Shadow Walk ;; Hyougakure ;; H,K,U

[KANE]

Shadow Walk
During the Chuunin Exams
Heibi, Kakashi, Ubume

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Time: 5:55 AM
Date: December 12th
Location: Atop a high building snowy rooftop, Hyougakure.

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The snow in Hyougakure was just as relentless as the weather throughout Shimo no Kuni, and in some instances appeared to be more relentless from the view of the village. Thick patches of ice and snow had collected on the rooftops, giving the rooftops a glazed looked as the sun would rise and begin to brighten the village. Atop one of the highest buildings in Hyougakure, peering over the village under the cover of the snow and ice, stood Uchiha Sasuke, his eyes looking down onto the unsuspecting village and it's inhabitants.

Even though it was early in the morning, Uchiha Sasuke was not the least bit tired. This may have been due to the fact that on the trip to Hyougakure, he and Hebi had travelled mostly at night to avoid freezing conditions for sleeping. It was only the day before, that the Hebi leader had called for the team to rest most of the day away as they would be moving out later that night. Because of that, when they had actually arrived at Hyougakure, in a sense they were just waking up to their mission.

As the Uchiha knelt down on one knee, his eyes forever trained on the village's ground level, he watched as more and more people from different villages began to pour into Hyougakure. Even though he was on one of the highest spires in Hyougakure and the only ones normally at that height were the Miyamoto's, the Uchiha made sure to keep his visibility to as low as possible. As his eyes scanned more and more people, the Uchiha managed to actually locate a few of the targets on the list they were to assassinate. Pulling out a scroll and performing the correct counterseals to unlock them, the Uchiha would begin to mentally check off the names of the people in his head.

"So a few of the targets have already begun to move out for the Chunnin Exams...Tch, if only they knew they were the ones being judged today and not the Genin" The Uchiha said in a low voice.

As he watched the different shinobi from various villages begin to gather, Sasuke took note of the more notable ones he could see from where he was after a few minutes. Some he had heard of before, and others were only just a name to him. One such person of the latter company was Darui of the Black Lightning.

He knew nothing about nor cared about Darui's name or title. The only reason he had even known who he was partially is due to the fact of having taken up the contract for Hyougakure with the Miyamotos. They had provided Hebi with basic knowledge of their village's status in relations to others. They had a direct alliance with Kumogakure, and because of that Sasuke was able to research a bit more about Hidden Cloud ninja. Aside from the Raikage, Darui was probably the most powerful ninja from Kumogakure currently.

However, in the former category of shinobi he knew about, one such notable shinobi was the silver-haired Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Seeing him walk about the place and into the Adminstartive Building made the Uchiha's blood boil with the fury of a thousand hells. Maybe it just the fact that he was in possession of something that was Sasuke's heritage and birthright despite being of any relation to the clan or maybe it was due to him having made his name famous due to him using the talent and gifts of the Uchiha.

Hatake Kakashi otherwise known as the Copy Ninja...Obviously, your name isn't due to your own talents but rather of those whose talents you make use of...Tch! You wouldn't be shit without the Uchiha's Sharingan. Before these exams are over, I'll personally see to it that I remove that which has made you famous. The Uchiha thought in his in his mind as the random heights of the buildings in the village allowed for Kakashi to disappear out of sight on his way in.

After watching the last of the people enter the administrative building, his eyes turning towards Ruuji for a second. "It won't be long before the exams officially start...Ruuji, I'd like your input on the Miyamoto and the situation at hand. I think it's safe to say that your already enjoying this based on what we have to do, but what do you think about trusting the Miyamoto?" The Uchiha asked.

To say he trusted the Miyamoto was utterly foolish. In truth, the Uchiha didnt' care much for them, even though they had contracted them for this job. While the Miyamoto didn't seem to be any threat to Hebi in general and were more allies than anything, in the world of shinobi alliances are easily made and broken. The Uchiha's bedmate was betrayal and hatred, he needed nothing more than that to keep him on the right track.

The Miyamoto might have thought they were the ones who were in the more advantageous spot now, considering Hebi is being in the spotlight for this. However, that's exactly what Sasuke wanted them to think. He never planned on sticking to the game plan they had laid out. Once he was inside the village, it automatically became doing things his wya regardless of what anyone thought about his methods.

The purpose of the taking the contract was not the money offered, but the opportunity it presented. This opportunity gave Sasuke the chance to make a mark on the world and draw out the real goal. The way the younger Uchiha figured it, if he could stir up enough trouble at the Exams, take out a few political figures and notable shinobi with him then eventually he would pose a threat to more than just the ninja world:

He wanted to become a threat to Akatsuki...

The real purpose behind this was much more than a fragile alliance and money in his pocket. The real purpose was to force Akatsuki to play their hands and allow him the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. Even though he knew nothing beyond they were an organization of top S Rank ninja, Sasuke knew one thing: If he became a big enough problem to threaten even Akatsuki, eventually they would want to take him out. Logically, who would be better to take down the brash young Uchiha than his own brother? Especially the so called "True Heir of the Sharingan"?

Still, even though Sasuke felt like he was ready to take on his brother, this exam also held him in a position to see just how much stronger he had become since their last encounter. This would be a good test of his own skill and ability, and if wasn't able to do anything noteworthy here and now, how would be able to stand on his own two feet against Itachi.

"No matter what Ruuji, just remember this: We are the ones using the Miyamoto in the long run, not the other way around..." The Uchiha would say aloud.

[KANE]

Hyougagakure no Sato was an interesting place to say the least. Even with the border to Shimo no Kuni still within hours of travel a chilly wind had begun to pierce Ruuji’s bones. Needless to say it had only gotten worse when they got closer to the village. While traveling through the frozen wastes of the country itself he had assumed Hyouga itself would be warmer, build upon a series of hot water springs perhaps. He was very wrong. People could actually live their daily lives in this kind of climate. Maybe it was just Ruuji. It was common knowledge after all, that reptiles did not like cold places. For that reason, the lizard had happily agreed to travel during the night and sleep during the day to keep moving at the country´s coldest hours.

Looking down on the village, sitting next to Sasuke, Ruuji´s predatory eyes also scanned each shinobi they saw, local or foreign. And battle-oriented as he was, he already tried to estimate their skill, fighting style and how good the lizardman would fair against them as well as he could given the distance in between them. How much would this local climate hamper his combat prowess? The frost made his muscles stiff like a rusty machine which would pose a slight handicap, though it arguably wouldn’t take nearly as much of a toll on his abilities as on Suigetsu’s. Ruuji could only imagine what would happen if he activated his water body powers in a place like this. Would he manage to stay liquefied or would he turn into a human popsicle?

Among the many shinobi was someone even Ruuji recognized; the Copy Ninja. Unbeknown to Sasuke, the Uchiha wasn’t the only one with the desire to cross blades with Kakashi, although Ruuji’s reason was nothing more than curiosity. Like Konoha’s White Fang, his son was an extremely famous jounin whose abilities were arguably quite close to Kage-level. The truth of that was something the madman wouldn’t mind finding out up close.

