Insurance Policy [Mission/B-rank/P]

Age : 32 Posts : 308

It was lucky he was already dressed. It wasn't often that he was called at this time in the morning and with such urgent orders. He took one last look in the mirror, making sure that he didn't look too untidy, as some of this clothes hadn't necessarily been ironed, but in these sorts of scenario it didn't exactly matter all too much. Among his clothing that looked rather fashion savvy were many hidden pockets and pouches where shinobi weapons were lying in wait to be used, concealed to the average individual’s eyes. In a slight jog, he took off down the castle like halls of their underground compound in Crater city, Fire Country. He stopped once more right before entering the room to his father office. This was his main superior in this district; one of the six leaders of the Kuromatsu clan, and him, one of the clans elite members. That is to say, it wasn't too hard to become an elite member of a bunch of thugs. As for a shinobi? He was at least respectable in terms of ability, though even he knew he had much growth still to be accomplished.
He slowly opened the door of his father’s office and walked in, bowing formally as per respect. This wasn't your typical father-son relationship, rather, all of the individuals that lived under the same clan branch would refer to the head of the clan as 'father'. The old man behind the desk would speak.

"Rise my son, this is a situation of particular urgency." He said. Genryu stood as he was commanded. "One of our shipments to bird country has been intercepted, unfortunately. They were hidden under a layer of our fireworks, but it seems as though out route has been compromised. We are currently investigating this. Our intel says that it was a group of shinobi from a lesser village. A squad of four. It is unknown where they are, however they are currently traveling through southern Northern Fire Country as we speak with our goods. Take the Lightning Black route and you will intercept them. I dont want to pick fights with shinobi villages, but, we must make sure that our package can't be trace back to us. I want you to destroy that weapons shipment by any means. I entrust with your mastery of the Kuromatsu skill set this should be a task well within your capability." he briefed.

Age : 32 Posts : 308

"Lord Vice, Father, what of the shipment? Will it not be on time?"

"We have already sent a second shipment to take the longer southern route. Worry not of those details. Think only of the objective infront of you."

"And the shinobi... what if they get in the way?"

"I would prefer you not kill them, as blood is often a heavy cost. The last thing we need is a man hunt. That being said, do what you must. We will handle each storm as it comes." He said, "Now enough questions. This is time sensitive. You must hurry to catch up with them." He said, turning away from this desk; a universal sign that he was in fact finished speaking. Genryu nodded turned and headed out the sliding wooden door. He had his mission, something that was rare among criminal life, but in a way it was reminiscent of his days in Konoha. Only then he had the help of three others by his side. He thought it better this way; team work was such a drag sometimes that he would prefer to stay on his own and have no one to worry about and nothing to hold him back.

He ran down the halls and up the man steps; the complex system of underground tunnels that made up the Kuromatsu compounds would be one of the most impressive feats that the clan had accomplished. If one wasn't familiar with the set up, or didn't know how to navigate it, they could easily find themselves lost in the labyrinth of twist and turns. On top of the, many of the hallways were wired to blow; if invaded, the halls could be collapsed to prevent the invading enemy from advancing, or trapping them underground. It was certainly something to consider impressive. They were seemingly prepared for war at all times. As he breached the warehouse where the underground became the foreground, He would take the back exit and find himself surrounded by the hustle and flow of a busy village.

Crater City of all places, was a market place and an entertainment hub. Many who traveled through Fire Country would find themselves having to travel at least around Crater City and thus the vast majority of festive and cultural influences brought what would otherwise be a rural area into a place of great wealth and opportunity. This opportunity, of course, was one that the Kuromatsu clan took advantage of. The sweet and savory smell of food could be sniffed out of the hair from half a mile away, and the sound of chatter, conversation and bargaining was one that seemed to last on into the early hours of the morning. What always puzzled Genryu, was how the crater got there in the first place... But now wasn't the time for odd ball questioning! Genryu had already darted down the dirty streets and headed up the cliff side to the north to what would lead him to the "Lightning Black Route".

