Serving Justice [Custom Mission]

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Spoiler:

It wasn’t that long since Mana returned from Kirigakure. Her return was due to the village recalling her and while the recalling letter was rather polite and giving her a lot of space to end her tour properly, the magician departed immediately upon getting the letter. Such haste was a sign of respect for her village, a wish to help because the girl knew that it was most likely that she’d be recalled from her tour just if something important popped up. A village does not simply recall a high ranking ninja from another village unless they have some reason to doubt of her safety or have a job that requires her skills. While Mana usually exploited her right of choosing her assignments this time the magician decided to stick to the mission she’s given. As days went by the village was yet to reveal the reason she was recalled from Kirigakure.

And so one day Mana finally got the chance to find out just why was she recalled so suddenly, in the midst of her tour. The original plans included a small trip to Kumogakure and the jounin was just about to set sail for Kumo when she received the letter recalling her home. One morning, not too long after her return from Kirigakure and run into a friendly welcoming party, the trickster received another letter which asked her to come by the Konoha administration to consider taking up a mission. After the usual morning routine the magician prepared her ninja tools and set out for the administration building. After the slap in the face from Kirigakure that was Mana’s last mission the young woman expected something more casual and more fitting for her specific skill set. Then again, her home village was not the ones issuing her assassination tasks…

The trip to the Konoha Administration was not that long, Mana’s house wasn’t too far from the village center. While the girl’s mother was a bit troubled that her daughter would leave on another mission so soon after coming back home, Mana was quite hyped to see the mission that made the village recall her home. The magician was so glad to see those smiling rock faces on the Hokage monument and that huge round administration building again. For some reason just being home made her happy, one did not know how good they have it back home until they leave… With a rather slow and nostalgic step the young kunoichi made her way up to the top floor of the building where all the high ranking ninja took up their missions. As she entered the large complex of offices a young woman waved at her, it’s possible that she was supposed to brief Mana.

“Mana-san, we are very grateful that you agreed to come back on such sudden and short notice. You’ve been doing wonderful work in Kirigakure and it’s a real shame we had to ask you to consider ending it like this.” the administrator started the briefing, Mana smiled and said it was nothing too bad and that she had overstayed her welcome in Kirigakure already. “So this mission is the reason I was recalled?” the magician inquired. “Not entirely… It was one of the factors but the real reason is not to be revealed to anyone as of yet, I was just given orders to do it, even I don’t know why they were given.” The woman explained. Mana took the file from her hands and skimmed through it. It had bunch of pictures and notes and looked like it had a very extensive history to it.

“It concerns a person you’ve met before. A criminal psychopath nicknamed “Raitoncide”, you’ve lead the Shukuba Security to get him arrested about a year ago. That is one of the reasons you were one of our top picks for this mission – you can handle him because you’ve already took him down.” Mana kept flipping the pages of the file but they only raised more questions than they explained the actual assignment, “So my objective is to capture him and put him back behind bars?” she asked almost like it was a small deal, last time she wasn’t even brave enough to face him without a small trick up her sleeve. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy, Mana-san… We do not know his location, he could be anywhere in the world about now since he escaped.” The woman replied with a touch of shame in her tone. Mana looked even more confused.

“He has a crew of loyal to him bandits, cutthroats and thieves mostly, they all are placed in a remote prison in the Fire Country, it’s… You’ll see what’s it about when you get there… Your primary objective is to capture Raitoncide but the secondary objective is to obtain intelligence from his crew about his location, infiltration is suggested.” The administrator explained the objective more clearly. “So I was chosen… For my experience in prison?” Mana asked, this was important to her, she didn’t want to be treated that way and her trust in Konoha administration would’ve dipped if they treated her like that. “No! No, not at all, Mana-san. You’ve been chosen for your extensive practice of working on such difficult missions alone, there’s only one ninja in the village who is more skilled at solo work in such assignments and… He’s… Pre-occupied.”

Mana knew who the administrator was talking about – Kaguya Yoroi, the man who shaped a lot of who Mana was but she was still too afraid to look him in the eyes after the whole being put in prison thing. People forget, people forgive, even people of Konoha didn’t seem to hold any hate for her anymore for injuring Guru Ayushi, but Yoroi… He was different, Mana knew how much he hated criminals, people who were a threat to those he loved and in a way, in a manner of speech, she was an ex-criminal. Being unable to look that man in the eyes was the hardest part of the aftermath of Mana’s battle with Ayushi. The magician didn’t know what matters occupied him exactly or what was this all about but she took the mission – wherever this mission will be taking place is where Yoroi won’t be. She won’t have to blush and be ashamed to look him in the eyes if she can avoid him. “I’ll get it done.” was all the Mana said as she turned around and headed for the door.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