There was of course something keeping him from attacking Kakashi, aside from the little bit of sense left in him that prevented his bloodthirsty recklessness and lack of regard for his own safety from becoming suicidal. And that thing was Hebi’s deal with the Miyamoto clan. When word had reached Sasuke about the Chuunin Exams taking place in this ice-cold village surrounded by no-man’s land, his plan had come swiftly. These exams were something that held the clear attention of every single country, and of course the Akatsuki. The plan was simple.

Focus as much attention on themselves as possible and lure the Akatsuki out. More importantly; lure Itachi out.

Ruuji doubted he was the only one who saw the potential risks of this plan; Sasuke was clever enough to realize it as well. If the major villages also began to see them as a threat and started to hunt them, surely getting to Itachi would become much harder with their interference. And what if the Akatsuki didn’t send Itachi? While it was only fitting to send the Uchiha to deal with his own blood, Ruuji doubted a group like the Akatsuki would go out of their way for the sake of irony. If Itachi was busy with a different assignment, they might as well send another member to silence Hebi. And with people of Hoshigake Kisame's calibre in their ranks, each and every one of their members were without a doubt extremely powerful and extremely hard to take down. This went for Itachi himself as well of course.

Yet circumstances left them with no other choice. Uchiha Itachi had proven to be a hard man to track down even with the information Kusagakure no Sato provided them with. With their current progress, it could easily take years to find him. And for Sasuke, the longer the time it took to find him meant the bigger the chance would become that someone else killed Itachi and took his precious revenge away from him. Killing an Akatsuki was hard, but not impossible. A couple of them had already fallen before, so the rumors said. The last of them being an extremely powerful shinobi known as the Mad Bomber.

The lizardman looked up from his thoughts as Sasuke addressed him, asking for his thoughts on the Miyamoto. They were a very big and influential family within Hyouga that was planning something big. And Hebi had agreed to help them do some “dirty work” in exchange for safe entry and exit into the village.

”As much as I’d hate to admit it, remaining on good terms with the Miyamoto is our best bet if we don’t want to be discovered. As soon as our presence is revealed, our respective villages will be after us like bees after honey. While I wouldn’t mind going on a little genin hunt myself, with our plans in mind it would be best to do nothing that would rub the Miyamoto the wrong way.”, he stated while keeping his eyes fixed on the Uchiha’s. Perhaps it was strange to hear Ruuji say this considering following rules wasn’t his forte. In fact, of all the people in Hebi it was the lizardman himself who was the most likely member who would do something that would rub the Miyamoto the wrong way. He realized this much, yet his answer was more focused on the groups goal than on his own personal desire to kill.

”Remember, the Miyamoto seem like the type of people who would sell us out to the villages if they believe it would be in their advantage, so we will need to make sure they remain as dependant on us as possible. The more valuable we are to the clan, the more freedom it will give us.”

[KANE]

As the Uchiha listened to what Ruuji was saying in response to his question, the nuke-nin would take in what he heard from his companion. Indeed what he was saying was the truth: Taking on this request from the Miyamoto does place significant risks on them for even attempting. This particular "mission" could put them in grave danger due to how many villages were gathered. Not to mention that Konoha was already well represented by Kakashi, and no doubt he would try to capture the Uchiha.

The Miyamoto were a good ally to have in battle, and with the fact that if everything goes smoothly for this bit of dirty work, Akatsuki would soon find themselves in a predicament that would need to be dealt with. Sasuke was aiming to gain international acclaim throughout this entire exam. The offer posed by the Miyamoto gave him a chance to do so, and that would make Akatsuki eventually come to him...and that's what he wanted.

"Good terms with the Miyamoto? We are going to be the direct reason they are ascending to power over this village, we are on more than good terms with them...While it might not be best to rub them the wrong way, I'd prefer not to end up kissing someone's ass. That's never been an Uchiha and never will be. TO be honest with you Ruuji, the Miyamoto won't sell us out.." Sasuke said as his eyes continued to watch more and more of the people moving about Hyougakure.

He paused after that statement, hoping that Ruuji would re-think about what he had just heard. The Miyamoto wouldn't sell out Hebi, not in the slightest. Sasuke knew this much to be true, even if the Miyamoto hadn't said it directly. Considering the situation and the reprecussions that will follow, it would actually be worse for them to sell out Hebi.

"I know they won't sell us out, because they have much more to lose by selling us out than to gain; For example, if they were to turn us over with all the information we know, they would easily become a village that's going to become sealed off again. Even though their ally is Kumogakure, they are a smaller country and relative unknown. Not mention the fact that, we directly have all evidence needed to prove they staged what we are about to do. Interrogation by high level Jounin will reveal that, and then what happens? They start to crumble as no one will trust them due to all the information of our actions. Even with Kumo as their ally, Kumogakure would break that alliance for the sake of not wanting to be associated with an underhanded village both reputation wise and for their own personal reasons. In addition to that, even if Kumogakure were to stay allied with them, it would only make them become sealed off too due to the dirty work that's done and their constant building up of their armies....I think you doubt my observational powers too much Ruuji, after all, I am an Uchiha. Having good occulars and occular skills are our thing." Sasuke as he pointed his eyes back towards the village, his Sharingan now active.

As he eyes scanned more of the village, the Uchiha would hear the last part of Ruuji's statement about them selling out on Hebi. The Uchiha would smirk some before he got up out of his crouched position and started to walk towards the right side of the rooftop. Looking at the edge of it, the Uchiha would take a moment to gauge his trajectory before he leaped through the sky. The wind ripped through his hair and shot past his ears as his white cloak (a black cloak would stand out against the white blanket of the village) rippled through the air until he landed. He would jump two more times, landing on a building that was probably 2 floors lower than the one they were previously standing on.

Lowering his body so that the white cloak covered all but his lower face, the Uchiha would wait for Ruuji to land next to him as he leaned up against a a brick smoke stack. The heat felt pretty good for him at the moment, as he took the time to allow his body to gain more heat.

While this was happening the Uchiha's occulars were gathering information, as they could partially see through the thin sheets of ice and give color to chakra. The Uchiha's eyes stared into one building that was about 700 feet across from their position. From there, he could see that three of the 10 targets from the list were gathered in a spire. No doubt, they had to be the top 3 heads they were searching for.

"Priority targets are ahead in that spire..I think we should save them for last as they will be the hardest to get to. Not to mention that as soon as they are dropped, the whole village will most likely go on alert." Sasuke stated as his eyes moved about once again.

