Mission:

Raphael let out a sigh of relief as he topped the sand dune and laid his eye's upon the village hidden in the mist border camp. It had been weeks since last he was here, help beat back the idiots of the land of wind that thought they had what it took to attack one of the great shinobi village's camp. Though he did not feel as if he truly offered much help, the words of the Mizukage after the fact said otherwise. It was because of her that the boy was even still alive after that battle, and it was because of her that he did what he did. The hidden mist hunter ninja's had been trying to track down the different leaders of rebel forces, though they did not seem to be having much luck in that department. The boy however had, not only had he tracked down and eliminated many of the enemies of the four great shinobi nations to lay down the path to continue their advancement within the land of wind. The boy had also tracked down and captured one of the men that the hidden mist was looking for, Tente a man feared by many within the land of wind was no longer a threat to the operations of the shinobi village's. Raphael pulled on the rope causing the one armed man beneath the tathered robes to fall forward as he walked up the sand dune, "on your feet Tente, your new home awaits you." The boy said with a sly smile upon his face, the young shinobi was more than pleased with himself. Not only had the boy done what the hunter ninja's seemed incapable of doing in tracking the man down, he had also single handedly taken the man's entire operation apart and captured the man alive. The information that the man had could prove to be invaluable, but first he needed to get the man to the Mizukage and allow her Anbu to deal with him. The man would not put up a fight, at least not now that he had lost his arm. Of course had the man not foolishly tried to stop the boy's rasengan with his own hand that never would of happened, the boy had tried his best to cause the man to turn himself in peacefully but Tente was far too stubborn for that and it was not until after his rasengan had taken the man's arm that he was willing to surrender.

Once Tente was back on his feet and standing next too the boy on top of the sand dune the boy would turn to face the beaten man. "Say hello to your new home," the boy stated as he motioned with his arm towards the barge that was the village hidden in the mist border camp. "Get a good look at it because I doubt you will be seeing anything outside for a very long time, if at all. This place is where you will spend the remaining days of your life." The boy added before shoving Tente slightly to cause the man to almost fall down the sand dune towards the border camp. The boy would chuckle as the man fell face first into the sand, but he would not say another word to him. Casually walking down the sand dune himself until he stood next too the face down Tente, pulling on the rope that tethered the man to himself Raphael began walking towards the camp. As the two drew nearer to the base they were quickly surrounded by a small group of the famous hunter ninja of Kirigakure, the boy would slowly raise his hands up to show that he did not come as a threat. "Easy there fellas, I have a present for your Kage." He stated as he pulled off the tattered hood that cover his prisoners face, "Tell the Mizukage, that Raphael of the hidden cloud has come to turn Tente over to her." He stated in a clear voice so that all the ninja that surrounded the pair could hear him, making it clear that he would not hand Tente over until he spoke with the Mizukage personally. It made him all the more prideful looking upon the hunter ninja's that surrounded him, that he had done what these men were unable to do.

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737

Raphael waited patiently for the masked men to obtain their orders before he joined them in moving to the more secure location of the forward bases operation room. He could not help but smirk at the attention the men were paying to his captive, weapons drawn and the tension obvious in the air as they escorted the young Kumo Shinobi and his one armed prize. He knew that the man had succumb to his fate and no longer held any fight within himself, however he would not object to their security measures as this was their base and they had their own protocols to follow. As the Anbu and Hunter Nin escorted the pair into the tent that was their war room, the boy would to the best of his ability take a quick look around the room. Not enough to draw attention to what he was doing, but enough so that he would know where all the exits were if things went south and he need to escape from the base. The boy did not trust many people, however the Mizukage did not strike the boy as someone who would betray the trust of someone, he could not speak for those that worked for her.

