Four Minutes to Midnight

Missions:

Ren would let out a soft sigh as he waited at the gates for Maverick to arrive, his three tomoe sharingan staring out at the forest beyond the wall of the village. His vision had declined in the recent days, the cost of his newfound ability with the Sharingan. He could still see fine, but he couldn't see as far as he used to be able to. This of course was disturbing, however not enough so that he would bring any attention to it or decline the mission that himself and his student was assigned. Of course, it might become a problem down the line, he was just too proud to actually say anything to anyone about it. Eventually he would figure out how to fix his sight, but for now he would rely more on his sensory abilities to see what he couldn't see, he needed to focus on this mission and ensure that him and Maverick came back in one piece.

Ren was wearing his same Battle Kisode that Airi had crafted for him, though he no longer wore the boots she made. It seemed a little redundant to him to have them when he had the jutsu Blitz had shown him, for now the boots were safely back at his house. The Katana, Singing Tempest, was in its sheath on his hip, and while he perferred the Uchiha Gunbai, it was currently in the Kamui realm, and he didn't wish to cause the strain in his eyes to get worst by trying to summon it unless he absolutely needed it. For now, he would just wait patiently for Maverick to arrive, as he had told the other man Dawn and it was still a few minutes till. As he waited, he would contemplate what their plan was going to be, they needed to deal with bandits along the road, but they couldn't kill everyone. They would need to use one or two of those bandits to lead them to the hive, Ren just had to hope that Maverick could be sneaky when it came time to do so.

Maverick dashed from rooftop to rooftop yanking his jacket over his arms. He had overslept still recovering from the training, he felt one hundred percent but knew it was more like eighty five. He shook his head disappointed in his lack of attentiveness to be up on time. Maverick jumped from another roof before pulling out his leaf headband tying it on his upper left arm. He had forgotten his black shirt leaving his blue jacket unbuttoned exposing his chest and slightly muscular build. His hair was a mess already and the wind blowing across the roof tops did it no favors.

He looked across the sleeping village, a few lights flicked on as the soul of Konoha began to rouse and begin their day. The sun had not yet started its ascent into the sky only showing a dull orange hue on the horizon. As the gate grew closer he could see his Sensei waiting for him. He understood if he was scolded, Maverick hated being late himself. Jumping from the last roof he landed dropping into a kneeling pose. "My apologies for the wait Sensei I have no excuses." He looked up gazing into the eyes of his master. No matter how many times he saw it the Sharingan always had a way of intimidating him.

Ren would turn to face Maverick as he arrived, a soft smile on his face as his student apologized for being late. "No need to apologize, you are not late. I simply arrived early." Ren replied while removing Singing Tempest and its sheath from his belt holding it out for Maverick to take, "this is Singing Tempest. It was originally given to me by the former Lord Hokage Tengoku, but it belongs to the Clan. It was the blade of the former leader and Hokage named Akari, and I believe you will find more use with it than I have." The blade was given to him to help him bring honor to the clan and a sense of purpose for himself, however the blade was not ever really his style and now that he had the Gunbai, it was likely he would never use the blade again. At least by giving it to Maverick, it remained within the clan, and he could possibly find use for it in his fighting style.

After Maverick would take the blade Ren would begin walking through the gate and towards their destination, they had a way to go to get to their destination, but Ren would not rush it there was still things to discuss with Maverick as they travelled. "This mission will be involving dealing with Bandits, and stealth is a key in this." Ren would stop to look at Maverick now that they were out of the village, "there is a technique that is used in the village hidden in the mist. It is a key to their ability to move and attack without making a sound, it involves using your chakra to silent your interaction with the world around you. Now this technique does not require you to use a hand seal so you might need to use your Sharingan to see how it works when I show you." With that said once Maverick was ready Ren would activate the Silent Killing Technique, before beginning to move around to show Maverick how there was no sound created while he moved.

