Waking up with a tired groan, Retsu was quick to realize that Iguru had stacked them like Lincoln Logs.
When Retsu opened his eyes, he saw Iguru smiling down at them from the top of a tree.
'How long have we been here like this? And what's that on Mangetsu and Zabuza's face?!' Retsu untangled himself from the two other boys, waking them in the process.
Taking a deep breath, Retsu decided he'd get this done with as soon as possible. But before he could say anything to trigger Iguru's dialogue, the Seven Mist Swordsman started speaking of his own accord!
"You guys forgot to take care of the civilians you had trapped in the basement. Either should've disposed of them and covered any traces of your battle, or released them so the Land of Tea doesn't hire shinobi to find out what happened. This time, it was beneficial to let them go. Did you guys see the corpses that Inuzuka created? To shreds, tsk tsk." Iguru stroked his chin, and recounted their fight. All the while, he was on top of his perch looking down.
"So the bone clones were a good diversion then?" Mangetsu glanced at Retsu, then back to Iguru.
Retsu scowled. Cheeky bastard wanted Iguru to prove his plan was right. That way, Retsu would have no room to complain.
"Worked like a charm my little apprentice! The Inuzuka fell for the bait hook line and sinker. However, that's where the good news ends. You, Mangetsu were sloppy letting that Hyuga place so many genjutsu on you."
"But-"
"Before you say it, I know it wasn't part of your initial plan to let her do it. You only realized mid way through the battle that you could release yourself at a critical moment to hit her in surprise. Now that was well done, but you shouldn't have to resort to such tricks unless you're desperate. The kenjutsu I taught you should've been enough to lop her head off. Triple training when we return to the Monday Typhoon."
"Yes sensei. But what about Retsu? He failed to kill the Aburame, and the Hyuga was saved because of him. Or Zabuza, the Inuzuka was poisoned, and he still couldn't seal the deal!" Mangetsu shifted the blame. If he was going to suffer, he wasn't doing it alone.
"You're not as clever as you think my little apprentice." Iguru chided.
"As for you, Retsu. You didn't need to tank that pointblank fireball. I'm fairly certain you know the body replacement technique. You also could've used more projectiles that fight. Many from our village have tunnel vision, and only want to believe in the might of their sword. You were having a little to much fun with that fly swatter of yours, confident the Aburame couldn't injure you past your defense. It's understandable. However, an effective shinobi, even a master of kenjutsu such as myself, knows when to use ranged attacks."
"You're right Captain. It's not a good habit to get into expecting my bones to block every attack I come across. If anything, a C-rank fireball jutsu, even one that close shouldn't have even peeled off my bone armor. I'll work more on my defense, and on my evasion." Retsu nodded his head, and accepted Iguru's criticism.
"Zabuza, you were impressive. Waiting for the poison to kick into effect, and striking at the most optimal time. It was unfortunate that the Inuzuka was simply stronger than you on all levels. You did well surviving the beast's onslaught until Retsu and Mangetsu arrived. We'll be working on your swordsmanship, and stamina. If you had more energy, or better swordsmanship, you could've lasted longer or defeated the enemy. Without the Aburame and Hyuga's timely defeat, your loss was all but inevitable."
"Hm." Zabuza nodded in acknowledgement.
The three boys each took Iguru's words to heart. Iguru may be unreliable at times, but when it came to combat, he knew what he was talking about.
"Hah hah, look at your faces! So cute when you're all in contemplation like that, pfft." Iguru coughed into his hand.
"Water body." Mangetsu taunted Retsu and Zabuza before hydrolizing his body to clean his face.
"Mkhm." Retsu's eyes widened.
"Woah." Zabuza's eyebrows raised in incredulity.
They all had cartoon faces drawn on them by Iguru. It was goofy, and embarrassing, but that was it. However, the application of water made the cartoon face on Mangetsu's face appear like smeared makeup. It was straight up some uncanny valley type nonsense.
