---

Momoi listen as the Hokage gave his speech about unity amongst the nations and addressed who would be participating in this program. She zoned out for a small amount of time before she heard cried and eventually screams which brought her back to reality. The hokage was coughing up blood- and a large amount at that. The blonde haired girl felt her battle instincts kick in after seeing the citizens of the hidden leaf fleeing for their lives while Zeno headed towards wherever he was going to go- perhaps a safehouse of some sort, he was damaged majorly as well was not in any condition to fight. The ANBU had intervened to ensure that Zeno was safe, but unfortunately: they died. Amongst the screams. She could hear several people barking out orders.

“Hey you! Medical nin, come over here and come with us!”

“Aoi, you heard the prick, let’s get moving.”

"Understood!"

The Gypsy still stayed in her place as chaos ran amok, she could see a hooded figure roof running away from everything. Her amber eye gleamed with hostility towards the one that turned everything to shit. Taking a step in the direction of the suspect, she was about to pursue whoever it was underneath the cloak. But her 'logical' side surfaced. "The civies need directions to safety, the Gypsy believes that that is right course of action." she nodded to herself with a 'calm' and 'meaningful' expression "But then again, the Gypsy didn't get to chunin by being a 'textbook' kunoichi!" Kicking up dirt, she went to take care of the assailant that ruined her day. "The Gypsy can deal with speeches, but the Gypsy can't bear someone fucking up her morning!" She roared as jumped onto the rooftop and gave chase.

It seemed like she wasn't the only one having the same idea, one side was the Honeybadger, The clown and her girlfriend while not far behind was a white haired girl and a blonde. Of course they weren't running together, but putting two and two together meant that they were all going after the hooded figure. In front of her were all the ninjas that decided to take action earlier while she was daydreaming. The group (sort of) continued running towards the monument of the past Hokages were they saw the Hokage getting his ass handed to him by the hoodlum. "Wow." she could only say while watching the fight take place. Soon the ninja around her took of and attacked the hooded figure. But that would all be useless as a second figure seemingly took stage, whatever it was, Momoi was getting more concern about the events that were taking place.

"Just what the hell is going on." she cursed under her breath, once again her trained eye saw the Hokage pull a fast one and the clutches of the one that was trying to harm him. But the hooded figure would have none of it as he or she when after the Hokage. Meanwhile everyone was attacking the second mysterious person.

Just when things could get more fucked up, it did. The 11th corps of the hidden leaf had arrived and protected...."Wait, why are you guys defending it? Aren't you guys suppose to be our allies?!" she screamed in her mind while ruffling her own hair in frustration "The fuck is going on?!" She knew that that assistance was required now, however who wanted to go help the Hokage had their reasons as well. Scanning the Area once more she saw the fights that were taking place.

Daicho vs Saburo Uchiha, or what Momoi liked to call him "Subaru", They've have met a couple of time at very awkward moments..at least she thought it was awkward?

The Honeybader vs the coated man or girl...from this distance it was hard to tell, not to mention that it was moving fast;

Meanwhile Katsu had regrouped with Aoi, Akio and the other "Even Kat came as well?" sighing she closed her eyes and emptied all the unwanted feeling.

Fear.

Death.

Cockness.

Anxiety.

Placing her goggles over her eyes, she opened them once more "The Gypsy is ready to rock." Digging to the weapon cache behind her, her pulled out multiple kunais with tags on them, however instead of explosive tags, Momoi and wired up the paper differently, glued to the paper was multiple stripes of magnesium. "Steel Release: Molecular Recomposition!" flowing her chakra through the kunai, she felt them become ultra light as she threw them high into the air, knowing that using her Jutsu the steel wouldn't fall down to the earth fast, she changed their destiny to that was a piece of paper. Once they were high enough into the air, she performed the tiger seal, setting of the little flame in order to light the stipes. Soon the clear day time was soon filled with bright white light absorbing the natural light for a few second.

"Don't be dazzled by it. It's just basic Misdirection." using the time to get behind to members of the 11th corps. Momoi performed her hand seals.

Rat → Ox → Dog → Horse → Monkey → Boar → Tiger

Inhaling a huge amount of air, she blew out a massive amount of fire "Katon: Gōka Messhitsu!"

It was time to turn on the heat.

"Shit!" Gin thought as he and his clone moved further back into the mist away from the explosion however, Gin did not go without getting burned. His left arm was burnt but he fought through it, remaining as quiet as possible. "I'm going to try something one more time." Gin murmured into the mic. Once again he brought his hands together, still holding onto the grid wire that was implanted into the clone he made to conjure up the mist but this time, it rolled in from behind past him as he and his clone moved with it, silently following it towards Yopparai. Slowly he drew his blade, making sure Sukkaikatta did not spark and chirp. As he neared the loud drunkard with the rolling mist which was thicker than before covering Yopparai, he sent his clone forward as it jumped without a sound, landing on top of the drunkard before splashing into nothing but water. However as it splashed down the wires inside would tangle around Yopparai. As the sound of a splash was heard he pumped Lightning chakra into the wire. Since the wire was meant for lightning based chakra only, its voltage and ampere were much higher, so chances of electrocution were that much greater. "Go...Now." He said with a stern yet quiet voice into the mic.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well this doesn't look too good

Shouken stuck to the rooftops as he watched his old friend Saburo attempt to take on Daiki. His water jutsu were useless in this fight. He could attempt to attack with Bachiatari but figured he should wait it out and only resort to that if need be. He knew that the Jonin could handle the given situation, however this did not give him any relief.

Upon drawing his blade, Shouken then witnessed the summoning of the rock cat and lost all focus on the battle. His gaze was locked on the structure, unknowingly of what it's purpose was. With the dropping of it's arm a powerful blast was released, forcing Shouken to retreat a few meters and catch his footing.

Due to the raw power of the summoning, the building in which Shouken was standing on began to give way to the repeatence of the blasts. The foundation crumbled and the building started a slow plummet towards the Earth. With blade still in hand, Shouken leapt to a smaller nearby house rooftop and then descended to the ground only a few meters behind Daiki.

He kept quiet but also kept his blade drawn. In front of the Shinobi was Saburo, a friend Shouken had made a few years back. He couldn't believe he would turn and fight against his own people. He was so innocent when they first met, however, Shouken had not seen this side of Saburo. It disappointed him and would eventually cause him to shout to his friend...

"Saburo! What the hell do you think you're doing?! These people just ripped your village apart and you protect them?!"

He didn't really expect an answer and if he did recieve one then he wasn't planning on it being to lengthy. He knew the sworn oathes the Corp was required to take and knew of Saburo's loyalty and did not think it would crack now..

---

“Damned fool,” was all that escaped his mouth as he continued with his plan. He knew what the Madara's Gunbai could do, that its was especially effective against fire-style jutsu (any jutsu really). But, he hadn't accounted for idiots to intervene. Idiots that had no clue about what they were up against. Clenching his teeth he stepped up onto Clone B's shoulder, enhanced his jump with chakra, and cleared the powerful reflection of his attack. The powerful flames warmed his body as it passed beneath him and towards the would-be helper. Daiki spared him a glance but knew he couldn't afford to pity him.

He shouldn't have became a ninja if he was just going to throw his life away. thought Daiki, his sharingan catching Saburo planting the Gunbai into the ground.

Around that time, he felt his clones' anguish. So that wouldn't work, no use making pointless mistakes. When he landed, he reached into his pouch and pulled a kunai from his pouch. Throwing it towards the Uchiha, Daiki hoped to provide himself with just enough time to reach his sword. Though he stepped towards it with a slow saunter, a confident gait.

“I really despise your kind, Saburo. It doesn't bother me that you betray us, that you pretended to be our friends. Its your use of those eyes. The Sharingan is meant to see beyond. Yet you use it, and let yourself be used by whomever. Pathetic. Allow me to show you the true use of these eyes.” cocky, perhaps. But it was good enough to provide a moment of hesitance to the intellectual, socially challenged man.

If he had found her like he wanted to, if his hand had reached the hilt, then things would be different. He knew it. With the sharingan in his possession; Anemone, and by extension himself; always found their mark. A practice twist of his wrist would send a crimson aura over the blade, igniting it with his chakra. “Shall we continue this bout? I'm no longer wasting time on you.”