---

Teaching:

Giving Maverick:

Maverick was unable to hide the shock on his face as Ren presented the blade to him. Its craftsmanship was impeccable made by who could only be the greatest if not at least second greatest blacksmith in the world. He gently grabbed the blade with both hands bowing low as a sign of respect. "Thank you Sensei i am honored to be given such a majestic weapon." He listened as Ren explained that stealth was key before activating his two tomoe sharingan. He watched the chakra flowing in Ren a mix of different colors, he was still getting used to the changes in his eyes.

He focused hard watching where and how the chakra formed before Ren started to move silently. It could not be to hard, he had be through a lot and wondered if this would come easy. His chakra molded to the right specifications before Maverick took a step listening intently. His foot touched the loose rocks making no sound before a sly grin crossed his face. He ran straight before cutting to a quick serpentine motion. After about thirty meters the noise of his boots caught him off guard almost making him stumble. "I guess it has a limit, i can work with that, well Sensei im ready when you are." Maverick was ready, he was ready to finally prove himself to Ren and show the effects of the training they had been through.

Jutsu Learned:

Item Received:

Ren would nod before continuing on, "it does have its limitations, but we can use the forest around us to our advantage if we need. Our ultimate stop is the Hiyoto Province, there is a gang of bandits there that we are assigned to eliminate, however there has also been word of bandits enacting tolls along the road. It is possible that the two situations are related, and the toll bandits are somehow connected to the group in Hiyoto Province. We will be dealing with both; however, I would like to leave one alive, in case they lead us to the hive where the others are hiding." As he spoke, Ren would form a string of six hand seals and soon rain would begin to fall around them. There would be no thunder or lightning just rain, and not a single drop would fall upon either of the two Uchiha as they moved down the path towards their destination. "My technique will help with keeping an eye out on the area around us, considering the size of the area it covers it should not take us long to find the ones on the road. We will hit them strong and fast before they know what hit them, take as many as you can out but make sure you leave at least one for us to follow. We will use the technique I just showed you to follow the man unnoticed and find their hideout."

The rain would make fire techniques practically useless for the time being, but in all honesty within the forest, fire techniques were not a necessity. Once they find the hive, Ren can end the rain and they can unleash their fire, as Ren doubted that they were hiding in the woods. Considering their frequent attacks against the town in the province, it was likely they were hiding out nearby that, but for now Ren was focusing on finding the ones trying to enact tolls.

Maverick nodded understanding what must be done. This world did not need the likes of bandits and highwaymen who only look to cause pain. As the rain started to fall around him he was in bewilderment noticing the droplets never once came near himself or Ren. He fastened his new blade to his lower back its hilt sticking out to the right, his predominant hand. When he looked to his teacher a small worry crossed his face. Ren's eyes did not have quite the same luster to them, but maybe he was just seeing things in the morning gloom.

"Leave one alive to follow back to the others, i understand sensei." He steadied his breathing focusing on the task at hand. He would not let Ren down in this endeavor making sure his new blade and the wrath of the Uchiha was brought down will full force. He jokingly bowed gesturing forward. "After you sir." As he looked up his eyes shone the crimson on the Sharingan. This would be the first time he would have his Sharingan active for so long. He grinned in excitement knowing his powers would only grow under Ren's mentor ship.

With the acknowledgement from Maverick that he understood the conditions of this engagement with the enemy, Ren would turn his attention to focus on the rain. With his chakra now seeping throughout the entire piece of the country, it didn't take Ren very long at all to find something that didn't seem right. Near the border of the Senju Forest right near the edge of Hiyoto Province, where there should be clear road, was what he could only describe as a hurriedly placed ramshackle of a building. It didn't look like it had been there long, nor did it appear to be structurally sound in his opinion, a strong gust of wind could likely topple the building completely. Of course, it wasn't just the building that caught his attention, it was also the fact of eight individuals standing at different positions around the area where this building was. Without a word, Ren would begin to pick up his pace in the direction of this anomaly, fully expecting Maverick to understand why the change of direction. The only problem for Ren at the moment was the fact that he did not know how many of these bandits, if that was indeed who they were, were in the building itself as he could not see inside of it. Considering the size of it, it was unlikely that there were a lot within it, no more than five or six, unless they stuffed the building with an uncomfortable number to hide themselves, but then they wouldn't have much room to move if that was the case. Still, it was better to air on the side of caution, then rush in and be surprised.

