Race with their Eyes.[Private, Training Thread.]

[Mercury AkariCitizen]

Morning Star Mercury, that's what they've been calling him around that settlement lately, it's actually kind of funny how easy it was to impress those people.
Those "Terrifying Ninja" that were plaguing their little village for months were nothing but a couple of C-rank chumps, barely worth the time it took to scope them out, at least they had a bit of cash on them..The payment wasn't worth much either, two-hundred-fifty ryo plus what he managed to scrounge off of those jokers..?
Tch, I don't know why I'm dealing with these people, or why I even stopped in this dead end town to begin with, I should be back in Tanzaku trying to find bigger meat to dig my teeth in!

But then again, these assholes were stealing from people with kids..
Am I getting soft? The thought has some merit, but that's not really an issue, when those chumps begged me off after I took our their legs, I didn't hesitate in cracking their skulls open.
Ruthlessness is Key, but should that count towards these guys...?

Silver hues glance over his shoulder at the kids who've been trailing behind him for a few houses now, they squeal and scatter giggling their heads off once they realize he's spotted them...
He shakes his head and continues onward.
No, he doesn't think it should, but there's nothing more he can do for them either, say what you want about the Big Five, but at least they take care of their own.
These people are free from the laws of the Ninja villages, but they've got no protection to their name either, they have to hope for a Bigger Ninja to wander by and give them a break by rooting out the small-fry that would take advantage of them.

A Human can't beat a Shinobi after all, it's just how the world works, whether that Shinobi is fighting for their Village, for a Cause or for Coin, Shinobi are Soldiers, Monsters, Saviors and Angels of Death to the Civilians surrounding them...Sometimes, we get to play Hero, like today, a crowd has actually gathered to watch him leave the town, silhouetted by the sunset...
Heh, it's like a scene out of a book isn't it..? They'll call him the Hero of Geisha, but he's only put a band-aid on the wound, they'll be in trouble again and if a Ninja with a merciful bone in his body isn't passing through?
Well, he'd rather not think about that, he's gotta move on after all.
Not like these people are gonna name a bridge after him or something dumb like that.

________________________________________________________________



He's been alone for a few years now, he's been doing this since he could walk, and he can give those geezers who boast about their forty years of experience a damn good run for the money...If he isn't outright running circles around the fossils, still experience is experience so he makes sure to pay attention when they start talking, knowledge is power after all, and the more they talk, the more they reveal which is useful..Just in case one of their faces wind up on the Collection Wall one of these days. This isn't exactly a lawful business they're in, but guys like him? They just wanna collect a bounty, keep their noses clean and keep off the radar of the Big Five, sure sometimes a Village Ninja muscles his way in looking for a bounty and starts throwing his weight around..But some people take offense to that, and though we're a bunch of light-weights compared to the Monsters behind the tall walls...
We've got a few Monsters of our own, not me of course..I've got more at stake, being an Akari Rogue could get him killed if he's too uppity near the Clan's home-stead, granted, he's getting strong enough that he won't have to care about that much longer...

He arrived at the bounty office a few days ago, and is resting up in the Bar adjacent to the building, where some of the low-tier bounties are posted..Mainly C-ranks who've formed up, or the occasional D-rank that they want alive because their politically important..His favorite happen to be when a Nuke-Nin happens to form up a Bandit group and gets a little bit too close for comfort..
Bandits are scum, easy targets to not feel guilty about, especially if you hear them talk for a bit..He thought some of the guys around here are a bit messed up, but after listening to those mouth breathers go on? Yeah, he was more than happy to run through them like a sickle through grain. He'd kill bandits for free if he didn't need the cash, he's certain he's doing the world a favor when he wipes those shitstains from the face of the planet.
But really, he could go on all day about that particular subject..He should be heading out soon, there's a contract that's caught his eye that was just posted.

He pops his neck, stretching it from side to side before he slides his legs smoothly from the table and stands up, he marches towards the contract board and snatches it from the surface, getting a dirty look or two from those who possibly also wanted it..To which he responds with an easy smirk and a shrug of his shoulders before he folds it up, slides it in his pocket along with his hands, and he saunters out. He can take those two, they usually have to team up for the kind of mission he can do quicker by himself, so even if they wanted to give him trouble, it wouldn't be much.
Or maybe Morph and Ginko are still sore about him killing Diali..?
Doesn't matter, he should have known better than to piss Konoha off enough to get them to send out a contract, it's not like they didn't abandon him when Mercury cut them off on the road anyway..
Cowards.
His moods soured slightly by that train of thought, so he's a bit curt when he pays the commission and sets out for the trip, the Contract is simple.
Three D-rank and Two C-rank Nuke-Nin have managed to get a bit too close to Iwagakure and the survivors have scrounged up enough cash to have them taken care of, Iwa is mostly filled with proud Civilians and Noblemen who have lost a lot of their power and sense when the Stone came crashing down around them, now they refuse to leave for greener pastures and dig their heels in, come hell of high water...It'd be respectable if it weren't so foolish. Lucky for him and other's of his ilk, the Nobles and Shop-owner's managed to save a lot of cash, eventually that'll run dry, but for now..?

