Ill Gotten Artifacts

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Ill Gotten Artifacts


Zeo hated graverobbers. There was a clear difference from exploring long forgotten places for treasure and riches, and another from robbing from shrines and known places of significance.
The orders for the job were simple and clear. Someone was trying to rob ancient temples of their significant treasures and relics. The reports were numberous and had urged Hoshigakure shinobi to take action. Zeo was among one of the shionbi given this task, partly for his sharp analytical skills. AMong most of his class, Zeo had a sharp mind and deductive reasoning that could easily land him a job in the high ops of Hoshigakure. Either way Zeo had taken the time to investigate the other shrines, and noticed the clues that were left. It clearly was the work of another shinobi who was stealing the artifacts. NO other signs of forced or rather brute force entry. The person knew exactly how to sneak in without drawing attention to himself to be caught in the act.

Zeo was at one of the last places robbed, a mountain top temple where he was assigned to look into. The priest was very welcoming, thanks to Zeo's proper behavior. He soon was let in and he began to investigate.

The majorit of the temple was disturbed, the places stolen were clearly shown signs--- lack of dust where the missing items were formerly placed. Further, the small traces of that mysterious powder was around. Upon closer inspection, Zeo found it wasn't merely just on display. The artifacts had been properly protected. Sealing jutsu had been placed where they were stolen. Or rather, the sealing jutsu had been removed. The powder was perhaps the theif's jutsu use to dispel the seals to steal the objects.

A silver substance by the look of it. Perhaps Mercury.

After polite thinks to the shrine caretaker, Zeo ventured to the outside where he found like the reports indicated. Another trail of silver. This one was most spurratic as he looked over the patches of it, seeing less and less of it over time.

"Okay thatt doesn't even begin to make sense," Zachary said aloud to himself as he investigated the silver trail. "The thief clearly has the know how and skill to undo sealing jutsu , so why the hell would he leave a trail and make his position obvious?" He asked, but the answer was rhetorical on the best of conditions.

A skilled shinobi who knew what he was doing wouldn't be that sloppy to leave any kind of trail. It was a considerable decoy tactic to lead persuers into a totally different direction. Zeo knelt down to the ground and took a moment to touch the silvery material. He saw how it clinged to his skin a bitt till he blew on it, the powdery substance easily dissolving into the air---

--- but not before something happened. His eyes flashed for a moment as he felt something odd, his mind shocked and his eyes for a moment flashing with black and stars....

His head throbbed as he suddenly saw a faceless figure, masked and obscured in black. He left the trail of the powder. However, at that moment, the powder was moved with the wind. It was then the man jumped uinto the trees and headed north, further up the mountain, leaving in the opposite trail of his own evidence.

Zeo felt his head throbbed as his vision returned to normal, the blacks of his eyes gone now as he shook his head, oblivious to what he saw. "W-what the hell was that?!"" he gasped.

No one was around, but what he saw was unnerving, as if he had a day dream out of his control or a panic attack from when he saw his home burn down. He swallowed hard as he looked to the direction the thief went. The direction and location from the mental flash was the same direction he now saw.

Interested and wondering what he saw was true, he followed that location out of instinct, feeling it was worth investigating.

WC: 678

Zeo followed the treck into the mountains, following the path he remembered the thief took. He didn't really get why he saw a vision of the thief. It was so brief he thought he daydreamed or imagined it all. Still, he didn't know why that happened. Still, he coudn't ignore it, or the logic of what he saw. If the enemy was indeed leaving a trail , the logical reason was to lure people away from his true path. It was misdirection 101, a simple skill for shionbi to follow. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that far. But now he had a better idea how to find this person.

As he reached further into the mountain-- he saw it again. This time among some of the leaves as the setting sun began to set and catch light differently. It would be nightfall soon and soon saw it. The glimmer of the same silver powder. This time it was on the leaves of a nearby tree, and this time it was far more sarcastic. This was clearly the same powder from the temples.

