”Sano are we there yet?”

”No…”

”Sano are we there yet, yet?”

”I said ‘no’ already didn’t I?”

”So Sano are we there yet, now?”

”I already said ‘no’ Navi…”

”Sanoooooooo, come on! We have to be closer, are we there yet?”

A tick mark developed against his forehead angrily. It was thumping loudly as he was getting irritated with his partner. She kept asking the same question over and over again for the past 3 days without stopping. She said it on the walk over to the mountain and it was getting on his nerves. There was only so much he could take before he lost his cool. ”Damn it Navi! When I said that we’re not there yet, I said we’re not there yet! Now will you stop pissing me off and asking the same damn question!!” Sanosuke finally yelled out at the top of his lungs. He pushed his face close to the flying ball of light to the point where the space between Navi and his face were only a couple of centimeters. ”I’ve been dealing with the same routine for 3 days in a row! Will you just keep quiet so I can focus on trying to find our way back home?!”

Navi looked at Sanosuke and flared at her partner with the eyes that she had and pushed herself up to Sanosuke’s face. Sanosuke retreated back so he wouldn’t be pushed by Navi. ”Don’t yell at me Sano! You’re just too stupid to accept that you can’t even remember where your village is!” It was Sanosuke’s turn to push his face back up to Navi’s. The wasp retreated backwards to get Sanosuke out of her personal space so she wouldn’t be hit by Sanosuke’s advancing forehead that would really hurt the wasp if she was hit.

”How the hell can I not know where my own house is idiot?!”]

”Geez how about you explain it to me, bigger idiot!”

”You’re a pain in the ass you know that?!”

The two went at each other with verbal insults, one after the other. Each one of the insults ranged from insults about their physical attributes, mental capabilities, to just unorthodox insults that had nothing to do with the task at hand which was to find a way back. Titania, the new Queen of the Wasps, had given Sanosuke a route that both Navi and Sano can take to find their way to Kumogakure. But the way was somewhere Sanosuke had never traveled. It took them 3 days to get them out of the Wasp Forest and back into the outside world. From their Sanosuke tried to find a way through the routes that he would need to take to get back to Kumogakure. Normally, Sanosuke could be able to find the way back to Kumogakure in less than a day. But since they were going through a pathway that Sanosuke wasn’t too familiar with, Sanosuke was having a bit of trouble trying to find his way back to Kumogakure.

Of course Navi was beginning to catch onto Sanosuke’s frustration of not being able to find the way back to his homeland. And if Sanosuke knew Navi as well as he does know her, she would never let him live this down. The two of them kept on firing insults at each other without any mercy for minutes. “Are you guys looking for Kumogakure? I’m actually on my way there myself” a voice that came from the other side of the two on the walking path of the road. When the turned to look at where the voice was coming from, they saw it was a trader whom was holding a cart that looked to hold many goods and other valuables a trader might have on his body.

Sanosuke and Navi looked at each other and Navi began to giggle and circle around Sanosuke’s head laughing at him while she was maintaining flight. ”See that Sano? He’s going to Kumogakure, just like us. I wonder if he ACTUALLY knows where we’re supposed to be going.” Navi began to say as Sanosuke sarcastically. She applied emphasis on the ‘actually’ part of his sentence and made sure she drowned that one word with a massive amount of sarcasm. So even she knew that Sanosuke was lost on his way trying to find the right route he needed to take to get back to the village hidden in the clouds.

”Not a single word, ya here me Navi?” Sanosuke mumbled as he and Navi went up to the merchant to talk. They spoke shortly and found out the merchant was going to Kumogakure because he has some supplies that was just gained from Konoha. He wanted to come in to Kumo to trade in the Konoha originated supplies for profit. Apparently someone told the man that this route was a short cut to the village hidden in the clouds and so he took it. That person must have been wrong because the merchant explained to Sanosuke and Navi that it had taken the man several days to get to where he was, and told how that normally he would be in Kumogakure in just 3 days with the usual path he would take.

