The prospect of being called in for a mission wasn’t something Takao was necessarily unfamiliar with, but in recent times he had certainly become unaccustomed to it. Between the injuries he sustained at the Gokage Summit all those years ago and the injuries inflicted upon him on the home front after returning to his duties as the Hokage, it had been quite some time since he was officially an active shinobi of Konohagakure. Of course, those injuries were little more than a minor deterrent when it came to acting out on his own, which he oft found himself doing regardless of the village’s rules and regulations. He didn’t have the restrictions of a respectable title to keep him in line, after all.

But with his leg healed and his subsequent reinstatement as a Jōnin, it seemed like the village wouldn’t be stalling with their usage of him. They had the decency to jump start him out on something small this time around; a simple bandit group genocide. It seemed to him as though for every little band of brigands and ruffians they struck down, two more would pop up, and the cycle would continue… yet it would be more detrimental to the country’s well being to simply allow for them to persist. Their intervention was necessary, if not futile to the bigger picture.

And so, here he was, standing in the Administration Building, dressed in attire that was entirely inappropriate for the task at hand, all the while sporting a facial expression that alluded to his desire to be elsewhere. Between the slate grey coloured light hoodie draped over his shoulders and the generic graphic tee beneath it, to the fitted dark blue jeans tucked into brown military-esque boots, Takao hardly looked the part of a Jōnin and was certainly not befitting attire for somebody who had once held a rank of impressive renown. But it was certain to bring false thoughts and underestimations about him, which was just what Takao preferred. The world was one big game of deception, and he was an avid player.

The briefing ran on for much longer than necessary, although he did laugh at the woman’s wording. “A trip?” Takao said, hands idly rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie before finding their way into its pockets. Hints of some kind of mechanical device strapped to his right forearm were clearly made visible in doing so, though he paid no mind to it. “You make it sound like a vacation. Nothin’ gets me more relaxed and chill than knockin’ some heads, eh?” He added, casting a brief glance toward Daichi. As the conversation was wrapped up and the briefing came to an end, Takao slumped his shoulders down and exhaled a sigh.

“Easy enough.” He said, turning on his heel and heading for the door. He raised his hand to wave to the woman, and beckon Daichi along. “We’ll be back within an hour.”

Despite the busy nature of the village, the Administration Building seemed relatively quiet. Only the staff tended to linger, and seldom did they do so in the hallways that ran through the large labyrinth like building. The lack of presence allowed for the soft thuds of Takao’s boots hitting the clean tile to echo as he walked, each step he took having purpose as he carried himself onward.

“An hour is more than enough time.” Takao responded matter of factly, his offhand already digging through his pockets the moment they stepped out of the administration building. “A few bandits are backin’ up a trade route. That’s nothin’ new.” He said, pulling two rectangular objects from his pocket. One was a carton of cigarettes, and the other an object akin to a cellular phone. One hundred years of relative peace since the fourth shinobi war had afforded the world many advancements in recreational technology. Fortunately, some of that technology came in handy on the job, such as the map that Takao was scrolling through as he walked.

“See, they’re ‘bout ten minutes outside of the village. We leave now, we’re there with like... forty five minutes left. Do you really think we’ll be fighting them for more than an hour? Hell, even more than half an hour? I don't wanna mess 'round with 'em for more than ten minutes anyway. Also, our objective is to “clear the sector”, and we haven’t been given explicit orders against using lethal force. That means we're fine to go all out.” Takao continued as he walked, tapping the bottom of the carton against the palm of his hand before shaking one of the sticks out. He pulled it from the carton with his mouth, and subsequently plucked it from his teeth to momentarily hold in his free hand. He exhaled a breath, and in doing so charged his breath with a spot of chakra, causing a wisp of flame to snap from his mouth and lick the end of the cigarette aflame. He placed it back in his mouth and let the embers burn the paper and tobacco, simultaneously offering one from the carton to Daichi.

“It’s all forests up there. If I didn’t have to worry ‘bout burning everything down, I’d just roast ‘em and we’d be done with it. Easy few hundred ryo. But I can’t imagine the Brass would like that, so… We’ll just have to do things the hard way.” Takao said, taking a long drag from the cigarette while walking. Whether Daichi took the offer or not, the carton and his phone would soon find itself back in Takao’s pocket, and one of Konohagakure’s many gates would soon be within view.

Takao’s right arm rose and his left hand set about checking the mechanisms of the device on his arm. The straps were tightened and fit his forearm snugly, although its complex outward design did little to hint at what its exact purpose was. “According to the report, they’re not using jutsu either. Just blunt weapons… So I ‘spose we do have that edge over ‘em.”