Zeo's eyes narrowed as he soon saw the path and direction of it. He was on the right track. Growing anxious, he readjusted the sword on his back and flexed his hands in nervousness. He knew he should head back and report the position, but he was close now. The best way to deal with this was to find his hideout and if possible stop him. Still, there was no way to tell exactly where he was. If he was careless, he could walk right into an ambush.

Dusk was setting in as he marched up the mountain. The more he searched, he was starting to see more and more of the silver dust, now standing out in the early evening. As he did, he heard sounds around him. Perhaps a pack of wolves was nearby, but he kept moving. As he walked, he was growing more cautious and slow, worried to walk into a deadly ambush.

A sudden howl caused him to stop in place. He bit his lip as he looked around, trying to find the source of the howl. The wolves might have been out hunting and while they often avoided humans by nature, they were prone to attack if their hunts had been scarce. He tried to ignore it, but he soon felt the eyes of SOMETHING on him. It was then he saw it. In the shadow of the trees, two yellow eyes stared at him. He paused as he saw the shadow of the creature, revealing to be a black colored wolf. The wolf almost looked to be as big as a full grown man, and growled with intense direction right at Zeo.

The way it appeared almost seemed unearthly. Zeo froze, realizing something critical. "This ... this could be a Genjutsu." he breathed and brought his hands up to form a single ram sign. He focused his chakra to cause a random spike to it. "Release." he breathed.

He soon opened his eyes, expecting the wolf to vanish... but it still remained. It looked right at Zeo and Zeo back at him. A gulp escaped the boy as he realized he could be in trouble. Was this wolf a part of the enemy's jutsu or a familiar?

HOwever, what happened next was what he didn't expect. The wolf merely looked at Zeo, then turned away, to walk further into the trees. Zeo blinked, unsure what he was seeing. Perhaps the wolf was not about to attack him alone, however, the wolf then turned its head to Zeo and almost seemed to 'gesture' for him to follow.

Zeo felt stunned. Was he hallucinating again? Just what was going on?! Why would a random wolf just appear and do this. It didn't even look like a regular stray wolf. Was it wise to just follow it, further in the direction of the mysterious silvery powder.

A sigh escaped him. "Oh what the hell..." He said and followed the strange black wolf.

He followed the wolf further, or tried to as he was well ahead of him and passed through the trees. He was hard to follow. After some point, the forest ended to the clearing and a cave entrance along the mountainside. However... the wolf soon vanished. Either in the blink of his eye or the passing of a tree, the wolf had vanished from Zeo's eyesight. He shook his head, unsure what the hell was happening.

IN a final act of sense, Zeo looked down as the moon illuminated the forest floor. He checked the ground, attempting to find the footprints of the wolf he had been following...

... and there was none. No tracks, no prints, nothing.

Zeo bit his lip. "Great. I was following a mysterious wolf that didn't seem to exist. Great, Zeo. Real good sign there on mental stability." he spoke, and soon saw the cave.

The cave the silver powder had pointed to...

WC: 839

The moonlight had illuminated most of the mountain side till Zeo entered the mouth of the cave, then only darkness. If what he was seeing were bad omens, he clearly was not willing to listen to them as he dared to enter and find the thief. It was probably a bad idea to enter alone but he was the only one to depend on. He cautiously entered the cave, observing the walls and crevices of the cave. It went in for about 20 meters, till he found the remains of a camp, and lastly to grasp his attention-- was the stolen artifacts. All of them from the shrines and churches. They were lined up and secured along with some of that silver powder.

The only thing missing was...

"Find something you like?" A voice spoke from behind him.

Zeo's eyes widened-- SKRITCH!!

The shadowed figure struck, a kunai to Zeo's back as he attacked. Zeo's knees buckled as he felt the dagger in his back, his energy fading.

"Got you, little brat. You hoshi ninja are such pushovers ... " he growled.

Drip... water trickled from the wound and his kunai. In that instant, Zeo's form shifted-- the blue clothing soon becoming even more blue and suddenly, splash! His entire form dissolved into water that just spilled onto the floor of the cave.

"Whatt the?" The rogue thief gasped. "A Decoy?!"

