Border Patrol [Solo Mission]

Missions Completed:

Sleep. What a beautiful concept. It was a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, for normal people at least. As a medical shinobi, it could be perceived as a state in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended. Following this is a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep, also known as dreams. After a two days of nonstop work as both a doctor and a shinobi, escaping reality was the most comforting thing that could be done. It was so peaceful…

Suddenly an abrupt noise caused the shinobi to awake from his slumber. The building of the Great Wall of Kirigakure was currently under construction and could be heard from the doctor’s home. Letting out a stretch and yawn, the white haired ninja got out of bed and proceeded to the shower in his bathroom. It was time to get ready for the day after taking a long, warm, relaxing shower to fully wake up. After the events that took place before his slumber, Soran did not have to go into work at the hospital for a couple of days. His medical clothes were dirty and covered in blood. So today he would wear a more casual outfit. This attire consisted of a black T-shirt, white baggy pants, sneakers, and his Kirigakure headband tied around his left shoulder like an armband.

After throwing his dirty clothes in the washer to get clean, the medic decided to check the contents of his mailbox. Going to check his mail through a thick cloud of mist, the shinobi realized that he had slept through an entire day and night cycle without waking up once. This was due to the extreme fatigue he had faced by staying awake the prior two days working at the hospital and doing an escort mission for a prince of a wealthy family. The weather was much cooler than the prior day and there was a slight breeze that made it even more enjoyable.

Upon reading the letters in the mail, Soran noticed a stamp with the seal of the Mizukage. This was the first time the shinobi had received mail directly from the office of the Kage of Kirigakure. The contents of the letter were assignments given to the shinobi from the Mizukage himself. With the recent activities of bandits and rogue shinobi, the Mizukage has ordered for more Shinobi to patrol the borders around Kirigakure while the wall is being constructed. The Jounin was tasked with reporting to all five of the outposts surrounding Kirigakure to ensure the construction is completed and to watch out for any strange activity.

Soran was a renowned medical ninja who had made it to Jounin level through his amazing level of skill in Taijutsu.  This was partly due to the Kaguya blood running through his veins, but nobody in the village knew of the clan’s DNA being a part of his genetic makeup. But his mastery of martial arts is likely the reason that the Mizukage chose the young Jounin for these tasks.

Rather than changing into his ninja attire, Soran would rather complete these tasks while under the guise of a civilian. Even though the headband’s Kirigakure insignia tied around his shoulder was enough to indicate that he was a shinobi, bandits would not assume that he was high ranking.

Leaving his house to head towards the first outpost, Soran stopped by a diner in the village to get himself some breakfast. The shinobi was starving after his hibernation and wanted to start his day out right. Ordering some chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon and a glass of chocolate milk, the white haired youth devoured the meal and chugged the glass with pleasure. This was the best way he could figure to start the day.

Departing from the diner, the Jounin made his way to the first outpost closest to his house. Everything seemed fine, construction was going on as scheduled and nothing appeared to be cause for alarm. The only disruption Soran could perceive was the loud noises that came from constructing a giant wall around the village. After talking to the shinobi in charge and making sure everything was how it was meant to be, the white haired ninja traveled to the second outpost. This one was actually ahead of schedule and the completion of the wall would likely begin here. After talking with the shinobi in charge of this area, it was time to head towards the third outpost.

So far, so good. Everything appeared to be going smoothly. Until Soran actually reached the third outpost of Kirigakure. There was a large crowd of Kirigakure citizens screaming at the construction workers that they did not want a wall built around their village. The workers tried to explain it was by order of the Mizukage, but the civilian population did not care for excuses. They felt as though building a wall around them would feel too much like a prison and they wanted nothing to do with it. Stepping in to help, the white haired medic stepped up in defense of the construction workers:

“Citizens of Kirigakure!” The white haired Jounin shouted from the outpost, causing the crowd of unhappy civilians to go silent. Oratorically gifted, Soran was skilled in his ability to seize and hold the attention of entire crowds of people whenever he wanted to do so. “You need to realize that the construction of this wall is very important in keeping our village save. It is being built around the border to defend the village against foreign invasion. Our patrols need a higher viewpoint in order to ensure both your safety and time for the village shinobi to react in the case of a national emergency. I understand that the construction can be very noisy. In fact, it is what woke me up this morning. But the longer you continue to boycott the progression of the village to be safer, the longer Kirigakure faces the dangers of what lies beyond the Land of Water. So please go back to your jobs and homes, so progress can be made by these workers.”