Well, they'd be foolish to turn down jobs like that, and Daddy dearest didn't raise a fool. Possibly a high functioning sociopath from the books he read...But definitely not a fool..
Actually maybe he should look into therapy..? Nah, he's been fine and he's only killed people who would have died anyway, so by a Village Ninja's standards, he's perfectly respectable...Maybe.
_____________________________________________________________________


It's a weeks travel to the danger-zone, that's when he takes to the tree's  and begins scouting the area, tracking the group of Shinobi who can't even spot him, or properly suppress their chakra signatures. It's a diverse group, Two weapon user's, an Aburame, what looks like an Inuzuka and..Oh, an Uchiha of all things, how interesting...Did this chump activate Sharingan? That could be a problem if he's not careful, dojutsu presents a problem to most of his jutsu..So he'll definitely have to take that one out first..

The Aburame likely has the area covered, his musculature hints at Taijutsu conditioning and his low chakra signature suggests he's an odd duck Aburame who's focused more on his Taijutsu than his clan's abilities with bugs, so he won't be as huge as a problem.

The Girl in Red, looks like..A Nodachi, scars and stance suggests an aggressive personality and fighting style, the refined feeling of her chakra suggests she has a talent in chakra infusion, be mindful of that sword, no blocking.

A Fuuma, this ones definitely the C-rank, sharp eyes, she's nervous..Glancing over her shoulder while she looks around, definitely a long range specialist with..Are those seals on the purse..? Be mindful of that, Fuuma have a tendency to be damned tricky with their weapon ability.

The Uchiha, is definitely a Ninjutsu caster, his pool is larger than his own, but he's stiff and seems to be favoring his right leg..He's injured? Oh, okay, that'll be easy enough. This dudes definitely living the Stereo-type, expecting large amounts of mid-long range fire ninjutsu.

Now, how to take out the lot of them..? He muses as his eyes roam over the clearing from his hiding space...His eyes narrow slightly as he finds something interesting near their tents and a small smirk tugs at the corners of his lips.
Right, Step one of this operation is to wait...




His name is Seiichi Uchiha, and he's rather proud of that fact.
He was a Chuunin that was on the fast-track to Jounin, but after Lord Viper's departure he could no longer stand the filth that ran his Villages hierarchy, the Uchiha were the ones who rebuilt that pathetic hive of weakness and it should be the Uchiha who ruled over the Other's.
So when it was clear that his ilk and the other's would simply...Bow to this travesty..? He left, his so-called Team-mate tried to stop him, but fell to the Fire and his Will, so they branded him a criminal...Him! He's the one who will correct this injustice and return triumphantly as a conqueror..But he's no fool, no he knows he's no match, but one day he'll be a blade honed to perfection, just like any true Uchiha would be when given a chance to thrive.
Iwagakure would make a fine place to settle down while he trains, and gathers like-minded individuals..One day, Konoha will belong to the Uchiha again.

The thought has him sighing, before his gaze turns upwards, the sun is hanging low in the sky, and the treeline is making a dim shadow as the orb of Flame glares down at them through the foliage, it's actually a beautiful day...Especially with that sake he bought in the town on the road, it's been miraculous with taking the edge off of his injured leg..He was careless and managed to get bit on a hunting trip..Luckily the breed of snake wasn't fatal, but it has been numbing his leg and making it stiff, they can't afford to simply purchase an anti-venom, so he'll wait for it to wear off..Should only be another two days or so.
He glances towards his current equal in rank in their little group, Kizumi Fuuma
"I'll be right back, keep the fire tended to..?"
He asks, before standing up, he needs a moment alone, the sake works wonders..But at a price unfortunately, he has to drink a lot of water if he wishes to remain clear headed...Which unfortunately requires several..excursions to what the wildlife may know for ages as the tree of Seiichi..

