as she did so.
"Yes, we did." She replied as Tokuma nodded subconsciously.
"Do you remember what he was wearing, or if you can recall, what he looked like?" He followed up with as the woman stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"Yes. He had on this green, knee-length coat beneath what seemed like a gray vest... but as far as what he looked like, I'm not quite sure. I… I couldn't see his face." The woman began to explain, causing Tokuma to look at Kisa in confirmation that this did indeed seem to be the man they were after; her description matching the information they had been given perfectly.
"Mrs. Hisako, if you can, do you think you could possibly tell us what happened? I know you've already told the Inspector here, but I would like to hear for myself." Tokuma stated, again catching a short, silent stare from the woman, though after a second she again nodded in agreement.
"Me and my son were on our rooftop tending to the small little garden we take care of just after sunrise. I was taking down the clothes we had left up to air dry overnight while Eito played with his hands in a bucket of water, but when I turned to check on him and… there… I… I'm sorry..." She stated, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts as the memory of her encounter causing her heart to palpate as Tokuma reached out and placed her hand on her arm to reassure her that everything was alright.
"It's okay, take your time." He stated, prompting her to nod and fight back the tears forming in her eyes.
"There was this man standing in front of him."
"Did he try and take him? Did he try and take Eito?" Tokuma asked, causing Hisako to shake her head.
"No, not that I saw, they… they were just staring at one another. At first I was a bit startled that this man just appeared on the roof like that and stepped forward to grab Eito incase that were the case, but then I saw that blood was dripping down from his coat to the roof. He was injured and it looked like he needed help, but he instead asked for water and for something we could spare to eat from the garden. I went to give it to him to send him on his way, but..." She stated with a bit of a smile while speaking about her son, though as her sentence trailed off her expression again turned to fear.
"B-But when I stepped closer h-he shifted his head towards me and grabbed a knife from his pouch a-as if I was threatening him, and I saw his eyes-" Hisako continued, causing Inspector Motoko to cross her arms.
"You stated before that you did not see his face; that it was concealed and indistinguishable." She sternly interjected, to which the woman shook her head.
"I-I didn't! All I could see was his mouth, the rest was covered by the shadow of his hood, but his eyes… those glowing orange eyes... once I saw them through the shadow all of the fear came back at once. He tried to say something, but I just grabbed Eito and ran down the stairs into our house and called you guys!" She resumed, instantly causing Kisa's interest to skyrocket and her silence to break.
"Glowing eyes?" She asked as the woman turned to her, nodded and fearfully pulled her son closer.
"Yes! All I could think of was that this man, this monster, was there to take Eito… do you think that was what he really wanted?!" Hisako questioned, though as she did so Tokuma gently squeezed her arm.
"No Mrs. Hisako, I think that you and little Eito here are both safe. It seems that your encounter with this man was more than likely by chance, and that he was simply looking for something to eat and drink, like you said. You will both be just fine." He replied before standing up to his feet and looking to Inspector Motoko and then finally Kisa.
"Even if the description Miss Hisako's description didn't include a mask there is more than enough similarities to reasonably believe Ibaraki was here, and if that is indeed the case he is injured. That must be why his movements have been so slow. Has there been anyone else who has come forward about this, Inspector?"
"Not an encounter like this, though some of the town guards reported seeing someone heading north out of town just after this incident. Chances are it may have been your target." She replied as Tokuma nodded and looked back to Kisa.
"The others are likely in the lobby. Let them know we have Ibaraki's trail and will be heading north immediately." He instructed, causing Kisa to bow in acknowledgment as she turned to leave the room, leaving Tokuma to turn to Inspector Motoko.
"Thank you for your help Inspector, we will be taking our leave and heading north. If you see anything else, please let us know." He stated as the woman again pushed up her glasses and huffed.
"Whatever we can do to keep you moving on out of our town. We're not sure what all these cases of rogue ninja are about, but the Kinzoku Mining Company wants nothing to do with it." She replied, bringing Tokuma to narrow his eyes on the woman.
"Noted."
