Kill The Slanderers! [PotK]

[Takaki Saeko]

"Heart of the City (Ain't no Love)" by Jay Z​

King Haninozuka Street, South Daehang District
Port of Kelmura, Kaminari no Kuni
...1500 hours

Kelmura: the Filthy Jewel of the West. Like Port Cirrus to the north, it was an epicenter of trade and one of Lightning Country’s two beating economic hearts where the flow of money, labor, and merchandise was forced into the nation’s arteries on a constant basis, with the consequence of failure being the death of a nation. In the hundreds of years since their founding, the two cities had metastasized across the narrow neck of the Lightning Peninsula with untold speed and fury, eventually intermingling with each other at the center and forming a sprawling mess of settlements and strip malls that lit up the night sky and polluted the starlight out of existence.

The difference between the cities, however, was that Kelmura had always been the wilder one – a natural and fertile host for crime syndicates shilling everything from drugs to slaves to forbidden genetic augmentation and plagued with the daily and spectacular violence of clashes between opposing cartels with ambitions of empire and dreams of manifest destiny. Into this stinking, feverish miasma of opportunity and danger now stepped the son of the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, Kizoku Shindou.

The Margrave had told him to start his search in the devastatingly poor and dangerous inner city ghettos, so this time Shindou would have to pass up the world-famous and incredibly polluted beaches lit neon by the displays of waterfront hotels and brothels and marked by the ubiquity of old men in speedos and nubile young women clad in little more than dental floss. That was the territory of the drug smugglers and their fastboats which crested the waves in their mad dash to escape the Imperial Navy’s interdiction cruisers and maintain the supply of Spice Mélange and Allseeing Eye and a thousand other addictive creations that dismantled lives with a single hit and brought incalculable wealth to a flamboyant few. Shindou would instead be on the home turf of dueling gangs formed from the disaffected and jobless sons of Bear Country refugees and Wind Country immigrants trying to maintain their dominance over street kingdoms whose borders changed in the blink of an eye and the splatter of blood.

It would be obvious to Shindou that he had stepped across the wrong side of the tracks after a while spent perusing the northern reaches of the city – the boarded up windows, buildings pockmarked with bolter fire, and groups of angry-looking youths all wearing the same colors and exchanging specific and targeted hand signs at each other were all red flags to the street-smart 47-year-old, but a sure sign that he was in the right place to start looking. As an ostentatiously gold-accented steam carriage rumbled past him blasting the deep throbbing bass lines of urban hip hop, his gaze soon found a likely target.

Plastered to a wall in an alley, a large paper poster:

For all the concerned parents in our community:

Do NOT allow your kids to fall victim to this man! His name is Count Zerotsuki of Ginza, and his men go around disadvantaged communities looking for your daughters to purchase for indenture contracts. He will claim that he is trying to uplift them from poverty and he will promise you that your daughters will be given an education and job training as maids or seamstresses.

Do not trust him! He will sell your daughters to his friends, who are known pedophiles, murderers, and rapists who have evaded the law because they are rich or nobility! Nearly every girl he has “uplifted” from poverty has ended up dead, insane, or simply gone missing. We have testimony from dozens of parents and a few of the surviving girls that support this. Why would they lie about this sort of thing? Think about it.

It may be difficult to turn him down because he will offer you a large sum of money, but if you have a shred of love for your kids, do NOT let him take them!

-A public service announcement by the Congress

Now, this was interesting. How would shindou pursue this lead?

 

[Shiruba]

Shindou has made it to the ghettos of Kelmura that was known for its large percentage of crimes that included murder, theft, prostitution and much more. Currently, Shindou stuck out like a sore thumb because of his sleek robe and expensive shin obi gear underneath the robe. He would have to change his appearance so he appears as if he is part of the neighborhood. Everything around seemed dirty and pitiful, kids were part of gangs, windows were bordered up and a gold steam carriage would drive by with no one daring an attempt to rob it. The one with the most money tends to have the most power and they would know who is behind this. With his hakuemei byakugan Shindou will keep track of the vehicle and look for other clues at the same time. He found the poster that Mizuki told him about in an alleyway and it match the description completely. It would be a shame if those malicious looking punks wanted to try to mug Shindou because it would end horribly for them.

The need to destroy the press seemed urgent but it was difficult for Shindou to follow the vehicle without one of these kids tipping off the driver or anyone else the car belonged to. While Shindou was in the alley he ripped down the poster so he could use it to help him track down where the press could be. The old veteran performed handseals beneath his coat to cast "Chakra Sense". Anyone with chakra that possessed the poster would be tracked down by the AIT and maybe it would even lead him to the warehouse. With another wave of hand seals Shindou used "Active Camo" so he now blends in with the background and with his swift Hyuuga speed he followed the car to see where it leads.

