PureCrow - TDS Chapter 41 - Broken Tables

A POV (Raikage)

I stood in my high tower office overlooking Kumogakure. I stared down at the maps and reports  scattered across my desk. The latest intelligence reports confirmed Konoha was focusing entirely on the portals while neglecting other standard missions.

Not outright giving up on them but definitely turning away all the missions that aren't necessary to maintain their status, but enough that it's become noticeable.

This was the question mind was focused on when the heavy oak doors of my office banged open.

Mabui burst into the room. Humph, The only shinobi in Kumo that would have the audacity. Her usual perfect composure was completely gone. She looked uncharacteristically flustered, what is it now, did Bee escape the village again for one of his rap concerts, well at least I won't have to listen to it again.

"Lord Raikage," Mabui said. Her breath caught in her throat. "The covert mission into Karasu territory ended in absolute disaster. The strike team failed."

My mind locked up. A massive surge of lightning chakra exploded across my bosy. I brought both of my fists down hard.

The heavy mahogany desk obliterated into flying splinters.

Dust and wood chips settled over the floorboards. I froze in place. Fuck…

Mabui stood right in front of me. She stared through the floating wood chips with a sharp glare.

I cleared my throat loudly and coughed into my fist. Crossing my arms, I quickly forced my signature aggressive scowl back onto my face. I desperately tried to sidestep the embarrassing fact that this was the third desk I had broken this month.

"How?" I barked. I kicked a splintered desk leg out of my way. "How does an elite force led by both Samui and Darui fail a simple mission to annex a small piece of land? Darui ate portal meat to boost his stats to Kage level. Why did we invest so heavily for the brat to fail such a simple mission."I glared at her. "Was Jiraiya of the Sannin stationed down there?"

"No," Mabui replied. Her voice was flat. "They were intercepted and dismantled by Princess Azula."

"Dead?"

"Captured alive," Mabui clarified.

I let out a long breath. The tension left my shoulders. I sighed in quiet relief because Darui was my chosen candidate for the Fifth Raikage position.

A second later, my relief instantly soured. I realized being captured alive by enemies severely damaged Darui's standing and reputation. This was supposed to be a simple mission, capture  a small mountain near the border. The old foggies on the council arn’t going to support a ninja that was captured by another village, even if temporarily.

"Does this unexpected presence of Azula link to Konoha's movements?" Mabui asked. She gestured to the ruined papers on the floor.

"No," I grunted. "Whispers out of the Fire Capital say Azula is very close to the Karasu heir. But the brat has been neglecting his land for years." I crossed my arms tighter. "I dont know whats happening with Konoha, but I dont think its has anything to do with Azula, so far they are the first village that has begun to send genin into the portals. To the point they are neglecting even the nobles."

Mabui nodded, noting a critical distinction. "The Leaf Genin aren't fighting in high tier portals. They are strictly hauling supplies, transporting goods, and farming very low level portals."

I ground my teeth together. "Konoha knows something about the portals that we don't."

My anger boiled over again. "Draw up the plans right now. Assemble an elite force. I’ll march to retrieve Darui and Samui, Myself."

Mabui stopped me flat. "Retrieving them is not going to be as simple as running in full force. Princess Azula captured them personally." She didn't flinch. "Any strike risks catching the Fire Lord's daughter in the crossfire. Killing her is out of the question. Fire Lord Ozai, won't be able to pretend nothing happened if his only daughter is killed, even if it's just to save face.  Being rash here will start the forth shinobi war."

I turned my back to her. I stared out the window, completely stymied. I was forced to play politics, left stewing in my ruined office.

Mabui turned and stepped out the door.

"Mabui," I called out over my shoulder. "Call Ororo and tell her I have a mission for her."

"Ororo, might be a good choice, but you know with her power, if she manages to retrieve them without creating a diplomatic incident, she will skip ahead of Darui in the race for Kage’s seat?  " Mabui said from the hallway. "And a new desk will take a few days."

I ground my teeth as the door clicked shut. 

Jun POV

When the violet light of the teleportation circle faded away, the scent of polished wood of the Kurasu mansion vanished, replaced by the scent of a room that hasn't seen use in a while. 

Enhanced senses aren't as fun as you would expect when you smell everything and I mean everything, It takes a while to get used too.

