Ryu moved along the sand covered road of the slums with a tired look on his face. It was early morning and he was out that early strictly to beat the heat. Still he felt kind of weak at the moment. He recalled some years ago....maybe nine years ago he had just been released from prison as a fresh legal adult. Ready to take on the world. Getting his ass beat fairly hard on a high ranked mission he had accompanied a Jounin on though hadn't helped. He had been in recovery for some time and part of him still thought his joints ached. Still he had picked up his other family business instead and proven fairly decent at it even if he didn't distribute it legally. The Myugan were a clan in Suna once upon a time that were famous for their high potency drinks. Kind of booze that could knock a mule on its ass in a shot. His own was a little less potent then that but it tasted like fruit punch and still carried a label of 120 proof. His recipe for making something that alcoholic taste like juice was something only he knew. However his sales were limited to the bars in the district with the highest crime rate in Suna. Strictly because the other vendors wouldn't go there.

Still his long hair fell to the side of his tanned face in a pony tail only tied at the top and left loose otherwise. His outfit was rather simple... a set of dark pants with a yellow belt and boots with the pants tucked into them and tied around the ankles. His shirt was a very loose white tank top that hung about and hung open almost to his belly button revealing muscles and tanned skin with a tribal tattoo up the right side of his chest going toward his shoulder. Over that was a black coat with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow revealing the tattoo had continued down his right arm to finish in a tribal dragon. Around his neck was a loose tie just there for looks and around each wrist a grey bandanna. On his hands were fingerless gloves and around his forehead a black sash. No headband for him anymore. Still what was drawing more attention was the Keg he was dragging behind him through the sand with one hand. It was far too heavy to just carry all this way. Still one did not simply trespass in the criminal section with a keg and expect to get through without being bothered. No one remembered he had killed a group of genin some years back. With his free hand he lifted his eye patch revealing his purple eye which was different from his ice blue eye to look around before lowering the eye patch and stopping with another yawn....this would be just perfect...

As he stopped Ryu was suddenly being approached from four sides. His gaze drifted over his left shoulder out of boredom to look at the thug on his left side behind him...probably someone just as big on his right behind him as well. He looked back in front of him to the two walking side by side. They sure were ugly buggers. He missed the Karisuma play house already. Still he was gonna take another beating but judging by how none of them seemed to carry themselves with any kind of official training the whole lot of them looked like push overs. Still he wasn't as strong as he used to be and as luck would have it he had one hell of a hang over. He couldn't wait to get paid, grab some food and go home to get smashed. At least that would dull the pain from this fight. Still he could tell who the leader was as a young man with a mess of scraggly white hair moved forward from his companion. He sure was ballsy...probably was confident in his little gang there. However punks like these were all talk. He watched the young kid open his mouth and speak to say "You wanna die pun-" before he was abruptly caught up with a boot toe to his chin that sent him crumpling to the ground. Ryu simply responded with "Nope" before preparing to be flanked....this was gonna hurt. They were caught up in shock for the moment at their leader being wiped out in a single kick but Ryu knew the guy would recover soon...he wasn't strong enough to do more then daze him and he couldn't run with a Keg. Man he wished he brought a Kunai...punks avoided blades.

792

Life for a shinobi was usually as simple as getting a mission and carrying it out. Get in, get out. Maybe during the mission there might be some questionable circumstances but for the most part the shinobi life was pretty simple. Life as a Kage, however, was a much different life altogether. Politics were much more involved than a normal shinobi would ever need to witness. Maybe the occasional busybody might want to know more of the why a mission was ordered, but none of that was truly necessary as a simple soldier of the village. There weren't any missions for Kages to perform, instead they would be the one giving them out, instead focusing all their energy in the political world. This was the life that Suzume wasn't so fond of while being Kazekage, but it was necessary so she bore through it.

This moment wasn't any different. After giving her speech to others, there would be several public walks she would need to perform, as advised by the elders and her own secretary, so as to rebuild her presence in the villagers' minds.  Walking and checking on the state of the slums was much more for public relations than it was to actually evaluate what improvements needed to be made for those living in the area.  It was a stupid notion to Suzume, so she actually took the evaluations seriously as she wanted the improvements to actually be real instead of just show. She was not a fan of lies, so acting things out for the sake of public opinion and at the cost of actual progress seemed hypocritical. Her speech for everyone to make the Hidden Sand strong again wasn't a lie, and neither would her own actions.

"...and they stack up in these towers to conserve space." Her secretary continued detailing the state of the slums. "As the village's development is more centrally focused, the slums have only increased as people are temporarily displaced by construction."

"And what's the crime rate for this area?" she spoke up finally. The shifty looks of passerby having her question how well policed the place was. Common knowledge would say crime would be higher in poorer areas. People get desperate when down to the bottom rung of society.

Her secretary gulped loudly. "This particular section of the slums is actually known for its crime. It's recently been dubbed as the criminal sector."

"Ah," she paused and looked around her. "I see."

