"Just a little more off the top..." I mutter to myself.
Using a scrap of cloth, I wipe down my kunai, letting my mind wander.
The morning sunlight cuts through the blinds of my apartment, casting slats of light across the floor. Today, we were going to hunt down Onazawa. The thought makes my stomach tighten in anticipation.
I pick up a set of shuriken and drop them into my left pouch. The right pouch already holds some wire, which I pull out with a whistle when I see the matte-green strands I bought yesterday.
"There were two color options, but this is the safer bet."
Most battles were probably going to be in a forest, and having something at least partially camouflaged never hurt.
I tie the wire to two of the kunai in my right pouch, testing their tension.Solid.
Durable enough that, with a few more, I could tie someone to a tree stump without too much fuss.
My armor waits nearby, light red plates, polished enough to show my face if I leaned close. A few dents mark past missions, but nothing that makes it unsafe. Repairing it now would just be wasting money.
Seeing its shine, a satisfied feeling went over me.
"Let's take a dump before leaving."
The mission is not anywhere near Konoha, which means relieving myself out in the field is annoying at best. Best to take every chance at home. I handle that, wash up, and then move on.
*Click*
Piece by piece, I strap on the forearm guards, shoulder plates, and chest piece. Each buckle and knot clicks into place, part of a rhythm I have gotten used to. Fully geared, I sling my pouches over my shoulder and start for the door.
Today, I am leading the team.
It is not random that I am at the front.
Hiruzen has been lining this up for weeks. Tsunade led one mission, Orochimaru the next, and now it is my turn.
Orochimaru is brutal as usual when he was the leader. Made us wipe out bandits with our combination techniques.
'But hey, who am I to judge?' I think with a grin. A man loves what he loves. And using techniques or techniques in combination might just be his thing.
For this mission, I will need more than brute force.
[Shadow Clone] and [Transparent Escape Technique] will probably be essential for scouting. I have to know the numbers, figure out their equipment, check for strongholds, and determine whether they are on the run or resting.
Decisions like that will define this mission and whether I lead successfully.
Standing up, on my table, there was a scroll which was the official mission that the original Silk Baron gave. Grabbing it, I do a light double check of my items and step outside.
Outside, Konoha is waking up. Vendors open stalls, guards change shifts, the smell of grilled fish drifts from nearby homes, and the village hums with life.
It took a few minutes, but I reached the village gates.
At the gates, the sight of Orochimaru leaning against the post and Tsunade pacing around hit me. She notices me and gives a small smile.
"Yo!" My words are reaching them. "Are we ready to head out?"
"Yes, but first, can we see the details of the mission?" Orochimaru responds, getting straight to the point. Nodding at him, I see Tsunade looking a bit restless.
Putting my hand on her shoulder, I showed a smile as she visibly calmed down."Thanks..." She whispers.
Giving a polite nod, I now pull out the mission scroll.
---
Target: Onazawa
Method: Brought back preferably alive for an extra 20,000 Ryo. But the head is acceptable.
Basic Information: A Rogue Samurai who's about a Genin in terms of physical skill. Knows no ninjutsu and only kenjutsu. He is followed by other broken Samurai who gathered up to raid weakened towns after the first shinobi war.
Location: Last seen around the ruined town of Hashiyama.
---
"It's a rogue samurai who's around our base level physically without ninjutsu and mainly uses kenjutsu. We can keep him alive for more money or just get his head. Also, his last seen location is Hashiyama Town." I say giving the rundown.
I tuck the scroll back in.
"Hashiyama is a town next to Tanzaku Quarters, so let's head there first. But before that, it's important we make a code word in case we split up."
"Should we make it something complicated?"
"No, just a single word," I answer Orochimaru. "It will be Naruto."
Hearing myself say this, I wanted to face palm, but this was alright. Seeing them both nod, I was reassured. Tsunade was a bit silent, but that was because of the missions we've been taking.
She's taking a bit of time to adapt, which is fine. She can take all the time she needs.
This situation was much better than when we first started instructing each other. With that out of the way, we head out.
I start to set the pace.
The village slowly disappeared from behind.
After the first few hours, the large trees that we used to travel on, rather than the main road, started to be more spread out. Fields, sparse trees, and shadows of mountains were entering our site.
On the main road, it wasn't uncommon to see villagers and merchants walking through.
Our current positions were me and the front, Tsunade in the middle, while Orochimaru stalked from the back. It was set up in a way that I take the first hits, Orochimaru can react fast to help us and make the best decision possible.
While Tsunad had the long-range techniques to help out and possibly provide backup to either one of us in case of battle.
After half an hour, we reached Tanzaku Quarters, then soon after headed north.
...
By the time we reached the outskirts, it was the afternoon.
The place barely counts as a town anymore. Just broken roofs, hollow houses, and a few stubborn walls still pretending they're part of something. Smelling the air, it consisted of burnt wood.
Movement catches my eye. A few figures near what used to be a well.
They looked thin and middle-aged.
I raise a hand to stop the others. "People ahead," I murmur. "Probably locals."
Tsunade leans forward, eyes narrowing. "What should we do?"
"We can always interrogate them," Orochimaru adds from the side.