The merchant told Sanosuke that they were on the outskirts of lightning country so that meant that Sanosuke was somewhere close to Kumogakure. Sanosuke and Navi looked at each other and then decided together to follow the man and his wagon that is full of goods. The merchant, as Sanosuke noticed, had a sore back; he must have pulled it when he was putting the goods onto the caravan. So as a thank you for showing him the right way back back to Kumogakure, Sanosuke volunteered to pulling the caravan of goods while the merchant walked. With the merchant’s help, they reached the main gate of Kumogakure at sunset. Sanosuke placed the caravan down so that the merchant can take care of the rest by putting it where ever he sees fit.

When Sanosuke got to the mountain gate, he was in awe at what he was observing. What stood before him was his home. It was the place called the village hidden in the clouds. Spending a year in the wasp village, he almost called his home the village masked in the clouds. It wasn’t as though the title was wrong; hell that was what Kumogakure was called when the village was still young. But it was amazing to see his home again. Large mountains that looked as though it could go on for miles and miles in the distance. The sun hit his face as it gently licked his face. Along with the ray of light hitting his face was the familiar brisk bite of the mountain air. This was what Sanosuke missed. He was definitely in his home land, the land where he was born. It had been a long time since he’s seen those mountains.

”Wow Sano. Is this the village masked in the clouds?” Navi asked, completely blown away at the beauty of the mountains. Sanosuke smiled to himself and pet Navi gently so that she could be comforted. He merely nodded at Navi’s question. She laughed hard and flew in tight circles around Sanosuke in joy that she was finally in the place where Sanosuke was born. Even though the two were in Kumogakure for only five minutes, by Sanosuke’s estimate, Navi was already listing down several things they should do. While Sanosuke was training in senjutsu with the wasp village, Navi spent her time looking through the library and finding books that were related to Kumogakure in anyway. She was planning her arrival to Kumogakure and remembered a list that she made of all the things she wanted to do. On the list there were several things that Sanosuke has done himself since he lived in Kumogakure all his life so he really didn’t see the bug deal of many of them. But he wouldn’t dare tell it to Navi; he wouldn’t be the one to ruin the surprise for Navi.

Looking outwards, Sanosuke saw the largest mountain that was in the distance of Kumogakure. Sanosuke was sure that it was the building of the Raikage. Sanosuke heard about the new Raikage was a woman by the name of Reika. She was the replacement of his old sensei, Midnight. Sanosuke had never spoken to Reika herself, so he might as well inform her that he had arrived to Kumogakure and so there was no need to be alarmed by his prescene. Plus he needed some missions done so he may be paid to get some groceries for his apartment. He was glad that he asked Hiromasa, his old friend and ex-teammate, to watch his apartment for him while he was gone. If he hadn’t then he would have the task of throwing away rotten food in his apartment.

”Actually Navi let me show you the tallest mountain that’s in the village hidden in the clouds.” Sanosuke suggested as he walked towards the office of the Raikage that was on the very top of mountain. Navi squealed with joy and flew around Sanosuke and followed his footsteps.

1536/3000

The walk towards the largest mountain of Kumogakure was a pleasant walk so to speak. It was like a walk down memory lane to be honest Sanosuke had to admit. He walked through the same mountains and had many fond memories. Memories of him making a pledge at the top of Sky Point that he would always protect the village made him smile at how much of a rookie he was. Then he remembered that he also met the Guru there, fended off some wolves with the help of a blood thirsty genin, and met a very beautiful girl by the name of Ai. While Sanosuke was looking at the mountain with memories, Navi was looking at it trying to take as much of the sights as possible. She “ooo” and “awed” at many things. Sanosuke had to admit he never saw someone so amazed with rocks. That’s when Sanosuke had the idea to get a snow ball and toss it at Navi. The wasp went down in the snow momentarily before flying back up very confused and saw a laughing Sanosuke was there holding his sides. She was at first mystified by the snow and then angry that Sanosuke threw something so cold in his direction.

The wasp chased Sanosuke all the way to the top of the mountain where they would meet the Raikage. When the two of them go to the office of the Raikage, Sanosuke saw a familiar face of a certain secretary. ”Well, well, well if it isn’t Sanosuke Flynt. I gotta say I love what you did with your hair;)” the secretary said winking at Sanosuke. ”And you look amazing, like a real man.”

