Hirashi Denrei (WIP)

Name: Kugutsu Shushin no Jutsu (Puppet Body Flicker Technique)
Rank: E
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: The art of performing a Shushin through a puppet. This means that instead of the user, the puppet on which this technique is used will move to its destined location with an amount of speed rivaling teleportation. This technique counts as a Shushin, and any rules and limits that go for Shushin go for this technique as well.

Name: Kugutsu Kawarimi no Jutsu (Puppet Replacement Technique)
Rank: E
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: The art of performing a Kawarimi through a puppet. Using this technique, the user can trade places with one of his puppets, have two puppets trade places with one another, or have a puppet trade places with another object. This technique counts as a Kawarimi, and any rules and limits that go for Kawarimi go for this technique as well.

Name: Chakra Threads (Chakura no Ito)
Rank: D
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: Chakra Threads is a technique that is usually used by puppeteers to allow them to control their puppets in battle. Since these strings are constructs made from very concentrated chakra, they can be seen by people besides the user. Interestingly, as well as pulling objects towards them with the strings, the user can also "push" objects away from them as well, and even get moving objects like buzzsaws. Chakra can also be transferred via the strings, such as to activate some abilities in puppets.[3] The chakra strings can also be attached to other objects, allowing the user to control, or at the very least disrupt other things. A skilled user can suppress the chakra to the point that the strings become invisible.

Name: Kikō Junbū (Mechanical Light Shield Block)
Rank: C
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: Kikō Junbū is a Ninjutsu technique used by puppet masters. This shield is created when chakra is emited in the form of a disk from panels which fan out from the puppet arms. This chakra can block many deadly attacks but some attacks, such as Iron Sand can gum up the puppet joints and render the arms useless. It can block C-rank and lower attacks.

Name: Soshujin (Manipulated Attack Blades)
Rank: C
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: A shuriken technique that involves aiming a barrage of kunai at one precise spot. The user releases chakra from his hand over an area within which he can maintain the kunai in suspension. As a result, the enemy may be blindsided and denied any escape route at the same time. With a simple hand movement, the user is able to fire all the kunai at once.
Chiyo performs a variation of the technique by using the threads generated for the Puppet Technique to manipulate the blades. In doing this, she is able to transfer the threads from one weapon to that of the enemies for an added surprise or advantage during battle.

Name: Bouhatei Senpuku Ningyou (Mole Hiding Doll)
Rank: C
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: A technique that allows one to hide his/her puppets underground and even have them move through the ground. Since puppetry is an art that originated in Suna and the Wind Country is filled mostly with sand, this technique only works with soft enough ground. Sand, snow, mud and normal soil will suffice, hard rock, steel or ice will not.

Name: Senju Sōbu (Thousand Hands Manipulation Military Art)
Rank: B
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: From the puppet's left arm opens several compartments. These compartments are prepared with summoning seals in them, which calls forth a large number of long puppet arms that can bend and follow the opponent, then crush them with devastating force. The arms are modified with launchers, which can emit poison gas, binding wires with a kunai-anchor, or regular kunai.

Name: Yuman Rui Tsurugi (Ten Thin Swords)
Rank: B
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: By increasing the amount of chakra used, the puppeteer can make the chakra strings he/she is using thicker and sharp as blades, allowing them to slice through flesh. The downside of the technique is that due the increased thickness of the threads, they become easily visible to the naked eye.

Name: Kugutsugakure no Jutsu (Puppet Camouflage Technique)
Rank: B
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: A version of the Meimugakure no Jutsu. By channeling chakra through the string of the destined puppet, Denrei can make the puppet invisible to the naked eye. The camouflage will drop once the puppet moves, however.

Name: Ginhigi: Ao to Akai Oni (Secret Silver Technique: Red and Blue Demons)
Rank: A
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: Using this technique, Denrei can use his puppets Hitodama and Isonade in combination, using five strings each to control the two puppets. This was Denrei’s mother’s Secret Technique, although he continued adding to the puppet’s power over the years, increasing this technique’s rank.