---

Saburo's sharingan quickly spotted the oncoming kunai. That was a simple task for someone with the sharingan. In his mind, Saburo rehearsed the words he'd read in the history books about the Uchiha clan. As Izuna Uchiha, brother of Madara Uchiha said once.. 'I curse the misfortune of those who do not have the sharingan.' With a quick movement he simply moved his upper body and head to the side, effectively dodging the kunai thrown at him. As soon as he knew he was in the clear, his eyes flashed back from the kunai to Daiki, who was only now moving to grab Anemone. A useless endeavour. Saburo had expected a holder of the sharingan to atleast know that, when you had it activated, you noticed everything, almost like it was slowing time. His second hand moved to grip Madara's Gunbai and he lifted it from the ground again, holding it horizontally to prepare for his next move.

Saburo was ill impressed by Daiki's words, not paying them much mind and only offering a quick retort in reply. His grip around Madara's Gunbai tightened as he spoke, preparing for the attempt that everyone knew was coming. There was no hesitation from either side, testimony to the fact that there was a battle going to happen. Although the killing intent that Daiki may have had, Saburo completely lacked. Anyone with a good sense for killing intent would know that Saburo wasn't fighting to kill anyone. “You speak highly for a human being with the sharingan, whom does not even bear his true surname, Uchiha Daiki. You shouldn't speak of things you do not know, denoting that I think you have it completely wrong regarding my eyes. I serve Konoha. You may not see that, even with your sharingan.”

Using his improved sight that he gained from the sharingan, Saburo would swing his gunbai horizontally, causing another very big gust of wind to push Daiki away again - this time, small but very painful cuts, like paper cuts, would appear on his body if he were caught in the jutsu. It was clear that Saburo didn't intend to give him an easy time just because they knew eachother. As soon as Daiki was gone from the area again due to the push backwards that he received, Saburo would wiggle his feet underneath Anemone's blade and kick it upwards, before catching it in his right hand whilst he planted the gunbai in the ground again with his left hand. Saburo wasn't Madara Uchiha, by all means, and that meant that despite a good knowledge on the gunbai, he wouldn't be able to swing it using just 1 hand.

And that said, Saburo was willing to test out just how good this gunbai fared against weaponry. With a quick toss he threw the weapon towards Daiki, easy to catch if Daiki wanted to. But as Saburo got into position to enter combat, he noticed in the distance a man with a white armband raising his hand and then lowering it, before making a fist with his hand. That was the signal to pull back, and keep overwatch again as they had done from the beginning. “Daiki-kun, I didn't know we were friends, denoting I have always considered us colleagues. And I never betrayed anyone. Maybe your trust. But I never asked for your trust, denoting you only have yourself to blame if you feel betrayed.” It seemed that although Saburo's appearance had changed in the last two years, his weird mannerisms in his speech hadn't.

As he prepared to leave the area, he shot Shouken a final glance. “Hokages' are replaceable. Konohagakure is not. The 11th follows the interests of Konohagakure.” As Saburo surveyed the small plaza once more, looking on the singular broken down house, as well as the cat statue, he spoke again. “You will be free to continue towards the Hokage in a second, I am sure. Please be safe.” His words were strange of choosing for someone that had just entered combat with his peers and was now leaving again. Especially since he asked them to be safe, despite the fact that he might've killed them if they pushed the limits of what Saburo could allow. However he didn't give them time to think about it, jumping away onto the roofs almost immediately and following the 11th corps squad leader he had been assigned to. With a blink of an eye, his sharingan had receded again and his eyes were black as normal.

As Akio rushed towards the square, she noticed one of the 11th corp weaving hands seals when sddenly a cat statue made of rock formed from the rubble of the buddha statue. Akio stopped her approach, unsure of the jutsu’s functions, and that proved to be a mistake. As the cat’s paw descended, a strong gust of wind was sent hurtling towards her, smacking into her with enough force to send her hurtling backwards a short distance, as well as locking up her breathing for a short while. She was barely able to avoid the following blast, jumping to the side and entering a nearby building to take shelter from the barrage of air bursts.

Taking a few seconds to recover, she let out a curse against the fucker who’d put that stupid thing up. Since it was stationary in its position, she’d be able to maneuver around it through the buildings, but that would slow her down by a considerable amount. On the other hand, she could try use the buildings to get closer to the cat, then use her Thunderbolt jutsu to blast it away, possibly along with the 11th corp member who’d cast the jutsu in the first place. Tempting a thought as that may be, it’s probably for the best that I don’t needlessly provoke those guys. They could be coming at us a lot harder than they are, so obviously they aren’t trying to kill us, though needless provocation could change that very quickly.

But why would the 11th help someone take out the Hokage? Sure he isn’t the best one we’ve had, but his actions hardly warrant their involvement. Whatever’s going on, I just need to get past that fucking cat right now, I can worry about the rest later.

Plan of action set in her mind, she planned her leaps from building to building(via the windows) in time with the 2 second charge up between the gusts of wind, the closeness of the urban environment helping her greatly in this endeavor. Once she was close enough to the feline construct, she quickly ran through the handseals for her jutsu, charging up the discharge as she waited for the perfect moment. Once the cat unleashed another blast, she sprung into action.

“Raiton: Thunderbolt Jutsu!” She cried, unleashing the torrent of lightning straight towards it as it’s hand rose. Again, she focused the thunder bolts on a single target, increasing the damage of the jutsu by a large margin as it smashed into earthen construct. Due to the elemental advantage, the cat was almost as good as destroyed, but at the very least, it would be unable to perform the blast’s anymore, as she’d focused the attack on the point where the arm connected to the rest of the construct. Either way, she’d be able to move on through, but due to the round about way she had taken to get to it, she had taken a good deal longer to get to where she was then she should have. Not too much time, mind you, but enough that she would probably be unable to interfere with whatever the 11th had in store for the Hokage. That didn’t stop her from rushing towards the square, keeping an eye out for any other surprises being sent her way.

@Savato



Tatsuya jumped at Yamato’s appearance, thinking him to be a secondary foe for a split second before he recognized who it was. A sense of relief flooded the genin’s system as he released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, allowing the Jounin to push his blade down and backing up slightly as well. He didn’t sheath his weapon or let his guard down, that would’ve been extremely foolish on his part, but he was feeling a lot better about his chances for survival.

He only gave a curt nod to the Minomaru, his eyes swiveling to look at Yuna before going back to the cloaked figure. The man’s grin was both intimidating and inspiring, and as he backed away to give the Jounin some room, he couldn’t help having a similar grin creep across his face for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. The cloaked woman had yet to do anything, seemingly in wait for some sort of signal. Whatever the reason for her lack of action, it prompted a similar response from Yamato, and Tatsuya followed suit, keeping his blade lowered, but ready in case he needed it. He wasn’t planning to directly involve himself in this fight, it was way out of his depth, but he’d provide any assitance he could if given the chance.

@Partisan

@Kimono

@Renny@Partisan

Chen made some quick hand seals as he used Kawarimi to avoid a painful fiery death. He listened to Saburo and Daiki's little debate and laughed. "I like that guy. He's practical. It's not that often that I get to see a smart guy like him. All these idiots trying to defend their Hokage. If the Hokage can't defend himself, then he deserves to die. How can he protect his city if he can't protect himself? Yeah, that guy had the right idea but the wrong thought process behind it." Chen said out loud without looking at Daiki. He then turned to Daiki. "I do believe it's time to retrieve our precious Hokage. Because he needs to he rescued by some pathetic Chunin." Chen said mockingly as he walked up to Daiki. "Unless you want to chase after your brother or whatever. I'll let you make that decision. I figure I might as well considering what a 'Damned Fool' I am." Chen laughed some more and cracked his neck.

---

Daiki caught Anemone, his firm grip christening the hilt. Small cuts stung him, one especially bad laid on the side of his head. He ignored it, staring at Saburo with malice. Uchiha Daiki, that name was something he would never recognize as his own. He was never an Uchiha and never would be. He was Daiki Naito, wielder of the Sharingan. His crimson eyes swirled and for the slightest of moments faltered gold with the unexpected confusion planted inside him.