He chuckles softly at the crude thought, having taken a good distance from his team-mates..Ukino happens to be infatuated with him and while it's flattering..He did catch her attempting to peek at him while he was taking a bath, and he would not like a repeat of that scenario, it was not appropriate and disrespectful to him, no he doesn't think he'll ever entertain the girls feelings after that incident. It shows a clear- *thwip*"Hu-? Aaaghh!!"
A sound alerts Seiichi of something above him and his gaze whips upward, Sharingan activating, only for a blinding flash to cause him to clutch at his eyes in pain and reel backwards, before leaping away as instinct takes over and he moves to put distance between him and the assault- Only for a wire to catch the back of his foot and send him sprawling backwards with a thud.

Seiichi's eyes open in shock and the last thing he see's, is the sight of a blurred silver figure dropping from the tree-line on top of him, then his vision goes black as a loud crack resounds through the area.
And so ends the Tale of Seiichi Uchiha.

"Welcome to the Blood Bath jump into the Tub.."

The Camp leaps to their feet at the sound of the scream of their Comrade, Ukino, brash girl that she is, draws her blade and is already leaping through the tree-line, ignoring the call of her comrades to check up on their Comrade and lend some assistance, the other two quickly moving to follow.
Ukino Saburo, whom arrives first is the first one to get a full view of him...
Silver hair, sharp angular features, cruel smirking face and narrow silver eyes which run over her appraisingly..But she doesn't see that, no, she simply see's the body at his feet, and the neck bent at an unnatural angle.
And with a scream of righteous fury she charges the one who killed her team-mate, wind rippling around her blade as she intends to cleave him in two..

"Fist-fight, death-match come and join the club!"

But her feet find nothing underneath them, and in shock she glances down, taking a closer look at the sight underneath her..
Where a pit awaits, the floor shimmering away to give way to the spiked narrow pit which she falls into, her torso hitting the edge..Just before a steel clad boot smashes into her nose and send her deeper inside, a paper tagged kunai following soon after.
And with an explosion, the Tale of Ukino Saburo is also ended.

"Kick-start your face with a metal-clad boot,
you should give up now your retaliation's moot!"

A pair of eyes manage to catch sight of the Silver haired young man stepping back, as a paper bomb and Ukino vanishes into the quickly dug pit, her scream of pain and terror cut off by the explosion that flashes up from the top of the pit and obscures the Enemy from sight, but not before he gives them an arrogant smirk.
Kizumi wastes no time, her bag is ripped open and from a sealing array, a barrage of kunai and shuriken tears through the fiery explosion and towards the Enemies last known location, the sound of steel hitting wood causes her to click her teeth in anger, before she ceases firing, a cloud of insects already moving out in a search pattern..

"I'll run circles round ya, I can touch the sky.
I'm gonna make ya hurt and I'm gonna make you cry!"

Izashi's head whips upwards suddenly and Her's follows suit, but neither of them are fast enough to avoid the sudden lunge from above, Izashi is forced to shove her out of the way and with a crossing of his arms, he absorbs the powerful stomp from the Enemy, who was aiming for her..That blow would have certainly crippled her, if not killed her outright, the Enemy leaps back and lands in a crouch and she doesn't waste any time, opening fire with her "Barrage Case(Tm)"..Only for the Enemy to blur to the left and keep ahead of her rain of steel, quickly closing the distance between them!

"You want to mess around? Well come on let's go!
I got no time to waste, let's start the show!"

She can't keep up! Luckily, Izashi moves to intercept and begins trading a flurry of blows with the shorter man, Izashi is the largest Aburame she's ever met and no matter how strange it is, it was unsurprising to find out he was a Taijutsu practitioner, Kizumi steps back only for the Enemy to suddenly flip over Izashi's extended arm and kick off his back harshly towards her, she gasps and quickly draws a tanto, swinging it upwards, only for it to be blocked by the man's shin..A sliver of silver underneath the pant-leg let's her know that he's got armor underneath.
Izashi moves forward again now that they've got him pincered, and attempts to swing out, only for the Enemy to duck and lash out with a tornado kick, she moves forward only for a follow-up push-kick to send her stumbling backwards.

"I'm the one that your mama said,
'Don't mess with them or you'll end up dead'!
That type they don't follow any rules!"

Izashi manages to land a harsh uppercut, sending the lithe figure flying backwards towards her a grunt escaping him, before he spirals and arrests his moment, suddenly flickering away to land behind her, a kick at her elbow sending her tanto forward as her arm involuntarily extends, which nearly stabs into Izashi who was pursuing him, eyes narrowed, Kizumi thrashes backwards with her hardened case, a press of a button causes two sharpened hooks to spring out from the sides, but he ducks, only losing a couple of hairs in exchange before he leaps back fast.

"You're looking tall, you're looking tough.
I'm sorry dude, it's not enough!"

