9 Retrieval: Chinoike Clan
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TPP
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The Land of Hot Water
A country that shares borders with the Land of Frost and the Land of Fire
The country is widely known for its Hotsprings, which are common throughout the country, many of which have at least some amount of human settlement built around them. These hot springs are frequently the settlements' primary or even only source of revenue
As a country that relies on tourism, it's packed with people all year round
A perfect holiday location
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"How's the investigation going"
In a tavern somewhere in The Land of Hot Water
A(Third raikage) looked at the Kumo ninja in front of him
After the talk with his nephew Kazuto he gathered a force a planned to retrieve the Chinoike Clan
It took a while before the operation was started
The Chinoike Clan has been gone for a long time and their location was unknown
Although Kazuto knew where they were he couldn't tell his uncle without coming up with a good excuse
But that didn't become a problem
Kumo's information gathering is very good and it took only 2 weeks until they found a trace of the Chinoike Clan
This lead them to their current situation
They are now in the land of hot water but they still don't know the precise location of the Chinoike Clan
"Captain A, we have news"
A eyes suddenly brighten
Its been a week since they came to the land of hot water, he was getting bored sitting down all-day
A motioned the Kumo ninja to give him the intel he gathered
"After some investigation, we found a clue, there is a prohibited area that was deemed unsafe by Yugakure"
"Hmm interesting, but tell me how does this concern the Chinoike Clan"
"Well we sent some a squad of our ninjas there and found that it was a canyon with blood flowing down it"
"After some testing, we found out it was not blood but water that was rich in iron, we also found clues that indicate that there may be people inhabiting the area nearby"
The Kumo shinobi finished his report and looked at A waiting for his next order
A rubbed his beard a thought a little
From the information, he was sure the Chinoike Clan were living somewhere in the canyon if not they were close
"Gather the men, we set out by dawn"
"What about Yugakure sir"
"What about them"
A looked at the Kumo ninja in front of him with a calm face
He knew what he meant, walking into their country and entering a restricted area without gaining permission will cause conflict
But he didn't care about that, why should he get permission from a weak village like Yugakure
Also, it would take a while before the request gets processed
Time was very important every second mattered so he didn't care about offending a village like Yugakure
"I'm sorry captain, I asked a stupid question"
The Kumo ninja understood what A meant and apologize
After sending the ninja away A got but and went to the inn part of the tavern
He opened a door and looked at the person in front of him
"B we will be leaving at dawn get ready"
This person was A's partner Blue B
Blue B had long bicolor hair (half green half white), He had a purple mark in the shape of a
diamond down the right side of his face, He was wearing the standard attire of the Kumogakure shinobi and carried a fairly long sword strapped to his back
"Ok uncle"
Blue B nodded to A and prepared for tomorrow
Blue B was not only A's partner but also his nephew, he was also Kazuto and A's(Forth raikage) cousin
A also went to his room for some rest he felt tomorrow was going to be a long day
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"Seems we are here"
A and 10 Kumo ninjas including Blue B, looked at the pool at the water in front of them
It was red like blood and gave off a lot of steam like a hot spring
"Spread out look for clues"
A ordered his team and began to look for clues
An hour later the scream of a girl was heard
A and the other ninjas gathered and look at Blue B who was holding a little girl around 12
"Let me go, goddammit, you freak"
The girl had long light-blonde hair and black eyes she was holding a basket that contained fruits that were in a very bad state
Blue B's eyes twitched when he heard this girl call him a freak but kept silent and handed her over for interrogation
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"Are you sure this is the right way"
A looked at the little girl they captured with suspicion in his eyes they were walking for 30 minutes now
"Mister I'm not lying to you this is the right way"
The girl answered A quikly with fear on her face
A and his team didn't do a lot
At first, this girl refused to tell them where her clan was settling but after they demonstrated the ways the get the information from her(torture) she immediately told them everything
She silently cried in her heart she wanted to put them in a Genjutsu and escape but she was not strong enough to deal with one of the ninjas in A's group much less escape
She silently begged that the village elder will forgive her, for she has sinned
The girl was not lying to A and the others after a few more minutes of walking
They saw a small village
They walked through the village
A looked at the people that were watching him from a distance
They were a bit scared but eyes were curious
He observed the village and shook his head with a feeling of guilt
The condition of the village was terrible and the people were in a bad state he was shocked at how they survived this long
A and his team suddenly came to a stop when they came into contact with an old man
Saying he was old was an understatement the man was one foot in the grave
The old man had a bald head and a medium-length white beard, his body was frail and wrinkly with a hunched back
"Elder!"
