"Not sleeping." she replied as she watched the flower petals. "Sleep rarely. Would hear or smell. Flowers." she motions to Keiko. She then looks at Izari as he joined them as well. "Sea water...bad, deep sea water." she rubbed her jaw then turned to pluck a petal and run her fingers over it. "Pretty. Mercs smart. Friends screamed and burned, charred alive, electrocuted, drowned, suffocated from smoke, stabbed, impaled, dropped from sky, decapitated, dismembered alive, crushed windpipe, burst hearts, shattered skulls, one impaled via butt. Know to avoid."

Once the little scene with Namine had taken its end as the seemingly unfazed female had refused Yakoul's offer than decided to take matters to her own hands, which meant she was left to carry the woman Yakoul appeared to have an interest for violating once she was dead. The monster would shrug, considering this kind of reaction was more than typical from its colleagues. Upon walking back inside right behind Ra, Yakoul had remained next to the empress who was planning to leave the exposed area and walk back inside. However, Yakoul's ears would twitch as their powerful hearing ability would capture the echos of its name pronounced by a familiar voice. It as Ra's manipulative tone, the empress' adviser and possibly the least trustworthy in Yakoul's eyes due to that woman's notoriety among the empire's staff. A weak grin had been born from the conversation the two women in the dungeon were sharing, Yakoul's eyes becoming more and more prolapsed as Namine started to discuss morality and goals.

"M'lady, I will check on our prisoner's state, and make sure to take righteous act if she gets too... Rebellious."

Yakoul was disgusted to cough out that word which held the term rebel in it. It oh so hated those rebels, they would not submit to divine words and thus they were errors that needed to be corrected and only lived to please Yakoul in its quest to cleanse the world for its master. Freedom was to Yakoul what rape and torture was to those two women down at the dungeon. With freedom, Yakoul was a true, out of control monster with no morality other than its own. Who were they to question the empire's more than glorious acts of cruelty and Yakoul's example of a behavior? After all, without people like Yakoul, no shinobi would be as frightened of confronting the empire directly. The monster, without even needing the Empress' nod of approval considering their close relation which seemed to catch the eye of more than one individual, had walked inside and quickly walked toward the voices it had captured and purposely sharpened its senses in order to keep tabs on them. As Namine finished her group of sentences regarding her views of the Empire's acts, Yakoul's feet would he heard stomping the rock floor as a way to underline its presence.

"My my, talking about how we do things huh? HAH! It's because the world was ruled by overly sensitive beings like you that we, the empire, have decided to end them all..."

The empress' bodyguard was slowly approaching the two women, walking one small step at a time through the rows of empty jail cells this little dungeon was composed of. They were mostly empty because as soon as the petty prisoners had been milked to the point of being of no use other than wasted meat, they were brought over to people like Yakoul in order to cleanse the area of unwanted goons.

"... But at the same time, those kinds of ideals slow us down just enough to give time to those disgusting creatures to regroup and prepare another attack. That way we have more war, and more war means more power for the empire. More fear brought upon those who oppose us! And the war spoils... Hahaha! Turning their kids into killing machines under my squads is just amazing! Serving the empress without a single sentient thought put into it. THE PERFECT SOLDIERS!"

Yakoul wasn't very intelligent, everyone knew this, and thus it was to be expected that it would express its slightly extremist ideals as if everyone were supposed to adhere to these views. Though most would not have much of a say in it, as it was how most wars worked, taking as many resources from the enemy in order to become stronger and the more they fought, the more terrifying the winning side became. Not to mention, it made the empire stronger as the collective effort doubled each time a very high rebellious threat was imminent. Though these kinds of economical issues quickly got complicated for the feral beast, but it didn't understand the many advantages of slaughtering what the empire saw as inferior.

"Heh, when you'll realize what kind of animals these rebels can become once our power reaches them deeeeeeeep down they become just like me. When you'll see one of those rats continuously attacking you and anything around you, you'll be happy to have a monster like Yakoul to mop the floor and keep the population safe! Now stop seeing everything in a pussy-shit way and make this brat talk some good stuff!"

Concluded Yakoul, now standing a meter from the two females as the creature was planning to witness the interrogation. It wasn't to their disadvantage however, as it seemed the young girl knew of Yakoul's... Tendencies, which would only encourage her to avoid the bullshit and go straight to the point. No one was going to escape with a lie when Namine was around, no one was going to resist when Ra was around and no one would dare to try anything risky with Yakoul around. This was perfect for a little interrogation and brainwashing session.

Matsuka shot a soft glare at Takeo, taking another long drag from her offending health hazard.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'll take responsibility for my health." Nevertheless, after a few more good puffs she dropped the cigarette and ground the flame beneath her boot.

"I'll see you later," she said, picking up her scrolls and fitting them into a harness on her back. As she walked down the street she gave a slight wave without looking back.

Tetsujin, Iyana

Bodies, thats what they all were, bodies with minds of men and women alike, minds that opposed her in this moment. Minds with bodies that fell before her, their vitals damaged, or their bodies crippled. Regardless they all ended up more or less the same, and while Iyana had many close calls in that battle, none managed to do much more than cause small scratches or varied amounts of bruising. Many fell to her, and some even pleaded for their lives or turned tail and run.

