Clear out the Gale Gang! [Mission/Private]

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Katsu sat within his inn room, set just outside and overlooking the city of Aramis; looking over his excellent map of the city, trying to learn the layout and commit it to memory so he could easily traverse the place without getting turned around. Really it was just a formality, since Katsu could simply use his Doton skills to just dig around under all the buildings, but Katsu wanted to be thorough. Somewhere abouts the Inn the Falcon Anbu that had been assigned to watch Katsu perform his mission lurked, being all stealthy and invisible like Anbu were trained to be, but Katsu didn't give him much mind. He was going to do this mission alone, the Anbu was literally there just to watch and report his performance.

Back to the map Katsu really enjoyed the way the city had been built. It was set in a valley between two larger mountains, one end of the valley lower in altitude than the other, the high end of the valley suddenly falling off into a deep chasm, ensuring there was really only one way to enter the city on foot. The city was almost rectangular in shape, only a few spots at the bases of the two larger mountains deviating from that shape. The entire city was heavily terraced, every ten feet of height resulting in a new terrace to keep the rain from washing out the lower sections of the city, making the entire city look like a set of giant steps dotted with buildings and temple grounds. There were channels cut into the ground to help direct water flow in the case of rain, as well as containing it as a water source. Yes, Aramis was a city designed by those well adapted to the stormy country of Kaminari.

Of more importance to Katsu however was the ten Temples that dotted the city-scape. Aramis was after all a place for Holy Men to gather and show their faith, so it wasn't surprising that there were temples to ten different gods of varying popularity. To keep things nice and simple the most popular deity had their shrine at the top of the city, while the less popular faiths had shrines ordered by their popularity; with a Shrine to a deity of alcohol and festivals being enshrined near the bottom of the city. (It was actually pretty popular amongst tourists, but most hardcore worshipers avoided the place). As might be expected, the Kaishaba Religion was the top Shrine, and Jashinism wasn't even in the city.

It was this top shrine that interested Katsu from his perch on high. Preliminary scouting had revealed that there weren't even a dozen Gale Soldiers controlling the city. They were more of a gang of thugs than actual soldiers, but the peaceful monks and priests of Aramis weren't equipped to deal with violence in any way, and the Gale Gang had simply taken over without a fight. This suited the Gale soldiers just fine, as they could get drunk and molest the population in peace. It was sickening, taking advantage of the meek like this, and it pissed Katsu off! He'd start at the top and murder each and every one of the pricks!

Taking a moment to calm himself Katsu left his inn room overlooking the city, standing on the ledge of a cliff. He had already spotted the first of his targets, lounging around the highest Shrine. He was obviously their leader, judging by his stature as well as the mark of rank he had on his strange armor. Katsu had seen such armor recovered from the leaders of the soldiers who had attacked Kumogakure in the Skirmish. Katsu at the very least had to give him the credit of being the leader just because he was thinking the most tactically. The Kaishaba worshippers weren't the most meek of people, and had they actually decided to act before the soldiers had the city locked down Katsu wouldn't be here at all. Most likely this leader had talked the Kaishaba into believing the Gale Soldiers were there to cleanse evil from their society, and the Kaishaba simply stood down.

Unlucky for the Captain however, was that at the top of the city, normally a tactically sound place to take as a base, the shrine was within the farthest range of Katsu's bow. Katsu was an Eagle Eye, capable of shooting his bow at ranges where most foes didn't even know where the arrow could have come from. With his Recurve Bow Katsu could fire an arrow reasonably fast at a target nearly 200 meters away, and if Katsu spent near six seconds aiming and lining up his shot he could push that range to just over 330 meters. A third of a kilometer! Most arrows didn't even travel that far, but thanks to Katsu's perch high above the Shrine his arrows could reach that far. The man was at 290 meters out from Katsu, a perfect opportunity.

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And so Katsu nocked a single explosive bolt to his bow, assumed the proper stance, adjusted the fletching on the arrow to his liking, and took aim. There were hundreds of factors to facilitate into one's aim at such a long range, but Katsu had the skill and clarity of eye to see them all and adjust, even the wind being taken into account thanks to his Ryuugan. When Katsu finally drew his bow taut and fired, his aim was perfect. The arrow sailed through the night skies over Aramis, pulled this way and that by the wind, apparently veering to the left of the target, destined to slam into a wall rather than the leader of the soldiers, but a sudden powerful gust flung it back on course, soaring through an open window in the Kaishaba shrine where it embedded itself within the left patella of the Gale Soldier as he drank from a goblet.

