Rooting out the Vipers [P]

The mission

Tenshi was smoking a cigar as he proceeded to close up shop at TenCorp HQ. He was dressed in his usual black trousers and dark red under shirt. He wore his favourite plain white jacket over the top of this that did a solid job of obscuring his enormous muscles, although his large frame made it nearly impossible to keep him hidden when out in public. He had allowed himself to grow out a fashionable stubble, the dark facial red hair perfectly trimmed along his jawline, as the hair from his head reached just below his chin in length. He took another drag from his cigar as he turned the “OPEN” sign around to display the always relieving “CLOSED” word instead.

The days had been considerably busier in the past half year as his business had grown at an exponential rate, taking much of his time away from his usual Shinobi duties. He had found himself lacking in his contributions to the village as such, but his positive influence on Konoha’s economy seemed to be a mitigating factor. It was due to this that he had not received any grief from the Konoha higher ups, or at least that was his understanding of the situation. After counting the ryo for the day, a rather considerable sum as had become the norm recently, Tenshi walked out through the main entrance, securing the door behind him and walking towards his large home in the Uchiha district.

The hour was getting late as the sun was beginning to set, the Konoha villagers were making their own way back to their houses, likely to prepare for supper with their families. He himself was looking forward to seeing his sisters again. Kaya had been so busy with her training as a Genin and Ayane’s social life waited for absolutely no one, least of all her big brother. Hmm… We should be having roast lamb for dinner tonight if I recall correctly… He thought to himself as he walked along the streets. Unfortunately, his thoughts were cut short as an impossibly fast white figure appeared in the corner of his eye.

Most people would not have caught a glimpse of the figure, but Tenshi had spent countless hours in combat and training, he only just sighted the ANBU operative who stood waiting for him in a deserted and dark alleyway. With a sigh, Tenshi changed his course and swiftly approached the figure, ensuring that nobody else was able to spot or follow him in. The figure led him down several other side alleys before finally stopping and turning to face Tenshi.

When the coast was clear, Tenshi spoke with a slight chuckle. ”What a pleasant surprise. I was wondering how long it would take for someone from the village to remember that I am a Shinobi still…” The ANBU clearly did not share his humour, a male voice came from beneath the mask, the voice tinged with disdain and disapproval. “Your absence these past several months have already been noted Tenshi Uchiha. The village does not approve of laziness, nor do I…” It was clear to the Uchiha that whoever this was, they did not like him one bit. Tenshi rolled his eyes before responding. “Look, nameless person with an animal mask, I am not here to impress you or anyone else, you are clearly here for a reason, so spill it already or leave me alone, I am hungry.” With a slight growl, the ANBU handed Tenshi a small scroll and stood back as he waited for him to read it. Sighing again, Tenshi unrolled it and began to scour the text.


Tenshi ensured that he memorized every word on the scroll before taking another drag of his cigar. He then raised the scroll to the glowing tip of the cigar and set it ablaze. In a few shorts seconds, it was nothing but ashes, flowing away in the wind. Looking back at the ANBU operative, he spoke. “Seems easy enough, who will be on the team with me? Himari? Okisho?” There was a short silence as the ANBU seemed to be looking through him. Tenshi could have sworn that he felt the man smile smugly before speaking. “There is no team. This is your mission alone. Begin your search at the Northern Wall.” With that, the ANBU vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the large Uchiha holding back a variety of profanities.

Although he was frustrated with the details of his assignment, he knew that he was on the clock. He initially planned on heading directly towards the Northern Wall, but realised that he would have to change his attire to something more fitting of his covert operation first. Without wasting a step, Tenshi leapt atop the nearest building and dashed from rooftop to rooftop towards his home. Instead of using the front door, the Uchiha entered through his bedroom window and quickly began to change his clothes. “Tensh? Is that you? Hurry up already, Kaya and I are STAAAARVING bro!” He sighed as he called back to Ayane. “Eat without me! The village has bestowed a fun and last minute mission. Just keep some leftovers for me please!” Ignoring the subsequent grumbling that followed, he exited out the same window and recommenced his rooftop trajectory towards the Northern Wall.

Tenshi was now fitted in an all black attire. He had replaced his bright white jacket with a long black cloak that he pulled up to conceal his face. He also wore his trusty black boots, shoes that he had not worn since his last mission, many months prior. To those on the streets below, he would look like nothing but a black streak in the sky if they somehow managed to catch a glimpse of him. In less than ten swift minutes, Tenshi arrived atop a three story building just near the Northern Wall and instantly began surveying his surroundings. The surrounding area was seemingly calm, several villagers were still making their way home and he also spotted a couple of Shinobi patrolling the wall as part of their guard duties. Without wasting a moment, Tenshi dashed behind the pair of Shinobi and spoke with his deep voice.

