Just another day had came and yet another would surely pass with out event, but every day his duties had to be done. Fortunately today appeared to be a relatively good day with overcast skies, and a heavy coating of mist that surrounded the entire village like always. He would soon need to leave for the village’s main building so he could have some anonymity to change into his anbu gear without linking anbu to his normal persona. The hoops that he had to jump through for his duty sometimes grated on him, they were annoying and while they did serve a good purpose, he wished that they could just go away instead of maintaining a this charade every day. With his promotion up the ranks of the ANBU he could claim to be one of the strongest ninja allied with Kirigakure, with only the Lord Mizukage and likely the 3 Sannin out ranking him in terms of potency. Surely he could be the public face of anbu. But that would never do, for anbu was always the shadows at the Mizukage’s beck and call; to materialize at a moments notice, and then fade back into the shadows like they never existed in the first place. It was a duty he could be proud of doing, but he still wondered would it would have been like if he had taken his original plans those 5 years ago when the job was offered to him. Instead of all this secrecy and dark deed he would instead be wandering the world and pursuing his passion of art and Fuuinjutsu. 5 years had passed sense Sero died and much had happened; while he was happy to have that bastard of a kage gone, he still wasn’t much closer to his goals of attaining the peak of Fuuinjutsu knowledge and skills.

Feeling the ache of the third burn mark on his body, the one on the small of his back, almost as if the thought of Sero made it restless. Bonreu sighed, In a way he did miss the guy, even for all the fear and terror he caused, he did the job of Mizukage dam well. It was a shame that he died in the fight at the summit, but from the report he sure gave the bastards hell.

Shaking his head at what he was just thinking. It almost sounded like he liked the bastard! Must be stockholm syndrome or something.

He sighed once more at his past as he continued to get ready for going on duty. He collected his armor and mask, and put them into his backpack. It wouldn't do if someone saw those. Then found his newest weapon: A cruel katar, that he got when he was promoted to captain rank. It was something that he would have run from when he was a kid. The black ink on it looked far too much like black blood to make most people comfortable with being near it, little did they know that is exactly what it was. The weapon went into his bag just like the armor, again for the same reason. Placing his explosive tag and one of the scrolls he had out into one of his normal pouches. He didn't much mind people seeing those, he was after all a ninja and they were normal ninja tools. It would just appear that he went to office to pick up a mission, perhaps a long range one that required some days to finish thanks to the bag.

Going over things once more to ensure that he had everything, his eye caught a letter sitting on his desk. It was an old letter, from a man he had never personally seen. It had arrived shortly after Sero had left for the Kage summit all those years ago, from another Kage: Arashi was the name he claimed, the Leader of the stone village. The exact contents had faded from his mind but the jist of it remained; he was seeing instruction in Fuuinjutsu and had heard of a ninja in Kiri that was well versed in the art. Unfortunately like many things that never happened back then their meeting never happened. Word was that Arashi died before he could make good on the letter. likely even the reply that Bonreu sent was unread by it’s original recipient. So much pain caused by Hao and the criminal world.

With everything collected and ready, he left his house and headed directly for the office building so that he could change and start his duties of captain again. The house he left behind was becoming slowly more and more vacant, as most of his time was spent at the kage’s side, he often didn't even sleep at his own house. But that was fine with him, it felt empty all these years anyways, more of another work space that had a bed, than a home.

Reaching the main building he entered without a word, and walked past the two attendants at the counter straight into one of the ready rooms that was used to brief ninja on their missions. Using the room to quickly change into his ANBU gear. He had done this numerous times in the past, and has gotten quite skilled at doing so that the entire change took less than half a minute. Never once did his attention shift away from others entering the room, or trying to spy on it. Not once had it happened in all the years, but a lax ninja was a dead ninja.

Placing the mask on his face to complete the change in look and personality. The mask used to include a part to disguise his hair’s distinct color, but not anymore. When he became ANBU captain he had decided to get rid of that, and just let his hair show. It may end up drawing more attention to him in terms of being attacked, but who else to take the attack than the ANBU captain? It’s not like he was the only one with red hair in the village, or even the only Uzumaki with red hair in the village that was a ninja.