"Don't bother trying to wipe it off. I applied the drawing with my chakra. Unless your chakra is more powerful than mine, or you possess great chakra control, it will remain for another couple of hours." Iguru held his sides, and chuckled at their plight.
"Hey Mangetsu. Look at this!" Exploding the bone armor off his face, Retsu revealed pristine skin.
Before Retsu had time to gloat further, Iguru hopped down from the tree, and pounced on top of Retsu. In a moment, another cartoon face was drawn on Retsu's face.
"This is punishment." Iguru explained righteously.
"You're the coolest Sensei." Mangetsu praised.
"Oh stop~" Iguru turned around real quick so they couldn't see their blush.
"Alright gang, back to the ship!" Iguru led the way into the forest.
"Not more trees." Retsu rolled his eyes, and jumped after Iguru.
Before they returned to the ship, they made a quick stop in town to turn in the quest item, and received their reward.
"Degarashi Port as one of the major cities in the Land of Tea has a bounty collection office. This is just one entrance among many in the city. Follow me, put on a mask or henge, and only address me as Captain. Not to brag, but every Seven Swordsman has a huge bounty on their backs." Iguru led the way.
The trio donned a disguise, and silently followed behind Iguru.
Entering a nondescript alleyway, the team went down a long flight of stairs. They then went through many dark corridors, twists and turns before finally reaching a well lit, fancy looking purple door. On the door was the kanji for "Bounty."
Once inside, Retsu was reminded of an old western saloon, or fantasy adventurers tavern. There was a bar serving drinks, a board with wanted posters, an old bingo book chained to the wall, and two desks for employees. One desk was labeled "Returns" and the other "Tools, Jutsu, & More."
Painted above the returns desk was a grotesque head, and a sack of coins. Above the other desk was the picture of a kunai, a fireball, and a scroll.
Men and women gathered together, sharing a drink or smoke. Retsu could barely pick up the hushed whispers of teams forming, breaking apart, and the sharing of information.
A dozen uniformed guards stood on the second floor, looking down. Some of the occupants glanced at Retsu and his group, before turning back to their own devices.
"Hand in the item, Boner." Iguru pushed Retsu forward.
On instinct, Retsu looked back at Mangetsu. Although the Hizuki boy was wearing a mask, Retsu had a feeling he was smirking uncontrollably.
Rolling his eyes, Retsu faced forward, and unsealed the pink haired girls head.
"Lady Oyumi." Retsu intoned to the pretty lady working behind the desk.
At Retsu's words, several ninja in the building perked their ears with interest, before realizing the bounty was for a miniscule amount, and slumped back into their seats.
Taking possession of the head, the lady went to the back rooms. After ten minutes, she came back with a slip of paper.
Without uttering a word, she handed the slip to Retsu.
Retsu was about to open it, when he felt Iguru's hand clamp down on his shoulder.
"Not in here, and next time, don't announce who the bounty is. It's okay, because she's a small fry, but anything sizeable, and you might just get hunted yourself. The paper has a drop box location with our money in it, we'll collect it when we leave the town." Iguru whispered, and gestured with his eyes to the crowd of shinobi, vagrants, and ronin occupying the building.
Nodding his head in understanding, Retsu slipped the folded paper into his clothes.
Pulling out another scroll, Retsu released another head. It was Tore, the ugly bastard that Retsu was collecting the NTR insurance on. This time, he didn't announce who the bounty was.
The woman behind the stall licked her lips. Before, she had a dead, uninterested look when she collected the girl's head. But now, when she beheld Tore, she showed a hint of excitement. Gripping the head, she took it to the back room with hurried steps.
Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Retsu turned to Iguru.
"They receive a commission on every bounty." Iguru explained.
This time, a bald muscular man came out of the back room, and handed Retsu the slip of paper. At the same time, he slipped Retsu a unique looking gold coin.
Retsu again looked to Iguru for an explanation.
"Some bounties, and some items in the black market are worth more than money." Iguru maintained an air of mystery.
"Ppt." Retsu smacked his lips like a horse.
