To the North, they say…

Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:56 pm

Although the journey was long, Katsuragi finally sees the gates of the cloud village. Although he has done work within the cloud country, never has he ventured the actual cloud village itself. His eyes scan the massive gates itself, along with the wide bridge that led to it. It was indeed grand, it reminded him of the village gates in Sunagakure. Were all the major villages like this? The security, structure, scale, they were all different. You’d heavy artillery to get pass these gates. If the gates were this fortified, Katsuragi wondered how the prison looked. Was it floating in sky, unreachable except by those with shinobi clearance? The idea of visiting his old cellmate, Hui Moto, grew more and more uncomfrotable. It grew into something yhat should be put off for a much later date….

Was it worth it? Yes, the whole reason why Katsuragi was here was to visit him; but, was it really worth it? Never has Katsuragi questioned his background, his heritage, not once. Hell, he never questioned the reason why he ended up in the orphanage. He sighs, wondering if he should turn around. But due to the bridges size, he figured he might as well press on. In for a penny, in for a pound. Right?

Almost there, half way across the bridge, he notices the many guards stationed outside the village. Will it be the same as Sunagakure? Background checks…, like it didnt matter. As far as he knew, he was clean.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a Yakuta black leather jacket, which underneath he wears a hanley blood red hoodie. His belt is black leather, designer's choice, with an overlapping LV emblem as a buckle. The pants he wears is a fresh pair of black stretch jeans with ankle zippers located on the lower inside section of the pants. His boots on his feet also being solid black of a leather material with an emblem labeled "EU", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His hair, still vivid, was a solid dark purple. His hair in contrast with his pale skin, however, his arms torso and hands bore a mural of mostly assorted prison tattoos; all black ink in color. He himself stood at a height of 6'2 feet with a thin frame. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts yet allowed him easy access with a little bit of technique.

Finally, arriving at the gates, 10 meters away, he stands tall waiting for a reply after speaking with nearest guard who was 2 meters away from him about access into the village.

Fri Dec 09, 2022 2:53 pm

"Stop right there!" The guard spoke, as if the visitor's approach had prompted a knee jerk reaction from the blue eyed Kumon shinobi. The guardsman wore a cyan knit cap over his unkempt, wavy blonde hair and his forehead was adorned with an odd horse shoe over his ninja headband. The rest of his attire was dominantly cyan - his short sleeved hoodie - which had two heart shaped patches on it sleeves - and pants were both cyan, riddled with purple stars like his knit cap. Under his hoodie, he wore a long sleeved dark purple shirt. His buckled pirate boots were made of a dark brown leather. It was early in the morning, and Saturn was at the end of another late night shift at the gates. He was in charge of this section for the second day in a row. Behind him, another guard stood holding a notepad and a pen, looking in the direction of the visitor. Probably unbeknownst to him, the second guard was in fact Saturn's octopus familiar, disguised perfectly as another Saturn. The octopus wore a fake moustache and a hat to seem different from its owner. The shinobi used this tactic to not let visitors in on the fact that the guards were undermanned at certain hours.

From a mere 2 meters away, Saturn had the ability to learn certain traits about the visitor by simply gazing at his direction. Saturn looked closely and learned what he could about the visitor. They were astoundingly similar in their likes and dislikes - at least Saturn knew that his own preferences encompassed that of the visitor before addressing him. A Libra. Likes: The Streets. Hustling. Rewards. Dislikes: Prison, Authorities, Shinobi. He thought to himself as he maintained a straight face, not revealing any evidence of his investigation on his bronzed face. He scanned the tall purple haired shinobi's outfit from head to toe. He made a mental note of the initials 'LV' and 'EU', wondering what they could mean. "State your name, and purpose of visit."

WC: 338

Sun Dec 11, 2022 2:51 am

On cue, Katsuragi’s attention whios towards the shouting figure. Immediately, he eyes down the blonde guard’s attire from head to toe. It was different from what he was used to seeing in Tanzaku Town. Perhaps the fashion in the north was different. Nevertheless, Katsuragi didnt mind it. The horseshoe bit was new, but the rest of the outfit screamed individuality. He nods slightly, “Nice boots…”, he muttered.

Afterwards, he was then questioned on who he was and his purpose for being here. That of course was easy to answer, no lie needed this time. Never in a million years would Katsuragi ever thought he would utter these words.

