The Rescue of Uzumaki Amiko pt. 1

Starring:

Amiko (emitter), Yuzuna, Fudo, Naota, Hinotori

Date: March 4, 2013

Summary:

None given.

Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.


"The Rescue of Uzumaki Amiko pt. 1"

Land of Fire

Several shinobi within Konoha have been called together to form a team. As they arrive in

one of Konoha's briefing rooms a Jounin stands near the front of the room, nodding to each as they

enter. When at last the whole team has arrived, the Jounin says, "You've been called together for a

mission of high-importance. As you know, Uzumaki Amiko, a shinobi in residence here in Konohagakure

and a close ally of our village, went Missing In Action some weeks ago. We have believed since then

that she remains a captive of a small group of dangerous shinobi, however her whereabouts are still

unknown. More recently we launched a mission to capture one of the Missing-nin believed to be

holding Amiko. This man's name is Cruncher." And with that, the man places a picture of an

enormous, heavy-set man on the wall. "Unfortunately, Cruncher overpowered the team that was sent to

capture him. But, he has resurfaced, and we need to make another attempt to capture the man.

Cruncher is believed to be the 2IC of the rogue ninja outfit holding Uzumaki Amiko, and learning

her location is the primary objective of this mission. Capturing Cruncher is a secondary objective,

however you can locate Uzumaki Amiko, Cruncher can be captured or terminated at your discretion,"

he explains further, and then places up a bio sheet and a map on the wall next to Cruncher's mug

shot. "Cruncher is known to use powerful Taijutsu techniques and Earth Elemental Ninjutsu. He was

spotted earlier today in a town about an hour's run outside of Konohagakure. You will head to the

town, locate Cruncher and either capture him or follow him until he leads you to the hideout where

Uzumaki Amiko is being held," he finishes, and then nods to Hinotori, passing over the mantle of

leadership for the mission.

Upon entering the room, Hinotori had only joined the mission due to his last one being

cancelled. It seems that this was teh reason why, he was hoping he wasn't being asked to lead, but

as the briefing begins, he begins to collect the information and storing it away in his head.

Looking to each member of the team, one he's worked with the others he's not, so figuring out their

plan of how to handle this will be something that will need to be discussed. As the Jounin finishes

and hands off the mantle to him he shakes his head a little. He didn't like leading, but walking up

and sitting on the desk as he looks to everyone.

"Hi." he smiles. "Most of you know me, I'm Uchiha Hinotori. I didn't know I was going to be leading

this mission, but thats fine. Some of you I've worked with the others I've not. We will be moving

pretty fast so if your able please keep up." he states. Looking to the mug shot then at the map of

the area they will be going to look for Cruncher, Hinotori looks to the others. "Take the time to

burn the images in your minds eye, if your skilled with drawging draw a map. Stealth is going to

play a key role, seeing as Cruncher beat the team that last came after him, I figure stealth will

be our primary plan of attack and track him back to the hideout. Now if we aren't lead to the

hideout, we attack, going for joints or possiby using genjutsu if any of you are skilled in those

fields. I'm a taijutsuist primarily." he explains. Taking a breath, "Any questions before we

leave?" he asks.

Called in for this mission, Naota was silent as he'd watch the explination. Curious about

the whole thing, Hinotori was studied for a moment, before a nod was given in response. One of

those scrolls pulled from a knee pocket, he'd unroll it to pluck a pen from another pocket and with

a few looks, he was very quickly able to replicate the map as requested. That set aside, another

page pulled out and he would replicate the image of the mug shot as well. Both allowed to dry for a

moment, a smile would be given to Hinotori then. "Rankoro Naota. I realize I am not one of the ones

you have worked with, Uchiha-san. While I am not the best at stealth, I shall do what I can to

assist with capture, if the time comes for such."

