Look at that, I've gotten slightly faster.

Still dealing with a solid brick of writers of block but it's slowly going away I think or at the very least wasn't as bad while I was doing this chapter. Still not in love with everything I've written but I think I just need to power through a bit to get back into the swing of things. As always your support of this story means the world to me and all the kind reviews you leave are very encouraging. I don't think I'd even bother without you all so thank you!

As always I'll see you again at the end of the chapter, enjoy!

A monument to greed

There wasn't a more perfect way to convey the atmosphere of Tanzaku Gai than that. As her team crossed the threshold of the town's admittedly impressive walls, it quickly became apparent both how and why Tanzaku had earned its reputation as the foremost gambling center within the country.

Stunning neon display signs littered the bustling streets beckoning passers-by with their bright colors and inviting promises of wealth and satisfaction. Outside their doors, buxom and beautiful women pranced about in frills calling out like sirens desperate to drag even the most stalwart of men into their clutches. It was clear as day to her that these displays were nothing more than targeted marketing, psychological warfare to depart people of their hard-earned cash but the population at large seemed entirely transfixed by these cheap tricks all the same. She could only watch in muted disbelief as individuals ranging from minor nobility to dirt poor peasantry huddled their way inside the various parlors to risk it all in games of chance.

Utter fools the lot of them.

Thankfully, they weren't here to take in the sights and with Kurenai's insistence, they were able to navigate past the gauntlet of vices and make their way into a less… egregious part of the town. They needed more information if they were going to hunt down these rouges then their best bet was to speak with the council. No doubt if anyone was going to have information on local threats, it would be them.

Hopefully, they could gather everything they needed.

(...)

"I see, you are the ones sent to track down and handle our little thief problem… can't say I was expecting much to be but to send a couple of brats for this? It's almost insulting."

Natsumi had to admire their sensei's grasp on her emotions in the face of such blatant disrespect to both herself and their team. The raven-haired jonin gave off no hint of anger or even tepid displeasure as she and the rest of her team were leveled under the scrutinizing gaze of the council's 'representative'. Apparently, the men and women funding this mission were too occupied to spare even a moment to meet with them in person and so instead sent a go-between on their behalf.

She couldn't say their choice gave off the friendliest first impression… if anything he reminded her more of a trained guard dog. Gruff and unwelcoming, the man's chiseled features were drawn into a less than impressed scowl and his narrowed black eyes jumped from one member of her team to the next with thinly disguised disapproval. There was an air of thuggishness to him as well that just didn't suit someone of his rank, more a mobster rather than a member of the state.

More than once she caught sight of what looked like a faint tattoo clawing at the edge of his neck but his messy collar did just enough to keep her from confirming that suspicion.

"I assure you that we will be more than enough to handle the issue, we're just here to ask a few questions that'll aid in our search."

"Hmph, we'll see." He seemed as though he wanted to sneer at them but managed to maintain at least some pretense of politeness, even if it didn't match his tone. "Like I said before, the esteemed members of the council are held up with other matters and aren't open to receiving visitors. I will do my best to answer any of your questions in their place, assuming they are relevant to the job that is."

"Of course, this won't take long." Kurenai nodded peacefully, maintaining a far more professional front. "Firstly, the mission details mention that the group we're looking for has somewhat of a reputation in the area. I assume then that they've been operating nearby for quite some time." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "What more can you tell us about them? Any specifics would be useful."

The representative seemed to hesitate for a second, a reaction that did not go unnoticed before he seemed to catch himself. "Can't say I know more about them than anyone else you can ask on the street. They've been known to harass and rob visitors outside the walls on occasion but up until recently they've known better than to attack the town directly so there was never a pressing need to deal with the problem. The casino heist was the first time they've ever proved to be a major concern."

"I see… does the council have any idea where they might be located? It must be somewhere close by if they've been targeting tourists and caravans?"

"Most of the reports have pointed us somewhere out west of town, the largest number of incidents have occurred coming from that direction, although where exactly they are we don't know. That's what we expect you to find out." He explained.