A saw the girl who look at the old man with respect and bowed her head
'Seems like this is their leader'
"Young Chie, who are these fine gentlemen you brought back with you"
'This old man'
A looked at the old man who had a kind smile on his wrinkly face
This man felt like he could die any second now but A felt a strong sense of danger coming from him
This man is way more dangerous than he looks
"Elder these are, Ahm who are you guys again"
The old man looked at the girl while shaking his head he already knew this girl was lacking some brain cells
"You are their leader I presume"
A took the lead and confronted the old man
"Yes, you can say I'm their leader"
"Elder, I'm the captain of bluebird squad, I come with the authority of Kumogakure to request you to rejoin our village"
Said A who was being as respectful as possible
The sound of murmuring could be heard by chinoike clan members who were looking at the situation
Rejoin the village does that mean they don't have to stay here anymore
Most of the clan members were ecstatic but that wasn't the case for the old man
"How dare you"
A and his team felt a heavy pressure weight down on their shoulders
This strong pressure
The other Kumo ninjas suddenly took out their weapons and got into combat mode they were ready to attack at any moment
"HOW DARE YOU ASK US TO RETURN AFTER ABONDONUNG US!!"
The loud outburst by the old man stunned everyone present
Especially the Chinoike Clan members
Is this the old man that is always smiling in the day and telling stories at night
A signal his men to put down their weapons and look at the old man with a bit of guilt
He knew this would happen, he didn't even blame the old man but he still had a mission to do
"I understand you ang-"
"UNDERSTAND, YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING, IF YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE"
The air around was getting tight and pressure was getting heavier
Seeing as his anger was affecting the others nearby the old man calmed down and looked at A and the others with disgust
"From your physical features, I can tell you a member of the Narukami clan, am I right"
The old man looked at A who nodded with more disgust
"Back in the day my clan and yours were very close we helped each other in the times of need"
"We followed you during the dark times of the shinobi world, we followed you when you founded the village"
"But after all of that, you betrayed us"
"You watched as we got persecuted, you watched as we got exiled, you watch as we got humiliated by the Uchiha's"
"All because of what, because you were scared, you were scared of offending the country, you were scared of offending the Uchiha's and you were scared of offending Konoha"
"You betrayed us and now you want us to RETURN!"