Leaning quietly against one of the walls of the meeting, the Hyuuga kunoichi listens in

silence with her long sleeves loosely crossed against her chest, her pale opal eyes blinking slowly

at the Jounin that explains the details of the mission. For a shinobi to be missing in action, it

was a very serious matter indeed. Who knows what kind of secrets Amiko can be holding of the

village, but much more than that she's a comrade. Leaf shinobi don't leave their comrades in

battle. Her delicate brow furrows gently as she listens for several moments, her pale eyes quick to

glance at the picture that was set on the wall. This man named Crusher. "So this is an intelligence

retrieval mission?" Yuzuna murmurs lightly to herself. Before the secondary objective.
Her keen eyes flick to the bio sheet and map when it's placed on the wall, next to the

picture of Crusher. "Earth elemental… seems we need Fire ninjutsu to counter against Earth

ninjutsu. Its a good thing we have an Uchiha with us." Her dark lashes lower over her pale gaze as

she shifts her attention from Hinotori to Naota, her expression softening subtly when introductions

are made. After, she exhales a small breath and lifts her chin. "If we are making introductions, I

am Hyuuga Yuzuna. I have trained with Juuken and Juuho Taijutsu, and Water ninjutsu, but I

specialize with the Byakugan."

Uchiha Narusegawa would have been the one to inform Fudo of a mission opportunity. She was

a little worried considering he had only been in the village itself for about a week now, but she

also was eager to ensure that he gained experience swiftly. Fudo still wasn't exactly certain as to

why that was, but he would not hesitate to learn and improve, so when he was informed, and all

assurance was made to make sure that he was not just rushing head long in to things, he would have

accepted the mission and gathered with the rest at the briefing room.
After listening to the briefing as well as the follow up from the team leader, Fudo would

consider everything said as well as the target himself. Torture wasn't going to work in anything

resembling a timely manner for someone like that, and eliminating the target prior to getting

information would have been wasted effort and put the primary objective at risk. It seemed there

was really only two options available: Get the information prior through subtle means, or follow

him.
"Do we have any intelligence on the mannerisms of the target? Is he a braggart? A

drunkard? Does he have a soft spot for kids or pets? Is there anything we can use to gain the

advantage without direct conflict? If the objective is to secure Uzumaki Amiko's location, if not

her herself, then I see only the options of espionage or tracking. Killing the secondary target

without information may eliminate any chance of using him to find the primary target, and capturing

him may not provide results in a timely manner." Fudo would offer his opinion on the matter. "Given

the fact that we also have people capable of long range survailence as well as chakra detection,

and the fact that the last time Cruncher was drawn in to battle he over powered the team, caution

seems more like the route to take until Uzumaki Amiko is secured."

The briefing-nin nods to Fudo and says, "While the determination of Amiko's location is of

primary importance, Cruncher has shown a lack of defenses against Genjutsu techniques. This leads

us to believe that if he is captured alive we will be able to extract her location quickly from his

mind. We have interrogaters prepped for this possibility already. As far as other intel, he is a

brute. Overwhelming opponents with strength and speed appears to be his only combat style. He is

merciless, and likes to… uhh… eat the bones of the people he kills." The man frowns as he looks

at the page in his hand. "Eww, ok, that's apparently where his name comes from," he adds, then

shakes his head disgustedly, before saying, "The last team noted that he ran out of chakra during

his engagement with them, but their team was too injured to safely continue the battle and was

forced to withdraw."

Nodding his head in turn to each person who's voiced concerns and introductions, Hinotori

allowed himself to keep quiet as questions to the Briefing-Nin is asked. He does have a few

questions as well, but as the briefing-nin continues and explains that Cruncher is weak against

genjutsu, that doesn't give him any comfort due to him possibly having defenses against fire, but

that remains to be seen for now. When it's indicated that Cruncher eats his victims basically in

whole, bones to, Hinotori only shakes his head, he's seen a few vile things during his time as a

shinobi and can only assumes it gets worse from there. "I see. Now where he is located as of now,

how long do we have before he moves again and is he currently being accompanied by anyone else or

being watched by members he's with?"

Paperwork put away after Naota finished drying them off, a small nod was given and the

scrolls were put away. That done, he'd check all of his stuff, the pen put away as well, preparing

for the trip. He'd give a small nod to his own stuff, before looking to the others. It was an

interesting mix of what they had here. But it seems they weren't going to be in luck for a genjutsu

user? Each person looked at for a long moment, Naota finally would ask, "Is there anyone here that

can do genjutsu? Or are we going regular moves to deal with this.. beast?"

