The κυνη[γ]οί of Man [Rain Mission]

[Saiyuki]

OOC: I'm going to assume I get an auto-hit given my Dhenada technique was ignored.

The tendrils would ring true as a massive storm of them descended upon the area where the leader was, who had revealed himself. Even if he had not, Sai's Sensor abilities would have located him for Sai. The leader would be bound. Using two hundred and forty tendrils to suppress the bandit was overkill but Sai was not one to go easy on his opponents. However it seemed the bandit managed to shoot off another Genjutsu or Ninjutsu before he was bound. More shadowy figures would reinforce the bandits, who were starting to feel the toll of fighting a trained shinobi team. As the enemy leader had provided support, so would the Chuunin leader as well.

"Finish them off. Their leader can no longer move."

Sai would then perform a series of Enchantment Genjutsu, another one of team specialty moves. He had learned these techniques for the sole purpose of enhancing anyone he would be teamed up with. Auras of great strength descended upon his team. He doubted they would need it. But as this was practice for the real thing, it would get them used to fighting under his command. His target acquired and his team supported, Sai no longer had to do anything but watch the ending of this battle.

SPOILER: Click to show

Soulcaster Passive Techniques Active
Sensor Abilities Active
Rhizophoraceae Active on Enemy Leader

Boost of the Strong, Mass [+1 Striking Rank per Class Level, +3 Max]
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This Jutsu works as Boost of the Strong, except as noted below.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: A Mind-Affecting Technique. Affects 2 creatures per Class Level. The user is able to perform this technique at a distance of 7 meters plus 6 meters per class level. The duration of this technique lasts for 2 rounds per class level. This technique may be negated.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

Boost of the Quick, Mass [+1 Movement per Class Level, +3 Max]
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This Jutsu works as Boost of the Quick, except as noted below.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: A Mind-Affecting Technique. Affects 2 creatures per Class Level. The user is able to perform this technique at a distance of 7 meters plus 6 meters per class level. The duration of this technique lasts for 2 rounds per class level. This technique may be negated.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

Inspiring Word
Rank: "B"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: A technique that inspires those around the user.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: A Mind-Affecting Technique. all allies within 10 meter radius burst, centered around the user. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 rounds per class level. This technique may be negated. While performing this Jutsu, user shout a word of challenge to foes, inspiring their allies. All allies within the area of effect gain 20 temporary Armour Points +10 per Class Level starting at "C" Rank (to a maximum of +40 temporary Armour Points), a +2 morale bonus on Will Saves, and a +4 morale bonus on Saves against Fear effects.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception. Must know Aid.

[Molokai]

One bolt struck true, and the arrows that were fired in response were clumsy and poorly aimed. Turin simply pivoted a foot to his right, without even interrupting his own firing, to evade them. The surprisingly nimble swordsmen almost all managed to stop his bolts, save for the one who took one to the knee. Hardly a kill, but he wouldn't be swinging any more swords for a while. That and the bowman taking his medicine straight to the stomach successfully neutralized two of them, which only left three more. Well, thirteen more once the shadow men materialized. Whoever this bandit leader was, he was clearly trained in Genjutsu. And that Genjutsu he created was now lunging at Turin with swords a slashing.

Luckily, Turin wasn't some green Genin fresh out of the academy. Despite their being unexpectedly fast, they still weren't as fast as him. Jumping backwards out of the range of the slashing, Turin fired into the crowd as he dodged. The jumble and madness of thirteen different guys all trying to hit him would make any kind of maneuvering next to impossible. They would all get in each others' way as Turin fired a bolt at each of the three living men. At this point, Turin was half-aware of Sai saying something to them, then hyper-aware of the chakra that flooded his body and his mind. He was initially resistant to it, but he recognized the effect as Enchantment perception techniques that he himself could perform. Relaxing and letting the chakra wash over him, he made his final move.

The leader being unable to move was perfect, exactly what Turin wanted. To stop the illusory clones, saving both himself and Maasaa, Turin fired a bolt straight at the head of the bound brigand leader. With Sai's weird glowing ring technique holding him down, there would be nothing the leader could do to stop it. If the bolt pierced his skull, unless some other miracle happened, the illusion clones would instantly dissipate.

