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MISSION BRIEFING:

Mission Title: Patching Things Up Mission Type: Custom Mission Location: Cha no Kuni - Tea Country Shinobi Requirement: Chuunin + Mission Rank: B Mission Objective: Despite previous attempts at diplomacy with Cha no Kuni didn't go as planned, Konohagakure has the most shinobi available to send as aid. The leader of Tea Country has reluctantly called for our village to send shinobi aid in dealing with a few questionable characters that have become much too comfortable stahing there. Your job is to investigate this small group of men and determine whether they are a threat or not. If they are, you're to either dispose of them quietly or find a way to convince them to leave. The daimyo only asks that you keep the streets clean. They seem to be some basic thugs, so they shouldn't really give you all that much trouble, and since you've been to Tea Country before, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding your way around. If you do your job well, he's offered to compensate you for your stay in the country on top of the mission's base reward. Approved Mission Request

As Kyousuu reached to open the front door of the inn, he remembered a task he'd been asked to complete while in Tea Country. It was a mission sent specifically to him from the Tea Daimyo, whose name escaped the jinchuuriki. All he could remember was the it was the daimyo he'd spoken to on his previous mission here. Since he still didn't have an answer for Daitarou, completing the mission would help him find a reason to stay out for a while longer.

Unfortunately, all he had on him was his basic kit - he'd have to go up to the room to grab a few things before getting started.

Walking at a pace that implied purpose, Kyousuu treaded up to the room, ignoring the comments that came his way. Reaching into the bag he left by Daitarou's bed, he pulled out a small bag that contained a ninjato and a pair of brass knuckles, which would prove useful if he needed to fight anybody.

With items in hand, he snuck out through the window and climbed onto the roof of the inn. The room was on the top floor, so he didn't need to waste any chakra walking up the side of the building. Once he stood atop the inn, he pulled out the note that had been tucked in his glove. It detailed the general appearances of the men in question and their usual hangout spots. There were five men and three possible locations, so he would have to get started if he wanted to finish this mission quickly.

After forming some hand seals, two more instances of Kyousuu appeared¹, one on each side of the original. Each one went in a different direction - surveying all three spots at once would increase his chances of finding the thugs on the first try.

The original sped² to the nearest location - a warehouse near the docks. He had hoped that they wouldn't there as being in such close proximity to water would put him at a disadvantage if they knew any suiton ninjutsu. He doubted they were going to be that much trouble, but in the event things turned sour, he'd be sure to plan an escape route.

The first shadow clone made its way to a storage facility for the fisheries nearby - it wasn't close to the docks, but it was still somewhat out of the way. It would be difficult to avoid being spotted if he wasn't careful.

The second and final clone headed toward a small shack near the shopping strip. It was close to where he and Nori had met, so it would be easy figuring out how to get there without being spotted.

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Kyousuu found a perch on a building near his first target, staying crouched to minimize the chances of being seen by anybody that felt they had to be wary of being watched. The warehouse seemed deserted at first - nobody was walking in, out, or near the building, even after several minutes passed. Regardless, he looked for signs of entry before proceeding: misplaced wooden boards, blockades that were clearly tampered with, or anything else that indicated an unauthorized or forced entry. Even though these thugs were known to hang out there on a regular basis, he would go in with the assumption that they at least knew what they were doing when it came to secret hideouts. Underestimating them could potentially be a fatal mistake.

Things seemed quiet enough for him to jump down from the roof and quietly make his way to the warehouse. As he approached, he kept his eyes peeled and listened for sounds that originated from the inside - anything aside from the occasional dripping of water or wind causing the boards to rattle could be indication of activity. Making his way around to the entrance, he noticed a shuffling sound. There were no voices, but it was clear that something was happening towards the inner area of the warehouse.

'Did I find them already?'

Just to be safe, the shinobi sidled against the outer wall and peeked into the entrance. There was a figure near a pile of baskets, and the person seemed to be opening them, doing something with the contents, and rearranging them. It certainly seemed suspicious, but he needed to get a closer look.

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Kyousuu approached the shack, but things were so quiet that he almost believed there was some sort of mechanism present to keep any sound from leaking out of the dingy building.

'As if something like that really exists,' he silently mused as he crouched down and moved toward the entrance. There was no noise coming from the inside, so he gently pushed the creaky door, readying a kunai with his free hand. When there were no signs of movement, he pushed the door open even further. As the light trickled into the shack from outside, he saw a wooden crate with some papers on top of it, but thus far there were no signs of danger. With one final push, the door opened wide and light flooded the inside. It was empty - with regards to people - but Kyousuu felt that he might as well investigate further. Those papers on the crate would be a good start.

Upon closer inspection, the papers seemed to contain several bits of information. One was a map of the area, with the three spots circled. There were notes by each of the areas and the arrows which were drawn at various spots in-between. The other papers just had writing on them, but they would likely come in handy. Rolling the papers together and keeping them contained using a piece of string from the small table nearby, Kyousuu turned around to bring the information to the original.

