Belly of the Beast:

The tall dominating mountain towered over Maikumaru. It towered over the world. At its top was the beginning. The sweat on his forehead felt colder than he could possibly imagine. Atop of the mountain was his the start of his destiny. Maikumaru snapped his neck and moved on. The tall dominating mountain towered over Maikumaru. It towered over the world. At its top was the beginning. The sweat on his forehead felt colder than he could possibly imagine. Atop of the mountain was his the start of his destiny. He grasped a single crevice. His hand was trembling. His heart was racing. Maikumaru was confused. [Go...climb...the damn mountain.] He couldn’t place what was going on. He slightly moved his body forward. And immediately stopped. His hand was trembling even more. He felt chills crawl up his spine. The chills turned out to be the hand of fear, creeping up on Maikumaru. He shook off the feeling, and slicked his bald head back. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun, about to reach its highest ascension. It was almost noon. He lowered his head.

But then, images flashed in his head. The image of Iwagakure. The Images of Earth Country. The country he was sworn to protect. Maikumaru clenched his fists, and climbed and grasped at anything that would hold him up on the steep mountain.

Upon arriving at the top, he looked around. Apparently he wasn’t too late. Looking around he saw eighteen other Bounty Hunters around them, each bearing themselves to the world, practically wearing their personalities on their sleeves. It was a lot more than Maikumaru was expecting. They were surrounding a tall skinny man, with a very tall and dignified face, wearing white robes. “Gouman? Correct?” Maikumaru nodded in response, his face being covered by his mask. “Your punctuality is slightly disappointing. Nothing too detrimental.” He placed his hand behind his back, and started to pace, eyes scanning each and every one of them that where there. Maikumaru felt harsh judgment from him. Despite how much taller he usually is, he was feeling like obedient dog.

“All of you here...you are lost children. You are all here for monetary gain. But do not worry. For if you survive this trial, you will be moving on ahead in the direction of a bright Light.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, get on with it already.” Maikumaru darted his head to the side. A young woman, with relatively large muscles and a shaved head, wearing an annoyed demeanor. The Robed man cocked his upward. His hand traveled from his back and to his side, stiffening as if it was a deadly weapon. A brilliant spark of lightning began to engulf his hand. And then he disappeared. In a second he was here, and in another he had vanished. He looked from all directions to find that he was behind the woman. His arm was horizontal across his chest. He slashed it to the side, decapitating the woman. “Let this be a lesson to you all, I do not tolerate insolence.”  

“Now.” He casually walked over the headless corpse. “You each will be given a mission to eliminate a heretic. Fools who dare goes against Hastur’s will. Each of you will be given a seal that allows me to gauge your progress. If you come back alive the next phase will begin.”

Maikumaru knoded. He would have to be careful not to screw things up, especially since he he was under surveillance. The Overseer walked up to Maikumaru, and lifted up his mask, revealing a scared face. The man placed a thumb on his forehead, forming a seal. He would walk around and do this with the other Ronin. He reached for his bag on the ground and pulled out some scrolls. “These scrolls contain your targets. We've been here long enough. Now get out of my sight.”

[Later]

