Hello! No, I am not dead, just busy with college and work... Also I kinda had writer's block on where to take this mission, so I hope it's alright. I tried to go for a creepy feeling, with slight gore, nothing graphic or heavy, I just needed it there to make the plot I want this mission to have work. Speaking of, there might be some gore in the story, not enough to make it a necessary tag, but enough to be realistic for a story about Shinobi and a lot of fighting.
PLEASE READ THIS PART IF NOTHING ELSE! Going into this mission please keep in mind that it's my first original mission, so it's probably rough! Also in case anyone figures out exactly what the villains of this mission are doing before I come out and say it, just trust me, okay? I know it's kinda 'Okay, even for all the crazy stuff that happens in Naruto, this is a little much...' But I have a method to my madness! Also don't go spoiling it, I don't think anyone will figure it out, but just in case.
So, here we are at Chapter 5 of White Moon, and I realized that I've been mislabeling something... When I say 'Naruto abandoned/neglected elements', I really should be saying 'Yasaka neglected/abandoned elements'... With that, I'm sure many of you have realized what's gonna be happening, but rest assured! I will try my utmost to make it original, make sense, and not be cliche.
Somebody said that I was making Naruto look a little arrogant in his Kekkei Genkai last chapter, and looking back, yeah I kinda did, I didn't mean to though. I was trying to make Naruto confident in his abilities, of course the line between arrogance and confidence is very fine, so I'll have to be careful of that. I wouldn't be opposed to making Naruto get a bit arrogant and having him have to get smacked back down to earth, but I just don't see it happening right now...
Speaking of, I just realized while writing this that Team 7 may be too perfect, and I'll need to work on giving them a few flaws...
Oh, and the drunk scene, sorry if it was painfully stereotypical drunk and not real drunk. I've never really been around drunk people or been drunk myself, so I hope it was okay.
Also, I was using a map of the nations made by another fanfic writer to set up some stuff and get a placement on the countries, so if you're curious, here is the link to his deviantart page for the map. On the off chance you see this, xShadowRebirthx, then thank you for making this, and I hope it's okay if I use it.
xshadowrebirthx/art/Elemental-Nations-Political-Map-317422394
Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other characters or Media that may appear in this story.
Chapter 5: The Mist.
"So... What do you think our next mission is gonna be?" Naruto asked as they waited outside the Hokage's office.
Hinata shrugged, "Who knows, though it probably won't be as action packed as our mission to Nami, so don't get your hopes up."
The resident blonde gave a small smirk, "I hope it isn't, if we have too long of a recovery period, we won't be able to enter the Chunin exams!"
Yuuko raised an eyebrow, "You think Sensei will allow us to enter this time?" She'd be lying if she said the thought of entering the exams didn't interest her...
"Well, we're more than strong enough and capable enough, and we're old enough now that we won't be instant targets. I'd bet money that he's gonna let us enter, and I can't wait to kick ass!"
Naruto grinned to match Yasaka, "Dammit Yasaka, now you've got me all excited for the exams..."
Their conversation was cut off as the door to the office opened, Kakashi stepping out, "Instead of thinking about the exams, which you still might not be allowed into, you should be focusing on what we're doing now. Especially with this mission." He said in his usual lazy drawl, Team 7 stood at attention until Naruto noticed something sticking up over Kakashi's shoulder.
"You get to keep the Raijin?" Naruto asked. The rest of the team followed his gaze and, lo and behold, the hilt of the Nidaime's sword stuck over their Sensei's shoulder, much like a sword he used to use.
"Yup, Hokage-sama decided it'd be a shame to let it sit in the vault until it rusts, and since I'm the only Jonin in Konoha with a Raiton nature, he decided to let me have it." Truth be told, Kakashi had been wanting to try using another sword since the White Light Blade got broken, "Anyway, Hokage-sama was just briefing me on out next mission while you guys were out here."
Yasaka raised an eyebrow, "If you were just talking about the mission then why were we supposed to wait out here? Shouldn't we be in there?"
Kakashi nodded, "Normally you would be, but this mission is a bit special. It's very high profile, and Hokage-sama wanted to see if we could handle it or if he should send ANBU. We're taking it, but we're also going to be working with another team and a Tokubetsu Jonin. Hokage-sama has already asked them if they're up for the mission, and they've been on standby for our answer."
"Which team and which Jonin?" Yuuko asked with a tilt of her head.
Hinata activated her Byakugan and seemed to look around for a second before freezing, "Oh no..." Everyone turned to her in curiosity until a loud voice came from down the hall.
"KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I CHALLENGE YOU!" Kakashi shook his head with a sigh as a cloud of dust inexplicably formed in the hallway, blasting toward them with inhuman speed, finally whatever was causing it stopped, allowing the dust to blow away. What was left was a sight that the members of Team 7 were all too familiar with, "DO YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE?!" Standing there with a dramatic pose and twinkling teeth was Might Guy, Kakashi's self proclaimed eternal rival, and the Sublime Green Beast of Konoha.
Kakashi merely schooled his expression and turned to him, "Sorry, you say something Guy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Guy started crying anime tears and leaned against the wall, Team 7 just staring with blank expressions, used to the occurrence. Naruto's eyes then went wide as he realized what usually followed the passionate Jonin, "NARUTO-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Naruto turned just in time to see a foot flying directly at his face.
As it crashed into him and he felt his feet leave the ground, he thought, 'Oh, right... dodging is a thing... It would appear that there are in fact things that can hurt me. One of which appears to be an excited Rock Lee.' He flew back and rolled along the hallway for a few yards before coming to a stop. Naruto hauled himself to a sitting position, rubbing his sore cheek, "Damn Lee, if I thought I was invincible before then that sure knocked me out of it..."
Rock Lee, in all his miniature Guy glory, gave Naruto a classic nice guy pose (trademark pending), with the gleaming teeth and all, "When I had heard that you had awakened a new Kekkei Genkai that made your body much stronger, I had to test it for myself!" Let it never be said that the Konoha rumor mill wasn't efficient...
He was about to settle into his Goken stance, before Tenten came up behind him and smacked him into the ground with a paper fan, "Dammit Lee, you can't go around kicking people! Just ask for a spar like a normal person!" She sighed and looked over to Naruto, "You okay?"