"It's a start at least." Ruby orbs flickered up in thought before centering back on the representative. "The robbery… What do you believe prompted it? You said it yourself that up until now these outlaws haven't been a threat to the town yet suddenly they've put a target on their back with this stunt. Seems rather out of character, wouldn't you agree? "

"Am I supposed to know what goes on in the minds of bush-league thugs? Why else would anyone hit one of our largest casinos? The money. Guess they got tired of living on scraps and wanted to strike it rich, just so happened to use our own men to do it." The rep then frowned and folded his arms. "From what I've heard the job isn't about these bandits anyway so I don't understand what's with all these questions. The relevant details should have been provided and I've already told you where to search that should be enough."

"Apologies, we don't mean to come as ungrateful for your assistance…" Kurenai apologized but unseen by him moved her hand behind her back and to their surprise began to weave one-handed signs out of the man's sight. "But I must insist you tell us more." She finished with a disarming smile and a subtle flare of chakra.

From there it was like witnessing a complete transformation taking place in real-time.

Team Eight watched in mute fascination as the gruff-looking man abruptly seemed to shrink in on himself, rigid posture slackening and his once harsh eyes growing unfocused and wide as though caught in a daze. He stumbled drunkenly for a brief moment as if abruptly hit with a wave of intense vertigo before regaining his footing and absentmindedly nodding along to words none of them could hear.

"What would you like to know…" His speech was almost slurred now, how words lacking the belligerent edge they'd once carried and Kurenai allowed her mask of politeness to slip revealing the annoyance and mistrust she'd been forced to suppress before.

"Who really are these people and why would some of your men be working for them?"

This time the representative did not hesitate in his answer. "A gang formerly known as the Tyger Claws… the casino that was hit used to belong to them... before it came under 'new management' and the clan was driven out of town a couple of months back... The fugitives you are looking for… the bosses believe they are some stragglers who slipped through the cracks."

Now things were starting to make a bit more sense.

"So they robbed their old casino… but why?" Kiba asked, puzzled by the motive.

"Resources most likely." Natsumi presumed. "This casino is supposedly one of the major players in town, if that is the case then they must have been pretty influential up until their exile. That kind of power isn't forgotten or given up so easily, and I would be willing to bet that this hit might be part of a plan to regain their position, but you'd need money and manpower for something like that."

The dazed rep nodded. "Some of us think so too…"

"Is this 'new management' you talked about by chance another clan?" Kiba questioned and at that the rep nodded once more although he made no move to speak further.

"Figures." He sighed. "What are the odds this whole place is actually just run by a bunch of different gangs?"

"Better question, if they have an idea as to where these guys are hiding out... why not just take care of the problem yourselves?" Natsumi wondered. It wasn't like yakuza clans were afraid to get their hands dirty and their sensei had even said that Tanzaku was reluctant to have shinobi involved in their affairs. If that was the case then why were they even here?

The rep responded this time. "We have tried… The Tygers are still not easy prey even in the disgraced position they've found themselves in... Before they were ousted they held a lot of sway over how things were run around here and brought most of the smaller clans to heel almost on their own… even if we felt confident in handling the issue ourselves, it would not come without major losses..."

"S-So you hired us t-to avoid dealing with them yourselves?" Hinata surmised with a frown.

"The traitors must be dealt with… if a few faceless shinobi are put in harm's way instead of our own men… that is of no consequence to us."

"Oi, you bastard!" Kiba growled and took a step forward. "We aren't your damn clean up service!"

"Kiba! Calm down." Kurenai placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed. "This is what we get paid for, don't lose your cool over something like this." She then turned to the rep. "Though now I have to ask, why not hire shinobi to eliminate them all together rather than just collect these select individuals?"

"Loyalty…" The pawn's voice was clear. "The clan values loyalty above all else… they would not let you take their men without a fight. We expected that in retrieving these traitors you would be forced to handle the clan as well, two birds with one stone…"

"That is rather clever." Natsumi stroked her chin in appreciation. "A happy coincidence that just so happens to solve all your problems and the cover is good enough that no one would question you the reasons."

It was a solid play, one she could respect even if she didn't appreciate being used as fodder for someone else. She had enough of that with the village.

