Living off the people

Cole awoke in the bed he had rented the night before. Having been wandering through the land of iron trying to lay low for a while. It was not what he wanted, and he felt as though the last few years of his life had been a lie. He had thought that helping others and protecting people out of the kindness of his heart would be beneficial. However, all it accomplished was that he was hungry, broke, and alone. He learned quickly that when there was trouble people liked having a strong shinobi around to deal with the problems, however, once the problem was over they were happy to see you leave. This turned him back into the same situation he had tried to prevent by going against what his teacher taught him, and going back to what his parents taught him. Survival is all that matters, and in order to survive he would need to make a few friends along the way, and the way he was going he was not making any.

Getting over the feeling sorry for himself Cole stood up out of bed. He had spent the last of his money on the room for the night, and would have to be out by noon, and it was already 11:30. Eating some of the bread and drinking the water that was left in the room. He walked out the room and headed back down the hallway. He knew of a way that he had been using to get a little bit of money back on him, but he would have to ditch this little village after. Something that he was probably going to be doing anyways. Walking out giving the inn owner a wave as he walked out the door. Cole started to make his way to the market district; he had noticed a long time ago that the people that worked the stalls were easily distracted by the possibilities of making a sale. He would just need to time it correctly and he would be golden for a while at least.

The market district, while small, had several stalls set up in it. Ranging from small time smiths to bakers. For the size of the market the twenty or so people here made it busy, and Cole was planning on making use of that. Walking around looking at a few things he had found his mark, the baker left his coin purse sitting out near the edge, and would spend too much time looking the other way talking to customers. Making his way towards the baker from the smiths would place him directly on the side of the purse, and would allow him to do a drive by snatching it. Once the man turned his head Cole put his plan into action and picked up a piece of bread before laying back down a little further than it was before he would palm the purse and walk away. Making his way back out of the market, while he knew that he had made a clean break from the stall it was always best to not stick around either, and once he had made it a small distance from the stall he would pull the money out and lay the purse on the next stall as he walked out.

Clearing the market Cole would start to slow his pace, as he tried and figured out where he was going to head to next. He had been hitting most of the small towns between here and the last major city where he had gotten dropped off, and was still glad to see that news traveled so slowly in the land of iron. After all he had been living off of what he was able to get his hands on the entire time he had been here, and no one had been sent after him yet. It was something that he was not able to wrap his head around yet, and in doing so he had been keeping his eyes open for anything as he made his way out of the village.


WC-685

As Kaizoku and spent more time in the Land of Iron, their presence became known to the townspeople and subsequently the band of pirates began to be appreciated. Although they seemed menacing at first, the people of the land came to realize that their goals weren't much unlike their own. And so there was a consensus of commonality established behind certain trends: self preservation, the pursuit of wealth, and fairness. Thus the band of pirates and the commoners of the Land of Iron began to interact, trade, and sort of rely on one another. Oftentimes, the commoners looked to Kaizoku to deal with potential threats, criminals, and strange occurrences. And today was no different. Auron had been requested by the towns folk to stop an up and coming criminal who was clever enough to steal sizeable quantities of food and coin from the villagers without being caught. They were unsure of who the thief was, but they had been certain that he had some level of training to be as shifty as he was.

As an assassin and a pirate, it was typically Auron's job to eliminate targets without leaving a trace. But when this group of commoners came to him with this different kind of job, he was intrigued. The commoners mentioning being plagued by the thief who had been stealing from them right under their noses. The thief proved to be smart, elusive, and had managed to evade capture for months. The commoners were tired of living in fear and decided to take matters into their own hands, which is where Auron and Kaizoku came in.

The job was simple: track down the thief and stop them from stealing. But it wouldn't be easy. The thief had been careful not to leave any evidence behind, and they had managed to blend into the crowd seamlessly. Auron had to be careful not to arouse suspicion or draw attention to themselves. And so, before he'd depart from the Dreadnought he'd perform the seven hand seals required for his Dustless Bewildering Technique, and would activate it upon completion. He'd wind up invisible, and through the use of his Silent Killing skill he'd avoid leaving any type of footprints in the snow either. He was virtually undetectable, unless this thief had also been a savant of sensory like the Yamaguchi pirate. But following this, Auron would make his way to the town, more specifically its market district.

He started by gathering information. From afar, he'd observe the commoners, trying to piece together a pattern. Simultaneously he staked out the areas where the thief had struck before, spectating the crowds and looking for any signs of suspicious behavior. It took a few hours, but eventually, he started to notice something. The thief was using a subtle technique to steal from the commoners. They would blend into the crowd, and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. They would take small items, like bread or purses, and slip away unnoticed. It was a clever strategy, but the captain was determined to catch them.

And so after the thief seemed to clear out the town and start to exit from, Auron would follow him moving silently in the process, keeping his distance and staying out of sight. He watched as the thief made his way through the crowded streets, slipping in and out of alleys and side streets until he reached the outskirts of the small village. 