770 words.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Shii-baa! Who’s that rich motherfucker?! Goja’s hanging around here like he owns the fuckin’ place,” growled one of the teenagers as he noticed Shindou’s fine clothing and expensive gear, particularly the augmented ballistic gloves the shinobi wore on his fists. Signaling to his companions, the youth reached into his belt and pulled out a jury-rigged pistol crossbolter and started to march toward the shinobi’s location just as Shindou dodged into a nearby alley. “Yo, scarface bitch!” whooped the group leader as he stepped into the alley, bolter held in front and sideways in classic “gangster” style. “You’re gonna d…”

To the teen’s surprise, and in probably the luckiest moment of his life, he found only an empty alleyway strewn with trash, with Shindou nowhere to be seen. Overhead, the veteran shinobi, now cloaked with the subtle light-distorting effects of his jutsu, traversed the rooftops. Sure, he could have easily dealt with the gangbangers, but he was here on a mission, not to mess around with kids. In a way, the young, jobless men below him were victims as well – their lot was only to die on the mean streets in pain and anger and fear.

His chakra sense having located the car from earlier, Shindou was able to follow it as it made a slow passage through the ghetto, stopping several times for an unknown reason. Eventually, however, it pulled up to a brick building near the warehouse district, and stopped its engine.

From his perch above, Shindou would be able to make out two figures exiting the car. Both were Kaminarijin, as opposed to ethnic Bear or Marsh or Sunans, and were quite well-dressed in flashy suits with flamboyant hats and plenty of gold jewelry on their fingers. One of them walked with a slight limp and supported his weaker leg with a flashy, skull-topped cane. Both men chatted jovially to themselves as they entered an unmarked door on the side of the building, whose dilapidated signage marked it as the “Hotel Terminus”

Their steam carriage was not the only one parked nearby, however – there were other, similarly expensive-looking carriages parked alongside it, each one with a chauffeur who doubled as an armed guard packing a pistol bolter. Mounted on one of the carriages was the heraldry of Count Zerotsuki of Ginza. Surveying the outside of the hotel, it was obvious that this was no ordinary meeting place – no ordinary dilapidated hotel had mercenary guards standing watch outside the major entrances. Rough-looking men in ugly suede suits with leather elbow pads, each carried at least a pistol bolter and a dagger. The men inside would probably carry full size bolters as well.

If Shindou were interested in investigating more, he would have to find a way into the hotel, and not attract the attention of the guards. His active camo would help, but the advantage would wear off soon, as it was starting to rain. Several entrances nearby looked promising – a nearby sewer outlet that seemed to lead to the hotel, a side alley in which one of the guards seemed to have a bladder problem and would regularly leave his post to take a long piss, and a maintenance entrance with a simple lock and a bag of tools seated nearby.

 

[Shiruba]

As Shindou was on his way out he heard some words the little Blood Drops said. Some were nice compliments but most wasn't and Shindou didn't have time to mess with unemployed low lives that doesn't do anything all day but act like thugs. Using the chakra sense on the poster it revealed the ones in the carriage has something to do with the creations and distributions of the slandering posters about the Shogun and Chancellor. He followed the vehicle through the ghetto and it made unusual stops and drove by slowly. Eventually, the carriage will lead to a brick building in the ghetto near the warehouse district which would be the best place to start looking. Two men exited the vehicle and their clothing were extremely shocking and flashy. They wore clothing that flaunts money and power; and it is time for them to take it down a notch. These pimps were not from around here because it was quite easy to realize that they are from a different race. The most common ethnicities around here are from Bear, Marsh and some are Sunans.

The two men seemed to be the wealthiest nearby but there were other vehicles that might belong to other individuals. The need to find out who has done this was not important but destroying the printing press was. Shindou saw a few locations that he could use to enter the hotel. His first thought would be the sewer outlet but it is very unlikely that there is a large enough whole from a sewer that would lead to the basement. The next option for him was a side alley door that was guarded by a man with a senior citizen's bladder. The likely hood of there being alarms to this door was slim because the man was guarding it and if he had to get in and out of the building regularly from that door they would keep the alarm off. It started to rain and it was messing up Shindou's camouflage so he had to act fast. He kept his Camouflage active and waited until the guard went to take a piss. With blinding speed Shindou's attempted to enter the build from the side alley's door. If it was locked Shindou would use Eight Trigrams Acupuncture and slice the lock from the thin crack on the side of the door to let him in.