“Katauragi, and I am here to visit someone in prison… he’s, an old cellmate of mine. Last I check he was transfered here not too long ago”

“Oh, um what’s he doin back there? Writing up my visitor pass? Sunagakure does that too.” He pulls out a Suna visa out from his front right pants pocket and flashes it towards the blonde guard. He wasnt quite sure if he was suppose to keep it, but, it was too late for that. Although, he didnt mind starting a collection of sorts. A much better idea than willingly going to one of the most infamous prisons.

Going back to prison, what an insane idea it was. But, he had too, in order to scratch the itch of curiosity. If what he read from the documents he obtained were true, it would mean this Yamanaka was owed some back pay from the Clan… along with some answers of course.

Sun Dec 11, 2022 3:16 am

"Mr. Katsuragi. Here to visit... old cellmate." Saturn used ventriloquism to throw his voice back, making it appear as though his loyal octopus Mimas was reciting the words behind him - that was the figure with the moustache and hat behind Saturn himself, disguised perfectly as a man with the exact measurements and complexion as Saturn, perhaps a tint pinker. Mimas moved a pen along its notepad. Upon closer inspection, one would find that all it wrote were squiggly lines that meant nothing. It did however do a good job of covering its work to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Saturn exhaled sharply from his nose upon hearing the compliment to his boots, but maintained a closed off vibe - he could not afford to get too friendly with a potential misdoer. He was rough with most visitors who came in, doing his due diligence to make sure they were equipped to deal with the streets of Kumogakure. If they seemed especially suspicious, he would go as far as to take the next step in using one of his Yamanaka trump cards.

"Sunagakure, huh? Tell me the name of your old cellmate." Saturn questioned the visitor, squinting his eyes as he examined him from head to toe, leaning over to quite literally sniff him. As part of his duty as Genin, he had dealt with plenty of prisoners in the past. Recently, he interrogated a man who went as far as to bite his own tongue off to prevent Saturn from carrying out his job. He had to carry out a reverse exorcism using a shadow clone along with his hiden techniques to penetrate the very back of that man's psyche to get the answers that we was looking for. He could not resist when the Yamanaka clansman first possessed him, and then read his own mind while in the body of his new, temporary host. He examined the document that was presented to him and nodded as he glossed through its text. "Sir, this document is expired." Then he pulled out a metal detector from his back pocket. "Arms out.." He would say, appearing suspicious of the visitor. He would scan him with the detector and it would beep at his buckle. "L.V., huh? What does that stand for? Loner Vagabond?" He tested the man's patience while Mimas looked increasingly concerned behind him, growing averse to its owner's increasingly confrontational nature, "And what's that, E.U.? Embarrassing Underwear? Hmm? Why are you really here, Katsuragi? What are you not telling me?"

WC: 420
TWC: 758

Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:45 pm

“Hui Moto. Yeah, it is! That’s why I aint there officer”, he said bluntly.

A sharp giggles escaped his lips upon hearing the little man’s lame jabs; Katsuragi would have loved nothing more than to full send him and his drone through the gate walls. The guards along the wall remained as they were. A bit too out numbered to cause a scene. Last time he did, he was swarmed with Sand Shinobi in the market district. Decending upon him with the quickness. Can’t do that again, right?

With the journey being long and tedious, Katsuragi’s nerves were at an end. He sighs heavily as well before speaking “They’re designer, maybe you should just stick to horseshoes and overalls, Officer Jackass. Maaaan! I’m just here to visit my old cellmate. Bit of root searching too. I got some shit to figure out! Yamanaka shit, shit that dont concern you”, he stares down the blonde with now both his newly balled fists raised out towards the blonde guard closest to him. No matter the village, no matter the gate, it was always the same damn thing every same damn day. His gazed focused on the annoying horseshoe and the poindexter behind him.

This little altercation reminded him of the last gate guard he dealt with in Sunagakure. Kitty kat, oh and the other fun sized raven haired guard too. Realizing the pattern, Katsuragi began to think that maybe he himself was the problem. Was it? Naaaah! He’d quickly dismiss it and blame it all on the bullshit authority he was dealing with now.

Wed Dec 14, 2022 8:27 am

"Ha! Very clever, E.U."