Ren wouldn't say a word until the pair neared the edge of the forest, stopping there and looking around briefly before turning to look at Maverick before quickly forming a string of hand seals and summoning Akemi. The small palm sized pearlescent Salamander would look between Maverick and Ren with a questioning look before Ren started to speak, "Maverick this is Akemi, she is a specialist among the Salamanders that I am able to summon. Akemi, I want you to travel with Maverick, heal him if needed as we are going into dangerous territory." Akemi would nod her head before quickly moving towards and up the leg of Maverick before resting on his shoulder as her master ordered, Ren would then turn his attention to Maverick. "About five hundred meters from the edge of this forest is a small ramshackle building with eight individuals around it, when we move out we will hit them hard, but I want you to stay away from the building. It is possible that there are more within the building itself but I will not know for sure until we are able to get closer. Take out as many of the eight as you can, Akemi can heal you if you get hurt. I will aim for destroying the building and then help you with those that are left, leaving the one to tell his boss what has happened, then it will just be the matter of following him with that technique I showed you before." Once Maverick was ready, Ren would waste no more time, rushing forward at full speed as he moved towards the building. Forming a string of hand seals as he moved forward, once he was within 200 meters and those that were outside started to notice his approach, Ren would slam his palms to the ground causing 2 large boulders to form from the ground on either side of the building before flattening it as they came crashing together. The Symbol of the Hidden leaf carved into the stone as if a message that Konoha was here, if there were any within the building, they would not be a problem anymore as his technique was sure to have crushed them along with the building.

---

Summon:

Technique:

The sound of the raining falling around him but never touching him almost made him uncomfortable. The quiet pitter patter of the water drops were so close but never close enough for his mind to make full sense of it. He held his tongue not wanting to distract his sensei from tracking their quarry. Maverick slowed as Ren stopped near the edge of the forest. His sensei turned to him forming a quick string of seals catching him Off guard.

"Wha-" Mavericks voice caught in his throat before giving away their position.

In a quick puff of smoke a small pearlescent salamander appeared in Ren's palm. He explained the small things name was Akemi and they would be there to help keep Maverick safe. Maverick watched it look back and forth before hoping onto his arm crawling up to rest on his shoulder. Mav would open his jacket pulling an inner pocket out to help keep Akemi safer than riding out on his shoulder. He listened intently as Ren laid out the plan of attack.

"A quick hit and run got it." Maverick would respond mater of factly.

For a moment he watched Ren move off on his own before exiting the treeline. It was time for him to do his part to quell this bandit menace. He moved between the trees not breaking out into the open until he was closer seeing the shack Ren had mentioned.

About two hundred and fifty meters his mind kept him updated as he ran.

Two hundred meters his brain rattled before he burst from the tree line.

His head turned momentarily seeing Ren off in the distance, his eyes could see the faint colors as his chakra formed and released. Two gigantic boulders emerged from the ground on either side of the small cottage before closing together like a hideous clap. It was however the perfect distraction to cover his emergence and assault. He focused his chakra in feet before stepping into the air a handful of meters above the shocked bandits. His hands worked quickly forming three seals as fast as his nerves would let him. Dragon - Ox - Tiger, he looked down into the eyes of the nearest opponent his Sharingan freezing the man in his tracks.

He had used no genjutsu just the reputation of the eyes of his clan. the next moment as Maverick started to descend back to the ground eight large crimson orbs of flame appeared around him. As his feet touched the ground the orbs shot away in different directions. The bandits did not even have the mental capacity to move as each one was hit square by crimson flames. As the last sphere of fire roared toward its target Maverick quelled his chakra altering the course of the blaze.