1170 words total
400 words mft

 

[Takaki Saeko]

With a barely audible "clink," the lock was torn in half by Shindou's technique and dropped to the dirty asphalt of the alley. Silently, the shinobi slipped inside, well within the margin of safety offered by the outside guard's need to relieve himself (who actually pissed that much? Either the guy had venereal disease or this was some sort of videogame). By the time the man came back and felt the urge to go again, he would be none the wiser.

Hotel Terminus, First Floor
Port of Kelmura, Kaminari no Kuni
...1700 hours

The inside of the old hotel was a dilapidated mess of peeling, lime-green wallpaper disintegrating onto a stained, hardwood floor that creaked dangerously with every footstep. Overhead, flickering electric chandeliers buzzed noisily as they cast erratic spashes of pale yellow over moldy couches and tables that might have once been plush and luxurious. The whine of vacuuming sounded from down one of the halls leading out from the main lobby, while occasionally, shrieking and pounding sounds echoed from the floors above, disappearing just as fast as they had issued.

Shindou had entered an empy maintenance room, replete with dirty, grimy tools, a disgusting-looking plunger, and a mechanic and janitor's uniform hanging limply on a nearby coatrack. The actual entrance to the lobby was beyond a simple wooden door, and through the door, he would be able to hear voices. Further investigation revealed a rather generously-sized keyhole through which he could peer into the actual hotel lobby.

On the other side of the door, Count Zerotsuki of Ginza, the target of the slander, paced impatiently, with a furious expression on his face. Noticeably, he was unguarded - probably he trusted that the men stationed outside would deter any attempts at entering the place. Within a few minutes, the two ostentatious-looking individuals from outside now met with him, waving and smiling at the Count.

"You guys think this is all fun and games. That some printing press is 'trolling me for the lulz,' don't you? Well, gentlemen, this is fucking serious. It's getting harder and harder to buy the girls without arousing suspicion. I've had to pay nearly double per head since those shitty posters came out. That means you, Cafuin and Nicotin, are also going to be paying me double as well," growled the count, his words harsh even though his face remained smiling and cheerful. One of the two well-dressed men from earlier laughed, slapping the Count on the back.

"Not to worry, my lord! My bowery boys have some leads. We'll burn the bloody place down in no time," said one of the men, likely Cafuin by name.

"Well where the hell is it, then?" asked the Count, shaking his head incredulously.

"Ah ah ah! We have plenty of time, don't you think, old chap?" said Nicotin, leering and licking his lips. "How about we enjoy ourselves first, and then we'll happily share all the information we have!"

"Whatever! Fine, assholes. Tobako is waiting upstairs. I'll show you the merchandise," said the count, exasperated. With that, the three men stepped into an elevator, and the doors closed. Based on the floor display, it was easy to see that the elevator was going to the top floor.

Now, Shindou faced a challenge - something important was about to go down, and one of the distasteful men who had met the Count definitely held some important information to the mission. But how would he sneak up to the top floor without gathering too much attention or wearing himself out? He could not just walk out into the lobby - more of the mercenaries were patrolling around, and turning the hotel's first floor into a warzone would only cause the Count and the men to flee. Perhaps a disguise would work? Or perhaps he could sneak into the elevator shaft itself?

 

[Shiruba]

Shindou made it inside the building with ease. The man that kept guard should be executed for his inability to hold his bladder. The Hotel was no hotel he hasn't seen. The wall paper was peeling, the floors creaked extremely loud, and the chandeliers buzzed noisily so stealth would be difficult. Shindou heard talking so he looked through a keyhole and noticed the Count was there. Obviously, he was confused because the poster led him here which would mean the press was right under his nose. The Count began to bicker with the men about having to pay double for the girls and he was arousing suspicion. Everything that has been said sounds suspicious and the mission could turn awry at any second. The men and the Count entered the elevator and something big was about to happen. He needed to see what will happen and if the merchandise were girls would he have to free them? He must contact Masao to see what he will do. The old veteran put on his headset and sent a quick message to Masao.

Shindou spoke in a soft tone. Message from Shindou on mission Kill the Slanderer to Masao. I have a reason for suspicion that the Count Zerotsuki may really be using young girls for human trafficking. I will gather more intel to confirm my suspicion. You will be informed once more information has been gathered. Shindou out.

The old veteran had to find his way up the elevator shaft without being caught. Normally the shafts contains a ladder that could be used but he mustn't take a chance. Posing as a janitor was the best option and the tools were right near him. Shindou performed Transformation Jutsu to make his face look normal because janitors with bad burns tend to be recognizable and he also used it to look like he had on a real janitor outfit. Shindou took the real tools on the floor and strapped it around his waist. With a confident walk, he walked to the elevator and click the up button attempting to follow the three men. He used his Hyuuga ability to see which floor the stopped at and also to check for any excuse to be up there. Such as a broken light, trash that needs to thrown out or even to clean the toilets.

