[PB]A Stone in the River

Vale/Shinjuro[PB]

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The Legend Excalibur
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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by The Legend Excalibur » Mon Sep 02, 2019 1:28 pm

The fading light of the western sun, coupled with the small village on their horizon told Vale that the caravan was well within the deadline for meeting up with their contact, a shinobi from the Hidden Mist. For the last few days or so, he, along with a couple other guards hired more so for muscle than their combat ability, had escorted the train of five wagons from Rock Country, and through Waterfall Country. Trouble was kept to a negligent degree, with him stepping in only a couple times to scare away or deal with the emboldened bandit group or desperate raider. But now that they'd entered River, he knew the easy part of the trip was over. And much of that reasoning had to do with the cargo of the caravan; slaves.

Rock Country and Water Country allowed the practice of slavery; it was just apart of life there. But other nations weren't as tolerant of it, not in the least to say Fire Country, where it was outright banned. He'd heard stories of shinobi from the Hidden Leaf attacking caravans and freeing slaves, though in recent years they'd toned down their activities. However, that didn't mean it had ceased completely. The biggest threat on their trip was Whirlpool, which had developed a tight partnership wit the Leaf.

A quick rap of his knuckles on the roof of the wagon alerted the driver to his presence. "Pull to the side outside the village, set up camp out of sight from the road."

"Sir shinobi-"

"We're no longer guaranteed comfortable levels of security. River, Rice, and Whirlpool all have influences from Fire Country. We have no idea how kindly they'd take to a caravan shipping slaves. I'd rather not have to deal with a mob, or even worse, an informant alerting the Leaf to our movements." Hoped off the top of the wagon, and pulled the cloak the driver was wearing off his shoulders. "Send five of your men into the village to buy supplies, and to get a local region map."

Vale then made his way to the predetermined meeting point, which had been scouted and selected prior to the mission. It was a shady tree to the side of the main street, where one could see most of the people entering and leaving the village. Here, he waited for his soon to be teammate.
KirigakureOho TetsuJounin A-Rank Missing Ninja
IwagakureAkari Vale • Genin
IwagakureWu Sun • Chuunin
KonohagakureNara Shikado • Chuunin

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Izanagi
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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by Izanagi » Mon Sep 02, 2019 5:13 pm

It was without question that Shinjiro was the most well-traveled Jinchurriki in generations, not only from the hidden mist village but likely each of the great nations. This level of freedom was awarded to him for a variety of reasons, namely his unquestionable loyalty, a flawless record of containing the spirit within him and equally impeccable rate of mission success. The vast majority of his missions being solo endeavors, having performed assassinations as young as 11, while he had still been a Chunin and before the Genma had been sealed within him. Now a Special Jounin and a full-fledged member of the Seven Swordsmen of the mist at only 15 years of age, Shinjiro was a prodigy and quickly becoming one of the most well respected and trusted members of the hidden mist village. Though he had been to Fur country and won several tournaments there, it was the southern route he had traveled before. Thus far he was finding the Northern path far more enjoyable. Rather than passing through deserts after a long voyage by sea, Shinjiro had travelled a comparatively short boat trip and then flew through Whirlpool Country in a single day, scouting out several outposts of Konoha shinobi, a much heavier presence than reports had indicated. There even seemed to be notable construction and land clearing occurring with new towns being built. This was all quite problematic for the Northern route was the most direct path of trading goods between Iwa and Kiri. He made sure to draw out a rough map of the locations of what he discovered so that he could plan a route back and also report these happenings to the Mizukage upon his return.

Each shipment of steel and slaves would be delayed by at least a week if they were forced to re-route to the Southern pass, traveling through deserts, namely Oasis Country which was also often the trading grounds of Suna and Konoha and with significantly more open terrain than the thousands of ruins of Whirlpool Country to take cover amongst. Though it was not his place to think too far ahead, judging by the kind of man Kasai seemed to be, Shinjiro wagered that there might be a war brewing between Konoha and Kiri or at the very least some skirmishes and sabotage in the near future. This thought burdened Shinjiro with neither excitement nor dread, it was simply a fact of life and he was satisfied to have positioned himself as a valuable tool of the village to bring about good fortune and favor to his village. Travelling through Rice Country had went much more smoothly, the land was rather small but quite beautiful and home of a thriving black market which Shinjiro had taken several hours to gain some leads and dip his fingers into, taking an interest in their poisons and weaponry specifically as he inquired as to what kind of alterations they might be able to make to his body. It seemed they were too reluctant to seal a deal with him upon discovering his identity, though Shinjiro had paid them well for their time and hoped to build up a level of trust before he had departed. He would likely return when he had greater sums to achieve what he sought after.