“I made a mistake. For the first time, I feel like I underestimated my opponent. Goddammit!” He hadn't expected for Saburo to be so skilled with Madara's gunbai. That much, he was certain. The fact that he could even utilize it with some form of clarity meant Saburo was exceptional. Even among the Uchiha Clan.

Daiki slid his hand through his hair, a foul mood gripping him after Saburo had left. He felt bewildered by the 11th Corps part in the chaos and wanted answers that hadn't be delivered. He felt like he was being toyed around with and that pissed him off more than anything else. So when the Chunin spoke to him, whether causally or simply idiotically, Daiki was quick to rectify him.

“Are you so easily swayed? If you feel that way than stay here and watch from the sidelines. ” Daiki lept off in the direction the Hokage and Yamato had been in. For some reason, his heart wasn't in the mission as much as it was before.

---

---

Tsukiya was surprised, if not all together pissed that the Byakugan girl was still alive. He even tried to keep her head intact. What a waste, he thought somberly. He looked beyond the stone ground lying beneath him and at the presence that his jutsu allowed him to sense. Soon they would be out his range, which, whether he liked it or not, was taking its toll on him. He sighed as the purple-haired being released a mechanical fist beneath Yopparai.

It was clear as day; the projectile passing through his chakra-infused space of his dome, he could predict and see its destination. He could feel its presence. Clenching his jaw, he saw what he would have to do and hated it. Snapping his hand out towards Yopparai, he pulled the man up into the air with him, flying off the ground himself as he did so. As the explosion rocked the ground and burst forth, he willed the licking flames and bulging inferno to staid itself. The visible strain took the form of sweat and veins protruding from his temple.

He felt his chakra drain and his zone shrink. Before he released it, he pushed the explosion downward, so that it would essential do what Yopporai was intending in the beginning. “Fuck!” he growled in frustration, slowly sinking to the ground before releasing his zone and leaving Yopparai to fall from 20ft in the air. They may escape but they would have to deal with the explosive force of that he/she's attack. And with them traveling in the sewers, who knew what gases could be ignited and possibly act as fuel for the fire.

---

The fact the man turned and raised a hand to block Tsukiko's attack confirmed that he had acute sensory capability and not some kind of dojutsu like the Sharingan. However he further demonstrated his ability by allowing her spear to pierce his hand and grabbing the shaft, snapping the weapon with his forearm strength alone while simultaneously grabbing Tsukiko's outstretched leg. Wait, maybe he has Byakugan if he was able to see my attack with such clarity, Tsukiko mused briefly before feeling the squeezing force he exerted on her leg. Letting go of the Monicker, as it was a lost cause now, Tsukiko quickly weaved handseals. While the casual onlooker would see this man being stabbed by an invisible force and grabbing thin air, a poof of smoke gave undeniable proof there was an opponent.

Quite visible was the potted plant hovering in the air next to the mysterious man, briefly defying gravity before crashing to the ground and shattering. Tsukiko had used the substitution technique, reappearing inside a building just down the street. That son of a bitch, that hurt, she grumbled to herself, jumping down from the table she was standing on and looking out the window. The man was still in the street, but the broken spear was now visible and he was likely removing the rest of it from his bloody hand. And I can't believe that asshole had the gall to break my spear. Now I have to get a new one. That isn't easy.

Clenching her fist, Tsukiko finally looked over her shoulder to see where she was. There was an elderly lady sitting on a couch nearby, watching the TV. She was completely unaware of the invisible woman's presence. Tsukiko propped the window open and jumped out, landing on the street again. Though impossible to see by normal means, those capable of spotting the invisible would see she had a furious scowl. I don't know how fast he is. I have a headstart from this position, so perhaps I can reach the Hokage and do something. But he might be able to catch me again and all I would've done is waste energy... I have to stop this guy before I can stop that woman. Besides, I'll be able to track her down at any time now. If I can't protect the Hokage...

I can avenge him.

Tsukiko pulled out several meters of ninja wire, quickly tying the shape to form a small, pathetic-looking net. However, dangling from the ninja wire in several places were exploding tags partially wrapped around vertices where the wires interlocked. In total there was five. Holding this shitty mass of wire and explosives by another wire, Tsukiko dashed towards the mysterious man. "Block this!" Tsukiko called out, tossing the tangled mess at the man with her right hand as she held onto the 'leash' with her left. She deactivated her Hiding with Camouflage while the wires were mid-flight, bringing her intention to view for the whole world. Once the mass was less than two meters from the assassin, Tsukiko yanked the leash taught and channeled her chakra into it. The trademark sizzling sound being quickly accompanied by the near simultaneous detonation of all five tags.

Regardless of how much damage the man received, the explosion itself would provide great visual cover by obscuring the view of most the 11th corps member that were watching and the assassin himself. Tsukiko capitalized on this and immediately turned tail to run in the direction of the Hokage and the female assassin. If that didn't kill him it must've rocked him, Tsukiko thought, jumping onto the nearest rooftop and making a handseal again. Re-activating the Hiding with Camouflage, so as to be able to get the drop on the female assassin again, she took off as fast as she could to get to the scene in time.

---

---

The young detective and the jonin accompanying him arrived at the Hokage's Office, both clearly in a rush. "Go to their houses and see if they're home. I'll check things out here." "On it." The two parted ways as the man leapt off towards the city while Shin rushed into the building. Already news had spread of the incident, and though the building was mostly empty there were several people running about with various documents and papers. Apparently they were preparing as if Konoha was under attack with some kind of preservation protocols. Shin made sure to stop one, a thin nerdy-looking fellow. "Who can I talk with to find out what the Hokage had been doing this morning?" Shin asked him, surprising the man. "I wouldn't know, but we're all kinda busy here. Shouldn't you be protecting the Hokage right now?" "I'm trying. He was poisoned, I'm trying to find out what point in time he could've been poisoned and who it could've been. Something like that had to be an inside job..."

---

The mysterious woman and the Hokage were on the platform again, though the square was much emptier than when they first encountered there prior. However, a single man walked out into the open space, now being one of the few spectators to whatever this assassin woman wanted. He stood at a fairly average height and had medium-length, shaggy black hair. His glasses and beard didn't help his case, making look well into a mid-life crisis. Kaito Maru adjusted his glasses, looking up to the spectacle above the square. The Hokage, lying on the ground at the mercy of the mystery woman.

"Boys," the man spoke, his voice practically radiating a calm authority. This was only to catch Yamato and Tatsuya's attention, as he gave no further commands. Instead he let out a sigh and withdrew a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "You know, this was a spectacular failure." While Kaito's voice still sounded calm, a tone of irritation could be detected. "Our forces performed poorly and reacted haphazardly." After lighting the cigarette and stowing the extras away, Kaito took a pause for a drag. After finishing it he looked back towards Yamato and Tatsuya. With a simple motion of his hand he indicated for them to stay put.

The middle-aged Superintendent leapt up from the square, landing on the very edge of the platform the Hokage and the assassin were standing on. Surely she would see this as an aggressive act, but Kaito made no further moves to get closer. "Honestly, this is just embarassing, Zeno-sama..." After another drag, Kaito blew out his smoke over his left shoulder. "It goes to show how unprepared we truly were. How little we used caution... By the way, assassin-chan... does your husband know what you're doing here?" The elder shinobi lifted his left hand, forming the Seal of Confrontation slowly and smoothly. While nothing happened from it, it was a good indicator that he was now prepared to form handseals.

---

That crazy cat was attacking everyone except the Jonin for some reason and Aoi would sometimes have the blast of air directed at her when she got on a building a little too close for the sentinel. Souken was caught in the crossfire too and couldn't do much about it. Even if they got around the thing, they could very easily be picked off by the 11th Corp agents who didn't seem to want them get close to the Hokage for now. With each wave of its hand it fired in repeated and constant intervals, constant enough for even the impulsive Aoi to pick up on. It was about a two second wait, so like her lover she had the great idea of maybe attacking it during that wait.

