[Deleted]

The day was great. Sozin had spent the last while getting himself to one of the next villages over from where their tip had been given. This had to stop. Innocent people were dying - and Sozin could not allow it to happen. But the vague grapevines said that they were again trying to get a foothold and rather then allowing them to branch out, Sozin and Shigure were going to bring the fight to them.

That was a loose problem given that they didn't fully know where to start beyond this initial tip, and sightings: and had found themselves in Frost country. A minor Shinobi village, even smaller than Kusagakure. Not worthy enough to be on the map: but enough that if the Cult of Blood integrated themselves with the land they would become that much more powerful.

All in all, Sozin had come to a village over from the village they'd received a tip from: some several miles between them, and taken a room in an inn, and had already spread out all of the information across the available working spaces. The floor, the bed, the wall. He had instructed Shigure to make his way there and ask for the Red Moon Sake: and it would lead to him finding Sozin behind the door of the room he had been brought to.

As it stood, they held a lot of information - reports about previous incidents, including the ones he himself had done with Shigure, and whatever the other Shinobi had been doing. Sozin had brought all of his gear, knowing that the last time he'd been in Frost country it had not worked out so well for him. But... this would be different: he had gotten better than he was, and he had a secret weapon.

Enter Hyuuga Shigure.

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[Hyūga Shigure]

"the crimson village". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." RENDEZVOUS Shigure had quickly made his way to the rendezvous point with Sozin. The Hyuuga was known to move rather quickly, and with his doujutsu, he could scan his route from afar and travel without many issues. This mission took the young head of the Hyuuga clan to the Land of Frost, a land with a tiny shinobi village, that had been haunted by the members of the Cult of Blood, and lacked the proper power, resources, and perhaps even the motivation to fight against this poison. Sozin had already started the mission a few days before Shigure would finally join him, having gone from village to village to receive bits and pieces of information, forming his own intel for the mission. The man had also given Shigure a small task for his travel: to ask for the Red Moon Sake, and while gathering this information wasn't very easy, he managed to find his way towards Sozin, finding him behind the door. They both had gathered some intel, and now they could compare what they have and see where they should be starting their action mission. The Hyuuga was dressed in his official Hidden Leaf attire, and had brought with him all the gear he normally carried. This was an A-Rank Mission, which meant they would likely be facing some serious opponents. Well, if that meant they would forever rid the land of the Cultists, then it was more than worth it. "Sozin-san. Long time no see. I've got your message, and I already did some research on the way. Care to exchange notes?" he would ask the Grass shinobi, as he grabbed a small scroll from one of the front pockets of his flak jacket. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." A-Rank Mission [2/30] Meeting up with Sozin [@akira] [290 words]

[Deleted]

The door opening would have his face peer from behind the side of the doorway.

"Hi, Shigure-san. I wish this could be on better terms, come in." Sozin would leave the door open for him to enter and close the door behind himself. With his back to the Hyuga, he put his hands on his hips, not in the way of the doorway but to the side to allow Shigure to come across the paper salad all across the room. "I'm trying to piece together everything we can and I hoped we could go over the intel first? Can I get you some water, tea, before we set in for the day?"

Sozin had no idea if they were going to have to leave today or tomorrow but a deadline would be setting in, except they didn't know when. They needed to have a good assessment of whether it would happen tonight, tomorrow - next week or next month. Either way, without a concrete day and with no news it had taken place, this needed to be dealt with. The recent tip of them resurfacing again made Sozin think that it would be sooner rather than later if they didn't intervene.

"Ideally, we'd have had more resource for this. We will have some supporting shinobi, another joint task force to act as a clean up team. They'll be behind us while we take care of business, and they'll tend to the subsidiary tasks - comprised of explosives, medical, support, that sort of thing." They were from the less-combative teams, and though they were necessary Sozin thought they were cowards. Though - Sozin was also sure that Shigure was aware of this, but ensuring they were on the same page was vital for their teamwork.

Sozin sighed. "These people somehow have been scattering from all their rat holes and yet they're strong enough to somehow put a garrison under their control? I don't understand it. We took care of them last time before we fully understood why they harm themselves as a means to fight." Sozin was interested in nipping all of this in the bud. "They seem... stronger-" he pointed to one of the pages on the bed. If Sozin looked at it, there were preliminary reports of potential Shinobi, or shinobi-level shinobi if they were religious folk being involved. A little paragraph, but something more than nothing.

"-but on the basis that they've been run out several times by different sets of people, this may be their last attempt. I haven't yet figured out or understood what a sacrifice will have to do with helping them, unless they're crazy enough to believe quality over numbers..." His eyebrows were furrowed as he looked around everything trying to consolidate it all in one place that was consistent and pertinent to their mission today.