If all of this went off without a hitch, which was highly likely given Turin's great skill and speed, he would move on to helping Maasaa with his worries. Should the boy still be alive after the initial strike against him, Turin would run over close to the wall and lean out from behind it for but a brief moment. The bolt that he fired would go straight for the final surviving bowman, and the instant it was fired Turin was back behind the massive wall. Unless this second bowman was of similar skill to him, this attack would certainly be deadly. If the bowman managed to survive, at least he wouldn't be shooting at Maasaa. If indeed the bowman was hit, Turin would unleash another rapid volley at any attacker left that Maasaa hadn't taken care of.

SPOILER: Click to show

Point Blank Shot
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: A technique that gives the user greater proficiency within the range of 10 meters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: With this technique the user has learned how to combat against opponents within 10 meters without fear or fumbling with their weapon. They gain the courage and ability to perform combat without much effort. This is a prerequisite technique for more popular techniques. What good is an Marksman if they are not ready to battle while in close range.
Limit: Must be a Marksman.

Precise Shot
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: User can shoot weapons at an opponent engaged in melee combat without risk of hitting someone else.
Special: ---
Drawback: This does not include Grappling.
Description: Another prerequisite technique that brings the Marksman even closer to combat without fumbling or worry of using the weapon. Normally without this technique there is a chance that the user could miss and hit someone else whom is engaged in melee combat to whomever the user wishes to attack. This technique makes the user proficient in hitting the target even if the target is engaged in close combat with someone else.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Point Blank Shot.

Improved Rapid Shot
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: User is able to shoot an arrow once more within a movement for only 2 movements.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only works within 1st Range Increment.
Description: With the Improved Rapid Shot technique the user may shoot 1 extra arrow for 2 of their movements per round. This allows the user to shoot 2 arrows within 2 of their movements. If user has Quick Aim this technique works with Far Shot.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Rapid Shot.

Legendary Sniper
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: User is able to come out of hiding, fire, and move back into hiding in 1 movement.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The user gains the ability to perform sneak attacks by quickly moving out of the hiding spot and fire in a single movement and hide once more to keep their hiding place from being found or known. A perfect technique for the simple on the move hits.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Increased Precision.

Way of the Wasp
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: User gains an extra movement while using the skills of Marksman
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: This technique makes the user greatly proficient in the art of Marksman. The user gains an extra movement however this movement is only dedicated to Marksman. This means if a user has 4 movements then they are able to perform 1 extra movement only to Marksman abilities and techniques.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Improved Rapid Shot. Must have Mastered Marksman.

Spinning Shot
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The Marksman alters the arrow’s fletching so that it spins as it travels to the target. Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: After altering the arrow's fletching slightly the user is able to perform any arrow technique that deals with power damage as if it was 1 rank higher than it normally would be. A "C" Rank technique would hit as if it was a "B" Rank technique, an "S" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "D" Rank technique, and an "S" + "D" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "C" Rank technique.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must have Mastered Marksman.

Power Shot
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: One of the most powerful skills an Marksman may have. This technique allows the user to fire an arrow or bolt with greater velocity in which gives it an extra boost of damage to where it is capable of going through certain objects.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The user is able to shoot their arrow with such precision and strength that it adds more damage. The user is able to perform any arrow technique that deals with power damage as if it was 1 rank higher than it normally would be. A "C" Rank technique would hit as if it was a "B" Rank technique, an "S" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "D" Rank technique, and an "S" + "D" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "C" Rank technique. This technique may stack with other techniques that may increase ranking power.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Spinning Shot.

Bullseye
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: A user's shot or shots become more lethal.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Precision shot and not a Power Shot. This shot allows the user to hit vital areas more easily and precisely than normally. A technique in which the user knows the areas that are able to harm an opponent the most. User is able to fire their long ranged weapon and knows where they can cause the most damage. The user is able to perform any arrow technique that deals with power damage as if it was 1 rank higher than it normally would be. A "C" Rank technique would hit as if it was a "B" Rank technique, an "S" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "D" Rank technique, and an "S" + "D" Rank technique would hit as if it was an "S" + "C" Rank technique. This technique may stack with other techniques that may increase ranking power.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Spinning Shot.

[maasaa]

His path to the main soldiers was quickly blocked by dark shadowy soldiers. Ten versus One might look bad as they lunged at Maasaa but their numbers actually helped Maasaa. Before they could strike Maasaa he’d take a leap back to avoid their attacks, while midair his katana would be sheathed once more. As Maasaa landed he felt a bit strange feeling almost faster, but now outside of the range of the swordsmen he retrieved an incendiary grenade and a stun grenade. The incendiary grenade was quickly thrown into the center of the shadowy swordsmen. Maasaa hoped the explosion of fire would be enough to handle the first group. Next Maasaa threw out his stun grenade over the head of the first group where he believed the other bandits would be waiting. If he could stun one group and eliminate the other things would be going well.

