Mission One Target/One Kill [ANBU Mission/Shadow Steward]

[Uzu]

Soon’s Haven was the glorious home of many a merchant lord and planner towards the immediate needs of the Oil Barons. Their names were public, their addresses well known, and homes guarded well enough; but not for a trained assassin with chakra talents. Yet Ranran’s target location was not in the Haven for merchants and their ilk, but instead the much harder to impregnate: Sora.

Toushin had twanged upon an old spy line set up by his daughter that had connections literally everywhere in the desert country. While her finacee slowly took control of the powerful Toroano clan, she had spent her years collecting favors. She had not deigned to see him in his rotund glory yet, thankfully, but his child also had not sent an assassin; so he assumed he was off the hook right now. With the information he had gathered from her vast spy-network, Uzu had found two things of note:

An adviser to the Oil Twins directly that lived on his own in Sora, with his own set of chakra-infused bodyguards, and a very small but key weakness in the ancient city’s powerful defenses. The old assassin poured over all the information he could on this adviser, a one Hyong To, and found them to be the only man in the entire world who could speak sense to the twins without meeting an untimely end. They alone were the sole non-sycophant earpiece grasping for their own cut of power once the dust-storm had settled. Their right to an opinion no doubt came from the exuberant money paid to his bodyguards and living outside of the Haven. Putting 2+2 together, Uzu devised a plan to put a key weakness into the Twin’s schemes without touching them personally; he even doubted they would notice the one person speaking against their half-wit ideas.

Her mission was to infiltrated the heavily guarded Sora, locate a tall marble tower near the bay, and find a way inside - the two entrances being a guarded front, and two windows some thirty feet up a marble wall. The first would be simple by disguising herself as a Nomad - Sora was taking in refugees from the war, which opened a unique weakness in their defenses that had not been there. The second was to kill To, and To only. Not a single drop of blood was to be spilled by her hand otherwise - of course, knocking someone out was still on the plate….

How they did all this, was all up to the freshly minted ANBU soldier. Would they live up to their leader’s vision? It all depended on Ranran, and fate….

[Welcome to the Mission! We’ll proceed in Rounds: I’ll add a OOC note to the end of my posts detailing your choices. Your next RP will be rolled out as Success or Fail with bonuses depending on the quality of the choices made! Remember though, even the best laid out plan can be crushed by the dice gods!]

[Round 1: Find the Marble Tower. Do you seek it without help and explore the vast Sora? Do you seek aid to discern the whereabouts of your target?]

 

[Ranran]

A hand slowly came up shielding the pink haired girls eyes from the sun as the burning rays beat down on her body while the small girl gazed up at the imposing gate of Sora it's sparkling clean surface of marble and other exotic materials a proclamation to the wealth of the city within as Ranran stood within a long queue outside the gate. Ranran gave a low impressed whistle as she stared up at the structure before the queue shifted forward again forcing Ranran to grasp the wooden bar Infront of her as she grunted with the effort of shifting the wooden wagon behind her forward a few merchants giving her pitying looks as she seemingly struggled. You see Ranran hadn't come to Sora today as a ninja but instead as a blacksmith her normal clothes abandoned in favour of a fire resistant tank top and thick work trousers and a pair of combat boots while her hands were clade in leather gloves to protect her hands from the bite of the wood.

Ranran herself had worked publicly for her family's blacksmith for almost ten years now and had been made master of the smithy since she was eleven due to her talent with the forge so Ranran was fairly confident with this disguise as her family was extremely careful with presenting a normal civilian front and over the last two years Ranran had started making a name for herself as a smith taking commission all over the land of wind from both civilian and ninja. The cart she was pulling was currently filled with swords, spears, cooking equipment and a few other pieces of metal work that she had made herself to an almost perfectionist level of quality with the intent of selling these pieces to the market of Sora and possibly any of the guards that were interested while her sword Rhapsody was hidden underneath the numerous products she was hauling . Pulling the cart forward again Ranran wiped the sweat from her brown as she savoured the cool cross wind that gently caressed the line of merchants she was currently in until finally it was Ranran turn to get inspected at the gate checkpoint by the guards.

