[Graded][Mission] Elementary my dear Makoto.

[Bright]

Mission ScrollShow

You have been handed the task of investigating a series of robberies in the village's marketplace, discover the one who's responsible for them, hunt them down and capture them. For all this you will have the supervision and aid of a Chuunin, whom you'll meet at the center of Konohagakure's marketplace by four pm. However, keep in mind that this Chuunin will only give you a few hints if asked to, and this will penalize you in their report to the higher-ups. For the most part, you're all alone. Good luck.

The orders stated in the scroll were intended to be carried out the following day, as they were delivered to Makoto by a messenger at night.

If he were to be at the predefined spot at the specific time, he would discover Nara Douryuu, a sixteen year old, flak-jacket-wearing Chuunin level ninja, a stickler for the rules and discipline. This made man would be waiting for him with a rigorous look on his face. Punctuality would certainly be key.

[Ducks]

Makoto was rarely late, never if he could help it. His parents had infused a strict set of values in him growing up, not least of which was punctuality. To be late was unseemly and rude, as it implied that the time of those who were made to was less important than one’s own. Plus, if one did really wish to be rude to another, there were better ways of doing it.

As it happened, Makoto definitely didn’t want to annoy whomever was in charge of his mission, which was why he had gone to sleep almost immediately after receiving his summons the night prior, and rose early this morning to prepare and leave with time to travel to the site of the mission at a leisurely walk. He was clad lightly to match the weather, a simple brown shirt and beige shorts, with his two arm guards strapped securely on his forearms.

As he approached the predetermined spot shortly before the predetermined time, he spotted his supervisor, and felt his heart rate accelerate somewhat. The Nara were not known as a jovial clan, but this chuunin in particular looked positively fierce. Adopting a neutral expression, he made his way to the ninja, and bowed at the waist, introducing himself: “Hyuuga Makoto, reporting for duty.” He straightened, and waited for the chuunin to brief him.

[Bright]

The teenager turned his head slightly to identify the Hyuuga who had been sent to him for mission completion. He had always liked interacting with the Hyuuga. Respectful. Committed. Kept chit-chat down to a minimum, if any was present.

"Ok, Makoto, I'm Douryuu Nara, I'll be the Chuunin guide for your mission. Your task, as you know, is to find out who has been vandalizing and robbing the property of several merchants. For that, you may interrogate anyone you like, as long as you keep it decent and respect the interrogated individual's dignity."

With that, the spiky-haired teen turned around and disappeared in a whirl of shadows, surely going off to hide and pursue the Hyuuga in order to supervise his progress.

[Ducks]

With a few words of guidance and a flash of shadow, the Nara was gone; where to was anyone's guess. It was possible that he had business of his own to attend to, private or official, and was as absent from the scene as he appeared. However, it was just as possible that he was remaining in the area, whether to supervise Makoto's process, lend him aid if needed, or artificially manipulate the situation to see how Makoto would react. The Hyuuga had been a genin for a time now, and it was quite possible that the higher ups wanted to gauge his progress. Ultimately, though, the chuunin's location didn't really matter; Makoto was here to do a job, and a job he would do.

Activating his Byakugan, he walked through the hustle and bustle of Konoha, trying to blend in to the crowd as much as possible. It was not a difficult task; in a city populated by ninja, even by the most respectable ones, human oddities were commonplace, expected even, and a curious boy with the off-color eyes of a sizable clan wasn't exactly going to stand out. He made his way to the market district, ostensibly merely taking a walk, now and then glancing to and fro at the city's proceedings. In reality, his Byakugan was working at full power, scanning the enivironment for clues or possible leads. He didn't waste much time on the average passerby; without a basic description to go on, picking a stranger out of a crowd of strange strangers was essentially impossible. Instead, he focused on the stores and their owners, looking for signs of damage or particularly stressed or injured merchants. If he saw one that stood out in particular, he would approach the store and go from there.

[Bright]

Indeed, nobody suspected anything of the seemingly wandering Hyuuga. Why would they? The Hyuuga were one of the most renowned clans in the village. It was pretty much an honor to have them walk by.