Before charging forward Maasaa would hang back and gather his chakra. In both of Maasaa’s hands formed a lightning bolt both being three foot long. Using the newly created lightning bolts they would get hurled at two of the standing swordsmen. With all the arrowmen and ninjutsu used Maasaa figured he’d never get the chance to actually enter a sword fight with any of these foes.

SPOILER: Click to show

Zeus's Bolt [30]
Rank: C Rank
Skill: Nin
Effect: The user is able to make a three foot long lightning bolt in their hand which they can throw at that opponent.
Special: None
Drawback: None
Description: By focusing chakra in the center of the palm the use is able to send lightning from the center of the palm to make a three foot long lightning bolt in their hand which is able to be thrown like a javelin.
Limit: Lightning Release Skill (Raiton no Jutsu).

-1 incendiary grenade
-1 stun grenade

[Y]

It seemed that the ninja were going to beat out their poorly trained enemies despite the numbers. Bolts of various kinds flew through the air, and it seemed that Turin had killed every single one of his opponents. And, because he was held down, the man who had taken the role of leader and illusionist for the brigands was dispatched as well, which caused the illusions to flicker out of existence as the chakra was drained from them and from the brain that gave them substance.

The bolts flew fast, and the swordsmen were too entangled with themsleves and the shadows. Nowhere to go except onto the bolts, they flung themselves onto inevitable death. While they were not dead yet, each receiving a blow to the center of the torso put them out of fighting condition for sooth.

The lightning bolts did their jobs and scorched the swordsmen, causing them to writhe in pain as they slid back into the ranks of their shadowy comrades, looking singed and dying. The shadows faded, and all that were left were the axe wielding men who had been at the back of the crowd, and a lone bowman, yet he was quickly dispatched by another arrow from Turin. It all went well, it would seem, and the battle was beginning to wind down. The survivng axe users, with their infinite wisdom, begfan to turn tail and run away, heading into the forest in opposite directions. To slaughter them would be trivial, for one with bow or one with ninjutsu that is.

[Saiyuki]

With the leader bound, the rest of the bandits fell without much resistance. And with the overwhelming display of superiority by his shinobi team, Sai was not surprised to see the survivors start to flee. However he would not let them go. He did not need any more attention drawn to his team. He floated back down to where the leader was bound, putting one foot on top of him. He called out to the rest of his team for his final order.

"Turin, do not leave any survivors. Maasaa, begin gathering the bodies. I want you to leave no traces of their remains. As a Katon user, I trust you understand what I am asking for."

Sai did not want to leave anything behind so he wanted Maasaa to burn away the corpses of the men that had stopped his team. With the two assignments given, Sai hoped to distract his team while he performed a rather disturbing technique. He turned around, using his body to shield the process. His hand on an exposed part of the bound leader, Sai reduced the leader's body to nothingness. While there were better ways to gather information and disguise oneself with less risk to Sai's mind, this one was the swiftest and quietest. The leader did not let himself transform into the bandit leader but he did access the memories. What would he find in there? Was there anything useful to him?

SPOILER: Click to show

Sensor Abilities On

Consuming
Rank: "A"
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: Consuming is the process by which the user will absorb the biomass of another entity, adding their mass to their own.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only works on other Humanoids, and only works on anyone that is within the same Size type as the user.
Description: Consuming is the process by which the user absorbs the biomass in order to heal, and replenish loss Chakra Reserves. This is an extremely violent process against an opponent who is awake. Most enemies, as long as they are at or near human-sized, can be consumed. Human-sized opponents can be consumed (half a round), while larger ones (Large or higher) must be weakened before they can be consumed. Users may only consume up to Huge creatures. Depending on the size of the creature depends on how much the user heals, and how much Chakra is resorted. 1/5th for Medium creatures, 1/3rd for Large creatures, and Half for Huge creatures. May be used on Advanced Clones similar to the Kage Bunshin, and Clones with similar properties.
Limit: Must be a Protean. Must know Partial Transformation.