On the morning of his fourth day since leaving Kirigakure, Shinjiro entered River Country. Though it was not publicly known by many there were strong ties between Water Country and River Country, having formed a trade agreement in which many supplies, including metals, were sold to the wealthy for use in the infrastructure of certain structures within the capital city. Most citizens of River country, however, were poor and sickly, never benefitting from such trade agreements or having any knowledge of how important Water Country was to the leadership of River Country. It was these backwater bumpkins that Shinjiro would remain cautious of, only for the fact that they would do anything for coin, including selling them out to Konoha if any had the brains to realize such an opportunity existed. Most were too occupied with simply trying to stay alive however so as long as nobody did anything stupid to draw attention to the caravan or put such an idea in the heads of these commoners then there shouldn’t be any problem.

Compared to Rice Country, River was a bleak and disease filled cesspool. Though there was water all around, most of it carried harmful bacteria and even few of the plants had any nutrition worth eating, the majority being trees and all many of thick mosses that clung to their bark and even covered the ground, smothering out most other forms of life that attempted to grow. Bugs and mosquitos especially were also obnoxiously common, also being known to carry all many of illnesses. Fortunately, Shinjiro couldn’t have cared less about such concerns, able to drink the water freely and feast upon the millions of insects or even the numerous frogs and fish that were plentiful. It was difficult at times to determine the exact time of day however with mossy canopies and large hanging trees being quite common, often blocking out much of the sun, however there were, of course, open patches as well with decrepit cobbled or dirt roads, the air seeming remarkably fresher whenever one was fortunate enough to travel along open sections or the rare field, most open spaces being used for growing various root vegetables alongside small shanty homes.

Walking around in his brown cloak with a similar scarf, Shinji drew a few peculiar looks, though mostly for the dual Katana’s he wore across his back. Access to proper steel weaponry was rare in these parts, most wielding spears used for fishing or rods with perhaps only simple knives or daggers if one was lucky. That wasn’t to say it was unheard of for locals to have some samurai training but it was obvious Shinjiro was no local. His hood up, none would see his face but a few might glimpse the symbols on his shoulders, the Kraken of the Karagata family on his left and his hidden mist forehead protector tied on his right, along with the cloth bearing the symbol of the seven swordsmen of the mist. Of course commoners from these parts wouldn’t have the slightest idea what any of that meant and for the most part, Shinjiro kept to the forest, moving as silently and swiftly as a Ghost. Finally, around midday, he located the designated village he was to meet his contact at, specifically just outside the village at a large tree where the roads deviated.

With ease Shinjiro moved unseen past the handful of guards that remained at the caravan, taking a look at each of the wagons and assessing the quality of the slaves as well as verifying the cargo. Only a moment per each of the five wagons. It was enough to know that this was the correct shipment and that Iwagakure hadn’t shorted or mishandled any of the order. The procuring party was a wealthy businessman of the Shimu family after all and they valued the quality and treatment of their slaves above anyone else. Most seemed to be men that would make strong workers though about a third of the shipment were attractive young women that were surely broken into the sex trade already or would be soon, perhaps a handful purposed for household work. ‘Everything seems in order’ he assessed, thinking to himself as he approved the cargo. Not quite sneaking up on Vale he would still move silently and loop around to approach from the direction of the forest, casually emerging next to the tree where he saw the Iwagakure shinobi waiting for him. Noting the Iwagakure headband, located on the same arm he kept his, Shinji was sure he was the right person. “Karagata Shinjiro; Special Jounin and member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I’ll be accompanying you back to Water Country. Have you encountered any problems thus far?” he introduced and questioned. It was important to know if everything was going according to plan or if further measures would have to be taken.
Jutsu UsedShow
Shadow Step
B-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite:[Stealth]
Trained in the ways of an Assassin, silent movement is one of the Karagata families most esteemed talents. Shinjiro can run at his full speed without making a sound, light on his toes and able to breathe softly and evenly at the perfect opportunities he is so skilled that even his clothes or weapons don’t rustle. Even his heartbeat is slow and barely detectable unless an opponent has an enhanced hearing technique of equivalent or higher rank. However when walking his stealth is superior to such an extent that he is completely undetectable by means of sound.

