Mission:

The edge of the great border of Kirigakure, the only thing that connected the Island nation to the outside world was the vast network of bridges that sprouted from Kirigakure, and reached outward to the mainlands. However, it seemed that as of late the higher ups wanted some of these bridges gone, the reason behind such actions he did not know, all he knew was that for now he was a little soldier boy following his orders. He had briefed himself with the scroll earlier so he was aware of the missions main points, they were to head out to one of the bridges that had been listed on the scroll, and destroy it. Tsurugi was set for this mission his arsenal of Katon jutsu would come in handy for the destruction of this bridge, turning his attention to Ciera for a moment there was no surprise that he was once again paired up with the suiton user, the two had proven to be a good pair. With that he would give her a firm nod "There will be enemies there, so we best take an unorthodox approach. Do this in true ninja fashion, we approach them from the shadows, and pick at their numbers. Best we don't make a big scene at first, we don't know if there is reinforcements nearby" with those words he started making his way towards the location of the bridge.

Tsurugi was walking at a steady pace keeping his senses on full alert as he took in the details of their surroundings, so far he could see nothing that warranted any action from the duet so he pressed on that is of course until they got closer to their marked bridge. Raising a hand to signal Ciera to stop, he would turn over his shoulder towards her "You go left, and I go right. Use the surrounding forest for cover, we both advance ahead, and when we spot the enemy we initiate contact" he would say to her, waiting for a confirmation. Once he received it he would go towards the right, his white duster swallowed up by the surrounding forest, with that he focused on his part; with careful steps, squeezing between trees, and silent hops over bushes he was making his way through the wilderness. As he had hoped the surrounding trees served him well, providing enough cover for him to be hidden from sight, eventually Tsurugi would stop standing next to a tree, and crouching just a bit his golden orbs staring off into the distance. There he spotted them a pair of guards armed with spears, one each, the men wore no visible armor, his eyes would turn towards the area where he assumed Ciera was.

Now it was about whether he made the first move, hoping she would follow along or he waited for her to move in then he followed suit.

484/1500

So here was the mission. There were good and bad bridges. The good bridges were the ones that their country could regulate and control, denying it as a general entry point for enemy forces and smugglers. Those were the main routes for exportation and important, something that was very necessary for the islands. After all, there wasn’t that much land that they could raise livestock efficient, and the people certainly weren’t going to sustain simply on a diet of fish all the time. Likewise, fishes—especially the rarer kinds—were all the rage in certain countries, especially the ones that were further away from any ocean. That kind of trade route brought in much needed ryo for the country to exist and prosper.

Of course, where there was profit, there were those that want to bypass any and all restrictions like taxes. She wasn’t too hot on taxes herself, but she understood the necessity of it. A country and its government simply couldn’t exist solely on a diet of well-intentioned thoughts and wishes. Money was needed to motivate the people and run the country.

So there were these other bridges being built, paid for by criminals or even other nations. Another pathway to invade their country was necessary, after all. The only way to reach the islands was by bridges and ships. Bridges that were held in an official capacity were out of the question, because they were sufficiently guarded and even booby trapped in case of capture by the enemy. All it would take would be activated of the correct seal and the bridge would be no more, along with anyone in the vicinity.

Ships were a risky business all around. One couldn’t simply hide a ninja army on ships, because ships weren’t stealthy in fleets. They would be easily spotted far in advance, making that kind of assault the type that would only be used in open warfare. Surprise attacks with it were out of the question entirely.

That was why bridges were necessary, and that was why they tended to be funded. It was a profitable business anyways, except for the risks, of course.

It was time to show them the risks would be too much in this case.

From her position on the far left, hiding behind a tree in the darkness of night time, Ciera looked over at the environment. She was in the forest, the edges of which reached the beaches. In the midst of the beach was the beginning of the bridge, complete with a ramp that led up to a wooden structure that extended a third of the way to the other side. Along the bridge were torches, hung up on wooden poles. At the very end, where the bridge was being built, she could hear the faint sound of hammers.

At the ramp entrance to the bridge, two guards were standing in attendant, each wielding a spear.

Ciera began creeping down to the beach, using the shadows as cover. She didn’t know if Tsurugi wanted to do this silently like he said or if he would abandon that for open combat, but it wouldn’t hurt to get closer so that when their surprise attack begun, it would be more successful.

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WC: 548/1500

Well as far as he could tell his partner was not going to move in, at least he was unaware of her moving through the shadows the golden eyed man would step out from the forest, sticking to the shadows nearby so that he could remain hidden from view. The sole of his boots stepped onto the sandy grounds of the beach as he crept along with steady steps towards the two guards, his eyes would move from the guards towards the bridge that was at least in his eyes half complete. Such was obvious from the sound of hammering that was echoing down from the wooden bridge, his eyes would return back to the two guards he was already choosing his mark obviously it would be the guard that stood closest to him. This way the distance between him, and the target would be shorter increasing the chance of success when he launched his surprise attack, he was still banking on the hope that Ciera was following suit, and approaching her target.

