Konohagakure

The streets of Konoha were quiet today. Quiet days weren't that unusual, however there was an unsettling tension in the air, tension that tensed every muscle in Natsumi's body as she walked. She passed a stand that sold meat buns. The buns here were known as some of the best in the village, yet there was no line today, Yet it was still attended by the owner. this was his job after all, and anyone that was not a ninja had to have a job. Natsumi bought a bun, even though she wasn't particularly fond of meat buns, it was simply too sad seeing the most popular stand in the village empty. Taking minuscule bites as her feet shuffled forward, she noticed two men in gray armor walking down the street. They were each carrying large spears, and had white crescent emblems on their shoulders. The moon emblem was the mark of the Empire, and these two men were patrolling soldiers. Natsumi dipped her head down, and nonchalantly nibbled on her meat bun, hoping to avoid eye contact with the two. As she neared them, The man on her left moved into her path, and bumped into her. Natsumi's bun splattered on the ground, prompting her to look at the man that had murdered her snack. "Why did you do that?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"Because I could, what, are you going to do something about it, nine tails?" He said, glaring at her. The man beside him nudged him, and asked him what the hell he was doing. "It don't make no sense, why are we letting this girl just walk around? She's the daughter of the Hokage, and she has a tailed beast inside of her." The man pointed his spear at Natsumi, who was looking at him with a face of pity. "That beast would serve us a whole lot better in one of us..."

Natsumi took a step back. "Please, put that down, there's no reason fo-" Natsumi gasped suddenly as a pair of hands gripped the man's head from behind, and snapped it backwards. The man was dead before his body hit the ground, Natsumi looked up to see who had killed him, it was Nikuya. The vessel of the two tails wiped her hands on her pants, as if she had just touched something unsavory.

"As I recall..." She said, glaring at the other Empire soldier. "The Empress explicitly stated that this girl was to remain unharmed, was that truly so hard to understand?" The soldier rapidly shook his head no, and sprinted away as fast as he could. Nikuya let out a sigh, and looked to Natsumi. "I'll buy you something to eat, since this piece of shit just wasted your food." She said, kicking the dead man's head.

~~~

"Will you eat already, you're starting to tick me off." Nikuya grumbled, tapping her foot on a bar stool. She had taken Natsumi to a place well known for it's sake and wine, strictly speaking not the kind of place for kids. Natsumi poked at the curry on her plate with her chop sticks, she wasn't in the mood to eat.

"You didn't have to kill him..." She whispered. Nikuya scoffed, placing an elbow on the table in front of them.

"No, I suppose I didn't, but a soldier that thinks it's okay to disobey the Empress's orders and kill an innocent should be punished," Natsumi stopped fiddling with her food, and looked at Nikuya.

"So it's my fault he's dead... I'm sorry I forced you to do that." Natsumi said. Nikuya simply shook her head in annoyance. In truth she couldn't stand this girl, the only reason she looked after her was because the Empress ordered it.

"You really are dim, aren't you? I bet the rebels in this village haven't even let you in on what they're up to."

"W-what?" Natsumi was startled. She knew that the rebels in the village were planning something, but they never gave her any details.

"Oh please, I'm not stupid, I know there are Rebels in every village. They're only ever in the villages, no bases, no large group meetings, they're very good at keeping things secret. But we will root them out, Natsumi. They are the villains here, I'll have you know. If they would simply live as the Empress intended, there would be no need for anyone else to die. But no... I suppose that's too much to ask of them. The only way for this to end is to wipe the rest of them out... Just like those Mercenaries."

"Mercanaries?"

"Yes, those that have no other desire than to fight for money, the last of them formed a brigade, and decided to stage an attack on the Empire's castle in The Land of Rivers. Shame they aren't as discreet as the Rebels, Powerful members of the Empire have already been dispatched to assist in take them down. It'll be a massacre.

"That's horrible..." Natsumi said. Nikuya chuckled at her horrified expression.

"Puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Now eat already."