“Genin. I need a status report.” The two Shinobi almost jumped out of their boots at his voice, neither had felt his presence as he appeared behind them and they both turned quickly to face him, weapons at the ready until he slightly raised the front of his hood. “Oh! Umm, sorry Tenshi-Senpai, you startled us!” The other was still too shocked to speak, clearly trying to gain his bearings. Tenshi cleared his throat, prompting the first Shinobi to speak up again. “Oh right, status report. Well, so far everything has been quiet, which is a good sign of course. We are patrolling clockwise along the wall and have not encountered anything of note.”

The three of them stood in silence for a considerable time as Tenshi thought to himself, wondering where he could go from this position. What could he possibly do to pick up the scent when nothing had happened? Nothing had happened… Wait a minute… nothing at all? He suddenly spoke up. “You said that it has been quiet all night, correct? So tell me then, where along the wall has it been the quietest? Anywhere that should be a populated location but you saw minimal activity.” The two Shinobi seemed both confused and concerned at his line of questioning, Tenshi had omitted the details of his mission, wanting as few people to know as possible. The second Shinobi finally spoke, his voice softer and more timid. “I’ll admit, it seemed unnaturally quiet around ten minutes ago, we have been walking nonstop at the same pace. It was in the poorest district of the village. But Mister Uchiha, what exactly are you searching for?”

Tenshi looked at the second Genin before answering. “Thank you for your report. The village is simply wishing to increase our security efforts at the present time. There is danger all around us, and with the Hokage absent it is a simple case of taking extra measures. I will be assisting in your patrol for some time tonight. My Shadow Clone will join you temporarily, however, he will remain a short distance behind you. Carry on as you would have and feel free to ignore its presence.” Tenshi then initiated a singular hand seal and summoned a sole Shadow Clone alongside himself. He gave the two Genin a short nod and turned around, leaping back to his initial rooftop before quickly and quietly making his way counter clockwise around the wall, his Shadow Clone taking a clockwise path, albeit much slower to accommodate for the pace of the two Genin.

The Uchiha quickly arrived at the location that the second Genin had pointed out. He instantly noticed that the area was indeed very quiet. Far too quiet for this time in the evening. The sun had finally set, but it was still uncommon for there to not be a single soul outside. Tenshi finally decided to activate his Three Tomoe Sharingan, using his advanced eyes to scour the surrounding area. At first, there was absolutely no movement. But after several minutes, some movement in the corner of his eye took his attention. Three cloaked figures were moving quickly through the streets. They were each dressed in all black, just like himself, and they appeared to be walking towards the wall itself, from within the village. Tenshi decided to hold back for the time being, observing their movements and intentions before confronting them. At the final home, the three of them stopped and waited alongside it, appearing to be watching the wall for something.

Five minutes passed until there was any more movement. This time the movement came from atop the wall itself, another two Genin on patrol slowly made their way around. Looking back down, Tenshi noticed that the three cloaked figures were watching the Genin like hawks. They were either going to attack or wait for the pair to pass, either way, Tenshi was ready to act if he needed to. Thankfully, it was the latter as the two Genin moved on without an incident. Once the duo were out of range, the three cloaked figures recommenced their movements.

They swiftly walked up to the wall itself, one of them standing mere inches away from it as the other two suddenly turned around and stood still. It appeared that two facing away from the wall were there as guards or escorts. The other began to weave seals and channeling their chakra, this was it, this had to be the Seal that he was briefed about. Without wasting another moment, Tenshi leapt into action. Casting the Body Flicker technique, he appeared directly alongside the sole figure and grabbed them tightly by the mouth. He forced eyes to face his own and cast his Sharingan Genjutsu. He noticed that his target was a woman, likely in her mid to late twenties. The fear in her eyes was quickly replaced by a calm and placated look thanks to the effects of his Genjutsu, which he used to convince her that he was an ally. Following this, he performed the Ox hand seal and cast Mind Read.