The man said nothing but they knew everything they needed to.

"I think we have what we need. You said this group has been spotted out west, you wouldn't happen to have any more specific details… would you?" Kurenai inquired, another subtle flare of chakra accompanying her questioning.

"There is an old abandoned temple in the area… we suspect they are using that as their hideout for the moment but we aren't sure." He groaned.

"I see, thank you for the help. I think you should head home and rest. Also, let's keep the details of this conversation between us, yes?" Kurenai's words came out less like a suggestion and more like an order, one the rep seemed helpless but to obey to as he nodded sluggishly and shambled out of the room and into the hall leaving them to discuss their newfound information in private.

...

"Can you teach us how to do that?" Natsumi asked, no lack of childish greed in her voice as she rounded on their leader.

The ravenette allowed a faint smirk to grace her features and waved off the question. "Maybe some other time, focus on the mission right now." She responded, drawing a small click of the tongue from the blond in question.

She would relent this once but made sure to file the subject away for later.

"S-Sensei? A-Are we still g-going to take the job?" Hinata asked as she poked her fingers together nervously. "I-Is it alright for us to be helping h-helping criminals?"

Kurenai sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "As much as I am against the idea of aiding organized crime… nothing we discovered truly affects our mission. It isn't our place to judge the worth or crimes of our clients once the mission has been taken unless circumstances force our hand." Kurenai explained. She didn't approve of what was going on but it wasn't up to them to be picky. The Hidden Villages accepted jobs from all types of clients, Konoha included.

"What could we even do anyway?" Kiba wondered with a frown. "Take one group down and another will just replace them. Take both down and two more will jump to fill the empty spots, not a lot of alternatives."

"It would also be a bit hypocritical for us to judge, shinobi aren't exactly squeaky clean either." Natsumi added recalling some of what she'd read on the various deeds of more famed shinobi like Kirikagure's famed Seven Swordsmen. Petty crime didn't hold a candle to some of the atrocities committed by trained shinobi.

"I-I guess so…" Hinata relented. This was just how their world operated, wasn't it?

"We can discuss this more another time. For now, we have what we came for, we know where to start looking and I estimate we still have a good few hours before sundown. Our best lead right now is locating that temple our 'friend' was kind enough to mention, if their information is correct then we'll scout out what kind of force we're dealing with and go from there.

Right, there would be time to discuss morality later. The mission came first.

...

As predicted, tracking down and locating the forgotten temple didn't prove to be nearly as difficult as she expected.

They'd only needed to travel out for a few miles before Kiba and Akamaru picked up some foreign scents mixed among the forest's natural odors, the lingering remnants of what was likely a sizable group of individuals moving quickly through the dense woodlands. Inuzuka tracking was second to none and with a bit of help from Hinata's byakugan, their team made short work of the search as the unhindered vision allowed them to locate and follow the signs left behind. Broken branches, upturned soil, and even some left behind trash thrown carelessly away all leading back right to the source.

She would admit that she held more than tepid envy for their abilities but contented herself in the knowledge that her strengths lie in other areas, ones that far eclipsed their own.

Within the hour they had located the base and had begun their observations. It was time to plan their attack.

"T-The southern wall seems to be the w-weakest point, I can o-only see three guards watching that side."

With Hinata's aid, they were able to get a much closer view of the layout without actually getting too close which made observation far less as they weren't in the vicinity of any nearby patrols. Not that they needed to get very close since the compound housing the temple was large enough to be easily scouted from the high treetops. For an abandoned temple, the building was still in surprisingly decent condition. Although the once clean ivory paint had long ago peeled away leaving the walls dull and yellowed, they still stood strong against the elements nonetheless and offered good protection on all sides.

At the head of the compound stood the frame of what at one time must have been a sealable gate. Fortunately for them, whatever once stood in that imposing doorway was gone meaning that there was a giant hole for them to enter or exit through if needed… although there were two guards posted by the front meaning that they would need to be taken care of first if they wanted to remain undetected.

