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| - Had been a long day in his office, and Sunagakure rested peacefully under a clear blue sky littered with white puffs. Floating endlessly and casting a grand shadow over busy streets. The shade needed for a village constantly under a blazing sun. Today was one of Suna's more peaceful days. Everyone from Lady Samiya to academy students spent their time enjoying life. He could hear the children's laughter. Small boys and girls chasing each other playing all sorts of games. Parents beckoning their little ones for nourishment. Babies crying and smiling, all at once. Peace and prosperity radiated from his home village. And he absolutely loved it. He satin a chair facing, facing a window well above Sunagakure's higher buildings. In a flash, his master stood behind him. His smile masked in purple face paint and a body covered in royal clothing. His sensei kept his puppets in scrolls, but had already passed them onto his successor. When Akagi blinked, he sat alone in his office once more. Alone, accept for two figures towering above his desk. The child dressed in loose fitting clothing smirked. "It's such a wonderful day outside, isn't it? Akagi-sama." Ox bowed in his lords presence. His fiery hair hanging low below his head. Royal yet foreign clothes blessing his body. Ox's body was nothing but absolute perfection. Capable of stealing the hearts of princess's and princes alike, hundreds hunted for this bachelor. But for reasons unknown, none could court him. He was a powerful general, an unbeatable warrior. Alongside his brothers and sisters, he managed to reach high levels of honor and respect. "You should not be pent up in your office." Ox turned around and leaned upon his desk with his arms crossed. His eyes scanned his green hair companion. Her short stature and bubbly aura offsetting his commanding presence. "I mean, no one will dare attack us on such a nice day. And your work is surely finished-" "Akagi-kun is never finished!" She interrupted. Jumping with her exclamation. Her hands clapped together in excitement for something bigger and better. "I heard you're going to a small village on the outskirts." Snake clasped her hands together and twirled in absolute happiness. "We are getting a new addition to the family. I'm getting tired of Ox and horse keeps bothering me, and Rooster, god she can be such a drain and-" Ox punched Snakes head. "Be quiet will ya!" He ordered. Ox massaged his temples in stress. Too many days he had to deal with this. Far too many. He was a brave warrior, he should be out there, exploring the world and conquering. Not listening to some green haired girl ramble. "Anyway, is it an assassination or some sort of recruitment?" Akagi sat in silence, chuckling at his families reaction. "God you guys are so silly. There is word of a young puppeteer whose name is gaining recognition." "Ohhhhh a new student!" Snake screamed. "I hope he's nice. I wonder if his puppets are animals. We need more beast puppets. Tired of seeing the same old human bullshit.." "I'm not sure myself. But, he is someone who managed to make his own Human Puppet." Akagi sighed, leaving Ox in amazement. "How is that possible? It is illegal to deal with Human Puppets unless your a member of the brigade. And even then it requires an Elite status." "It does. But he found a way to overcome it. And for that reason, I'm going to need your help just in case he proves a little bit too much for a clean defeat and recruitment." Akagi stood up and started making his way towards the door. To which Ox and Snake looked at each other. Snake pouted and reluctantly followed after Ox. All three disappearing into darkness. Those who overheard, well had a personal relationship with Akagi felt an underlying sadness for moments such as those. Because a trained eye would notice an invisible thread was latched to both Snake and Ox... Walking around Suna with the sand blowing around from the winds, Tame walks down a road with Ranran. Civilians eyes gazed upon him from the hatred they hold for him, though Tame didn't let the dead glares effect him during that time as he didn't want to show weakness. He just simply passed them with Ranran beside him but did so in such a cocky way even though that wasn't his personality. He's just gotten sick of how they look and no longer cared for them and started to lose respect for Sunagakure itself. "Wouldn't they of done the same thing if their family would've died?" Tame asked himself silently, in a more depressed tone within his subconsciousness. "Your arrogance sickens me!" A female voice roared above calm winds. Capturing everyone's attention. A green haired girl stood atop a roof with her hands placed roughly on her hips. Her hair waved gracefully behind her and emerald eyes shined brightly in The Land of Wind's sun. "You think just because you made a human puppet you are hot shit!? Please, You might be cute, but I eat men like you for breakfast!" Snake pulled out a dagger she titled, Snake's Venom. It had been dipped in extremely potent Poison. She was a master assassin, feared throughout Iwagakure. "I'm in the mood for a game! Let's play, I cut you once, and you fucking die!" She dashed