As Mana was making her way from the Administration building to the village gate she tried to contemplate on what she knew about the mission. It wasn’t going to be easy, she’d be going back to prison… Of course it won’t be as herself, she’ll be doing it transformed into Raitoncide so that she can get the information out of his lackeys but then she’d have to confront him again. Fighting someone who was known as a crazy psychopath who tortured his victims with Raiton techniques was scary as it was, having to do it without reinforcement or any clever ways of outsmarting the man would be even scarier. Raitoncide has killed ninja before, he didn’t care if he killed ninja or people, all that mattered was that he got his kicks out of it. Returning to prison to gather intelligence on the man would also have its mental downs for Mana, she had enough painful memories from her last experience in prison…

Raitoncide was an interesting fellow, Mana first met him when she was in Shukuba during the Shukuba reformation. He was one of those lots of Diamond hand syndicate members who stayed in the village after their leader and the whole corruption ring was taken down. Mana had a whole squad of Shukuba security and a clever way of disabling his Lightning Release to back her way back then, she didn’t have time to use the same trick, or the manpower. Raitoncide had the ability to use Lightning Release jutsu but for some reason they shocked him as well, not that it prevented him from using Raiton techniques because he was a shock addict. He received a lot of pleasure from being shocked so he experienced double pleasure from killing someone with his Lightning techniques: one part from the shock from his own jutsu, the other from taking a life.

Mana was lucky to have information about Raitoncide, she’s read his whole file back in Shukuba which detailed every murder the man did as a henchman of the Diamond Hand syndicate leader. He also did some killings of his own, just something to kill free time. That was why he was so feared around those parts, he killed anyone he set his eyes on and wasn’t too shy to kidnap someone and torture them for days. That kind of man had to be contained, Mana knew well that most people would say that he had to be killed, there was no reforming this man – he barely ever had anything in his brain to lose in the first place. And yet she never lost hope, even with his addiction to murder and shock Mana believed that maybe he could still be changed, even if he couldn’t be changed he could be safely contained so that he posed danger to no one. There was no need to kill him.

As the Konoha buildings changed one another ideas of how to obtain intelligence about Raitoncide flashed through Mana’s mind. Of course she could transform into some thug-like looking fellow and get inside the prison, that would make her have to climb the respect ladder and that would take time and make her do things she wouldn’t be proud of. A much easier option would be to simply transform into Raitoncide himself and try to obtain information about possible hideout locations and then check all of them. Mana’s mission objective had no time limit to it, the only limiter she had was the moral limiter of wasting time when Raitoncide could be torturing and killing people. One of the things the magician didn’t want to happen was to find bunch of tortured and killed people in Raitoncide’s hideout when she finds him.

There was always the chance that Raitoncide could overwhelm her, his skill was described as higher than that of a genin but lesser than that of a Chuunin. Still, even if Mana’s own skill surpassed his description she wondered how long she could fight off a man who gets pleasure from his own shocks. A man like that is absolutely crazy and unpredictable, he’ll be shooting off bolts of lightning left and right just to shock himself. That kind of all out offensive fighting style is rather hard to fight, of course there was always the fact that Mana had the Wind Release defensive jutsu which would’ve neutralized Raitoncide’s attacks. That in addition to her previous experience and knowledge of the man made her into a perfect person to hunt him down and put him back to his place.

The people kept looking cheerful towards Mana, smiling and greeting her as she made her way towards the village gate. It was hard to believe that just three months earlier half of them were hating Mana, when children were playing ninja they were depicting Mana as a villain. That was always a shocking and depressing thing to happen to someone. All it took was just a short time of being away for the people to get over the injury of Guru Ayushi and to forgive Mana what they took as childish foolishness. They were all happy to have her around, this person who protects them and looks out for them and on her free time entertains them. There people were Mana’s entire life, there was nothing she valued and loved more than this village and its people. The village gate finally appeared in the girl’s point of view.

The village guards approached her when they saw her leaving, “Leaving so soon, Mana-san?” one of them asked, “I just hope you’ll be back sooner that the time you left for Kirigakure…” the other added. “I’ve got a mission, if things work out I’ll be back in a day or two…” Mana replied. She didn’t hope to finish her mission so soon but she wanted to leave these people hopeful, this wasn’t a shakedown but just a polite farewell, the girl didn’t know most of the guards who did guard duty but most of them already knew her and that was enough. After saying her farewells Mana left through the gate into the wide overgrown with forests outer area. It would be a several hour trip to the prison island and then she’d still have to see how long it’d take her to obtain the information.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

The long travel through the Fire Country always annoyed Mana. Especially if it was traveling to somewhere and not back to Konoha, for some reason going away from Konoha felt depressing while going back felt exciting. There was always this feeling like you know every tree and every sight and like it’s the best sight in the world meeting your eyes. Somehow, just walking through the forest path always felt a lot more boring than traveling by ship through the Water Country. Maybe it was the fact that traveling through the forest required actual walking and it sometimes did feel exhausting to walk for five hours just to get to one’s mission destination. While the magician had plenty walking experience and it didn’t tire her out as much as it used to when she was making her trips to Shukuba and back, she was still going to infiltrate a prison.