'Look at Iguru, trying to be all mysterious. Like I'd blindly believe the guy who claimed to have hoola-hooped with the Shinigami!'
"Tsk, go to the Tools, Jutsu, & More stall." Iguru crossed his arms, and pointed his chin at the next stall over.
While Retsu went over to the stall, Mangetsu was turning in two bounties of his own, and Zabuza was competing at a game of darts with another kid.
When Retsu reached the stall, he saw a catalogue chained to the desk.
In the catalogue, there was a list of hundreds of D-rank jutsu, and dozens C-rank jutsu. Comparatively, there were only five B-rank jutsu, and zero A or S-rank jutsu. The D-ranks sold for 20,000 Ryo, C-ranks 300,000 Ryo, and the B-ranks 5,000,000 Ryo.
In the catalogue, there were also weapons such as kunai, katana, bows, shuriken, odachi, and more. There were also different sealing and explosive scrolls. The C-rank weapons and scrolls were marketed as C-rank, and cost 10,000 Ryo each on average.
There were a few weapons sold at the B-rank, each selling for 10,000,000. And one "legendary" weapon that was claimed to be A-rank. The A-rank weapon was a kusarigama, and the going price was 45,000,000 Ryo.
Next to each item was also a picture of a gold coin. Retsu could exchange the gold coin he received for any one C-rank item. Looking at the A-rank weapon, it cost 100 gold coins. Theoretically, it would be easier to complete bounties from the bounty station and accumulate gold coins, than to purchase the weapon flat out with money.
Iguru pulled up next to Retsu, and shared some advice. "Don't be intimidated by the price range. Things here are massively inflated. However, where it would be difficult to gain something like say, a fire jutsu in the Hidden Mist, here, you can buy almost any C-rank fire jutsu. One day, I'll take you to the black market HQ, there, you can even buy A-rank jutsu."
'Just who in the hell runs these bounty stations?! It must be some secret cabal on the level of the Akatsuki, or maybe collusion between the Daimyo's to limit shinobi power?' Retsu seriously questioned himself at the amount of money and power that the bounty station organization possessed.
Deciding not to worry himself to much with such a deep question, Retsu turned back to the catalogue.
Going over the list of jutsu, Retsu was somewhat tempted to purchase a genjutsu to supplement his close combat fighting style, or a taijutsu technique to further amp up his incredible physique. With Mangetsu as a sparring partner, and Iguru giving the occasional pointer, his kenjutsu was coming along nicely, so he didn't need to buy a new kenjutsu skill.
However, since his chakra nature was Water and Yang Release he figured he needed to find something yang related to train in. He could learn water jutsu in the Hidden Mist Village, but Yang Release was something little explored in the Naruto anime.
Going over the list several times, one jutsu sent him salivating. [C-rank jutsu: Eight Gates]
Without having to think it over, Retsu unsealed the cash he had stolen from Tore, and slapped a big wad down on the table.
The Eight Gates was an old skill, dating back to at least the times of Madara. It wasn't too surprising that a skill like this could wind its way here. Heck, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was a forbidden skill invented by Tobirama, yet, people from all villages seemed to know this technique. The Eight Gates was something Retsu had to have!
"Eight Gates Technique." He told the bald man behind the desk.
The bald man gave Retsu a funny look, and then went to the back room.
Coming out with a scroll, he handed it to Retsu, and shook his head.
"I won't tell you how to live your life kid, and you already spent your money, but that technique is suicide. Only idiots and cripples who can't mold chakra practice that."
"Give me the Mystic Palm Technique." Retsu ignored the man's advice, and slapped down another wad of cash.
Spending 600,000 Ryo in one sitting, Retsu spent 3/4ths of his cash. But it felt good. He gained two powerful skills with little effort. With his ability to reform, and mold bones, Retsu was confident he could use the fifth gate with ease. Heck, even the sixth and seventh gate wouldn't be out of his grasp with enough practice!
Retsu forgot all about the annoyance earlier in the day. This must be what winning the lotto felt like!