Saturn retorted as he frisked the visitor with the metal detector. 'Hui Moto' Sounded like a made up name. The guard in cyan wondered what went through the visitor's mind to think it was rational to confess that his purpose of visiting was to see a prisoner, without providing any further information. As far as he was concerned, most prisoners were put behind bars for getting up to no good. He looked down at the man's balled fists and scowled. "Officer Ja- wha?" The blonde was visibly annoyed with the visitor's tone up until he uttered the word 'Yamanaka'. He raised his brow and changed his tone, speaking more calmly, "You didn't come all the way here to join your friend in prison, did you, Katsuragi?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. You will find that entering Kumogakure is easier than leaving the village." He spoke as he grabbed the little notepad from his octopus and noted down the man's name over the squiggly lines his familiar had drawn. He flipped the pages to check that the previous entries for the day tallied before returning the visitor's gaze with an equal ferocity in his cyan blue eyes.

"I'll make you a wager." Saturn proposed, "I will look into your eyes and guess your birthday. If you can hide it from me, you walk in free. I'll even take you to see your friend. If I get it right, however, you pay me 5000 ryo as an entrance fee. Consider it to be the cost of doing your root searching Yamanaka shit." He seemed insistent on his wager, and gave the visitor some time to think before smirking and adding, "Though I don't know what kind of root searching you could hope to carry out, when you can't even tell a Yamanaka apart even when you're looking at one."

WC: 311
TWC: 1069

Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:47 am

“Nooo, I did not…”, he uttered as he glanced towards the two guards once again. His “friend” was still serving quite a lengthy sentence, multiple sentences in fact. He’d be luck if he got out of prison alive, instead of being hauled out in a bag.

After watching the two fumble back and forth the notepad, Katsuragi’s ears perked up to the blonde’s wager. By all means, Katsuragi was indeed a gambling man. So of course, by default, he took the wager. Despite hearing the village entrance fee, which he has never heard of such a thing, he overlooks in in sight of ryo.

‘Man! Hol up, this asshole gonna waive the entrance fee and take me to see Hui if he can’t guess my birthday right? My name aint on any wanted posters, and this kid doesnt know me… Ha! Watch me take this sucker for a ride…AhAhahahahaha!”, his mental chatter was fiending for the quick win.

“Ight, deal! You might as well ask me to pick a number between 1 and 1 million. Aint no way your horseshoe ass is that lucky!” He pulls out the 5k evenly from his back right pocket with his right hand. The green wad of cash was out in display. He shook it a bit to taunt the would be trickster, but it was all there in nonsequential bills. He then glared toward the eyes of the guard closest to him.

“Oh, and what the hell you talking about any way?! Not knowing one when I am looking one in the f- Fucking Face!!!! Awwwwwww Shit…”, his heart sank upon realizing what he meant.

Mon Dec 19, 2022 5:05 am

"Don't try to lie your way out of this one, E.U." Saturn did not wait for the visitor to process his realization. He formed the seal of confrontation to activate Mind's Eye of the Kagura. Although he was confident in his ability to tell if someone were lying to his face, with cash on the line he wanted to be sure. His sensory technique would now alert him if Katsuragi shook his head at a correct guess. As he gazed into the man's eyes, he could tell that he was looking at a Scorpio. He had been wrong in guessing Libra a while earlier in his slumbered state. This narrowed or rather broadened his chances to one in twenty nine, a far cry from one in one million. His face gleamed with optimism.

Having previously mistaken the man from a Libra made him inclined to think that the visitor's birthday was in the early days of the scorpio zodiac. Perhaps even right on the border - the first scorpion date. As a gambling man, he liked his odds. He smirked,

"Katsuragi. I wish upon you a long and prosperous life - hustling the streets and getting rewarded fair sums for it - far from the cold iron bars of prison cells, the condescending ramblings of authorities and other entitled shinobi."

He cleared his throat, and pointed at the fat stack of cash in the visitor's hand before he made a confident guess,

"As for our wager.. Your birthday falls on.. the twenty third of October. You've arrived a bit late for your celebration, I see."

WC: 269
TWC: 1330

AP:
1250
-34 AP (Mind's Eye of The Kagura)

Wed Dec 21, 2022 9:16 am

Gin had taken a few months to focus on himself, somewhat overwhelmed by being in the limelight suddenly following his victory at the international Chuunin Exams. Before long, writing novels and the likes disinterested the Akimichi, as did the assortment of treats that he grew all too fond of. He received free food, snacks, gifts, and the likes from all directions which resulted in a rapid weight increase.