After a few seconds of searching, the Uchiha managed to locate several powerful chakra signatures gathered in one place; One such being Hatake Kakashi. As he looked down into a building that was much closer than the previous one he looked at, the Uchiha could make out the Jounin's figure through his Sharingan and noticed that only 450 feet away were all the Jounin gathered in the room. Seeing the Copy Ninja made the Uchiha's blood boil to the point it was overflowing, even Ruuji might have felt a bit overwhelemed by the amount he was putting out.

It was no secret that Kakashi gained his claim to fame through the use of the Uchiha's bloodline. If it weren't for that, he would never be the success that he is. Something that like infuriated Sasuke almost to the point he hated the Copy Ninja as much as he hated Itachi. The blood-stained past of the Uchiha had already seen much degradation of their name, and it's being kept alive by a poser who only possesses Uchiha power. Removing his eyes from the shinobi, but still seething, the Uchiha picked up the notice of Darui whose Black Lightning was supposed to be famous as the Copy Ninja. Being that the two were side by side, it wasn't hard for the Uchiha to keep focus on the two of them. Letting his anger go down some, the Uchiha would take a quick scan of the rest of the Jounin before turning to Ruuji.

"We need to be wary of the Copy Ninja and Darui of the Black Lightning....From what I can see, those two pose the biggest threat among the Jounin. However, we might have a bit of help on our side as I noticed a Kusagakure ninja in there and we are still on good terms with Kusagakure. It's possible, we might be able to approach this Kusagakure ninja and see if they can help us with our plan." Sasuke said, putting out a side opinion for Ruuji to think about.

Settling in near the smoke stack, the Uchiha would continue to eye the village looking around for more targets. That was the first priority, was locating the targets physcially by face. They needed to do so in order to confirm they would all be present. The Uchiha had found 3 of them, and no doubt due to Ruuji's experiementation he had other skills that would allow him to find more. They needed to get this done as quick as possible. The sun was already beginning to rise with the start of the Chunnin Exams, and that meant more light poured into the village. Even under the blinding cover of the snow with their white cloaks for now, the light could still give them away if it hit correctly.

[KANE]

There was the odd comments thrown around about the Genin. Some of them were doing great, they really had the mental ability to keep going on. Others were breaking down, some of them even reduced to nothing but a shaking mess of stress. A good initiation, indeed. It seemed only the strongest of mind and body would pass this exam, but Kakashi wasn't one to comment on the progress of them. He liked to sit and watch, sometimes even question what he'd do in their situation and simply just let his mind wander. Like an open plain of sorts, there was nothing really particular on his mind. It could have been considered off-putting that he never really found any of this stuff, or the company of the others interesting at all. Being a social bug just wasn't his thing, nor would it ever have been. The silence of the silver haired jounin could have been enough to confirm that, only greeting those and speaking if he deemed that it was utterly necessary.

Just as he had shifted his footing, he felt something.

Something dark...sinister.

This killing intent...it's...who could it be coming from!?

His eyes widened in alert, Kakashi seemed much more weary of his surroundings, but he had to make sure that none of the Jounin found it particularly odd. His look moved from Darui to Rikai, checking to see if they sensed the same dark feeling. Not that Kakashi was really paying attention, it must have been coming from someone outside. Giving a soft bow to the Jounin who had surrounded them, Kakashi had made his way to the door to depart.

"Excuse me, I forgot I had some paper work to finish regarding the exams." With that, Kakashi made his way out of the door and into Hyougagakure itself.

Where the hell did that come from? Trust there to be trouble lurking about here with the exams going on. Was he the only one who knew about it? He hoped that Darui would have at least sensed it. Considering Darui stood the closest to him, it would have been odd if it was only Kakashi that managed to sense this intent. It was...cold, disturbing. Yet there was no movement, which must have meant someone let their emotions get out of hand. Kakashi would find them, though it would be hard in the snow, considering they had the advantage at their disposal in order to successfully disguise themselves in the winter blizzards.

It was still early too, meaning they must have planned to attend the exams in their fullest. What were they planning, more so, who was it? Akatsuki? That would be impossible. They were after the tailed beasts, yet none of them were here. Still, it was not impossible to rule out. Their motives had been hard to judge as of late.

Kakashi moved quickly, however. There was no stutter in his movements and he had to find out who managed to let them slip. There was only one way he would have been able to truly see them through this winter weather, the use of his Sharingan. No doubt, he had not entirely planned to start a fight, it was recon after all. When he found out who it was, where they were, what they looked like - Kakashi would see to it that they were captured and dealt with. The same thing that happened in Konoha with Sunagakure and Orochimaru could not be left to happen again. A great life was lost during that event.

It would have been stupid if Kakashi just walked out in the middle of the village. He was now positioned so that he was behind a building, just away from the actual gathering of the rest of the Jounin. Two fingers slipped up to his headband, peering it open and revealing his Sharingan. A three count would be taken, before his head slipped out from behind the building and he set eyes upon the location from where he felt the presence. Only two people, outfitted so they blended against the snow. A fitting disguise, indeed.

Now however, they had the Copy Ninja on their trail.

[KANE]

The Genin, for the most part, were doing fine. There were a handful of young shinobi that had caused a bit of trouble for themselves or those around them, ranging from breakdowns to outbursts, and more. Genin nowadays seemed different from how they’d been when Darui was a genin. Perhaps it was just the changes of attitude through the generations. Or, perhaps it was something else entirely? Something that escaped the knowledge and understanding of the Raikage’s Right Arm. Probably something those that have Genin as their own understand. The dark-skinned man mused to himself, closing his eyes and easily slipping his hands into his pockets. I’ll need to make a report to Raikage soon to inform him how the exams have gone so far.

Sighing, Darui relaxed his body and mind slightly. It was then that it hit him.

Darkness. Sinister emotions. Something filled with wrath and hatred.

Darui’s eyes snapped open in surprise, and he remained staring at the ground as he had been when he bowed his head after closing his eyes. Such killing intent... it left him almost dumbfounded. There were few shinobi he knew of that could deliver an intent so powerful such as this. Darui did not move, but instead glanced to the sides to see if he was the only person to have noticed that. If he was, he would be by far amazed. However, it appeared Kakashi had and he excused himself quietly from where he was standing, in what one could consider a small group with himself in Rikai.

He has sensed it as well. Darui looked to Rikai and excused himself with a polite bow shortly after Kakashi had vanished from sight. ”I need to excuse myself as well...I have a report to make.” He departed seconds later, the skin-tight material coating his arms for this winter weather shifting slightly over his muscles.

Where...no, who did that come from? Who here has such an ill intent? Akatsuki? Darui had hoped these exams would go by rather uneventfully save for good fights between Genin that he would have the privilage of witnessing. Was somebody planning on crashing these exams in a violent manner as Konoha’s had been years ago? Kakashi may be fearing a similar event...that would be unpleasent déjà vu. Darui realized. The exams wouldn’t be so dull after that.