Kizumi turns quickly, Izashi stepping to her side before her gaze finds the Enemy and she quickly has to lash out, two balls of light flying towards them, only to explode in a bright flash of light which blinds them both as soon as she makes contact! Her eyes blink open and she's welcome to the sight of the Enemy smirking at them with his arms crossed over his chest...

"Your girlfriend's purse won't help you win this duel!"

A hand suddenly clamping around her wrist has her eyes widening in shock before he turns, seeing another hand on Izashi's shoulder as he turns as well..Before they are shoved apart and they come face to foot with the same Silver haired man!
A bunshin! She was tricked by a bunshin!
The man kicks Izashi away and then lays into her, wrapping her leg around her forearm..Her scream cuts off the sound of the snap as her arm is broken at the elbow, a boot to the jaw silences her and she flies back, before Izashi saves her once more..If they get out of this she's planting one right on his lips for that, what is happening..!?
They've been planning this for years, preparing for months, how can they be so quickly dismantled by a single man!? How can Ukino and Seiichi have been killed so quickly and without landing a scratch!? Seiichi was at least as strong as she is!

"The bigger they are then the more that they bleed.
The deeper the scars that won't heal!
Buckets of pain as they lie there in shame.
Knowing how true defeat feels!"

Black eyes watch as she scrambles backwards, clutching her injured arm which every jostle causes to shock her brain, agony clear..But she doesn't have a choice, she has to look for an opening or..
Her eyes widen as the Silver man and Izashi continue to trade blows, a barrage of punches and kicks being blocked and traded before- Izashi catches the man!
He roars with exertion and the man gives a small exclamation of surprise when he's bodily thrown away, once again spinning with his momentum as Izashi leaps upwards and unseals his trump card, a large war-hammer.
Kizumi grins, teeth stained by blood as she watches Izashi come down onto the man, who lays flat on his back..!!

"I'm the One..!!
That was born in a nightmare a murderer's son!!"

Her heart sinks at the sight of the man raising his legs, bracing his knees against his chest and the flats of his feet catch the flat of the hammer and seem to absorb the impact..
He kicks upwards sending the weapon upwards and she hops to her feet as well, turning away and missing the exchange and she flees the scene...--

Izashi Aburame has always excelled in Taijutsu, he is a man who was inspired by Stories of Uchiha Echo and Uchiha Koroshi, men who despite being rather talentless in their clones chosen fields, carved out a name for themselves by excelling in a different field where they became the Best in that field..
And yet, this fight and this Man, who seems to dance around his blows before retaliating with crushing force, sets a certain fear into him...
A fear that he's not going to walk away from this.

"Got no gun.
But I gleam like a blade and I'm harder than iron!"

The Man kicks his fist to the side, the hammer in his other hand sweeping away and causing him to go off balance, before a bright flash goes off to the left of his head once more, causing him to reel back and scream in pain as he leaps backwards, throwing his hammer towards where he last knew his opponent to be.
His eyes open blurrily as he stumbles back, gaining his foot..Only to reel back as the man fills his vision, his leg raised, he manages a gasp before the foot comes down and ends the brief exchange.--

Kizumi Fuuma ignores the scream that echoes behind her as her feet hammer against the road, her broken arm braced against her chest as she blinks the tears away from her vision, fear and shame clutching her heart as she flee's just like she fled from the battle that made her a Nuke-nin, her team-mates died but her Commander lived..And marked her for desertion in the middle of live combat, something she never told her comrades, who had a cause she could believe in...
Yet it's all fallen apart, a single man having shown up and torn apart their entire operation before it could even begin..All of her friends, just like before, died while she ran for her life...
But his voice calling behind her causes her to stop, and turn around, eyes wide with disbelief before she smiles happily and rushes towards Izashi, hurt yet clearly the victor!

"Why'd you run..? I totally had that clown.."
He grunts with a bit of anger, but smirking slightly..He's disappointed in her, but Izashi is too kind to hold a grudge, and instead of answering she simply leans up and plants a kiss on the man in pure relief, her eyes are closed but she can imagine the widening of his eyes behind his sunglasses and his cheeks turning a deep crimson.

"I'm the One..
Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one."

"Hahaha..Come on Iza, let's go get ourselves patched up..!!"
She shouts, sniffling slightly before she drags an arm over her eyes and turns away, his steps echoing behind her as he chuckles and joins her in there walk.
It doesn't take them long to reach the camp and she kneels down, pointing out the supplies by her positioning, careful not to jostle her broken arm.. "Can you help me set this..? It's..really bad..I don't know if I'll be able to use this arm again.."