Few shopkeepers were displaying negative emotions. Most simply had content expressions on their faces as they attempted to sell whatever it was they had in stock.

Due to this, only a couple of them truly expressed the hardship they felt. Douryuu Nara watched from a rooftop, crouching on it. In his opinion, working in the market was flipping a coin. If people were lucky, they'd come out of it rich. If they were unlucky, they'd come out even more poor.

"Seems like someone came out unlucky. Now, Makoto, what will you do?" He muttered as he simply observed the whole scene.

He was speaking of a grown, definitely strong man who kept swearing at everything that happened or was done, and currently had a pissed-off expression on his face. He was selling bird pets, apparently.

[Ducks]

As Makoto meandered through the crowds, he began to feel rather anxious. He had never been the most creative of students, and open ended challenges, such as the one set before him today, were rather nerve wracking. His plan didn't seem to be working, and while he should have been gladdened to see the mood of the city sitting so high, he found his heart sinking with every smiling face.

However, as he rounded a corner to yet another small, marketplace-like area, he came across a man who was somewhat less emotionally balanced than his fellow merchants; and that was putting it mildly. The man must have fallen off the wrong side of the bed onto his favorite cat that morning, and now he was making sure everyone nearby was granted a generous share in his misery. Makoto felt a slight raising of hopes, but did not smile; if he had to approach the man, he would be in for a bad time.

At the moment, though, he thought it best to do a little more information gathering. He made as if to walk past the man, though keeping a safe distance away as the other pedestrians were likely doing. While doing so, he would use his Byakugan to examine the scene further, searching for signs of theft or damage the man's property or signs of injury upon his person. The Hyuuga would also pay attention to his words, listening for signs that had had been a victim of one of the attacks or was associated with them in any way.

[Bright]

The Nara continued following the boy, his keen eyes easily detecting the bulge that the veins around the Hyuuga's eyes suddenly formed as he passed by the angry man. Clever...

The man had no injuries whatsoever, and everything around him was absolutely fine. However, his speech clearly showed it was not.

"God damn it! I'm so sick of this crap!" He blared out.

"Calm down, Hirashi! What's wrong, man? I thought you had been selling well for the last few weeks." A friend of his, considerably smaller asked.

"Calm down? Calm down? What kind of use is it to me that I've been selling well lately if I get constantly robbed every night? I've tried everything, even guarding the place myself, but it never works!"

"Well damn! You found anything that could help you find out who does this?"

"Nothing, man! I only found out a couple of gray feathers around the place, but what the hell could that mean?"

The jig was up. Gray feathers. There were only two places in Konoha that were known for having feathers: the oh-so-close animal market and the aviary. What would Makoto do?

[Ducks]

Grey feathers, hm? Makoto gave a half-smirk of satisfaction; he had his first clue. It wasn't a very solid one, but at least it gave him a lead, which sure beat meandering though bustling marketplaces for the rest of the day or until he failed the mission. He made as if to walk to the animal market, which was a merely a few streets away. He paused, however, pretending to examine an wall-plastered ad for "ninja pills"; in reality, he was deciding his next course of action. It would be so easy to just go on to the market, where he could investigate in peace or find someone civil to talk to. However, this man was a known lead, the first one he had, and it would be irresponsible to leave the scene without probing for further evidence. Plus, in the man's agitated state it was anyone's guess where he would be in the next hour, so Makoto knew he needed to approach the man now. He really hated logic sometimes.

Summoning inner courage and an air of professionalism, he casually turned from the poster and began to approach the pugnacious pigeon peddler. He let his Byagukan fade, but made no further transformation, despite his desire to hide behind a more mature face. Practicing deceit on an innocent (though obnoxious) man as a first course of action was both morally questionable and liable to backfire badly. If the man disregarded the Hyuuga due to his age and stature, then he was a fool as well as a curmudgeon.

Makoto came up to the side of the man, still keeping a few feet of distance, and spoke in a level, though distinctively young-sounding, voice. "Beg your pardon, sir." When he had the adult's attention, he would continue like so: "I am Hyuuga Makoto, genin of Konoha, and I have been tasked with investigating a series of robberies and vandalisms in our marketplaces. I could not help but hear that you have been having some . . ." He paused a moment, trying to think of a diplomatic way of putting it.". . . inventory difficulties." That probably wasn't the best way to put it. "Could you spare me a minutes to answer a few questions about the crime?"

