[PB]The Mist Clears....

[PB/Tetsu/Shinjuro]

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The Legend Excalibur
Posts: 345
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:00 pm

[PB]The Mist Clears....

Post by The Legend Excalibur » Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:16 pm

The ocean was a comfort. The salt of the sea carried on the winds, the sounds of seabirds squawking overhead, even the rhythmic rocking of the ship, from side to side. It was a homely feeling, one someone born on the mainland wouldn't understand. But for the people of Water Country, the shinobi of the Hidden Mist, there was no feeling greater. Once, Tetsu had called those places home, the people within it brothers. But a life based on the concept of survival breeds no strong ties of loyalty. No, it breeds a hunger. For strength. For power. For control. Sometimes, that hunger lead to those things, and could be sated. And other times, it to even greater sin... greed. Tetsu had given into his hunger, and had developed greed as a result. A lifetime of living under the thumb of others had pushed him to take measures just to sate his hunger. It led him on a path that travelling the sea a taboo, that made visiting his homelands a crime.

Tetsu was a cautious man. He took little risk, and took even less time relaxed. It was a consequence of the choices he'd made, and the life he lived. He regretted none of it, though. Regret brought hesitation. To climb the path of the strongest, you had to be sure of your every action. The ship, named the "Geisume", listed from side to side slowly, shifting objects of the deck from edge to edge. One of the sailors, or perhaps passengers, had barely made it to the railing before they released what could only be assumed to be the morning's breakfast, and last night's dinner. Unaccustomed to sea travel, he guessed. Or maybe they were just weak bellied. Whatever the case, he was sure they wouldn't survive the trip at this rate.

The Geisume was a merchant vessel, designed to carry large loads, for long periods of times across the open sea. It was enormous, measuring at 90 meters in length, and 50 meters in width. It was crewed by over 150 men, in addition to merchants, traders, and simple passengers that also were on board. The cargo in the storage alone was worth a fortune, but for Tetsu, the real wealth lie ahead, in their destination: Shrimp Continent. He'd never journeyed to the foreign lands, but had heard stories of it; a continent embroiled in petty and major wars between it's rulers. To them, chakra and jutsu were considered magic, and shinobi, magicians. His contractor wanted to harness that 'magic', for use in one of their own wars. He'd been promised not only a monetary reward, but lands, men, and subjects to command. It wasn't something he could turn down.

Of course, he wasn't naive. He'd investigated the tip thoroughly, and taken steps to prevent, in the worse case, a assassination attempt. He'd inspected the ship's manifest, it's logs, it's records. He'd bought portions of the crew's loyalty, for the short-term, more so to provide distraction than actual combat ability. And he slept on the deck, every night, no matter the weather. It was open enough that he'd see anyone approaching him. They'd been selling for a few days now, with a estimation of a few more before land fall. So far, all was well.
KirigakureOho TetsuJounin A-Rank Missing Ninja
IwagakureAkari Vale • Genin
IwagakureWu Sun • Chuunin
KonohagakureNara Shikado • Chuunin

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Izanagi
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Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 7:00 pm

[PB]The Mist Clears....

Post by Izanagi » Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:13 pm

For a Karagata there were few things that felt more natural than being at Sea. Shinji had grown to truly appreciate the sense of freedom that sailing granted him. Albeit he had never actually personally captained a ship he had been aboard dozens of them, familiar with voyages of days or weeks at a time. However, he had never travelled to distant lands or other continents. He was a shinobi after all, bound to Water Country and Kirigakure. Adventure was not his purpose, even if he did find satisfaction in it. Instead he was to serve the village, elevating threats and protecting assets. For not only was he a skilled assassin but also a member of the seven swordsmen of the mist. He was among the best the village had to offer and was someone trusted to complete any task assigned to him by the Mizukage, regardless of difficulty. There was some pride in knowing he had elevated himself to such a position, moreover, to have such freedom as to be sent on long solo missions as a prized Jinchurriki was a testament to not only his skill but the trust the village had in him. He would never under any circumstances jeopardize that.

Though he had only been promoted to Special Jounin less than a year ago, Shinji had consistently been assigned B and A-rank missions. In this endeavor, he had been tasked with eliminating a former Jounin of Kirigakure, someone who had defected the village four years ago and was considered highly dangerous. The new Mizukage, Kasai was ruthless in his pursuit of Missing nin and had promptly sent out various shinobi to eliminate notable targets who had been eluding the village. There was no room for failure when it came to such a man and so Shinjiro had to be quite creative in his pursuit of this elusive target. He had dipped into the information network of the Karagata Crime Syndicate as well as contacts he had made in Tea Countries black market. After two months of preparation, the perfect opportunity had come together. There was a legitimate contractor in Shrimp Continent that had put out feelers in the right circles, searching for someone suitable. One such broker who had been paid in advance by Shinjiro contacted him and fed Tetsu’s name back to the procurer who had organized the large vessel on his own accord and made the proper arrangements, completely unaware he had been double-crossed.

