Each step in the wet dirt was uncomfortable to say the least even with regulation boots on. His toes slid in the opened boots, forward against the pressure of his foot due to the wet rain that had soaked and coated them before. Nothing but dry clouds and humid winds pushed along through the village now. Too lazy... Everything was too lazy and wet and damp and inactive. Shihouin pushed hard down on some concrete flooring thanking the heavens for the dense material under his boot. He squeezed hard, spreading his toes out as the water bubbled and popped from the fabrics and leaked out giving him good footing again.

He was now sitting on a small railing which lead towards the village gate and was under the faded shade of the large gates itself. Both of them were opened wide and strong with a looming welcome feeling hanging from them. With his rear planted firmly on the railing and his tall body slacked Shihouin decided to wait for the ANBU to arrive because of course they would give him another dose of shit. Leaving the village without warning the bastards would only make everyone more jumpy and frightful, so letting them know would be proper and just.

The guards above his head, some odd several stories above him would notice him along with the checkpoint guards and the other ninja lurking around the village. What was Mr. Hokage doing out by the village? Didn't he have other things he should be tending to? Couldn't he send a group of elitist ninja out to deal with the situation? The same old jibber and the same old jabber every single time and every day. It made Shihouin sick to his stomach.

Without ample warning at all and on time as expected several black white clouds of smoke materialized in front of him and the frames of ANBU servants passed through the haze as a wet wind blew over head. Shihouin looked on them, gazing with a impish grin as his hands were posed erect on the railing, his shoulders tight and up with his head relaxed in between them. The collar and cape flickered along with some of the longer haired ANBU in the wet wind. It pushed not only the muggy air away but the silence with it as well.

They were all Chuunin it seemed with Sharingan, with Jounin leading a single 4 man cell. "Lord Hokage has business that ANBU can't take care of?" A fox masked Jounin spoke with his head held properly down. Shihouin couldn'thelp but be tickled and almost giggled at the question as his chuck cracked into a sentence. "Do I need you guys for everything? Sometimes there are investigations which a Hokage must attend to. I assure you I don't wear diapers anymore." Each one of the ANBU held their positions, but one Chuunin was rather bold. A bird mask with few colors. "But, Lord Hokage... We are the ANBU under your direct control. If you were to ever lose your life how would we run the village?" It was like the wind was running around in circles over the village, because as soon as he had spoken he could see that the silence came back.

The slight sets of tension in the Fox Mask Jounin that Chuunin must have been on his squad or something. His arm flickered as if he knew he was going to be punished for the insolence of his subordinate. Shihouin decided that some humor was in order. "If I lose my life eh? You would honestly bow before me and tell me that due to me catching a flu? Am I that weak?" he snickered, trailing off with a smirk. "To be honest, I just want Lord Hokage to be safe at all times... You don't know when you could come down with another sickness and be unable to protect the village..." This one... This one.

This one reminded Shihouin of himself. Cocky and arrogant. But Shihouin could put money on his words. He leaned forward and placed both feet on the ground and stood up tall, his cape shaking violently in the wind as it cycled silence again. You could see each one of the ANBU besides the Bird Mask stand up and walk away. They kept walking too, leaving him to himself. Shihouin walked forward slowly taking a step that seemed to be too slow for the wind that brushed over his cape.


The letters Sandaime Hokage down the back of the long white cape flickered in the wind until they stopped as it settled down and he reached the ninja, stopping at two meters. He put his hands together quickly ending on a variant of the ram technique while holding it. "You've ran your mouth too much." The Bird Mask of course focused his chakra by holding a tiger hand sign. As the wind settled down between them the charged chakra in the air began to clash and concentrate sending pressure out from them forcing their clothing outwards in a flurry of movement. The railing began to bend and snap, twisting itself from its foundation and breaking away as it flew off into the village.

Shihouin smirked. "So much anger built up in your jutsu. Show me what you can do!"

Thick like a blanket and hard to see through as well. Shihouin's eye sight began to diminish but Sharingan would take care of that. All around him and the opponent a mist began to envelop thickly like a quilt, covering an area of fifteen meters rather quickly. Of course he was smart, a Suiton ANBU would take advantage of the atmosphere, the opponents disadvantage to give himself a surmountable offense to fight. It was smart but obviously Shihouin had not decided that it was important at all by remaining within the mist.

The ANBU ninja completely disappeared according to his set of senses but the Kirigakure was a special jutsu in which few realized. It was one of those few jutsu that actually harmed the user as well as the opponent trapped within it. Most users of the Hidden Mist technique would avoid it or train their senses to the point where they could ignore the bad effects of the jutsu. Needless to say Shihouin was familiar with that technique even though he had not been under it before. Such was the power of the Sharingan.