"Delusion.
I'll steal til your blind and defeat you from inside your mind!"

The sound of a voice causes her to stiffen, as the shadow behind her turns short, her eyes widen as a voice purrs out in a sadistic tone, and the shadow shifts in a position ready to strike.

"Sure thing cupcake."

He calls out and a blade falls before the Fuuma can leap away from the danger, the fight ending before it could even begin.
So ends the Tale of Kizumi Fuuma and Izashi Aburame..
But the Tale of Mercury Akari continues..

The plan wasn't without flaws, they had weapons and abilities he didn't account for..He's sure he's gonna need a quick visit to the local doctor to wrap his legs, that hammer strike definitely is going to require a Medical Palm treatment, which will be a decent chunk of money...Tch, well hopefully they have something worth grabbing in their pack..He'll wrap his leg himself, with their medical supplies.
He grabs a few scrolls and seals the Aburame and Fuuma inside them, that Fuuma kissing him almost made him drop the damn illusion..But he guesses he can see why, that Aburame was a pretty boy and if he managed to take him out of all people, then he'd be the textbook Knight in shining armor.
Still, when they do shit like that he can't help but feel a bit a bad afterwards...

Not that it'll stop him from using the same tactic again, he needed to know where they kept their more important supplies so he could grab them and get out of here.
He's gonna have to dig up that Swordswoman, and he actually takes the time to destroy the eyes in that Uchiha...He's not much of one, but he does have a bit of Uchiha Blood in him and he'll be damned if he see's a Clansman with their eyes inside someone else's skull, better to just nip that in the butt immediately.

He reports in to the 'Nobles' of Iwagakure and after he shows the proof, he collects the payment and leaves, he's sure a few of these guys have some bounties on them, but he's not sure.
He didn't know their names, didn't know their stories and didn't know their plans.
He didn't care about any of that, or their justification of their actions, their shame or their hopes and dreams..He doesn't care about any of that.
They were his targets, that and their abilities were all he needed to know, and all that he did know.

His name is Mercury Akari, and he is a Mercenary and a Hunter-Ninja.
He's ranked as an A-class Shinobi, and his services come cheaper than most.

And when he returns, he'll be accepting Contracts.

[Wordcount; 4,269, level one of Golden Eye and 11 stat points claimed.]

[Risako AkaraCitizen]

He threatened me with physical violence if I didn't approve this.

[Risako AkaraCitizen]

Approving 21 stats instead of 11, because it's early and I can't do math.

[Mercury AkariCitizen]

"If you don't keep up, I'll leave you behind."

That's a phrase that was repeated to him over and over again, ever since the moment he learned to walk.
It's the one thing he remembers vividly about his Father, even as his face goes blurry, as does the specifics of his personality...His voice, tone and that phrase always sticks with him, like a particularly annoying thorn that you just can't pull out with the tweezers and whenever you try? It just digs in deeper.
Did he have a good relationship with his Father? Hell no, the moment he dropped his guard and he was strong enough he crushed that bastard's skull beneath his heel and followed it up by stomping on his neck and then burning the corpse into ashes, then he celebrated by turning in the torn off head into the Bounty Office and claiming the B-rank bounty he had.
The people who call him cruel and unfeeling don't know what the hell they're talking about, they don't understand the callous disregard and the feeling of always being looked down on.
Those feelings of unconditional love you have for your parent? The one who brought you into this world? Imagine that loyalty being weaponized against you until you've seen enough of the world to understand what being betrayed means, or to figure out that maybe, that's not how Father's treat their kids.

Then imagine the one who showed you that, taught you that was murdered right before your very eyes by that same Parental Figure.
Tell me you wouldn't begin plotting his death and I'll gladly break your jaw for lying both to me and yourself, you idealistic, brainless, toothless sycophant.
The point of this, is that he took two years to plan and gather the materials needed to finally put an end to that sad man named Torune Uchiha, with a combination of weeks of poisoning, training the skills he needed to counter that Sharingan he was so proud of, to set the battlefield to his preferences and finally...A lot of grit to actually fight that man, who long ago activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and had Nineteen years to train it. He almost didn't win actually, despite all of his planning...That Susano'o as he called it was no joke..
That's when the poison started finally eating away at him, and his precious Sharingan eyes couldn't keep up with him anymore, he picked that man apart like a Lion picks apart a buffalo, savoring every grunt and curse as his feet found flesh and cracked bone under their weight and power.
It was therapeutic, not only was he taking his pound of flesh for all the pain he endured...
But for the pain he caused Her as well, the look in Her eyes was the final shove he needed to finally put an end to all of this and do the world the favor of killing this Monster in Human skin.
He put the Pillars to good use, he kept Calm to keep him from being suspicious, he bide his Time until the perfect moment when all of his preparation's were complete. And he was Ruthless in this plan's execution, mercilessly attacking as soon as he started showing the symptoms of that poison.