Stealth Consuming
Rank: "C" (Always at least 20 TP)
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: Stealth Consuming, as the name suggests, allows the user to consume a target without alerting others.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: It can only be performed when the opponents cannot see the user and only works on humans. When performed, the user will quietly kill their target (Example: Snapping the neck) and absorb them in mere moments, instantly taking on their form. The user will also instantly drop their own weapon if they are holding one, and take the targets' weapon when they are holding one. The Stealth Consuming ability allows the user to consume a person within 1 second instead of the normal 3 seconds due to the quick death that is bestowed upon the opponent. No one must notice the target consuming, including the opponent.
Limit: Must be a Protean. Must know Disguise.

Memory Absorption
Rank: "B"
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: When performing Consuming they can absorb the memories of whom they consume.
Special: ---
Drawback: Absorbing mass amount of people will make the user go insane.
Description: Consuming is the process by which the absorbs the biomass and DNA or essence of other entities, copying and assimilating it into their own in order to gain the entity's genetic memories and physical presence. This is an extremely violent process against an opponent who is awake. When consuming a living, non-Bloodline (Protean) human, not only does the user absorb biomass and physical attributes, the user can absorb the memories of the people they consume. For event purposes the memories are dictated by the Game Master. For Village Location Purposes the user will gain a general idea of where a village may be, but no specifics (Will know Which Regional Map to own). For every minute the opponent is dead before Consuming, the user loses 1/6th of the memory from the opponent. If an opponent has died longer than 6 minutes the user absorbs no memory. If an opponent has died for 3 minutes, the user absorbs half of its memory. User does not gain skills or techniques, only memories of it.
Limit: Must be a Protean. Must know Body Absorption.

[Molokai]

Turin wore a smirk of self-satisfaction as he shot down the last of the bandits, leaving not one casualty on his side. Two more bolts chased after the two who ran and caught them easily, puncturing their heads and turning them into ugly unicorns. Of the survivors, Turin walked among them and casually fired a bolt into the head of anyone who was still moving. As he did so, he collected as many bolts as he could from the fallen bandit tribe and returned them to his hip quiver. It had occurred to him briefly before, but with how many bolts and knives he wasted on this battle he was now acutely aware that he would need to resupply at some point on this journey. Unlike the other two who used swords and chakra, Turin was the only one of the team that had to worry about running out of ammunition. It was for this reason that he sought out as many bolts and knives as he could retrieve, using his keen eyes to make sure none of them got away.

By his count, he had only used about two of his knives, which he found relatively easily because they hadn't flown that far. His bolts, however, had been far more numerous. He had missed about four shots, which had all flown off into the distance and had been lost. The rest were recoverable because they were lodged in flesh. With a hundred and forty-six bolts left, he felt he could probably make it at least to the next town without worry.

Once all of the survivors had been dispatched, Turin turned to face Sai. The command to finish off the rest wasn't the same call Turin would have made. Practically, once the bandits were routed and wounded their threat level dropped to negligible amounts, the battle was over. The command to leave no survivors was unnecessary, in Turin's opinion, but he understood why the command had been given. However, the notion of burning the bodies put a pit in his stomach. It took a lot of energy to completely incinerate a body, so either Maasaa had to use a bunch more chakra for no reason or they would leave a pile of charred corpses. Turin had no problem whatsoever with killing to eliminate threats, but corpse mutilation left a bad taste in his mouth. Turin remembered with a sense of irony how he had been concerned with appearing too bloodthirsty in front of his team. That was before he had really gotten to know Sai.

Curiously, when Turin faced Sai to ask about their next move, he saw that the bandit leader was completely gone, along with the bolt that had been sticking out of his head, leaving Turin with a hundred and forty-five bolts. Sure, the man's genjutsu skills had been unexpected, but could a corpse use invisibility? Probably not, unless someone hidden had used an invisibility technique on him. But, wouldn't Sai have known if someone had been hiding close enough to use a technique like that? And why bother hiding his body in the first place? Clearly not a genjutsu, then. So where had the leader's body gone?

"Everyone's been dealt with, Sai," Turin announced, "but what happened to their leader? He's got something of mine lodged in his head, and I want it back." He added the last part to avoid seeming like he was suspicious of Sai, but the real purpose of the question was clear: What did you do to him?

[Y]

OOC: Alright, I'm sorry for the wait, I was trying to give Maasaa plenty of time.

The corpses were destroyed, and the leader of the squad peered into the mind of a man. He saw a fascinating tale, a tale of runaway ninja from unidentified villages, imparting their knowledge in return for help from groups of poorly trained men this leader provided. He was learning Genjutsu, at strange clearings in the woods at night. He had hooked up a dozen missing ninja with helpers, and sent them on their way. In return he received a dabbling knowledge of genjutsu.