Natsuki Takeo - 17th Hokage, former Anbu Commander [DEAD]
Karagata Shinjiro - Kiri Bannin; Jinchuuriki, Overseer of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Kintsugi
Haziwara Youji- Iwagakure Chunin
Takeda Ichiro - A-Rank Waterfall Country; Black Wake, Chishiki, Setsuzoku
Hyuuga Takeshi - Konoha Special Jounin; Anbu
Jouchaku Shigeko - Kiri Genin; HHD

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The Legend Excalibur
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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by The Legend Excalibur » Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:29 pm

Vale had long since become disciplined enough to not be startled if surprised, but still he felt a minor reflexive twitch in his hand as Shinjiro appeared from seemingly nowhere. He hadn't even heard the shinobi's until he had started speaking, which to him was impressive, as he considered himself a decent tracked and sensor. Stepping away from the tree, he nodded towards his new teammate after his brief introduction. "Akari Vale, Special Jounin of Iwagakure. You have light feet, Swordsman." Vale was familiar with the Karagata, as the name meant more to most people as a crime syndicate than as a clan. They had their hands in countless operations not just in Water Country, but the mainland as well. And most knew of the fabled Seven Swordsman of the Mist, each rumored to be one of the best of their title in the world. It seemed odd that the Mist would send one of them on such a routine, if perhaps difficult, escort mission.

"Nothing outside of the normal expectations. Fended off two bandit groups on the trek through Rock Country, and dealt with a raider group when passing through Waterfall. No signs of any real outside threats. I assume you've been through the village, and seen the caravan?" It wasn't a question, not in the literal sense. Vale was making the equivalent of procedural small talk, going over steps that he knew any shinobi worth their forehead protector would have already completed. He stepped away from Shinjiro, looking towards the village. "The schedule calls for a night in the village to resupply and rest, before heading out in the early morning. At a decent pace, we should be in Rice Country with in a day, and out again with an additional one." He pulled out his map, which detailed the routes they would take on the journey. "Whirlpool Country we'll have to move carefully. You probably know better than I do, but it's within the Leaf's sphere of influence. That means shinobi within the country would not be too uncommon or unexpected. I've plotted out possible back routes to take, but I'm wondering if you have any input?

Vale was outside of his element once they departed River Country. Rock Country was a large enough nation on it's own that traveling from one end to the other would take the same amount of time as this entire trip. He was experienced in environments such as valleys, mountains, dense forests, and tundras, but the geographies of their routes were a bit foreign to him. Everything he knew, came from the topography of maps and written accounts. If Shinjiro could provide guidance on the subject, he wasn't so foolhardy or proud as to not take it.
KirigakureOho TetsuJounin A-Rank Missing Ninja
IwagakureAkari Vale • Genin
IwagakureWu Sun • Chuunin
KonohagakureNara Shikado • Chuunin

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Izanagi
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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by Izanagi » Sat Sep 07, 2019 4:15 pm

The cloaked swordsman assessed his newfound ally as he introduced himself. He seemed competent enough, a Special Jounin like himself and also relatively young at least in appearance, certainly no older than twenty but he held himself with good composure, not startled easily and respectful. These were all good signs. Shinjiro had never worked with an Iwagakure shinobi before, escorting caravans was not the typical mission he was assigned to though since becoming a member of the Seven Swordsmen his missions had begun to shift from primarily assassination contracts to a wide variety of missions of importance to Kirigakure. Though the convoy of slaves seemed rather routine, the risks were higher than they had ever been and Shinji was sent not only to ensure completion but to scout the happenings in Whirlpool Country and determine whether Konoha’s activity would compromise this Northern route. “We Karagata pride ourselves on our stealth” he responded, though there were exceptions, most members of the main branch of the family were skilled assassins, feared and respected around the world.

Attentive as always Shinji absorbed the information provided to him by Vale. It was common to run into trouble on the road, though the greater threat was in the survivors of such skirmishes, individuals who might be one portion of a larger group, though typically it was easier to procure one’s own slaves than to risk stealing them from an Iwa or Kiri caravan. Most would turn away and back down once they realized who they were facing, unless they were extremely desperate or overly confident, bordering madness. The primal green eyes of the hooded assassin perked up as Vale assumed he had already looked over the cargo. ‘He’s sharp’ he noted. It was an indication that he would have taken similar precautionary measures if the roles were reversed. This type of thing one saw more often in shinobi who were used to working alone. “Yeah. The cargo is fully accounted for and in acceptable condition” he verified. Thus far everything was going according to plan.

