Chapter 17

-Wild Hunt

At the exact time they were to meet, Team Kari shows up at the village gates. The massive doors remain open, large amounts of traffic coming in and out of the village. After checking things out with Kotetsu and Izumo, the two responsible for keeping the front gate secure, the team of ANBU burst out into the forests of the Land of Fire. Quickly, they glide along the ground, Shizake leading them on a direct route to the mission's location.

Since the mission requirements called for civilian clothing, each of them are outfitted in very casual attire. Shizake wears a long sleeve gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He dawns red shorts accented with blue and keeps with the usual black ninja sandals since they provide comfort and maneuverability. Shozen has a basic white tee, gray pants, and like his Uchiha comrade, ninja sandals. Toshi dons a yellow tank top with a kanji in red printed on the front, black pants, and geta sandals.

"...Looking a little flashy there eh, Toshi?" Shītto teases.

"Shītto, I swear I'm going to smack you so hard upside the skull that your eyeballs will pop out. We have to blend in as much as possible, don't we?" Toshi replies, annoyed at her teammate's comment.

"Just messing with ya."

As for Shītto, he wears a light green hoodie blue shorts and some sandals to top it off.

They make no waste in time, keeping a grueling pace towards their objective. The day is long and tiresome but thankful for the ninja, the weather outside is cool yet refreshing. Several hours later, they decide to camp out. Quickly, they throw together a campsite just as the sun falls below the horizon. The night seemingly goes by in a blur, each of them rotating watch duties through out the night. In the life of being a ninja, having to travel is almost like a gray area where time passes unbelievably quick. Between the small talk and anything regarding mission parameters, even days can go by without a second thought.

After a day and half of travelling, the ANBU team land on the path that leads directly into the trading outpost. Hundreds of people walk in and out of the web of paths that leads to all parts of the world. Some come by caravans, domesticated animals leading a slew of hundreds of merchants all belonging to a single unit. Even a lone tradesman with a single donkey carrying supplies slowly makes his way to the epicenter of potentially the worlds meeting grounds for supply and demand.

"I've heard these places are pretty crazy..." Shizake begins, "The guard is composed of ninja from all over all with the same interest of protecting the interests of their homeland."

"You're telling me, with my Byakugan I've already spotted several ninja," Nitatchi says.

"Don't try to make yourself too suspicious, Shozen... we need to keep a low profile. There could be sensor types for all we know," Shizake says.

"But technically we're guarding the interest of our homeland, shouldn't that make us okay with the guards?" Toshi asks.

"Perhaps, but I would rather not try to spook our target. For all we know he could be among the guard."

Kenta gazes around at all the commotion going on, slowly speaking his thoughts to the group, "There's so much to this place, and it's huge. I've never seen one of these. Think about it, each path stretches to the far corners of the world. We could go to any country if we wanted to."

"Exactly. It's the epicenter of a huge network of goods. There's probably billions of ryō worth of items just in this place. The crooks can examine and pick out their targets easily," Shizake replies.

The four of them peer out at all the roads intersecting together, people watching for the moment. In the heart of the village are civilians with their huts and warehouses for all the commerce.

"So, what's the plan?" Nitatchi asks.

"Split up, browse, buy things, I don't care. Blend in, take notes on any suspicious characters and follow any leads if you must. Just don't act alone. If you find the target, decide whether it's a good idea or not to follow them to their hideout before finding us. And... if worse comes to worse, take the kill shot," Shizake commands.

The other three nod their heads in acceptance. Each of them chooses a different path before heading into the heart of the village, blending into the crowd as a means of searching for any clue on their target.

Quiet investigation keeps the ninjas occupied for hours upon hours. They seemingly fade into the crowd, nobody giving them a second thought of who they are. All of them keep their chakra suppressed as best as they can all out of fear of being detected by sensory type ninja. With all the commotion going on it's nearly impossible to pick up any signs of suspicion. So many transactions, conversations, and movement makes the entire crowd tough to decipher.

Toshi, off in the southwest corner of the village finds her self at a jewelry stand. She looks around at the wide array of jewels laid out, placed on delicate silks to keep them in top condition. None of them interest her so she keeps moving and weaving through buildings and crowds of people. Next she finds her self at a weapons stand. A long tray extends out for about a fourth of the block, weaponry and tools from all over the continent. The strawberry blonde gazes upon something she's never seen before. A fairly long chain lays in a heap, at the end of it a pole-arm like blade attached. The blade is an elegant silver color, gold accents lining the sharp part. Her eyes twinkle at the magnificent weapon, her hand going for her pocket immediately.

"Like what you see?" The sketchy shop owner asks, "Very efficient in the right hands."

"It's amazing... how much?" Toshi replies.

The man rubs his scruffy salt and peppered beard, "You uh... look a little bit young to possibly wield something like that."

The girl scoffs, "Aren't you a little bit old to be walking around at this time of the day? Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"

The owner scrunches his face in annoyance, "Why you little brat," he mumbles.