Heading north out of the town as instructed the group quickly picked up on the bloody scent of what they believed could be the man they had been searching for, leading them to follow it for several miles until finally coming to a crossroads, both metaphorically and physically, sliding to a stop in the center of the road behind Tamiko as she herself halted in her tracks.
"What, what's wrong?" Koji questioned as he looked around, bringing the woman's eyes to rest upon him through her tinted glasses.
"The trail splits into two seperate paths, one of which follows each of the forks before us." She stated to which the man huffed.
"And? Can't you tell which is the correct one?" He replied as she knelt down and placed her fingers to the muddied walkway below.
"It's hard to see, but the blood my insects have been following follows both paths as well. I'm not entirely certain why this is but it is possible that he may have doubled back, or that he is using a trick to throw us off." Tamiko added, prompting Kisa to kneel at the blood spot and Tokuma to activate his Byakugan to look around, though after a few seconds she returned his eyes to normal and looked back to the group.
"I can't make out the real path ethier." He stated before looking back to the fork in the road in thought, allowing Takao to speak up.
"What should we do? Should we split up like earlier?" The man asked, immediately catching opposition from Koji.
"We can't split up, that's the whole point. We don't know what this man is capable of, so we can't assume that only a handful of us will be able to bring him down. We have to just pick a trail and hope it pans out." The man objected, to which Takao scoffed.
"Oh yeah, 'cuz you've got such a good record when it comes to gambling." He replied, throwing Koji into a fit of yelling as Tokuma turned back to them.
"He's right." He stated aloud, causing both men to stop their fighting and turn their attention to their squad leader.
"Me?" Koji questioned.
"No, Takao. He's right; we have no choice but to split up." Tokuma added as Koji turned his whole body back to Tokuma.
"Are you nuts?! This guy attacked an entire village by himself, do you even understand how dangerous that makes him?!"
"Yes, and that's why it's imperative that we find him. We can't run the risk of gambling on one path and lose his trail, there is too much at stake." He responded as Kisa and Tamiko came to a stop beside him, bringing the former to look at him for a moment before nodding.
"I agree with them. If Ibaraki changes his course and heads back into the Land of Fire he could attack another village, or worse, Konoha. We can't let that happen." She stated, causing Koji to turn to Tamiko.
"Please tell me that you don't think this is a good idea too!" He pleaded, though much to his dismay the woman nodded, bringing Takao to grin as he cracked his knuckles.
"Alright! Me and Kisa will take the path to the left, y'all can go to the right!" He exclaimed, although almost immediately Tokuma broke up that idea as he stepped forward into the middle of the four others.
"Hold on. I know that Kisa and you traditionally operate together, but I feel that it would be best if the groups are divided into two in order to reflect our abilities. This way each group is evenly equipped to deal with Ibaraki and nobody will be on their own." He stated as he looked to the group.
"Koji, Takao and Tamiko, take the path to the right. Kisa and I will head to the left. This way each group will have someone capable of tracking him without physically seeing him. Whichever group finds him first will send out the signal and the opposite will come running, just like we talked about this morning." Tokuma added as Koji scoffed.
"Is each group going to have a medic too?" He questioned despite knowing the answer to the question, causing Tokuma to stare at him in slight annoyance for a second before replying.
"Like I said, if you find him we will come running. With my Byakugan I will be able to locate you quickly, so it makes the most sense for Kisa to be with me should we need to rapidly make our way to you. Now, are we done arguing?" He replied, bringing Koji to sigh and shake his head.
"Fine, but I just want to go on record as saying that this is a horrible idea. Let's go you two." He stated before following the silent woman down their assigned path, leaving Takao to look back at Kisa as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Be careful. We will see you when we find him." He stated with a grin before once again splitting up from her to head out on the search, leaving Kisa to nod as she turned back to her partner.
"Ready?" He asked before heading out on their own path following their nod, all while the storm overhead intensified.
As they began to follow the long path that lead out into the woods surrounding Kinzoku Town Kisa kept her eyes out for any sign of Ibaraki, though inside her thoughts were more troubled than normal. Aside from her pre- existing anxiety related to finding Akito she was beginning to become increasingly paranoid that Tokuma was, for one reason or another, singling her out.