While the story was fascinating, it did not really have any relevance on the life of the ninja. Perhaps they ought to continue their journey?

[Molokai]

Ignored, Turin faced the charred remains of the bandits and grimaced. Few things smelled so foul as what they had just done, and he was more than a little eager to put it behind him. They had wasted more than enough time on this little distraction, besides. The archer began folding up his crossbow as he walked, not bothering to check if the others were following. His mood was as sour as the smell in the air, and with every moment they dawdled their quarry grew more distant. If Sai and Maasaa decided they were still interested in the hunt, they were more than welcome to follow.

The BINGO headquarters was their current goal, but Turin unfortunately couldn't claim knowledge as to where it was. All he really knew was that it was further down the road they traveled. His walking away was mostly a front to get the team back on track. Hopefully Sai would catch on and resume leading, before Turin was forced to admit that he didn't know where he was going.

[Saiyuki]

OCC: Sorry about that.

Sai took a moment to process his newest victim's memories. It would have made for an interesting story if it had kept going but Sai felt nothing for putting an end to it. But it did provide him with the faces and details of those who were like the man and were missing-nin. He did not recognize anyone from Amegakure, which was good, but he kept this information in the back of his mind in case he ever ran into any of them.

Onto a slightly bigger problem, it seemed that Turin had grown suspicious. The Chuunin did not care but he had to allay his team's worries after all. In fact, Sai took this moment to reassert his dominance in the team.

"I must apologize, I did not know you wanted your bolt back before I obliterated his very existence. I cannot undo what I have done but I will keep that in mind for future battles. Good job, the two of you."

The other boy was unresponsive but the corpses had been destroyed. Regardless, they had removed the obstacles in their path. There was nothing blocking them now towards their path. sai resumed leading the rest of them towards their destination: the Bingo headquarters in Oto no Kuni.

Move to Oto no Kuni

[Y]

You're free to post in the Broker now. Sorry for the delay.

[Saiyuki]

Finally in their country of destination, Sai saw that the capital was still a ways away. Night would soon fall and he did not want to travel in possibly hostile lands like this. He sought out a good spot to camp out as they made their way inwards for a little while. Soon he raised his hand up. The naturally hilly terrain made it easy to find caves. The Chuunin only had to find one that was situated away from prying eyes. Luckily, Sai found an area that had not been converted into a rice farm. Actually, it looked like it once was one but had since fallen into ruin. Perfect.

"We will camp out here for the night. Take your rations and we'll take turns guarding over the night."

Sai intended to the first one to stay up. He really was more of a night person. But first, they had to discuss something important.

"We will be heading into the capital of this country tomorrow morning. There I know of a place where certain Information Brokers aside. I should warn you, they may be troublesome to deal with. We best come armed with information or items that we can trade with them. Do either one of you have anything that could be useful?"

[Molokai]

Turin walked in silence for the remainder of their trek through Fire Country and well into the Land of Sound, wary of further ambushes. The deep green forests of the Land of Fire slowly faded into endless flat plains and rice paddies. The light, bright green of the young rice stalks brightened up the scenery a great deal, and Turin was pleased that he could clearly see for much greater distances. Converted almost entirely to rice fields, the once rolling hills of Sound Country had become jagged and disjointed. Brown murk marred the land in patches where the rice was only recently planted, and always the feeling of being unwelcome pervaded the air. If Turin had been on edge in Fire Country, it was nothing compared to how he felt right then.

As he walked, he kept his attention as much on his teammates as his surroundings. Sai was equally as enthralled with the landscape as he, and as always it was hard to get a read on exactly what Maasaa was thinking. When Turin beheld Sai's hand, his own hand shot immediately to his crossbow. No enemies were spotted, but Turin could tell what Sai was looking at: A cave. Situated behind a flattened patch of mud that might once have been one of the countless rice fields, the cave looked like an ideal campsite. The hill containing the cave rose behind the patch like a buried giant. Rankled tufts of stringy neon grass sprouted atop it like a bad haircut, and the dark brown mud looked like it had been recently churned by heavy rain. The cave was a crooked maw in the hillside with barely enough head clearance even for him. Inside, it was damp. Yellowed teeth hung from the ceiling, young stalactites dripping so much that it seemed to be drooling. The whole place smelled of mildew and petrichor. In the fading light Turin saw that its throat narrowed sharply and came to a dead end, with a pile of unidentifiable bones and fur that looked decades old tucked in the farthest corner. No chance of anybody sneaking up behind them, although it meant that they had no escape route if cornered.

