Ch. 26: New Mission
After a relaxing soak and a little flirting from the hostess, Arashi found himself in his room at the inn with a large takeaway for the expected company of his teammates.
The flirting was a cover for his age as a lonely young man was expected to chat up a hostess and every woman who walks past him. Not doing so, brings into question whether you are avoiding company and people due to some sinister purposes.
Thus after a brief exchange, Arashi walked back to his room after taking a huge portions of meal for the dinner, as Shinobi tend to not eat but gorge on food.
As time passed, and it was about eight in the evening, Arashi opened his window and peeked at the street below.
The night time had come alive, as the village was teeming with bright lamps hung above various shops across the streets which attracted the people to splurge and enjoy their time, despite the growing restlessness due to wars between the ninja spilling into minor villages and poor towns causing mayhem and destruction of life and property.
But here in Kusa, things were a bit calm, since as a trading centre, it attracted a lot of merchants and traders who needed to be protected from nearby bandits. This usually meant that not many dangerous confrontations erupted in the village, as the village always had a sizable ninja presence, both local and foreign.
As he looked down, he saw that a small red napkin was nailed to a wooden barrel by the sides. That had been a predetermined sign to indicate that his teammates had reached their rooms.
They could have told him so, using the seal, but it was decided to limit communication using the seal, in case the enemy had a sensor keeping watch on the inns and public places. The seal would light up like a bright lamp in darkness to a sensor and any competent sensor can sense its use easily.
That is why, only small bursts of communication was allowed on the seal until Arashi could ensure that the seal could mask its chakra presence.
Closing his window, Arashi pulled a small length of ninja wire and tied it to the window sill. At the centre, he tied a proximity tag which he attached to a seal. This would alert him if an intruder entered his room. Satisfied with his work, he waited for his team to knock.
Hearing a knock on the door frame, as it sounded different and less like a knock and more like a blow, he opened the door.
Seeing Eagle standing at the door, and three other members of his current temporary team, he held his right index finger out.
Eagle turned his head, and showed a small tattoo on his left side. Pushing a small sliver of chakra through the seal, Arashi noticed his own chakra signature and the sealing formula glowed for a moment, before it became colourless again.
"Welcome, please come in. I have brought food and we can discuss over dinner."
A while after settling in, and having a relatively quiet dinner, the team reported their infiltration went as planned, and that no Kusa ninja was alerted. After retiring for the night, Arashi had a meeting in his room, next day in the noon.
"We expected the security to be a bit lax, but Kusa ninja had been surprisingly competent today. I think we should look into why that is. Kusa usually has lax security measures as it turns the other way for other ninjas butting in as long as the damage is not too extensive and the reparations are paid promptly."
Arashi nodded, "Well we hypothesised that either the mole or the Iwa ninja have paid the Kusa forces off, to give them space and possible reinforcement if things turn south. This just gives us more evidence that the mole has something dangerous to leak, or extremely paranoid, if he pays off an entire village just for a hand off."
The Root Agent, codename Fox Two shook his head. "If we suspect the mole is a member of the Daimyo's Court, then this is just the right amount of caution we should have expected. But given that there were even a few rogue ninja mixed in the village, as we noticed earlier indicates that the handoff will not be between a trusted servant or accomplice but between the mole and the enemies. We should expect a good amount of ninja presence in the next few hours. Fox One, try to locate the enemy ninja and isolate their presence. We could not afford to spook them, but we need to know who is the mole, and who is it they are meeting."
Arashi nodded, as he looked at the Jounins. "What about you, you went and strolled around the Red Light District and the adjoined alley. What did you find?"
The older of the two spoke, "We saw a lot of merchants and customers walking home from the brothels. We noticed a few ninja among them, but they seemed too relaxed for them to be our enemy. I went around the north towards the merchant district, while Crow Two went to the west towards the civilian district. We saw a lot of unexpected ninja presence but no sign of a noble or a guard from the Daimyo's Court."
Arashi scoffed. "I don't expect the mole who hid so well for so long to suddenly appear with his usual retinue and without a disguise. If we had time, we could go around the village matching the people with the known identity and records from yhe Daimyo's Court. But as we are short on time, and want to avoid spooking the enemy, we will instead use shadow clones and populate the merchant district with Henge. We know that the meet is scheduled for tonight at midnight near the north side of the ruins of the Shrine to the east. Cause a sufficient distraction in the south, which we could use as a misdirection as we flee to the south-west. Prepare a few bodies to booby trap, use any thugs or lowlifes from the shady alleys we found. Meet here tonight at ten."
At Ten, while the Inn had a small crowd nursing their drinks, Arashi met his team and with a nod, they jumped out the window of the corridor.
A few skips and hops brought them to the left of the Shrine Entrance. They separated into groups and Eagle went to the East of the Shrine to hold a watch.
The two Jounins went directly into the Shrine and began to set traps and marks all around the Shrine's perimeter.
The Root Agent Fox Two accompanied Arashi as they went to the north where the meet was to take place. Since Arashi's Henge was a solid chakra layer instead of an illusion, it helped him hide his chakra and presence from Sensor.
The Root Agent was especially selected for his ability to evade sensors and camouflage better than any Shinobi should be able to.
The two went to take a look around, and finally chose a tall and thick Tree as the Hiding Spot. After climbing the tree, Arashi perched on one of its thick branch.
Shinobi 101 states that once you find a spot on the tree, you test its strength, lest you find yourself falling off a branch right at the climax of your stakeout!
Once ensuring the branch was stiff enough to bear weight of the two, they began preparing for the reconnaissance soon after. Arashi, for his part, tied wires to the thick stem of the tree and created a makeshift harness which he fastened to his Armour Vest.
And by the time of the expected meet, the two had prepared a good kill-zone around the tree if they were ambushed.
POV: Traitor/Mole
The weather was unexpectedly pleasant as Kusa was usually a messy hot and humid swamp this time of year.
He had a pleasant time here though, as he came in a disguise and found himself spending a lot of time and a small chunk of his funds (which he appropriated from the Prime Minister's safely hidden stash as a final fuck you to the Fire Country.) at the entertainment centre of the village.
He was able to sample the "local cuisine" as he waited for his future allies to take him to safety.
He had been unexpectedly charged with Human Trafficking as the Damn snooping Shinobi found the safe house where he stashed the girls he founds himself taking a liking to.
And even if he bribed a good deal of his retirement funds to make the charges go away, the Daimyo had not so politely asked him to step down and allow his nephew to take over his position.
He was not a puppet to the fat lard! And no powerless cunt who was a puppet to the ninja going to take away what was rightfully His!
If the little bint thought he would loyally and faithfully accept the ordeal, then he was wrong! As a long time Advisor to the Daimyo, and a Finance Minister for two Fire Daimyo, he had known a lot of secrets and buried skeletons.
The Court was not as white washed as they made the plebians believe, and if he could earn comfort and luxury by squealing all the Fire Country's Secrets, why wouldn't he?
The question remained of finding the right ally, and latching onto them as a disgruntled but otherwise loyal Noble who wants revenge; and it became all too easy finding the right Customer!
Seeing the small group of ninja come with their usual flair and he had to wonder why the Damn ninja even allowed those without power to rule and govern the lands.
Seeing the stoic and dangerous man come before him, he had to hide a shiver that ran through his back. He had a good judge of character and a sufficiently strong surviving instincts that have led him well so far, and those same instincts told him to stay polite and agree to all demands, within reason, if he wanted to live to see the next sunrise.
After the long confirmation and meet and greet as was encoded in their previous message, he saw the stoic man look at one of the masked ninja to his left and saw them nod after a brief pause. Taking that as a sign to continue, the stoic man gave a small smile that scared him more than set him at ease.
"Hello, Kobayashi-san. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." The deep rumbling voice was captivating, as he nodded and bowed a small bit to show respect, but not enough to show deference.
"It is my pleasure to finally meet you, Shinobi-san. You are as strong and competent as I would expect someone of your village." He said, and it looked like the correct thing to say, as the man had a small rise in his left brow. This was enough of a sign that told him the ninja was impressed, but meant business. His companions, or at least whose faces he could see were happy at his complement, and he thought he had taken the right first step towards their alliance.