"If you must know, I work at my father's shop. I can handle all kinds of weapons," She proudly says, "Now. How much?"

"Fair enough... six thousand Ryō. Cash."

"You got it!" Toshi cheerfully answers, placing the stack of bills directly in the palm of the man's hand.

She wraps the chain around her shoulder, tucking the blade in between some of the chain so that it doesn't swing around freely. After walking around some more she sees that she's on a road that extends out into the forest. None of the ninja guard are around, the girl notices. While lost in her thoughts, three large wagons cross her path, heading down the road slowly but surely. Three large oxen pull the carts, massive amounts of supplies tied down on top of the roof.

Her eyes follow the wagon caravan as it reaches the forests edge. Just as it disappears into the darkness of the woods, three blurs appear, standing at the forests edge. The girl goes wide-eyed, watching at the blurs quickly flicker in after the wagon caravan. Toshi's chakra system flares out, frantically trying to see if any of her comrades are nearby. If I try to find one of them the caravan could be toast by the time we get there... on the other hand I'm heavily outnumbered.

"What do I do...?" The girl mumbles to herself.

She feels the coldness of the chain on her right shoulder, touching it with her left hand. After weighing the decision in her mind, she flickers out towards the forest immediately.

As she nears the tree line, she already hears the sounds of chaos and havoc. After heading further in, she dives into a bush, observing the on going fight. The men guiding the oxen earlier clash with the three people she saw earlier. She can't exactly make out their features but she can distinguish the traders from the assailants. I can sense their chakra, they're definitely ninja. Must not want to give that away just in case. On the right side of the cart one man and one woman engage in a swordfight with the two guarding the caravan. On the left side is another young looking man, fighting off his opponent as well.

Toshi spots her first target, taking the chain off her shoulder immediately and standing up while swinging the blade around. She flings the blade out, wrapping it around the ankle of the target. The blade perfectly tangles up with the chain, securing the weapon in place. Toshi smirks as she floods her arms with chakra, yanking the man off his feet. He face plants into the ground, being dragged across the forest floor. The girl then adds some more chakra to her feet, launching herself up into a tree to then jump down and yank the man up into the high branches. Before he even realizes what's happening, Toshi leaps up and delivers a blow to his head, knocking him out indefinitely.

"Now for the other two," Toshi says to herself, slipping two kunai out of her backpack.

Quickly, she dispatches the other two before they can potentially release any ninjutsu upon the innocent traders. She earns their thanks before they quickly go off down the road as fast as possible.

Toshi quickly scours through the village, searching for any one of her teammates. Gotta find them quick, she thinks to herself. Her chakra reaches out as far as she can make it, looking for any significant sign of them. She hastily looks around, oblivious to where she's running. The girl is blind sided when she and a stranger bump into each other. The girl is knocked flat on her bottom, immediate pain shooting up her tailbone.

"Toshi!" Shītto says, extending his arm out to help the girl up.

"Shītto!" She yelps, leaping up without his assistance all while ignoring the pain, "Boy am I glad to see you! Quick, help me find the other two and meet me back here immediately! Split up, it'll be far easier that way!"

Toshi then sprints off down a different road, looking for Shizake or Nitatchi. Shītto, flabbergasted stands there for a moment, trying to process what just happened.

"But Toshi!" He yells out but his words fall on deaf ears.

He shrugs to himself before running off, looking for his comrades as well.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Hmm... still nothing, The Hyuga thinks to himself. Off in the northwest corner of the village, Nitatchi sits at a local café, munching on a sandwich. He tries to focus in on the many conversations going around him since physically looking around produced no real results. The urge to use his Byakugan eats at his mind; the only thing keeping it suppressed being the current delicacy he is feasting on. Damn this sandwich is good.

"Yeah, so I need the shipment delivered by eight p.m. tomorrow. Any later and the deal is off. And remember, I need the blue colored ones," A man nearby says to the person sitting across the table from him.

This could be something... Nitatchi thinks.

The other one waves his hands in the air, "Yeah yeah, don't you worry about a thing. I'll have the special royalty blue silks delivered by then,"

...I want to punch somebody right now.

"Did you hear what happened in the sand village?" A woman loudly whispers to her waitress friend.

"Yes... it's so tragic. Nobody knows where they took the Kazekage," The waitress whispers back.

What...? What did that woman just say?

Nitatchi is yanked from his thoughts when someone places their hand on his shoulder. The brown haired boy seemingly jumps out of his char, turning around to see Kenta with a dumb smile on his face.

"Shītto, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Nitatchi says before lowering his tone, "I'm a freaking Hyuga. You know? Practically three-hundred and sixty degree field of vision. I could've blasted all your major chakra points by now."

The patrons in the restaurant begin giving Nitatchi weird looks before going back to minding their own business and carrying on with conversation.

Shītto scratches the back of his head, "Sorry. I think Toshi found something, follow me." He whispers back.