Shinji nodded slowly as Vale went over the need to re-supply. Though he was self-sufficient there were a great number of mouths to feed, the cargo, guards and even the horses. Throughout both Waterfall Country and River Country most native plants and water sources were dangerous to consume or even bathe in if one wasn’t familiar with the area. This first leg of the journey would consume a good portion of supplies and it was important to have provisions for the rest of the route too. Even if the shinobi would have been capable of hunting and providing food and other provisions the less time they spent away from the cargo they were meant to protect the better. As the Iwagakure shinobi withdrew his map, Shinjiro did the same with his own map of the terrain, specifically the layout of Whirlpool Country. “Whirlpool could be problematic. There’s far more activity than anticipated. I scouted out as much as I could without falling behind schedule. Konoha has defenses near the eastern tip of the country overlooking the water. So our ship will be waiting a few kilometers south of the border between Forest and Whirlpool. There’s a hidden alcove there that appears accessible enough, the problem is the Western half of Whirlpool Country. I noticed a large amount of activity throughout the entire area. What’s more problematic is there wasn’t just Konoha shinobi but Kumo as well. They appear to be working on the construction of some sort of tracks, more heavily concentrated in the north but they've also cleared a route right down to Fire Country.” He detailed, pointing out a line from Forest Country down to the tip of where part of Fire Country jutted into Whirlpool. It would be difficult to traverse between these two locations, leaving the only options to either travel close by the Border of Whirlpool and Fire Country or to detour North and attempt to travel through the unknown topography of Forest Country and evade Kumogakure presence in order to cut back down into Whirlpool.

Without a doubt this crossing would be the most crucial leg of the mission. Once they reached the eastern coast, so long as the ship was waiting for them as planned then they would have completed the most dangerous aspect of the mission. Kirigakure ship captains were without question the most experienced and skilled sailors in the world, as knowledgeable as pirates when it came to smuggling good and outmaneuvering other ships. The Karagata fleet were also the largest navy in the world, equally skilled in combat and transporting illegal goods. “Keep in mind in the North-west of Whirlpool are quite a few hills and small mountain ranges, to the Southwest are some forests and abandoned buildings as well as many ruins we could take shelter in. That’s the path I’d recommend but there’s still the problem of several kilometers of cleared and open land that is being prepared for construction. If we travel that section at night and I scout out overhead that might afford the best chance of slipping through undetected.” He evaluated. While Vale didn’t know the extent of his abilities he would be able to decipher he had a way of discretely flying in darkness without impeding his ability to navigate.

Natsuki Takeo - 17th Hokage, former Anbu Commander [DEAD]
Karagata Shinjiro - Kiri Bannin; Jinchuuriki, Overseer of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Kintsugi
Haziwara Youji- Iwagakure Chunin
Takeda Ichiro - A-Rank Waterfall Country; Black Wake, Chishiki, Setsuzoku
Hyuuga Takeshi - Konoha Special Jounin; Anbu
Jouchaku Shigeko - Kiri Genin; HHD

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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by The Legend Excalibur » Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:58 pm

He collated Shinjiro's information with his own, analyzing how they fit into and altered their schedule. As of the moment, they were somewhat ahead of schedule, give or take a day. That gave them some leeway in being able to change the routes if needed, which looked like it was going to be needed. It was general world knowledge of the divisive alliances that the Five Great Villages had with each other. The Cloud, Leaf, and Sand villages were all on comfortable terms, with shinobi running joint missions, or even visiting each others villages. The Stone and Mist, he and Shinjiro's villages, were similar in their relationship, being trade partners as well as contract partners, their current mission being proof of that. But the part about joint construction? That was a true surprise. He mulled over their choices.

"I'd prefer we'd stick to the side of caution. Veering so close to Fire Country would be essentially begging for the caravan to be compromised. It's far to large to effectively go along that route. Had we only one, maybe even two... but five? No." He pointed towards the northern route on the map.
"We can afford the loss of time in taking the detour. The little information I know about Forest is that it's people are independent of any nation's influence, meaning we needn't worry about appearances. It also doesn't seem to have a large bandit population present, so we shouldnt' have much trouble with security either. There are some small villages scattered along the main roads. We'll likely be able to obtain a local map for that length of the trek." As he finished, he folded up his map.