The heat rose as the hair on the back of the last bandits neck started to burn. The orb of crimson flames veered off at the last moment catching the mans right arm. The screams that escaped his lips would have chilled Maverick to the bone had his adrenaline not been spiked by the quick assault. He had altered the course of the last fireball to the man would be able to escape back to their main camp.

"Sensei i think the plan worked." Maverick said pleased with himself.

Jutsu Used:

Ren would nod as Maverick stated the plan worked, though he could not see the man with his own eyes fleeing for his life, with the help of the Rain Tiger at Will, Ren had no problems keeping track of the man and where he was going. "Indeed," Ren would state as he moved next to Maverick. "Now we will give chase, but we must ensure that he does not see us or know we are following or else he might not lead us where we need him to. This will be the time we use the technique that I showed you earlier, it does not matter how far ahead of us the man gets, he cannot escape the range of the rain. We will find his hideout and take them all out at once." Ren continued with a small smirk; this was something he honestly enjoyed doing.

Dealing with bandits and thugs was among the most boring of jobs, but the hunt, that was something to be enjoyed. There was a pleasure in it, as well as a thrill, it was one of the only reasons he agreed to do the mission in the first place was to teach Maverick the importance of tracking a target and perhaps see if he was as good at the hunt as he was himself. Of course, being a sensor Ren would have an advantage if this was a competition, but it wasn't, it was a training exercise in Ren's mind. While there was minor danger to Maverick, especially if he was on his own, with Ren here it was balanced enough that there was no real threat to the other male's life. "Remember to keep your chakra focused to ensure absolute silence as we move," Ren would add as he began to move forward without a sound made from his movements. There was no way for him to know how far away the base of these bandits were, but with luck the one they were following would lead them straight to it. Of course, if this bandit didn't lead them to some sort of hideout, then they would still have to track the base down and deal with it, after dealing with the one they were following.

He wouldn't speak a word as they moved, simply hand signals to alert Maverick when their heading changed directions or anything else. It was several hours of travel before he would finally hold up his hand to stop Maverick from moving any further ahead. "There is a small house ahead, the bandit when in but there has been no movement outside of it since." His voice was soft as a whisper but still held the certainty as if he was speaking in his normal tone of voice, "There is no way to tell if this is the bandit's hideout or just a random house he went into for shelter, at least not with the rain." Ren continued, the rain stopping as he finished his sentence. Activating his Seismic Sense Technique as the rain ended allowing him to see through the ground, while it did not possess the range that the rain did, they were close enough to the house that he would be able to sense if anyone came out of the building. Taking a brief moment to channel an extra amount of chakra into the bottom of his feet as he stomped his foot on the ground, Ren would get a mental image of everything within the five hundred meter radius that touched the ground, including the house and those that were inside of it.

A small smirk forming on Ren's face, "this house is bigger than it appears. There is an underground network of tunnels that spread out from this point, and at least two floors underground. I can't see where the tunnels go from here but considering their spread, it is likely they lead to various parts of the country. I only sense five inside and they are all in the bottom level," Ren would pause giving Maverick time to process this information as well as give himself time to formula a plan. "There are only two doors for the second level that is underground, the access from the floor above it and what could be assumed an escape tunnel if this place was compromised, all the other tunnels are in the first level. Now there is the possibility of traps laid out in the house that will alert them to intruders, of course being the only way into the lower levels it leaves little options. Aside from us both going through the house to get there, I can pass through the earth as easily as I can swim, we can split up and attack from two sides. The other alternative is that I can create a tunnel in the ground that we can both move through and attack, however due to there already being tunnels down there it runs the possibility of causing instability in the entire area and could collapse, though it is possible that it would stand but it would be us taking a chance."

Ren would watch Maverick as he spoke of the three possibilities of attack, though he did not care how it was done, he was interested in his partners opinion and what he thought about them. Perhaps the other male had another idea of attack that they could consider, however they did their attack though, they needed to ensure that the five individuals inside did not escape. There was of course a fourth option that Ren had that he did not share, it was him simply causing an earthquake that was strong enough to destroy the underqound facility in on itself. Doing such would just take the fun out of this whole mission, if Maverick was going to be a specialist like him, then he needed to know how to handle these situations, which was another reason why Ren was interested in his opinion.