As she looked, down a side road she noticed a fight starting between five men. She witnessed one fall and hit the ground from some kind of hit, but she hadn't noticed what kind. Three of the men were surrounding the one. Not exactly a fair fight, but it would be interesting to watch. She took a few absent minded steps closer, while still being a ways away from the actual fight, maybe a little less than forty meters in distance. Her secretary moved a bit closer to whisper in Suzume's ear. "We may want to keep moving. Fights usually draw attention."

"Well, it has my attention." Suzume looked on, squinting her eyes to make out if any of the boys happened to wear a forehead protector or not. An idea was forming in her head as she silently observed the men.

Ryu wasn't entirely sure how his day had ended up like this. After all the sun had been nice and warm and he hadn't been cold the night before. He had made a sale and was going to have a nice meal instead of the usual grilled cheese. Hell he even got a phone number and offer of payment earlier which was another paycheck heading his way. Yet somehow these punks wanted to mess up his face and take his product and for what? A good time at someone else's expense as usual. Hell did he hate guys like this. However there wasn't a ton he could do to negotiate his way out of this now. He was in for a fight since he may have over reacted a little prematurely but hell that was kind of his issue. His whole history kind of revolved around it....the gang he ran called the unchained...their hospitalization...the prison sentence he got for his retaliation against the other Suna genin who did it...and his dishonorable discharge during the sentencing. Well if nothing else he might have to use what he had learned in the academy to win this one. He certainly wished he had the headband still if only for scaring off punks.

Still he didn't even notice the group of politicians or guards or whatever was down the road. Certainly not a Kage he had never met. Either way he stepped to the side of his keg in order to avoid the first straight jab at his face. The first one was still stunned on the ground but the one who had stood next to him was quick to react...he was fast too in comparison to Ryu at the moment. He was going to have to step it up if he was going too....his thoughts were suddenly wiped for a moment as a hammer fist caught him in the left ear leaving a ringing sensation and sending him stumbling into the wall. He shook his head to get rid of the dizzy feeling as he registered the cruel laughter of the three behind him and the one getting up as he spit blood out. Ryu placed his hand on the wall and took a deep breath....letting it out slowly as he mentally stabled himself...alright that had hurt...now he was done playing around with these kids. It had been a while but he wasn't unfamiliar with the clan style at all.

Slowly Ryu began to sway one way and then the other before stumbling back from the wall. His feet seemed to barely be holding him up as he shifted his hands out like he was trying to balance himself. His one sky blue eye looking at the four men now standing. "Jesus Jackal you knocked the sense out of him." Ryu heard as he stumbled a little to the right looking like he might fall over. Jackal smirked before stepping forward intending to shove Ryu to the ground. However when his palm slammed into Ryu's shoulder Ryu stumbled around in a spin before hooking his foot around the back of the guys leg as his shoulder slammed into the mans chest and took him to the ground as Ryu stumbled back. It looked like an accident of the mans own doing but others of more experience might recognize the drunken fist. Still the second guy gave a what the hell look before full on charging Ryu. However Ryu stumbled to the side out of the path before falling right back into the man as he passed. His hand grabbing the guys hoody as if looking for something to catch himself on which yanked the man backwards driving him face first into the wall since his arms were caught in the hoody and he couldn't guard himself. The man slumped holding his face as Ryu held the torn hood in his hand.

The last two looked at each other and back to their friends on the ground before they rolled their shoulders and stepped forward. It was at this point that Ryu stumbled back and placed one foot on the wall as if to catch himself before he grinned and as they both went to throw blows at him his other foot went up on the wall and he stumbled backwards straight up it just out of their reach before he stumbled back down. The hood in one hand dropped down and blinded the one while green strings would shoot from his finger tips to wrap around a drainage pipe and then around the others neck. With a yank Ryu pulled him tight to the pipe with a ping as he connected before launching off the wall and as if falling elbow dropped the last mans face as he removed the hood from it. As he fell to the ground however the one he had shouldered to the ground full on kicked him in the ribs in a fully paced kick. He was right...he couldn't keep up with four opponents. Still he coughed up spit at the force of it before the strings failed and the one who kicked him helped the others up...Ryu felt his head spinning but he could tell they were running away...the didn't want to fight someone with chakra control. Still he slowly stood up and spit out the taste in his mouth before dusting the sand off his clothes...damn his head and ribs hurt now.

929/1721

Still Ryu finished brushing himself off as he looked around with his one eye showing. The eye patch still intact. To be honest he likely would of done better had he used both eyes but he didn't really figure he needed it. His right hand rested on his neck and pressed there as he bent one way and back the other with cracking sounds. So he had been engaged on this road and they figured out what risk they were taking. He would need to bring an empty keg next time to test out how they chose to go. Either they would weigh the risk negatively for a keg of booze and decide it wasn't worth engaging a shinobi for it. If he could chuck fireballs at them they might lose more than a fight. Hardly worth it in his opinion but he knew the gangs didn't care as much about profit as image. They had run away from him once. That was going to damage their gangs image as word got around. If they were perceived as weak they would be pressed for territory by the other gangs. If anything he figured they would either come at him with better numbers or someone stronger. Maybe and likely both.