Naruto nodded with a smile after getting onto his feet, "Yeah I'm good. Also if you really wanna spar so badly Lee then I'll be happy to once we get done with this mission." That seemed to satisfy Lee as Neji joined them. The friendly atmosphere suddenly gained a layer of tension.
"Neji-nii." Hinata politely greeted her elder cousin.
"Hinata-sama." Neji returned with a barely restrained undercurrent of venom before turning to Naruto, "I heard you awakened a nearly extinct Kekkei Genkai, it seems every dog does have it's day." He said with a small smirk.
Naruto started forward with a growl, "Careful Neji, you keep kicking a dog then it's gonna bite." He and Neji had a bit of a staredown.
"If you want to do something, then I'm standing right here." Neji said, activating his Byakugan.
"You know, I can take a fair amount of Jyuken hits after awakening the Shikotsumyaku." Naruto said, one of his horns growing out, "Wanna test how durable you are Neji?"
They were interrupted however by Guy, who was now giving them both a stern look, "That's enough you two. If you want to settle your differences then do it on your own time. Right now we're going to be working together on a mission, so you both will act professional, is that understood?" It clearly wasn't a question.
The two Genin backed off and deactivated their respective Bloodlines, calming down and choosing to ignore each other.
Kakashi let out a small sigh, "I've got a feeling it's gonna be a long mission..." He mumbled to himself, "Well now that we've got the introductions out of the way, let's all head home and get ready for the mission, we meet at the South gate in an hour. This mission is gonna take a week or more, so pack for it. I might be a little late since I'm picking up out last teammate." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a plume of smoke.
Guy gave the members of Team 7 a smile, "I look forward to working with you all! It's been a long time since we've gotten the opportunity to!" Tenten and Lee nodded while Neji seemed to ignore the conversation.
Yuuko shared the sentiment, "Maybe you can help me with some moves I've been working on Guy-Sensei?" The members of Team 7 might get a little exasperated with Lee, and might not like Neji very much, except Hinata, but they did enjoy working with them when things went well. So they all dispersed to head home and prepare for their mission, unknowing that it wouldn't be the simple mission that they'd hoped it'd be...
-One hour later at the South Gate-
The Genin of Teams 7&9 were gathered around the gate, waiting for their Sensei and final teammate to arrive, having some idle conversation about the mission, with Tenten posing a question, "So what kinda mission do you guys think it is? It has to be important, given all this preparation and secrecy."
"Indeed! Perhaps we are going to be acting as guards for a visiting noble, or engaging in some covert espionage!" Lee said with exuberance.
Yasaka shook her head and patted Lee on the shoulder, "Lee, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I don't think you and Guy-Sensei are very suited for espionage..."
The green-clad Genin merely gave her a thumbs up, "Of course! My flames of youth burn too brightly to be hidden by the shadows, I don't believe I could snuff them out even if Hokage-sama himself were to ask!"
"Very good Lee! Keep those flames of youth burning like the fires of a volcano!" Guy said as he suddenly appeared, his hand on Lee's shoulder and tears streaming down his face.
"Thank you Guy-Sensei!"
"LEE!"
"GUY-SENSEI!"
"LEE"
"GUY-SENSEI!"
Everyone shivered as the fabled 'Sunset Technique of Youth'(Trademark Pending) appeared behind the two as they hugged. Hinata activated her Byakugan, "No matter how many times I see it, I can never fathom how it works..."
Yuuko nodded with her Sharingan going, "I keep looking for chakra or anything that can dispel it, but I can't find a single thing..."
Naruto simply stared, completely numb to the experience. Since he was Lee's favorite sparing partner behind Guy-Sensei, he was frequently subjected to this type of thing. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck from behind, and a pair of... soft items, press into his back, "Hey there Naru-chan! Kakashi told me all about your new bloodline, I'm sure there's a joke about bones and hardening in there somewhere, but that's just beneath me..." Naruto shivered at the voice in his ear, before the person behind him licked his cheek, "Speaking of being beneath me, wanna come back to my place after this mission?"
Naruto gulped, "Anko-Sensei... Can you please not?" He then breathed a sigh of relief when she let go and chuckled.
Anko gave him a smirk as his teammates noticed her, "Well, nice to know that no matter how tough you get, I'll always be able to turn you into a mess. Also I wasn't kidding about the invitation to my apartment, you're actually really cute!" She then laughed as Naruto blushed and turned away, crossing his arms.
An excited Yasaka quickly made her way over to them, "Anko-Sensei, you're coming on this mission with us?"
"You bet! No way I'd miss a chance to go on a mission with my favorite blonde!" Anko said as she put an arm around Yasaka's shoulder. Say what you wanted about Anko, once she met Yasaka and found out how most villagers treated her, she immediately took a liking to the her.
- Five years prior -
Yasaka wore an annoyed look as she was once again stopped on her way home from training with her tenant's power. Every now and again she'd have to deal with a few civilians who wanted to confront her about something or other, usually whatever went wrong with that that week. They'd usually find some way to blame it on her, "Listen guys, I'm not in a very good mood, so just fuck off, would ya?" She asked as she tried to walk past them.
The largest one stepped in front of her, "Not until I get some answers outta you! I've been noticing a drop in my store's stock, and I got a feeling you're responsible for it!"
Yasaka groaned, "Look, I'm not stealing your stuff, alright? Now unless you have any evidence that I have been, then I'll just be on my way."
As she walked past, he got even more angry, "Now listen here demon!" He didn't get much more out as Yasaka spun around, throwing a punch into his gut that made him double over. While he was leaning over, she threw a kick into the side of his head, sending him into the air and to the other side of the street.
Yasaka turned to glare at the other two, who wisely chose to high-tail it out of there, "Tell your friends not to bug me with this petty shit!" She yelled after them.
Suddenly, she heard a voice from just behind her, "Well, that was fun to watch." Yasaka spun around to face a younger Anko, wearing a simple pair of workout shorts and a t-shirt, "Here I thought it'd just be another boring trip home, but that was a pretty nice little display!" She said with a smirk.
Yasaka jumped back and settled into a fighting stance, "Who are you?"
Anko rolled her eyes and munched on a dango stick, "Calm down blondie. If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have said anything, I was just admiring your handiwork, not bad!"
"R-really?"
"Of course! Though, if I might make a little suggestion... Go for the twig and berries next time, I've made a game out of trying to get the most hilarious faces after I kick them there!" Anko said with a little laugh, "So... Why were those guys giving you a hard time anyway? You didn't actually steal his shit did you?"