Name: Kidai Junbū (Mechanical Heavy Shield Block)
Rank: C-A
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: Kidai Junbū is a Ninjutsu technique used by puppet masters. This shield is created when chakra is emited in the form of a disk from panels which fan out from the puppet arms. This chakra can block many deadly attacks but some attacks, such as Iron Sand can gum up the puppet joints and render the arms useless. Unlike Kikō Junbū, the power of the attacks it can withstand depends on the amount of chakra the user channels into the technique.

Name: Sōen: Hitomi Gokū (Puppet Performance: Skillfull Achievement with a Human Body)
Rank: A
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: A puppet performance technique where chakra threads are attached to various spots on a person's body; the head, torso, both arms, and both legs. The person being manipulated gains the ability to not only use their own techniques, but the skills of the puppeteer as well.

The origins of this technique lie on the battlefield. When a puppet user's puppets were all destroyed, they would begin using corpses. To perform this technique with a living person would normally require both parties to cooperate with each other. However, a highly skilled user can control the target by force if the person is severely weakened or damaged rendering them unable to resist.

Name: Ginhigi: Sabaku no Ju Youkai(Secret Silver Technique: Ten Wraiths of the Desert)
Rank: S
Type: Puppetry
Hand Seals:
Element: None
Description: Using this technique, Denrei can use his puppets Shisha, Basan, Karura, Jaki, Hibagon, Ushi-Oni, Saburou, Zenkibou, Houkibou and Inugami in combination, using one string on each finger to control the ten puppets. This technique became incredibly infamous over the years of Denrei’s service to Sunagakure, earning him the moniker of the Hidden Sand’s Silver Storm.

Name: Shigai Hitomane (Corpse Imitation)
Rank: D
Type: Medical
Hand Seals: Rat
Element: None
Description: The user can force his body into a temporary coma that will make it appear as if it was dead, without any hart beat or organic functions. The techniques lasts for an hour or so, for which it is impossible to tell the user from an actual corpse.

Name: Doku Tegotae (Poison Immunity)
Rank: D
Type: Medical
Hand Seals: None
Element: None
Description: This is more of a passive ability than a technique. By exposing himself to lesser poisons on a regular basis, Denrei has created an immunity to poisons up to D-rank.

Name: Rouden no Jutsu (Short Circuit Technique)
Rank: D
Type: Medical
Hand Seals: None
Element: None
Description: For this technique to work, the afflicted target needs to have at least one of the user’s chakra strings attached to his or her body. The user will send a tiny amount of his own chakra through the thread into the opponent’s body, causing a brief moment of paralysis that lasts for only a second. This technique can be used several times for as long as the thread remains attached to the opponent, but only once per post.

Name: Chintsuuzai no Jutsu (Painkiller Technique)
Rank: D
Type: Medical
Hand Seals: Rat - Dog
Element: None
Description: This technique allows the user to numb any feeling of pain they might experience. It lasts for five posts, during which the numbing effect will slowly decrease over the duration of the technique.

Name: Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel)
Rank: C
Type: Medical
Hand Seals: Tiger - Horse - Rabbit - Rat - Dog
Element: None
Description: This medical technique forms one's chakra into a small, sharp blade. This can then be used for highly accurate incisions necessary for surgeries and anatomical dissections. Unlike regular scalpels, the chakra scalpel can actually make cuts inside the body without actually creating an open wound, limiting the risks of an infection.

The chakra scalpel can also be used offensively, although it requires great precision to be effective. Because of this requirement, using the chakra scalpel offensively is highly unusual. In heated combat, even the greatest medical-nin won't be able to exert the precision needed to make fatal cuts, but it can still effectively cut muscle tissues and tendons, rendering the target immobile.

Name: Kagegakure Hari (Hidden Shadow Needles)
Rank: D
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: None
Element: None
Description: This technique utilizes tiny seals tattoo’d on Denrei’s fingers. These seals can be used to store up to five senbon dipped in poison each. The senbon can then be released and fired from his fingertips at any time by channeling a minimum amount of chakra into the seals.

Name: Keiyaku Fuuin (Contract Seal)
Rank: C
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Rat, Dragon, Monkey, Boar
Element: None
Description: Keiyaku Fuuin is a Fuuinjutsu used to terminate active Kuchiyose agreement control. To use the jutsu, Yondaime will touch his palm to the bloody body of the contract holder. He will then activate the seal, which will remove control of the summoned creature. Utilizing this jutsu, Yondaime was able to end Tobi's Sharingan mind control of the Kyuubi.

