[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Sun high, sea birds making strange noises and a hustle and bustle that nearly rivaled Konoha itself this was truly a sight to see for the young genin. He hadn't ventured outside of the village much at all in his few years and he was more than eager for an opportunity to get out and see some stuff. Of course, this wasn't a vacation or anything of the sort, far from it actually, as the young boy had been assigned a mission to help out with shipments of fish being stolen. He didn't think losing a few fish was a huge enough deal to warrant a mission or anything but that kind of thinking probably wouldn't go over well with the higher ups so mission time it was!

"Man this place is busy, almost reminds of home." Mairusu would think aloud as they passed by market stall after market stall of various freshly caught sea critters and other wares. "Kinda smelly tho." He'd add. Idle thoughts they were fortunately they weren't a product of the boy just talking to himself but instead to the leader of said mission, one Hyuga Shire. The genin had never met the guy before but it was clear by his name and the creepy eyes that he was from one of those special clans. Mairusu wasn't overly fond of those types which in a weird way had become the driving force behind him seeking out tutelage from the Sage. Albeit not a sustainable source of motivation it was working fine for the moment, he just hoped to actually learn something soon.

"So where are we supposed to find the boats we're supposed to get on for this mission?" He would inquire hoping they would be using powerful ships to rid the waters of the bandits.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." WHAT BOAT? One more mission in Port City. At this point, he already knew the city like the back of his hand, even if he was not very fond of it. It was busy and somewhat chaotic and full of problems. From helping build towers, to dealing with drug smugglers, and pirates, Shigure had already done a bit of everything in the place, and yet he found himself there again, this time with a different kid, one of Mitsuda's apprentices. To say the place was busy was an understatement, but he nodded at that, chuckling lightly when the boy mentioned the smell. "Port cities are like that, can't be helped. First time here I assume? You get used to that." he said. Despite being a member of the Hyuuga clan, he was quite laidback, with an easy - and friendly - smile on his face. The two of them were walking to the docks, the place where they would be officially starting their mission and as they went there, the boy asked him about the boat they were supposed to get on for the mission, prompting Shigure to chuckle lightly. "Who told you we are talking a boat? You know the Water Walking Technique, right? I made sure you had that in your profile. What better way to surprise those thugs than people showing up out of the blue in the middle of the ocean?" he said, giving the boy a playful wink, even though it did seem like he was being serious. "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." C-Rank Mission [2/15] Port City docks [Hiesin Mairusu] [254 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"Yeah I haven't really left the village at all... except for that one time we went to this giant cave full of huge snakes. It smelled bad there, too." The boy hoped he wasn't heading for a life of visiting new yet smelly locations. That'd just be the worst. Though if he had to choose being around a bunch of dead sea stuff was better than a cave full of snakes that wanted to eat him. "I guess there was also that time Kasumi took me to this forest outside of the village that had a bunch of stone statues that used to be people. I could see their memories and stuff, it was creepy."

Perhaps a bit of oversharing and he wasn't entirely sure how much of a secret those two places were supposed to be. Perhaps that would be covered in a future lesson. Mairusu was still pretty new to all the sage stuff and he wasn't clear on what could be talked about to others and what all needed to be kept under wraps.

A look of shock and confusion crossed the boys face as Shigure hinted at the duo not using boats at all for the mission but instead walking across it all on their own. "I mean, yeah but the ocean is huge and what if there are big waves and stuff?" He'd ask not at all picking up on the fact that Shigure was joking. Perhaps even worse than the waves and the bandits was the possibility of something big and hungry that saw him as its next meal. All bad. All bad. All bad.

Then again, whatever was out there in the ocean couldn't have been much worse than the very real snakes who had been looking for a chance to eat him, and if he could face them then what else was there to be afraid of?