Nobody aboard the ship would have any idea Shinjiro was present, having simply received the name and departure point and time from his contact and slipped aboard easily enough. Able to transform into a rat or insect at will the young assassin had thoroughly inspected the vessel, gaining a sense of how many individuals were aboard and the layout of the vessel and most importantly verifying that his target was, in fact, a part of the crew. From there he continued to lay low, often disguised and never sleeping in the same spot more than once and always while in an animal form. There were few individuals who had the type of stealth skillset that Shinji did. While there certainly was some room for improvement his transformations were an especially uncommon ability and one that even diligent shinobi would find nearly impossible to be wary of unless they possessed sensory abilities. And even then with the size of the vessel, it was relatively easy to keep moving to stay out of range whenever Tetsu patrolled the ship.

It had been three days now since setting off, ‘It won't be long now’ he assessed, sitting in the corner of a cargo hold atop some barrels and crates. He wanted his target to gain a sense of comfort, blinded by the riches awaiting him. After several days it would seem unlikely that there would be an attempt on his life, at least while aboard the ship. Still, Shinji wished to err on the side of caution, embracing his roots and having nearly been killed recently in an overambitious attempt at claiming a weapon he had been after for over a year. ‘The pup still licks its wounds. You are no alpha. Your death will come soon and then I will be free’ Vorashu taunted. It seemed their co-operation had been short-lived. One set back and the Genma had lost faith in Shinjiro’s strength once again. ‘You’re bound to Kirigakure as much as I am. Neither of us will ever be free, though it’s too early for me to die. My purpose has not yet been fulfilled. I am a tool and like you, we will continue to serve for as long as there is need of us’ he reiterated solemnly. His mentality had been tested many times over the years, slowly evolving as Shinji became more introspective and understanding of the perspectives of others but when it came to his duty the young Karagata was steadfast as ever.

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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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:00 pm

[PB]The Mist Clears....

Post by The Legend Excalibur » Tue Sep 10, 2019 11:41 pm

A cloudy overcast had overtaken the skies, a foreboding warning of a coming storm. This resulted in a star and moonless night sky, though this was of no obstacle to the veteran sailors of the ship, who had long since been trained in the skills necessary to conduct successful voyages in any type of weather. The seas had given to an odd calmness, meaning the ship was much more active with life, as many of those who'd been plagued with sea sickness suddenly found themselves able to move up and around. Few walked above deck, as most opted to remain below, partaking in drinking, card games, and story telling to pass the time.The thrice ringing of a bell was heard, indicating it was time for the evening's supper. There was never many options for food on ships, due to the need to have foods with long preservation and shelf lives. Often the ingredients were dried out and flaky, leaving any chef or cooking staff the requirement of either putting in the half effort ot make something edible, or being creative in their methods. Luckily for everyone aboard, there's was the later. Tonight'd dinner consisted of a vegetable and beef broth, served alongside some hard biscuits, and ale.

Tetsu always waited to last to get his portion, and nearly always ate alone. The latter wasn't a conscious decision, it just happened to be that way. He made no effort to hide his Kiri-plate, as there was no reason to. On a voyage like this, the leak of information about him was so inconsequential that it could be neglected. No one save a shinobi from the Hidden Mist would know who he was, and even then, they would have to either be Hunter-nin, or someone from his generation from the Academy. And if they were already on board, it only meant that death would be the only certain thing; whether for him or them, only time would tell.

He found himself eating within the common area, with dozens of other passengers, the chatter and laughter of them floating freely through the air. He sat alone, the other either too intimidated by his presence, or too drunk and tipsy to even notice he was there. He himself nursed his own drink, a sweet tasting alcohol common to the ports of the continent, created from the fermented sugars of fruits. Rum, people called. In all honesty it was too sweet for him, having needed to water it down in order to stomach the stuff. It was here he sat, until a small group of four men approached him, red-faced and grinning in a clear tipsy.

"So you're one of those shinobi, eh? With all those amazing abilities and powers?" The lead man slurred his speech.

"...I am. What's it mean to you?"

"Ha! See the boldness on this one? Me and the boys... these are my boys, by the way. We noticed you, and got to thinking, you must get paid pretty well, right?

Tetsu sighed. He really didn't want to deal with something like this tonight. "You might not want to finish that thought." He said in a calm, dismissive tone.

"What? No! No, not like that!" He held his hands up defensively. "All I meant was, you might be interested in a small game of cards, is all. Play for a pot, and all that."

He simply stared at the man, glancing at each of his companions, before shrugging, and gesturing towards seats at his table. Why not?
KirigakureOho TetsuJounin A-Rank Missing Ninja
IwagakureAkari Vale • Genin
IwagakureWu Sun • Chuunin
KonohagakureNara Shikado • Chuunin

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