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An ear-piercing scream for mercy rang out from somewhere within the facility, loud or desperate enough to escape the silencing seals; he turned a deaf ear while doing his routine equipment inspection for the umpteenth time. Not that there was a lot he could change last minute; his gear was more or less the same as before, only he'd opted to leave the tantō and fūma shuriken behind. Checking his explosion tags only took seconds to complete, and he was soon without anything to do while waiting for his already-late partner. Even the sentry stationed outside looked bored, watching the young Genin slowly pace in circles. Granted, he was obligated at first to eject the boy from the premises, and only stayed his hand because of the mission report presented to him beforehand.

The five-minute mark passed, and Rael was debating whether or not to file a brief missing person's report and just proceed with the mission alone when someone new entered his field of vision. Appearance-wise they checked out upon drawing near, possessing the pupil-less eyes of the Byakugan as he tilted his head up to glance at her. The female's inquiries confirmed her identity, and he offered a small nod.

"I am. Our mission will be taking place within the T&I compound, where they have relocated the specimen. Come, let's not keep them waiting any longer."

Turning away, he fished out out the report he'd initially shown the TI sentry, keeping both arms in full view while approaching them and handing over the scroll. For him, the procedure was for formality's sake, having already done so earlier. However, the same would be expected from Hikaru, ensuring that her presence here was for the sake of their assignment and nothing more. The last thing they needed was their integrity coming into question, especially with so many 'specialists' further inside.

SPOILER: Click to show

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
Rank: B
Minimum Participants: 1
Details: This has to be the strangest thing we’ve ever brought in before; a creature composed entirely of sticky gooey jelly. To be honest, we actually have no idea how to defeat it ourselves. All melee skills seem to do nothing more then separate the shape shifting amorphous blob of goo. Good luck, and don’t get swallowed up.
Rewards: 300 EXP & 5,000 ryō

Reading over the mission parameters one more time, despite nothing changed since his last three viewings, Rael shook his head before rolling up the scroll and returning it to his satchel. At least with the prostitution bust, he could understand having to deal with it at some point in his career; infiltration and seduction went hand in hand with the job. But, how often did one come across a blob-like entity with a perchance for swallowing people whole. At first, he thought the entire scenario was rather amusing, with one of his colleagues likening the mysterious creature to a living mass of jelly. All they needed was some peanut butter and toast, and voila, instant breakfast or lunch; enough to last a grown man for several weeks, if it didn't go bad.

Everyone's humorous outlook evaporated when they received news it had devoured Hayashi-san, after dissolving his flesh and bones, leaving not even his gear behind.

For Kami's sake, what do they expect us to do about it.

He used the term 'us', because someone else would be accompanying him on this unanticipated mission. Initially, he believed HQ would assign Yokumaru-senpai as his superior once again, especially after their last successful B-rank together. If the above was not possible, even a Chuunin to supervise the coming operation would have made sense. Yet, time and time again, the higher-ups made him question just what they were thinking, or smoking. His only consolation was knowledge that the other party possessed the Hyuuga bloodline, making their task of identifying any potential weaknesses or exploitable features that much simpler, as well as the fact they were significantly older. If Rael had to put up with someone the same age as his students, or himself for that matter, he might just be tempted to jump into the blob and let it do its thing.

Ten minutes before their designated meeting time of fourteen-hundred hours, Rael found himself waiting for his yet-to-arrive new acquaintance outside the guarded entrance of Kiri's Torture and Interrogation facility. It was enough away from the village's busier districts, thereby avoiding possible civilian interference. More importantly, it was one of the few locations in the entire village with a subterranean division able to temporarily house the unidentified being. He could almost envision the faces of the interrogators as they tried interrogating the sentient blob, only for it to make squelching sounds while trying to cover them and enjoy its meal.

He chuckled a bit before the subsequent images became a tad too graphic.

"Whether or not you choose to listen, it really doesn't matter to me. If you die on your first mission outside Kirigakure's walls," his tone turned flat, indifferent towards their possible future outcome and Shien's warning growl, "it's no skin off my back. However, your sensei seems to think it would be a waste. After all, the village allocated substantial time and resources towards your upbringing as 'ninja'; the least you could do is live long enough to pay some of it back." He was unimpressed by the two sources of undisguised killing intent, with Yamanaka Chise only just holding back her own ire as she sought to restrain her two teammates. Shrugging off the placating hand on his shoulder, Shien stalked forward until he was on the verge of colliding into the prepubescent Genin, his entire demeanor the image of a dog with its hackles raised.

