Hunting Outlaws

Salzem had been trailing these men for a while now. Traitorous fools, the lot of them. Criminals of the highest degree... convicted of murder, treason, theft, torture, the list goes on and on. He hated those people... he HATED people who betray his home... betrays him that way. They would die quickly... In his left hand, Salzem held his katana and in his right, he held a small, unlit letter bomb. His plan was to find where they were camped, trap them inside, then pick them off one by bloody one until all lay dead at his feet. Some might call this vigilante work but Sal was only doing his duty to his new home. The group of 30 fiends trekked the desert for hours, Salzem trailing close behind, eager to find where these traitors camp. It was growing dark and cold but Salzem didn't care. He only wrapped his cloak around his figure tighter as he inched closer to the group in anticipation. Any moment now, they would be at their camp and Salzem could begin. He'd been saying that to himself for the last three hours and they just kept trekking. Were Salzem blinded by his quest as he had been before, he would have gone out with only one canteen of water. But he was not blinded for he had several, all hanging from the loops on his belt. True, the sloshing of water did make stealth agonizingly difficult, but this was why he was back so far. It was almost midnight, what with the moon hanging right above them all when Salzem's good fortune finally kicked in. The criminals arrived at their base, what looked like a large ditch in the ground covered with a solid wooden door. NO wonder why they hadn't been caught before... The fact that they were underground would confuse sensory ninja and frustrate other, more combat oriented ninja. Salzem smiled to himself for this small achievement. He had to assume there was more inside. No one leaves a stronghold such as this totally unprotected... unless they were stupid but they wouldn't have lasted this long if they were. Salzem raised his blade and twirled the folded letter-bomb between his fingers. He was completely capable of causing a cave in, causing them all to die of massive asphyxiation, but that seemed too.... good for them. Cutting them down with his blade felt more natural... more hands-on... He always did like doing the dirty work himself. Made it easier to know whether or not he did it right.

Salzem slipped the folded letter bomb into his pocket, watching as each and every one of the outlaws slipped down the rather large rabbit hole until none were left standing on the surface. He waited one second.... two.... three.... making sure each they were all far enough away from the door so he could sneak in undetected. His goal was indeed to end the lives of each and every miserable sod down there and he intended to do in gusto, but if he did this wrong, it would cause a panic and anything can happen when a large group of people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They will be in a second, however... Only difference being that they won't be running... Salzem approached the door, holding his Katana next to the left side of  his head with both hands. He moved slowly, careful not to attract any attention, only noises being the near-mute shuffling of the sand by his feet. He waited another second, listening closely for any noises that would come from behind the door. Nothing that he could hear... Perhaps they've all gone deeper already? Salzem nudged the door with his foot, seeing it slide away as if it were lighter than air. There was a tunnel leading down into a dark abyss behind the wooden door, slanted at an angle, chamber getting wider the farther one went down. Salzem slipped his sword into its sheath then taking off his gauntlets and hanging them by his multiple canteens of water. He vibrated his right hand in the air fast, heat building up around his flesh but he barely noticed. Suddenly, as the vibrations reached their climax, his hand caught fire, crackling as it began to eat away at his calloused flesh. Almost like how a torch would function, Salzem held his burning hand next  in front of him to guide his way as he descended. The winding tunnel seemed to go on forever as he descended into the bowels of this beast. He noticed the smell changed radically as well, taking on a pungent, ripe, meaty flavor instead of the earthy, damp, sandy smell one should expect this far below ground. Eventually, Salzem entered a large, cave-like chamber. It was about 30x40 meters with a ceiling height of about 10 meters. There were banners strung up 5 meters off the ground, 5 feet apart, but Sal couldn't quite identify the symbol on any without getting closer to one. It was too dark... much darker than it should be down here... In the center of the room, there was a large stone altar and on top of that, a basin... Religious nutcases, Salzem thought. Not exactly run-of-the-mill criminals and bandits, but still a threat to Suna's security and would die just the same. He approached the altar, drawn by something he couldn't explain. It wasn't curiosity... All Salzem wanted was their heads strewn across this place's floor so he could leave in good conscience. Perhaps... it was some strange sense of duty... as if the stone altar demanded his approach. As he came closer, he identified certain carvings... runes upon the sides and top and up the basin. The air became heavy as he drew ever closer, almost as if some unexplainable presence made itself known to him. It was as if it had been here all along, waiting for someone to pass by. Someone to observe. Salzem looked into the basin where a dark, thick liquid floated. It reeked... smell slick and rotted like old oils. He hadn't noticed it before... but in the center of the liquid floated a single disembodied eye ball which stared blankly at the ceiling above.