Despite Darui’s will for the exams to be more exciting than simply spectating, he would do all he could to not allow disaster and needless violence to befall these exams. As he stepped into an entryway of the building, Darui realized the weather conditions had only worsened. Although he was not entirely blinded by whiteouts of these blizzards, due to his familiarity with dense fog and thick, low-lying clouds, they certainly posed a problem. He would need to rely on his other senses to guide him just as much as his sight. He lacked sharp eyes that those with unique kekkei genkei would have, so it would place him at a disadvantage, however...

He had followed Kakashi silently, tailing Konoha’s famed Copy Ninja from a distance that left his footsteps unheard and the silver-haired Jounin barely in sight. The man had stopped, so Darui used the time to silently approach, nearing the whtieout which Kakashi looked into, no doubt using his legendary Sharingan to see through what Darui could not.

”I assumed you felt that killing intent as well...” Darui murmured, his voice rumbling quietly from deep within his chest. The light-blond-haired shinobi looked up in the direction Kakashi was looking. ”What are you able to see?”

[KANE]

Ubume's attention was more focused on the teachers, representatives, mentors, chuunin and Jounin present in the room rather than the hardships that the genin from all over the world were suffering. There were things that could be learnt about a person when their pupils were in danger, going through strife and conflict. Besides the Kusagakure Jounin was not here for the genin, she was here to learn as much as she could about Hyougagakure the seclusive treasure trove. Also picking up some information on the other villagers was never harmful, besides while watching the future generations of the other villages had could be beneficial it was a task left to the other members of Rikai's group, her assistants and the senseis of the handful of teams.

Ubume's neutral face frown for a bit when something sent a shiver down her spine but quickly returned to normal. Her purple eyes trailed to Hatake Kakashi and then to Darui, they must have felt the sinister feeling... the killing intent of a very powerful and very bloodthirsty shinobi. Kakashi excused himself and Ubume made a slight nod understanding and making it look like she bought his story "I wonder if this relates to Konoha" She mused inside her head, while watching the silver haired jounin walk out, next to excuse himself was Darui to which Ubume also slightly bowed her head as a sign of goodbye. No sense of subtlety... very much like the clouds

Ubume pretended to watch the monitors for a time, but she was really observing the other occupants of the room, checking if anyone else would investigate the origin of the killing intent, but as far she could tell no one else even felt it. This brought Rikai to the conclusion that the threat had been directed at one of the three veteran jounin, but who? she wondered.

"A great opportunity to dig up information or leads, now do I remain as an observer or a player?"

She stepped out without talking to anyone and made her way outside, there was a gust of wind when she opened the door that blew cold wind into her unprepared face, Ubume flinched for a moment but stepped outside. Trailing two expert jounin in this weather would be a challenge, even with her OWLS training. But she managed to track them through their foot prints in the snow, they were half covered but any Jounin should have been able to find them it was not like they were trying to cover them.

She eventually approached the pair of shinobi when Darui was asking if Kakashi could see anything with his sharingan... "Ah... what a nostalgic sight, I would very much hate battling those eyes again" She thought of her time during the third shinobi war, that was the last time she had seen the infamous sharingan of the Uchiha.

"I believe we were the only ones to feel it" Ubume commented, her soft but extremely neutral tone spoke as she got a couple of feet from the pair of jounin. "If you would have me, I'd like to help... for the sake of the stability of the exams She added, turning her attention to the direction both Kakashi and Darui were facing.

[KANE]

The lizardman calmly listened at the Uchiha’s response. He had to compliment Sasuke for how much he thought this through, though a small part of Ruuji still wasn’t satisfied. While Sasuke had a point about Hebi holding some vital information about the Miyamoto that could be used to blackmail them in case they had any thought about betraying them, if the Miyamoto found a more powerful ally that would offer the same to them as Hebi offered, their hold over the family would weaken. Yet the Uchiha seemed keen on moving on, so Ruuji decided not to linger on the subject.

Ruuji followed the black-haired youth across the rooftops, through the air and to a lower roof, where both of them would wait near a smokestack. There, he waited for his teammate to make a move. While Sasuke scanned their surroundings, the lizardman simply stood idle knowing there wasn’t much he could do right now. It had become a standard ritual, the Uchiha using his great ocular visions to gather as much information on their surroundings as possible while the rest of Hebi simply stood guard. It was the most they could do as whatever information they would gain on their surroundings by peering about, it was almost certain Sasuke would find that information first. So when the Uchiha spoke about the targets he had perceived in the spire across, Ruuji could only nod in silent agreement.

Then, after a few more seconds of spying, Sasuke had found something else. Ruuji knew this not because the Uchiha said anything, but because of the aura of anger and bloodlust that started surrounding him, reminding Ruuji of why he had decided to stick to the young man and stomach being ordered around by someone who was technically still a kid. Ruuji had his pride, and Sasuke’s obvious opinion that he was better than the rest of Hebi, including Ruuji, was easily noticed in his attitude. The madman wasn’t someone who was angered quickly, but the boy’s huge ego was hard to stomach at times.

Ah, the things he did for a good story.

”Ah, those guys?”, Ruuji spoke after Sasuke brought up the shinobi from Kusa along with the Copy Ninja and Darui, another famous shinobi. “Why would we share Darui and Kakashi? I’m aching for a good fight, so it would be a shame to ruin it by letting others interfere.” Even though Sasuke hadn’t said anything that hinted towards it yet, Ruuji was expecting the Uchiha would want to fight the Copy Ninja one on one. Kakashi’s possession of the sharingan was a well known fact, something the ever so proud Sasuke would probably see as an insult to his clan. Well, Ruuji would not stop him. Darui of the Black Lightning was as good a well known ninja as Kakashi was, so without a doubt he would prove to be a challenging and amusing opponent.

Yes, he would do just fine.

In the meantime, the sun had started to rise. Soon the streets below them would be teeming with life, and moving about unnoticed would be harder. Ruuji didn’t know how fast the Miyamoto wanted the targets dead, granted the chuunin exams were bound to last for a while. But Hebi of course had its own agenda. They couldn’t afford letting the Clan’s objectives get before their own.

”How many have you located yet? Should I scout around a bit with my earth style?”, he questioned, wary of the sun and the people who would soon wake.

[KANE]

As the heat from the smokestack started to warm up Sasuke's body more, he heard Ruuji ask about using his Earth style to scout around below the ground that way. The Uchiha knew exatly why Ruuji wanted to go underground with his earth style and it was probably the best idea to use for Ruuji considering the sun was about to rise.

"Not just yet...Let's observe a little more of the village from as high up as possible. Even though the sun's getting ready to come out, we still have snowstorm cover a little. That and, we need to see how busy the village gets. If it's not bad we can stay above ground on the rooftops." Sasuke stated as he snuggled closer to the smokestack.