[Wasn't sure if you wanted to Rp the Guard interaction so will stop there. Just to let you know being a blacksmith is part of Ranran actual backstory and she runs a smithy in Suna owned by her family.

WC:409
[MFT]

 

[Uzu]

Ranran deployed a rather clever technique - not following the document’s instructions. Not in a belligerent or ignorant way though, by any means. Instead of going through the trouble of procuring a spot among the Nomads as a refugee from the war, she came carrying a brand on her back; a simple blacksmith to sell wares of war and protection. It allowed for more freedom to move across the city beyond the gates, and might have been all the girl needed to slip inside, since they were peddling items that were much needed in these difficult times. Desperate for weapons as they were, the guard moved between Ranran and her cart, with two others circling it for inspection.

“Name of merchant you sell under,” one of the guards asked.

They were all larger men of the six-foot tall genre. They wore sleeveless padded armor with chainmail and leather skirts that rattled around as they moved; all trimmed in a burgundy red. Their heads were protected by classic bucket helms, with face guards lifted up to breath easier in the heat. Clearly highly trained soldiers wore these outfits since none other could handle the sheer torture that normally would be wearing such garments in the desert. Even their legs and calves were covered with leather straps and metal shinguards, leaving only their loins room to breath beneath the chainmail. The man who stopped the girl looked down with disdain and clear misogyny, eyes always popping back between her face and her weathered hands in disbelief. Dirt and sweat had long ago smeared most of his exposed face with a twirled mustache twitching with each curl of his lip at the sight of the undercover shinobi.

 

[Ranran]

“Name of merchant you sell under,”

Ranran looked up at the guard that had just spoken to her his moustache seemingly twitching with whatever prejudice the guard had swimming around his brain but this was not Ranran's first rodeo with men assuming she couldn't run or protect her own business so with a sigh Ranran reached into her apron and pulled out her placard with her merchant ID ,the words Cait Sythe Arms proudly printed on the card with an image of a small cat sitting within a crescent moon looking up into the distance. Ranran herself wasn't a fan of her own logo thinking it was way too cute for a weapon dealer but her sibling had drawn it for her and she couldn't bear to say no to them when they had presented their design.

"Hey my Merchant ID is Cait Sythe arms. I've been receiving request orders for new weapons here so I'm shipping the delivery all in one go."

Ranran gave the man her best business smile and lifted an arm up to show off a very well built bicep for such a young girl demonstrating how dedicated she had been to her craft. "Gotta order the best for the guards protecting the noble families right? That's why they always call me the best smith in Suna and I gotta make adjustments for the weapons owner to make it perfect so I brought my tools along." As she spoke Ranran would allow the guards to search her cart since she had no ninja tools with her except the giant sword she always carried and it was currently among the goods marked as a display peace and despite that Ranran was very confident no one but her could lift the sword as it's weight was immense and seemed to only get heavier for anyone but her as it was her ancestral weapon. Ranran then waited for the moustached guards response.

[Sorry for the delay]

 

[Uzu]

The curled mustache twitched again, his eyes squinted in leer at the obvious muscle the girl produced. They lifted up away from Ranran to look over at the other guards inspecting her wares; one struggled to lift a larger weapon buried within.
“Such strange times indeed…that is enough,” the guard mumbled after looking over the placard. Sunagakure was on that famous “no entry” list. Was. A month ago the new leader of the shinobi forces had aligned themselves with the Oil Baron Twins, which finally brought them out of their secluded military state and into the fold of the country. Even still, it was rare to allow a native Sunan in without being either A) a noble, or B) a merchant lord. The large man stood aside to allow the blacksmith through; ‘close enough,’ he thought. The cat in the moon was a recognized symbol around Sora, newly so, but one that he remembered from the list of important merchants they were to let through in these turbulent times regardless.