"DId you think I'd be that stupid to waltz in here?" Zeo announced from his own hiding place-- back outside the cave.

In that moment, he wove his hand signs together quickly, ending with the dragon sign and slapped it down to the floor of the cave. "Summoning Jutsu-- Wandering Oasis!!"

Zeo's jutsu he had invented as part of Hoshi's development plan. This was one in which he used the 'transportation' technique to open an active portal to allow water from a large water source to flood an area. In this case, the cave and its entrance as a guiser of water eclipsed the mouth of the cave and gushed water through both ends. The bandit let out a cry of shock as a sudden deluge of water swept around him and flushed him into the cave.  The depth was luckily not toplling the artifacts, but the sheer force and flow of the water pushed the thief about and tossed him around the cave-- till he finally was washed backwards, filling the cave and then tossed back out via the mouth of the cave-like it was a waterfall.

The water cascaded into the woods, and tossed him onto t he ground, him on his hands and knees as he coughed out a small bit of water. While not injured, it surprised him and flushed him out of his cave hideaway. Zeo soon was on the nearby tree branch, observing him from above. "Please surrender and release the sealing jutsu on the stolen artifacts. " Zeo announced.

Without even answering, he drew out his kunai and silvery powders started to shift around him in large clouds. What Zeo didn't know it was a form of mixture called "Scald" a strange substance normally associated to a bijuu-- the seven tales. However, this person was just a regular shinobi who learned how to use that art. His use of it was becoming troublesome as Zeo had no idea what properties this powder could cause or why was it so useful to him.

Either way, Zeo prepared himself as he wove his hand signs quickly, casting his next jutsu with the water surrounding his present position.

With a mere one handed sign, strands of the silver powder flew through the air towards Zeo Regardless of the form or intent of the jutsu, Zeo knew enough to not let the silvery substance touch him directly.

"Water Release-- Water Wall!!" Zachary shouted, causing the water from below to intercept the strands of powder. The water roared up and washed into the attack, which creatively enough soaked and dispersed the jutsu.

WC: 662

Zeo glared at the shinobi as the water washed away the scald powder, a lucky maneuver he had been able to pull off before it could reach him. He didn't know exactly what that powder could do, but he had a hunch. Poison, paralysis, any kind of toxin like effect could happen if enough of that substance got on his skin or he breathed it. It could be fatal. He had to avoid it at all costs.

The thief was quick to counter as he soon conjured more strands of powder, this time moving faster and with multitudes to try and catch Zeo as it arched skyward, to avoid water and then swing back for him. However, Zeo was quick to react as he made a single hand of confrontation. "Fuuton--" He spoke softly, and soon a sudden howl of wind answered. The jutsu he used was the Wind Rejuvenation, causing the air around Zeo to surge with life and chakra. In a simple step, Zeo moved like a shot, his speed suddenly enhanced by the air. Not only did he evade the attack, but the surrounding wind also acted as a natural armor against the powder!

With the air acting as a swirling skin-tight membrane, the powder refused to make contact to him as they tried to follow him. Zeo now was high in the air, using the air to propel him high over the air, even as the watery forest continued around him. But with any luck, he wouldn't have to fight more. With this jutsu active, his next move would be swift and decisive. His scald powder wouldn't even defend him.

He quickly wove hand signs as he moved, all the while his eyes trained on the target and his glittering powder. "Fuuton-- WIND BULLETS!! " he shouted. Without even a blow from him, the wind surrounding him billowed-- and bolts of air like arrows shot forward towards the target.

Zeo was new to using wind style, but he had grown to like it as powerful offensive assistance next to water. Eight bolts of air shot forward, into solid spheres and fired. It sliced through the trees with ease as it soon reached the target. The impact caused the water and nearby objects to burst apart due to the focused wind chakra. A few of them tore into the thief's body.

However, the resulting blast into the shinobi caused a burst of scald powder. A clone, one he had created as well as a last resort.

He clearly was skilled at getting away, but Zeo was not about to let him escape so easily. Sadly, his mid-air jump came to an end as he landed upon the water's surface he conjured, still keeping it active to act as his aid. Zeo kept looking around, hoping to find a trace of him. He couldn't let him get away, or get the jump on him. He had to keep his senses sharp and look for the best opportunity...

