[M&M3e] Naruto

[Darkstorm]

Emiku nods and says "Let's move then. The ones who can walk take the ones that can't. We'll go slow and steady."

Looking at Mungi she asks "Can you do something about those stone pillars? It's been a drag going over and across them. Lots of energy and time wasted."

She keeps on the forefront looking for any dangers that might appear. Closer should be safer but today was a strange day...

[Novabomb]

Mungi Koto smiles
No, I do not know that jutsu

[dangelo]

For Emiku's relief, the kids eventually leave the stone walls behind. They look imponent even from a distance, piercing the tree tops and reaching out to the skies. That kind of technique would require a number of doton specialists working together or an absurdly powerful doton master; definitely A-rank, maybe even S-rank given the huge area covered by it.

You start making your way back to the village, Mungi's sensei keeping you updated as he's getting there way faster than you. The grey wolf helps carrying the unconscious adults, and being so tired and old, mostly grunts when someone talks to him. Kaede remains silent.

[Darkstorm]

"I wasn't expecting that you would tear the whole wall, just perce it a bit so we can pass." Emiku replies to Mungi before leaving.

"Sorry about my snarkiness... I'm tired" she adds as she breathes heavily.

As she moves towards the village she starts thinking on the report she would give. She thinks on her friends and her master, but tells herself they are strong. They would have survived.

"Just a bit more" she exclaims mostly to herself, as her levels of tiredness and chakra were approaching her limit.

[John Cribati]

Kyori

Kyori marches along without complaint, but with a lot of attitude- those who know of her wouldn’t think anything of her demeanor, but those closer to her likely notice the... intensity of her grumpiness. Whatever is going on in her head, it doesn’t seem very savory.

Eventually, she seems to make a decision and slows down her pace to match that of the grizzled old wolf.

So, wolfie. What kind of stuff do the people in your clan say about me?

[dangelo]

The old wolf seems annoyed by Kyori's lack of formality. Leaping from tree to tree, he looks quietly at her for a while before answering.
"If you wanna know something, you shouldn't ask the people in my clan. We canines are much wiser."

"Now, listen." He grunts with that everlasting bad mood of his. "We took so long to join the Leaf for a reason: We don't believe in politics and intrigue, we survive by trusting each other and our instincts. That's it."

"Nituro-san and the others hold no particular grudge against you. Actually, most of us think your people is a valuable asset to the village. A good addition, despite the dreadful circumstances." Daro gets just a bit more respectful when talking about Kyori's past.

"Santuro-kun..." He sighs, finally showing a softer side. "Santuro-kun is difficult. He did spoke ill of your team, specially your sensei, multiple times. But he's heavily influenced by others and goes out of his way to irritate his superiors. He is foolish, irresponsible, selfish and lacks any kind of social skills. Don't mind him. After today, I'm not even sure about his career anymore."

"If you have something else to ask, kiddo, fire away. I should be back to my duty alongside the boy tomorrow."

[John Cribati]

Kyori

I can believe you guys like to live simple and all, but do you really expect me to buy the notion that nobody higher up has any interest in my sensory abilities?

[dangelo]

"Our interest is joining forces. If you're looking for backstabbers, you ain't gonna find them in my clan."
"Of course I only speak for my kind."

[John Cribati]

Kyori

Well so much for that play

Frankly, offering up the potential of adding her sensory capacity to their bloodline was about the only piece she had to play in this clan nonsense. If the Inuzuka were truly ill-informed or uninterested, would it make things easier or more difficult.

How would I go about joining forces with you? The Nara are technically housing my ‘people’, but I expect at least one clan of fancy eye people to try and make a move on me.

[Novabomb]

Mungi Koto
Why? Are we not all of the same village?

Is it not enough that we all live here, and fight for its prosperity?

[dangelo]

Daro seems annoyed by the mention of the Nara clan's name. "They are not the only clan of the forest, kiddo. The Senju clan and us are also affected by your people. Positively affected, if you ask me. We need more sensors and medics, not less."

"But calm down. You're barking way too loud for someone who just graduated. Climb some ranks, then they'll come. I'm talking clients and rivals. Enemies, even. Right now, all you have is a lot of potential."

"Ignore the Hyuuga clan and their intrigues. Be a good shinobi, get stronger. Make a good appearance in the Chunin exams, as people from all over the continent come to watch it. What you did today was a good start, the Daimyo was personally worried about this warehouse. Now, make a name for yourself. Always let one of your enemies run with their lives so they can tell everyone about the Demon of the Hidden Leaf. Then I promise you you're gonna have plenty of people, friend or foe, after your abilities."

[Darkstorm]

Emiku looks at her companions and starts to talk but stops. Secrets should remain secrets.

She speaks in a more general term than what she knew "We are of the same village, that is true. Although inside it there are factions and people veering for power."

She looks at Kimiko and Kyori and refrains from speaking about rumors she heard.

