Live Together or Die Alone

Age : 28 Posts : 2538

[Previous topic, the start of the mission: https://ultimateshinobi.darkbb.com/village-entrance-f170/live-together-or-die-alone-t982.htm#8868]

Akimaru was making good progress towards the Waterfall Country. Last time he had gone there with a team of two Chuunin and two Genin. The first Chuunin, and the leader of the mission was himself. Akimaru felt he had failed that mission personally, and felt he had failed his team. He got awarded as if it were a D-Rank mission, due to the death of an opponent and an enemy, all of whom were to be brought back alive. The second chuunin, was Zetsumei Uchiha. Akimaru had had a good spar alongside Zetsumei against a Jounin called Ling Yaoi, and Akimaru thought quite the Uchiha seemed quite respectable. That was until, the mission. In Akimaru's opinion, it was Zetsumei's fault they failed the mission. He had not listened to orders, and had rushed in and blown the whole area apart. Just thinking about it made Akimaru angry, so he moved on in his mind, to the next member of the team; Xerxes Uchiha. This young man was also a member of the Uchiha clan, but seemed to be different to Zetsumei, at least in Akimaru's mind. Akimaru liked Xerxes, and was getting along with him well. Last but not least, the final member of the team had been what Akimaru dubbed "the canine-genin" - for he still to this day did not know his real name. Akimaru thought about the canine-genin in hospital, and hoped he had recovered by now. "This time, I will make things different." Akimaru thought through his determination.

This time, Akimaru was going solo to the Waterfall Country, and he felt he preferred it that way. He had no-one to rely on, yet no-one was relying on him. It was an equal balance, yet Akimaru felt it fell in his favour. He decided to do things different than last time, taking the roads to the Waterfall Country, rather than taking shortcuts through the forest. This was mainly because it would be safer for the vials in his backpack, as he didn't have to make maneuvers from tree to tree, but rather just run towards the bordering country. Seeing as the Waterfall Country was in Konoha's control, Akimaru felt safer even when he did pass ninja, as most of them were allies. But Akimaru kept his guard up, and his eyes on his goal. He could hear his feet pounding heavily against the ground as he ran. He never did have a good technique for running. He could also hear his heart beating in a rhythm, and his breaths getting shorter the further along he got. It wasn't too long when he carefull took his backpack off, set it against the bough of a tree, and leant against the trunk for a drink. After sitting down for a few minutes and refreshing himself, Akimaru was off again, aiming to get to the Waterfall Country as soon as he could.

As Akimaru crossed the border into the Waterfall Country, the terrain gradually changed. There was of course, a lot more water around, but that didn't really bother Akimaru as he had great enough chakra control to walk across it, and he was of Suiton style, so he could manipulate water to his will. Still carrying on, though at a slighter slower speed than before as he had left the roads and was running across slightly unsturdy ground, Akimaru made his way, nonetheless, to his destination. It wasn't long before Akimaru faced his first major obstacle of the mission. In order to get to Takigakure, the village in the Waterfall Country, like the name suggested, Akimaru had to climb a waterfall. This wouldn't be too much of a problem, normally, but Akimaru had to worry about the fragile vials in his backpack. Taking extra care with his chakra control, Akimaru began to scale the cliff. He heard the vials tipping around, but no glass smashing or liquid leaking around, so he gingerly continued up the cliff. It was harder than climbing up an average cliff. Worrying about the vials and water from the fall spraying in his face every so often was very distracting. He was getting very tired, as his arms often found it hard to pull up his whole bodyweight to the next climbable jaggedy rock or ledge. After an agonising half hour, Akimaru was almost at the top. He placed both his hands at the top, and pulled with all of his might. He scraped his knee of the cliff face, and as he sat up, began to nurse it. He looked behind him, and saw he was at his destination, Takigakure. There was a huge tree protruding out of the middle of it. Akimaru couldn't help but look amazed.

[Mission continues here: https://ultimateshinobi.darkbb.com/waterfall-village-f139/live-together-or-die-alone-t984.htm#8909]