The large portcullis lifted with terrifying haste enough to allow the girl and her weapons to cross the threshold into a dark corridor full of murder holes. On the other side was a large opening where a second gate stayed raised overhead allowing a cool ocean breeze to beckon Ranran further. Beyond, back into the natural daylight and heat, was an immaculate city of clay and marble spun with a certain filigree touch. Colors of purple, blue, and green washed out over all other hues as the natural light colors of the entire city reflected some of the desert’s heat; despite the hustle of crowds, it remained far cooler within than it was at the gates.




The merchant’s path laid down a road full of other people in carts waiting their turn get into a giant square area full of banners and shade. Shouting over rights to spots were already filling the air as the lesser waited to set up shop after the ‘major players’, (ie, the guys paying off the nobles), had finished putting up their massive tents. A quick eye over the crowd could see those tents were almost done, and a massive rush to the walls for good spots were soon to be had.

On the other hand, aside from playing at the Merchant Role to her needs, there was the option to aim directly for the target. The tower itself wasn’t exactly hard to find at all, jutting out of the center of the city with flying barges full of drunk nobles moving to and from it. Problem being it was heavily guarded for one, and awfully public for two. Getting to the target allegedly always in office at the top of the spire was going to be a challenge in a straight charge; not to mention the backlash on Suna itself if she were to be caught.

Yet a smart shinobi always had options at hand. Disguise, information gathering, and stealth were 101 for Sunagakure’s soldiers. The blacksmith had a plethora of choices.

 

[Ranran]

Ranran just gave the Moustached Guard a winning smile as she was permitted entry only waiting long enough the guards inspecting her goods to return them before grabbing a hold of her handcart and began pushing again letting the wheels creak under their load before good laden carts groaned into motion again. "Make sure to come visit my stall later. Guards get a discount on their first purchase!" Calling out to the guardsman as the portcullis raised Ranran continued on her journey ignoring the murder holes as a refreshing breeze eased the sweat burdening her brow as she made her way down the merchants path. Looking up at the twisting spires and beautiful architecture Ranran couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle as merchants busted around setting up their stalls and tents in the best possible locations which would have been a problem for many new merchants but fortunately for Ranran she wasn't a merchant but a traveling craftsmen and there if there was one thing a merchant couldn't resist was a talented craftsmen who was willing to work under them for the purpose of vastly increasing sales.

Thus Ranran spent the next few hours speaking with merchants offering her wares and technical skills to make orders over the week she was going to be here in return for allowing the merchant to take 10 percent of her profits as well as an additional handlers fee while also taking orders from the merchant themselves in return for being permitted to sell from their store as a temporary subsidiary brand and if she was asked why she was offering her skills at such a good price she would state that she was interested in improving her bartering skills by watching a skilled merchant first hand.

If successful Ranran would spend the next two days talking with customers about her products and hopefully any information on the massive tower she was standing under.

[MFT}
WC: 322

 

[Uzu]

Ranran’s clan brand did most of the talking for her. They didn’t even bat an eye at the idea of her taking such a small cut of the profit, just believed the shinobi’s simple answer and allowed the hubris of greed to take control. With her merchandise spread out between a handful of shops, the girl had a veritable web of information that proved fruitful with hours of sales.

Two guards from the tower itself had decided to take part in the bazaar in shop of a fine weapon. The first two vendors they selected both had some of Ranran’s wares - smaller things like daggers and an exquisite pair of metal knuckles. They seemed to be impressed that those weapons had made it into the rotation given their origin. Apparently Sunagakure, though now under Soon’s control, was still held at arm’s length from Sora. The nobility here wanted to avoid as much of the old military village as possible. They left without looking further.

A day later a noble disguised poorly as a common man with a limited entourage came to look for a “disposable weapon.” He took to a sword Ranran’s clan had forged, amazed by it’s weightlessness and edge. When the merchant, lowly as he was, asked the poorly disguised noble why he would need a weapon, the young man replied simply,
“Because we’re at war, and the guards are already spread thin, you dolt. Hinako, pay the man.”
“Especially with Mr. To sending his two guards to the battlefront tomorrow. You think we should buy him something too?”
“That toad? Hardly. He lives on the top of that tower anyways, I highly doubt anything could get through what remains of Sora’s guards, and they’ll be back come the end of the next day regardless. Forget him, I desire fish! To the food courts!”