Looking down from the trees above, still quite a distance away. My mind raced as the decision to keep us safe went through my mind.
There was a chance these poor-looking people were apart of Onazawa's faction or what ever he had going. It was only stated that he had several rogue samurai with him, but his influence could go further.
After several minutes, I made up my mind.
"Let's do this. I'll make contact and ask them questions. Orochimaru, you will stalk them in case they are Onazawa's allies and try to notify him. It is you're decision what to do with them." I say.
Orochimaru, hearing my words, nods with a serious look.
"Tsunade, you and my [Shadow Clone] will check for others. You will be at a distance to stay safe and observe anything he doesn't see. Alright, let's go."
"What if there are traps?" She says concerned.
"I'm not going inside any buildings or following them." I shake my head, which satisfied her worries. Following any stranger to a place they are familiar with seemed like a stupid decision.
Seeing them both in agreement. The plan was now gonna be set in motion, and with that, I made a hand sign.
Tiger
[Shadow Clone]
*Poof*
A clone with my exact looks appeared and gave me a nod. Signaling him to go, he flickered away with Tsunade trailing him in silence.
Now I made my way towards the malnourished people with Orochimaru somewhere nearby, and from what I could see, it was an adult woman and a man. Walking up to them, I start to talk.
"Hello,"
The villagers freeze. A few take a step back. The man pulls out a sickle, trembling while the woman hides behind him.
"Shinobi?" He says after seeing my headband.
"Yes, do you know anything about any Samurai or a person called Onazawa around these parts?" I say ignoring his weapon but observing his expression.
He didn't have a sword.
It was a promising sign.
After a tense minute, the older woman steps forward, her voice shaky. "W-We do. He's set camp near the shrine outside of town that way. H-He raided our supplies not too long ago. P-Please."
Watching her breakdown, my expression softens, but I note down where she pointed.
"Do you know how many there are?"
"At least five from what we saw." The man says Now talking.
"That's all, thank you." Flickering away onto a roof, a sudden light hits my face.
'What the-' Turning to the source on top of a tree, my body tensing. It was Orochimaru using the kunai's reflection to show me his location.
Looking at him perched on top, he points to himself, then the two civilians. Seeing this, I nod, assuming he was gonna track them. As this happened, a flush of memories hit my mind as more information to piece together what happened.
Interesting.
'There weren't any combatants from their looks. All 16 towns folk were malnourished and had farm tools as weapons. Barely hanging on and are scraping for food.'
Ram
[Transparent Escape Technique]
After making a handseal, my body became transparent as I started to head to Tsunade using the clone's memories. Taking a few minutes, it wasn't long before the sight of the blonde on the same rooftop hit me.
*Clack*
Landing on the roof with some noise, I turn off my technique. Tsunade turned around with a kunai in hand.
"Naruto," I state our safe word to notify her that I was the real Jiraiya. Which in turn made her sigh in relief. "We have a lead, Orochimaru is just watching them for now."
As I said this a light hits Tsunade's eyes, which could only mean Orochimaru was here. The two of us decided to camp out on the semi-standing roof for now while staying vigilant.
Tiger
[Shadow Clone]
*Poof*
Another clone appeared, as his assignment now was to scout out and confirm if the samurai were there. Any traps, numbers, specific location, and whether they are active in the forest. Nodding at the clone, he left after using the [Transparent Escape Technique]
Watching him go, it was now a waiting game.
...
Half an hour passes as Tsunade and I were still vigilantly looking at the villagers. Trying to see if any of them tried to sneak off.
The head count was the same, and none of them tried anything after Orochimaru's targets joined up with them. Soon after, we signal Orochimaru to come to us using his own method of light.
"Naruto," He says, doing the same as I before, proving he's the real Orochimaru. "Those villagers are what they look, starved, no weapons, no sudden movements," he says, which lined up with Tsunade's observations and my own.
A few minutes after this, the memories of the clone rush to my head.
There were five samurai and an archer who escaped from the last mission. Their weapons were dusty, armour was heavily damaged. They weren't exactly living the life.
Fortunately, it was easy to spot as they had three tents with a hammock. Plus a campfire, probably to cook food.
On the outer edges, there were bear traps.
'So you are there,' I thought, lining up one of the samurai with the picture on the scroll. The person we were sent to kill.
I gave the precise rundown.
"You guys have any ideas?" I ask.
"We can attack from a distance, as they have no ranged attacks, if we assassinate the archer. I can pick off the Archer while you two stay on the trees." Orochimaru proposes. Hearing this, I nod.
"What if they run? We need to gather them up. My earth release can easily ruin their legs as you two attack." Tsunade says after.
'Hmm.'
"We will attack them soon, not at dark," My words making them furrow their brows. Telling them my plan, they both nod. It wasn't the most complicated plan, but it was better than trying to overload them with instructions.
Dear god knows that trying to lord over everything to the minutest detail wouldn't work. We shinobi adapt after all.
"The archer is the only one with brown hair, so look out for that."
I map it out quickly in my head. After going behind the shrine and a multitude of huge trees is a wide opening where they are. Through the high trees is the best course of action to keep us safe from traps.
"Let's go," I mutter, signaling for them to follow.