With Ruuji's reptilian experiementations done on him, this cold probably didn't bother him as much as it did Sasuke, provided Ruuji's body chemistry was the same as all reptiles. Even though Shimo no Kuni was extremely cold and most reptilies wouldn't be living in this condition, at the same time they were cold-blooded and often they were much much smaller than Ruuji's human size body. But Sasuke was human, and snuggling close to this heat was the best he could do to keep his mind off the cold. Sure, he could create some Katon chakra and let it migrate through his inner body, but such a thing would require enough concentration that it would hinder his ability to use the Sharingan effectly like he wanted. Even though the doujutsu was a powerful technique and used little chakra on the Uchiha, he still needed to be actively concentrating on using it's abilities in order for his Sharingan to be truly effetive. That was the differene in this situation right now.


"I've located 3 of the main higher ups, that means we still have 2 more left to find of the high priority targets. But all together we have a total of 7 more left to locate..." Sasuke stated, the sound of distaste in his voice.

It was easy to tell that while the Uchiha had agreed to help the Miyamoto, it was proving to be more troublesome than he originally anticipated. That was because of the fact that this job had suddenly become harder with the inclusion of the sun coming into play. As the Uchiha narrowed his eyes some, he jumped across the way onto the next roof top, hoping Ruuji would follow suit. As he did, the Uchiha's eyes detected movement at a smaller spire that was near the main one where he located the first targets. Pointing down to it for Ruuji to see, it wasn't hard for the madman from Kiri to know what Sasuke was getting at.

Two men were coming out, both wearing Hyougakure royalty gear...

"Looks like two of the earlier targets had moved out of the larger spire and are now on foot. Your earth style might not be needed just yet. Let's shadow them and see where they go first." The Uchiha stated as he kept to the rooftops and eagerly followed the two people on foot.

This entire ordeal had become a bit less troublesome now in the Uchiha's eyes, because he wasn't going to wait to start offing the targets. So for the next several minutes, the two men walking were being targetd unbeknownst to them. While they walked and talked about major things for the village, the Uchiha would continue tailing them until they walked down into an area that appeared to be for certain people as the gaurd door seemed to slam shut, keeping outsiders away from the big giant mansion like house they had arrived at. It had the same signature as what was on their clothes, meaning it must have some importance.

Stopping just above a rooftop that jutted over the gateline, the Uchiha reached for his katana and slowly began to slide it out of the sheath before he turned his head towards Ruuji and nodded to him. In a second, the Uchiha phased away and appear in front of one of the guards with a smirk on his face before he thrust out his right foot to slam into the guard's stomach. The guard backed up some before bouncing off the gateline. Using the momentum from the bounce, the guard jumped forward with a kunai in hand as if to stab Sasuke.

However, this attempt was failed thanks to the Uchiha's Sharingan as it caught the events in slow motion. Reaching up with his free left hand, the Uchiha caught the man's wrist, before stabbing his sword through the man's bicep. He then pushed the man's caught hand (the one holding the kunai) and made the guard essentially stab himself in the throat as blood spurted onto the ground and stained the snow. Then without warning, Sasuke stabbed the man in the chest right at the heart. The man would die and drop to the ground on his face as the Uchiha pushed the gateline open.

He wasn't worried about Ruuji following him as he already knew that by the time he had finished with his guard, the madmen would have been killed his own guard so that they could step through the gateline together. Walking up to stop just before the front doors, the Uchiha would stare up at the giant place in front of them.

"Shall we?" The Uchiha stated as he used Shunshin to disapper from sight.

Reappearing in a window that was at the second floor, the Uchiha crouched before looking inside. It would appear that this place was a regal like structure, as the inside of it was decorated very nicely and there were many stairs and hallways. In fact, it looked to be more like a royal church if anything. Slipping through the window after picking the lock, the Uchiha crouched down to the ground and stopped at the stairway banister to overlook the entire area. Below him were several stacks of books and a few tables as well. Up on the catwalk ahead of them, the men were still walking apparently unaware of what's about to happen.

"Let's take them out as silent as possible...We can't assume they are the only one's here." The Uchiha whispered as he walked off towards the left, leaving Ruuji to his own devices.

It was kind of silly though, telling a notorious killer to be silent. The Uchiha couldn't do nothing but smirk as he walked off, disappearing into the darkness of the shadows of the large place.

[KANE]

Despite the arrival of Darui and Rikai, Kakashi's vision did not leave that of the two figures. His eye was keenly set upon them, refusing the move even a short glance until he could see that they were moving. The Sharingan was not natural for him, however. Unlike an Uchiha, whose body is capable of constant use, his was much more strained. This meant he would have to be careful when he used it, so that if he had to confront the two, he would have enough chakra to keep himself alive. It could have been anyone, however, it didn't look like they were aware that people were now onto their movements. They would have to track precisely yet obliviously. Any slip would alert the two that they were being followed and with the snow, it would be un-natural for footsteps to be appearing on roofs behind them that wasn't theirs. Kakashi had mostly though this out in the past few minutes.

"There's two people, though they're disguised, so I can't make out their identity." Kakashi noted to the two, "It would be unwise if we were all to follow them, I suggest we keep ourselves evenly spread out, remaining within each others vision."

Upon an analysis of the situation, anyone would think that yes, the three had an advantage. In fact, three of them only made the task more difficult. There was more chances someone would slip up, or they'd get caught out. They weren't trying to start a war in the middle of the exams, what they were about to take on was the equivalent of what ANBU members went through every day. Kakashi, being an Ex-ANBU Captain himself, knew what he had to do if they wanted to track them. He trusted that Darui was capable, as well as Rikai. There was something about here that seemed to bolster a presence of confidence, that would have been enough. Kakashi wasn't going to take charge of this situation, however. In the grand scheme of things, Kumogakure was not his ally, nor was Kusagakure. Whatever consequences they got themselves into, it would be up to them in order to get out of it. Kakashi was concentrating on one thing - preventing another Chuunin Exam incident. Even losing one student proved to be a life-time regret...

"If the three of us trail them, we should get an idea of their motives. I'll meet up afterwards." Just as Kakashi had looked back up, they were already on the move. As such, with a quick body flicker, the Copy Ninja had disappeared from the sights of Rikai and Darui.

They were roof hopping, meaning they were most likely looking for a particular building. Kakashi didn't take to the roofs, that would have been to obvious if someone was right behind them. His Sharingan had been hidden behind his head-band for now, seeing as he didn't exactly need it constantly. Tracking had become a sort of natural skill for him. Instead, he was in the streets themselves. There was nothing urgent about how Kakashi walked or moved. It was almost a casual walk, with his one eye ever so present upon the disguised figures as they moved. Kakashi would pass a small group of people and then suddenly, he would disappear, moving closer and quicker against their movements.

Just as they reached what appeared to be a small spire, Kakashi took cover behind the edging of a wall. His back firmly up against it, his hands backed upon it. Ever so slightly, he edged his head out and took a glance around at what had become truly a horrific sight. Two men, who looked like some sort of important political figures had just been flat out murdered. Turning back around, there was a sense of anticipation from Kakashi. Did he converge on them now?