Being heavy was nothing new to the Akimichi, he was genetically predisposed to gaining and losing weight at an inhumane pace. Over the last year, eating, writing, and training resulted in a rapid growth spurt for the Akimichi. Aged 17 he was a simple 6ft 1 but now a year and a half later he stood at an incredible height of 8ft 2. He was incredibly heavy yet nimble as a cat – incredibly conscious of his shortcomings, he worked on only improving his weak areas.

Today was like any other day, except it was the first day of supervising gate duty. Gin had volunteered for this position as he found a lot of the supervisory staff quite exhausted with a lot of them working excessive hours covering for Gins hiatus. Primed at the entrance as a last line of defence, his eyes wandered – a series of Shinobi addressed visitors, logging their details, issuing passes, and ultimately granting them entry into the village but in the distance, one interaction caught Gin’s eye.

A young Kumogakure shinobi was engaged in conversation with an unfamiliar looking 6ft 2 male who was dressed rather stylishly for this part of the world. Gin on the other hand wore a body suit that was tailored to his body dimensions – it wasn’t that nothing else could fit him but more that it allowed for ease of movement and scaled down in size as his body burned fat. Behind his back he’d equipped himself with the Jagged Claw MK2, a legendary sword forged by the former Raikage of Kumogakure. The hilt of the blade pocked out from behind his right hip, allowing him to draw and use it effectively and with minimal effort.

Again, Gins sight wandered but before long it was back at the same two men. “Who is that?” he muttered to the watch supervisor – “That’s Saturn – he’s a regular.”

“A regular…” his feet kicked up a bit of dust as his overwhelming stature progressed in the direction of the duo. He got within earshot, which was relatively quite far considering how loud the duo were talking; here he was quickly ambushed by a visitor. Now checking the documents of the new arrival, he couldn’t help but overhear the talk of an entrance fee. “5000 ryo.” – Gin hadn’t realised that an entry fee policy had been enacted but he kept his mouth shut for the moment as he validated his visitors’ documents.

Eavesdropping on their exchange, he concluded his business with the visitor just as the Genin concluded his final sentence. He raised a palm, halting additional visitors before closing the gap to the two men. His hands neutrally by his side, stomach growling for nourishment he addressed the twosome.

“Is there a problem here?” he flashed an incredibly toothy smile. Regardless of what transpired, Gin would stop 7 meters away from the visitor. Gins approach immediately placed the guards manning the walls on defensive alert. It wasn’t often that a watch commander had to step forward to intervene in document identification so at this point in the process all eyes were locked on the trio, with the remaining guards backing the visitors up to free their availability.

Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:47 pm

Read em and weep, Katsuragi shook his head side to side as he avoided eye contact. His head was tilted down, taking in the fact that he got hustled by the lucky horse guy. But, atleast he learned something new from this. Maybe he didn’t exactly lose from this? Yeah, he was out 5000 ryo, which sucked. But, meeting someone else aside from, Hui, who was affiliated with the Yamanaka; well, it sure beats walking into a supermax prison.

He flings the wad of cash towards the lucky guard, “Don’t worry, Lucky; I’ll be doubling up real soon…”, he’d say after looking up. However, his devilish grin would soon disappear after wittnessing the mountain that appeared to be moving coming closer and closer. “Yoooo…, these mountains roam!”, he yelled as his widen eyes and heavy head slowly titled upwards, taking in the hulking figure who stopped 7 meters away.

‘He’s gotta be bigger than Raleth…but damn this ninja is FAT.’, he thought. He couldn’t help but be reminded of his gentle giant friend. He eyes up the giant once more before responding. “Nope, officer friendly!*giggles* I was just gonna make my way into the village! Aint that right, Lucky?!*giggles* But… who are you anyway? ”, he ends with a set of pursed lips. He tries his hardest to hold his laugh in. Katsuragi for some reason took interest in the new comer. He couldn’t quite explain it, but perhaps it was the fact that in most cases a monster build came with monsterous strength. As for the laughter, well… we all knew why.
—-
-5000 ryo

To the North, they say…

To the North, they say…

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