Starring:
Date: August 1, 2013
Summary:
The island of the Shirayuki Rogue pirates is found. A landing party goes to shore and finds a pirate scouting party. They are over-run and questioned about where the rest of the pirates are located.
"Journey of the Unproven Princess - Landing Party"
Frozen North Sea (north of Kirigakure)
The sea has calmed substantially and the winds have picked up since Sakuryu went below deck. The pirate ship almost feels like it is flying from inside the belly of the beast, which is grand because they've been travelling for almost a day of good sailing. The ship would suddenly slow though, and the crew would be running around, both above deck and below. The Captain's voice echos off the hull of the voice as he is found inside it, "Stow-away…come here." He's calling for Sakuryu of course.
Sakuryu grumbles. "I wish you wouldn't announce my presence to the heavens! This is a stealth mission." She huffs as she slowly clambers from the lower deck. She has new clothes situated on her after searching through what seemed like a mountain of spoiled clothes to find a clean outfit after yesterdays debacle.
The Captain shakes his head, "The crew knows you're here. If they don't, I should send them to the sharks. You can just smell when a girl is on-board." He grumbles some himself before spinning and heading for the stairs, "We've come across the island where the pirates are said to be stationed. You can take one of my landing boats with a small crew if you'd like to find the pirates. They're on the far side of the island compared to where we are now. Or, you can take them on all by your lonesome, it is your death warrant." He clears his throat.
Sakuryu sighs "I thought we were going to moor the ship and plan an ambush.." She groans. "Okay do any of your men have any battle experience or jutsu training? In the last battle things seemed kind of lax. In fact why don't you come with me. Any treasures we find not belonging to the clan can be divided amongst you myself and the landing crew.
The Captain shakes his head, "I'd rather not be moored, just in case we encounter an entire fleet. I don't mind taking on two or even three ships, but a fleet is a different story. I'd like to be free to fly if at all possible. We don't know what we're encountering here. That is part of the landing party's mission, to figure out what is going on." He pauses and shakes his head, "Not yet. Once we have a better idea of the numbers we're facing, then I'll leave the boat and head out for a raid. As for the men, I wouldn't say they know Taijutsu, but most of the men I'm sending you out with can handle an axe as well as a Genin shinobi." He shrugs.
Sakuryu groans and takes in her breath. "Fine. Give me then men and lets go." She nods and stretches out before letting out a calming breath. Saku had been training her power and could take on a chuunin or even a jounin with full effort, as long as these weren't rogue ninja jounin she should be fine. "We leave as soon as the boats are prepped." She nods as she goes back below decks to fix and adjust her ninja tools into her outfit.
The Captain shakes his head. He will be happy to have her off his boat for a bit. Woman…they're nothing but trouble aboard a ship. The Captain heads above deck.
Time goes by and the call comes out that the landing party is ready to push off. Anyone who is going ashore needs to be on-board. ~Sakuryu better get a move on,~ thinks the Captain. Assuming she makes it in time, and the Captain would hold the landing boat there for her, so she would make it, the ship would shove off and head for the island. The journey to the beach is uneventful, as is everything on the beach. Once the boat hits shore, the first mate steps off into the water and says, "Alright, listen up. No engaging until we've got a feel for what's up. It's a quick journey up and through the center of the island. Stay close. We don't know what we'll encounter." He is speaking to everyone, but his eyes are on Saku.
Sakuryu eyes him back. "Hey, I've been on missions of high importance and stealth. Trust me I know what to do." She relaxes and settles herself to lighten her footsteps. She would keep with the group but keep her eyes open. She was mentally noting escape routes, places where people could be hiding, possible traps, vantage points and etc. Getting ready to engage she wanted all the cards.
The first mate shakes his head, "Just shut up and keep close." And he starts mumbling to himself about a girl being out on a mission. The others don't seem all that happy to have Sakuryu around either, so much so that they let her take the lead. Lucky her.
The island has a minor jungle, and it is up to Saku to get them through it. The leaves are heavy with dew and the bugs swarm everyone like rain-drops in a tsunami. After about an hour's worth of walking, the landing party hits a mountain crest and begins heading downhill. Voices can be heard coming from down below.
Saku rolls her eyes, they think they're messing her up putting her en pointe but it's what she wants. Saku has been trying to train herself to be worthy of the ANBU black ops and this would be good training. She takes a breath and rolls her neck carefully working through the jungle, making sure to not create too much of a trail in case they had any sort of stealth corps.