[Bright]

The large man turned his head to face the Genin, his expression turning into one of relief as he heard the boy's words.

"Thank Kami! I've been asking the village for assistance for so long!" He responded, taking a few moments to sigh deeply.

"Sure, I'll answer whatever you want me to, just make sure you catch the sucker who did this! And, if you've got the chance, bring him here so I can give him a piece of my mind."

Resting his elbows on his stand, the man stared forth, awaiting the Hyuuga's questions.

[Ducks]

Surprisingly, the man expressed not contempt but relief at Makoto's appearance. Perhaps the slight shinobi had misjudged him; stress and sleep deprivation tended to bring the worst out of everyone. "Thank you, sir." He made no response to the man's request, as he hoped it was a joke; handing over a prisoner to a civilian for vigilante justice would obviously be highly unprofessional.

Seeing the man waiting on his questioning, he cleared his throat and spoke in a level voice. He would ask several questions in succession, going on to one when the man finished talking about the prior, unless he became clearly agitated or outright refused to answer his question.

"When was the first robbery, and about how many have occurred in total?"

"What does the robber take? Did you see anything unusual the night you guarded the store yourself?"

"Can you think of anyone in particular who might be behind this? Do you know anyone else who has been robbed lately?"

[Bright]

The man patiently responded to Makoto's questions as he went along.

"When was the first robbery, and about how many have occurred in total?"

"Two weeks ago, and about five."

"What does the robber take? Did you see anything unusual the night you guarded the store yourself?"

"I sell animal food, you know? For all those pets you ninja like to own. Lately, my bird and dog feed have been just completely dried out every single time they attack. Nothing. I saw nothing. Just heard some strange noises in the back, and when I got there, there were the stupid feathers."

"Can you think of anyone in particular who might be behind this? Do you know anyone else who has been robbed lately?"

"No, this has never been a problem before! As I said, it started two weeks ago, I have no idea who could have done this. Other animal food sellers have been attacked, I've heard, but I don't know any personally."

[Ducks]

Makoto listened carefully, jotting down notes with a pen and small notepad. While he didn't normally keep stationery with his knives and smoke bombs, he thought it might be prudent for an investigative mission. It was a good thing, too, because none of the man's information was particularly extraordinary and might have been difficult to recall purely from memory. The man's testimony did, however, shine a little light on the criminal's modus operandi. Makoto had expected the thief to be stealing money or valuables, as those were light and easily carried. Also, if said thief was stealing solely for the money, it would have made sense for him to steal from wealthy or vulnerable targets, neither of which seemed to describe the muscled man and his little feed shack. Whoever it was, they needed feed, and lots of it; they had cleaned out an entire shop multiple times over the span of just two weeks, not to mention the other stands they were apparently hitting. It was a lead, but not a very enlightening one.

Figuring he had learned all he could from the witness, Makoto bowed, thanked the man, assured him the criminal would be brought to justice, and took his leave. His next stop would surely be the animal market; doubtless there would be more victims there to question, and he might just catch sight of those feathers the feed seller had spoken of. When he arrived at the market, he would search the same as before, but much more slowly and cautiously. His Byakugan searched for any damaged stand, any agitated merchant, and especially any trace of the damning smoky plumage.

[Bright]

"AWH COME ON, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF KAMI, NOT AGAIN!" A voice could be heard as Makoto entered the animal market.

"What's wrong, Inokura-san, what happened? Oh no! Don't tell me..." Another voice came to life.

"Yes...yes I've told you and I'll tell you again, we're cleaned out. How can this happen? What do these guys want? Always the fucking bird seed and dog food. They don't even care about the money. I left it last night as a test. Just laying there. Nobody took it. What the hell?"

This was what Makoto would hear, in many different versions and many different voices all around the animal market as he entered.