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." I WAS KIDDING Sage apprentices were odd creatures. Their lives were much different than that of regular shinobi, and when the boy spoke, he couldn't help but to think of Yakitsukeru. "I wonder where that little firecracker is... And I wonder if she is doing okay. I should ask Mitsuda-san about her one of these days..." he thought to himself, thinking of the Snake Sage he was on a more or less good terms with. In any case, Shigure had to hold his laugh when he saw the shock and confusion in the boy's face when he claimed they would be walking deep into the ocean. "I was just teasing you. We will be walking, but not all of it. There's a small boat waiting for us at the docks, so just follow me." he said as he started heading to the place. "Once we are but just a couple kilometres from them, we will cover the rest of the distance by walking, so they don't see us coming. Don't worry about creatures, you are a shinobi. I'm sure you can handle them. As for waves... Well... Shouldn't be a problem unless there's a storm, but it doesn't seem like that will be an issue today." his tone was quite nonchalant, as if he was not really concerned about their chance of success. In truth, Shigure had done a very similar mission not too long ago, and he did so alone. Now that he had help, this one should be a breeze. "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." C-Rank Mission [4/15] Heading to the docks [Hiesin Mairusu] [256 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

A sigh of relief upon hearing that the Hyuga had just been kidding, well at least mostly, in regards to the duo walking on the ocean for the entirety of the mission. While Mairusu had been told that he did have larger chakra reserves than normal he was still skeptical on just how long he'd be able to hold the technique, especially if they had to start fighting. "Phew. I mean, I'm sure we could make it the whole way walking or whatever, but best not to waste chakra if we don't have to." Yep, perfect reasoning.

The genin would listen intently as Shigure would explain the plan. They would utilize the boat up until a certain point then sneak up on the bandits by foot to keep the element of surprise. Smart smart. There was no telling what kind of defenses those guys had and it was best to give them as little a chance to use them as possible. "Makes sense, gotta hit em with the element of surprise." He'd reply before taking a peek at the sky. It was pretty clear and calm so they probably wouldn't be dealing with any rough conditions, and anything that might have messed with them from below would end up just as bad as the thugs who were stealing the fish shipments.

"Yeah I'm sure we'll be ok, let's do it!" The pre mission jitters were gone and replaced with bristling excitement. Mairusu was ready to get out there and show those bandits what a real shinobi could do.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT Shigure chuckled at the boy and nodded. "Saving chakra is important. But you shouldn't worry too much about that technique. It's chakra cost is almost neglectable unless we do it for a very long time." he said as they headed towards the docks, where a small vessel awaited for them. It was just a small boat for two, no sail or anything of the sorts, but the two oars it came with. It was no big deal for a taijutsu practitioner like Shigure, but he wondered if the boy had a good amount of stamina. The boat had been arranged by the village, and Shigure had requested something simple and discreet on purpose; even if they were spotted, maybe they would underestimate them as survivors of a shipwreck or something of the sort. "Ready for some nice exercise, Hiesin-kun?" he asked the boy as he got into the boat, sitting on one side and grabbing one of the oars. With the nice and clear weather, it would be easy to navigate through the ocean, even if it could look a bit intimidating, with that immense openness of endless blue. Shigure didn't love the ocean, if he was being honest, but he didn't mind it too much either. "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." C-Rank Mission [6/15] Row the boat gently down the streaaam... [Hiesin Mairusu] [219 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

"Hm, good point. It does almost feel like second nature during training now and I don't really feel any more tired than usual." He would reply after determining that his fears were just pre mission jitters. If need be they could just board one of the bandits ships to save them a little energy but with his larger reserves it probably wouldn't even be necessary. After a bit of walking the two would arrive at the docks where a small boat awaited them. It was unremarkable in every sense of the word and perfect for keeping a low profile and maintaining the element of surprise.

"I guess? I've never rowed a boat before outside of singing the song. You know? Row row row your boat, but that was just down a stream, not in an ocean or anything." Mairusu couldn't even catch himself being a little odd anymore having dipped between spoken word and song in his words, but the feeling of just saying what was on his mind was freeing in a way. Perhaps the product of being around a couple sages. Oh well, thoughts for another day.