Yasaka shook her head, "Nope, I just have to deal with that a lot... I'm sure you've heard of the 'Demon Girl' right?" The look on Anko's face told her that she had, so Yasaka just turned and headed home. While most Shinobi knew she wasn't actually a demon, a lot still didn't want a lot to do with her.
Her progress was halted once again as Anko appeared next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Oh I've been wanting to meet you for a long time! You and I are cut from the same cloth, the Demon girl and the Snake bitch, that's you and me!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Yasaka asked, not used to people actually wanting to meet her.
"I mean that people hate me because my former Sensei was a major asshole and betrayed the village, I might not know exactly what you're going through, but us pariah gotta stick together, right?"
Yasaka stood there blinking for a few seconds, "People hate you too?"
Anko nodded, "I'd also be happy to trade notes with you on how to both politely and not so politely tell them to fuck off!" Her smile then turned evil, "Also I'd love to have an apprentice in the art of teasing!"
"Teasing how, like seduction? Because I don't think I'm old enough for that..."
"Oh no, not that kind. More like, embarrassing people. Do you know any boys so I can demonstrate?"
"Well... I do know one."
A few minutes later, Naruto was minding his own business and reading a book, sipping on some tea, having an all around nice time while Yasaka made her way home. It was fairly dangerous for her to train with the Kyuubi's chakra, so Inu-sensei sent everyone home before they started. Speaking of, it was getting to be around the time when Yasaka got home, then speak of the devil, the door opened and Yasaka stepped into the living room with her new friend Anko.
Naruto blinked a bit, but was glad that Yasaka had made another friend, "Hey Yasaka-chan! Who's this? ...Yasaka-chan?"
It was at this point that Naruto noticed the matching smirks on their faces. They both looked positively evil, like cats who'd found a particularly enticing injured mouse. Yasaka stepped forward, "Hello Naruto-kun! This is my new friend Anko-chan!"
"Oh, well it's nice to meet you!" Something inside Naruto told him that he should be running...
Anko stalked forward and smirked at him, "Hello there!"
Now that something inside Naruto was screaming.
Kakashi walked up and shook his head, Naruto was blushing and not looking at anyone, Yasaka and Anko were whispering conspiratorially with matching smirks, Yuuko and Hinata were staring at Guy and Lee's hug, while Neji and Tenten were simply trying to ignore the madness. "Alright everyone, time to go over the mission details." Once everyone was gathered, with Anko and Guy with him, he started explaining the mission, "We've been tasked with investigating Tani Village, a town just over the border in Tea Country. Many merchants who get off ships in Degarashi Port stop at this town to rest and sell some of their wares, since it's right in the middle of a canyon you pretty much have to pass through it to stay on the road. However, we've received a report from Degarashi Port that a large number of villagers from Tani Village arrived, talking about the village being covered in fog and taken over by monsters."
The Genin were all put off by this, and Guy quickly noticed, "We doubt there really are monsters in this village, but those people were truly scared of what they saw, so we're going to be investigating the village and taking care of whatever we find. Any questions?"
Tenten spoke up, "Did any of the villagers have any idea what these monsters were?"
Guy shook his head, "No, the most they could say was that people went missing in the dead of night, and all people ever saw were shadows creeping around town."
Anko added her thoughts, a kunai spinning around her finger, "Most likely it's a group of rogue Shinobi or bandits. We can't say what they're up to, but we're gonna find out."
The Genin spent a few seconds absorbing everything before Kakashi spoke up, "Alright then, the sooner we get there, the sooner those people can find out what's going on in their village, so let's get going." After receiving nods from all the Genin, they started on their way to Tea Country. Little did they know what awaited them there, and what would await them when they got back.
-Hokage Tower-
Hiruzen looked through yet another document in the pile he still had to read. He definitely needed to find someone to hand the hat off to soon, he was getting too old for this. Still, he had to power through for a while longer, if he retired now then Danzo would be the next Hokage, no doubt about it, and Hiruzen could not allow that. He'd just have to suffer through a few more years of this until another candidate appeared. Maybe Kakashi, or Jiraiya? He doubted either of them would accept, but there was still hope...
A sudden puff of smoke appeared on his desk, interrupting his thoughts, when the smoke cleared, it revealed a small toad, who spat out an envelope before disappearing. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at it, Jiraiya was still in the village, so why would he send a letter like this?
Speak of the devil, just as he was about to open the envelope, Jiraiya opened his window and hopped into his office, "So, Sensei, what's up?" He asked, clearly waiting for something.
"What do you mean? I didn't call you, I thought you wanted me to come to you since you sent a toad to deliver this." Hiruzen said, holding up the envelope.
"What? I didn't summon a toad, or want to send you anything..." With that, the two men focused on the envelope. Jiraiya quickly took the Toad contract scroll off his back and unrolled it, "I know it wasn't Yasaka, I haven't even brought up the Toad contract with her yet..." He looked at the two names, his own, and Minato's, now crossed off, "The hell is going on? ...Just a second." Jiraiya quickly ran through a familiar chain of handsigns before slamming his hand down, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
One small puff of smoke later, a small, very old looking toad was in the room with them, it had a small amount of grey hair, was wearing a robe of some sort, and carried a cane, "Ah, Jiraiya-chan! It's been a while since you've summoned me! Tell me, how's Yasaka-chan? Ma and I have been wanting to meet her for a long time!" He then noticed the seriousness in the room, "What's wrong?"
Jiraiya bowed to the small toad, "I wish this were a casual call Pa, but we need some help figuring something out. This is my Sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
The toad hopped up on Hiruzen's desk and held out a hand to him, "It's a pleasure to meet you Hokage-sama, Jiraiya boy has told us all about you! My name is Fukasaku."
Hiruzen nodded and shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Fukasaku-sama, I just wish it were under better circumstances."
Jiraiya quickly got the old toad's attention again, "Normally I wouldn't waste your time with something another toad could do, but you're the expert on the scroll. Did you guys make a new contract, and has anyone new signed it?"
