Mission Details:

Nayoko found himself growing more and more nervous as the moments passed inside of the Kirigakure no Sato administration building. He had arrived for the first time after receiving his notice of promotion in a message from back home in the Land of Fire. Of course, the twenty two year old was excited about the prospect of advancement in his ninja rank, but part of that advancement also meant that he would be expected to take on some more…dangerous responsibilities. One of those responsibilities he was slightly nervous about was the reason he was at the administration building today. Nayoko Nozara was about to take on his first A Ranked mission for any village. Unlike his previous missions, A ranked missions were reserved for only the most skilled ninja, leaving them available to only B Ranked ninja or above. This was usually for the obvious danger that surrounded the missions, but could also be due to the delicate nature of a mission and what might be required by the people involved.

Nayoko knew that any of these could be the case for the mission that would be handed to him, but if he was honest with himself, he knew that he was hoping for a more diplomatic mission, and not one that involved his imminent death. He had faced that enough recently, and he was ready to take a break for that kind of situation for a while. Even so, Nayoko could feel in his gut that the mission he would be handed was probably one he would have to be prepared to defend himself for, despite his wishes. After waiting for nearly half of an hour, Nayoko was beckoned over to the front desk by a young man who was sitting at it. Stepping over to it, Nayoko nodded to the stranger in greeting. “Good morning. I would like to start off by saying that the Village Hidden in the Mists appreciates your willingness to participate in such a dangerous mission, despite not being from Kirigakure no Sato. Your dedication to the Kiri-Konoha Ninja Exchange had been noted and will be sent back to your home in the Land of Fire for a permanent record of your achievements here.” The man then pulled out a small scroll, sealed shut in a waterproof container. The man behind the desk then rose, stepping around it to stand next to Nayoko before beckoning for him to follow.

Naturally, Nayoko did not hesitate to follow the man, glancing down at the sealed scroll and wondering why on earth it was sealed that way as he stepped though a doorway into a small room that had no other people in it. The room the two men had entered was lightly finished, containing only a pair of desks sitting side by side and a chalk board at the front of the room. “Please, take a seat,” the man said to the young Hattori, leaving him with little option than to take a seat in one of the two desks. He sat there for another ten minutes, fiddling with the sealed scroll container and growing slightly more impatient by the minute. Finally, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, a kunoichi entered the room carrying a clipboard in one hand and a small box, about the size of a basketball in the other. Without a word, the long, brown haired woman strode over to Nayoko’s desk and placed the box on it, her eyes not lingering for even a moment on the young man before stepping over to the board at the front of the room.

“Good morning Nayoko, my name is Sendra and I’m your Kirigakure correspondent for this mission.” She paused for only a moment to look up at Nayoko, clearly sizing him up as he sat at his small desk. “Nice to meet you,” was all Nayoko managed to get out before she nodded affirmatively and continued with her spiel. “Because you are part of the exchange program and are not an official member of the village, I’m here to brief you to make sure you’re aware of the risks that are involved in this task, that you may have apt time to prepare or refuse should you choose to. Now, as much as I would like to get to know you, I have three more of these briefings to take care of, so let’s get through this.” Nayoko simply nodded once again and opened up the container holding the scroll he was to use for the mission’s briefing. Upon skim reading his way through the contents of the scroll, he understood why it had been sealed in such a case. As he read, the scroll which coincided with what the woman was saying. “Your mission is by no means a simple one. You will be diving down into the remains of the Village Hidden in the Sky, as it is close to our shores. You will be provided with a boat along with its captain to take you as far out as you need to do, and then use the re-breather in that box you've got there. From there you will head down into the city, which is known to have pockets of air still concealed down there, allowing for some reprieve from the water, as well as a means for you to explore these ruins. Your task is to bring back anything that you can find and reasonably carry, whether is be scrolls, wealth, weapons, technology, or anything else that you might deem useful to Kirigakure no Sato. Now make no mistake Nayoko, this is not dangerous because of the depth or anything like that. This is a treacherous task and is considered A-Rank because of the reports form the other shinobi that have completed this task.” She paused for a moment to ensure that the young Hattori was paying attention. “There is some kind of beast down there Nayoko, so be careful. It will not hesitate to kill you, and our reports are inconclusive as to its nature. But make no mistake, it is there, and it will probably come for you.”