The power was a giveaway, but the shinobi was also skilled at sneak attacks if he was not careful.

As Zeo was awaiting the attack, the enemy shinobi was hidden in the trees, to the back of the Hoshi boy. With his kunai in hand, he used his own enhancement. Using scald powder to act as an enhancement, he jumped above Zeo, as the dust clouded the surrounding air above him. "FLASH!!" he shouted.

THe silvery powder suddenly erupted with a powerful light, releasing an effect equivalent to a flash bomb.

The blinding light was searing to Zeo's eyes as he braced himself, but knew that time was critical. So he did the only thing he could do....

As the light faded, the enemy shinobi moved in-- but Zeo was gone from where he stood on the water's surface. This time the ninja was stunned, sure he had him right where he wanted him.

However, that simple maneuver gave Zeo the right chance to counter-attack.

SPLASH!! Zeo emerged from underwater! He had canceled his walking on water to deliberately dive under it to prevent being hit by the blind-siding attack. Once more, Zeo now emerged with something new-- his sword drawn and water coating the blade, aglow with his chakra. "GOT YOU!!" he roared, now in range, and brought his sword down, the water adding to the sharpness.

SLASH!! The blade sliced into the man's back and left a severe gash. This time there was blood, not powder as he had struck the real target. It even caught his shoulder, damaging and limiting his mobility significantly. The man soon fell to the water's surface, unable to move more and dropped his kunai. A grunt escaped him as he had met with critical damage, and none of his silver powder could be seen.

Clearly incapacitated, Zeo allowed his control over his wind jutsu and his wandering oasis to fade, causing the water to recede and vanish from the scene. With a last action, he shot a flare into the sky, a single kunai with a tag that released a bright light-- signaling aid from nearby Hoshi shinobi. " Consider yourself lucky I didn't go cutting for your head." Zeo said with a mild hint of sarcasm.

IN truth, he was not the type to cut off a person's head. He hated to result to death if he could help it. He was a thief, but still, he wouldn't want to get his blood on his hands. He believed in mercy when it could be afforded.

It wasn't long for the shinobi to arive, and soon the thief was taken into custody by the Jounin of his village. Satisfied, Zeo decided to walk home back to the village.

As he walked back, he felt exhausted. He used a lot of chakra to maintain both jutsu at once, including to attack afterward. Hopefully, he wouldn't run into any trouble. However, as he walked back, he heard it again. The soft howl of the wolves he heard before. He turned to the direction of a nearby ridge on the mountain to see the shadow of a black wolf, looking down at him again, etched perfectly in the moonlight.

Zeo shook his head, trying to clear it up and looked again. Once more, the wolf was gone from view, as if he was never there. Zeo soon brushed it off as just being tired and perhaps imagined it. He had an active imagination when he wanted to after all...

... what he didn't know in that moment he saw it, his eyes had briefly clouded with black stars-- which quickly disappeared in a matter of seconds. A change was occurring in him, one he had no idea about.

END.

WC: 1124

Mission Rewards:

TWC: 3303 +6000 Ryo + 7 AP

928+ from previous topic for Summon Contract: +572 for 1500 for Summon Contract: Wolf Spirits -- upon creation in summoning contract page.

+1875 to Suffocation by Water Genjutsu 1875/1875 from max stat bonus.

+856 to Suiton : Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death (incomplete)

Approved for everything besides summons. please bump once summoning app is approved. thx!

Reposting for correction. Changing the summon contract to something else. sorry.

Mission Rewards:

TWC: 3303   +6000 Ryo + 7 AP

928+ from Basic Training previous topic to new jutsu WC total : 4231 to learn different jutsu since cannot learn summon contract now. .

+1875 to Suffocation by Water Genjutsu 1875/1875 from max stat bonus.

+1500 to Suiton : Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death (1500/1500 from full stats)

+856 remaining to : Water Fang Bullet  (856/1125)

Approved