His Father's downfall was his Pride in the abilities of his Sharingan, something his clan gave him, but his Father was a Master of the Morning Rose style of Swordsmanship, yet instead of utilizing his sword, the stubborn Old Man started using fire and trusted his eyes, he didn't even reach for the sword until that Susano'o dispersed and I was already on top of him. I broke his sword-arm and wouldn't give him an inch, if he got room to breathe, he'd stop Mercury from breathing..So Mercury destroyed that arm and fought for hours, trading blows with the one-armed man until he finally slowed down enough from the poison that he could land the decisive blow...
The Bastard actually looked relieved when his foot was coming down, which kind of ruined it for him when he started thinking on it.
So he stopped thinking about it, there's no point in thinking about a corpse or there reasoning in doing something...It might justify it to someone else, but it damn sure won't justify it to the victim.

Standing before Ginko and Morph, these thoughts can't help but run through his mind. He did kill their Blood-Brother after all, and it looks like they've got a plan to finally get their revenge.
Still, they could have feasibly won if all three of them fought back, it's why he had a flash-bomb prepared in case he misjudged their ability as a team.
But he knows these two aren't strong enough by themselves to take him out, and he knows they know that too...Which is why his eyes suddenly flash gold and begin scanning the area closely as they start shouting at him and-Aha..
Ohh..Oh boy, that's a big chakra signature...
At least as large as his own, refined...Genjutsu? Fuinjutsu? Definitely an Assault-Type from how large the chakra pool is, damn..I need a look at hi- Hello beasty..Oh wow, that's...That's a big guy with a big sword.
Oh hey, isn't he- Damn what was his name? That Mercenary killer called Armen Terumi, A-rank Threat, not good as Me of course...But his presence presents a problem.

He doesn't think he can take Armen and these two Clowns. Who are still talking, right, time to nip this in the butt before his head ends up on the wrong side of the table.
"You're buddy just ditched you, I'll give you five seconds to run."
He declares suddenly and decisively with a wide arrogant smirk, causing the pairs eyes widen and a pair of heads to turn away swiftly in shock to confirm this...
That's when he throws the explosive tagged kunai at them at a speed that makes it appear like a blur between the pair, he's spent enough time around them since Diali died to know that the pair have been burned in the past by people other than Diali and that despite this plan, they'd be suspicious of Armen.
And when they're heads turn back, the explosive tag is denotated, and while Morph is certainly fast enough to avoid this with just a minor injury...Ginko takes the full brunt of the blast and is sent flying upwards, clothing erupting into flames and a silent scream of pain erupting from his throat...Before Mercury appears behind him, like the shadow under a leaf..And he executes a brutal mid-air combo, which ends with Ginko's skull cracking against the paved road and Mercury's boot driving the point home.
Armen leaps from the brush and Mercury leaps back, sending a blinding ball straight for the recovering Morph.

A scream of agony erupts from the blue haired Shinobi as he clutches his eyes, giving him a brief moment to trade blows with the massive man and get a gauge of his abilities...
He doesn't like what he see's, the man is keeping up effortlessly, and has enough strength to actually start beating him back, the man's sharp brown eyes are watching him intently and are unfazed by his Employer's death, he's moving in a surging pattern, to cut off any escape routes and he's keeping him close enough that he can't cast any jutsu..
This guys a professional, and worse...He's a professional that's been doing this longer than he has.
And he's better at it, clearly.
He exhales slowly as he raises his foot and stops the blade with the steel bottoms of his boots, before he shoves backwards, using the man's own strength to leap away.
He's got a few options here...And only two look like they'll let him get away from this alive, he has a moment as he straightens out through the air, three clones of light bursting forward before they move to surround the man..
And then a plan clicks in and he smirks before his golden eyes gleam brighter, his smirk widening into a feral grin before he lunges back into the fray with his clones, which begin to mob the man, dodging the swipes of his blades and lashing out, the man dodging backwards without too much trouble as they trade blows.