Fukasaku raised a confused eyebrow, "No, we haven't, that's still the only contract. What's this all about?" After explaining the toad and the letter, Fukasaku struck a thinking pose, "Well... That's a mystery... There certainly aren't any new contracts, actually... If I remember right, the night Minato-chan died, he asked Gamabunta for a one time summon scroll. He said he was planning on using it in case he and Kushina couldn't get back to the village after the battle with the Kyuubi."
One time summon scrolls were very simple items. They were basically a free summon, a shinobi could use them to summon an animal from their contract with no chakra required, they could even be used by someone who wasn't contracted to the summoned animal. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Did he use it?"
Fukasaku shook his head, "I don't know, one time scrolls aren't linked to the main scroll of users, so we can't tell if someone used it or not. I suppose the only thing we can do is read the letter."
The three old men... Well, two men and one toad, turned to the letter as Hiruzen opened it up, examining it for any seals. Upon finding none, he pulled out the letter and started reading. As soon as he finished, a massive wave of killing intent washed over the room, even Jiraiya freezing up over the sheer amount, "S-sensei, what's in the letter?" Instead of answering, Hiruzen simply handed it over to him, his hat shadowing his eyes. Jiraiya started reading the paper as Fukasaku jumped onto his shoulder to read it as well. Soon, Hiruzen's KI was joined by two more sources as Jiraiya and Fukasaku finished reading.
Fukasaku then took a closer look at Minato's signature, and after a second spoke up, "Hm... I'm sure you both know that there's more than one way for someone's name to be stricken from a scroll."
Hiruzen finally spoke up, "I see then, so we're all on the same page?" After receiving a pair of nods he continued, "Then there will be hell to pay soon enough, we'll just have to prepare for when Yasaka gets back...
-A few Days Later, Tea Country-
Teams 7, 9, and Anko were currently standing on the edge of a canyon, looking down at the village they were sent to investigate. It was a rather good sized village, since it got a lot of traffic, nestled snugly in the rather large canyon the road ran through, with a path leading out of the village and up the cliff to a marvelous view of the scenery and even the ocean a ways away on one side. There was even a ton of greenery around, it really was a picturesque village... Or at least it would've been if not for the massive bank of fog settled on the canyon floor, stretching for at least a mile away from the village on either side.
Neji, Hinata, Yuuko, and Kakashi were all looking at it with their Doujutsu, Hinata being the one to speak up, "The fog is definitely laced with chakra... It's similar to the Kirigakure no Jutsu..."
The other resident Hyuga deactivated his own eyes, "It would seem we'll have to cut off the source to remove the fog."
Kakashi hummed in thought, "So we're definitely dealing with Shinobi... Alright, we'll set up base camp up here, we'll need to split up to search the city. From what the information says, there are three districts to the village, Professional, Residential, and Business. We'll search those districts before meeting at the town square and heading back here."
Guy gave his usual smile, "The professional district is basically the town square, the town hall, bank, hospital, the mayor's mansion and the like, Lee, Yuuko, Hinata, you're with me, and it'll be where we search." He then turned to Kakashi.
"Yasaka, Tenten and I will take the residential district. It's the largest of the three so having someone who can make a lot of clones and a long range specialist will come in handy." Everyone seemed happy with this, until they realized who'd be on the last team.
"Well you two! Looks like you get stuck with little old me, ain't you the lucky ones?" Anko asked as she wrapped an arm around Naruto and Neji, "The business district is filled with narrow paths so a guy who can see through buildings and a guy who's hard as steel won't have to worry about an ambush!" The two Genin did not seem pleased.
Hinata spoke up then, "Um... Maybe I should swap places with Neji..."
"No can do." Kakashi said with finality, "You're our medic, so having you in a central location like the square will be best." With that said, he looked to Naruto and Neji, "Needless to say, you two will behave and work together or there will be trouble, understood?"
Naruto and Neji simply stared for a minute, before Neji extended his hand, "For this mission only."
"Fine, and once we're back in the village we go back to normal." Naruto said as the two shook hands. With that, they all split up to search the village.
-Tani Village-
Yuuko was looking around the village with her Sharingan activated. Once they got into the fog bank it seemed to thin out, allowing them to see a bit more. She was currently moving slowly through the second floor of the mayor's mansion, her hands up and ready to defend herself. The Mayor and his wife were apparently the last people to disappear before the remaining villagers fled. She quickly opened the door to the master bedroom before moving inside, Lee and Hinata moving in behind her. "See anything Hinata-chan?"
Hinata took a second, "No, nothing. We're clear." Due to the fog, her range was limited and she couldn't see tenketsu unless she was right next to them, but she could at least distinguish people in the mist. They looked around the bedroom for a second, "The bed hasn't been made... Also the window has marks on the outside. Looks like someone pried it open, probably with a kunai."
Lee suddenly turned around, carrying a small leather-bound book, "I believe I've found the mayor's journal. Maybe it has a clue as to what happened?" He cracked it open and started looking for entries that mention the kidnappings as Yuuko and Yasaka looked around the room, reading them aloud.
"Tuesday, July 23rd-
I honestly don't know what to think about these disappearances. The only people that seem to go missing are criminals, and while I don't condone killing, I'll admit that when Koga disappeared I just wrote it off. I was even a little relieved, his criminal activity was becoming a problem for everyone, and I thought he just moved on or ran afoul of the wrong people. I became more suspicious when more and more criminals started disappearing off the streets, but I didn't see the harm... That's a terrible thing to think, I know, but I have to think about the village as a whole! I'm have no idea who or what is taking these people, but as long as nobody decent is harmed, then I don't see a reason to worry too much..."
Lee skimmed through the entries until he found another one that seemed to have something to do with the disappearances.
"Saturday, July 27th-
Suzu the baker was taken from her home last night, I should have sent for Shinobi the second these disappearances became suspicious! I let whoever it is keep taking criminals, not thinking about what they'd do when they ran out of thugs to snatch. The village is in an uproar, Suzu was someone that everyone liked. Nobody had any problems with her, not even Koga and his goons bothered her, hell they were some of her best customers! I have to find the cause of these disappearances, and if it turns out to be too much for me to handle, then I'll send for Shinobi!"
The rest of the entries were filled with the results of the mayor's investigations, sadly, it looked like he only ran into dead end after dead end. The final entry talked about how he would send for Shinobi the next morning. Obviously, he was too late.
With solemn looks, the three Genin exited the house to see Guy waiting in the square, having finished looking through the town hall. He was staring out into the mist with narrowed eyes, "Did you find anything?" He asked as they approached him.