After collecting the drop box money, Retsu split the C-rank reward of 50,000 Ryo four ways, and then collected 350,000 Ryo from the NTR insurance. Before finally leaving the port town, Retsu bought ten more sets of white kimonos, and returned to the Monday Typhoon.
"Welcome back Captain. Now that everyone's here, I can share some rumors circulating the ninja world." Ao nodded at Iguru, and acknowledged Retsu, Mangetsu, and Zabuza.
"There's a lot to get through, so here goes: Kumogakure has raised a perfect Jinchuriki. It is the adopted son of the Third Raikage, A.
The Land of Demons has seen to a change in leader, a samurai has claimed the number one headband. However, he doesn't care to bring order to the country. Child trafficking, inhumane experiments, and open slaughter are the norm. Chaos and opportunity reign supreme.
A competition is due to take place in the Land of Iron in three months. The Shogun wants to test pure kenjutsu, and recruit talented men. He must be desperate, since so many young men leave the country and turn ronin.
The Land of Noodles is in the midst of a bloody civil war over which ingredient creates the best noodle of all things. They call themselves the Wheatus Democratic Army, and the Riceagan Revolution. Ridiculous, I know.
Suna has elected its Third Kazegake. To no ones surprise, it was Kyokusei who clinched the hat. His magnet release slaughtered hundreds in the Second War.
Finally, Sakumo Hatake's death has been confirmed. Konoha claims it was suicide, but it's more likely they killed him to stall his ambitions to become their next Kage." Ao dryly listed off the changes, and great happenings occurring on the Elemental Continent.
"Mhmmm, after we drop these herbs off at Kusa, and have them converted into medicines or poisons, where would you guys like to go? Iguru listened to Ao's report, then asked the opinion of his crew.
"Let's sell the iron we stole from the merchants, then participate in the kenjutsu tournament." Mangetsu suggested.
"Demon Country possesses many rare technologies, and actual demon-like beasts. Seizure of such things would surely empower us, and the village." Gengo stroked his goatee, and spoke up.
"Yeah, Demon Country!" "Free stuff ripe for the pickins!" The 'demon' brothers thoughtlessly backed Gengo up.
"The Land of Noodles would be a good place to get some good combat experience. It's a war, but one we could leave at any time, and won't be executed as missing-nin. Plus, we could freeload on some delicious food." Retsu sold the venture like it was a good fight. However, his real goal was to force the experienced chefs into making him pizza.
"Let's make that money~ Even if the Land of Iron mines iron all day, they're still in desperate need of the stuff. I say we go to Iron Country for that cheese. Bonus, we get to see Captain kick some ass in the tournament." Kajika's green eyes stared at the clouds in the sky, and he let loose with a long yawn while he explained his stance.
"Mei, Zabuza?" Ao asked when he noticed their disinterest.
"Oh, we actually have a say in this matter?" Mei gave Ao a knowing look.
For Zabuza's part, he remained quiet. Silence, he had found, was often the best answer. Whether in conversation, or on the battlefield.
"Er, right. Orders Captain?" Ao awkwardly turned away from Mei, and looked to Iguru.
"I like the idea of going to Iron, it will be fun! We can sail through River Country, sneak past Amegakure in the Land of Storms, then I'll have you carry the boat through the Land of Rice Paddies till we hit the north sea, and sail to Iron. If we feel like it, we can loop down through the Great Demon Lake, and tour the Land of Demons. Now THAT sounds like a proper adventure!" Iguru had a faraway look in his eyes, as he stared off into the ocean.
'Good Lord, what have we done?!' Retsu staggered back at the sheer scale of travel involved.
"Snake past Amegakure, Captain?" Ao's typically serious, no nonsense voice cracked at the mention of the Hidden Rain.
"Scared of the Salamander? Don't be, me and him go way back! Worst case scenario, we kill some of his guys, he kills some of my guys, and move on our way!" Iguru swiped his hand down like it was no big deal, and brushed Ao's concerns to the side.