Darkness had always been Turin's ally, and the mouth of the cave offered a great view of a wide swatch of land. With his various gadgets and abilities, he could see anybody coming long before they saw him. A rain of bolts from the inky darkness was likely to send anybody scurrying. Anybody who survived, that is. "I'll take second watch," he said as he pulled his crossbow and started assembling it. By the time it was finished, he was sitting against the wall of the cave with it in his lap. From that position, all he had to do was open his eyes and lift his head and he could see as far as he needed to. "Wake me up in a couple of hours. I don't need much sleep."

Sai brought up a good point. If their plan was to use information brokers to gain intel on their target, they had to show up prepared to barter. On him, Turin had a sickeningly meager amount of Ryo and next to nothing valuable. Perhaps the technology augmenting his crossbow could fetch a fair price, but it would literally have to be pried from his dead hands before that would happen. He lacked the genjutsu to create any kind of falsely valuable item, and doubted that any information broker worth his salt would ever fall for it anyway. Perhaps, though, the information broker would be amiable to a trade of sorts. Turin suspected giving up Yoshi to the BINGO wasn't going to win him much popularity with his team. However, if this broker was willing to trade info for info, he had himself an idea.

"Well, I haven't got any real information," Turin announced from his perch, "but, I'm not opposed to selling a village secret or two, if you catch my drift."

[Saiyuki]

Sai leaned back against a smooth part of the cavern wall to rest again. He contemplated Turin's suggestion. However ruthless he was to use whatever he could for his own goals, selling the village secrets did not run well with him. He did not show it but he wanted as little information about the village leaked out as possible. Things were at a transitional period now. Risking anything with that would be foolish. As an Ame-nin, Turin himself would suffer, directly or indirectly. Any secret was an asset in this world. That's why even one was quite valuable. However he did manage to get something interest due to his absorption of the bandit leader.

"I would save that as an absolute last resort. Village secrets are weapons and we will need all the ammo we have depending on how our dear leader's plans turn out. Should there be one misstep, you can count on blood flowing. I will think of something. Get some sleep."

Sai was silent for awhile. It was tranquil here. Were it not the home of another shinobi village, the Chuunin would have felt at peace. He meditated through the thief's memories. It seemed the man knew of the last location of some very wanted missing-nin. A chance encounter and one that he had been lucky to leave alive from. Sai had heard of this missing-nin. It would not be worth it for his team to try to take on this one. The risk was too high. But he knew many other bounty hunters would drool at the chance for a chance at such fame and riches.

Soon it was time for the Chuunin to rest. A mere exchange of good night left his lips before he was swept away into the lull of darkness. It felt like only a moment before the sun creeped up onto his face. Finally, it was time to make their move.

"Thank you, Turin. Now let us be off and not waste any more time."

[Exit to Meikyoku]

[Molokai]

Sai seemed hesitant to bargain with village secrets. Understandable though that may be, Turin wasn't sure what else they had to bargain with. Of course, they could always lie, fabricate information, sell a fake village secret. After all, how could this broker possibly find a more reliable source than actual ninja from an actual village? As far as Turin could tell, unless the broker could somehow detect lies exceptionally well, they would have no way of knowing if the "secret" was false. Still, Sai's point rang true. If they were caught in a lie they would have to fight their way out. And if that happened, any chance of gaining a lead would die along with the brokers themselves, assuming that they even got out alive to begin with.

Trusting was not something that Turin did implicitly, but orders were to follow Sai, so follow Sai he did. Leaning against the mouth of the cave, Turin rested his head on the solid stones and allowed himself to doze. His sleep was light and dreamless. Field sleep. The kind of sleep that allowed for instant waking and action. As he rested, his hand never left his crossbow, his finger never left the trigger. Quiet and peaceful nights like this made it imperative to keep his guard up. Letting the serenity dull his edge would make his whole team an easy target.

