Triple Dog Jingle

Mission Info:

Saturn Sentobi woke up in a pile of snow, on top of a snow angel he had made in his sleep. He wore his black Kisatsutai Uniform and clutched his Minotaur's Labrys with his left hand. Letting out a terrified shriek, he sat up and began to swing his axe madly before activating Mind's Eye of the Kagura to scan his surroundings. His last memory was standing in the south side of Warmonger's Arena, revising the words of advice spoken to him by his various mentors as he prepared for battle. It was a battle for redemption. His right hand was taken by the Raikage for insubordination, and he was sentenced to survive. Genjutsu? He considered the chances of this scenario being an illusion casted on him by his opponent, and remained extremely cautious. That was until Mimas, the disgusting purple blob that was his octopus companion jumped next to him, trying to get his attention. He had left his pet at home, unwilling to unnecessarily risk the life of the innocent octopus for his shortcoming. This signalled to him that he was once again in a different plane of existence. The surrounding reminded him of Winter Wonderland, and the adventures he had been on in the land of Snow just days prior. Without a doubt, it was the same town. "Booze!" He said out loud, he knew what he wanted. If he could savour some alcohol before his possible death, it was a task worth pursuing. He was now on a mission. He was on a quest to find some cheap rum, and drink possibly for the very last time, and nothing was going to stop him. As he walked through the snow-covered streets, he came across a group of children playing outside.

One of the children, a young boy was running around with his friends when he saw a shiny metal pole sticking out of the snow. Being the adventurous and curious child that he was, Timmy decided to stick out his tongue to touch it as a dare from his friends. But as soon as his tongue made contact with the metal, he realized his mistake. His tongue was stuck and he couldn't get it off.

The other children tried to help, but their efforts were in vain. They had tried everything from pouring hot chocolate on the pole to using butter, but nothing worked. Timmy was starting to panic, and his cries for help could be heard from blocks away.

That's when Saturn walked by, and he noticed the commotion. He approached the group and asked them how this young boy came to find himself in this most unfortunate predicament. "What's going on here?" The children looked at him with wide eyes and rubbed the backs of their heads, seeming helpless. They had tried everything they could think of, but nothing had worked.

Saturn knew that he had to use his powers to help the child. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, using Mind Body Transmission, reaching out to the boy with his telepathic abilities to sense the child's distress. He couldn't talk, and he was screaming, but in his mind, he was cussing while thinking of all the scoldings he would receive from his mother soon enough. He could feel the boy's fear and panic, and decided that he had to act quickly.

But first, he needed some rum. He looked at the children and said "Hold on, I'll be back in a jiffy." and he ran to the nearest liquor shop, leaving the children staring in confusion. He knew exactly where the shop was, and had visited to buy some booze a few days earlier.

"Hey old man. Some Rum, quickly." He ordered, reaching into his storage displacement to take out the ryo, and placing the change on the counter. He received a bottle from him. It was labeled "Old Monk, Very Old Vetted, 7 Years Old Blended, XXX Rum". It wasn't smooth by any means, but it did the job, and it was well worth it for the price.

He returned to the child with half of a bottle of rum in hand, took a sip and said "Alright, now where were we?" The children pointed at Timmy, still with his tongue stuck on the pole.

Saturn took another sip of his rum and said "Ah, yes. The stuck tongue problem. Alright, stand back.." He put down his rum and summoned his Labrys, and one more axe. He clutched the fancy one with his left hand, while he used Weapon Manipulation to wield the second axe telekinetically. He took aim, marking two spots above and below the child's tongue. He had to be careful, especially with the Minotaur's Labrys, which was infused with Mercury. The child would be poisoned if he were cut with its blade. With a swift movement, he used his telekinetic powers to guide the axe towards the pole while he swung his left hand with precision. The children's eyes widened as they saw the axe spinning in mid-air, while Timmy screamed with horror. Saturn cut the pole in two spots with precision and skill. When the top half of the pole toppled over, he knocked it to make sure it fell away from the child and his friends.

The pole broke into a disc and Timmy's tongue was finally, kind of free. Yet Saturn had made an obvious miscalculation. The heavy disk stuck on the child's tongue made him lean forward, and the shinobi barely caught him by the back of his shirt before he could come to serious harm. The children were lost for words, and Saturn cringed at his own mistake. After playing it off as a part of his plan, he put down his axes and planted his hand on the ground to summon the dragonfly Nokocchi. She was a yellow and teal specimen, with spiralling eyes and six wings. Her underbelly was ribbed, and her head resembled that of a snake. From afar, she was rather adorable, but from up close she was a creepy beast. The children cowered and shrieked in fear, but Saturn tried to calm them down. "Chill out, she's calm. She's a friend, and she can help Timmy over here.." He patted the dragonfly, pointing out to her the circumstances of the child. Her maternal instincts kicked in, and she got to work. Upon using Chakra Anesthesia, she would numb the child's tongue with her fangs, with a blue radiation,  to any sensations of pain. Then Saturn once again, would take his axe, the one without the poison, and carefully saw at the contact point between the boy's muscle and the cold steel disk that was left of the pole. Some blood would be spilled, and the child would cry, but Saturn held him tight. "It's going to tickle a little bit, but I promise you won't be hurt."

After a good couple of minutes, the surgery was complete. Upon freeing his tongue, the dragonfly used a green glow to heal the wound that the sawing had caused, curing his bleeding while he was still under anesthesia. The job was done, all in a day's work for the good samaritan and his dragonfly.

"I triple dog dare you!" A child could be heard talking to his friend in the crowd. Looking over, Saturn groaned when he saw a second child place her tongue on another pole. Nokocchi shook her head, refusing to make her way over to help. She despised the lack of planning that went into the actions taken by young humans. "You've gotta be kidding me.." Saturn groaned, "Your parents better pay up for this. Timmy, don't you run away."

---

WC: 1283

Dracoso just scratched the back of his head. It had been an odd start to his winter training with the strange teleportation that had sent him to a clearing where several children had suddenly asked him to make snowmen and then initiated a snowball fight with his wolf summons. Now, he had tumbled out of a second portal into a new place near an odd town that sat beside a section of frozen ocean. The sky was still well lit, so it was probably still during the day, but beyond that, Dracoso had no real sense of his bearings. He figured that there was another trap in the field where he had first been dropped and the second portal must have brought him to another challenge. He decided to quickly move away from the location, just to prevent a possible third prank.

The town was very active strangely, with people of all kinds making their way through the streets. Most wore heavy clothing with thick layers, which made Dracoso feel a little bit chillier in his make-shift winter clothing. Between the armor and his body suit, he was protected from the wind chill and melting snow, but the overall cold still hung heavy in the air. His Yuki blood also helped to keep him from getting sick or having any negative impact from the cold, but Dracoso had adjusted to warmer weather and enjoyed the comforts it brought. This was echoed by the frustration felt from Sutsui as she burrowed inside his armor, finding the warmest spots she could to ignore the cold.

With a deep breath, Dracoso shrugged and made his way through the crowded streets. The town was built on top of a cluster of hills and some of the streets were rather steep to traverse. He stayed closer towards the shoreline, as most of the paths were flatter here. He stepped out from the crowd towards the water to get some space and overheard a child yelling "I triple dog dare you!" Just as the words left the child's mouth, a second child pressed their tongue against a metal pole placed just beside the pathway. Dracoso wondered exactly what the point of this was, right before the child began to flail with their tongue still pressed to the pole. It seemed like quite the feat of concentration at first, before Dracoso realized that the child was actually firmly attached to the pole by their tongue.