She let a few escape, but most ended up dead, crippled, or unconscious. She had certainly made a dent in their forces and she could tell, even from her low vantage point, that they were winning. Deciding to take a short break and survey the battlefield, Iyana spin kicked one man in the face and then sent off a rotating blade and a burst of chakra to disorient the others, utilizing an explosive tag or two to cause a distraction as she leapt into the trees and then up from them into the air where her chakra cloak formed wings and held her aloft. It took her little effort to do so, she had studied different birds so as to know what would be most effective for particular types of flight. For the moment she had created a mixture between the wings of a hummingbird and the wings of a hawk, allowing her to get plenty of altitude quickly, and also hover in midair almost effortlessly.

From high above the trees she looked down on the battlefield and saw much blood and much death. At this she smiled for if there was one thing about the Empire that pleased her it was the effectiveness of their shinobi, including herself.

Smelling something that turned her mind from the thought, Iyana's head turned, following the scent to see a large column of smoke ascending from somewhere below tree level into the sky. "Interesting...I wonder what that is," Iyana said, thinking aloud before she turned and began to fly towards the growing smoke cloud to investigate its cause.

As she neared it, the cloud began to dissipate, its source apparently stifled or doused. Quickly she dove and when she neared the spot, caught herself by catching a tree branch and swinging over it once to slow some of her momentum. After this she swung off of it and rolled as she hit the ground, getting right to her feet, ready to fight a moment before she realized she was in the presence of allies. Relaxing a good deal, Iyana glanced between the three, looking first at Izari before looking at Keiko and then the Jinch girl and smirking a bit as she listened to her list off the various ways she had killed the people who she had apparently burned, thus causing the smoke trail that had led her to this location.

Glancing around, and nodding her head in approval as she did so, Iyana spoke to Remi, "Gotta say you did a fine job wiping out these shitheads". There was a tone of approval and amusement in her voice, though the way she said shitheads might have implied that Remi had merely been fighting mooks. Granted, in Iyana's opinion they had all been fighting mooks, otherwise this might have been a bit more challenging. Realizing that she was still using In'ei kabaa, Iyana exhaled slowly and then inhaled just as slow, pulling the remainder of the unused chakra back into her body for later use. She didn't want to waste any afterall. "Hey florist!" Iyana called to get Keiko's attention, "Didja manage to do even half the damage that Ms. Hornet over here did?" Iyana's expression belied a certain level of doubt, as if she figured that Keiko had been more or less useless in the battle thus far, though she might be mildly impressed if she had been something other than that, regardless it hardly mattered.

The jinchuriki blinked before she lifted her face to look at Iyana. She remained that way as she processed what the young woman said. Her lips quirked up in a small smile, her chest blooming with a minor amount of the same stuff that she felt felt when her Empress said similar words. Say Thank you. "Thank you." Good. Now make your stacks and say with me whom they are. In your mind. "Ok, Gyuu-kun." she said aloud before she began to recite mentally: the scents, the names of the people associated with those scents, their physical description, their talents, kekkei genkai, and favored weapons.

She rubbed her neck quietly as she went about gathering leaves and stacking them quietly. "Wings pretty...smell like sky." she looked away from Iyana then and focused on her tasks. A few seconds later, she laid her palm flat on the ground then stopped her stacking and mental list. "Not many left. Tremors gone here, but echo. Still too far from castle to be threat. Word is spreading of us, so many may run." the transformation in that small bundle of sentences would have been almost visible. She'd finally gained a level of comfort with the three around her, and with Gyuuki helping her to identify the three individuals in front of her (and nearly every of the Empress' elites upper cabinet, Yakoul, and even the Empress herself---even though it was only her scent, limited physical description and her scent) them in her mind, her mind relaxed. She still didn't look at anyone, but her back straightened up and her shoulders squared slowly. She put a finger on her stack of leaves and watched as the stack remained through a gust of wind. She took in a deep breath then grimaced.

"Maybe have, five minutes or less before the next round is here. What do you want to do: spread out or stay as a group?" she looked up at everyone, though her gaze went no father than their stomachs. Her eyes were still glazed slightly, as if she wasn't all there, but they were much brighter than they had been before.

Keiko sighed softly as another person came over spouting off at the mouth. She could tell by her comments that she must be a child, or just very immature... In which case, Keiko didn't want to waste her time responding to such people, especially since she had taken out the most shinobi with the least amount of effort involved. It was better this way though, no one needed to know what she was capable of. Keiko was striving every day towards becoming stronger, improving and learning new jutsu, but that too had to be kept a secret. If Iyana wanted to recognize her only as a simple florist that suited her just fine.

"Let's stay in a group, get to know each other?" Keiko smiled at Remi, but it faded when she noticed that their eyes didn't meet. Hm... Well, maybe there was something different about Remi, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She had never met anyone at their age that spoke in that way, but Keiko didn't mind. It was amusing to her.

Izari listened to the other talk amongst themselves, and he said "I think it would be better to stay together especially if we get ambushed by the enemy while we have to rest. Encase we don't know each other, my name is Izari of the Turimora clan, as you can see-"

He made three tentacles grow out of his arms and shoulder to show his clan's bloodline technique. He was glad to get into some conversation for once during a battle, even if one of his allies had weird communication skills.