After just a few hours, he awoke with a start and peered into the inky blackness of the night. He could just make out Sai asleep on the wall across from him, a vaguely human-shaped spot darker than the wall behind it. How long had they both been asleep? And why did he wake up so suddenly? Slowly, silently, never taking his eyes off of the area in front of the cave, Turin clicked on his scope's thermal vision and brought it up to his eye. The world illuminated with faintly grayish mounds that could only be hills, ever so slightly warmer than the black night air around them. A bright spot of burning white ducked furtively into one of the gray hills. A rodent of some sort. The silence was as deep as the blackness, and nothing stirred but the grass in the wind. Nothing, after all.

Wide awake now, Turin decided that it was his turn to keep watch for the rest of the night. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't need much sleep, the brief doze against the cave wall was more than sufficient. He stood up and walked around to stretch his stiff joints, then clambered up the hill above the cave and got a better look at their surroundings. He briefly scanned the horizon with the thermal scope to ensure they were alone, then adopted a prone position and kept vigilant watch until the black sky turned gray and he heard Sai stirring.

Turin dismounted the hill just as Sai fully rose. For now, he resisted the urge to ask what exactly Sai had meant by "our dear leader's plans" and simply followed him into town. Hopefully the man had dreamed himself a plan, because Turin certainly didn't have one.

[exit]

[Saiyuki]

[Enter]

"I hope you are not afraid of the spirits of the fallen dead."

As the pair of Chuunins exited the city, Sai started speaking to Turin. He would not activate his abilities just yet, though they were now in a rush. He also picked up the pace and signaled for Turin to the do the same. Once they were far enough, he invoked his powers of detection to sense if anyone was close enough to pose a danger to them. When nothing turned up to be worth paying attention to, Sai scanned the surroundings once more for good measure and then started to explain to Turin what their plan was.

"This is the ability that I used to locate our Amekage and bring him back to our village. It takes a little time so be on the lookout for me.

Sai did not like to explain his abilities. And it was even better if the person being shown did not completely understand what was happening in front of them. They would shift off the road into the hilly plains of this country. A little while later, he found a hill to his liking and signaled to Turin that he was going to start performing this technique. He kneeled and put the scroll with their target's information on the ground. On one knee, he put a single finger on the scroll and started his summoning technique. What it felt like was as if his soul has cast threads far out into the world and now he was just waiting for his net to catch something.

"This technique takes awhile. Meanwhile I would like to know your opinion on how it went down at the broker."

SPOILER: Click to show

Sensor Abilities

Reaching Beyond
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: Spirit helps the user find a target.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Target is 1 Creature. Range is Personal. Duration Varies. User contacts the souls long dead and they provide clues on how to find a living target. Performing this Jutsu takes 3 full rounds. At the end the user talks to a Spirit that knows where to find the user's target. The spirit is indifferent to the user and must be controlled by a GM. The User must try to gain the information from the Spirit. Most spirits give out cryptic clues more than direct answers to mess around with the one who called upon their spirit.
Limit: Must be a Soulcaster.

[Molokai]

I hope you're not afraid of the spirits of the fallen dead.

Leaving the broker empty handed had left Turin feeling like they were no closer to their goal than when they left Amegakure. Now, Sai beat a hasty retreat to the fields around town, and Turin followed as faithfully as ever.

Spirits could hardly frighten Turin. If dearly departed souls really could interact with the living of their own volition, he expected that spiritual retribution would have come to him long ago. The things he had seen as a Venator, the monsters, the horrors, and especially the things he had seen fully living people do to each other were worse than any spirit. No, fear was the furthest thing from Turin's mind as he followed Sai to a suitable location where they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Roger," he said to Sai's command to keep watch. The hilly fields gave him a broad and open view, but the distance from the road made casual observation impossible. He drew and assembled his crossbow, then trained it on the horizon. Sai pulled out the mission scroll and placed it on the ground, almost as if he were going to summon something from it. The energy that emanated from it as Sai pressed his finger to it sent a chill up Turin's spine. Is this why he was asking about spirits? he thought, Is he some kind of conjurer? Turin's Venator instincts made him immediately wary of this ability, and for a moment he forgot to watch anything else.

"Well, for starters," Turin began once Sai's question had brought him back into focus, "it didn't go well. But, you knew that. What is really confusing to me is this: what is so special about our target that information on five others wasn't good enough? Those women had much to gain and nothing to lose, but nothing short of the one secret they knew we wouldn't give would do. Why?

"Which reminds me," he continued, "This ability of yours, if you could scry him, or whatever it is you're doing, why did we need them to begin with? Strikes me that we could have saved ourselves some time and effort by doing this from the start." Turin hadn't been pleased when he learned that the trip to the broker had been just a side trip. It had dawned on him that the brokers could hold more detailed information than the scrying, or whatever Sai was doing. However, he was feeling increasingly like he was being left in the dark more than he liked.