With his mask in place, he was all business and absolute seriousness. He left the room by slipping out the window and went directly to the upper levels of the structure. In several ways he picked up many of the traits that Sero possessed, while discarding much of his innocence that was built up from his youth. It was time for his duty to the village.

With as little fanfare or sound as possible, Kage No Akira landed in the Kage's office and with a focused look over the room to make sure that nothing was amiss, he stepped through one of the room's side doors. This new room was used mainly as a troop bunker for protecting the Kage's adjacent room, and as such it's contents was generally quite spartan, lacking normal comforts that other rooms did it was perfect for the ANBU's job; not even a window to the outside was included in this room. Some of the things this room did include was a some file cabinets used to keep track of missions completed, targets of note, and other various information deemed important to the ANBU, and a desk to look over them and fill out paperwork.

Looking over several of the documents until he found the one he had saw yesterday; a report about a large amount of bandits and other threats starting to converge onto a single area. The problem is that there was so many small groups all over the place that picking each one off would take a huge amount of time. So instead of rushing out yesterday he had decided that he would let them start to gather so they could be dealt with in one place. Their movements  were reasonable synchronized in their movements so that over the course of they day they would all arrive at the area. It was key that he got there before all of them arrived and began to move as a group, but late enough that they still thought they could continue gathering and overwhelm any Kiri forces.

As a precaution to any unfortunate turns of events, he had sent a letter to a weapon master requesting aid in handling the threat. Hopefully the man would join him. But best not to be late in their meeting point, or to miss the window of convergence. Looking over the documents again to make sure nothing new had been learnt, or any other pressing matters had happened while he was away, he file the papers away under the in progress section, and left the way he came. If worse came to worse and they were unable to succeed, he had already had the normal forces prepared to defend the village; not that it would come to that. of course.

Arriving at the stated meeting point at one of the smaller exits to the village ahead of time all that was left to do was to wait for the arrival of the swordsman. None would question an obvious ANBU member waiting at one of the gates, especially since he made it a point to remain out of casual eye sight, and he no longer naturally made any normally detectable noises.

Spoiler:

Kaguza Laid asleep in his bed, the prior week having returned to the man he considered his teacher for training/work, at a running total of fourteen hours so far of rest. The inside of the shack he called home had a new resident, a large case leaning against the wall. The contents were a very special weapon, and one of significant meaning to the Sannin. A massive scythe lay quietly in the case, it's previous owner having never used it. The weapon was reforged before being given to the weapon master of Kirigakure. To the Myugan the weapon was the embodiment of a man who managed to rebuild the village he called home.

A knock rang out in the run down building, a note sliding under the door quickly followed. Waking to the noise, Kaguza saw the parcel. Not wanting to get out of bed, he reached out trying to stay in his bed. His attempts failed as he slipped falling onto the floor. More properly getting up, he picked up and read through the note. A large group of bandits were gathering outside of the village. He knew about them, but such things were responsibility of the anbu. Reaching the end of the note, it was the anbu captain requesting that he participate. Quickly running through his routine of hygiene, he opened the case to reveal the massive scythe. What better way to test out a weapon then to protect his very home. A perplexing thought crossed his mind, due to the size of the weapon, it would be severely intimidating to carry around such an item.

Grasping the handle, a cloud of smoke erupted, revealing that the massive scythe now took the form of his longsword Silver. The blade however maintained the slightest blue tint along the cutting edge of the weapon. Sliding the sword into a sheath hanging from his waist, he took the original Silver and slid it into the sheath from the opposite side. Lastly he coiled two long chained meteor hammers around his arms. He didn't plan on taking his entire arsenal as the size of most of his weapons all at once would easily give his position away. Two swords and his chain hammers would be more then sufficient for this task.

