Scooping them up Naruto nodded. "We'll get to work then. But what if someone gets in our way?"
"Depends who they are and what they are doing." Mei shrugged before gaining a hard look in her eye. "But if they get in the way of your mission terminate them with extreme prejudice."
"Understood." The three Hunter-nin said in unison.
....
(Five Hours Later in the Land of Rivers)
Moving swiftly through the trees Naruto, Clementine and Victor passed over the border of the Land of Rivers. None of them even paused or hesitated, used as they were to criss-crossing the borders of the Elemental Nations.
It was part of their job as Hunter-nins really; they entered any country with impunity, their identities shielded by masks.
Naruto's mask was made of a dull silver metal, painted black so as to make it less conspicuous. Unlike his team mates his mask was completely plain, not even showing the symbol of Kiri. Though this was mainly due to the fact that if they were to get caught their identity as a Kiri Shinobi would not be revealed, and thus the Village would not be impacted by one of their Shinobi being found in another's territory.
Victor and Clementine though had been far more creative when they had gotten their own Hunter-nin masks made. Clementine mask like Naruto's was black, but unlike his however her mask was shaped like a laughing skull.
The mouth section on the mask was wide enough for Clementine's mouth to be seen through. This had been done for an actual reason though. The laughing skull design had been done for the intimidation factor and to also put her enemies of guard. The opening for her mouth though had been done so she could use her mouth whilst in combat.
Her skills and bloodline were entirely orientated to close combat, and using her mouth to rip out chunks of flesh was a part of that, plus it also completely took her enemies by surprise.
Victor's mask though was as patchwork as he himself was. Originally made of black painted metal like the other two his mask had had other bits and pieces attached to it to reinforce different parts or to make improvement that Victor deemed necessary. This had been done with a number of different materials which just made his mask look strange.
Continuing on through the new land they found themselves in the three of them came to a stop. All three balancing on a single branch that overlooked a collection of buildings that were in the middle of a particularly mountainous part of the region.
Looking to his comrades Naruto decided to break the silence they had been travelling in pretty much for the last five hours since leaving Kirigakure. This was always the way with them, when on the hunt in enemy territory they would move in absolute silence. After all if they did talk they would get distracted and all it would take is a single distraction for the enemy to take them by surprise.
They had seen it personally after taking several of their targets out like this, attacking while they were talking or having a meal. They were Shinobi; things like fairness and honour were pointless in their line of work.
Standing on the tree branch, Naruto and the others looked down into the small mining settlement. Naruto frowned slightly as he counted a number of thugs and bandits standing round the small settlement. The thugs currently overseeing a number of civilians, probably people local to the area, as they were forced to work, breaking up and collecting rocks from around the mine.
"How many do you count?" Naruto asked, as he glanced over at Clementine.
"That we can see, I'd say eleven hostiles none of whom are Shinobi and twenty four civilians." The blonde girl replied from where she was crouched down on the tree branch, her sharp eyes darting around the settlement. "Don't see our target though."
"Hmm, probably up top." Naruto replied as he glanced up taking note of the wooden buildings that were further up the mountain. "What do you want to do about the thugs?"
"They are in the way." Clementine said simply.
"Alright then." Naruto replied before he glanced over to the silently watching Victor. "Victor I want you to kill or incapacitate all those fuckers. The civilians to if they get in your way."
Victor nodded at that even as he prepared to leap off of the branch. "Sounds good, have been looking to get a new liver."
"Make sure to do it silently. We don't want anyone to know we are here until we want them to." Naruto added on, knowing how Victor liked to torment his victims in his wire traps.
Raising his right hand and flexing the complicated metal contraption that he was wearing like a gauntlet, Victor gave Naruto a bored look. "You really can be boring sometimes you know that?"
"Just get it done. Make sure the lower half of the settlement is secure before you join us. I don't fancy being attacked from behind whilst we are up there."
"Yeah, yeah I have done this shit before you know." Victor said good-naturedly as he leapt from the tree branch. Easily making it onto one of the nearby roofs that dotted the mining town. His hands already moving as he headed deeper into the settlement, no doubt he was planning on ghosting the thugs in the town one by one.