Age : 32 Posts : 308

Each Route was named mainly for their destination and color coded by exactly what traveled along that route. Black was specifically for weapons, red for explosion, yellow for illegal drugs, etc., So for them to be traveling on that route would lead them through the frost and steam villages on their way to Lightning Country where they would be sold to various clients and distributed from there. If he could hurry, he could stop them before they got to that point. He wasn't aware of any shinobi from Frost Country, but Steam Country did in fact have shinobi at one point in time. He thought of all this as he tried to consider what lesser village would have the audacity to steal a shipment of illegal weapons and continue heading in the same direction... It was only a matter of time until he found out.

The stamina of a shinobi was something to marvel at by human standard. Bounding and leaping from the limbs and branches of massive trees at high speeds; launching ones self through a forest that seemed as though it was made by giants, and doing so for nearly two hours as he attempted to trace the steps of his would be prey. He came to a stop as he spied along the edge of the dirt road that they called the Lightning Black Route. It was wide enough for a large wagon to contain weapons and such, while smaller vendors for say, illegal drugs, could use smaller more rural paths to avoid detection; many of which the Kuromatsu carved out themselves through the thickets of Fire County's forests.

He was in luck. There was a good rain a few days ago, leaving the ground soft as a result. The indentation of the wooden tire makes in the ground would leave a greater imprint. There were indeed the tracks of the wheels from the weapon filled wagon. He took his time investigating. There were at least one pair of tracks, on the ground, though they were light, obviously that of a shinobi. He was no tracker-nin, but he could at the very least make use of these details. He touched the tracks of the wheels. They were still moist and cool in comparison to the untouched dirt around it. Anyone could tell that dirt below the surface of the ground were more moist than the dry surface. This informed Genryu that he was at least close, within thirty minutes from his current location. They only had an hours head start from when he was scrambled into action so he was certainly catching up!

Age : 32 Posts : 308

With that said, he set off once more with a bit of determination. But now he was considering just how he would go about attempting to destroy the shipment. The kuromatsu clan as a whole took pretty conscious attempts to stay under the radar, so it was no wonder that this was an urgent issue that one of their shipments fell into shinobi hands. While they were well known in the world of criminals, they didn't have the same sort of fire power to put up a fight with an entire village of shinobi. So far, while they have had run-ins with shinobi, they have yet to be actively hunted by them. So to kill a shinobi of any village was possibly provoking unwanted attention. It was for this reason that killing was prohibited; something that is difficult when your abilities consist of such an explosive nature.

It was however, this same explosive nature that made his ability, that of the Blackpowder, to be ideal for a demolition type mission. Blowing up things that were already covered in the ‘famous’ Kuromatsu fireworks would be a snap! What would be difficult is weaving his way around the other shinobi. Stealth wasn’t necessarily a strong suit of his, as he was often much more blunt and straight forward with his approach. This was in respects to his personality in general; he wasn’t much for beating around the bush. The art of the deal didn’t have time for people who stalled and lurked about. If he was to stay true to his nature, he would just intercept and cut off the men and make his intentions very clear, however, what he would like to do and what would need to be done were two different things entirely. It was probably best to conduct this operation within the confides of his best interests, and his clans. The best way to go about it in that case, would be to smoke out the area around the wagon, and in an ambush target and destroy the weapons in a single attack. They would be scrambling to be on the defensive to protect themselves and when the dust settled, he would be long gone and the weapons would be destroyed. It would most likely take a few moments for them to realize that it wasn’t an attack on them but on the weaponry. It seemed perfect enough and he could be home in time for the regular evening festivities. Now if only things actually when that smoothly, he would be shocked.