Shortly after the boy and his prisoner were escorted into the room, the Mizukage entered from the other side. She did not look as he had remembered her the day he came to offer his help in defending this base, it was as if something had changed since the last they had met. Beads of sweat ran down her battle scared form, revealing the countless battles that she had endured and come out on top. Despite her wearing only bandages and an open cloak, it was obvious to the boy that the heat was not something that she was accustomed to as he was having grown up in this land. 'Though she holds the power of a god, heat seems to be her downfall.' The boy thought to himself as he moved to sit at the table that stood in the center of the room, his thoughts quickly shifting to that of his own Kage and the weaknesses that he might hold. The boy's thoughts however would be short as he was quickly snapped back to the present by the words of the Mizukage, handing the chain that bound the one armed man to the Hunter Nin that came to retrieve the man on behalf of their Kage. "I only ask that his death be long and painful when you are finished with him for the crimes he has committed in this land." The boy said as the Hunter Nin lead the one armed Tente from the room. The boy would then take this time to look over the board that was in front of him on the table, the markings of targets as well as other Kiri forces stationed throughout the Land of Wind, though it had been many weeks since the boy had seen his own villages operation room he could only assume that their board looked similar to this one and wondered if there had been any scuffles over the land between the two nations since last he had reported in. The boy would smile as he stopped the glass the Mizukage slid to him across the table, marveling at how cold it was to the touch before reminding himself of who he was in the presence of. Ayakashi, The Demon Ice Witch. The woman who could turn an entire battlefield into nothing but Ice, so of course a small glass of tea was but second nature to the woman. The Mizukage was straight to the point with her question, abrupt but not unexpected considering the circumstances of the situation.

The boy would pick the glass up from the table, swirling the glass casually in his hand before he spoke. "Well your the one that posted the bounty, its only fair that you reap the reward." The boy remarked before taking a sip of the Ice cold tea, savoring the flavor of it as it slid down his throat. Sitting the glass back on the table, the boy decided there was no reason to withhold the truth from the Mizukage. "The truth is Lady Mizukage, something has come to my attention. As I told you before I do not care for the plights of the Kages, my only wish is to help the people of this land. However it seems that my Kage cares more for his quest for power than he does for the people of this land, the last time a Criminal of the Land of Wind was before him, the Criminal was granted amnesty and is a general now in is conquest. Mitsuo should have been put to death for his crime, as well as his accomplices, but instead the Raikage honors him. Not to mention the Snake Demon that he allowed to escape, because he wanted to be amused rather than kill the Monster that helped Mitsuo destroy Sunagakure." The boy would take another sip of his tea, allowing the Mizukage to process his words before he continued. "I would rather Tente be put to death for his crimes against the people of this land, rather than being honored as Mitsuo was. I trust you to do that, as I am not a Judge and your village has better interrogation techniques for gathering information from the man than I have. I believe that his life should at least hold some small purpose before his sentence is carried out." Thought out the whole time the boy spoke his tone was upbeat despite the weight they held, as he spoke how he truly felt for the first time since the chuunin exams last year. Though his expression would seem detached from the situation, in truth a great weight had been lifted from the boy. A weight that he had in his heart since he had first turned his back on the people of this land the last time and fled to Kumogakure pledging himself to the Raikage, he would not betray his people a second time. Nor would he allow himself to fail them again.

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1037/1774

"Well your the one that posted the bounty, its only fair that you reap the reward...The truth is Lady Mizukage, something has come to my attention. As I told you before I do not care for the plights of the Kages, my only wish is to help the people of this land. However it seems that my Kage cares more for his quest for power than he does for the people of this land, the last time a Criminal of the Land of Wind was before him, the Criminal was granted amnesty and is a general now in is conquest. Mitsuo should have been put to death for his crime, as well as his accomplices, but instead, the Raikage honors him. Not to mention the Snake Demon that he allowed to escape because he wanted to be amused rather than kill the Monster that helped Mitsuo destroy Sunagakure...I would rather Tente be put to death for his crimes against the people of this land, rather than being honored as Mitsuo was. I trust you to do that, as I am not a Judge and your village has better interrogation techniques for gathering information from the man than I have. I believe that his life should at least hold some small purpose before his sentence is carried out."