With that she set her clipboard down on the second desk, stepping up to Nayoko. “Any questions?” The special jounin was almost too dumbstruck by the briefing that he was given that he had no idea what to say. Gulping, he glanced back up at the kunoichi who had given him the run down of the mission and gave her a weak smile. “No, ma’am, I think I should be alright.” He then carefully slipped the scroll back into its water proof container and stood up, giving the woman another nod before heading out to the docks where his escort supposedly awaited.

WC:1137/2500

The twenty two you old had to admit, the Village Hidden in the mist spared no expense when it came to the boat they were sending him out in. It was not big enough to be a ship by any means, but the small, motorized craft was a sleek white and blue craft that could probably move pretty quickly if it needed to. As he walked down the dock to the boat, his mission scroll on his belt and the box containing the re-breather held by a handle in this left hand, he raised his free one to wave at the man that seemed to be work on the boat, stocking supplies or preparing the vessel for departure. The stranger waved in response, a large toothy smile spread across his wrinkled face. He was very tanned, to the point where his skin almost appeared leathery, and stood just a few inches shorter. He wore a beige bandanna on his head over a balding head of grey hair and had a bit of a bulging beer belly, clearly showing that unless he was a member of Konoha’s Akimichi clan, he was probably not a ninja.

As Nayoko approached the man greeted him warmly. “Well hey there! You must be the fella that’s going down below today right? The name’s Chinza, and this here is the Sea Side Sunshine. She’s my pride and joy, and she’ll take us where we need to go, have no doubt about that.” The man then extended his hand to shake Nayoko’s to which Nayoko responded by shaking his hand and smiling. “Nice to meet you Chinza, I’m Nayoko and I guess we have quite a trip ahead of us huh? I’m guessing you’ve taken a few other shinobi out on this mission before, am I right?” The man nodded with a smirk, and then stepped back over to the Sea Side Sunshine and began to loosen its ties to the dock. The young Hattori followed suit, assisting with the preparations for departure while his escort explained his past experiences with the mission into the ruins of the Village Hidden in the Sky. “Yeah, I’ve done this quite a few times to be honest, but you know what they say. That place is a treasure trove for our village, so we just gotta keep going back, despite the danger of it all.” He paused to shake his head for a moment, finally untying the last knot on the dock and hopping into the boat alongside Nayoko. “Kid, I’ve seen many a ninja go down there and come back up with a ton of great stuff that helps out home, but I’ve also had my share of folks who didn’t come back up. There’s danger down there, and so you gotta be prepared. Are you sure you’re ready?” Nayoko’s smile faded into a stony face for a moment as he took in the truth of the man’s words. He knew that this was going to be dangerous, and he knew that he still had jobs to do elsewhere; but right now, Nayoko was a shinobi, and this was his job. He nodded sternly to the man. “Yes sir, I am ready. And don’t you worry, I’ll be back up here before you know it,” he said, letting a small smirk creep onto his face as he finished off his declaration to the captain.

The ride out into the ocean did not take a very long time. As they sped out over the waves of the sea and saw the shoreline shrink behind them, the two men simply chatted about their lives, their pasts, and hwo they came to be where they are today. It was a pleasant distraction from the severity of what was about to happen, so Nayoko welcomed the conversation, learning that Chinza used to be a captain of a fishing vessel many years earlier before trading that life for one of helping the ninja of Kirigakure no Sato. He had seen the village get destroyed, by the black flames of Hao Uchiha, a tale that Nayoko had never before heard. Listening intently, he could definitely see why someone who loved their home would turn to helping the shinobi forces in whatever way they could after that. They had been travelling for about an hour when Chinza cut the power to the Sea Side Sunshine, allowing it to drift for a moment before gesturing to the ocean all around him. “Here’s the place my boy. Best of luck down there, and try to come back within two hours or so, otherwise I’ll assume you’re lost.” Nayoko nodded, glancing over the side of the boat as he opened up the container holding his re-breather.