Shit!

They were for real. His suspicions were correct, they were here to kill. Was it all of the political figures attending? That meant everyone would have been put in danger. They had to get the word out but Kakashi couldn't stop following them. Hopefully Darui and Rikai had seen this too. Another peer and they were gone. The guards were dead, meaning they surely must have entered that structure. This was bad. There was nothing he could do but follow.

Upon making his way to the gate, Kakashi knelt down, feeling the pulse of the two dead officials. They would not be possible to save, for they were dead. That didn't mean there wasn't enough time to save the others. Running up the side of the building, Kakashi entered a small panel which was opened at the top. Inside would be the main frame of the building, everything that was keeping it together. Beams crossed and bolted to make sure the structure was sturdy and holding against the weather. Steadily walking, making sure that he was as silent as he possibly could be, he perched over a ledge, watching intently.

It was from here, Kakashi would make his move.

[KANE]

Ubume nodded slowly and vanished when a plan was settled. Although perfectly capable of taking command and issuing orders, the Kusagakure veteran was also perfectly fine by letting others take the initiative, even if they belonged to other villages for as long as they proved capable Ubume wouldn't complain. Besides at the moment the best one suited to lead was Hatake Kakashi thanks to his Sharingan and the ability to see chakra he could best keep track of the two mysterious persons with a hunger for carnage.

Ubume was the last one to vanish as Darui and Kakashi took the lead, she instead took a position of a rear guard. She was not a close range fighter nor she was trained to shadow others in this type of environments so instead she chose to keep both her companions backs safe in case their prey was more than two and in the unlikely case the trio of Jounin were being led into a trap.

The Kusagakure Kunoichi kept the other Jounin's in her field of vision and was far more cautious on her approach. Her feet always landed in patches where there was no snow, in bits of ice or on the edges of roof or even where others had just stepped on. Ubume was good in keeping a low profile her training and working with the OWLS made sure of that Rikai would leave no traces of her passing.

She noticed a pair Hyouga shinobi walking down the street which caused Ubume to land in front of a poster next to a door. Upon reading the poster Ubume found out it was that of a band that was going to start playing in the evening. She could hear the steps of the chuunin getting closer, she tensed up when they stopped next to her, one of the young shinobi comment ”They are a pretty good band, you should come to their concert” Ubume relaxed and made a gracious nod, the pair of Hyouga shinobi went inside.

Ubume vanished with Sunshin and continued trailing Kakashi, she had lost sight of Darui. With time it became evident that their chase was leading to a small spire, Ubume's purple eyes showed no affection when she spotted the dead bodies but confirmed that those cloaked strangers were. She observed as Kakashi entered through the main gateway and assumed that the Kumo jounin would also go in so she opted to remain outside and circled the building in order to keep watch.

Just as the Kunoichi settled between two chimneys her purple eyes spotted her quarry appearing and entering through a window on the second floor. A second later they disappeared inside...

”I Think I shall play the part of the a player rather than the observer”

Ubume made one quick set hand of seals and after a puff of smoke an identical clone of Ubume stood next to her. The Shadow clone blurred with Sunshin and appeared next to the window it peeked inside and spotted. Meanwhile Ubume approached the spire and ran along its wall and settled there taking quick peeks as she watched both of the assassins separate. Slowly and carefully the clone stepped inside looking for any signs of a trap rigged in the window but there was none. Content it gave a signal to the real Ubume who soon followed the clone inside. The clone began shadowing the more bulky figure with no malisious intent instead relying on the ever patient form of stealth of the OWLS. Ubume the real one took a position next the banister and began watching already to late to stop what was happening...

She could not save those those royal looking men... so she would use their deaths as a way of learning more about the assassins... no detail would escape Ubume who had assumed a statue like position and began taking it all in.

[KANE]

The targets haven't noticed our presence through the side window. Perfect.

[/color] The Uchiha thought.

On the catwalk, the Uchiha had perched beside one of the column supports and merged into the shadows. This allowed him to observe what was going on from across the wide room. In the direction he was currently looking, the targets had ascended a stairwell from the ground floor and were now headed to another set that would lead further up the spire. No doubt like most structures in this format, the highest point served purpose.

And this point would be the Uchiha's destination. That was it's purpose to him. However as he waited in the shadows from across the way, he contemplated on his moment of striking. On one hand, he could hang back and wait on a better opportunity to present it'sself for him or he could choose to assassinate them here and now. Each option had it's strengths and weaknesses, none of which interested Sasuke to even want to have to take.

If he were to hang back, there was always the chance that another set of guards could be lurking somewhere up ahead and they would have to get past them. Plus, there was also the possibility that he could miss an opportunity to kill them by choosing to wait. On the other hand, while he could strike now with the aid of Shunshin to make up for distance, there was still a couple flaws that accounted for weakness with it. For starters, considering the distance at hand here between them would require at least two Shunshins. But most importantly was that they were on a old catwalk. While the rest of the beams and supports were strong, this catwalk wasn't. It was already creaking in the distance from the targets walking on them. This would make it harder to try and strike.

So for now, the Uchiha chose to just wait and see how things would play out as the targets disappeared up a stairwell. The Uchiha eyes began to trace the room as he began to stealthily move his way through the upper area, tranversing beams and jumping over supports as he got nearer the catwalk. Just before reaching however, the Uchiha felt a slight...uneasiness in the air. Something just didn't feel right.

Turning his eyes back towards the opposite direction, the Uchiha's occulars would move around the room, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. During this scan, the Uchiha located Ruuji moving about and that should have been enough to satisfy his own curiousity. No one had known about their entering, and so far nothing had been tipped off that they were being noticed. However, the air just felt a bit heavier than before. As the Uchiha's eyes traced across the ceilings of the room, his keen eyes picked out the distinct figure of someone hiding in the upper anals.

Kakashi...

The thought registered in the Uchiha's mind quickly, but his outwardly appearance showed no sign of notice. In fact, as the Uchiha's eyes scanned over the Copy Ninja, they continued moving with an interrupted pace, giving the apperane that he had glanced over the shinobi. However, the Uchiha was clever and decided to keep that peice of information to himself for now. He thought about alerting Ruuji, but part of him stirred to keep this to his own hand. He already wanted to deal with the Copy Ninja.

So Sasuke would proceed to finish his scan and move towards the catwalk, hands slightly shifting under his cloth. Then, without warning, the Uchiha's left hand would shoot outward and release a kunai in the direction of the Copy Ninja. It would sail and whistle through the air, cutting the wind as it passed. The Uchiha already knew that the Copy Ninja would be more than able to dodge it with ease. The purpose of throwing the kunai was to see how the shinobi would react considering the cirucumstances.

After the kunai was thrown, the Uchiha would adjust his hood down further over his face as he turned in the same direction, now at one end of the catwalk. His demeanor suggested that he was in a cold state of mind as his mouth showed no emotion. With that presence being maintained the Uchiha spoke, although his did mask his voice a little through the process of creating one hand seal and using henge to deepen his voice within his throat.

