Macabre [P]

[adero]

It appeared that Manami's ruse had worked. The man's guard now lowered, he'd begin to grumble before proceeding to divulge that which the lad sought.

”That damned ass. Always keeping me out of things. Without me we would get nothing done. Sometimes I wish he'd be dead.”

[/b]

A chuckle sounded from the shinobi as he'd notice that final tid bit at the end. The cogs within his mind had begun to turn however he'd wouldn't voice anything just yet. Manami needed to further earn this man's trust before pressing on.

”We need to know about the castle. All the entrances, the layout, the rooms, the guards, hell’s, everything you can tell me. We’ve got a Kage to kill. Leader set the assassination date for tomorrow. Said he’ll hang me if it’s not done by then. That impatient piece of shit doesn’t understand how carefully something like this has to be planned.”

So that was their plan huh? It seemed over simplified to be honest. Despite Jiyuu's piss poor attitude, the man was made kage for a reason no? None of the other current shinobi had come close to challenging his might.

Hand raising to catch the pen mid air, he'd take several steps forward and begin marking a couple of locations upon the scroll. Nothing too major for now, just a hand ful of well guarded entrances and such.

Pausing mid work, he'd look up curiously at the man beside him.
Perhaps now was a good time to attempt to wriggle more information out of this worm?

"You know, that kage said the same shit too, about wanting the leader dead. Kinda makes you wonder why he hasn't tried."

It was after this comment that he'd resume his work, falsely marking several locations upon the map to indicate guard positions. More than half of these however would be accurate. It'd be best to not raise suspicion if scouts were sent to check the accuracy of his intel,


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[Katsumaru]

The man walked towards the pile of corpses, and for no reason at all other than sheer spite, he struck one of the dead bodies in the face with a clenched fist. Turning to Manami, he spoke in a furious growl,”That Hokage never gave much of a damn about anything, I suppose, otherwise we wouldn’t still be around without any problems. Don’t think he’d succeed anyways. The Leader is just too damn deadly. He once killed a squad of Chuunin alone. Just like that. Didn’t even break a sweat. He’s always secluded in his chamber too. Has is trapped. Anyone coming near? Boom. Only sees us when he wants to. Paranoid bastard he is.”

Walking over to the map, the man nodded as he glanced over it. ”Good, good.” he said, obviously quite satisfied with the information Manami has given so far. Steps sounded from the twisting hallway, and the bald man came forth yet again, this time dragging a living man by his hairs. The one he dragged wore ANBU armor, half-way torn, revealing the top of his chest which was covered in fresh cuts and burns. His face, lacking a mask, was bruised, several teeth knocked loose.

Grunting, the bald one spoke,”We’ve got this ANBU from Konoha. Got a bit out of him. Said they’ve been watching us for some time. Makes me a bit worried. Why haven’t they attacked if they know where we are? They’ve got enough men. You think they got someone on the inside?”

The other man shifted a wary gaze to Manami. While at this point he did not suspect him, he grew rather wary of the Chuunin. It just all seemed a bit too perfect. A man on the inside who could so easily draw out the schematics of the Castle. Was he just that good a spy or was there more to it? The man knew of only one way to lessen his suspicion.

”You.” he said, pointing at Manami. ”Kill the ANBU.” he commanded.

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[adero]

The cultist's rage was was spontaneous and vague at best. The lad couldn't be sure if it was directed at the kage or their leader and thought it best to drop the subject.

Hmm... always in his chamber huh?

Suddenly locating the leader had just become a little bit easier. The question still remained however as to where said chamber was. His ears would perk attentively as the man rambled on. It appeared as though the leader's quarters were trapped and set to detonate?

He'd keep that last bit in mind for later. After all, Manami had to work to keep up his guise, no? From what he heard the man had been rather pleased with his work thus far. Things were going according to plan.

Were being the key word.

It wasn't long till the balded one appeared from the back room yet again, this time with what appeared to be a member of the ANBU.

”We’ve got this ANBU from Konoha. Got a bit out of him. Said they’ve been watching us for some time. Makes me a bit worried. Why haven’t they attacked if they know where we are? They’ve got enough men. You think they got someone on the inside?”

A sinking feeling would begin to swell up within the lad as he'd monitor the cultist's actions. It'd be foolish to assume he wasn't suspect now.

As predicted, the man would turn to Manami, ordering him to slay the shinobi.

Surprisingly enough, the lad would have no trouble doing so. A malefic chuckle would echo through the room as he'd take a step forward, his voice replying with zero hesitance.

"With pleasure."

Several swift kicks would be immediately delivered to the man's abdomen, causing multiple ribs to collapse inward. It wasn't as though Manami enjoyed his actions more so the thought behind his actions. The man he continually assailed was a traitor and nothing more.

The bastard sold out his own village and deserved no better than a dog's death.

Delivering the coup de grace, he'd land a final boot to the ANBU's head, shattering his jaw and forcing his neck to wretch sideways in an unnatural manner.

The deed was done.

He'd turn back towards the pair to check for satisfaction before resuming any speech.

"Guess break time's over. Bring one that'll put up more of a fight next time, ok?"