1561 words

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Concurrently…
"Ten Million Slaves" by Otis Taylor​

10 kilometers outside city limits
Port Cirrus, Kaminari no Kuni
…1705 hours

Muddy water splashed onto the man’s fine, woolen western-style jacket as he stumbled into a trickling stream at the bottom of an unexpected dip in the woody glade through which he ran. Normally, he would have cursed to himself at the impending cleaning bill, but right now, he ran for his life. The auto-bolter he held with a white-knuckled grip was too damned heavy and slowing him down, but it was also his last ditch defense against the enemies that pursued him. Cresting the top of the little creek valley, he sprinted down an incline into a manicured apple orchard.

The booming crack of a high-powered hunting arbalest firing sounded behind him, accompanied by the whoosh of its bolt shredding branches nearby. Panicking, the man whirled around and fired off a spray of quarrels, his weapon’s rapid-sequence reports sounding miniscule in comparison. Thinking better of standing around, he then continued to run.

“Halt, or we WILL shoot!” bellowed Vice Commander Takaki Masao as he now shuffled down the incline in pursuit, holding the hunting arbalest at ready and priming another long bolt. His target was the running man – a bank robber nicknamed “Pretty Boy Kuroda” who he and the local law enforcement of Port Cirrus had tracked down on suspicion of funneling money to a seditious organization calling itself the “Continental Congress”. Another sequence of rapid-fire cracks sounded out from the orchard lanes. The constables behind Masao flinched and ducked for cover, but the ANBU calmly sighted down the length of his weapon, lining up the sights right onto the running Kuroda’s center of mass. With a click, he pulled the priming trigger, and then gingerly wrapped his finger around the firing trigger, giving it a slow, steady squeeze.

With a sickening, squelching sound, Kuroda’s abdomen exploded outward in a spray of blood and gore as the eight-millimeter round punched through, dropping the man into a prone skid. Rolling into his back, Kuroda pulled a pistol bolter, only to have it kicked away by the Masao.

“Pretty Boy Kuroda? You’re under arrest,” said Masao, leveling the weapon at the robber’s face.

“My name is Manabu…Kuroda Manabu… Who are you?” gasped the man, coughing up blood.

“Takaki Masao, Kumogakure ANBU. Tell us who your contact in the Continental Congress is!”

“I believe…I believe you’ve killed me…” gasped Kuroda, sneering as his face grew paler. Blood continued to pour from the open crater on his abdomen like a river. “…So you can go right to hell…”

A few seconds later, the blood ceased to flow, and the man’s eyes rolled into his skull, and he was silent. Masao sighed in annoyance, stepping back and letting the constables get to work slapping cuffs on the dead man. At that moment, his headset buzzed to life. A priority transmission from one of his field agents.

"Message from Shindou on mission Kill the Slanderer to Masao. I have a reason for suspicion that the Count Zerotsuki may really be using young girls for human trafficking. I will gather more intel to confirm my suspicion. You will be informed once more information has been gathered. Shindou out."

Good move, Shindou, he thought, opening the channel.

“Roger that, Agent. Continue with your mission. Report everything you see, particularly criminal activity. Do not engage non-mission-specific targets unless given clearance to do so,” he said, rubbing his aching back.

Back in Kelmura…​

<i></i>

With the janitor’s disguise and his transformation masking his face, Shindou walked through the lobby unopposed and unnoticed, only receiving a cursory nod at best from one of the mercenaries. Shortly thereafter, the elevator’s doors opened, revealing a similarly dilapidated elevator car with piss stains in the corners and reeking of ammonia. A look with his Byakugan informed him that the three subjects from earlier – Count Zerotsuki and his two companions, had just gotten off at the top floor and were walking away from the elevator in the direction of one of the “daimyo suites” on that floor. Hence, Shindou would head there too. With a creaking noise, the doors closed, and the car began to ascend.

A few minutes later, the doors again opened for him, revealing the top floor. He would be glad that he had assumed his disguise, as the place was again infested with mercenaries lazing around, cradling their high-power weaponry and flirting with the various maids. The overall appearance was not much better than the lobby had been – still the same, worn-out, depressed-looking surroundings and overall atmosphere of decay and something worse.