Yuuko shook her head, "Someone, most likely a Shinobi, pried open the window to get into the mayor's bedroom, but not much else. Lee found the Mayor's journal, but it doesn't tell us much."
Guy looked over the entries, "Hm... So these Shinobi were kidnapping criminals for some reason, then they ran out and started grabbing anyone. If I had to guess, I'd say that these people don't care who they take, they only took criminals first because it's be easier, nobody misses the odd thug or thief... Then once they ran out,they started taking people indiscriminately."
Lee hummed in thought, "Guy-sensei, if we're really dealing with Shinobi, then wouldn't they know better than to let the rest of the villagers escape?"
"I'm not sure, it could be that the villagers simply panicked and ran out of the blue and the kidnappers were unprepared to stop them, or didn't notice they left until it was too late. Perhaps they simply didn't care if the villagers left, it's entirely possible that they finished whatever they were doing and left, leaving this mist behind. But before jumping to conclusions, let's check the bank and hospital, then wait for the others. You three check the hospital, I'll search the bank."
After the gennin entered the hospital, Guy turned and made his way into the rather small bank. Much like the rest of the village, it was completely deserted. His footsteps echoing on the hard marble floor made for an ominous atmosphere. Luckily the bank was essentially one room, with a few desks for bankers and a counter for tellers. Guy started by looking over the Teller's stations and taking a quick look at the cage door to the vault. 'Nothing was taken, no signs of any struggles, and it looks like the cash boxes at the teller stations haven't even been tampered with... It's as if everyone disappeared into thin air all at once...'
The hospital of Tani village was essentially just a clinic, with a few offices, examining rooms, and a couple surgery rooms. It was a bit small to be called a hospital, but Hinata wasn't one to judge. She moved quickly and efficiently through the exam rooms, taking stock of all the supplies and looking for anything out of the ordinary. As she moved, she became increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress, 'These guys are annoyingly professional, nothing's been taken from anywhere we've checked.' Hinata felt a shiver run down her spine, she looked over her shoulder with a small frown, 'This place is giving me the creeps, if there's one thing horror movies and games have taught me, it's that hospitals are never good.' She slapped her cheeks, "Calm down Hinata, everything's fine..."
A small gust of air brushed over Hinata's face, as a dark shape glided into her vision. Her eyes widened as she jumped to the side, pressing herself into the wall and bringing her arms up to defend herself, heart pounding in her chest.
"...Something wrong?" Yuuko asked as she raised an amused eyebrow at her teammate, "I guess this place has you a bit on edge, huh?"
Hinata placed a hand on her chest and steadied her breathing, "Yeah, sorry. I think this place is starting to get to me..."
Yuuko nodded, "I get you, the silence is deafening when you're alone. So, found anything interesting?"
"Nothing, it doesn't look like anything's missing, and all the basic supplies are in the room's cupboards... Let's go see if Lee's found anything." After receiving a nod from Yuuko, they started on their way, "I think he went toward the storage areas back this way."
Indeed, after making their way through the hospital back toward the entrance, they came across Lee exiting the doorway to the basement. Yuuko gave him a small smile, "Find anything Lee? ...Lee, are you alright?"
Lee swallowed and let out a shuddering breath, looking up to them and revealing a pale face with shocked eyes, "Y-Yes... I'm alright, but..." He looked back to the basement, shaking a bit.
Hinata took his arm and led him back toward the entrance, "Come on Lee, let's take a minute to rest at the entrance..." She looked back and gave Yuuko a nod.
Yuuko nodded back and made her way to the entrance, taking a deep breath before descending the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she realized why Lee was so shaken up. Blood and bodies littered the basement of the hospital like some kind of macabre butcher's shop, combined with a painter's studio. There were blood stains on the wall, and tables in the center of the room with bloody tools littering the space around the bodies. Images of cliche mad scientist labs flashed through Yuuko's mind as she took a few steadying breaths. 'What kind of monster...' She thought to herself as she moved further into the room.
She took a second to look over the bodies, empty skull cavities, every part of their bodies cut open for some horrible research. Yuuko moved over to a table in the back of the room, seeing the brains floating in jars, suspended in a pale blue liquid. She'd be laughing at the 'brains in jars' thing if it wasn't so creepy. Yuuko looked around and debated taking one to examine it further, but couldn't bring herself to touch any of the brain jars. Suddenly, a scratching sound entered her ears, and she spun around, Sharingan active, Yuuko focused on the corpses, staring at them. She heard something, she knew she did! She swallowed and activated Hi no Karada, preparing to burn the room up, before a small rat ran out from under a counter, looking at her for a second before scampering back into it's hole.
Yuuko dropped her technique and let out a breath, shuffling toward the entrance, before bumping into something. Yuuko spun around with a scream, throwing a punch at whoever was behind her. Once it connected with something, she looked up to see Guy looking at her with concern, his palm stopping her punch, "G-Guy-sensei, I'm sorry, I-"
Guy stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright Yuuko, just head back up to the entrance with the others, I'll look around this place." Yuuko nodded and quickly made her way back up the stairs. Guy looked over the basement with a look of anger, 'What kind of person would do this?' His first instinct pointed to Orochimaru, but he dismissed it after a bit of thought. The Snake Sannin was undoubtedly one of the most twisted people to ever exist, but he at the very least knew to keep his labs clean and organized, if only to keep projects from getting mixed up. The madman who worked in this lab clearly didn't care about such things, leaving everything strewn about, bloody tools and surgical instruments abandoned... Guy took a few minutes to look over the bodies and jars, before turning and leaving the basement.
Arriving back at the main lobby, Guy got the attention of the gennin, who stood up from their chairs and at attention, "I think that's enough exploration for the day, let's head back into the square and wait for the others." They nodded and filed out, Hinata making sure the others were alright as they left, making small glances back toward the storage area. She looked up at Guy and a simple shake of the head squashed her curiosity.
"I don't know about you two, but this fog gives me the creeps..." Anko said to her two companions as he stood in the empty road, watching them examine the buildings and streets.
Neji moved his hand over a group of tracks, "I will admit that it's a bit unsettling... The tracks are very old, clearly nobody has walked these streets for at least a week. Then again, if we're dealing with enemy Shinobi, then they wouldn't use the roads." He hopped up onto the nearest rooftop, and using his Byakugan, managed to locate a few small signs of someone roof hopping before returning to the ground, "There are signs of shinobi up on the rooftops here."