Strength and speed, it seems rather straightforward for the most part. The bit about

Cruncher eating the bones of his fallen targets… that's enough to churn anyone's stomach. And it

certainly makes Yuzuna a bit unsettled. Her soft lips part with a small breath. "Ran out of charka,

hm. That sounds promising. I rather we subdue him with genjutsu if that is possible though. That

would make things easier in the long run." But she's just saying what everyone else is thinking.

Fudo would nod. So he has a lack of mental discipline and he has no restraint. A rather

simple target in more than one way. "Thank you." Fudo would say to the briefing-nin. Unfortunately,

beyond asking questions, Fudo was not sure how he would best participate in this mission. A few

days hadn't been long enough for him to truly grasp mastery over any particular skill. Wits were

about the only thing he'd have access to and he'd have to hope they were up to par. "I am not able

to utilize genjutsu yet…" Fudo would admitt as he considered his options still. Things would be

far simpler other wise.

The Briefing-nin sighs as he looks at Hinotori and says, "Our intel in that is limited. His

known associates are scattered at the moment, so its possible he's alone, but we've been surprised

before." His lips tighten a little and he adds, "As of two hours ago he was here, at the inn in

Kuwagasai," he explains and points to a building on the edge of the town, "But that's the most up-

to-date information we have. The locals say that he spends several hours there every night though."

Since that's the end of the questions, the Briefing-nin gestures towards the door, sending the team

on their way.
It only takes an hour for the whole team to reach the outskirts of Kuwagasai. The town is

surrounded by forest, with only about 20 metres (65 feet) between the treeline and the first

houses. The inn is brightly lit, with several lanterns on the outside of the building and a bright

light coming from its windows. Boisterous laughter and loud conversation can be heard even from the

treeline. There doesn't appear to be anyone out on the streets though, with twilight having well

and truly fallen. A man opens the back door of the inn and walks out briskly, an apron wrapped

around his waist. He walks over to one of the kegs being stored at the back of the building and

begins to hoist it, getting ready to take it inside. Looks like he's the innkeeper.

Well with the information being given, Hinotori leads the team out. Moving as fast as thier

slowest members not wanting to allow them to get too far behind. Having given instructions to keep

silent unless something of importance need to be said, Hinotori didn't want to give any allowance

for them being possibly tailed. Due to training and well paranoia from his predesuser who has

passed, Hinotori feels as if he has some pretty large shoes to fill right now.
Upon getting to Kuwagasai, he signals for the others to group to halt. Looking to Yuzuna,

he signals for her to look around the area, with teh use of Byakugan she shouldn't have much

trouble doing so, he then activates his sharingan in hopes to pick up Crunchers chakra, seeing as

there being a difference in chakra from a trained shinobi and that of a villager possibly. For Fudo

and Noata, he instructs them to keep an eye out for anyone or thing that may be creeping in teh

shadows just in case he and Yuzuna miss something. With all the loudness coming from the inn,

Hinotori looks towards it, he didn't want them going in at all due to spooking their target and

causing a problem, but then again there is always henge. Noticing the inn keeper, he waits for

reports from the others before issuing orders.

Naota would try to not be the slowest of the group, no telling for sure if he was or not.

Either way, they would get there after the hour passed and he wasn't even winded. Always a good

sign. Quietly as he could, he'd keep with the group, the order to scope out the sides given a nod

and he'd dutifully look about. It wasn't quite poking into stuff, especially with the two people

here who had the dojutsus, but he'd still keep alert and ready, that pen of his pulled from where

it was to be slowly twirled in his fingers. Fortunately, it wasn't a click pen, or the absentminded

motion might of given his position away.

The travel to the town in the middle of forest was swift, and Yuzuna was silent the whole

while as she stares ahead of them, stretching her keen senses around the team with caution if only

to make sure that they weren't caught off guard. When they catch sigh of Kuwagasai, the Hyuuga

kunoichi slows her pace to come to an eventual stop when signalled. Her pale eyes look up at

Hinotori and she lowers her chin with a quick nod of acknowledgement. With a quick breath, Yuzuna

releases her chakra and it surges through her temples, the smooth skin suddenly bulging with veins

lacing from the corner of her eyes and spreading over her temples like spiderwebs.

