OOC:

Mission Details:

The conversation that the four men below him were having was pretty boring for Kuno at first. It seemed that the young Uchiha had arrived only shortly after the gang leaders, and so when Kuno finally began to listen t the words that they were saying, he realized that they had not yet gotten past the petty posturing and overly exaggerated outbursts of criminal bravado that was generally how these meetings began. Each of the thugs took turns talking themselves up, explaining why they were so big and strong and how the other three should fear them most of all.  It was all extremely exhausting for Kuno, who had decided long ago that actions speak far louder than words. If these men wanted to prove their strength, then they should just fight each other and save the shinobi of Sunagakure the trouble of hunting all four of them down. This childish and frankly, annoying course of the conversation continued for another five minutes or so before it resolved itself like it did every time. All four men were equally scared of pissing off one another, which left all of them alive and allowed the true purpose of this meeting to get underway.

Finally, the gang leaders on the first floor of the former warehouse gathered about the table properly and laid out a large map of the Village Hidden in the Sands. The first few minutes if the actual business revolved around territory that each of them men had claimed as their own turf. There was a brief dispute between two of the younger men, but eventually, they were able to settle on new boarders that they both seemed fairly satisfied with. Noting that knowing what the territories were would be invaluable to the administration of Suna, Kuno decided that he would need a better look at that map. Slowly and nearly silently, the young Uchiha raised himself up on to the railing that spanned around the entire balcony, before carefully stepping out onto the rafters that covered the open ceiling of the abandoned building. Being careful to keep to the shadows, Kuno crawled out into the center of the room before pulling out his notebook once again and sketching the map that was on the table directly below him. From this position, he had a much better view of the two guards on the top level as well, which allowed him to more effectively hide from them, though they didn't seem overly interested in the proceedings going on below them.

The meeting was pretty straight forward for the next twenty or so minutes, with the four leaders discussing what heights they had successfully performed or how they had managed to spread their influence of late. Kuno made sure to take detailed notes of everything that they discussed so that hopefully the village could use the information to their advantage in combatting the extremely strong criminal element that had weaseled its way into power over the last few years. All over the ninja world, Sunagakure no Sato was known as a wretched hive of scum and villainy. In reality, it was actually the jewel of the desert, a safe haven in the harsh Land of Wind, but people refused to look past the betrayals that had been made over the years. It deserved better, and Kuno was almost certain that under the guidance of the new Kazekage, it the face of the Village Hidden in the Sands could change. It would be a long, uphill battle, but it would happen; and it was missions like these tat would help to achieve that goal.

The four men then grew quiet for a time. Perhaps they were contemplating what information to give out or which one of them each of them were planning to betray. Regardless, the silence was eventually broken by the youngest man there when he asked a question that piqued the young Uchiha’s interest. “So I’m just gonna come out and say it. What are we going to do about these new guys?” Kuno’s ears began to burn at the chance that they were discussing Autumn. Perhaps this would be both a professionally and a personally fruitful night. One of the older men continued. “We do nothing, that’s what. They’re small time thugs trying to make a name for themselves by wearing fancy cloaks and giving themselves a name. All they’ve done is rob a few places, nothing worth wasting man power on.” One of the other men seemed skeptical. “I don’t know about that man. Word on the street is that they killed some woman in her home for no reason at all. They seem kinda ruthless if you ask me.” The young Uchiha grimaced as they brought up the murder of his mother so casually. If his mission had been to dispatch these men, he would have jumped at the opportunity moments ago. But unfortunately, he would have to stay his blade for the time being, confident that they would get what they deserved soon enough.

When Kuno turned his attention back to the men, the oldest one was speaking again. He was angry now, and that anger was directed toward the younger attendees of the meeting. “So what if they killed some lady. One dead body is enough to scare you huh? No wonder the new kage is so popular, the underworld of this village is ruled by a bunch of morons and cowards now. Why if you two had seen HALF of the bloodshed that I’ve dolled out alone you’d be sniveling before me begging for mercy!” Soon, the meeting gave way into a chorus of more useless bragging that had Kuno all but rolling his eyes at the scene that was unfolding. He was just about to turn to leave when he heard one of the men, the youngest of the group, shout above the others. “Well I’ll prove to you that I’m not a coward!” Kuno looked over his shoulder to see him releasing a bird out the front door of the building. “That bird is carrying a message to five of my guys in the Gran Bazaar! They’re gonna burn it down! So ha!”

Kuno went from uninterested to nearly panicked in a very short amount of time. The market district was pretty fare from here, but if he hurried, he might be able to make it in time. Doing his best to remain stealthy, the young Uchiha leapt from the rafters back toward the window that he had entered through. Without any hesitation, he proceeded out of the window, jumped to the nearby perimeter wall, and then up onto the rooftops where he began is run to the bazaar proper. At this point, Kuno completely abandoned stealth, hoping instead to draw the attention of the village ANBU, or at least some sort of patrol that was around. Luckily for him, his hopes became reality as he spotted a patrolling shinobi up ahead running toward him, trying to flag him down. Kuno ran toward the stranger but did not slow down as he passed him, outpacing him pretty quickly. Pulling his forehead protector from his pocket, he waved it trying to show that he was an ally , not an enemy, before shouting back to him. “There’s going to be an attack in the Grand Bazaar! Get help quickly!”

Unwilling and unable to wait for a reply, Kuno darted off at full speed toward the market district. When he finally arrived here, he sighed with relief at two things. One, the streets were not yet ablaze like had been ordered; and two, due to the late out of the day it seemed that the shops in the area were mostly abandoned. Jumping down to street level, Kuno drew his blade and moved through the streets, looking for some sign of the would be arsonists. For the fourth time that night, Kuno had to attribute his luck to fate itself as he stopped in the entrance to one alley upon hearing a couple of voices talking I hushed tones. They seemed to be debating whether or not they should actually burn the place down, and that hesitation was all the young Uchiha needed. Activating the single tomoe of his Sharingan, Kuno darted down the alley, Adolescent Ember in his right hand both of his lungs full of fire infused chakra.

Finally in view of the individuals, Kuno realised his Pheonix Flower Jutsu in their direction, focusing on two of the five thugs that he saw before him. Six of the ten projectiles slammed into pone of the men, knocking him unconscious in the process. The other four slammed into one of the other criminals, who Kuno also threw his blade at using his blade boomerang technique. Completely caught off guard, the man had no time to react and as the hilt of the sword slammed into his skull, he toppled over with a loud crack.

That left only three, but three against one was hardly fair odds. They all rushed the young Uchiha at once, forcing him to take a defensive stance as they assaulted him with blade and fist alike. Thanks to is Sharingan, he was having an easier time keeping up with them, and he managed to deflect a few blows that would be fatal. Nevertheless though, he knew he would not win this alone. As the thought went through his head, he heard the sound of wind rushing above him. The Kuno and his assailants all looked up just in time to see a man clad in armour and wearing a porcelain hawk mask descend upon them, sending them into unconsciousness with a series of swift strikes from his staff. With the enemies dispatched, the ANBU turned to Kuno and nodded to him, addressing him with a clearly disguised voice. “Good work, report to the administration building immediately to make a full report."

Not one to disobey orders, Kuno nodded to the ANBU and exited the alleyway. His work here was done.

[Exit Thread]

WC:1685

Mission Complete! (1500/1500)

Unused WC:185