With her clone turned card in her hand, the clown prepared for the right moment, just as Akio prepared her jutsu. However when Akio actually did release her zapping jutsu, a much swifter jutsu than the initiative chosen by Aoi, the stone cat would simply break down before the attack would hit it. At this point, the 11th Corp seemed to retreat and Saburo was also going completely docile. All Aoi could think about was that this was some kind of nasty trick, like it was too good to be true. So she looked around, a bit clueless as to what was going on. But when she noticed Akio making a run for it anyway, she grew even more tense. She didn't want to be the only bloke left behind after all. With a wave of carelessness, she jumped down from the building she stood on and sped after the Tendou. Catching up rather quickly by lack of resistance, they'd soon catch up with the rest of the gang.

"Kiki! Let's regroup!"

She'd tell Akio, surely their odds would be a lot better with their teammates nearby to make a quick plan to at least have a decent opening through this mess. This situation was indeed bad, but it didn't prevent her from picking on the kiddies in the heat of the moment. Especially when she noticed, with a quick glance, that things were oddly calm and shinobi were already around the woman and Zeno at the Town Square. Many spoke, many were captured by the awe of the moment. And all Aoi did was set her hands on Tatsuya's shoulders and bounce up just a bit to scream:

"Boo!"

Before rapidly shifting over next to Akio so she'd appear more concerned than she actually was. She saw just how exposed the two were, how easy it'd be to intervene just as much as it'd be easy for the assassin to kill the Hokage before they could even take a step closer. The clown's brain started to fry, unsure as to what they can even do. But there was one weird looking hippie man who stepped in and possibly took the role of the miracle the Konoha nin needed to turn this situation around.

"Who's that dude?! Kiki! If we can get close I can get Hokage outta there! But you gotta help me!"

But of course, before anything else could be exposed about this possibility, an air of tension would reign over all the Shinobi gathered in the same place, witnessing the scene. When they'd notice what was that gloomy tension, there wouldn't be space for mere observing anymore... Aoi was left slightly shaking from that event, not that she was paralyzed, but the suddenness of it all made her unable to really understand or react to the moment. She turned her head to look at Akio, wondering what just happened.

---

---

A substitution, how predictable it was in hindsight. The mysterious figure didn't seem surprised at all when the woman's figure would have vanished, only to be replaced by some typical house ornament. It made it clear she was in a building somewhere, but there were multiple of those and guessing her location wouldn't be really required given he had already pinpointed her location despite her invisibility jutsu. The man cracked his neck once more, peering over to one direction in particular to keep an eye on Katsu Hyuuga, the only threat he considered and the man that the 11th Corp agents wouldn't mess with due to the man's prowess, the same being said for Tsukiko. The leader of this small battalion was keen on taking the two veterans on despite their numbers and talents.

As Tsukiko was coming back for a new dose of killer's high, the masked man easily uncovered her location before she'd even manifest it, turning to her attention so he could handle her. But as he did so, he noticed one of his agents waving a signal and his soldiers scattering. Added to that would be Saburo's shift in paradigm. In the midst of the conflict, the man in the coat would use his normally cut hand to lower his sleeve on the opposite arm to expose his watch. The time was about right, they had to pull back. At the same time, he noticed his normally damaged hand: A small paper cut on the palm was made where normally a large gash requiring quite a bit of sutures was supposed to be. Barely any blood leaked from it as long as he didn't contract his hand, not that it would bother him anyway.

Now, he had given time for Tsukiko to launch her attack, no that he didn't know what she was doing. Her position alone gave off what she was going to attempt to do with those wires. With the net thrown, the man looked up at it and simply took inspiration from the woman beforehand: He did a few handseals, not even in a hurry, and with great timing, switch with a piece of the destroyed cat the instant the net exploded. He had his back turned to the woman who seemed hellbent on going to the aid of the Hokage anyway. This wasn't an issue anymore, the signal made that very clear.

"Too bad. A fight with you two would have been an experience."

He stated with a voice muffled by the mask he was wearing. With unnaturally high speed, the man darted through obstacles, employing a different path than Tsukiko to avoid stretching this needless confrontation any longer. Because his movements were strangely fluid and swift, he'd easily beat the Jonin there by a bit, but he was content with just joining his colleague. With one step that echoed through the ears of the gathered Shinobi which caused this wave of dread. Especially the less experienced Tatsuya who would live this entrance as a powerful killing intent. He simply passed by them with a walking pace for about a second before propelling himself toward the stage.

The man landed on the wooden stage, his feet barely making a sound as they touched the construct. He purposely landed between the Maru cop and the assassin he worked with. He didn't look at neither, actually he looked at the people who stayed to witness the show, not that there were too many as most of the civilians were scared away or evacuated. But a lot of locals watched from their apartment buildings. The Maru wouldn't do anything without going through the male assassin first, no one would really. It wouldn't help that the same stalkers from before would still be near the area, supervising the upcoming events out of orders by some also by curiosity.

"Stand down, Maru. It isn't your fight."

Kaito could take it as he would, but it was clear he wasn't going to intervene in the Hokage's rescue fast enough to avoid a quick execution. The Konoha shinobi were evidently in a pickle here. There weren't many options to choose from at this point other than possibly limit casualties and hope one final decisive turn of events would occur.

"It's Time."

@Renny

Chen laughed and jumped after Daiki. "You're not very fun. You should stop worrying so much, it's like I said. If the Hokage can't defend himself than he's a weak Hokage who deserves to die and he replaced." Chen continued to talk as he followed Daiki. "I don't believe I've introduced myself yet. I'm Chen Chideta, it's nice to meet you." This was a formality really as he clearly didn't mean anything he said. "No need to introduce yourself Daiki. I overheard your name from the other Uchiha." Chen did a quick check on all his weapons and made sure he had an adequate amount of Chakra left. He found it interesting that the 11the Corps were performing a coup though. He expected them to be completely loyal to the Hokage, so he had obviously done something wrong. Not that he cared. So long as had someone to fight and a way to get stronger he was fine.

As Akio approached the square, she quickly formed her Thunder Bow so she could be prepared for anything that might happened. As Aoi caught up with her, Akio gave a nod and a grin, glad to have the harlequin by her side. That grin faded slighly as Aoi jumped some poor genin as they arrived, resisting the urge to get on her about it due to the seriousness of the situation. Before she could bring herself to answer Aoi's question about the man confronting the cloaked figure, the masked assasin from earlier arrived on the scene, exerting a powerful feeling of pressure over those present with his mere presence.

He's strong Aoi thought as a nervous sweat trickled down her brow, the low crackling hum of her jutsu only serving to increase the tension. He's on an entirely different level than me, Aoi, even Yamato. Whatever his reason for doing this, he's got the power and the numbers to get away with it . . . this is a seriously fucked situation. Akio cursed silently in her head before starting the charging process for her Thunder Bow. She knew that beating those two was impossible as of now . . . but what if she managed to hit them with her new Paralysis shot. That way, the others could hopefully capitalize on the situation and either try and finsh the two off or take the Hokage to another location. That being said, it would take sometime to charge, so if the assassin went to finish the hokage before she was ready, then it'd be all for naught.

"Aoi," Akio whispered to her lover under her breath, "I'm going to try and shock them with one of my new techniques, but if they act before I can, try your best to stall thrm if you see a chance, okay? This could be our last chance to keep the Hokage breathing, so there's no time for reckless action."

@Savato



Tatsuya gulped as the strange man walked in, taking command and analysis of the situation with a calm sense of authority that it gave Tatsuya shivers. He didn't have any idea what was about to happen as a tension filled the air, but he was sure that he was in way over his head. His entire being was tense at the thought that a battle could start at any moment if anyone made just a single wrong mo-:

BOO!