Looking through her memories, Tenshi was able to see two other trios who were dressed just like her. Each of them was given the same task: Infiltrate the village and target the wall where the village was the poorest, this group being the central one in location. This way they would meet less resistance from the Konoha Shinobi and could bribe their way around any other road blocks. This was enough information for Tenshi, who released the technique and grabbed the infiltrator by the neck. With very little effort and a flick of his wrist, he snapped her neck and she dropped to the floor in a heap. This finally caught the attention of the other two infiltrators who had their backs to him. Finally getting a closer look on the pair, he noted that they were both male and almost equaled him in height. One gasped at the sight of his fallen comrade but raised one hand and formed several hand seals, while the other snarled in anger and raised his fists, ready to strike.

Giving a smirk, Tenshi raised his own fists, and goaded his opponents on. “Oops. Oh dear. I seem to have accidentally allowed my hand to slip and caught myself a little baby viper in my clutches. I sure hope that I do not make the same mistake twice, or even three times.” This was enough to urge both men into action. The man with his fists raised struck first, lunging at Tenshi and swinging at him with precise jabs and hooks. The Uchiha countered each strike with steadfast defence, blocking them with very little impact. His opponent was likely strong compared to the average Shinobi but was blinded by the rage of seeing a friend killed. Taking advantage of this, Tenshi clenched a fist and brought it down in a wide arc onto the top of the man’s head, striking him directly into the dirt below. The ground around them shook with the impact of the strike and the man lay there, unmoving.

Tenshi barely had a moment to think as a kunai wielded by the other man almost struck him in the throat. A quick side step allowed him to avoid the initial thrust, but he had to duck as a second kunai was swung at the area where his forehead was just moments before. Tenshi threw a quick jab towards the man’s torso but his opponent managed to quickly dash backwards out of range and readied himself for another attack. “My my, we have a slippery viper in the village, don’t we?” Tenshi braced himself and readied his own attack, but as both he and the Viper lunged at each other, he felt a hand grip his ankle, slowing his progress. Tenshi was barely able to move to the side as the kunai grazed the right side of his chest.

Kicking his foot free, Tenshi leapt backwards in time to avoid another kunai slash aimed at his throat. After gaining enough distance away from his opponent, he looked down at the spot that his ankle had been in, seeing the man he had battered into the ground rising to his feet, albeit slightly dazed and sluggish. He must have grabbed Tenshi while he was distracted in the middle of the fight. Letting out a dramatic sigh, Tenshi looked down at the right side of his chest, noting that he had begun bleeding after the strike he had just received. “You know, these clothes are not cheap.” Giving a low growl, Tenshi realised that he needed to hurry things along, there was still two other groups of infiltrators that he needed to deal with.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Tenshi raised his right arm directly at the two opponents in front of him and slightly opened his palm before speaking softly. “I apologise for the messy manner that this will take, but time is short.” The two men looked at him with confused expressions, but this did not last long. From behind each of them, a large column of sand, at least 10 feet tall exploded quickly from the ground and crashed down on them. One of the men let out a fearful gasp before being consumed by the sand, the other did not even have the time to react. In mere seconds, both men had disappeared from sight, two large slabs of sand were all that remained. Tenshi then closed his fist in a crushing motion, activating his Sand Waterfall Funeral, destroying both men trapped within and reducing them to nothing, leaving no trace behind. He then turned to the first opponent he had slain earlier and summoned more sand to encompass her corpse, dragging her down through the earth below, burying her out of sight.

Taking a moment to regain himself, Tenshi reached into one of his inner pockets and withdrew another cigar. He swiftly lit it and raised it to his lips before inhaling. Below him, a small platform of sand was forming, lifting him into the sky and darting further along the wall, in the direction he was moving before he had caught the group. As he flew, Tenshi ensured that his path kept him moving low over the wall itself, remembering that this group had been facing inwards, towards the village itself. With his Sharingan active, he continued to scour further ahead, looking for any sign of a trio (or even more) of infiltrators. Tenshi continued to fly for several more minutes until he finally arrived at another poor district in the village, potentially another target for the Vipers. He slowed his progress and looked up and down the inner wall, but could not spot anything. Suddenly, his Sharingan managed to catch something small and sharp hurtling directly at his from behind one of the houses.

Unfortunately for him, Tenshi’s eyes were quicker than his body and he could only manage to get his left forearm up in the way of the incoming kunai. The blade dug into his arm, but this was a mercy compared to what would have happened if it had instead struck his head. Giving a low growl of pain, Tenshi lowered his arm and looked in the direction of where the kunai had come from. He spotted two shuriken flying towards him, behind them was the sole figure of whoever had thrown them. Pulling the kunai out of his arm, something that sent shockwaves of pain throughout his body, Tenshi had enough time to dodge the first shuriken and catch the second with his right hand. In a singular motion the Uchiha flung it right back at the target, aiming at the head of his assailant.