Name: Fuuinjutsu: Bakkurasshu Ribaundo (Sealing Technique: Backlash Rebound)
Rank: C
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Rabbit, Horse, Bird
Element: None
Description: This technique utilizes seals tattoo’d on Denrei’s left and right palms. After completing the required hand seals, the user extends his arm and aims his left palm at an incoming ranged attack. A small, blue vortex of chakra will appear from the seal that will absorb the attack. The user than aims his right palm at the opponent and will release said attack back at its caster. Works on standard projectiles and up to C-rank Ninjutsu techniques.

Name: Kekkai: Kugutsu Soshi Kagami (Barrier: Puppet Elemental Mirror)
Rank: C
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: None
Element: None
Description: A technique that can be used individually by the following three puppets: Saburou, Zenkibou and Houkibou. A technique that only works on elemental techniques cast by the opponent. One of the seals inside the puppet is activated, creating a circular shield an inch in front of it. The shield is large enough to cover the entire puppet and has a purple color. If the elemental technique is C-rank or lower, the technique will be absorbed and stored within the puppet. Once stored, the puppet can conjure up the shield again to fire the attack back at the opponent. This technique has a few weaknesses. First of all, techniques that are ranked B or higher will destroy the shield and probably the puppet as well. Second, only one technique can be stored at a time. If the user tries to absorb an elemental technique while there is already a technique stored, the technique will break through the mirror and destroy the puppet

Name: Hogosha Fuuin (Guardian Seal)
Rank: B
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Rabbit, Ram
Element: None
Description: A technique inspired by the puppet’s chakra shield, the user performs the required handseals and creates two invisible, disk-shaped shields on their palms. These shield are able to block up to B-rank attacks. The disks are 4 feet wide and broad.

Name: Fūbaku Hōjin (Sealed Bomb Square Release)
Rank: B
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Monkey → Horse → Dog → Sheep
Element: -
Description: An array of exploding tags are placed around an area that can be detonated with a hand seal and should their opponent attempt to move, the tags explode. Since the target is unable to move a team-mate will then be able to attack them with no problem. The tags can be shut off by the user.

Name: Kougeki Shouheki Fuuin (Offensive Barrier Seal)
Rank: B
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Tiger, Ox, Rat, Dragon to place it, and a one handed Ram seal to activate it.
Element: None
Description: A sealing technique that can be placed on an ally, on the user himself or even a puppet and can be activated later. To place the seal on another person or puppet, the user performs the required handseals and makes physical contact with the target to transfer the seal. To place the seal on oneself, the user only performs the required seals. The seal will remain dormant on the affected target for the remainder of the thread or until activated. When activated, a perfectly round orb will appear around the target with a diameter of one meter. The orb is composed of thousands of kanji-like symbols that appear to just float around the user but are actually connected by an invisible barrier. The barrier lasts for four posts and will be able to deflect standard attacks and up to B-rank Ninjutsu. Additionally, an enemy making physical contact with the seal will be blasted away several meters by the force field as well as sustaining second degree burns whereaver the body touched the shield.

Name: Sanme no Fuuin (Seal of the Third Eye)
Rank: A
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Dragon, Monkey, Ox, Ram, Rat, Dog, Horse
Element: None
Description: A seal transferred to the opponent through their direct contact or through a medium (aka the user first transfers the seal to a kunai or puppet by touching it and then lets the medium touch the opponent) and can even be transferred from medium to medium (only works for five times) or through chakra strings. The user will be able to sense the affected opponent's location and every movement for about an hour as long as the opponent remains within a hundred meters of the user. Keeping the seal active however consumed a C-rank jutsu’s worth of chakra every post.