When he was within reach he made his move the male stepped out of the shadows into the light where he would quickly step behind the closest guard using his arms like a vice grip to tighten around the man's throat from behind, Tsurugi was much taller than this guard so he was able to easily overpower the smaller man, and lean his own body back forcing the guards feet from the ground. He would squeeze tightly using his forearm, and bicep to tighten around the mans throat blocking the arteries and airways. The guard would panic dropping his spear, the other guard would surely have been dealt with by Ciera now, either way Tsurugi was doing his part by causing the first guard to pass out from lack of oxygen, and blood supply to his panicking brain. The grip that tightened around Tsurugi's forearm in an attempt to get him to let go would weaken as the guard lost consciousness, with that he would release the man allowing his limp body to fall to the sandy ground with a thud.

Looking down at the body Tsurugi would grab it by the ankles, and drag the body behind the ramp leaving it there out of view at the very least no one would find him anytime soon. Assuming Ciera was done with her part he turned to her, "Any ideas for the bridge?" he asked her his eyes looking away from her figure, and back to the bridge.

906/1500

Sneaking towards her target, Ciera spotted Tsurugi—that wayward shadow—on the other side, doing almost the same thing. As they ventured closer to their targets, she paused, waiting for some kind of signal. She wasn’t surprised when he initiated, giving the guard a choke hold. Moving quickly before the other guard could react to Tsurugi’s surprise ambush, she came up and shoved her palm upward into his chin to shut his mouth and lift his head. Without any hesitation, she opened her mouth—filled with sharp shark-like teeth—and bit down on his neck. He gasped and struggled, dropping his spear and reaching his hands up to free himself, but the shark woman bit down harder and pulled back, ripping a good chunk of the man’s throat free.

He gargled on his own blood as he collapsed onto his knees. His hands tried to hold in the blood coming from his wound, but it didn’t work. Instead, his life dripped away, down his hands and body. Eventually, after a few moments of desperation, he fell to the ground, his eyes still wide open even though they saw nothing anymore.

Ciera spat out the chunk of flesh and blood before she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her kimono. Humans did not taste good, even to pure sharks.

"Any ideas for the bridge?"

She took a glance at the bridge. It was wooden.

“Burn it down?”

For a bridge, it was wasteful to use that much metal. Usually, metal came from iron country as they had the largest stock of natural deposits. As such, all the ninja villages tended to import from there. However, Kirigakure was a village on the other end of the continent from iron country. For that reason, the cost of buying and transporting it all the way to the islands made it much more expensive than usual. To use it frivolously on making a bridge made entirely of iron was an exorbitant endeavor that outlaws couldn’t ever afford to make.

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WC: 894/1500

Well at least she was blunt about it, he liked that about her there was no fuss when she answered a question, "If we are going to be so straight forward about this, then let's use the element of surprise to our advantage..." he paused for a second as his eyes analyzed the bridge, he already had an idea on how to start burning the thing down; but he also had another thought. "Once I set the bridge on fire, there will most likely be a sudden surge of enemy warriors, like these two coming this way. Chances are their ranks will be divided some trying to deal with me, and others trying to put the fires out. You should take to the waters, wait for the chaos to unfold, and then systematically take out the ones who try to put the fire out, while I deal with the attacking force here on the beach..." he would pause to give her time to take in his suggestion, it seemed like the best route for them to go about this, they would take advantage of the element of surprise, and take down the enemy forces as effectively as they possibly could.

All he had to do was initiate the attack by unleashing his katon jutsu on the bridge, he would look at Ciera giving her a nod of the head so she could get out to the water now, and hide herself. Performing the necessary hand seals while his partner sunk away into the veil of the waters that would hide her from plain sight, he would begin to focus his chakra whilst holding the final seal. Releasing the chakra from his body he would manipulate it in order to create eight fireballs in total that floated around him forming a clustered group of fiery spheres, Tsurugi would waste no time in launching them into the air, and then causing them to come down with a curve in their descent. The fireballs all traveled in a closely knit group, crashing against the wooden bridge, their individual explosions creating a single concentrated eruption of flames that resulted in chunks of the bridge being blown in all directions. Not only that but some men who were working on the bridge were also hit, while others managed to flee int error at the sudden attack, the roaring flames crept on the wooden surface eating away at it as they slowly began to spread.

Just as he had predicted the men split themselves three men came in by a small boat surely a patrol boat that was used to patrol the nearby shores for any saboteurs like Ciera, and Tsurugi.  While the other three men were the guards from the opposite side of the bridge, who were trying to put out the fire with some buckets of water they had gathered, surely those men would fall into the water below the moment the bridge broke under the flames that were eating away at its very structure. Meanwhile Tsurugi stood staring down the three who emerged from their boat, seemingly gathering at the beach ready to deal with the menace responsible for causing such a chaotic uproar.