Yes. Katsu just shot a man in the knee. However this man wasn't destined to be a guard at some city, because even as he began to scream in pain (although Katsu couldn't hear it from that extreme distance), the arrowhead of the projectile was using up its six second timer, and before the man could even realize who had killed him he exploded at the knee, the explosion ripping him limb from limb and scattering him across the room he was in. And also putting a sizable crater in the ground he was standing on.

Oops.

The mission did say to keep the damage to the city to the minimum, and Katsu just went and blew a hole in the biggest Shrine's Temple floor! ...It seemed Katsu was going to have a to take a different route for the rest of his hunts in the city. No more explosives, and it would probably be best if there was no more archery either. So that pretty much left melee Taijutsu and some Ninjutsu, but Ninjutsu was just as dangerous as explosives.

Katsu could already see the monks begin to swarm over the area, and through his goggles he could clearly see the distress on their faces. A murder in the Temple of the Protectors. Damage to the Holy Temple?! How heinous! Yeah, definitely gonna have to go with something low-key for the rest of the mission I think. Katsu thought to himself even as he leapt from the cliff, falling twenty meters before his wings finished unfurling and caught the wind, Katsu beginning to glide out over the city, just another big bat to the eyes of those below for just a moment before Katsu shifted his bow onto his back and performed the handseals for the Invisibility jutsu, vanishing from sight altogether.

Katsu had already scouted almost the entirety of the city before he had made his move against the first soldier in the Temple. His scouting had matched up with the previous information that there was only eight soldiers total, and since Katsu had just taken out their leader without a fight... this really was going to be too easy. No matter. How to take out the second soldier quietly?

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Perhaps I should play up my monstrous features? Make it seem like some divine punishment was meted out upon the Gale soldiers for attacking our Holy City. Yes, that sounds good. Reinvigorate the faith of those in the city, and warn off the Gale from ever attacking here again. Yeah...

Katsu knew for a fact that there were at least a few of the soldiers on "patrol" just then, which meant they were out abusing the locals, stealing merchants goods and harassing the young pretty women. It was the latter that Katsu managed to spy his next victim in the middle of doing. He was a big burly man, with arms as thick around as the average man's thigh and tall enough to stare Katsu in the face which was impressive. He had a piggish nose however, with too much meat on his body so that he appeared to have the jowls of a pig. Obviously the man never got women with his own looks, hence his harassment of women he had power over.

It was disgusting behavior, and before Katsu could clear his mind of the raging thoughts that filled his head at the man's behavior he realized he had already started his descent towards the man, his claws extended and his mouth turned to a snarl. Already committed to his dive Katsu accelerated even faster, his invisibility falling away even as he swiftly took a hefty swipe directly at the pigman's head as he leaned in to kiss some poor maiden he had cornered in an alley. Katsu felt his arm connect with the man's head; felt the energy of his body suddenly surge forth and explode, and suddenly a sound like thunder filled the air, accompanied by the noise of bones breaking! The man's head was struck so hard just under the chin that he was flung backwards off of his feet, crashing to the ground as surely as if Katsu had tackled him, his head bent at an impossible angle even as it hit pavement, cracking his skull further. Katsu didn't even need to approach to know the man was incredibly dead.

Katsu flew past in the night, turning himself to land and return to the scene. The poor girl knelt next to the body, completely paralyzed by fear and shock. Scales glittering in the moonlight Katsu slowly approached, looking monstrous indeed in the dim lighting. The girl slowly turned her head towards her horrific savior, trying to inhale enough to scream, but Katsu cut her off...

"Return home. Know that some agent above protected you this night, and return..." His voice was barely above a bestial growl, but clear enough for the girl to understand apparently, for she picked herself up in a hurry and fled the area in a silent panic, her voice still silenced from her fear.

With his audience gone Katsu performed some quick handseals, a coffin of stone rising up to surround the broken corpse, and with a repetition of those handseals it returned, taking the corpse with it. A burial, one that left no signs of the body having ever been there. Katsu still had some concept of honor to his fallen foes, even if he felt it was wasted on such evil men as Gale Soldiers...

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Another set of Handseals and another sweep of his wings sent Katsu flying up into the night sky once more, completely invisible to the naked eye. Katsu felt good just then. He was hunting down people who he had empirical evidence of evil-doing; saving innocent lives from harm both physical and emotional. Almost every fibre of his being approved, although a small nagging voice desired more straightforward encounters, for honorable combat.