At first she assumed it was just caution. She had never met Tokuma before this mission let alone worked with him, so she understood that he was a bit concerned both in her ability to perform as well as her wellbeing as his subordinate, but it seemed like more than that now. Every chance he got he was keeping a watchful eye on her movements, from making sure she was well rested to keeping her at arm's length at sensitive times, something was wrong; he was babying her. Was this really because of worry or was this because of her curse mark?
She knew full well that Tokuma was aware of her affliction, there wasn't any way he wasn't. She knew that Tsunade would have ever let her come on the mission without someone aware of what she was capable of, nor would she have gone if someone was not capable of stopping her in that state, making it clear to her that Tokuma was intended to be that person.
Even now as they jumped from tree to tree while following Ibaraki's trail with the help of his Byakugan she could see Tokuma keeping watch over her, even staring at her for extended periods of time, as if the closer they came to finding their target the more he felt the need to supervisor her every movement. Did he really fear she would turn into that monster? Since that day five months ago she had not lost control, even when using her curse for her own gain. Why couldn't he trust her?
Coming to a small clearing in the woods where he could see a large quantity of blood, Tokuma slid to a stop in the mud and knelt down, causing Kisa to land beside him.
"More blood?" She questioned.
"Yes, more than the rest of the trail up until this point." He replied as her eyes focused on where his fingers were pressed, this time allowing her to see the drops of blood that had yet to be diluted to unrecognizable consistency by the heavy rain.
"It seems fresh too. He must be close." She stated as she stepped forward and looked around for a second before looking back to her partner. It was clear that spending too much time with his Byakugan activated the straining on his eyes and the last thing she wanted was for him to be unable to use it later when it mattered most, especially if she could help out.
"Since I can see the blood now I will track him, that way you can rest your eyes. We are going to need them when we catch up to him." The girl stated as Tokuma stood back up to his feet and shook his head.
"I will be alright, Kisa. With how hard it is raining it is probably best if I keep taking point." He replied, causing the girl to scowl as she crossed her arms.
"So you are going to run yourself ragged just to make sure I don't have to work?"
"No, it's not that." He tried to reply, though Kisa was not going to back down. She needed to make her point.
"I know that Lady Tsunade told you to keep an eye on me Tokuma, but you don't need to stare at me constantly. I'm fine." She stated, catching Tokuma a bit off guard. Did she catch on to what he was doing? With how highly the Hokage spoke of Kisa he knew it was only a matter before she found out, though he wished it would have been after the mission.
Letting out a small sigh, the Hyuga released his Byakugan and rubbed the side of his head to combat the slight headache it's extended use had caused.
"She was right when she said there was little that slipped passed you. If you want to know the truth, then yes; Lady Tsunade did indeed ask me to keep an eye on you, and I promised that I would do so." He stated, though Kisa's angered glare continued.
"Well I appreciate the Hokage's concern, but like I said, I'm fine. I can handle myself just fine and all this is going to do is bog the mission down." She retorted sharply, to which Tokuma stood steadfast.
"I understand you are annoyed, but orders are orders. In all honesty you should be thankful for Lady Tsunade's concern for you, because to be completely transparent I originally opposed your involvement in this mission and if it weren't for the Hokage's insistence neither of you would be here."
Hearing this Kisa's eyes widened and her arms dropped to her sides in anger, ignoring the news that Tsunade had pushed for them so hard in favor of getting answers as to why Tokuma did not.
"What, why?! Before this you didn't know me or Takao, Tokuma. Why would you try and blackball us?" She questioned feverishly as Tokuma himself crossed his arms and stared at the girl.
"It wasn't personal. When Lady Tsunade requested that I lead this mission to find Ibaraki my only request was that I be permitted to have a say on who would be assigned as my team. Like you just said, prior to this mission I didn't know you nor Takao, so after seeing your names on the list shortly after your meeting with the Hokage I set out to see what I was dealing with."
"When I caught up with the two of you I overheard your conversation about Akito Himaku; the boy who frequented Konoha from the Hidden Stone. I didn't hear everything, but I gathered enough to believe that your intentions for going out on this mission were not exactly what I needed. This is a dangerous situation, and I didn't need someone whose mind was clouded." He continued, causing Kisa's eyes to widen further and her face grew a tinge darker from embarrassment as she recalled the man watching them from a distance that day.
