Naruto - Timv9 and Eli

[Eli]

"Kiiromaru, listen to this..." The scruffy dog lifted his head from his paws and fixed his yellow eyes on the face of his partner. By Teiru's expression, he was clearly mulling something over. Kiiromaru knew this look, and he'd bet his mama's tail that he knew what was coming next.


"Say you have a heap of leaves."


"A heap of leaves?" Kiiromaru huffed, rolling his eyes.


"Just -- just consider it," Teiru continued, leaning back against the tree trunk and folding his hands under his chin. "You have a heap of leaves. We'd agree that the heap of leaves minus one leaf is still a heap of leaves, right?" Kiiromaru nodded noncommittally. Teiru sighed, and went on, "So, you keep subtracting one leaf at a time. What happens when you get down to no leaves at all? Is it still a heap?"


"'Course not, Teiru, ya stupid?" Kiiromaru barked, narrow yellow eyes lighting up in amusement. "What're ya gonna say next, negative leaves?"


"Well, yeah... But! But, if zero leaves doesn't make a heap, at which point is the heap no longer a heap? By the logic of the whole thing, even negative leaves is still a heap, right?"


The Inuzuka jonin and his ninken partner simultaneously hummed in consideration. Kiiromaru was about to suggest they grab a bunch of leaves and go for a visual representation when they both straightened up and sniffed at the air. "Smell that?" Teiru's nose twitched. Kiiromaru nodded his stout muzzle. "Neji'll be here in a sec. Can smell 'im."


They were due to depart on a mission to intercept a scroll that contained valuable information. They were to assassinate the ninja who was holding it -- taking him in to T&I was too risky -- and return the scroll to the Hidden Leaf. It was a simple mission on paper, but they needed to prepare for the worst. It was a delicate job; they could leave no trace that Leaf nin had done the deed, or else risk war, but the information was apparently necessary to retrieve. It was a whole bag of worms Teiru hadn't yet tried to dissect, and he wasn't looking forward to it. It was never good for a shinobi to question his orders -- at least, that was what he'd been taught in the academy. Except Teiru questioned that too.


Teiru's line of thought was interrupted when his friend and rival, Neji, arrived before them.

 

[Timv9]

Neji wast at his home making up a bag for the mission he was about to go on. Neji was an uchiha one of thee few that are left and he was proud of that, he was the son of sasuke uchiha who after he came back from the dark path he was on, became one of the villages strongest Ninja and one of its most important. Neji had learned basically all he knows from his father sasuke. Neji walked down stairs to see his parents still down stairs.


"Good morning father and good morning mother." Sasuke and Sakura turned and smiled at their son Neji. They both said good morning as they were Also getting ready to leave. They were two of the villages best Jonin and sasuke was one of the next ninja in line for the place of hokage.


Neji ate breakfast and then got up and took his leave, he started to walk to where he was suppose to meet his friend bad mission leader Teiru. To be honest Neji didbt realms understand how Teiru was a Jonin , but Neji was not one yet. He sighed but for the time being there was nothing Neji could do but follow orders.


Neji finally reached where he was suppose to meet Teiru. "Good morning Teiru, are we waiting on anyone else? Or are we good to go?"

 

[Eli]

Teiru stood, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, as Neji approached. "'Morning, Neji. Got your gear?" The jonin dug into the pouch strapped onto his left leg and withdrew an austere white scroll. It contained all of the necessary information for their mission, and its contents were locked away from unwanted eyes by a chakra-sensitive seal. Teiru directed a wisp of his chakra through to his palm, where it connected with the seal, which promptly allowed itself to be unraveled.


Teiru glanced over its contents once more, reaffirming his plan of action, before tossing it over to Neji. "Oh, and nope, it's just the four of us." The third member being Kiiromaru, who was sprawled in the dirt by his partner's feet. Then, with speed only a ninja can possess, a newcomer swept into the clearing. He was senior to both Neji and Teiru, although he was still a chunin. The Inuzuka had smelled him coming, and now that the last addition to the team had gathered, Teiru introduced him to Neji. "This is Doro Korosu, and Doro, this is Neji Uchiha." Teiru cleared his throat.


"We'll set off and travel by tree top till noon. We'll take an extended break, then go at a slower pace until we reach our destination." There they would likely encounter their target, dispatch him, obtain the information, and clean up. From that point it was a race back to the village -- they'd need to take advantage of soldier pills, a stimulant for shinobi, if they wanted to keep up a fair pace. They had a lot of ground to cover.


"Got any questions?"