Setting out he saw the front gates of the village off in the distance, checking the time as he passed a clock, he'd arrived right on time. Coming to a halt, and looking around he didn't see the Anbu captain who had sent him the message. The scythe that currently had the form of his Longsword Silver, it's power was that it could generate an intense heat enough to even cause the blade to ignite solely from chakra. It's previous owner was the Late Mizukage Sero. Those close to the man or who felt an strong admiration for the man could likely feel a similarity between him and the weapon regardless of it's form. The weapon to Kaguza was Sero's ideals and ambitions, taking it's ability for fire as a symbol of the man's characteristics. The weapon in it's current form would cause the burn on Bonreu dealt by Sero to flair just enough to be felt, as he got near the weapon on Kaguza's waist.

Training Generic Sealing Technique 500/500 words
Unused word count 46 words

Chakra Remaining: 370/390 :

Sitting in the shadow when the weapon master finally approached from the road. From his spot he was able to get a good look at the man and the equipment he brought today; two swords plus a pair of chain linked hammers. So he decided to not bring his armory; good, with that amount of equipment being carried they would have been spotted easier. It had dawned on him while he was waiting that if Kaguza had brought his entire armory, that a sealing art would remedy the problem, so he had prepped the scroll that he carried with the formula for a basic item storage seal jutsu in case the man wasn't familiar with it. He had several spares with him sealed in the void in case he needed more for this task so it wouldn't be a problem.

When the distance between the two reached an easy conversation range, Kage stepped out of the shadow to get his attention, then tossed the prepared scroll over. It would be pretty obvious with a glance at the unused formula what his intention behind the move was. As the scroll left his hand, the burn mark on his back began to tingle like it used to back in the day of Sero. Strange the inner half of his mind thought; Sero was long dead. The outer layer of his mind  ignored the mark completely while he addressed his comrade using a voice of a man that he had once met in the leave village many years ago. He preferred to use random voices of people he had heard instead of making up new voices, except when addressing his lord. " I take it that you are ready to leave immediately. We will have time to catch a few bands before they meet up with the main group to trim their numbers as a warm up." An uncharacteristically long speech, but they were both "disciplines" of Sero at one point, even if one of them didn't know it, or the other wasn't happy about it.

Letting a response come while they were traveling he turned to depart on the quickest route to the meeting ground, one that would let them run across several of the smaller groups as they broke camp or were moving the last leg of their journey, which would also be the last leg of their life. They terrain they would travel through would be less accommodating to normal foot traffic for a good deal of their travel, but it would hardly hinder skilled ninja. This and their advanced speed would be the key difference in over coming any lead their targets had on them. His Katar already hungered for the life water of the living, he could feel this even while not actively wielding it. It was a tool that Sero would probably have approved of a good deal, but it served his purposes all the same.

Word count:

Item transfered:

The moment Kaguza came to a stop upon arriving, The Anbu captain made his appearance. It was likely he had been waiting for him even if Kaguza had shown up right on time, as for how long, he wouldn't waste time guessing. A special precision was required for such a job along with an immense secrecy, it was certainly a life Kaguza would never have chosen. Kaguza's behavior was more of a showman then a spy, having made theatrical actions during some of his past encounters. The more serious a moment, the more he'd act out, certainly not a trait of an Anbu.

Bonreu upon coming into vision of Kaguza, tossed him a scroll. Easily catching the object he opened it up to inspect the gift. Several sealing formations were written all along the inside of the scroll. It was clear what he had intended it for, Kaguza often carried everything with him, and in turn would stand out like the sun. Happily accepting the scroll he tucked it away in the pouch at his hip, he had been planning to carry his weapons in a scroll, he simply hadn't gotten around to it yet. He had learned the technique to seal away items in to scrolls however. Such a fun day that was, going back to his teacher Jinsoku for more training, which always felt more like convenient labor. "I'm ready, you have the lead." The Anbu's voice sounded familiar, however he couldn't put a face to it. It didn't matter much anyways.

