Mission B ranked - Open to Rei

B ranked mission:

Special Note: Genin will be accompanying me on this mission.
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"So where is he?" asked Sanosuke as he sat in the tea shop early that day having his hot drink. There was another man that sat across from the table where he sat. He was an old man, full of wisdom and insight; something Sanosuke was counting on during this while mission. The old man was in his late sixties and was notorious for staging fights throughout the water country and Sanosuke went to him knowing he will have a fresh fighter for Sanosuke to do battle with.

"He's supposed to be here any  minute. The message I sent him was clear. And since you came to me, I know you would not mind if I used this one for your ambitions Sanosuke sama."

Sanosuke thought about the man's words as they were spoken. And he did not mind someone being used to further his own goals. He needed the money to buy certain items that he needed in battle. Sanosuke was not concerned about the strength of the opponent as long as this mission was over and he got his money. He looked at the old man while sitting on a chair on a road side cafe; his middle finger caressing the edge of his tea cup as more steam rose from the hot liquid that was inside. Sanosuke waited for this man to come his way.

Rei was not too thrilled, a message was sent to him that asked him to do a sparring mission with another shinobi of Kirigakure. Sparring itself wasn't a bad thing, it was a great way to learn from each other and improve... but this just seemed weird to the Genin. The message said we were to fight in a sparring match and under some kind of handicap? The mission seemed odd and in bad taste for Rei. He was a die-hard loyal shinobi of Kirigakure, missions were most important to him... but this mission hardly seemed to benefit his village in any way. Still, it was a mission given to him by the village, he would follow it to the best of his ability.

He arrived at the tea shop before too long, already the last person to arrive it would seem. Rei wore mesh-net pants and longsleeve shirt overlapped by shorts and a loose fitting t shirt. Underneath the clothes, his arms and legs were wrapped tightly in white bandages. The Uchiha crest was sported on the back of his black shirt. All of his attire was black in color, it was a great neutral color and didn't stand out too well. Rei Uchiha here. He reported in to the old man and cast a glance at the other man waiting absently: was this to be his opponent?

Sanosuke smiled a bit as he saw the person arrive. As he said his name, he did not react to it in any way due to the prevalence of Uchiha within Kiri's borders. He was not one to waste time and so he drank his last of his tea and got up from his seat. Following his movements, so did the old man as a waiter came and took Sanosuke's cup and plate. Sanosuke though kept his ebony eyes on the person he will be sparring with. He already had an idea what he will put up as a handicap for this little spar.

"I am Uchiha Sanosuke an I will be your opponent today." he said more politely than he meant to. After all, there was no need to be hostile towards a fellow shinobi of Kirigakure until when he sees fit. "Would you please follow us?" asked Sanosuke as he turned to walk away along with the old man.

Assuming that the man will follow them, Sanosuke went into the tea shop and down a back stairs. He and the old man went down two flights of stairs as torches were lit along the stone walls leading downwards into a stone room. The walls and floors were stone and torches were hung on the stone pillars that were erected in a square grid like pattern and were twenty feet apart from each other.

"My handicap will be I will be using just Taijutsu and I will only be fighting at only half of my potential."

Rei didn't blink as Sanosuke introduced himself, there were a number of Uchiha in Kirigakure and they all possessed similar physical traits and persona characteristics. Sanisuke introduced himself in a polite manner, which Rei found somewhat appreciated, but he himself didn't like pleasantries. He nodded silently towards Sanosuke as the man looked at him, acknowledging his words. It seemed that all were present now and Sanosuke got up as if on que with Rei's arrival. So... this man IS my opponent. Fighting another Uchiha huh? He thought inwards to himself as he followed the Uchiha and the old man as they went into the shop and down a couple flights of stairs. Rei thought it was a bit peculiar, he was sense but stayed on alert: Sanosuke was a member of Kirigakure like himself and this was an official mission, but it still felt odd to Rei.

Once arriving at the place, Rei looked around and admired the inner structure: this was a small personal arena meant to withstand combatant shnobi. Rei turned his attention to Sanisuke as he began to speak again. This Uchiha was likely a Jounin and above Rei's ability to fight effectively, but give then right drawbacks, it was possible to defeat a stronger foe. After hearing Sanosuke's handicap, Rei frowned a bit but nodded his head. As a Genin, Rei's weakness was physical combat. Problem was, Rei didn't know too many ninjutsu effective in direct combat. His trumph cards was more of a situational strategic card for right now. My handicap will be the use of only one jutsu and Taijutsu. He explained.

He would wait until the rules were solidified and his opponent was ready. Fighting another Uchiha is a great chance to test each other.  He said, indirectly complimenting Sanosuke simply because of his heritage. Any admiration passed that would have to be earned. Now that the battle was ready, Rei would rush forward suddenly regardless of whether or not Sanosuke would. A single handseal passed in the blink of the eye as a second Rei appeared beside him and ran equally spaced out beside Rei. This was in fact a shadow clone, but he was a Genin, he was using a technique above the average use of a Genin. The majority of inexperienced fighters and some experienced fighters would assume that this was the regular clone technique and try to decide which was the real one. This hesitation was what Rei intended to go for- he would attack along with his clone. The real Rei on the left brought up his leg in a side kick totwards Sanosuke's side while his shadow clone would charge torward with a fist aimed at Sanosuke's face.