Kiiromaru released a gentle bark, alerting him that it was time to set off. Teiru nodded brusquely, already swiveling around to begin their chase.


With these troubling times, ninja were spread thin -- Teiru was a fresh jounin, but he'd already been on several intensive missions that he normally wouldn't be a candidate for. This came with risks, and as mission leader, Teiru only hoped that this mission would go smoothly -- he was thankful that he at least had familiar faces to work alongside.

 

[Timv9]

Neji looked at Teiru "yea I have everything I should need for this mission."


He then grabbed the scroll and took a look at it, this mission was an S ranked mission, the highest mission rank in the ninja world. They were to kill their target and steal papers containing critical information for the village. Even though Neji was only a Chunin he had been on assignation missions before and he believe if he did this mission well he would be ranked up to jonin.


Neji still couldn't believe teiru made jonin before he did, Neji did like teiru but he fully believed that he was was a better shinobi then teiru was, but right now there was nothing he could do about it. Neji looked over at teiru "so any additional information on our target or just the minimal information we have right now?"

 

[Eli]

They made for the tree tops, leaping from bough to bough with grace and efficiency. Teiru was the head of the group, and scanned ahead with his sharp nose and keen ears. Kiiromaru generally kept close to Teiru, to alert him if he noticed anything amiss, but at the jounin's command would scout ahead. Doro rounded out the back of the formation, covering Neji, who was the right hand to Teiru.


"It's a pretty straightforward stab and swipe -- we just need to be careful he doesn't have backup, and we can't leave any traces of our presence. According to our info, we'll find him heading towards the border; we need to get 'im before then. When we scope out the area we'll address battle formations. But it'd be best not to confront him directly; although he's acting as a messenger right now, he's ranked in our bingo books." Teiru paused, then grinned wolfishly at his comrade, "Sure you can handle it, Neji?"


It felt odd, issuing orders to one ninja who was older than him, and another who was quite possibly his equal. Teiru's pride told him that he was jonin for a reason, while Neji was not, but his brain was sure that the Uchiha would soon be promoted. But these were concepts Teiru would need to get accustomed to; sometimes he would need to lead shinobi who were years his senior and more skilled than he -- or the contrary -- into battle. The weight of the responsibility donned on him: if he calculated incorrectly, he could be the cause of a comrade's death.


Teiru glanced back at the two shinobi following him, his previous playfulness subsiding, then shrugged the difficult thoughts away. You are a shinobi, he reprimanded himself, And shinoni don't question, they obey.

 

[Timv9]

Neji laughed a little bit "yea about as straight forward as a mission can be I suppose." Neji had his sharnigan activated and was ready for anything. If something was coming their way Neji would see it. Having sharnigan was a blessing and the fact that Neji knew how to use it at an advanced level made it even better for him.


Neji then scoffed at Teiru comment. "If I was leading this mission it would have already been done by now." Neji smirked as he saw Teiru look back at him.


Neji continued to jump a long the trees as they continued with their mission. Neji then thought about the different aspects of the mission and what it would mean if they failed. Should they failed it could cause the next ninja war.


The villages were again at odds with each other. Even after they joined together to defeat akatsuki. Neji had made a vow like his father sasuke and his mother Sakura to defend the leaf no matter what and that is what he would do.

 

[Eli]

They carried on, alert and poised to defend themselves if anything went wrong, until noon. At that point, Teiru stopped them, told them they could rest for fifteen minutes instead of the usual five, and passed out soldier pills for each of them to take at their own discretion. A fatigued ninja was like a dull kunai -- when the time arrived, it wouldn't be able to kill effectively. Teiru swallowed a pill himself, and Kiiromaru chomped on one made specifically for ninken. When the fifteen minutes were up, Kiiromaru barked like before, and they continued on their trek.


After hours of relentless travel, the ninja penetrated their target area. At this point it was all about staying concealed and searching for any trace of their prey. They halted, and, because the slightest sound could expose their presence, Teiru signaled with his hands for Doro to search to their right, Neji to their left, and to report to Kiiromaru, who would remain behind, if they caught sight of anybody -- especially their target -- in the vicinity. Teiru would search directly ahead. They had twenty minutes before meeting back up with Kiiromaru.


With one last order ("Don't get caught"), Teiru set off. He focused his keen sense of smell and sensitive ears for anything that could tip him off -- but, alas, after twenty minutes had passed, his search bore no fruit. Silently he made his way back to their meeting spot, and he hoped that one of the others had located their quarry. If not, they'd have to search a wider radius before heading towards the border -- which was a place no Leaf ninja without good purpose should be seen at.


