Shinobi no Konohagakure [Mission]

Hiiru awoke the next morning with a note on his night stand saying that he should be at the training ground at 1PM. Hiiru took a shower and got dressed; then he left his house without seeing his father. The wind was flowing through the leaves of Konoha, creating whispers of the forests. The weather was beautiful and the sun was being blocked by overcast clouds, making the temperature amazing. Hiiru was appreciating the view of the village and the children with their parents that littered the street on this day. A wonderful day to meet with his team. Hiiru arrived on time to the training grounds, to meet up with his team. When he walked onto the field he was greeted by his Sensei, who seemed to be relaxing by a tree. Tabito, a tall man who was very lax in nature. Tabito-Sensei was twenty-four years old and had reached the level of Jounin when he was twenty, he was well known throughout the village for his friendly attitude and his ability to motivate younger generations of ninja. Hiiru walked over to where his sensei was sitting and took a seat next to him, “Want to take bets on who gets here last?”

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“I think Ayo will get here shortly after Daichi with an excuse as to why he was late.” Tabito-Sensei was relaxed as ever, just sitting enjoying the weather. He was so nonchalant with his answer, most would assume disinterested, but really he was a go-with-the-flow type of guy. Ayo and Daichi being late wouldn’t bother him one bit as long as they showed up within enough time for us to take care of what needed to be done.

“Well, I think Daichi will show up after Ayo. His excuse will be something related to food, probably. What are we going to be doing today, Tabito-Sensei?” Hiiru was ready to begin training and preparing, after doing three missions alone he was ready to begin strategizing how he could work with his teammates to take down stronger opponents. Hiiru stood up from sitting by his sensei and walked around the training grounds. He checked every direction to see if he could see Ayo or Daichi.

“Well, we’re supposed to train today and go over battle plans, so you three don’t get killed on a mission.” Again, even tone without a care. Hearing Tabito speak was like listening to a voice recording, emotionless and carefree. But Tabito did enjoy the company of his team, he would occasionally treat them to breakfast or dinner when they would arrive back from an extended mission.

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Hiiru could see Daichi and Ayo racing to get to the training ground. Daichi was carrying what looked like a bag of chips and Ayo was swatting his hand towards that bag to slow down Daichi. “Well, here they come.” Ayo was maneuvering through and jumping over people like hurdles on a track, while people parted for Daichi to run through. Daichi was a heavier set ninja and no one wanted to get hit by a mobile boulder.

Ayo arrived first and began to explain himself, “I had to pick up Daichi from a restaurant because I knew he’d be stuffing his face. So, it’s his fault I’m late.”

“Told you.” Tabito sensei had yet to move from the spot he was in when Hiiru had arrived. Daichi followed shortly after Ayo, stopping as he set foot on the training grounds to empty the contents of his bag into his mouth. Most made it into the gaping hole, but a few crumbs landed on his shirt and he used his hands to wipe them off which cause a transfer of residue that was on his hands, making things worse. “Alright boys, it’s time to get to work.”

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The three gennin lined up in front of their sensei and Tabito rose from the ground, “Today, we will be capitalizing on your strengths and developing your weaknesses.” Daichi was the sensor of the group, he was more of a supporter than a fighter. He had an affinity for Genjutsu and has been working on sensory abilities lately so he could help with locating enemies. Ayo was a Taijutsu specialist and loved toying with his weapons. Ayo had even used his sword to cut down a tree, he dulled the blade terribly, but proved his point. Tabito and Ayo trained a lot because their fighting styles are opposite, so it allows them to be exposed to methods they wouldn’t think of. Hiiru, the team medic, played the role of support warrior, and Tabito the leader was a Ninjutsu master with specialties in sensing and weapons. Hiiru found it most difficult to work with Tabito-Sensei, not because of his personality, but because of his abilities. It required Hiiru to do a lot of independent practice and study. “Daichi, you’re going to be practicing you’re sensing. I’ll go somewhere and hide my chakra, it’s your job to find me; you’re leading this mission. Hiiru, no Byakugan. Ayo and Hiiru it’s going to be your job to work as a unit to capture me by any means necessary, I won’t fight back until you two begin your assault.” And with a Body Flicker Technique, Tabito had vanished and their mission began.

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Daichi immediately began to search for their jounin leader. His brow creased with frustration and sweat began to form because he was concentrating so hard. “That way,” he said. The three ninja began in a direction to the north-east. “He’s occasionally revealing his chakra signature. What are we going to do when we see him?”

“Well, he specifically said ‘you two’ when he gave instructions. That means you could begin an attack, Daichi, and he won’t do anything. I can’t use my Byakugan, but if you could trap him in a genjutsu and allow Ayo and I to attack that would be perfect.” Hiiru and Ayo exchanged a knowing glance, if Daichi were to begin then that is a loophole of Tabito-Sensei’s instructions. The three continued through the village and stopped just short of the forty-fourth training ground, “The Forest of Death… Well, this just got interesting…”

“Alright, guys, let’s do this,” Ayo opened the gate to the fence with a loud rusty screech. “We need to be conscious of not only looking for Tabito-Sensei, but also of the creatures that populate the forest.” Ayo pulled out his sword and inspected it before placing it back in its sheath. He took a step forward and let Daichi lead the way again, searching for Tabito.

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The three gennin encountered a giant centipede that bore its fangs at them. Ayo quickly tried slashing the monster, but its exoskeleton made that a difficult task. “Daichi, help me distract it while Ayo attacks.” Hiiru jumped in front of the monstrosity and caught its attention, quickly jumping back as it slammed its body towards him. Daichi and Hiiru then started dancing around the creature by jumping from tree to tree. The centipede wasn’t an intelligent creature, it would follow one ninja and hone in on the other as he passed in front of it. “Ayo, attack the leg joints. Let’s immobilize it first.”

Ayo sliced and stabbed while weaving in and out with Daichi and Hiiru until the giant insect was unable to move, then Ayo pierced the centipede’s skull through its eye. “Well, that was a lot of work. We need to find Tabito-Sensei now.” Ayo wiped the blood from his sword and put it back in its place on his hip. The gennin were following Daichi again, jumping through the trees and searching for their sensei. As they landed on the limb of a tree, Daichi threw his hand up in a fist, signaling for everyone to stop. They had found Tabito.

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The gennin crouched and observed their surroundings. “Daichi, you’re going to be our lead man. Plan A: I want you to set up a trap genjutsu behind where Tabito-Sensei is now, a Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings. After that, you’re going to come back to this location and you’ll begin the assault, leading him in the direction of your trap. I want your first attack to be Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings. Ayo, you’re going to begin with an Iaido; then attack with a barrage of kunai also directing him towards Daichi’s genjutsu. I’ll follow up once he’s caught in the genjutsu and use Chakra Absorption. If things don’t go according to Plan A, then Plan B: Still direct him towards the genjutsu. If he breaks free, Daichi you fall back and Ayo and I will attack him. Ayo, I want you to attack with your weapons and taijutsu. We’ll weave in and out like fighting the centipede and I’ll stop him with Chakra Scalpels. Are there any questions?” After neither of Hiiru’s teammates spoke up, Daichi left to prepare his genjutsu.

Daichi had found the perfect spot to set his genjutsu, he placed a bright yellow piece of paper on a tree, so Tabito would have to see it as the trigger. Daichi performed his hand seals and transferred the jutsu to the paper; then he returned to the location where Hiiru and Ayo were waiting for him.

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With Daichi returning the plan had been set in motion, Daichi jumped into Tabito’s line of sight and performed the hand seals for Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings. Tabito was dazed momentarily, while Ayo jumped in to attack with Iaido. “Did you honestly think that genjutsu would hold me?” Tabito held off Ayo’s attack with a kunai and jumped to attack Daichi, by throwing a kunai at him. Daichi deflected the kunai as Hiiru jumped in to launch Daichi back towards Tabito mid-air, by Hiiru shifting his weight and flipping backwards in the air Daichi was able to connect his foot with Hiiru’s and the two kicked simultaneously to launch Daichi. The plan was working, the three were slowly pushing Tabito towards the direction Daichi had set up the genjutsu. The four ninja continued their fight, slowly making their way towards the trap. Tabito retreated for a second and was captured by the genjutsu when he saw the yellow piece of paper on the tree. “I know you tried capturing me in another gen, Daichi.” The world around Tabito was as it should have been, “Kai!” Tabito released himself from the genjutsu, but only the first layer. The world he was in still consisted of trees and sounds from the forest, he was even still being pursued by his three gennin.

The three gennin stood around their sensei as he lived in the genjutsu created by Daichi, “Wait, if you take his chakra wouldn’t that release him from the genjutsu?” Ayo questioned Hiiru before he could activate his jutsu.

“… I really don’t know, pain causes a release, Daichi?”

“Uh… I’ve never considered it. I would say yes because of principal… So, what should we do instead? One hit and he’s back to reality.”

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Meanwhile, Tabito was fighting Daichi, Ayo, and Hiiru. Ayo was the main assailant, using his taijutsu and weapons offensively as Hiiru and Daichi would weave in and out providing momentary distractions so that Ayo could have openings. Tabito was fending them off with his ninjutsu, and created two Shadow Clones to fight them individually. “Now what are you gonna do bo-”

“Palm Bottom!” Hiiru thrust his hand into Tabito’s abdomen, paralyzing Tabito. Hiiru’s release of chakra into Tabito’s body caused him to fall limp on the ground. Hiiru and Ayo each grabbed a wrist of their sensei, “Captured,” they said simultaneously.

They all waited around for Tabito to regain his mobility, “Well played boys, we played.” Tabito slapped each of them on the back before they made their way from the Forest of Death back into the village. “It’s been a long day, we’ve been training for six hours, how about some ramen on me?” Daichi, being the food obsessed ninja he was, nearly teared up as he thanked Tabito-Sensei. Hiiru and Ayo just smiled widely as their other teammate made a fool of himself. They left the Forest of Death and made it to the ramen shop, they enjoyed the company of each other as they ate their meal and continued on into the night.

[Exit]

Hiiru left the ramen shop at eight thirty and made it home shortly after. He picked up the book he had found and began reading more in depth about the regeneration abilities of starfish, Some species of starfish have the ability to regenerate lost arms and can regrow an entire new limb given time. A few can regrow a complete new disc from a single arm, while others need at least part of the central disc to be attached to the detached part. Other than fragmentation carried out for the purpose of reproduction, the division of the body may happen inadvertently due to part being detached by a predator, or part may be actively shed by the starfish in an escape response. The loss of parts of the body is achieved by the rapid softening of a special type of connective tissue in response to nervous signals. This type of tissue is called catch connective tissue. An autotomy-promoting factor has been identified which, when injected into another starfish, causes rapid shedding of arms. Hm… I wonder if humans could ever evolve or be modified to do the same? Hiiru placed the book on the night stand again, and left to take a shower. He returned to his room and decided it was time for sleep seeing as it was ten at night and he would most-likely be doing more missions tomorrow.

-10CC Palm Bottom
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