Anko nodded, "Alright, we've searched the majority of the district already, so I want you and Naruto to check out the last bit while I see if I can follow the tracks on the rooftops. Hey brat!"
Naruto walked out of the nearby blacksmith's shop, his eyes closed, "I heard... Dammit, It's hard to sense anything in this fog..." He opened his eyes and looked over at Neji, jerking his head toward the last section of the district before moving down the street. After a minute of walking, the two found themselves standing in front of a fenced in building. The fence was wooden, with a gate and path leading up to what was easily the largest building in the district, "I've got a bad feeling about this place..." Naruto said as he pushed open the gate.
Neji followed, "Feelings mean nothing unless there's a reason behind them. You're just letting the atmosphere get the better of you." Using his Byakugan to look around the immediate vicinity, and discovering something, "There's a small tripwire over the bottom of the door."
"Oh. What were you saying about my bad feeling again?" Naruto asked, a small smirk tugging at his lips. Once they got a good look at the building, Naruto groaned, "Tani Orphanage. Of course it's an orphanage... That's one of the worst places to go in a horror movie, second only to hospitals!" It appeared to be a repurposed and renovated mansion similar to what the Hyuga had, but much, much smaller
"Would you like me to find Hinata-sama for you? I'm sure she'd be more than happy to hold your hand while we go into the big, bad building." Neji shook his head in annoyance as he walked up to the door, carefully opening it. He took a look at the wire and, sure enough, it looked like it was hooked up to a kunai throwing trap.
Naruto came up next to him and the two carefully scanned the room for any other traps. Neji activated his Byakugan as Naruto stepped over the threshold, noticing something just after he did, "Wait!"
The second Naruto stepped fully into the room, a click was heard and a brace of shuriken flew from the wall opposite the door toward him. Naruto held his arms up, blocking them and making sure none slipped past him. They bounded off of his arms, protected by the Shikotsumyaku, and clattered to the ground, "How did I not see that?"
Neji turned his attention to the ground, "It was a seal, The wire must've been a decoy. There look to be other seals hidden under the floorboards, we have to be careful."
Naruto groaned a bit and turned to look down the hallway off of the room, "Alright, stay behind me and look out for more traps. I'll be the shield if we need one." So they continued, moving slowly through the hallways and rooms of the orphanage. Along the way, Neji pointed out any traps or seals he noticed and Naruto launched bone spikes to set them off or disarm them. "Anything seem strange about these traps to you? Wire nets, kunai and shuriken launchers, none of them are particularly... robust. I mean, close quarters like this, I'd set up at least a couple explosives."
"Almost like whoever set them up didn't want to heavily damage the building." Neji observed, "I'm impressed, you can think with more than just your fists."
Cue an eyebrow twitch from an annoyed Kaguya, "Neji, I swear to Kami I will give you a pimp style backhand and put you through a wall." Naruto said, giving Neji an unimpressed glare.
Neji answered with a glare of his own, "I'd like to see you- Wait, I see something... A stairway, and it looks to be under a hidden trapdoor. Not something you'd do for a normal basement. Through the door up there, but there's another trap."
Naruto silently nodded, making his way toward the large double doors, "So how do we disarm this one?"
"I don't think it's that simple... I'm no sealing expert, but it looks like a whole array built around this one trap. I'm not sure we can disarm it."
"Well then, let's just spring it." Naruto said as he created a Kage Bunshin, allowing it to walk up to the door while he and Neji retreated back down the hall. They found some cover in a room off to the side, watching as the clone kicked the door open. The clone popped soon after, and upon receiving it's memories, Naruto acted, "GET DOWN!" He yelled and tackled Neji, sending them both down to the ground as a massive explosion tore through the building. Pieces of wood, metal, and other debris flew over their heads as they waited for the explosion to die down. Once it finally did, Naruto sat up, groaning as his ears rang. Neji took a bit longer to recover, what with not having nigh unbreakable bones. Before they could fully recover, Anko appeared, Naruto couldn't quite hear what she said, so he just settled for telling her, "I'm fine, my clone set it off, Neji might need some help."
Anko took a second to make sure he was alright before nodding and moving to Neji, who only sported some bruises. They'd definitely hurt, but it was nothing serious. After the ringing in their ears finally stopped, Anko spoke up, "I was just about to join you two when I heard the explosion. What the hell did you two find in here?"
Neji shook his head and gestured to the center of the explosion, "The entire building is booby trapped, though that's the only explosive we've ran into. I couldn't find a way to disarm it, so one of Kaguya's clones tripped it."
Naruto stood up, taking a second to steady himself, "Speaking of, what do you think they were guarding with a trap like that?" While Anko made sure Neji was alright, Naruto walked over to the door, casting a few glances over the inside of the room. He briefly thought about going inside, but the fact that he was standing in the result of a massive explosion made him think twice, "Hey Neji, there any more traps in here?" He asked as his two companions walked over.
"...No, they were all either destroyed or disarmed in the explosion." Once they all entered the room, which appeared to be the dining hall, they followed Neji to the trapdoor, "The mist is preventing me from seeing all the way down the staircase, but I'd bet that something's hidden down there."
Anko nodded, "Most likely it's our trap loving friends' hideout. Let's head back and meet up with the others, we don't want to head into the hornet's nest with only a third of our group." Upon receiving nods from Naruto and Neji, they quickly headed out the blown out side of the building and headed toward the square.
Kakashi looked out over what little of the village residential district he could see, Yasaka meditating behind him. Suddenly, she twitched, before going back to her normal state of calm. Tenten watched her with a small look of wonder, "Man, those clones are really useful... I wish I could make as many as she can..."
The one eyed Jonin chuckled, "Yeah, that'd make a lot of missions much easier. Of course it does have it's drawbacks, like needing to meditate so she doesn't get a migraine from all the memory feedback hitting her at once."
Tenten nodded before shivering a bit, then looking out at the fog, there was something about it that made her feel seriously uneasy, "Kakashi-Sensei, be honest with me, what do you think we're dealing with here?"
"It's not monsters if that's what you're thinking. This fog is laced with chakra, our own two resident Hyuga along with Yuuko and myself confirmed it. We're most likely dealing with a group of Shinobi, just like Anko said. So just keep your cool and we'll all be fine."