Kiiromaru hardly stirred as Teiru landed beside him and Doro, who had already returned. A mere exchange of glances told them they hadn't been successful. With bated breath they waited for Neji to return with good news -- and if he didn't return, they'd need to search for him, too, and hope that the enemy had not uncovered him.

 

[Timv9]

Neji followed behind Teiru as they continued on their mission. When 12 noon came around, they stopped and took a 15 minute rest. Neji begrudgingly took and ate his soldier pill. He hated those things they tasted terrible, but they were quick and had everything a ninja needed for a mission.


They then continued on and finally got to the point where they would split up and look for their target. Neji activated his sharnigan and headed to the left to look for their target.


Neji quietly jumped from tree to tree as he actively looked for the target, as he was about to head back to the meeting spot. His sharnigan picked up something. Neji travelled a little farther ahead and found the target traveling with 2 extra men. They seemed to be taking a break and taking time to eat.


Neji turned and quickly returned back to the group. "I found them, they are down on my side about 100 yards up. They are taking a break to eat and rest. There are also 2 other ninja with him."

 

[Eli]

Teiru nodded sharply at Neji as he reported what he saw. "Good work," he breathed, "Lead the way."


As they stalked forward, taking great care not to trigger any traps or alert their targets, Teiru whispered and signed the basic outline of a plan.


They pooled together their smoke and flash bombs and split them evenly between each other. Teiru nodded briskly and the ninja dispersed.


Teiru attached several smokebombs to three kunai. Three shuriken were dedicated to carrying flash bombs. Kiiromaru prowled, just out of sight, looking for an opening to strike. Then, after three minutes had passed, the jonin put his makeshift plan into action, confident that the others would follow through. With a deft hand he flung the kunai at his targets, two of them hidden in the shadow of another. The smoke bombs exploded. At that very moment, before their opponents could burst through the black smoke, Kiiromaru pounced. Golden liquid pellets sprayed upon the target area as Teiru rapidly sent out his flash bombs, which detonated not long after. The enemy ninja, taken off guard but not helpless, began to disperse.


Teiru, descending on all fours with a Beast Human Body Technique, rejoined with Kiiromaru, and together they executed Fang Over Fang. They became a pair of ferocious cyclones and sped towards the scent markers Kiiromaru had left, and clipped one of the guarding ninja. He cried out in pain as claws and fangs tore through his flesh. The Inuzuka and his dog flew forward, twisting round to strike again before their rotation ran out.


Meanwhile, Doro sped from branch to branch, never remaining in one place, but always unleashing a kunai or shuriken at one of the enemies. Teiru and Kiiromaru tunneled and skidded to a halt on the ground, and fled back into the trees to regroup and prepare to strike again after the secondary attack. Their quarry, who held the scroll the Leaf ninja needed to confiscate, fled into the trees, leaving his two guards to hold off the ambush. One of the guards, the one who had been struck with Fang Over Fang, was nearly helpless, and was desperately trying to put pressure on a gaping wound. However, the other one was still intact and able to fight; with a flurry of hand signs he lifted great boulders from the earth and prepared to turn them into fatal projectiles. He peered through the foliage for any of the Leaf ninja hidden amongst the trees.

 

[Timv9]

Neji lead the group to their target and waited for their ambush to start. Neji stayed hidden in the trees his sharnigan activated as he watched Teiru and Doro carry out their part of the plan.


Nejis party of the plan was to wait and see when their actual target ran off. With his sharnigan Neji can see through the smoke and since he was the only one who had seen the target and could positively id him. Neji would be the one to go after him if he were to flee.


As Neji watched, the plan so far had gone perfectly Teiru and Doro had separated their target and his body guards. Neji saw the direction their target ran off too and he turned to Teiru. "I'm going after him you and Doro finish this and then come find me okay."


With that Neji jumped to the next tree and started in pursuit of his target. He soon caught up to the man and jumped down in front of him. Neji made quick hand signs. "Chidori" lighting chakra came flowing from his hand and Neji struck their target in the chest, affectively killing him. Neji panted as he looked at the man on the ground. The chidori was a great jutsu that his father sasuke taught him, but it took a lot of his chakra.


Neji started to look through the mans belongings until he finally found the scroll they needed. "Okay perfect now to hide the evidence." Just as Neji was about to start on that part of mission. He saw with his sharnigan two kunai knives coming right at him. He quickly dodged them and landed back a few feet as he looked in front of him and saw 2 men standing in front of him. "Who the hell are you guys."