Age : 32 Posts : 308

He had things planned out already. In his hand he gripped two smoke bombs which would set the stage for the event. He was sure that he would be able to sense the chakra of the shinobi long before they were in contact and thus he would be able to find the perfect place to sneak up out of and perform his assault. Almost moments after he contemplated this thought to himself, a small blip came up on his personal radar, and then quickly three others. He slowed himself to the pace of those in front of him, as they weren’t moving too swiftly. This was most likely as a result of the fact that the wagon full of weapons itself could only be moved SO quickly. Slowing down also allowed him to focus on his sensory abilities in order to better pin point the skill set of his prey. Three of which seemed to be only genin in their power, and the fourth was closer to his chakra levels than that of a genin, most likely chunnin level or comparison to.

The three genin seemed to be positioned in the same location, and the chunnin would be in front of them. If he had to guess, the genin were most likely with the weapons wagon and the chunnin would be leading them forward. He couldn’t ignore the fact that they may themselves have some sort of sensory mechanism or at least be keeping surveillance over the perimeter around the weapons. Thus there would be few placed where he could attack without himself being noticed. He would have to chance it on a single endeavor; where he would attack only moments after being spotted, and assault the weaponry cache before they could respond. It was something of a physiological response as his nervousness or excitement filled his veins in the form of adrenaline! As he prowled up on the wagon it was clearly in his sites along the tree line. He would also clearly feel their chakras and could make out what was their figures standing upon the wagon itself. What was a bit sad was that the wagon was being drawn by large oxen. The chunnin himself was seated upon the oxen out in front, steering the large beast for lack of better term.

This was a small set back in his plan. Call him sentimental or compassionate, but if he blew up the weapons cache as it was now, the wagon, the fireworks and the shrapnel itself would most likely fatally wound the oxen, who was an innocent bystander in all of this. If only he could unlatch the oxen somehow within his plan? That’s it! It was that simple. Finally his plan was solidified in his mind. He would have to act quickly before they disappeared over Country boarder lines, where he had no influence as to what he could and couldn’t do.

Age : 32 Posts : 308

Things jumped into action as soon as he was within range. His sharp movement of tossing the smoke bombs wasn’t unnoticed as he saw one of the heads of the genin perk up in his direction right before the cloud of smoke enveloped the wagon. He thrust himself into the smoke itself, using his opponents aura to feel his way through. The oxen, a living thing and possessing a chakra of its own, was an easy beacon. In the midst of the smoke he slammed his heal down upon the wooden joint that held the beast to the wagon and slammed the second smoke bomb into the rear end of the beast to spook it. The Oxen let out a low groan, and stampeded ahead down the trail free of the wagon full of weapons behind him. This had all happened so quickly, that the person with the chunnin level chakra, was caught off guard. He held on to the oxen, attempting to bring him under control, or just holding on for dear life. Either way, he was separated if only temporarily from the three genin, who were each scrambling to gain their footing from the event.

Genryu wasted no time. He formed two sets of hand signs. The first generated a blackened orb in his palm which he shot directly into the wagon itself; this crashed into it with a wood splintering thud as though a cannon ball through the side of a ship. This was an explosive of his own, though it wouldn’t be the last of his onslaught. The second set of hand signs were for a common technique, the “burning ash accumulation” technique. The Ash itself would spew from his mouth, covering the wagon. The genin had cleared the area, attempting to flee the smokescreen to areas where they could better see. It would be an explosion isolated enough to keep them out of harm’s way, or at least not kill them as he intended not to. The Ash added to the condition of the smokescreen from the smoke bombs.

As Genryu thrust himself into the air toward the line of the forest next to the route of the path, the click of his teeth would be the spark to ignite the wagon, sending the ash to burn, the fires to light not only the fireworks that were used to cover the weapons, but also the “BlackPowder BombShell” He had launched early, creating a firey explosion that then burst into a series of multicolored whistles, pops, bangs and cracks. Individual fireworks went off on their own accord, creating a chaotic and yet beautiful display that was sure to catch anyone’s attention in the area. Genryu didn’t think twice about the situation. As soon as his foot hit the ground he began to run from the scene. That was how he intended it; get in, do the job, get out, and return home. The rest would take care of itself.