This forced the infiltrator to move forward and duck to avoid the incoming weapon, while at the same time, Tenshi sped forwards on his sand platform to intercept them. Leaping from the platform, he threw his right hand forward and grabbed the surprised Viper by the throat and was about to crush it before he spotted two more enemies in the corners of his eyes. The one on his left side was closer and was striking downwards with a tanto. The other, who was slightly slower, was on his right and was stabbing forwards with yet another tanto. Letting out another growl, Tenshi threw the opponent in his grasp at the Viper on his left, stopping their attack and sending both figures hurtling to the floor behind them. He then allowed his momentum to swing him around further and strike the blunt side of the other assailant’s tanto with his left heel, deflecting the blow away from his body and forcing the attacker to fall towards their other two allies.

Taking several steps backwards, Tenshi took up a fighting stance. His left arm was still pounding as he bled from his open wound. His right pectoral was not much better as blood continued to slowly seep out of it. Panting softly, the Uchiha took another drag of the cigar in his mouth while analysing the situation in front of him. These three were not opening the Fuinjutsu Seal when he arrived, instead they had attacked him from the shadows. Were they… Tenshi raised an eyebrow in shock before speaking. “The three of you… you were expecting me weren’t you?” All three Vipers were on their feet by now, blades drawn and looking at him with killing intent. They were all dressed in the same black cloaks as the three he had encountered earlier and all were rather muscular.

A male voice came from the one on the left. “Of course we were, Konoha scum! Do you really think our comrades would leave us unaware as you butchered them? You, the man that broke my wife’s neck as if she were some sort of venison?” The man’s voice began to elevate as his emotion seeped out of him, his fury was clear as day. His hands were shaking with rage as they gripped onto his tanto, he slowly stepped forward as he continued to berate Tenshi. “You village scum think you can walk all over us and get away with it! WELL NO LONGER! WE WILL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB BEFORE WE SLAUGHTER THE REST OF THIS FORSAKEN HELL HOLE!” He let out a rabid war cry before lunging at Tenshi, at the shock of his two allies who were attempting to calm his rage.

Tenshi sighed before opening his right palm forcing his chakra to swarm 7 cm above it in a violent storm. It quickly formed into a stable blue sphere as he completed his Rasengan. He thrust it forwards and it collided with his furious enemy’s tanto, completely shattering the blade. However, Tenshi continued his forward movement and forced the Rasengan into his opponent’s face. He assumed that the man had been screaming in pain, had the technique not completely enveloped his face and muffled any noise coming from him. His allies could only look on in horror as their comrade dropped to the ground in a slump, his body twitching at the shock it had received.

The Uchiha then raised his red eyes at them and readied himself to finish the job, before a jolt went through his entire body. The jolt in question was not from an attack, at least not one on HIM. Instead, it was a feeling of his Shadow Clone being forced to dissipate. Its memories flooded back into him, a load of memories and information all at once. He saw through the Shadow Clone’s eyes as it slowly trailed after the two Genin he had met earlier from a considerable distance. They had walked for a while before they passed three figures obscured behind a house within the walls. The Clone had stopped its movements and observed as the trio waited for the two patrolling Genin to pass them and move off into the distance before walking up to the wall and beginning the Fuinjutsu Seal process.

The Clone was about to strike when the three Vipers suddenly stopped as the Fuinjutsu user turned and spoke to them. Straining his ears, the Clone overheard as the man spoke of a large Shinobi who had attacked one of their other groups, clearly referring to Tenshi's first encounter earlier in the night. It was at this point that Tenshi realised that the kunai wielding Viper he had fought before had used his hand seals to warn his allies about the attack, likely through some form of Sensory Jutsu. In the Shadow Clone’s memory, he watched as the trio quickly moved back to their places behind the houses and began to formulate a plan to ambush him. It was then that the Clone struck, coming down hard on the Fuinjutsu user and stabbing him through the throat, ending his life quickly. A long battle followed this as the Clone fought against the other two Vipers, who appeared to excel in Bukijutsu. The duo fought him in perfect harmony, coordinating their strikes to keep him on the back foot.