"HOW DARE YOU"
The old man's eyes suddenly turn red
His eyes were blood-red with a purple horizontal iris
His anger was reaching its limit
He thought that he would experience this level of anger at such an old age
A and the others looked at the old man seriously they knew what those eyes were
They were the Ketsuryūgan
Suddenly hundreds of red eyes were looking at them
The Chinoike Clan members who gathered when they heard the commotion got pissed when they heard what the old man say
You betrayed us and wanted us to come back
How shameless
"Uncle what do we do"
Blue B looked around anxiously, they were outnumbered, and it seems they wouldn't win the fight
"Stand down"
A calmed down his men who were ready to attack at any moment and looked at the angry old man
Taking a deep breath A walked to the old man
Standing in front of the old man A did something that shocked everyone present
"I apologize"
A went to His knees and apologize in front of the old man
"Uncle what are doing"
"Stop it B, as the next in line to become raikage I need to take responsibility for the village's fault"
A stopped Blue B who was coming to help him stand up
Even if he wasn't the one that caused all this he needed to take responsibility
A lift his head and bang it on the ground
*Bang*
"On behalf of the village and the Narukami clan, I apologize"
"I'm sorry that we betrayed you"
*Bang*
"I'm sorry we stood by and watched you be humiliated"
*Bang*
"I'm sorry about the fact you had to watch your people suffer because of us"
*Bang*
"I'm sorry for us being cowards"
*Bang*
"I know this apology is pointless and I also know it won't change what has happened in the past"
"But no matter what you all deserve an apology"
A bowed his head which was now bleeding deep in the ground
The old man and the other Chinoike Clan members looked at A in shock they didn't expect this
"Even if you apologize that still doesn't change anything"
The old man's anger slow dissipated after seeing what A did
But that didn't mean he forgave them
A stood up ignoring the wound on his head and looked the old man in his eyes
"I know a matter like this can't just be forgiven, but I hope you consider it"
"When I walked through the village I saw how terrible the state was, the people here are miserable and the food isn't the best and is quite scarce"
"I'm not asking you to think about this for us, but I'm asking you to think about this for your people"
A spoke with a calm face, he was showing his diplomatic skills as the future raikage
The old man looked around and saw the state of his people with guilt, years passed as he watched his people suffer, and now they had the opportunity to change that, but he didn't want to return to Kumo because of what they had done
Minutes pass and the old man finally decided
"Ok I agree"
"But only on one condition"
A looked at the old man seriously, the worse was coming
"You said you were next in line to become raikage"
"From your attitude, I can see that you are different from those cowards back then, but I need to know if the person that will guide my people is worthy enough"
"Fight me and if you win the Chinoike Clan will return to Kumo"
A looked the old man dead in the eye trying to read him
A stood there silently and thought for a while
"I accept the challenge"
A and the old man agreed to go somewhere far so no one gets affected by their battle
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A and the old man stared down at each other as they stood 10 meters away
"Boy, it been a while since I stretched these old legs"
The old man took off his shirt and closed his eyes
His upper body was just as one would expect skinny, frail But something changed
The old man activated his Ketsuryūgan and his body started to bulge
Veins that looked like they were on the verge of popping started to appear
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
the old man's small body suddenly started to expand getting bigger and bigger
A few seconds later his body began to get smaller
His hunched back straighten and his frail body became muscular
His breath which felt like he was going to die suddenly became as wild as a tiger
His red eyes and the pressure emitting made this old man look like a demon
The old man stood and looked at A with a crazy smile
"Just a reminder this isn't some normal fight, it's one of life and death come at me with the intent to kill otherwise you will die"
Dashing forward with incredible speed the old man appeared in front of A and attacked him with his fingers out stretch
Tilting his head A, dodged and backed away
He touched his cheek and saw blood
The old man's fingernails were sharp as a kunai
Without further thinking A made a series of hand seals
[Lightning Release Chakra Mode]
A's body was now shrouded in Lightning nature Chakra
Lightning Release Chakra Mode increases the user's strength, speed, reaction time, and durability
Immediately after performing the Jutsu, A dashed toward the old man who does the same
They displayed their high proficiency in taijutsu as they blocked, dodged, and parried each other blows