And there it was. All the constant post changing and faces were just a show. What Ranran saw guarding the tower was literally half of the guards, the other half no doubt sleeping for the limited four hours they were granted between posts. It was no wonder they were so wary. On top of that, the man’s normal bodyguards were vacating their posts the next day which opened up a huge weapon of oppertunity. It seemed, that despite the governing paranoia of the nobles in protecting themselves...they remained gossipy fools.

Before the second day was out, her entire stock save the weapon that was Ranran’s own had been sold. Yet the merchants continued to allow her to hang around and catch more of their bargaining techniques as originally agreed; after all, most of them felt awful about how little of their sales they had to share with the girl.

So here, the newly minted assassin had another choice. Stick the rest of the day out, or begin scratching out a plan to take on the tower’s security.

 

[Ranran]

Ranran had thoroughly enjoyed her time with the merchants as people came and went with her products thanks to the merchants while Ranran spent her time hammering out special orders while carefully listening to the goings on around her making it seem like she was studying the merchants techniques as they sold their goods and once she completed one order she would drift to the next merchant she had dealt with making a few orders and once again listening to all they said., In this way Ranran slowly drifted around the market allowing to spot two familiar guard examining her goods before moving on. Sadly Ranran had yet to hit that breakthrough moment when a key piece of info would reach her eyes until a noble had shown up. Ranran had taken a moment to rest outside a merchant tent her back resting against one the posts as she looked up at the tower above her when a rather large noble stepped up to the tent.

His corpulence only matched by his lake of tact as he spoke about very intriguing matters to the young shinobi. Keeping her gaze on the tower Ranran came to realise how unguarded her target was and how desperate he would be for protection and then a devious idea came to Ranran mind as she moved over to the merchant. "I apologise but I just received a special order from an important client so I will need to leave now. In apologies for my departure please feel free to sell the rest of my stock and please come do business with the Cait Sythe smithy again." Flashing her most charming smile to the merchant Ranran gave the man a deep bow before turning and leaving only taking her own weapons with her from the stock though being careful to keeping it within it wraps.

Setting up her cart within the designated resting area for the merchants she had made her deal with Ranran quickly went to work with her plan. Now when it came to the rich and powerful, what was there most important position? A lot of people would give a vague answer on personal wealth but Ranran knew that the rich valued their lives more than anything and when one was vulnerable they would cling to any form of security they could. Thus nobles tended to surround themselves with guards and the most desirable guard was always the samurai. A powerful figure completely beholden and committed to their lord made for a very desirable object that any noble would love to have so Ranran spent the day crafting a suit of samurai armour and a blade while only taking breaks to go out into the town where she would speak with the inhabitants about the known noble lords in the area so she could collect important names while making it seem like she was looking to offer her services to these lords as a blacksmith.

Soon Ranran's plan would start to take shape. She would find a close connection to her target among the nobility before impersonating a samurai who had been sent by a close connection as an emergency bodyguard as a way to curry favour with the man. Ranran would then infiltrate the security team and use the network to scout the tower out. In the most ideal scenario she would be take straight to her target to guard him and in the worst she would be able to infiltrate the building as very few dared to spurn a nobles gracious offer. Ranran would even go far enough to copy designs on guard she had seen in town with their masters to better enhance her disguise.

 

[Uzu]

No one was paying any attention to the pink haired blacksmith from Suna. Easily, well over 10 different red flags should have sent off from the moment she arrived at the front gates hauling weapons. A lifetime of assassin’s training though, and perhaps a little bit of luck, paid off in the end. With her gear in place, and the disguise set up, there was only one thing left to do:

What she came here to do in the first place.

The disguise itself was perfect. More than enough to ensure that she infiltrated the guards as a mercenary looking for work, already acknowledged with some of the nobles, their habits, and after a few name drops the guards all but gave her free reign of the tower. All eyes on Ranran, she would be able to tell; there was a tinge of fear. Fear of the man who hired them? Fear of a mercenary? Or was it just exhaustion, and the fear was the helpless hope that the samurai ascending the stairs to their boss was going to finally give them some kind of a reprieve?