Holding position and looking around for a few moments, Fudo would follow the orders given,

but he also knew that if the Byakugan was going to be used, that his sight wasn't going to make any

real difference. So instead of focusing entirely on searching for the possibility of a flank, he

would begin to mold and build chakra up. He had a feeling henge may be necessary for this, and he

wanted to be prepared incase their cover was blown. Luckily, Fudo was well aware of people like

this from his life in Fuuma Alley, so he was prepared for that eventuality.

Having focused more of his attention towards the inn, he notices quite a few chakra

signatures within the inn and as he focuses onto it, he smirks a little. Granted he can't tell who

it belongs to but doesn't want to assume. He looks to the others, sensing the flickering of chakra,

he turns and looks to Fudo, looks like the others is coming to that same conclusion but he waits to

hear from Yuzuna before acting, "I see one very large chakra signature, but don't want to assume

just yet. What do you see." he says in a very low voice as he looks to Yuzuna.

Yuzuna stares pointedly at the Inn, as if she could see through the walls (which she can)

at the large concentration of chakra inside. "There is a sizable mass of chakra inside the

building. It is safe to assume that it is the same chakra signature you sense, and that we found

our target." she murmurs lightly, just enough to be heard. "What are our orders team leader?"

The secondary target was in the proper location as expected. It seems intell and their

swift departure synergized. Not bad at all. So now it was time to take the initiative. He would

wait to see what Hinotori decided was the best way to approach this situation.

Hinotori nods his head at Yuzuna, "Alright, we both seem to confirmed the same thing." he

looks to the team, "We will wait for him to come out, no need to give up our advantage at this

time. ONce he leaves, we will follow him, if he doesn't after an hour, Fudo-san I would like for

you to henge and just move in to go to the rest room. Look around casually and just head to the

rest room, don't draw any attention to yourself. ONce you come back report back what you've seen."

The hour passes quite uneventfully, however just as the clock is about to tick over the

front door of the inn opens up, and one horrendously huge man walks out. He's wearing a red

overcoat with nothing underneath and black pants. On his feet are standard shinobi sandals. The man

stretches casually, then looks around to see if he's being watched. This is clearly Cruncher.

The enormous man, after a quick visual sweep of the area, shrugs and starts to walk off

down the streets of the town. After twisting and turning amid several alleys, he stops and looks up

to the rooftops, then around several corners. What's he doing? He's making sure he's not being

followed. Clearly stealth isn't his strong suit. After all of this he continues on his way, finally

stepping inside a rather innocent, small looking building near the centre of the town.
You paged Hinotori with 'Using your Byakugan, you can see that the building is empty, except for a

small hole that connects to a natural tunnel which leads leads down into a network of similar

tunnels beneath the town. The tunnels are quite extensive and deep, too deep for you to perceive

the bottom of them.'

It's not hard keeping up with Cruncher, but he looks to Naota and Fudo to make sure that

the two are able to keep up as well as follow his instruction which helps with them keeping their

distance and hiding behind structures, but keeping just enough of a visual to track Cruncher until

they are able to follow him to a small building. He holds up a hand and points to Yuzuna to see if

she can follow him further with her eyes, as he is doing with the Sharingan to keep his chakra

signature in sight.

Naota would do his best to keep out of sight, nodding in agreement with the leader, he'd

stay back, probably not even keeping in sight of Cruncher, just to make sure he didn't give away

that the man was being followed. Once at the building, an empty scroll would be taken out, that pen

put to use while the rest of them prepared for the next part of the mission. Him? He was drawing,

quickly copying down with a fairly decent accuracy considering the monocrome nature, that building

that the man had walked into.

It was more than extremely easy to follow Cruncher as he staggers out of the inn and makes

his way through the streets, though he isn't foolish enough not to risk glancing back for anyone

that may be tailing him. He was cautious, but not cautious enough. The only question Yuzuna can ask

herself as the team does follow is if he was leading them on purpose? If so, that would mean that

they would be walking into a trap. However, she doesn't allow herself to continue that train of

thinking for very long. Paranoia would only jeopardize their mission.
As their target approaches the building Yuzuna comes to a quick stop when Hinotori holds up

a hand, her pale gaze sharp as Cruncher disappears inside the building and continues to follow his

movements through the walls. After several moments of silence, her delicate brow begins to knit

together with intense focus and thought, "Wait… he, he appears to be going down." Yuzuna

whispers. "A long ways down. And there are more chakra signatures down there. It is difficult to

say how many right now."