Maverick stayed silent watching Ren focus on where the man had run off to. It was time for the chase, predator and prey, cat and mouse, he was beginning to enjoy this part. He nodded when reminded of the jutsu learned earlier before making sure his new sword was tightly in place.

"Yes sir, after you." His voice polite but tinted with the excitement of the hunt.

He focused his chakra following his sensei through the trees and open fields. The rain still fell around them, the only noise he could hear as they made their way after the injured bandit. His pulse raced and heart pounded at the thought of bringing more of these men to a fire filled justice. He took a deep breath catching his thoughts as to keep at the task at hand. After some time Ren slowed holding his hand up for Maverick to stop. The young man slowed keeping his breath steady, it had been some time since he had needed to move this much or this fast.

He frowned when his Sensei told him he did not know if this was the bandit's hideout or not. Frustration began to creep in as the thought of all this going to waste entered his mind. The rain stopped around them causing Maverick to look around. Ren had undid his sensory jutsu before kneeling down palms to the ground. This must have been another form of sensory that Mav would hope to grasp one day. He rose turning to Mav explaining the layout and a few possible ideas of attack before asking for his own input.

"Uh.. Maybe we could... No that wouldn't work..." He sighed trying to formulate a good plan of attack before his eyes shot open and he snapped his fingers.

"Sensei what about the Bunker Buster?" His face lit up at the thought. "We could each be at one entrance using it at the same time. The force and narrow passageways should carry the flames deep within the building and tunnels. At worst heating the air inside to a dangerous degree and filling the tunnels with smoke."

Maverick felt pride in his idea and could only hope Ren would agree.

As Ren listened to Maverick's plan of attacking from both sides, he would nod in acceptance of it. It was a smart plan and would eliminate most of the threat as well as prevent possible escape, he was proud of his student. "Sounds like a good plan, but timing is critical. I will remain here to access the tunnel entrance; you get to the doorway within the house to access the lower levels from that side. Once you are in position, I will create a tunnel to open up the access out here, and with that we can launch the attack from both sides. After the initial assault, we will need to move fast to eliminate any of the remaining criminals within that were not dealt with by the bunker busters." Ren would say with a smile as he waited for Maverick to move into position, monitoring his progress with his chakra sensory.

With Maverick in position to move in, Ren would quickly form two strings of hand seals, the first to activate the Tunneling technique opening up the earth to allow him access, the second to activate the Fired Pottery Technique. Hearing the booms of the two blasts, as well as the heat coming from the now smoldering and smoky underground tunnel system, Ren would begin to move in. He didn't need to see with his eyes to know where everyone was within the building, at least those that were left alive. Taking out two men as he moved through the building, Ren would notice that there was only one man left, however with Maverick's chakra signature being closer than he was, Ren decided to allow his student to finish the job though would be close enough to help in case he was needed. Ren would watch Maverick as he acted, for half a second he could swear that he had seen a spark of lightning but then the boss was burnt to a crisp by Maverick's Katon technique.

Ren would remain silent for a moment as he surveyed the area to ensure that there was no one else around before finally speaking, "well done, Maverick." Ren stated with a small crack of a smile as he thought about the play on words considering everyone was burnt to a crisp, "let's return to the village, we can do a full debrief tomorrow." Ren would finish before beginning to take his leave from the building and heading back to the village to get some rest.

{Exit Thread}

---

2 missions completed.

The plan worked better than Maverick had actually thought. Mostly due to Ren being amazing but he did his part as well. He waited while Ren surveyed the area after the attack was over. Nothing moved in the rubble and flames. He bowed when Ren congratulated him on a job well done.

"Thank you Sensei, I can't wait to be home." He thoughts drifted to Riza and how much he missed her.

They made their way back to Konohagakure, back to home and peace.

[exit thread]