„It smells like piss here,” a voice said. The voice echoed slightly through the dark corridors, only lit slightly by flickering lights above the tunnel. Two silhouettes bobbed up and down as they traversed the tunnel systems, approaching a yellow-black striped blast door. „Shut up.” a deeper voice snidely said to the other voice. It was followed by a sniffing sound, as if someone was sniffing the air. A laugh followed swiftly, perhaps because the other voice agreed that it smelled like piss, despite the snide remark it had made. „You know we're only here to meet lady commander Tametomo. The upcoming move will be grand. Can't wait. Finally get back at those confederate bastards. So who cares that it smells like piss.” The two were now standing exactly in front of the yellow-black striped door, which was approximately the size of two humans in height, and about a battalion wide. One of the figures raised a hand at the camera, which swayed side to side eerily, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen.

After about five seconds the doors started to make screeching sounds before parting in the middle, leaving an entry way into a much better lit hallway. There were people standing around doing nothing, while others were working hard. Two shinobi were pushing carts with boxes on them to another hallway, and another was guiding some younger shinobi into a room which was set up for training. They seemed excited to do some work - though who knew how long that would last. The two figures from earlier continued on their way into the facility, perhaps to meet with their captain or superior, or perhaps to get a briefing. Maybe they did none of that, and went to the canteen to get some lunch. Who knows?

Despite the high-tech lighting and materials used, the actual rooms were outfitted rather crudely. From time to time the lights went out, emergency power kicked in for a few moments lighting the hallways in a red emergency light, before the power returned and the normal lights came back on. It was clear the base, while ultimately high-tech, was not that well maintained and likely not used much at all. The number of people inside, while large for such a small base, were not impressive comparing it to the amount of shinobi at any given confederate forward operating base.

But this was all the Red Sages had - long forgotten, largely defunct and small bases scattered all over the Confederation, where they'd take refuge and hide from the confederation, as well as plan potential operations to move against the Confederation. And this is where most of the Red Sages were a week ago, planning their move after the death of Tarara Tametomo, former lord commander of the Red Sages. Not to be confused with lady commander Seijo Tametomo, his younger sister and current lady commander of the Red Sages.

---

Three days later, preparations for the harvesting feast that occurred every two years at the border of Konoha, Suna, and the Amegakure Capital, had begun. Farmers from all over the Confederation traveled there to attend, possibly speak on some interesting things related to farming, as well as partake in competitions such as who grew the biggest pumpkin and ox-pulling. While the feast, to shinobi, often sounded like a strange feast meant just for farmers, it was quite the contrary. It drew in lots of civilians from all walks of life - politicians attended because it was good for their image, families visited for a day to enjoy a fun day out with the family, and low-life's visited because, well, there were a lot of visitors and that meant easy pick-pocketing, even with confederate shinobi around.

Furthermore, there were also important political discussions going on in the compound that was host to these feasts. An important shinobi commander was discussing with a local group of shinobi the possible production of a new type of explosive tag. The specifics were unclear, but what was clear were the political implications of these dealings. There were many that were in favor of this new program, and there were some that opposed it for fear of disrupting the economy with new types of explosive tags. What if this type succeeded, how many shinobi would buy those, and not the ones currently being produced?

These were just concerns from politicians, people who weren't shinobi in and of their own, as there weren't many shinobi in the council of the Hamajō Confederation. Most shinobi found little interest in the whole ordeal as every time new items got introduced, the entire thing failed and they'd end up switching back to the older more trustworthy weaponry.

One might wonder why this was all supposed to be interesting, and one would be right to wonder that. This information isn't particularly valuable to anyone who isn't a politician, or has a family and wants to visit the farmers feast. However there is one particular subset of people who might find interest in a largely attended festival, which subsequently also houses an important special ops shinobi commander, who very well could be responsible for the death of Tarara Tametomo, infamous criminal, rebel, low-life and known throughout the Hamajō Confederation as „Tarara the Troublesome” and many other much less flattering nicknames. The commander, Sasegawa Oji of the 11th corps, was hailed as a Hero of the Confederation upon completing the mission, specifically for taking down a criminal who had committed many crimes against the Hamajō Confederation and it's people. His presence at the festival was broadcasted far and wide to attract more people, further testifying that this man was a true hero in the eyes of many civilians too.

And while Tarara, though a criminal, was above terrorizing the people to win the secret war they were fighting, who was to say what Seijo was and wasn't above?

---

With the festival in full swing and the appearance of Sasegawa Oji having happened, the festival seemed to be drawing to an end. The pumpkin competition had just ended, the prize going to a Konoha pumpkin farmer (as always, some of the Iwa and Suna farmers mumbled), and the farmers market slowly emptying out of stock, it seemed like the festival had gone off without a hitch. All that remained was the ox-pulling, which drew the largest crowd of all activities, and then the discussions between the shinobi's and the commander.

A large part of the Confederate forces stationed in the area were sent out to this festival to guard it, as well as a large shinobi crowd being drawn to the festival simply for the fun of it. All in all, it wasn't an impressive force that was stationed there, surely not fit to defend the capital, but this was only a large compound meant for festivals and political discussions, surely the forces were enough?

It seemed like the festival was going to end without anything bad happening, unless you count the ending of the festival as a bad thing. However, unknown to the confederate forces in the compound and on the outside of it, over watching the farmers market, there was another force in the area. In the bushes on a hill nearby the compound laid some shinobi in wait, looking over the compound. They were obviously Red Sages, as could be seen from the red armbands they had on their left arm. The numbers were similar to the confederate numbers, although it's possible that the Red Sages had more people laying somewhere else, waiting for a signal as well.

In the crowd on the farmers market and near the ox-pulling, there were several figures as well, not necessarily behaving suspiciously, but not participating in the activities or looking at them. They seemed stuck on the same place, one of the three sitting on a box with hay, another standing in front overlooking the crowd and the last seemingly staring at the sky for no reason.

Meanwhile, the confederate forces in the area were just going about their patrols - some in the farmers market, some in the compound itself where the discussions were taking place. It seemed that nobody realized that there were Red Sages in the area, and even in the crowd. Those shinobi that weren't stationed here, but were attending the festival were of course free to do as they pleased.

---

At the moment that the first game of ox-pulling was about to commence, a red light suddenly appeared in the sky. It flashed brightly once before slowly drifting down - it was a flare, signalling.. something? There were a few seconds where nothing happened, perhaps causing some to think the flare signaled the game of ox-pulling. That thought would soon be destroyed. The three Red Sages waiting near the boxes suddenly got up, and took their jackets off, revealing the red armband hidden under their jackets. „Yo, that's our signal.” the leader said, before taking up a defensive stance. The other two formed the tiger hand seal and spoke in unison. „KAI!”

