Chapter Eight: Complications
"Well, Shien, I guess the Council ranked it right when they said A-Rank, huh?"
"Kentaro, not now. ROE Beta or not, we have four corpses on our
hands, and that's never a good thing."
"It's not like we had much choice in the matter, guys."
The expected assault had occurred, all right. What I hadn't expected was that it contained fifteen people, none of them above Gennin rank, and that it occurred not even fifty feet inside of the Rain's gates. By all rights, the assailants should all have been dead. We, however, decided not to pursue when the eleven survivors of the opening six seconds decided to run. Turns out, this tactic had mixed results. While we spared several lives that were ours to take, the eleven people spread the news of the "battle" throughout the village at a rate that left light in its wake.
There would be no local reconnaissance, nor local aid. Heck, as it stood, we would be lucky to get help finding the administrative building.
"You're right. We need to take the remains to a place of respect. Unfortunately, we don't know where that is, nor are we going to find someone willing to tell us. The admin building is the only choice, and THAT is going to be chancy as-is. For now, four body-bags. We don't want to be carrying four corpses out in the open." My directions were rapidly carried out, and we took off for the center of town. One thing the hidden villages have in common is their emphasis on security. Thus, the most critical buildings, such as the academy and administration, are inevitably as far from the walls as possible. This way, they would be the last things reached in case of an attack.
Unlike Konoha, though, the Rain's main admin building was not clearly marked. I guess this makes sense, given that it would be a major target, but it made things incredibly inconvenient for friendly visitors. Us, too. The only benefit we got out of it was that we passed by a morgue in our attempts to find the central building, and could rid ourselves of the grisly load. The people there looked none too pleased, either, but they could do what needed doing. I wasn't about to chance desecrating a corpse any more than I would enjoy making one in the first place. Luckily enough, they were quite eager to see us away, and pointed us in the right direction. One takes fortune where one can, in this kind of situation.
And the local Admin building? Locked. I probably should have expected it, but what was surprising was that there were local shinobi there. By the looks of it, the local equivalent of our ANBU. And hostile, that's important. Now, My group is a good one, and I'd be willing to put us up against any normal Chuunin or Jounin team you'd care to mention. However, one would have to be patently insane to even consider pitting two brand-new Chuunin and a rising Jounin against eight of the local elite.
I'm guessing the charges will be coming soon. Best not to wait, then, we'll be ahead of schedule. "Let's go, guys. We'll find nothing here worth the risk."
"Wait, Shinobi of the Leaf. You have been charged with the murder of one of our Gennin and three civilians. You'll not be leaving here any time soon."
This is worse than I thought. He literally could not have found out about that and had this kind of team assembled that quickly. Not when you combine it with an evacuated main-Admin building. We've been set up, and it looks like it worked. Well, this will either get us out, or we're all dead. If Konoha doesn't get the information we have, it may mean more than just our lives. "I am afraid we cannot comply with that directive. First, we must report to your superiors, as we are an inspection group. Second, I believe the defense of one's team from a force numbering five-to-one, of unknown degree, will qualify as self-defense. Lastly, your ploy is rather obvious. Please, do not obstruct us while we leave this place. It is not our will to start a war here, and any more deaths on either side will probably do so. I know we have been watched since we entered the village, at least, so you know what little we've done in the past two hours."
I think, had the situation not been QUITE as touchy, the very thought of this kind of ploy would have had me locked in an asylum… probably self-admittance. However, throwing their ploy back in their faces was the only way to get out. Since our words were, in all probability, being recorded, I also had to make sure to keep on the pacifistic side with my words and tone. Not the easiest thing to do with those eight masked faces staring me down.
"It is not that simple, Hyuuga." WHY must everyone assume that I am a Hyuuga? "We cannot let you leave this place, not until such a court is assembled. Should you attempt to leave, we will be forced to use deadly force." With that, the eight surrounded us, all drawing kunai.
"Sir, we'll see what we will see. Pray to whomever you worship, as I am doing now, that this will be resolved soon. This need not continue, believe it."
The eight Rain nins did not react in the slightest to my statement, but Kentaro and Hiromi got the message. All four of them, actually. To activate our bloodlines immediately. That I'd rather avoid a fight. That I wished my dad was here, for security and authority. And lastly, should things go downhill, that I intended for all eight of them to be disabled or dead within thirty seconds.
The rain Jounin were observant. As ninja, they'd pretty much have to be. Thus, none of them missed Kentaro's eyes turning from black to red, with two tomoe. Nor did they miss the veins popping out on the faces of Hiromi, nor I. Nor could they miss our stifled reactions to what was now laid plain to our eyes and minds.
They're waiting… they don't want to fight either. This is a delaying action, nothing more. They're also nervous, more so than I've ever seen in anyone, save only when staring down truly superior force. But, they're Jounin, aren't they? Wait… why are they wielding Kunai? ANBU and their equivalent usually brink wakazashi to the fight. Add the fact that they're terrified… these can't be Jounin at all! "Disable!"
The fight was pitiful, in retrospect. They had the advantage in numbers, in position, and they had the home-field terrain. They were wearing light body armor, and hadn't just spent two constant hours out in the rain, in the town's psychological pressure. None of this mattered, in the slightest.
Even given their ready positions, none of them had the chance to so much as twitch before our first attacks landed. Unlike my last major fight, Hiromi's Hakke Kyuushou strike was a direct hit, the physical blow shattering three of their speaker's ribs. The pulse of chakra following it probably burned out all of the nerves on his left side, and set his heart to stuttering. He'd recover, eventually, but for now he'd be down.
Kentaro's katana virtually teleported into his right hand, as he performed one of Konoha's finest feats of swordsmanship. "Dance of the Crescent Moon!" There was no other word for it, he slid into three separate positions, as two Bunshin moved to flank his target. His blade was not the one in front, however, and his victim's parry met nothing but air as a katana found his right kidney, then proceeded to make four precise slices, completely disabling each of the man's limbs. The dance called for one more strike, beheading the target, but Kentaro withheld it, instead proceeding to the now-reacting ninja to his left.
For my part, I wasn't about to settle for a single target. Let sword and fist do what they would, but my place in the team was tactics and Ninjutsu. My hands flew through the seals, terminating in the Tiger, primary seal of flame. "Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!" Like the Goukakyou no Jutsu, this attack pure flame flying from my mouth to my opponents. Unlike it, though, the Flower of Flame consisted of dozens on smaller bolts of fire, each fully capable of killing or maiming an unprotected target, and each could be targeted where I wanted. Each of my four targets, therefore, received six such blasts of fire. Each was greatly diminished by the rain, but together were quite sufficient to put the poor recipients into the hospital for a good, long time
Now, then. Hiromi took one out, Kentaro just dropped his second, and my four seem to be out of it. Where's the eighth guy?
My question was answered for me by a sharp pain coming from the middle of my back, as the eighth man's kunai found flesh and stuck in my third thoracic vertebra.
Interlude Eight: Concerning the Major Bloodlines
It is a rare, but well-known, occurrence among the shinobi that a clan's scions may manifest unique abilities, passed on by blood. In more than seventy percent of these cases, the genetic ability is not dominant, and ends with that one person's death. One such ability was that of the Shodaime Hokage, capable of directly manipulating living wood, and of controlling the mighty Bijuu. None of his ancestors showed this ability, nor did his children or grandchildren, including the Godaime Hokage, the lady Tsunade. Many, if not most, of these abilities go unfound, lying latent in the blood of the shinobi until the day they die.
Even so, the occasional genetic ability is found, and found to persist through the generations. These cases are quite rare, however. Even in Konoha, there are only two such clans: the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. The abilities granted to them, though, make them the feared elite of an already mighty force.
However, this comes at a price. For one, these abilities inevitably take an incredible amount of chakra and pure will to use. For another, explained earlier in context of the Hyuuga house, the families nearly always have incredibly tight and binding traditions.
Most significantly, the bearers of a known bloodline are almost always subject to extreme persecution, and are all immediate targets in any war that their village participates in. Many times, major bloodline abilities have been stamped out from the face of the world, pure suspicion and hatred ending otherwise noble and brave clans of proud shinobi.
Author's Note: Yeah, I jumped on the cliffhanger bandwagon. I think I like it :) Sorry for the delay on this one, folks. I promised weekly, and it took me 9 days here. Well, the next one is almost finished already, and the one ofter that is already forming. Expect both of them this Sunday, Tuesday at the latest.
Finally,I'd like to thank those who have reviewed my work. Listening to the thoughts of my readers, always helps me write better. AKA: Please keep reviewing!