From what was told to her in the file Mana knew that the prison staff were informed of her mission and would assist her in whatever needed to be done. Which implied some strange implications: why did this prison obey to Konoha’s commands, was it loyal to the village? Why would the village need a secret prison when they have Bachi prison back home? Why had Mana never heard of this prison before, why was it hidden in such secret that even some of the village’s most high ranking ninja had no knowledge of its existence. Also the girl wondered just how much of this prison’s population did she fill, having her career as a crime buster ninja in mind. When Mana was placed in Bachi prison a significant amount of prisoners either were put there by her or knew people who were placed behind bars as a consequence to Mana’s actions.

The endless green sights never disappeared out of Mana’s sight, this prison island was much further than the girl’s trips to Shukuba used to be. Boredom was always a factor in why the magician hated long travels, then again it was nowhere close traveling to another country. Traveling through the Fire Country took the girl days, then the sailing to Kirigakure through the Water Country took a day too. But when she was traveling to the Fire Country port she had two ninja to keep her company, they had terrible voices but that was a part of their charm. Just remembering how horrible those two were at singing made Mana crack a grin, there should be a kind of entertainment where someone with a terrible voice would be singing for the public. If that happened, the magician would lose her job pretty soon, it’d leave her no hope in the entertainment industry.

And so the wide lake and a small island with a castle-like facility in the end appeared in Mana’s point of view. A single ferryman was standing nearby and was obviously waiting for a ninja as he was told. Slowly the magician walked into his line of sight and saw him smile, “You may want to transform into something, I can’t sail you into a prison looking like this…” he said with a sensible joking tone. Mana transformed into what she remembered Raitoncide to be – a man of average height and build, covered with burns on his hands and face from all the shocks that he inflicted on himself to fuel his addiction. The girl made the same crazy expression she saw the man make when he saw her, he looked so happy with the possibility of murder, this happiness and excitement was somewhat scary. The girl could see the ferryman being a little bit impressed by her transformation.

“Aren’t you supposed to get information ON that guy… I’d say it’ll be hard to do when your disguised AS that guy but who am I to tell you how to do your job…” the man said in a casual and bored tone. To him it was just another day at work. He didn’t care if Mana obtained information or got her cover blown and was killed by every damn prisoner in the island. Sometimes the girl wondered if anyone was ever supportive of what she did, of course her mother always supported her but she never showed that, she always looked so ignorant when Mana left as if the girl was leaving to buy some milk. Sometimes it looked like no one ever cared about what she did, even her superiors would’ve probably just sent another person to do her job if she just died. Sometimes the girl just felt extremely expendable…

The ferryman kept making weird jokes as he was rowing Mana to the island, she was given improvised handcuffs that looked a lot like those things that her kidnappers used to restrain her hands from forming hand seals. It wouldn’t have made a lot of sense if the infamous Raitoncide just arrived in a ferry without any restraints with no one else but the ferryman transporting him. A large party of security guards met the ferry and moved Mana out, the ferryman and the guards shared a couple of winks which looked a bit funny for the magician. They probably exchanged information this way about Mana being who she actually was and not the actual Raitoncide. The guard whispered to Mana’s ear asking where she wanted to be taken, “Take me to my fellows, ya trash. I need to organize nuther escape and fantasize about frying every damn trash fuck in this joint. Mommy spread your legs, because DADDY’S BACK HOME!!!” Mana yelled trying to imitate Raitoncide’s crazy character to the best of her ability.

The guards took the transformed kunoichi into a large and dark wing of the prison, “You know how it works, fucker, these walls are covered with same rubber material you were beaten by, also they’re extra thick this time and heat resistant so don’t bother!” the guard yelled out as he opened heavy metal door and pushed his prisoner into a large cell. “Bro, is it you?” voices kept echoing through the dark room, there was very little light as there was just the small hope light on one of the corner shelves. “Party’s over, bitches can go home…” Mana said in a saddened tone trying to imitate the mood of a prisoner who was re-captured.

Spoiler:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

“So… How did they catch you this time? Thought you were hidden pretty good…” a husky voice came from a dark corner of the cell. The cell was just a little bit larger than Mana’s cell in Bachi was and yet it hosted five times more people. One reason why this prison was so secret became clear to the girl – it was absolutely pathetic in terms of its conditions. “The fucking Sorceress again, Konoha sent that little bitch after me right after I escaped… Swear to God I hate that fucking kid.” Mana replied. The man stood up and appeared out of the shadows, his face was burnt just like Raitoncide’s was just on a far worse degree. “Seriously? That little cunt is back? I thought she was like in… Kirigakure or something?”. Mana shrugged her shoulders, “Don’t ask me, I was as surprised as I was seeing her the first time back in Shukuba. I think your face looks worse than I left you with, new make-up or something?”