She knew that had to have been Tokuma when she first saw him in Tsunade's office, but with everything that had been going on since, the mission and their journey, then she had completely forgotten about it. So he knew all about her real reasoning for coming on this mission? He knew about Akito?
"I…" She grunted in disgust at herself as well as Tokuma's tactics, just as Tokuma again spoke up in order to continue his story.
"However, when I confronted the Hokage about what I had heard to have you removed from the mission, she instead seemed more fortified in her decision to assign you two to the mission, even going as far as to insist you and Takao come along, as I stated before." He added, causing Kisas eyes, which had been looking down at the blood below aimlessly in shame, to dart back to his.
"She did?"
"Yes. One thing you should have learned by now is that Lady Tsunade is an expert at reading into someone's feelings; she knew that you needed this chance to find that boy, even if it turned out to be nothing more than a pipedream. I expressed concern that this could possibly compromise the mission's outcome, but she reassured me that you were an excellent shinobi and by far one of the best to see this through. She trusts you, and through my faith in her so do I… though that doesn't mean I'm going to break my promise to the Hokage." Tokuma replied with a small grin, leaving the girl silent.
Lady Tsunade wanted her to be on the mission even after learning of her intentions? She knew she needed this? How could this be? Why would she willingly let her out there if she knew that it was all part of some crazy scheme to find Akito? Was this some kind of test, or did she really believe that she could find him?
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that, and I certainly shouldn't have been hiding part of why I wanted to be on this mission so badly." The girl apologized sheepishly in shame, but Tokuma simply shook his head.
"You don't need to apologize. I know you-" He began to explain, only to stop as across the field from them a loud snap of a branch echoed out, instantly causing the two shinobi to turn their heads in the direction of the noise. With how hard the rain was coming down it was difficult to see the distance clearly, though as Tokuma activated his Byakugan to cut through the veil it was clear that they were not alone and that in the distance there was a lone man making his way deeper into the forest.
"Movement." He stated as Kisa let out a short gasp. Had he been listening to them all along?
"Do you think he saw us?"
Turning to Kisa as the figure ahead of them disappeared further into the brush, Tokuma shook his head.
"I don't know, but we have to follow. If that really is him we can't let him get away." He replied before taking off towards the figure with Kisa in tow.
Quickly making their way across the clearing and into the woods on the other side, Kisa's cautiously continued to keep watch around them as Tokuma tirelessly tracked the bloody trail being left behind by their prey. From the trail it appeared that he was doing as best he could to try and shake them from his tail though with the amount of blood he was leaving behind that task proved impossible and within minutes the two came to yet another clearing that, much to their surprise, Ibaraki was standing in the center of.
Coming to a quick stop a moderate distance away from their motionless target, Kisa and Tokuma looked at one another quickly before returning their eyes to the man before them; his back facing them as his attention seemed to be up in the sky. Just as both their intelligence and the young woman in Kinzoku Town had indicated he appeared to be wearing some sort of green, blood-soaked long coat with an unaffiliated grey vest overtop as well as several bits of visible equipment and pouches, the most ominous of which was a set of two tantos; each pointed to either his left of right hand in their stored state for easy accessibility from behind his back.
"It's him, there's no doubt." Tokuma stated under his breath as he reached up and placed his hand to the microphone button on his neck, allowing him to reach out to the others.
"Koji, we've located the suspect. Have Tamiko track the insects I know she's placed on us and hurry to our location." He called as Kisa continued to analyze the foe in front of them, though Koji's answer was far from what we expected.
"Yeah, so did we! We're fighting him right now and I'm a little busy!" He called back with the clear sound of fighting in the background, causing Tokuma to grunt under his breath. If there were two of them one or both of them had to have been a clone, though for neither Tamiko nor himself to pick up on this earlier would mean that they were rather advanced clones, or possibly even shadow clones.