Several loud bangs erupted, immediately sending the crowd into a wild escape attempt. Some people got trampled under the masses, escaping whatever it was that created these bangs. Looking further at the crowd, it became apparent that several hidden explosive tags had gone off, killing civilians and shinobi alike, their corpses laying in the small, but numerous, black blast areas.

The Confederate shinobi barely had any moment to take in what was happening as shinobi with red armbands and non-matching uniforms started pouring in from the hills. „It's the Red Sages! Sound the alarm! Protect the commander! Quick, get ins- GLURHG!” yelled one man, supposedly a captain, before he got cut down by a Red Sage running past him with his sword out. Heavy fighting erupted, with some shinobi attempting to kill all Red Sages, while others retreated inside to protect the commander. Some were busy trying to evacuate the civilians, although to many shinobi that wasn't the main concern at this moment. Whatever they were doing, one thing was for sure - death was a very realistic possibility now.

It seems that our entire cast would be present at this festival. The Hamajō Confederates on their own free time, or because they were stationed there. The Red Sages because they would take part in the attack. There are many in the Hamajō Confederation who still haven't made up their mind about whom of the two factions they should support - while they are present at the festival too, they're free to act however they want to. Just keep in mind - both the Hamajō Confederation and the Red Sages are watching, and making a wrong move might ultimately end you up on a side you might not want to be on.

---

As much as she hated it, her advisors had made a good point. She couldn't help but mimic them mockingly regardless, saying in a high pitched voice, “..you can't go into battle being the first shinobi in, that's dangerous. Fools. They don't know what danger is, pfah.” She watched carefully as the explosions went off, killing some civilians and shinobi. She didn't feel any type of way about this - war is war, yadda yadda. The goals justify the means she thought, overlooking the dead civilians. The important part was the shinobi that had been felled, meaning they'd prove no resistance to the Red Sages. As if they could stop us now spooked through Seijo's head. She looked to her left and right, before standing up. “Let's move up! Take that commander, alive preferably!” she yelled, loud enough for everyone around her to hear. She'd assigned herself to the squad with the youngest members, to show them just what she was capable of. And a little bit to save their asses heroically. Her cousin was, thankfully or regretfully, also with her. That guy was full of it, but he was her cousin and she had a weak spot when it came to him - his idiocy made him funny to be around. A welcome change from the anger she felt since Tarara's passing.

Besides her cousin Arima, there were also several others. She hadn't bothered to learn their names, as they were.. expendable. She'd consider learning their names if they survived this attack. Seijo started walking towards the compound while several other squads already rushed past her - they were the first ones in. Ready to prove themselves, or crash into death. Perhaps genuine freedom fighters who felt excited at the rush of Confederate blood. Who knew. “Tsk. No way I'm letting them take all the glory.” she mumbled to herself before getting into a jog, quickly transitioning into a run. To hell with the advisors, and their rules. If she died, then a new leader could be picked rather quickly anyway. Besides, she was Seijo Tametomo, not some genin. She wouldn't die this easily!

As she approached the outside of the compound, the fighting had just begun. The Red Sages clashed heavily with the somewhat confused confederate shinobi. Thinking of an interesting way to enter combat, she decided to draw a kunai and then sliced her own thumb. After that she tossed the kunai at a random shinobi, who easily blocked the kunai sending it flying away into the sky. She sniffed loudly, disapproving of the shinobi's action. It wasn't meant as a killing move, she just had to get rid of the kunai. Forming some seals while dodging two kunai that were thrown at her, she jumped up and then, whilst descending towards the floor, pushed her hands out below her. A large cloud, otherwise know as 'a poof', appeared beneath her and enveloped her somewhat before the air blew the cloud away, revealing a large salamander-like creature.

As a manner of introduction, the creature raised it's right front leg and slammed it on the floor hard, throwing everyone nearby it off balance, both friend and foe. “Neeeeeeeki-da...” a deep voice said, seemingly coming from the summoned newt. As the ground shook, it seemed that Seijo had little trouble maintaining her composure standing on the newt's back. Seemingly uncaring and unbothered with the heavy fighting around her she placed her hands on her back and folded them together. Moving her weight slightly forwards, she stood on her toes and turned her body around to look behind her. She was mainly checking on where her squad was, as she had forgotten about them in the rush to get onto the field. “Hey, hurry up. We need to get inside and find that bastard.” she said, not speaking to anyone in particular but urging those in her squad, and any Red Sage nearby that was not currently preoccupied with murdering anyone in their paths to get inside with her.

As soon as she'd delivered that useless, but none the less required message, she turned around again and tapped Neki on it's back with her foot. “Let's go Neki. We'll see about what remains of our army after we find this guy.” The newt was slow to respond but stepped forwards regardless, clearly out of it's element since it wasn't in the water. “Haiiiiii, Tomotame-sama...” it would answer sluggishly with it's deep voice, seemingly turning around Seijo's surname without realizing. Seijo couldn't help but smile slightly as the newt walked up the wide stone stairs, leading up to the compound interior. While she wasn't exactly attacking anyone, she remained ready to dodge any attack that was launched her way, and the newt seemed to not really care about the few kunai that were slung towards it, simply swiping them away with it's tail or it's arms and legs if it had the chance to do so.

---

It was only just a few days ago that Arima Shuu had an undying urge to put into action this grandiose assault the Red Sages had planned for an extended period of time now. Countless efforts of preparation, resources gathering, coordination, training and careful planning, all for this event. Being the subject of slight nepotism, Arima had the chance to part take in Seijo's careful planning along with the higher jonin of the Red Sages, prompting him to express a powerful passion among his peers when mentioning the 'big event'. Having risen the spirits of his many friends and colleagues, he almost felt like part of this operation would be successful thanks to the admiration many of the new ones had for him.

This excitement would completely drown in the final, sleepless night he'd have prior to the festival. Devoured by fear of death and general stress of being for the first time in his life in a truly hostile environment. Until now it was easy covert operations and petty theft at Confederate warehouses that weren't that well guarded in the first place. But now, he was going to have to murder, and face people with the same obligations geared toward him. The idea alone of taking a life was making him anxious, having rarely conducted the act if he were to be frank. As the sun rose, Arima's mother, a woman whom take part in this invasion too, came along to wake him up, only to find him drenched in sweat and the body as tense as ever.

As much as his honor urged him to, he just didn't want to go, he didn't want to risk it all even if it was what he wanted deep down. Making his way to the base for final preparations, he long thought of the stakes all of this entailed. The people counted on him, his friends counted on his example but most of all his lineage would forever be tarnished if he were to cower away. His heart raced at the idea of being the black stain of the family, and as such, assaulted a poor, lone tree along the way to release his contained frustration of this dilemma. At least when he'd arrive, he'd be freed for that.

"Let's do this, guys."