“You gave me this, you idiot. Back when you first came into this place, I ruled this wing before your lightning shooting ass came down here…” the man said, “So the cuffs didn’t affect Raitoncide’s Lightning Release then?” Mana thought to herself wondering, these containment gloves completely restricted any hand seal forming so it was likely that Raitoncide could use Lightning Release jutsu without any handseals. “Oh yeah… I was pretty pissed bout being sent here… Had a sweet spot planned in Bachi with some of my pals.” Mana said as she just dropped down in the first bed she found, some slim looking fellow raised a hand to object but someone caught it. Apparently Raitoncide had significant amount of respect with his unrestrained Lightning Release abilities while inside the prison and the guards didn’t care too much about restraining him while inside a cell.

“You’re even more crazy than usual, who the fuck would’ve let a freakazoid like you stay in Bachi? Of course Konoha would send you here to exploit the shit out of your lightning farting ass…” an inmate who Mana hasn’t heard speaking before opened his mouth. “The fuck would Konoha want with me?” Mana asked, she knew she was risking, the real Raitoncide would know those things but she just wanted to know really badly. Something about this prison and the way prisoners were barely kept in check and in shitty conditions was very fishy, now with all this talking about prisoners being used for something was even weirder. “Fuck, that bitch must’ve fucked you up more than usual, Scarface, you really don’t remember shit?” the inmate asked Mana, the guys were getting suspicious.

“Yeah, little cunt used some stupid lightning thing on me, shocked my brain or something, felt like the fucking shit but messed my brain up, I think…” Mana spoke still laying in her bed. One of the inmates laughed out, “You were always fucking messed up, Bro. Nothing that kid could’ve done to mess your brain up more than you’re already fucked up.” from the daring way that the person addressed an inmate with a lot of respect and his constant calling Raitoncide “Bro” made the magician think that the guy may have actually been Raitoncide’s brother. “Shit… Can’t remember a fucking thing…” Mana whined “Still was worth it though, I think I made a happy in my pants when she lit me up…” she let the inmates know that she was still crazy. There was no other person who would make up things so random and so messed up like Raitoncide…

“Well that’s what we’re here for, Bro. What do you wanna know?” the inmate asked. “Like… The fuck is this place, why didn’t they lock me up in Bachi or something? Does the bitch in red know I ratted her out?” Mana asked referring to the second Diamond Arm of the syndicate – the woman was snitched out by the Raitoncide when he was captured. “Nah, that bitch doesn’t know or care bout shit, she killed a trash or something so she’s locked up in extra fun cell with some new fun guys to entertain every day, so far she killed pretty much every inmate they sent to her but she’ll slip up eventually. The thing is that they send the especially messed up fuckers like us here where they use us for all kinds of things, sometimes we work in places where workers can’t work, some of us do jobs too dirty for ninja…” Raitoncide’s brother explained. “Shit… That’s fucked up.” Mana replied.

It was hard to believe that the Hokage would’ve been OK with this. It was much more likely that Kimiko was not informed of such a facility existing, it was probably funded by one of the legal criminals – the businessmen with criminal background but too strong of a backbone to be put behind bars themselves, this was probably much more of a mental institution than an actual prison and these mentally damaged people were exploited to the needs of whoever owned this facility… It needed to be brought down, all of it and these people needed to be transferred to Bachi, Mana would make sure that they are after she’s done with this mission. “Anyone knows which fucker owns this place? Next time the Sorceress is on my tail I’ll slip it to her and she’s gonna bust that asshole instead of me…” Mana asked, the inmates laughed. “Why would you tell that bitch anything if you’ll kill her anyway?” one fellow asked, it was getting late so all the inmates went to beds. “Right… You’re fucking smart, man. Need to have you around next time we’re busting out…” Mana said as she flipped on the other side to act as if she’s sleeping. She needed to try and question the one that was supposed to be Raitoncide’s brother and see if the maniac revealed to the guy where did he plan to go when he busted out of prison.

Spoiler:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana was a little bit afraid to go to sleep, she hasn’t tried sleeping and maintaining the transformation jutsu on and she didn’t really want trying her luck and sleeping without it. Chances are that if she fell asleep and the transformation jutsu ended she could wake up in a pretty awkward situation. She needed to try and get any information from the inmates that she could and then maybe she could still find Raitoncide before he did too much damage enjoying his freedom. The kunoichi knew that maniac, he wasn’t of the kind who stay low. He was most likely out on the streets enjoying himself, it was very unlikely he’d have went back to Shukuba – his face is too well known there. From what Mana could tell Raitoncide was most likely located near a town or a village where he could slip out people into his hiding spot and kill them there for his twisted enjoyment.