"What the hell...?" were Salzem's first words upon entering this place. What kind of religion did these freaks practice? He had no idea. As evidenced by the contents in the basin, it appeared that they practiced human sacrifice... The air in the room dropped 10 degrees. No, it didn't seem to. It did. Salzem drew his sword, alerted by the sudden temperature change. There was definitely someone watching him... playing with him... Suddenly, light began to flood into the chamber. One by one, unnoticed torches along the wall began to light up, seemingly by themselves. That's when Salzem saw the source of the meaty, rotten smell. There, on the other side of the chamber stood a meter tall pile off corpses, flesh already being devoured by scarabs that are naturally hosts to this environment. Salzem backed away slowly from the altar, visibly shaken by what he had seen. He had no idea how to respond so such a sight. Sure, he's killed someone before. He's seen a corpse. But he'd never seen them piled high and left to rot like this... The smell became more intolerable now that he knew where it was coming from. He should just drop this place. He still had the letter bomb. He could just blow a few key points in this chamber and it would bring it all down, ending the threat and this abominable chamber...

Salzem wouldn't do it though. As much as he wanted to take the easy way out, to bomb this entire area until it was retaken by the oceans of sand, Salzem didn't do it. They had made it personal by taking his people. Suna's people and slaughtering them like chickens. He was going to find those charlatans and end their miserable lives if he has to tear this place down stone by bloody stone. As he thought this, *poofs* of smoke erupted around him, at least 30 forming a circle around him and the altar. When it cleared, men dressed in heavy black robes, faces hidden by flat golden masks stood, clutching a kunai knife in either of their hands. Salzem's flaming hand quenched and he reached for his other two swords, placing the katana in his mouth. It was time for pay-back... the 5 in front of him lunged at his front, slashing their daggers wildly. Salzem leapt backward, clear of their vicious and wild slashes and stabs. Two lunged at his back, intending to sink their kunai into Salzem's shoulders but they weren't fast enough. Salzem threw his left hand holding Olympia back in a vicious arc, severing the head of one and slitting the throat of the other. The headless body fell to the floor after a few moments but the other man clutched at his throat and gagged wildly as blood flowed freely from his mouth and new opening before he too fell to the floor, just as dead as the other man. Salzem didn't have time to dwell on his killings however. 2 on each side rushed him, aiming for his lungs, his heart, his arms or legs, whatever they could hit with their daggers. Again, Salzem stepped back, letting them crash into one another before he let loose with his own blades. He stabbed one through the skull with his mouth-blade, severing an arm of another with the one in his right hand. He cut through the other two easily as they stumbled over the corpses of their fallen comrades, limbs and pieces and blood in place of the deranged men once stood. That's when all hell broke loose. With six of their brethren dead in a matter of a few seconds, all the madmen attacked at once, rushing him from all sides. In an instant, Salzem's blades were in their sheaths and his fists were on fire, ready to face his foes. The first one to get to him came from behind, both blades swinging down in an attempt to hit his vital chest organs. Salzem stepped back, inside the wing so the kunai passed right in front of him. He then smashed his elbow into the man's torso, crushing his chest and ribs into powder. He didn't have time to scream as Salzem kicked him away, already dealing with two others that reached him in the front. He stuck his flaming fist through one and grabbed the face of another, crushing his skull before he could cry in pain. He tossed the corpses into the crowd of men, stalling them enough so he had room to work with them individually. He ducked under one slash, sending a foot into the man's knee, crushing it like a cheep piece of wood. He then cracked the man's skull on his knee as he raised it, causing him to fall away. At that moment, the fanatics were regrouping, getting more organized. Salzem pulled out the paper-bomb and holding it in his hands long enough to ignite it before throwing it on the ground where it stuck. The fuse would only last a few seconds, long enough for him to get out of here and have the place come down, he thought. Salzem dashed into the crowd of men in front of him, attempting to push his way through, but there were so many. So many men and knives. They came down like arrows, connecting with his back, arms, and his face. most only did minor damage, barely causing enough to bleed, but others, they did considerable damage to him. The others closed behind him, negating his possibility of going back into the circle.