Name: Rei Tonsou no Bindingu Kusari (Binding Chains of Zero Escape)
Rank: A
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: Bird, Monkey, Tiger, Ox, Rat, Dog, Boar
Element: None
Description: A technique requiring only one hand seal, Karasu passes a special summoning seal to one of his puppets through a chakra string. The seal is then transferred to the opponent through direct contact with the puppet or contact through clothes or armor or a held weapon like a sword. Once placed on the opponent’s body, the seal will summon fifty iron chains that will wrap around the target’s body and constrict them. These special chains drain the target’s chakra making it very hard to escape their grasp. Targets with great physical strenght might escape the chains. The most special thing about this seal is that the length and size of the chains increase or decrease in proportion to the size of the afflicted target, making this technique a perfect counter against large opponents such as summoned creatures. The user can, to a degree, decide which parts of the body the chains will aim for while performing the hand seal.

Name: Kekkai: Kugutsu Tate Hōjin (Barrier: Puppet Shield Method Formation)
Rank: S
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Hand Seals: None
Element: None
Description: Karasu's three puppets Saburou, Zenkibou and Houkibou serve as rites to create a pyramid-shaped shield around the user, each of the puppets forming a cornerstone. The maximum distance in between the puppets cannot be more than five meters. As the shield even spans over the ground within the pyramid, this technique creates an effective 360 degrees defense. Even S-ranked techniques cannot penetrate the shield, but likewise the user cannot attack while inside the shield.

Birth and Childhood

“Humble” and “ordinary” is what the circumstances of Denrei’s birth may be called. He was born a second child into a rather ordinary shinobi household. Both his parents, Airin and Makoto, were Jounin. Both skilled shinobi in their own rights, powerful enough to garner large amount of respect from both those who fought alongside them and those who fought against them and lived to tell the tale. Their biggest asset was without a doubt their teamwork. Makoto was a powerful Genjutsu user capable of putting entire battalions of enemy shinobi under powerful illusions whereas Airin was a master of puppetry, using her two puppets to finish opponents off before they could escape her husband’s mirages. In the bigger picture, however, both of them were only two more cogs in the wheel that kept Sunagakure rolling. Nevertheless, the wages gained from putting their lives on the line for the Kazekage were more than enough to support a stable household for Denrei and his older half-sister Eiko. Eiko was a child of Makoto’s first marriage with a woman he would’ve grown old with if not for the unfortunate intervention of a sword wielded by an enemy ninja.

Denrei’s relationship with his sister was particularly good. The two were far apart in age; Eiko was ten when Denrei was born. And while the two Jounin parents had tried for years to adapt their mission schedule so that one of them could remain home when the other was out doing Shinobi duties, when Makoto’s daughter drew closer to her teenage years it became more common for her to look after young Denrei. She cooked for him, played with him and became as much a mother to him as Airin. Whenever Denrei came home sad, Eiko would comfort him. And whenever Denrei was picked on outside, not a common happening as he was a pretty average kid, yet it occasionally happened nonetheless, Eiko would defend him.

Yes, the first few years of Denrei’s life were careless and good. As a child, he did not comprehend what exactly it meant that his parents were shinobi. He did not comprehend the dangers they faced on any mission, and certainly did not consider the fact that death was never far away in shinobi life. Eiko was older and did understand these risks. She did fear for the safety of her parents every time one of them was away, but it was a fear she kept hidden from Denrei to preserve his innocence, at least during his earlier stages of life.

Denrei was only six when the sad news reached them. Airin and Makoto had died. Ambushed by shinobi from Iwagakure no Sato in a small country placed in between the Rock and Lightning Countries. The two had been a part of an elite squad of Kumo-nin sent to capture a powerful missing-nin from Iwa named Rainen that was said to know vital information about the village. Information that Suna could use to gain a military advantage over Iwa. The problem was that Iwa found Rainen first, and after killing the criminal to ensure his secrets would never reach the enemy, they decided to wait for Suna to arrive and use the opportunity to ambush and defeat some of the village’s more powerful shinobi. It was a time of war, after all. And with war came casualties. With casualties, came pain. The Doton technique the Jounin Commander of Iwa used to crush Airin and Makoto did more than just that. Unbeknownst to its caster, this particular technique would also crush a part of Denrei