Physically speaking A is way stronger than the old man plus the boost given by [Lightning Release Chakra Mode]
But the old man could predict his moves and dodge them with ease but the old man wasn't better he could no longer injure A because of the protection of lightning armor
A found an opening and kicked the old man
The kick sent him a few meters away
A didn't give him time to recover and jumped up into the air and try to perform [The Guillotine Drop]
Keyword try
The old man suddenly looked at A as they made eye contact
'shit'
The world went dark
A opened his eyes and saw that he was home
'what was I just doing'
"Honey dinners ready"
A heard the familiar voice of a woman who entered his room
'Aika'
It was his late wife
"Honey is something wrong"
"No, no just tried"
A followed his wife and went to the dinner table
He saw a scene he always dreamt about his wife sharing dinner and his son talking about his day at the academy
But something didn't feel right
'What was I doing'
"Dad are you ok"
"Don't disturb you, father A, he had a long day after performing his duties of raikage"
'Raikage'
A stood up and walk to the nearest window and watched the village down below
'Yes I was performing my duties as raikage'
"Honey I think you should rest'
"Not now akia I have to perform my duties as raikage"
A touched his wife's face and put on his raikage cloke
His work was not done
Opening his eyes A put his hands in an 'X' shape to block the old man's attack
"Oh, you broke out of my genjutsu, it seems I have underestimated you"
The oldman was quite surprised that A broke out of his genjutsu this was not an easy task
'I got careless '
"Seems I have to get a bit serious now"
The old man used his nails and cut deep into his palms
He controlled the blood that escaped through his wound and turned it into a sword made of blood
"Its been a while since I wielded a sword, come boy show me more"
The old man attacked A with a crazed smile
Not to be outdone A performed his signature Jutsu
[Hell stab]
He went straight to One-Finger Nukite Skipping the first 2 stage
The sounds of the clash between a sword and spear resound throughout the valley
A's [Hell stab] is very very powerful each they clashed the old man's blood sword got destroyed but he kept recreating them
"Boy I'm having so much fun haha"
The old man laugh crazily as his movements got faster
A was getting suppressed the old man was getting stronger and fast as time goes by
Feeling a danger behind him A instinctively rolled to the side only to see 4 red water snake
The old man jumped on the snake and order them to attack A
Honestly, he was wondering where this old man was hiding
The Chinoike Clan were known for their genjutsu and controlling liquid that contained iron
Because of this, they were not the best when it came on to close-range combat
but this old man was different
Genjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu, controlling his blood and the water in hell valley
The worst part is this isn't his best not once has this old man used a jutsu, he was just relying on his cloce quarter combat skills and his kekkei genkai
If it was in his prime A would be dead right now
A, stop attacking he knew that normal methods would not work
This old man was strong in almost everything not only that his experience was unmatched
He could not win
At least by normal means
Biting his finger A made a quick series of hand seals and slammed it on the ground
[Summoning jutsu]
*Buff*
"A why did you disturb me from my slumber"
A giant electric eel suddenly appeared out of the smoke
"No time lord lee I need your assistance quick"
Eels were the special summon of thew Narukami clan
The could discharge lightning and transfer their lightning to their partner to give them a boost
"Hey what the rush, hmm who is that old man up there"
The giant eel looked at The old man who was standing on a water snake curiously
'He looks a bit familiar
'Wait could it be, but how is he still alive'
"Hurry up and help me do that 'Jutsu' "
"Ok, ok fine I would advise you not to do that jutsu but it seems like you will need it to face that monster"
The giant electric eel covered its body in a very large amount of lightning and touched A with his tail
"Don't overdo it now I would hate to see my summoner die in a place like this"
With that said the giant eclectic eel disappeared in smoke
A's body was covered by the lightning transferred by his summon, this cause his body to be in a lot of pain, but he didn't let that stop him and made a series of hand seals
[Special Narukami Jutsu: Indra]
The intense lightning that was emitting from A's body, got quickly absorbed
A blue light brighten up the valley
A blue samurai armor made of lightning covered his body and a long spear made of lightning was in his hand
He looked like the ultimate warrior
A God
"To think you would be able to use that useless Jutsu, boy I was very impressed with you before but what you have shown me now, you have my admiration"
A looked at the old man and attacked he couldn't hold the jutsu for very long