"What," he gritted out, wanting nothing more than to give this insolent whelp the beatdown he so deserved, "the hell would you know about our team? You haven't even know us for three minutes; you're not fucking qualified to say shit about us!" Moving in to forcibly pin Rael against the trunk behind using his forearm, Inuzuka Shien suddenly lurched forward, as Rael not only didn't evade, but grabbed the offending limb and pulled him even further. In that brief instance he was off-balance and toppling forward, Shien's wrist was suddenly released, and the same hand delivered a brutal sucker punch against his collarbone, just inches beneath the soft tissue of his throat. Stumbling back and dropping to his knees, the new Genin hacked violently as he tried to regain breath in his lungs.

His partner was the first to react, before Chise and Horo could even process coming to their comrade's aid. While semi-friendly to him before, if somewhat cautious, the dog now displayed none its previous affability, leaping towards the white-haired boy's neck with a bloodcurdling howl, fully intending to tear out his throat. Rael didn't bother with any niceties as he purposely dropped low to the ground, left leg rising in the same motion to catch the animal in a hefty upwards kick, similar to the Gōken style's 'Shoufuu' technique. His foot connected with the airborne pup's body in a sickening *crack*, and he watching the dog's trajectory do a complete shift in the opposite direction, arching in midair before dropping and rolling several feet past its owner. When Rael next spoke, his voice was heated, verging on supremely annoyed.

"...Congratulations, you're dead. Now your team is incapable of executing any full-squad maneuvers, and also vulnerable to being captured or killed. The Kaguya," he pointed at the bone-clan scion, the latter bristling but keeping still, "will be taken in for experimentation because of his kekkai genkai. As for her," he pointed towards Chise, who scowled heavily at his gesture, "she might serve as prime breeding stock, though I wouldn't be surprised if she was demoted to working in an enemy camp as their relief tool." Ignoring the appropriate gasp of outrage, he made eye contact with each of them in turn, conveniently oblivious to their combined wrath and, in some cases, battered dignity.

"Never, ever rush in against an opponent you know nothing about." Rael's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his voice lowered to an uncharacteristic threatening tone. "If any of you are stupid enough to try that sort of stunt again, the last thing you'll ever see will be the tips of my fingers heading towards your eyes at high speed, got it?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Reactive Formations
Rank:C
Minimum Participants: 1
Details: What’s the point of a good offense if our ninja don’t know how to go into defensive mode when outgunned? That’s going be your job today. We need you to meet up with one of our Genin teams and give them a crash course in how to adapt during battle.
Reward: 200 EXP & 1,000 ryō

Rael was not unfamiliar with training ground 4, walking by often enough to determine which techniques were being practiced by the team currently using it as their sparring field. He usually kept out of sight from the new Genin, and gave their sensei a polite but aloof greeting when they crossed paths on one or two occasions. In the end, he supposed either his ability to keep people at arm's length needed serious polishing up, or the older man was so goddamn lazy, he was willing to dump his students on someone they barely even knew in passing. At least he was willing to pay, commissioning for a C-rank, though Kami knew why he believed Rael was even remotely qualified to teach. Throw in the facts he was about three years younger than Ida-san's rookie team, and only a Genin-ranked ninja himself, they were sure to raise a stink at this sad arrangement. Speaking of the brats...

"There he is!"

Rael inwardly sighed as the quartet made their appearance, one of the two males charging ahead of the others to where he rested in the shade. No need to guess who this brown-haired youth was, the twin tattoos on his cheeks accentuating his feral appearance; Inuzuka Shien, a progeny from the famous House of Dogs. Beside him trotted the boy's canine companion, some breed of husky that barked at him once before quieting. He raised a questioning brow as the dog ran over to him on all fours, circling the youth and poking a black-tipped nose into his back before retreating when its partner called out.

"So you're gonna be subbing in for Ida-sensei huh? Gotta say, you sure don't look like mu-." His sentence was cut off by the sudden fist depositing itself into the dome of his head from behind, eliciting a sharp cry of pain as Shien buckled, rubbing his scalp while turning to glare at the culprit. "Oi! Chise, you bitch! What the hell was that for!?" His reply was a blinding jab to the nose, letting the Inuzuka scion writhing on the grass while his beastly sidekick (literally) barked and panted while nudging him forlornly, the latter finally raising his eyes to glare at his assailant.