Nitatchi understandingly nods his head, putting some money on the table before scarfing the rest of his sandwich down and following Shītto to the location.

I'll have to bring it up later... something definitely happened in The Hidden Sand.

From an alleyway a hooded figure eyes the two ANBU as they round the corner, disappearing behind it.

"Hm..." he grumbles to himself before stepping back into the shadows of the alley.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Shizake and his squad bring the unconscious man down from the tree before binding his hands, feet, and mouth. Toshi wraps her newly bought weapon back up around her shoulder, tucking it nice and tight. Nitatchi settles the man against the tree while Shītto keeps watch. They stand around in a circle, thinking of what to do next.

"We should move away from here, more caravans will be coming through and we shouldn't attract attention," Toshi suggests.

"Good call," Shizake replies, nodding to the biggest of the group whom is Shītto.

Shītto picks up the man, resting him atop his shoulder. They move deeper into the forest and far away from any path. The silence is unnerving compared to the loud village. The forest breathes the warm spring air, swaying branches and rustling leaves being the only noises playing throughout the quiet forest. The captured man begins stirring, coming to slowly but surely. He opens his eyes, registering everything before him before he starts attempting to yell. The cloth tied around his mouth prevents him from doing so.

"We need to question him, find out where his boss is. Then we can finally make our move," Shizake says quietly to Nitatchi.

"Hopefully he talks, right?" Nitatchi replies, walking over to the man and unbinding the mouth cloth.

The man spits in the dirt, angrily looking up at his captors, "The hell is this?"

Nitatchi squats down, a grin spreading out across his face, "You just need to tell us where your boss is and we can all get on with our day."

"Haha! I like your spirit kid, but we're just a couple of rogue bandits. We ain't got no boss."

"Oh come on, there's no need for lying here. We're all friends, right?"

"Like I said, don't have a boss."

"This is taking too long," Shizake steps in and says, "Let me handle this."

The Uchiha closes his eyes, reopening them to reveal his Sharingan. He makes direct eye contact with the man causing him to fade out of reality and into unconsciousness. He slumps over, falling prey to Shizake's genjutsu.

In the real world, Shizake keeps his eyes closed, focusing on his genjutsu, "Now. How about we start with your name?"

"Kizuka." The man responds without restraint.

"Good. Now answer me this. Do you work for a crime group?"

"...Yes."

"And do you happen to know where your boss is located?"

The man remains silent, almost as if he was pondering.

"Kizuka," Shizake says.

"...No."

"Damnit..." Shizake mumbles to him self, "Do you have a hideout?

"Yes."

"Tell me where it is."

"It's under-"

"All of you! Do. Not. Move!" A voice yells out.

A hooded man steps out of the shadows of the forest, pointing his finger at the ANBU team. Shizake's sharingan fades away from his eyes before he turns around and stares the figure through their hood. Toshi and Shītto look back and forth at each other, waiting for any moment to spring into action.

"You're outnumbered," Shizake says with a smirk.

"Think again," The figures answers.

Six more figures leap out of the forests shadows, spreading out to surround Shizake and his team. Shizake glares at the man, restraining him self from attacking.

"Who are you?" The person asks.

"Some traders... this man stole from us," Shizake replies with a lie.

"Oh? So some traders just happened to take out a ninja? You must have had some extensive training," The figure arrogantly replies with a deep bellow. The figure takes off their hood to reveal a clean-cut brown skinned man with white, almost ghost like eyes that pierce the soul. His jet blue hair trails forward before raising into a finely cut point suggesting that he was very disciplined in his training. Around his forehead is a headband with the symbol for the sand village on it.

"I won't ask again," He says.

"Okay, okay, let me explain," Shizake says.

Shizake reveals that they are indeed ninja sent to assassinate the crime lord behind all the attacks. He gives them all the details of what has happened so far which also involves revealing that they had no real leads up until now.

"How do I know you're not lying?" the man asks.

Shizake lifts up the long sleeve on his shirt, revealing his ANBU tattoo.

"Leaf ANBU? What the hell are you operating out here for?"

"We were given orders to assassinate this crime boss, Jōran. All the villages asked the Hidden Leaf to do it since it's happening in our land," Shizake explains.

"Well, we have no qualms with you then. You should've just said so in the first place."

Nitatchi, Kenta, and Toshika all sigh in relief, thankful that they didn't have to fight. Considering they're outnumbered, it wouldn't have gone well.

"We had to be on our toes, you could've been an enem-"

The man strides forward, covering a huge distance in one leap, "Lightning style: Pierce shot!"

He points his index finger out, thumb sticking up in the air. The bolt of lightning scorches past Shizake's head, impaling the assailant who was just about to strike the Uchiha. Shizake, half horrified, turns around to see Kizuka lying flat on his back, a gaping hole through his chest.

Shizake turns around while asking, "Just who the hell are you?"

The man grins, proudly stating his name, "The name is Lieutenant Yamiko."