At the sudden unexpected sound, Tatsuya almost tried to cut Aoi in half, but stop halfway once he saw that is was a fellow ally and not one of those weird guys in costume standing overwatch on the situation. The fact that the clown-looking girl had pulled such a stunt now of all times, on him, and the bonus info that she was a Jounin if her Flavk jacket was anything to go by, mystified the red-haired genin. He just wasn't sure how to react to her given the current scenario. Is that girl fucking mental!?!? Why is she playing pranks now, of all times? And how did someone like her even make it as a ninja, much less a Jounin, if she can't recog-

Tatsuya's mental rant of Aoi's behavior was halted as a massive wave of dread bared down on him. His determination from early crackimg under this weight, he was barely able to look up to see the source of this feeling, a strange masked figure dressed in a trenchcoat that stood between the dark haired man and the cloaked assailant. His blade was shaking with a renewed vigor, as was his whole body as he struggled to stand against this powerful killing intent. He couldn't have fled even if he wanted to, the fear hilding him in place with an iron grip. Everytime he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with the various ways this man could easily kill him, hammering into him a sense that it was a foregone conclusion that today was the day he died. Even Ketsui couldn't save him from this cold fear, the sight of his blade failing to alleviate the pressure by even the slightest amount.

Hoy genin, don't you know playtime is over? Stay out of my way if it comes down to it."

Yamato's words echoed through his head, taking on a harsh mocking tone in his mind as he realized that compared to everyone else here, he was nothing. He wasn't a true ninja, but merely a boy playing at it. And now he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The fear was so intense that he felt like he was going to vomit, but he managed to keep the urge at bay, . . . barely.

Watching Aoi and Akio work together, Katsu smiled, despite all the things going on, he was amazed that the two had grown up so fast. He jumped after them, using his Byakugan he watched ahead and quickly focused on things around the area, he saw many fights break out and was still completely confused with what was going on. "Alright so let me get this straight, something happened, Hokage was having speech while I was teaching. Something happened, now he's running from a girl, who i cant...I actually don't know, I cant even see her face either...but this has something to do with the 11th Corps, who were known to be slightly...shady but something like this? Even for them, this is crazy, this type of large scale attack, on us no less, they're making and enemy out of Konoha ninja is not the smartest play...at all...." Running, he landed and watched everything stop at once as everyone seemed to be gathered or off on their own.

As the three arrived, he watched Tsukiko fight the other man, before watching her not even be able to come close to hurting him "Oh fuck, if the guy could shake off Tsukiko like that, then this is much bigger then any of us, maybe even Fuji...wait where the actual fuck is Fuji, I haven't seen him recently, and i'm not even picking him up...anywhere, like there is seriously something being planned that none of us saw or there was some serious coincidence going on right now..." running he saw Aoi and Akio stop behind Tatsuya.

Watching Aoi scare Tatsuya, he followed after and patted his shoulder "Don't pay her any attention Tatsuya, she's just being...herself again...but it's always refreshing isn't it?" he reassured the boy before listening to Aoi and Akio and quickly knocking their heads together "Hoi! Think that through before you say things like acting reckless, this guy is on a whole nother level and im sure he knows all about every single one of us. Anything you throw at him, he'll probably know how to get around, or be ready for it, something likes this isn't planned without much preparation."

Yuna remained quiet as Yamato explained the situation between himself, Daiki, and Saburo. She opted to not give her two cents. She was intuitive, like a mother's instinct and sighed softly as she could tell he was the type of individual who didn't like people imposing their own opinions onto topics that didn't involve them. Yuna knew well enough that this wasn't the moment to perpetuate it. So they do have a history. This is indeed very off...
She had been blessed to have never been in a situation where she was at complete odds with someone else on the battlefield, and not just anyone, someone who supposedly used to be a comrade, a friend.

As they arrived at the square, Yuna watched cautiously at the cloaked woman as she slowly inched her way over to Tatsuya, bubble-pipe firmly in hand and her eyes never leaving the cloaked individual who had the Hokage under complete domination. Instinctively, she placed her tense body a bit of in front of the young genin who happened to be there, her own feelings as a mother taking over, and enticing her to feel the need to distance him from the main danger, like a mother bear protecting her cubs. "I just wanted to tell you that I saw what you did back there. Helping the citizens to safety. That was very diligent of you my dear", she encouragingly said to the genin. Though she didn't look back as she said it, her words radiated with a motherly warmth.

Being a genin wasn't the most appreciated ranking, and she knew she wanted to provide maternal encouragement to anyone when she deemed it appropriate. Everyone's involvement, big and small, was a special piece to the overall solution. Everyone was important. And she just wanted him to know that. "But please stay alert love. We do not quite know who we are dealing with", referring to the cloaked assailant.

Her body tense and grounded, she stood firm, keeping her complete focus on the woman in front, as others began to arrive as well, two girls, and even someone with a dog. But it wasn't their presences she was worried about. It was who appeared up ahead.

First another individual appeared, some figure wearing a trench coat and a mask. Based off of his behavior, he wasn't an ally. But then shortly after, an ally did revive? Wait, is that Mr. Maru? He's a ninja?. Yuna nearly choked on her spit as she swallowed out of complete confusion. Mr. Maru was a regular(if @j8cob approves) at the Hojo Bathhouse and Inn. She often found his presence, though without the unnecessary smoking, pleasantly enjoyable. A relaxed, yet cleverly humorous atmosphere was created whenever he visited. She had no idea he was of such a high caliber. A sudden relief washed over as his sudden appearance eased some of her worry. But of course, not enough, because she quickly prioritized her focus back to the two assailants, even as she overheard the conversation going on between the girls behind her, but also that of a new voice that had arrived.

She glanced back briefly.
"Hoi! Think that through before you say things like acting reckless, this guy is on a whole nother level and im sure he knows all about every single one of us. Anything you throw at him, he'll probably know how to get around, or be ready for it, something likes this isn't planned without much preparation.", the Jonin level Hyuuga rebuddled to their idea.

"Unfortunately, he is right.", she chimed logically, looking back forward. "These individuals are not like the petals of a flower. They are like the roots of an ancient tree. Firm, steady, and strong. If we are to get the Hokage away from them, a very precise and coordinated plan of action is going to have to be formulated. And soon. I assume I'm the only medical-nin here, so if a fault occurs...I surely cannot heal everyone".

She froze as an unsettling and cryptic set of two simple words could be heard from in front of them. "It's Time."

Yuna focused her eyes like a hawk. She appeared so focused and determined, it was almost a little intimidating, maybe scary even. "We must fight this adverse fate", she addressed to everyone around her that could hear her, fiddling her bubble-pipe between her fingertips as though she were completely prepared to use it if necessary. "We need a plan".

"Now".

---

The woman stood calmly, even as the Maru approached. It was, needless to say, a useless endeavour for him to approach. He wouldn't accomplish anything with it. The woman didn't even turn her head as a response, merely looking at the larger crowd in front of her. Soon enough the second figure approached, and he spoke to the Maru for a short while. While the woman hadn't spoken as much, the second figure seemed much more mouthy. However, with his final words, “it's time.” the woman looked over the group before speaking up too. The Hokage laid on the ground clinging onto himself, trying to find an opening for escape and to kill the woman, but it was pretty clear this wasn't going to happen. “For years the Shinobi nations have been centralizing their power.” she stated, a testimony to what had been truly happening. There was no lie in her statements so far, and the recent speech made by the Hokage only furthered this with evidence. “None of you have gotten better for it.”

“I have watched this village for a long time. It's become clear to me that this village is unknowingly, slowly plummeting itself into death. There is but one man to blame.” She was talking about Zeno obviously, but she didn't bother to point at him, letting the crowd do their own conclusions. By now, the ANBU that had been trying to deal with the 11th was showing up, but not interfering. They stepped up to the crowd and joined them, as did many other shinobi that had been attempting to get through the ranks of the 11th. “Konohagakure is becoming a shade of it's former self!” she yelled out suddenly as her eyes now glared through the holes in the mask, looking over each and every member of the shinobi forces. “None of you see it!”

“Sunagakure, Kumogakure, they have all held onto their traditions after Naruto passed! But Konoha, Konoha tried chasing his ideals further and further, to the point where even Naruto would say it was enough! But you constantly push for more centralization, more unity, more peace! Can't you see it!? Are you blind!?” Suddenly the Hokage coughed, loudly, followed by a laugh. The robed figure looked at him, a certain pity in her eyes as she did so. And the Hokage laughed more, before speaking up softly, just loud enough for the others to hear. “You lack.. the Will of Fire.. that is why you cannot see.. what we work for..”