The stone floor beneath my boots felt rough and uneven. Kurenai and Anko stepped out of the fading magical array right beside me. Anko smelled faintly of damp sulfur, fresh off her trials in Ryūchi Cave.

I glanced around the dim chamber. Azula had requisitioned this specific room to keep the teleportation circle hidden from the guards. Every soldier manning this outpost belonged to her personal vanguard. But its still prudent to hide how we move around for as long as possible.

In fanfiction and even in canon, you are lead to believ that the Ninja villages are the ones that maintain and staff the border posts but the actual responsibilty fell to the ruling nobles who usually hired shinobi to do the heavy lifting. We didn't need to. Azula had armed her trusted officers with specialized scrolls containing pre-drawn teleportation circles, allowing rapid deployment directly to portals.

Ninja did the exact same thing with summoning beasts. Jiraiya and Naruto proved humans could be reverse-summoned. I often wondered why hidden villages never adapted the concept for moving elite troops. The most likely answer was paranoia. If a summoning scroll fell into enemy hands, it could become a perfect trap.

Our summoning circles are able to monitor the intention of the summoner removing the problem. 

I considered creating a fuinjutsu version for the Fire Lord and the Third Hokage. Giving them a way to quickly move forces safely, would make my peerages ability to teleport less valuable.

Keeping me and my peerage from becoming a glorified dispatch manager for the Leaf. That fear was fading anyway. My peerage was stacked. Mai and Ty Lee sat comfortably as strong Jonin. Kurenai, Pyrrha, and I occupied the elite tier. Anko had unlocked Sage Mode, giving her the speed and power to match the Raikage blow for blow. Azula sat firmly in the Kage bracket with her Queen piece and bloodline.

I stepped out of the room and into the main command hall.

Azula sat at the head of a heavy wooden table. Mai leaned against the stone wall, cleaning a dart. Ty Lee stretched on the floor. Pyrrha stood near the window, in her bronze armor.

"With your strength, something must have gone completely wrong for you to call for help," I said, looking directly at Azula.

She snorted, a sharp sound of amusement. She leaned back in her chair and detailed the Kumo raid. She fought them back, let the useless grunts scatter into the forest, and took the two commanders alive.

Hmm, an attack from Kumo. What were they after? What could make them attack what is alll in all not that valuable piece of land, Curious.

"Darui and Samui," I noted, recognizing the names instantly from the bingo books. "You are preparing for the Raikage to send a retrieval team."

"I am confident in my strength," Azula replied smoothly, her golden eyes gleaming. "But I am not arrogant enough to believe I can defeat the Fourth Raikage and whoever else he brings, alone. Plus, while I excel at many things, Anko is vastly superior at extracting information."

"Sounds fun," Anko purred from right behind me, a wicked grin stretching across her face.

"Why bother interrogating them?" I asked, walking over to the table. "They will tell us everything we want to know willingly."

I looked at Mai. "Are they being kept separately?"

"Naturally," Mai drawled, her dark eyes completely deadpan.

"Good," I said. I turned my attention back to Azula. "Did you manage to figure out the seal I asked for?"

Azula’s eyes brightened. The realization clicked into place. "You want to convert them. But do we have the time?" She gestured toward Anko and Kurenai. "The loyalty conversion, takes months."

"Not them," I corrected. "Just her. And that slow conversion only applies to a living person. Reincarnating a dead subject should make the process immediate." I Hope. I think the last part to myself as I placed both hands flat on the table. "Has the seal been completed? If it hasn't, there's no point going forward."

"It is complete," Azula confirmed. "But I haven't had a chance to test it."

"Now is a perfect time," I said. Already moving.

—

The basement holding cell smelled of damp earth and iron. A heavy wooden table sat in the center of the room.

Samui lay motionless on the rough planks. I had ended her life less than two minutes ago. I channeled a concentrated spike of lightning chakra directly into her heart. It was quick, painless, and completely untraceable. I didn't want to risk using venom or blunt force that a medical ninja might detect later.

My hand hovered over her chest. A glowing crimson piece rested in my palm. This was my first time using the Evil Pieces to resurrect the dead.

I pushed the crystalline piece directly into her chest. The crimson light flared, sinking deep into her flesh.

AN. Don't own Images or anything else recognizable.

And yes that's the Ororo you are thinking of.