Fudo would shift his gaze towards Hinotori and nod silently, but still, he was surprised.

It was a risky move, but a calculated one. Fudo, even with his focused chakra, would not be a

noticable blip on anyones radar in a crowd like that. On top of that, if something was to occur,

the target is more likely to flee or attack than find a way to slip away. Thus they would have the

ability to catch him off guard if he focused on just Fudo. Now… fudo surviving that situation is

quite unlikely, but at least he would have served a purpose. A pawn being taken out to ensure the

greatest possibility of a check mate.
However, all of this is foiled by the brute leaving the inn just a moment too early. Fudo

was already on the ground about to prepare his Henge when the massive man began to look around.

Fudo would do his best to slowly slip down and crouch his way near the closest cover he could find

as Cruncher would… completely miss any of them. After a few moments of half baked "searching" he

apparently moved on to the center of the town. Fudo furrowed his brow slightly as he looked towards

the rest. This was either increadibly fortunate, or entirely dangerous.

Looking to the others as Yuzuna gives information, but as Cruncher dissapears into the

small building, he glances to the others. "We know where they are." he says in a low whisper. "Lets

see hwo far that tunnel leads and give Naota directions of the underground tunnel so that he can

draw it." he says remembering how quickly and detailed Naota drew both the map and the mug shot of

Cruncher. "Move, quickly and quietly if possible lets get inside, quietly." he tells them. He then

leaps down to the ground and starts moving towards the door, checking skillfully to see if it's

unlocked.

The path to the front door is completely clear, and all seems to be going well until

Hinotori touches the door. The doorknob glows, a seal appearing on it, the black ink turning red

and draining Hinotori's chakra before exploding powerfully. No one but Yuzuna can see through the

thick cloud of smoke that is kicked up by the explosion, however from inside the clanging of a gong

rings out. Clearly, that's an intruder alarm that's just been tripped. Around the street people are

poking their heads out of their doors and windows to see what all the commotion is about.

As Hinotori approaches the door, he notices a tiny amount of chakra just behind the

doorknob. The chakra is highly focused and centralised, but obscured from vission and incredibly

difficult to perceive.

Stopping from touching the doorknob as he notices the tiny bit of chakra thats just behind

the doorknob. Backing away from the door, he moves over to Yuzuna and Fudo, "Anyone know how to

discharge chakra without the trap sprining?" he asks quietly. He then moves to the side of hte

house to see if there is a window or something else still scanning to check for traps like the one

he's just found.

Yuzuna lowers her chin with a small nod, but her focus is on the building still, or rather

the concentrated chakra of Cruncher as he moves deeper underground. Hinotori was the first to move

forward, testing the doorknob of first for any possible traps before backing away from the door

cautiously. "No, however there are two other windows, and no other traps that I can detect. We can

try those first and then disable the trap on the front door from inside, that way when we leave we

do not set it off in our rush."

Fudo would consider the question for a moment, closing his eyes lightly. "Not knowing what

the trap is… options are limited. However, something like a seal or the ability to project chakra

outside of the body may have an effect. However, if we are just focusing on the door knob, is it

possible to just remove the door itself if we cannot find another way in?" Fudo would suggest,

though getting intell from Yuzuna seemed to indicate that they had two toher options to explore

first and he would certainly nod to that.
You paged Yuzuna with 'No, it didn't look like he did anything special.'

Hinotori grins to Yuzuna, "Alright. Window it is." he says as he looks to to her then Fudo.

"I don't know what it does, but I don't want to risk taking the door off the hinges due to possibly

still triggering it." he says still in a whispered voice. Gesturing to the windows, he begins

moving towards the window, his sharingan focusing on the windows as he nears them to check to see

if they are also trapped like the front door is.