The Land of Rivers

Standing upon a tower in her castle, The Empress watched as an army marched towards her, at least five thousand ninja. Mercenaries from across the world had gathered here, with the intention of ending the rule of the woman that had made business nearly impossible for them. "Hm, I thought there'd be more..." The Empress mused, turning towards the group of loyal Empire troops that had come to stomp out the enemy. "They will need to cross through the forest before reaching this castle, intercept the army there, and end them. Go."

Ryozan grimaced with every swing of his sword, utterly dissatisfied with the sloppy and erratic strokes. This wasn't like him; he was a Jounin now, and Jounins' sword strokes were not off by whole millimeters. With a sigh, he sheathed his blade and ended his mid-day practice early. It was futile to practice any more when his mind was buzzing with unnecessary thoughts. Doing so would only reinforce bad habits. Today was definitely an off day for Ryozan, but it wasn't as if he didn't know why. He made his way over to the scroll that the recruitment officer had left him and re-read the invitation to join the Empress's army, as if reading the message again and again would somehow bring some kind of clarity to the situation. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled about the idea of being a part of the army. They had come into his home and forcibly usurped power; there was little reason for him to be loyal to such a force. At the same time though, the Empire was merely forcing people to be responsible, productive citizens. Unemployment was at zero percent, and he was allowed to remain a ninja, just as he always had been. Yes, the Empress was perfectly willing to kill those who opposed her, but he had seen first hands that the rebels were no different in that regard. As far as he could see, there were simply two opposing views vying for power... and he was asked to support one of them.

Ryozan's mind wavered back and forth like a pendulum, the small scroll seeming to have more weight than his katana. If he accepted the offer, would he be sent to slaughter outspoken civilians? If he refused, would he be deemed a rebel? Scroll in hand, Ryozan decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. Perhaps if he found a nice relaxing spot to calm his mind, he would be able to find an answer easier. The idea that mere location would alter his thinking patterns was utterly irrational, but right now rationalizing the issue wasn't working.

Any simpleton could tell that something was not right simply by walking the streets of Konoha. Everything was dead. The weather was beautiful, there were no imminent threats to public safety, martial law had not been declared, and yet a typically lively village was so empty that any of the poor food vendors would probably lose money today because their merchandise would spoil before it was sold. And yet they didn't close shop. It was a nasty blend of normality mixed with peculiarity that made Ryozan glad he had decided to keep his sword on him; perhaps he would need to use it today...

Konohagakure

Matsuka sat alone, eating her ramen quietly. The stall owner eyed the two scrolls kneeling next to her but said nothing about them as she indicated she wanted seconds.

"You're not saying much today Matsuka. Something wrong?" The quiet njnja looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "One doesn't squander what could be their last meal with idle chatter, friend." She said cryptically. The old man shrugged and handed her the bowl, knowing her well enough not to press for an explination.

Konohagakure

Karela stared down at the lone imperial solder walking through the streets of Konoha from her rooftop perch. As far as Karela could tell, he was alone. Vulnerable. Defenseless. It wasn't often that one saw a lone Imperial solders walking through the streets like this, in fact, it seemed a little too good to be true. Was it possible that they had figured out that she was the one who had killed the last few solders who had ventured outside of Konoha?

Truth be told, she didn't care if they knew it was her. The Empire had taken everything from her a long time ago. They had left her with no family, no clan, and no place to truly call home. The Empire had hurt her, wounded her deeply both emotionally and physically that night and she would never forgive them. A rare shudder of disgust went through her. The things that had been done to her and her clan that night would most likely haunt her until the day she died and she didn't intend to die until either the Empire was gone or she took the Empress herself with her into death.

Karela knew that she had been damaged by the night her clan had been exterminated, by the way she had been beaten and abused by the male solders who had attacked the clan that night. She was no longer capable of trusting men in any kind of relationship, truth be told, she didn't think she could trust anyone in any kind of relationship. On the rare occasion she felt the need for companionship, she would find a women and leave immediately once done. There was no emotion involved, no caring, no trust, no love. Karela didn't even think she was capable of love anyway.

