Only a month had passed since the event that had shaken up the very foundations of the world. The skirmish in the Land of Frost that took the lives of so many and had nearly claimed his own. Kumogakure no Sato was in a state of panic, spread thin between hunting down the still present forces of the Jashinists and opposing the Konohagakure troops approaching the southern border. High ranking ninjas were sent out in the field 24/7 desperate to maintain order within Kaminari no Kuni. Fear and rage among so many emotions had set in within each citizen of Kumogakure, the latter being fiercely seeded within the young Sasaki heir. Having been hospitalized and nearly killed by the Dragon of Konoha after defeating one of its shinobi, Kyousuke had been bedridden for the entirety of the last month. Finally though, with the aid of the highest skilled doctors and time, he had made a full recovery. It was now time for him to return to his duties, something he had been itching for ever since he had regained consciousness. No longer was he the same cocky brat that he had been just a month ago. Everything had changed, and so had he. No longer was Kyousuke the cocky and carefree teen he had once been, recent events had sought to that, the peace he and so many other had just achieved had all but crumbled. With change of everything around him came the change of his status, he was now a Chunin of Kumogakure. Though that was only one of the few titles he had received in his return, one was to be kept in secret… the other? The boy who lived. To him it was a curse and an everyday reminder of his failure to slay the dragon, to others it was a title befitting that of a legend in the making. Either way, his heroics in the skirmish had earned him great recognition among many within Kaminari no Kuni shinobi and civilians alike.
Eyes would affix to his stature with every step he made. Had he not garnered the attention of the common folk before with his position as heir of the Sasaki clan, he had surely done so now with his recent actions. As always a coat of black had been draped over his shoulders, formal clothing of white and black worn over his body. His once twin pairs of regal katanas had, however, been absent from his person, lost somewhere amidst the field of battle. Instead they were replaced by a single, more refined blade, accented gold with engravings of an eastern dragon, a seiryu, on its hilt. It was one of his own design, a Lightning Dragon to match that which he had faced and a statement for their next meeting. Ryūsatsu-ha. Dragon slayer. Golden eyes were locked forwards, eyeing his destination the administration building. Being gone for so long made his return that much more satisfying. He was a chunin now, which meant his duties as a shinobi increased in importance. Now with Kumogakure forces spread thin around the country, chunins had been bumped up, running more important missions and seeing to the task of protecting the home village. An old man would meet him at the front desk, urging the Sasaki to follow as he walked towards the stairs. Kyousuke was led into a conference room where a few dozen chunin had been gathered, in front were two older shinobi that he could only assume were jounins. He was met with applause as he entered, each shinobi recognizing him as the one genin that rallied the forces when they had been scattered amidst the sudden attack. Though he appreciated their sentiments, praise was not the reason he had come all this way. He sat among an empty chair and the head jounin continued the briefing.
Various tasks within the village had been assigned for them to handle, each chunin working on an individual case. Whilst Jashinists and Konoha Troops had kept the jounins occupied, criminal organizations and bandits within the country had begun to run rampant, their activities growing rapidly as they took advantage of the many unprotected interests within Kaminari no Kuni. A certain organization that interested him greatly had been one of the few mentioned. The Steel Tooth Alligators, a dangerous group of bandits with shinobi level strength. He had dealt with them before with the help of his mentor Mizuki, though at that time they were under the Jashinists' employ kidnapping stray genins and children alike to be sold off for either ritual or indoctrination purposes. Though the fall of Hastur had impacted their deal human trafficking, they had expanded into other businesses such as the drug trade and sex trafficking. With those to oppose them being left to missions of higher importance the task had fallen to the chunins, a risky decision considering that the Steel Tooth Alligators were of at least B rank in skill. Rightfully so, however, the task of their investigation had fallen upon him, the only one with experience against them. Though it was a feat known only to those in the resistance. Everyone had been given their assignments in due, his the most grueling of them all. They all stood from their seats, each ready to fulfill their duties, but suddenly the deafening horns blasted throughout the village.
Ringing through his ears, an endless loop of horns, a warning for each citizen that some danger had befallen the country. Another one. Without a moment's delay a thin man burst into the room, immediately falling to the wooden floor as he desperately attempted to catch his breath. The voice of an emergency broadcast played urging genins to arms, readied at each of the four gates that served as the village's entrance. "An attack…" The man said, still gathering his breath. "There's an attack in Kaminari no Kuni! It's happening everywhere!" He rushed a map from his pocket, fumbling it out and showing each to those within the room. The man had drawn red dots at each area he claimed an attack, stating the names of the towns as he did. Immediately the jonin present ordered a change of plans, now they were each to see to the towns and bring with them whatever back up possible along the way. Wasting no time Kyousuke rushed towards the windows, heading straight for the eastern gates where a myriad of genins should now have been guarding. Backup was not something that had come into his mind, but the eastern gates were the closest path to his new destination of Goro Goro Village, where the first reported attack had occurred.
He sped past the village, moving from rooftop to rooftop and landing just at the gate. Eyes of genins had transfixed to him, each of them unsure of what was happening. At the very least he could calm them down. "Good job responding to the emergency broadcast, now each of you stay here and guard the gates until more chunin arrive. If anyone strange comes, steer clear and look for a higher ranking shinobi. Do not engage in combat unless you have no other choice. We don't know what we're up against so it's best to stay safe. Now, I need one of you as back up. Any volunteers?" His eyes would circle, scanning the faces of the mostly younger shinobi. He didn't want to force any of them into his aid, but assuming the worst-case scenario then this was likely the workings of Konohagakure, if so then he needed someone to relay information back into Kumogakure whilst he dealt some much deserved justice.
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