Inside the building is completely bare. There's no furniture or decorations, the flooring

is just straight concrete. The ceiling isn't any better, looking like it hasn't been cleaned in a

century. In the middle of the building is a hole with a ladder leading downwards into sheer

darkness. Distant, muffled sounds can be heard coming from the hole, although anyone down there is

at least a couple of minutes ahead of the group.

Window it is. Yzuuna is careful to keep an eye on their surroundings as they come to the

window on the other side of the building. With the Byakguan, there appears to be no trap at the

window, unlike the front door. Lifting her hands, she pushes the window open and pushes herself up

through it with seamless grace, disappearing completely without a hint of a trap being set off.

"Hurry." her voice whispers, signaling that it was safe to move through. When Hinotori and Fudo

enter, they find Yuzuna standing near the hole of the floor. "I can see the chakra signatures

through this way."

Fudo follows them both through the window as Naota stays outside to keep watch incase they

have to retreat. After slipping in, he would nod to Yuzuna and move towards the hole, ready to go

in after them.

Hinotori watches as Yuzuna enters into the window, he would quickly follow in after Fudo

who moves in after Yuzuna. Taking one last quick check around, he then follows suit. He turns

around and closes the window quickly behind him but making sure that he doesn't make any sound.

Moving quietly as he can to where Yuzuna is, Hinotori looks to Fudo and sees that he is doing well

so far and is a bit impressed with him. He then looks to Yuzuna and nods his head, "See what you

can." he tells her in a low whisper. He checks around from where he is to see if there are any

other chakra traps.

The Hyuuga girl is silent as the other two near the hole in the floor as well, pausing for

a moment before bending to kneel beside the hole. "I think Amiko-san is down there, and… there

are five other chakra signatures. One is Cruncher for certain, another appears to be the power

level of a jounin, and the remaining three are about chuunin."

Continuing on down the hole, Fudo does realize something about all of this. "Yuzuna-san,

are you able to see if there is anyone in the interior that is being held against their will or

isolated? And if there is… especially if there is only one, we should probably withdraw for now.

While we won't be able to confirm the identity of the captive directly unless Yuzuna can see them

clearly, it is obvious that Cruncher has back up here, knows the terrain better than we do, and

possibly has counter measures beyond this point. Judging by the chakra based trap on the other side

of the door, there may be someone talented in other skills we are not aware of with him. Our

primary objective is to locate Uzumaki Amiko, and the chances of a successful rescue attempt are

starting to get slimmer the more we learn about all of this. Should we fail at a rescue attempt,

she will be moved and we will lose track of her as well as the element of surprise. But it is your

decision, Uchiha Hinotori." It was a lot of information, but fudo said it as quietly as he could.

It seemed that where they are was a relatively safe place to have a final briefing on whether to

move forward or go back.

Continuing on down the hole, Fudo does realize something about all of this. "If it is

Amiko… especially if there arefour others with her, we should probably withdraw for now. It is

obvious that Cruncher has back up here, he knows the terrain better than we do, and possibly has

counter measures beyond this point. Judging by the chakra based trap on the other side of the door,

there may be someone talented in other skills we are not aware of with him. Our primary objective

is to locate Uzumaki Amiko, and the chances of a successful rescue attempt are starting to get

slimmer the more we learn about all of this. Should we fail at a rescue attempt, she will be moved

and we will lose track of her as well as the element of surprise. But it is your decision, Uchiha

Hinotori." It was a lot of information, but Fudo said it as quietly as he could. It seemed that

where they are was a relatively safe place to have a final briefing on whether to move forward or

go back.

Thinking for a moment with the information given to them by Yuzuna, this is a dangerous

situation. Amiko is possibly down there and they now know where the kidnappers are. But not

possibly knowing for how long, and Fudo has raised a good point about them going down and not

possibly making it back or getting into a fight when this is a rescue/recon mission. Focusing on

listening for now, Hinotori feels that this is something they may have to chance, keeping stealthy

has been helping them, it's gotten them this far. The mission perameters was to track Cruncher and

possibly rescue and not engage. "Scope out enough of the layout as we can. If we find her we go

with the rescue, if not we know where to come to look for her again. I don't want to take too much

time because we don't know how long they will be here." he whispers very quietly. "Lets go, and

becareful." he says.

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