Sanosuke blushed at that and rolled his eyes. Navi was laughing like crazy as she flew around in tight circles. ”It’s good to see you too Amy. Is the Raikage inside?” Sanosuke asked the secretary to get himself off the topic of Navi wanting to know more about his relationship he had with the secretary of the Raikage. Even though Sanosuke avoided it this time, he was sure that Navi wasn’t going to let this go for a while. Amy gave Sanosuke a scroll that was from the Raikage herself. She explained to Sanosuke that there was an S Rank mission that had to be taken on. Most of the jounin were on duty so it was up to Sanosuke to take up this mission. Sanosuke nodded and read the contents of the scroll:

On the bottom of the scroll was a quick scribble that looked to be a scribbled down location for the meeting place of the president of the intelligence agency that Sanosuke was supposed to meet up with. So I’m to meet him at this place called the Raikage Diversion?” Sanosuke thought as he learnt that the entrance to the diversion was close to the Raikage’s office. The scroll began to burn up as soon as he got his hands off of the scroll. It burnt brightly before reducing the contents to ashes. Sanosuke nodded and began walking along with Navi floating nearby. Sanosuke smiled as Navi was flying close to him

”Are we going on a mission Sano?” Navi asked excitedly. Sanosuke nodded. She began bouncing with happiness as she was just a floating ball of light. When they got to the location of the Raikage Diversion, he met with the two guards of the president. The two guards looked to be two jounin level guards. Sanosuke could tell by the chakra they were giving off, thanks to the senjutsu training he received with the wasps he can even sense people when they’re far away from him. Sanosuke complied by giving the password that was written on the scroll. Once it was good enough, they walked him over to the room where the president was. Sanosuke nodded his head to tell him that he is the shinobi that the Raikage deployed on the mission.

With the group gathered, the jounin looked at each other and opened a secret passage way that would lead them into the wilderness of the lightning country. It was a back exit that nobody knew much about. And it was in the general direction of where they were to be going. Sanosuke sighed and escorted the president with help of the jounin. This was a great way to get back into his career as a shinobi. It was great that he was on an S Rank Mission, but he really wanted some time to relax with his friends and show Navi his home.

That’s when Sanosuke stopped moving and noticed he felt something. Even though he wasn’t in sage mode, Sanosuke could still feel the sensation of someone that is coming at them. It’s not accurate but he can tell that there is someone else here with them. Going into sage mode, Sanosuke opened his eyes and noticed that there were 3 other chakra signatures he could sense. He closed his eyes and opened them up. He unsheathed his broadsword from his back and held it with both hands. It caused all the other shinobi that was in Sanosuke’s company to halt their march. They too got ready for anyone who might attack the president. ”Show yourselves, I know there are 3 of you!” Sanosuke ordered out loud.

“You are good Sanosuke Flynt! Very good!”

3 shadows jumped out of the bushes. It was 3 shinobi and all of them were on position to attack the group Sanosuke was a part of. One of them was scrawny and has an unusual posture; kind of hunched over and leaning to the side. Due to his appearance, despite being very young, he is likely very sickly; he looked to be the youngest out of the 3. The other one was an exceptionally short and stocky. He has a bland expression and attire. Black short sleeve shirt and black shirt, doesn’t look like the average shinobi. He has a buzz cut. The final one was very tall, 6’7” with a muscular build. He is physically the most imposing of all the members of the ambush unit. He has long black hair with the tips of his hair dyed red. Before Sanosuke could tell them to leave, the boy dashed out at Sanosuke with insanely fast speeds while holding a katana high above his head. The kenjutsu specialist came at Sanosuke with a katana that looked to be well-crafted. He was the person who had called out Sanosuke when he was hiding in the bushes. Sanosuke sighed at how in experienced the boy was. His stance was terrible. He was indeed fast, but speed can only take you so far.