The ninja let out a sigh as he made his way around the crowd to approach the kids. The one who had dared the other child was chuckling while the latter was slowly building up into a panic. Just as he was about to reach the child, Dracoso spotted a familiar man with an octopus looking over in their direction. The first memory he had of the man was the child that he had attempted to swing like a bludgeon in their last encounter. A rather similarly sized child was just being released from his grasp as the man looked towards Dracoso with the other child. An odd dragonfly was floating nearby and a clearly labeled alcohol bottle was in his hand. The first thought that ran through Dracoso's mind was that the pole may not be the biggest threat to a child's health at the moment. "I can see about helping this kid out. You just... uh... work on that bottle-"

"Heh, what a stupid couple of kids!" A boy said nearby. Three other kids stood beside him as if they were traveling together in a pack. They all had their arms crossed and were sneering at the girl who was stuck to the pole. The four kids only looked to be a few years older than the one who was stuck. "Everyone knows you get stuck if you stick your tongue to a pole! It like, freezes you there, stupid!" the leader taunted. The other three chuckled and stuck their tongues out at them. "Yeah!" said one as he pointed his finger, "You would have to be pretty stupid to not know that!" The girl who had made the dare put her hands on her hips and said, "well, duh! We did it because... only strong people can do it and not get hurt!"

One of the boys chuckled and said, "yeah right! You can't stick your tongue to a pole and expect to not get it tugged right off. You are just gonna lose your tongue now little girl!" As he taunted the pranked girl, she began to flail harder, trying to find her way out of this. Dracoso quickly approached, but not before the other girl yelled, "you just aren't strong enough to know how to get unstuck! That makes you the stupid ones!" The boys' faces all darkened for a moment before the leader said, "Are you saying we are weak?" The girl nodded and said, "Yeah! I bet you couldn't get yourself unstuck, no matter how hard you tried!" The leader responded, "pshh, we aren't that stupid little-"

"Our boss is the toughest! Nothing can beat him. Not even a pole like that!" one of the boys yelled. Another piped up, "Hell yeah! I bet he could even knock that pole over! Just like that guy did earlier with that sword of his!" The leader looked from one to another, realizing this was rolling out of his control very quickly. Dracoso finally made his way over to the girl who was stuck and said softly, "hey there. Don't worry, we can get your tongue unstuck. My name is Dracoso and if we just-" The girl's voice yelled out over his own at the boys and said, "Oh yeah! I bet you are all weak! I bet you can't prove me wrong!" Dracoso looked up quickly as he saw the faces of the three followers begin to turn red. The leader was trying to assuage them, but the three turned and ran off towards different directions before he could stop them. One even ran over to the same pole the girl was stuck to and immediately stuck his tongue out. Dracoso moved to throw his arm up to stop the boy, but this only caused the kid to buck forward from the impact and press more of his tongue to the pole.

A few moments later, a few grunts of confident satisfaction sounded from the three boys. This was followed by the soft sounds of shifting feet and tugging grunts. Dracoso ran his hand over his face and saw the leader looking from one boy to the other, unsure what to do. The girl who had made the dare chuckled softly, before realizing that the situation had only gotten worse. She slowly turned to look at Dracoso with worried eyes. He held up a hand and made a slow lowering gesture as he said, "calm down. Let's just make sure this doesn't get any worse, ok?" The leader and the girl gave small nods before looking to him for guidance. He looked at the girl stuck to the pole and scratched the back of his head as he thought. "Well... odds are that they are stuck because the liquid on their tongue froze immediately as it probably has a pretty high freezing point. Because of this, it bonded them to the pole and so the surface that is sticking them is not easily reached just by applying heating methods. If we could somehow make the pole attached to the tongue..."

Dracoso drew himself out of his thoughts for a moment to glance at the two kids, only to see that they were completely clueless to what he was saying. 'right... gotta make sure the kids understand. How would I explain this if I was still a substitute back at the academy? Holding up both hands, he got the attention of the two kids. "Imagine that this hand," he held up his right hand with the fingers together pointing up to make a flat surface, "is the pole. Now imagine that this hand-" he put up his left hand as a fist, "is your friends' tongues." He pressed the fist into the palm of the other hand. "This is where they pressed the tongue to the pole. The parts that are touching-" Dracoso pointed at the joints on the front of his fist, "are the parts that are stuck to the pole. If we try to warm it up, it will just roll around the outside." Turning his hands slowly, he showed the covered portions and explained to them why they cannot just pull the tongues off and why most methods only work a little bit.

"So, what we need to do is to warm up the pole itself from under their tongues. Either that or find some way to warm up the tongue itself to slide off." Dracoso paused to let the kids respond. "What if we..." the girl started, "poured really, really hot water on their tongues to warm it up?" A few groans came up from the kids attached to the poles and Dracoso shook his head. "It would be very uncomfortable for them, and it would still take a very long time for the heat to travel fully through their tongues." The boy had squatted down and was thinking intensely before raising his hand. "Maybe we should just melt the poles!" he suggested with a confident grin. "I mean... you are going in the right direction. I think that might have the same result as really hot water, just with really hot metal. If we can heat up the metal enough to loosen the tongue layer, that is all we need."

A few sighs of relief came up as both ideas were turned down. The boy gave a small grunt of frustration as his idea was shot down and asked, "well don't you have any, like, fire abilities or something to warm them up? A lot of adults can do cool stuff like that." Dracoso raised one eyebrow as he looked at the boy. "Do I look like a person who uses anything relating to heat?" He held a hand up under his chin and another sweeping in front of him to present a general appearance. The boy shrugged and said, "I don't know. People seem to like using random stuff that doesn't always suit what they look like or where they come from. Figured I would ask..." While it was not a bad suggestion, Dracoso realized that he was a bit ill equipped to handle undoing the cold, rather than addressing it.

The techniques he had learned ran through his mind like a catalog as he imagined combinations and ways to expand their uses. Little by little, he cut out multiple options, including anything to do with electricity and destroying the poles outright. As his options rapidly dwindled, he sighed and wondered if using some kind of solvent would work but realized that the taste would be awful. The next thought to enter his mind was that of the hot cocoa people had been drinking along the street and how they could just pour a bit slowly in the kids' tongues to release them. The only problems were that it might get the kids messy if it wasn't handled right and that it would take a lot of hot cocoa. Unless...

Dracoso broke from his deep thought suddenly. The two kids had been staring at him with interest and jumped suddenly in response. "I need to get something for this. You two make sure that they... do not go anywhere?" he ended as a question, realizing that there was little threat of that. He turned back to the fellow ninja who seemed a bit more sober by this point. "If you could help me with one or two of them, I have an idea that might just work." Dracoso turned and ran back towards a stall he had seen earlier up the street. With fingers crossed, he hoped that they still had what he needed.

"I... am not sure I can do that," the woman at the stand said in confusion. "Look, there are a few kids who have gotten their tongues stuck to the poles along the path towards the ocean. I just need the hot cocoa to help unfreeze their tongues." The woman nodded and said, "that part I understand. The part about you needing a gallon of hot cocoa and a... pound of marshmallows is that part I do not." Dracoso scratched his head and said, "I need the liquid to stay as warm as possible to make sure it does not freeze on top of their tongues. The more sugar there is in the cocoa, the longer it will take to cool down." The woman stared at him for a few moments before just giving her head a little shake and asked, "and you are just going to pour this on the poor kids tongues? You do realize that you are going to make a giant mess of them right?" Dracoso shook his head in return and said, "I am not going to pour it on them. If you sell me the hot cocoa and marshmallows, I can show you what I intend to do."