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The storage facility was definitely built to contain fish - the smell reached for at least 20 meters. It was no wonder that not many civilians stuck around after their shifts.

'All the more reason to use it as a hideout.'

With brass knuckles at the ready, Kyousuu walked toward the building, this time not all that concerned about being sneaky. It was a public facility, not like the abandoned warehouse and the lonely little shack, so they would be accustomed to people walking in and out. There was the sound of chatter and laughter as a group of men walked out of the building. They didn't seem be bothered by Kyou's presence at all, and judging by their clothing, they looked to be some fishermen. They had the smell of the ocean on them, and if you didn't spend time on a boat on a regular basis, it was difficult to mimic that unless you stole a fisherman's clothes.

As he walked through the front entrance, he was stopped by a man leaning against the wall.

"You don't look like a fisher, boy... what's your business here?"

The man was chewing on a toothpick and wore some worn-out clothing. His long hair was wet and stringy, clinging to the sides of his face.

"I'm just sight-seeing, ki. I'm not from here, and thought I'd have a look around the place before I go back home, that's all."

The man looked Kyousuu up and down. Though he was shorter, he was also stockier.

"Uh-huh. So you're tellin' me you carry around brass knuckles when you're on vacation?"

"When you're in my line of work, you never go unprepared. Never know when I might get myself into a sticky situation, ki. If it makes you feel better, I can tuck them away."

Two more men with trouble written on their faces emerged from the rear section of the building. It didn't seem like he'd be able to talk his way out of this.

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As Kyou began to make his way into the warehouse, one of his shadow clones approached from behind, carrying rolled up papers. Taking the documents, the original opened them up and skimmed through the information.

Taking a page that mentioned something about strange events in Fire Country, he folded it and stuck it into the pouch with his ninjato and brass knuckles. It would be useful for later.

The map made a mention of sabotaging a shipment and letting the contaminated fish come in contact with everything in the storage facility. The warehouse was where the contamination was supposed to take place - that was what was going on inside. This was more than he had bargained for, but a job was a job. Gesturing for the clone to move in first, the original stood back. If the clone could act as a distraction, it would be much easier to subdue this lone foe.

"Looks like I caught you just in time," the clone blurted out, startling the man near the baskets. He had stark white hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, but he didn't look old. It was an interesting quirk.

"Wh-who are you??"

"Me? Just your friendly neighborhood janitor, ki. And right now, you're looking pretty trashy."

The original resisted the urge to sigh at his clone's horrible joke.

"Hey, Gon, what's going on over there?"

Kyou paused. He'd been so hung up on the daimyo's description of the thugs that he hadn't bothered trying to sense them - he didn't think they'd seem any different from normal civilians. Granted, there was still the chance they'd be able to handle themselves with unorthodox weapons or in hand to hand combat. Now he wished he'd paid a bit more attention.

"Some pretty boy thinks he's hot shit. He just kind of... caught me by surprise, that's all."

The second thug came from the left side, where the wall broke off to form some sort of corridor leading to another section of the warehouse. It was clear that Kyousuu was still lacking in experience with these types of things as he hadn't even considered that possibility, but he wouldn't let it get to him. Not yet. There were even in numbers, and he figured he'd be able to at least use fire jutsu to scare them away without destroying the building.

The original emerged as a display of numbers - if they knew they weren't going to be fighting two on one, it was likely that they wouldn't feel quite as confident.

"What the hell? There's two of you? ...You're a ninja??"

Kyousuu chuckled confidently. The second thug - whose bald head shone in the light coming in through the window - stepped forward holding a wooden club. Just as Kyou had predicted, he wasn't dealing with amateurs. Even so, they would be in for an unpleasant surprise if they pushed him too far.

"What do you want?"

"My good friend, the daimyo, asked me to check into some creeps lurking around the place, ki. He told me I could do whatever I wanted to deal with you, but I'm feeling generous. If you pack your bags and leave the country, then I won't have to do something we'll all regret. But if you decide to stay, well..." Kyou gathered fire chakra in his hands and feet¹, opting not to finish his sentence. The threat of violence was awfully clear. The thug raised his club, refusing to budge.

"Well, looks like you've made your choice, ki," Kyou uttered with a sigh, rushing the armed thug. His opponent braced himself by bending his knees and holding the club higher, ready to swing once the jinchuuriki got close.

Gon looked toward the clone and tossed one of the baskets over, hoping the shower of contaminated fish would keep him from being the target of the ninja's assault.