"So I am guessing that you also have killed a great amount of enemy shinobi so far in this battle am I right?" he asked Iyana in a calm voice as he began to wipe the blood off of his face with a white cloth. Now that his bloodlust was gone momentarily until he started fighting again, Izari didn't care for the crimson stains that were on his clothes and face. His face was easy to clean but his clothes would need a proper wash to get rid of the bloodstains and that was out of the question since there was no place wash while on the field of battle. So for now, he would have to deal with it.

Tetsujin, Iyana

Smiling genuinely for a moment at Remi, Iyana nodded her approval once more and then glanced at Keiko as she heard her sigh. She then realized that the girl hadn't responded to her comment in the least, which was rather annoying, but despite that she smirked, deciding that she ought to challenge the girl later on. Perhaps teach her a lesson in knowing her place.

Iyana noticed the way Keiko didn't respond to her and made her smile grow slightly, she'd make a point of challenging the girl later on, maybe she'd learn a lesson in knowing her place. Also hearing Keiko's sigh, Iyana decided to address it later. She'd make sure to showcase her best when the next wave of enemies hit them, hopefully that'd drive the point across. Moving on from Keiko, Iyana glanced over at Izari and nodded, acknowledging the clan name. Turimora clan, eh? She thought as he asked her a question before she responded, "Yeah, you could certainly say that," her smirk returned as she recalled the dozens of shinobi she had killed or incapacitated before heading over. "Quite a few actually.... Gave it to them real good, laid 'em out, ya know?"

Depending on Izari's reaction to her, he might become her favorite or second favorite person in this group, though he looked kinda dopey. It all depended, regardless she nodded in response to Keiko's suggestion of staying. It might be interesting to get a good read on their skills, it'd notify her of anyone who might actually be fun to train with.

The tentacles that were floating around Heihachi’s body had their own form of sentience, but heavily relied on their neurotic senses. While they don’t have sight, they could sense and feel the presence due to chakra sensing and touch. Seijuro avoided the large crushing wave and moved fluidly without any friction with his wave. His movement was fluid like water, he was familiar with such movements for he made it his own fighting style. Yet he was more elegant and rapid than Heihachi. Heihachi was more clean and concise invigorating each strike with colossal strength albeit being fluid as water. The jelly fish had now been fused with the water, every single last drop. Heihachi felt the presence of the snake coming towards him, after all snakes were able to swim under water. Yet he was in his domain now, where jellyfish and snake could finally meet.

Heihachi didn’t care for the splash of water, his tentacles had knocked it out of the way while the hands he had slapped on the water allowed him to meld into the water, quick enough where he dodged the first strike. Now that he was under water and the warehouse was quickly filling to the top, his speed had subtly increased. While seijuro had mapped out his flurry of attacks on a man who had fused with the water, he began to churn the water. Like the gravitational pull on the planets water. Water pulled back then pushed forward. Heihachi gained enough momentum to pull all the water all the way back in the warehouse and create a massive wave that he surmounted. The wave was ready to crash as the troph would be enough to flatten out the warehouse once it made contact. With all the microscopic jellyfish, if a direct attack were to land, there would be enough force and stings to severely cripple the snake.

The boy had agreed, and from the sounds that blade at his side wasn’t just a ‘spare’ weapon like most of the ANBU happened to carry, but he actually took the time to learn how to wield it. Through him the weapon would be an extension of his will, not only a ‘backup’ option for him. Takeo acknowledged that maybe this was more than just an overeager, dumb kid. The scroll he carried aside, he appeared genuinely innocent in his demeanor, and Takeo was old enough to recognize the fine line between true and false when it came to ones words and expressions. While the commander nodded in respect to his answer, Matsuka appeared a little bitter about his bringing her health into the mix. Perhaps it was only her mental health he need be concerned about.

“Hey, hey, hey …” Takeo held the bowl of ramen in his left hand, moving his right to her shoulder and squeezing it firmly in a comforting gesture. “I’m only making sure you’re considering all your options here. You don’t want your lungs turning blacker than ash by the time you’re my age. Trust me, whatever you get from it now, it won’t be worth it later.” She seemed to be putting some kind of distance between them now, leaving him to suspect Matsuka was either acting childishly about the fact he refused to talk private business with her, or was just plain bipolar. He knew her by name, even her title, but never really got to ‘know’ her. This wasn’t really doing wonders for her reputation, and attitude problems didn’t help anyone, much less a full-scale rebellion about to take place. Releasing her shoulder, Takeo returned to eating his bowl of ramen noodles quickly, able to finish the bowl in several short seconds. Placing the bowl on the counter, Teuchi had taken it almost immediately. Business had been so slow that there was very little for him and Ayame to do together.

“How much, Teuchi?”

“No charge.”

“Again? Teuchi, you can’t keep doing that, you’ve got a business.”

“I’ve got a good friend, and someone who’s always helped me when I needed it most. No charge, Takeo.”

Though there was still protest, Takeo nodded his head. This had to have been the third meal Teuchi had allowed him to not pay for. In his defense he had never stuffed his face here, only eating modestly and expressing genuine enjoyment for what Teuchi does. It seemed that their friendship over the years came with its own benefits in time. His eyes wandered to Ryozan, and then the money he had left on the counter for Teuchi to pay for his meal.

“Mind letting the boy keep his money too, then?”

“Hm?” Teuchi was surprised at Takeo’s question; he was a good man of course, but he had normally done that for those who supported the rebellion. Knowing that whatever his intentions they were pure, Teuchi nodded in agreement and took Ryozan’s bowl. “No charge then! I hope you’ll come back sometime!”