The woman gave him a questioning look and tapped her chin before reluctantly saying, "Fine. That will be 1000 ryo and a guarantee that the kids will be ok when you are done." Dracoso agreed to her words and had her start to dump the marshmallows into the heated cocoa before mixing. He had placed the money on the counter and watched as the last of sugary globs melted into the mix. With a few quick handseals, the liquid slowly begin to swirl and lift up out of the pot, forming on the table in front of him. The liquid formed as it poured onto the table in front of him, as if into a mold. First, paws appeared that filled up into legs. A tail began to swing back and forth as little fluffs of cocoa fur wavered along its forming back. This all led up to what appear to be a keg-like formation at the front of its neck and finished with a long snout, floppy ears, and what looked to be a pair of eyes. On the table before them sat a relatively small cocoa St. Bernard.

Dracoso smiled at his work and the woman simply cleared her throat. "Is the... 'dog' going to save the kids?" The young ninja sighed and shook his head before making a few more handseals and small streams formed out of the shoulders of the cocoa dog. "I am going to slowly apply the heat to their tongues to create the perfect warming seal." A very questioning look came from the woman as she examined the dog with its long, protruding limbs and simply shook her head. "As long as the kids are fine afterwards, I am not responsible for anything else," she said. "Now, can you please let me continue handing out treats?" A quick nod and a leap from the dog later, the two were dashing back down the street towards the kids.

His ally had taken to helping one or two of the other kids just as Dracoso returned. From what he could see, the leader of the boys had gone to make sure to keep an eye on the other ninja and Dracoso was unsure if the leader looked relieved or concerned from how intense it might have been. With a shrug,  Dracoso maneuvered the dog up to the original pole and careful began to flow the heat in the water around the form of the dog. He made sure that the heat was not to the point of burning but was more than just warm before walking over to the two stuck there. "Ok, so this may be odd at first. I am going to use warm cocoa to try to loosen your tongues. It is going to be sweeter than usual, so just raise your hand if anything is wrong, ok?" The kids looked at him with concern before giving small nods.

Delicately, Dracoso guided a stream of the hot cocoa up and around the tongues of the kids like lassos. Once they were attached, he slowly shifted heat towards their tongues, causing the tongues to steadily heat up without burning them. Minutes began to pass as their tongues slowly loosened and Dracoso could feel his tension relax. He closed his eyes with a sigh, only to hear sudden grunts of panic from the boy attached to the pole in front of him. Dracoso saw that he was stuck even more fully with his lips pressed to it now. Rapid thoughts ran through Dracoso's mind as he tried to figure out what could have happened, when it donned on him. He leaned in close to the boy and said, "how about we wait until you are off the pole before you start drinking the cocoa, huh?" The boy tried to nod, only to grunt in pain as his lips were tugged softly.

A few minutes later, the dared girl was free and wiped away her tears as she softly drank some of the cocoa from the dog-like figure. The other boy was just being released from the pole and was wiping his lips and tongue to get off any remaining taste from the pole. Dracoso looked back to the girl and saw that she was starting to shake a bit. She was also fidgeting her hands and feet around and Dracoso had the dog move away from the girl before stepping between them. "That's enough sugar for you in one sitting dear. I think we should make sure you are ok and have you and your friend be on your way." The girl pouted for a second, looking at the dog before nodding a few times. The boy had run over to check on the rest of his gang and the other girl ran over to apologize to her friend for getting her stuck there. The two made up pretty easily and ran off together, the dared girl getting a rather large lead on her in a matter of seconds.

'Note to self, sugar helps to avoid freezing. Does not help with children having too much energy...' he thought to himself. A moment after he turned to check in with his ally, a pair of women rapidly approached Dracoso. "Oh, you were so wonderful helping those children! It was lovely to see!" they exclaimed. Dracoso blushed a bit and said, "well, I just feel it is important to help-"

"Perfect!" one of them cut him off. "Then you can help us find something some things we need for our kids!" Dracoso stopped short and looked at the women. he realized that there were several adults nearby who seemed to look hopeful at the mention of receiving help. A cold feeling ran down Dracoso's spine, and it wasn't from the weather.

WC = 3183

"Aren't you...?" Saturn pointed his finger at Dracoso, trying to remember the familiar shinobi's name as he took another swig from his bottle of dark rum. He had encountered him on a field in this very town a few days prior. Nokocchi the teal and lime dragonfly hovered around him, hissing at the kids who tried to pull her tail. They had grown comfortable with her, after seeing her work on their friend. Yet, she was not as safe as Saturn made her out to be. A predator of the skies, thousands of years old, she had strong hunting instincts and an insatiable appetite. Yet, like Saturn, she worked for ryo. In order to honor her contract with the Genin, signed by her scroll keeper Leech the Bold, she would restrain herself and opt not to immediately swallow the kid she had taken into her mouth with a big sloppy bite. "Hey! Nokocchi! Put her down! What are you doing!?" Saturn scolded his beast, tugging on her horns until she spat out a spit drenched child. Her friends laughed at her, pointing at the wet mess the dragonfly had made of her hair, but she wept.

"You got this? Okay.." Saturn gave Dracoso a thumbs up as he made his way towards the second child to help get her tongue unstuck. "Where are you parents?" Saturn turned to Timmy and asked him. As long as he was here, he could go for another bottle of rum, and he was running out of change. Saturn would not pay attention to the conversation behind him among his friends, and instead, would take another swig and look up at the sky to take in the view. He was a man on the verge of his possible death. It could be brutal. He wondered how much longer he had in Winter Wonderland before his eyes snapped open and he found himself back in Warmonger's Arena. The missing hand on his left arm assured him that the world in which it was taken was very real and would come back to find him. He had to appreciate the little things while he still could. He was positive that he did not want to spend his last minutes running errands for random townsfolk, or slaving away for free.

When the shinobi from Kirigakure called him again, he was counting the bills of ryo that was handed to him by Timmy's parents for his work. He kept counting as he raised his brow. "Help?" He asked, at first sounding annoyed - the other boy was a shinobi too and should have been able to do the task without his help. Then, remembering how Timmy's parents were standing right next to him, he seized the opportunity to collect some more ryo for helping his friends as well, "Of course! Saturn Sentobi, happy to be at your service!" He gave Dracoso a thumbs up and a wide grin. "What do we got...? Hot chocolate and marshmallows.. What a trip. You kids should lick hard poles more often, don't you think?" He nudged one of the toddlers, making Timmy's dad grab his arm and clutch him tighter while his mom blushed at the comment.

Saturn found it rather peculiar that the shinobi chose to explain his approach to the kids. All that talk about temperature and freezing liquids. He sighed, he himself cared less to take all those extra steps as long as the job was done. "Give me that.." He would take a mug of marshmallow infused hot chocolate and start pouring on the misplaced tongue of a child, unstucking it quickly. He wondered if his rum would have the same effect. Probably a bad idea, he shrugged, and continued to help as more kids licked poles hoping to get their mouths stuffed.

When the job was done, Saturn took the initiative to collect payment from Timmy's dad on behalf of all of his friends, and gave Dracoso some of the cash. He started counting, calculating how much rum he could buy, and if he could afford the good shit. It was all he cared for. For all he knew, he could snap back to the 'real world' any second. When the ladies showed up around his fellow shinobi, he was eager to butt in, longing for his share of their attention. As soon as they made mention of a toy they needed for their respective children, Saturn sniffed the signs of another looming job and and fuck no'd. "Nah, I'm keeping my little brother waiting, he needs to be picked up from school. Good luck, Draco, wasn't it?" He lied about where he was headed to as he waved goodbye for now, and walked away, making his way back to the liquor store.

 "Any second now..." Saturn was sat atop a snowberry tree, swigging more rum as he stared at the full moon. He was deep in snow ridden woods. He did not like to litter, so he carried with him a large black bag filled with clinking bottles - some were full and some were empty. Mimas was perched on his shoulder in its natural octopus form. It was a first, as the blob usually mimicked its owner's various items to hide its true nature. The shinobi had gone on a long rant speaking against body shaming, and had urged his familiar to adopt a more positive body image. This was in sharp contrast to his usual treatment of the disgusting purple blob as he often called it. 