“Shit, what were you doing, jacking off down there? Sure took your fuckin’ time,” one of the mercs said to Shindou, noticing his arrival and the plunger on his belt. “Fuckin’ toilet’s overflowing in the room next to the daimyo suite. Go fix it before we all die of salmonella,” growled the man, pointing his finger in the direction that the Count and the others had walked in. This was fortunate for Shindou – he would have an easier time spying on the proceedings if he were in the adjacent room. Old buildings like these had numerous ways of going from one room to another – ventilation shafts, dumbwaiters, and even old pinholes drilled into the walls for the very purpose of espionage.

The room with the overflowing toilet was the adjacent suite next to the one the Count and the others were in, and fortunately, it was empty, the toilet smell having forced everyone else out. A quick inspection of the porcelain throne itself would reveal two things: that it was a standard, white “Bakunin” brand 3L per flush tank model, and that the blockage was the result of a dying rat that had gotten jammed in the piping. But what was more salient was what was going on next door.

In the main suite, the Count lounged back on a couch in front of a group of three girls, from their appearances aged twelve to fifteen. Their faces and clothing marked them as peasants, probably bought from a starving village on the outskirts of the Port Cirrus-Kelmura metropolis.

“Did you enjoy your meal, darlings?” asked the Count, smiling.

“Yes, it was amazing, Count-sama!” said one of them, pink-haired and wearing a hand-made beret.

“Thank you, Count-sama! I can’t wait to start serving you!” said another, a blonde.

“Delicious,” said another, a withdrawn-looking girl wearing a bunny-eared hoodie.

“Ah, I’m glad to hear it, ladies. And serve me you shall! Because now we get to the main dish!” he said, clapping. Behind him, from other rooms in the suite, emerged the two men he had originally talked to in the lobby, who Shindou would identify as Cafuin and Nikotin. A third figure, this one obese and wearing an open jacket that showed his shiny gut, also joined them, licking his lips. These men in turn were flanked by some of the same type of mercenaries who had been guarding the hotel lobby.

“Count-sama?!” growled the pink-haired one, her eyes narrowing. The blonde, who probably had the best danger-sense of all of them, did not say a word, but attempted to bolt from her seat, only to be suddenly tackled and held down by one of the mercenaries. The bunny-eared one gasped as she was in turn taken from behind in a choke-hold by another mercenary. With a dull thud, the pink-haired one was laid out by a punch to the gut, and she fell to her hands and knees, choking and moaning.

“I wasn’t lying, ladies. I said you’d serve me. And serve me you shall, by providing some entertainment to my dear friends,” said Count Zerotsuki, shrugging. “See, these ones are feisty – well worth the price,” he said, turning to the three “clients” of his, who licked their lips as they approached the girls, rape and murder in their eyes.

“Oh, it’s so fun to cut these ones down bit by bit. I think…I’ll break the Pink one’s legs first. Starting from her toes. Then her feet, then her ankles, and then her shins, then her knees…Ooh, I can’t wait!” drooled Cafuin, as he went up to the pink-haired one and started to caress her feet. She screamed and tried to kick away, but the mercenaries holding her down were simply too powerful. With a sickening crack, he twisted her little toe at an unnatural angle, fracturing the bones inside.

“See, ladies, my friends aren’t exactly, uh, normal. They’re tired of the usual extreme vices and they like to break little girls like you down after seeing them at their happiest!” said Count Zerotsuki to the girls as they tearfully struggled.

“But it’s thanks to us freaks that you make a profit, Zero,” protested another man, Nikotin, as he approached the bunny-eared one with a straight razor in hand. “Hmm, I love that fierce expression in her eyes. I think I will cut one of them out,” he said, massaging himself between his legs as he whirled the razor around.

“And I think I’ll give my last present to you, Tobako,” said the Count, pointing at the blonde as the obese man sauntered forward. Now, Shindou could see that the fat man carried a chain leash in his hand, to which was attached a large, growling war-dog as tall as a man’s chest and with jaws that could rip a man’s throat out in less than a second. Taking the blonde’s blouse in his hand, the man, Tobako ripped it away in a single motion, exposing her nakedness to the room.

“Meet my child, Rex” said Tobako to the blonde, pulling the snarling war-dog forward. “He’s currently in heat, but he’s kind of a strange child, in that he doesn’t like other dogs, but he loves little girls like you! It’s best for you if you just let him do what he wants. Otherwise he’ll bite your face off, and well, when that happens, I won’t put you out of your misery…”

“Why?! Why are you doing such terrible things, Count-sama?!” wailed the blonde as the war-dog began to lick her on the stomach. Count Zerotsuki just laughed in response.

