Stealth ape

Spoiler:

Finally a real mission fitting a shinobi! This was Yusuke’s big break. He was selected for a c-rank mission that would require the utmost secrecy. He would be investigating a spy within Sunagakure’s puppet brigade. This mission could be dangerous, but Yusuke thought he could handle it. The administration had requested that he take it on, and clearly laid out why he alone was selected for this mission. He had the most mission experience out of all of the currently available genin. Being a genin was important because they needed a young person who could be passed off as a new recruit to the regiment. He had the necessary chakra control to be a new recruit as well. All of these aligned to make him a fairly good candidate for the job. 

He was given the dossier with his cover name and the supplies for a disguise. Yusuke would become Yotaro Buntazuma. A young fresh graduate of the academy with an interest in puppetry. He was assigned to be trained for the puppet brigade while taking care of menial tasks around the barracks. 

His mission was to get to know the members of the puppet brigade and determine the spy among them. Then report on his findings. Yusuke was a bit nervous. This wasn’t the highest ranking mission he had been on, but it had the most stakes. Likely if he was discovered nothing would happen to him, but the spy would know that he was being investigated and either try to escape or become more difficult to determine. Yusuke would need to be careful.

He stood in front of his full length mirror in his room early in the morning before the sun had risen to scorch the sands. He had been getting up earlier after his training session with his dad. He found the value of training in the dark and alone when the desert was cool and quiet. He wasn’t wearing his usual attire that could implicate him later. He would wear his lightweight bodysuit underneath a white trench jacket with typical shinobi open toed boots. He also sported a pair of swirl glasses. They were fake with clear glass allowing one to see through them,  a prank store gag, but they were sufficient for the disguise. Yusuke weaved a single hand sign and changed his hair color from a vibrant brown to a dull black.

Alright I’m ready… Yusuke would have no trouble maintaining this basic transformation, and since he wasn’t a particularly well known ninja no one should recognize him. He tied a normal sand shinobi headband around his forehead, and walked down stairs. There was no one besides himself home once again. Mom must be working late again… Yusuke left the house heading towards the meeting point set up for him with the puppet brigade. He would arrive at the puppet brigade barracks soon enough.

---

I am Yotaro Butazuma! New recruit to the puppet brigade reporting in sir! Yusuke gave a sault he wanted to appear diligent, but clumsy. He wanted them to lower their guard. He sniffled, letting out a long snot string from his nose intentionally. The man before him looked stern and had what Yusuke could only assume was a puppet on his back wrapped in bandages. Welcome Yotaro. I am Isuzu. I am the lieutenant here at the puppet brigade. Congratulations on your assignment. It seems you were selected from the academy, but you do not yet possess the ability to use chakra strings. You will have daily training in string formation while handling the chores around the barracks. It is rare to have someone assigned to our brigade. Usually puppeteers join after proving their skill. Isuzu raised his eyebrow at Yotaro like he was asking him what was up. Yusuke was quick on his feet. This was the expected question.

I believe I was assigned for my design work more so than my puppetry skills. I would like to become a-an asset in c-combat as soon as possible, leader Isuzu! Yusuke put a bit of quivering in his voice and saluted harder. He straightened his back so that he could show off his false sincerity. The explanation seemed to go over well as Isuzu nodded. I see you’ll have to show me one of your designs soon then. Follow me. Isuzu headed into the barracks and gave Yusuke a tour of all the locations. Yusuke identified points of interest as the sleeping quarters, the training grounds, the lounge area, and the meeting facility. Yusuke thought he would be likely to identify the spy best in the sleeping quarters. Someone moving in the dead of night unnecessarily would certainly tip him off. 

Yusuke learned from Isuzu that the majority of his job would be taking care of the cleaning in the sleeping quarters and the lounge area. He was shown the supply closet, and told when his hours for training would be. He was expected to clean the barracks in the off hours so he wouldn’t disturb training. This meant early in the morning and very late at night and for that reason his training hours would be at the break of dawn after which he would be allotted time to sleep. Isuzu gave him a spot in the sleeping quarters, but told him he was free to go home if that would be more comfortable. Yusuke quickly established that he would sleep in the barracks prompting a short affirmation from Isuzu. Yusuke could read that he was thinking of why a child would choose to live here. There was probably pity in the back of his mind.

After the tour, he was introduced to all of the members of the puppet brigade.

---

The remaining members were few. Isuzu explained that the brigade had been in a downward spiral since Konoha became a vassal. Suna had de-escalated the brigade after their research into living puppets had fallen through. Suna had devoted more resources to medical advancements as opposed to puppetry. They saw their duty as defending Sunagakure, and serving as puppetry experts to counter any opposing puppet forces. Yusuke had thought that their value was fairly low, but if they had decent skill in puppetry then the village would never let them go. They were part of the legacy of the sand.

The leadership was Isuzu the lieutenant, and Kotatsu the captain. Everyone else was a member aside from Yotaro(Yusuke) who would start as a provisional member. They were Dosu, Hiriko, Matsumoto, Yubari, and Hanako. Yusuke bowed to each of the members and asked a probing question. 

So when did each of you j-join? His bow was frantic and jittery. He sniffled with his question, maintaining his character. 