Turning to Clementine, Naruto issued another command. "Clementine, go grab me the nearest bandit, we are going to need some more information on just what is happening here."
"How many times do I have to tell you Pain, the name is Lady Clementine? The Inhuman Lady Clementine." The blonde girl replied with a slight giggle as she too leapt off the branch, travelling through the air like some kind of specter Clementine smashed into a nearby bandit, moving so fast she appeared a blur as she knocked him into a gap between two buildings.
This went completely unnoticed by the other bandits in the settlement as they continued to shout orders at their workers, or laugh obnoxiously to each other.
Staring into the dark gap between the buildings, Naruto watched as with a single punch Clementine knocked the plain looking man out. No doubt also fracturing his spine as she did so, not that it mattered, as long as he was still relatively alive when she brought him to back Naruto.
Grabbing the man Clementine shunshinned back to the tree Naruto was waiting in, dumping the man unceremoniously onto the branch next to Naruto as she did so.
"Go do your thing ghost boy." Clementine said as she looked expectantly at Naruto.
"Funny…" Naruto replied blandly as he placed his hand on the man's head. With barely a thought Naruto pulled his hand back, pulling with it a glowing orb of blue light, one that had a number of dark speckles floating around in it.
Flicking his gaze up so he was looking at Clementine, Naruto made sure to smirk, knowing she would be able to tell what he was doing even behind his mask. Before he finished pulling his hand away from the man's he made sure to inject some of his unique chakra into him.
"Oh, you are fucking asshole." Clementine muttered irritably as she ignored the now visible soul orb that Naruto was absorbing into his bare hand as opposed to being eaten, something he had learned to do over time. Instead she scowled down at the now dead man as she saw his skin being to go grey and shrivel, even as his flesh began falling of his skeleton.
Within thirty seconds the previously healthy, if slightly overweight man now resembled an emaciated and half rotten corpse.
"Enjoy your meal." Naruto said with a grin as he closed his eyes. 'You, what have you got?'
"Bare with me for a second you only just devoured his soul." Was You's irritable reply, his voice echoing around in Naruto's head.
"Ok, the guy didn't know much but here are his memories. He was pretty stupid so I could only get the ones from the last couple of months." You continued as Naruto's other half, his secondary and inner personality did his work, sending a number of flashing images over to Naruto.
Grunting in discomfort as he slowly processed what You had sent him Naruto opened his eyes again. Smirking again as he saw Clementine's masked face looking down at Pon's, for that was his name, rotten corpse. He could almost imagine the disappointed look on her face.
"Cheer up; I am sure we can get you a nice meal later." Naruto replied as Clementine looked up at him.
"You better." She replied irritably, before continuing. "So what did you get from ugly"
"Turns out that a band of thugs calling themselves the 'Kurosuki Clan' took control of the village a few months ago, and Raiga is their leader. Have to say the guy is a bit of a sick fuck, he has started to organize funerals for people who don't follow his orders." Naruto said as he drew up on the man's memories.
"What is wrong with having 'funerals'?" Clementine asked with a frown, before adding on in typical fashion. "Of course a part from a waste of good meat?"
"Well it turns out Raiga buries people alive whilst crying and lamenting like some pussy as he is performing the funerals." Naruto replied with a shrug, not really that bothered about it. After all after three years of fighting in a war and being a Hunter-nin, he was pretty desensitized to most things.
"Hm, weird." The blonde replied. "What's wrong with a good old fashioned beheading?"
"No idea. Now come on Raiga is at the top of the settlement, up there." Naruto replied as he nodded at the group of buildings further p the mountain. "He's got about ten more guys up there; the rest will hopefully all be dead by now."
"Awesome." Clementine replied unenthusiastically. "So we going to try and take him alive?"
"Why bother." Naruto replied callously. "It'll be easier if we just kill him and his followers and then take the Kiba blades."
"Works for me and you did promise me a snack." Clementine replied her pink eyes twinkling maliciously as she and Naruto disappeared from their branch in blurs of motion, heading in the direction of Raiga.
All that was left of their presence was the rotted corpse of Pon, who even now slowly broke apart crumbling to pieces as it fell off the tree branch and land on the ground with a wet thump.
...
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