When the comforts of civilization begin to dull our senses, we must never forget that in the beginning, there was war. And war. And more war. Long before there were empires, there were humans consumed with greed and the hunger for power. Resources, territories, information—these were the forms of sustenance upon which we preyed. Today, we call such habits vices. Oh, how arrogant we have become! Are we not still impelled by those primordial emotions? Is the advent of war so far-fetched? But alas, for you to truly understand, we must dive deeper into this land’s half-forgotten past.
There was a time when might was the only law that humankind knew. Fearsome clans roamed throughout the land, seeking amenable grounds within which they could take root and opposing forces against whom they could test their mettle. Given the irregularity of nature’s bounty, certain regions appealed more than others, and dominion over such coveted territories became the spark that ignited the earliest inter-clan wars. These fierce, internecine affairs tended to conclude only when one side had decimated their competition into oblivion, and many clans of story were rendered extinct during this period.
The victors of war, having claimed their territories, often made truces with surrounding locals, offering protection in exchange for access to the yields of agriculture. Over time, certain communities emerged as more dominant than others, either due to numbers or sheer talent, and their rapid expansion would force smaller, neighboring communities to either collapse into their fold or be devastated. When the dust settled, humankind found itself divided into the five major territories that we are familiar with today. And was the bloodshed over? With our lands obtained and our bellies filled, were we finally content?
06/01/2023 June is for Juggin
We made it y’all, another month of OTA, and fresh off the press we have another promotion ready. Leaving behind the opening bonus sadly, we welcome the jugggggg! June is for juggin AKA working hard, so we are making it a double rewards month for every mission completed! Yes we said it's double rewards, now you all can really get into the thick of those builds if you work hard enough. And who knows what you might uncover in the process. AND all jobs are free to enroll no quest EXCEPT ANBU(Black Ops) roles.
[attr="class","itsover"] Listening while his mentor spoke the Genin gestured himself in Hyouka’s direction before allowing himself to be led through the town. ‘I figure this city probably predates or has a similar start date to Kumogakure. It’s a little less maintained, but the visual concepts are similar.’ Moving through the slums of this city the Genin was intrigued, he was interested in how these people worked together without any true leadership to establish this town. Xio continued to absorb his surroundings until they eventually reached their destination. It was a small shack with a sign labeled `PHARMACY`, without any hesitation, the duo made their way into the buildings stepping in behind Hyouka, Xio would hold a blank expression while she made her transaction.
‘Damn this is a norm here.’ After a few moments, the clerk had given us a few gems to work with for our investigation. Finishing the transaction Hyouka handed Xio the bottle of pills she just bought before making her exit, he would slip them into his pocket as he followed behind her leaving the shop. Luckily for the duo, they still had plenty of daylight to play with so they could make a few more moves before this mission actually gets dangerous.
“Well he said something that piqued my interest, he said he gets the shipment from Kumogakure. So does that mean the serpent is set up in this village, or do you think it’s just a cover-up because we have our Headbands on?”
Despite being a genin Xio always thought his way through any scenario he was faced with, in this moment he was trying to work on his ability to think bigger than just bullying his way to answers. While the duo continued to make their way through the city Xio didn’t exactly pay attention to where they were heading, but it seemed like wherever they were going was a little more densely populated. While they made their way through the small crowds of people, the shinobi had a few more thoughts.
“I think we should do a little more recon on that building, or at least find another shop in the city I’m sure that isn’t the only pharmacy in town. Maybe we’ll get a different answer if we aren’t wearing our headbands, what do you think?”
As Xio spoke, he hoped he was making sense, not just being overconfident about his perceptive abilities.
“That's not something we'll find out until we investigate, but I don't think we'd be sent here in the first place if there weren't any signs of the former being true. If you look on the bottle I gave you, the manufacture date on it as well as every other bottle on the shelves are suspicious as all hell. Let's say shipments are every month. The only reason they'd funnel so much product out the backdoor like this is if it's more profitable.”
Hyouka wasn't clairvoyant. She was only experienced enough to guess the situation from some clues. Right now, she didn't know enough to make a conclusion, but this place was perfect to set something up if one wanted to be close to the village but not completely under their watch.
“I agree, but unfortunately I only know about this pharmacy and not any others. We could try taking our forehead protectors off and asking around if you want to look for a second pharmacy or just scouting around the building.
Alternatively, we can start walking over to that dome you've been eyeing. I'll let you make the decision; if your luck's good, we might find the base 'round here. If not... we'll be taking a few more trips.”
They were tasked to search the whole damn country. Just because the number one choice location was nearby didn't mean they'd find it within a day.