“Because, it gets me money, and because I can! You peasants are just replaceable trash, anyway. You know that Chancellor Tachibana regards me as one of her favorites? That bitch and her faggot Margrave will forgive all my sins, because I do what she wants me to and oppose Marquis Lee Kuan Yew whenever he puts something to a vote. It’s detestable, really, I can’t stand either of them, but I do what I have to so I can enjoy myself with my friends!”

For Shindou, the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. Three lives were on the line, and although it was not his original mission, he had to act – or did he? His original mission had only been to destroy a printing press that warned the people about just this sort of thing happening, but here it was, transpiring in front of him! It wasn’t slander at all – it was the truth, and the Count really was knowingly abusing his charges! How could things have turned so damned wrong?!

 

[Shiruba]

Roger that. and Shindou was back in pursuit. He went into the lobby without being noticed and one man even gave Shindou a nod. He gave a small nod back to show some form of politeness and he was off to the elevator. He was able to see the three men exit to the top floor and Shindou followed. The elevator ride lasted a few minutes; making it the slowest elevator ever to exist. The door opened and mercenaries and guards were all over the place. Each had a powerful weapon and some were flirting with the maid. They must be some of the girls that the Count bought from some peasant families. One man spoke up to Shindou “Shit, what were you doing, jacking off down there? Sure took your fuckin’ time”. The old vet gave the man and smirked and ignored the rest as he walked away. Only one thing they said caught his attention; “Fuckin’ toilet’s overflowing in the room next to the daimyo suite. Go fix it before we all die of salmonella,”. This was good news for Shindou because the bathroom was right next to the meeting and he could easily ease drop. Upon entering the bathroom the smell of feces and decaying flesh rushed into his nose. He closed the door behind him so the mercenaries won’t see that he is spying.

Shindou watched and listened from the room next door and he saw three girls and they seemed like peasants. At first the greetings were kind but everything went south fast. The men from the carriage entered with some guards from the hall. The pink haired one knew what was about to happen and Shindou couldn’t do anything to protect them. Yet. He activated Snapshot and recorded everything as proof to show his superiors. One of the men chose the pink hair girl and the mercenaries held her down. She attempted to fight back but they were too powerful. Without any mercy the man broke her pinky toe. The Count narrated as the men did what they like and it made it even more sickening. The old shinobi forced himself not to go until he got permission. One man with a razor approached the bunny eared girl and a fat man released a dog to have his way with the blonde.

Masao. Shindou said with a stern voice but at a low volume. The Count is not just selling these girls as ordinary sex slaves. He sells them to sick men that torture the girls by breaking their limbs and having war-dogs rape them. The mission should be called off and I suggest too let me save the girls. I am have everything recorded as proof and he also said Chancellor Tachibana would allow such a thing. This should be an assassination mission on the Count. Over.

(If Masao allowed Shindou to save the girls.)

Shindou finally got permission to save the girls and he had to do it swiftly and without warning. It was time for action and Shindou vanished from where he was standing. He appeared behind a mercenary standing in the back and threw a smoke bomb to the floor. The room started to smoke up and he entered Emulated Jyuuken Stance and then he attacked every enemy in the room with Eight Trigrams Acupuncture twice which has the speed of one attack. The attacks weren’t meant to kill the Count unless Masao gave him permission. The old vet would then gather the girls up and keep them behind him, he knew that the men couldn't lay a hand on him the girls as long as Shindou could use Kaiten to deflect all attacks.

(If Permission isn’t granted. Shindou won’t do a thing until I see the Mod. XD)

Word count 2000+ words

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Orinehime Orchards
Port Cirrus, Kaminari no Kuni
…1715 hours

“Roger, Agent. Transmit chakra snapshot to me immediately. Hold until further orders given,” said Masao over his headset after hearing the sudden transmission. Kizoku wasn’t one for emotional reactions, but it was obvious that whatever he was seeing in Kelmura was enough to disturb even the grizzled old vet. Luckily, they were close enough in proximity for at least a skeleton of a recording to make it across. As the Vice Commander closed his eyes, images from Shindou’s memories flooded his sensorium. “Fuck,” he growled, terminating the feed. He had seen enough.

“This is Vice Commander Takaki. I need the Margrave, NOW,” he said, switching to another frequency. After a few seconds, Tokugawa Mizuki’s voice sounded over the headset. The man seemed to be devoid of a personal life, but in this case it was of benefit to three lives on the line.

“This is the Director of the BSA, what’s going on?”

“The mission parameters have changed, Mizuki. My agent in Kelmura is witnessing the commission of a capital offense by Count Zerotsuki of Ginza and his associates at this very moment. The men in question are Baron Cafuin of Raiden no Me, Chairman Nicotin of the Showa Holding Corporation, and Sir Tobako of Gifu. I’m ordering my agent to terminate them all.”