As soon as the mist had wrapped them in its wet grip, the Bird Mask moved from his position sure of the fact that he was hidden from the Sharingan. In order make sure his movement was masked completely as well, he performed a hand sign or two to move with water chakra equivalent to the rank of the mist and to allow him a speedy sure way towards the back of Shihouin, who seemed not interested in the placement of himself or intested in any openings he may have for that manner.

Suspicion rose high in the Bird Mask’s mind and the assumption that the Hokage had performed a jutsu based off of his hand signs from before was obvious. He was up to a technique. To create time to realize and find the true meaning of it a water clone created from his own mist approached his back as he secured himself further away. The short tanto on his own back was raised and placed securely at the small of the Hokage’s back in a position to stab him. The clone spoke in place of him. “I’m
just saying…” And with no hesitation he struck for the back of the Hokage.

Yet before he could realize the level of treason he was showing, the amount he was implying and the seriousness that he was performing this very instant, his senior stopped him. A proper defense with his hand clutching a pressure point in the wrist, forcing the blade to clank like useless metal on the ground. The water clone had been bagged by the Fox Mask, stopping it from killing. As he quickly wrapped both of his hands around him, holding his arms in place while he was able to bring them closer for a four seal jutsu.

Still though, the Fox Mask had jumped to save the clone without dealing with the original, showing his faith to his Hokage who was still standing motionless within the mist. The Bird Mask had decided that enough was enough, jutsu or not he had the advantage here at the moment and the territory they both were in was his own. With his hand seals finished he performed the proper technique. “Suirou no Jutsu!” Instantly the Mist and water clone grew heavy as they began to merge into a large enough puddle with both of his arms. The large balls of water drew closer as he drew near and without a quick way out the Fox Mask and the Hokage were both trapped within the boundaries of the technique.

Arrogance had filled him from his soles to his feet, leaking out of his mouth tremendously like a line of drool from a hound dog. “I captured the Hokage and my senior so easily… I’ve proven my worth. The Hokage should not be allowed to pass, I’ll organize a search party and go out after the Second.” Shihouin was trapped in the jutsu, but smiling at the Chuunin. The Fox Mask behind him, the original one shook his head along with the rest of the ANBU that had backed off. Since he had not payed attention he would fall prey for the Hokage’s jutsu.

The clone, the Hokage that appeared to be the original exploded, blasting the water technique to shreds and sprinkles before the very might of the jutsu. It was entirely composed of hard debris which spread out rapidly like shrapnel and for a good distance as well. Embedded pieces of dense earth and other similar sized debris flung out, destroying and uprising the earth underneath it for a solid five meters. The after math of the technique had also caused damage beyond that, throwing the railing and other chairs and benches away into the distance.

Luckily the Bird Mask was a Suiton user with a relative bloodline limit tailored to water. Despite him being almost knocked out and winded he was able to save himself by creating a last minute shield of water to prevent himself from being destroyed. With Sharingan however, this had obviously taken a deal of chakra and was considerably dangerous. Getting caught off guard because of arrogance? Of course it was deadly.

The Fox Mask, or Shihouin transformed back into his original image, deactivating the technique that had allowed him to survive the blast as if it was nothing more than a light breeze. “You fell victim to my technique simply because you decided that you had the advantage and I was able to catch your guard down by your superiority complex.” Shihouin walked over to his lifeless like body which was gasping for air, looming over him. He nudged his body with his foot as he couldn’t help but move with it. Pressing his foot on his side which was exposed upward, he looked up towards the ANBU whom were all twitching to come intervene. He could see their muscles shaking with Sharingan and could realize that they were going to assume that Shihouin wanted to go too far with this one.

He smiled and kicked him a little instead of breaking all of the bones on his rib cage and pushed him with the side of his feet over into a grassy area so he didn’t look so pathetic. “I’ve made myself clear at the moment so I don’t excpect any of you to stop me. Don’t tell anyone but Katsumi and make sure he knows that I’ll be back soon. It’s a shame I feel that I can find more trust in he who is a still a stranger in some sorts than my own ANBU. Any of you have anything else you want to throw in?” Shihouin looked towards them, the Fox and Tiger Masks shaking their heads no. The Two Jounin knew from right off the bat that there was no stopping him at this point.

Turning towards the village gates he walked through the debris of the explosion, headed out of the village towards whatever trail he could find to lead him towards the Second Hokage and the strange fellow that had approached him in his office. Each step from here on out would put him in real danger this time and he knew that his life would be in the balance. He had trust that the village could deal with the matter of him being gone, even though he knew that there were still those like Yamazu who seemed scared to confront him. Either way, he’d hope to come back with something to make them proud.