She wanted revenge. Pure and simple. The need for revenge burned within her with an intensity that had surprised her at first but she had grown to embrace it, let it fuel her and give her strength when she fought.

Katsu was on the streets, looking for a good place to eat. He had his Chu-nin vest on, unzipped and his eyes were dyed crimson red. He gazed around, noticing a familiar ramen place. He walked over with a smile. When he marched in, he saw that it was almost completely empty. Taking a seat on one of the stalls, next to a dark haired woman. He had noticed her as a jōnin. Ordering a bowl of ramen, he watched the woman from the corner of his eyes.

Remi stood amongst the group of loyal troops as she listened to the Empress. A Hornet stood on her shoulder, his antennae swirled gently on the skin of her cheek. The patterns seemed random to anyone else, but to Remo they were words. He was relaying the information to her as to whom was attacking and her orders.

The young female jounin seemed as passive and uncaring as ever. If it wasn't an automatic function, she probably wouldn't even be blinking. Despite that, the latest twitches of the hornet brought a smirk to her lips. No one was to remain alive? Well...those were terms she could understand. Killing? Not really. But her Empress told her to. Besides, Gyuu-kun could explain why later.

She ran her claw over her palm after the necessary hand signs and slammed her hand on the ground. "Summoning Technique, Killak." In a puff of smoke, a massive Hornet lifted her into the air. When he stood, he was over six feet tall, and longer than ten feet. She kneeled on the Hornet and put a hand on her hip, "Let's go, Killak. Our brothers and sisters are very restless." the hornet's antennae twitched in reflex as he took off and flew towards the mass of humanity when the Empress called for them to go.

As usual, Izari was still unsure of the actions that the empire wanted him go with but his clan was in support of them and so he had to follow the orders. He was now in the castle base in the Land of Rivers and awaiting instructions. According to their spies, there was at least five thousand enemy shinobi closing in on their position and were ready to fight to kill. Izari had almost no doubts that by the time this battle was over, most if not all of the mercenaries would be dead and those that were unfortunate enough to be taken prisoner would be tortured badly. Even though a part of him didn't want to partake in the violence, his darker side urged him to fight with savage fury and slaughter as many of the Empire's enemies as possible.

He let his right hand rub through his bright red hair, and Izari waited for the empress to give her orders. When she gave the orders, Izari wasn't surprised that she had ordered them to intercept the enemy in the forest, it would give a good advantage over their foes in an ambush. He was getting up his will to keep his darker side in check and not become a mad killing machine while on the field of battle. A couple of small tentacles began to grow on his arm and Izari knew that it meant he was excited. His lighter side didn't like his possible love of carnage, and he said his catchphrase to himself, "Izari is a nice guy"

Some of the other shinobi close by him looked at him in a way that he could was the look that a person gave someone when they thought that they were crazy. He gave them a nice smile and he turned his attention back the Empress. Despite his reluctance, Izari was going to try and make the Empress glad that she had shinobi from the Turimora clan on her side. When she told them to go, Izari took out one his Kama sickles and twirled in his hand for a few seconds and then took off after Remi, following behind the host of the 8 tails. He wasn't sure how the autistic shinobi would act with a Bijuu inside her, but he was curious to see a Jinchuriki in action and Gyuuki was the Bijuu with tentacles.

It of course was harder for him to follow since she was able to fly on her giant insect while he had to run. He have used his Ragulhu seal to go into his transformed state but he needed to save his chakra for the coming battle and that form used up a great amount of energy. Izari leaped off of the castle tower and went high into air, sailing over the walls. When he began to fall down towards the ground, he had several large tentacles grow out of his body and grab onto one of the castle's ledges to slow down his descent. His bloodline came in handy when he had to fall from extremely high places, and once his feet touched the ground, he ran straight for the forest as quick as he could. Izari was ready for action and his tentacles were ready to spill fresh blood.