"I was told to expect a small packet of information and confirm it is as far reaching as you informed us. If it is as crucial to our village as you think, you will be escorted straight to our village and can hope to land a good and fulfilling life within this week. If not, well you have worked with ninja before. We can assure you we are not as weak and optimistic fools like those in Konoha."
The small speech was enough to inspire both greed and trepidation in him, as he rested his hands on his paunch and laughed nervously.
"It is vital village secrets as well as dangerous secrets and truths that nobles of Fire Country would do anything to keep buried. It is upto you, if you want to use it to destroy Konoha or burn Fire Country to the ground. I have a few small ones to get you started."
Saying that he brought out a small scroll, and held his hand out to the ninja as he was told to do, with a small hand sign and while revealing his elbow which had the small inked symbol he was told to present.
Taking that as confirmation, the ninja nodded and was about to move his hand, when he heard one of the masked ninja shout, "Ambush! Enemy! Fall back!"
As soon as he heard that, he sank into the ground, and felt a small prick on his neck. He was discombobulated by the suddenness, and before he could make head or tail of what happened, he lost consciousness.
POV: Iwa Shinobi - Jounin Leader
This was a simple mission, as Intel was sufficiently adequate and accurate, and the leaked information they received in the past communications had been verified. The Mole within the Fire Daimyo's Court was ready to bring more intel and information as well as all dirty secrets about various officials. That could be enough to destroy the Fire Country, and by extension tremendously weaken Konohagakure no Sato.
There was no suspicion from Konoha, nor was there anything out of the ordinary on the war front. No named ninja appeared to be out of place, or deployed near Kusa as they were expecting the exfiltration to go from the Land of Grass.
He was the team leader for the mission, and he had brought along Eight Chunin, four of which were stationed at the Kusa border to provide back up.
It would be needless, since he saw that the Mole had set up his own security and managed to bribe the Kusa ninja to ensure his safety and anonymity.
The Kusa village agreed because they assumed he was strictly on a confidential mission from the Fire Country, and they assumed their long time ally Konoha was aware of it . It was a perfect bluff and sufficiently clever subterfuge, which made it all the more easier to assign his four Chunin within the border patrol.
The Chunin had reported no suspicious entry, and one of the Jounin from his team was hidden in the Customs at the Border Check to keep an eye.
Only an unexpectedly large amount of Merchants and traders made their way across the border, and he was surprised at the wealth of resources that passes between Konoha and Kusa.
Iwa was situated on an arid land, and even if it wasn't as worse as Suna, the Land of Earth had a large area of its land rocky and barren. Though this allowed for a large amount of minerals and ores, the land was not good to grow crops and farm. They had to import a lot of food from their neighbours and sometimes even set up a good illegal trafficking route through the various minor villages to bring in various foodgrains and resources.
That is why, he was surprised when one of the merchants handed over a small sack of food as a "gift", and went his merry way.
This wasn't an unusual sight, but when he tasted the sweet succulent fruit, he wondered briefly if he should join the bandits on this road and loot these merchants who graciously offer such food without care.
He had his attention brought to the fore, when he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He looked back and saw his trusted sensor sign about no chakra presence near the meeting place.
It wouldn't do to be careless, when you are so deep into the enemy territory. He looked at his team, four Chunin who were separated after leaving four at the West End of Kusa Border, three Jounin, One Anbu and himself.
The sensor was one of the four Chunin, and she was an up and coming ninja who excelled in Sensor training and Tracking at their Training Centre.
"Senpai, no suspicious activity near the Shrine. The Mole is waiting alone, his guards are stationed at the South End, as we told him to do. No suspicious activity from the Mole. Clear to go."
He nodded thankfully at his sensor, and proceeded to hear the man out, after confirming no sign of foul play from his chunin.
As soon as he was about to take the scroll which had a taste of the type of intel he could expect, he heard his sensor yell, "Ambush! Enemy! Fall back!"
He jumped backwards as he saw the mole and his scroll slip into the ground as the ground caved in.