Once at the top of the stairs, a simple knock on the man’s gilded metal door and it slid open; the door itself embedding in to the frame before sliding closed again once the assassin crossed the threshold to her target. He was a premature baldy, with a half-crown of hair grown long; clearly a man who enjoyed fooling potential partners with a cleverly placed hat. His clothing were fine robes made of silks you could feel just with a glance - jewelry attached to golden chains hung from the robes. The man’s face though, was twisted with worry. A cold sweat splattered across his forehead, a trait that was not to be mentioned by the guard unless they wanted to get sacked. Bags of ill-sleep hung beneath his weary blue eyes, adorned with the two week scruff of a man growing a patchy beard by proxy of overworking themselves.

“Well, lets hear your resume,” he croaked. He was sitting at a desk with all numbers of papers beside him, clearly a number of appointments lined up throughout the day. A quick glance would see that the real reason his normal bodyguards weren’t here in the form of two resignations that were barely hidden under the plea to meet with Ranran; the ink still wet from the guard who hastily wrote it not but ten minutes ago.

Her options were literally a plethora. The floor was carpeted, good for absorption and hiding. She could literally make the man vanish. A quick death, rolled up like a cigarette, and shoved into a closet somewhere while chaos ensued until the inevitable stink or nosy house hand found them. There was a bay window that lit up the room naturally, with only a singular lantern hanging over his desk to add additional light that his shadow might cover; defenestration was always in style. He literally had no weapons near him, both under and overweight, and seemed to be missing as much sleep if not more than the guards he employees.

But then that raised a question; why?

Why was To, current richest man in Sora, suffering more than the people guarding him on split shifts with little to no real rest between postings? He should be living in luxury, resting on a literal pile of the softest bodies known to man while devouring edible gold - this was not the lavish life that the Oil Twins’ other sycophants clung to. What did he know, what was he doing, that would keep the man in such a state of constant stress?

That wasn’t Ranran’s job, though. Call it bonus points, if she cared, but the original task was a single hit on a man who was allegedly impossible to touch; of which with only a single movement would be over. It was just coming down to how flashy her clan was, vs how incognito Uzu preferred his branch to be.

It was up to the “samurai.”

 

[Ranran]

Ranran's eyes shifted from to left as she walked up the carpeted stair case her eyes hidden by the Oni mask that was apart of the helmet as she took notice at how ragged the guards looked and how fearful they were acting as they glanced nervously at her before hurriedly looking away. Ran sighed quietly to herself as she thought back on her entrance to the tower a couple of minutes prior. It hadn't been hard to assemble a convincing disguise and by building the suit for someone much larger than herself and then henging herself once inside the armour she had created the illusion of a samurai standing six foot tall with a large sword strapped to his back in comparison to Ranran whose rather stature was rather diminutive not that anyone other than Sayomi survived calling her small at least for the moment. Entry hadn't been difficult either as the guards had shrank at her approach and all but fell over themselves when she had said she was a loaned guard from a mutual acquaintance seemingly both fearful and relived to have the possibility of a new bodyguard which had been augmented by Ranran using chakra to pull on her vocal cords making her voice much deeper and gravely than it would have been normally making it seem like she was a grizzled veteran.

This had led her being lead to a large ornate door at the end of a monumental stair climb which made Ranran think this may have been a test of her physical ability. Stepping through the door Ranran was finally confronted with her target a man who may have been handsome not too long ago but his partially balding head and eyes framed by heavy bags removed any chance of a positive image as he seemed haggard beyond belief. Ranran herself had seen this look many times in her victims who had been hunted by her family for weeks on end before finally being caught. This man was being hunted, now by what was the question Ranran was most curious about as she stepped into the office allowing the door to close behind her as her target asked for her resume.