"Mimas, my tentacled slavetopus, why is life so unfair? I was just minding my own business at the Village Gates, being the badass shinobi that I am and BOOM! My right hand is gone, chopped off, just like that. And now, I have to fight to the death in some stupid gladiator arena tomorrow, with only one hand, against probably, some muscle-bound hulk of a man who had caught two hundred bodies. I mean, come on, I was a shinobi, not some one-handed gladiator or circus animal!

That despicable missing nin, the so called noble guest, I hate him.

And to make matters worse, I had to rely on that old coot, Master Sato, to make me a weapon. I mean, I have all the faith in the world that he can make me a weapon, but let's be real, I'm not sure if that old man did his best work in the time that he had to work with.

And don't even get me started on the Raikage who I'm pretty sure has it out for me. I mean, I'm pretty sure he's the one who took my hand in the first place. That's right, he chopped it off right in front of me. But, whatever, I'll show them all, I'll win this fight with one hand tied behind my back... Oh wait, that's not a good analogy, I only have one hand to work with.

Oh well, *BURP* I'll just have to... fuck with one hand and make them all regret ever doubting me! Cheers to that, Mimas! Mimas, buddy! Are you listening?!"
 
 He was visibly worried, rocking back and forth on a thick branch. He had expected to 'wake up' and be taken back to the colosseum at any moment, but the moment had not yet come. Hours had passed and time seemed both slow and fast simultaneously. He had snagged more than enough alcohol to drink by himself, but no matter how much he chugged he could not get a high to last. Each time he took a swig, he felt the dark rum make his blood more warm and immediately after his adrenaline would consume the warm fuzzy feeling in his gut and make his heart beat faster, returning his emotions to a sober and alert state. Overall, it was a terrible state of mind filled with anxiety and restlessness.

 Before he could let out a frustrated howl, he saw a tall man trekking in the snow. He carried a long walking stick, using it to support his hunched back as he made his way forward. "Must... acquire... toy.. parts.." He muttered desperately, before falling face first into a pile of snow. The Genin was curious, and leaped down to check on him. After turning him over and poking him with his cane, he tried shaking him to no avail. A mischievous grin cracked on his face as he grabbed his rum and poured into the man's mouth. He sputtered, choked, then heaved, before sitting up rather quickly. His breathing was heavy, and he wheezed. "Thank you!" The first words that escaped his lips made Saturn feel warm inside.

 "What kind of toy are you looking for, this deep in the woods?" He asked curiously, offering more alcohol to the dazed man to keep him warm. He obliged, hugging himself to keep warm while he indulged in more rum. "It's a special toy. I wanted to get it for my eldest son. My wife would not settle for anything else. I must go East." He professed. 

"Tell me about this toy, old man." Saturn beckoned, wondering what kind of toy was worth the journey he was prepared to make. "The toy is comprised of multiple parts." The man went on to explain in great detail, the separate parts of this intricate toy and how they functioned. He explained the sentimental value that it held for his eldest son in particular. He broke down for the Genin how each individual part was sourced and sculpted, and the younger boy listened carefully, nodding along. 

 "So how many parts have you managed to acquire?" Saturn asked the man with keen interest. The man, who had introduced himself as Genji, shook his head - he was still on the way to collect the first part.

 The first part that the duo had to obtain was the Ausculator. It was located in a safe house in Frostybottom, a settlement of eskimo shinobi deep in the Wonderland. It was guarded around the clock, by a group of trained elven dwarves with pointy hats. The vault was located in an igloo placed in the very centre of the settlement. How Genji knew this, was of no concern to Saturn. He had always wanted to pull off a heist. The two were hidden behind two bushes, looking down at the settlement of eskimos from atop a hill. They looked at each other, and nodded, it was time.

 “Bear! Help!” Genji shouted madly, scurrying straight for the igloos while limping with his walking stick. He caught the attention of the cautious tribe, who left their homes to stare at the old man, and look for any signs of a bear behind him. As they stared, an enormous specimen no less than twenty feet tall jumped out from the frozen lake beneath Genji's feet, shattering the ice.

 "What the schmuck?" An eskimo cussed upon witnessing the size of the white furry beast, with his hands on his hips. The claws of the beast grabbed Genji by his robe and slammed him into an igloo, breaking its walls. An eskimo child appeared before the bear, holding a ball of snow. "Get away! What are you doing?" A resident tried to change the young one's mind, but she relented. Picking up another ball of snow, she heaved it at the snout of the omnivorous behemoth. The beast reacted swiftly, lunging at her to snag her by her throat to toss her up in the air before taking her in its mouth. It was over before it had even started. The elves were furious. Although they were full time guards of the central igloo, they would not tolerate the gruesome act from the beast that had invaded their settlement.

 "Attack!" They yelled out a shrill battle cry before they all charged at the beast fearlessly, holding spears shaped like conifer trees. The bear stood its ground. When the elves were close enough, it spat out a black ball of smoke, shrouding the area in a dense and dark fog. "I can't see!" Cries could be heard from within the mist, but not one elf or eskimo would leave it. 

 Saturn, with his chakra concealed by Chakra Vision and his body by Hiding with Camouflage, made his way to the central igloo undetected. The locals were occupied and utterly lost. He walked in through the front door, and took a spiralling staircase down into the basement. There it was, a box shaped vault, placed perfectly in the center of the room. The shinobi used Third Eye, summoning an eye made of chakra inside the vault itself to confirm that the Ausculator was indeed inside. There was the issue of reaching inside, but it was a problem to be solved later. He had to get out, before the elves returned. He used Shrinky Dink, shrinking the box to fit within the palm of his hand. He smirked, and swigged from his bottle, and looked at his shoulder to brag to Mimas but the octopus wasn't present. "Oh yeah, that's right." He said out loud, and made his way back to the meeting point.

 A bear, a child, a man with a walking stick, and a shinobi with a box in his hand met up half an hour later at the parking lot of Frosty Mug, a local cafe'. They walked together for a while, and when they were sure that no one was watching them, they erupted in hearty laughter. They had pulled it off. Even the bear, who was really an octopus summon named Yama Tsukami all along joined in. Genji would grab his rib and wince in pain - he had been hurt when the octopus summon slammed him into an igloo. Mimas was going to be fine, as it had managed to remain unharmed in the larger specimen's mouth while it fought off and distracted the elves. The safe was still very much locked, but Saturn convinced the crew that it was going to be just fine. "I know someone, trust me..." He told them, the chatter of his crew growing faint around him as he stared into the distance, thinking of the clever shinobi Dracoso.

 The snickerdoodle was locked up in a cage in a dungeon in Nippyville. It was going to be hard to retrieve the part, as it was guarded by a notorious group that called themselves the Snowmen. Genji had encountered the troupe before, and in fact they had once shared a close bond. He himself was once their ring leader. Now ousted by his crew after denouncing his role in favour of more honest ways of living, he was forced to relapse into committing the very same kind of act that he thought he despised. He was drinking heavier than usual, and was visibly in a state of disarray and self doubt. “Don’t worry about it old man Genji. This is for your son.” Saturn put his hand on the man’s shoulder and peered into his eyes with his own with a soft and reassuring gaze. 

 The heist to retrieve the snickerdoodle was slow and deliberate. They planted Mimas on a palm tree at the edge of the town, disguised as a clumpy hive nest. Saturn sat with Yama Tsukami who was disguised as a civilian. They sat on a bench, on one side of the street across from the palm tree. They pointed at it, and spoke about it loudly. Only Saturn could really speak. Yama Tsukami’s artificial voice was Saturn’s own, that he changed slightly and threw with Ventriloquism. 

“Would you look at that strange hive?” 