Boarding the small boat the genin would grab hold of one of the oars as he awaited the next directions from Shigure. The ever so gentle rise and fall of the boat on the surface did wonders to prove just how calm the seas were today and rid the boy of his previous concerns. Of course, they were still very much in the safety of the docks and being out in open water could be a completely different story.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." GENTLY DOWN THE WAVES "See? Told ya. You just need to get more practice out of it, and your concerns will fade away." the Hyuuga said, in a quite cheerful tone as he started to row the boat with the boy's help. They would be rowing for a while, and for those who were not used to extensive physical exercise, it would be quite tiresome, but for Shigure? It seemed like quite the walk in the park. He had a smile on his face, and he kept on gazing at the horizon, looking at the seagulls flying around, and the casual dolphin swimming in the area. "It almost feels like this is not a mission, right? Hiesin-kun?" he asked with a soft chuckle. After about forty minutes rowing the boat, Shigure would activate his Byakugan and then nod. "We are good here." he would say. "The pirate ship is eighteen hundred and fifty metres to the southeast. They can't quite see us, but it's not too bad of a walk. The ocean is calm enough, so... Are you ready?" he asked, throwing the anchor so that the boat wouldn't drift away and then getting up on the water, using the Water Walking Technique to stand on top 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." C-Rank Mission [8/15] Throws the anchor in the water, uses Water Walking Technique [Hiesin Mairusu] [219 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

The two kept a steady pace for what seemed like an eternity and only the sights and sounds of the open ocean distracted the genin enough from the burning sensation in his arms from what was basically an upper body workout. Sweat dripped from his brow with every row of the oar and for brief moments Mairusu thought about adding some laps to his training regiment. Being able to fire off lightning bolts and walk on ceilings was fun and all but if his lungs burned and arms felt like jelly from just rowing a small boat how would he be able to endure long fights; or at the very least fend off a giant snake the next time it wanted to turn him into a meal?

"Feels more like a workout so, yeah, I guess you're right." He would reply in between deep breaths. Eventually the rowing would cease as Shigure spotted their target --which was still a good distance away-- and told him they'd be venturing the rest of the way on foot. "Yep, let's do it!" Mairusu would respond in excitement. He'd spend a moment focusing chakra to his feet before stepping into the open water. There was an ever so subtle bobbing from the currents beneath them but for the most part it was as calm as walking on land.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." COURSE OF ACTION As the two of them stepped onto the water, Shigure would look at the boy before starting their journey towards the pirate ship. "Follow me and try to remain out of sight. I will make sure we follow a safe route with my Byakugan. When we get to the place, I don't want us to engage with the pirated. Let's circle around the ship, and fill it up with explosive tags. Sabotage is a good way to avoid combat." he started, making gestures with his hand to represent them parting ways and circling around the ship. "I will take the starboard side, as they have more cannons there, and you take the larboard side. One tag every five metres should do the trick. Only five will be needed on each side. And then, we watch it sink." he said, giving the boy a thumbs-up. "Any questions there, Hiesin-kun?" he asked. He knew how it was to be young and fresh on missions, so he wanted the boy to be confident about their plan. If he had questions, they would be answered, and after that, he would give him a nod and start running in the ocean, heading towards the location of the ship. The waves were not very big, but would still require them to be a bit careful, and jump over them. Shigure made sure no whales or sharks were in their path, scanning the whole area with the Byakugan, and changing their way when they needed to. "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." C-Rank Mission [10/15] Explaining the plan [Hiesin Mairusu] [255 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

As he listened to Shigure speak it was clear that the true mission had begun and the time for jokes and relaxing had ended. While the plans weren't a complete battle strategy it would take the both of them being on their game to bring down the ship, but even more important than that was staying out of sight of the bandits. Hearing that they had cannons on their ship was a surprise and Mairusu imagined that even shinobi such as themselves would have trouble dealing with those things when they started firing, but if everything went well then hopefully the pirates wouldn't even get a chance to fire them.

While not a super important question this might have been a bad time to let the Hyuga know that he didn't know which was which between the starboard and larboard side of a ship, but the boy figured that all he had to do was just go the opposite direction of Shigure and that would take care of that. "Nope, I think I got it Shigure-san." The genin would reply with a nod. He would keep a close tail to the man as they began closing distance towards the ship making sure to turn when he turned and list when he listed. There was no telling what the Hyuga was able to see with his eyes and what obstacles he was helping them avoid, but Mairusu was happy to not have to deal with any of it; be it the prying eyes of pirates or whatever lurked beneath their feet.