at Tame with a barrage of swipes towards his face. Her moves filled with grace and elegance. Snake jumped and twirled, moving ever so lightly in the air. Seemingly hovering... But from afar, two shadows watched their battle. "Are you sure that's him?" A dark ruffled voice asked. "Yeah, well from what the report told me and the fact that puppet seems too real." "You know she will actually poison him." "I know, God, she can be so childish. But I can't see myself living without her." His voice softened, and his eyes melted as she watched her dance. His heart fluttering higher. "I have the antidote. If he is to join, we have to prepare him for everything. Even us." Tame looked at Snake with a confused look and jumped back from the strange Green Hair girl. "Who the hell is this chick?" He said softly to himself. He then drew Ranran in front of him, preparing for a fight. "I appreciate that you think I'm cute and all but I'd appreciate it if you not tried to stab me." He said in a joking voice, showing his true personality. Ranran's body started to quickly emit heat to a point were it was altering the light around him. Sparks started to fly but nothing exactly big happened. "Why is she attacking me? Did someone hire her?" Tame questioned the situation he was in now. Snake continued her barrage, thrusting her body quickly towards Tame. Quick and precised slashes at vital areas. She kept herself from going all out. Snake was not meant for immediate face to face battle, nor for long dragged out battles. "God, you talk to much!" She screamed, releasing grunts with each strike showing her thirst for blood. So this puppet has a few tricks up its sleeve. His puppets intense heat lead to her skin bubbling. But being a human puppet neutralized pain. "I hope you don't consider this a fight!" She roared after turning intangible. During her life, she involved herself with Iwa's civil war by performing critical missions. Her name became one branded in The Land of Earth's history. A ghost of sorts capable of becoming physical at will. Fighting her was Akagi's greatest challenge. And she almost escaped quite a few times. But once he had her, he grew fond of her abilities. In the quick instant that her ability had activated, she lounged towards Tame with her dagger forward. "Mujitsu!" But her attack would simply past through Tame, leaving an opening behind him where she would throw her poison dagger at his back. As soon as Tame saw the dagger simply pass through Ranran he instantly jolted to the side but keep his eye on the Green hair girl. "What was that? Must be some Space-Time" He quickly thought before he created four bright red orbs around Ranran's body. With Ranran he shot two of the orbs directly at Snake while she was plunging forward. Even if the orbs were to phase through, Ranran could simply keep them within her body until Snake had stopped the Intangibility. Snake pounced upwards, twisting pass the first orb, landing on her hand and spinning through the second. Ranran's third orb hit her hip, completely decimating the skin and clothes. Revealing a metallic surface below. Although she could phase through a majority of surfaces, it had a cool down and weakened with each use within twenty-four hours. Snake had to remain aware. He was anything but new to the art of puppetry. Snake smirked and dashed at Tame once more. Turning intangible and phasing into the ground. She reappeared near her dagger. "You are a crafty one. But it will take more than that sweetie." She dashed once more and continued her barrage. But after each heavy strike, she released a light strike, hoping to land a small scratch. She also kept an eye on Ranran, timing her dodges to avoid him. Tame saw how Snake phased through the ground like it was nothing. As he saw Snake run towards him, he opened up Ranran's chest to quickly release think smoke bombs and ejected his hidden blades from both of Ranran's hands. "Looks who's talking now bitch!" Tame shouted in a rugy voice as he started to get a bit mad that a random girl had started to attack him. Though as the smoke raised, Tame noticed how the skin just burt away to a shiny metallic surface. "A human puppet." He whispered in a soft voice. Confused he jumped out of the smoke cloud as Ranran open his mouth. He stayed aware of his surroundings seeing how Snake could phase through the ground. "Maybe it has a time limit because she couldn't phase through the last orb." He quickly thought as he started to put things together. "But if its a puppet, where would the puppeteer be?" Tame questioned in his own mind. So as he stayed aware of his surroundings he tried to find chakra threads but kept more attention to the crazy green head chick trying to stab him with a dagger for no reason. "Bitch." Tame said under his breath waiting for Snake to make an attack. "Oh, quite the mouth on this one!" Snake went forward towards Tame. She dashed into his cloud of smoke willingly knowing nothing could truly harm her. Civilians surrounded the battlefield and stayed at a safe distance. No one could tell who their mystery attacker was. But older, former shinobi understood the process going on. A special insignia imprinted upon Snake's clothing alerted of his test. Her