Epic Hoshi Mission (Miyamoto)

Spoiler:

A strong gust of wind blew in the room, entering from the broken window panes of the abandoned mill. Shina managed to brace and remain still, but she could hear Alto shifting on his feet. Chakra pulsing along the veins and nerves of the young man's face. They bulged up in a manner almost grotesque, reaching up from the top of his spinal column and across his cheeks, up to his temples, and into his eyes. 

That Byakugan of his was locked in a place a mile away. The place that sold the best coffee in town. The owner of the establishment was there, wiping tables clean. The round glasses on his face gave him an overall friendly appearance. An average man with an average job, but in reality, he operated a separate business on top of the legitimate one. This fine establishment he operated was a place that helps find criminal jobs and references for the shinobi underworld. 

Everyone knew the types that would come in and look for work in that missing-nin hub. They almost always dressed in black, sometimes even in ridiculously expensive clothing. Their eyes often looked through you, held a blank gaze, a stance that radiated an air of ‘don’t mess with me.’ They were there for a job. They came, they went. Civilians feared them for a reason they knew.  

Shina felt that place was an insult to the village, existing only a few miles away from Hoshi gates. Today however would have its use.

“You are going there to try their coffee and talk. Of how distressed you are, and the desire to take vengeance on the village. Steal a page from Sasuke Uchiha’s book for all I care and rehearse it a hundred times. The Coffee Shop manager is a hard man to fool. But Lazy Leo, one of the main patrons there, has been on Hoshi's payroll for a while now. “

She had explained the job to Miyamoto. And that was to beat them at their game. Enter the shop pretending to be a missing ninja. Then act the part and convince the owner to introduce them to a missing-nin group. Jack Skellinger’s group. Rumored to be planning a heist in the area and looking for recruits.

The Amegakure native was the perfect fit. He was notoriously known for betraying the village and exiting Hoshigakure with that cocksucker Valen Akari. His capture and subsequent imprisonment were done in absolute secrecy. That’s why he was kept in a different location than anyone else. 

If Miyamoto were to be successfully recruited, then he would usually be required to return to the village with his findings and complete it. However, the former hero’s part would take one more step.  Stay in character and infiltrate the group, and kill the boss with the first chance he got.

The key for Kyousuke’s student would have to pretend to be someone else. A man he no longer was, Miyamoto Terumi.

WC: 490/2500

Miyamoto knew his job; he was perfectly ok with what needed to be done...make a path to the big bad fucker...kill him ruthlessly without any remorse...not that Miyamoto had that anymore...that part died with the Terumi name in Amegakure, that cursed place...Valen fucked him over. He was seen as a traitor even with his accomplishments, his friends dead...or so he thought, and now he was introduced to a new world where his old self was no longer welcome.  Shina was going to be keeping an eye on him, from a distance, of course, which he did not mind...he worked better alone anyway.  As the wind blew through his ton clothing, the mud stains on his old jeans, and even his gear looked to be exactly what he was wearing when he was captured.  Two headbands were scratched, rusted, and stained with blood...forever marked though, feeble reminders of his old life...in this job, he was a simple man, looking for revenge on the one man that could have saved him...Ayato Hyuuga.  He arrived at the doors of the shop a little after sundown, walking in without much of a word before taking a seat at the bar.  His first instinct, he looked at the noticeable entrances and exits, along with the patrons there.  His job gave him a contact on the inside...Lazy Leo, a fucking lowlife on the payroll of Hoshi, the man would serve his purpose soon, but for now…he had to act the part.

“b-b-bartender...I am a bit sluggish tonight, mind if I get a c-cup of c-c-coffee.  Dark roast if you h-have it.”  He would say before tossing a few old, scarred ryo onto the counter.  He looked destitute and down on his luck as he waited.  He made an intentional look down instead of at the eyes of the man behind the counter. He wanted to look a bit timid...or at least impressionable as he began to establish his character.

