Satsumaru, or Apex rather, sat on the edge of a rooftop overlooking a row of some high-class stores. His mask firmly upon his face, only his crimson eyes showing through his clockwork mask. He was out in the open, yet not a soul seemed to notice him high above their heads. If they did, they either didn't care or knew better than to stare at an ANBU on patrol. No, the masked man was left to his boredom as he sat above the busy street, biding his time on patrol. He had already spent hours on his shift, watching the rich go about their daily lives, purchasing this and that in an effort to make themselves happy. Only the span of minutes separated him from closing another uneventful patrol.
It was then, however, that fate decided to throw the veteran shinobi a curve-ball. A rumbling rocked the ground below, shaking the building he was perched upon and sending a cloud of smoke upward. His crimson eyes widened with surprise as he looked downward to see a broken hole in the building's outer wall. Soon after, two men came rushing out, fleeing the scene.
"Hmph,"<i></i> Satsumaru grunted, "I suppose I was begging for it..."<i></i>
And with that, he stretched a bit and shook off the stiffness that had set in during his time perched. It was time to go to work. In a flash, he took off, bounding across rooftops to maintain a line of sight on the two men. Each seemed to hold a large knapsack over their shoulder, with a few minor purses attached to their belts. The closer Satsumaru caught up to them, the larger they appeared. Obviously, these were two very large thieves...
Giving a sigh, the armored ANBU leaped ahead through the air, coming to rest in front of the two. The duo halted in their tracks, sending clouds of dust into the air as they waited to see who had crossed their path. When the smoke cleared, the vision of a lean ANBU stood firmly in their way.
"Surrender, if you would," the shinobi requested nonchalantly, "Otherwise, we'll have to do this the complicated way, and I do so hate the amount of paperwork a forced apprehension or kill would take. And you'd be better off in the upper levels of the Palace rather than the dark hell below, I promise you that."
One of the men laughed, while the other simply stared at the smaller man. Satsumaru frowned from behind his mask. Obviously, this wasn't going to be an easy arrest.
"We're the Jigoku no Banken Brothers!" the laughing man announced, revealing his horribly scarred face from beneath a black mask, "I think you'll be the one experiencing hell!"
The other brother simply stood there, pulling his own mask off to show grinning teeth filed to points. Clearly, these men were deranged. And 'deranged' usually meant 'violent'.
Disappointed, Apex replied, noting, "Agree to disagree?"
And with that, the knife-fanged brother pulled a hatchet from his side and took a wild swing at the ANBU, proving that his distaste for words wasn't just an act. Apex was able to lean away from the swipe, and dodge the next attempts that came after it before jumping a short distance away and regaining his footing.
Brushing his shoulders off, the nonchalant ANBU confirmed, "Agree to disagree, then."
With a flick of his wrist, a volley of senbon flew through the air toward the hatchet-wielding member of the thieving duo, granting a surprisingly accurate result. Eight of the eight needles planted firmly into the man's chest. Even more surprising, however, was the fact that the hefty man simply ignored them as they stuck out from his skin like needles from a porcupine.
Apex wasn't given time to wonder, though, as the more talkative brother rushed forward with a punch. The ANBU side-stepped it, but was met with a swing of the other brother's axe. The two pressured onward with almost coordinated assaults, leaving the Uchiha with hardly enough time for his Sharingan eyes to register them from either side of his periphery. A few of the hatchet's attempts made glancing contact with the ANBU's underclothing, carving a few microscopic threads from the material. At last, the hatchet made it's mark, impacting with a sickening thud into the young man's chest.
Except a cloud of smoke revealed that the hatchet wasn't implanted into the ANBU's chest, but that of a kawarimi log with a supicious note attached. Struggling to remove his hatchet from the wood, the aggressive bandit was blown away from the spot by the exploding note. Though still intact, the man struggled to get back up, obviously concussed from the blast.
His brother, however, was still raring to go, rushing the reappeared ANBU with full force. Apex was easily able to dodge most of the attacks, but a visible rush of chakra seemed to fuel the giant more and more with each attempted attack. In a sudden shift, the large attacker punched the ground instead of Apex, catching the Uchiha off-guard and sending a wave of earth into his chest. Bruised, but not broken, the recipient of the attack rose up and coughed.
Returning the favor, he performed a flash of handseals and sent a bolt of lightning at the thief, which was consequently deflected by a conjured wall of dirt from the target. Obviously, the brutes weren't just brutes.