"Don't even start, flea bag," came the reply, as a taller girl came up to them, her blonde hair cut short with long bangs in front. Compared to many aspiring and successful kunoichi he met, she was dressed rather conservatively. Yamanaka Chise was not interested in impressing boys; she was there to kick their asses and make them squeal even worse than the fairer sex. The girl might not have the muscles to intimidate anyone, but even Rael felt a bit sorry for the future sods that landed under her care once she inevitably joined TI. From what their sensei mentioned to him in the unofficial briefing, she already had an uncanny affinity towards her clan's hijutsu at a young age. "You already promised Ida-sensei to behave. Don't go making trouble before we even start."

"I haven't started anything yet, damn woman! Keep your grimy claws to yourself!"

THUD. "Say that again, you punk as-"

"Though his method of expressing it was indeed vulgar, Shien is for once, correct." their third member smoothly interjected, bringing up the rear. Only thirteen years old, yet standing at a remarkable 5' 5", Horo of the Kaguya clan was an intimidating sight to his peers. Graduating at the top of his class by a significant margin, even compared to the runner-up, the boy with ivory hair looked down at their 'substitute' instructor with something akin to contempt in his eyes. Shien was the team's tracker, the human-dog pair's sense of smell and hearing unrivaled. Chise's role as the group's mid to long-range support was given after noting her proficiency with poisons and her clan jutsu.

Horo was the team's muscle, plain and simple. However, he was not a dim bulb by any means. Though Shien and his canine were a deadly duo in close quarters, even their vicious techniques couldn't hold a candle to the infamous clan of bone-wielders in a straight fight; judging by the male's thinly-veiled aura of superiority, he knew it too. Before the day was over, he'd have the Kaguya recheck his condescending attitude.

"Well then. My first impression of this group," murmured Rael, as he got up from his seated position to give them a last look-over before continuing,

"...I don't like you."

Kunai, Smoke Bombs, Makibishi^#1
Rank: D
Details: We heard you were heading down to the Academy. While you’re there, do you mind teaching the kids a little something about ninja tools? Just your basics and proper usage for the lot; we knew we could count on you.
Rewards: 100 EXP & 500 ryō

Little Wizard ^#2
Rank: D
Details: How adorable, it looks like you're being sent to our Academy to teach the youngsters a little about ninjutsu. You only need to teach them one D-rank ninjutsu, but remember most are under 8 years old, so you need to be slow, concise and very understanding.
Rewards: 100 EXP & 500 ryō

Mission thread located here.

Total Rewards: 200 EXP & 1,000 ryō

Though it looked every inch the same as the original, Rael's water clone was distinct in that it lacked any recognizable facial expressions beyond 'apathetic', standing stock-still as though awaiting orders. Its features were completely neutral, even when some students waved their hands in front of its face, trying to coax a reaction out of the construct. Hiding a slight smirk, Rael shooed away their overeager arms and addressed the students in a calm manner, just as the clone finally started moving from its starting position, walking over to stand next to its creator.

"This, everyone, is known as 'Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu'. It is a staple technique of nearly all Kiri nin, and when used properly, can substitute as a semi-competent sidekick. The number of them you can have at one time varies by person, depending on your mastery of Suiton-based ninjutsu. Personally," here, he looked a tad embarrassed, "I can only form one at this time, having just learned this technique; perhaps some of you will show greater promise when starting out.

Although they have physical bodies, unlike regular 'Bunshin', these clones do not have any self-awareness, meaning they cannot perform any actions unless mentally ordered to by their creator. In a fight, you can't depend on them to watch your back while facing the other way; you must direct them yourself, and so the ability to multitask is of utmost importance, especially if you plan to create more than one on the field. However, you'll find that their pros far outweigh the cons.

Even with just one clone, if you specialize in taijutsu, you are essentially doubling the number of strikes you can perform in an instant, forcing the enemy to choose which they should block or evade, all while looking for openings to exploit. Furthermore, it retains your natural strength and speed, which is a giant improvement to its predecessor. In the past, 'Mizu Bunshin' only had one-tenth the physical abilities of the user, making them little more than cannon fodder unless created by an exceptionally powerful individual." As he continued talking, Rael's water clone slowly began walking away from the group, not being hasty and giving its creator enough time to finish.

"However, the water clone shows its true value in the hands of an experienced ninjutsu specialist. Not only is it capable of replicating weaker Suiton techniques in your arsenal, they themselves can be used as a medium for stronger jutsu that require a water source. As very few of us are capable of initiating higher-level water release jutsu without said source, anything that facilitates our ability to do so is absolutely essential." Just as he finished speaking, a loud popping noise came from the side of all those assembled, and Rael looked in the direction where his clone suddenly burst into water, now back into a puddle just like before.

