Escape from Prison

Minato thought it was a good day to stretch his legs. It had already been a few days since most of the troops had left the village to ride for Sunagakure and deal with what ever threat was lurking in the dark. The young Uchiha had decided to stay behind with a couple of other shinobi to protect the village now with the absence of their Hokage. These last couple of days had turned out quite peaceful, not much had happened as of yet. Maybe it was the calm before the storm because for some reason Minato had a feeling something was about to go down.

The genin would gear up before making his way to the Village Gates. Once in a while he would check up on the guards to see if they had anything to report. As he had almost arrived at the gates he would notice there wasn’t any guard present. Maybe they were patrolling and had left their spot for a moment. But even if it was only for a moment you’d never know something could take place. And it seemed his gut feeling was right as he spotted a young boy walking towards the gates.

The young boy seemed nervous and was acting rather suspicious. From the looks of it he was either a civilian or an Academy Student since he wasn’t showing any sign of being a shinobi of Konohagakure so far. Maybe he was just going for a walk, or maybe he was trying to leave the village and he ditched everything. A lot of maybes, but the one thing Minato was sure of was the fact that he couldn’t just let the boy walk out of the village. And so he planned to stop him, no matter what it would take him.

“Well what do we have here?” he asked as he walked up towards where the boy was standing. For the time being Minato decided not to show any hostile intent as he was more the type that asked first and acted later. He didn’t want to scare the boy too much but it was important that he knew that he just couldn’t escape the village like that. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else at this time of day?”

[Interrupting Jakku's Exit]

(WC: 377)

Hoping to go on a nice walk he said, really? That's what he decided to go with? From all of the things he could go with he went with going on a walk to the forest. The boy in front of him was looking happy, too happy considering the circumstances the village was in. First the invasion by Kirigakure and now the events taking place in Sunagakure. Not really something that would make someone wanting to explore the land. But if that's what he wanted to go with, Minato would join his little game of lies. At least for now.

"I see. Unfortunately I can't allow anyone to leave the village. At least not until everyone is back. You never know who's lurking from the dark. It wouldn't be safe for you to go out now, so I will have to ask you to turn and head back to the village." Short, simple and to the point. Minato had made it clear the boy wasn't allowed to leave Konohagakure, not on his watch. But then it came to him. Recently word had spread about someone who had murdered his own family and who tried to burn the Uchiha District down. And what would someone guilty of actions like that do? Try to leave the village as soon as possible, exactly. 

He wasn't a 100% sure that the boy in front of him was also the one responsible for those murders but given how he was acting and wanted to leave the village only made him more suspicious than he already was. And it wouldn't take long for Minato to find out more about what happened that day, so it was in the boy's best interest to listen to what the Genin said. "I'm sure you heard about what happened at the Uchiha District, so we can't be cautious enough." Minato smiled. Not only were there people murdered, it also happened at his district. Unforgivable. Every Uchiha in the village was probably out there looking for the person responsible for it. And once they would find him .. 

Chances were the person in front of Minato might be that person, and if that were the case it was even more the reason to keep him inside the village. But he had to remain calm, not give away the fact that he might be aware of everything. So he had to play it smart. "Now, let's head back inside since I don't like to ask the same thing twice." 

(WC: 416, TWC: 793)

Minato would listen and notice the change in the boy's personality. He explained why he was so happy, how he knew exactly what happened at the Uchiha District. It was almost as if he was proud of what took place that day. Now Minato was sure that the person in front of him was the one responsible for those murders and the fire. Now he knew under no circumstances he could let the boy leave the village. As the boy's behaviour had shifted Minato decided to activate his Sharingan, just to be sure in case he would try anything funny. 

He would keep listening as he slowly walked towards the boy until he was only 3 meters away from him. The boy would then claim he wasn't about to stay and thanks to his Sharingan's foresight Minato's eyes were able to predict his next movements and before the boy was able to walk away Minato looked in his eyes and activated one of his techniques. If the boy tried to walk away he would notice his body had become paralyzed as he was rendered unable to move thanks to the technique Minato had used. "What's the matter? Can't move? You know, it's funny how you talk about rights. What about the rights of those who's lives you have taken?" 

