[MISSION] Thief in the village [MISSION]

The handsome Shinobi of Kumo could relate to his next mission fairly well, for he was once a thief as well. Not like he was any legend at it, of course, I mean what kid hasn't shoved a candy bar into their pockets while visiting the shop with their parents. Growing up, he had a knack for it, and surprisingly was never even caught. Petty crime, it is, but he wasn't even 7 when he was doing such deeds. The thieves he was tasked with capturing today weren't stealing chocolate. They were stealing belongings of people: purses from women who sat them down while ordering meals, ninja tools from students at the training grounds, and various other items. Simple enough, he assumed he wouldn't be able to show off some lightning release today, and he's been practicing it so often lately it kinda hurt his feelings not being able to electrocute something or someone on this assignment. "Maybe just a little zappity-zap!", he teased himself while shooting finger guns in the mirror at himself. His confidence has risen as each day passed: he knew he was progressing in life and got stronger as each minute elapsed. Today would be no different, he knew and hopped out his bedroom window dashing through his aunt's flowers to find these hooligans.

The mission didn't start as a dead case, as he was giving a few leads to some villagers who were recently in contact with the thieves. The first victim was an elderly lady who worked at the flower shop. Arriving at her home, he spots the old lady sweeping, and hearing footsteps she takes the broom and ready herself in some-what of a combat stance. "It's you! You're the one who stole my purse, you little rascal!" she yells at Rayul while approaching him with the broom drawn as if wielding a Katana. She reaches the Genin and hits him on top of the head. "Hey!" he says loudly as he rubs the knot forming on his head while grabbing the lady's hand. "I'm a Shinobi sent here to help find the thieves, lady! I'm not them!" he begs while she tries to loosen his grip on her. Realizing that she mistook him from the wrong guy, she apologizes and hugs him. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I saw the jacket and headband and thought you were one of them." Taking in the information given, he asks, "So one of them was dressed exactly like me? Do you remember any facial features, or anything else?" She balls her lips and looks off into the distance as she thinks. "Well, he was a little taller than you...I think he had blue eyes...Oh!, and his hand! It was severely burnt." Rayul thinks as he questions the woman more. "Burnt? Just on one hand or both?" "Both!", the lady says, "As if he had only stuck his hands into a raging fire." This information was going to be helpful to him as he looked for the 3 assailants. After being beaten for no reason, Rayul thanks the woman and heads back towards the center of the village with more information on how he'd identify who these thieves were.

While his mind was focused on processing date about the thieves, his mind also wandered on about chakra, and it's a connection to the human body. He remembers reading scrolls that would often refer to the Sharingan as "the reflection of the heart", and would think about how other Jutsus were connected to us on a more spiritual level. He knows that once he dies, his soul will continue to live on, and his understanding of the connection he had to it was something he wished he had perfect knowledge on. "I'm going to understand it completely one day...", he thought to himself, "and the day I do I'll be an even stronger Shinobi!" Mastery of the mind is something he believes every ninja should have complete dominance of, which is why he took so much time every day to elevate his mind to higher levels of conscious understanding. While in a daze, his concentration is broken, as he overhears what sounds to be like an altercation coming from a nearby shop."Hey!", he hears loud as the day in his right ear, "Stop those kids! They just stole my cabbage!". Realizing that a crime is being committed, his focus shifts from the man yelling orders to the three men running the opposite direction. His eyes automatically attune to a very noticeable feature on the man as he runs carrying a sack of what is believed to be cabbage on his back: The left hand is completely burned. Now at a jogging pace, Rayul shifts focus to the other hand, and just as he hoped, it was also burned. Chuckling to himself, Rayul whispers "Bingo!" while breaking into a full sprint behind them.

They had a head start on the Ninja, but he knew that catching up to them would be easier than taking candy from a baby. Rayul was naturally gifted with speed, so running after targets was never really an issue for him. The main assailant notices that they are being chased, and as they ran past a produce cart, they throw it down and split up in attempts to hinder his tracks. "Oh, so y'all gone make this harder than it has to be, huh?" he says while running full sprint to the cart that laid in his way. "While leaping over the cart, he weaves hand signs and appearing on each side of him, two clones land with him simultaneously as they make it over the object that was intended to slow him down. Rayul continues to run forward, while the two clones take out to his left and right after the other two thieves. He finally gains eyesight on the cabbage-napper again, watching the man climb a ladder that led to another roof. "You can't even wall run and you're stealing?!" he mocks at the man. The guy tells him to "Shut the hell up" as he throws cabbages down at Rayul as he tries to climb up after him. "You throw another cabbage at me and I'm throwing lightning up your ass!" The man makes it to the top, and nearly out of breath, he continues running from The Uchiha-boy. Rayul has made it up top as well, and not as nearly drained as the thief he's in pursuit of, slows down to a jog again as he notices how winded the guy was. He realizes the guy has gotten far ahead enough to think it's safe for him to take a quick break, hoping to regain some strength to keep running from the Genin. Another plan erupts inside Rayul's mind, somewhat of a scare tactic. Thinking back on learning that the guy possibly doesn't know Jutsu, let alone not having any chakra control, he beckons to the guy while weaving the Ox hand sign. "Ya know, I hate that it has to come down to this, but if you won't stop running...", Rayul shrugs as he continues weaving random signs, "you leave me no choice!" The man picks his head up, still panting for air, and looks over at Rayul. "He-hey, what are you doing?! Do-don't do any of that fancy magical ninja stuff! I don't know any jutsus!" the man pleas. "Lightning Style:" Rayul yells, and before he can finish the sentence, the man drops to his knees with his hands up. "Okay, okay! You win, I'm sorry!" the thief says as the bag of cabbage drops beside him. Rayul laughs, almost uncontrollably, as he walks towards the man. "Yea, I figured that none of you had any Jutsu. With you seeming to be the leader, why would the other two be under you if they knew any? You guys are just some cabbage patch punks." He reaches into his pouch and pulls out a rope, and uses it to tie the guy's arms behind his back. He throws the cabbage off the roof, and with the guy holstered across his shoulder, jumps from the roof and lands. From around the corner, both of his clones appear, with the men they were commanded to apprehend as well. "Mission accomplished, boys," he tells to his other versions. Picking up the sack of cabbage, he and his clones rejoice as they take the three men towards the prison to turn them in.

On their way to finalize the mission, Rayul stops back by the cabbage vendor and returns the rest of the cabbage that wasn't destroyed or thrown at him. The man thanks him, and offers him 2 free heads of the vegetable, which he is happy to receive since he loves cabbage alongside his bowl of ramen. They arrive outside the prison, and he briefs one of the guards outside about how these were the three thieves the village has been trying to capture for a while. Impressed by his skill, the guard thanks him for taking matters into his own hands, and reminds him of how ninja-like him should be more present in this day and age. He chats with the guards for a minute, and as his clones disperse one after another, he bids them a farewell and walks back towards to the direction of his home. Another day of helping the village maintain peace, and yet another day of Rayul learning more valuable principles. Tonight, the Promising Ninja of the Cloud eats 4 bowls of his favorite cheesy-raku Ramen alongside the fresh cabbage prepared by his aunt as she congratulates him on another job well done.

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