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[Hyūga Shigure]

"the crimson village". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SHARING INTEL Shigure nodded in agreement; this mission was enough to make those with weaker stomachs to feel nauseous, and even Shigure was done with those assholes from the Cult of Blood, but the life of a shinobi is filled with situations such as this, so the Hyuuga didn't really overthink it. He had a job to do, and he was hoping that this time it would be definitive. The two of them had some talking to do before they could start tracking down their targets, and once Shigure walked into the room, he noticed the paper salad across the place, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, you've been busy, uh?" he said, whistling in amusement. "I did gather some on the way here, but not nearly close to what you have. And yes, green tea would be marvelous." he said with a firm nod, as he found a place where he could sit, grabbing the scroll from his flak jacket and adding it to the pile of paper. It was mostly information on their sighting, and overall movements around the region, which narrowed down to the area they were in. As he read through some of the papers, Sozin mentioned the supporting crew and Shigure nodded in acknowledgement. "Good. Allows us to focus on the task ahead. On the bright side, I can now see for a far wider range, so think of it as an improvement from what I could do from last time. I should be able to cover an eight kilometres radius." he informed the man, and while he hadn't yet scouted the area they were at, he was ready to do so very soon. "It surprises me how many times they come back after being wiped out, but intel is indicating that this is the last of it, and I do hope they are right. I can scan this whole area, undergrond, caves, anything... It will take some time, however, as it will require focus, but I believe that if your intel can help me reduce the searching area, we may be able to finish this sooner..." he said, as he frowned his brows and scratched his chin. "Quality over numbers uh... And the sacrifices... These people are fucked." he sighed, shaking his head. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." A-Rank Mission [4/30] Shares little intel he gathered, and explains extended range of his doujutsu [@akira] [392 words]

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Certainly. He would take the opportunity to have filled a kettle with water earlier - and he needed to get a fire going. Thankfully, a firestarter and flint was provided. In other circumstances, a bit of Katon chakra would have been dandy - but at least the fire was made up and he just needed to put the small things on - the easily burnable things. A bit of sheep's wool, for example. When that was done and the water was on, he'd be able to get it started. But, it was started.

Sozin did stop though after the strikes he was making and not getting anywhere, even though he would. "It sounds like you've been hitting the... eyes." Sozin said - he only realised it hadn't made sense until it had come out of his mouth, rather than any gym. He leaned back down to continue striking. It would complete and Sozin would finally come to a stand.

"I agree. I haven't even determined if a God is actually at the heart of this yet, or if they're just... using hypothetical beliefs." For all they knew, this was a conjuring witchery spell that would cast eternal darkness unto the earth if it was completed. "Let's go through the intel first and consolidate what we know first, then we can get right to it." Sozin leant against a wall, since nothing was available left to sit on.

They would burn all of this after, but until then - it was discussion time. "On the middle of the bed there's a map of all known sightings, and reactive shinobi movement. All signs right now are pointing towards the next town over, by the nature of the shrinking size from the shinobi response. We can't eliminate the single dredges leaving the lands and trying to start elsewhere, so the main borders have been instructed on the various markings and known synonyms. Here and here... and that leaves the big ones. Big names, Iwamashi Naoto was one of them - dead. Shoto Todara - dead. Mizuki Hachi, unknown. Fujita, Isamu - dead. Ishin Takisora - alive, unknown. All people involved with either cult dealings, recruiting or tips from the public. Unaware of any other minor figures at this stage. I think the nations have taken advantage of their attempts to proliferate and that they spread themselves too thin and were punished for it..."

And he would go on, and on, and on: about the Religion, their ongoings, the reactions, the mission reports. The lay of the land, the purpose of their mission (although mundane, was necessary in this case) - past failures meant that he couldn't go in all easy-like. No, this would be done properly. By that time, Shigure would have had his green tea, and some of the things could be packed away.

"How are you?" Sozin spoke, having some water to whet his appetite after talking for so long and a slight lull had set in.

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[Hyūga Shigure]

"the crimson village". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." THE NEXT TOWN Shigure looked up to Sozin with quite the confused expression on his face when he mentioned that he had been 'hitting the eyes', and while he had somewhat figured out what he meant, it did sound very weird they way he said it. Sozin would then continue to discuss the mission, saying that there was a possibility there was no actual God involved. "I see... Still, they had some powers at their disposal, and while it could be Ninjutsu, or a Cursed Seal... It may as well be a deity... But I will trust you on that, as you know more than me on the matter." he admitted, remembering how well the man seemed to know about religion as a whole. Shigure's eyes would reach for the map, carefully analyzing it while Sozin continued to speak, noticing that indeed the trail was hotter in the next town. Then, he mentioned the big names, and mentioned that most of them were already dead, save for perhaps Mizuki Hachi, whose status was known, and Ishin Takisora, who was most likely alive. And after their long discussion about all the minor details involved, while drinking some tea, he would be asked how he was doing. "I'm good. It is a lot to analyze, but I'm used to that. Well... Seems like the other city is not too far from here. I think we should depart soon, and once we get close enough, I can trace the routes we have on the map, and see what I can find there." he suggested. They would need to dispose of all this intel, but he was confident he had memorized most, if not all of it. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." A-Rank Mission [6/30] Tries to memorize and absorb all information, suggest heading to the next town [@akira] [296 words]

[Deleted]

"I largely doubt that." He somewhat interrupted Shigure's tangent. "Religion and chakra don't coincide well. Sorry for interrupting you." He spoke, perhaps being a bit on the pedantic side. "But we can't rule out phonies, I suppose?" There was some logic to what Shigure was saying.