Teuchi had moved to wash the dishes personally, leaving Takeo and Ryozan alone for the time being. At first his instinct was to say farewell to him and go see his granddaughter, but Matsuka had already heavily implied tonight’s events would affect the entire village. If he left things as they were, there was a chance the boy might’ve kept his head down and out of the way of what the entire village was prepared for. This was a sensitive matter without much risk on the rebellion’s part anymore; he had no allegiance, and Takeo wasn’t the type to convince anyone to pick a side, but with the way the world was about to change neutrality was proving less and less realistic for anyone old or young.

“Matsuka isn’t exactly the most tactical woman around. I apologize on her behalf for her needless panic but when you’re a rebel I guess all you can do is jump or be jumped.” There it was. Takeo had openly said what both of them had known, the secret stopped being a secret since he had arrived here. At least Matsuka could make up for her critical mistake during the battle ahead, but she was no longer going to be one to go to for much else. Takeo looked away from Ryo and out towards the street ahead. Empty as they might be, perhaps direct eye contact could be established after the young man was confident that Takeo didn’t intend to kill him for what he knew.

“Takeo Watanabe: Jounin Commander of Konoha, and ‘Rebel’ Commander on top of that. Who might you be, young man?”

-

Kirigakure, much like Konohagakure, had become still with uneasiness. There wasn’t much certainty with the other village’s current occupation, but with Takeo Watanabe’s trip to Kiri it proved that both villages hadn’t become kind to Imperial control, which meant that their faith in the Kage that led them hadn’t shaken in spite of their loss six months ago. Overlooking Kirigakure was a young man of a lean stature, seventeen years of age and soft features much like his father. In his right hand was a mask common among hunter-nin, and in his left was absolutely nothing. His fist was balled, not out of aggression, but out of anxiety. Preparations were completed and all of the men and women who were prepared to free Kiri had known the jobs they were assigned.

“Sir,” A masked shinobi, a hunter-nin, came beside the young man in question, “Fifteen minutes and we’ll begin.”

“You know you don’t have to call me that anymore, none of you do. I gave up my command to another.”

“True, but …you remind us a lot of the Fifth.”

“Because I’m his son?”

“…Because it’s like he never left us, and because you demonstrate all the qualities he had. Sangetsu isn’t a bad leader, but-“

“He isn’t my father. I understand.” Takeshi Yuki, son of the Fifth Mizukage and ex-leader of the Kirigakure rebellion turned to look at his comrade. Much life his father his features were soft and delicate; brown eyes, neat dark hair with bangs framing his face all the way down to his chin, and pale skin. In spite of how his answers were framed, he was happy that both Kiri and Konoha could at last perform what they’ve been forced to hold in all this time. The Fifth had left behind two children, Takeshi’s sister Kotomi was elsewhere within the village. She was strong and eager, but her leadership qualities were unfortunately lacking. Overzealous was one word to describe her, but she would rejoin him soon. They had agreed on taking one objective together, as brother and sister. Father always intended for their bond to remain strong, and Takeshi had never betrayed his hopes.

“When the mist rolls in, we’ll move. Remember: The Barracks are to be my sister and I's target alone…push them towards it, that’s where they’ll run. It’s the only place safe for them here and they know it.”

“Yes sir, good luck!” The hunter-nin had vanished, leaving Takeshi to his thoughts. Returning to the fortress of the Empress would’ve taken longer from here than Konoha, so Kirigakure was to start early. The era of the ‘Bloody Mist’ was gone, but with how this attack was going to go it would be as if it had never left.

The Jellyfish Sage was a formidable opponent. From their few short seconds of battle enough data was compiled on Heihachi. Seijuro accounted for the fact that Heihachi might take it a little over the top if he deemed Seijuro too hostile, which seemed to be the case. The water began to pull back toward a single side of the warehouse, reminiscent of the tide before a tsunami. There was one problem with Heihachi's attack... where was his target? Seijuro had no form after activating his Hiding in Camouflage technique which even erased his chakra presence, so what did the legendary Sage have to track Seijuro with?

As the tsunami crashed it would have no single point to converge on as there was no way of knowing where Seijuro was, and so the large wave would surge throughout the entire warehouse. Knowing this Seijuro used the time he was given as the giant tsunami formed to backflip onto the walls of the warehouse, his feet planted with chakra. The wave came down and the warehouse burst at the seams, sending streams of water throughout the southern end of Konoha. The walls fell to the ground, Seijuro making himself visible as he rode the top of the wave on his feet, landing outside of the warehouse.

He turned to look at Heihachi with a grin on his face. "Impressive. I needed to know you were still in fighting form before I spoke of my true intentions. But alas we have lost our privacy thanks to our engagement. Please, follow me once more. We have little time before tonight's events are to unfold as I'm sure you know of, rebel." Seijuro disappeared from sight again to remain hidden from the shinobi of Konoha. Knowledge of his existence was on a need to know basis and none of the commoners needed to know he was even alive. This time, however, Seijuro did not conceal his chakra as Heihachi needed a way to follow him.

Seijuro darted off through another alleyway to escape the fallout of their encounter.