They were interrupted by their until recently meditating companion, "I wouldn't be too sure. " She shook her head, opening her eyes and blinking a bit, as if to clear her head, "My clones have finished searching the houses, and they only found one thing of any real note. But you're going to wanna to see it." She stood up and collected herself, before leading her two companions toward one of the houses.
When they arrived, Yasaka led them into the living room, where they found, what else? A dead body. Kakashi took a single look before speaking, "It's a Shinobi, no doubt." They really couldn't argue, he was clearly wearing standard fare for a shonobi, a flak vest, a kunai holster and pouch, and a facemask. The only problem was that his Hitai-ate bore no symbol. So either they didn't belong to any village, or whatever village they did belong to knew to keep their identity a secret. "It looks like he's been dead for a few hours... He must have died just before we arrived in the village." There were only a couple more things that stood out to Kakashi, the bloody kunai in his hand, and his one injury, "Is this a bite mark?" Sure enough, there was a bite mark with torn flesh on his neck, clearly what killed him.
Yasaka couldn't help but make a crack, "Maybe we're dealing with zombies? It's perfect zombie weather in the village after all..."
Tenten turned and grabbed her, "Don't even suggest that! I hate zombies, I hate zombie movies, and I hate anything having to do with them, so don't you dare put that thought in my head!" She said, shaking the blonde. Yasaka simply freed herself and they both turned back to Kakashi.
Kakashi shook his head, then turned his attention to the trail of blood leading further into the house. He stood up and followed it, pulling a kunai out and holding it ready, "Alright you two, let's get back to business and see where his killer went." The girls nodded and followed behind Kakashi. They followed the trail out of the house and through the streets of the residential district.
Yasaka raised an eyebrow at the path, "Looks like our killer was stumbling... Maybe he was hurt? This is far too much blood to have come from the other guy's one injury." As they turned a corner, they were met with another body leaned against a building. It was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a casual green yukata, with a kunai wound in his gut. "Well, I guess that solves this mystery." After approaching him, Yasaka's attention was stolen by something very unusual, "He's covered in a sealing array..." It flowed down the sides of his face, onto his chest and back, and down his arms and legs.
Tenten was about to comment, but whatever she was about to say was halted as Yasaka pushed the body onto the ground and cut off it's clothes to see the whole array, "Gah! Yasaka, what the hell?"
"Oh get over it. I need to see the whole array if I want to find out what it's for, if you're that embarrassed then just think of it as a big anatomically correct puppet." Yasaka said as she rolled out a scroll to copy down the array, a look of curiosity on her face, "I can already tell that this array isn't normal..." She narrowed her eyes at the lines connecting seals, they looked like veins on the surface of the skin, a maze of lines and pathways flowing down the body from the head. There were also clusters of seals placed at key points along the lines, head, chest, back, shoulders, elbows, hands, knees, and feet.
As she worked, Tenten turned to Kakashi, "This guy looks like a civilian, how do you think he was able to kill that Shinobi?" There weren't many cases of that happening, for obvious reasons, so naturally she was curious.
Kakashi shrugged and looked around the buildings, "Could have happened a lot of ways. The simplest answer I can think of is that the Shinobi underestimated what desperation does to people, and paid the price for it. I don't know why he didn't just kill the civilian outright, but I think we'll have an idea once Yasaka finishes examining those seals."
Speaking of, Yasaka rolled up the scroll and tapped a finger against her chin, "Interesting... There are receptor seals all over the place, but no source to receive signals from... Plus the flow direction seals are strangely placed, they don't follow the chakra pathways at all..." She muttered to herself, pacing a bit.
Kakashi clapped to catch her attention, "I think that's enough for now. Let's head to the square and meet up with the others."
Tenten nodded eagerly, "Yes please! I'm going to be happy to get out of this creepy fog for a while!"
- Later that night -
The teams were back at their base camp, sitting around the fire, eating a simple dinner of ham fried rice and talking about what they'd found. After they'd finished eating, except Yuuko, Yasaka kept looking over the seals while the others talked and waited for her to figure something out. Hinata sighed and gave Naruto a deadpan look, "I should've known that explosion was your fault..."
"Hey I think we handled it well, all things considered! Neither of us got hurt too badly and we got through the building to find the trap door, I'll count that a job well done!" Naruto said with a huff, "I think Yuuko and Lee had the most eventful experiences today."
Lee shivered at the thought of the hospital basement, "Just thinking about the things in there makes my skin crawl, it even shook Yuuko-san up."
"I think anyone would be shaken up after going into that mess." Yuuko said as she wolfed down her food.
Tenten grabbed her own arms and groaned, "I didn't even see it and it's nightmare fuel! Those brains in jars, ew..."
Suddenly, after being completely calm throughout dinner, Yasaka threw her hands up, "Fuck this array! It doesn't make sense!" Everyone jumped and turned to the fuming blonde as she ranted, "The seals are perfectly drawn and look like they'd work fine, but the placement and flow is completely nonsensical! These lines connecting seals are clearly for carrying chakra through the body, but they don't line up with the chakra pathways at all, which makes it so much harder for them to work properly! Not only that, but a lot of the lines just stop without even making it to the next cluster!" She growled and bit her thumbnail in anger, "These seal clusters are shit too, there's a seal meant to receive a signal and the other seals interpret it, sending it down the correct pathway. Except they don't, because there's no signal for them to receive! It's so infuriating, I can tell this array was made by a competent Fuinjutsu user, so there must be a purpose, but I just can't figure it out!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Could that not be the whole array? He did seem to escape from his captors after all, maybe they didn't finish the seal before he got away?" Yasaka shook her head in response.
"It's possible, but there's just no more space for another array that size! I suppose you could do it if you were a seal master, but I can't fathom why a master would make something like this!" She crossed her arms in frustration and glared at the paper, seemingly hoping to set it aflame with a mere look.
Naruto sighed and walked over to her, "Just calm down Yasaka, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." He placed his hand on her shoulder, only to jerk it back as she turned and tried to bite him like an enraged Chihuahua, "Gah, jeez!"
Yasaka flew to her feet and grabbed Naruto's collar, pulling him in, "Don't tell me to calm down! I don't wanna calm down, I wanna be angry and punch the guy who made this goddamn seal for making my head hurt!"