[/size]

[Katsumaru]

In-between the kicks, the ANBU pleaded desperately, voice breaking,”I’ve got a kid! Please! The mother is dead! With me gone he’ll have no one!” But before he could say more, he was finished with a brutal kick to the head. Lifeless, the body lied on the ground, his child likely doomed to a life on the streets. Pity that the boy could not go to that orphanage in Hi no Kuni that Manami doomed. The bald man returned down the twisting hall, likely returning to torture more of the captured victims.

"Finish your work here. After you’re done, head to the cells. You seem to fancy hurting lads. We’ve got some chuunin in there.. They’re not speaking. Maybe you’ll succeed. Report to me after you're done. I’ve got other things to see to for now.” the scarred man said, walking down the same twisting path as the bald man.

Manami was now alone – he was trusted by the man, and hence, certainly allowed a greater freedom. The cultist hideout was free for him to explore – the chamber of the leader was yet to be found.

[/justify][/font]

[adero]

It just didn't seem to be Manami's day. He'd make yet another mental note to see that this man's kid would be taken care of. Perhaps he could leave it at the orphanage he had visited earlier?

Either way he had thoroughly convinced his "cohorts." Such was indicated by the bald man's leave as well as other's exit.

"Finish your work here. After you’re done, head to the cells. You seem to fancy hurting lads. We’ve got some chuunin in there.. They’re not speaking. Maybe you’ll succeed. Report to me after you're done. I’ve got other things to see to for now.”

[/b]

He would nod upon understanding and take a position at the table to resume his work. Waiting patiently for both figures to leave, he'd remain for a good five more minutes before making a move.

The shinobi had no idea where the chamber was and quite frankly had no desire to stumble upon it by accident. That said, he'd proceed to the cells to fish for more information.

Leaving through the back exit he hadn't explored yet, he'd continue till reaching the screams from earlier. Eyes falling upon the balded man, he'd motion towards him with one hand.

"Got a second?"

If all went well he'd continue leading the conversation.

"The leader wanted to see me after returning from the village. Which way was his chamber again? This place is a god damn maze."[/blockquote][/size]

[Katsumaru]

Upon following the screams, Manami arrived in a small room, ten meters long and wide. Two paths lead out of this room, one to the left and another to the right. The room was bare except for two tables. Upon the first were a variety of tools designed for torture, from scalpels to needles. On the second table was a restrained, blue-eyed, short haired man, flowing with the blood from fresh wounds. The bald man stood over this table, syringe in his hand, and muttered,”You best start telling me more. You know what’s in here? Something that’ll make you hurt even more. Want to know what it does? Once I inject it into you, you’ll feel your veins burning. They’ll feel hot. You’ll feel as if you’re melting from the inside.

”I don’t know anything! I’m just a smith! I can’t tell you anything!” The bald man frowned and reached down, inserting the syringe into the victim’s arm. The blue-eyed man began to scream loudly, attempting to trash as an intense pain washed over his body, but he could scarcely move with the restraints. With a sigh, the bald one inserted a gag into the man’s mouth, who then, after some moments passed, vomited. But as his mouth was obstructed, the vomit remained in his throat, asphyxiation beginning not long after.

The bald man shrugged upon hearing Manami’s question,”You another one of those dumb fucks who can’t find his way around here? Go left, follow the path, take your first right, then the next right, then left, then right, right again, and walk down the stairs.”

Should Manami follow the directions of the man, his walk would go uninterrupted. Creaking stairs lead far beneath, descending for twenty meters, leading into a dimly lit, musky, twenty-by twenty meter room. Five cells were within this room, three of them filled with the aforementioned chuunin, the first in the leftmost cell and the others in the two cells directly to the right, each of them wearing a headband. The first appeared rather to be in his early twenties with long, flowing blond hair. The second was much younger, only in his teenage years with light green eyes and shoulder-length black hairs. The third appeared to be middle aged, bald, with a wrinkled brow.

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[adero]

"Gotcha," was all that the lad would say in response.

Proceeding down the left hall, Manami would eventually find himself stumbling upon what appeared to be a dungeon. Somewhat miffed that the bald man from before was off, he'd peer about anyway and spot what seemed to be three Leaf shinobi caged side by side.

Eh. Close enough.

He'd approach one of the cages (specifically the youngest of the three) and beckon for the chuunin to come closer to the bars. Voice hushed, he'd speak quietly to keep the conversation among the two.

"Psst."

It'd be a short conversation to say the least as Manami would bash in the chuunin's skull against the bars, knocking him out cold. Upon doing so, he'd ram a kunai into the lock, breaking it open to retrieve the boy. He'd serve as useful cannon offer for later. After all, the chamber was supposedly laden with explosives yes?

Turning to the other two shinobi, he'd grin and wave farewell.

---

Proceeding back up the path he'd taken before, he'd enter the torture room once more, this time taking the path to the right. Manami would simply grunt at the bald fellow, this time mumbling something about a sacrifice.

"Wrong way dumb ass. Whatever, got fresh meat for the boss. Win-win."

He'd then proceed cautiously, halting at the first sign of anything suspicious.

[/size]

[Katsumaru]

Through sheer fortune, Manami passed a right turn on the way which heavily hinted at being the Leader’s quarters. The path was ten meters long, and upon the walls floor hung countless exploding tags, placed so closely together than the stone beneath could not even be seen. Lastly, upon the door hung a sign which, in fine handwriting, said Leader.