Beyond the gate rested a large courtyard filled with various crates, barrels, and patrolling guards. Beyond some of the cover created by a few of the stacked boxes and lines of site obscured by barrels, there weren't many places to hide within the courtyard and so they would need to keep that in mind in their planning.

As for the guards...

It quickly became apparent why these outlaws had gone unchallenged for as long as they had, sheer numbers were a pretty compelling reason not to mess with them. Hinata relayed that she spotted at least fifteen men in total guarding posted along walls and the interior yard with more sprinkled throughout the various buildings within the compound. If a fight broke out they would need to be prepared.

Beyond the courtyard was the temple itself, a four-story structure in disrepair. The tile roof was bare in some places and they could see patchwork tarps thrown over holes in the ceiling likely to prevent rain or insects from getting in until a more permanent solution could come about. Thick verdant green vines also crawled up along the walls sealing some of the windows with their heavy roots. Around the main temple were also a few smaller buildings and some tents that likely served as communal and sleeping areas.

All in all, the place resembled a fortress more than a temple.

"Hinata I'm going to give you the physical descriptions of our targets, try and spot them if you can."

"Y-Yes!"

"The first target is Kubota Kunio. He should have slicked-back black hair and a distinctive cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. He is apparently pretty bulky and quite tall so he should be easy to spot, it also notes that he carries a large club on his hip at all times so keep an eye out for that.

Hinata frowned and scanned the yard over for a few seconds before nodding. "I-I believe I found him! He's sitting in w-what looks to be like a tiny meal area, the small building t-to the left." She indicated, drawing a pleased smirk from the rest of them. The odds were that the rest would be here too meaning less work for them.

"Good job, make sure to keep a mental note of their positions." Kurenai ordered before continuing. "Next on the list is Kenmochi Wagarashi. He is supposedly a bit of a feminine character, lanky and quite thin. His most notable traits are his unique asymmetrical bob cut and ashen hair, notably always seen with two pairs of knives attached to his belt.

"G-Got him, he appears to be r-resting on the third floor of the main temple in a room alone."

"Third up is a Hibana Sachiko. Described as something of a spitfire, her identifying traits are her long midnight black hair that covers her right eye and a dark red bow tie clip she wears. Supposedly, she is rather… 'gifted' in the chest department and she carries a katana with a crimson hilt on her back."

It took a little longer for Hinata to find the woman but after a few minutes of silence, she nodded. "I-I see her… she appears to be… a-ah washing at the moment!" The Hyuga girl's face burned crimson and she quickly averted her gaze elsewhere much to their amusement and Kiba's silent jealousy.

Why couldn't he get x-ray vision?

"Lastly, we're looking for Doto Kurosaki." Kurenai looked over the description provided. "A stern figure, he is characterized by his intimidating eyes and the large scar reaching from his neck to his chest. He is known to wear a black bandana around his right arm and his weapon of choice are two silver trench knives that he keeps on him at all times."

"I s-see him, it looks like he is guarding the f-fourth floor of the temple."

"That's all of our targets accounted for." Kurenai informed, rolling up the mission scroll and pocketing it once more. "Good work everyone."

"So... how are we approaching this?" Kiba asked after a moment's pause. "Are we just going to go in swinging and round them all up or are we going to try and sneak past and take them down without raising any alarms?"

Kurenai folded her arms and leaned back against the tree trunk. "That is for you three to decide, I will support you however you need me to." She explained and fell silent giving them some time to think. They were all well aware that for as intimidating as the task at hand seemed, she could still easily complete this assignment on her own but that was unhelpful. If they wanted to grow as shinobi they needed to be able to think and execute a plan on their own, if they failed then she would bail them out and help correct their flaws but she wouldn't solve all their problems either.

"If the decision is being left to us then I suggest we go in quietly." Natsumi said, tossing in her two cents. "While I doubt these bandits pose any real threat, it would be best to air on the side of caution and make as little noise as possible. At least then if we are discovered we'll have the element of surprise on our side." She explained.

"Works for me I guess." Kiba shrugged while Akamaru barked his agreement. "How would we get them out quietly though? Sneaking past on our own is going to be tricky but I don't see how we're going to do it with a bunch of dead weight on our backs."