Upping the tempo, the Uchiha threw wave after wave of flames, pushing the standing bandit back step by step as he was forced to the defensive - raising shield after shield of earth from the ground to protect himself from the flames. Suddenly, it felt as though someone had shoved Apex from behind. Halting a moment, he heard a low, rumbling chuckle. Turning around, he saw the formerly stunned bandit grinning at him with his sharpened jaws.
The ANBU reached a hand to his back and felt a hatchet sticking out from his shoulder. He hadn't been shoved, he'd been...well, how would you word it? Cut? Stabbed? Hatcheted? Yep. He had been hatcheted.
As the blood dripped to the ground, Apex pulled himself from the world through the Taakamahara jutsu and reappeared about ten meters away. Forcing a rush of chakra to his hands, he removed the hatchet, opening the floodgates of blood and pain. It felt like a wave of lightning was racing around his shoulder, and he could hear an audible stream of blood hitting the ground. With green chakra emanating from his hand, he pressed the wound and sealed it with the Coagulation jutsu before utilizing the Mystical Hand jutsu to close it up a bit and prevent it from reopening.
A little dazed, he was nevertheless more intent on his targets. Apprehension wouldn't be possible, as the duo had made it so painfully obvious.
With another flurry of handseals, Apex used the Absolute Void jutsu to turn the world into a void of nothingness to the eyes of his opponent. In a follow-up move, he brought the men's shadows into reality through the Shadow Summoning jutsu. The men, formerly cocky and relaxed, were now visibly disturbed by what they were seeing.
In the coup de grace, the ANBU's visible crimson eyes seemed to glow before jets of black flame spewed forth. Amaterasu's flames scorched and covered the shadows of the men, ever-burning. While their own physical bodies were untouched by the flames, their flesh began to char and melt and they contorted in pain before dropping to the ground. Their stolen goods, wisely enough, were not prey to the effects of the jutsu that held the men's souls in check, and fell to the ground near the fallen thieves. One brother moved to attempt one last desparate attack, but was stopped by a volley of senbon that struck his throat.
Taking a deep breath, Apex pulled out his headset, tuning to the ANBU channel.
"Apex, reporting in. There's been an incident in the Silver Crystal District. Attempted robbery, and an assault on an ANBU. Two targets, both deceased. Clean-up crew requested, and reports will need to be filed before we return the stolen goods to their home," he spoke softly.
The part about the hatchet would could wait. The last thing he needed now was to have to sit around and be babied.
[Mission Complete! WC: 1365!]
It was then, however, that fate decided to throw the veteran shinobi a curve-ball. A rumbling rocked the ground below, shaking the building he was perched upon and sending a cloud of smoke upward. His crimson eyes widened with surprise as he looked downward to see a broken hole in the building's outer wall. Soon after, two men came rushing out, fleeing the scene.
"Hmph,"<i></i> Satsumaru grunted, "I suppose I was begging for it..."<i></i>
And with that, he stretched a bit and shook off the stiffness that had set in during his time perched. It was time to go to work. In a flash, he took off, bounding across rooftops to maintain a line of sight on the two men. Each seemed to hold a large knapsack over their shoulder, with a few minor purses attached to their belts. The closer Satsumaru caught up to them, the larger they appeared. Obviously, these were two very large thieves...
Giving a sigh, the armored ANBU leaped ahead through the air, coming to rest in front of the two. The duo halted in their tracks, sending clouds of dust into the air as they waited to see who had crossed their path. When the smoke cleared, the vision of a lean ANBU stood firmly in their way.
"Surrender, if you would," the shinobi requested nonchalantly, "Otherwise, we'll have to do this the complicated way, and I do so hate the amount of paperwork a forced apprehension or kill would take. And you'd be better off in the upper levels of the Palace rather than the dark hell below, I promise you that."
One of the men laughed, while the other simply stared at the smaller man. Satsumaru frowned from behind his mask. Obviously, this wasn't going to be an easy arrest.
"We're the Jigoku no Banken Brothers!" the laughing man announced, revealing his horribly scarred face from beneath a black mask, "I think you'll be the one experiencing hell!"
The other brother simply stood there, pulling his own mask off to show grinning teeth filed to points. Clearly, these men were deranged. And 'deranged' usually meant 'violent'.
Disappointed, Apex replied, noting, "Agree to disagree?"