He could see it was a talented use of Iwagakure no Jutsu which was a dangerous prospect as his sensor didn't even sense the activation of Jutsu or a Shinobi for that matter before the sudden attack itself.
And a user of Earth Jutsu who was confident to use it against Iwa ninja themselves wasn't a happy prospect for him.
Seeing his sensor shake her head, he sighed as he made a sign to retreat quickly. He quickly weaved hand signs and spit out a large glob of Mud Wall to defend their backs as they retreat. He put a explosion tag at the inside of the wall and called out a "Retreat!"
As soon as he was five paces away, he saw that the wall exploded due to his time delayed tag, but heard no grunt or scream. He failed to catch the enemy in the surprise attack, and he made a sign to his team to scramble. They had failed to get any intel, or secure the mole. And going back to rescue him was a dangerous idea, since the enemy knew where he was and how many were present in his team here, but he had no clue to their numbers, and his sensor was nigh useless as the enemy seems to have a counter for normal chakra sensors.
That meant they were cautiously over-prepared, or they had good intel on who to expect. This was a dangerous situation, and all he could hope for was a safe retreat without losing any one on his team. Otherwise this was not only a failed mission, but a loss to his village, as they failed to gain any advantage, but instead forfeited one of their able ninja.
The sign to his team was to leave and scramble here, but regroup at the Outpost in the West.
He only hoped all of his team makes it to the Rendezvous Point.
Thud*
He saw a kunai buried in the thick stem to his left. He dodged to his right, and made a small turn around the branch, to catch a glimpse of his pursuer.
Chink*
He felt a small force on his headband and looked down to see a senbon fallen on the ground. 'Must be a bad aim, if he aimed for the face, but hit my headband.'
But the next moment, he felt a prick on his neck. He saw a tall man with rags wrapped around his face and neck, with a Suna Headband come closer.
And that was all he saw before his eyes drooped and his body collapsed.
POV: Fox Two
Seeing the young Uchiha in action, Kenji had to wonder what exactly his parents did to pass on such tremendous genes to the orphan.
He was blessed in talent, in chakra, in body, in looks, in competence and even his ruthlessness, as he saw him take down each of the Iwa ninja one by one.
He was ordered to keep an eye on the Traitor, and inspect his belongings as well as those from his bodyguards, which they had helpfully brought near the Shrine too.
He perused through the opulent possessions, as he sorted the gems, bond papers, currencies, and ledgers into a separate pile. The greedy bastard had put all his material belongings which he cared about in to a hidden stash which was guarded religiously by his most loyal bodyguards.
Unfortunately for the Traitor, these highly trained and competent bodyguards were nothing more than twigs for a Shinobi on his team.
The two Jounin in the team had rounded up the bodyguards/thugs and brought all the stash to the location where the unconscious Traitor lay unconscious.
After bringing it all over, they sorted the intel and various ledgers in the stash which had high quality blackmail material and locations of corrupt money and bribes stowed away by various high level officials in the Land of Fire.
The Jounin wanted to burn the evidence away to prevent a repeat of today's events.
But Arashi and him vetoed that choice. They decided to use the corrupt money for their village's use, and leave breadcrumbs to blame Iwa or Suna so that the Fire Daimyo acts on this like someone lit a fire under their ass.
That was the kind of ruthlessness that the Konoha had to keep in the shadows lest the hypocritically moral populace rise in rebellion.
As he saw the leader of the Iwa ninja collapse, he had to marvel at the deviousness of Arashi Uchiha's plans.
He wanted to keep the man under genjutsu and wanted to kill all the Chunin, even from those hidden amongst the border patrol, and then set him free, perhaps missing an arm and a few fingers.
Iwa would then blame Suna for it, and when they find out that the stash and money is missing from Fire Country, they would have reaffirmed their beliefs, since Konoha would never strike at their own nobles.
And as he rounded up the bodies after a thorough interrogation and sent the few useful corpses from Iwa clans to study their secrets, he was satisfied with the outcome of this mission.
And he saw first hand, that the future of the village was safe if there were strong and sturdy roots like Arashi Uchiha to support the massive and beautiful tree that is Konohagakure no Sato!