“It’s growing from the inside, I can see it throb. Was it always there?”

Old man Genji passed them, and stopped to ask them what they were talking about.

“Are you two talking about that strange hive? It’s been growing for days, and I was beginning to get worried about the safety of the townsfolk.” 

Their chatter grew louder with each exchange, and slowly they amassed a crowd, luring civilians in one by one by pointing to the hive. No more than twenty minutes had passed before a mob amassed around the tree with sticks, prepared to poke the troublesome hive. They tried, but it showed great resistance, refusing to budge from its place. A man peeked inside a hole that was planted on the surface of the object to see nothing in particular. 

“It doesn’t seem to be inhabited, but I can hear a strange humming buzz.” He professed.

“Do you think we should call the Snowmen to inspect it?” Another asked, making Saturn glance at old man Genji from the side of his eyes and nod at the man who was covering his face with his hood.

“The Snowmen? They sound like a menacing bunch!” He said.

“Oh yeah, they can do anything, like, literally yo.” A teenager said, eating from a bag of chips.
It wasn’t long before the Snowmen arrived. It was a crew of five, and they wielded bows and arrows. 

“Stand back.” Their new leader T’Okbole spoke, taking aim at Mimas.

Saturn waited, he could hear the nervous beating heart of his octopus, but it was a game of patience. He spoke to the blob telepathically. “Are you ready? Now catch this arrow..” 

The shot was fired, and Mimas reacted in the nick of time to wrap its extended tentacle around the projectile.

“What the fuck?” T’Okbole exclaimed, his eyes widened. Baffled, he lingered closer to inspect, signalling his crew to stay back. Saturn waited some more, before he cast his technique. Swam of 100 Million Dragonflies, he called it, though the number was closer to four digits. A swarm of insects spawned from his sleeves while the unsuspecting crew ahead had their backs faced to the fortuneteller. The insect dragons swarmed the area, then the whole town. Screams were heard at first, and blaring alarms, then it all drowned until all that could be heard was their buzzing. 

 Old Man Genji knew the thinking process of his old crew. He guessed the password to the locker in the dungeon no more than two blocks away. Six.. Nine.. Four.. Two.. Zero. The snickerdoodle was compromised.

The bunch were laughing already when they met up at The Frosty Mug. Brazen, the clinked their mugs together as they downed more beer, throwing the snickerdoodle around to each other recklessly. Mimas was a bit salty as it had to be bait earlier, but upon seeing the joy it had brought to Genji, who wanted to part to assemble the special toy, and the joy it had brought to Saturn who wanted to feel alive during what could very well be his very last moments in this life, it chose to let this one slide.

 The third part was buried in the bed of Lake Chilly Willy. The lake was frozen year-round, and quite how the wigglewump got to be in its very bed was a mystery. For the longest time, it needed no protection. The frigid lake and the creatures that were rumoured to lurk inside its depths struck fear into the hearts of the locals of the town of Floggins, who never dared to venture in in search of the wigglewump. They rained fire from above. For a retired man with shaky hands, Genji’s fireballs were impressive in size. Their girth and hotness penetrated the frozen surface of the lake as he rode the dragonfly Yanyanma overhead. Saturn and Mimas (disguised as another Saturn) watched in awe on the back of Aka Manto, as the heat incinerated the icy lid to break open the lake for the first time in over a decade. A crowd gathered around the lake, watching in disbelief, as Mimas dove into the open crack.

 An ancient long necked monster dwelled in the depths of Lake Chilly Willy. Mimas found out firsthand when it saw the opened jaws of the beast from up close almost as soon as it dove in. It wrapped its tentacles around the leviathan, and dragged it further down into the depths of the lake. The fight was long and ferocious. Streams of water spouted out on the surface from cracks that formed as its punches and struggle sent shockwaves through the water. Loud enochian wailing screams were heard, their volume enough to break through the water medium and even into the dense air above. The locals shivered with fear, begging the crew to turn back, until the screams were silenced. Was Mimas dead? They didn’t know, but Saturn did. He could still sense his familiar, and he let a grin crack on his face. When a tentacle emerged from the crack clutching the legendary wigglewump, the crowd cheered. An ancient terror had been defeated.

 The crew hiked back to the town centre of Winter Wonderland to meet Dracoso. Genji insisted that the next part was the hardest of them all, and even he was reluctant to proceed before making sure that the vault containing the Ausculator could indeed be opened. Mimas would not be complicit in attempting the next quest unless they were completely sure that it was fruitful. After a heated argument, the Genin finally relented. After all, the toy was only functional when all of its parts were fully assembled in the right order. The vault was still in the fortuneteller’s pocket. “He should be around here somewhere…” Saturn stalled as he took a swig from his bottle, as they strolled through the Main Street in squiggly lines, seeing three buildings for each one present, seeing roads turn into rivers before them as they looked for the promised one.

WC: 3613
TWC: 4906

The parents had swarmed the young ninja from Kirigakure and seemed intent on making him help them. They attempted to talk over one another, trying to be the first to ask for his assistance. Dracoso backed away slowly just as he heard the other ninja yell out for him to handle this. At the last second, he saw Saturn escaping off back towards town just as the mob of parents swarmed him. Waves of requests and demands flowed over Dracoso as the small crowd looked to him for answers. "It's yellow and brown down the back and it needs to be at least a foot tall!" "Don't forget that it should have its paw raised in front of it!" "It should have a rifle that looks just like this one!" "If it doesn't have the space helmet on, that should be fine too!"

Confusion slowly spread as the voices all spoke up one after another and Dracoso finally shook his head at himself and threw up a quick succession of handseals. The snow and ice under the feet of the crowd shook softly as it gathered together and slowly formed under Dracoso, raising him up slowly above them as the head of a dragon formed. Dracoso lifted himself up so that he was a good five feet off the ground and mostly out of the reach of the crowd. The onlookers slowly became silent, backing away at the sudden appearance of the ice creature.

"Ok! Let's take a moment to stop and clear this up. I understand that you all came here with the hopes of getting help retrieving these... items of yours for your kids. You need to give me a moment and make a line so that I can-" As the mention of a line came up, the parents began to push against one another, trying to get to the front. Each one struggled to be first and some even began to pull others out of their way to get closer. It reminded Dracoso of his academy days when the children would try to fight to be the first one to show the teacher their progress in learning jutsu. It always seemed to pointless to Dracoso when in the end, everyone would have the same result. Wanting to get there first just means you are either impatient or that you think it will be gone, even after it is guaranteed.

With another shake of the head, Dracoso threw up a handseal and threw his voice right over the heads of the crowd and shouted, "ENOUGH!" The scuffle stopped as the parents all looked over their heads for the voice. Dracoso returned to talking normally as he sat down on the head of the ice dragon. Its eyes slowly regarded the parents as a woman stepped forward. "What does your child want for Christmas?" The woman went to speak, just as a gasp was raised from another person in the crowd. A young woman was pointing away from the crowd towards where Dracoso had been earlier. He glanced over and saw his cocoa dog standing happily nearby with one of the gang boys right beside it. At first, everything appeared normal. Until he looked closer and realized that the boy had his tongue out, enjoying the cocoa dog some more. Only... the boy was not moving very much. In fact, the dog was not moving very much either.

An exasperated sigh came from Dracoso's mouth as he yelled at the boy, "Can you not get stuck to every single thing out here?!" The boy grunted uncomfortably as his tongue was now stuck to the frozen cocoa water beast. As time had passed, the liquid in his beast had slowly cooled and frozen where it had sat and the boy, not knowing any better, was stuck once another. Dracoso was tempted to leave the boy to teach him a lesson but knew that it was too cold out to safely leave him there. He released the jutsu and let the ice break away as the liquid fell apart. The boy's mouth still had a layer of frost over it, but now he was able to close his mouth. The cocoa splattered over the ground and Dracoso used another quickly cast set of handseals and draw the liquid off into a sewer drain nearby. The boy gave a quick thank you with a beet red face before running off towards where his friends were most likely waiting.