“Yo, Bro!” Mana whispered at the inmate on the bed next to her, he was the one who appeared to be the least afraid of Raitoncide and spoke with her the most. If anyone knew anything about Raitoncide’s possible hiding locations it’d be that guy. “Wha? What do you want, you idiot? It’s fucking late and we’ll be mining or fighting tomorrow, we need sleep!” the man looked really annoyed. “I got something, we need to bust out.” The transformed magician started improvising a story to lure out any information from Raitoncide’s brother. “No shit? What do you got?” the man instantly jumped up. “When I was on the lam I stole this huge chunk of gold, this fucking sword or whatever that belonged to some historical fucker, pricy as shit. Help me and I’ll split the money.” she whispered. Something on the inmate’s expression looked weird.

“That’s pretty smart for you… You’re never the one doing the planning, I’m always the one making schemes.” Raitoncide’s brother answered in a very suspicious tone. “I dunno, when that Sorceress bitch zapped me couple of times I started thinking a bit differently, she packs a lot of more voltage than my usual junk.” Mana tried to slip out of the man’s suspicion. “I’m listening.” Raitoncide’s brother replied, Mana had to think up of a way of making him slip some information she could use. “Well… It’s really shameful actually… I snagged that thing from this fucker and then I was found by that little bitch, I don’t remember a fucking thing after that so I don’t remember in which hideout I hid it…” Mana replied trying to make up the story as she went on. It was quite believable as Raitoncide was a one of a kind idiot and this sort of nonsense could’ve happened to him.

“Shit, and here I thought you fucking changed… Nothing fucking changed! You’re the same kind of dickhead you used to be… Momma always said you’re a fucking dickhead with your stupid shock addiction.” Brother laughed out. Mana tried to join in his moment of happiness but some other inmates asked them to stay quiet, “Ain’t you gonna zap that fucker?” Raitoncide’s brother asked but Mana settled back down in the small bed and shrugged her shoulders. “Boss said I won’t have to go to work if I play nice, I didn’t know the fuck he was talking about but now when you explained that inmate exploitation bullshit I think I know what he meant.” The girl made up an explanation for why Raitoncide wouldn’t respond to such transgression with violence. She’s been lying so much on this mission, Mana hated lying.

The only way that she could remotely tolerate lying was by imagining that she wasn’t really lying but she was instead acting and that this all was just a huge play. Of course acting wasn’t exactly her area of expertise but with Mana being an entertainer she enjoyed watching plays and incorporating a little bit of humor and acting in her own shows. “Really? That fucker made a deal with someone? I thought he was full of shit…” brother replied as he slipped back into the bed as well. Several minutes later Mana slipped out again, “So are you gonna fucking tell me about where I planned to go after breaking out or what? I need that fucking sword!” she yelled out so that even the inmates in the further rows would wake up. She needed to play the crazy part. The brother flipped back to face Mana.

“I would, but you told me not to tell you before escaping, like specifically “Don’t tell anyone about that, not even me… Especially me!” was what you said before breaking out. Sure as shit you were crazy but I ain’t breaking my word…” the brother replied. “Has the whole fucking world gone insane? Doesn’t anyone want fucking money anymore? Freedom and money, guys!” the magician yelled out, she risked attracting the attention of the guards as she heard several passing by. “That fucking sword is legit, belonged to like… Some Hokage or whatever. Probably costs enough to buy this whole fricking island and live here like kings and have fresh women delivered to us every day. You, with the face more fucked up than mine, don’t you want to look like a human being anymore? Don’t you know what medical ninja do these days? I bet there are black market doctors that could fix you right up, you’d be hooking up with ladies in no time, I mean one fucker suggested to fix my face too, surely he could fix yours…”

Raitoncide’s brother looked really attracted to the idea to slip the information, he definitely enjoyed every word Mana threw at him. “So then I fucking told him, “The fuck is wrong with my face, you don’t like it?” and I fucking offed him but that’s beside the point. The thing is that we could all live well, stop mining or whatever you work here, stop doing jobs meant for ninja, we’d be ordering our own ninja to do stuff for us! How bout that?!” the men looked really hyped up and yet no one opened their mouths.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana was really annoyed by how quiet these people were. They obviously approved of “Raitoncide’s” plan but for some reason they just stayed quiet. Did they suspect something? No, their faces looked to interested in the fancy stories Mana told them for them to be too into her cover. Each and every one of them was fighting their instincts and keeping themselves from telling Mana something. It looked like they all needed just a small and gentle push and they would’ve spilled everything to her. The magician was that close from snapping and starting threatening them but she wasn’t completely sure that one of the inmates wasn’t above Raitoncide in the food chain. The last thing the girl wanted to start in this joint was an actual fight, that could expose her and blow her cover, her mission would be a failure and innocent people would die in the process.