[attr="class","itsover"] Cycling through their assumption and planning on their next move Xio felt a sense of confidence behind his mentors words. `you lead the way` as those words hit his ears the boy grinned slightly as he reached towards the back of his neck to untie his forehead protector. ‘Okay, this could be the redemption I need, last time I pretty much killed the guy before we got anything good.’ Sliding the protector from around his neck he would slide it into his ninja bag on his hip, if they were going to get closer to what looked like a hideout, we didn’t need look so inquisitive.
“Okay, sounds good to me. I think it’ll be best if we work our way towards that building as if we’re supposed to be there, despite walking around with our headbands it doesn’t look like the area is super patrolled by any means. So, I want to see just how far we can get before we get some resistance, it isn’t like this is a registered village it’s just a place where people came together.
If we can get in close, we can at least find out what’s going on in the building even if it’s not what we’re looking for we could possibly find out something more interesting.”
Speaking confidently the genin took a few steps in front of his mentor before he began to lead the way through what seemed like a straight path to the suspicious black dome. The town was busy as it was earlier, in fact, it seemed as the streetlights started to shine the streets were even more filled than before. ‘Do they even sleep here?’ Continuing his strut Xio took in all of his surroundings remaining vigilant of everything that was happening around them, being a shinobi, he knew that people could be lurking at any type of time anywhere.
“Hyouka, out of place question while we’re working. But do you know when the chunnin exams will happen? I feel like I’m way off-marked for where I need to be to compete, and not to mention the you know what? What if I go crazy or some shit while in competition?”
Despite being in a different mode, the genin was starting to question the things that mattered in the village. It seemed joining forces with the Yonbi has put him in a bit of a dilemma in understanding his place in the village.
“But only that, does it even really matter to me? I was told I could be assigned any rank missions and I’m only a genin so what’s the point of rank up?”
Their walk through the city had been rather peaceful to this point, Xio felt like it was the perfect time to try to break the ice a little bit further between Hyouka and himself.
Following Xio, Hyouka undid her forehead protector and placed it in a pocket.
“Not exactly. From what rumors I've heard so far, apparently the ones hosting the upcoming one is the Mist, but take that with a grain of salt because I really don't have any reliable sources regarding that. I think the Kage might tell you if you asked.”
Hyouka couldn't tell what the Kage was thinking these days, mainly because she hasn't actually met the Kage as of recent. She didn't think the Kage would send Xio into something like the Chuunin Exams without some kind of insurance policy. On the flip side, Hyouka was desperately praying in her heart the "insurance policy" didn't turn out to be Hyouka herself.
“The point of ranking up is how you look to outsiders. We don't have any enemy countries at the moment, but a... vessel that's still a Genin is worth attempting to assassinate. The perceived rate of success goes down more and more as you rank up. However, you do not have enough experience or achievements to be promoted to a Jonin, even if you were strong enough. If someone investigated you and found you had seventeen successful S-rank missions under your belt, they'd think twice before trying to kill you.
The reason I've been assigned to go on missions with you is, also, due to my perceived value. I'm not a famous shinobi by any means, but I'm well-known within the country for cleaning up large numbers of low-value targets. If they find out both of us went on a mission together and captured or killed high-value targets, it's much easier to give you the credits.”
Hyouka sighed.
“I don't actually mind all that. The real problem is I'm being assigned to mentor you. None of our skillsets overlap, and I don't have enough knowledge in your field of expertise to guide you. Unless something's changed in their heads, the Kage and the rest of our superiors aren't stupid. They know what you need. What I can't wrap my head around is why they aren't giving it to you. You're not at the stage where you should be expected to find your own development direction yourself.”
Glancing at Xio to see his expression, Hyouka probed.
“You... aren't receiving training from anyone other than the Kamis in private, are you?”
[attr="class","itsover"] Listening attentively Xio tried his best to remain vigilant while the pair made their way through the foreign town while Hyouka answered his questions, to their advantage night hadn’t completely fallen so it was still relatively safe. The distance between them and the dome building was growing smaller allowing the true size of the structure to be revealed and in comparison, it was the most well taken care of. Despite that being the case, Hyouka made clear that this could just be a portion of a multi-city syndicate which made perfect sense to the genin. ‘okay, never thought that big before.’ Xio continued to listen as she addressed the rest of his questions.
“Okay that makes perfect sense, hopefully, we can get some useful information from this location.”
While his mentor addressed the rest of his questions the duo could see what looked like a gate, and entrance before the compound.
“Well alright that makes perfect sense, I don’t want to look like a target on nobody’s map, I’ll keep that in mind while I’m training. But you’re correct I haven’t been receiving much training outside of my family, considering my family doesn’t live in the village we haven’t built many strong relationships outside of the Raikage herself. Since I’ve been properly inducted, I’ve been experiencing a lot of changes, but even Fuma-Sama doesn’t fully understand how this all works because I am the first of my kind.