On the outskirts there had been far less people to get in the way, and so Auron saw his opportunity. Having been stealthily maintaining a distance of 10 meters from the thief, Auron had the chance to strike. He'd quietly weave the seven hand seals required for his Soul Snatch technique with his left hand and create a portal of negative energy chakra 3 meters in front of him on the snowy ground, and 7 meters behind the thief walking forward. Subsequently 10 arm shaped constructs of chakra would spawn from the portal, each with a length of 10 meters and a diameter of 1 meter. The arms would lunge themselves towards the thief, seeking to grab ahold of him and bind him in place if his strength stat did not exceed the power of the technique. The Yamaguchi did not seek to harm or kill this thief, but instead interrogate him. And so restraint had been his best bet for this threat. Nevertheless he kept his right hand gripping the handle of Masamune, in case this thief decided to squabble. But in that case, the thief would be at a disadvantage as Auron had been maintaining his invisibility. 

WC = 771

Calcs:

Auron watched as the clinches of his undead arms reached out and violently grabbed ahold of the perpetrator. And with that, he'd disable his Dustless technique so that his appearance would materialize where he stood. He'd cautiously take steps forward and towards the restrained thief, walking around the arms and past the shinobi so that he stood before him. With his right hand still on the handle of Masamune, Auron would sternly look upon the criminal and offer a slight smile. He seemed to be of a similar age to Auron, at least visually, though his build was a bit smaller. He had silver hair, eyes glowing a prominent blue hue, potentially in irritation from being restrained. Was this a dojutsu? Possibly, and so Auron would refrain from spending too much time gazing into the eyes of the thief and instead focused on his body as a whole. 

"You," Auron began with a loud, matured voice which came right after the thief questioned who he was.

"I am like you..." his voice trailed off in reflection of his past as a missing ninja struggling to support himself. "However, I was clever enough to not get caught. Is stealing from from lowly townspeople all that you aspire to do? I'd think someone...as elusive as yourself would aim for bigger fish."

As he verbally poked the thief, he'd stand 5 meters in front of him, watching for even the slightest inkling of aggression which he may need to respond to. But hopefully, the thief would listen to Auron as he concocted a proposal in mind which may prove fruitful for both men.

WC = 270. TWC = 1041

Auron laughed at the animosity the restrained man showed him. It was rightfully deserved, as he had ended up in quite the perilous situation. However if he stepped back and thought about Auron's comment, he would have realized that he himself was being apprehended for robbing some villagers. And the person apprehending would of course need to be compensated for the trouble. So there was always a bigger fish. Whether he was passing by or setting up shop, it was important to think bigger.

"Think about it," Auron retorted. "Do you think I'm doing this job for free? There is ultimately always someone who is willing to pay more to right the wrongs that they've experienced. Let's say you stole 1000 ryo from villagers. Do you think realistically that I would do this job for less than that? Those people should be your target." Auron rationalized as he gave the man a moment to deliberate on that thought. "And that is the business I am. I am essentially a hired hand in these parts, but I head a crew of like minded...pirates, and our entire goal is further our own prosperity. We came from likely a similar background as you...on our own, struggling to feed ourselves, and worse. However through our unity, we've been much stronger. And that is what I'm proposing to you. A job. An opportunity to work for my crew and thrive, rather than resort to...this, and die."

Since becoming captain of Kaizoku, Auron had learned a thing or two about charisma and propositions. He learned how to scout potential, and help it blossom. And because of this, he was able to recognize the hunger that Cole had, and figured he and Kaizoku could cultivate it into an opportunity for him to grow. And if he grew as a fellow pirate, then the pirates as a whole would grow stronger. In any case, Auron maintained his grasp over the thief. Ensuring he didn't falter at all throughout the entirety of the interrogation process.

WC = 336. TWC = 1377

Auron, now that the man seemed to be willing to negotiate with him, would release his grip on the thief from soul snatch and retract the hands back exactly one meter. They'd still remain ready to respond should the thief give the pirate captain a reason to attack. But the Yamaguchi was convinced that this man was too intrigued with the offer he proposed to have any sort of hostility. 

Funny enough, the man's only question was if Kaizoku had a master of seals. Auron, thinking for a moment on the question, would keep his eyes focused on the thief. He couldn't recall any of his comrades displaying such an ability, or informing him of one either. However, he was unsure what the intentions behind this question were. Perhaps the thief wanted to rob the crew, and would see an opportunity in that by using fuinjutsu as a way to break any seals the crew had placed throughout the ship. And so, the captain would come up with a deceptive way of revealing the truth.

"Masters, no. Though we have proficiency in that field. Should you be a master of such a craft, our crew would greatly appreciate that level of expertise. But put modestly, we get by."

His tone remain unchanged from before, and his body language was just as stoic. This was his way of being defensive enough to not sound like the crew had a glaring weakness, but also inviting enough to let Cole know that he would be the resident expert of fuinjutsu on the ship. 

WC = 260. TWC = 1637

"Consider it done." Auron would say in response to Cole's negotiation of his title as well as who he'd follow. 

Upon hearing Cole's creativity in regards to the ship's protection, Auron softly smiled. "Thank you, Cole. I can tell that this partnership will truly be fruitful for the both of us. I am Auron....Follow me to the ship."

- Exit - 
WC = 58. TWC = 1695

WC Claims:
- 139 WC to Skillful Dance: Nullification, rest trained here
- 1500 WC to Water Breathing (Learning over Shimi Daikon)
- Learning Cole's signature