boots opened to reveal chakra blasters which propelled upwards. Tame's own smoke hid her blasters, allowing a somewhat surprise attack. She took her dagger and jumped high in the air with a large burst of energy. A Clone appeared in her location forming a silhouette to keep Tame's attention in the smoke. While she was in the air, she threw her dagger once more at Tame, hoping to simply scratch him. He noticed the sound of the propellers and prepared for some type of attack but saw how the shadow of the clone stood still but seeing as she couldn't see Senbon, Tame made Ranran shot multiple Senbon at an immense pace which would have pierced the clone. Though unsure he stayed aware and noticed a shadow that was projecting above him and realized that Snake was coming down on him with the dagger. He shot Senbon at the dagger but still sidestep as he didn't know if her intangibility could be given to items or not. Though as Ranran shot the shower of Senbon, he did so in a more spread out way so that some of the senbon would be also aiming at Snake. Snake revealed her chakra blasters and used it to propel herself towards Tame at high speeds. At a close range, she grabbed her dagger with threads, firing them from her fingers and brought it back towards her hand. In her grasp, Snake started her barrage with a strike to Tame's stomach. But she also phased and followed with her true strike. A deadly kick to his chest accompanied by a chakra blast to increase it with fiery damage. As Snake rushed towards Tame, Ranran shot more Senbon right for Snake but kept sidesteping. "If I stay still, I'm dead." Tame thought to himself as Senbon continuously fired from Ranran's mouth. Tame kept fleeing as he shot the senbon at Snake. "It seems like her ability mostly relies on that dagger of hers." He pieced together in his mind. Snake continued her assault, taking Ranran's senbons at full force. Being a puppet nullified all pain and painful reactions. Allowing her to continue fighting as if nothing. Although his senbons did puncture her body and cause physical damage. Something her master could fix. She dropped her dagger and went int for a brute right hook at his face. His pure strength out matching a human. "FUCK POISON! YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF!" She roared behind her massive strike. As Snake was being punctured by the senbon and coming down at Tame, he thought that he wouldn't be able to get out of this so he decided to do a risky maneuver. He had Ranran run into Snake with his blades extended from his hands. Ranran aimed for Snakes head and the side of her torso. Ranran would have also have a forceful push to push her away from Tame himself. Snake phased through Ranran and continued her assault against Tame. Her fist filled with rage and anger, she was hoping to end it with this hit. But she knw she had to refrain from killing him. Her lord never used her for direct combat. She was a shinobi meant for assassinations and intel gathering, not one on one combat. Seen from her lack of offensive power. Tame had taken the hit full on and was flown back from the punch. His body skipped across the ground and seemed lifeless as his limbs were kinda flopping around. But he skid across the ground with his face looking downwards. But within seconds he popped his head back up and with the Chakra Thread still connected, Ranran got up and attacked Snake from behind. Tame quickly realized that his nose was bleeding and his mouth had filled up with dark red blood. "Nuh-uh-uh." Tame would find that his puppet could not react to his command. A stronger presence forced itself within Ranran. A fiery, ambitious warmth that almost mimicked life. For a minute Ranran lived, and for that minute, a demon consumed found shelter at its core. Snake stood above Tame with her hands placed back upon her hips. Her legs suffered heavy damage from Ranran's senbon cannon and would require immediate aide. But she seemed ignorant to its pain. A body without nerves who could never feel pain. Only a love for her master. A spiritual connection. Her eyes increased on Tame, surely becoming overbearing, ghostly and extremely enigmatic overall. But she did not speak. A darker voice erupted from behind her. One that shook the land of wind. "So this is the new blood?" He asked. Ox stepped from behind Tame and joined his sister in intimidating Tame. His hair blowing in the same direction as Snake. But Ox had a different feeling. An aura of power and high demand for respect. He existed in an entirely different league of snake, rumored to be unbeatable by all who stood in his path...Except one. "That's a fine puppet you have there," A rare compliment. "Ashamed it's wasted here, among commoners." Snake glared at spectators. "You should join up with us kid. I mean, you're kind of cute, and that puppet there isn't something anyone can come up with, not unless they are a genius. A human puppet, capable of using their kekkei genkai even in death. And his face seems incredibly familiar." Snake's eyes lowered in deep concentration. A first for a bubbly girl such as herself. "Wait-I know him! He's, He's that guy! The extremely powerful scorch release Shinobi." Snake exclaimed twirling. "To have added him to your collection definitely makes you a shoe in for the puppet brigade!" "Of course if you decline we will have to exterminate you, and everyone you hold dear." Ox added. The sudden revelation sending a massive shockwave of panic through their audience. How could someone be so cold? Ox was surely a mysterious person... "Dammit Ox! Why are you so fucking mean?!" She asked. "I mean it would have been better to have done it without him knowing. The best kills are the unexpecting!" 