Silence turned to murmurs as the crowd spoke amongst themselves. One by one, clusters of people began walking away and going on with their daily routines as if nothing ever happened and the workers continued on with their business. The fishermen returned to their docks, the shopkeepers returned to their shops, and the construction workers continued on their task of building the wall.

The leader of the construction crew approached the white haired Jounin and thanked him for the support. The man was another shinobi who appeared to be impressed with how well the situation had been handled. Soran smiled and carried on a conversation with the man. In the process, it was learned that the current outpost the Jounin was at had not heard any reports from the outpost nearest to Konohagakure's borders. The grey eyed teen was tasked with reporting to the fifth outpost and find out what was going on. Afterwards he would have to report to the Mizukage with his findings.

Setting off to the next checkpoint, the shinobi crossed the waters leading towards the fourth outpost. Even though this was not the place he needed to be, it was definitely closer to his current location. It would also ease his mind knowing that he would have nothing else to worry about whenever he reached the final checkpoint. Once there, the white haired ninja began scanning the area from a higher viewpoint. Most of the homes in the area looked worn, torn, and had graffiti all over them. This section of Kirigakure was furthest away from the village entrance. This was definitely the more dangerous section of the city, filled with thugs and gang members who tend to prey on others from the shadows. The Jounin would have to be careful in this area.

Following the path leading to the wall’s construction, it was no surprise to see spray paint tagged along the unfinished wall in this area of the village. As he approached, the Jounin noticed injured construction workers lying on the ground and quickly rushed to their aid. All of the construction workers were badly beaten, but they would live. The only fatality was that of the shinobi in charge of the outpost who had attempted to defend the construction workers. It was a shame. The dead shinobi was one that Soran had gone to the Kirigakure ninja academy with. The medical shinobi was too late to save his life, but not too late to avenge his death.

After healing all of the worker’s wounds, Soran discovered that they had been attacked by some bandits in the area. Attempting to ascertain the identity of these bandits, all the information that he could gain was that they left in a hurry and went towards the final outpost. That was where the Kaguya needed to go anyways and there was no time to lose. There had already been a lack of reports from that outpost already. But hopefully nobody else would have to die this day.

Rushing off faster than before, the Taijutsu master made haste to the fifth and final outpost. To his horror, a path of blood and dead bodies surrounded the nearly completed wall. The shinobi who had been in charge of this outpost had his head on a spike with his Kirigakure headband covering his eyes. The bodies surrounding the head were those of the construction workers. Their wounds were defensive and implied that a struggle had occurred. Atop the nearly completed wall was the final outpost, and it was flooded with bandits who had no idea that they had just signed their own death certificate.

Anger got the better of the shinobi as he leaped on the wall by the outpost and revealed his location to the entirety of the bandits. Normally he would have taken a much more stealthy approach. But now was not the time to take precaution. It was time for payback! Rather than take the lone warrior seriously, the bandits took one look at the white haired shinobi in his civilian attire and began laughing. They found it humorous that a single ninja would think that they could handle a large group of people. Analyzing the bandits closer, Soran noticed that some of them possessed Kirigakure headbands with lines scratched through them. So it was rogue ninja from the same village who would dare betray the Land of Water and inflict death on their old allies. The anger built within the white haired medic until he finally snapped.

Moving at swift speed to appear in the middle of the large crowd, Soran grew several long bone blades from his body. This is when the laughing ceased and the screaming began. The Kaguya slaughtered the bandits with bones grown from his elbows, knees, and right shoulder. This combat form was incredibly acrobatic, using spins, charges, and long sweeping slashes to make the strikes more effective and to evade opponents' counter strikes. Even the rogue shinobi who possessed basic ninjutsu were unprepared for this vicious onslaught. In only a few short moments, all but one rogue was dead.

Retracting the bones back into his body, the warrior slowly approached the survivor. While bloodlust fueled his rampage, the foe’s eyes were filled with fear and the man was too terrified to even move his legs. Soran stopped a mere two feet away from the missing ninja.

“I am only going to ask you this once. If I don’t like your answer, you will die. If I think you are lying to me, you will die. And if you attempt to assault me, you will have a fate worse than death. Do you understand what I am saying to you?” Soran asked coldly as he stared the man dead in his eyes.

The terrified rogue shinobi reluctantly agreed by nodding his head slowly.