Cresting the hilltop she stops and motions for them to be quiet. "Okay, spread out slowly, keep a notice where you are or you'll get incapacitated or killed. She lets out a breath as she starts to focus her chakra in on herself. "First we survey what we're up against then be prepared for anything."
The landing party is atop a cliff that looks down onto more forest. At the base of the cliff is a small camp of pirates with blue bandanas the color of the seas. There are about five of them in total from what can be seen. They are busy getting a fire going and talking about past exploits. Some talk about girls, others about fights, and others about con-jobs. They don't seem to have noticed any of the landing party up above them yet.
The vantage points are fairly good from atop the cliff, but as the party starts spreading out down and around the cliff, the jungle swallows the views again and it is hard to see again.
Curses under her breath at the denseness of the jungle and starts to take note of everyone making an observation to find a head officer or a captain. Especially to find the ones claiming the name of Shirayuki and using one of the clans lost treasures.
Saku spots the look out and observes if he is making any sort of scheduled feedback before taking a wide berth around him, forming a few ice needles before throwing them precicely at a few paralyzing points on his body as well as the side of his neck to keep him down for a while.
None have spoken their name just yet, but there is one guy in the group that seems to be sitting around more than others while the rest are busy working. Chances are fairly good that this guy might be in charge.
As Saku throws out the ice-needles, the look-out doesn't even have time to see the attacks coming and gets hit in the neck. Blood-spurts out and the look out hits the jungle ground without much of a sound…DOA. The others continue to work as they go, unaware of the attackers coming their way.
Sakuryu quickly moves to the body. "Hmm I just wanted to wound him… better this way though." She shrugs off his death before searching his body for anything useful, covering up the blood as best she can before moving the body away so it wouldn't be immediately noticed.
As she approaches closer she takes a moment to get a better observation. This will allow her more time to focus her chakra to perform the shirayuki kekkei-genkai to destroy these pirates for be-smirching their name. But something seems queer here…..There doesn't seem to be a captain…and a party of six could never cause tyranny on the high seas even if they had the shirayuki treasure…something wasn't right.
That's right, no Captain, just a small crew. This definitely isn't the whole armada. It is as Sakuryu is focusing herself that the first mate comes up behind her and tugs on her sleeve for a brief chat. In a hushed tone, he whispers, "Scouting party. Leave one alive…get answers." He's begrudgingly working with her now it seems. The four workers have by now gotten the fire going and are working on food prep, shelter, supplies, etc. The fifth guy just sits there continually.
Sakuryu nods and carefully focuses herself, pulling in her chakra before forming her handsigns to let the mist flow, a heavy bank of thick mist rolling into the area. Sakuryu lets her chakra flow into the very fabric of the mist to feel every moment and is soon letting out a flurry of needles aiming for vitals on the lower enemies, nudging the first mate to confirm the kills before throwing out a barrier of needles around the feet of the sitting man giving them a hard burst of Chakra to let an ice lotus bloom up and around him, Sakuryu soon at his throat with a kunai. "Speak and die like them…"
The pirates note the mist as it comes in, having recognized the technique. "This is hidden mist." It is more dense than the usual mist you see. They go back to back with the man in charge in the middle as they try to see whoever is ambushing them. They don't spot Sakuryu though, nor her ice-needles as they come flying out of the mist and into the men's bodies. They aren't all killed immediately, but the first mate takes care of that quickly enough. The man in charge is also captured by the ice bloom and struggles to get out until that kunai is at his throat. He's not really sure what she meant by her saying, so for now he stays quiet.
Sakuryu relaxes and lets the mist fade to show the no doubt bloody mess in front of them, she has a kunai at his neck, the only real exposed part. "If I feel even the beginnings of an alert or call this Kunai goes through your throat and you die a horrible death.." She seems to have taken on a quite malevolent tone. "Now….cooperate and I might be able to let you live….for a while at least depending on your information… Where are the pirates claiming Shirayuki blood?" as she asks the last part she gives him emphasis of the situation, letting the edge of the blade dig into his flesh a little. "I wouldn't lie if I were you.."