"Now that that is settled," Dracoso said, turning back to the parents, "what exactly are you looking for?" The woman gave a quick glance back at the crowd, hoping to silence them with a glare, before speaking up. "My son is a huge fan of this cartoon show that has been on the air for the last few months. He loves the main character, a soldier who always fights as if his life is on the line. They made a lot of action figures for this character, and they are supposed to be all the rage this season." Dracoso nodded as he listened and asked, "so if they are so popular, why don't you just go get one?" The woman began to respond before deflating slightly. "Most places sold out" she said with a shrug. "There are only two factories in a reasonable distance that makes these toys. One of them went out of business earlier this year and the other one has already closed for the season."

Scratching his chin as he processed this, he glanced towards the other parents. "I take it the case is the same for the rest of you?" A few of the parents nodded before a man raised his hand. "Well, my daughter really wants a tiger doll which was made last year and became really popular for a while. They stopped selling them a few months ago, so I was hoping you might know people who would know where to get one." The logic of this request escaped Dracoso for a moment. He was not toy expert and most of the people he knew were skilled with either combat crafting their own items. Either way, none of his contacts were there to help. "I mean... I would not really know where to start on that request. Do you know if they were made at one of those factories which were mentioned or a store that might have it?"

The man looked down sadly and shook his head as another woman stepped forward. "Well, I need you to get me a space woman toy for my child! He absolutely loves the new show 'Space Sakura'! Apparently, the main character is an empowered woman who wants to prove herself by being one of the first women fly a ship upside down, backwards as it orbits the planet!" A painful wave of confusion ran through Dracoso's brain as he tried to imagine this. From what he had read, there was no gravity in space, so the idea of what was considered up and down, let alone forward and backward, was a tough one to imagine. He simply nodded his head to her as a fourth parents stepped forward.

This was an older man, and he was using a walking cane to carefully move through the small crowd. "My grandson is still young, but I would love to get him a small digging toy. One of those little boxes with the digging arm so that he can dig in the snow and the sand. Most places don't sell this toy, but they do pop up every now and then. Could you see if you could find one for him?" The old man's words sounded tired to Dracoso's ears. From the way the man sagged and breathed heavily, it was as if he had been searching all over town for this toy. Dracoso gave him a nod and said, "I can do my best." The man gave him a smile and returned the nod before Dracoso asked for a description of the toys from each parent.

The first woman described the soldier toy as wearing desert fatigues and carrying a heavy assault rifle with a grenade on each hip. The man had a serious looking face and the action figure could move its hands and legs around to use the weapons and even look like it was running. She described a few other smaller items and attachments that usually came with the doll before Dracoso nodded and moved onto the next parent.

The tiger doll was a plushie with one paw extended in front of it and had one eye winking at whoever was looking at it. It was large enough for a small child to hug all the way around. It had orange and pink fur, purple eyes, and little rubber claws to help press it to things and hold onto them. The father seemed to assume that it was a fool's errand, but asked for Dracoso to see what he could find.

The third woman described what was to be a rather curvy woman wearing a tight space suit with a helmet that was optional for the toy. The woman would be striking a pose with a peace sign over one eye and her other hand on her hip. The more the woman described this 'empowered' action figure, the more Dracoso questioned whether this was really empowerment, or simply the idea that the creators had for what empowerment meant. He wrote down a few notes and moved on quickly as the woman began to add more requests on. The ice dragon slowly faded back into snow as there was no longer a need for a barrier.

Dracoso shifted away from the crowd and came back to the old man again. With a soft smile, Dracoso asked the man, "so what should the crane look like?" The old man lowered his head in thought for a moment. "Well, nothing too fancy. It just needs to be able to reach down and pick up dirt and snow I suppose. Maybe something bright so he does not lose it too easily. He is not a big child, so he could grow into it if it is bigger than normal." The man was very reasonable and Dracoso agreed to see what he could find as he finished his notes.

The crowd gave Dracoso their contact information and the addresses where he could deliver each of the toys. It took him a bit of time, but the crowd was content with his words as he stepped away. "I will talk with... my people and see what I can find. For now, just go about what you would normally do, and I will be in touch." The crowd began to clear and Dracoso quickly slipped away to the edge of town, making sure to avoid a few additional parents who seemed eager to add onto his already growing workload.

He leaned against the wall in an alley between two stores. With all the details they had given him, Dracoso could simply try to craft the toys himself after all the experience he had working with different materials. He doubted that it was much tougher than the artwork and senbon he had made in the past. If only it was that easy. Without actually seeing the toys in front of him, he would not know the dimensions, the detailing, and the overall look of the toy beyond guesswork. He was going to either need to get the actual toys or find a representation good enough to craft them. Maybe he could stop by a toy store in town and get some help there?

It took him a few minutes to track down the nearest toy store with some help from the locals. It was a rather small shop with toys and trinkets of all kinds. There were puppets and puppy dolls. Ballerinas and clockwork warriors. Even cup in a ball and a few fidget spinners. Dracoso made his way through the center aisle of the store and approached the counter where a man had his back to him. "Welcome, welcome," the man said absent-mindedly, waving a hand over his shoulder. "Look around and see if you find anything you like. Let me know if you have questions."

"I have a few," Dracoso started. "Would you happen to have any space dolls or serious soldiers?" The man appeared to be working on something blocked from view. "Space dolls?" he asked as he paused for a moment. "Just a few wooden ones by the front window. The soldier figures are all sold out sadly." The man returned to his work as Dracoso tapped a finger on the counter. "A wooden space doll is not what I am looking for. I am more interested in one made of plastic with an optional helmet?" The man seemed to tense up for a moment as he paused his work. He slowly turned his head look back at Dracoso. Thick glasses sat on a broad nose of a man with bags under both eyes. He regarded Dracoso cautiously with one eyebrow raised.

"...Are you another one of those cartoon fanatics?" The man asked. Dracoso shook his head slowly and the tension left the man. He turned fully around, bringing into sight a half-constructed marionette he had been working on. "Thank goodness. You would not believe how many people have been rummaging through my store looking for these dang blasted toys they see on the television. I had one mother in here screaming about how her son deserved to have some 'empowered woman' doll so that he understood the importance of women and their decisions. Women are meant to be respected, just not dressed up like a damn swimsuit model in space." Dracoso simply nodded along, letting the man rant for a few minutes further before he seemed to become aware of Dracoso standing in front of him.

"I am sorry. It has been a long day. So, if you are not one of those fanatics, why do you want that doll?" The man asked. Dracoso sat down and explained to the man how he had come to be responsible for finding four toys and the events leading up to the crowd of onlookers. Nodding along, the man let out small noises as the story was told and at the end, he gave a small chuckle. "Using hot cocoa to free kids from poles and a dang ice dragon to scare the masses. You sound like you are a bit too creative for your own good," the man said with a smile. Dracoso sighed and responded, "you sound just like my father."

"Probably old enough to be your father too," the man said with another chuckle before resting his chin on a fist. "Well, you have your work cut out for you. Three of those toys are either long gone off the market or too popular to find this late in the season. You might as well enjoy your free time and just say you couldn't find them." Dracoso shook his head, "I gave my word that I would try and that is what I intend to do." As he sat back in his seat, a thought crossed his mind. "You said three of those toys. What about the fourth one?" The man stood up carefully and made his way around the counter before leading Dracoso over towards one side of the store. He reached into one of the boxes in the back and pulled out an object that was about a foot tall.