"One of them has to be a shadow clone of some kind. Whichever group has the clone will need to defeat it quickly and then hurry to the other's location." He instructed just as Ibaraki's head slowly turned to look over his shoulder, allowing the group to catch their first glimpse of the man's face, though contrary to Hisako's information he now wore the mask they had originally been told he possessed, illuminated by a bright strike of lightning in the distance.
"You shouldn't have come here." He said in a low voice barely audible over the pouring rain, causing Tokuma's eyes to narrow on him to see if he was preparing to attack before looking to Kisa who, with her hands near her sides, was preparing to respond with her own attack.
"You are the one who attacked Amegakure several nights ago and who has been sneaking around the Land of Fire ever since, correct? The man known as Ibaraki." Tokuma replied, to which Ibaraki chuckled beneath his mask.
"That name is nothing more than the whispers left behind in my wake… it means nothing to me. Leave me be… you're interfering with something you don't understand." He stated with a subtle hint of pain likely caused by his injuries, though at this point they could still not see exactly where he was wounded nor to what extent.
What was clear from his voice was that he sounded young, maybe as old as his early thirties, though the mask made it difficult to distinguish an exact age as it purposely distorted his tone enough to prevent easy voice identification. This man seemed to be set up as an anonymous assassin, making him more dangerous than just some random rogue.
"So it was you then. Why did you attack Ame? Are you working with the Akatsuki?" Tokuma responded, though Ibaraki simply remained silent, prompting him to look back at Kisa with a small nod. Normally he would not authorize a preemptive strike on a target like this, someone they were not entirely sure was guilty, but with how much of a threat he posed he wouldn't risk this man getting the upper hand right from the start.
"We'll ask you again. Are you working with the Akatsuki?" The girl questioned, causing the man to lift his head just a tiny bit to better hear her voice.
"No. There is your answer… now get out of here." He replied as Tokuma again narrowed his vision on the man.
"It's not quite that simple. With all the damage you caused in the Hidden Rain we simply can't take your word for it and allow you to continue on your way. You will need to come with us back to Konoha for questioning." The squad leader responded, once again bringing Ibaraki to fall silent as Tokuma watched his chakra beginning to rise, leaving him no choice but to look back to Kisa with one last nod.
Acknowledging Tokuma's signal, Kisa tightened her hands and immediately rose the right up towards the man, causing a large ridge of ice to appear from the ground before her towards him in an attempt to snare his feet and hands. However, just as the ice was about to lock him down to the ground to prevent him from escaping or more importantly retaliating, the man shifted his heel on the ground, summoning multiple rock spikes to pierce out from below to break her attack without even raising a single finger into a hand sign.
Irritated, the girl next left her left hand to form more ice around in an attempt to converge over him and entirely encase him inside, but just as the attack was about to strike he lifted his head further, eyeing the girl up with both eyes and giving her a brief look at the orange, demonic glow beneath his mask.
Stuck with her eyes locked to the monstrous light as time seemed to stand still Kisa watched as the ice completely covered his body and solidified, seeming to have captured him without much effort though after just a few seconds the ice formed a long crack running up the center, forcing Kisa to grunt.
"Watch out!" She exclaimed, signaling for them to jump back a short distance as the ice exploded into a flurry of sharp pieces and snowy dust. Forced to cover their eyes to protect them from the explosion, both shinobi quickly attempted to establish sightline on the man, though the misty cloud the sudden destruction of the solid ice caused hindered Kisa from doing so.
"What happened?! Did he blow himself up to keep us from capturing him?!" She asked rapidly as Tokuma peered into the cloud with his Byakugan and shook his head, all while drawing a kunai from his sheath in preparation for a fight.
"No… he's still here. Get ready." He replied just as the mist began to settle down and man's silhouette appeared in the same spot he had stood before, this time facing them with his head up to fully reveal both the demonic Oni mask he wore beneath his hood as well as the orange glow in his eyes, sending a shiver down Kisa's spine as she too drew a knife from its holster.
"I don't know who you are… ngg… b-but you should have ran away when you had t-the chance." The man stated in an angered, pained voice as the two readied themselves for combat, only to be placed on the defensive with a short grunt as Ibaraki drew both of his short blades from their holster and charged towards them at breakneck speed.
"Get out of my way!"