[Ducks]

A few minutes ago, Makoto had been discouraged, worried that there wouldn't be enough leads to guide him to the culprit. Now, as he rounded the corner to the animal market, that particular worry disappeared, replaced by a sense of despair. This was no isolated robbery, no cruel trick or thief's whim; it was a full-blown crime spree. Is this really a job for a genin? He thought, observing the chaos with his eyes and ears. Maybe I need some help on this.

His look of worry turned to a scowl, and he shook his head and walked confidently forward. Such thoughts befitted an apprentice, a beginner, a child. If he ever wanted to move past, to move forward, he would have to discard such weakness and rely on his own power. Be that as it may, he wished his power was being tested in a more traditional fashion; an afternoon of corralling troublesome merchants wasn't going to do much to impress the higher ups.

One of the shouting voices confirmed, even furthered his observations. Whoever was committing the thievery was not doing it for the sake of wealth, but (probably) for the feed itself. The crime, however, still didn't quite make sense to Makoto. An intelligent, capable thief would go after more valuable loot, and use that to simply purchase the bulky feedbags. At the very least, it seemed that the thief should take the money when available; at least, one would expect such from a rational, utilitarian human. It stood to reason, then, that the perpetrator did not match one or more of the three criteria. Bizarre.

Makoto approached the man who spoke first, and coughed politely. "Beg your pardon sir, but I . . ." He introduced himself and stated his request much as he had to the bird vendor. However, while his eyes rested politely on the man whom he was addressing, the telltale veinal bulges surrounding his eyes showed his true attention was elsewhere. His Byakugan scanned the hidden places of the marketplace: the rooftops, the alleys, the dumps. For whatever reason, this area appeared to be the focal point of the criminal's thievery, and so Makoto searched for any sign of the crime, whether a crouching figure, a discarded feedbag, or even a body. If the thief made even one slipup in his innumerable robberies, Makoto would catch it. Or at least, he hoped he would.

[Bright]

As Makoto approached the shop vendor and activated his Byakugan, he'd see that every single one of the vendors around had the exhausted faces of those who had given up.

However, aside all that, he would see something else. He would manage to see a black cloak and hood-wearing individual sneaking off with a bag of common bird feed into an alley.

No one else had noticed this, and, if Makoto were to follow this person, he might just find out the origin and motive of all this robbery.

Of course, he could also simply run at the person and attempt to knock them out without finding the truth himself. It was up to him.

Meanwhile the sales vendor would simply stare awkwardly at Makoto, who had initiated the conversation, but just left it there.

[Ducks]

As Makoto began addressing the vendor, a flicker of something caught his eye. He trailed off abruptly, and and turned his head so that he appeared to be staring through a canvas tent; his dojutsu usually spared him the inconvenience of having to look directly at a target, but he found it easier to focus on something when his eyes were at least pointed in the right direction. Among the ambling shoppers and weary merchants, there was one patron of the market who was decidedly out of place. Not only was he wearing some kind of dark cloak and skulking into an alleyway, neither of which were signs of upstanding citizenry, he bore a bag of bird seed on his back. Now this was a lead.

"Beg your pardon, I must be off." He apologized, not even turning to look at the merchant for fear of losing sight of his target. He jogged through the crowd, slowly enough as to not draw undue attention to himself. His eyes did not leave the dark figure until he reached the entrance of the alley, when he averted his eyes, but not his gaze. He approached the entrance of the alley from the side, and took a moment to lean on the wall, pretending to be out of breath, all the while monitoring the activities of his target.

[Bright]

As Makoto excused himself and walked off, the vendor simply disregarded him. He had too much to keep his head troubled with to care at that moment.

Meanwhile, the suspicious individual was delving deeper into the alley. Perhaps Makoto should follow him further in an attempt to discover his lair.

After all, one does not walk in such an unusual manner into a dark alley holding bird feed and dog food without the vendors even having any, right?

If Makoto were to stalk the man, he would walk down three streets, none of them particularly interesting, before being led into one final place.

[Ducks]

As soon as the man rounded a corner, Makoto gave a furtive look around and slipped into the alleyway. It was cool, damp, and dark; Makoto stepped carefully and quietly. He moved at a steady pace, keeppy a safe distance behind his target. However, he knew that he couldn't look in every direction at once (technically he could, but it was quite the strain on the old peepers). If he was accosted, he might be able to explain away his presence in the alley, but not with a Konoha headband and the eyes of the noblest clan in the village. Now was definitely the time for a disguise.