Denrei never got to see his parent’s corpses. Eiko had made sure of that. He wanted the boy’s last memories of his parents to be that of the strong, healthy, happy people they had always been instead of the mangled corpses that they were returned as. Eiko herself did lay eyes on them, forcing herself to see things as they were, believing that as a shinobi she wasn’t allowed to be soft for herself. Naturally, the death of their parents had great impact on both siblings. Eiko, normally a strong and healthy girl, became quiet, solitary and ill-tempered, often snapping at Denrei for things she would normally brush off. Denrei, in turn, lost his cheerful demeanor and, due to the stressful situations at home, turned to bullying children out of spite and jealousy.
Academy

Denrei entered the academy in the same year of his parents death. Shinobi training proved to be a good way to channel his anger without having to resort to bullying, and his grades profited. Notable was the fact that he shared his mother’s affinity for puppetry, something quickly noticed by the teachers. The students, however, quickly learned to stay clear of the boy as any attempts at friendship were often met with aggressive rebuke. Indeed, Denrei was a troublemaker. Eiko had given up on shinobi life and had taken a more stable job at a store in order to better take care for her brother. Nevertheless, the death of her parents had sent the young woman into a state of depression. She had trouble communicating with Denrei and was often resorted to yelling at him. This influenced Denrei’s behavior in academy, giving him a hair trigger temper and causing him to get into fights and arguments often even with teachers.

At the age of twelve, Denrei graduated into a Genin. His grades were overall excellent, lacking only in the teamwork and Ninjutsu departments.
Genin

As a Genin, Denrei was placed in what many considered to be a perfectly balanced Genin team. His teammates were the tall and muscular Taijutsu prodigy Gan, the female Katon user Hibari and the female Medical Jounin Yumi. In order to further increase his power, Eiko gave Denrei the puppets that were their mother’s favorite. While there had never been anything wrong with Denrei’s puppetry skills, it took him several months to become practiced enough with it to effectively use them in battle, mainly due to their complexity in comparison to Denrei’s own puppets. It took him another few months to effectively utilize it together with its chain…

Denrei’s relationship with his team was a strange one. The Genin had matured slightly and wasn’t as explosive as in the academy, nevertheless he often got into arguments with the other two Genin for his harsh and militant attitude. Ironically enough, Denrei was displaying what could be called tough love. As the team spent time together, fighting, covering each other’s backs and cheating death, Denrei inevitably grew closer to them. Not wanting his friends to suffer the same fate as his parents, he decided to push them around to make them stronger. Correct their mistakes even if it meant being harsh and blunt so that they wouldn’t make them when it mattered most. That was how he protected his friends and comrades. Yumi would often lecture him about it, claiming that Gan and Hibari only needed one teacher, no two, to which Denrei usually replied with a nod only to be done with the argument without the attention to actually change the way he communicated with his friends.

All things considered, Denrei began enjoying being on missions more than he enjoyed being home with his depressed sister, who proved to be ill company. His feelings towards her had become mixed. He wanted for her to get better and put the death of her parents behind her, yet he lacked the ability to comfort her. To do anything about her situation. Uncertain what to do, he chose to keep his distance instead, trying to avoid the pain of having to look upon Eiko, the person who had become like a second mother to him, and see her as the broken shell that she was. Was this a smart decision? No, most definitely not. It was, however, a very human mistake. In the end, it was not clear what exactly made Eiko snap, and whether more attention by her younger brother could have made her feel better before the despair took her life. However, when the shinobi police force dragged her dead, poisoned body out of the house, Denrei tearfully blamed himself.
Chuunin

Progressing further and further as a Shinobi, Eiko’s death changed Denrei. His teammates noticed it, as did Yumi. He had become cold and emotionally aloof. After completing the Chuunin Exams, his skill and efficiency during missions greatly increased, as did his ruthlessness. He was becoming an exceptional shinobi, that much was true, but he was also becoming cruel and cynical. His mercilessness became his greatest strength. He never held back against enemies and targets, regardless of the target being a full-fledged shinobi, an elderly man or a young child. His caring nature towards his teammates also seemed to slowly vanish. Whereas he would formerly offer any of his fellow Genin harsh but useful advice, nowadays he would only regard their failings with an annoyed and distasteful snort. Combined with this was a complete disregard of their safety, offering to Yumi multiple times to use the two Genin as bait whenever it would ensure completing their mission. Yumi never obliged, although it was pretty obvious that using the “lesser” shinobi as bait would’ve yielded positive results for the village as a whole. It was as if the warmth had been drained from Denrei and replaced with ice cold logic. In truth, the Chuunin was merely disallowing people to get closer to him.