Maikumaru had set out to find his Target. There wasn't much about him that was on the scroll, save for locations he would be in and description. He was a Priest of Hastur, and at the same time a Shinobi. Extremely dangerous. Maikumaru was considering it to be a fun challenge. Maikumaru learned that he lives on a boat that he frequently travels on. Rather Luxurious from the money of high ranking missions. Walking along the sure of a beach, there was a small speed boat waiting for Maikumaru. The plan was pretty clear. He had to hurry. He looked up at the sky, estimating the time, waiting for his target to move past. In the meantime, Maikumaru started to shadow box, throwing his fist like large clubs. He waited for the boat’s arrival, as patient as ever. Looking off to the side, he saw it, the large glorious vessel with a beautiful white haul and bright golden lining. Maikumaru hopped on his speed boat, and drove off towards the vessel. The boat was silent, giving Maikumaru the opportunity to successfully sneak up on the vessel. Such a large ship had to have multiple operators. Maikumaru would probably be faced with multiple oppositions. And although he didn't like it, this was a mission that required subtelny. He never liked the stealth approach. It made him feel dirty. Before boarding onto the vessel, Maikumaru activated Gaia’s Eyes. There was nothing to be seen. Of course he couldn't sense anything because he hadn't touched the boat yet. Maikumaru used Supernatural Walking Practice to attach himself to the boat. He crawled up it being as quiet as he possibly could. Upon reaching the deck, he heard footsteps approach. Maikumaru activated Iwagakure no Jutsu, and waited to let them to pass. Once he did, he quickly snuck over to him, crawling over the side of the deck to reach the footsteps. Still invisible, Maikumaru grabbed whoever had was walking, covering their mouths. It was a woman, long blond hair, with a surprised expression on her face. He covered her mouth and nose, and squeezed on her neck, keeping her quiet, and strangling her. When she finally finished her struggle, on the cusp of death, Maikumaru dropped her body into the ocean. Still taking advantage of his invisibility, he climbed onto the ship. He fully activated Gaia’s Eyes to get a glimpse of what he was facing. The ship was massive in size, forcing him to use it to its maximum rank.

There were eight more people on the large ship. At the bottom of the deck, there was some sort of dark cult monastery inhabited by only one person, who sat there and meditated. Maikumaru took out his Kunai, and sneak around the ship. The first two people he would go for were on the main deck. He crept down, keeping noise to a minimum. He held his Kunai tight, before reaching the corner. He listened carefully.

“That was some mission the boss was on, huh?”

“Yeah, I tell yah. That was one tough son of a bitch.”

Gaia’s eyes told them that they had started to walk in the other direction, continuing their conversation. Maikumaru had followed them, until dashing forward. His Kumai went through the back of the neck of the one on the right. Blood had rushed out of his mouth. As for the other one, Maikumaru took the Kunai out of the man’s mouth, and into the other one’s kneecap. He pushed his hand over his face to keep him from screaming. He slammed his head down onto the deck, knocking him out. Maikumaru took their bodies and threw them overboard. Maikumaru checked his senses, to gauge where the others might be. There were six of them left. This time they were all spread about. The Champion of Iwagakure continued to scan the area. Maikumaru noticed that the the crew member who was alone was steering and navigating the ship in the bridge. He would have to be dealt with second to last.

Maikumaru was hoping they all were bearing witness to his efficiency. Because on first glance, Maikumaru is not the type of person who would be able to go through stealth missions. But during his time of being an actual bounty hunter, he had his fair share of stealth ability. He used his stealth jutsu, Iwagakure no Jutsu, to creep around the ship. There was a crew member of the ship who was sweeping the front deck. Maikumaru would take him out next. He was an easy target. While looking around the ship, the Champion of Iwagakure couldn't help but marvel at the fineness of the material on the boat. He saw the anchor while he was passing by. He stopped by it. It sparkled in the brilliant light, showing its golden light. He couldn't help himself. With his fingernail, he chipped away at the armor. And to his surprise, it was made of pure gold. His eyes went wide. But then he cursed himself when he forgot. The Overseer was watching him. He hoped it wouldn't be held against him in anyway. He pressed on, creeping around the corner, leading to the deck. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the Kunai. As expected the man was sweeping the deck, humming a nice toon. With no remorse, Maikumaru threw the knife in the man’s neck, from the back straight out his throat. Because of this he couldn’t scream. In absolute disbelief, he dropped the broom and fell to his knees. He continued to descend into fetal position, grasping at his neck. Maikumaru quickly ran to him. He couldn’t allow him to bleed all over the place, and risk someone coming over to this side of the deck and noticing the blood. He grabbed him by the shirt and tossed his body overboard. However, Maikumaru held onto the shirt. He bounced him up and down, until the consecutive amount of force on the shirt caused it to tear, having him fall into the sea. Maikumaru had kept a piece of the shirt with him. He ran over to the blood that was on the floor. There was a bucket of soap and water. Yet there was no mop nor rag to wash it with. It was an oddity that could be overlooked. Still invisible, he dumped the piece of the shirt inside the water, and and walked back over to the blood. Kneeling down he scrubbed as quickly and as hard as he could. It wasn't hard to wipe of the fresh blood. He then tossed the dirty rag in the see. There were five others remaining. Five others he had to kill. The pressure was on. He roamed the upper interior of the boat, continuing to look for tactical advantages. There were two people that had came to the mess hall of the ship. It was the entirety of the deck below him. The two were sitting with each other. One male and another female. He had to devise a plan to get rid of their bodies. Using Gaia's Eyes, he looked around the deck to see if there was any place he could stuff their bodies. They didn't look like Shinobi. He would have to wait for them to move up the deck at some point. But then he realized. He would have to quickly kill the both. Very quickly. It would take all but ten minutes of waiting. When his invisibility faded, he clung to the side of the ship, continuing to watch everyone's every move. The target was still in the lower deck. Maikumaru only realized it now how still he was. Using the vibration of his technique he could also sense his vitals. His heart was beating just fine, and his breathing suggested that he was conscious. Could it be possible that he could be praying all this time? It wasn't something to dwell too much on. Just as he expected, the two came up to the deck. Perfect. The first thing they both did was lean over the railing. “It's such a nice day out.”