And with that, the knife-fanged brother pulled a hatchet from his side and took a wild swing at the ANBU, proving that his distaste for words wasn't just an act. Apex was able to lean away from the swipe, and dodge the next attempts that came after it before jumping a short distance away and regaining his footing.
Brushing his shoulders off, the nonchalant ANBU confirmed, "Agree to disagree, then."
With a flick of his wrist, a volley of senbon flew through the air toward the hatchet-wielding member of the thieving duo, granting a surprisingly accurate result. Eight of the eight needles planted firmly into the man's chest. Even more surprising, however, was the fact that the hefty man simply ignored them as they stuck out from his skin like needles from a porcupine.
Apex wasn't given time to wonder, though, as the more talkative brother rushed forward with a punch. The ANBU side-stepped it, but was met with a swing of the other brother's axe. The two pressured onward with almost coordinated assaults, leaving the Uchiha with hardly enough time for his Sharingan eyes to register them from either side of his periphery. A few of the hatchet's attempts made glancing contact with the ANBU's underclothing, carving a few microscopic threads from the material. At last, the hatchet made it's mark, impacting with a sickening thud into the young man's chest.
Except a cloud of smoke revealed that the hatchet wasn't implanted into the ANBU's chest, but that of a kawarimi log with a supicious note attached. Struggling to remove his hatchet from the wood, the aggressive bandit was blown away from the spot by the exploding note. Though still intact, the man struggled to get back up, obviously concussed from the blast.
His brother, however, was still raring to go, rushing the reappeared ANBU with full force. Apex was easily able to dodge most of the attacks, but a visible rush of chakra seemed to fuel the giant more and more with each attempted attack. In a sudden shift, the large attacker punched the ground instead of Apex, catching the Uchiha off-guard and sending a wave of earth into his chest. Bruised, but not broken, the recipient of the attack rose up and coughed.
Returning the favor, he performed a flash of handseals and sent a bolt of lightning at the thief, which was consequently deflected by a conjured wall of dirt from the target. Obviously, the brutes weren't just brutes.
Upping the tempo, the Uchiha threw wave after wave of flames, pushing the standing bandit back step by step as he was forced to the defensive - raising shield after shield of earth from the ground to protect himself from the flames. Suddenly, it felt as though someone had shoved Apex from behind. Halting a moment, he heard a low, rumbling chuckle. Turning around, he saw the formerly stunned bandit grinning at him with his sharpened jaws.
The ANBU reached a hand to his back and felt a hatchet sticking out from his shoulder. He hadn't been shoved, he'd been...well, how would you word it? Cut? Stabbed? Hatcheted? Yep. He had been hatcheted.
As the blood dripped to the ground, Apex pulled himself from the world through the Taakamahara jutsu and reappeared about ten meters away. Forcing a rush of chakra to his hands, he removed the hatchet, opening the floodgates of blood and pain. It felt like a wave of lightning was racing around his shoulder, and he could hear an audible stream of blood hitting the ground. With green chakra emanating from his hand, he pressed the wound and sealed it with the Coagulation jutsu before utilizing the Mystical Hand jutsu to close it up a bit and prevent it from reopening.
A little dazed, he was nevertheless more intent on his targets. Apprehension wouldn't be possible, as the duo had made it so painfully obvious.
With another flurry of handseals, Apex used the Absolute Void jutsu to turn the world into a void of nothingness to the eyes of his opponent. In a follow-up move, he brought the men's shadows into reality through the Shadow Summoning jutsu. The men, formerly cocky and relaxed, were now visibly disturbed by what they were seeing.
In the coup de grace, the ANBU's visible crimson eyes seemed to glow before jets of black flame spewed forth. Amaterasu's flames scorched and covered the shadows of the men, ever-burning. While their own physical bodies were untouched by the flames, their flesh began to char and melt and they contorted in pain before dropping to the ground. Their stolen goods, wisely enough, were not prey to the effects of the jutsu that held the men's souls in check, and fell to the ground near the fallen thieves. One brother moved to attempt one last desparate attack, but was stopped by a volley of senbon that struck his throat.
Taking a deep breath, Apex pulled out his headset, tuning to the ANBU channel.
"Apex, reporting in. There's been an incident in the Silver Crystal District. Attempted robbery, and an assault on an ANBU. Two targets, both deceased. Clean-up crew requested, and reports will need to be filed before we return the stolen goods to their home," he spoke softly.
The part about the hatchet would could wait. The last thing he needed now was to have to sit around and be babied.
[Mission Complete! WC: 1365!]