Kaguza followed Bonreu along the path, the speed of the two allowing them to easily cover ground quickly. The thought of a large group planning to assault Kirigakure began to stir in Kaguza's mind. This led to passed thoughts of Hao burning down the village. He could feel his heart rate increase. It was strange, usually a confrontation he could maintain a much calmer mindset. Though with the threat of others involved, it seemed he could take the event nothing but serious.

Fuuinjutsu D -> C 382/4000 words

Item Received:

Chakra Remaining: 365/390 :

He missed the simpler days of before ANBU, back when his life wasn't constantly just a tool for the village, when he could actually have some sense of self preservation and free thought, but his duty to the village had come first before personal desires for the past 5 years. Not necessarily something he would do again given the choice.

Seeing Kaguza look over the writing in the scroll it seemed that he was quick enough to pick up what his intentions with the scroll was. Good, having a quick and competent ninja by his side would make things considerably easier. With his restricted armory load out the scroll wouldn't likely see use in this task as it sat in the other man's pouch, but it would still serve a purpose eventually he was sure.

~

With only a few hours of traveling before they arrived in the area where they would start encountering the groups moving, the distance passed quickly; the pace he sent wasn't break neck, just a steady rate so they wouldn't be tired when they arrived. During the journey there was signs of recent movement of a group, which meant that the two of them would definitely come across some stragglers before they assaulted the main group. Kage No Akira gestured to the first signs they found to share the information that combat was expected and then wielded his Katar. Any further tracks he simply used to correct their course so that the two groups would collide.

Finally coming upon the small group of what looked liked regular bandits, a quick glance told him that they were only armed with some clubs, a few knives, and one of them with a battered sword. Nothing that would pose a threat to the two of them, even outnumbered as they were. It would be a good chance to study the technique his comrade employed with his weapons, and hopefully learn something from it. It was part of the reason he had originally invited the weapon master along in the first place; sure he was an indispensable aid when it came to combat, but these were just normal thugs with little more than sticks, not something to be concerned about.

Speaking to the man he used yet another voice thanks to his mask "Would you like to use this group to warm up your sword arm?"

Spoiler:

Kaguza eagerly followed the Anbu captain, watching him closely as the man worked, tracking the group they were after. From when he had read to note asking for help, he knew there would be fighting, and as it grew closer he could feel his heart beat slightly faster. It didn't take too long before the two of them had found there first group. The gathering of bandits didn't have much to them, it was surprising that people with so little to arm themselves with would attempt to orchestrate a large scale assault. The most dangerous of the group was a man armed with a rather crappy looking sword, the rest seemingly with makeshift weapons or simple knives. As much more fun as it would be to charge in with a theatrical flair and all of his weapons at the ready, his current weapon set more be more then enough to handle such pathetic bandits.

Taking his swords, one in each hand, Kaguza was ready to get to work. While violence and murder weren't his favorite things in the world, he would do whatever necessary to protect his home and those who called it the same. The Anbu Captain spoke out asking about a warm up, it seemed the man had a sense of humor behind his mask. "Tell me, what do I call you? In case I need to get your attention, or is Captain sufficient?" A little bit of humor from himself. The two Kiri ninja were both regarded as captains, one was for both rank and title, while Kaguza's was more a title for a group that had yet to be fully reformed. Putting to memory whatever the masked man would prefer, he was ready to head into battle.

Braking into a powerful run, Kaguza charged straight for the bandit's camp. While he was capable of a decent speed, the weapon master's greatest ability was his strength. As Kaguza ran, his feet left deep foot prints, those in the general vicinity could feel each and every step the man made. Almost like a one man stampede, the battle had begun. While stealth was the main requirement for a ninja's work, attention was more necessary for Kaguza to fight. It didn't take long before the bandit camp knew of the attack. Making his way to the center of the camp, the theatrical ninja first went for those who had already gathered. Diving in to meet his opponent's, the knives and clubs couldn't block the force of his swords. With the design of his blades, they held a similar power to his war hammers in that the tip of each blade was made with more weight, this increased the force generated when swinging the weapon.

Fuuinjutsu D -> C 837/4000 words

Chakra Remaining: 360/390 :