Another day on patrol, and so far nothing to show for it. Leo was beginning to wonder if the militia would be returning to harass the villages. It was becoming frustrating, but he was constantly reminding himself that the peace was not a bad thing. Nonetheless; his muscles itched for a fight. A chance for payback.

Instead of ending with Astilla in his rounds, he started there and made his way to each village in a counter-clockwise motion. He was nearly finished for the day; skidding through the trees between the smallest, and third smallest village. He did not like the idea of ending his day looking over the grumpiest of towns - it could very well affect his mood; the melancholy peoples would not help in encouraging his own efforts. Regardless, he needed to change up his daily routine to stay on his toes.

The climate was dreary. The sky had brightened to a dull grey due to the heavy cloud cover that hovered above the forest. The air was thick and humid, but to the turtle's relief, was not overly hot. He was anticipating a rainstorm even as he left his lair, but a single drop had yet to leave the sky. The life in the forest reacted to the odd weather with silence, making every little sound travel decently far though the mangled vines, tree trunks and ferns.

Soon Leo heard a noise. He gripped onto the side of a tree and froze, listening. The sound was of one that he was too familiar with, and yet it's absence of late caused his heart to skip a beat. A vehicle.

It was on. Adrenaline already coursing through his veins, Leonardo took off again, only to stop perched on a tall stump at the side of the dirt road. All he had to do was wait, as the vehicle's unmistakeable raucous approached. He took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart and crazed anticipation.

Remember what happened last time. No rushing in. Analyze, then attack. No deaths; there has to be survivors. They have to see me, hear me, feel me, and fear me.

No sooner did he finish his thought did a jeep come into view. It carried two larger men with guns and an average sized man in the driver's seat.

Here we go.

Leo closed his eyes, again, taking calming breaths. He listened until the sound of the tires came from directly below him. Then his eyes shot open and he jumped into the vacant back seat, through the open roof of the vehicle. The man in the back was startled by the sudden appearance. Leo took a second to let the man get a good look at him. He let out a startled scream, and went to raise his gun. The sound made the other gun-wielder turn around and the driver to apply the brakes and swerve to a stop.

The turtle grabbed the nose of the gun before it could point at him, and wretched it from the man. The other by now was preparing to fire his weapon, but with his right palm, Leo shoved the barrel to the side and proceeded to use the momentum to hit him over the head with the butt of the gun in his hand. Dazed, the front-seat passenger dropped the AK over the side of the vehicle. The driver was in shock, but the man in the back pulled out a hunting knife and lunged at the attacker. Leo swung his hand out to block the jab, making a special effort to make his cloak as intrusive and distracting as possible. He was there to make an impression, after all. He dropped the gun beside its fallen comrade, and again, grabbing the corner of the worn material, gave a hearty hammer-punch to the man's face. The force knocked him away, so that he was leaning out the side of the jeep. Without even turning, Leo jutted out his elbow, and pointed over the same shoulder with an outstretched thumb, effectively hitting chest and poking eye. The man wailed and covered his injured eye before Leo delivered a final palm thrust to his forehead, putting him into unconsciousness.

The driver now had a handgun and was aiming it at the ninja. Leo merely spun around, ducking down low and holding the cloak so it was far above his head. Two shots were fired quickly, penetrating cloth, not skin, and Leo swung out a leg and kicked the gun from the man's hand. It flew far into the bushes; probably to never be found again. The turtle finished his spin facing both of the still conscious people. Neither moved; they only stared in fear at the mysterious creature. Leo held out his cloak for the men to see and gazed at the bullet holes that had torn through it. Once he was sure they saw the round tears, he looked up and grinned menacingly. The driver shakily raised an arm as if to protect himself.

"Wh-what are you monstruo?"

"The ghost." Leo's gazed slowly drifted between both militia, ensnaring them in his words, "and I will protect this land and the good people in it. This is a warning; next time I find any of you cowards in my jungle, there will be a higher price to pay. Go now and leave this place, report to your master, pass on my message." His voice was low and gruff in an attempt to make himself scarier, but he was relieved when he said what he wanted to say without his voice cracking. If it had, he may have had to kill them all and try again. It was all about the impression.

With a final glare through slit-eyes, he did a back-handspring out of the jeep, grabbing the guns in the process and landing on another tall tree stump. He looked down on the filth below and as a farewell gesture, threw the guns far into the lush canopy and drew both katana. The sight of the "ghost" with his tattered cloak billowing in the wind and the newly-revealed weapons was enough to jumpstart the driver into action. The jeep promptly turned around and sped down the road whence it came. The backseat passenger only watched in horror as the haunting figure faded from view.

Leo couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment, and a pleased smile crept onto his face. That was perfect, it could not have gone any better. Sure he could have killed them all and there would be three less wastes of skin in the world, but there was always more to replace the fallen evildoers - he knew that much.

And in reality, he understood that he could not take on an entire army of militia, even with their poor training and skill. His best hope was to create a persona that would strike fear into men's hearts, immobilizing them from harming those whom he had sworn to protect. Although these worms were pathetic, cowardly people, that isn't to say that there weren't going to be the brave and aggressive few. But Leo almost looked forward to those confrontations. His chance at revenge.

Once he had reached the last town for the day - which he finally found out was called Encarnizado - he was pleased to see that there was no major upset in the town. Note major. Because though there was a lack of perpetrators, tension was still thick in the air. Leo still couldn't understand what everyone's issue was, and it was frustrating to feel like despite his efforts, it brought them no happiness. If only they knew about him and his ambitions to sincerely help them, then maybe they wouldn't be so angry all the time.

While his previous encounter left him with a new certainty, Hamato Leonardo was not normally one to accept a win prematurely. When the sun started to set, he moved his way a short distance south down the road. He would spend the night there, in case of any immediate retaliation from Santino's men. But the night was quiet; aside from the rain that was now starting to pour.