Ryozan was surprised at Takeo's request for Teuchi to give him a free meal. To be honest, Ryozan didn't feel altogether comfortable accepting the offer; charity was for those who had not the means to care for themselves, and while Ryozan didn't live lavishly, neither was he in any financial straights. Conversely, food service was this man's livelihood, so eating for free, especially on a slow day like this, felt like taking bread out of the poor fellow's mouth. Still, the offer had been made, and it would have been rude to shun their kindness. Instead, he took half of the money back and nodded gratefully saying, "Thank you. The ramen was especially good. Consider that a gratuity." With that, he turned to continue his conversation with Takeo.

The veteran's next words hit him like a right cross. Playing a verbal game of cat and mouse with Matsuka was one thing, but for someone to outright declare his allegiance to the rebels was beyond expected. Either this man was a brilliant tactician, or he had literally nothing to fear from anyone in the area; perhaps both. Ryozan couldn't even gauge the man's demeanor, for he had turned away, leaving his facial expressions a mystery to the young Jounin. Ryozan had expected this man to be a rebel, but the rebel commander? He didn't know if Takeo was lying or not, but he decided to respond to the man honestly; he was probably quick-witted enough to tear apart any lies he could think of anyway.

"My name is Ryozan Tanzo," he said after a stunned pause. His heart was pounding away in his chest, but he managed to keep his nerves in check, keeping a calm appearance and voice. "I have just recently been promoted to Jounin. I know of you by reputation, but I was unaware of your latter title until a few moments ago." He paused again; this was the difficult part. When he told this man that he was a potential recruit for the empire, would he turn around and cut him down on the spot? He couldn't hope to defeat this man in combat, but perhaps he could escape... Assuming, of course, that there is no backup in the ramen stand, he thought, though he didn't have time to appreciate the irony. If he waited any longer now, he would give the wrong impression; he'd just have to wing it. "As things stand, I have no reason to hold that second title against you... yet." He patted the Imperial scroll. Takeo had revealed himself to be a shrewd man; he would know what that meant. "To be honest, this is a choice I wish I didn't have to make, and I have no idea where the two paths will lead, but it seems Fate will want my answer soon..." Ryozan wasn't sure why he had said so much. If he was the rebel leader, obviously he'd tout the virtues of freedom that he'd heard so many times before and leave him with a one-sided argument. It was a bit of a biased source to get advice from, but just about anyone he could talk to would be biased these days.

Even with the snake having vanished in his hole, Heihachi was still determined to hit the snake if he was even still there. The wave arched the span of the room and grew to a devastating size. And on top was one old hermit of a man. He rode the wave as if it were his horse crashing against all of the warehouse tearing it asunder. The warehouse was more of a watery cemetery now. Luckily for them they were a far off ways enough to cloak the village from seeing or hearing the match going on. Some people on the outskirts of town might get their feet wet, but at least some trees could grow out of all this water. Heihachi cracked his neck walking out of the shadows of the rubble while spinning his arm. “Where are you snake?”

His ears heightened along with his tentacles when he heard the snake’s voice. Apparently the fight was all for show and he had just been scouting his abilities to see if the man behind the legend was indeed worthy of the praise. Heihachi scoffed and turned off his sage mode, the long vertical streaks through his eyes faded, and his pupils had changed from their oval shape and deep blue back to their grey round shaped. Privacy wasn’t one of Heihachi’s forte’s but he knew this snaked wanted it, and he had gone a longs way to get it. Should he follow him again? Heihachi was still rearing with energy and power, but he would be no match if he led him into an ambush with even more ninja akin to this snake. His trust was shaky like the foundations of the warehouse that has just collapsed, that was, until he spoke of tonight’s events about to go down. How could an outsider know of such things? Curious and intrigued by the new generation of Shinobi; Heihachi nodded and flaked his shirt before following once more.

Heihachi darted off behind the snake keeping track of his now revealed chakra trail.

"Remi sent you?" Shoko looked to the giant hornet speaking to her. Of all the creatures she's seen speak, Remi's hornets had to be the most surreal. She tried not to think about how it was even speaking with such a mouth, and answered it. "The enemy is thinning, but that should not grant Remi, nor the others any peace of mind. The fragile pawns of the army have been defeated, now the true threat will show, I am sure of it." With that warning Shoko sent the large insect off. Turning around, she watched as Namine took Ryuza down to the prison. "I will be down momentarily." She stated, letting them go ahead as she took another look at the forest below. Things were going smoothly, as they should, but that only made her feel more uneasy. Feeling comfortable... made her uncomfortable. Her hands resting at her sides hidden under her sleeves, she walked from the rampart and made her way down to the prison. As her wooden sandals clicked against the stone spiral stairs she could hear voices bouncing off the solid walls. The contents of said words sounded like a broken record to her. It seemed so few truly understood why she did what she did. Perhaps now was the time to enlighten a few of them.

"That is not quite right, Yakoul. I did not create this Empire simply to gain power, and allow my subjects to do as they wished." Shoko stepped towards them, and grabbed Yakoul's tail with a firm grip. "You seem to enjoy beating people with this, even when it is not under my order. Quell your passion, and save it for your foes. I spared your life so it could be served for a greater purpose, not so you could satiate your primal desires." She let go of her tail, and patted her head once again. "I have high hopes for you, understand?" She lowered her hand, and looked to the others down here in the prison. "I will show you all something, something I have not shared with anyone in a long time." A black aura surrounded her, which slowly began to expand into a translucent bubble. "Oh... brace your minds, if you will." She warned, before her aura expanded suddenly and enveloped all of them. Sensations, images, smells and more would flood their minds. From the beginning of human history they would see an overwhelming amount of strife. War, bloody factions and clans killing each other, nothing but death and suffering would be what they saw.