“Good. Now tell me, why did you kill these men? This was obviously a premeditated ambush and I want to know who gave the order.”

Sobbing, the bandit confessed that he had a leader who did not want the Great Wall of Kirigakure to be finished. The motives behind this were greed. Apparently whoever the bandit worked for was named Colt and they were in the drug trading business. With a wall built around the border, he would be unable to have his illegal products delivered to him in the cover of mist. After interrogating the man further, Soran discovered that Colt had a warehouse near this section of the city and that he had just taken out the bulk of his bandit forces. It was time to pay the crime lord a visit before he could find replacements.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Soran stated plainly before stabbing the man through the skull with a bone spike. In any normal circumstance, the medic would have likely spared the life of somebody filled with terror. But he could not risk Colt being warned before he could strike. There was also the factor that the rogue had been involved in the death of two Kirigakure shinobi. That alone was unforgivable.

Tracking down the warehouse had given the white haired ninja some time to cool off as he pondered what he would do whenever he found the man responsible for two outpost assaults. The warehouse was hidden deep within the fog of the village, but not deep enough to keep a skilled Jounin from tracking it down. Making his way on the rooftop, Soran easily took out the two scouts with skeletal bullets from his fingertips.

Regenerating his fingers back, the stealthy ninja was able to sneak in through a top window without being seen. Looking down at the remaining bandits, the shinobi’s grey eyes scanned the misty warehouse for someone who looked like they had authority. One man, in particular, caught the attention of the warrior. He was a pale man wearing a leather jacket and pants with a strap on his right leg, forming a small skull design on his knee, and a sling bag filled with drugs and explosive tags attached to the single strap. This had to be Colt. None of the remaining bandits possessed headbands, this meant that there was likely nobody inside the warehouse who could use jutsu. This would be too easy!

Before dropping down, the Kaguya began modifying one of his upper arm bones to create a short, bone-hilted bone sword. Cushioning his fall by stabbing a bandit in the head, the warrior moved at high speed to attack each and every bandit until only their leader remained. He would know how it felt to witness the horror of people you knew being slaughtered in your own territory. However, the man seemed unphased as he smoked a cigarette and applauded the Taijutsu master before offering him a job. Colt was a sleazy businessman through and through. He was unaffected by losing the entirety of his staff and only wished to replace them. It was sickening to see a man so greedy that the lives of those dedicated to him meant absolutely nothing. He tried to pour honey into the shinobi’s ears with promising wealth and power by his side, likely the same exact thing he had told his other followers before they perished. But the warrior was only interested in one thing, revenge!

Using his Quick Step to flicker next to Colt, Soran plunged the bone sword into his throat. Pulling the blade out, the medical shinobi performed the Mystical Palm Technique to heal the wound before it killed the man, he then stabbed him again. This process repeated until Soran inflicted too much damage to be restored. He had placed Colt in the living hell he had promised the missing ninja before traveling to the warehouse. It was indeed a fate worse than death. The ninja was not without mercy as he plunged the blade through Colt’s eye and into his brain, effectively lobotomizing him so he would not feel any more pain. Taking the explosive tags out of his bag, the Jounin placed the explosives on the walls while Colt began to slowly bleed to death. Soran then exited the warehouse as he detonated the explosives to collapse on top of the bandit corpses and killed any survivors.

It was time to report to the Mizukage with everything that had occurred during his mission. Traveling through the Village Hidden in the Mist, Soran tossed his bone sword in the water and followed the directions that lead to the address he had received in the mail that morning. This lead the shinobi to the largest landmark in Kirigakure, bearing the kanji for Mizu. The Mizukage position was meant to be filled by the strongest person in the village, regardless of considerations such as age. Which explained why the current Mizukage was known to only be thirteen years old, obviously a different Mizukage than the one Soran knew whenever he first joined the village. In all honesty, the doctor was too preoccupied with the day to day life of being a medic that he had never actually seen what the newer Mizukage even looked like. He only knew that it was a teenage boy who had somehow obtained the rank.

Before entering the large building, Soran removed the Kirigakure headband from around his arm and tied it around his forehead as a sign of respect. Even though he was still in his civilian clothing, he would still possess the appearance of a hidden mist ninja. Soran entered the building and requested an audience with the Mizukage. It proved difficult until showing the letter that he had received that morning, possessing the official seal of a Kage. Upon being granted access, the white haired Jounin entered the main office and greeted the Mizukage with a bow.