“Wait! …The Chancellor would prefer the Count be kept alive. The others are disposable.”

“What, so he can do this all over again?” growled Masao.

“We will punish the Count, and make sure he doesn’t do this again. But he is still of use to our bloc.”

“Very well,” said Masao, shaking his head and switching to Shindou’s frequency. “Shindou, you have permission to rescue the girls. Terminate the rest. Leave the Count alive.”

Meanwhile…​

The room was suffused with a roiling cloud of white smoke that singed lungs and burned at the eyes like tear gas. It had been enough of a distraction to allow Shindou his opportunity to strike, and strike he did, jabbing his opponents with the Eight Trigrams technique, where every strike was exponentially more deadly than the last. Outwardly, the attacks left little physical evidence of trauma, but internally, the disruption of natural energy flow within a human body would set off a deadly chain reaction that had spectacular results. In other words, his opponents didn’t know it, but they were already dead!

“Gah, what the shit?! Who the fuck are you?! What’s wrong with your face?!” screeched the Count at Shindou, coughing and trying to breathe through his sleeve to prevent the smoke from overwhelming him. Behind the shinobi, the three girls cowered, tears rolling down their faces. Yet even though they knew not his name or origin, they knew that unlike the other men in the room, this one was here to here to help them.

“Never mind who the fuck he is! He’s dead!” bellowed Cafuin, reaching into a holster at his belt and drawing a pistol bolter, which he leveled at Shindou’s head.

“Kill him, Rex!” snarled Tobako, pointing in the ANBU’s direction. The gigantic dog snarled and whirled toward Shindou, its jaws open, when suddenly, its eyes bulged outward and blood spurted from its gullet as if something had exploded inside. With a death whimper, it fell to the ground and crashed against the opposite wall.

Next, Cafuin started to pull his trigger, only to suddenly witness his own hand swelling to a grotesque size like some sort of fleshy balloon, followed in quick succession by the rest of his arm. In horror, he attempted to scream, only to have the right side of his face suddenly bulge and stretch outward grotesquely before exploding into a titanic splatter of crimson along with the upper half of his body.

Before Tobako could respond to the death of his canine “child,” his abdomen suddenly swelled to unnatural proportions before exploding in a shower of gore, intestinal loops, and feces that splattered the floor in front of him like a weapon blast.

“Oh fuck…” whispered Nicotin, now attempting to flee, only to have both his legs suddenly balloon outwards and explode, leaving him only half a man remaining.

Similarly, the other mercenaries in the room now dropped dead, splattering the walls with their flesh explosions. All that was left was the Count himself.

“G…g…g…g…what the goddamned fuck?” stammered the man. He whirled and attempted to flee, only to have his left kneecap explode outward in a spray of cartilage chunks and bloody fat, dropping him to the floor. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” he screamed piteously, rolling around on the bloody floor clutching at his mangled knee.

“Agent Kizoku, is it?” buzzed the Margrave’s voice over Shindou’s headset. “What a mess this has become. Well, right now the printing press issue has become a bit less important, so don’t worry about that for now. I assume the Count is alive. Please, if you would, let me talk to him through your headset…”

[Alright, after you post, we will wrap this up! As far as what's physically happening to the men, think of the effects of Kenshiro's attacks in Fist of the North Star]

 

[Shiruba]

Shindou transmitted his memory to Masao, hopefully getting permission to kill all of them but somehow corruption was going to save the Count. After a few seconds the Vice Commander gave Shindou the green light to rescue the girls but has to keep the Count alive, just like he though. The old vet used his forbidden techniques and the attacks were extremely effective. The Count seemed to be surprised by Shindou’s appearance but who isn’t. His scars already make him look like a monster but the speed and efficiency he can kill at was unbelievable. The man told the dog to attack Shindou but he couldn’t do it. The dog started exploding from the inside out. Guts and gore sprayed over the floor and the dog fell. The other mercenaries had similar effects happen to them and all started exploding. The scene was like from a movie and the Count couldn’t believe his eyes. The grizzled AIT kept a stone face and didn’t say a word. Silence was the ultimate torture.

The Count watched as his associates splattered all over the room and fear quickly rose within him. Like any human being he tried to flee but that wasn’t going to work. His knee stretched and popped, cartilage and blood was all over the floor. A message came across from his headset from an unknown source and seemed to know about the missions.

This is I. Very well then.

Shindou approached the Count and said It’s for you and handed the headset over to the Count.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Breathing heavily through clenched teeth, the Count attempted to pull himself across the blood-streaked floor away from his attacker. With a shattered knee, however, his attempts were futile. Fixing a hateful glare on the ANBU, he spat at Shindou’s feet as the man approached with a headset in hand.

