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.
Mission Name Jinchuriki Kidnappers: Trail Rank: S Repeatable: No Description: Investigate the place where Uchiha Hitora was kidnapped and had the Nine Tails extracted. Objective: Investigate Ishi no Toride Rewards: 600 EXP, 150,000 Ryo
Once again, Hyouka found herself standing in front of the stone fortress. This time, she was literally alone: No teammates and no enemies popping out in hordes on approach. Even the barrier ninjutsu that formed a neat dome around the area was gone.
A gust of mountain wind blew her hair around, which she had tied into a ponytail. It was still the same wind as when she first came here.
“A tiger's den is never pleasant thing to step into..."
She quickly touched different spots on her clothing, making sure all her equipment was in place. Kunai, check. Shuriken, check. Exploding tags, check. Wire strings, check. Flashbang, check. Backup blade, check.
Then she reached for the sword on her back and pulled it out, inspecting it once before sheathing it again.
Everything's in order.
“Time to see what's in here."
Steeling her resolve, she planted a single exploding tag on the wall with the Exploding Seal Method Formation before scaling said wall.
Hyouka saw the Nine Tails emerge, and the Raikage appearing to fight it off. However, behind the wall was a good load of ruins. She didn't get to see the Hokage's techniques, but she could approximately tell which scars were made by Fuma and which weren't, so she could learn a bit about how destructive the Hokage's moves were by looking at the surrounding destruction.
Point was, Hyouka had unluckily insisted on climbing over a wall when behind it, most of the ruins were easily accessible had she approached from a different direction. Blame it on her approaching from the exact same angle as the first time she came.
Well, what's done is done.
Getting to work, Hyouka started searching the ruins, mainly looking for entrances to any place leading underground. She started from the outer areas with the least rubble that she had to move, then started working her way inwards.
At one point, Hyouka found herself in the remains of a wine cellar. Shattered glass was everywhere, making a crunching sound every time Hyouka stepped forward and the stench of fermented juice was in the air. It also meant that the reddish hue the ground was dyed with was clearly not blood.
Noticing a relatively intact bottle, Hyouka picked it up and read the label.
“Whew." She whistled. She may not be an alcoholic or an enjoyer of fine spirits, but she knew the single bottle in her hand was worth more than a whole year's profits from her popsicle shop.
Still, she put it down and searched for any possible hidden doors.
Her search turned up empty, so she left and looked elsewhere.
Returning to the surface, Hyouka started moving towards the middle: the place with the most rubble. The first thing she started looking for was signs of post-disaster activity: If the people she was tracking came back here, they'd have to move the rubble to access things, just like Hyouka had been doing.
There was the high chance of a secret entrance somewhere, but Hyouka wasn't going to look for a secret she had no clue about other than it's existence.
Fortunately, Hyouka couldn't find any signs of activity. Rubble was everywhere. She saw a few trenches the width of her leg. She didn't need to look closely to tell: the stone in the path of this technique had all been turned to powder. No, even the word "powder" was insufficient to describe how finely it had been ground down. Hyouka looked down, found a pebble-sized piece of debris and kicked it lightly towards the trench. A sound similar to the shifting of sand could be heard after the debris fell in.
It's the Raikage's technique. It wasn't often that Hyouka got to see it, but it reminded her of how powerful Fuma really was. However, the Kage is but one person. One person can only physically handle so much work.
Hyouka visualized where the trenches converged and moved towards that direction. From her own recount, she teleported in then moved out, so she had to find where the Raikage came from.
Naturally, she was immediately met with rubble which she moved aside. Eventually, she found a passage leading down.
Hyouka had not seen many underground laboratories in her lifetime. However, she did not even finish taking thirty steps in when she realized what she was looking at.
This was a repurposed prison facility. She tried to open the first door she came across. Inside was practically just an empty prison cell with a better bed.
Hyouka looked in the pillow. Nothing. She lifted the covers and even tried looking inside them. Nothing. She yanked off the bedsheets and flipped the mattress. Nothing. She tapped the walls and flooring with her sheathed sword, looking for any hidden compartments. Nothing.
Perhaps it was never used in it's lifetime. To be exact, it was never used after it was changed into something more than a prison cell.
Having a prison underneath a castle was nothing new at all. In fact, it helped a little bit. Lacking the motivation to thoroughly search every cell, Hyouka instantly made an educated guess and headed to where the warden's post would be.
Hyouka entered the Warden's post and found darkness, smashed glass and rubble. Sure, it was a mess she was going to have to sift through, but it gave her hope.
If the place is messed up, perhaps any secret entrances might also have been blocked by rubble? Such things are often not reinforced in order to maintain their secrecy, so there was a chance Hyouka might find something. Using her hands and sword, she started to dig and pry around.
Hyouka kept in mind to preserve a certain amount of stamina for combat readyness as she searched. Eventually, she would find some dirtied documents which she bagged after a glance to make sure it was text and not a seal or tag of some kind.
Now she had something to show when she got back. As for understsanding the contents? Not her job. There was an entire department of people dedicated to doing that. Right now, her job was finding the things.
With renewed vigor, she went back to digging away, searching for anything of worth to bring back.
In the quiet recesses of the room, a hushed voice emerged, barely audible from the concealed figure within the shadows. The speaker, deliberately soft-spoken, ensured that Hyouka remained oblivious to their presence. 'Finally, someone,' the words lingered with a certain anticipation, shrouded in mystery. It was as though the hidden orchestrator reveled in the success of a meticulously planned experiment.
The cloaked figure's eyes, imbued with chakra, glowed with an otherworldly intensity, creating an ethereal dance within their pupils. From the concealed vantage point, the observer watched with intent as Hyouka explored the room, maintaining an undetected presence. 'Let's witness the unfolding of this design,' the man stood immobile, a silhouette in the corner, his eyes emanating a haunting shade of red. Would the perceptive young shinobi discern the subtle intrusion?