 

[Eli]

Neji sped off in pursuit of their target; Teiru crouched down on all fours, teeth bared and pupils reduced to bestial slits. He'd join Neji -- just after he finished up here. With a guttural growl, Kiiromaru by his side, he twisted into Fang Over Fang once more. The enemy's two rock boulders shifted, and the ninja and ninken clashed.


Two minutes later, Kiiromaru was unclasping his jaw from the enemy nin's throat. Teiru crouched on the ground, breathing heavily, with a thick layer of dust blanketing his features. Even Doro, who had assisted with the fight, was shaking shards of rock from his hair. They sealed the bodies away into a scroll using a complicated, chakra-draining seal. Once the scene had been cleared of all traces of the Leaf ninja, they set off in pursuit of their primary target and Neji. Teiru followed the scent marker Kiiromaru had left while trying to clear the stench of blood and dirt from his nose.


Soon they approached the scent of Neji and of their quarry. They detected the distinct burnt-ozone scent of Chidori, but what truly caught their attention were the two unfamiliar presences nearby. They skirted the area to catch a better glimpse of the situation. But Kiiromaru halted, a low whine emanating from his throat; the ninja dog could sense something malicious and incalculably powerful that the ninja could only sense slightly. "Stop," the dog nipped at Teiru's ankle as the jounin was about to hop down into the clearing, "These guys are too strong. Their chakra is off the charts, can't you smell it?"


Teiru looked down at Kiiromaru, worry alighting in his eyes, and sniffed the air more carefully. He could only rely on scent and hearing -- if he tried to use his chakra to glean something off of these two unfamiliar figures, they might sense it. So he sifted through all of the smells of the forest, the blood, the tang of chakra and soon he understood why Kiiromaru was so concerned. The Leaf ninja were too worn out to confront two powerful shinobi like this; even at full strength, they would probably perish in combat against these strangers. But they had already noticed Neji, and that was something that could not be reversed.


"Kiiromaru, Doro, go round and set up a distraction. Don't let them get close to you. I'll join Neji..." He could feel Doro and Kiiromaru gathering breath to protest, and he quickly interjected, "To try and be diplomatic, or at least communicate to Neji that we need to get the hell outta here. Maybe these guys aren't looking for a fight, and we can't just leave Neji. Or, worst case scenario, I can stall our deaths." Their qualms with the idea abated, but the whole ordeal was certainly not ideal. Regardless, Doro and the ninken vanished off into the brush, obeying their mission leader's hurried orders.


Teiru approached Neji and the two strangers, letting his presence be known. "We're not looking for a fight," he said, projecting his voice. "We're just leaving -- we mean you no harm." He doubted these people would listen to anything he said, but he needed to try.


It was at that moment that one of the strange men whirled around and sent a demon wind shuriken into the trees; they all heard a cry of pain, and a body thudding against the ground. Doro. Dread and panic threatening to overwhelm him, Teiru glanced tellingly at Neji, as if to yell, "Run," and took off into the trees and away from these new found enemies.


Neji had in his possession the very object of their desire, and with the swish of black-and-red cloaks, the Akatsuki took chase after the two remaining Leaf ninja.

 

[Timv9]

Neji stood there as he looked at the 2 men who were wearing red and black cloaks. Neji with his sharnigan activated could sense at how strong these 2 were and with Neji Being tired from the fights he was just involved in, he stood no chance against these 2 right now. Neji smirked as he looked up at the 2 men. "Well is there something I can help you two lovely gentleman with?


One of the akatsuki members laughed as he looked down upon Neji. "You see that scroll you have there. You can either give it to is or we will take it from you."


Neji looked at the men "oh I apologize this scroll belongs to the hidden leaf village and no one else. Especially not a pair of jokes like you 2 are."


Next thing Neji knew Teiru was beside him, a second later doro was attacked and killed and Neji and Teiru were on the run. Neji looked at Teiru. "Who the hell are these guys?"

 

[Eli]

Teiru could only answer Neji's question frankly, "I have no clue, but they are bad news." As he said this a kunai tore through the side of his cheek and jaw. He grit his teeth in pain but persevered, putting his all into simply sprinting back to the village. There was no time to set up traps, to weave up a short-range transportation jutsu -- it was all he could do to dodge the kunai and shuriken that were flying at him.


His mission, which had been going so smoothly, had rapidly devolved into a horrific mess. The body of his teammate, openly displaying the Hidden Leaf's symbol, was left in the woods, not far from the corpse of the messenger of an important message to Iwagakure. And the message was gone, and anybody who saw the scene would quickly put two and two together, and the Hidden Leaf would soon have a diplomatic mess on their hands.