He simply said as he entered the common room where the young were preparing for the big strike. All of them looked at him in awe while the more senior members either chuckled at the evident bullshitter or simply remained quiet, disillusioned or simply occupied. With these looks, Arima felt both immensely motivated to make them proud but also terrible for giving them hope that he couldn't even harness for himself. Time moved so fast at this point, and he'd barely even feel time pass during his own final preps. He wore his typical white attire with his navy blue boots and black combat gloves, never forgetting the Red Sages armband. The final touch would be a stolen ANBU mask to conceal his identity. Various kunai and explosive, the general shinobi weapons and he was ready.

"... It's showtime, I guess."

He mumbled to himself, followed by a silent sigh.

---

In the midst of the event, the young Tametomo had already blended in using the transformation technique to appear as a typical middle-aged man enjoying the festival like any other civilian next to his much bold cousin. Too stressed to even look normal, he never addressed her until the signal. He tried his best to contain his sweat, as he anticipated the signal with a twisted stomach. Eventually however, the flare would emerge in the clear skies of the border, accompanied by a powerful roar from the shot. Barely a second later, he would be ducking in his attributed position as the bombs went off in various places. He in turn, used the Kai hand seal to activate a couple of the tags he set himself, mostly on stands where people would be concentrated in.

"Go!"

He shouted for his nearby Red Sage comrades to hear before he'd revert to his normal, masked appearance. Without hesitation, he immediately jumped a confused guard shinobi with a kunai in hand, cutting up the back of his neck without even turning back a he kept running forward. He wasn't sure if he killed, he felt as though he hit, but the adrenaline made hi almost insensitive to a whole lot of things as well as making him unsure about mostly anything. He didn't think much however and focused on the mission. Despite all the smoke around, he could distinguish a few influential figures surrounded by above average shinobi.

This was his time to shine, he was going to get the bald head of that defenseless politician for his comrades, for his honor. His Glorious Cosmos activated, the boots becoming somewhat brighter with an electrical aura surrounding it. Jumping one of the shinobi by surprised again, he'd land on her face, thus giving her a nice, direct shock to he forehead. She'd be knocked out, but the others would take notice of him quickly. They didn't seem so tough, more like cheap state soldiers, but he feared that Confederation Shinobi of higher class would quickly jump at the opportunity to defend the government's assets. He dashed in an attempt to take the man down quickly while hoping that Neki would get rid of these fodder before they'd swarm him.

---

---

Ever since the death of Tarara Tametomo, Yakoul has been more or less ... Jobless. Not that it didn't have anything to do, it just didn't have any big army to completely crush. The thing is that it would be a bit sour toward the 11th Corp for taking the Red Sage's head instead of itself, but there were never hard feelings in that regard with the feline warlord. These days all it could really do was either do typical shinobi Jonin stuff and part take in more fun than average events. The Farming Feast wasn't particularly interesting, especially considering farmers were Yakoul's number one meals during its days as a stray beast. Nonetheless it made the effort to at least check it out, maybe see a tasty cow or two they'd be presenting during some sort of stupid competition of cattle.

The Red Sages would however catch Yakoul during one of its cat-like naps. Indeed, the bed in the Inn was just so comfortable that it practically skipped most of the interesting events of the feast. The sounds of the first explosion would be enough to have the Commander's right ear perk up and turn to the direction of the window. At first it thought it was just a bunch of idiots playing with explosives while hunting for dangerous animals, but as they increased, it felt compelled to get up with a groggy look. Walking its completely naked body toward the window, it checked by reflex the Inn's porch before gradually looking upwards to see if the bombs went off anywhere nearby. Despite its sleepy state, it didn't take long for it to notice the residues of the flare and the masses of smoke where the festival was taking place.

"Cock-a-doodle-what-the-shit is this?"

Evidently grumpy from such a forced awakening, it rubbed its face to see if it wasn't just seeing things since sleepwalking was a thing. Upon closer inspection, it realized it was absolutely true. Somewhat dumbfounded that such a boring and mundane event would have such a dramatic turn, it stared at it speechless for about ten seconds before grinning in glee. It was like it had just received the illuminating message of an angel revealing the path to salvation, its eyes sparkling in excitement as it finally had something worthwhile to do. Swiftly, it put on its regular clothes, a blue shirt, organe shorts and dark blue shoes. Nothing more, nothing less. Oh and maybe a few surprise tools under its sleeve.

As it ran out, of the Inn, leaving probably triple of the amount it owed the Inn-owner out of complete lack of mathematical prowess and hate, it employed its extreme speed to cheese through the five kilometers without any issue. It was mostly desert at this side of the border anyway so the trip didn't have too much of a problem. Taking just under a minute to arrive at the scene, it hopped on one of the old buildings set there so it could have a good overlook of the situation. Civilians maimed, rebels attacking wildly as if they were more scared than those they were terrifying, rookie state shinobi desperately trying to keep up with the more experience, politicians getting a dose of reality under the form of cool metal rubbing against their neck. This was war. This gave Yakoul some purpose again. And most of all, it meant the Red Sages would need a best friend again.

"Ho ho holy fuck. I'm unsure who to fucking root for, damn. 'Cause I kinda have to help my bitches, but then again you assholes are going to make this world shake! One can't just deny you that!"

It seemed to talk to itself with its somewhat feminine but croaky voice as if it has some kind of throat issue, thus making is somewhat a little more deep (and accentuating the gender issue). However a few meters away from it, an apparently low ranked Red Sage was using a camouflage technique and Yakoul had easily discerned him. Once he revealed himself, it was clear that it was address him without a hint of hostility. He seemed new, hence the reason why he didn't run upon seeing the Confederate General. However, upon feeling the intoxicating presence of Yakoul and the naturally dominating demeanor he had lost the ability to actually do anything. The cat-critter turned its head to face him with an eyebrow cocked.

"That means move your ass, dipshit. Before I change my goddamn mind. GO!"

It scolded the rebel, visibly uninterested in the small fry but also motivated to keep this chaos going for a while longer so it could justify bringing back the methods of its 'glory days'. The Red Sage didn't ask any questions and just ran through an alley, likely to be slaughtered by a Chuunin Confederate or whatever. The commander made itself comfortable in the meantime, observing the various little confederate shinobi that would prove interesting to work with after this amusing phenomenon while sitting down with its tail swaying.

---

War. It... tastes. It's fitting. It's a good change of pace from the illusionary peace enforced upon those poor civilians. And now, they had just tasted how much of a lie this whole peace ordeal the confederation spoke so pridefully about was. Yudai himself wasn't taking this lightly however, seeing innocents suffering the mistakes of higher ups - it wasn't nice. Nor did he enjoy seeing some of the Red Sages purposelly harming them- it wasn't necessary. It was a big waste of time. His crystalline eyes flicked from point to point, he was extremely calm in this situation and he knew what to do - orders, they had been so clear that even if they weren't given, he'd know where to go and what to do.