▲

WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." TIME FOR SABOTAGE "You are a sharp lad! That's good!" he responded when Hiesin said he didn't have any questions, oblivious to the fact that he didn't know what larboard was. Still, his logic was good enough; all he had to do was to head the opposite way Shigure had gone, so no big deal there. Shigure would continue to guide them, keeping himself at a pace where Hiesin could follow him not too far behind, which meant he was at a very leisure pace. Still, better this way. Despite them being shinobi, they were still in open ocean, and he needed to make sure they followed a safe path, not a hard task for someone with such a Byakugan range and mastery over it. The ship would now be visible to the naked eyes, and within another few minutes, they would be getting close enough so that they could start going their separate way. "Let's do it, Hiesin-kun!" Shigure said, giving him a vocal sign and then, he would turn to the left, to go around ship, which was heading their way, thus making it harder for the pirates to see them, as they were sea level, circling around waves and keeping themselves mostly quiet. It was about time for the sabotage to begin. "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." C-Rank Mission [12/15] Heading to starboard side [Hiesin Mairusu] [219 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

With every step the ship would come closer and closer into view until finally Mairusu was able to see the vessel up close and personal, cannons and everything. He was glad that Shigure had come up with the plan to blow up the ship via stealth instead of going head up against those things. Granted, they probably could have just boarded the ship but then they surely would have been outnumbered and there was no telling what kind of stuff the pirates had on board so this was definitely the better option.

"Hai, see you on the other side." The genin called out in return as he watched the Hyuga split to the left making his necessary direction to the right. 'Gotta remember, every five meters'. Mairusu thought to himself as he rummaged through his munitions back looking for his explosive notes. The boy would slap the first one towards the back of the ship then continue to make his way around the side placing the notes at five meter intervals. He could only imagine the size of the explosion once all ten notes went off and he wondered just how fast the ship would sink with such sizable holes in it.

With the final tag placed Mairusu's path would take him to the front of the ship where he assumed the Hyuga would be waiting for him, that was, unless they were supposed to meet at the back of the ship in which case he had made an oopsie.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Hyūga Shigure]

"cutting the lines". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." ART IS AN EXPLOSION Once they went their separate way, Shigure moved at his full speed, so fast that if Hiesin was looking at him, his body would be hard to see as he moved like a blur. Approaching the ship, he quickly reached out for his back pouch, grabbing five explosive tags and placing them on the hull of the starboard side, one every five metres. It took him but a moment to do that, and then he moved to the the front of the ship, moving enough to avoid being hit by it. A short while later, the young boy would show up, a sign that he had finished placing the tags. "Let's move away a little more, we don't want to get caught up in the explosion now." he said as he moved around forty metres from the ship, waiting for his mission partner to follow suit. Looking at the boy, he would give a firm nod and then prepared the hand seal. "Ready... Set... Blow!" and with that, hoping Hiesin would follow suit, he would activate the explosive tags, detonating them all at the same time. It was a huge explosion, especially because Shigure had placed it near the area where they stocked the gunpoweder for the ship. The entire ship was engulfed by flames and cracked to pieces. It didn't necessarily sink, as the blast scattered parts of it all over the place. Some of the pirates' bodies flew away in the explosions, others were scorched by the flames, and the very few survivors were either injured, or completely panicked from the attack. The sabotage had been successful, and now these people would not be causing any further trouble to the fishermen of Port City. "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." C-Rank Mission [14/15] Explodes the ship, essentially killing most of the pirates [Hiesin Mairusu] [300 words]

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Thankfully the boy had guessed correctly on where they were to meet up after placing the explosive notes and it was no surprise that he was pulling up the rear, but the job had been done and now all that was left were the fireworks. Mairusu nodded in response to the direction to get some space from the ship and after a bit more running the two would stop a good bit away. The genin would create the seal to detonate the tag and on Shigure's mark would set off the five tags he had placed.

"Woah." Spoke the boy as he watched the ship go up in a plume of smoke and fire. It was the biggest explosion he had ever seen and thankfully they were far enough away to avoid hearing any of the screams. If there was one thing that was a bit disappointing it was that Mairusu wouldn't see the boat sink given that there wasn't much of it left to actually be sunk.

"Well, I don't think they'll be stealing anymore fish." He spoke with a chuckle. "Don't suppose you saw any lifeboats or anything that they could use to escape?" Mairusu asked as the thought popped into his head. Those who didn't immediately get blown up would probably be too wrapped up in confusion and fright to think straight, but if even one of those pirates survived they could have come back to cause more trouble, so it was better to be safe than sorry and end up having to make a return trip in the future.

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WORDS ● Hyūga Shigure ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style