WC:336

The heads that turned reminded him that their piercing gazes were just as useful as an intimidating factor about this place despite its reputation.  When he got to the bar and ordered, he could feel a pair of eyes deliberately boring into his head.  Miyamoto almost broke character to deal with it and just destroyed the area entirely when the man came up and clasped his shoulder, just as he ordered his drink, as stated earlier.  The coy ever sneaky rogue on Hoshi’s payroll, Lazy Leo was quick to offer payment for a round, including whatever Miyamoto was having.  Then proceeded to talk about him aloud as if they were all buddy-buddy...Miyamoto remembered this man finally. No, he did not help him out of the village either...back then, Miyamoto just needed to ensure he was not followed, so he paid Leo to hire some people to cause a mess to get the eyes off of him.  Yet, here he was having to fucking deal with the creep again.  When the drink was delivered, he could smell the liquor...a good ol’ fashioned Worr’s delight.  Miyamoto drank from the cup, quickly acting as if the drink loosened him up and brought his body temperature up.  “Leo...a face I thought I would never see again, surprise surprise I am not dead, but my family is...so I am looking for the only people that know about the whereabouts of my escape from Valen and Ayato’s eyes...good for you. However, you are not the one I want to see suffer the most.”  Before taking another drink, he said the real pain there in his eyes along with that rage, building inside of him like a geyser gathering energy.  If he had to play the part...he would do so now.

“You are not so much a priority, but Ayato and the fucking vultures in Hoshi...they will receive my ire...as soon as I can muster up enough strength or a following.  I will find out why my family was murdered, and then I will slit the fuckers throat myself before setting the village ablaze.”  He ended his little rant before finishing the drink.  The warm liquid felt good, and the liquor...earthy, semi-sweet, and it burned his throat in a good way that reminded him of why he was here...that good old liquid courage pulsing in his stomach...not long before it probably took effect.  “So Leo...know of a way I might be able to get into the village without much fuss, I want to strike them...from the inside.”  He said before finally a predatory gaze around the room was needed.  For someone of his stature, those eyes revealed a primal side to him, validating his escape and reason for returning…

Revenge.

WC:470/806

“This is a man for a job—a red tint in the eyes, a spirit made of fire focused on one purpose. The one before your village shinobi career died. Not that I blame you, many have died with a curse on their lips for the Hyuuga lord.” Lazy Leo chuckled, trying to hide the nervousness of it.

“The Genin teammate of a Kage is not the Kage.” The bartender behind the counter took note with an icy courtesy and a condescending look to the ashen-haired figure of Miyamoto Terumi.

“We are not getting a drop of blood out of this one, Mr. hero,” was the thought of lazy Leo.
Finally, he had taken refuge in a few half-truths and evasions, coupled with an offer he had been considering before the arrival of the boy. There was no such thing as honor amongst thieves.

Jack Skellinger and the rest of those cocksuckers could burn in hell. The room’s warmth made Lazy Leo fret; underneath his green tunic, he felt a drop of sweat trickle warmly upon his chest. He had his share of whiskey and figured it would soon extend under his shoulders.

Leo took a sip of his Irish coffee and gulped down anxiously. “Teammate to a Kage, son to another.” He finally said. “Miyamoto is Worr Terumi’s pup, the old leader of Amegakure. There is power in Kage’s blood. A mutual friend of ours is a believer, as I recall.” Leo’s words made Koganei’s brow narrow down to what uncomfortably appeared to be a frown.

“If I were you, Leo, I would make a better choice of the names I choose to speak of.” There was a fire in Koganei’s voice now. Steer gaunt and grinds his teeth. Despite being finely dressed, Miyamoto and Leo would notice that he looked stern and scrappy, kind of like old leather. 

“I only figured our he might be interested in his services.”

“Perhaps,”  Koganei said, loud enough so the noise of the inn wouldn’t silence his voice. “The tale of Miyamoto Terumi is known. But we can’t risk paying our mutual friend with the false coin. Miyamoto’s ire sounds genuine, but would we know this shinobi is who you say he is.”

"That's more like it. " Leo thought. Koganei knew of the kid and his exploits like everyone else in the village.  A boy of humble origins rising the ninja ranks and eventually a captain of his own team. Kyosouke Snow's student's tale was the people's favorite when they were deep into their cups before he betrayed the village anyway.

"Ah, but he is going to tell you the story only the real Miyamoto could possibly know."

WC:446

That first little quip about the “Hyuuga lord” actually struck a chord with Miyamoto, and the teen was holding a glass. Still, his chakra began to make the liquid naturally boil for a few moments until it actually broke the bottom of the glass and the hot liquid threatened to splash down onto his clothes.  The ninja moved into action and promptly moved aside. The trajectory of the liquid remained unchanged as the glass and the liquid fell to the floor.  Miyamoto sat the remainder of the glass down and looked at the man, Lazy Leo… “There is a big difference between the ones that have spoken of this “curse” on their lips, but the fact remains...I have the guts to actually pull the lever and do the job nobody else can seem to do.  Which is to bring the ax down on his fucking neck.”  Miyamoto was fuming at this point. That natural rage had built up, adding some legit backdrop to his little tirade.  Leo’s little point to be made about the barkeep made no difference to the Hoshi ninja...he was there to finish something that the others could not.  Then the little back and forth led to a new little bit of theatrical play, and it seemed that Leo’s constant prodigy to the barkeep earned an ear of the man...now he wanted to hear something that would tell the barkeep that he was who he said he was.