A flash of his blade was all it took. ”Rupture!” Sanosuke called out and swiped at the sword that belong to the kenjutsu specialist’s sword. The boy’s sword was cut in half leaving it helpless. The boy smirked and focused raiton chakra into the broken end of the blade to extend the reach of his sword in hope to pierce Sanosuke when he wasn’t looking. He had to admit, Sanosuke didn’t expect the boy to have this knowledge of jutsu on him. If the boy was fighting anyone else, the match would have been his. But then again, the boy was fighting against Sanosuke Flynt.  

Quicker than the boy can realize, Sanosuke spun around on his heel so that the boy would pass him. It left the boy baffled that his attack missed. Placing the tip of his blade against the back of the boy’s head Sanosuke took a deep breath as he focused chakra at the tip of his blade. ” Taihō!” Sanosuke said and the boy’s head was blown clean off his body. The hump of his body fell down. Turning around, Sanosuke realized the other guards were doing battle with the other assassins. They were losing significantly. One of them was a summoning specialist and summoned animals to help him fight against a guard who looked to be holding his own, but for only so long. The other one was good at hiding his chakra and giving one guard a hard time.

There was one thing Sanosuke had over both assassins: both of them were too focused on their fights to realize that their partner was already killed. Meaning that this fight was as good as his. Sanosuke focused his chakra and went into sage mode. The familiar line of silver make up streaked across his eyes. He dashed at the summoning assassin and before he could react, Sanosuke decapitated the assassin with ease. It caused the summonings to disappear since their master was killed. Looking around, Sanosuke sensed the chakra of the last assassin. ”Above you!” Sanosuke warned.

The guard that was fighting still nodded and flashed through several hand seals. Lightning chakra developed in his fist and delivered a devastating uppercut to the assassin that was going to kill him up top. The punch must have killed the assassin on contact because the assassin hit the ground unmoving. The guards breathing hard as they tried to recover. Sanosuke turned off sage mode and gave the men a thumbs up. “Sanosuke-sempai! You were ama-“ one guard said before he was stopped by a blade going through his heart.

Sanosuke’s eyes opened in shock at what he saw. The one guard got the president away from the head assassin who was the one who killed the guard. “Oh my God he killed Kenny!” the president screamed in horror.

”That bastard!” Sanosuke cursed as he sheathed his sword and clapped his gauntlets together to materialize his actual weapons. He knew the typical sword he would use wouldn’t work on this enemy he was fighting. ”Get the president out of here!” Sanosuke dashed at the assassin and clashed blades with him. The assassin was about to shoot at the president with a crossbow when he spotted a nearby Sanosuke that was making a beeline to intercept. The assassin was given two choices: get cut down or give up his shot on the president to defend against the jounin. He chose the latter.

The two were in deadlock for a while when Sanosuke realized he was getting pushed back. This assassin was more skilled than him in the blade. He had to end this quickly. There was one way he could end this but he had to bait the assassin to doing something. Raising his blades, Sanosuke took upward slashes at the assassin to make him block. He knew the assassin would try to counter. And so Sanosuke was on the defensive blocking all strikes that was coming down at him. It was obvious that this man outclassed him in the way of the sword but he had to keep on blocking. He knew he could block all his attacks and wait for the assassin to make a mistake.

The assassin made one just as he suspected he would. When they clashed once more, the assassin used Sanosuke’s body as a springboard and went through several hand signs before releasing a lightning dragon blast of raiton jutsu that was coming at Sanosuke. Sanosuke smirked and went through sage mode, activated his jutsu Katen Kyōkotsu. ”Kageooni!” Sanosuke called out and got his swords ready to intercept the lightning dragon. ” Ekusukaribā!” Sanosuke slashed at the lightning dragon while he activated the seal of the demon on his left eye to have his swords amplified. Sanosuke had chakra glowing brighter around his body as he redirected the jutsu right back at the assassin. Of course the assassin escaped the jutsu by quickly dodging it; but he only escaped with lightning burns on him. What he didn’t see was Sanosuke coming in quickly with a sword coming at him. He looked at the last second to see Sanosuke swooping in to slash. He blocked with his own blade but it was cut clean in half and delivered a devastating blow in his neck killing the assassin on impact.

3703/3000- Mission Complete