It had been many years since Yukio had heard or even caught wind of the smuggling ring he had attempted to track down in his early years of being an ANBU in training however in recent weeks word had resurfaced within the ranks of the branch they had begun to move once more. This was something the Hyuuga could not allow to stand and as such on the orders of the branch he had agreed to move outside the village once more to gather information and if possible narrow down the location and headquarters of this ring in order to bring it down for good.
Yukio relished the thought of getting payback for all those years ago, he had tried and in the end failed to stop their activities before only managing to take out one of the henchmen involved and eventually get himself knocked out by one of the higher ups within their ranks. He brought few things with him save for his coat and weapons just in case the worst happened placing his combat gloves over his arms. Closing his hand into a fist he tensed up for a moment it was the first time he had felt nervous before leaving for a mission, the risks of him being caught out again was still quite large and in any event, he wasn’t a kid anymore they wouldn’t show the same pity they did before.
He was confident in his new found strength and the powers and jutsu he had in his possession now made him much more of a threat than could have even been hoped for all those years ago, setting out with only his coat, combat gloves and a map he set out stopping at the gates as he had so many times before nodding to the guards and showing his identification but unlike every time before he did not bolt off into the distance, instead calmly walking away from the phoenix gates.
Patience would be the key here not rash and hasty action towards his target, no this time it would take precise and meaningful interactions and eves dropping on conversation and actions of the common people who resided outside of the village. There was also the matter of ensuring the information he was getting was correct, rumours and half truths were all well and good however they would most likely make his job infinitely longer if he attempted to track down every loose end and misleading rumour he would more than likely be searching for days to find the right place.
For that he would simply have to gather all the information he could and cross reference everything until he could pinpoint a general area they could logically be operating from something that would hopefully limit the time taken to track them down. The first place that came to mind was the tavern he had once stayed at to escort a caravan back to the leaf village and it seemed to be a regular meeting place for such caravans, as such it would be a good place to quickly gather the main rumours being thrown around by the public these days.
Luckily Yukio’s memory served him well as he walked down the path he somewhat remembered coming back along after his confrontation with the assassin, another thing he would have to catch up on at some point had it not been for them he would not have been out of action for such a prolonged period of time during the trip back to the village however the chances they would still be here now that the caravan had been gone for many months it should in theory be a much more relaxing experience in comparison to what had come before.
What he did have to keep in mind however was his reputation earned through his experiences in this area as such he would prefer for people not to see his face while entering the tavern raising his hood that came over his face casting a shadow over it and masking him from the world at least enough to prevent him being recognised. The other thing to bear in mind was the atmosphere of it all for all Yukio was becoming more accustom to busy places the thought of being stuck in a crowd was still enough to set him on edge, a shiver running down his spine, shaking his head to shrug it off as mere impulse.
“The two things I hate about information gathering missions, the obscurity of the information you can find and the actions of the people you have to get the info from”
He muttered under his breath, he wasn’t normally one to complain but getting the thoughts out of his head was a refreshing experience but not one he would make a habit of, ANBU weren’t ones to complain they simply did what was required and moved on and this would be no different. With that he walked through the doors of the tavern immediately begin assaulted by the smell and noise of the drunks and patrons who resided there for the evening.
Taking his hands out of his pockets he approached the bar he slumped into a chair tilting his head to the side to get a better look at those who sat around the tables and stools within the room. Most seemed like the average day to day rabble who would come and go within a few hours, travellers on the roads moving from village to village to deliver goods of all kinds. Others seemed to be wanderers simply travelling to see the world though they seemed to be sharing stories of their travels.
He remained there, taking a few drinks as the evening went by with what seemed to be little activity in terms of what he was required to find out. The most common story he heard being that of weather issues out on the roads or tired caravan members simply content with having a drink or too. This continued for some time but eventually something caught his attention a comment made by a rather rugged looking man who looked as if he’d been pulled through a river and mud to get to the tavern.
“It was further down the road from here a small cut off road heading towards a lake, I’ve heard caravans have been experiencing looting and people are going missing in that area”
“You sure? I’d heard it was by one of the rivers heading up to the mountains but then again the stories always change are you sure it’s true.”