“So you wish to know something that only I can give out.  How about the failed attempt from the Jaws of Grimma to assassinate the Kage.  Before the big upheaval and bullshit drivel that the village fell victim to, I was a Chuunin looking to make a name for myself while also trying to avenge someone I thought of, like my brother.  There were two of us and three assassins...they were talented and even managed to get close to accomplishing their goal and starting a process that would allow them to sweep through and do as they wished.  I had the opportunity to end their pathetic lives, to follow my base instincts and kill them.  They were dead to rights, and their information that was given out was not even useful...nothing ever fucking happened.  They got off with a prison sentence...The whole damn village is filled with spineless cowards, which lead up to the next fucking event where a giant came crashing into the village.  Team Winter was assembled, which was made up of yours truly, a female medical ninja I remember by Genevieve, the brash pre-lord Hyuuga, and the ever non-present mentor/former Kage Kyouske.  After witnessing the deaths of many villagers and being unable to stop the fucking thing, I was forced to eventually sacrifice my own god damn arm for the sake of victory.  When it was all said and done, though, everyone I knew had either disappeared, had died, or just stopped giving a fuck.  SO, in this case, when the village released a statement saying that the terror had been stopped and the village was saved by Kyousuke’s team, no news of the families that were torn apart or the victims.  The whole fucking village is worth nothing more than the land it is built on.  So that is what I want to do.  Reduce it to cinders, let the people be free for a moment, and then finally find a suitable ruler to bring to the place to establish the new rules and create a place where everyone is strong...and a place where I can rest after my justice and vengeance is sated.”  Miyamoto said he reached over and grabbed a new cup and the coffee pot and poured himself a new cup.  He did not bother talking anymore at the moment. He was playing the part, after all.  He needed an “in,” and this was how he did it.  I told them a story that would prove his legitimacy and strength, not some feat of criminal skill...he never once tried to hide the fact that he was a living weapon. He just wanted to make sure everyone else knew he was.

WC:703/1,509

Leo was amused to see the rage of the kid. “Yes,” The smuggler thought, feeling his wormy lips ready to turn into a smile. The more realistic his emotion looked, the better this play was to go through. Unless the tiny part of Leo was right, and that was no play but a legit reaction. It could not be, though, yes. The kid was a friend of Kae pretending to be his enemy. Or was it that Terumi was his enemy pretending to be his friend pretending to be his enemy. The whole thought made his head spin and bowels move.

Either amidst broken glass and spilled drink, the comodo story was about to take place. Assassination attempt, Leo had no idea about that. A lie was fabricated or something that the higher-ups of the village hidden in the stars. The battle of the Giant, though, was very well known. 

 It didn’t take long for Hoshigakure to send its finest after the Grimma polluting the Lands of Haven. Leo was thankful for that. These unwashed brigands were good for business and looked for Leo to sell them arms and armor to fight against the fresh crop of Chuunin that came after them with Ayato Hyuuga, Miyamoto Terumi at the helm. Leo had heard that they killed Grigg to Goat and his crew. One of the oldest and more fearsome raiders. And, more importantly, one of his clients. Too careful with his coin to the point of being stingy. 

When the Marauders fled to Haven Country borders, Team Winter pursued them into the Haunted Woods, but their party came under attack by a giant.  Lazy Leo had heard that Giant humanoids populated the wilderness of Haven in legends, but the Ancient King was known to be the last of its kind. The locals led their cows, sheep, and other livestock outside its cave, offering them as a form of allegiance or live their peasant fantasies.

The fighting between the Grimma and Shinobi made the peaceful creature go into a frenzy. 
Ayato Hyuuga slew the giant before Miyamoto and the rest of their squad were nearly torn apart, with the surviving shinobi bringing their bodies back to Hoshigakure.

The bartender calmly wiped the spilled whiskey coffee from the counter with a damp cloth, not batting an eye. “Sounds like a history lesson from the front lines of Hoshigakure. What is your plan for bringing him here?