"One thing I am sure of, the one that suffers most from it is the Hokage."

[Novabomb]

Mungi Koto
Mumbling to himself
As if he didn't already have enough problems.

[dangelo]

You dash through the woods and training fields before reaching the village's walls. Two Leaf guards wearing flak vests are there waiting for you; With the wolf's help, they take the four wounded shinobi and vanish in a puff of smoke, out to take them to the hospital.

In a matter of seconds, the five of you and Kaede are running up the stairs and blasting into the Hokage's office. On your way there, Kimiko's pet squirrel, Yuki, joins the group. Too excited about the girl's return to wait for her in the woods, the little animal climbs on her shoulder and hides under her long hair.

Old Hiruzen is looking at the village through a panoramic window, his back turned at you. Besides him, there's a blue-eyed, blonde woman. You've never seen her before.

"Welcome home, proud shinobi of the Leaf. So good to see you in one piece after today's disaster." The Hokage says in his everlasting patient tone, calmly taking off his ceremonial hat and sitting down to talk to you. "You must have many questions, but I insist that you hear me first."

"First and foremost, I wanna tell you that Hyuuga Yotsuda is alive, and will walk and talk again. There's more to it, but I'll let the doctors explain it in detail."

"The man who almost killed him managed to escape, but his struggles were not in vain. Yotsuda retrieved DNA samples from everyone you encountered. Curiously enough, one of those was an entire hand." Hiruzen sounds riddled. "He was still holding on to it when they brought him to the emergency center. Clearly the enemy was trying to keep us from retrieving these samples."

"Listen closely, children, this is very important: The body of a shinobi contains all their secrets." He earnestly says. "That's why we have to hunt nukenin: if they're captured, our secrets may fall in the wrong hands. Likewise, the DNA samples you brought will bring us closer to solving this mystery."

"Tell us exactly what happened from the moment your radios malfunctioned. What did you see? What did you find out about the enemy and their plans?"

"Afterwards, I promise to answer any questions you may have."

[Darkstorm]

Emiku adjust her clothes and smiles making her face shine, even under the dust and grime of the trip. She gives a deep proper bow and starts "Hokage-sama my team was ambushed by a rogue nin of Iwagakure in the middle of the woods."

She gestures slightly emphasizing the storytelling, melodic voice transmitting thrills and emotion “She was a dangerous ninja that combined taijutsu techniques with Doton techniques" she points to the ground making gestures of spikes and explosions.

“Her ground spikes caught Hidehito-san as he charged, but the worst of it was availed by Seishiro-sama. With his help and his bugs, the nin was always under control.”

“Seishiro-sama sent us, the three students, to help nearby teams, while he remained with the prisoner and advanced towards the warehouse. I met the rest of this group and advanced to the warehouse where a hostage situation had developed. Kawahari Matsumoto, the Green Snake of the Leaf, and another masked nin were the enemies. We were able to save Santuro-sama and defeat the two rogues, mostly depleting our chakra and resources." She picks the Green snake knife and shows it.

She then looks at the others and continues sadly "Another enemy appeared. A strong Genjutsu user. Yotsuda-sama ordered us to leave the battlefield taking the injured while he defended the warehouse and our retreat... I am glad he is well... We were not strong enough to help, and at that point more a distraction or weakness to him..."

"We reached an halfway bunker picking Mungi-san and rested for an hour, and finally started our way back. she ends giving another big formal bow.

[Izzarra]

Nara Kimiko Conditions: Hindered & 1 degree of damage. Chakra: 26/60 HP: 1

With the help of a soldier pill Kimiko is able to make it back to the village without assistance.

Although she is still visibly exhausted from the ordeal she does her best to report the situation using formal honorifics and following the rules/protocols. She includes her analysis that an enemy ninja might have had a kekkei genkai that was being employed to neutralize radio transmissions.

[John Cribati]

Kyori

Kyori is about as polite as one would expect, mostly letting everyone else do the talking and only chiming in to fill in missing details. She’s entirely silent when they get to describing their final opponent; the only tells of her true emotions were the deep breaths and grinding of her teeth.

[Novabomb]

Mungi Koto describes the opposition his squad faced, including the failure to capture one of the enemy nin. He does not detail the "mistake" his teammate made, and indicates his other tasks in the operation including the meeting up with this group.

[dangelo]

Kobayashi Kaede gives a few more details about the beginning of the mission.
"Yotsuda-sensei and I ambushed a bunch of evil-looking armed men. They had blades... and were taking orders from ninja. We figured that since they were reading their instructions in a scroll attached to a kunai."

It looks like the girl's going to say something else, but she keeps it to herself. Secrets should remain secrets, after all. Kimiko and Kyori are somewhat familiar with that feeling: Kaede was not only shy, but she always seemed to be hiding something. But Yotsuda didn't care, and as it looks, the Hokage doesn't care either.