As he lifted it out of the box and strapped it onto his face, breaking the seal and allowing air to flow through the openings into his lungs, he gave the captain a thumbs up before removing his jacket and setting it on the chair he had been using. Muffled through the mask, he replied to Chinza, “Don’t worry, I’ll make it back. I can’t have you running away with that jacket of mine!” Then, without another word, Nayoko stepped up onto the side of the boat and launched himself into the air, diving down into the water and swimming towards his destination.

WC:917+1137=2054/2500

As soon as Nayoko’s eyes adjusted to the light under the ocean surface, he was able to make out the city that stood below him. It was certainly in ruins, but even from this distance, he could see the pockets of air that kept the city from being completely submerged. Deciding not to waste any time, the young Hattori swam straight for one of those bubble like sections of the ruins. It took some time, but eventually Nayoko was able to find one such section that had a place for him to pass through that was close enough to the floor of the ruined city that if he passed through, he would not immediately be subject to falling thirty or forty feet thanks to gravity.

It was a strange feeling, stepping through was looked like the surface of a bubble and passing through onto dry land. Removing the rebreather, Nayoko took a moment to take in his surroundings, examining the part of the city he had stepped into. Glancing about, he saw rows and rows of shelves full of books as well as scrolls that depicted jutsu, history, and all manner of valuable information. “Jackpot,” Nayoko said out loud, looking up at the giant gap in the ceiling of the library-like structure. It was blocked off by another portion of the air sealing effect that the building had surrounding it, which allowed the light from the surface to filter through the water and into the room that he currently stood in, casting beautiful dancing lights across the bookshelves all around him. It was breathtaking, and Nayoko would have stayed to admire it longer if he did not have a job to do.

Stepping over to the nearest shelf, Nayoko began to collect scrolls, focusing on them rather than books due to the fact that they were much easier for him to carry. As he strapped them to his belt he paused, realizing that the light from above had suddenly disappeared, causing him to slowly glance over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he stared at what he assumed had caused all of the other shinobi to go missing. It was a large, black skinned creature that Nayoko could not really make out the form of. It had spread itself out over the gap above the room and its form continuously flickered and shifted, never staying still for more than a few seconds. Glancing about, Nayoko knew that he would probably not be able to escape without confronting it, and his assumption was confirmed nearly immediately as out of the black, shifting mass, a tendril of black launched out toward him, moving at an incredible speed.

Luckily for Nayoko, he was still on land which meant he could move just as fast, darting out of the path of the tendril as it slammed into the shelf that he had been searching. Without hesitating, Nayoko forms a string of hand seal and channeled his chakra into the surrounding ocean; this was his element, and he was going to show this monster who it was messing with. Out of the water surrounding the library came bashing forward with its full force, a water dragon that flew straight for the creature. As it collided with the monster, a nearly deafening roar was sent out in the room, causing the structure to shake with its force before another tendril, this one sharpened like a blade shot out toward Nayoko. Waiting for the last second, Nayoko jumped and again strung together some hand seals as the water of the floor left over from the dragon lifted from the ground and formed into a thousand needles, them impaling themselves on the tendril and pinning it to the ground. “This is over!” Nayoko shouted as he landed on the outstretch black appendage before charging up it at full speed. As he did so, he began to gather suiton chakra in his hand, swirling it into a torrent that he then released at only ten metres away from the great beast, sending his tearing torrent through it and out into the sea behind.

The beast shuddered for a moment, but Nayoko did not stop, running up and through the five metre diameter hole he had just created and snapped his re-breather into place as he leaped through the bubble, back into the ocean. He swam as quickly as he could toward his boat home, glancing over his shoulder to see the beast shuddering and retreated further into the library, not dead, but wounded. Confident that he would to be followed, Nayoko pressed forward, seeing the bottom of the boat in the distance, his mission completed.

[Exit Thread]
WC:779+2054=2833/2500

Mission Complete! (2500/2500)
Unused WC:333