Silencing that thought Katsu moved to the next section of the city, where he had last spotted a third soldier patrolling. This soldier was actually patrolling, and with a partner no less. Katsu had to respect those who actually had some dignity and honor. These two had yet to actually molest any of the citizens of Aramis, taking the stance that their duty was to maintain control of the city, and that angering its people threatened that duty through rebellion. Unfortunately Katsu knew also of their evil acts. Those citizens who had first resisted the Gale soldiers had been put to death by the hands of these two, one performing public executions by beheading with his Dai-katana, and the other slaughtering anyone who attacked him with his War Scythe.

Killing those two in complete surprise had the best tactical sense to it, but the tiny voice begging for an honorable combat was still there, nagging at Katsu. Still, to take on both of them at once would be bad; that Scythe in particular possessing enough weight and sharpness to potentially cleave through Katsu's tough skin. In the end he opted for a mixture of honor and prudence. The Scythe wielder, the one who slaughtered mindlessly, was to die in ambush while the executioner would face Katsu in a fight. Evil unto evil, honor unto honor.

The sound of something heavy winging its way through the air was the only hint the Gale soldiers, and Katsu had to give them credit. Just that small noise was enough to alert them both, and the Scythe user even turned towards Katsu as he approached, swinging his scythe in an effort to cut down whatever approached them. In vain though, for the swing wasn't even close to Katsu as he approached, and Katsu slammed into the man's head with both feet, driving him to the ground. Once again his energy surged forward, and a sound like thunder mixed with the noise of shattered metal as the man's head popped like an overripe melon; his helmet crushed almost flat from the force!

His invisibility gone Katsu dropped to all fours and bounded forward a dozen steps, turning to voice a bestial roar at the other soldier, who already had his blade out and stared at Katsu in a mixture of blinding rage and stunned fear. In the dark Katsu's scales glittered dully in the moonlight yet remained half-in-shadow, giving only a hint of his form, turning him into some completely inhuman monster to the eyes of the swordsman. Katsu grinned wide, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. Time for a real fight!

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The swordsman stood motionless in the way of an experienced fighter, his eyes scanning every inch of his opponent in an attempt to find an opening, some small weakness he could capitalize on. His dead partner lay next to him but he had the strength of will to look only towards victory. Katsu shivered just a moment. Hells yes, fight me! Katsu felt his mind cloud, then become crystal clear with all thought gone. No thought except to fight! The excitement was too much, Katsu leapt forward with another bestial roar, claws charged with energy as he bounded forward...

Only to stop short just a few inches of the swordsman's swung blade, the wind from the strike caressing Katsu's face for a moment. The swordsman was good for a non-Shinobi. Katsu didn't think that he had enough strength to break his armored skin, but he still didn't want thirty pounds of steel to smack him in the face. Katsu prepared to dart back in for another run but the swordsman stepped back even as he slashed, creating more space for himself to keep Katsu out of. Standard tactic for those with big weapons, since it was useless in ultra-close ranges.

Grinning again Katsu began to circle the swordsman, moving in short bursts and hops, turning back several times as if a beast searching for a way through the man's guard. Twice he leapt in close enough for the sword to come within an inch of his scaly skin, each time leaping back out with a roar of apparent frustration. Play up the beast, the mindless monster...

For nearly three minutes this went on in repetitive fashion, Katsu seemingly held at bay by the swordsman's weapon, frustration mounting higher and higher on both sides as the battle dragged on. Katsu knew now the man wasn't strong or skilled enough to hurt him in the slightest, and his previous excitement had died. He wasn't the fighter he had first appeared to be, it was mere luck he had managed to survive Katsu's first charge. One last time Katsu darted in, as if to once more try and break the man's guard. The blade swung down once more, but Katsu wasn't there, wasn't anywhere near it. He was at the man's back, having for an instant moved so fast the man didn't even notice the movement, and his arms snatched the man into a crushing grip as Katsu sunk his fangs into the man's unprotected neck!

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Hot blood, straight from the man's own heart, gushed into Katsu's mouth, the coppery taste making Katsu's fangs sink deeper into his neck. Katsu needed to drink living blood at least once a day or his health became affected by it, and his opponent here had left himself open. It was a completely distasteful thing to do, but it was a point of survival for Katsu, and in this case it presented an easy way to end the fight. He no longer really wanted to fight anymore...