The Clone was slowly regaining the upper hand before it noticed another figure appearing next to the battle, seeming to come from nothing. A familiar pair of red eyes with an unusual Sharingan glared at the Clone before a large Fireball Jutsu hurtled towards it, engulfing the Clone and destroying it. That was where the memory ended, but it gave Tenshi more than enough information about what had just happened. He would never forget those eyes from the first time he had witnessed the Mangekyo Sharingan on another. The eyes of his supposed uncle, Mirak Uchiha. The man who had accused Tenshi’s mother of killing his father, Mirak’s brother. The man who had ended the life of Tenshi’s mother, Tonari. The very same man who had almost killed Tenshi himself during their first meeting. Tenshi began to sweat as he realised how precarious this situation was becoming, but he did not have time to think as the two Vipers in front of him began their attacks.

Now in a state of true urgency, Tenshi activated his Taijutsu Cloak. A protective barrier formed and extended to cover his entire body as he synchronised his breathing, completely protecting him as both Vipers swung their blades at him in unison. With the protection of his Taijutsu Cloak around him, both blades broke on impact, causing his opponents to gasp in shock as he grabbed each of them by the throat. A second later, he used his Jotun Grip to completely crush their throats, forcing their bodies to drop to the ground, separated from their heads. He turned to look at the three corpses he had just created and summoned more sand to slowly encompass them before dragging them all down into the ground below, removing any evidence of their encounter.

Without wasting any more time, Tenshi summoned another platform of sand below him, which he proceeded to cross his legs and sit on. With his cigar still in mouth, Tenshi raised the platform in the air and shot forwards at speed towards where his Clone had been defeated. Closing his eyes, the Uchiha began to draw in Nature Energy. If Mirak was in with the Vipers, he would have another three enemies to face, but this time they had the Mangekyo Sharingan on their side. Tenshi understood that there was a very real possibility that this battle could be a fatal one for him, forcing him to think about his two sisters at home. They had likely finished their dinner and were getting ready for bed, completely unaware that their brother was potentially hurtling towards his death at that very moment. Tenshi shook the thought from his head and instead focused on the task at hand as he continued to fly through the sky.

Several minutes later, Tenshi opened his eyes as he approached his destination, now fully stocked with Nature Energy and ready for an overwhelming combat. However, upon his approach, Tenshi only saw one figure standing and waiting for him out in the open. The figure was accompanied by two corpses on either side of him, the two remaining Vipers that his Shadow Clone had fought. The figure of Mirak Uchiha looked up at him as Tenshi arrived. Tenshi stood up as his sand platform softly landed on the ground below, before simply withering away into the ground below. A cruel smile was painted on Mirak’s lips as he watched with anticipation, for some reason opting not to attack.

It was not until Tenshi took a step forward and narrowed his eyes that Mirak chose to finally speak. “Oh my, if it isn’t the little pup of Tonari. You look so different from the last time I saw you. I see that you’ve been working out, and your hair is different too… it’s almost as if I’m looking at a completely different man. Color me impressed, boy, you’ve grown in skill as well as size.” Tenshi spat out his cigar and growled before responding. “Mirak. What the hell do you want? I’m in the middle of something!” Neither man said anything for several minutes, both sizing the other up before Mirak finally responded. “What do I want? Well it’s simple, I want to fulfil the promise that I made to you when we first met. I want to end your pitiful life and purge this world of your mother’s bloodline. I heard that you have two beautiful sisters now as well, I truly enjoy knowing that I have more prey to kil-” Mirak’s response was cut off as an enraged Tenshi dashed forward with his Sage Mode activated and punched him directly in the face, sending the older Uchiha hurtling into the large wall 30 ft behind him.

Mirak, appearing both surprised and impressed, managed to rise to his feet shortly after the impact. “Bloody hell, you HAVE been getting stronger. I guess I underestimated you, pup. It seems that I will have to rethink my strategy. Let’s leave this battle for another day then…” The man’s Mangekyo Sharingan activated once more as Tenshi rushed towards him. The younger Uchiha threw another fist at Mirak but was ultimately too slow as his uncle disappeared into his Kamui, vanishing from sight. It took Tenshi ten whole minutes to finally calm down, his rage having overtaken him completely in that time. When he eventually cooled off, Tenshi deactivated his Sharingan and walked over to the three corpses, using his Sand Coffin to once again send their bodies underground. With his mission complete, Tenshi created another Shadow Clone and sent it to the Shinobi HQ with a report. He himself slowly limped back to his home. His mission was successful but he felt nothing but rage at what had transpired.

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Updated with the addition of an item and other claims following conversation with Junko