“It’s for you,” said the ANBU simply, handing the device over to the Count, whose expression became one of confusion. As he put it up to his ear, his eyes suddenly grew wide with fear.

“Hello, Zero. I really wish I hadn’t found out about this side of you,” said Mizuki’s voice over the headset.

“Did you send this guy, you goddamned queer?!” spat Zerotsuki.

“Mind your manners, Count. You’re talking to a Margrave, don’t forget that. Now you’re going to shut up and be a good boy and listen, otherwise I will instruct the shinobi to tear off your left testicle. I’m sure he wants to do worse, given what he’s seen. The bottom line is that the Chancellor doesn’t care what sort of sordid fetishes you indulge in on your own time, but she gets upset when you rile the public up and provoke the printing of seditious materials that harm the government’s reputation. We’re going to let you live, but from now on, you work only for us, and you do only what we say. Otherwise, you really will disappear into one of our interrogation chambers and never be found again. Do I make myself clear?”

Mizuki’s words were smooth like honey, as always. The Count seemed to rage for a moment, but then relented.

“A-a-all clear, My Lord…” he said, his expression one of despair.

“Good dog. Now, I will send my men to take you to the best hospital in Port Cirrus and get your injuries patched up. Please give my shinobi friend his headset back,” said Mizuki, hanging up. Shaking and pale from fear, the Count held the device out for Shindou to take.

“Well, what a clusterfuck that turned out to be,” sounded Masao’s voice in the ANBU’s ear. “In any case, good job, I guess. Go ahead and return to Kumo. I think there’s a class that the Sennin is teaching on disaster response – one of those prerequisites for promotion and all that. Over and out.”

As Shindou was about to leave the scene, however, one of the girls, the one who he had saved from the dog, tugged at his sleeve to get his attention.

“You’re a shinobi, right? We wanted to thank you for saving our lives. One day we’ll become stronger and pay you back properly!” she said, cheerfully.

One Week Later...​

Old Bear Printing House
Port of Kelmura, Kaminari no Kuni
…0800 hours

“Can I help you?” asked a burly man who wore an ink-stained apron as he emerged into the front office from the curtained back of the printing shop he ran in the Kelmura Ghetto. Standing in the shop were three figures who wore the monastic robes of the Temple of Raiden. Two taller figures who flanked a much smaller one in the center who held a bag of coins. The smaller one spoke, pulling her hood down to reveal a surprisingly young-looking face with very old-looking eyes.

“We’re here to order another run of the warning about the Count of Ginza. Another five thousand copies. And of course we from the Temple will distribute them so you are not implicated.”

The burly man smiled in response, wiping his inky hands on a rag.

“I’d love to take your money, ma’am, but I should tell you that the rumors around the neighborhood are that Count Zerotsuki has essentially stopped going around purchasing girls. In fact, he hasn’t really been seen anywhere for the last week, ever since he had that skiing accident and had to move to the Shogun’s Palace to continue his duties,” he said, to which the woman smiled.

“In that case, then, it seems that someone finally responded to our pleas for justice. Bless you, my son, for your help in this. Raiden rewards those who follow His path, dangerous as it may be,” she said, putting a sack of coins on the desk anyway, before putting her hood back on and turning to leave the shop with her escort. The burly man grinned at the sudden stroke of fortune, jingling the coins in his hand. From the back, one of his apprentices now emerged, awestruck.

“Master, do you know who that lady was?” asked the apprentice, crossing himself.

“Er, nope,” said the burly man, shrugging.

“That was the Venerable Hisahide Matsunaga. She’s the Head Priestess of Raiden. Damn! I should’ve asked her for a blessing!”

Finis.​

 

[Shiruba]

The man spat at Shindou's feet and he contemplated whether to kill him or not. Luckily, for him the order was to keep him alive. His attempt to escape was futile and Shindou handed him the headset. The man on the other end of the line seemed to have said something extremely haunting by the looks of the Count's face. Eventually, the old vet got his headset back and Masao was on the line. He was instructed to head back to the Village and participate in a class Santaru Rin was hosting. No time for breaks if you are going to become ANBU.

You forget people can do some sick things. I will be there. Over and out.

As he was leaving one of the girls tugged on his robe. I am. Shindou used his Hyuuga eyes to see if they chakra systems were developed. It seems some girls had potential and maybe they would be able to become stronger. You will need a lot of training to become stronger. Attempt to join Kumogakure and see how you do. Hopefully, one day we will see each other yet again. After that Shindou jumped out the window and was on his way back home.

topic left/leaving to Village