It was also during this time that he discovered the usefulness of diplomacy. It started during a mission where missing-nin were planning an ambush on the son of a nobleman, and Denrei, due to their similarity and age, had to pose as said son while Yumi and the other two Genin stuck around to attack the assassins once they showed themselves. These few weeks were very interesting for Denrei as it allowed for him to witness the more diplomatic side of being a shinobi, a side that certainly had its uses. It allowed him to undergo yet another change; he was still the same cold, calculating, logical shinobi on the inside, but he became somewhat good at making people believe he wasn’t. He also developed a fondness for reading, spending many hours in the mansion’s library plowing through books about warfare, psychology or just regular novels.

Life continued much like this for a good few years. Denrei matured. He became wiser, more powerful and more patient. Despite all this, he never returned to his former self. By the time he reached his twenties, he had been molded into an ideal shinobi. One who saw himself and fellow shinobi as mere tools for the Kazekage to use, and who wouldn’t allow anything, not even his own emotions, to come in between him and his duty. He didn’t allow himself to grow close to anyone anymore. He was only a weapon, after all. And what kind of weapon would let itself be held back by feelings. Sacrificing one´s own ignorance and humanity for the sake of those of thousands of others, that was what being a shinobi meant. By then, he had already been forced to kill his teammate Gan, by then also a Chuunin, when the Taijutsu user was close to getting captured by the enemy, an act that lead to the anger of both Hibari and Yumi, but to the praise of the Kazekage, whom when he was seventeen years old rewarded his iron-hard attitude with a promotion to Jounin.
Jounin

Being a Jounin allowed for more privileges. He was assigned to his own team of Genin. They were in for a tough time! Denrei’s training regiments were harsh! Whenever they weren’t on missions, Denrei would drill their abilities. First, he would often let them spar with each other, but when he found their progress to be too slow he would often spar with them himself, often beating them up in the process. The effects were noticeable, as Denrei’s three Genin were one of the fastest growing ones. Nevertheless, they received no love or even mild affection from the Jounin. He wouldn’t permit himself that. He was just another blade, training three little blades to that they, one day, would also be blades training little blades.

ANBU

Denrei’s loyalty and expertise quickly earned him a position among Sunagakure’s ANBU. As an elite shinobi directly under the Kazekage’s command, Denrei spent years dirtying his hands with the filthiest of blood. Assassination, torture and terrorism became common practice for him. But while his mind became used to the more gruesome tasks, he also became more bitter and doubtful of his loyalty to the Kazekage. In a way, his ANBU days served as a waking call. While he was never above even extreme forms of cruelty, he always believed that his acts held some purpose. That they were for the best of Suna and its people. Yet as he continued his duty he became more and more aware of the corrupt nature of the Kazekage and how Sunagakure’s peace would always come at a cost; the peace of another country.

In the end, he simply felt that peace for Suna wasn’t just enough. He would need to bring peace to the whole world.

His manner of leaving wasn’t any kind of dramatic. He didn’t commit some serious crime, he didn’t kill the feudal lord or attempt to assassinate the Kazekage. No, he used his ANBU authority to collect all the village files containing him, burned them and just left. That was six years ago. His life as a missing-nin had been quiet; doing mercenary jobs to save up money. While his skill and expertise turned him into a popular employer for underworld types, he hasn’t done anything to attain world-wide infamy. Not yet…
That part comes later…

Trouble was heading for Sunagakure no Sato. The village’s massive cliff walls could be seen rising from the desert from miles away. These walls provided the village with both protection and security. From these high walls, patrolling shinobi would be able to see anyone who was closing in on the village from miles away, making it nearly impossible to sneak up on it. Nearly, that is. Granted, on a clear, pleasant evening like this traveling above the surface would make one completely visible to anyone standing on Suna’s walls. Above the surface, that is. Unknown to the sentries patrolling the cliffs, a threat closed in on Suna, moving towards the village from under the dunes. It was Rainen. Using Doton to travel underground, he was closing in on the village quickly. This technique was one of Rainen’s favorites. It took surprisingly little chakra yet it could be used in more ways than can be counted on two hands.

