The Rules of Kumogakure

"I don't understand why this keeps happening." Vaneda exclaimed, looking down at the long line of prisoners that knelt before him. Each one was convicted of a crime punishable by death, each one a very real threat to the village. Some were citizens of the village at one point, others, ninja gone rogue. Men and women alike, but no infants or children that have the chance of being innocent. No one was escaping him today. Vaneda looked at each of them in exasperation, as if they were nothing more than a drop of grease on the floor he just mopped. An unnecessary obstacle he had to remove. In reality, he loved his job. "I mean... the rules are obvious, simple and easy to access whenever you wish..." He sighed, pulling a small handbook out from beneath his cloak and tossing it at the knees of the prisoners. As Vaneda knelt in front of one of the prisoners, a Kumo ninja that was guilty of plotting an assassination attempt against the raikage, the book opened to the first page...

"Rule One." The Priest recited as if he could see the words on the page. "If you plan to undermine the Raikage and his rule..." Vaneda placed his hands on either side of the man's head, jerking it sharply to the left, then right, snapping it. His body fell to the ground with a thud. The Prisoners squirmed and some even yelped at the sound. "...You're a dead man." Without missing a beat, he stepped over to the next prisoner, a younger lady with long brown hair who glared up at him with defiance. Vaneda only stared at her blankly. "Rule 2. Anyone who instigates open rebellion against the raikage..." In a flash, the woman's head fell from her neck onto the floor in front of her, severed by the Jashin's staff blade. No blood spurted from the wound as the body fell, it having been absorbed by the weapon. "...Is a dead man." The priest moved through each of the prisoners, recounting their sins before ending their existences quickly and cleanly. He went through each of them cleanly, coldly, efficiently. This was a job given to him by the man directly. He had to be professional in this matter. Heads and fallen bodies littered the center of the Prison hallway as the Priest stepped over to the last prisoner, a young man maybe only a little older than he, tears running down his cheeks as he bared his teeth hatefully. Before Vaneda could even recount his particular sin and send him to his death, he spoke first.

"You FOOL!" He screamed at him. Vaneda halted, blinked, but allowed him to continue. "He will kill you when you fail, just like you did us! The Raikage is a tyrant who seeks to doom us all!" He seemed out of breath with his tirade, his chest heaving up and down. Vaneda knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The priest smiled. "The funny thing is that in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there." He conceded before the underside of the boy's head jolted upwards, causing him to fall on his back as the underside of his jaw came into contact with Vaneda's fist. The prisoner coughed blood, the red spilling from his nose as well as his mouth, several teeth broken from the force of the blow. The priest stood and stamped the heel of his boot into the kid's chest crest, causing him to cough up even more blood.

"But my boss is a monster," Vaneda continued, increasing the pressure steadily. "You were supplying arms to traitors and 'fools', I hate all of you equally and when I find them, your crew will meet the exact same fate you did." Vaneda raised his foot from the man's chest, lifting him to his eye-level instead by the throat.

"So in other words, my friend," A shadow fell over his face as he spoke. "You're dead, man." With that, the priest crushed his neck with his fingers, the light going from the kid's eyes and the muscles in his jaw slacking. With that, Vaneda stepped out of the prisoner containment area, going up to one of the guards who stood outside the door. "Go grab some men to clean up that area." He sighed, glancing back in at the room that contained his handiwork. "Oh, and inform the Raikage my job is done. You know how badly he hates to be kept waiting." The guard saluted him and scampered off to do what he was asked as Vaneda sat in one of the waiting benches. He looked down at his freshly bloodied gloves before slipping them off his fingers and setting them in is pockets.

"People today..." Vaneda said, his voice practically dripping with disappointment and exasperation. "Does loyalty account for anything anymore?"