"I've prepared something for that." Natsumi's eyes lit up with pride as she produced a series of scrolls from her pouch and presented them before her team. At first glance, they seemed like run-of-the-mill scrolls but upon closer inspection, they all noticed that each had been marked with a small spiral on their bottom denoting them from the ones found in most equipment shops.

"Storage scrolls?"

"Hardly." She scoffed. "These aren't just bargain bin storage scrolls that you can find in any equipment shop… I created these myself and they are going to help make moving our 'packages' much more convenient."

"H-How? I t-though you said you couldn't s-store living things in storage scrolls?" Hinata inquired softly. She wasn't an expert on sealing but during their lunches together she would ask the blond girl about her studies and over time had gained some understanding of the craft. An almost trivial amount mind you but some nonetheless.

"Normally you can't, but I've made some creative... modifications to the base formula.~" She twirled one of the scrolls in her palm. There were a ton of reasons why your average storage seal simply wasn't up to the task of sealing and properly containing a still-living creature and there were pages of sealing theory that went over the topic in detail but like all things when it came to fuinjutsu, the rules were more often than not just… vague suggestions at best.

"I-Is that safe?"

"Hinata, would I ever suggest anything if I didn't have absolute confidence in it?" She preened and handed out a scroll to each of them. "So long as you render them fully unconscious nothing will go wrong and you can store them as you would a kunai or generic supplies."

"Are there any risks involved?" Kurenai asked, inspecting the rolled-up parchment. She possessed a fundamental knowledge of fuinjutsu at best but even she was aware of the limitations of basic storage seals.

"The target must be fully incapacitated for the seal to work as intended." Natsumi made sure to stress this point. "If you try and seal them while they are still capable of fighting back then there is a remarkably high chance the seal will fail and that will almost certainly attract attention." She finished. "This isn't a long-term solution, and I haven't done enough tests to suggest leaving people inside them for prolonged periods... but they should more than suffice for this mission."

"So we sneak in, make sure we knock them out properly, and then store them away." Kiba grinned and nodded. "Sounds pretty good to me!"

"I-If you say this will work then I t-trust you." Hinata agreed, pocketing the small scroll as well.

"It's a simple plan but sometimes that's for the best." Kurenai nodded in approval. "If we are going for a quiet approach then I would suggest waiting for nightfall. It'll give us a chance to study their patrols and keep an eye out for any reinforcements that might be lingering nearby and the cover of night will be useful."

"I agree." Natsumi seconded. "We can iron out the rest of the details while we wait as well."

"Guess we should get comfortable then." Kiba shrugged, squatting down to peer at the complex below with curiosity. "Might as well rest up, just in case."

They'd need the strength just in case things got out of hand,

(A few hours later just past sundown)

Showtime.

"Stick to the plan and try not to get caught." Her orders came like a whisper on the wind as they began to move out, stalking their way towards the back wall. "If you notice a fight breaking out, do your best to capture your target before rushing to assist. We can't let them escape."

"Don't worry so much, we got this!" Kiba's teeth glinted softly under the moonlight. "We'll be in and out before they even know what happened."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "W-We can do this… I think…"

Taking their word for it, Natsumi nodded and turned her attention to the now torch-lit courtyard eyeing up the complex one last time. They would be splitting up from here out with each of them assigned a specific target to bring in. Once they'd gathered all four of the defectors they would regroup back to where they had done their initial planning and head back to Tanzaku to complete the mission. If all went according to plan they would be in and out within the hour, maybe less if they got lucky.

"Very well, let's move!"

On her mark they scattered, Kiba bounded off to the left disappearing into the dense foliage with a single hop meanwhile Hinata hurriedly scurried down to ground level and vanished into the shadows on her right. She watched them slink away for a few moments before letting out a breath and darting into action, Kurenai followed right on her trail.

"No mistakes."

…

(With Kiba)

"Where are you, lady?"

His assigned target was Hibana… according to Hinata, the woman was patrolling the left-hand side of the courtyard near a few practice dummies that had been set up. Thankfully for him, that put her mostly out of the range of the torches they were using to keep the courtyard illuminated and so lines of sight on his game would be obscured by shadows.