Mana jumped out of the bed and stood in the center of the cell where every bandit could see her, the moonlight shined upon the Raitoncide’s face covered with burns he inflicted on himself in his quest for ultimate shock pleasure. It must’ve been quite the impressive view to anyone who started straight into that scarred face and those bloodshot eyes. If there was one thing that Mana knew how to do well – it was acting. And at the moment she was on the roll, her hands were moving as if she was crazy, just like the man she was impersonating was. Every prisoner in the cell instead of sleeping for whatever work they had to do the next day was awake and looking into those bloodshot eyes and that burnt face and listening to what Mana told them, doing their best to not let anything slip. Whatever Raitoncide told them before escaping – it was effective.

“Don’t you guys understand? We could hold those fuckers by the balls! That sword is super important, we could hold those Konoha chumps by their sacks and sell it for as much as we’d like to sell it for. Any amount of money we’d ask them, they’d pay us. With that much money we wouldn’t have to hide anymore, we could do whatever we were doing in public. I could pay people to deliver their fucking women to me to torture and kill for money and they’d thank me for it, you, with the face, what the fuck are you in here for?” Mana asked just to involve her audience, “Mass murder…” he replied. “Dude, can’t you do something original… That won’t work into my metaphor, remind me to fucking zap you again… Jeez, no one does anything fun these days, it’s all murder and no play.”

Mana had plenty experience with crazy people, a lot of exposure to Guru Ayushi’s madness, Yoruma Yoshiaki – the crazy Kirigakure kingpin, Raitoncide himself. She knew how they thought, how they talked, or rather, how they didn’t think. It was as much word spouting as possible with as little thought behind them as possible. That was how they talked. “Imagine no longer having to do anything, being able to buy the fuck out of Shukuba and live off those fuckers’ funds just like the old days of Diamond Hand. Those were the fucking days, boss’ word was the law! We could pay off ninja to kill for us, to steal for us, we’d have Konoha in our invisible pocket, we could have the fucking Sorceress doing lapdances for us for money, we’d tell her it saves lives and that it’s a mission and that bitch would do it!” Luckily Mana had no problems with self criticism, otherwise it’d have been pretty difficult talking about herself this way.

“We could make our own new Diamond Hand, fuck the Shukuba reformation, fuck their new authorities and security, they all have their prices. Just tell me where the fuck I hid that fucking sword and I’ll bust all of you lot out of here in the morning.” Mana kept spouting out nonsense just so these men would buy it, it looked like they really wanted to tell her. “Nah, man, forget it, I bet you’re just testing us like that other time, you’re trying to make us break our promise so that you could go nuts on us.” Raitoncide’s brother replied. At that point Mana got really angry. She cancelled the transformation appearing before the prisoners in her normal look, her reduced hand size let the constraints slip off and the girl stretched her fingers.

“You guys… Are locked here with me until the morning. I can knock on the door at any time and leave you guys to your business, capture that dirtbag and send him back here where his place is. Just tell me where he planned to go and none of you will have to get hurt.” Mana spoke slowly and with enough cold feeling towards her tone to intimidate everyone in the cell. She was well known to most thugs of the world, especially those in Fire Country as she placed a lot of them in the prisons during her career as a ninja working with Yoroi or Shukuba reformation. These people will talk by the morning, one of them won’t hold it. Still, Mana wanted to have Kiyomi with her so that she’d extract the information without violence. “Eh, fuck it, always wanted to stick it to that fuckface, I ain’t fighting the fucking Sorceress for that little shit.” the inmate who had his face burnt by Raitoncide spoke, “He’s hanging out either in the secret tunnels near the Konoha gates leading to the sewer system, or the warehouse complex near Shukuba.” the man spilled the beans at last.

Mana smiled gently, these men proved to be reasonable and didn’t have to force her to resort to violence, for that she was grateful. She turned at Raitoncide’s brother, “Don’t worry, I’ll reunite you with your brother soon enough, then I’ll close this place down and send you both to Bachi.” Mana said as she knocked the door, heavy steps echoed from the other side and a guard opened the door, “Whatever… I knew you were too fucking smart for that dickhead’s brain…” she heard with a bit of irony to the voice as the magician left the cell.

Spoiler:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

The guard was leading Mana through the intricate labyrinth of the prison halls, at night they looked even more confusing, if someone got out of their cell escaping at night would be almost not an option without knowledge of the place. It was very likely that Raitoncide escaped during the day. Walking through the halls here was way better than walking through Bachi, the cells didn’t have steel doors but instead had bars, people could see just who was walking by them. Some of these may still be awake to hear Mana’s rather girly sounding shoes but they’d never put it together. In Bachi she actually had to hide her face and the lights had to be turned off every time she move around. It wasn’t the most convenient of ways to move around. There were very few sources of light or paths for air or sunlight to reach the hall and only slight holes in the walls inside the cells where light and air came in.