Killak's antennae motioned towards the ground which prompted the jounin to look down. She saw a young man running, almost directly, beneath them. She was mildly impressed and tapped the third segment of the drone's antennae. The hornet took the encouragement and turned down into a rather steep dive. They leveled out right in front of the "Tentacle Boy" as Neferti called him. She was sure his name was Izari...Izanari? No...Izari...The Hornet's leg twitched outwards in response to her questioning countenance.

"Get on, running wastes energy." The autistic woman frowned a little bit at the sound of her own voice being carried by the wind. The hornet continued to fly close to the ground, even as Remi offered Izari her arm. "Killak is strong, fly fine."

Keiko didn't know if she would be able to contain her excitement any longer with the way things were going. Thankfully, the Empress released them, and Keiko was already gliding away on what appeared to be a giant flower petal. Seconds before, that same petal was in her satchel with hundreds of flower petals that looked exactly like it, except much smaller in size and useless without her jutsu. She glided by bug-girl and the red-head, giggling loudly and turning to look over her shoulder briefly.

"Hmmm." Keiko hummed curiously to herself, swearing that hornet girl was the host of the 8-tailed beast. She shrugged it off. For some reason her memory had failed her, but then again, she didn't really communicate with any of her comrades. Most of her time was spent in the forests, or in the new Flower Shop, and she didn't feel the need to know anything more about them than their names.

Konohagakure
Rebel Safehouse

Shizune stands on the balcony of her little hiding place, looking out over one of the more active streets of Konoha in peaceful silence. She was glad for the simple, ordinary lifestyles of the men and women bustling about below, as it brought a strange sort of peace to her aching heart. Behind her, she knew of at least one member of the rebellion, with whom she had just finished bidding farewell to. It was the man who had vouched for her when she arrived, mud splattered and distraught on the steps of Konohagakure. They took her here, ushering her into the village in secret so that she wouldn't be discovered by the empire. They heard her out, hearing how Kusagakure and those within it had fallen, and how she had silently escaped from the battle just when it seemed her time was finished.

He brought her here, to her very last safe haven, a place where she may be of some use to their cause. Together, the two of them watched the flames of Rebellion grow gradually hotter in the shadows of Konoha. When he died, she took his place among his peers, offering her advice and experience to all those within their ranks. She watched it grow with him in mind, until the time finally came when the flame could hide no longer. She knew that the time was approaching rapidly, when this new conflict would once again bring the fires of war to this nation.

*Knock Knock*

A loud noise pulls her out of her thoughts, bringing her attention back to where it was duly needed. Somebody wished to speak with her. After a single, longing glance back towards the street below, Shizune turns towards the source of the noise. She crosses the room at a casual pace, settling down onto a large cushion near the center of the room before raising her voice into the direction of whoever was at the door-

"Please, come in and take a seat."

Konohagakure - Windspeaker Touho

The Windspeaker had spent most of the day floating silently above the metaphorical ivory spires of Konoha, looking down upon them with a mixture of familiarity and contempt - a mixture of hope for the future, and despair over what was already lost. It was not an activity that she engaged in every day, for there were people who needed her guidance, but today was a lull in the great musical that was life, a sudden drop of tempo before the great crescendo of war came crashing down upon the world in droves. She could feel the beat of the war drums in her veins even now, and the thought of it filled her only with regret at what she had to do. Still, she would do it, for there was no price that she would not pay to keep her people safe.

There were others of a similar, pensive nature in the rebellion, though they were far and few between, and at times even the great shephards needed guidance to ensure that the flock stayed on the right path. Today, a day that could be anyone she knew's last day, seemed like the correct day to obtain whatever guidance she could. It would perhaps make the coming storm easier to bear. Fuujin would not help her, for it was his storm that she intended to weather - another test of her faith and of her resolve. It was not the first time that she had tested, and it certainly would not be the last.