A few more moments as the man's lifeblood leaked out of him a midst his screams and he fell to the ground unconscious, the blood loss too much for him. Katsu let the man drop to the ground before deliberately stepping on his neck, snapping it. There were worse ways to die, although Katsu couldn't think of any just then, his jaw covered in crimson. I really am a monster at this point. A few handseals and both corpses slowly sank into their earthen coffins, Katsu taking the time to clean the blood from his face and teeth. He stood there for a long long moment, the seconds stretching out, as he struggled with the depression that gripped him, the regret swelling in his mind to push out anything else.

It wasn't until a gasp reached his ears that Katsu realized a monk from one of the temples, probably the nearest one which was a temple to some Nature deity judged by the monk's garb, that Katsu remembered what he was supposed to be doing. Looking at the monk with dull eyes Katsu performed some handseals, sinking into the earth in order to flee from his terrified gaze. He fled down the terraced city streets, coming to the place he had scouted out another of the Gale soldiers. His mind so plagued by his depression Katsu gave no thought to his enemy beyond confirming that the drunken soldier, his sword sheathed at his belt and the smell of alcohol thick on his breath, was actually from Gale.

One moment the drunk staggered down the street, looking for somewhere to sleep off his drink, the next a clawed arm reached up from the ground below to drag him down into the ground, leaving only his head above. The rest of the man lay thoroughly trapped, and Katsu rose out of the earth in front of him, unsheathing his katana as he rose. A single flick of the blade and the man's head rolled free of his body, not a single scream uttered by the victim. Katsu once more sank the corpse into the ground before moving over to the head and picking it up by the hair. Silently Katsu made his way down the last few streets between him and his last quarry. The temple that served the deity of alcohol and festivals was unsurprisingly also a bar and fest-hall, and it was here that the last three of the Gale soldiers sat and drank their fill.

Remaining outside of the brightly lit fest-hall Katsu merely tossed the severed head of the dead Gale soldier into the main room where he knew the soldiers were, through a window to be specific. He added to this grisly show his words, ”Come out and face me, Gale soldiers. Your comrade is dead, do you not wish to avenge him?” before retreating farther into the darkness, waiting silently for the end of his mission...

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Three drunken soldiers staggered into the street, their faces masks of pure rage only helped along by their drunken state, although that was fast leaving, adrenaline surging through their veins, dumping the alcohol from their systems. Katsu waited, a dozen meters from the temple doors, a quick Henge having vanished his many weapons to leave him unarmed and bared to the waist. He'd fight using nothing but the power of his own natural body. It would be more than enough for three drunken louts who could barely pull their weapons from their sheaths.

The first one, the smallest built but obviously the quickest, lurched into a drunken run that soon turned into a precise killers stance. He was not so drunk as he had first appeared, but Katsu was still not worried. None of these fools had shown the skill or power necessary to even cut his flesh. The first man ducked in, his short-sword flashing forward to ram itself home into Katsu's Solar Plexus... only to snap off at the hilt as it met his iron hard scales.

Katsu snorted, a pure noise of contempt, before backhanding the man with all his strength and energy. A crack of thunder and the man flew backwards, dazed from the strike but skilled enough to prevent his neck from snapping. The other two reached Katsu at that point, a battle axe and another katana lining up staggered blows in order to force Katsu to be hit by one or the other. Katsu merely sighed and performed a quick of handseals, a ring of stone rising up at the three meter mark around Katsu, trapping the three soldiers in there with him. The weaponry bounced harmlessly off his scales, knocking him back to the wall with their impotent force, and Katsu merely held up his hands to summon his Kekkei Genkai, the Storm Channeling. Lightning and water surrounded his arms, and Katsu breathed in deeply as he performed more handseals.

The poor soldiers had only a moment to view the beautiful image of electrified lightning flooding out of Katsu's mouth to fill the entire circle of stone before they were fried on contact. Katsu himself was struck by the jutsu in such close quarters, but his natural toughness and resistance to lightning reduced the damage to minor burns on his fingers. The three soldiers, now still sizzling a bit in their electrified armor, couldn't even scream as Katsu sank the entire prison and everything in it into the ground in a great muddy whirlpool.

Standing on the muddy ground as it slowly hardened back to normal stone and earth Katsu sighed deeply. All of his enjoyment for the fight had been sapped from him. These soldiers were nothing to him, in the end. Perhaps he might have better luck in future missions? Looking up, Katsu would see the Falcon Anbu approach him. “Congratulations. Mission complete.”

Katsu nodded slowly, sighing once more before beginning the long trek back to Kumogakure...

[EXIT]