“I’ve seen too much injustice in my days. Is it so outlandish to think I would try and help an innocent young man get the vengeance over the wrongdoings the Shinobi system has done to him?”

Next, you’ll tell me you have a Bijuu to sell and a suite in the moon, Leo. If the boy is an innocent young man, this job opportunity will turn him to pieces.”

“Worry not, Koganei. The blood of a Kage flows through his veins.” Not that this wretched bartender would get it. He was the son of an oarsman from a galley that traveled the shivering sea that stood comfortable wiping tables all day and play the middleman while the more significant pieces moved on the board.

Wonder if you want to get a feel of a confessional booth. Go there and talk.

“I assume you have a place to stay where we can find you if a vacancy occurred .”
“He does my apartment in the city. It won’t see any use for a while as I’m leaving for the south. I heard there is a settlement there or something. Good business opportunity for me while the big boys play their game.”

Also, when shit hits the fan, I might do well to be away from the city as much as possible. If half of what they say about Jack Skelinger is authentic, that is. Both he and Wolfman, who burned the north fields, would eventually be hunted down by Hoshigakure once the boy Kage stopped playing with his Chuunin Exams.

“Come back tomorrow if you won’t work, and our friend will be here.”
“Bring a bottle of your finest for the kid and me.” Courtesy of Shina the Outcast, he might have added but still wanted his head on his shoulders. “Time to toast to our mutual friend in exile.”

After multiple rounds of drinking and smoking, they would leave. Once they were both out of earshot and a reasonable distance away from the shop, Leo would speak his final words for the boy before they went to report back to that wretched woman Shina.


“Kid, despite your age,  you’re a fighting vet. I’ve heard you nearly got torn apart by that giant before getting nursed back to health. But let me tell you something. You won’t need a doctor if things go south with these guys. You’d need a fucking priest to carry over your body.”

wc: 799

Miyamoto cared not for what Leo and the barkeep talked about for a few moments after the glass was cleaned up, and as the night went on, it was easier to get lost amongst the crowd of eyes.  The booze made their minds wander, and the smoke created a haze.  It was easy to pass off a sleight of hand as he made a pass to find one of the guys rumored to be in Jack’s crew talking amongst the others off and away from the main group.  A herbal supplement was slipped into the liquor, making it look like a garnish as Miyamoto knew it to be a paralysis drug that he had researched while being cooped up in the renovated Terumi house.  He looked at the part of a drunk kid and spilled a poisonless drink in his right hand. He swiped from a table in front of the “gentlemen” as he walked towards them.  It seemed as though the stories he told had at least got him in with the thugs. Stumbling on a loose board in a practiced dance, he spilled the drink and sighed.  “FUCK!”  He called out as one of the other groups came up and took Miyamoto’s poisoned drink as the teen was pushed back to the thugs while the man drank the glass in one go.  When another round was ordered, he was more than happy to “oblige” as he kept his body hot and burned away the alcoholic effects by using his medical knowledge and his practiced constitution to make him look drunk without the effects.  Soon he was told to come back tomorrow, and the patrons would decide if they needed him.  Leo led Miyamoto out as late night turned to early morning.  Miyamoto did not divulge information and made a tent to sleep off near the wildlife reserve near a small stream so he could wash in the morning.

However...night comes faster for those waiting…

On the walk back to Jack’s “compound,” the goon that took the poisoned drink of Miyamoto’s hand grew stiff as a board and had a seizure as his body locked up, and the man was rendered...useless.  That night Jack grew furious as he knew in the morning they would need to look for a medical ninja that just so happened also not to be a part of a hidden village.  Miyamoto’s plan was put into work as the goons left started to tell Jack about the exploits of the notorious former disgraced ninja of Hoshi.

Miyamoto was able to wash up and catch his own food while waiting, he did not make contact out in the open to Shina, but he did let them know where his camp was before the mission...so it was easy to leave a message on a scroll hidden in a tree a kilometer away.

It read:  S…


A drop of blood in the pool poisons the fish, but a clean hand and a skillful treatment can earn thanks from an entire nation.


M.

That was all he wrote and waited for a reply, all the while preparing himself for the next step.  Infiltration.  If he did this right, he would be a step closer to executing his plan and a step further in creating a better life for those that deserved it.

WC:560/2,069

The brunette placed the letter on the table. Miyamoto looked shit after years in the ruined lands of Amegakure, and that handwriting of his was worse. The letter reached Shina and the locations from the camp. Those woods were dangerous, but that kid knew how to fend for himself. 