The old man wasn't wrong for calling this jutsu useless
It was an S-rank Jutsu created by the Narukami clan in the early years of its creation
The Jutsu was like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode but a 100 times stronger
Unfortunately, it was very dangerous and hard to do
The active the jutsu you need a very large source of lightning and a very strong body to tolerate the pain caused by the jutsu
The Jutsu not only consumed chakra but also your life force the longer you use it, the more likely you are to die
In the history of the Narukami clan, the number of clan members that could do this jutsu could be counted on one hand including A
Another reason why its called useless
This is because no one can use the Jutsu to its fullest potential
As all users die before reaching its final form
The old man and A once again battled it out this time A was in a better position
Jumping high in the air A uppercut the old man in the stomach off the water snake and followed up with a chest stomp to send him to the ground
'I have to end this in one move'
"See if you can stop this"
The old man got up frustrated A wasn't the only one running out of time
The old man held his blood sword in front of him and used his dojutus to control all the water in the valley of hell
A large amount of water morphed into a dragon which curled around him
A who was still in the air Grabbed his Spear he generated his chakra into it
"Take this"
The old man slash his sword and the water dragon rushed toward A with a roar
A lounged his spear like a javelin toward the old man
*BOOOOM!*
The spear and the dragon collide causing an explosion that could be felt at every corner in the land of hot water
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"*Cough* Damn Akira is going to kill me when she sees me like this"
In a huge crater filled with water
A stood up and observed his body which was in very bad shape after using the special Jutsu
He had burn marks everywhere and some of his bones were fractured
He limped towards the old man that was laying on the ground
"*Cough* Boy you got me good, come now kill me"
The old man coughed out a bit of blood and surrendered to A
He lost
"Sorry I can't kill you"
A stood there motionless
"Why, I still have a little more in me to kill you"
"Why would a kill the people I vow to protect"
The old man looked at A with a surprised look which turned into a smile
"I was right you are different from those cowards"
"Elder"
"Captain"
The Chinoike Clan members and A's team made their way down the crater
"Don't worry I'm fine"
A calmed down his men and looked at the old man who was surrounded by his clan members
" It seems that I lost"
The old man looked at the Chinoike Clan members with his docile smile, completely different from the demon before
*Cough*
*Cough*
"Elder"
The people from the Chinoike Clan were frightened when they saw the old man started to cough up a lot of blood
"What did you do the elder"
A's men slowly reached for their weapons when they saw pair of red eyes
"Stop my children don't blame that young man"
The old man stop the Chinoike Clan members and motioned them to gather around him
"To tell you all the truth I wasn't going to last long I would have died eventually"
"I used all the energy I had left in that battle"
"But I'm happy I got to see this moment"
The old man smiled and looked at his people who were crying
"Don't cry my children I can't be by your side forever sooner or later you will all have to go on your own "
"Follow this man back to Kumo and live the life you all wanted"
"Stay close to each other and protect each other, divide you are weak but together you are other Chinoike Clan always remember that"
The Chinoike Clan members looked at the old man who was saying his goodbyes with tears
"A was it"
the old man called A, who went by his side
"You gave me one last fight before I die I really enjoyed it, protect my clan, and don't go back on your word"
"I will protect the Chinoike Clan with all my heart"
"You will make a great raikage"
the old man smiled and looked up at the sky as his memories flashed before his eyes
"I'm glad that I got to live to see this moment"
The old man slowly closed his eyes and died with a peaceful smile
Soon after the loud cries of the members could be heard, and even A and his team were affected
"It's a terrible day for rain"
A Kumo ninja looked up to the sky with his hands over his face
"What are you on about its not even raining-"
The Kumo ninja that was beside him looked at this comrade strangely but stopped when he saw a
tear leaving his eyes
"I guess it is"
____________________
"Is everyone ready"
A week after the old man's death
everyone gathered to leave
A and his team waited and had a funeral service for the old man after giving the Chinoike Clan members some time to recover and recovering from his injuries they got ready to return
"Everyone is, ready captain"
"Good we return today"
Everyone made their way back to Kumo
The mission was a success
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