Tip-toeing along one of the branches hanging overhead, he surveyed the yard from above. The moonlight provided a decent spotlight for his search as he glanced between the shuffling and snoozing guards out on patrol. Keeping his search confined to his teammates instructions it didn't take very long to locate his quarry and he allowed a confident smirk to crawl across his features as he realized she was pretty much alone and practically gift-wrapped for him.

He took another few seconds to scan for any guards he might have missed just as a precaution before taking the plunge and diving down from his perch and onto the wall. Landing with a silent thump he prowled forward, keeping his movements as subtle and as natural as he could to avoid being spotted as he moved along the wall and towards Hibana's position.

Making sure to hop down behind his target, he narrowed his gaze and kept low. She was wide-open, her smaller frame sat fairly lazily atop a crate while her rested weapon tucked away securely in its sheath by her side. He would need to make sure she couldn't draw it or this would become a lot more difficult.

He continued his stalker-like prowl, practically gliding over towards her while squeezing as much value out of every step as he could before coming to a halt only inches from her position. He was close enough that his enhanced senses could clearly make out her breathing among the sounds of crickets and the muted chatter of other patrols making their rounds across the courtyard.

"Three... two… one… now!"

Like a starving wolf on the hunt, he leaped forward like a loaded spring unbound, his arms swiftly wrapping around the shocked woman's mouth and neck and dragging her back behind the crate and onto the grass below. Her fingertips clawed and raked viciously at his arms but her blunt nails did little against the thick material of his hood and he growled lowly as they struggled and rolled along the cold ground. Between her clawing, she made desperate efforts to reach for her now abandoned weapon but her attempts were all in vain as he tightened his hold in response to her trashing.

That still wasn't to say she went down easy though.

He held back the urge to hiss and curse aloud as she switched tactics and began ramming her elbows into his ribs with all her strength. Even in this position she fought back valiantly against him and were he not able to reinforce his body with chakra, her attempts may have succeeded in driving him off for a moment. However, he was a cut above the average thug and her efforts only hastened the inevitable. His grip on her neck didn't wane and each violent buck and jab only served to use up what little precious oxygen she had left.

Her wilding flailing gradually grew weaker over time and her clawing slowed to a crawl. With a muffled whimper, he felt her fall slack in his arms… their struggle had come to a quiet close and he allowed him the indulgence of a quiet sigh of relief for that. Holding tight for a few more seconds and gibing a few last-minute test squeezes just to confirm for sure that she was down for the count, he released his hold and rolled her now limp body off to the side.

"Damn she really hit hard…" He hissed, cradling his now likely bruised ribs before pulling out the scroll he'd been given and unrolling it. He spared the unconscious woman one final glance before placing the scroll atop her and channeling a bit of chakra into the parchment.

Her body vanished in a tiny waft of smoke leaving no evidence she'd ever been there to begin with.

There were no alarms sounded and it didn't appear as though anyone had witnessed their small scuffle… it seemed like he was in the clear. He counted himself lucky in that regard since he could admit that he wasn't the most subtle even at the best of times.

"Well, at least that went as planned. Let's just hope the rest goes as smoothly."

He grabbed his prize and as a trophy swiped the sword left discarded on top of the crate before b-lining it back to the wall and climbing out of the compound. It wasn't a good idea to wait around so he'd return to the treetops and head over to the rendezvous point.

One down, three to go.

(With Hinata)

This might have been one of the few occasions she appreciated being as small as she was.

Hinata sucked in a breath as she narrowly squeezed through an overlooked opening in the walls, the relatively tiny gap having gone seemingly unnoticed or ignored to her benefit. Either way, she had gained quick and more importantly silent access to the courtyard's interior. Now all that was left was to track down and subdue her assigned target.

Kubota Kunio

The veins around her eyes bulged visibly as she scanned the courtyard for threats. Across the way, she could see Kiba moving along the wall and towards his target and she mentally smiled as she noted his efforts to blend in despite his loud personality. She could also see Natsumi and Kurenai making their approach and heading for the central tower. The two had taken it upon themselves to handle the hardest infiltration.

