Undercover

"I found them.

There's a secret underground gambling den that has a tournament of some sort."

Ryuu nodded.

"Alright, I'll wait." Ryuu sat down and began gathering nature energy.

Once Ryuu opened his eyes, a diamond mark appeared on his forehead, and a green aura surrounded his body. Ryuu entered slug sage mode.

He didn't move for hours, until the middle of the night, that's when he stood up.

"What? No good luck wishes? Not even a warning about this jump?"

"You've made it clear you don't want to listen to anyone during this mission, get it over with." Ryuu looked down as the strong wind blew past his hair.

"Alright, it's time to go." Ryuu jumped.

As the wind was blowing past him, Ryuu activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and made a hand sign.

"Wood style: wood clone jutsu!"

Twelve clones came from his body and spread around in a circular formation.

Once Ryuu was near the ground, he made his bones and body soft using senjutsu and landed with a splat. His clones all landed in different areas.

"All at once!" Ryuu and his clones made multiple hand signs and slammed their hands on the ground.

"Formation 13: advanced chakra barrier!" From the 13 corners Ryuu covered, a giant dome was forming around the town.

No one could see this except Ryuu.

Ryuu's clones dispersed, and he entered the town.

Ryuu was using the body flicker jutsu and Kamui to pass through people.

"Earth-style: hiding like a mole jutsu."

'I looked around the corners to see if anyone was watching, and when I reached an alley in the city, I made a tunnel and slipped through it using slug senjutsu, as I saw the end of the tunnel, I jumped out and bit my finger.'

"Summoning jutsu!"

*Poof!*

Ryuu landed with a golden and black-furred dog beside him.

Ryuu had signaled Kai to keep quiet.

"Kai, I need you to find and destroy all and any traps in here, alright?" Kai stood on two legs and did a salute.

"Got it! Can you give me some juice?!"

With no regard, Kai shouted and asked.

"Shut it!" Ryuu whispered to him.

"Sorry." He appeared on top of Ryuu's head.

"Fine, I'll give you juice, but you have to promise to keep quiet, I'm trying to free someone here, you know?"

Kai excitedly nodded.

He appeared in front of Ryuu, showing him his belly.

Ryuu rubbed his belly and added lightning release.

"Hahaha!" Kai's eyes started glowing with yellow lightning, his fur stood up and his tongue was out.

"Alright! I won't fail you!" He stood up, itching to be told to run.

"G-"

Whoosh!

A yellow bolt of lightning passed right before Ryuu told him to go.

"Alright!"

Ryuu used the body flicker jutsu and began running toward all the people he sensed.

'We're almost there!' Ryuu took his Katana from his hilt and burst through the door, ready to fight.

"..."

Ryuu looked around in awe and speechless shock.

"Ryuu?!"

He saw a familiar face and dropped his jaw.

"Ichika…"

Ryuu muttered and loosened his grip on his Katana.

Ichika wore a white wedding dress, and she was holding flowers.

Ryuu nervously scratched his head while blushing and said,

"You, umm… you look good in that…"

"What are you doing here?!"

Ryuu gulped and closed his eyes as he explained,

"Well, I was told you'll need some backup on this operation, and so I came here as fast as I could, I didn't want to but my dad forced me, so in a sense, this is all his fault, and I didn't even know you were here until I entered sage mode and sensed you and then I simply felt sad for the old man, knowing he doesn't have anyone to rely on except me and then I…"

Ryuu flew back as Ichika furiously punched him.

"You idiot! You're talking too much!"

A big red bump appeared on Ryuu's head.

"Ichika-chan, who is that?" A man wearing a white silk suit asked.

His suit had a red rose on his chest and he had black, straight hair reaching his shoulders.

He spoke elegantly, with a high-pitched and brittle voice.

"Oh, umm, he's just a friend."

"Yeah, I'm just a friend." Ryuu offered a handshake.

"Oh my, is that blood?!" He clapped his hands and a waiter holding a box full of gloves came and put the gloves on his hands.

"So you're a shinobi?!" Ryuu nodded.

After wearing both gloves, he shook Ryuu's hands.

'What a pain in the ass, is this how he treats guests?' Ryuu subconsciously lightly tightened his grip.

"Aaah! What a grip!" He said as he quickly let go.

"What's a shinobi from the leaf doing here, anyway? I didn't invite you."

"Well, I uh…" Ryuu thought of a reason.

"He's here by the order of the Hokage.

As you know, being a direct descendant of the first Hokage, I get special bodyguards like him."

"Oh, so that's what he is?" Ryuu and Ichika nervously nodded.

"For a shinobi guarding my soon-to-be wife, you sure are useless.

The only thing you got accurate as a shinobi is your mask, silly boy." Ryuu nodded.

"I'll use your words of wisdom to help myself get better."

"Ichika-chan, your shinobi is so strange and rude, does he always speak out of turn?"