Ryu sighed as he ran a hand through his hair feeling some stiffeness in his ribs where he had been kicked. He wasn't ready to handle either numbers or power right now. He had been foolish enough as a kid to think he would rule these slums by now. Back when he had a headband and access to jutsu libraries. He had been more focused in hanging out with his gang then instead of learning jutsu like he now wished he had. However that left two things to do now since it was unlikely Suna was coming to fix its slums any time soon. After all if the slums kept to itself the shinobi usually stayed out of it. He of course had no idea the Kage was watching him. Nor did he care to figure out who she was. Some fancy pants enjoying a show likely. No he had to go with what options he had left. First was getting a gang up and running off the ground. He could take some territory and begin to run some streets again. He would just need to stay in the slums and away from the West desert five. The whole western part of the slums was owned by the five captains of that gang and any of them could tear Ryu apart. At least for now.

The second part was more risky for him. He was going to need to leave the slums to invade the jutsu libraries. It wasn't like security was difficult to get around but while it was open the library was monitored only to give access to registered shinobi and those with special permission to be there. If he wanted to gain any power he couldn't just sit there and feel sorry for himself or just let that gang come for him. He needed to be ready and to do that he would need to steal some jutsu data from there when it was closed. Likely meant having someone hunting for him since it was breaking and entering a secured location. Almost like breaking into an armory for weapons but he needed those weapons. He would have to head home after his delivery and grab a flashdrive to store the information on. Luckily the data was on easy access computers so he just needed to break in, power one up and download the data before escaping in time to get away before any shinobi or law enforcement got there. Damn he was not looking forward to that endeavor. The term shinobi was a loose one around these parts as they were less stealth attackers and more up in your face blast you with a shining raiton fist kind of group. He just had to hope there wasn't anyone willing to kill him after him afterwards. He wasn't supposed to have access to those libraries because his probation prohibited the use of jutsu or weapons. Not that he was ever going to obey that. He didn't even talk to his probation officer anymore. Which seemed to go unnoticed with the sheer amount of work that lot had.

For now he leaned down and grabbed the top of his Keg and began to drag it again. Now his eyes were sharp as he kept a look out for any incoming fools that wanted a piece. He wasn't about to just surrender his product without a fight. You didn't do that out here. If you gave in and just let them take what they wanted without a fight when they wanted it they would take everything and in the end your life with it. They wanted to go after people that wouldn't fight back because it was easy. They didn't care about who they hurt or lives they ruined and neither did the village. However as Ryu dragged his keg towards its destination he made a decision. This gang he was starting wasn't going to do that to the people. If they needed something they would take it from the other gangs and if need be wipe them out. Anyone who joined him would have to follow those rules. If anyone who was with him took from the innocent they would answer to him. Not because he wanted to be a hero but because he was setting his foot down and laying out the law. Blatant disobedience was not going to be acceptable. He was on the next level or rather he soon would be. His crew would have to understand he was top dog without question. He would figure out where that lot came from first and take them down as the example of his entrance. Partially because they were not that strong but also because his business ran through their territory. If he was going to expand his work he needed a safe delivery route.

For now he looked up as he approached the bar in question and smiled. It wasn't even open yet but the two bouncers that were capable of keeping the gangs at bay were having a smoke outside. As he had mentioned in his thoughts earlier any business that wanted to last would not be able to do so unless it defended it's product. With them in sight his product was safe now. Even if the guys he had attacked came looking for him they wouldn't engage the bar over it. The place had a reputation for putting down hostilities hard and they paid production to the west desert five. Only idiots crossed them. It was rumored that four of the five were spec jounin and the fifth was a jounin. Even the shinobi had taken advantage of the lack of leadership over the years in Suna. Still he dragged his keg passed the two men who nodded to him but offered nothing in the way of help and up the steps to the back door. Pushing it open with his back as he dragged the Keg in. Moving it to the fridge to stay cold before moving to the owner. The man was having breakfast of eggs and bacon when he looked up and saw Ryu come in. He didn't bother to check the contents of the Keg but did raise an eyebrow at the state Ryu appeared to be in. What Ryu didn't know was the bar tender was one of the west desert five. He owned this bar but if he decided Ryu wasn't to be touched anyone that did was dead. Still without a word he tossed Ryu a bag of coins and went back to eating.

That was their usual interaction. No one really spoke to each other. Ryu made his delivery for less than the actual vendors and with better quality to establishments without a liscence and in turn they paid him under the table quietly. He could charge more for his risks but he didn't need it. With a nod he went back out the way he came while pocketing the coins in a hidden inner pocket. He kept his eyes open as he wished again he had a knife but for now he looked up and smiled before grabbing a ladder and moving up to the roofs. Running home from roof to roof and clearing the distance between the buildings easily. He saw a couple of patrols looking around for someone, likely him, but they never looked up. Ryu grinned before making his way home undetected and prepared for his soon to be night of danger. If he was going to break into the jutsu library he was going to need to be fully prepared. He was going to go in the dead of night but he would be cautious still about prying eyes. For now he needed to rest and prepare.

Exit thread
1526/3247

850/850 Reaction time D-1 to D-3
2397

1175/1175 Speed D to D-3
1222

1175/1175 Endurance D to D-3

47 words remaining.