The figure didn't reply, only looking back at the crowd now. She took about five seconds before speaking again, letting his words simmer in her mind. “Hai.. maybe I lack the Will of Fire. But according to what I know, the Will of Fire states that the village is like a family. You are pushing your family to be larger, and larger.. to encompass the entire world. But the rest of the world doesn't want to be part of your family.. they want to take advantage of you.”

Her gaze fell upon those within the inner circle of the chunins, the friends that had banded together in this battle so far. “Sunagakure has held onto their jinchuuriki. Kumogakure has pushed their needs through the other kage, and has even obtained a second jinchuuriki. What does Konoha do.. they release their tailed beast. For what? Because the other villages were scared.. to prove a point. Tell me in what world that makes sense.”

“It's time. For Konohagakure to become greater than the others. Know sacrifice, hokage.” the woman said, before revealing her hands from the long arms on her robe, gesturing towards the sky. With a fast move she threw three senbon up in the air, before forming handseals rapidly, with a speed characterized by only those greatest nin that make it to be kage. “Senbon-jutsu: Kage bunshin!” Using the exact same technique used to multiply her shuriken earlier, she now multiplied the senbon. However, rather than tripling or even multiplying them tenfold, she multiplied them thousandfold.

Three thousand senbon were now in the sky, a testament to the users skill, and as they were kage bunshins, they had actual physical existence, and as such could harm like any other tool. She extended her arm towards the senbon and rapidly moved her arm down, to point it at the hokage. The senbon all reacted, flying towards the Hokage in an undodgeable hail of senbon. Given the control she had over her senbon, not a single one missed their target, as they all punctured the Hokage. The woman then formed more handseals, ready to perform her killing move. “Senbon Art: Split Needles Poisoning!” Extending her arm once more, the senbon within the hokages body 'exploded' into fine dust of metal and chakra, meaning the parts of the senbon inside of the Hokage's body were now already in the blood of the hokage. However, using her fine chakra control over these senbon, the robed woman would push her hand forwards, leading to all the fine particles of dust to push through the hokages innards, eviscerating him from the inside. The move would prove, ultimately, to be fatal as the hokage yelled in pain for about six seconds, before submitting to his death.

Slowly the woman would advance to the Hokages corpse, before bending over and grabbing a hold of the Hokage's hat. Slowly she'd get up and face the crowd, moving her one free hand towards her hood. As she undid her hood, the mask came loose and fell on the ground, shattering into pieces.

---

---

The robed woman would reveal herself to be, through the mask falling and shattering, that she was in actuality Ayame. She seemed relatively calm despite the fact that she'd just assasinated the Hokage, the very man she'd worked for for several years now. Her motives were relatively unclear at this point in time, not having revealed much more than the fact that she wanted to make Konohagakure bigger. It was relatively strange, since she came from Amegakure originally, though then again, Amegakure was known for it's tendencies to assasinations.

Slowly Ayame raised the hokages hat and placed it on her head, looking over the crowd now with a solemn look in her eyes, one that unmistakeably said that she was the new hokage. She wondered how many would react to this.. but then again, they had somehow gotten a hold of the 11th corps, though that was largely due to the maneuvrances of the second figure who remained robed and masked. “Behold, sacrifice.” Ayame stated as she pointed an open hand at Zeno's lifeless body. “Prepare for greatness!” she said loudly as she lowered the hand again and looked at the ones in front of her. “The former hokage was weak and lacked the intelligence required to run a village. He thought that ideals could run a village, make it prosper. But that is not true. To prosper, you need conflict.”

---

---

Yamato stood by as he listened to what was happening around him. He looked back at Nobunaga, only to answer him with an answer Nobunaga didn't expect most likely. “We do not.” Yamato would be lying if he said he cared for the hokages' life at this point, he was simply trying to figure out what this would mean for Konoha. Anyone that knew Yamato would know he'd be the first one to run in and fight this woman, since he was also very casual about attacking Kusaru when he did. But something stopped him this time - the idea that this might have bigger implications for Konohagakure. Perhaps even good implications, something positive.

The woman started speaking and Yamato listened intently, listening to her every word, dissecting it to find out what she meant. And Yamato found he could agree with this woman more so than the Hokage. She seemed to actually possess some form of brain cells. Slowly Yamato would walk forwards, taking only three steps and putting himself ahead of the others by doing that. He was still unsure if this was a trick to lure them into a false sense of comfortability, and he wanted to be the first to know it if it was. But when the woman grabbed the hokages hat, and undid her hood and let the mask fall, Yamato couldn't help but feel his eyes widen for two seconds before they returned to normal. As she spoke more, of conflict and making Konoha great, Yamato was overcome with a sense of satisfaction.

Slowly Yamato looked back at the rest of the group, before looking at Ayame. His eyes were set with determination, and a sense of bravery, one that many people would recognise what Yamato had in his eyes before he attacked someone. But rather than do that, he slowly bent his knee and got on one knee, bowing his head down slightly before Ayame. It was unclear why Ayame did this, but to Yamato, this meant a way to make his clan better, and that was worth every sacrifice he'd have to make.

---

---

Rei was pushed into the back slightly, as she was out of her element. She felt like using any jutsu would heavily impede the progress of Aoi and Akio, and there was nothing she could do to really support them. Add to that the giant cat shoving wind in people's faces and Rei was left completely out of the field, pulling back as she provided overwatch for Aoi and Akio, making sure they would't be stabbed in the back by someone. But that person never came, leaving Rei to only feel slightly useless after everyone moved to the plaza again to see what was going on. She stayed close to Giichi, but ultimately landed in the same spot as everyone else, somewhere around Tatsuya, Yuna and Yamato.

The entire speech left Rei bewildered, as she grasped only a little of what this person was saying. It was obvious the woman was appealing more to ideals than to logic, not explaining what or how she would do all this, only saying that she would. However when she revealed herself to be Ayame, Rei could only wonder what this meant exactly. She had worked here for so long, becoming a part of Konohagakure in the process, but Rei would never have seen this coming. Not knowing exactly how to feel about this all, she looked at Giichi, hoping he had a clue.

---

---

Yopparai wasn't quite expecting what had happened, first hearing a sound like a rocket in the sewers he'd just blown up, before being lifted into the air by Tsukiya. “NANDAYO, BAKA TSUKIYA!” he yelled as he swayed side to side in an attempt to stabilize himself. He would then hear the explosion and shake slightly as the explosion rocked him, before realizing that Tsukiya had left him to fall on himself.
“OII! DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING!” he said as he slowly plummeted downwards, headed straight down into the sewers since that's more or less where Tsukiya had dropped him. With a loud splash he landed in the sewage water, covered head to toe in it. He'd make sure to kick Tsukiya's ass for this back at the tavern.. but something caught his eyes. Or rather, something caught his ears. Not to far away he heard the splashing of footsteps in the sewage water. That'd.. that'd be the Hyuga girl wouldn't it? “Oi, Tsukiya-chan.. be quiet and drop down here with me.” he said, probably loud enough to be heard by Jun still, obviously because of the echoes in the sewer system.

Slowly Yopparai would wade through the water before realizing he could use his chakra to stand on top of the water. That wouldn't stop the footstep splashes but atleast it'd mean he didn't have to wade through the shit and piss. Slowly he 'climbed' ontop of the sewage water, with some splashy sounds, before he continued down the sewers trailing the splashes he had heard. Tsukiya would no doubt still be able to find him with that bloodlens lemmet thingie.. but from now on, Yopparai was actually quiet. What a change.

---

Daiki pushed his way to the front until he was next to Yamato. On the dais stood the masked figure and beside her, was the pin-cushioned body of the Hokage. The dark-skinned man was stabbed repeated with senbons, thorns of metal protruding from and all around him. The blood that seeped from his corpse pool on the stage before slipping from the edge draining to the floor. Before long, the woman made a handseal and said a jutsu that jogged his memory powerfully.

It can’t be… he thought indecisively. The Hokage’s screams of pain was next to fill the air.

“Mission failed. Tsk! Our Hokage is dead and now we watch as another goes to take his place. His assassin no less.” he muttered to himself, standing with curiosity acting an anchor.