Taking a deep breath Ranran reached for her helmet and slowly took it off as a seeming sign of respect for her employer. Strangely however as soon as the helmet left Ranran's head the armour seemed to deflate rapidly as Ranran undid her henge and quickly darted out of the suit's embrace through a quick release latch of the chest plate allowing the suit to fall silently to the floor. All the civilian would see would be a flash as the suit fell to the floor before a hand would slide over his shoulder from behind before clamping over his mouth as the back of his chair was replaced by a small body while legs wrapped around his waist from behind as the assassin had moved like a snake and slid into place in a flash of impossible speed, the chair groaning slightly with the second occupant on it. The captive may struggle or panic but he would find the ninja holding him immensely stronger and flinging himself forward in desperation would have him throwing himself into the large great sword now resting against his chest while the owner held it in place with just one hand on the hilt while the tip rest half an inch in the floor seemingly ready to fall on the man and cut him in half.

Ranran let out a little breath of satisfaction as she bound her victim her voice light and playful in the mans ear making this situation even scarier. "Lets see my resume.....Murder in the first degree, Murder in the second degree, Grand Larceny, Assault, Identity theft and a known associate of Fatal Eclipse Assassins Guild and you may friend are currently at my mercy so lets be nice and quite yes." As Ranran spoke the hand on the man's mouth slowly moved down until her fingers were wrapped tightly around his throat like an iron band. "You see I get nervous at sudden sounds and I tend to snap things when I flinch, completely involuntarily you understand but we wouldn't want any mistakes would we?" If the man tried call for help Ranran would instantly snap the man's neck and be done with it. "Now Onee-chan head you have been having some troubles and right now you look like your being hunted so why don't you tell me all about it and maybe you cute little Onee-Chan can make it all better." The entire time Ranran had been putting on a sickly sweet voice like a small girl begging her brother for attention while her actions were anything but a small girls as Ranran used the strange disconnect of tone and action to make her prey scared enough he would spout anything she wanted.

 

[Uzu]

To, almost had no idea what was going on.

In a flash, a moment he had been warned of but no matter his security seemed inevitable, a shinobi of Sunagakure slithered out from her samurai outfit and behind him. The hand of a working human touched his mouth, the callouses of days in the smithy making him feel instantly sick to know a man was clinging to him until he heard the words of the kunoichi holding him to the chair like a python. This wasn’t the normal assassin. He knew immediately that from her speed and method this could only be one of the fabled Sunagakurians. A cold sweat began to rise over his brow when the edged blade split one of his errant beard hairs down the middle and pressed against his throat; a small bead of blood drew from his fragile flesh.

“We’re losing,” he wept, the moment the hand was pulled away so he could speak, “The Barons think they have total control over the country with the assimilation of Sunakagure but the war against the Nomads are only causing massive losses in military, equipment, and funds! The shinobi they recruited are barely doing anything against the Nomadic people, and then that gods’ damned mad-man, Tama, continues to thwart every last assassination effort as if he can travel through time! I’m at my wits end, please! The Twins ignore 90% of the advice I have offered, no matter how sound the logic, they refuse to spend power away from Soon! I want to defect! I can no longer take working beneath them, in fear of my life from the other sycophants who keep after my riches…” his hand moved, deliberately and slowly, towards the stack of papers and he pushed them aside to reveal a small box,
“Please, spare me. I offer this for my life, forfeit as it will be anyways! It’s proof the Barons were behind the assassination of your 12th Kazekage! Please….” He was full on crying now.

The tiny box revealed was mahogany in origin. Fire Country. If Ranran was to pick it up and open the little latch within she would see revealed within a small ruby with an unfamiliar signet acid-etched into the polished stone. Without touching it, the chakra-tuned soldier would recognize that there was something, sealed within. Not a being, or a spirit…but something akin to a signal.