Well - other than fight, which he was too doing. While moving together with the other Red Sages, it was natural that Confederation shinobi confronted them and one, in particular, confronted Yudai. Thankfully, a few moments ago, he had prepared himself with his to-be signature technique: Kotai no Hakai. The shinobi brought down his blade directly in direction of Yudai - and rather quickly, too. Yudai immediately raised both of his arms, a substance dense as stone emerging from his arms, forming a shield directly above him, deflecting the blow in a mere moment. Right after, Yudai crouched down to gather strength to leap onto the air and when he did, he raised his knee directly towards the shinobi's shin - the man used his arms to defend himself from the blow, but it threw him slightly back. Yudai was decided to move on, though, so all he did was plant his foot onto the man's head and use him as a source of momentum to propel himself forward.

Move. On. It was his current objetive, he had someone to follow after all - commander Tametono. Oh my, what a Tametono - Yudai had many flicks with women in the past, and none of them plagued his mind for too long. However, this particular woman - he admired her in a sense that a child would admire a hero or something; she was... powerful. And her position? Powerful. She was respected, praised and followed. Exactly what Yudai wanted- no, exactly what he would be one day.

He shoved the thoughts off for another time and continued moving on, climbing the stairs which led onto the compound's interior. He had two objetives traced onto his mind; protect the commander and his own life and while he moved, he coated more of his doton chakra onto his arms. He found it necessary to do so.

It was hard to believe a man as beautiful as Mikoto could do what he was doing.

He moved through a line of confederate shinobi, jumping and dancing as he went through them. They tried to stop him, of course.

One sought to stab him in the chest with a kunai. Eyes closed and with perfect tempo, Mikoto spun around the kunai effortlessly, keeping his left arm up and his right arm extended to his side. The confederate shinobi could not see what happened and it wasn't until his throat started bleeding that he realized that that gay guy dancing ballet through his enemies was not actually dancing.

Just as he started dancing, Mikoto activated his High Speed Jet jutsu.

The next attack came from his left. A shuriken. Easy as pie. These small fries had not enough grace, intelligence or power to even think about hurting him. Such were the thoughts of the arrogant man known as Mikoto.

He spun again, shook his hands to dispel his waterjet and them brought them at the center of his chest and moved them into the following seals; Ram, Bird, Boar, Monkey, Ram.

Mikoto planted his right leg on the ground and stopped spinning and brought both of his hands to his mouth.

"Water Release! Water Gun!" He sung.

A blob of water came out from his mouth at high speed, dragging both the shuriken and shinobi away. The ninja that had thrown the shuriken was on top of a rock formation, probably made by himself. The fall would be fatal, probably, but seeing as he knew Earth release, he expected him not to die that easily.

Another man came from behind him and swung his fist against his back. A loud *thud* was heard and, despite the mask the enemy shinobi was wearing, it was clear that he was smirking. "I got him!" He thought.

"Arara. Attacking from the back? Now, that IS slightly more intelligent." Mikoto sung, turning his head to him. He was still smiling, despite what seemed to be potentially powerful blow he had just received. "But if you don't aim for the kill it is pointless."

Mikoto had stopped the man's fist with his hand. It wasn't until the man turned to see his fist that he noticed it was being cut by the waterjet surging from Mikoto's hands.

He rushed to take his fist away, but Mikoto turned his whole body once he took his fist back, moving his hands quickly in preparation for his next jutsu. Dragon, Horse, Ram, Dog, Tiger.

"You are not a worthy opponent. May you encounter peace in the afterlife. High Speed Jet, medium output." His smile and gaze had turned cold. He swung his hand and cut the man's hand off.

Before his enemy could shout, Mikoto supported himself on his left leg and spun one more time. With his right hand extended again, he then severed the man's head.

His body fell to the ground and Mikoto sighed.

"I guess no one entertaining came this time. Wonder if Kanata-chan is around here? She always did have a talent of getting into trouble with powerful lads." Mikoto sings as he turns around, both of his arms behind his head.

---

Kanata sneezed, "Ugh. Bet homo Mikoto is talking about me." She thought to herself.

She had helped her mother escape, with whom she had come to the festival. Now, what was she going to do? She didn't particularly like the confederation, but she definitely did not agree with the methods of the Red Sages.

"Sages my ass. They should've named themselved the 'Red Shitheads', cause everything they do is pretty dumb."

"Do you happen to have a problem with us, little missy?" A hoarse, yet high-pitched voice says.

"Ugh... just my luck. I happen to be talking to myself and one of the shitheads hears me." She brings her right hand to her head and shakes it.

A group of three Red Sages, by the looks of it. A classic combination of a short one, probably the brains, a big one with a big belly, and one of average height that looks like an all-rounder.

"We are still here you know?"

"I know and I don't care, so-!" Before Kanata can finish, the short one has already thrown a kunai at her.

It seems to hit her right in the stomach, but soon enough the water clone disintegrates and the remaining water falls to the water.

"So see ya, shitheads!" She shouts as she runs away from the peculiar trio of Red Sages.

"All right, I need to find someone of the confederation and get them to fight for me. I don't want those idiots coming after me because I beat their guys." She thinks to herself. "Oooor I look for Mikoto he can probably get them off my back. Hm, what to do, what to do...."

---

Thirsty. So thirsty. The honorable commanders must had thought to test Tsugi's loyalty and diligence on such festive days. Some of his squad-mates had told him it was clearly a leisure post in thanks for his work in "intelligence gathering" that he be given guard duty near his favorite drinking hole. But he knew better, the officers in their wisdom wanted to test him, to make sure he was dutiful, to not partake in his usual past-time while on duty. And they were right, Tsugi remained stoic in his duty despite the obvious ploy from his squad-leader to "come join us, for the love of god man, it's a festival, relax."

Tsugi just nodded and smiled, remaining at his post knowing about the "surprise inspections" that the confederacy is known for. He will admit however, that his heart did waver a bit, but like a sign from above cataclysmic explosions created a horrific cacophony in the air. He knew it, the officers were wise to give him this post as his squad (clumsily) ran from the tavern at the ready to respond to the situation. His Jonin gave quick orders to fan out and assist the panicking civilians. Each of the members of the Confederacy's new Intelligence Corp. were trained sleuths and masters of the ambush, so the task of civilians took some time to get used to.

As Tsugi saw that civilians be directed to nearby safe-houses, a trio of what he assumed to be traitorous Red Sage dissidents bended a alley and came upon him with murderous intent. Tsugi looked at the men. And did what any brave, loyal soldier of the confederacy would do, he ran. Bending a corner straight into a dead end. This was it, the end to his young life, the men fired off a series of hand seals, yelling "Flame Seal: Fireball" in unison. Such, Tsugi, haze clone #13, just 2 minutes old, died in duty. Well, dispelled by his parent, who at this point had slipped out of the ground, and thrown senbon with deadly precision at their jugulars filling their systems with an intense paralytic.