1438/1500

185/200:

By the time that Tsurugi had set the bridge on fire, Ciera was below the calm waves, swimming to her destination. When she surfaced above the blue, with only the light from the fire to illuminate, there was no one to see. They were far too busy with putting out the fire that was taking place on the bridge, splashing water from buckets and ninjutsu alike in order to stem the burning tide. Even if they did see her, it would have been far too late.

As she floated, half of her body just above the water’s surface, she clapped her hands together and began forming the seals of her jutsu. While it was a B-ranked technique, it was one courtesy of her clan. It was a deadly jutsu that she had not had the change to use in real combat before now, especially since it was something of an area of effect technique. However, now was the best time to try the technique out.

Besides the three guards, there were builders and workers on the bridge, but they would all be condemned to death. Perhaps the builder was an experienced veteran, looking to make more than the mundane pay that his job usually gave him. Or it could be that the worker that was trying to provide for his ailing sister/mother. Maybe it was a person coerced into doing the job from an ever-increasing debt, blackmail, or death threats. Or could it be that they simply weren’t told the truth of the matter, believing it to be a simple job? Honestly, though, it didn’t matter if they were doing it willingly or not; as it was, they would suffer the consequences of associating with the enemy.

Ciera couldn’t find it in herself to care about their situation. The mission was simple, and it would remain simple for her. No need to complicate things by adding in such vague concepts like morality or compassion. Those were things best left for people that were more useful for the things that she cared about.

As she finished the last seal of her jutsu, she allowed her chakra to flow to her palms. She unclasped her hands and slammed a palm down on the surface of the water. On command, a surge of water rose up, eclipsing the bridge and its inhabitants from the light of the moon. Yet, on closer inspection, as the droplets fell onto those on the bridge, one could see that it was not simply water.

Each drop was a tiny shark, their jaws opened wide with their rows of sharp teeth.

As it fell upon the people like rain, each droplet bit down on contact, ripping through flesh like tiny piranhas. A chorus of continuous screaming echoed throughout the bridge, yet their cries were only answered with more pain. They ate through the flesh, shredding them apart slowly and agonizingly.

By the time that it was over, the people that once occupied the bridge were no more than half-eaten corpses, their mutilated bodies lying in pools of water and blood. While the flames at this location had been extinguished by the water, the other parts of the bridge were still burning and continued to spread. Soon, this spot were be dried and ignited by the fire, creating a fitting funeral for them.

It was time to head back and meet up with Tsurugi. Diving once again under the water, she swam back toward the beach to meet up with the other Mist ninja. It was almost time for them to leave anyways; the fire was bound to attract peoples’ attention soon enough. He should be finished with his opponents by now, though if he wasn’t, then she was more than happy to give him a hand at that task.

Chakra 200/220. +1 power (clan):

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WC: 1534/1500

The fire raged on, it had not once slowed down this was an obvious signal that Ciera had done her job she had taken out the enemy the man with blue hair would smirk as he felt his chest swell with a job well done, he would turn his focus back to his enemies the men were charging making their way towards him. He needed to end them quickly, no time to linger or drag the fight out if it could be avoided he would quickly perform a series of hand seals as the men covered the distance towards him aiming to strike him down. Tsurugi would not allow this, his eyes remained fixed on the enemy, lucky for him it was difficult to run on the sandy floors of the beach so this would surely slow down the charging trio even if just a bit, it was still something. Once the seal was complete he would exhale a near invisible gas from his mouth that gave off a strong noxious odor yet the charging men seemed to caught up in the battle that they failed to realize the smell, they were more preoccupied with getting to Tsurugi. Once the gas had spread he would allow it to settle around the men, covering a large area in front of Tsurugi it was going to be easy for him to set this one up.

Just as the men where getting within striking range he performed another set of seals this time releasing a single burst of flames from his mouth the gas attracted the flames like a magnet, pulling the normally short range fire attack, and amplifying its reach by creating a giant fireball that engulfed thirty feet worth of beach in a hellish inferno. Stepping back a few steps, Tsurugi raised an arm to hide his face from the intense heat that was blown at him from the giant fireball that he had created, the intense flames would eventually settle down. With the heatwave subsiding he lowered his arm from his face, looking over at the charred sands of the beach where his eyes settled upon the twitching bodies of the men he had trapped in the hell storm. Walking over to them he would stare down at them it was obvious these men would die from their injuries, their flesh was so burned that the men couldn't move or refused to even move. Golden eyes would raise from the defeated mercenaries, looking over at the emerging Ciera he would quickly turn on his heels to give her his back, "Let's go" he said as he cleared his throat hiding a blush that colored his cheeks.

Despite her physiology the fish woman had quite the curvacious body, something Tsurugi had to avoid staring at in order to prevent the irritable nosebleeds that he suffered from, with an internal sigh he began to make his way back to the village.

1928/1500

165/200: