Shadows Under Fire, Pt 2: A Royal Pain

Mission Name: Seeking Truths
Mission Type: information gathering/ Undercover
Mission Rank: B
Mission Goal: discover the truth
Description: Rumors have begun to spread of a cult group on the rise with plans to overthrow the hokage, using the turmoil within the land of fire to fuel their resolve. Discover the truth behind these rumors and deliver a full report back to the village officials. Evidence leads to next mission.
Payment: 25,000 Ryo
Requirements: B-Rank or Higher

This matter really should be entirely the Uchiha's business... Ashitaka thought as he scoured the ruins of one of the Clan's great old castles. This would mark the second time that he's tread on their sacred grounds uninvited to deal with a problem with the potential to grow into a threat to the entire village. He hoped that neither his doing so nor their allowing these problems to fester until they reached the point where he felt he had to would become a habit. He was not their housemaid, and they tended towards ingratitude for his efforts in any case.

He suppressed his chakra as he got within sight of the ruins lest he tip off any scouts or guards and potentially inspire an entire army to descend on him. Not that he doubted he could take on an army's worth of scrub bandits, but it wouldn't do to inflict further damage to the...

Well I'll be damned... they've rebuilt the place. He mused as he took in a proper viewing of the newly-refurbished estate. Also, he didn't fail to notice a few oddities regarding the people around the site. While strange behavior was to be expected of cultists, let alone those with terrorist ambitions, he thought this might be odd even by their standards. Not that he had much to go on in those regards. But as he crept closer he was soon able to see that in this place, only the women were armed. More than that, he could tell by both verbal and body language that the men performing the actual labor of fortifying the installation were being informed in no uncertain terms that their presence was unwelcome.

Normally, a person in his position didn't require any further warrant to justify going in and cleaning house in a manner that was both literal and very much not, but this was still territory which he was certain the Uchiha held dearly and the relationship between his Clan and theirs was still... strained. So instead of taking any further action, he made to return home and pen a message to the other Clan's head regarding what he found and where. While it'd be great if the guy decided to deal with the problem himself, Ashitaka would settle for being sent a map of the old palace that he could use to plan his one-man siege.

{Invasion~}

Oh man, the Uchiha Castle. He'd heard a lot about this place. Probably too much actually, would have explained why he couldn't learn other topics at times, too much Uchiha. Them, the Chinoke, and the Yurei were the three clans he always heard so much about in his clan, mostly the elder joking about how they relied on dojutsu while they were able to rely on their own power. As they sat by him, the kid with a split mind created from bloodline & technique refinement. The irony wasn't lost on him then, and it certainly wasn't now.

Looking at the castle from a tree branch, he'd let out an impressed whistle before chowing down on some jerky he made from a bear. "Huh, I guess someone repaired this place, though it doesn't seem to be the original owners. Probably would have looked even better in it's hayday, eh Nova?" He'd let out a chuckle, not worried about the possible army, but still not wanting to tip them off to his location. Sure he couldn't be killed, but hunger and exhaustion still sucked.

Shame he got silence in return from Id. What was it with their energy? Sometimes Id was concious but groggy, and then there were times where he could clearly feel their presence, yet they didn't give a sign of responding.

He'd stick the jerky in his bag, a little disappointed as he could see that he wasn't going to get his self-imposed tour of the place. "Well, at least you'll be able to see it when you're more cognizant. Shame Konoha isn't here though, would have made out life much easier. Maybe they are where they used to be. Wonder if they'll reward me with a jutsu for letting them know some people are defaming their previous home."

Ashitaka had activated his Sensory ability as he headed away from the castle to make sure that no surprisingly skillful and adventurous mook had miraculously noticed him and initiated pursuit without having to physically look back. He had no reason to expect anyone of his own caliber in the area, and so was totally surprised when he picked up a chakra signature very similar to one of his old rivals from the other world. There were some notable differences between the two, however, not least of which was the unmistakable and unforgiveable corruption of Jashinism.

Now he was facing an intense internal conflict. On the one hand, starting a fight here would probably draw the attention of the castle guards, which would at the very least be a huge inconvenience and at worst would present the additional hazard of a storm of attacks that didn't have the chakra necessary to track easily. On the other, they were far too close to Konoha for him to just casually let a foreign power of this magnitude go unaddressed, least of all a Jashinist. With a sigh of resignation to his fate of never truly escaping conflict, he conjured a half dozen Wood Clones.

Ashitaka and five clones spread out and approached the chakra signature, while the sixth moved further away and merged with a fully-grown Senju Tree and begun collecting Senjutsu Chakra. He had one clone approach directly without weapons drawn and didn't ready any heavy-duty jutsu because he really didn't want to cause a great deal of damage within his homeland, let alone incite the aforementioned castle problem. When the six of them stopped brachiating (a popular way for ninja to get around the forest), only the one which had approached directly shared a direct line of sight with Mort, the others interspersed throughout the trees up to several hundred meters away. Ashitaka himself was the next nearest replicate at about 100m to Mort's southwest.

"I know you." The clone within conversational range said as it made a point of checking the Kurama and his immediate vicinity for Fuuinjutsu-based traps. "Or at least... someone like you. What are you doing here?

Considering that he was addressing a foreign military entity, and more specifically one that had nearly killed him earlier, he was likely presenting a shockingly non-hostile bearing. That said, he was also very clearly unwelcoming in his demeanor.




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As he was about to pull out his map and make note that the Scarlet not-Ruins were a bust, he'd stop as he heard the sounds of branches rustling. He'd move his hand to his blade in anticipation, but stopped when he saw who was making the noise.

Ashi-fucking-taka.

Well, it was, but not quite? The facial structure was that of the Senju, more grown up and hardened, but there were other features that, if it weren't for his intuition, research, and general accumulation of Id getting him to actually perceive the truth he wouldn't have guessed it was the boy that he had righteously beat up in the future-past. Past-future. Not Future? Whatever future it didn't matter as he didn't look happy. Shame he hadn't heard their voice when they fought back then as it would've helped his as he spoke now, but what can you do?

"Huh, expected you to look younger, but I guess my informants were right." He'd shrug. "Oh well, doesn't change much for me; nice to properly meet you Ashitaka Inuzuka Senju." He'd give a grin reminiscent like one given to an old friend, as in Mort's eyes while he had beat up the kid because he was causing a family ruckus, those he fought he did consider a sort of 'friend'. Almost more rival, but that was really left for one girl and he had heard no sign of her existence during his research.

"As for why I'm here, well that's easy: I'm on paid vacation." He'd extend his arms and preform a little jazz hands motion as he continued smiling. "See, I was getting kinda' bored sitting around in Kumogakure since nothing's really happening; no war, no jashins to argue with, no nobles bickering, which honestly is for the best but I digress. Anyways I thought to myself: 'Hey Mort, you know what we should do? Get permission to go scout the lands so we can go take a vacation!' And well, I asked and it worked!" He's stop his jazz hands and relaxed, leaning back on the tree as he kept eye contact with the man-boy ninja.

"So yeah, that's why I'm here, figured that I might as well try to visit Konoha and see if I could get a guide regarding the land around here, maybe see if I could see if I could get someone to come with for a glorious adventure, I don't really know yet, kinda just playing it by ear and seeing how things progress."

"I can't tell if that's the best caliber of lie you're capable of, or just the one you think I'm worthy of, Seraph of Swords." The clone said, referring to Mort by a title he shouldn't have in this world absent the surge in angelic-themed stuff in a time interval that hasn't passed as it folded its arms across its chest and leaned against the tree whose branch it was standing on. Apparently having won their previous encounter had gone to the Lightning ninja's head and inspired him to underestimate Ashitaka. He thought it might have been this world's version, but he mentioned expecting him to look younger, and the child who bore his name was far from noteworthy. Not to mention having disappeared upon his arrival, possibly to that wretched alternate world. The poor little bastard.

"I was given to the impression that only civilians received vacations, but I'll accept that's simply a difference in the operational cultures of your country and mine. That said, both the hot springs and your ancestral homeland are much closer to whence you came than where we are now. And the misty isles and their Blood Pit are this far out in a different direction entirely, let alone the Twin Shrines. There's nothing here but trees. And nothing beyond but rocks and sand. Don't tell me you came to the ruins of the world's unfriendliest Clan's domain looking for entertainment."

A thought occurred to him, and the clone perked up as the information was passed to it.

"You know, I came out this way in pursuit of a cult rumored to be harboring a conspiracy to assassinate our Hokage. And here I find someone who reeks of the corruption of Jashinism. Shame it's you. I thought you were better than that." Disappointment bordering on heartbreak leaked into his voice.

Ashitaka drew his axe and sword as the various unoccupied clones readied their longbows. His interest in maintaining peace had dissipated now that he's reached this conclusion. There was no reason to fear retaliation from the palace army if he already had their leader. The speaking clone's hands blurred through the Tiger, Horse, Tiger, Snake, Snake seals and the ground Mort was standing on suddenly became extremely hostile territory. A ring of spikes erupted around him, all shooting toward him at a fairly high speed. The second clone moved into a position where it could shoot at him if he escaped the wood bindings, readying four arrows to be fired while the former Seraph was in midair. The clones not yet participating in the fight remained hidden. The original Ashi ran along his branch to close the distance between them while keeping an obstacle in the path of any potential surprises Mort might have. As soon as he got near enough for his satisfaction, he threw his axe and dived after it with a katana strike.

If Mort gets a good look at his opponent's face, he could probably see the tribal designs decorating his cheeks and eyes with a branch of each side meeting at a diamond-shaped emblem in the center of his forehead.



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"Why would I want or need to lie when the truth is more interesting?"

Mort has listened to Ashitaka as he spoke, making note of the title he had mentioned. The title he used to carry. It was something he hadn't expected to hear, and brought about more questions. The Ashitaka he knew was dead, having ignited himself up for...well he didn't know why, but he had. And yet this Ashi knew. And that complicated things. His Ashi probably bore a grudge for defeating him and Dokuma, which was a silly thought but one he had to consider given the boy was young at the time. He had anticipated an Ashi who didn't know him, but this one seemed to, practically confirmed given he knew of Kurama's original homeland. This could get bad.

And bad it got as Ashi mentioned the jujutsu. Of course it did, life was never easy like that.

"And I though you were smarter then this."

As soon as he saw Ashi begin his hand signs his chakra would flair, instinctively shifting into a Kendo Stance and was about to jump off of the tree when he held himself in place. The major issue in his plan of Ashitaka attacking him had come, and unless he could prove he was telling the truth he'd likely die. And if this Ashi was like the last, he'd have archer clones around. Every mini scenario he ran in his head pointed to the same conclusion: without the swords, his unique jutsu, or placing another 5 elements seal (which was highly unlikely), he was not going to win.

So he waited. He'd watch as the trees sprung from the ground and surged at him. He'd let the branches that formed around the Ashi clone pierced the core of his body, each one fairly painful, but nothing compared to Peacock. He would continue to look at the clone as he heard the sounds of movement from his southwest. Likely another clone, and really it didn't matter right now. He'd turn his head and activated his own False Hydra Sage mode, a purple tear forming under each eye. He'd watch as the axe flew at him, and Mort didn't bother to move. He'd let the axe fly into his right leg as the blade cut his leg clean off, and Mort would make deliberate eye contact with Ashi, internally surprised that his info on him being a slug sage was also true. He'd just wait for the boy's strike as he crossed his arms (as best he could, seeing as he had a bunch of branches in his chest) before speaking again, regardless of where he struck. He could take some more strikes, the wounds already trying to heal themselves.

"Will you let me explain my curse now, Revenant of the Hasaiko? Or are you going to continue persecuting me because you can't separate jujutsu from the jashinistic faith?"

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The Deets:

Ashitaka stopped when he noticed that Mort was making no effort to fight back, to an extent that his lack of effort was clear despite the thorns which had pierced his body and were now branching out to ensnare his limbs, an effort facilitated by the man's crossing his arms. It wasn't exactly a cold stop, since he had several things in motion at once, but it was as near to one as he could manage. As he reached the ground, he caught the axe which had been tossed to him from behind the Kumo nin where Clone 1 had retrieved it. He watched the Genjutsu user warily, unsure what his plan was. Maybe he knew how quickly Ashi would burn through his Sage Mode given how little his chakra pool with it was and was just stalling for time. Then again, last time the Senju had gotten too close to the Kurama, he was rewarded with an artifact sword to the face.

"Why did you call me that? Who calls me that?" he asked, making the possibly critical error of lowering his guard briefly. Not that it mattered much. He was either within the range of Mort's seals and Genjutsu or he was not, and distance seemed to be the only defense he had against such things.

He pointed his axe at his opponent's face, which was more or less the only part of him that was exposed at this point. The visible clone, standing closer to him, drew its sword and directed it under the bound man's chin, edge up. The remaining clones not on Senjutsu chakra collection duty divided their attention in search of roaming patrols. It was annoying and dangerous to have to split his focus between a powerful known enemy and threats unknown, but he was not in a situation where he could avoid it.

"And spare me your cries of persecution. You're a foreign threat in a restricted area, that's reason enough for me to kill you. In fact, I imagine the Uchiha mean to whine at me for being here myself, let alone hesitating to remove you. But you're right. I don't know the finer intricacies of how that damnable cult work. And I'm not keen to satisfy that wannabe god by delivering such a powerful soul directly into his hands, so why don't you do us both a favor and explain to me how to drive him out of you? It'll save me a lot of guesswork and stress, and you a lot of pain."



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Okay, it was starting to hurt a lot. He couldn't focus on that though, pain would just get in the way. Losing blood without dying was certainly an experience he wasn't hoping to have again, but, well, he had a leg up on others when it came to that. He had to focus on Ashitaka's voice as his body still thought it was dying and that it needed to conserve energy.

