Strolling Amongst Stalactites

Watching Over

Last Time:

"I beg you my queen. Let me join my daughter this once. I will double my shifts at the Breeding clinic until my punishment is officially up if I must just please let me go." Jade pleaded ...

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Haru pouted as she saw Naruko use a special makeup to cover her whisker marks, "It's a shame you have to cover your whiskers. They're so cute!"

"I don't want to, but they're too distinctive. If anyone from Konoha sees them I'll be recognized." Naruko said shivering in disgust at the thought of most of those people learning who she was disturbed her.

Nina bounced on the blonde's shoulder with her fellow spider familiars, "You're still cute and you have a poison kit too."

Sana huffed, "My mom's girlfriend got me one of those double sided makeup kits with a hidden poison kit. I think they're stupid."

"That's because you suck at using the civilian make up over the disguise makeup and poison compartments." Naruko said chucking at the blush that tinted the sulking raven's cheeks. As she finished covering her whisker marks and sealed the makeup they spotted their muscle bound sensei walking up to them waving a scroll in the air.

"Alright! This is the day, my little students! We have our first mission and as promised, Naruko, it is close to the village of Whirlpool!" Barb grinned as she tossed the scroll to Haru.

Haru caught the scroll and excitedly unrolled it as Naruko and Sana moved behind her, "Oh my! We have to infiltrate a village and find a group of captured people before they're sold?" Haru exclaimed a little surprised at

Barb nodded seriously, "What are the current events in Mist?"

Naruko frowned, "There's a war going on where Mist wishes to purge all the bloodline users from their village, but it's split between the rebels who want to overthrow the mizukage and the rest of the village. Currently it seems like the rebels are losing."

"Exactly! Our village has decided to shift things in the rebels' favor by cutting off the main part of Mist from it's money sources. These people are being transported to an auction house to be sold for money. Many of the people are bloodline users, which thanks to some manipulation on Mist's part, are rare enough to fetch a lot of money. We'll be sabotaging the auction by stopping the transport group at the village of Hot Water."

Haru whimpered slightly, "What do you mean by 'manipulation'?"

The sensei sighed, "It is exactly what you learned in school. Mist is destroying nearby clans and leaving only one person from each clan alive. Yes, Mist is seeking to wipe out all bloodlines, but they need to keep the war funded. Selling the last bearer of a bloodline will fetch a high price even if they have to ensure that they have the rarest product. You three will work to release the prisoners, but you must be careful. There will be strong guards watching including two Mist ninjas."

"Is this a typical first mission?" Sana asked curiously as she skimmed the details in the scroll.

"Yes and here's why. The second you leave the village limits you're in danger. You can and will become a target so you will have a hard mission and you will be required to kill the guards. It's not an easy thing, but you must do so if you want to learn to protect yourself and your teammates in this career. Knowing when to kill is as important as knowing when to use your wit, but you need to experience it first to fully understand. Do you all understand?" Barb asked seriously and when her young ninjas nodded she grinned. "Then let's go!"

Clara scuttled onto Naruko's hair and pulled it back into a low ponytail as Nina and Tina found their spots as deceitfully innocent earrings, "Now, remember your heat path lessons everyone!" She exclaimed excitedly before becoming still to appear like regular jewelry.