Shina had sent her message to Miyamoto.

“The fish is in the net.

The joker will be looking for you soon.”

The word on the streets was that Skellinger was in the market for a new medical ninja. It seemed the assassination part of the young Terumi’s scheme was a success.  The medic known as an Elegant Stick died a few days after Lazy Leo had vouched for the fallen hero at the coffee shop employee.  If Skellinger had the wits that gods gave a goose, he would have dismissed the thought of hiring a guy he was not one hundred percent one. But desperate times require desperate means.

He would require the services of Miyamoto, at least for the upcoming haste. Jack never worked with the same people for long. And rarely took part in the job himself; he was very cautious after all.

Oxnretur was a significant port town off the coast of Haven's bay, located northwest of Hoshi. A ferry would be stationed there in a week, carrying gold, which Skellinger’s outlaw scouts would confirm. The setup would be a fruit too ripe to resist its taking but heavily secured to the point that would flush out that dipshit Skellinher himself. And the moment he did, Hoshigakure would have a man on the inside.

Even though that man was but a boy of six and ten, the odds of surviving that mission were very low. However, Shina supposed it was better to die young with a sword in hand than old and bleeding from your ass.

wc: 308

It had been three weeks since Terumi's report had arrived. During that time, Shina made plans for the operation in a Hoshi safehouse. The spymaster couldn't keep an open line of communication with Miyamoto for apparent reasons. However, her other assets had helped all he could, supplying the brunette with information and tips. 

Shina looked over the map of the port town and was deciding where the Nova Corps positions when momentarily she found herself thinking of Lance's position before snapping out of it. The Sarutobi was a plain older man, and that was putting it lightly. Old enough to be Ayato’s grandfather, deep into the sixth decade of his life, the services he had been offering dated back at least forty years. That was quite a feat for someone in the shinobi life, where most of them departed the realm of the living before they saw a day past twenty. 

Lance was short, a whole head more concise than the over six-foot-tall Ayato, with an old wind burnt face and a falcon's beak for a nose. Other than that, the most noteworthy feature about him was his hair. He had none. Small blue eyes watched and held more sharpness than any older adult’s eyes had the right to be. He always spoke in a calm disarming voice.

“Kid, you look like shit.” She remembered Lance telling Ayato the day of his promotion to Commander of the Nova Corps. Only one man could speak to the Hyuuga heir like that and get away with it. And that was the man Ayato had come to see as a surrogate father figure or grandfather. Even in his late sixties, Lance was the toughest man in the room.

The mission Ayato gave him to smuggle back his old teammate Miyamoto from the ruins of Amegakure had gone wrong every possible way, though, and their party fell under attack at the border by Jack’s outlaws. Of course, as expected, he secured the package at the cost of his life. And those scumbags send them back his bald head in a spike.  Shina would never forget the look on Ayato’s face that day. It was as if she was staring at the beginning of madness of his Jounin sensei Kyousuke Snow.

“Old man, you did not die for nothing.” 

Miyamoto had successfully managed to infiltrate that notorious gang. Shina sighed and then turned a yearning gaze to the road to Oxenrut and the assholes she had always wanted to rid the realm of, especially after the village that Hoshigakure grew to become. Shina had lost her blood family. But there she had brothers and sisters in all but name. 

She had been a few miles away from the Inn when the messenger found her, a short man on a large horse who was quite skilled at tracking, damn his eyes.

“Your esteemed presence is required at the Unseen University, my lady.” The messenger panted. “ Lord Hogokage wishes your presence.” But Ayato had called her back, and she would have to obey him, so she turned away from the road to the river and started riding back to Hoshi. She did not ask the reasons for his summons, Ayato would not have told the messenger, and the message wouldn’t dare to ask the Lord of Hyuuga.

But perhaps some part in her knew the answer. 

“Ayato means to lead the attack.”

WC: 543
TWC: 2998

Combined WC: 5057
S-rank Mission Completion and rewards for Ayato
10,000 ryo

WC Claims only for Natsuki with 25% max stat discount
723 wc to Mastering Poison Mist for no handseals [1125/1125] earlier progress found in Unlikely savior

I use the memory-link ability of space-time clone to buy the following creations that the original (Ayato) knows, with a 50% discount.

1000 to Chakra Infusion [1000/1000]
1000 to Silent Killing [1000/1000]
275 to Art of Atman (Slotless VE) [275/1000]