Letter bomb 1/2 way burned through.

Salzem ripped the head off one cultist as he tried to block his way, tossing his body behind him to impede the rest. He already felt himself slowing down, weakening from the intense blood loss these men caused him. He had been in worse situations than this! Surely, he could get out of this! He made it to the tunnel and climbed frantically, trying to get to the top and away before the tunnel acted like a funnel for the explosion. He wouldn't be able to survive taking a letter-bomb to his face. The cultists followed madly, swiping at his achilles' tendon and grabbing at his feet as he fled. He doubted they even knew of the bomb or if they did, they didn't care. Salzem was a heretic to them and he killed their monks. He was to die. He reached the wooden door, kicking it open before diving out of the sand, just as the explosion rang out, not even muffled by the earth that separated them. There was a great rumbling, then crashing as the supports of the inner chamber gave way, causing the sand to sink inward, drawing Salzem and a few others into it's grip. Salzem tried to jump away but his body failed him, going limp from the damage he had taken. A few cultists saw their chance and dove at him but were caught and crushed by the rock and debris. Finally, the sinking stopped, just in In time or he would have been buried. Salzem groaned and flipped himself on his back, yelling in surprise, shock and pain as sand met exposed inner flesh. He shakily weaved a few signs and for once putting his medical prowess to work, began fixing himself, placing his hands on one wound, then another, then another, before all he had was a long gash along his right cheek, right under his left eye. He was half-way done with it before his chakra receded. He was out. He couldn't do anymore... he found a nice little rock, angled diagonally upwards and acted as a sort of shelter. He needed some rest... he dragged himself under it, knowing that the angle it was turned at, it would provide adequate shade for him to make it through the day. He would have to move by tomorrow night. He couldn't stay here...

Salzem awoke slowly to the uncomfortable sensation of dehydration. His head ached, his throat felt dryer than the desert on which he lye. His cheek ached profusely and pulsed with every heartbeat. Salzem's hands shook violently, making it near impossible to weave any signs or call up his chakra. He actually felt worse than when he went to sleep... It was late evening, sky soaked through with red as the sun went down behind the golden dunes. Salzem tried to stand, to get moving so he could rest soundly back in Suna, but he doubled over, retching violently. Nothing came up, however as there was nothing in him. The desert had a vicious habit of draining a man dry, leaving the body to drink from itself for sustenance. The young missing ninja heaved and groaned pitifully on his hands and knees until his belly was cramped and his throat was screaming raw. Salzem fell backwards, leaning up against the rock once again. He took a quaking hand to his belt, taking one of the many small canteens that hung there to his parched lips, sucking down the nurturing liquid that rested inside. It was warm but nothing had ever tasted so good before... He could practically feel the fluid flowing through his veins, revitalizing his dried up body. His hands stopped shaking as much and his stomach had settled, allowing him to get to his feet. He felt his gut begin to rise in he throat again, making Salzem fear that he would loose all the water he had just ingested. Thankfully and gradually, his stomach receded back where it belonged and the young ninja began making his way back in the direction of Sunagakure.

It was midnight now... a large, sliver full moon hung over his head like a spotlight, seemingly trained on him to give anyone who was watching a good view of  his misery. Salzem's flesh was flushed and coated in sweat, but not because he was hot. No, Salzem was cold. He was shivering like a leaf in the wind but no matter how tightly he pulled his cloak over his figure, he couldn't trap any heat. The whites around the boy's irises had a yellow-ish tint to them. Salzem had to constantly fight the compulsion to just fall asleep, let the sand devour him. He was tired. His eyes drooped from time to time. Every few hours he'd put a palm to his forehead and every time he'd come to the same conclusion: he had a fever. His mind kept drifting to the cut on his face. He had forgotten about it among the sea of his pain. What was on that knife that had cut him? Some kind of poison? He would be dead if he didn't get back to suna. Then again, if every knife that hit him had that poison, he'd be dead anyway. It was not long before he saw the gates of Suna. At first, the boy thought they were mere illusions, fever dreams conjured by his mind to keep him distracted from his fatal condition. As Salzem drew closer however, he began to see that they were not, in fact, fake as they didn't shrink away from him. He was home at last...

(EXIT)

WC: 2913

Claiming 2913 words toward Ignition fist

Approved.