Next, Kiiromaru was gone -- whether he was alive or not was unknown to Teiru -- and they had these two overpowered goons trailing them. It was obvious these cloaked figures were merely playing with the Leaf shinobi too, because, if Teiru's judgement of them was right, they had enough chakra to blow Teiru off the map. If they managed to return and report to the Leaf, he had a lot of explaining to do, and a lot of speculation ahead of him. But that was for later, if there ever was a "later" -- the Inuzuka cried out as a shuriken embedded itself in his thigh. He stumbled, but quickly recovered; the effects of the soldier pill were still coursing through his veins.


He locked gazes with his teammate. "Neji, it's your number one priority to get that scroll back to the Leaf. If something happens to me, just go, alright?" It was something that had to be said, and something that would be true if it was Neji who got killed and Teiru who had to take the scroll from his corpse. Teiru rummaged into his pouch and extracted a flash bomb attached to a kunai, and chucked it behind him. It was a futile distraction, but he needed to try.


"Got any bright ideas, Uchiha?"

 

[Timv9]

Neji continued to sprint as he dodged kunai and shiriken. Neji looked as he listened to Teiru as they continues to run. "We have to lose these guys somehow. We can't take then head on right now, we are tired from our mission already, but we are still a long ways off from the village."


Neji thought for a moment and then turned to Teiru. "My father has been helping me with my genjutsu through my sharnigan I may be able to put them under a genjutsu that can buy us enough time to escape."

 

[Eli]

Genjutsu. Of course, Teiru thought, chagrined he hadn't even considered it. The Inuzuka had always been lackluster at performing (and avoiding) genjutsu, and it was a great advantage that he had been partnered with an Uchiha, whose clan's infamous ocular jutsu made them skillful weavers of illusions.


"Genjutsu it is. Need me to stall while you set it up?" A well-placed genjutsu could take time to craft, and with opponents this tricky, they might need to try their hand at making their targets vulnerable before launching the illusion. He was ready and willing to be a decoy for the sake of the mission.


He just barely managed to deflect a kunai with a paper bomb plastered around the handle. It detonated just out of their vicinity, but it was a close call. The tang of burnt bark sizzled in his nostrils. The next projectile might hit its mark -- hopefully they could get their plan in motion before then.

 

[Timv9]

Neji continued to jump through the tress as they ran and made their way to the village. "If I can get them to look me in the eyes that is all it will take. So here." As the went through the tress neck handed him the scroll. "Take the scroll and keep going I will stay back here and put them under a genjutsu I will catch up with you later."

 

[Eli]

Teiru caught the scroll automatically, his hands operating without his brain's consent. Although it weighed very little, it felt like a rock in his palm; this scroll had cost too many lives already. Would Teiru, the mission leader, allow his last remaining teammate to possibly sacrifice himself for the sake of this scroll?


To leave Neji behind was an immeasurable risk, even if the genjutsu did succeed. And yet they couldn't confront the enemy head on, hadn't the time to lay traps, and weren't quick enough to escape. The genjutsu was a necessity. The jounin nodded solemnly, "You better catch up, rookie." His words were playful -- but they nearly caught in his throat. Tucking the scroll away, he dashed onwards, silently praying that Neji -- and Kiiromaru, who had yet to reappear -- would make it out in one piece.


---


The Akatsuki chased after their prey with ease -- the Leaf nin were quick on their feet, but the master assassins were confident that the brats would tire soon. Predictably, after a few more moments of the extended pursuit, one of the cloaked men sensed a chakra signature growing ever closer. Bingo.

 

[Timv9]

Neji stood on a branch waiting for the two men to confront. He kept his sharnigan off for the time being so he could gain the chakra he needed to put the 2 men under a genjutsu. He was not sure if this would work his father had just started showing him how to use genjutsu with his sharnigan so he was not the best at it yet.

 

[Eli]

The Akatsuki caught sight of the chunin waiting to face them and were immediately suspicious; no sane shinobi would directly confront an enemy unless they had a plan in mind. Eyes trained on the Leaf ninja, they darted forward in an offensive strike. They would quickly dispatch this brat and move on to the remaining one, then after finishing him off, confiscate the scroll. Unbeknownst to them the chunin was an Uchiha, and looking into his eyes could be a costly mistake; and, briefly, before lunging to attempt a fatal blow, the Akatsuki's eyes locked with the Uchiha's.