"That-that seemed too easy..." Tsugi sighed, screams still echoed around him. "Well, gotta get more." He jumped high onto nearby rooftops, and spotted 4 more traitors. He quickly formed seals for his False Sound jutsu and gave them the good ole' "pained screams, in need of help comrade," that lead the into the traps of his squad mates, who (in all honesty) were much better at the whole killing thing. He was just there to provide the voodoo illusions, he always enjoyed the "wooden logs full of explosive tags, made to look like a wounded child/woman/comrade." Good stuff.

He looked around the chaos, it was a long day ahead of him, looked at his various vials, and grumbled out loud, "Fuck, I forgot to ask the quartermaster for the stronger stuff."

---

“Just.. just a few more minutes.. they don't need me there anyway..” Higoho had mumbled to himself when his alarm had gone off, warning him that he had a thing today. He'd promised the Hyuga clan head, Isamu Hyuga, that he'd escort a Hyuga girl to the farmers feast. He still remembered that argument, quite clearly actually. “Why do you need me to go? Can't someone do it who is bad at being a shinobi? I don't wanna spend my day at the farmers market watching them compare cow-turds.” he'd told Isamu daringly, not hiding the fact that he'd thought himself above things like this. “Because I'm telling you to. Remember your place Higoho.” he'd gotten as an answer, clearly noting that Higoho was not only a branch member, but also a bastards child. If it weren't for his skill in the gentle fist, it wouldn't be far fetched to say he'd have been written off right away.

Ultimately, the girl arrived knocking at his door. He sighed and got up, picking up his grey wife beater in the process. He'd quickly pull it over his head and walk towards the sliding door. “One second..” he said, realizing he didn't even put on his pants. A shrug followed that realization and he slid open the door, looking at the girl with a bland look. She looked like a typical Hyuga girl, with black hair and white eyes. She was probably around his age, but he wouldn't know. He guessed she was important or something for her to need an escort.

Being met with a pantsless Higoho, the girl only giggled. The lack of care from Higoho's side was unbelievable and if he didn't know better, he'd have picked his nose in front of her too. “Give me a second to get ready.. I can't believe Isamu is making me do this..” he mumbled before walking back into his room and picking up some black slackers. He dressed up right in front of the girl, putting on some blue shoes as well as putting on his Hamajō Confederation necklace. After making the girl wait for, what was probably close to ten minutes, he was finally ready. “Okay, let's get moving, don't wanna miss the cow-shit comparison contest.” he said as he put his hands in his pockets and marched past the girl, who seemed to have moderately enjoyed herself watching the arrogant boy get dressed without a care for her.

---

Tsk. That was an explosion. Luckily the girl had gone home long ago, finding herself rather bored with the farmers market. He'd stuck around to avoid being around the Hyuga compound, atleast then he didn't have to do shitty chores. But now there were explosions, and that meant Red Sage assholes coming to ruin an otherwise already shitty farmers market. It didn't take long for the visitors to panic, meaning that Higoho had to get to the higher ground if he wanted to get some oversight on where to go. Not waiting for thunder to strike him before moving, he rapidly jumped up onto the rooftops of nearby buildings and casually jumped to the next. He came across a shinobi, but since he didn't have a red armband, he supposed it was just another Confederate shinobi. He stopped for a moment, looking at the shinobi without much care as to how weird it would be for him to stop and stare at this shinobi.

Then Higoho looked down into the streets, where he saw some Red Sage corpses, with shrapnel marks from an explosion. Looking back up at the shinobi, he simply uttered, “Hey asshole.. the fight is over there.” while pointing at the main fight. He didn't wait around for a snide response or a comeback, simply leaving it at that and leaving again. Higoho continued towards the main fight, which seemed to be near the stairs leading up to the compound. Once he'd arrived there, he would jump into the fray and navigate his way around a bit. He was looking for a Red Sage that wasn't engaged yet, as to not get in the way of other Confederates. He was about to fall back due to a lack of unengaged Red Sages when he noticed a guy in red, seemingly dancing around and stabbing people.

As if that wasn't enough, the guy spouted a stream of water from his hand, which looked innocent at first but then cut off a mans hand in one slice. How delightful. While the guy was occupied, Higoho activated his byakugan, folding his hands together and forming the tiger seal. “Byakugan!” Then, using his byakugan, he tried to pinpoint as accurately as he could, the vital parts of the dancing sword shinobi. Once he'd gotten a somewhat clear idea of where and how, he performed a Gentle Fist technique, pushing his open palm forwards and creating a vacuum shell of sorts, sending it flying towards the prancing red wearing guy. “Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!” he yelled as he did, already preparing to close the distance. If the vacuum palm attack hit, the swordsman would likely be knocked off his feet and have the air pressed out of him from the power of the attack - although that wouldn't be long lasting. That meant that Higoho had to be ready to move quickly to make sure he didn't get up off his feet again.

@Partisan@GrafRoy Zeppeli

---

Tsugi took the other Shinobi's sudden appearance, insult and departure in stride. While it did hurt the little pride he had in himself he figured the man simply meant to keep him focused, and ready. Yup. Clearly. He looked to his squad mates who were again given the order by their Jonin to fan-out and assist other Shinobi, which all in all a squad of specialized information gatherers were more effective as supports to more combat orientated nin, rather than a roaming band of desperate ambushers.

Tsugi resigned to follow that man that had given him "sound" tactical advice, and found that he was indeed correct. Many loyal, brave guardsmen of the confederacy, barely Chunin, had been cut down by a red-banded assailant wielding fearsome weapons of water. Fortunately the long haired drear-looking comrade from earlier was already in action, "Byakugan!" Ah, a Hyuga, fearsome fellows, many of Tsugi's "sources" (willing or otherwise) had deep seeded fears of the famous clan's abilities.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm," a near-invisible force heading straight for the swordsman. It looked deadly accurate, and the Hyuga was already preparing a follow up. He was capable for sure, but time was invaluable, better make sure this skirmish goes without a hitch. He formed simple hand seals of an academy level transformation jutsu, turning him into the likeliness of the Hyuga, and followed up: "Haze Clone" and made 10 copies of (not)himself. He set the clones to provide a threatening screen for the Hyuga's actual follow up, he himself staying far from the battle.

---

It was going well enough. Loud explosions, lots of confusion, and little resistance. The mission was starting out great. Nori wasn't exactly enjoying himself, though. He had personally decided to stay towards the back of the assault, and keep an eye out for his comrades, who seemed to be thriving on rushing in blindly and cutting down any Confederate shinobi that was in their way. Which was, of course, their job, but some were thriving in it a little more than others, and thriving in combat meant sometimes missing sloppy seconds. He already had to take down three Confederate shinobi who thought they were going to be clever and strike from a blind spot of the group; two of them had been given ample gouges across the gut, and the one only one who wasn't stupid enough to let himself get struck down by his blade was now unconscious on the ground, doused with water and twitching in agony, still under the effects of his genjutsu.