"I have seen these same images many times, nearly every night they assault me. As a child, I wanted nothing more than to find a way to make them stop, and to find a way to prevent any future suffering." Shoko looked to Namine. "A noble cause, yes? And something I did indeed strive towards for many years. I have saved many people, yet watched many more die in the chaos of war. I could see them in my dreams, new forms of suffering as every blasted day passed..." The black aura caved back into the Empress, freeing them from the visions. "I eventually became accustomed to the visions, but my inability to change the world tormented me. How, I asked, does one change the entire world? How does one create a world in which as few people as possible are forced to suffer?" Shoko sighed, and knelled down to Ryuza's level, the young woman was shaking, with her immature figure she appeared to be a lost child. Shoko placed a hand upon her shoulder, and looked her in the eyes. "You have nothing to fear. Under my rule, the freedom to oppress and kill is monopolized. I will not allow anyone to be killed in the name of pride, land, or glory. This world will become a haven for the weak, and a cage for the strong and ill-willed." Ryuzu's shaking stopped, and her gaze moved to the ground.

"A cage for the strong?... But aren't you the strongest person in the world? And what of all the killing you have done?" She asked derisively.

"I know. I know the weight of the sins I have committed. It goes against every inch of my moral fiber. However, I am close to reaching my goal. Once the world learns how to live free of want, free of pride, I will loosen my grip."

"... What do you want from me?" Ryuza lifted her head up, and looked into Shoko's crimson eyes.

"I want you to join me, help me end this cycle of suffering." Shoko said, standing to her feet. She held out her hand to Ryuza.

"...Fine." She took Shoko's hand, and let the woman help her to her feet.

"You have my thanks, Ryuza, now, concerning the battle outside-"

"The one-tail."

"Pardon?" Shoko asked.

"The scroll containing the one-tails, I fled Suna with it. It was... The only way I was able to gather the other mercenaries." As Ryuza said this, the entire castle shook, causing dust and debris to fall from the ceiling. "Seems like... They've decided to use it."