He was told that they joined in the order of the captain, lieutenant, Dosu, Matumoto, Hanako, Yubari, and then Hiriko. To Yusuke, this cast suspicion onto Hiriko. She was a slender person with pale skin and bright red lips and dark spiky hair pointing straight upward. Yusuke would follow her actions firstly.  He noticed that Hiriko and Hanako were close. They were the only girls within the group. Yusuke was judging the group based on how they interacted with him and how they interacted with the others. Hirikio seemed to think highly of her looks and had a protective nature towards Hanako. Hanako was shy, seemingly and ditzy, which would explain why she needed to be protected. Yubari seems to be a playboy. He was young and very forward with Hanako. Yusuke could tell that Hirikio didn’t like Yubari; they even argued in front of him. Dosu and the captain, Kotatsu, were mens’ men through and through. They were quite muscular and gruff. Kotatsu had a somewhat more friendly nature than Dosu, but Dosu’s older age probably pushed him towards that. Dosu was also in charge of puppet production at the moment Yuske would spend down time with him in the workshop. Matsumoto was well liked, similarly to Hanako, and was seen as dependable and a mediator between Yubari and Hiriko. Yusuke would make sure to take time to get to know their personalities and habits while hopefully not blowing his cover.

---

The week he spent with the Puppet Brigade had gone well. Yusuke had been developing skills in keeping things clean. The Puppet Brigade barracks were much smaller than the spire. He was able to complete his duties to a more than acceptable standard earning him praise from the entire Brigade. Dosu was satisfied with the questions he had been asking about puppetry, but had said plainly that Yusuke was no exceptional designer, but he’d be: “passable” given time.

His delicate cleaning and clumsy character helped everyone feel comfortable around him, but he also was able to fade into the background as his schedule was opposite of much of the Brigade. His puppet strings training had been going slowly. Yusuke had intended to not perform well intentionally to buy him more time with cleaning duties, but the art had truly been difficult for him to pick up. Even once he could make strings after a week they were not strong or numerous enough to control even the most basic of puppets. Kotatsu had overlooked his train and had been hard, but encouraging. 

Kotatsu was also pleased that Yusuke had stayed around before his allotted sleep time to watch the others train and perform exercises.

From this Yusuke was able to determine tha Hanako was the strongest puppeteer among them with Dosu and Hiriko being close seconds and the remaining being all similar in skill. He wasn’t sure who the spy was; they all seemed like normal people living normal lives practice their art. At least until the incident.

 He was cleaning next to the aviary allocated between the sleeping quarters and the lounge late at night. He noticed that there was a shadow coming around the corner. No one should be up at this time of night… Yusuke quickly abandoned his cleaning materials and body flickered to the rafters on the ceiling. Resting there without making a sound.

Yusuke watched as Hanako looked both ways and entered into the aviary with a scroll in hand. A few minutes later she left without the scroll. The look on her face was serious. Yotaro! She called out in a hushed yell.Yusuke thought for a second before deciding to make a move. He used a body flicker again behind the corner and walked slowly around the corner. Oh, Hi Hanako-san, I just went to the bathroom really quickly. What's up? Yusuke had made sure to position himself to look like he had been to the bathroom. He wet his hands with spit, his fly was down, and he sniffled while he looked at her with a blank but friendly questioning stare. 

Oh nothing, just saw your mop there and wondered if you had gotten lost. I’ll be going to the bathroom. I had gotten a bit lost. haha! She looked at Yusuke’s eyes, seemingly looking for any sign of disbelief. 

D-do you want me to show you where it i-is? Yusuke asked after a sniffle before wiping his nose. 

Hanako relaxed if only very slightly. No, I think I got it around that corner right? Good luck with your cleaning, you're doing great! She said as she trotted away. Okay thanks!, I’ll keep moping. Have a g-good n-night. Yusuke returned to his duties until she had left and returned from the bathroom. They exchanged waves. Once she was gone Yusuke had decided that his job was over.

---

Yusuke left the puppet brigade after training that day and went to report his findings in a written format at the shinobi mission office. He wrote about his experience training, and a short profile on each of the puppet brigade members. He then accused Hanako of being a spy. This was a hefty allegation, but he included his personal observation of her seeming to have a character. The fact that she sent a secret message and seemed to want to confirm that he was unaware of that. 

He submitted the report and hoped that it would be helpful to the people above him. This was the first time he was required to submit a written report about his experience. 

---

A few days later, the Sunagakure police force came in and arrested everyone except for Yotaro. They were likely going to be interrogated and mentally probed to see who knew of the spy and Hanako would likely suffer an even worse fate. Yusuke was sure that she deserved it. She seemed like a kindly puppeteer, but that was likely deception. After having completed his covert assignment he was unsure how to feel. Am I a good liar? He questioned his morality as he decided to take a break from missions for a short while and focus on training himself. Yusuke was starting to become more capable with every mission.

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WC:2109
Claiming:
+42 AP
+mission rewards: 30 AP 6k ryo
+2109 towards enryu (2198/2500) previous link
Claiming C-rank power link to mission log here

Approved. congrats on hitting C power rank ^^