It wasn't that Vale didn't have faith in Shinjiro's abilities; no, contrary to the fact, he was already impressed by the Kiri-shinobi. Not only had he managed to make the trip through the enemy infested countries to reach the meeting point, but he'd also been able to gather such valuable intel, alone, and seemingly without trouble. That, and the fact that his stealth abilities were clearly several levels above his own more than instilled a sense of competence. He just didn't trust in their clients; they seemed to think, just due to the fact that they'd been provided shinobi escorts, that the journey would be smooth and without trouble. And this attitude extended to the guards. Their sense of urgency and alertness were dulled by false senses of safety. No doubt if they took the southern route, they would think he and Shinjiro alone would be capable enough to handle any Leaves that fell onto their path.

"It's getting late, and you've had a long trip to get here. You must be tired. Get some food and some rest. I'm a sensor, so I'm capable of taking on watch duty by myself. We'll head out at dawn tomorrow, head for the northern roads into Forest, and continue through to Whirlpool. From there we'll follow your directions to meet the ships. Sound good?"
KirigakureOho TetsuJounin A-Rank Missing Ninja
IwagakureAkari Vale • Genin
IwagakureWu Sun • Chuunin
KonohagakureNara Shikado • Chuunin

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Izanagi
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[PB]A Stone in the River

Post by Izanagi » Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:50 pm

Shinjiro watched the Iwa shinobi, his green eyes cautious and assessing. Vale seemed to have a good mind for this. His choice was different from the one Shinjiro would have chosen but both paths had their advantages and their risks. The young Karagata had always been taught to never venture into the unknown, to always scout and assess and take the path that one was most familiar with, never fighting an opponent whose skills were a complete unknown. He had never interacted with a Kumogakure shinobi before and wished to avoid confrontation with them at any cost. He had seen them in Northern Whirlpool and around the border of Forest Country, that was where the construction had advanced the most. But perhaps they would have begun to move on, especially by the time they came back through. Depending on how quickly the construction was progressing it was possible they could have moved a few miles south by the time the convoy passed through the area. He felt uncomfortable with this deviation in the plan but his comrade made some good points and he seemed knowledgeable about Forest Country which helped put Shinji’s mind at ease. “I don’t like the idea of travelling in unfamiliar territory. I’ll scout out ahead once we get to Whirlpool country and we can re-assess whether or not to proceed with your plan. The supplies for their construction have to come from somewhere after all and given that it seems to be progressing from North to South it’s reasonable to think that Forest Country is complacent and cooperating with Kumo and Konoha.” He countered, letting his own thoughts be known. Annoyingly the two teenagers were of the same rank and from separate villages so cooperation was key and one could not simply order the other into submission.

Shinjiro nodded in agreement at the idea of obtaining local maps for the countries that they passed through. It was something he hadn’t considered given his own ability to scout a large area and memorize layouts quite well. Nonetheless, it would be useful for their respective villages to have up-to-date maps for archives and planning future missions. Putting away his own map he had to stop to consider how long it had been since he had last slept. Well over 24 hours certainly. When engaged in a mission it wasn’t uncommon for him to function on no more than an hour or two a night. Even hunger and physical fatigue he could push through to the point of complete exhaustion, able to perform with hardly any sign of anything being wrong right up until the point he collapsed. It was the downside of his excessive training. Often he forgot or simply didn’t realize his own bodies limits and need for recovery. “Yeah, I suppose I should.” He wanted to advocate to split watch duty but he also knew that he needed to be at his best. He trusted his own abilities more than those of the Iwa shinobi that he knew little about and therefore he had to prioritize himself. Looking the other shinobi in the eye he would nod in agreement. The next day should be fairly relaxed, simply traveling through Rice Country. After that was when they would have to be truly on guard. Though even Rice country was known for its black-market dealings and so it was important to ensure they weren’t sold out and tipped off to another group. Their cargo was just slaves though, fairly standard despite being a slighter larger and better-quality shipment than most. Still, it was always best to err on the side of caution.

Natsuki Takeo - 17th Hokage, former Anbu Commander [DEAD]
Karagata Shinjiro - Kiri Bannin; Jinchuuriki, Overseer of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Kintsugi
Haziwara Youji- Iwagakure Chunin
Takeda Ichiro - A-Rank Waterfall Country; Black Wake, Chishiki, Setsuzoku
Hyuuga Takeshi - Konoha Special Jounin; Anbu
Jouchaku Shigeko - Kiri Genin; HHD

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