"What a sad state to be in. These Confederate shinobi really should have seen this coming. I'm surprised we haven't been ambushed yet," he thought, keeping his eyes open. The Lady-Commander was fine; perhaps she rushed in a little early as a leader, but she was beyond capable, and he had seen several of his allies keeping to her defense. Others, however, were more content with cleaving into the enemy ranks. He noted one in particular, a rather flamboyant redhead, who was dancing around between shinobi, the men around him falling before realizing they had been killed.

And that's when he noticed the redhead was basking in his own glamour as someone off to the side--certainly not dressed as a shinobi--appeared to be preparing some sort of attack against him? He couldn't tell immediately, and it didn't matter. He changed course from the direction of the attack towards this grey-haired foe, making the appropriate handsigns. He'd shoot him down quick and move on. No way he'd see this coming. "Water Release: Water Bullet!"

---

When he heard the yelling from some other guy preparing a jutsu, it was already too late. It was only by his reflects as a ninja that he was able to take a step back, a step back that didn't work for anything at all.

"Things are getting interesting now!" He singed as he was pushed back and was about to fall to the ground.

The air had been hit out of his lungs, but he still could fight. Luckily, he was carrying his Sonatta on his back adn used it to break his fall and stay on his knees.

Luckily, someone else was trying to help him. He used the few seconds the Water Bullet would give him and took a few breaths to fill his lungs with air again.

"Hehe... Let's continue the dance!" Mikoto put his weapon back in the straps in his back.

His head had already changed the tune for one more adequate. He used the calm part of the song to recollect his thoughts and after that, he dashed forward.

He cared not for the several clones around him. He'd just have to cut all of them down, if necessary.

He stepped forward towards the one closest to him, the one he thought had been the one to attack him. As the song inside his head started reaching the chorus, and the most aggressive part, he twirled in one foot and just as the chorus started, he violently swung his arm towards the gray haired man in front of him.

He did not take notice, though, of the fact that his arm went through the clone.

After that, he speeds past him. Haze clones? If so, most of his attacks will be useless.

Rat, Dog, Ox.

"Water Whip Jutsu!" A whip made out of water emerged from Mikoto's hand, and he used it to try and grab one among the clones and pull him towards him, hoping it'd be the real one.

Sadly, his technique just kind of went through most of the guys.

"Damn it." It would be easy to identify the real body if Kanata was here.

She could use the Water Heavens Convergence jutsu, and since the guy was wet, she'd probably be able to identify him from all of these clones.

"Then I just need to hit them all until I get the real one. Sounds like a plan!" He sings again and then laughs.

He reaches for his staff once again and spins it in his hand. If the guy liked duels, then Mikoto thought he'd come running once he got his weapon out. He just hoped that was the case.

---

Cheiko had laid sprawled on a nice warm patch of grass. Eyes closed she had listened to the people around her giggle, laugh and generally enjoy life. Happily naive. Chieko lifted a land lazily and swatted at the fly as it persistently buzzed her face. Soon no one would be laughing. The Red Sages would take the festival, kill Lord Hamajō and pretty much win. Unless they all died.

Chieko exhaled in a long breath before spring to her feet in one smooth motion, a burst of movement. Her short red hair settled about her face as she turned around to look at the other Sages she was with. One was looking up at the sky with a bored look. It had been a long wait, but soon it would be over.

Soon.

Cheiko lifted her own face to the sky, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She briefly wondered if her sisters were on duty at the festival. If her parents were there, enjoying the festivities. Cheiko's stomach did a weird flip, but she ignored it. She had chosen her path, and there was no returning. Not even if she had wanted to. The Red Sages were her family now.

Chieko lowered her arm and sighed, making one of the other chunin raise an eyerbow.

"Nothing." Chieko said closing her eyes again and going back to listening. It was nothing. She would be strong. She would. She would not doubt. She would not falter. She would build a better world.

"It's happening." Another of the chunin said. Her voice was nervous.

Chieko's eyes flicked back open, her hands raised and making seals. She took a deep breath and three more of her appeared. "Then lets move." The grumpy teen said before she leapt off to join the battle.

---

There was no rest for the wicked. That was what Umary thought as she rubbed a kink out of her back. Both her and Noriko were on duty. Standing guard over a bunch of politicians wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it allowed her unprecedented access. If they discussed the Red Sages, she's hear it.

Over three months ago Chieko had vanished from home. All of the family had looked for her after she didn't come back home after a week. After two weeks it was apparent that she had left for some reason. Noriko believes that she was taken. Umary wasn't sure. She had been close to her younger sister in a way Noriko could never be. Saw how Chieko chafed and struggled. Umary hoped she was wrong. Hoped with a passion. Still, here she was volunteering when she could have been with her father enjoying the festival.

Of course she wasn't the only volunteer. Earlier the sisters had eaten lunch together before they had to separate for their shifts.

Umary shifted again on her feet, trying to keep them from getting too sore. She also had to stifle a yawn. She had got appointed to this position because of her skills on barriers. In fact she had tags up bordering the area, just in case something did go wrong. There were four other shinobi with her to help maintain said barrier in the event.

Despite all the preparation it appeared nothing was going to happen. They had been lulled into complicity with in action. So when a flare appeared overhead, Umary didn't give it much thought. Until people started screaming.

"We're under attack!"

"Help!"

"Kekkai!"

Umary, startled out of her horror, raised her hands. "Kekkai!" She shouted and a glimmering shield raised around her group of delegates, before settling, invisible. The other shinobi in the room had taken up similar stances to help maintain the barrier.

---

Noriko was diligent. She stalked around the festival, glaring at everyone and everything, including the produce. Once she spotted her mother and father leaving one of the game areas and waved, but that was the extent of her impropriety.

People scattered out of Noriko's way as the chunin surveyed the area. Not that she minded, it was the opposite in fact. They recognized true power when they saw it. Unlike some people.

Noriko's thoughts were cut short when a flare flashed in the sky. The woman knew the itinerary. She knew it was out of place. Without a moment's hesitation she drew her Wakizashi and turned to the civilians around her.

"You will want to seek shelter." Noriko's voice was deceptively calm, but one look at her face and her short sword sent the crowd scattering. It didn't hinder efforts that people started screaming. Sounds of battle erupted quickly.

Noriko was able to quickly spot the red bands of the Red Sage. Morons, the whole lot. Murderers and Thieves and vagrants. They were the only ones stupid enough to attack the Confederacy.

Two Red Sages charged at her, tossing exploding knives. She flicked them away from her contemptuously. Still moving the woman swayed to the side and kicked out at the man on the left. He crumpled with a grunt.

Noriko turned her head and made the tiger seal and exhaled a ball of fire and set the right man on fire. He wailed but Noriko dismissed him to drive her Wakizashi through the left man's heart. Within a few seconds both were dead without any fan fare. With the two dispatched Noriko fell back on her standing orders.

