Scene #5333: War Propheteering

Owner	Pose
Kakashi Hatake	Someone's been selling Hidden Leaf property to civilians: ninja weaponry, using the fear of war to rake in the ryo. These weapons are not being sold BY the Hidden Leaf though, and without any sign of a traitor in the ranks who could be responsible for this, they must assume there is an outside force that has somehow been acquiring kunai, shuriken, swords, explosive tags, and other things that really shouldn't be handed out to untrained civlians. After catching multiple sellers, Konohagakure is still no closer to locating the distributor. So help has been called in from the Paladins to enforce the law as it pertains to the spread of arms and the manipulation of commerce. It is possible others may have been notified as well, by those participating in the mission, but the objective is specifically to enforce the law and avoid destabilizing the country side by putting what amounts to high-explosive bombs and poison darts and katana in the hands of farmers, merchants, and families who might wind up using them by accident or out of fear. The children who attend the ninja academy are taught how to use this stuff properly. They are certified. Some kid in a hamlet somewhere isn't, and could easily disfigure or kill himself by accident if he or she happened to activate an explosive tag by accident somehow. There are other teams rounding up the equipment wherever they can find it. But the mission that Kakashi is leading is to stop the distribution at the source. However, after days of following up leads, tracking trails, and investigating drop-off points, it seems they always miss their target. By this point, as Kakashi and a couple of Leaf Chuunin are seated around a campfire, the Jounin has to put forth a theory that may have occurred to the others as well. "It seems likely that somehow our target is being tipped off to our presence." he says as he looks into the fire from where he is crouched, remembering the last camp fire he sat at, during Pain's invasion of the Hidden Leaf. "THey may be a sensor ninja of some kind, but the trail is cold by the time we get there, so their range would have to be considerable. At this point, it is almost more as though he knows we're coming before we do." The two Chuunin look at each other, and then one of them sweats a bit as he asks, "How is that possible, Kakashi-san? Are you suggesting they can see the future somehow? Like your Sharingan?" Kakashi just goes, "Hm?" and then looks at the other ninja. "Ah. No, the Sharingan can't actually see the future. It just extrapolates enemy action based upon muscle tension, direction of movement, and that sort of thing." He looks up through an opening in the trees of the forest that surrounds them, at the starry sky. "Well, there's no use in guessing at what their abilities are on such limited information. Instead we should figure out a plan to catch them regardless of their intelligence-gathering methods." The sleepy-looking Jounin looks around to the others and asks, "Any ideas?"
Ainsley	Ainsley had followed along with the shinobi. They had gotten some time to get used to her whole... being a lizard thing. She had been eerily silent when not called upon to give her input, and it might be difficult to say whether or not she even wants to be on this mission. Her measured behavior is almost robotic, though her face is neutral and not unnerving like one might expect from a reptile. Expressive, thoughtful, pensive, and not the vacant stare of a wild snake. With everyone seated around the campfire, the lizard woman turns her head and speaks up. Her calm tone is raised over the crackle of the fire. "The ability to view into the future would account for knowing when to move their operation before the authorities arrive," she begins, with a nod to the Chuunin that suggested it, "But it would be more likely that they have a network they use to detect the movement of the authorities that is quick enough to pre-empt efforts to catch them. Has anyone closely examined the items that are being sold? In some worlds, a great deal of recon equipment is so subtle that you would need a microscope to detect it." Ainsley crosses her arms, and looks off into the trees after that, back to her pensive attitude.
Staren	Staren is ALL FOR arming civilians who need protection... But they need weapons they know how to use. He's sure there's a way to get them guns and proper training or something, if there's a need. Whoever's doing this is irresponsible and negligent. Also, it's not a Concord op. So this time, at least, he's on the Paladins' side. Since they're meeting in a forest which, Staren recalls, is full of ninjas, he shows up armored. It wouldn't do to be weak and squishy if there's an ambush. He nods at Ainsley's assessment. His visor is retracted to show his face clearly as he speaks: "It might be surveillance equipment that you're not trained to detect. I dunno if you can find another ninja by life force or chakra or something, But what if you're being spied on by a tiny drone?" He reaches into his bag and then holds out his hand -- on the tip of one finger is an insectoid drone the size of a small fruit fly two or three millimeters long. "Some kinds of technology are even smaller than this. Although, perhaps once you know what to look for... I'm sure a ninja could find them, too."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa was decked out for stealth given the nature of the mission. She was not a ninja persay b ut she had some serious tricks about being sneaky. With the problem well in mind she had some ideas, with the work the locals had done it was more than enough to get an idea of where. It seems there's a theif somewhere in the villiage's supply chain and the danger to civilians is a serious one. Given while the idea of fighting children does bother Kotone on somelevel she also has seen that it's more the children are trained young but don't see the actual front lines till a far later ages, and well she gets abilities like they have on this world needs training after all. "Humm so someome playing off fear mongering has been pinching weapons from the villiage and then using various cats paws to sell off the goods, right? We could a always attempt to set up some sort of sting operation but they ones you have busted are not very free with information are they hummmm."
