Advanced Guard Duty (B-rank)

mission:

Ever since her assignment to the ranks of Sunagakure’s military, Mikazuki’s free time had been a far more limited commodity than it had ever been in the past yet and sadly, this was not one of them. Scouts had reported a known group of bandits approaching the great walls of the village but there was no information on why. Perhaps they failed to realise that Sunagakure was no longer a friend to their ilk?

The amputee had been assigned to deal with these bandits or more accurately, she had demanded to be. The possibility, however remote, that these bandits were the ones who had betrayed her in the past and...a small part of her did wish to demonstrate just what exactly she was to Ei. It was a foregone conclusion that the Kazekage would eventually find out about the mission’s results and so, the amputee had opted to take the initiative.

That was what had brought her to the grand gates of the village, her emotionless gaze cast out towards an encroaching cloud of sand. One advantage of living in a desert is that anyone mounted upon horseback, or any form of steed at that, who wished to move at high speed would always give away their presence. These bandits really did seem to be under the assumption that Sunagakure was a welcoming place for them huh?

The group of around ten bandits approach, their camels coming to a stop as the riders dismounted. Mikazuki stepped from the shadow of the gate, her head covered by a sand coloured hood as was the norm in the desert. She wished to avoid sunburns, especially given the natural pallor of her skin. Slow and restrained steps took her towards the bandits, eyes twitching ever so slightly with a barely restrained desire to murder.

“Welcome to Sunagakure bandit scum of the desert. Perhaps you believe this place to be a refuge for your kind but…..I’m going to kill you now.” Without waiting for a response she launched herself forward, chakra flowing throughout her body. She had not been idle these past few weeks for not only had the amputee been constructing a new puppet, she had also been developing numerous new jutsu with which to crush, grind and snap those who would stand before her.

Chakra erupted from the stump where her right arm should be, seeping into the air and soil around her. The bandits reacted immediately, smart enough to recognise a treat when they saw one and had charged forth, their assorted weapons raised. Sadly for them, it was too little too late. The amputee had charged into the group of bandits, dancing around their clumsy swipes more used to cutting down peasants than fighting trained shinobi.

“Hah…..it has been so frustrating restraining myself….I must thank you sheep for stepping into the slaughter.” Suddenly, the chakra she had been letting seep out into the world around her gained focus and drive, forcing itself into the soil. Mikazuki had in fact been trying to use these jutsu successfully for weeks but despite her grasp of the foundations, implementing them had escaped her. It may have been foolish to risk using an untrained jutsu she had never successfully employed in the past but there was no better teacher than life or death.

Mikazuki’s brain burst alight, her eyes taking in the form of a heavy axe swinging down upon her neck from behind. Imagine the form of the wall in your mind, reconstruct the basic composition of the soil, channel chakra into every single particle and draw them all together. The earth resisted and fought against her chakra, battling against the outside element forcing it to change form. Earth was a difficult medium to manipulate, its nature as numerous and dense particles making it naturally resistant to physical manipulation even via the medium of chakra.

The axe approached, its steel edge shining in the desert sun. Come on come on come on….! Mikazuki’s heart rate skyrocketed, the chakra flowing along her body rising in intensity. Around and around it flowed, building up and up before one final thrust of chakra escaped her stumped. Suddenly, the ground trembled and a wall of earth erupted, cutting the canyon between the great wall of Sunagakure in half but more importantly, it sent the thug that had been mere seconds away from cutting Mikazuki’s neck flying, for the wall had erupted from beneath him.

Now that the bandit group was cut in half the scales had tilted back towards the amputee’s favour. She may have still been outnumbered but the barrier behind her would be sufficient to buy her time. A homicidal and violent dog she may have been but by no means was she stupid. The leader of the bandits charged, sword thrust towards the Kunoichi's exposed stomach yet with a simple and grateful jerk of her body, she evaded it. The thrust did still injure her, cutting along the right side of her torso and exposing blood but twas merely a flesh wound and more importantly, it left the leader exposed.

(Learned jutsu: Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.)

Mikazuki lept back from the bandit, chakra swelling up within her feet before flowing freely into the ground. As the bandit leader’s sword bounced off the earth wall created earlier, he would suddenly find the soil beneath him starting to move on account of the Oh yes, he did try to jump free but the twisting sinkhole growing beneath his feet had already pulled him down to his ankles, tightening and crushing the bones within. He screamed in pain as with a sickening crunch his ankles snapped, the bones cracking as the sinking slowly pulled him deeper due to the Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm that had been unleashed.

The remaining four on this side of the wall had followed their leader up but upon hearing their boss screaming in agony had faltered, the spirit from their charge fading and in that opening, Mikazuki made her play. Chakra tore through the earth beneath her, flowing towards the remaining bandits before turning the soil beneath them into a muddy river, knocking them off their feet and carrying them away. However, it was as Mikazuki employed Subterranean Voyage jutsu and dived into the earth that it sunk in: these bandits were dead.

Mikazuki burst from the mud behind the bandits, channeling doton chakra within her throat before releasing. Stones flew from her open mouth, bullet sized chunks of earth flying towards the four bandits were struggling to free themselves from the mud. The bullet sized rocks soon grew inside, transforming to huge boulders that crushed, pounded, flattened and smashed the bandits, leaving behind a mess akin to a Jackson Pollock painting.

There was an excitement building with Mikazuki’s body, her pupils dilated with excitement and heart pounding. This was good…! So so good…! She hated having to restrain herself, to control her urges…! These opportunities to sate her homicidal tendencies were a rare pleasure. Soon rationality reasserted itself, her pupils constricting into tight almost serpentine slits. She still had more lives to end right…?

She stepped amid the results of her slaughter, walking towards the leader of the bandits who had been swallowed up to his torso. The swirling sinking hole was pressing against his torso, crushing his ribs and with a final pained scream, he was swallowed past his head. One half down...one to go… Mikazuki released her jutsu, the earth returning to normal and the big beautiful wall she had constructed to keep out all the bandits collapsed, revealing her ‘art.’

“You’re not going to run right…? The fun has only just begun” Heavy breathing, slow footsteps and a unhinged grin. She stepped towards the survivors who, upon seeing and comprehending the full extent of Mikazuki’s violence, broke ranks. They turned to flee, running back towards their camels but it was not fast enough! Giant boulders flew towards them, the stone pistol jutsu having been used a second time.

“Hah...see Kazekage...I really do enjoy this….” Mikazuki muttered to herself, walking away from the carnage of crushed bodies and broken weapons to make her report but given the number of guards that had been watching, she was sure the Kage already knew. The amputee returned to the village’s interior, only now noticing just how much mud was clinging to her body. A change of clothes was due and so, as she vanished into the Sunagakure streets, Mikazuki changed her destination.

[exit thread]