“Positive, I mean you can’t explain all the villages not receiving supplies or receiving them from replacements sent long after. Or appearing with different people escorting them”[/colour]
This was what Yukio had been waiting for and his patience had been rewarded with something to work with, nodding to the bartender and leaving the required Yen on the bar side and returning to the quiet world outside. It had gotten dark in the time he’d been waiting in the bar area, it didn’t bother him too much however getting out the map he’d brought with him and making note of the general area the man had spoken of. It seemed there was only one large body of water in that area. This must have been the lake the man spoke of however in the same general area there was a few rivers leading up to it, coming down from a more mountainous area.
Marking the area with a circle on his map he made a move further down the road before moving off into the woods by the side of the road, If anything this would be easier and very much the same process as in the tavern. Simply using his vision to wait in the area and observe until something seemed out of place or suspicious. It didn’t take long for him to get to his destination his speed and stamina had greatly improved after his many days of training.
Finding a place to hide in he waited by the lake side, getting into a somewhat more comfortable position before being ready to wait out the night. It would turn out of be a rather long night, at times he wondered if the rumours had simply been just that, rumours however his luck was about to pay off as his vision latched onto a pair of individuals moving through the brush, they seemed to be carrying boxes of some description as he tilted his head to the side to look back down the road.
From here he couldn’t see much bringing his hands together he focused increasing his visual range, so he could see the road clearly. a caravan had been assaulted on the road most of its goods had already been taken as Yukio gritted his teeth, as much as he wanted to do something to help them any action taken now would cause them to move location making this whole endeavour a waste of time.
With this new found information in mind he made mental notes of everything he’d seen turning and leaving the area after he was certain the coast was clear, it filled his mind with satisfaction knowing he had finally tracked down the group once more however it filled him with rage knowing he couldn’t do it anything to stop it right now without risking the mission objective. This would be something he would have to overcome eventually becoming someone who could both find and accomplish multiple objectives at the same time rather than having to plan well in advance.
He waited until the next day to return to the leaf village making haste to report his findings to the ANBU branch, taking time to go over all his findings before returning to the Uchiha mansion to be alone with his thoughts.
[WC:1647]
Yukio relished the thought of getting payback for all those years ago, he had tried and in the end failed to stop their activities before only managing to take out one of the henchmen involved and eventually get himself knocked out by one of the higher ups within their ranks. He brought few things with him save for his coat and weapons just in case the worst happened placing his combat gloves over his arms. Closing his hand into a fist he tensed up for a moment it was the first time he had felt nervous before leaving for a mission, the risks of him being caught out again was still quite large and in any event, he wasn’t a kid anymore they wouldn’t show the same pity they did before.
He was confident in his new found strength and the powers and jutsu he had in his possession now made him much more of a threat than could have even been hoped for all those years ago, setting out with only his coat, combat gloves and a map he set out stopping at the gates as he had so many times before nodding to the guards and showing his identification but unlike every time before he did not bolt off into the distance, instead calmly walking away from the phoenix gates.
Patience would be the key here not rash and hasty action towards his target, no this time it would take precise and meaningful interactions and eves dropping on conversation and actions of the common people who resided outside of the village. There was also the matter of ensuring the information he was getting was correct, rumours and half truths were all well and good however they would most likely make his job infinitely longer if he attempted to track down every loose end and misleading rumour he would more than likely be searching for days to find the right place.
For that he would simply have to gather all the information he could and cross reference everything until he could pinpoint a general area they could logically be operating from something that would hopefully limit the time taken to track them down. The first place that came to mind was the tavern he had once stayed at to escort a caravan back to the leaf village and it seemed to be a regular meeting place for such caravans, as such it would be a good place to quickly gather the main rumours being thrown around by the public these days.
Luckily Yukio’s memory served him well as he walked down the path he somewhat remembered coming back along after his confrontation with the assassin, another thing he would have to catch up on at some point had it not been for them he would not have been out of action for such a prolonged period of time during the trip back to the village however the chances they would still be here now that the caravan had been gone for many months it should in theory be a much more relaxing experience in comparison to what had come before.