Sozin believed in people's self interests, greedy, savage, they came in all shapes and sizes - what better than under the guide of faith that they spread about their truth, chaos, whatever it may had been. After the analysis had come to pass and they'd finally gotten ahead of all of it, Sozin would collect all of the paper while Shigure responded - it would be bundled together, tightly while Sozin responded. It had not been lost on him that Shigure wanted to get the mission underway. "Do you want anything to eat at all first? I brought a ration bar if you want one." Sozin had been conscious, he himself needed to eat and live: he could starve to death even if he had the enchanted healing factor. If Shigure said yes, he would offer the man one.

It was a nut and oat bar. It would say so on the front of the pack. If not, Sozin would still pull one out for himself - before throwing the papers into the fire. Less of a throw: more of a "place on top of, in the centre, and watching it burn up" as he opened the papery packet and started to munch away. Whichever pieces floated off, around or down - not into the fire, were returned via metal poker to finish off burning.

"Let's get going, then." Sozin would say once he was certain every single shred had been burned to ashes, until it was nothing more than dust: and they could get to a position which would allow him to get the best entrance to their place, if at all... This was going to be a long day.

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[Kaze]

The history of religion and worldview was as interwoven to life as chakra itself. It was near impossible to give a reason as to which came about first, and more often than not, had killed more people that attempted to try and find the reason for it. In the end, the two knew of their mission and would begin to prepare for their departure upon destroying what evidence could lead to the discovery of their find. When they went underway, they would come upon the garrison town and find that it appeared as if there were no need for alarm at all.

In fact, it appeared relatively calm....

There were guards on duty at their posts, people moving through the streets as though preparing for their next ventures and merchants that were hard at work trying to make a sale.

Nothing seemed out of sorts at all.

But the air would seem to feel much thicker, the tension lingering as if they drew closer, they would note eyes upon their every movement.

What they did now would decide how this operation would begin, but if they delayed, it was possible that their goal would once again disappear into hiding and perhaps once more reemerge at yet another time.

It would be a daunting task for the two, but if they were careful and smart, it would not be impossible.

Only time would tell...

(Sorry for the delay guys!)

[Hyūga Shigure]

"the crimson village". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." EERIE FEELING He didn't know how religion powers worked, but he was still quite surprise to hear from Sozin that religion and chakra don't interact well with one another. "Good to know. I wasn't aware of that." he admitted with a bit of a surprised expression on his face. In truth, he was glad he had Sozin as his mission partner, his knowledge was paramount to the success of their mission, and in this regard, Shigure was there more for tracking and extra muscle, and he was completely fine with that, truth be told. Everyone had their strong traits, and one can't be master of all. When the man offered him some food, Shigure shook his head, which was rather unusual for him. "I packed a few lunch boxes and sealed them in a scroll. I'm fine for now, but I would like for us to reserve some time to eat later on. I have a feeling we will need all of our energy for this mission." he admitted, frowning his brows ever so slightly. With that said, the two of them would get going towards their destination, Shigure's Byakugan activated so that he could scan the area ahead of them, making full use of his respectful range of 8 kilometres. As they approached the area, everything seemed rather calm. There were guards on duty at their posts, and people walking on the street, nothing unusual, other than the air and tension they felt. Maybe because they knew what was going on, or maybe their chakra could feel something amiss. Whatever it was, it urged them to keep their guard up. "They are watching us." Shigure would say. "I will try to keep track of anything suspicious and keep you in the loop." he added, as he continued to scan the area with the Byakugan. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." A-Rank Mission [9/30] Scanning around with the Byakugan and relaying any info to Sozin asap [@akira Kaze] [317 words]

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"Well, let's get started." Sozin was keen to eradicate another Religion from the world... or at least disperse it for a long time, could one ever truly rid the world of a Religion? That was difficult to tell... but something he would have loved to look in to.

Still, Sozin would ask about the area as they came on to it, as he expected Shigure would use their Byakugan again... Telescopic sight from far away. Such a useful tool - and more to a reminder of the abilities that he had never possessed. Sozin was aware of them being watched as they entered the village, what else could they have expected? But the real question was how many of these individuals were... blooded? Many people would die if they did not convert.

"It could be too easy to visit a place of worship if they have one here..." Sozin would speak with bated breath. Sozin had half a thought to tell Shigure about his own abilities - just in case. The idea would have come as a shock that he could survive mortal wounds, but he thought best not: only unless he actually passed, could he say - it was a need to know basis. And Shigure didn't need to know... right now.

His own eyes wandered as well, not being as rich and pure as the Hyuuga bloodline and just prescripted to what was directly in front of him. Like most villages, there ended up being a section for stalls and merchants and shops - that was always a good place to start. Sozin would glance over their wares, seeing if there were any marks, or trinkets, bearing the same symbol they had been seeing this entire time. Something for them to instigate a conversation over before moving to the questions.

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