It was this line of thought that had brought her to Shizune's door, and no sooner than she had let her feet touch the ground had she knocked upon the wooden door. The familiar voice echoed out a response, and Touho opened the door. It was a practiced ritual of sorts, in truth, and each motion that she took tried in vain to hide that fact. She always refused a cushion, not wanting to impose, and simply floated above the ground at a comfortable height, so Shizune would not have to strain herself in order to speak freely. Perhaps it was an unnecessary kindness, but that mattered little, in the end.

"Thank you, Shizune. I came so that I might hear your guidance before the coming storm." The Windspeaker started, keeping her voice low and airy, but still filled with the gusto and passion that she held close to her heart. It was an interesting way of speaking, at the very least.

Land of Rivers

There it finally was, another coveted fight between the empire and petty adversaries who promoted their unwarranted self-importance for far too long. These animals were coming by the thousands, the exact number being of a trivial importance to the Empress' right hand bodyguard, they were all just sacrifices for the Empress' unstoppable might and greatness. Men running amok as they were starting to kill each other as the Empress gave her righteous order to exterminate all those who opposed her. Yakoul would have huge trouble keeping its joy hidden as she stood next to the marvelous head figure of the empire, always a meter behind the woman slight to her right and arms always set behind its back as a sign of good manners and respect for its divine superior. Unlike most fighters, Yakoul stayed behind to insure the Empess' safekeeping and always be on the lookout for some self-righteous rebel who would more than likely try to sneak up on the leader.

Though focused on protecting the Empress, Yakoul couldn't help but to strengthen its hearing sense in order to capture the upcoming screams of the fools who would confront the empire's absolute power. All was ready, the basic troops were already running in to give and receive death while the high ranks were still preparing in order to manhandle the majority that resisted. Too bad Yakoul couldn't run in there without specific authorization, it would have loved to slaughter some poor souls under the name of its one and only leader. The skinny creature was wearing a peculiar costume, a basic marine-blue top with two rows of yellow buttons keeping it closed, which in turn concealed whatever would be behind that piece of clothes. It followed with a pair or orange shorts going along with stockings of the same color that rose up to the level of its knees. It didn't have the basic sandals like most Shinobi but thin, black shoes which correlated well its this creatures bizarre attitude.

"Why do those idiots even bother? The enemy is just a mess of weaklings after all, kuku~"

Said the creature of unknown sex, as it was fixating the opposing army with its enhanced hearing, it kept a quick eye on the two Jounin who flew, and from time to time it would peer down to check on that creepy clan member with squid-thing ability. Most of them were alright for Yakoul, as long as they kept their distances from the Empress. Currently in the battlefield there was a Jinchuuriki with a bunch of bugs and other super powers, Remi, a girl whom Yakoul seemed to enjoy the presence from time to time as well as pick on her when the urges came and went. Next to the Eight tails wielder was a Senju with the rare ability to use the Wood style, an ability that has proven to be quite dangerous in multiple aspects. Despite the flower seller's apparently peaceful intentions, Yakoul couldn't help but be very cautious with that person whenever she was left alone simply due to her overwhelming ability. That said, that imposing power was also something they shared in common, Yakoul and Keiko were very in-touch with nature. Finally there was Izari with his clan that allied the empire. Yakoul would be especially careful with this one, as his sporadic behavior he tried so hard to control could very well become a nuisance for the rest of the army. Though Yakoul had only heard rumors of his "dark" side, it was something that could be sensed by animal-like beings such as this bodyguard. There was just something off about him, which created a lot of distrust from the get go. But honestly, that made Yakoul more curious about people like him more than anything. It couldn't trust them, but it sure as hell wanted to know more about them.

Hyakune su Jikankizami, Ra

The cool air settled atop the lofty tenements of the Empress, giving the vantage point a sense of forboding, and countless sets of eyes looked down at the almost trivial gathering of enemy ninja that were laid before them. It was a grim moment, if put into the correct perspective, but it was grim moments like these that truly showed the worth of an establishment or an institution; the results spoke for themselves of the establishment's tenacity and grip upon the land. The Empire had a large and strong enough grip that this grim moment in particular, which would normally have been of some serious importance, was laughable. Still, Ra knew all too well the effects of crushing a last stand upon the people.