“So, how did Raitoncide escape? Seems this place is held pretty tight…” Mana asked, she just wanted for the guards to have the escape in their minds so that it didn’t happen again and she was quite curious. “He had some sort of bullshit jutsu where his fingernails started emitting intense Lightning Release chakra, kind of like a shank he could make any time, he threatened a guard and then forced the ferryman to sail him away in the middle of the day when he was working…” the guard explained. Mana turned her head sideways and looked into the busted up and covered with some sort of dirt prison wall. Raitoncide was too dangerous for Bachi or this place, he couldn’t be contained, she would have to apply maximum severity to punish him, she’d have to kill him without killing him.

“To be honest, wouldn’t be too sad if ya offed him, if you know what I mean. That guy is all trouble…” the guard said, he probably hoped Mana to kill Raitoncide, any other ninja would’ve. Too bad Mana wasn’t any other ninja, she’s faced and captured alive much worse people than that guy. The path to the ferryman and off the island was easy and so monotonous that it just flashed in a moment, the girl’s mind was so consumed within itself that it no longer mattered what the guards asked her to do. Mana just tried to not forget what this prison was doing with their inmates, she would use all the conviction she had to close that place down. She’d beg Kimiko to do it if she’d have to but something told her that it was likely that the Hokage didn’t know about such a facility. Then it left the question who was it funded and owned by…

Mana took one last look at the island from the other side of the shore before setting off, she was almost sure that Raitoncide was in Shukuba warehouse area and not in Konoha’s tunnels. The problem with the tunnels that lead to the sewers was that Guru Ayushi used those, Mana knew that he did and so she pointed it out to the Protection Service. At the moment the tunnels and the sewer system were under renovation and they had ninja protecting them, there’d be no way that Raitoncide could make his way through the tunnels and through the sewer system undetected. The psycho had to be hiding in Shukuba – where it all started. Mana was moving quick, there was an hour or two of traveling on foot from where she was to Shukuba

The trees went by Mana so fast as she was rushing the distance, the more she waited, the more chances there were for innocent people to get hurt. There was always this chance with Raitoncide on the loose but now, when Mana knew where he was, she would’ve felt much worse if she didn’t hurry as much as possible to the location. If she arrived to the location and found Raitoncide enjoying murdering someone when she didn’t do everything in her power to stop him, it’d be the absolute worst feeling in the world. Mana had to protect the world from that guy, she took him down before when she was just a Chuunin, now, when she’s pissed off and stronger than ever – he’s going down even harder. Trees, trees, more trees. Not even a sight of Shukuba inbound. Mana kept going faster and faster to the point where her legs started aching and feeling numb, she’d rather risk her life fighting Raitoncide exhausted than risk someone else’s life by not moving fast enough.

“SHUKUBA!!!” Mana suddenly realized as she burst into the small pleasure town, people knew her face very well in there. She worked in a team to help the town remain independent, she busted a corruption crime ring, she helped this town reform, she captured most of the nukenin remaining in the village after Diamond Hand was done. People looked extremely surprised to see her here, Mana’s approval rate here was through the roof because people thought of her like she was some sort of hero who saved their town. People in Shukuba trusted her so much that they let her have significant influence on who to elect into the offices when Shukuba reformation happened. People were swarming to greet her but she had no time.

“I’m sorry… I’m on a mission, it’s really important I pass through… Yes, I love you guys too, but could I please? Just… Let me pass!” Mana kept making her way through the crowd rushing to the warehouse district. How did the Shukuba people not recognize Raitoncide walking their streets? He was once one of the most feared and hated men of this pleasure town, he terrorized it and was an integral tool of Diamond Hand’s grip on the village. Buildings, buildings, so many fancy buildings… So much had changed since Mana last visited this place, it’s so new, so beautiful… And yet she had no time to enjoy it all. Enjoy the results of her actions, of her own good deeds.

The warehouse district! Mana ran all over it trying to sniff out Raitoncide’s chakra signature but to no avail, he wasn’t there… Only a small note on one of the warehouses, one Mana only noticed after her third lap around the district, she tore it off and read it, it looked like it was written in blood mixed with something else, definitely smelled like blood and… Something nasty.

“Race ya home, Sweetcheeks!”

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana yelled out in pain, even when she made her way to the Shukuba town she was already at the limit of her abilities, she was exhausted. Now when she had actual reason to move home to Konoha in record time, she was yelling out in pain trying to break every limit in her body. Every quick step she made, every branch she pushed aside, every jump from branch to branch – everything hurt. Her body struggled to catch breath, she was this close to falling down and passing out. Raitoncide – one of the craziest people she ever knew was in her home! He was there, close to her mother, in her village where everyone she ever loved lived. That maniac who tortured people and was literally addicted to it had access to hurting her mother, Kiyomi, Meiko, Ryuuto – anyone. How did he even know that Mana was after him? Who was pulling his strings?