With a quick spin to its right to avoid the fish, the clone ran toward Gon and brought his fist back to prepare for a strike. The thug was rather timid, and from his frail stature, Kyou guessed that he was likely one of the lackeys and not the muscle. Additionally, his initial reaction to the ninja's appearance didn't make him seem all that smart. This would be the easiest one to subdue. As Gon simply stepped back and crossed his arms in front of his face, the clone was able to land his punch right in the middle of the man's abdomen. Upon impact, flames erupted from the clone's fist² and burned the thug, the heat reaching the baskets behind him. As the contamination had been more or less completed, the only option was to dispose of the tainted fish, and this would take care of that rather quickly. The floor and wall behind the baskets was made of stone, which meant that the building wouldn't catch fire, even if the flames were left unattended.

Gon gasped for air, the burns too severe for him to move after falling to the ground.

The original had moved in on his target with a feint - a punch to the face - easily ducking below the club that was slowly swung towards his head. He followed up with a sweeping kick, putting the man off balance and burning his ankles. The thug dropped the club, but upon hitting the ground, rolled away. The clone had joined the original with Gon in tow, and after stopping the channeling of fire chakra to his extremities, Kyousuu pulled some wire out of his kit.

The second thug, upon seeing Gon's state, began to panic.

"If you give up, you'll probably be better off than your friend here, ki."

"Fine, fine!! Just don't kill me, please!!

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The clone brandished the brass knuckles, letting the three goons know that he wouldn't go down so easily. As the first ran towards Kyou, the shinobi jumped up, putting enough power in his legs to grab the thug by the shoulders and swing right over his head¹. Upon landing, he shoved his first foe into the one by the entrance. They stumbled over each other, giving him enough time to deal with the third in order to cut down on the numbers.

Speeding² over to his nameless adversary, Kyousuu seemed to disappear for a moment before appearing below him, kicking him into the air via his abdomen and then shadowing him³. Once the two were in the air, putting the ninja out of harm's way, the next phase of the assault began. A swift kick to the man's ribcage pushed him back towards the ground, followed by a spinning kick directly to his chest as he hurtled downward, crashing into the floor⁴.

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The original and kage bunshin at the warehouse managed to find somebody willing to transport the thugs out of Tea Country. Gon was in too much pain to move, and the other had been tied up with wire. If he tried to break free, the wire would cut into his skin, making it unlikely for him to try anything reckless. However, there were supposed to be five thugs total, so the carriage driver was instructed to head toward the storage facility after the ninja, who would make it there much faster. Chances were that the remaining three would be waiting for the contaminated fish to be delivered.

As the two approached the building, they saw the thug being smashed into the floor. Quickly altering their appearances⁵ to mimic Gon and his bodyguard - as Kyou had dubbed him - they ran into the storage area. The clone, realizing that these two were simply its fellow creation and the original, stopped for a moment to analyze their plan.

"Gon" shrieked in horror as he gazed upon the ninja, and pointed at him, clearly distraught.

"I-it's YOU AGAIN?? You were just at the warehouse!!"

"What?? You mean you saw this clown already??"

"H-he just appeared and set the whole shipment on fire, k-k?? He doesn't mess around!!"

"What the hell were you doing, Mogi?? You just let him walk all over you??"

The thug cast a glance at "Mogi".

"You don't understand! He's no match for us!"

"I can't leave you in charge of anything, can I?"

Turning his gaze to Kyousuu, he pulled out a dagger and held it up. Judging by his stance, it was clear he knew how to use it. The other thug seemed ready to give up, and gave his companion a look that almost said "it's not worth it! Let's just leave!" yet the man held his ground. Instead, the thug opted to run off with "Gon" and "Mogi", who simply knocked him out with a swift hit to the back of his neck. They tossed him onto the carriage once it arrived, hoping he wouldn't regain consciousness for some time. The clone disguised as Gon dispersed, and "Mogi" made his way back to the fight.

Inside, the thug had attempted to cut his opponent's exposed midriff, but the ninja avoided damage with a quick back-bend. While going in for another strike, the thug was tackled from behind by "Mogi", who held him down while the ninja put his fists together, sending fire and earth chakra between them⁶. Then, as the thug's arms were in reach, the shadow clone smashed its fists down onto the man's wrists with full power, causing the super-heated rock to crush the joints, and the heat burned the surrounding areas.

"That'll teach you to mess with me, ki," Kyousuu announced as he cancelled his transformation and dispelled the clone. Beneath him, the thug screamed in pain - the crushed wrists coupled with the burns were no laughing matter, and he wasn't likely to get into much trouble if he couldn't use his hands.

The carriage driver peeked into the storage building, and upon seeing the unconscious and injured thugs near Kyousuu, walked over to help him load the last two onto the carriage.

"Mind if I hitch a ride with you? I want to follow up on this intel I got, so I need to head to Fire Country anyway, ki. I could make sure these creeps don't try anything on the way."

The carriage driver agreed, but in order to smooth things over with his brother, Kyou decided it would be best to meet back up with his ride after letting him know what he was up to.

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