While he was bowing, Soran noticed a file on the Mizukage’s desk. If it was his shinobi file, all that would exist in there would be his skills in Taijutsu and his knowledge in the medical field. Being a Kaguya was something he had made sure to keep off his official record as a trained ninja. While his grey eyes were focused on the file, he began to speak and direct his attention towards his Kage.

“Sir. I have come to report the status of the village. First of all, construction of the Great Wall of Kirigakure was going according to schedule before bandits assaulted the outpost nearest to Konohagakure's borders. All the workers there faced fatalities, but have been replaced by some construction workers from each of the other four outposts. So now construction is back on schedule.” After addressing the main issues, Soran proceeded on with his report on the village’s status:

“Upon reaching the third checkpoint, I realized that the citizens were unhappy with the change. I was able to calm them before thing escalated, but there is no telling how things will progress in the future. As for the bandits, I filled the top of the wall with their corpses before tracking down their leader. I was able to kill him and blow up his base of operation with explosive tags he was carrying…” The Jounin paused as he realizing he had just confessed to a mild form of terrorism. He had to think of something quick before he continued with his report.

“The factions related to these events were not foreign. They were conducted by rogue shinobi who had managed to kill two of our own. I went by myself to exact revenge for their treason in honor of our fallen comrades. You will be happy to know that there were no survivors and the group attempting to put a halt on the wall’s construction are no longer existent.”

After speaking these words, the shinobi remained quiet and awaited a response from the Mizukage. Hopefully he would not take issue with the white haired ninja’s unorthodox methods. It was dead silent in the room. Glancing up, Soran noticed it was an older man sitting in the Kage chair.

“No, no. I’m not the Mizukage. I am the Water Daimyō. I am taking over in his stead while the position is open. There will soon be a new leader of our village, young shinobi. But this message is both discerning and a relief at the same time. We thought the village was being invaded when we heard the explosion. But please, do be careful not to destroy any more structures within the village. The citizens get terrified and the shinobi are on high alert. But you have finished the task and I will be sure to let the next Mizukage know all of this whenever the seat is taken.”

“And what about my money?” the white haired ninja asked as he pulled out the envelope he had received that morning. It specifically stated that undertaking these missions would equal a balance of seventeen hundred ryo.

“Oh there is no need to hand me that. I have already taken the liberty of preparing your payment, with interest.” The Water Daimyō smiled as he tossed the bag of ryo towards the shinobi.

Nodding his head, Soran smiled as he caught the sac of money and left the building. This was great! He had extra money to buy improvements for his merchandise. The shinobi could actually afford everything he needed, but he would first have to save up and undergo a couple more missions to save up enough money to buy in bulk.

Walking back towards his home, Soran made sure to check all of the outposts once again to ensure there would be no more trouble. Everything was better and all of the corpses were now gone. The shinobi could rest easy and finally relax. As he entered the front door, he remembered putting his clothes in the washer before the mission. He checked on them and made sure that all of the blood was washed off. He then dried his clothes and folded them away.

After that the white haired ninja made iced coffee for himself with milk, cream, and sugar. After brewing his cup then placing ice cubes in it, the ninja took off his Kirigakure headband and placed it on the counter in his bedroom. Thoughts passed through the mind of the ninja about how badly things could have gotten if he had not taken out that maniac Colt. This place was Soran’s home and he would not let anybody destroy the only place that accepted him. Even though the people residing within the village hidden in the mist didn’t know about his Kaguya bloodline; the Jounin did his best to do the right thing for the people living in his misty village.

The Kaguya’s intentions of going to medical training spawned from wanting to understand his own biology, but he has used everything he has learned along the way to protect those he cares about. He has discovered ways to manipulate his own body to the best of his ability. These final thoughts rushed through his head until he got dizzy. . It was time to unwind by reading something relevant to aid in future struggles on the village.

Lying down in his bed once again, the shinobi decided to read a book on the Mizukage. The scholar found out that the title meant Water Shadow and found out that the first Mizukage was named Rei Uchiha. His title was Shodai Mizukage, Literally meaning: First or Founding Water Shadow. The fascinated shinobi learned the history about the village hidden in the mist up to the current era before going to sleep once again.

Sleep… It was still the most beautiful concept in the world to the diligent warrior. Now that the construction crew was gone for the night, it was bedtime.

Word Count: 4,000