Akito stood near the edge of the cliff, his right hand holding his chin, his left hand moving around in the air, as if placing pieces on an invisible shogi board. The veins around his eyes were bulging out, making it obvious that he was using his Bykugan to gather intelligence. Akito was pushing the limits of telescoping and penetrative vision, attempting to zoom in on the ruins obscured by trees as they were.
Not much in the way of defenses on the outside. I can see a few figures patrolling, but nothing too intense. Based on their gait and the regularity of their patrols, those are likely some of the zombies Kokou warned me about. This seems like a much smaller force than we had anticipated based on our limited intelligence. Either the vast, vast majority of them are underground, or this will be a much easier mission than we had anticipated.
As his eyes scanned the ruins, Akito’s gaze fell across a building that had the ruins of a staircase leading down. He carefully followed the stairway down, trying his best to carefully adjust how far his vision was zoomed in to see where the stairs went. After following the stairs down a little ways, he could just barely see that the stairs eventually let out into a large underground room. Akito tried to see more, but his vision was getting blurry, and he could feel a strong and growing ache behind his eyes. He tried to push through, but had to relent. With a wince, Akito’s eyes clamped shut.
He turned around to face his squad, rubbing his closed eyes with the tips of his fingers. When he opened them, it was apparent that his Byakugan had been deactivated. Able to see again, Akito looked over his squad. There were four other members. First was Senju Himurama. He was a prodigy of the Senju clan, and was not only a jounin, but a decorated veteran as well. The University had had its eyes on him for a little while now, and he had agreed to come on this mission. The two had played shogi a handful of times
Next was Awai Raizou. He had sought out the University, and this mission was a sort of test of his mettle. He was still only a chuunin, but he was a strong one, and his Hiton would surely come in handy in the dark catacombs they were soon to descend into.
The other two members of the squad came as a pair. Ikigai Itoshii was a child refugee from Suna, currently in Konoha. The University had become responsible for his continued education. Akito was not the one responsible for him normally, but his regular teacher had asked Akito to take the boy on this mission to give him some practical experience. The child was supposed to be a prodigy at Kuuton. Along with Itoshii there was his bodyguard, Izumi, a special jounin. All Akito knew about her was that she was supposed to be skilled at Taijutsu and Kuuton, and that she turned a few heads at the university.
“Our target lies in that area of low growth just under two kilometers to our West,” Akito said, pointing to the region he had just been surveying. “From my surveillance, I was able to determine that the area is relatively lightly guarded. A dozen hostiles – most probably zombies – at most. Near the center of the ruins there is a structure which is still partially standing. In the center of it, there is a staircase which goes deep beneath the earth and into the catacombs we will be searching for our target: a lost, forbidden jutsu scroll made by the Yamanaka clan.”
Akito undid one of the pockets of his flak jacket and produced a roll of paper, which he unrolled, then unfolded to reveal an architectural diagram.
“Research in the Konoha archives and previous scouting missions have let us put together these partial plans of what we believe the catacombs to look like. I was able to confirm that the stairs let out into a large chamber with several outlets, which match what we see here,” Akito held his finger up to the map’s center, where a large chamber with several branching passages was denoted. “Given that these plans are incomplete and may have changed, we should exercise the utmost care while underground.”
Akito reached his other hand into the pouch that hung at his side and pulled out a small box of chalk.
“With that in mind, we should be diligent in marking our paths through the catacombs. Each of you, take some chalk. There are enough colors for each of us to choose one. If we are separated, these will come in handy in helping us track each other down. Additionally, if we encounter any traps, we can mark them with these.”
As the members of the party chose chalk colors for themselves, Akito continued his briefing.
“I suggest the following course of action. We do not not know how well the missing nin controlling these zombies can sense through them. Therefore, I recommend we sneak past the guards and try to get into the catacombs undetected. If we were to fight the patrols above ground, we may find ourselves swarmed by a horde from below. In the open, their numbers will be a huge disadvantage for us, and even if we were to defeat them, it stands to bring us little closer to our final objective. Underground, we can channel large groups into chokepoints and can get much closer to our objective with less combat.”
“As we make our approach, we will take a modified wedge formation. I will be on point, behind me will be Himurama to my right, and Raizou to my left. Itoshii will be between them, and Izumi will be behind him. When we arrive at the entrance to the catacombs, we will switch to a file formation. We will be unable to rely on light sources down there, so Raizou will take point: with his Hiton, he will be able to both light our way and easily take care of any single zombies we encounter. I will be behind Raizou, ready to support him. Itoshii will be behind me, in the center of the formation, and Izumi will be behind him. Himurama, you will cover the rear. Once we are able to survey the antechamber in the catacombs, we can reconfigure ourselves appropriately.”
Akito looked over his squad, making eye contact with each member in turn.
“Any questions?”
Jutsu TrainedShow
WC: 1195/800
~Byakugan: Telescopic Vision
A Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling a small amount of chakra to the Hyuuga's Byakugan, the clan member uses their doujutsu to zoom in like a telescope, allowing them to see much farther away. In doing so, the Hyuuga member is able to see up to 2 Kilometers away as though they were mere feet away. It should be noted that while using their telescopic vision the Hyuuga experiences tunnel vision, making it difficult to see their surroundings. This jutsu can be maintained as long as the Hyuuga channels chakra to their eyes.
~Byakugan: Telescopic Vision
A Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling a small amount of chakra to the Hyuuga's Byakugan, the clan member uses their doujutsu to zoom in like a telescope, allowing them to see much farther away. In doing so, the Hyuuga member is able to see up to 2 Kilometers away as though they were mere feet away. It should be noted that while using their telescopic vision the Hyuuga experiences tunnel vision, making it difficult to see their surroundings. This jutsu can be maintained as long as the Hyuuga channels chakra to their eyes.