"Always know where your clone is situated, and keep them within a field controllable by your Suiton nature. Otherwise, if they venture beyond that perimeter, they will instantly break down into their base form, wasting your chakra." Everyone cast their attention on Yokumaru as the Genin looked over to where he was standing, getting him in on the discussion.

"Anything you would like to add to that, Yokumaru-sensei?"

Henge no Jutsu
Rank: E⁸ [40]
Type: Supplementary / Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 5 meters
Handseals: 1
Chakra: Low
Special: Allows the user to transform into any person, object or animal of normal/small/miniature size. Transformation can be held for one turn, plus one more each time retrained.
Description: Henge no Jutsu is a very basic ninjutsu technique which every ninja learns at their respective village's Shinobi Academy. Henge allows the user to transform themselves into any person or object. This allows the ninja to move with stealth or to trick their opponents.
Domain: Academy Ninjutsu.

Purchasing 8 more uses of Henge.

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Henge Appugurēdo [Transformation Upgrade!]
Rank: C [50]
Type: Supplementary / Ninjutsu
Range: Self
Handseals: --
Chakra: Low
Special: Upgrades 'Henge no Jutsu' to be more resilient, no longer breaking when the user is struck or falls unconscious. The only way for the transformation to break is if the user runs out of turns,suffers chakra depletion, or dispels it themselves.
Description: An upgrade to 'Henge no Jutsu', this technique causes all of the user's transformations to become pseudo-permanent. That is, while their turn limit from 'Henge no Jutsu' still applies, taking hits or even falling unconscious will not break the jutsu.
Domain: Universal Ninjutsu

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Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu [Water Clone Technique]
Rank: C [50]
Type: Supplementary
Range Determined by 'Suiton Ryuuken' level
Handseals: 3
Chakra: Mid [per clone]
Special:Up to one clone can be made at a time, plus one more each time retrained [max.5]. As elemental clones, they cannot exist outside the user's 'Suiton Ryuuken' range, and can never exit the thread they were made in nor travel unless by their creator's side. Due to their watery nature, water clones can absorb attacks one rank lower than their maximum 'Suiton Ryuuken' rank by altering the density of their water; any attack above that will instantly burst them. When defeated, clone explode in a burst of water. Finally, because they are mentally linked to their creator, water clones can use any C-rank or lower Suiton-based ninjutsu their creator knows.
Description: With this technique, the Suiton user is able to call upon aid from a perfect copy of themselves. Comprised purely of water, this clone retains the user's movement speed and strength. Best of all, due to its flowing essence, the water clone is capable of using a hefty amount of the original user's Suiton-based techniques either for defensive or offensive means.
Domain: Suiton.

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Kiroku Gaijuu [Blasting Wind Domain]
Rank: D, C, B, A, S [250]
Type: Supplementary / Fuuton Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 50 meters
Handseals: No
Chakra: --
Special: Allows the user the ability to create, control and move Fuuton (Wind) chakra of their own for multiple purposes, as well as control that produced by nature. Highest rank known determines the strength of the winds, the distance at which one can control them, and finally, the speed at which the user can displace them.

D: 5 meters
C: 10 meters
B: 10 meters
A: 15 meters
S: 20 meters

Description: Though powerful, Fuuton can become uncontrollable even in the hands of the experienced, forcing its user to focus first on controlling their power in small areas, and then, over time, expanding. As one's experience with the wind release and its control grows, so does the range at which they can become deadly with it.
Domain: Fuuton

I already have D and C-rank.

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Kaze no Yaiba [Sword of Wind]
Rank: A [150]
Type: Offensive
Range: 1 meter blade of wind
Handseals 1
Chakra: High
Special: Creates a sharp, near-invisible wind blade in one's dominant hand. Standard blade length maximum is 1 meter. Can be retrained once to stack an extra 'A' rank damage. After every second retraining, the consumption will go up by one.
Description: A very deadly Fuuton technique, the Yaiba is as its name implies – a pressurized sword of wind forms at the user’s appendage; long and sharp, able to cut through almost anything. This is because unlike a real sword which can face resistance, the wind blade will be able to slice with little difficulty.
Domain: Fuuton. Kiroku Gaijuu 'A'.

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Total: 40 + 50 + 50 + 250 + 150 = 540 EXP to be removed from sidebar.