The man just gives a grunt when Sakuryu lays down the line. When she finally tells him to speak, he says, "Keep heading down, you'll find them eventually…or they you. I don't think you've realized what you just got yourself into little girl. There is a whole armada down below. We're talking ten full-sized ships, plus a few dozen smaller vessels. You've stumbled into the lion's den. And, to make matters worse, we are just an early warning camp. You've taken out my men, men that a runner will come looking for. As for the Shirayuki, the Admiral and some of the ship Captains and crew members are Shirayuki by blood I am told. You don't need to worry about me lying to you. I'm fairly confident you're breathing your last breaths one way or another." He smirks, obviously over-confident.
She chuckles. "Well….tell me my caged bird….Who is the clan with ice in their blood, that strikes through the mist and can control the very cold in your body…" She says in a darker tone staring him down. "I am a shirayuki and WE, ARE, NOT, PLEASED by this blasphemy…." She gives a little growl before looking at one of her crew. "You all, strip them and take their clothes, it will be a bit of a disguise at least. Theres one more in the jungle. " She stares at the man in her captivity before looking at the sailors. "Decide his fate, Death, dehydration, or the slim chance he escapes?" She smirks and looks around carefully. "We have to hurry. When you're dressed run towards the main camp and report an ambush, give them a wild goose chase to rouse them, I can keep hidden and make my way to the camp." She nods and looks around carefully.
The landing party crew nods to Sakuryu, gaining a new found respect for the girl. They take the clothes, hide the bodies in the rubble of the cliff, and take their positions. The first mate looks to the man and says, "I've got a fun little game for this one. Still, I should return to the Captain first and let him know. We can plant explosives along a path, actually lead them through a wild goose chase of explosions and the like. It is more likely to rouse them than just someone running around." The first mate shoos Sakuryu to head on out and let him deal with the camp situation. "Just wait for the explosions to start before you make your move, ne?"
Sakuryu nods. "I'll be waiting but I'll not say where, but if you don't see the mist within 20 minutes of your attack leave!" she says before quickly entering the jungle towards the encampment, so much easier now that she can use tree running and her natural ninja prowess. The biting cold of a north sea island was annoying but she would put up with it to win in this situation. She stops just short of the encampment, making a small barrier with branches she relaxes to rejuvenate herself at least a little.
The first mate just nods to her as she says something about mist and time and…hopefully he was paying attention. Indeed, the path down to the main encampment is much easier without the rest of the crew. From Sakuryu's new perch, the entirety of the encampment can be seen. This isn't an encampment, this is a hidden village. The Village Hidden in the North Sea. Sure, there aren't really many shinobi here, and the few that are here aren't really trained. There are ships in dry-dock, ships moored out at sea, ships in a harbor, and an entire sea-side economy going on in and around caves located along a cliff-face. This place is a pirate's dream. It would be hard to take from above and even harder to take from the sea. Sneaking in and out may be Sakuryu's only option…and maybe, if she's lucky, she'll find something inside that helps her take the village down from within. If not the weapon, then something else.
Sakuryu takes a breath and closes her eyes. She would wait for the alarm to sound and watch for vulnerabilities. When she sees it she would take it quick and get into the village. From there she would scout for the closest building, either the lords building to find her treasure or any other possible help for the mission. "They're pirates…I bet they have powder kegs…" She whispers to herself as she gets ready to let the mist roll in just in case.
There really aren't buildings so much as there are openings in the cliff-face. The cliff is peppered with them. The closest opening is straight down the cliff-face, which would lead her into a series of caves. Time passes though and all Sakuryu can do is wait until she hears the explosions start. Luckily, she doesn't have to wait all that long, just a few hours. As dusk arrives and night approaches, the first exlosion rings somewhere in the jungle all the way on the other side of the cliff-face from where Sakuryu is. They've drawn the attention far away from Saku at least. The cliffs very quickly throw-out and alarm and start emptying to head to the location of the explosion. That doesn't mean that the caves are left un-guarded, oh no…there are still plenty of people on full alert now, but about half the people that were in the caves are out now. Time for Sakuryu to make her move.
Sakuryu takes a breath and uses the opportunity to slide into the caves, quickly using her stealth and speed to work her way into the cave system. She would look for indications of the leaders den, to try and find the Shirayuki treasure and make an example of the leaders to let them all know the Shirayuki are not to be messed with. She wants to also get the treasures to bring back something to show along with the clans pride.