"Okay, sorry! Be angry, just be angry at the seal and not me!" Naruto berated himself for making this mistake again. He'd often tried to help Yasaka calm down during their childhood, only to become the new target of her rage. When Yasaka was angry she didn't need someone to help her, she needed someone to do damage control while she flew into a rage. It was cute when they were younger, but now it tended to even make Hiruzen want to be somewhere else. It probably wasn't healthy, but then again, training to be soldiers from the age of six really didn't set them on the path to proper mental health. Finally Yasaka let go and sat back down, crossing her arms and legs. Naruto retreated to his seat and everyone made the wise decision to let Yasaka be angry.
Anko meanwhile, gained a gleam in her eye as she stalked over to Yasaka and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Well, if you don't wanna calm down, then how about we think of a bunch of lovely little things to cause this guy pain?" She asked with a smirk, leaning in toward Yasaka.
Yasaka was surprised for a second, before her face morphed into a predatory, sadistic smirk of her own, "Oh that sounds fun..." The two then started whispering to each other as everyone sweatdropped, choosing not to get involved.
Guy chose that moment to get everyone's attention, "Well, it's been an eventful day, and I think we should all turn in so we can be well rested for going into that trapdoor , are you and Yasaka alright to take the first watch?" A thumbs up from Anko was his only answer, "Well then, I'll take the next watch after, and Kakashi after me, how's that sound?" Nobody had any objections, so they all simply got ready for bed and retired to their tents.
- Under Tani Village -
While the members of teams 7 and 9 settled in for the night, the people responsible for all the trouble in Tani village were hard at work preparing for... something. A Shinobi dressed in hospital scrubs looked down at the metal table in front of him. The room he was in was clearly meant for surgery, blank walls, plenty of light, with only one single door leading out to the rest of the underground compound. He swallowed nervously as he looked over the tray of medical tools. When he'd studied medical ninjutsu and how to perform surgery, he never imagined he'd be conducting a procedure like this. This would be his first time performing the procedure by himself. They had been dedicated to perfecting it since they'd arrived in Tani village, and they were finally ready to perform it for real after dozens of experiments. He'd wondered why their leader wasn't doing it himself, he was the genius behind all their work after all...
Suddenly, the door to the operating room opened, their leader and his personal nurse walking into the room, and he snapped to attention, "Sir, everything is ready for the procedure! I'm prepared to begin as soon as the subject arrives!" His leader was a man in his mid forties, pale skin from being in a lab most of his time, with eyes that appeared constantly closed, a bald head and, and wearing a hospital gown... He was also covered in the seals that he'd created in addition to the myriad of stitch tattoos that covered his body, "Sir?"
"Your subject has arrived, you will be performing the surgery on me." He said as he sat down on the operating table.
"What? But sir, this new version hasn't been tested yet! You could die, and then our progress would grind to a halt without you!"
"I'm aware, but we simply don't have the luxury of taking our time anymore. The villagers have finally sent for Shinobi to investigate the village, if this procedure succeeds then victory over them is assured. If it fails then all my work goes down the drain anyway, now begin the surgery! I don't believe I need to tell you what will happen to you should you fail." He said, lying down on the table. He looked over at the nurse, "Hikari, if I don't wake up an hour after the surgery is finished, kill everyone here and save my research."
The now named Hikari bowed, "Of course, sir."
The doctor swallowed once again as he looked over at the nurse, taking her place next to him. She was staring at him with cold, unfeeling, brown eyes, her black hair tucked up inter a surgical cap, "Well doctor, are you prepared to begin?"
He shivered at the empty tone in her voice, how their leader could be near her without getting creeped out he'd never know... But there was no denying her skills as a nurse, and as the strongest fighter they had. He took a deep breath and swallowed his fear, "Gloves."
Hours later, the doctor set down his tools, staring down at his leader's still body. Now for the moment of truth... This was where it all went wrong every other time anyone had tried the procedure, now all he had to do was pray as he completed it... He reached down to the seal on his leader's head, and toward an opaque, black container on another nearby table. He channeled chakra into them, watching as both the container and the seals on the body lit up with chakra. It traveled down the seals, starting at the head and working it's way down the body. After a few minutes, he stopped, grabbed a stethoscope, and started listening for a heartbeat. He found none.
"Oh no, no, no..." He whispered to himself as he tried once again to get the seals working. He tried activating them again and again, for how long he wasn't sure, each time checking for a heartbeat, a pulse, anything that would indicate life in his leader. Just as be was about to try again, he heard a soft metallic clink entered his ears as he looked over at the nurse. She had picked up a scalpel and started toward him, footsteps as quiet as the grave, "No, please, I can make it work! I just need a bit more time!"
"The head doctor's orders are absolute. I will carry them out to the best of my ability." Before he even had a chance to run or defend himself, she put a hand up in a half ram sign, making a seal on his chest appear. He stared at it in terror for a few seconds, before he simply stopped breathing. She watched as he dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap, and walked carelessly over the growing pool of blood to the body on the table, "I'm sorry, sir... I'll make sure that your work is safe."
She turned and walked toward the door, only to stop when a gasp for breath sounded through the room. She turned and watched as the once corpse on the operating table thrashed around, she ran over and helped him sit up, "You're alive sir."
"I'm... aware..." He said slowly, he took a few minutes to breathe, struggling for a bit before it got easier. He looked down at his body, slowly moving around, as if moving for the first time. He gave a manic grin and pushed Hikari away, then stood up off the table, wobbling for a few minutes before standing straight. He was silent fora few minutes before bursting out in manic laughter, leaving the operating room and heading back to his personal laboratory, Hikari following with the black container. Everyone else in the facility kept to themselves as he ranted to himself, "Impossible, insane, flawed, nobody believed it could work, nobody believed me! Well I've done it, I am immortal! Take that Orochimaru, you second rate failure!" He turned and snapped at one of the guards, who'd been trying to avoid his gaze, "You! The body in operating room one, take it to my lab, then all the bodies in the storage room!" The guard nodded and hurried off.
He chuckled to himself, "Those Shinobi will regret ever meddling in my business... Hm, Mayuri the immortal... I love it!" His insane laugh echoing down the halls as he went.
Chapter End.
Alright! Finally managed to finish this up... So, I hope you guys like it, leave a review if you want and I'll see you in the next chapter! Sorry again for the long wait.