Too many ruling classes in history had forgotten a simple truth that Ra was all-too-keen to remind the Empress of: "Take away a few things, and rebellion will ensue. Take away all things, and the oppression will be accepted as fate." In truth, it was most likely not the exceptional ninja of the rebellion that would lead to the Empire's downfall, if it came to that - it would be the momentum of the people that flocked behind their banners. There were truly incredible individuals that could change the face of the earth - the Empress among them - but in truth their value was not as high as people presumed to believe it was. If no citizen of the Empire would dare revolt, if the oppression was so set into their minds that they could not bear to leave, then the rebellion would fail. They would be crushed beneath the weight of the Empire as the rest of the lands were, in time. All things would go according to plan, in time.

"No survivors, your Grace? I doubt any of them know anything that we have not already discovered, but perhaps there are those among the enemy who might turn to our side, with a little persuasion. I doubt we truly have need of any of them, but bolstering our forces hardly seems like an idea to idly pass by. I am confident that with the correct... Persuasion, a few of them could even become evangelists. The morality of the people will no doubt have a profound effect in the coming days, your Grace, and it is something to consider." Ra spoke, her voice a spark of warmth among the cold spires upon which they stood. Simple tactics such as vocal manipulation would, of course, be ineffective with the Empress, but it was something that needed to be done regardless of its efficacy. There were others listening, after all, and if they could be convinced easily, the coming storm would be that much easier to weather.

"I will have little impact on this battle, your Grace. What would you command of me?" She asked, turning to face the Empress and curtseying as a sign of respect. The intrigue of the court was something she had learned well over the years, and despite her current position, the basics were no less important.

Izari wasn't expecting to be offered assistance, in his experience with some of the shinobi of the Empire, they preferred to go with the strongest take the lead and leave the weakest behind motto. But Izari didn't mind the assistance and he got on Remi's giant hornet. "Thanks for the lift."

"I recognize you, you're the host of the 8 tails, is this your first big battle as a Jinchuriki?" Izari asked, not minding to start a conversation with an ally before going into battle with the enemy. It was curious that the empire didn't choose a shinobi from his clan to be the host of the 8 tails since Gyuuki's appearance seemed fitting for the Turimora and their Tentacles of Horror bloodline technique. Izari only guessed that the Empress was not willing to give such power to a powerful clan like the Turimora, there blood sacrifices were not the most popular among some of the Empire's citizens. Many generations ago they use to use human sacrifice to give worship to Ragulhu but they now use the blood of animals to appease the god. Today however, Izari would send a prayer to his god when he spilled the blood of his foes and according to ancient Mecronomicon scroll, Ragulhu liked to witness carnage and hear the screams of those who die from the Tentacles of Horror.

The Jinchiriki clicked her tongue and the Hornet gained some air. She didn't look at Izari but also didn't answer for a few seconds.

"Gyuuki strong. More than a squid, more than a bull." Killak motioned to her as they approached the opposing army. She tapped the side of his head again and then clicked her tongue so that the Hornet would bank to the right. "Mitarashi clan is known for chakra control and aggressive approach to battlefield tactics. Empress believed this would cause a bond with Gyuuki." she paused as she made the tiger hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." in a puff of smoke, five shadow clones lined up next to her, all of them making the tiger seal. They simultaneously went into a flurry of handsigns, while Remi just seemed to scratch her neck beneath her scarf.

"We will clear the first wave of enemies, gives you time to get to the ground safely." Remi just nodded toward the horde of enemies directly below them now. The clones all lined up on either side, all of them seemed to be holding their breaths while they waited for Remi's command. "Jump when ready."

Gyuuki reminded her that while her chakra stores had increased incredibly since he began to train her, she still needed to be careful. Her then reminded her that she could always take a Military Ration Pellet, but he figured it might be wasted depending on how this first volley went. Remember Remi, no more than three seconds of breath. Regulating your breathing is just as important as regulating your chakra consumption for this. You want these clones to stay around for a while. Her eyebrow twitched in response to the Bijuu, "Mk."