Morph's eyes clear up and he begins moving forward to assist, before another bright flash occurs, the young Hunter once again being subjected to Mercury's trickery...Before a foot catches him in the stomach and he feels his ribs compress, before he's sent flying backwards. The clones explode in a flash of light all around Armen, who grunts and then expels a purple acidic cloud from his mouth most likely stopping any counter-attacks from reaching him, due to what he's seen of Mercury and judged by his chakra pool.
Simultaneously, Mercury begins manhandling Morph, who while he has some training in Taijutsu, enough to avoid an Explosion tag, is a Fuinjutsu support Shinobi and while he's been blinded?
Is completely helpless to stop Mercury from brutalizing him, a kick from the Morning Star Mercenary shatters his jaw, and Morph throws a desperate punch...Which is swept aside casually, Morph's eyes finally clear, to the sight of Mercury forming a golden spear in his grasp and lunging forward with it.

And so ends the Tale of Morph Umi, Diali Fuuma and Ginko Ma, Faction 13 Mercenary Group.

Mercury kicks the body away as the blade disperses and spins to prepare himself for an attack from Armen....
Who's right in front of him.
Oh boy..
A powerful hand grasps his throat tightly and slams him into the tree hard enough to crack his ribs and expel the breath from his lungs.
"You little brat! You just killed my Employers!" He snarls before he draws him back and this time, his head hits the back of the tre-ow...That's a concussion.

Already reeling from the physically superior man, he grunts before a bright flash erupts from his eyes and a powerful, desperate kick flies upwards..Is he moving slower..?
The thought is cast aside, plan abandoned suddenly under the onslaught of the vengeful man, who he thought he could reason with, and instead of his words he begins his assault with a flare of gold around his steel boots, burning like sunlight as it forms into a bladed pair of boots over his actual boots and he begins a relentless combo, lights flashing blindingly and a sudden boost of power erupting from him as light surrounds his body, tinting the silver around him a brilliant golden color as a roar of fury and exhilaration bubbles up from the back of his throat. Adrenaline cutting through the pain of his broken ribs and the dizziness from his concussion, even his twisted ankle means nothing as his legs and arms become gold and silver streaks as they blur, sweeping away clouds of purple smoke with the force of his blows, which cut through them like a swift gale.

He's actually kind of disgusted with himself right now, as he brute forces his way through this man, it's disgusting that he's winning this, when he was the one caught off guard, when he was the one outnumbered and outgunned, and yet here he is, cutting through this man like a hot knife through butter, screaming his head off desperately like a cornered wild animal...
This was a case of him winning because of sheer dumb luck, he knows what just happened..And why his kicks and light illusions are so blinding and why this man is suddenly moving in slow motion.
He lucked out, he just 'earned his wings' in the non-traditional Akari fashion.
So this is Light Ascension? Well, it just goes to show..When you're making a plan to kill someone, always have a bac-

And that's when a flicker of motion catches his eye and he has to duck the Terumi's sword, which returns to his hand..And he leaps back to avoid the retaliatory slash from the man, whose body suddenly is surrounded by crackling lightning.
The Lightning Javelin technique...
He grits his teeth and brandishes the blade side-ways as he breathing harshens..And his eyes narrow...Before he takes a step away from Mercury.

"...This ain't worth the cash, leave the bodies to me and you can walk away...Understand..?"

The man's words don't register for a moment, but Mercury's eyes narrow, before he nods slowly and begins sidling away..Keeping the man in his field of vision, as the pair begin circling eachother..To give them each a path away...
Mercury's back faces the direction of Tanzaku..And he suddenly turns and dashes off, body flickering several times, going from side to side until he's a good five hundred meters away...
He stops and turns again...And the more experienced Mercenary is far down the road, clearing away Morph and Ginko's bodies...
And with his chest heaving, he grits his teeth and turns away..Golden aura fading as he begins his long limping walk back to Tanzaku, praying he doesn't pass out before he gets there.

_______________________________________________________________________________________


His pushes open the door of the resident Medical Ninja and stumbles over to his counter, before slapping down almost all of his commission down..
He's met with a disinterested look and a cloud of smoke in his face from a man he's known since he was a child, Uchiha Hex.
He's a disinterested man, who's probably one of the strongest men in Tanzaku that's not a mercenary.
He has neck length shaggy black hair and bangs that cover his right eye, his eyes are slanted and disinterested, in the traditional coal black that all Uchiha seem to have.
His shoulders rise as he breaths in and then sag as he exhales at the sight, as if him just entering to be looked at is a chore he'd rather avoid..

"Come on then, and you owe me a pack of cigarettes."

I don't owe you shit after all the money I just threw at you, you old bastard..!!
He wants to yell mutinously, but really all that comes up is delirious grumbling as he follows the Medical Shinobi into the operating room, eyes starting to blur.
He hops up onto the table and rolls onto his back which get's a sharp hiss of pain from him and a roll of the eyes from Hex, which is the last thing he see's before he finally black out from pain, and chakra exhaustion.