There was no way she’d make it in time, there was five or four hours of traveling from Shukuba to Konoha. It was completely impossible for Mana to make it in time. She’d be coming right to what Raitoncide wanted the magician to see. Whatever twisted plans he had for her, whatever horrors he wanted Mana to see for capturing him and putting him to prison, the magician was going straight for it. If the Raitoncide wanted the girl to see him killing every friend she ever had publicly – he had plenty of time to do it. That was scaring the jounin the most, the possibility of failure. Long ago when she was still in Team Hokage, training with Kimiko-sensei and her team, Mana failed her team and promised to never fail again. If she goes home and sees blood… There’d be nothing left for her anymore. She’d have failed that promise.

Someone was controlling Raitoncide, leaking him information, telling him how to act. Someone who knew that Mana was on the mission, someone very rich, powerful and influential. Could’ve been the same person who owned the prison for all the magician knew, whoever owned that prison wouldn’t have wanted Mana closing it after she catches the maniac so they probably made sure that the killer is tipped off and gives the girl something more to think about. Kill off one of her own, so that the death is all she could think and not closing down a prison island exploiting free prisoner labor. No! No matter who dies, especially if someone dies, that prison will go. These men would be transferred to Bachi, Konoha cannot have slavery on their accounts, that is not the way of the village Mana devoted herself to. She’d rather kill herself than be a part of a village like that.

Konoha was so far away, Mana could already see it in the distance – the large wide gate with the towers guarding from aerial assault just like the girl had advised the Protection Service. How did Raitoncide get inside the village? Did he have help? Did the trickster not analyze the gates enough? Were there still weak points? Anyone that psycho would kill would be on Mana’s hands, it would be her fault for not stopping that man harder when she had the chance, for not analyzing the entrance well enough and leaving weak spots for him to enter through. It would all be her fault, it’s even her fault that the Raitoncide has such fixation on getting back at her – she’s the Sorceress, the crimebuster. “Please! Don’t let him hurt anyone! I won’t bust any more crimes, I’ll… Do anything!” Mana kept begging herself as her tired legs carried her through the gate. She was shuffling, staggering at that point. People kept following Mana, trying to help her, ask if she was OK.

Home! Mana’s home was in sight, the girl once again picked up her strength and started running for it. She felt it, she felt the darkness inside, the large chakra mass that wasn’t supposed to be there – Raitoncide! The magician rammed the door bursting it open – it wasn’t locked, she rushed towards the chakra and the most gruesome sight greeted her eyes. Raitoncide was standing there holding her mother hostage, he was waiting for Mana, sitting on the couch having mother kneeling beside him. Holding her by the collar of her jacket with his lightning jutsu aimed at her neck. “Let her go!!!” Mana yelled out, she was angry beyond anything she’s ever felt, the girl wasn’t sure what she’d be able to do at this state. “Nah, I rather enjoy having a woman kneeling by my side, makes me feel in charge…” the psycho grinned.

He let a brief shock run through Mana’s mother’s body forcing the woman to yell out in pain, Mana’s hands moved out of instinct but the killer’s voice stopped her. “You don’t want to hurt her right? Unless you kill me you won’t be able to stop me from letting out one lethal charge before I let go, it’s already formed, all I need to do is blink.” his words sounded like a hundred snakes vomiting, Mana wanted this guy dead, she wanted to kill him. “What do you want? I… I’ll do anything, just let her go.” Mana asked, her voice sounded pathetic, it wasn’t how a ninja was supposed to sound, she was more like a whining brat. “Hm… I’ve never thought about that part… There’s so much fun we could have together. Then again… I guess nothing would be as fun as this.” he said as a blue lightning blade pierced the woman’s heart.

That was the final straw, nothing restrained Mana anymore. This man had to die! The handseals were made in no time, it didn’t even matter that this bastard made his research and didn’t look Mana in the eyes, the illusion was sound based. As the whistling started the man fell down on the ground. He was writhing on the ground being overwhelmed by pleasure, with him being an absolute pleasure addict the effect was even stronger. Tears started bursting through Mana’s eyes, she didn’t have much time as her hand seals were made within moments once again forming a number of lightning sword projectiles. “DIE!!!” Mana yelled out as she pointed them at the man and released them. As a quiet voice reached Mana’s ears the swords were dissolved and the genjutsu ended when the girl stopped whistling. Her mother spoke to her, one word, “Don’t”. As the idiot was still laying on the ground Mana came up to him and looked him in the eyes up close, putting him in a coma he won’t come back within moments.

After this was done the girl crawled up to her mother’s body, the woman was losing blood beyond any help – it was over. The poor woman placed her bloody hand on her daughter’s cheek and smiled, “You were such a nice kid, don’t stoop to their level… Remember this wherever you go…” Mana saw her mother trying to tell her something but running out of time…

The mission was complete but the magician felt like it was the biggest failure of her life.

[MISSION COMPLETED]

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