Land of Rivers

The numbers were marching toward them by the thousands. Five or six, by her calculations. The Empress made her orders simple and straight to the point. On her command the Empire Shinobi sprang forth into the forest with a rush of energy. Surges of emotion filled the room, from loyalty to a sense of duty to the bloodthirst of battle. At the Empress's back to her left, directly opposite of Yakoul was Namine Akizakura, standing tall as the flurry of emotions ran through her. She knew each and every shinobi's feelings toward the situation, casually watching them scurry into the forest for a piece of the action.

No bloodshed for Namine, at least not at this battle. She crossed her arms as the chaos ensued. Her face was stoic and lacking in the emotive department, having dealt with the emotions of others all her life she became quite skilled at hiding her own. Namine focused on her majesty, the Empress. What was she feeling? Deep down, what was her stance on the war? Did she view her subjects as pawns or comrades? Was she confident or fearful? And so she looked into the Empress's soul... wondering just what she would find.

A large hornet flew off with a girl atop, catching Namine's eye for a moment. ~That energy.. that girl harbors a Bijuu within her...~ Namine pondered that thought for a moment. The hornet took a dive and picked up a red-headed tentacle boy. Namine focused in on that scenario for a moment, feeling the moral rift inside of the redhead's mind. Her focus shifted to the gliding flower petal that wasn't there a moment ago.

A suppressed sense of joy came from the Empress's right hand bodyguard, Yakoul. Namine felt it, though made no visible note of it. She could feel it judging the Shinobi on the front lines. Another of the higher ups in the Empire, Ra, spoke up to their leader elegantly. Namine's attention flew from the bodyguard and fell upon Ra, disecting her words and tone like a bird picking flesh off a bone. Her suggestion was notable and wise, they could definitely use more supporters with whispers of a rebellion arising. Yet Namine couldn't help but feel detached from the current scenarion. Why were these fodder of any concern to the Empress? Were there not several Jinchuuriki capable of dealing with these small figures in a couple of minutes? Namine was sure there was something more to this little squabble.

Matsuka kept eating in silence for a few moments before speaking. "Got something you want to say to me boy, or do you just enjoy the view?"
Katsu looked down. "No, nothing ma'am," he said, sounding a little embarrassed. His eyes turned back to normal as he slurped the ramen.
The woman sighed, sitting back on her stool and resting her hand on one of the scrolls. She hadn't meant to snap at him, but today she was unusually tense. "It might get dangerous tonight kid," She said, staring at the ceiling. "You might want to stay indoors."
Aiden looked up again and smiled warmly. "I think I'll be okay," he said. He asked, sounding curious."Why would it get dangerous?"
"No reason," she said, turning back to her food. "I just have a hunch is all." Her tone made it clear her warning was based on more than a hunch, but that she didn't trust him enough to give him the full truth. Katsu nodded and ordered another bowl. He spoke after swallowing the last bit of the ramen. "I see," he said with an innocent voice. "Well... What's the worst that could happen?"
He smiled widely and his eyes turned red again when the new bowl of ramen came. Without moving his head, he glanced left and right, continuing eating.

The giant flower petal fluttered and flapped in the wind as Keiko neared the canopy. She was so close now that she could hear the forest begging for her to do something about the thousands of trespassers traversing through her forest. Keiko nodded in response and rose from her kneeling position to stand gracefully on her petal. Her eyes closed in concentration as she prepared herself for the attack.

Soon after, the earth trembled and groaned as the ground below split in various directions, leaving gaping cracks in it's wake while hundreds of tree trunk sized roots shot forth from the new openings in the earth's crust. Keiko had never used this ability on such a large scale before, but the results were beautiful, and she found herself smiling at it all. With a wave of her hand, her master piece started to move along the ground, easily entangling around a mass of soldiers and crushing them between it's roots. She remained unfazed as thousands of bones being crushed sounded from down below, though her nose did wrinkle at the sudden smell of iron in the air. Keiko slowly scanned the area, knowing very well that they would try to take her out soon.