The reveal was slow and torturous. He could feel his skin tightening, constricting against itself as his fist clenched. Though his face remained wholly calm, Saburo matter-of-factly declaration of his Uchiha heritage, tacked on with the mission had taken its toll on him. It was pathetic, he thought. That he could be affected by words so easily. It felt like his core had been titled, almost to falling. When the mask slipped from her face and fractured on the floor, the gold of his eyes widened to the point that they lightened.

“C-Captain Ayame.” His hands unclenched into loose fingers, they twitched once. Every single digit.

Ayame was fanciful if nothing else. She openly rejected Zeno’s idealism--The Will of Fire—that the village was built upon but ultimate offered nothing but the same. Only, in reverse it seemed. It wasn’t peace that she believed would prosper the village but conflict. He could empathize with her. It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. In a world with peace, evolution would cease and ultimately lead to downfall. But exactly what did she believe she would accomplish?

Daiki had started to step out, ultimately to question her but Yamato had stepped up a second sooner. The Minamoru heir took a knee and knelt in front of the self-appointed Hokage. The shock that took root quickly became anger. Unsure if it was from Saburo’s taunting, Ayame’s betrayal, or Yamato’s reaction; Daiki followed his instincts. Two hands snapped out around Yamato’s flak-jacket and drug him off the ground, pulling him with such force that their foreheads thumped against each other.

“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Huh?” he asked through gritted teeth. “Bowing, kneeling to some assassin. She just declared war on the world. Conflict? She wants bloodshed. And you’re agreeing with her.” His head shook with the dystopian image in his head, though he held tight to Yamato’s green-jacket.

Then the image shifted, suddenly and without cause. A flash of the truth that he had ignored before. The world that was shaded by the vibrant tree was shattered. The tree was charred black and its crumbling body sent the world even further into chaos.

Then it clicked. It was only Konohagakure that truly sought peace. The world was not so idealistic, even if the rest of the world wanted peace they’d still be prepared for war. Was Konohagakure becoming weak? Hoping to become a beacon to peace and a possible martyr if that beacon didn’t shine bright enough. His grip loosened as he stared beyond The Prodigy. Moments later, he had released Yamato completely and looked towards Ayame. By this time, news of the attack was spreading through the village, slowly but surely.

“... Nevermind, ” he whispered softly, defeated.

Daiki took the moment to look behind him at the crowd. So many of them were looking, were they awaiting for his decision. Yamato had chosen to accept this new, unorthodox ascension to the mantle. His felt his brows smooth as his answer formed and solidified in his head. It was moments in history like these that defined a generation

His hand fell over his heart as he bowed his head to her and took a knee. The Naito was loyal to Konoha, not Zeno. Whichever way the branches would twist and tighten, they would follow the path beneath it. At least, that was what he repeated to himself. Inside, there was a part of him that dreaded his actions. Even still, he would follow through with this and if it became too much for his shoulders to carry, he would toss it aside.

This is madness. But its controlled madness. I must see what lies at the end of this tunnel of betrayal.

---

---

He felt it. The Will of Fire that exploded in his chest as Daiki and Yamato accepted Ayame. His fist shook and bled, even beside Rei-chan, he couldn’t find any comfort or acceptance of the situation. He felt like his feet had become numb, jelly-like. Stumbling back, he fell onto his bottom, looking for clarity.

“Rei-chan, please tell me this is some nightmare. This isn’t how the Hokage is chosen. The villagers chooses, not some killer. I refuse! I refuse to accept this!” he yelled, crawling to his feet and trampling through the crowd to the front. “I’d sooner die than watch my ancestor’s ambitions be thrown aside.”

His arm snapped to the side, a furious, whistling piercing the crowd. Wind flourished around his arm, from his elbow to his hand as he formed the Rasengan with his new method. It twisted and churned as he burst from the ground and headed for Ayame. “The Will of Fire still burns! Rasengan!”

Akio lost all the focus she had been trying to gather when Katsu knocked her head with Aoi’s, lecturing her on behaving recklessly. Then some ginger chick joined in as well, asking them to make a plan and ignoring the fact that a plan was exactly what she had in mind. Was it great, hell no, but it was a hell of a lot better than what everyone else was doing, which was gaping like idiots as the leader of their village was about to die. In fact, the Hyuuga’s casual attitude given the situation was infuriating the Tendou girl quite a bit, and she might have said something, but the call off the assailants jutsu stopped her cold, a cold realization filtering into her veins as she turned her attention back to the stage.

It couldn’t be . . . She began to think, but shook her head in silent acceptance as she saw the jutsu being performed. Her suspicions confirmed as soon as she witnessed. As Ayame spoke, Akio couldn’t help but feel that their could’ve been a better way to do this. While Ayame’s words held truth and weight to them, Zeno didn’t need to die for this. Especially not like this. A Hokage should pass with more dignity than this.

As Yamato took a knee, something that Akio had never expected to see of the Minomaru prodigy, Akio simply relaxed her bow, thinking about the what the future would be like under Ayame’s leadership. Her mind drifted to the motto of the Keihatsu, their claim to restart the cycle. She had been wondering what they could be talking about, but as she saw the birth of the 14th Hokage of the hidden village, she understood. War was coming to the Leaf, for better or for worse, and the cycle of hatred and conflict will turn once more. So caught up in her thoughts, she barely noticed Daiki’s outburst and subsequent dismissal of it. She did notice, however the cry of the Uzumaki boy from nearby. She turned just in time to see him leap at Ayame.

Without thinking, the Tendou drew back her bow at let loose a fast, but weak bolt of electricity at the foolish blonde, a static string attached to it. Given the fact that he was in the air and likely unaware of the shot being sent his way, a hit was almost guaranteed. If it made contact, then Akio would immediately charge the string, paralyzing the Uzumaki boy to keep him from completing his stupid action. He would still fly towards the two, but given the circumstances, the platinum blonde didn’t feel that his life was in any danger. Her actions were, in fact, quite pointless when she thought about, but the day had taken a toll on her tolerance of stupidity, and she was feeling highly aggravated and this was a way for her to vent, if only slightly. Once Giichi was handled, as he undoubtedly would be by Ayame herself or her masked associate, Akio would cease the jutsu, canceling out the strings and the bow simultaneously.

“It doesn’t matter if you accept it, you impulsive idiot, this is what’s happening and there is nothing that you alone can do to change.” She spoke coldly and calmly, feeling very detached from the moment right now. She didn’t care if others look down on her for doing what she did. The boy was being impulsive, idiotic, and impatient. If you want to change this, then try it when you actually have a chance to do so. The best way to catch prey that is stronger than you is to save your energy, wait in patience, and strike when they are vulnerable. I don’t approve of this ascension, but it is what it is, and I will make the best of it.

Akio thought to herself in silent contemplation, her eyes turning to look at Katsu, then Yuna as if to say: ‘Happy now?’. While Akio wasn’t under the delusion that she could’ve stopped the assailant, she could’ve at least done something to improve Zeno’s chances of survival. As it was, there was little point in further thought on the matter. They had failed their leader as shinobi, as soldiers, and as people. Giichi was right about one thing: they were spitting on the graves of their ancestors today.

@Savato

@Renny

@AgentFallenSoul

@Kimono

@Partisan



Tatsuya was lifted from his KI-induced terror by Katsu-senpai’s words and the comforting presence of an unknown red-headed kunoichi, though the Hyuuga’s attitude, and what he was focusing on at the moment, was just a bit unnerving for the genin. Uncertain of whether to respond to the kunoichi’s praise or give his thoughts on the current situation, the assailant made her final move. Tatsuya felt like a shard of ice was lodged in his spine as he saw the Hokage struggle for life before finally passing on. The sight pushed by his barriers, causing him to the ground and violently emptying the contents of his stomach. He’d continue this for a while, even when there was nothing left in his stomach to come up.

He’d never see a man die before, and to see his Hokage, a man to be looked up to and respected, killed in such a way, ontop of everything else he’d experienced . . . . it was just too much to be exposed to in one sitting for the young genin, he just wasn’t ready for any of this. By the time he was aware of his surroundings again, raising himself up with the help of Ketsui and wiping the sick from his face. He heard Giichi’s cry of outrage, and felt a similar outrage ring inside of him as well. He agreed with every word the blonde had spoken, but not only was he much too shaken to join in the charge, but he also knew that it was pointless to try and attack these two now.