Outside of the castle, The massive one tailed beast Shukaku was rampaging through the forest. It converged onto the empire force, crushing trees as if they were twigs in it's wake.

~~~

"Oh stop~" Natsumi patted Kaede on the back for her compliment, perhaps a bit harder than was normal, but her mother always did the same. "It's nothing compared your home, it has such a classic appeal." Natsumi sat a cup of tea down on the table in front of Kaede, not responding to the latter statement made by her friend. She knew it, she knew something was happening tonight. She didn't know where to fit into any of this. personally, she wanted to help the rebels, help them take back their home. But did her feelings matter? For all intents and purposes, she was the nine-tailed fox, a piece to play on this chessboard of war. Natsumi twiddled her fingers, deep in thought. She glanced up at Kaede, only to go back to staring at her fingers once she made eye contact. "I don't know, I haven't been told much of anything really. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing now. Should I stay here, or fight outside with the others?.. I want to help, I really do.." She stood up, nearly tripping over the table as she did so. "What do you think, Kaede? I should help fight,right? It's not like I'll be captured again, right?"

The hornet bowed to the before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She reappeared next to her summoned, hovering quietly over the young woman.

"Sister, the Empress requires you to remain vigilant." The hornet said before landing on her shoulder gently.

"Thank you, Odiah." she brushed her thumb along the Hornet's mandibles. The appendages were serrated on the inside of a sickle-like shape while the outside was razor sharp. These four, venom-laced gripping and shredding body parts were also barbed at the tips, and would swing out to allow the hornet to speak with her vertically aligned mouth.

"Remi?"

Her skin split at the thumb and she looked at it in wonder. "Another Tailed Beast. It's chakra is...stifling." she looked at the others, "It is headed for us. Odiah, return home. Let mother know that I need her "

"Sister-"

"Now Odiah." The hornet's mandibles clicked together before she disappeared. She pulled a scroll from her thigh pack and unravelled it. Gyuuki-
I know, Young One. But be careful, I will gift you the chakra when necessary. You are fine for now.

The girl nodded and began her hand signs. She looked at her comrades, "Mother needs space. A lot of space. Can you distract the Beast until I am better prepared to do so myself?" she asked them.

"Keiko." Keiko murmured in response to Izari, once again ignoring Iyana. Though, she was a little amused with how excited the obviously younger, but taller female shinobi got excited about her body count and just battle in general. It was sorta charming to Keiko to see someone so lively.

Almost immediately after Keiko's response, a hornet appeared above Remi. She looked up curiously at the giant insect, listening carefully to what it had to say to it's master. "?!" She perked up at the mention of another tailed beast, obviously alarmed that one was on it's ways towards them right now. Keiko glanced at the others and then nodded to Remi.

Hastily, Keiko reached into her satchel and retrieved a small handful of petals. She scattered it on the wind and performed a simple hand seal, prompting it to turn into a giant flower petal identical to the one from earlier. Keiko leaped backwards and landed in a crouching position on the fluttering pink petal. Suddenly, the ground beneath them quaked and the sound of trees snapping in the distance echoed from not too far behind. They didn't have much time.

"Izari-san, need a lift?" She asked.

To anyone who may have noticed, a manhole popped open in the middle of Konoha's streets. An invisible snake slithered down through the hole into the sewers of the village. Once Heihachi presented himself in the sewers, Seijuro would make visible again. He peered around curiously at the walls of the dank tunnel until his eyes found Heihachi. He stared at the old man's grisly physique and into his aging eyes. There was no beating around the bush anymore.

"Why I have brought you here... you are a well known rebel, Senju." Seijuro began. He started to pace back and forth from wall to wall of the tunnel, his eyes never leaving Heihachi. "Fool you once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you, Senju." Seijuro stopped and smirked for a moment before continuin to pace about. He turned away and gazed about the walls of the tunnel, alowing it to sink in that he could have double-crossed him not once but twice already. "But you trusted me yet again.. your curiosity is sparked. I'm done playing games and wasting your time, Kurage Sennin. I need a man of your qualifications to assist me with a project benefiting the both of us." Seijuro was carefully studying the Sage's reaction.

"The details I can provide as of now are simple. You do not enjoy the Imperial control over the five great nations. I am not fond of them either, thus the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That being said I want us to enter a mutually beneficial pact of secrecy and silence. While the Empire is keeping a close eye on the known rebels there are those such as myself that are working in the shadows to ensure the success of certain objectives and goals, the nature of which to be disclosed to you pending your response to my invitation... which I'm sure you've gathered by now, Heihachi.. I'm asking you to partner up with a snake." A snide smirk crept across his left cheek as his narrowed eyes looked Heihachi straight in the eyes. His hand gently glided out of his sleeve, hoping the Sage would accept his offer.

From what he had heard through the grapevine, Heihachi was truly still a marvel even in the waning moments of his life. He had also made a name for himself and had connections within the rebels. While not directly affiliated with the rebellion himself seeing as those involved didn't take kindly to snakes, Seijuro kept his agenda private and left his offer vague for obvious reasons. True Shinobi didn't go spilling the beans and laying all their cards on the table at once. There was certainly a reason for Seijuro's shady games for in a dog eat dog world precautions are necessary.

The duo had seemingly found their way back into the streets of Konoha, yet it just seemed to be Heihachi by himself rather than he and a snake. Regardless, Heihachi peered around before jumping down the manhole after the snake. If death was not his shadow already, it might soon be. Seijuro’s invisible guise had worn out and now they had been visible to each other once more. Eyes connected once more, Heihachi was ready to dispel any genjutsu he had fell for the first time. The windows to their souls had been open allowing information to solemnly peer into adjacent windows.

Ready for Seijuro to beguile him into something even more treasonous, he allowed him the floor, intuitively listening. Heihachi was indeed famous especially among the Rebels and even some of the Empire, he had lived through more halcyon eras than most. Yet this was something that he had already known about himself, Seijuro merely enforced it. "Fool you once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you, Senju." that sentence stung like venom. “Indeed, but I have not gotten this fair by taking precautions. I live by the book and the sword, not by weightless words of men. There is only one man I trust, and that is not you Seijuro.” Heihachi spouted while his wrinkled face pressed on. He was indeed wasting his time, with the little show of fireworks in the warehouse had torn him away from the village and the night to follow, Arano would have to be by himself until his meeting was over. But, Seijuro was right about one thing. He was indeed curious. While he did value respect and power, he had finally cracked the egg on this reconnaissance mission.