'And who would have pulled it off? You? Snake, your leg is nearly ripped off. Take better care of yourself." "Guys!" A new voice emerged from behind Ox. A sweeter voice, more warm and lively, yet cold and detached. "Stop, you are scaring the new recruit." A boy, not much older than Tame himself, lowered himself to lock eyes with Tame. He swiped blood off of his face and examined it. "To think you managed to do such a thing to my friend, and only retain that much damage. You're lucky to be alive kid. But I guess you've already figured it out. We are members of the Puppet Brigade-" "He is the master!" Snake interrupted. "Head of the puppet brigade and the strongest!" "Will you shut the fuck up, dammit!" Ox tackled snake and held her in a choke hold. "God sometimes I wonder how we are even related. NO the fucking same race. You have to be some sort a demon, a fucking Oni or Yokai in human form bent on annoying the world." Akagi chuckled at his siblings and turned back to Tame. "Nevermind them, they are always like that. So, what is your answer. And please make it quick, there are too many people gathering and I do not like being outside." At closer inspection, people could notice three additional strings from his hands that attached to Ranran. Tame sat up, spitting the blood out of his mouth. He than quickly realized that chakra threads were attached to Ranran and figured that he's ability was superior to his. "So that other one is a human puppet as well I take it." Tame commented is a bit of an arrogance voice. Tame pushed himself up and looked Akagi in the eyes, "So if I join, nothing will change. But if I don't, my life would be ended with those that I love. Good thing there are none I care for." He told Akagi. A though had crossed him mind, "I could make more human puppets such as that one" With that in his mind he held out his hand, "I guess the better option is to take the opportunity." Tame said quietly to where only Akagi could hear Akagi's face had general confusion. He trapped himself in his mind for an instant but returned back to reality. His voice deep, firm but caring. "They are not puppets. My puppets are somewhere else right now. They are my siblings." Akagi corrected. "Besides, if I used my puppets, you and everyone around here would be dead." He chuckled. Snake gleefully jumped and twirled. Throwing confetti high in the air. "Yay! We have a new recruit!" She pounced on Tame and rubbed his face in her chest. Well what she had of a chest. "Oi! Oi! Oi! Can we keep him!?" "Yeah, I think under our tutelage, he will develop into a fine Puppet Master like Akagi-sama." Ox added, his arms crossing. "Then it's settled!" Snake grabbed Tame's hand and started to run off. Followed by Akagi and Ox. Leaving a crowd in absolute disbelief. Tame went with Snake but looked back at the villagers looks. He looked down for a quick minute but looked back up, hiding his true depression from his new comrades. But looking back at what Akagi said, "The puppets aren't puppets but his siblings. Why would he call his puppets siblings?" Tame questioned but couldn't piece it all together. He looked down at Snakes arm and saw the metallic surface. Though no longer questing it for now, he asked snake a question, "Where are we exactly going?" "The headquarters silly! As a member of our brigade, You will live in Sunagakure. At the HQ or in the village itself. We aren't an organization of rules like those ANBU. Only, you answer solely to Akagi-sama, no one else. Even if Kazekage-sama asked you to do something, you have every right to refuse. The Puppet Brigade is a brigade for Sunagakure, not Sunagakure's officials. But you can interact with anyone and go everywhere your heart desires. I don't know if you will be apart of the Anti-invasion force or the Recon. But it will all get sorted out tonight." Snake giggled while dragging Tame from rooftop to rooftop. "Don't worry about your stuff. We will supply you with everything you need and some payment for your missions." Akagi looked to Ox. He felt his eldest brother's eyes burdening him further. A strong soul crushing force held over his head. Akagi still had Tame's puppet attached, and skillfully manipulated it as his own. "He has a knack for creating them. But his control is sloppy, as well as his thinking." "Are you sure you can have him as your student?" Ox finally asked. "Why of course...I can feel the love inside of his puppet. It has a piece of him, and with every step, I can sense his feelings and memories. In a few years, he could surpass him in the art of crafting puppets." "And what about controlling them, think he will surpass you?" "Let's no get too ahead of ourselves."
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