But there as one snag… Literally a snag. He was so committed to running away that he hadn’t seen the shuriken thrown from behind him on his side. The Shuriken had a wire attached and a good throw would have the wire wrap about his leg and pull as the length caught. Genryu literally fell forward, hardly catching himself on his own two outstretched hands and nearly face planting into the forest floor. A bit peeved, he pulled his leg with a jerk or two on the wire to find that he was legitimately stuck; he would have to snap the wire to free himself. As he looked back, slipping a kunai from his side to do just that, there stood one of the genin…

The genin had a forehead protector with the three wavy lines that signified the hidden haze; what was considered the Steam Country’s hidden village. Not only was this genin not amused, but his very facial expression was absolutely livid. The genin was quick to pull forth many more shuriken and throw them in Genryu’s direction, though already armed with the kunai he was able to dispatch of the ones that were accurate.

The boy shouted, “Do you have any Idea what you’ve done!?” He said. Genryu’s expression didn’t change, as he was already stern and somewhat peeved that he had been tripped up by the boy, “This was MY mission! This was assigned to us! How dare you! I won’t forgive you for ruining this for me.” The boy said. In his fury, he rushed right at Genryu.

Genryu spoke as he readied his stance. Leg still caught, though he intended on using his arms to defend himself. “And what do a bunch of shinobi need stealing other people’s property?” he said in a lecturing voice. It was enough to stop the genin in his tracks however. He was only five meters or so away at this point.
“No, you don’t get it! Privileged and powerful villages like Kumogakure and Konohagakure get away with doing whatever they want. We have to fight and steal just to survive you so called Great Nations fight like it’s for sport! You don’t know a thing! This is what we do to survive!” He said.

Genryu’s froze for a moment. The boy was preaching something he himself had valued. The value of survival. While he normally loathed traditional shinobi for their arrogance, it seemed as though he was now being confused with the same lot that he had abandoned long ago. “So, you had stolen those weapons for your own village to use?” He asked in a firm voice. The boy’s response was still enraged, almost to the point of tears. “And what if we were!? Our village can’t afford to subsidize protecting itself so we have to hire you Konoha thugs! But we can’t take it anymore. We are going to protect ourselves no matter what. Even if it means stealing weapons!”

The boy was declaring war on Konoha all by himself. What tenacity and emotion he had display. Genryu recognized this right away, and felt that he need not correct the genin and explain his position. In fact, it would be better if he went on thinking he was from Konoha. He turned his kunai in his hand and tossed it at the boy’s feet. As the boy jumped back, the the kunai would nick the wire and snap it, freeing Genryu’s foot. As he turned to continue his escape, he almost turned to say something, but decided not to. Maybe his silence would speak clarity into the boy’s obvious frustration. Instead he looked back only to confirm that the weapons cache was now a smoldering scattering of shrapnel where the wagon once stood. He promptly left the boy, standing where he was. Oddly enough, the boy didn’t give chase.
Genryu fled with thoughts of what had transpired. No doubt the four shinobi would re-group, but having destroyed the weapons cache that they had originally stolen, he had accomplished his goal. If he hurried back he would return to Crater City by night fall, however he wasn’t pushing his luck.

There was one thing that bugged him, one thing that still lingered in his mind. How did those random shinobi know exactly where the weapons cache was to steal it in the first place. They were supposed to be secret shipments, and it wouldn’t be easy to simply assume weapons under the fireworks in the wagon. No, they had stolen the wagon with explicit knowledge that it was full of weapons. It was planned. But then how did a group like that get that sort of intel? There was no telling as of now, but something told him that it was a loose end that would have to be tied in the very near future…

Age : 32 Posts : 308

Mission Complete!
~6 posts
~400+ words per post (B-rank standard).
~Less than 2 weeks.
~ 3,553 words total.