"Heh, a poor choice of words, but it seemed to work. I'm surprised you have to ask given you figured out our unique situation before I did. Then again, how often does one survive death without resurrection, let alone be recognized for it Mister Slug Sage? Congrats on that by the way."

He took a few seconds to breathe and collect his thoughts, pushing the pain back down. Sure he had taken worse, but pain was still pain, and frying his nerves was only a temporary measure, they just kept re-growing thanks to the jujutsu. He was quite grateful that his sage mode, a farce as it was, only impacted his mind and not his body. Really it was closer to a sage transformation then a mode, but from his guess being trained by a hydra sage let him focus it slightly. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he was using nature energy, but whether or not he was the mode was useful. Right, his mind was drifting, he needed to address Ashi. What was he going on about?

"Oh, right, Jashin. While I appreciate the concern, you don't need to worry, he holds no power over me."

He'd make a shrug motion as best he could, though it was slightly slower then normal, not that he noticed. He had made a small little explanation over how he reverse engineered the darn thing, but he wasn't recalling the specifics, so he'd just have to do as best he can and hope Ashi would understand. The kid was smart, but not Kurama smart.

"The version of the jujutsu you see before you is one-hundred percent my own creation, no god wanted, planned, or needed in order to function. Heck, mine didn't even involve living sacrifices or torture of others. Suuure I took inspiration from the divine version, but I'm not about to let a god who promoted killing my teammates parents into this body. Heck, I even improved on it's design! Can't get rid of the pain though, that's still the main 'curse' part of the curse."

Paaaiiin. He should probably fix that, or mitigate it at the very least.

"You know, it'd probably be easier for me to focus on talking if you let me reattach my leg. I can deal with the pain of these branches, sure, but constantly losing leg blood is not comfortable, let alone make it easy to concentrate. Plus, you ever try to get out quarts of blood from clothing? Not fun."

As Mort nonchalantly rattled off the details of his experimentations with the evil cult's powers, Ashitaka found he was having trouble processing the other man. Not what he was saying, of course, because the information being offered was readily understandable, if not necessarily imitable, for anyone with at least an intermediate grasp of Fuuinjutsu and also Jashinism. Rather it was that he was being given the information at all, rather than facing someone who'd insist on taking the knowledge to their grave. Likeable or not, the Kumo Nin seemed to at least be consistently unusual in their charisma. That wasn't something he knew how to deal with. Now though, he was at odds with his inherent impulse to help -or at least stop hurting- someone who had willingly cooperated with him, and his unbridled contempt for the uber-intellectuals delving into the depths of forbidden secrets and playing games with dangerous forces.

"You would like to think that, wouldn't you, Mr. Kurama? But I'll be frank, your hubris alarms me more than the violent psychopathy I'm accustomed to from genuine cultists."

In spite of his disposition, he banished the roots impaling Mort into the telltale smoke of dissipating chakra, all of his half dozen clones, and his Sage Mode with one sweep of his sword-arm. There was a crack of distant thunder, and the bokken-nata suddenly got noticeably thicker before blurring to deflect an unseen projectile rocketing toward him from opposite his conversation partner. The force of the impact caused him to drop the sword in question and shake his hand, and as its tip penetrated the earth, it burst out into a wall in the shape of an artist's impression of a flat but very angry bush just in time for it to be struck by another one of those projectiles.

"What the fuck was- ah, never mind! Our position's been compromised." There was a somewhat longer peal of that thunder, and several seconds later the wooden wall was hit a few more times. "Look, I'm sure we'll have another opportunity to discuss this matter later. For now, I'm going home. Like I said, I'm only marginally more welcome on these grounds than you are, which is absolutely not at all, and I don't owe the Uchiha enough to risk finding out the damage I could take from a weapon that could hit from..." he whipped around to face the direction of the palace as he finished processing the calculations in his head based on the intervals between the sounds and the impacts which were cracking his wooden barrier. "Sage, that's really far away."

He turned back to Mort.

"Anyway, I'm through with you. Pull yourself together and get out of here. Or don't. I'm dealing with too much right now to risk being collateral in the consequences of your delusion that you can outmaneuver would-be deities. My village has its own hyper-intelligent jackass to deal with. We don't need two." He reactivated his Sage Mode as he holstered his axe, formed the half-Tiger seal, then uprooted his sword which reverted to its original form in his grip, and took off into the trees in the general direction of Konoha. He wasn't particularly worried about keeping its location a secret. The towering monolith of the Grand Konoha Training Facility cured the village's secrecy for anyone within the bounds of the Land of Fire anyway.



[Attempted Exit]

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