Rainen had a plan. A plan to start a war between Oto and Suna. He had been plotting to destroy his former village for two years. To this end he had joined the Akatsuki, a powerful organization composed of some of the world’s most dangerous criminal shinobi. Deadly as this group was, however, S-ranked criminal named Rainen wasn’t satisfied. The organizations had other priorities than the destruction of Oto, and Rainen couldn’t wait for them to finish those. He was impatient. He would set in motion the engine of the Sound’s destruction himself! Otogakure no Sato was a mighty village nowadays, having defeated both Iwagakure and Kumogakure in its rise to power. Rainen knew that. He had contributed to those victories himself! He had been fighting on the front lines in the war versus Kumogakure no Sato. Yes, Oto was strong, therefore it needed a strong enemy. Sunagakure had recently opened its gates to missing-nin looking for a second chance. Even outside of Akatsuki, there were a lot of incredibly powerful missing-nin walking around in the shinobi world. Some of which indeed heeded the Kage’s call. These shinobi greatly added to Suna’s military power, making it the perfect enemy against Oto

In the meantime, Rainen had reached Suna and was now traveling underneath the walls. As soon as he popped up at the other side of it, standing behind a tall building, he instantly performed a quick, one handed seal. All that was required for the simple Transformation Technique. In an instant the young man in the Akatsuki cloak with his blue hair was transformed in an entirely other person. A man in his thirties with blonde, short hair and a scar on his chin. He wore the typical Otogakure outfit and an Otogakure headband. In this disguise, the plan was to damage the village and raise hell, then retreat before he would get caught. But he would make sure people would get a clear glimpse of his Otogakure headband. That would pit Suna against Otogakure. And with hints about an allegiance soon, so would Akatsuki…

He was going to use as little chakra as possible, however. There was a chance he might get into a fight against an equal opponent, maybe even the new Kage himself. In that case, he would need all his chakra. Luckily both Underground Submarine Voyage and Transformation were very chakra-efficient so Rainen’s chakra reserves were as good as full. And with that, Rainen dashed off. To the kage building he went. The best way to start a war was to attempt an assassination on the new Kazekage, or Dezatokage as he apparently changed the name of the rank. Of course all he would do was attempt assassination with one attack and retreat afterwards.

And so, after sneaking through the village trying to find the most abandoned route he could take, silencing the occasional lonely civilian by slitting their throat with a kunai before they could react, the disguised Rainen had reached the Kage building. He didn’t mind the trail of blood he had left behind. Someone would come across it soon enough, but that was fine. He WANTED to be discovered. Just not before he had staged his assassination-attempt on the Dezatokage.

Now came the moment. He had to be quick. He had to reach the kage building’s balcony, the one that leaded to the Dezatokage’s office. However going in from the inside would definitely get him spotted with the abundance of shinobi crawling around in there. So his best option was to scale the building’s wall using chakra to maintain his grip while walking vertically. However that, too, would leave him with a risk of getting caught. Just as Rainen was considering other idea’s, he heard a distant scream. A woman’s scream. Someone had discovered one of the corpses. Rainen smiled. He owed that woman a thanks. Now the attention of every shinobi in the village would be directed to the source of this scream. No one would watch the Kage building! So Rainen dashed. With speed typical to an S-rank melee specialist but insane for a normal human and impressive, though traceable, to a jounin’s trained eyes, Rainen dashed up the building. He didn’t waste a single second, gratefully using the woman’s diversion to its fullest.

And landed on the balcony to the Kage’s office. Now for the assassination attempt and he would be out of here in an instant. Rainen had barely landed or he opened op a summoning scroll making a swarm of kunai burst through the window that led to the Kage’s office. Some of the kunai had explosive tags attached to them, and the explosions would immediately alert the village, as well as increasing the killing potential of the attack. Of course Rainen didn’t expect someone powerful enough to hold the position of Kage to die that easily, but the added killing power made the assassination attempt look more believable, making it seem like the assassin really tried.