His hands flew nimbly through the familiar hand seals, and when the smoke cleared, a wholly unrecognizable figure stood in his place. The figure was a full foot taller than Makoto's natural body, and wrapped from head to toe in a dark, hooded robe. His face was fully obscured by a dark veil, concealing his still white eyes. A generic facade, yes, but that was rather the point.

After safely tailing the man down three streets, he came to the final place.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Transformation Technique]
E-Ranked Ninjutsu
After completing the needed handseals, the user of this technique will be able to alter their physical appearance to match that of another person. By consistently emitting chakra throughout their body, the user is able to keep their appearance adjusted at the cost of their stamina draining over time. As this technique is quite strenuous to uphold, experienced shinobi may see more clearly through this delusive disguise. This technique lasts for a number of posts equal to that of the user's stamina.[/Spoilers]

[Bright]

It wasn't an easy-to-find place, that was for sure. Whoever it was, the thief had taken care of the hiding problem with outstanding skill.

Makoto was lead into a small warehouse.

As soon as he saw the man enter, the cries of dozens of animals began. Barks and chirps only, but still, all together made for an insane, maddening choir.

If he were to follow his target in, he'd find numerous cages filled with animals who wanted nothing more than to bite their owner's throat off.

"HAHAHAHA! THOSE IDIOTS AT THE MARKET! JUST HAVE TO THROW MY HAWK TO DISTRACT THEM AND THOSE IMBECILES FORGET ALL ABOUT THEIR MERCHANDISE FOR A MOMENT! IT'S INSANE HOW EASY IT WAS TO STEAL FROM THEM! NOW MY ANIMAL ARMY IS READY! I WILL TAKE KONOHA BY FORCE TONIGHT!"

It was obvious that the individual was not in the best or even worst of mental states, and the Nara, who was supervising the mission, had no real concern for him. However, if he was to release the trigger that unlocked all cages, it would be way too much for the Hyuuga Genin to deal with. After all, worked up dogs and ferocious eagles were involved in the mix.

If Makoto wanted to succeed in the mission, he'd have to strike quickly and decisively to take the man in. It was obvious reason could not be used with him.

[Ducks]

As soon as the man entered the building, Makoto slid around the corner he had been pressing his back to and silently padded his way up to entrance, leaning on wall while monitoring the situation inside with his telescopic vision. When he saw the nature of the vile conspiracy, however, he was rather taken aback. Instead of thugs, henchmen, and muscle, the warehouse was filled with an amazing assortment of dogs and birds. The screeching and howling rang out with the subtlety of a thousand gongs, and Makoto's hands jumped to his ears as he momentarily recoiled from the cacophany.

However, as he examined the scene more closely, he discovered that all the animals were restrained, so that the only threat at the moment was the cartoonishly evil feed thief. Makoto had to take the villain down, and quickly. He considered a projectile attack, but he had never put much energy into learning the finer points of shuriken and kunai hurling, and his wind jutsu lacked the precision and power to reliably take down the foe in a single hit. He needed to close the gap quickly, and strike with power and precision.

Trusting the sound of his movements to be covered by those of the animals, Makoto spun around the door and dashed towards the lone figure, his hands flying to meet in a single hand seal. Chakra flowed to his feet, and he exploded into the air, travelling an arcing path directly at his target. He would aim to kick the bandit right where the spine met the neck, hopefully knocking him to the ground and driving the fight right out of him.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Jump]
D-Ranked Nintaijutsu
The rudimentary technique of the High Style, Jump requires the user to first perform a single handseal, followed by focusing chakra into the feet. When the user jumps, be it at a standstill or with momentum, the chakra will release in a burst, sending him/her a distance that depends on the amount of chakra placed into the technique. This boost is purely in vertical distance; horizontal distance depends on the user's momentum when this technique is performed, meaning it causes higher jumps, not longer ones. The maximum height that can be gained using this technique, no matter that amount of chakra placed into it, is 30 feet, while the minimum is 5 feet. Each jump with this burst counts as a new use of this technique, and thus requires handseals to be reactivated.