Ichika nervously shook her head and pinched Ryuu's ear as she said,

"Unfortunately, my shinobi is diagnosed with a strange mental disorder, it's not surprising considering how he was raised in a backward society."

Ryuu's head dropped depressingly.

"Luckily, he makes up for it in his combat ability." The groom nodded.

"I'll take him away from here and give him a strong lecture on how not to be a moron." Ichika pulled Ryuu by the ear, and they started walking around in the tunnels.

After 30 minutes of walking in the tunnels, with his ear pulled, they stopped.

"Ok, we're far enough," Ichika said, and then she let go of his ear.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing with such a spineless shit inside the tunnels?!"

Ichika scoffed and looked away.

"OK, he is not that spineless, at least he can…" Ichika couldn't hold her laugh and ended up laughing out loud.

"Hahaha!" Both of them laughed out loud.

Their laughs echoed in the tunnels.

"Shh!" Ryuu's shush was broken as he was still laughing.

"You shhh!" Ichika was also still laughing.

"Ichika, he's afraid of blood," Ryuu added, making Ichika laugh even harder.

After 10 minutes of laughing, they stopped and sat down on the concrete floor.

"I wouldn't have taken on this mission if I knew what I was getting into."

"Why'd you even accept this mission anyway, it's so boring, you know?"

"This was the biggest opportunity to take down all these scumbags.

Did you handle your part in Kiri?"

"Of course, but wasn't there another way we could've done this?"

"There probably was, but the idea of us being on a mission together overwhelmed us, don't you think?"

"I agree."

Ryuu scooted beside Ichika.

"Anyway, why did you send a request for backup if you don't need any? Don't tell me you missed me already."

"Backup? I didn't request any backup."

"Huh? What do you mean? Hokage-sama said you requested immediate backup for this."

Ryuu worriedly looked at the ground.

'This can only mean…'

"It's a trap."

They finished each other's sentences.

Ryuu looked at Ichika and smiled while blushing.

"Ahem, um…

What's your plan, anyway?" Ryuu asked.

"In an hour or two, a special guest of honor will arrive.

An old man named Koruki Matsumo, he's like a kingpin in the underground, other kingpins and possibly some rogue shinobi will accompany him.

They've been causing a lot of problems inside this town and they even spread as far as Kirigakure, so I have to kill them all at once.

Well…

We have to kill them.

We'll kill them while they're trapped here."

"That's why you told me to stay in character all this time."

"Yeah, I needed him and many others to believe we broke up, these guys don't trust no one unless you benefit them on many things.

I offered myself and the Senju clan."

Ryuu leaned on the wall behind them.

"You didn't have to pinch me all the way here, you know."

"You ruined my plans, it's the least I could do, I probably should've beaten you a bit more. You're an incompetent bodyguard."

"Right, technically, this is my fault."

After sitting in silence for a while, Ichika asked,

"How's Naruto?"

"Same as always, obnoxious and always wants to prove himself even with the little stuff." Ichika smiled.

"I bet, he's supposed to start the academy next year, isn't he?"

Ryuu nodded.

"Yeah, Sasuke starts this year and Naruto has been bothering me about why he should start with him."

"I can only imagine, Naruto-"

Ryuu leaned in and put his hand over her mouth.

"Someone's listening."

Ichika frowned, and Ryuu smirked and said,

"C'mon, apart from my hand here, this is a familiar site, isn't it?" Ryuu joked, and Ichika removed his hand, pouting and blushing.

"Shhh!" Ryuu shushed her.

"I got them all!" Ryuu flinched hearing that voice.

"Kai, you crazy dog!" Ryuu stood up and helped Ichika stand up, too.

"I got all the traps everywhere! Look! Aren't I a good boy?!" Ryuu nodded.

"I thought someone else was there, I was so certain about it too."

"Oh yeah, I took him out as I ran back, isn't that awesome?!"

Ryuu sighed out of relief.

"Ryuu, have you been drinking?"

Ryuu's heart stopped, and his eyes widened.

'My breath…'

"N-n-n-no…" Ryuu started sweating buckets, and he looked away from Ichika's piercing gaze.

"I smelt it in your breath, you idiot!"

Ryuu gulped.

"Listen, I had to make myself look completely in character, you know?

Honestly, Nobu was with me, weren't you, Nobu?"

Ryuu waited for Nobu to come to help him out.

"You told me you'll be fine, let me sleep."

"Nobu, come on, I was only joking."

Nobu didn't respond.

"You're lucky we have a mission right now, you fool."

"Whew…" Ryuu wiped his forehead.

"Alright let's go, I'll help from the shadows."

Ryuu said as he picked his mask up.

Ichika was already walking in the other direction.

"Ichika?" Ichika looked back.

"This is probably a trap, be safe, alright?"

Ichika smiled and said,

"No need, you've got me covered, right?"

"Always."

Ryuu put his mask back on and left.