Nothing looked amiss so far…

Her eyes widened marginally as she spotted one of the ambling guards making his way in her direction and so she swiftly turned her attention back to the task at hand. Her doujutsu afforded her a unique edge in locating his position and she made full use of her wall-peeking abilities to navigate her way unseen towards the rundown shelter Kunio-san resided in.

For obvious reasons it wouldn't do to try and sneak in through the front so she decided to scramble up the wall of the shack. She'd spotted an unpatched hole in the roof during their planning that would make for a perfect entranceway and she doubted that they'd ever considered someone might try and sneak in from above.

Crawling inside she cut the flow of chakra to her eyes and got her first up-close look at the man she was essentially going to kidnap tonight… Kami that sounded so embarrassing!

"N-Now is not the time for this!"

Banishing those thoughts, she took in the sight of her target critically. The giant of a man was sitting comfortably at a small table in the middle of the room contentedly enjoying a bowl of rice and what looked like sake. However, for as serene an image his presence suggested... the area around him was nothing short of a mess. Discarded sake saucers and empty bottles littered the ground around the room and the smell of alcohol permeated the air.

None of that mattered to her quite as much as the five unconscious bodies sprawled out around her target though.

Judging by the bottles clutched within some of their hands it wasn't difficult to put two and two together and assume that all of them had been drinking and it seemed as though her target was simply the last man standing. Even from here, she could see a warm blush spread across his cheeks all but confirming the man was at least somewhat intoxicated at the moment.

This actually worked in her favor… so long as she was quick and quiet she might be able to take him down without attracting any attention. Not to mention that he'd be far less aware than usual.

Taking a quiet breath to pump herself up, she began to crawl across the ceiling towards her target, she was well aware that if even a single guard was to stir right now she'd almost certainly be caught but this was her only opportunity for success. She'd have to take it.

Stopping the flow of chakra to her feet she fell silently to the ground below and landed just behind Kunio-san with a muted thump and to her delight he didn't so much as flinch. Her byakugan combined with her knowledge of the human body allowed her to strike with near surgical precision, fingertips lashing out like striking cobras stabbing into his thick neck and unleashing a disruptive pulse of chakra through the nerves.

Kunio shuddered, the white of his eyes becoming visible as he was violently ejected from consciousness. Like a falling tree, his body began to lumber forward but before he could smash face-first into the table she unraveled Natsumi's scroll and activated the matrix.

He was gone without so much as a sound.

Mission successful!

Pocketing the scroll, Hinata quickly made her way out through the same hole she'd entered through and fled towards the wall, squeezing once more through the crack that had allowed her to sneak in and out into the cover of the forest.

Two down, two more to go.

The rest was now up to Natsumi and Kurenai-sensei.

AN. Chapter Complete!

I'm glad this chapter didn't take quite as long, writer's block is seriously the worst...

Anywho! I think the first part of the mission went rather well all things considered. As I said before I've really struggled in trying to create missions that feel like proper assignments for genin level shinobi to take while still being interesting to read but I think for a first attempt this one is shaping into something decent and like with anything I write I will endeavor to use what I learn witting this to improve going forward. Obviously, there is still the second half to come, and while things are going smoothly for now... who knows what might happen going forward! Other than me anyway and even that's a vague idea at best hehe...

In regards to some of the stuff we saw in this chapter, not a lot is new. We did see a bit of Kurenai's genjutsu prowess in terms of mind manipulation which is something that she should have been shown to use way more often and it's something I want to incorporate into her fighting style when appropriate. We also saw Natsumi's growth with seals in that she's making improvements and modifications to existing seals for efficiency. I've hinted at combat seals as well but we haven't seen those just yet but they are coming.

That's all from me this time, if you guys have any questions feel free to PM or leave them in your review and I'll try and answer what I can. Feedback is also always appreciated (can be negative just be polite, we're all people) so let me know what you think so that I can do better going forward. I also want to say if you have questions about a different story I've written that you just message me directly, the review section of this story is for this story alone. Thank you all for reading and I look forward to seeing you again soon! (I hope...)