“It’s how they summon him, please…let me go…”

 

[Ranran]

Ever so slowly the man weeping in his chair would feel Ranran moving away from him as she used her legs to stand from her position before stepping on to the arm rest of chair her chakra flowing from bear feet allowing the chair to remain stand while the small girl placed her weight on one side of the chair before finally stepping down and in front of her target while her sword remained in the floor keeping her target sitting as the only thing that kept him safe from it was Ranran's loose grip. Her target however was now able to see Ranran out of her disguise a black leather jacket showing a shocking amount of skin beneath though a thick wrap of fabric kept ran's chest hidden but it was enough to make a sheltered noble feel some conflicting feelings as he turned his eyes up to see his captors face only to find a white mask in place of features, the surface plain of any identifying markings.

Ranran meanwhile was focused on the small box that her prey had claimed was as valuable as his life.
She stepped over to the desk and gently took the box in a single hand before nudging it open with her index finger. Inside was a small but beautifully crafted signet ring it's faceted face gleaming in the light of the office as faint whisps of chakra emanated from it making to feel like something was inside however Ranran wasn't versed in sealing but it was valuable enough to take back to the village for investigation. "Yeah this has some worth." Ranran said her tone simple and flat now as she had lost interest in the target as soon as the man started blubbering showing him to be just another spineless herbivore pretending to be greater than they actually were. Flicking her wrist with a sudden motion Ranran allowed her sword to flick up before smoothly coming back down to rest on her shoulders. "I'll take this in payment for mercy on you then." Ranran then turned and headed back to her armour on the floor leaving the baron to sigh in relief as he rested into the back of his chair again.......Though he did feel strange as he watched the small girl, he felt heavy and tired but that could be stress which wasn't being helped by his growing headache before finally he noticed that he felt like his vision was changing. Ever so slowly one side of his vision was sliding away as if his field of view had been cut down the middle and one side was sliding down while the other was sliding up. He tried to bring a hand up to see what was wrong but could find no strength to move as his vision finally started to dim as both sides slide more and more apart. "Ah I'm already dead." Was the only thing the man could gasp as realization hit him and his body finally finished splitting down the middle along with the chair he sat allowing the two steaming piles of meat to fall to the floor silently a testament to Rhapsody's sharpness. "Maybe I made that too painless." Ranran mentioned off handily as she set the armour to stand by itself in a kneeling position facing towards the desk before grabbing both halves of her target and stuffing him into the armour before closing it making it seem like the samurai was kneeling in the office by himself.

Once that was Ranran pocketed the box with the ring and opened the window to the office before stepping outside and walking down the exterior wall of the bleeding leaving only her armour behind which was fine since she didn't need it and she hadn't put her sigils on the thing and instead had left a blood message on the chest piece of the armour as a calling card.

Your Next

Making her way down the side of the building Ranran idly took a Kunai out and carefully carved one single line onto her mask with the bladed edge. "One"

[Sorry forgot to post]

 

[Uzu]

…and just like that, the Baron Twins lost their most reasonable voice in a sea of sycophants.

While the immediate damage would seemingly be nothing more than a simple write off of funds, the long lasting effect would begin to show its ugly face in the coming weeks following To’s assassination. Without his reasonable wit for strategy and knowing the desert inside and out, the Twins began to flounder on their campaign to control the Wind Country. It started with a deafening blow dealt to their mercenaries who tried to take control of the far North in a hailmary to get a strategic foothold against the larger Nomad clan in the area. With the gut punch pulled by the tribe up there, only the most insane, desperate, or conniving continued to work with the Twins as the allegiance in Sunagakure began to waiver.

Ranran did a little more than just simply push Suna’s enemies into a corner though. With her procurement of the enchanted ring from To’s possession, Wei had lost a trump card in dealing with the rising dissent in his tyrannical rule. The Ancient of the Flame Courts that was called upon the 12th Kazekage, leading to his disappearance, mysteriously never showed his face again after that piece of jewelry was collected. What had started as a single prong attack on the Barons folded into a tactical pincer maneuver as those that had tried to control the ancient Sunagakurians started to feel the heat the locals were accustomed to.

After all, in the Wind Country, rarely was it the heat reflected from the golden grains that killed a man here; hubris, instead, remained the top predator.

[Mission Completed Successfully! Thank you for being a part of Suna's ever growing story!]