Once placed in front of him, Dracoso had a clear view of what appeared to be a wooden excavator, similar to the one the old man had requested for his grandson. It had a few small cracks in the wood, and it was a dull grey color that almost faded into whatever was around it. "Do you have one that might be a bit brighter? It is the right size. The person who asked for it wanted to make sure their child would not lose it." The man shook his head and said, "sadly, this is the only one I have. Though, if you aren't in a rush, I could try to patch it up a bit and paint it for you." Dracoso looked to the man, "are you not already tired and worn from a long day?" A chuckle came from the man as he responded, "well, hearing about just how much work you have ahead of you made me feel a bit less tired and a bit more grateful."

Dracoso shook his head and thanked the man for his help before asking for any suggestions on where to start with the other three toys. "Well, most stores would be sold out by now. You might get lucky if you check all over, but I would not hold my breath. No, the best place that you could find it would be..." the man hesitated for a moment, tapping his chin in thought. "Where?" Dracoso asked. "Well... the old toy factory to the north went out of business a few months back. Something happened with the owner, and he chose to shut the place down. What's strange is that the factory was still making toys right up to the day they closed down. With how popular those toys were and the sudden closure, there might still be a few of those toys sitting on the line. Not sure what state they might be in, but you might just get lucky."

The thought ran through his mind as he questioned if breaking into an old toy factory was really a good moral choice. He scratched his chin as he pondered softly and looked to the man. "Would that really be the right answer? I mean... wouldn't that be trespassing?" he asked the man. "Not really. Honestly, the owner of the factory was quite a family man himself. He would let people visit and see how the toys were made. He even let people take one or two if they had brought their kids. Honestly, I think that if there are toys left behind there, they deserve a chance at a good home. Would you want to be left behind if you had the choice?"

Dracoso paused as his mind wandered back to a woman who had left him behind. She had defected because of threats which had been hung over her head. The soft remains of the pit in his stomach reminded him of how he had failed that day. It was also a reminder of how much he had grown. He gave a nod before saying, "I agree. I think they would be much better in the hands of those who cared for them." The man smiled at that response and picked up the digger to move back over to the counter. "Well then, you should be off before it gets dark. The trip will take about an hour and a half each way on foot. Seeing as you are in quite good shape, you might make it there sooner."

The man pulled out a small map of the area and showed him the main path to the factory up north. Dracoso thanked the man as he drew his own rough sketch of the map and took off. With a few handseals, Dracoso summoned up one of his wolf companions and let them lift him onto their back. They dove ahead towards the north, outrunning the wind as they went.

(WC = 3260)
(TWC = 6343)

The crew of Saturn, his two octopuses - one his purple blob familiar Mimas and the other his mountain of a green summon Yama Tsukami - and old man Genji wandered the streets in their drunken stupor, in search of the fabled crafty shinobi from the Hidden Mist. The octopuses were each disguised as a slightly different iteration of Saturn, one with a sharper jawline and the other with higher cheekbones. The Genin from the Hidden Cloud promised to the ageing father that he would figure out a way to get his son the toy of his dreams for Christmas. Saturn's droopy eyes caught site of a T.V. promotion playing on a box shaped screen placed on display at a shop on the sidewalk.

It started with a close up of a bold logo. It was fully colored, a shapely pink haired woman sitting on the shaft of an upside down ship, wearing a weird bubble like helmet as she signed the peace sign with her right hand with her left on her hip. She was winking. The shot panned out to reveal the very ship as on the logo, now in upright position with the woman holding the pole the hoisted the flag.

"Introducing Space Sakura, the daring and determined astronaut who dreams of making history." A male voice spoke over the scene. The camera follows Sakura as she walks on the wooden boards of her ship towards the front.

"She's determined. She's daring. She's dreamy. You could even say she's got triple D's."

Sakura grabs the steering wheel of her massive ship.

" In a world where women are still fighting for equal opportunities in space, Sakura's ready to show everyone that she's got huge - potential!"


She plants her hand on her forehead, looking far into the horizon.

"With her incredible - skills - and her gadgets that are out of this world, she's ready to make history! Join Space Sakura on her journey to become the first woman to fly a ship in orbit around a planet...

The ship pans out to show her ship in orbit,

"Backwards"

The planet seems to reverse its spin while the camera reveals a full body shot of Sakura from behind.

"Damn! And upside down!"

The shot rolls over to reveal that the ship is travelling upside down, making Sakura's composition adjust to gravity.

"Space Sakura, putting the ass in astronaut! Only on... Sharingan TV!"

Saturn scratched the stubble on his face, processing what he had just witnessed. "That's dumb. The earth is flat." He commented nonchalantly, taking a sip from his bottle before continuing with the others in his search for Dracoso. It was getting dark, and both Genji and Yama Tsukami were getting impatient. The octopus, like the other one Mimas was disguised as a human resembling Saturn with only mild distinguishing features. It couldn't speak, but it could groan and drink. Mimas was more tipsy, being a lightweight both literally and figuratively. Genji was unable to walk in a straight line either, and he grabbed Saturn by his hoodie. "Well?! Where is he? We've been walking for an hour!"

"Good things take time." Saturn retorted just as angrily. Although he had volunteered to help the old mad acquire the niche toy for his child out of his goodwill, he was now just as invested. They had scoured three different towns to pull off a different and intricate heist in each one, in search of the toy's different parts. Saturn did not have a picture of Dracoso, but what he did have was a visual memory of what the blue haired young man looked like. If he could convey this to someone who has seen him, perhaps he could find the crafty shinobi. It was a gamble to assume that Dracoso would know how to crack open the foolproof vault in his pocket. He based his assumption only on the fact that the shinobi was crafty when he came up with the idea of using hot chocolate to detach the tongues of children from frozen metal poles.

Their search took them to the Frozen Nipple. It was a hill, named aptly for its shape - a slow curved slope all around except for around the peak where the slope abruptly became steep. Atop the hill was a factory. "You tricked me. I told you we can't continue until we're sure that the safe can be opened." Genji was furious, grabbing Saturn by his collar. "Trust me bro.." He groaned, and burped in his face. Now that the crew were already here, it was worth the climb as the clock was ticking. The group made the hike through a blizzard, clutching their coats as the winds tried to knock them back. The sudden rise ahead sliced gales in half, sounding eery whistling noises, and sending a faster, sharper wind in the direction of the crew. They shuddered.

Soon, they arrived at the base of the sudden and steep rise. It was much thinner in comparison, almost like a second hill on top of the first, directly in the center. Moreover, the snow was colder, and the surface was slippery as ice. Saturn grabbed Mimas by its faux shirt and placed his familiar in front. "I need you to suck on it." He instructed his octopus, "With your suction cups. That is the only way we can hope to get to the top. Y.T. You Too. Get it?" He slurred out at Yama Tsukami, pointing at the older octopus with two fingers making it roll its eyes.

The climb up to the peak was cold and unforgiving. The tentacles of Yama Tsukami and Mimas rolled and stretched on the steep surface, their suction cups holding them onto the surface while Saturn and Genji held onto their backs for dear life. The climb upwards was no more than fifty meters - a small distance compared to the grander structure of the hill. Upon finally reaching the top, the grew were baffled to find a door on the ground, in the center of the mini-hill which itself was about 100 meters in radius. It would appear that the factory had been carved into the hill, and they had climbed up its walls earlier. "Why not have the door on the ground?" Saturn asked, and Genji shrugged, before they climbed back down through the wide staircase they had found together.

The interior was illuminated with a light of a warm orange glow. It was quiet, although the local who had told Saturn about the location of the factory was confident that it would be noisy from the sound of Santa's elves at work, grinding away to get toys ready for Christmas. They wandered deeper into the halls of the Nipple, but could not detect any life. Worried, Saturn signed the seal of confrontation to activate Mind's Eye of the Kagura. He immediately detected a single signature, alive, but it was an ominous presence, a dark entity. He marched on with caution.