What he did have to keep in mind however was his reputation earned through his experiences in this area as such he would prefer for people not to see his face while entering the tavern raising his hood that came over his face casting a shadow over it and masking him from the world at least enough to prevent him being recognised. The other thing to bear in mind was the atmosphere of it all for all Yukio was becoming more accustom to busy places the thought of being stuck in a crowd was still enough to set him on edge, a shiver running down his spine, shaking his head to shrug it off as mere impulse.
“The two things I hate about information gathering missions, the obscurity of the information you can find and the actions of the people you have to get the info from”
He muttered under his breath, he wasn’t normally one to complain but getting the thoughts out of his head was a refreshing experience but not one he would make a habit of, ANBU weren’t ones to complain they simply did what was required and moved on and this would be no different. With that he walked through the doors of the tavern immediately begin assaulted by the smell and noise of the drunks and patrons who resided there for the evening.
Taking his hands out of his pockets he approached the bar he slumped into a chair tilting his head to the side to get a better look at those who sat around the tables and stools within the room. Most seemed like the average day to day rabble who would come and go within a few hours, travellers on the roads moving from village to village to deliver goods of all kinds. Others seemed to be wanderers simply travelling to see the world though they seemed to be sharing stories of their travels.
He remained there, taking a few drinks as the evening went by with what seemed to be little activity in terms of what he was required to find out. The most common story he heard being that of weather issues out on the roads or tired caravan members simply content with having a drink or too. This continued for some time but eventually something caught his attention a comment made by a rather rugged looking man who looked as if he’d been pulled through a river and mud to get to the tavern.
“It was further down the road from here a small cut off road heading towards a lake, I’ve heard caravans have been experiencing looting and people are going missing in that area”
“You sure? I’d heard it was by one of the rivers heading up to the mountains but then again the stories always change are you sure it’s true.”
“Positive, I mean you can’t explain all the villages not receiving supplies or receiving them from replacements sent long after. Or appearing with different people escorting them”[/colour]
This was what Yukio had been waiting for and his patience had been rewarded with something to work with, nodding to the bartender and leaving the required Yen on the bar side and returning to the quiet world outside. It had gotten dark in the time he’d been waiting in the bar area, it didn’t bother him too much however getting out the map he’d brought with him and making note of the general area the man had spoken of. It seemed there was only one large body of water in that area. This must have been the lake the man spoke of however in the same general area there was a few rivers leading up to it, coming down from a more mountainous area.
Marking the area with a circle on his map he made a move further down the road before moving off into the woods by the side of the road, If anything this would be easier and very much the same process as in the tavern. Simply using his vision to wait in the area and observe until something seemed out of place or suspicious. It didn’t take long for him to get to his destination his speed and stamina had greatly improved after his many days of training.
Finding a place to hide in he waited by the lake side, getting into a somewhat more comfortable position before being ready to wait out the night. It would turn out of be a rather long night, at times he wondered if the rumours had simply been just that, rumours however his luck was about to pay off as his vision latched onto a pair of individuals moving through the brush, they seemed to be carrying boxes of some description as he tilted his head to the side to look back down the road.
From here he couldn’t see much bringing his hands together he focused increasing his visual range, so he could see the road clearly. a caravan had been assaulted on the road most of its goods had already been taken as Yukio gritted his teeth, as much as he wanted to do something to help them any action taken now would cause them to move location making this whole endeavour a waste of time.
With this new found information in mind he made mental notes of everything he’d seen turning and leaving the area after he was certain the coast was clear, it filled his mind with satisfaction knowing he had finally tracked down the group once more however it filled him with rage knowing he couldn’t do it anything to stop it right now without risking the mission objective. This would be something he would have to overcome eventually becoming someone who could both find and accomplish multiple objectives at the same time rather than having to plan well in advance.
He waited until the next day to return to the leaf village making haste to report his findings to the ANBU branch, taking time to go over all his findings before returning to the Uchiha mansion to be alone with his thoughts.
[WC:1647]