"I know, I was there the last time we passed through Ame." Ao muttered dejectedly. He unconsciously rubbed a scar underneath his ribs.
"This will be a long journey, won't it? We're on the east side of the Land of Tea right now. That's a two week journey just to circle the country, Kame knows how long it takes to sail through Rive Country." Mangetsu listed his concerns.
"Full speed ahead, it's a two to seven day sail through River Country depending on the currents, and battles we take. Taking it slow so we don't fight on every corner, including rests? About fourteen to twenty days." Ao answered Mangetsu's question.
"It wouldn't be an adventure if we took it slow! In fact, let's cut down that two week journey, and get some boat carrying practice in! I order you to carry this boat from the east side of the Land of Tea to the west side! That should cut the time down in half at least! Kajika, raise the Monday Typhoon out of the water!" The more Iguru heard Mangetsu and Ao talk, the more he wanted to up the difficulty level.
"Ah, this is going to womp." Kajika grumbled to himself. He then cast a water ninjutsu, tossing the ship onto the pier.
Retsu glared at Mangetsu, as if to say 'You couldn't keep your damn mouth shut.'
Mangetsu shrugged his shoulders in response. Mangetsu wasn't the Captain, you couldn't blame this shit show on him!
And so, the eight person team jumped down, and picked the Monday Typhoon up.
"Yes my precious subordinates, carry me to the ocean! Money and adventure await! Full force!" Iguru cackled from the tip of the ship.
Three days into the journey, and Team Iguru was almost at the west coast of the Land of Tea.
The Monday Typhoon had a bone sled placed underneath it to ease the traction. It was dragged along by a bunch of ropes.
"I. Fucking. Hate. Trees." Retsu gasped between breaths. His brand new kimono was stained and covered in a filthy mixture of dirt and sweat.
Every five steps there was a big ass tree. The smallest of which was the size of a red wood. The truly monstrous trees were the width of two school buses stacked next to one another.
Retsu was on tree cutting duty, and had to eviscerate tree after tree after tree.
"It's the mountains man. It's the mountains." Kajika added on. His calves strained as he helped carry the hsip forward.
"Don't forget the rope!" Mangetsu took his hands off the rope that was tied to the Monday Typhoon, and applied some balm to his hands.
Zabuza, Gozu, and Meizu were passed out from heatstroke and resting below deck.
Gengo sat on the deck. He had five giant animals under his control. Each of them was tied to a rope, and pulling the ship along.
Mei and Iguru sat underneath an umbrella, and enjoyed some iced tea while the rest were at work. Mei was wearing a pair of sunglasses, and a full body yellow swimsuit. Despite covering most of her body, the swimsuit clung to her curves in all the right ways.
"Take a left after this tree. Then, it's all downhill from here. The trees are sparse, so hopefully we can just slide down. I need you ready to cut any obstacle Retsu and Mangetsu. Kajika, you guys will need to lube up the bottom." Ao came back from scouting, and directed the crew.
"Hey Retsu, I bet I can cut more trees than you in this final stretch." Mangetsu suggested.
"You were on tree duty for only five hours. You want to challenge me, the tree splitting master?" Retsu squared his shoulders, and started to warm up. He was going to best his rival this time!
"Ooo, the master who had trees fall on the ship seven times? The master who is currently covered in wood shavings and sap? That master? Because he scares me alright. I'm quivering in my boots." Mangetsu mocked.
"You…you don't even wear boots!" Retsu retorted.
"Sorry man, but that was a weakass come back." Kajika shook his head in disappointment.
"Keep up that lip, and I'll cover that shark hoodie of yours in sap!" Retsu bit back.
"I'd be intimidated if you were…intimidating. But you're just covered in sap. Tsk tsk." Kajika shook his head in pity.
"I give that one a 2/10 Retsu. The scariest thing about you is the sap to be honest." Mangetsu added salt to Retsu's metaphorical wounds.
"That's it, I'm coming back there!"