A nice day to die, Maikumaru thought.

“It is isn't it?” The two looked at each other, with looks of endearment. They started to lean in to each other. While they were distracted he creped over the edge, turning his Iwagakure no Jutsu back on. While they were kissing one another, Maikumaru grabbed their throats, and raised then both in the air. He squeezed as hard as possible, making sure no breath would escape their lips. They both struggled, pulled at his face, smacked at his arms, and tried to pull his hands off their necks. First, the young man faded away. It was no surprise. He struggled the most. But then the girl started crying. Her eyes and mouth said please. Unlike the man, she realized that she wasn't going to be able to overpower him. She continued to mouth the words please. Tears welled up. That's what Maikumaru gets for strangling someone with using is non dominant hand. “You aren't dying fast enough.” Maikumaru gave one final string squeeze, cracking her neck. And then, just like the rest, he threw them in the sea. He looked at their bodies. If he could remember, these were shark infested waters. The bodies won't be there for long. Maikumaru chucked at himself. Killing a couple in love during a tender moment, and then regarding their bodies like trash without so much as to even flinch.

Now it was time to head to the navigator and operator of the ship. Maikumaru reached the room they he was in. It was small and at the bridge of the ship. Maikumaru creped up behind him, and stabbed him in the back, covering his mouth. Maikumaru knew that it was almost impossible for the target to hear. But it was better to be safe than sorry. And that was the last one. The last of the fodder. Now was the time to take out the main target. which means the time for stealth was over. The battle he had with this guy had to be very big and very destructive. What was given to him on the scroll was an indicator was that this guy was a powerhouse. Maikumaru charged up his fist with Chakra. He raised it in the air and smashed it into the floor. If his angling was right he would be able to right on the target. Which he did. His had broken through the man's skull and into his brain. Apparently, Maikumaru was expecting a huge battle. Alas, that's not what he got. He was surprised with himself. He pulled it off. He reached in his bag. He had placed explosive tags on the boiler of the ship. After leaving it in the dingy, the vessel exploded…


Maikumaru reached the mountain top. It was time for him to meet back up with the overseer. There were ten others. The overseer paced around. “Welcome back. The other two have died on their mission. Utter failures. While the rest of you have all passed. “Ikari. Okayaki. Aiyuko. Houshoku. Donyuko. Bushou. Gouman. Step over to the right. The rest of you. Step over to the left. You three.” Maikumaru did as he was told. The Overseer raised his hand towards the three that stepped over to the left, and Unleashed a blast of lighting so great, so fast, they all dropped dead. “You seven now belong to Hastur. Don't worry. You may be slaves, but you will get perks like no other. But that's not until you are finished with next few missions. Now. Come with me.” Maikumaru followed the overseer. He didn't know where he was going. He looked back on the bodies. They were all charred, and had lighting still shuddering on them. And then he smiled. Mission complete.


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