Rebecca Chambers	Weapons of any kind, whatever their purpose is or whoever is using them, are not something that should be handled by amateurs. There's a reason people are trained in how to use them properly and how they work so they don't cause any trouble or damage. In fact, Rebecca Chambers remembers the time she had to give a lecture on the usage of weapons that included certain types of chemicals, regarding how to properly use them and how to avoid being hurt or disfigured by them. Not that there are any chemical weapons here, but you never know what to expect in a place like this. Sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, Rebecca has an attentive look and stance as she sits, indicating that she's paying full attention to what is being said. She listens intently to what is being said, but says nothing for the time being. It's not that she has nothing to say, she just doesn't want to risk speaking out of turn or making a faux pas in front of someone she's never met before. (In this case, Kakashi.)
Kakashi Hatake	Kakashi hmmmms thoughtfully to the suggestions. "We're no strangers to surveillance equipment, but there are many forms of spying, and innovations in jutsu and technology are always being worked on." He glances towards Ainsley, fixing her with the gaze from his uncovered eye for a moment. No, Ainsley is not a predatory reptile monster. She doesn't have the inhuman presence that Orochimaru had. Just looking at him, he felt like a monster wearing a human skin. Ainsley is nothing like him. He looks to Staren next and says, "I suppose we'll have to fight back with the same tools then. Let's try setting up our own surveillance network and watch for any signs of others spying on us. Whether it's informations, as Ainsley-san suggests, or spy cameras or even summoned beings, it's time to stop letting them predict our movements." One of the Chuunin looks to Kotone and says, "Yeah, that's right. None of them seem to know anything, of if they know something, they won't talk. They claim they never saw the distributor. We suspect there may be memory erasure of some kind in place, because they don't seem to even remember how they knew where the drop-off point for the weapons was. We have those capable of mental analysis working on them right now, since truth serum seems to be useless in making them tell what they don't recall."
Staren	Staren nods. "Well... We can certainly make all manner of espionage and counter-espionage tools available. If there turns out to be no record of the meeting in their minds, perhaps you could use a diviner or psychometrist to peer into their past." Staren frowns slightly. "Before we go discussing details of the things we could implement... how do we know we're not being spied upon right now?" He checks for errant radio signals.
Rebecca Chambers	Rebecca still listens intently, but says nothing. For the time being, she's just listening to what the others have to say, wanting to hear their opinions and views on this. She nods her head occasionally, acknowledging what is being said. It's not until Staren speaks that Rebecca finally speaks up. "Staren has a point," Rebecca states. "There might be someone eavesdropping on us. Or worse..." Her eyes dart from side to side before looking forwards again. "I'm not saying it is true, but we have to keep that possibility in mind."
Ainsley	Ainsley turns her head to look at each person speaking in turn. Her calm, confident stare has flickers of understanding and thought behind it as she pores over what's being said. She hasn't much to contribute by way of networks of information, that's what ninjas excel at more than a wizard or a scholar. She slowly gathers herself up to a stand when it's suggested by the others that they're being watched right now. With the same calm tone, she speaks in a primal language that resonates with the idea of Thought, creating a soft green glow to her eyes after that. It's not dissimilar to eye techniques used by the locals, though it seems to more overlay an effect than change her eyes. Ainsley searches for 'psychic energy,' looking for signatures of significant mental abilities. This might detect an ability such as the Yamanaka clan's psychic links, but it wouldn't detect an ability like the Byakugan. She scans their immediate surroundings, ignoring the 'noise' of the others present. "They could be using an unknown ability to ferry weapons out without the Leaf knowing," she speaks in her mellow tones, "And the same ability is used to use the people of this country to distribute these weapons. An ability that, perhaps, subtly controls a subject without leaving much of a signature. They would be told well in advance what to do, and they would forget the pertinent details like who told them or what they look like." "That's... just my hypothesis. It could explain how no one seems to know how they're doing this."
