It was hot...one of those heats that would devour anyone not from Kaze-no-Kuni or Sunagakure. On especially scorching days, travel and trade between villages and ports in Kaze-no-Kuni seemed to slow from "healthy athlete" to "zombie with a broken foot". This, obviously, would be one of the latter.
Satsumaru, however, welcomed it. He was used to the hellish heat of the Sunan sun, and it made his target that much easier to discover along the roads. With fewer merchants and travelers, there was less to sort through. Details were few, but the gist of the situation was that a group of grave robbers had plundered an ancient Uchiha's tomb and taken a weapon of some note. While Satsumaru had never been much of an archeologist or a collector, this was obviously something he intended to recover. With the construction of the Uchiha Shrine underway, and the goal of a stronger and more dignified Uchiha clan on his mind, it was common sense to imagine that he wouldn't let such an item slip through and be pawned off.
The long-haired man perched high on a canyon ledge overlooking the road below, his crimson eyes scanning it for any travelers. There were a few obvious bystanders with their little packs, and a few merchants with carts, but none held the item in question. It was a fan. A large fan. Some rumors say it was a giant fan with a small handle, while others claimed it to be a polearm with a fan instead of a blade. Whatever the details, it was a large item, hard to mask without considerable room and effort.
It wasn't until a few hours into his search that such an image made itself visible. Cautious, Satsumaru watched them to see whether or not they were what he was after.
Nervous glances, obvious paranoia, and an abnormally quiet group...signs that they were traveling with a purpose in mind that they didn't want others aware of. Blending into the shadows with his jutsu, Satsumaru moved along and positioned himself within the shade of the over-arching canyon walls, watching from a new vantage point. It was there that he spied a rather large item, covered yet protruding from their cart. This...was it.
Without so much as a sound, he moved along the ground unseen, snatching the fan from the cart and unwrapping it with one swift movement. It was precisely what he was looking for. A long black pole with a black fan at the end, the shadow of the emblem of the Uchiha clan emblazoned on each corner of each side.
It was then that the group took notice. Rearing around in alarm, they began rumbling and yelling amongst themselves. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you thief?" the apparent ringleader called out as he stepped forward, "That's ours!"
Holding the fan out, Satsumaru visibly tested the weight, gripping it for a while and twisting his wrist to feel the fluidity of the fan's body. "No, it's not," he replied calmly, "It bears the mark of the Uchiha. And...unless I'm mistaken, I'm the only Uchiha here."
With that, he raised his crimson eyes toward the group. Some were visibly startled, while others simply gritted their teeth. One man attempted to take the initiative and began charging the shinobi, but Satsumaru looked him in the eyes and said, "Run."
The man looked a bit out of it for a brief moment before dropping his weapon and fleeing toward Soon's Haven. The hypnotic suggestion of the Sharingan had bent his will.
"I'm not here to kill you, I'm simply here to take what belongs to my clan. You stole it, now I'm stealing it back. You can either accept this and live, or resist me and die," the long-haired Uchiha announced.
"To hell with that, and to hell with you, Uchiha!" the ringleader roared, spitting at the ground toward Satsumaru as he unsheathed a crude-looking blade. His men followed suit, acting on instinct rather than logic at this point.
With a shrug, Satsumaru replied, "As you wish."
Performing some handseals with one free hand, he let loose an inferno, spanning the wide array of bandits and their cart. With a swing of the polearm fan, the flames seemed to roar a second time, rising a little higher. Satsumaru's crimson eyes widened with interest as he began laughing. This was an Uchiha weapon.
The men, for the most part, dropped their weapons and tried to flee. None actually survived. Whoever wasn't killed by the initial force of the jutsu lost consciousness soon enough and fell.
Satsumaru lifted the pole-fan over his shoulder and turned around, beginning the trip back to Sunagakure. One more of his clan's artifacts had been recovered. If any rumors emerged from this incident, perhaps it would act as a warning to any other grave-robbers or 'treasure hunters'.
[WC: 796]
Satsumaru, however, welcomed it. He was used to the hellish heat of the Sunan sun, and it made his target that much easier to discover along the roads. With fewer merchants and travelers, there was less to sort through. Details were few, but the gist of the situation was that a group of grave robbers had plundered an ancient Uchiha's tomb and taken a weapon of some note. While Satsumaru had never been much of an archeologist or a collector, this was obviously something he intended to recover. With the construction of the Uchiha Shrine underway, and the goal of a stronger and more dignified Uchiha clan on his mind, it was common sense to imagine that he wouldn't let such an item slip through and be pawned off.
The long-haired man perched high on a canyon ledge overlooking the road below, his crimson eyes scanning it for any travelers. There were a few obvious bystanders with their little packs, and a few merchants with carts, but none held the item in question. It was a fan. A large fan. Some rumors say it was a giant fan with a small handle, while others claimed it to be a polearm with a fan instead of a blade. Whatever the details, it was a large item, hard to mask without considerable room and effort.
It wasn't until a few hours into his search that such an image made itself visible. Cautious, Satsumaru watched them to see whether or not they were what he was after.
Nervous glances, obvious paranoia, and an abnormally quiet group...signs that they were traveling with a purpose in mind that they didn't want others aware of. Blending into the shadows with his jutsu, Satsumaru moved along and positioned himself within the shade of the over-arching canyon walls, watching from a new vantage point. It was there that he spied a rather large item, covered yet protruding from their cart. This...was it.
Without so much as a sound, he moved along the ground unseen, snatching the fan from the cart and unwrapping it with one swift movement. It was precisely what he was looking for. A long black pole with a black fan at the end, the shadow of the emblem of the Uchiha clan emblazoned on each corner of each side.
It was then that the group took notice. Rearing around in alarm, they began rumbling and yelling amongst themselves. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you thief?" the apparent ringleader called out as he stepped forward, "That's ours!"
Holding the fan out, Satsumaru visibly tested the weight, gripping it for a while and twisting his wrist to feel the fluidity of the fan's body. "No, it's not," he replied calmly, "It bears the mark of the Uchiha. And...unless I'm mistaken, I'm the only Uchiha here."
With that, he raised his crimson eyes toward the group. Some were visibly startled, while others simply gritted their teeth. One man attempted to take the initiative and began charging the shinobi, but Satsumaru looked him in the eyes and said, "Run."
The man looked a bit out of it for a brief moment before dropping his weapon and fleeing toward Soon's Haven. The hypnotic suggestion of the Sharingan had bent his will.
"I'm not here to kill you, I'm simply here to take what belongs to my clan. You stole it, now I'm stealing it back. You can either accept this and live, or resist me and die," the long-haired Uchiha announced.
"To hell with that, and to hell with you, Uchiha!" the ringleader roared, spitting at the ground toward Satsumaru as he unsheathed a crude-looking blade. His men followed suit, acting on instinct rather than logic at this point.
With a shrug, Satsumaru replied, "As you wish."
Performing some handseals with one free hand, he let loose an inferno, spanning the wide array of bandits and their cart. With a swing of the polearm fan, the flames seemed to roar a second time, rising a little higher. Satsumaru's crimson eyes widened with interest as he began laughing. This was an Uchiha weapon.
The men, for the most part, dropped their weapons and tried to flee. None actually survived. Whoever wasn't killed by the initial force of the jutsu lost consciousness soon enough and fell.
Satsumaru lifted the pole-fan over his shoulder and turned around, beginning the trip back to Sunagakure. One more of his clan's artifacts had been recovered. If any rumors emerged from this incident, perhaps it would act as a warning to any other grave-robbers or 'treasure hunters'.
[WC: 796]