Chapter 100: 99. Motoi’s Mission

MrProper

The central building of the Raikage

Rei had entered the facility, keen on learning the details of the request he received. With his destination, the office of the Raikage, he quickly made his way through the building when something of note caught his attention

{There's less activity than I expected, surprised I haven't bumped into anyone yet} (Rei)

Normally, this building would be filled to the brim with frantic workers. Largely in part to the Raikage's office, council, and the mission assignment desk all placed in the same location

Because of its below average population for one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the village thought it best to place the most important functions of government in one space

But while people were indeed present, the surroundings were unusually quiet

"The area for receiving missions...it's practically empty" {Guess I'll ask someone about it later, need to see Motoi first} (Rei)

Arriving at his destination, Rei was about to walk inside when someone else opened the door from the other side

"Oh!" (Rei)

"Ah! You're early" 

"Dodai-jichan..." (Rei)

"Good to see you Rei...wait...'jichan'?! I keep telling you not to call me that!" (Dodai)

"The sooner you accept you're spring time of youth has passed, the better" (Rei)

"Why you little-!" (Dodai)

The one expecting Rei was Dodai and another shinobi standing behind him

"I was expecting to see the Raikage...why are you here?" (Rei)

"You just glossed right over it, sigh. If you're looking for the Raikage, he's...prepping himself for a meeting" (Dodai)

"Meeting?" {Could it be a conference with Tetsuo is finally on the table?}" (Rei)

"Yeah, Mabui's also with him. I'm here because I had some things to talk about with my friend" (Dodai)

"Friend, as in..." (Rei)

Rei took a side glance at the shinobi standing behind Dodai

"Ah! Right. Allow me to introduce Motoi, the current overseer of Genbu Island" (Dodai)

Reaching out to shake hands with Rei, Motoi formed a small smirk

"To be honest, I'm more of a substitute for overseeing the island turtle. Nice to finally meet you Sano-kun. I've heard great things" (Motoi)

"...Thanks" (Rei)

"I see you two have some things to talk about so I'll take my leave" (Dodai)

"Right, thank you again Dodai" (Motoi)

Replying sternly "Just make sure this task of yours doesn't take too long" (Dodai)

"Of course" (Motoi)

"?" (Rei)

Dodai took his leave, after seeing him off Motoi began explaining the mission details

"This mission is to secure information from a broker who's stationed just outside of the Land of Hot Water. Far to the west, you and I are to move as a two-man unit" (Motoi)

"Just us? No back-up or anything?" (Rei)

"There's already another four-man squad waiting for our assistance. The letter-bearer F, along with his three-man Genin squad, are already waiting for us" (Motoi)

Rei rubbed his chin and contemplated. This mission was located in a place with bad memories for Rei

"There's already a squad on this mission and...the location is near Yugakure..." (Rei)

"I know you're wondering why I specifically called you" (Motoi)

"The thought had crossed my mind" (Rei)

"Even after two months, there's still little we know about your mission to find Yugito-sama. Who ordered the Fuma to attack, or who aided them" (Motoi)

"I don't know how I'll be able to help...I don't remember much from that experience" {Or rather, I don't want to tell you} (Rei)

"...Be that as it may, we need someone who was actually there to authenticate what the broker says is true" (Motoi)

"Just who is this guy anyway? If you need to verify his words, I can only assume we're paying him a hefty sum" (Rei)

"It's more than that. This person is a former ninja of Kumogakure" (Motoi)

"Key word being, former" (Rei)

"Sigh...he's a deserter. A coward who abandoned the village during the last war. You know what our policy is when it comes to missing-nin do you not?" (Motoi)

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"Oh yeah...I know. We're almost as bad as Kirigakure1Hidden Mist Villagein that regard" (Rei)

Kumogakure's stance on missing-nin was incredibly strict. Any who'd think of going rogue were usually caught before they could even leave the village

The only time one could have the slimmest chance of deserting the village was during special events that caused a breach in security or in this case...war

{Were it not for Mabui's Chunin exams, I'd never get the chance to sneak out of the village when I remade my body. This damn village is really strict on security, but it makes sense if you consider not a single member of Akatsuki was from here} (Rei)

"Kirigakure just outright kills their missing-nin, don't compare us to them. At least we have the decency to send them to prison, alive" (Mabui)

{No, we just send them to a place called the "Blood Prison", that's SO much better} "In other words, we're NOT arresting him?" (Rei)

"He reached out to us about two weeks ago, offering information in exchange for freedom. F was dispatched to verify if this was a ruse or not" (Motoi)

"I'm surprised they didn't send a team of elite Chunin and/or Jonin for this" (Rei)

"There are plenty of criminals who come to major villages offering information for protection and such, but they usually don't have anything of value. This task was initially a C-rank mission before F sent a letter back to us with details we couldn't ignore" (Motoi)

"Lemme guess, information on the mission that was supposed to be classified right?" (Rei)

"You are sharp, just as the rumors say. Yes, this broker had more information on the mission than we did" (Motoi)

Rei scratched his head, still confused about something

"If he met the guy, why didn't F just bring the broker back with him already?" (Rei)

"F never formally met him. The broker left a batch of intel in a drop box and sent us the location, along with instructions for another meet in case we're interested. He doesn't trust us as much as we don't trust him" (Motoi)

"The right mindset for one on the run. This still seems like a mission suited for higher level shinobi, what aren't you telling me?" (Rei)

"?!" {So this is the top student of the "Gifted Generation"} (Motoi)

Motoi had surprise written all over his face. Befuddled at the maturity and intelligence of the nine-year old in front of him, he felt as if he was talking to a grown adult

"Kumogakure has been refraining from...sending elite ninja outside the country. It could potentially appear to be...too aggressive" (Motoi)

"Too aggressive...oh...ohhhh, now I get it. Why this building feels empty...we're still feeling the after effects" (Rei)

"Haaaa...correct. People respond better to young Genin your age, rather than full grown adults" (Motoi)

{That stupid douchebag. Even in death, he's still a pain in my ass} (Rei)

Even now, the village was paying for the consequences of the Head Ninja and council's involvement in the "Hyuga Affair". Nearly all of their clients lost faith in them and mission requests from the outside have slowed, if not completely halted

Rei was also irritated as missions were his only other source of income. Tetsuo's company still wasn't big yet, and Rei needed as much money as possible to continue his experiments. He's probably cursed the Head Ninja countless times in his mind

Motoi's mission was also located near the Land of Fire's North eastern border. Kumogakure was on especially thin ice with that village, sending troops of experienced shinobi near it could potentially start another war

"Since I was instructed to only take Genin-" (Motoi)

"You went for quality over quantity. Hence, you decided to pick me...I'm flattered" (Rei)

"Even if they're just Genin, too much at once could still lead to issues. That's why it'll just be the two of us. And while I may be a Chunin, being the overseer of Genbu grants me special authority to take Genin on missions" (Motoi)

{Because typically, only Jonin are allowed to take Genin on missions} "We still need to get permission from-" (Rei)

"Tango has already given his approval, the Raikage as well. We're good to go whenever, I'm just waiting on your response" (Motoi)

"You mean...I can refuse?" (Rei)

"That's right" (Motoi)

"..." (Rei)

There were still things bothering Rei. Clearly Motoi wanted something from him, but he wouldn't say. And Rei doubted he'd answer truthfully if asked. Not to mention the dangers of the mission, he was still working on Suzu's house, plus Tetsuo's deal...he definitely didn't want to miss that

But the chance to finally get some answers on who attacked Mabui's team was too great to ignore. Rei himself had been very curious as to the one's responsible, initially believing them to be related to the main Antagonist group of the story, Akatsuki

"How long do you expect this mission to take?" (Rei)

"Because it's just the two of us, we can take a small boat through a narrow path I know too small for ships, ignoring all the checkpoints and villages in between. We'll be able to arrive at our destination in the less than a day and if everything goes right...we can be back in three, maybe four days" (Motoi)

"Four days...okay. Let's go right now. I already have everything I need on me" (Rei)

"Glad to hear that, follow me" (Motoi)

In the end, the temptation for truth won out. Rei followed Motoi out of the village as they made their way to the coast line. In front of them, a small wooden boat that could barely fit three people

"It is small" (Rei)

"Told ya. Jump on, I'll paddle" (Motoi)

"Right" (Rei)

The duo left the village as quickly as they met, Rei eager to complete this mission with haste. However, he was unaware of Motoi's true intentions for bringing him along...

{Alright, let's see how you react to my little..."test"} (Motoi)

...or what awaited the duo at their destination

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