[Bright]

As the lunatic laughed out loud at how clever his shenanigans were, he turned around, his laugh quickly turning to a face of shock as a young Hyuuga boy came flying at him.

The boy's leg connected and hit the man's skull with a sickening thud, knocking him out instantly as the sweet spot on the temple was mashed.

Of course, things going that easily would be extremely unrealistic.

As the man spun like a screw, he fell, with his unconscious arm hitting the lever that held all the animals in and successfully releasing them all.

The Nara who was watching had his eyes widen. Makoto was doomed if something was not done right away. Thank God he was there to help.

Quickly breaking a window and falling to the ground as he performed hand-seals, the Nara prepared his shadow to do something only a few could. Thank God this Nara was one of the elite.

"Makoto! Your mission is over! You are successful! Congratulations! You may leave. I'll take care of the rest. Go." He spoke, holding the last hand-seal. He didn't want Makoto to find out that to stop the animals, he'd have to kill them. He wanted the boy out of there, and fast.

Techs UsedShow

Black Spider Lily
A-Rank Ninjutsu
Performing a sequence of hand-seals and holding the rest, the user may disperse their shadow into various straight lines in order to catch hold of various different shadows, all holding at a strength up to their control.

OOCShow

Post once more and you pass, Ducks.

[Ducks]

Everything happened so quickly. Foot met face in a stunning blow that sent tremors up Makoto's leg. As the man slumped to the ground, Makoto flew past him, managing to land in a skidding crouch. His eyes never left the man, and too late he saw the arm on a collision course with a lever that he cursed himself a fool for not noticing earlier. He tried to reverse his momentum, to dash and stop the disaster, but it was still too late. Arm met lever, and the animals ran free.

The roar of animals drowned out the clinking of the glass, but Makoto's periscopic vision caught the figure as it fell through the ceiling. He whipped around, ready to fight off another assailant, only to realize the newcomer was not an assailant, but a savior. The cacophany likewise threatened to drown out the Nara's voice, but Makoto managed to make out his meaning. He hesitated only for a second, first considering the animals, who were working themselves into a frenzy, and then the bandit, who was lying in a crumpled heap across the room. The hesitation soon passed, and Makoto nodded, forming the same hand seal as before and leaping out the entrance formed by the Nara.

He landed with a thud on a low roof several yards from the old warehouse, forced to gather chakra to prevent a painful landing. Panting for breath, he slid down the side of the building and began walking away. The shrieks of bird and beast echoed behind him, but Makoto forced the sounds from his head. He had done as he had been ordered; he had completed the mission.

A nagging little voice inside of him wondered if he should have done more.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Jump]
D-Ranked Nintaijutsu
The rudimentary technique of the High Style, Jump requires the user to first perform a single handseal, followed by focusing chakra into the feet. When the user jumps, be it at a standstill or with momentum, the chakra will release in a burst, sending him/her a distance that depends on the amount of chakra placed into the technique. This boost is purely in vertical distance; horizontal distance depends on the user's momentum when this technique is performed, meaning it causes higher jumps, not longer ones. The maximum height that can be gained using this technique, no matter that amount of chakra placed into it, is 30 feet, while the minimum is 5 feet. Each jump with this burst counts as a new use of this technique, and thus requires handseals to be reactivated.

*[Land]
D-Ranked Nintaijutsu
Another of the cornerstone techniques of this style, the Land technique requires the user to perform a single handseal and then focus chakra into their feet. As the user lands, this chakra will disperse, balancing his/her weight in the process, and creating a landing with a greatly softened impact. Users with less than 5 control will be provided with a safe landing from a maximum of a 60 foot drop. Users with more than 5 control will be able to drop from heights of 100 feet in addition to gaining the option of seamlessly transitioning into a sprint upon landing. This technique can be held dormant for a maximum of three (3) posts before it will dispel on its own.

[Willoria]

OOCShow

Due to Absolute being forced to leave Saigen, I've gone over this thread and it looks like everything is in order for a pass. I will post in the original request and give out the rewards for passing this D Rank accordingly.