Staren	Staren comments, "I've heard of one way to do that with technology. Abduct someone, edit their memories, implant suggestions... But it takes rare skill. ...There could be a lot of things like that in the Multiverse, though. We need more evidence -- clues -- before we can really home in on one specific method or tool."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa Says "Or they could be using dead drops as well with wrirrent messages as well. Huh that's something how common are such abilities on this world if I might ask that could help narrow down who it could be if it's not very common, Kakashi." She thinks about this note while she looks over to STaren humm tht was a point after all. "off world could be a thing too, given abilities like mine can use technology to hide in plain sight for example, if they had a teleporter or access to magic of the same sort." Shes thinking already and she oauses deep breathing. "memory editing is possible on my world but that requires cyberentics."
Kakashi Hatake	"That's possible," Kakashi admits to Staren and Rebecca. "But assuming we're under observation at all times may be a bit too paranoid. This is a weapons smuggler of some kind. One who is having to rely on others to sell their merchandise. We've taken all of those merchants into custody already, and the distributor is fleeing us. If they had the time and resources to fill every inch of the forest with surveillance equipment, they could have tipped off the sellers we captured, arranged ambushes at the sites we travelled to, or chosen to lie low until we gave up the hunt." Kakashi shakes his head. "I think the information they have about us is limited. Though you're right that we shouldn't be incautious because of that. Memoru erasure and suppression is possible here as well, Yamakawa-san. Hopefully we'll have more information about what methods were used when we report back. Though if we can catch the culprit, maybe we can get them to confess as well." It doesn't appear there are any stray radio signals for Staren to detect, though it was a good idea to check. One never knows after all. Kakashi seems to have an idea and roots around in his backpack to retrieve several sets of wireless radio headsets. "Though maybe we should be using these from now on." He hands one out to each person, so that they can remain in touch easily and quietly. A whisper is less likely to be picked up than a conversational voice. And they really can't have filled the entire vast forest with audio pick-ups. There are ninja trained in counter-espionage who notice that sort of thing. One of the Chuunin sits up a bit straighter suddenly as Ainsley's eyes start to glow, but then slumps down. His companion asks, "What's wrong?" The other ninja just shakes his head sleepily and says, "Nothing. I'm just really--" yawwwwn "--tired suddenly. It feels like I just sat down but it's already so late." Kakashi looks blandly at the other two ninja, then to Ainsley, then to the others. "Well, we should get some rest for the night. Maybe we can examine options with a fresh perspective tomorrow."
Ainsley	Ainsley squints into the dark. She accepts the wireless headset, though she has to make some effort to fasten it to her head since she has a non-human physiology. She makes sure she's done this before she decides to speak up, her eyes ceasing their green glow. She turns to address the group as a whole and as she does, her voice is plainly audible. "You should get yourself checked out for the residual usage of a technique immediately." She glances aside inquisitively to Kakashi, somewhat aware that he might be able to check for that kind of disruption where she can't, but she can't be sure. She says that to the shinobi that expressed his fatigue. The sudden coincidence of what she saw and his behavior was impossible to overlook. "Something was here, and fled when I started scanning."
Staren	"You have a point, but still, there's the issue of how they're sneaking into a ninja village and stealing stuff undetected. Who knows what they're capable of?" Staren's already got a radio built in he doesn't even need to whisper for, so he'd prefer to use that if allowed. He nods in agreement with Ainsley at her concern for the chuunin. That's suspicious! Even more suspicious is Ainsley saying she detected something! And now it's bedtime. "Alright. I've never been a fan of roughing it, but I'll be listening." He taps his helmet, before teleporting to his ship, high above. The spy gnat he left behind flies over to a tree and watches. Staren's... somewhat suspicious since Ainsley detected something, but that's all the more reason he should get what sleep he can in comfort to get well-rested and not in range of snipers, right?
Rebecca Chambers	Taking the wireless headset, Rebecca fastens it securely to her head. "Thanks," She says politely. "This should be quite useful." She then checks her ammunition and her first aid supplies, making an extra scrutinizing effort to check the latter. She doesn't want to be in the middle of nowhere without enough medical supplies. Once she's sure she's all set, Rebecca checks the headset a little to make sure she understands how it works. It seems simple enough. After that is said and done, Rebecca gets her bedroll ready and prepares to bed down for the night. She only bothers removing her shoes before getting nice and comfy. "A good night's sleep always helps." She slips under the covering and starts to close her eyes. Yet there's one hand by her Beretta if someone tries to wake her.
Kotone Yamakawa	There's so may questions but so few answers at the moment. Kakashi and his people have proven they have been on the ball but it's also possible they are dealing with somthing they never have before. Kotone thinks now as she runs several lesser processes having her muse filter through the information. it's only a smar search but it might help she pauses as she looks between the group and she nods as she'll move to ake a place to sleep for the night. It would be creepy though when she finall passes out for the night she won't move, won't even look to breach, looking more doll like than anything else.