"Oi, enough slacking! This is the final push!" Iguru commanded from on high.
"Most trees wins." Mangetsu whispered. He then drew his twin swords, and posted up next to Retsu.
Retsu didn't even bother turning to look at that smug, punchable face. He merely clenched, and unclenched his sword in preparation. Channeling his anger, Retsu tapped slightly into his Kaguya madness. Every little bit to move faster, to swing his sword with more power would count.
He would win this bet. No matter what.
"Alright boys, we're heading downhill now. Kajika, lube the bone sled, Mangetsu, Retsu, you know what to do! We cannot afford to fuck up here!" Ao shouted at the trio.
"Water Style: Water Slide Jutsu!" Kajika gathered the water from several small streams, and nearby ponds. The water then gushed forth into a raging torrent beneath the ship.
"Ahhh, tsura tsura tsura tsura!" Retsu lunged forward at maximum velocity, and cut down each tree in his path. Wherever he saw a tree, he imagined Mangetsu's smug face of victory.
"20…57…103…252!" Mangetsu calmly called out how many trees he cut. His bladework was like an artist whimsically painting across the canvas. Yet, despite his graceful, and lackadaisical movements, his form was like that of a master. Trees fell before him with ease.
Retsu saw that he was starting to fall behind. In a moment of passion, Retsu pumped most of his chakra into his blade, causing it to enlarge to the size of a buster sword. It glowed fiercely with a dense red chakra, and gave off a deep feeling of hatred and murder.
'The first gate, the Gate of Opening!' Retsu unleashed the recently learned skill, and increased his speed and strength by 5%.
"Tsura tusra tsura! 667!" Retsu passed Mangetsu by, and in one swift motion, cut down 100 trees ahead of Mangetsu.
"Water Style: Crescent Slash Jutsu!" Not to be outdone, Mangetsu affixed his water nature to his twin swords, and sliced out with a powerful crescent of water. The water slice decapitated 50 trees in one slice.
"Ah, those tree hugger nature activists in the Land of Fire would hate those two." Iguru idly commented while he sipped on his tea.
"Anyone can hold a sword. It's how you wield it that counts." Mei yawned at the display going on beneath her.
Zabuza stood behind the two. His eyebrows were scrunched as he witnessed the fierce might displayed by Mangetsu and Retsu.
"Yeah, water sliiide!" Kajika cheered.
"999!" Mangetsu shouted.
"999!" Retsu replied in kind.
The ship was barreling down on its sled, and they had one gargantuan tree barring their path before they reached the ocean. This tree was so massive, it was in parody of a skyscraper in both width and height.
"TSURA!"
"Water Style: Twin Crescent Slash!"
Retsu and Mangetsu hit the tree with two extremely fast, and sharp slices. However, they didn't do enough, and only cut the tree half way.
Meanwhile, the Monday Typhoon was barreling down the slope, and was about to collide with the tree!
"Lava Release: Demonic Blast!" Mei's fiery voice resounded in the air.
Seconds later, an absolutely gargantuan ball of condensed swirling lava exploded against the tree. The concussive force knocked the tree backward, and off the slope into the water. The tree turned crisp, and fell burning into the ocean. Huge jets of smoke blew back into the ship, obscuring everyone's vision.
"Everyone hold on!" Ao shouted.
"Woahhhh!"
The ship flew off the slope, and off a cliff. It sailed just past the burning tree, and skipped on the water.
When the smoke cleared, everyone took a big gasp in relief.
"Again, again!" "Whooo!" The 'demon' brothers patted each other on the back.
"I win." Mei smirked at Retsu and Mangetsu, before leaning back into her lounge chair.
AN: Who tf runs the bounty stations?!
Any other juicy rumors going on in the Elemental Nations? If it's good enough, I'll include it the next time we make a stop at a black market sight. It could be completely false info too, or so ridiculous, it's actually fact that no one believes.
Also starting to do some minor crossovers with other properties. If it fits in Naruto universe, then I could include it. The world is HUGE, and I gotta fill it.