---

  "In the castle, death lay amidst the elves. But the faithful know, even in the face of loss, their faith will guide them to a brighter tomorrow, where joy and peace dwell forevermore."

A tall tanned man in a thick woollen robe formed a cross on his body as he prayed. In one hand he clutched the Glorpple, with the other he held the Yoodle. - they were the only two completed pieces left behind by the rotting elves. He had found a letter, warning whoever found it of a grave danger.

"Dear whoever may find this letter,

I fear that I may not live to see another day. The sickness that has taken hold of Santa and many of our fellow elves is spreading quickly and I fear for the worst. The presents may not be delivered on time this year, and the future of Christmas hangs in the balance.

But that is not the greatest danger that we face. There is a dark force lurking in the shadows of Winter Wonderland, threatening to destroy all that we hold dear. Ureshii, the baby new year, is in grave danger and we must act fast to protect him.

And if you are reading this, then I must also warn you about Mrs. Clause. Despite her warm smile and gentle demeanor, she is not to be trusted under any cost. Her true intentions are shrouded in secrecy, and I fear that she may have something to do with the dark forces that threaten us.

You must find Father Time. I cannot say more, as my time is running out. But please, I implore you, do what you can to save Christmas and protect Ureshii. Our world and all those who believe in the magic of the holiday season are counting on you.

Yours truly,
Dobby

P.S. The very last Glorpple and Yoodle are in a box under this table. Please ensure that they find themselves affixed among a complete set."

The man carried the letter with him, as he ascended the staircase back up to the surface. That was when he ran into Saturn and his crew.

"They're dead. The town is in grave danger." He spoke, his voice calm and deep, he sounded unfazed and apathetic but Saturn was tone deaf.

---

 "Hand em over." The Kumon Genin ordered the taller man in front of him, pointing at the toy parts in his hands.

 "What do you mean they're dead? Explain yourself." Genji stepped forward, suspecting the man.

 "I can't do that," The man spoke, rubbing the back of his head before showing them Dobby's letter. "This is the letter I found. I checked all the rooms. Nothing but rotten elves. I came looking for these parts just as I suspect you both have. I've acquired all the other parts, and making sure that the Glorpple and the Yoodle make it to a complete set was Dobby's dying wish."

 Saturn could tell that the man wasn't lying, with his use of Mind's Eye of the Kagura. He snatched the letter and read its contents. "Oh hell naw. This again? Why does this seem so familiar?" He groaned, showing the letter to Yama Tsukami. 

 "How about it?" He asked his octopus (still disguised as Saturn), and Genji and Mimas looked between them, confused. The older specimen held up four fingers. 

 "Four?! They cost two for the E ranked ones." Saturn protested, and his octopus shrugged, it was one to take its cut and maximise profits.

 "Fine, we'll have to charge old man Genji extra." Saturn shook his head and shook Yama Tsukami's 'hand' to seal the deal. The man was flabbergasted, 

 "Its the price for an octopus. To replace the toy parts, they're pretty good at it. I'll explain on the way back. Trust me." Saturn said, ignoring the man's protests.

 "Do you have the other parts as well?" The man asked out of pity for the old man who just wanted to assemble the toy his child wanted for Christmas.

 "We need one more. Not accounting for the Ausculator, which is stuck inside this safe until we can figure out a way to open it." Saturn took out the shrunken safe and showed it to the man in his palm.

 "I see you used a technique to shrink it. The Ausculator would not fit in that. Please, release the technique for me. I can break open the safe." He offered, and Saturn could tell once again his pure intentions from his sensory technique. He complied.

 "Hiya!" The man grunted, chopping the safe in half with one swift strike, leaving the toy part intact inside. 

 "Nice." Saturn nodded, as he drew up a contract for Yama Tsukami on a piece of paper. Yama Tsukami summoned two tiny octopuses, and made them put their tentacle prints on the paper as Saturn handed 4000 ryo to the greedy octopus. Without a care for anything else, the tiny octopuses, yellow and green, crawled to Saturn's palm as he held his hand in front of the toy parts, making one take the form of the Glorpple and the other the Yoodle.

The crew then climbed back up to the surface.

The fortuneteller looked at the tall, mysterious man and spoke over the sound of the raging blizzard. "You can go now. I won't take your toy parts from you, consider this an act of mercy. I will find you an ally, with whom to save Winter Wonderland. I cannot stay here much longer, for I have to attend my court trial."

 "Very well. I will venture to the Hall of Hourglasses, deep in the heart of Time's Domain, to find Father Time." He replied, before striding off on his feet, running, flying in the air.

 "Huh." Saturn was befuddled, watching him fly. "Old man Genji, how many bottles have we had?"

---

WC: 2135
TWC: 7041

Exit Claim:

Completed: I Triple Dog Dare You! x3
Jingle All The Way x 3
I'll Be Home For The Holidays x2

TWC: 6343
Stats Maxed, AP maxed = 25% conversion
Missions Completed: 8 x 2000 ryo (6 D rank, 2 B rank)(chunin rank) = 16k Ryo
6000 equinox tickets
24k ryo reward + 16k ryo (chunin) + 6k Ryo (120 AP x 50 ryo) = 46k Ryo
2x Full (d10) dice

Jutsu Claimed:
B Rank - Seal of Protection - 1312.5 (originally 1750)
C rank - Space Time Art: Mass Pull - 750 (originally 1000)
C Rank - Quick Draw- 750 (originally 1000)
C Rank - Hidden Arms - 750 (Originally 1000)
C Rank - Hidden Blade: Rapid Homicide - 1050 (originally 1400)
C Rank - Wind Release: Soft Wind Blowing - 750 (Originally 1000)
C Rank - The Slow Blade - 750 (originally 1000)

Total Cost: 6112.5 (losing 231.5 willingly)

Exit Claim:

Completed: I Triple Dog Dare You! x3
12,000 Ryō / 60 AP / 1500 Winter Equinox Tickets

Jingle All The Way x 3
12,000 Ryō / 60 AP / 1500 Winter Equinox Tickets

I'll Be Home For The Holidays x2
24,000 Ryō / 120 AP / 3000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 2x Full Dice (d10)

---

2x Full Dice (d10) asap

WC: 7041

As far as what I will claim with this word count I will decide later

Approved

Saturn wrote:Exit Claim:

Completed: I Triple Dog Dare You! x3
12,000 Ryō / 60 AP / 1500 Winter Equinox Tickets

Jingle All The Way x 3
12,000 Ryō / 60 AP / 1500 Winter Equinox Tickets

I'll Be Home For The Holidays x2
24,000 Ryō / 120 AP / 3000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 2x Full Dice (d10)

---

2x Full Dice (d10) asap

WC: 7041

As far as what I will claim with this word count I will decide later

400 words towards claiming Flygon, 1875 words towards claiming Hades from https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t54798-as-fleet#410274 ; previously trained here: https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t54756p10-sentenced-to-survive-the-story-of-saturn-sentobi?highlight=Flygon#412740

3750 words towards https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t55050-hiden-mind-body-reverberation-technique#412317

1000 words towards upgrading https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t53909-swarm-of-100-million-stinging-dragonflies#404204 from B to A

Saturn wrote:

400 words towards claiming Flygon, 1875 words towards claiming Hades from https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t54798-as-fleet#410274 ; previously trained here: https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t54756p10-sentenced-to-survive-the-story-of-saturn-sentobi?highlight=Flygon#412740

3750 words towards https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t55050-hiden-mind-body-reverberation-technique#412317

1000 words towards upgrading https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t53909-swarm-of-100-million-stinging-dragonflies#404204 from B to A

Approved.