(WC: 219, TWC: 1012)

AP + Stats:

For more than one reason, Satoru rests against a sturdy tree outside of the gates to the village hidden among the leaves, Konohagakure. He is under and surrounded by shade as he is in a forested region ten meters away from the beaten path to the village. The majestically large doors were enough to inform the Nara of the village's grandeur and historical relevance. His position is such that a person outside of the gates is visible to him, but one within the village's walls is not. He has a sliver of vision into the village but that is all, looking through the doors from an angle. These are the circumstances, descriptively, under which he is positioned. For the past half hour, he has leaned still, facing the gates.

It was stated that Satoru's position is what it is for more than one reason. Upon knowing them, one would most likely find these reasons to be logical and within common sense, if not a tad askew for the average person. The first of these is that Satoru knows not how to properly enter a major village as a foreign shinobi on his own without the aid of an ambassador or else someone to speak on his behalf and give reason for his presence. His home village is Amegakure, from which he moved to Kumogakure after the latter village's forces overtook those of the former. The village hidden in the rain fell under the jurisdiction of that hidden in the cloud. Moving there was a simple process, the two are practically the same territory. Further, traveling to Hoshigakure was no more difficult, what with an entire caravan of Kumogakure shinobi doing the same. Not a word left his mouth except for his name. here though, he is on his own, he must advocate for himself and set up arrangements independently. Anyone else entering the village would do the same. It follows then, that in order to learn the ways of diplomatically entering a major village, the Nara might observe others entering the gates and imitate their discourse.

The second reason Satoru decides to lean where he does is to gather enough information upon which to determine whether or not the village is safe enough to make an attempt at entering it. Politically, Satoru knows nothing of the state of affairs in and around Konohagakure. An unknown criminal may be on the loose and being anywhere near the village could make Satoru a suspect. Thus, the second purpose of quiet surveillance is to understand the safety conditions of a place with which the Nara is unfamiliar. Then, he would decide to either approach or come back later.

Satoru's overall goal when it comes to entering Konohagakure in the first place is to learn about the roots of the Nara clan and discover his ancestors techniques. Adding these to his arsenal of shinobi tactics means gaining power, which is his overarching motivation for most of what he does.

The sight of a boy stepping out of the village through its gates causes Satoru to begin paying particular attention at a time when little is happening for him to take note of. Following this, a voice can be heard from within the village, though the Nara cannot see its source. One might recall Satoru's position, unable to see much inside of the village, but with a view of the gates themselves and those entering and leaving. Given what is being said by the as yet body-less voice as well as the boy's responses, the Nara can only come to the conclusion that the boy might have some ties to a heavy crime within the village.

The time for waiting has come to an end, at least in Satoru's eyes. The Nara's cloak of the night technique had been activated once he had first seen the boy emerge from the gates. With it, he moves forward such that he remains within the shadows of the trees up until the beaten path out of the village and he makes contact with no leaves, branches, or bushes that might impede his movement. Satoru then stands ten meters away from the man closer to the gates, facing the boy and the man from whom it is assumed the earlier voice originated. It is his objective to somehow aid the shinobi who aims at capturing the boy attempting to leave.

"Regardless of whether or not this boy truly commited a grievous crime, it would be in my favor to help in apprehending him so that this Konoha shinobi might have a more favorable opinion of me. It would also show that I come in peace with sensibilities similar to his. If it helps me get in on good terms and without trouble, it is a preferred course." The Nara thinks, forming and holding the rat seal to extend his shadow from that formed by the treeline until it merges with that of the boy. Immediately following this, he will uncloak himself, stating: "My presence is a peaceful one". A peculiar statement to be sure, but one that may cause the man to think briefly, allaying a possible attack in retaliation.

(861/861)

AP usage:

(Speeds not stated are full speed)

Lies, lies and even more lies. The way this boy was trying to talk his way out of his crimes honestly started to anger Minato. Instead of taking responsibility for the crimes he had done and pay for his actions he tried and play the victim of this all. Going on about how he saw everything happening, how he witnessed everything that went down that day. Claiming he was the only survivor and how hard it has been on him. If it really had been so hard, why didn’t he stop before killing those people? And why did he attempt to burn it all down? The only reason would be the fact that he wanted to erase each and every single one of the tracks that would lead to him. To hide his involvement and to escape the consequences.