"Is there some reason your following me? It's not polite to stalk..." He would say.[/blockquote][/quote]

[KANE]

When Sasuke pointed out two royally dressed men leaving the spire-like building, Ruuji didn’t even need the Uchiha’s words to realize that those were their targets. These influential higher ups were one of the biggest obstacles in the Miyamoto’s rise to even greater power. And these two men seemed to want the whole village to know exactly how influential and higher up they were. Their attire was pompous and, by the looks of it, worth more than an average civilian would ever earn in years of work.

Their vanity would soon prove to be their downfall.

Trailing them all the way to an impressive-looking mansion at the outskirts of town, the gates being guarded by two shinobi. ”Keh.. they really enjoy showing the world just how important they are, hmm?”, he spoke softly, not loud enough for the guards to hear from such a distance. What would’ve followed if Ruuji wouldn’t have had a reason to stay on Sasuke’s good side was ”Actually, they kind of remind me of you!”

When the Uchiha gave Ruuji a short nod, he knew the fun was about to start. However during the short confrontation that followed it quickly became clear that these guys weren’t even near the two nukenin’s level. Like Sasuke, Ruuji also used a shushin to launch himself at one of the two guards but instead attacked from above, diagonally diving down upon the guard who barely had enough time to draw his tanto and block the madman’s cleaver that otherwise would’ve lodged into his skull. It was exactly the reaction Ruuji had hoped for.

The guard only had one weapon, and that weapon was still held horizontally slightly above his head as Ruuji’s other hand touched the ground and caught the weight of the rest of his body. Using this opening, the nukenin spun around on his hand and delivered a painful kick in the guard’s face from his handstand position, resulting in a crunching sound as his nose broke. The impact and the pain that followed caused the guard to lose his balance and be send to the ground, unable to react before the madman’s cleaver had separated his head from the rest of his body. He would never get up again.

Since Sasuke had without a doubt already located the higher-ups’ chakra signatures, Ruuji figured following the Uchiha inside was the fastest way to locate his targets. Leaving the corpses and the patches of red snow surrounding them behind, the madman followed Sasuke inside the window. Starting now, things had just gotten riskier. Not only because of the increased chances of getting seen in this mansion but because their first kills in the village had just been a fact. It was only a matter of time until someone discovered the corpses at the gate, and when that happened the village would know there was something wrong. With some aid from lady luck they wouldn’t discover the corpses until after their targets were dead.

Once inside, Ruuji went his own way. Spotting the individuals in the large room wasn’t hard, and soon he found himself on the ground floor, sneaking across the many bookshelves and corners of the room. The hardened floor prevented him from using his earth techniques, but while stealth wasn’t his forte he was good enough at sneaking to make sure the rich men didn’t notice him.

While sneaking, he made sure to try and keep track of Sasuke, scanning the room for his sight whenever he could afford to, which wasn’t always easy since the Uchiha had higher ground. He was close to the spiraling stairway when he had lost track of him. To Ruuji, right now seemed as good a time as ever to assassinate the duo as he was much closer to them than Sasuke, though he had doubts of his own. From his position, he could not see far up the stairs, and it was very possible for a few guards to be just around another twist.

As the steps of the ascending royals sounded close to him, he decided to make his move. Sasuke had left him to his own devices, and Ruuji would use that opportunity to claim the action for himself. He increased his pace as he snuck up the steps, light on his feet and not making a sound yet quick as a cat, he was behind the noble in the back when the duo was about halfway the steps just as Sasuke would’ve spotted Kakashi above him.

”Good morning, gentlemen..”

Were the last two words the duo would hear. The one that walked behind would turn around only to see Ruuji’s smiling face before the lizardman’s cleaver beheaded him. The head bounced off the chest of the man in the front, leaving a bloody stain on his expensive cloth. His mouth was opened wide, yet no sound came out. He was paralyzed by fear, horrified by the sight of his friend’s head rolling down the steps and the yellow-eyed man rushing towards him. Before he could scream, Ruuji’s strong hands were already on his throat, lifting him off the ground and pressing him against a wall as he was strangled. No one could see them, so Ruuji could take his time with this one. Savior him. Killing him more slowly so he could see the terror in his eyes as he fully realized his fate.

Panicking, one of his hands tried to pull Ruuji’s own much stronger ones off his throat while the other one was placed on his chest, apparently trying to push the madman’s grinning face away from him. But he was it was too late. His fate was decided. And soon those arms hung limply next to his torso before Ruuji let go. The body fell to the stairs and rolled down a few steps before stopping.

[KANE]

Darui sensed Ubume’s arrival shortly before she spoke, and he acknowledged her presence with no more than the slight tilt of his head in her direction when she spoke, lending her his ear. With an intent felt such as this one, Darui didn’t want to risk being under-armed if there was to be a confrontation. The Raikage’s Right Arm didn’t know what Kakashi’s intent was as far as taking any action went, but he nodded anyway. If there was an offer for teamwork in a situation that could take a turn at any moment, Darui would not turn it down. I just need to trust her. he told himself, ..for the course of the exams. That’s all. Although Kusagakure was considered neutral in standing with Kumogakure, the citizens of the Village were mistrusting of outside shinobi, particularly their enemies – which Konohagakure was. As much as it felt unnatural to do so, Darui loosened the knot of mistrust within his stomach. There could almost always be a small exception to a rule. Now was one of those times. Looking back to Kakashi when he spoke, Darui narrowed his eyes in thought.

Although he had a feeling the two shinobi wouldn’t be keen on working together – yet, at least – Darui put his confidence in their abilities. Here, Darui was only concerned with one thing, and that was maintaining the peace of the exams for the sake of all the villages present.

Nodding as Kakashi took action, Darui moved himself, taking the street on the opposite side of the building from where Kakashi had turned. He kept his pace light enough to pass for a brisk walk, though it was just that – brisk. Allowing his dark eyes to glance from the cloaked figures that he’d seen a flash of across the roves, he saw Kakashi through the gaps in the buildings and windows if the structure was clear between the two glass frames. Once his vision became too skewed to continue on his current path, Darui leapt upon the side of a large house with a dual set of roofs. The persons of interest moved to a spired building before him, and Darui halted against the side of the house perpendicular to the spired building, using the shadow cast by the roof to stay unnoticed as he observed the area before him.

A flash of anger streaked through him and his lip curled with distaste as he was met with the sight of no movement, but instead two figures on the ground. Kakashi’s movement caught his eye, and judging by the Copy Ninja’s actions the figures were dead. Murdered. So, their targets were serious. Although the possibility had been slim, Darui had hoped that there wouldn’t be what he considered needless bloodshed. His observations now told him there would be. Although he was no tracker like Kakashi, he had a basic enough background in stealth missions to gather information – as he had.

After the Copy Ninja moved, Darui did as well, but he entered the building via different means. The building was built to have an outside cover, and then a main frame riddled with beams sturdy enough to support it. The outside was like a shell before the sturdier mainframe – to protect the building from potential cave-ins from unusually heavy snow, perhaps? Starting from an open service door at the back, Darui made his way silently towards the top of the building by making a series of rapid jumps between the two layers of it before he stopped; close enough to the top to say he would have been on the upper floors of the structure. A voice soon followed by a thump made the dark-skinned shinobi halt beside an opening in the two frames of the building that formed an opening to the outside, just with space between the actual ‘walking’ area of the building and the outside world. Normally, no person would be able to see from the outside in without being where Darui was now, carefully balanced on his heels against the inner mainframe of the building.

A rather dull and poorly-designed architectural idea. I suppose there was a need for fresh air circulation somehow, though.

With his shoulder against it, Darui craned his neck to look inside though attempting to stay out of view for the most part. A splatter of scarlet met Darui’s dark gaze and the Kumo Jounin clenched his jaw at the sight of a man’s severed head rolling into view, followed by a thump against a wall. Darui’s eyes narrowed and he leaned slightly, attempting to see what had caused it. All he saw was a back-and-to-the-side angle of a cloaked figure and a man in his grasp by the throat.

All Darui was able to do was draw a kunai before the man’s body was released and fell to the ground, sliding down the stairs.

…who is their target?

[KANE]

These intruders were upto something, more than what had already met the eye. It was an all too familiar feeling that Kakashi did not entirely like, a feeling he had been daunted with before. While admittedly, it was one of the few times where he didn't know what sort of action should have been taken; was it unwise to try and cause such a ruckus over these people? Surely he could have just left, reported the attire and killings and they'd eventually been caught. If Kakashi didn't step in, surely he was just beckoning the death of more innocents? Such dilemma's were the bane of his existence, in truth. Too many had often gone against him, much of it he had regretted through-out his lifetime. This is what he had hoped to avoid, though most of his students went their seperate ways with the Sannin. Was it the simple fact that he was uncapable of fulfilling their potential? There were so many questions he could not answer.

What he had to focus on now, was the matter at hand. Two criminals against himself, Darui and Ubume. He was not alone this time, it wouldn't have to weigh upon his shoulders. Not that he would be thrown off the game, or become complecent with that in his mind, either.

Then the seemingly larger of the two had proceeded towards those who had looked like officials. Kakashi was going to have to act fast if he wanted to stop it but he couldn't simply divert his attention from the one who seemed to be lagging behind. It seemed he would have to grab both of their attention somehow, unless Darui and Ubume beat him to it. He trusted them for now, so with that in mind, Kakashi was planning to take the one closest to him.

That was, until there was the whistling of sharp steel piercing the air.

Anticipation was something Kakashi was fairly experienced at, with and without the Sharingan at his disposal. As such, his hand had already dug into his pouch and revealed a kunai of his own, tossing it clean into the air and letting the steel of the two metals strike, a flying of sparks between the two's faces as they looked upon each other. The ringing echoed through out the room, most likely garnering the attention of his partner. Whoever this guy was, he seemed to be on his toes, having almost caught Kakashi off guard. There was no reason to keep crouched and concealed, so he stood up.

For his size, he had a rather deep voice. It seemed unnatural, though it was something easily enough overlookable. A question he posed, a reason for following him. If Kakashi didn't have a reason before, he sure as hell did now.

"I was thinking the same thing." He retorted, "Had you not let your killing intent spill out, your little scheme might have succeeded."

Kakashi spared no time in getting down to the dirty work. It was his plan to use speed and the element of surprise to his advantage. A long range fight would have been pointless giving the circumstances, as well as the fact he had no intention of destroying the surrounding building. Not that they would be able to preserve the inner carpentry. A quick use of the body flicker technique set Kakashi up directly above the man. His body contorted and leg swinging with the same momentum, he spun, sending a spinning heel kick directed upon his opponents cranium.

[KANE]

As the kunai flew thru the air towards the Jounin, Sasuke knew this would be an interesting conflict. With his pericing words cutting the air right behind the kunai, the Uchiha waited for a response. This would come in the form of the sound of another kunai whistling through the air and clashing with his own. The sound of clashing metal meeting together would echo through the room, no doubt everyone would be alerted as to what was going on.

"I was thinking the same thing, had you not let your killing intent spill out, your little scheme might have succeeded."

Underneath the hood, the Uchiha's mouth would curl into a wicked smirk at that remark. It was merely a response to what Kakashi had just said to him. Had not let his killing intent spill out? The Uchiha had done that on purpose as a matter fact. Not to get the Copy Ninja's attention, but just because his own seething hatred for the Hatake needed to be released. He never expected that Kakashi would actually be able to feel it from that distance. In a cruel and sickening way, it actually made the Uchiha feel quite appeased to know that his hatred was that strong.

Following this was the sound of a thud, as the Uchiha cocked his head down to the ground floor below. In his vision, he could see Ruuji holding a man up by his throat, and a decapitated head and body on the floor. No doubt Sasuke already could hear Ruuji's voice in his head.

"You had better catch up, Sasuke or I'll be the only one whose blade is tasting blood today."

However, Sasuke wouldn't have time to contemplate the feelings behind that, as he turned his attention back to Kakashi just in time to see the man Shunshin away. Being on a catwalk, there wasn't really much place for Kakashi to come from but above. As the Jounin came into view, his body contorted into a position that would deliver a kick straight to his cranium.

At the very last second before impact, the Uchiha would thrust his arms up in a "X" style, catching the kick at the ankle where the forearms had touched. This created a nice sized impat, as the Uchiha had to brace himself for it. This impact also distributed the force of the kick down through the Uchiha's body and into the catwalk, the sound of creaking metal being made apparent. The catwalk would also dip some in height from the impact.

Using his braced momentum to push upwards, the Uchiha would push back and away with his arms, hoping to throw the Copy Ninja backwards. His goal was to create some space between the two of them to allow the Uchiha the abiliity to use his fluidcity of movement to get around the Copy Ninja's Taijutsu. Even though Sasuke's ability had improved over the past few years, undoubtedly so had Kakashi. Before when he was a Genin, his abilities were enough to garner his respect as a Jounin to Genin but after being trained by the Sannin Orochimaru, the Uchiha was wondering just how good he was nowadays.

As the Uchiha finished lifting up, he would jump back shortly before spinning his body to throw a high arcing roundhouse right kick that was aimed at the Copy Ninja's chest. Regardless of whether this kick was completed or blocked, the Uchiha was following up with the momentum in order to come back with a cocked back left fist aimed to smash deep into the Copy Ninja's face.

All the while, the catwalk was creaking with each step and getting lower and lower. Dust was beginning to sprinkle with each step taken, and the bracing holding the catwalk were starting to get weaker and weaker.