As much as the woman wanted to find her family and hold them close, they were shinobi, just as much as they were. So she's stay and protect the civilians from a grisly death and worry about things she couldn't change later.

---

"That one looks like an explosive tag... No, wait. It just looks like more fluff"

The clouds weren't putting on a very good show today. Zay crinkled his nose and shifted uncomfortably in the grass as sounds of dissatisfied farmers poured into his left ear. 'Damn Konoha' one grumbled, angrily stomping through the grass like an insufferable child, upset that his puny pumpkin hadn't been worth the judge's time. Something about those foreign farmers was awfully concerning. "Not much competition," Zaisette yawned, stretching his limbs into the soil before propping himself up on both elbows. The sky might have been a snore, but at least it didn't complain about its shy little clouds not winning first place in some contest. Judging by the sparse overcast though, the sky would probably be clear for the rest of the day. With a lack of any real work to be done, the conditions couldn't have been more perfect for Zay. He surveyed the mostly joyous crowds momentarily with a faint smirk, before sinking back into the worn patch of grass that he'd commandeered earlier in the day, and shutting his eyes. To Zay's disappointment however, A loud hissing noise didn't let him fall into a very deep sleep. Gritting his teeth, the silver haired shinobi opened his eyes wide, only to wince in surprise at the bright star above him. He loosely blocked his face with both hands, and sat upright, trying to discern the origin of the peculiar light. Was it fireworks? A meteorite? "Ah, yes," Zay grunted, recognizing that he'd been painfully glaring at a flare. As the light died down, Zay lowered his arms and stared at the dying flare, completely perplexed. "Odd," he rasped, falling onto his back once against with his arms stretched out. A child ran up to him before he could find peace though, giggling at the flare with a look of joy slathered across his muddy little face. "Fireworks!" The child shrieked, causing Zay to roll away in shock. Noisy little kid! That wasn't a firework, it was a-

"...Flare!" Zay hissed, pushing himself off of the grass without delay. But before he could raise to his feet, the sound of explosions rang out through the festival grounds and staggered the confused Shinobi, sending him right back to the ground. Zay scrambled to his feet and spun around to see Red Sages swarming the festival, from every which way. "Ah hell." Before he could constitute much of a thought, his ally shinobi jumped into action and began to engage the enemy. Zay began to gather Chakra in his palms as he walked forwards slowly, looking for a way to assist his comrades. Well, looking for comrades that needed assisting, rather.

The first thing to catch his eye was hopefully the last thing he would have to dedicate his attention to, and that'd been a rather flamboyant Red Sage who felt the need to spout arrogant nonsense, egging on the shinobi nearby to target him. What an idiot... Or was this a tactical ploy? It didn't matter, because before Zay could engage the annoying little fool, the sage was set off balance by another Shinobi's attack. A hyuga! Several clones also moved to intercept straight afterwards. The two confederate Shinobi would've been more than a match for that clown, if it weren't for yet another Red Sage stepping into the fray. "Water Release: Water Bullet!" He called out, firing a water-natured bullet towards the engaged Hyuga. That couldn't be allowed, and Zay had built enough Chakra by now to be of some use. But before he could rush to the Hyuga's aid, Zay felt something scrape past his shoulder. The sting of broken skin forced him to turn him around immediately. Zay tapped to two shallow shuriken wounds with his left thumb, leaving behind a small amount of liquid silver to seal them both, before he launching a slurry of shining goo towards the attacker behind him. It was a single Red-Sage Shinobi, and before he had a chance to dig his kunai into Zay's back, he slipped on the streak of silver liquid and was consumed in the same moment. Zay felt the assailant's flesh and bones mesh together into a useless pulp within the streak of liquid, and cringed at the sensation before calling his silver back.

Zay turned back towards the blue-haired red sage Shinobi, delayed significantly by the pathetic attempt on his life. Nonetheless, his mirror pool was now a few yards in diameter. With its current size, Zay was able to rush towards Nori, relatively unencumbered by his Jutsu. Gathering chakra in his throat, fired a continuous flurry of silver balls from his mouth with only a second of preparation, aimed to strike the Red Sage Shinobi from roughly 17 yards away.

"Today was supposed to be a lazy day."

"And here I thought that this'd be an easy assignment." Tatsuya cursed as the explosions shook the ground, Red Sage shinobi storming in behind a silver haired woman riding a salamander as they took advantage of the confusion to score some casualties on the Confederate side. Tatsuya growled as he saw a few of them kill civilians, unsheathing Ketsui as he charged forward to enter the fray, taking down a few Red Sage shinobi and defending some civilians from the rebel forces until he saw one of the sages launch an attack at what could only be one of his allies, a Hyuuga by the fighting style. Rushing in between the two with Ketsui sheathed, he was already running through a short stream before he unleashed his jutsu.

"Katon: Burning Rush." The fires rushed over him in a sphere of flames, intercepting the stream of water in a burst of steam. However, while this stopped the attack, the second part of the jutsu was negated as the fires were extinguished, the two attacks canceling each other. Still, a decent smoke screen had been formed from the steam, something that Tatsuya planned to take advantage of while he could. He'd managed to notice someone else rushing in to attack the sage who'd launch the attack before the steam had, so he couldn't do anything to drastic. Running through a couple hand seals, he formed a shadow clone, who immediately sunk into the ground using the Subterranean Voyage jutsu, before he himself launched forward, drawing Ketsui and activating it's fire Chakra mode as he aimed to slash at his foe while he was distracted.

@Hatman1801

@tex



. . . Fuck, I could really use a drink. Akio thought grumpily as she paced around the festival grounds, tapping her fingers against her thigh as she battle with the urge to get just one tiny little drink from one of the stalls. She was on duty, and drinking on the job was not only unprofessional, but general a bad idea. You always had to be ready for anything to happen, even on seemingly easy missions like this . . . But I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have just one, right?

As Akio struggle with a bit of indecision, she noticed a strange light fly up into the sky. As she followed the flare up into the sky, a low curse escaped her lips, though it was soon encompassed by the sounds of explosions and combat as Red sage shinobi attacked the area. Akio quickly leaped up and over several stalls before finding a vantage point on a poll high above the fighting, clicking her teeth as she ran through a stream of handseals.

"Raiton: Thunder Bow jutsu." She said in a low tone, electricity forming in her hand and quickly taking the shape of a long bow. Placing her hand against the side of it, she quickly drew back a bolt, taking aim before firing it at some unsuspecting rebel. hitting him in the back of the head and scrambling his brain long enough for another shinobi to take him down. she'd repeat this process a few more times, assisting in the death of several shinobi at the hands of her comrades before she noticed the silver haired woman making her way through the chaos on the back of Salamander.

That must be the leader, huh, and she seems to have a bit of an honor guard as well. Akio thought to herself as she drew another bolt, though instead of loosing it, she instead began charging it, aiming to fire a piercing shot so that their was lest chance of the jutsu getting blocked by one of those guarding her. However, it'd take some time to charge it up, so she'd have to keep an eye out incase someone tried to take her out before she could fire the shot.