My name is Uchiha Hex, and I'm a Doctor.
I was a Mercenary for close to Thirty years before I settled in Tanzaku to be a Medicine man for a bunch of money grubbing psychopaths, at least that's what I thought I'd be doing.
Despite it all, most of these people aren't actually Missing-Ninja, who because I've got such a large customer base I can turn away, but Mercenaries who try to keep their nose clean and actually hunt down the Missing-Ninja that pass through here. They are Murderer's for hire, but they are all decent people, just trying to make a living in this harsh world of Shinobi...

And then there's This little asshole on my table...!
Who was raised by his psychopath of a cousin, who actually was a money grubbing, cruel, sadistic bastard. Especially after Kirie..Eh, imagine my surprise when he drags the brat inside, with a kunai lodged into the little guys shoulder. He knew I wouldn't turn away a kid, it was only later I realized he stabbed Mercury himself in order to get treatment from the poison he ingested. Of course, Mercury said that after he brought in his Father's head, which saved his Father's life that's for sure.
Mercury isn't a bad kid....No I take that back, he isn't as heartless and jaded as his Father was, despite the Brat's "Pillars" he's not completely heartless, he's saved more civilians and given more freebies for villages in need than he cares to admit...But unfortunately a Target, no matter how sympatheti-..
...No, he supposes that's not true either, he's let a few get away.
This Kid can put on an act, but now that he thinks about it, he's never actually killed someone that might actually do some good for the world.

Or maybe he's just biased cause he likes his mutt of a nephew..? Whatever, the little Asshole managed to pick a fight that he couldn't win clean from the looks of it, he's managed to tear some muscles in his left calf, his ribs are cracked and he's got a concussion and- Oh great he passed out.
Hex sighs and shakes his head before he claps and rubs his hands together, a green glow appearing over them as he get's to work.

"Two packs, you owe me two packs, brat."

He mutters, even as his eyes tiredly roam over his Nephew's injuries and just as quickly..He begins to heal them.
He's an S-rank Medical Ninja, boo-boo's like the stuff most of his clients walk in with is as easy as applying a band-aid for Uchiha Hex or "Healing Palm Hex" as some circles know him by, having mastered and created a Medical Palms technique so powerful, he once restarted a heart and sealed up a wound from Kubikiribocho.

He pulls his hands away from his Nephew and his fingertips pluck the cigarette from his lips, he tilts his head up and exhales a cloud of smoke before he turns and walks out of the room.
The brat'll be fine, he just needs a few days rest...Which he knows he won't be getting, which means he'll be back.


___________________________________________________________________

Mercury's eyes open slowly and he's greeted with the sight of a white ceiling and a hanging lamp...Which is a sign he didn't die from his concussion, score..?
He groans softly and leans up, his palm resting against his forehead before his fingers brush the silver colored tresses away from his lighter grey eyes, which roam over the area.
He slides off of the operating table and walks out of his room, the sight of Hex almost mockingly counting his money earning an eyeroll from the Mercenary as he exits with a "Thanks." in parting, and a distant "Two Packs!" in response as the door swings shut behind him.

Well, Ginko and Morph managed to ruin his week..He doesn't have enough cash to eat for the entire month, let alone live comfortably...Which mean's he's going to have to take another Mission, which after his run-in with that asshole, he's not sure he's ready to do...He needs a different approach, a way to make money with his reputation and skills that gives him more time to train his abilities...
His steps carry him past the bar, where a couple of Village Genin are tossed out on their asses.
And the metaphorical light-bulb goes off...
Lower-ranked Village Shinobi get into shit all the time, in fact they usually have to work their asses off to meet a certain quota for their village...They probably don't even realize how lucky they are to have people watching their back and are probably still freaking out....
So why not give them some insurance and a little help..?

Mercury's smirk causes the Genin to balk and run off as they catch sight of it...
He casts a glare towards the pair before he sighs and shakes his head.
The mocking call that his smile scares small children causes his glare to turn back into a smile directed at the man.
Ah, Usui..Yeah, Hex did such a good job, he thinks he'll send some extra business his way...Then he'll write a letter to be posted up in all of the Mission Offices around the Elemental Nations...Except for Kumogakure, he's heard some..
Bad rumors from that direction..
Mercury's slow walk into the bar is accentuated by Usui backing away, leaping up from his chair...And that's when Mercury shuts the door behind him.

[Wordcount; 3,284, claiming 16 stats]

[DenkitekiMissing-Nin (A-rank)]

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