Most things we’ve found out about hosting have been through myself, and Hitora Uchiha. Outside of that, there isn’t much anyone knows. And you’re right about our compatibility, I mean I don’t think many people are dealing with Uchiha and Senju problems. Before the tailed beast, I had trouble finding mentors because the world was kind of scattered right now, so the Kami clan is all known for the most part.
But the way Fuma stuck me with you I assumed you were a buffer to what I was capable of, I believe I told you I recently gained the lava release. And I don’t really have the best control of it just yet. So maybe she was thinking if I got close to raging you’d have enough power to subdue me? That’s my best guess unless you haven’t told me something about what you’re capable of.“
Long winded but the genin found comfort in his mentor’s opinion he was always listen to experienced advice, it really lead him down the wrong path. Once the duo could see the two guards standing in front of the gate in the distance Xio was slow his walk to a stop before gesture his right arm and hand to signal his mentor to stop.
“But maybe we can get more into that later. Do you think we should make a move on this building tonight, or just do some recon in the distance?”
As he spoke he would watch over the two men that stood over the dome gates.
Hyouka sighed. She knew about his Lava release, but she never truly used her Ice Release on a "large scale". She wasn't the type to drop large masses of ice on enemies or seal them into blocks of ice. No, she much preferred icicles and blades. At least, she learned that the name of the other Jinchuriki was Uchiha Hitora. First thing she learned about the other Jinchuriki other than his existence and the info came out right from the mouth of the first Jinchuriki.
Huh? They turned out to both possess Uchiha bloodlines. Were they trying to use the Sharingan's properties to get an easier time controlling the Tailed Beasts?
Well, not her strategy, not her problem. What WAS her problem, though, was this dome-like building with two armed guards stationed outside.
“My own rule of thumb is that if I'm not mostly prepared to kill everyone inside, I don't infiltrate a building possibly filled with enemies. On top of that, we weren't told to go in. So, we're going to do some recon outside. If you see anyone going in or out that you feel is important, I'll let you decide if you want to try capturing. Do you have any experience doing stakeouts? It's mind-numbingly boring, but it's part of the job.
Of course, before we do that, we should circle the place once and make sure there aren't any exits or points of interest we're missing.”
Hyouka looked around. They were already around the outer edge of the village. She went to the closest, most convenient corner out of sight of the guards, then weaved the handseals to execute the transformation technique.
This time, she turned herself into a middle-aged man with brown skin. A rather typical man you'd see on the streets anywhere in the country.
“If I haven't made it clear already, we're here to put some missions and achievements under your belt. You don't seem to be the kind for youthful recklessness, so I'm letting you take the lead as much as I can allow so I can report on your skills in both observation and decision-making. From now until you decide we've completed our objectives, I'm going to put you in charge. I know I said not to, but if you do decide to go in, I'll follow.”
[attr="class","itsover"] Listening to her deduce her assumptions about the situation made a lot of sense, they had similar perceptions. ‘I think we could kill everybody, but there’s that 1% I might not make it out because you know.’ As Hyouka hinged herself into another appearance and prepared for the second stage of this mission Xio looked over the horizon, the amount of light they had to work with was decreasing by the moment and that was the best thing. Considering the amount of information, they’ve gathered from the village he figured it was time to report back, he didn’t want to go on the record as having a short temper.
“Well while I can’t say I’m not interested in what’s behind them gates I think it’d be a little smarter to report back to Fuma-sama to get a pass to handle this situation properly. Despite my lack of experience, I don’t think we’d face anybody that could possibly take both of us. But I don’t want to blow up our chance to get more information from this town.”
Speaking confidently the Genin felt like he was making the tactical decision with this mission, he didn’t want to continue to push the boundaries just yet.
“Do you think if we got in contact with the Raikage will get approval to do a full-frontal assault if we gave her the details, we’ve found out today or do you think we will need more? I figure if we get our ducks in line we can take this place out and capture all of the folks that seem important.”
With those words, Xio would start to make his way back in the direction they came.
“I Hope this doesn’t make me like a coward or anything!”
The rest of the recon work was boring to talk about. Noting the building size, placements and size of windows, number of entrances, number of guards on patrol. No one seemed to have entered or left except the guards, so they never made a move. Once all of that was recorded, they promptly turned around and left.
“I don't know if they'll assign it to us specifically, but I'd say chances are high. No way we're letting something like this go on under our noses.”
As they left, Hyouka caught Xio's comment about cowardice.
“No, because I'd have told you to leave too. You're going to have to learn when you're supposed to intervene and when you're not. If it makes you feel so bad, I'll treat you to a popsicle when we get back.”
She flashed a smile as she undid her transformation.