Before the young boy could continue his attempt of lying his way out of the conversation any further Minato could suddenly feel the presence of a high chakra level making its way closer to the two Konohagakure boys. Out of nowhere a male individual revealed himself out of the shadows while another shadow traveled towards the young boy in front of Minato, rendering him unable to move. The young Uchiha immediately thought about the Nara clan upon seeing such a technique, but he had to careful not to make an assumption too fast since those shadow techniques weren’t restricted to the Nara clan alone and others were able to learn it. So for now he would put those thoughts aside and see how everything would play out from that moment on.

“Shadows eh? Quite the useful technique you’ve got there.” Minato addressed the mystery man who claimed he had come in peace. While that might be the case the young Uchiha had to carefully analyze the situation they were in. The man looked to be alone as Minato couldn’t sense any other presence than the three of them. Maybe he was a traveler but since he knew Ninjutsu he would have to be quite a skilled traveler. Maybe he was a shinobi from another village but on first sight Minato couldn’t spot something referring to one of the shinobi villages. Another possibility was that the man was a Missing Ninja trying to score some easy money. But unless it was all part of a big plan he wouldn’t have decided to help Minato with stopping the young boy who was guilty of murder. “Would you mind keeping this one restrained a bit longer?” That way Minato made sure he couldn’t run away and the stranger in front of him couldn’t just leave or make another move while he was occupied with keeping the other unable to escape. “Now, let’s talk shall we?” he finally said in a polite manner.

“How nice it may sound that you come in peace I can’t just take you for your word just yet. We can’t be careful enough these days, but I’m sure you can understand.” True, the man helped him in stopping the other boy and he hadn’t made a hostile move towards Minato so the Uchiha decided to stay friendly himself as well. “Don’t be fooled by his looks. This one is responsible for multiple crimes and tried to get away without punishment.” Minato knew he couldn’t just spill the details, it could give the wrong people the impression that Konohagakure was easy to attack.

“Thanks for the assist, mister?” Minato inquired about the man’s identity. If he truly meant no harm he would have no problem introducing himself. That way the young Genin would be able to find more about the reason as to why he travelled to Konohagakure. “What brings you to the Land of Fire?” For now it would be his final question all while he was keeping an eye on both the mystery man and the young boy who was still trapped in the other’s technique.

(WC: 657, TWC: 1669)

The tears and sentiment from the boy is enough to make Satoru wonder if he truly committed the crime of which he is accused. It is not enough, however, to cause the Nara to completely change his stance in the situation and let the boy go. In reality, he could not care less about the situation beyond performing actions that put him on the right side of the man with the red eyes and the village as a whole.

The rat seal is released but the shadows remain connected. Should Satoru make any other moves, the boy will copy them as per the Nara clan's hidden technique. With these things established, conversation ensues.

"I will maintain the restraints, yes." The Nara responds. "This technique is one passed down through the Nara clan, of which I am a member. Useful, yes, but taxing on one's stamina. I have about five minutes to keep this up."

The man's next words are no surprise, but they remind Satoru that the two are not necessarily buddies simply because he is helping accomplish the same goal. And as to whether or not he has proof of the accusations against the boy, this is not of the Nara's concern.

"I will take your word for it regarding those crimes." He responds. "My name is Satoru Nara. My home village is Amegakure. The reason I am here is quite understandable. My ancestors got their start here in the village hidden in the leaves as a major proponent of the land of fire. Knowing this, I hope to discover my roots and hopefully learn some new things about the technique I am using right now."

Aside from these things, the Nara has something of his own to add to the conversation.

"Now, I should let you know that I will not allow you to harm this boy without proof and a proper trial." He states. "It is unknown to me how your village works, but if I am to reside here momentarily, it would benefit me to know. Allow me to accompany you inside, thus killing two birds with one stone."

(353/1,214)

AP usage: