Inowashi Yamanaka/Mission Journal

## A-Rank

### Prisoner of War

Trust. Inowashi thought he understood that concept well until now. Trust, as he had been taught all along, was when the shinobi of the leaf counted on one another to complete their missions. To trust was to willingly place one’s life into the hands of a shinobi who descended from another clan. To be sworn under the banner of the leaf; to serve and to protect it to the best of one’s own ability. That was what it meant to trust, was it not?

Inowashi, acting in his position as a Chunin of the hidden leaf, strode atop countless tree tops beside his two comrades, Shikasori Nara and Chomaru Akimichi. Together the three of them formed one of their village’s most formidable tandems, the ever touted "Ino-Shika-Cho" formation. Serving alongside one another ever since their youth, to say they knew one another well would have been nothing short of a gross understatement. They were akin to brothers, tailored by the flames of war.

"The enemy is just up ahead," Inowashi described to his team, clapping his hands together to garner the Sensing Technique. Through his heightened senses he could make out countless enemy shinobi from the Hidden Rock Village coming towards them. "By the trace of their chakra they are all at least Jounin level. And one of them…" Inowashi’s eyes widened.

"What is it, Ino?" Shikasori pondered aloud. "Out with it, we don’t have a moment to lose here."

Inowashi suddenly grabbed onto his head with both hands. Losing his footing he slid and fell off the branch; gritting his teeth he rolled about after falling onto the ground, withering in intense pain. "Urragghh!!!"

"Inowashi! What’s wrong? What’s happening?" Chomaru immediately appeared at Inowashi’s side, placing his hands on his comrade to comfort him quickly.

"Is he under a Genjutsu?" Shikasori wondered, but he could not feel any sort of fluctuation in Inowashi’s chakra.

"I-I’ve never sensed a chakra so large… that man… could it be… is h-he a tailed beast?" Inowashi lost his breath momentarily. And by the time he was helped up to his feet, the enemy was among them, looking down upon them from the branches above.

Countless ninja dressed in blood red garbs lay standing in the tree tops above. Among them was none other than Shimizu Matsumura, the most famed ninja in all of Iwagakure and a shinobi whose name was known across the globe. Inowashi and his teammates trembled in the presence of such a commendable foe. Was this the end for them?

"Stand down, Konoha," commanded Shimizu, grabbing the handle of his Kusanagi Sword without removing his gaze from the enemy. "With my presence alone your victory has already been forfeited. If you would like to leave here with your life…" He grinned. "Nay. Perhaps it is already too late for that."

"You two… get out of here!" Inowashi hollered, clapping his hands together. "I… I’ll hold them off for as long as I can!"  "But Ino!"

"Just go! This… this is the most that I can do to protect the village." Inowashi smiled. "As well as protect the both of you and all that is precious to me. Tell my wife that I loved her… now go!" The winds about Inowashi picked up. As Shikasori and Chomaru made their retreat, Iwa-nin flew down to cut them off. But an invisible force suddenly prevented them from going any further and they were sliced by a power they couldn’t see.

Two shinobi down. Only a bunch more to go. Kill or be killed. Whether or not he would be able to take them all down did not matter any longer. For the honorable shinobi that Inowashi was, he had already resolved to fight his last battle in this bout.

An invisible force overtook two additional shinobi. They lay in tatters about the forest, their red garbs torn by the inexplicable powers that Inowashi possessed. But even as grand as they were, they had no business before the white eye of Shimizu, who could denote the wind chakra that was tearing up his subordinates. It was obvious to him that Inowashi was a shinobi with the power to wield the wind. Far better even than he could.

Forming hand signs faster than Inowashi could blink, Shimizu launched a large sum of flames in his direction. Much to his disbelief, Inowashi’s winds were able to overpower the fire despite their inferiority to the element, splitting the blast into two. Inowashi then emerged from behind the split flames, kunai in hand as he lashed at Shimizu and thought himself to draw blood. But Shimizu parried the kunai, snapping the metal in half without even bothering to draw his blade. Shimizu’s shoulder bashed into Inowashi’s face, sending him falling towards the ground at great speeds. What awaited him below was a makeshift coffin made from the earth of the forest floor.

Into the abyss Inowashi fell, never to be seen again. The ground closed over the top, sealing Inowashi beneath.

In this way, days went by. Was it mercy on part of his enemies to have left him in this abyss? To not confirm their kill and instead go away after his comrades? Or was it some sort of insult? Was he not good enough to kill? Perhaps the enemy assumed that with no way out Inowashi would fall in any number of days with little air and no food to abide by. He had been left in the stomach of the forest to wither away and die. But in no less than three days he fought his way back to the surface, hardly recognizable due to the immense pressures of the underground that clenched his figure for hours on end. He was spilling and oozing with blood. He fell face forward after resurfacing, and for a moment he thought long and hard about the efforts he invested into saving his life, as there was little chance he could make it from here at all. He was no better alive at the surface than he was underneath. Like a fish out of water he was merely awaiting death when out of nowhere a little girl came across his would be corpse.

"Father, there is a man over here!" She cried aloud. She seemed pure by her complexion. Inowashi could not sense her chakra nor read her thoughts so he had nothing to go by other than looks and hope. Was he saved?

The girl’s father soon unveiled himself as a large bearded man with a forehead protector. He was a shinobi! Inowashi looked up at him with weary eyes. He saw the man grin before his eyes betrayed him and the world turned dark, the insignia of Iwagakure the final thing his eyes were able to focus on before he fell unconscious.

Inowashi awoke days later. Where he was wasn’t as important so much as what was happening to him. He was naked, stripped of his clothing and placed into a tub of green colored fluid. The shinobi from before nor the little girl were nowhere to be seen. Instead he found his wounds healed and more of the same tubs scattered about the room with countless other men floating around, most of them unconscious. As he awoke, a man in a labcoat approached his tub and lifted him from it by draining the fluid of the tub with the press of a button. "Shimizu-sama, this one appears to be awake," he said.

Foot steps were heard in the dark. Inowashi peered into the darkness, and much to his surprise it gazed back at him. Shimizu Matsumura appeared before him once more, a little over a week since they had last met. "So you’ve regained consciousness. Welcome. Welcome back to the realm of the living. I did not anticipate you to survive our battle. For that you have earned my respect."

"What difference does it make? I… I’m still here aren’t I? What is it you plan to do with me?!"

"Simmer down. Your subconscious mind has already thwarted my schemes. Take a good look around you, what do you see?" Said Shimizu. There were many men floating about in their own tubs across the room. "These are all prisoners of war, captured by our shinobi rather than be killed. We have quite the collection down here. But you are the first Yamanaka." Even now Shimizu’s Byakugan was gazing down into Inowashi’s soul. He felt so… exposed. "Our aim it so convert them all into sleeper agents and send them back to the villages from which they came. But it seems your brain is somehow able to reject our Juinjutsu. I assume it has something to do with the great sensory prowess of your clan. How intriguing."

"Sleep agents…?"

"Aye, that is correct. Although now I suppose we’ll just have to resort to the old fashioned way of doing things." Shimizu sighed.

For weeks the shinobi of the hidden rock village tortured Inowashi, trying to make him unveil the techniques of his clan as well as the rest of the affairs concerning his beloved village. But even to the end he remained loyal, refusing to share much of anything with them. They could hardly get a count of all the noble clans with how well he held up.

Many times they simply gave up and vowed to kill him instead, but the word of Shimizu safeguarded Inowashi’s life. Making him face even more suffering at their hands until at last Shimizu simply opted to abandon the mission entirely. Much to the surprise of the rest of his subordinates, the very few who were involved in this particular assignment, Shimizu freed Inowashi back into the open world.

"Fine then. Go and see for yourself how much the world has changed itself for a dead man. Do you think you can simply go back to your own life with how much time has gone by? You’ll be back once you see it with your own eyes. Until then we will be waiting for you, Subject 19." A confident Shimizu bet the further progression of his project on the collapse of Inowashi’s former life. If Shimizu’s belief of the shinobi world were true then Inowashi would return to aid him in his affairs of his own free will. He would become to Iwagakure what Nii Uzumaki had been to them in the past, or so that was Shimizu’s hope. He would risk anything to have a spy in Konoha as complete as the set skills which Inowashi possessed. Shinobi like him did not simply grow on trees. This was a bet he was willing to take.

Free at last, Inowashi breathed in the air of the outside world. Surely Iwagakure had implanted many series of trackers in his bloodstream as they could never completely penetrate his mind. He would certainly remain wary of that and take necessary measures against it. His thoughts were still his though and that was far more important than anything else.

He longed more than anything to return to his beloved village.

### Naked Truth

Trust. A principle Inowashi still believed to know well as he strode towards the hidden leaf village. In a way he was thankful to the hidden rock. Sure they had tortured him for weeks, but it was by their mercy that he was now back on his own two feet. The life that he led would certainly be better than the demise he would meet in the abyss of the underground. Of this he was almost certain.

He ferried toward Konoha over the ocean by way of boat. "To the Land of Fire," he proudly said over and over to the many countless pioneers he came upon who were willingly to sail him across the waters. Because he had no money, Inowashi was forced to aid them in any number of ways, normally small tasks that a shinobi could complete in a short span of time, for them to willingly comply to his request. In some ways this was more taxing than simply trading pouches of coins, but Inowashi did not have the means to bargain. He only wished to see his village again.

Chartering ship by ship, boat by boat, he soon arrived back on solid land. It was another three week long venture to arrive in the Land of Fire from Iwagakure. All in all by the time he stepped foot in the Hidden Leaf Village again it had been two long months in all since his imprisonment and three full months since he had set out on his last mission alongside Shikasori and Chomaru. He could hardly contain his excitement as he arrived in the village; he immediately darted for the tallest building in sight and beamed overhead, looking over Konoha with a breath of fresh air. "I’m back!!" he exclaimed proudly. And he was. Inowashi of the Leaf had come home at last.

So much to do. So many people to reconcile with. His wife, Spine Lee, a beauty and native of the village’s Lee Clan must certainly have been worried sick about him. Not to mention his own comrades who had been like brothers to him all his life. The thought of them brought a smile to Inowashi’s face. They had traded the secrets of their hiden with one another. Years of service alongside one another had instilled a deep brotherhood in them. "I can’t wait to see them all again," Inowashi uttered to himself. And just as soon as he had come, he left, leaping from the village and spilling over the streets in haste.

Spine would have to wait. More than he was her husband he was a shinobi of Konoha. He needed to come into contact with the village elders and notify them of all that had happened, including their preliminary encounter with Shimizu to his imprisonment and eventual escape. He was pleased to see that the village was as slow moving as he remembered; even Binta whom had been his instructor while a Genin was seemingly freed. Inowashi would be sure to catch up with him again when he had the time.

But for now the loyal shinobi raced into the quarters of the village elders, careful to contain his excitement so as not to alert anyone in a negative manner. But he was so tranquil in his step that they nor the shinobi inside were notified of his presence, and so they carried on as if oblivious.

"Chomaru, it is a shame that Inowashi was lost in battle. He was one of our finest soldiers," said one of the elders. Standing before the council of elders was none other than Chomaru Akimichi, Inowashi’s lifelong teammate and best friend. It seemed they were still discussing his supposed 'death'. But of course they thought he was dead. They hadn’t heard from him in 3 months.

"I gave my life to save him. He was my very best friend," Chomaru explained. "I even slashed a scar into Shimizu’s eye. I swear, if Inowashi held out just for a moment longer our team would have dealt away with the Tsuchikage. He was no match for our combined formation."

The council of elders was very much pleased by what they heard. But Inowashi was greatly angered by it. He was the one who had risked his life to save the village. Chomaru was to retreat upon his orders. And now here he was, basking in the glory of it all, taking all the credit and none of the blame. Inowashi’s eyes widened as one the elders stood up and placed a badge of certification upon Chomaru’s flak jacket.

"You are now hereby a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village. Congratulations, Chomaru."

Was this… trust? To use death as guise in which all blame could be cast, to soak in the glory of the inevitable and that which could not be explained. Had Inowashi revolved to give his life for a comrade that bore no guilt to benefit from his downfall? Had Inowashi truly thrown his life away for a band of elders who at the least didn’t even care to raise a monument in his stead?

"It is a shame Inowashi fell the way he did. How unlike him. To fall in such a manner is a disgrace to our shinobi system. We are unable to honor him. A shinobi like that no longer deserves tribute in our village."

Inowashi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His eyes widened. He clenched his chest.

It was times like this when a man longed the company of a woman. For while the medics of the village tended to the physical wounds a shinobi amassed it was the women of the village who bore the cure to their emotional ones. Inowashi had loved only a single woman in all his life. Without her love and support he would not have ever become the shinobi he was today.

And so saving the exploitation of Chomaru for another day he opted to return home and now see the face of his beloved. Last he had seen of Spine the two of them were attempting to produce an offspring. Maybe such a thing was just what he needed to destress and get his mind off of everything. He was desperate for the love of his wife. He craved her touch and to hold her in his arms as he had so many times in the past.

The walk to his home was nostalgic. The Yamanaka district was full and lush with flowers of all kinds. He took in the aroma and for a moment it worked wonders in uplifting his mood. He arrived at the doorstep of his home to find it empty. Where was Spine?

"Inowashi! Is that really you?!" Said one of his distant cousins who was out gardening behind his side of the fence.

With a smile Inowashi acknowledged him. "Yes it is! How have you been?"

"We all thought you were dead. Spine-san moved out awhile back. She was deeply moved thinking you were gone for good."

"I see. Gone back to the Lee District has she? I don’t blame her. Thanks, I’ll head over there now."

"Lee District? No. Last I heard she had moved in with the Nara."

The Nara? Inowashi was confused. "Why would she move there?"

There was no immediate answer. Inowashi was going to have to go and search for an answer by himself. He set off again, without even going into his old home. Seeing Spine was now his top priority. He went through the Nara District, having been here many a time to see Shikasari. He figured he’d know what had become of Spine and so like he had many times in the past he used the backdoor to enter Shikasari’s home.

He figured he’d surprise him. He tiptoed around the home. Hearing noises in the bedroom he lurked towards the door and slid it open, only to see Shikasari in his bed with Spine. Inowashi fell to his knees.

They were rolling around even still, so caught up in making love that they hadn’t even heard the door open. "I love you, Shikasari," she said, shoving her tongue into Shikasari’s mouth as he pulled her naked body from underneath his, toppling himself over her.

"More than that sucker Inowashi? Of course you do! I’m a better shinobi than he is after all. Even the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Rock couldn’t best me in battle!" He proudly boasted, taking the woman one thrust at a time.

Trust. What was it anyway? Did it even have any place in this world?

His comrades. The elders. Even his own wife. The village Inowashi thought he knew crumbled away before his eyes.

"Fine then. Go and see for yourself how much the world has changed itself for a dead man." The words of Shimizu Matsmura radiated through Inowashi’s mind. His trembling hand reeled back to his weapon’s pouch, securing a kunai in its grasp. "Do you think you can simply go back to your own life with how much time has gone by?" He lunged forward. There was blood. And lots of it.

Screams and shouts.

"You’ll be back once you see it with your own eyes."

Like a madman devoid of humanity, Inowashi hammered the kunai through them both until the white sheets of the bed were rich with the colors of the inner fluids. His eyes wide, he cried out hungrily into the air. "Until then we will be waiting for you.

"Subject 19."

Inowashi did not bother to hide his tracks. He left the corpses dangling from the bed, though he hardly imagined they would be recognizable. He retreated to his home to bolster his supply of his weapons and such before opting to defect from the village completely.

It was all flawed. The system of the shinobi. It lacked honor. It promised prestige in the place of sacrifice but how could noble men ever amount to what they deserved when the elders were willing to abandon all respect due to pride.

He was not a failure. His only failure as a shinobi had been to blindly trust all that he had known. Nothing was as it seemed. Shinobi were geared to move on to the next bidder. A life full of buyers and sellers where everyone struggled and did whatever they could to reach the top at the cost of anything.

"I… I will destroy them all. Konoha… no, why stop there?" Inowashi grinned madly with widened eyes. "Iwagakure. Kumogakure. Sunagakure. Kirigakure. You will all fall at my hands!! Those who breed shinobi for no reason other than to service them for their own reasons are all equally as guilty!! Never again will anyone be made into a mindless pawn in the way that I was!"

He clenched his fists tightly until they bled.

"The days where shinobi follow orders without a question are over! I will make certain of it! To raise the next generation with the will to become what they want, shinobi or not! I will create it… I will create it!"