Of course, that could always be a result of Sai feeling the same way about Turin as Turin felt about Sai; distrustful. Both were seasoned, stealthy killers and naturally took a long time to trust anybody, if they ever did at all. A new tactic might be required, but for now he kept his eyes open and his crossbow ready while Sai searched the spirit realm for their target.

[Y]

It was a little misty, and it seemed that mist formed a nice medium for the conjured spirit. The mist began to swirl and amass in one area, an amorpheous blob of sorts appearing between the two. While they discusses the mist around them faded. It all had be coalesced into one general area. A small twist of mist at the center of it all began to become distinct and darker than the rest. That patch of mist was growing outwards while the two spoke.


OOC: If you're done talking I can have the spirits ready next round, since this is on a loose time scale. Otherwise, it'll keep forming for a bit.

[Saiyuki]

As he concentrated, he felt a pull coming from one particular spirit. He honed his focus in on that one spirit. Mist was starting to gather around the two of them, a clear sign that his summoning was working. It wouldn't be long enough. The process was much faster than he had expected. Coincidence? He would have ask the spirit. Then he went back to paying attention to Turin. The summoning was self sustaining now, it just had to finish up.

His companion questioned why they could not bargain and also why Sai had decided to go through the effort of going there in the first place. The Chuunin could tell he was not happy. An explanation was in order, lest he lose his trust over something simple. Turin was one who did not overlook details, it seemed.

"Both of us know that the locations of a Village are top secret information. For people like her, bounties are a mere snack and merely fleeting information. However, it is difficult to move a Village and thus the information can give one great returns."

Sai noticed that the spirit was starting to take a distinct form within the mist.

"As for my ability, you will find out firsthand why I prefer a straight forward answer from a information broker than relying on this. Cross your fingers. We may end up running around in a bigger circle than the trip it took to get here."

With that grim warning, Sai got up. He had experienced both easy guides and some truly difficult and frustrating guides. He wondered what this spirit would be like. He took a step towards the spirit, which was just about to emerge from the mist.

"Spirit of the next world, you know what I seek. What say you?"

[Molokai]

The strange mist that seemed to be drawn to Sai was slowly taking on more and more form, and Turin was slowly becoming less and less comfortable. While spirits were less offensive to his very being than the corporeal undead, his Venator mindset was nagging at him to put it to a stop. Summoning spirits was a form of necromancy, albeit a relatively harmless one in this instance, so he was instinctively opposed to it. However, Turin had no choice but to bite down his discomfort and continue to trust in Sai.

Sai did have a point about the bounty information. Even though the deal was weighted in the broker's favor, information on bounties didn't remain accurate for very long. Despite how helpful it would have been, giving up the location of the village to somebody who most certainly intended to sell it was definitely not worth it.

By now, the spirit had taken full form and Turin had to exercise some willpower to resist the urge to fire at it, even though it would have literally zero effect. His Venator focus was corporeal monsters, ones that used to be people and became abominations, willfully or otherwise. As such, he had exactly nothing that could affect a spirit. Despite this, the discomfort of having a monster in his presence was very real, and he couldn't wait for their dealings with it to be done. Sai's cryptic warning didn't help matters, either. If this spirit turned out to be as unhelpful as the brokers had been, Turin would definitely shoot it.

He clicked on his thermal scope and did another sweep of the surrounding area, just to make sure they were still alone. Out of curiosity, he also pointed it briefly at the spirit itself to see what kind of thermal signature it had. If they were still alone, he would turn his silent attention to Sai and his spirit guide, hoping beyond hope that this monster wouldn't prove an even greater hindrance.

[Y]

OOC: Woooh late post. Sorry

The spirit formed before their eyes, a true apparition from another time, another place. The thing, shifting in the wind and in the rolling fog, began to hiss before its whisper became audible. Some mist came out of what would seem to be its head, whether it was breath or something else was hard to say. But it spoke in a tongue that was heavily accented, raspy, and devoid of all direction, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere and echo before it was heard.

"I know what you seek Ryuusei, and I know what you are looking for. There are men in this land who will win you tremendous power and they are what you seek. For a small fortune, a sword which could cut a moment, for a small favor, a technique which could bridge vast distances. The big bear will take you from its Earthly cubs and take you to this power."