Jutsu:

Sanosuke saw one copy that was made by his opponent. Not knowing which of the bodies before him were real, he would just place his guard up against them both and defend accordingly. As the two of them would move in, Sanosuke would raise his hand and allow the first leg to crash into his arm as his ebony eyes looked at the leg which his arm would wrap around. He would then pivot his body gaining the momentum because of centrifugal force due to the swing. He would then fling one body into the next hoping they would crash into each other and take a fighting stance again.

Rei's decision to attack at once with the clone proved a problem when his opponent chose not to lash out at one or the other. Instead, the Sanosuke had taken a defensive stance with wide legs to support his weight while he blocked the kick to his ribs and grappled the leg. Rei lost his balance as Sanosuke lifted and spun him in the direction of his shadow clone, causing them to slam into each other and foiled the rushed striking punch to Sanosuke's face. They two Rei's collided and slammed into each other with enough force to dissipate his shadow clone and drop Rei to the ground. He hit hard but rolled and then staggered to hit feet as he faced the shinobi again- this wasn't someone he could simply defeat with weak taijutsu, especially since his strikes held no power to them. Having his shadow clone's attack foiled, Rei now only had fifty percent of his chakra pool, it would be foolish to use the technique again to further divide his chakra pool. Sanosuke had taken up a defensive stance again and waited for Rei to act rash. Rei had learned though, simply rushing this man would prove his own downfall. Instead of rushing, Rei took up a lowered stance with his right fist leading forward and his left fist cocked to the rear at his waist as he slowly inched around the side of Sanosuke.

This next attack will decide the victor. Rei said, it would be an all or nothing attack, counter attack, counter attack: giving Sanosuke the time to study him and learn how weak Rei actually was in melee combat would just lead to an assured defeat. Having inched closer to Sanosuke's left side, Rei wouldn't do anything until Sanosuke would take action- patiently waiting defensively as well for someone to make the first move. Rei held his right fist up towards Sanosuke's face, it was a simple technique used for intimidating an opponent's field of vision and cause them to avoid the fist's presence. Typically a foe would slap the fist away and leave themselves open to the rear-cocked fist, or they would try to sidestep the leading fist and be met by a haymaker from the side.

So that one was the real one? Hmph, who would have thought. Already from the look on his face, he has realized that he cannot attack me head on. All the same, I never underestimate anyone, no matter how small or what rank they are. To me those things are superficial and can be manipulated into fooling others. Oooh he trying to inch his way around me? That's not bad, trying to read me out.


Sanosuke always kept his eyes on his shifting opponent and always had his face unreadable and stiff as wood to show his seriousness while in any engagement. Sanosuke could tell that without a doubt, this ninja had skill in combat. One day he would prove useful to Sanosuke. He could use someone like this on his side...fighting for Kiri.

[This next attack will decide the victor]

Oh is that so? I guess he thinks he's safe behind that stance of his. I am coming...watch out...


And with that, Sanosuke dashed at the opponent with half of his speed and draw back his hand into a fist and strike at his opponent directly at his face.

Rei's plan would have been effective if he had a better understanding of taijutsu and he wasn't so out-classed by his opponent: even in his defensive stance with his arm leading out, Sanosuke's movement speed was much too swift for the Genin. As Sinosuke closed in, Rei lowered his leading arm to lead Sanosuke into a haymaker from the side. Sanosuke's great speed however caught Rei by surprise. Even at half the speed, he still very much outclassed Rei's movement speed and reaction timing. By the time Rei had lowered his fist and began to swing his rear fist to the side, Sanosuke had closed in his personal space with a charged fish and would connect solidly to Rei's face.

Rei's low stance was meant to support attacks against his torso and lower body, but the strike to the face was strong enough to offset his balance and hurdle him backwards over himself. He laid there for a moment while he gathered his wits and shook his head to clear the black spots that danced in his eyes. he sat up and then staggered to his feet and nodded to Sanosuke. There was no ill feelings, the Jounin Uchiha was skilled and there was no faulting that. It just showed Rei how much stronger he had to become to be able to fight on par with shinobi of the Jounin caliber. Well fought. he said with a grimace and rubbed his cheek. It was a clear loss and Rei felt a bit underwhelmed at the outcome, he hadn't been able to provide much of a fight at all in physical combat. That was all that was required of Rei and Sanosuke probably had similar views on this mission, the sooner it was over the better for both of them. At least Rei better understood his own weakness from this spar. He checked with the old man and then left soon after, he was sure he would see Sanosuke again.

His opponent even though was at a lower level than he was did not back down or quake in fear even when the odds were against him. Signs of a true soldier in Sanosuke's view, a soldier that he could use in his future to attain his goals and help this one attain his as well. Sanosuke took a mental note of the man's fighting style. Had they been even, Sanosuke would have more trouble in winning. He looked at the man get up and rub his cheek as he muttered 'Well Fought'. A show of even good will? Kirigakure was indeed good hands if these were the jounin of the future. They would protect this place with their lives. Sanosuke had grown after this little encounter. He learnt many things but most importantly, he learnt that no matter what level a person is, never underestimate them and never count them out of anything. He also realized that he had to put faith in the younger generation as well. With that, Sanosuke and the old man left the place and exited the tea shop and went on their way. Sanosuke knew that one day or the other they will all meet again, who knows? Maybe to do another mission perhaps. Now Sanosuke knew it was time to assemble a squad to get this thing going..

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