She performed several hand seals to call more roots to do her bidding. Tendrils waved high above the forest, each holding some nameless soldier in it's grasp and flinging him away to meet whatever fate. Soldiers that were brave enough tried to free their comrades, but most winded up being grabbed themselves and having the life squeezed out of them. At the front of line, her roots swam just on the surface of the ground, capturing whatever poor soul was in the way at the time.

Konohagakure

Karela looked down at the unconscious form of the Imperial solder and smiled as she pulled two Shuriken out of the pouch attached to her jacket. She took a moment to relish what she was about to do. She had managed to knock him out from behind before he had known what hit him.

I wonder where I should carve it? She wondered idly. That particular thought vanished immediately as she heard the sounds of running feet hitting the ground coming from around the corner.

Damn! Karela thought as she jumped up onto an overhead roof and laid down flat so she couldn't be seen as the sounds of the running footsteps stopped directly below her. She heard angry curses from under her.

"Damn! Whoever did this must have heard us."

She heard the sound of the Imperial Solder getting back to his feet.

"Did you get a look at whoever did this?" She heard one of the other guards ask the one she had knocked out who was now up and awake. "No. Whoever it was hit me from behind."

"Looks like we'll have to try again. Who wants to be the bait next time?"

She heard one of the solders mutter dejectedly. It was apparently his turn to the bait.

"Lets get back to the barracks."

Karela waited until the footsteps were far enough away before she got back to her feet and shook her head. She had been looking forward to taking out the solder, preferably painfully but the opportunity was now gone. She jumped to the very top of the building and jumped from building to building as took off towards one of the rebel safe-houses, passing by the Hyuga compound, well, landing on the roof and jumping off a moment later as she continued on her way to the safe-house.

Although Karela didn't care for much people, there was something about the Hyuga clan that she liked. She didn't know what it was exactly, but there was something about that particular clan that she respected.

Izari didn't say anything about her weird speech pattern since he knew that she was autistic and communication was different for her than a lot of other people. He just nodded and replied, "that makes since, the 8 tails is a combination of both and thus would be more powerful than both of them."

When they got the area where the enemy shinobi were marching, Izari saw a female ninja already start to get into action by killing several with roots of wood. At first he didn't recognize her, then his memory kicked in and he remembered that her name was Keiko and she had the bloodline of Wood Release. Izari was impressed by the lethality of the Kekkai Genkai, but he was now going to join the fight and slaughter the shinobi with his tentacles.

"Thanks for the lift" he said to Remi, and with those words Izari jumped off of the giant hornet and landed straight in the middle of dozens of shinobi. He made the hand sign for his Tentacles of Horror techniques and several large tentacles grew out of his right arm and slammed into dozens of ninja sending them flying.

"Impaling Tentacles!" he shouted and shove out his palm. Several tentacles with extremely sharp ends shot out of his right palm and impaled a large amount of enemy ninja, some of the tentacles going through several victims at once. With his Kama sycle in his left hand, Izari quickly began moving at very fast speeds and started slicing through his foes almost mercilessly. He could feel his darker side relishing the spilling of blood and the violence that he committed.

When he had massacred one group of enemy shinobi, he turned his attention to the other soldiers. He gave them a twisted smile and said, "I see the fear in your eyes, that is good, now i shall give you a frightening death."

He made the proper hand signs and then said, "Snare of The Tentacles"

A dozen tentacles shot out of his arms and quickly ensnared a large amount of soldiers, even two with one tentacle. The tentacles then began to squeeze his foes incredibly tightly and Izari hear the sound of their bones cracking from the constriction. His tentacles didn't stop squeezing them until their ribs and lungs were completely crushed. He was now almost fully in his clan's blood lust and moved on to killing the next group of enemies, today the blood of these men would cover this land.