"Interesting." He says. "And for last, Kirigiri Yazuko?"

[Seandiggersby]

Yazuko gives his report of the mission. He speaks quickly and informally. Yazuko didn't feel good after the mission, he and his teammates almost died. At this point he just wants to head back to his apartment and go to sleep.

[dangelo]

Old Hiruzen listens carefully to every word you say, occasionally nodding or making quick notes in a notebook. When Kimiko mentions the man responsible for jamming the radios, he briefly exchanges looks with the blonde woman. She raises her eyebrowns once or twice during the whole report.

Lord Third remains silent for a few second after it was done, assimilating every piece of information to his line of thought. Dozens of wrinkles appear on his face when he gives you a weary smile. "Good. You did good today."

"You extraordinarily completed a B-Rank mission and will be payed accordingly. You may return tomorrow for an assignment." He sounds like he justs wanna get this formality out of the way. "From now on, you're officially dismissed and have no obligation to stay. I'll be here for the rest of the night, and I'll answer your questions if you have any."

"This was supposed to be a simple operation." He explains. "A C-Rank mission, nothing more. We expected one shinobi, maybe a small squad. Smugglers usually prefer more subtle formations... No, what was happening over there was terrorism. They were aiming higher."
"Initially, we thougth they were protecting their cargo. Stolen kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, kousen, everything a shinobi needs, and something that nukenin lack."

"But they anticipated us. They bathed themselves in a very specific chemical substance designed to trick the Inuzuka's nose. They had antidotes to our toxins. They had three of our old brothers and sisters. They knew our schedule." He looks at the blonde woman one more time and breathes deeply before going on.
"We believe someone leaked the information from the inside."

"This is Yamanaka Sodai, chief investigator. She's helping me handle the situation."

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." Sodai finally says something.

---

OOC: There is a Bingo Book on the hokage's desk and he encourages you to pick it up during the conversation. It's complete with sketches of their faces, though those are not always accurate. If your character knows anything about these nukenin that isn't specified in the bingo book, they can submit it for good money and reputation.

[Darkstorm]

Emiku picks the book and when the hokage gives them permission to ask she does using the same formal tone "Hokage-sama. Might I ask about my team? Did they reach Konoha safely?"

Then she adds "I also think this attack has ulterior motives."

[John Cribati]

Kyori

She grabs the Bingo Book, then moves nearer to Kimiko as she flips through at a brisk pace, scanning the to-her indecipherable faces in search of a pair of red eyes. But just in case...

Stop me if you see the guy with the big bird, she whispers.

[Novabomb]

Mungi Koto will take a look, but does not have any familiarity with those inside.

[dangelo]

"Aburame Seishiro was very helpful today. His bugs brought us the rogue nin from Iwagakure you had to deal with, then stayed in the battlefield to help."

"Your teammates quickly found out that the other support units had absolutely no trouble. Like Yazuko's team, most of them faced only their henchmen, as we anticipated; Only three of the support units encountered nukenin."

[Darkstorm]

"That's a relief" Emiku says without thinking.

Then she adds "Thank you Hokage-sama."

She ponders a bit while looking at the pages and continues "That means we took the brunt of the attack."

"There are two enemies, maybe more not on the book. the number and size of the walls we saw before reaching midway makes me think there were a lot of doton using ninjas, or a very powerfull one. The chakra to maintain then for that long must be a lot. I don't think Orotsuki Tenma did it alone"

"The other is the bird using ninja we met at the end. The genjutsu user. He was at least as powerfull as the green snake. Probably more."

[dangelo]

The mention of the bird makes both the Hokage and Sodai uncomfortable. It's Sodai who provides a more detailed insight on the subject.
"That wasn't a bird like the ones in our sky. That was youkai, summoned to this world via space-time ninjutsu. Ninpou Kuchiyose. Have you heard of it?"

[Darkstorm]

Emiku nods and replies "I've heard about it yes, but never seen it performed or used."

She looks down as she thinks and ponders and adds "It makes it even worse I think. Youkai."

"So you know who this person is?" she asks looking up.

[dangelo]

"We have no idea." Says Hiruzen. "Amegakure is an old enemy, so he could be after revenge. Whatever they were doing in that warehouse, they managed to stop and leave before we found out.

"They are recruiting." Sodai says worryingly. "We don't know how much information we can extract from them, so it isn't clear why they're recruiting, but they certainly have some sort of disrupted cause."
"They share secret techniques: that's the only way Daidouji Sukata could've learned the Mud Clone Technique. And that boy Tadashi was following them on his own will. Completely brainwashed."

"What they were trying to accomplish? That we don't know."

[Darkstorm]

"That is true." she adds as she ponders the words "The green snake tried to recruit me along the fight."

She leaves that in the open before adding "Was the warehouse only for ninja gear? Seems a too strong attack for just some supplies."

"Maybe was just a test for them. And a message for Konoha."