The world faded out again as he simply stood up, his eyes glazed over as the weight of realization rolled over him. Ayame Choko, the assistant and right hand of the Hokage for years, had killed him and taken his place. She had basically declared that Konoha would not only be going to war, but initiating it as well. This had went against everything he had been taught, both at school and in his family. And he’d have to participate in this blasphemy of the Will of Fire, or else find himself killed as a traitor. For the first time since he had started the path to becoming a ninja at the age of ten, he felt regret. This sin’t what he signed up for, this isn’t something that he could be proud of.

I should’ve listened too you, Dad The red head thought as he felt the tears escape his eyes, trickling silently down his face. You told me that this life was not for those of the Kajiya, that their was no honor or glory to be had in it . . . but I didn’t listen. And now, I’m paying the price for my stubbornness.

Chen listened to the lengthy speech and yawned. When was the killing gonna start, he was starting to get bored. That was when it finally happened. This woman had killed the Hokage in one of the most brutal ways possible as she basically liquidated his organs with three thousand senbons worth of metal. He clapped at the amazing show of violence and laughed.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Someone finally understands how life works! Conflict is key to progression! Necessity is the mother of invention! One can only grow stronger by drinking the blood of their enemies! You will be an amazing Hokage!" He probably couldn't be heard over the crowd, but he was going to make sure to make some sort of appointment with this new Hokage soon. Chen wanted to make sure that she knew that she had the full political support of the Chideta family. He watched Yamato take a knee and did so as well. He was particularly surprised when Daiki pledged his allegiance, Chen didn't take him for that sort of guy.

Then the idiot decided to attack the new Hokage. Judging by his physical appearance and his words, it would appear as if this was the kid who was descended from the 7th Hokage. He was as massive of an idiot as the 7th Hokage too. Chen palmed a kunai and prepared to throw it but it seemed as if someone else had it handled. He put the kunai back in his sleeve and smiled. Life was going to he very interesting.

---

It can't be.

A gasp escaped Nobu's lips, his mouth agape, and his staring dead at Ayame. All of this had to be a nightmare. A crazy nightmare that Nobu would surely wake up from. He closed his eyes shut as hard as he could before reopening them to see Ayame still standing there. The Hokage had been murdered before everyone's very eyes by his own assistant. A woman that had been trusted by Konoha had now killed the very leader of the village. Not only did she kill him but it was the most illogical crap that Nobu had ever heard. No that was a lie. Her words did ring true to an extent. Konoha had always left themselves open to attack. They had always been the ones of peace while the other villages sat with their weapons ready for if anything threatened them.

"What if she was right?" The words trailed from his lips in a confused voice. Daiki and Yamato had both given in to the deranged woman. He could feel his knees tremble at the thought of giving in. Dropping to the ground to bow before an insane ascension to a throne that Ayame never earned. This couldn't be how Konoha would work now. They had always voted the Hokage in to power and they had never truly been wrong with those that they choose. Before Nobunaga gave in, there was a chomp at his leg by Oichi that caused him to jump a bit. He looked down at the ninja dog and it filled him with courage. If she didn't want to back down then he wouldn't. Reaching to his hilt, Nobu slowly pulled his katana from its sheath. A stride over to Daiki's kneeling body brought Nobu's blade resting on the back of Daiki's neck.



"I'm with Giichi. I won't stand to this. To think you two would follow Ayame. I won't. Conflict does not bring peace. It brings death, violence, and hatred. Naruto changed the world for the better. Him and Sarada. The produced bonds that brought the villages together for so long. They died knowing the world knew peace. And yet you attempt to bring conflict by murdering the Hokage in cold blood." Nobunaga's blood burned at the thought of Ayame ruining everything that the previous Hokage's had worked for. This was his Will of Fire."You say the Will of Fire does not burn anymore but you are wrong. Everyone of us has that fire. It is unfortunate that we stand in a world where we must bring death but I accepted. I wish to bring the bonds that the previous Hokages formed and I stand as a testament to that Fire. I, Nobunaga Inuzuka, will burn the brightest. Nobunaga slid his blade across Daiki's neck if only to draw a bit of blood but nothing to truly hurt him and then placed his back into it's sheath. He turned his back to Naomi, not caring if any of them made an attempt on his life for such defiance. It was corny and he knew it but it was a passion he held in his heart. No matter what they thought Nobunaga stood firm.

"I'll never call you Hokage."

---

She was too late. The invisible woman landed on a rooftop overlooking the square and the platform where the Hokage was killed. Her route was angled, so as to preserve her stealth at the cost of speed. A mistake that resulted in being too slow to stop the assassin from killing the Hokage. A new kind of anger began to flow through her veins. A certain rage that she couldn't remember if she had ever felt before. It was not grief or remorse that fueled her temper, but humiliation. Failure. She had failed to stop this woman, despite knowing that it was within her ability to do so.

And her rage was not quieted when the assassin revealed her identity. None other than Ayame. Now that Tsukiko reflected on it, the scent was familiar but not quite recognizable. It dawned on her that she had taken deliberate steps to fool Tsukiko's senses. This betrayal was well thought out. Tsukiko's face contorted in a terrifying scowl. Her Hiding with Camouflage technique couldn't hide the powerful killing intent that began to wash over the square. She wasn't just humiliated from her own failure but deliberately set up to fail. And that didn't sit well with her, to say the least.

With a powerful leap, Tsukiko cleared the entire town square in a direct line for Ayame. The enraged woman slammed into the platform with enough force to rock the entire thing, her Hiding with Camouflage no longer in effect and allowing all to see her arrival. As she stood upright her rage was almost palpable. Her eyes were firmly locked on Ayame and both her hands began balling into fists and releasing in a rhythmic pattern. "So this is what it is, huh?" Tsukiko uttered, her voice low and incredibly dangerous. Already in her mind the entire world was beginning to fade out, a tunnel vision began to form with Ayame at her focus. "A grab for power, is that right? Just going to throw everyone under the bus, yeah? Who do you think you are, Choko!? You think you can just play me for the fool if it means you can get something out of it!?"

Tsukiko's hands finally clenched into fists and remained that way. "I'll show you who the fool is!!" Tsukiko planted her feet for a quick charge, finally breaking the tension as she aimed to deliver a fist into Ayame's face. Having finally snapped it was apparent by looking that Tsukiko was no longer in control of herself. But in that split-second before Ayame would feel Tsukiko's wrath on a physical level, something stopped the woman from landing the hit. Almost instantly a black crystal had formed around the feral woman, completely encasing her and stopping her in her tracks.

---

---

Kaito's hands separated from the Tiger handseal, having successfully stopped Tsukiko from slamming Ayame. Despite all that had happened before him, only a couple meters away, his composure hadn't been rocked in the least. "Settle down, Umene," he commanded, despite the fact the woman wasn't capable of doing anything at this point. After sighing to himself, Kaito took a final drag on his cigarette before completely removing it from his mouth and casually tossing it onto the platform in front of his foot. He ground the butt out with his boot as he exhaled the last of the smoke.

"You are incorrect, Ayame-chan," Kaito said plainly, removing his foot from the smoldering cigarette. "To prosper..."

"You need order."

Without his expression or tone changing, something seemed different about Kaito now as compared to before. His calm radiance had changed. His authoritative side was growing stronger. "It is not a matter of ambition or desire. Emotion does not bring a state to greatness, it only drags it down to failure." Kaito stepped forward now, crouching over the bloody corpse of Zeno. "Barbaric acts only provide shock value. You could've killed him in a much more graceful way..." With a sigh he stood upright again. He took a moment to look at Ayame before returning his attention to the masked man, whom he had already known the identity of before he even arrived.

"When it comes down to it, I too hold Konohagakure above any single life," Kaito confessed. "But that does not excuse your actions today. I was physically incapable of stopping you two, I was aware of that. But neither of you are above Konoha. Neither of you are above the law." The older man reached into his jacket, withdrawing two pairs of chakra-restraining handcuffs. "I am no judge and I am no jury. But I am the enforcer. Ayame and Fujitora Choko, you two are under arrest. Shimura will be joining you later."

"Will you comply quietly or will you resist?"