Ayakashi was not happy with the words that were being spoken, Mitsuo Sarutobi was a friend, and Hastur was this person's Kage, of which they had sworn an oath... why was it that this kept happening? People would reveal their distaste for their own nation, notably from kumogakure, to Ayakashi, the leader of the nation tasked with the hunting down of missing ninja in such a ruthless manner... had they not been doing their job recently? Or was Ayakashi some form of mobile honey-trap that seemed to attract these kinds of ninja? regardless, she was empathetic to the cause, but there were some inaccuracies that were in the story of the person before her, Ayakashi was there when she saw many of these events come to pass. Raphael on the other hand, was not.

"Firstly, to set the record straight, it was at the decision of the United Kage and their representatives at the Summit that Sarutobu Mitsuo was to stay in Kumogakure, while his actions in this nation were detestable, we deemed that the corruption that had festered in this land was very real and needed to be dealt with. We determined that he needed to align himself with a nation and be bound by its laws, which nation he chose was up to him. He's a powerful ninja, it makes sense Hastur would treat him as a valuable asset. That's pragmatic, not evil. There was also no evidence presented that any of the widespread devastation was done by his hand. Lamya on the other hand, I was there to witness, and Hastur called her into a trial by combat against one of my best, and she lost, attempted to escape and was hunted down by Hasturs' ninja as well as my best hunters, but still managed to escape. This isn't the fault of your kage. Finally, I will not engage in this conversation with another ninja, as it is tantamount to conspiracy, and I would have you killed for the same corruption you're attempting to convey. Are we clear?"

Ayakashi's tone would have become dark, serious, in congruence with the nature of the consequences they were talking about. In earnest, an opinion is an opinion, but when they're spoken in circles with the power to be able to enact on them, opinions evolve into something more. Ayakashi saw that hastur was an odd recluse as a Kage, he was a wildcard whom she seemed to see he cares for his nation... in some form. How he displayed it while she was in his nation was definitely something that she had not expected. But it seemed genuine, and she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as an odd-ball, while being cautious enough to prepare for a storm that may be brewing as his power and influence crystallized amongst his people. But, moving on, she would look to the kid that was before her, shrugging and moving back to her drink, sipping it and feeling the cool fluid run down her dried throat. the prisoner would be interrogated to the point that he would give up any secrets he was keeping before being tried fairly, and likely executed.

"In any case, remember that you swore and oath to serve and protect your country and your Kage in becoming a ninja. Your fate, is tied with the fate of that nation and you have a duty to uphold it. The Brotherhood of a ninja nation forms an armor that needs to be iron-clad least it collapse and expose the bleeding heart of your people to the woes of the world. Insurrection and doubt are rust and blows to that armor which will tarnish and weaken its frame. Be wary of that when acting in the future and you will do fine."

Ending her little advice session she would move towards the window, as people would begin to move in and out of the war room. Something seemed to be beginning, though she was not sure what the hubhub was all about. Turning to one of the twins that seemed to be moving to the table, placing a new black idol upon the map which represented a significant threat, Ayakashi would turn to the Sensory Jonin, asking as to the nature of the information. "there's been news that a powerful ninja has been spotted making a beeline for one of the encampments, we put two squads of hunters on him and he dismantled them... ranking S. It seems to be making its way for the Kumogakure border camp... They're demolishing everything that we put in between them and they dont seem to be slowing down... awaiting your orders Lady Mizukage."

Aya would look to Raphael, it was ironic that a threat like this raises its head now. Ayakashi wasn't as well equipped as she could be, but with her standard equipment at her side she felt confident that she would be able to dispatch the fast-moving threat. "I guess now you're going to have the chance to prove your metal, come with me and show me your resolve to protect your people. what do you say?"

Exit

1774 WC