” The enemy of my enemy is my friend” His bushy greyed eyebrows had furrowed and cocked upwards. It was true he had clear disdain for the Empire and the Empress himself, but why did Seijuro need to destroy the empire? It was certainly good to have an ally in the darkness, but one that orchestrated the warring tides like puppets was never completely reliable. The same fate shared by many organizations in his past. Lowering his eyebrows and inhaling an exuberant amount of air, Hiehachi began to speak. “You haven’t led me astray yet. If I’m signing my life away to ensure the destruction of the Empire, I can at least live the rest of my life with purpose. A martyr to the cause. However if I even catch a scent of your coiling constricting nature, I will leave my life with every last breathe in order to wreathe the head on your shoulders.” Heihachi still looking into the eyes of the snake. “I accept your offer. When do we begin?”

Teuchi had given Ryozan a short but thankful glance. Truth be told he had so many customers loyal to him that money was often not a huge problem for his daughter and himself, but he had gratefully taken what money the young man had left. He was worried about what Takeo was doing, announcing his greater position in the world now of all days to someone Teuchi considered not loyal to the Leaf anymore, but knew his friend well enough to know there was a purpose to all this. As things stood, he noted that Konoha’s sky was slowly turning a dull red, and it was a good enough time to close as any.

Takeo listened to the boy closely, going by the name of Ryozan Tanzo and talking about a recent promotion that he suspected wasn’t exactly authorized by him. He had never been one to keep track of many things but the responsibility of promotions were his until recent, what with his constant deployment across the five lands. Faintly he recalled a rebel ambush that had unfortunately failed due to the intervention of one of their own, and ‘Ryozan’ was the name he had heard. The boy didn’t appear to regret saving Imperial lives nor did he exactly care to pretend he didn’t start considering that scroll he carried with him. Raising his left arm from resting on his scabbard, Takeo folded his arms and stared long and hard at Ryozan with tension so thick that the air cut probably be cut with a knife. What he said now may mean the difference between ally and enemy. Surely as they stood here the boy must have realized that his life was on the table right now by admitting his neutrality to it all, likely figuring that he was a ‘large grab’ as many mercenaries liked to brag when it came to Imperial-sealed scrolls.

“Tell me something before I get into the heart of things, Ryozan. Are you the very same Ryozan that happened to render a rebel ambush useless by saving the imperial group? Because it seemed that at that moment you had decided to take a side …and you turned your back on your own that day. I don’t know who promoted you, but you can consider it revoked as well as you affiliation to Konoha in danger if there’s not a good reason for why you did what you did.”

Takeo didn’t dole out threats lightly, many could trust that he’d follow through with them, especially when it came to ranks and positions within Konoha. As he saw things, Ryozan only ‘considered’ himself neutral because no one had gotten to him sooner. Maintaining neutrality after six months of Imperial occupation was utter ridiculousness to him, but he’d give the boy the opportunity to explain himself personally.

“Make this good… for your sake.”

-

Pressed forward a few inches due to Natsumi’s habit to not hold back on patting backs, much like her mother, Kaede smiled awkwardly and then normally once her own home was praised. The Hyuga were a very old and powerful clan that helped form the foundation that Konoha was built upon, and with their Gentle Fist that was renown and feared there also came a strong sense of pride in appearance both physical and interior. As a whole there was very little someone could claim negatively about the clan in terms of hygiene, appearance, or fighting style; everything about them was meant to be elegant and deadly …her father argued that Kaede fit that exact description. Regretfully Kaede couldn’t deny him, as very few knew what she could do when her back was against the wall. With the tea set, Kaede took it in hand and gently blew on the heated surface before taking a small sip and setting it back down.

There appeared to be much on the mind of her companion, direct eye contact made and then broken almost immediately. Kaede could relate to nervousness and in spite of how calm she appeared, deep down she was nervous about all of this being started again. It had been a quiet half a year since the joint operations of Kirigakure and Konohagakure were active. Her family wasn’t kept out of the loop; Natsumi’s family were leaders in it, with her father being THE leader in Konoha. The pressure couldn’t have been easy on her for so many reasons, and as her best friend Kaede felt it fitting that she try to comfort her to the best of her abilities like patients in the past and present.

“Natsumi …it’s sensitive. You’re more than a shinobi, you’re a symbol of goodness that people can rally behind.” Kaede stood up much slower than Natsumi, eyeing the determination on her face and knowing the dangers it might bring her. “But more importantly you’re a mother and father’s most precious thing in this world, and a grandfather’s too. No matter how strong someone is …if they have something as important as you to lose, it means they’re vulnerable. No armor is impenetrable, there’s always something that’ll reach the depths of their heart.” The Hyuga lowered her head in remembrance of fathers and mothers who lost sons and daughters over the course of this war. Kenji Uchiha was a man of strength, but Natsumi was something that gave him strength and took it away too. Yuna Itami, wife of the 5th Mizukage, also lost a husband. There was an uncomfortable period where she wasn’t certain of her children’s survival, but put her faith in her husband’s final efforts knowing that he’d die before his children did. With as much luck as you can expect in a situation like that, both her son and daughter were still alive, so she had one thing to be thankful for. Shinji Yuki died, but for the rebellion and those who knew him, he died a hero for the ninja world.

Raising her head back up, Kaede came around the table to Natsumi and took hold of her hands. “I share his concerns for you, but you won’t be a child forever. I was going to ask him about letting you stay with me tonight for what will transpire, but it may make a stronger case if you do it.”

“Do what?”

Kaede looked over her shoulder at the sudden voice of a third party; it was none other than Natsumi’s father himself, arms behind his head in a surprisingly casual fashion. In spite of his growth as a powerful shinobi, Natsumi’s mother was never able to resist speaking on Kenji’s behalf. Gestures like that weren’t uncommon, and usually depicted he was taking something very casually. This might be the perfect opportunity for Natsumi to make her case, as time was growing shorter.

“Lord Hokage! Natsumi has something she’d like to say.” Kaede turned back to Natsumi and nodded her head. She was never one to quit easily, and in spite of her nervousness she’d become stronger merely by asking for this. Kaede didn’t get involved with the rebellion by staying timid.

Izari could somewhat feel the tension between Iyana and Keiko, but decided to not press the matter. Before he could continue the conversation, Izari heard the roar of the One Tails and he felt a little nervous at the sound. When Remi asked them to hold off the beast, Izari almost reluctantly nodded, he had never gone up against a tailed beast before and wasn't sure how to fight such a creature and he didn't have enough knowledge to use the sealing technique which sealed the beast.

"We'll try to give you as much time as we can but don't take too long" he said to Remi, and then heard Keiko offer to give him a lift to where the One Tails was.

"Sure, thanks" he replied as he quickly got on the giant flower petal. He hoped that her skill was good enough to go up against a Bijuu otherwise they could be in big trouble. Izari's Tentacle techniques worked better with smaller enemies but a foe as big as the Two Tails would make a good amount of them almost useless for making a proper offensive. No matter, he had to try and fight the beast otherwise there wouldn't be any glory for retreating.

"I hope your jutsu is good against opponents the size of a Bijuu" he said to Keiko, curious to hear her answer as they headed toward the area where the Tailed Beast was.