@Partisan

@Nero

The flare shot through the sky, explosions rocked the small village, and hordes of Red Sage rebels closed in. The plan was going perfectly so far. But it wasn't going perfect enough. As Lady Tametomo and her entourage of recruits marched through the city towards the government compound, a red blur flew past them from behind and careened ahead of the pack. One could discern it was an adult male from the body shape and build, and a big one at that. He wore no red armband but instead was concealed behind a red hoodie. His face was hidden behind a white oni mask, but one could see red hair just underneath the hood. But perhaps the strangest part about the mystery rebel's wardrobe was his lack of shoes, instead navigating with only his bare feet.

As he passed by the Lady Commander, he turned his head to face her. He gave no words or gestures, he instead was making sure she was watching him. He was making sure his boss was paying attention to what he was about to do. "Don't take your eyes off me," he mumbled to himself as he landed on the steps leading up to the ornate government building. Immediately a Confederation soldier approached the masked Katsuko, bringing down a naginata with the intention to decapitate the invader. Instead the red hooded figure reached out and casually grabbed the weapon by the handle, yanking it away from the soldier and discarding it down the stairs lazily. Before the guard could adjust his strategy he was met by Katsuko's left fist, sending him flying to the side and crashing entirely through a nearby storefront. The unnatural strength was calling card. Katsuko Moto had entered the scene.

Without delaying any further he dashed up the stairs, using his momentum to knock over any enemies that got in his way. Some even had the reflexes to dodge or put in a preemptive strike, but Katsuko was just as fast. Those who really tried to stop him were delivered a swift elbow or knee to reward them for their effort. The defeated enemies usually just rolled down the stairs towards the rest of the invading party, but sometimes they were sent flying from a solid, Chakra Enchanced Strength level blow. It seemed like child's play with how quickly and efficiently this man went through his opponents. He reached the top of the stone stairs, having cleared it of almost all opposition for everyone behind him. A smirk formed on his face, one that couldn't be seen but likely could be felt. When he looked forward again, however, there were two more female soldiers blocking his way. One seemed to be in her thirties and wielded an electrified sword. The other was a teenage girl with blue hair and a large metal arm, also brandishing a blade in Katsuko's direction.

The younger girl opened her mouth to speak but Katsuko didn't even let her start. He dashed between the two, faster than either could react. His shoulders connected with the midsection of both girls, sending them backwards and out of the way. Even their swords clattered to the ground, both having dropped their weapons on impact with the beastly taijutsu master. In his headlong charge there was only one obstacle left: the door. But before Katsuko could handle that he ran into some kind of invisible force. Immediately upon contact it became briefly visible. It seems the Confederation wasn't completely inept today, they had their guards place a barrier around the main building. "Oh boy," Katsuko grumbled aloud. He looked over his shoulder at the stairs behind him, waiting briefly for Lady Tametomo and her entourage to arrive. Once they were in view he faced forward again. "Oi, Confederate assholes!" he shouted to the people inside. "Anyone that isn't on the ground when I come in is gonna die! Prepare yourselves!!"

He then took a few steps back, digging into one of his pouches and extracting a small summoning scroll. He quickly opened it and channeled his chakra into its writing, creating a massive cloud of white smoke that quickly blew away in the breeze. In his hands now was a gigantic steel weapon, dwarfing Katsuko in size quite easily. He wielded it tightly with both hands, lowered it to be parallel with the ground, and then deliberately pulled his arms back. One could compare it to a batter in baseball preparing to swing. "The Red Sages are coming in!!" With a mighty swing the monstrous steel club collided with the chakra barrier. A powerful reverberation resounded from the impact and a massive backblast of wind erupted from the impact point. It was so strong, in fact, that those behind Katsuko and were not prepared were lifted off their feet and tossed down the stairs. Katsuko himself recoiled from the attack, his Saihyousen bouncing off the barrier with enough force to slam into the ground and smash the stone tiles into a shower of debris. His expression underneath his mask wasn't one of anger, but instead one of confusion. It's one of the tricky ones. After staggering for a moment the young man regained his balance and settled down, resting the gigantic weapon on his shoulder as he pondered on how to deal with this situation. He would look foolish if he tried to break it again, as clearly his monstrous strength wasn't the right tool for this job. "Find the tags!"

---

Mirai and Aneko had traveled to this festival of their own free will. Or at least it was at the suggestion of Aneko, as Mirai wasn't particularly enthusiastic about farming or the like. Apparently her servant had come from a long line of wheat farmers or something, so that explained her investment in the silly event. While the blue-haired teen found nothing interesting throughout the day she was still dragged along by Aneko. It made her wonder why she was going along, considering she was technically in-charge of Aneko and not the other way around. The day's festivities, however, came to a screeching halt with the red light in the sky.

The first few explosions were all it took for the girls to realize the situation. "It's the Red Sages," Aneko stated, grabbing Mirai by her (right) wrist and dragging her along. It was a completely unnecessary action, as the younger girl would've followed without physical assistance, but Mirai didn't say anything about it. "What do we do? Are we going to the General?" "Yeah, that's our priority right now. They must've come for him." It was a brief trip to the main building of the government compound, where already a sizeable portion of shinobi had gathered. The two young women took their battle stations, at the back of the formation as per Mirai's usual. But within minutes the enemies had already managed to make their way into the compound.

She could hear the screams and sounds of battle below, but only when she finally saw the red did she truly understand her situation. Mirai and Aneko were the last two guards outside the building, all the rest were inside. And the man with the demon mask and the red jacket appeared at the top of the stairs. The two girls drew their weapons, Aneko using her lightning ninjutsu to electrify her blade, and took defensive stances. There was an awkward silence for a moment as the man looked backwards towards his comrades, but the moment he looked forward Mirai decided to say something. "Sto-" She felt a sudden, heavy impact at her side, just below the ribs. The blow sent her flying sideways, causing her to land on her side and roll several times before coming to a stop laying face-down on the ground. So fast, she thought, before using her metal arm to pick herself up. Looking over to where she was she immediately saw that Aneko had suffered a similar fate and was sent the opposite direction. Their swords lay on the ground where they had been knocked away from. And now more rebels were appearing as the red man prepared some kind of attack to get into the building. This is bad. They just brushed us aside. We don't stand a chance out here! Mirai gulped back some fear, but didn't yet get to her feet. She was worried that it would draw attention back to her. She didn't want to die here. She didn't even want to be here in the first place. We can't do this on our own. We're gonna fail. We're gonna die...

---

Masato’s eyes drifted along the various stalls and people that milled around them, taking in the information without thought. Today was one of his few days off which would normally mean he would be busy training with his Constructs, however his parents had insisted he experience the Harvest Festival at least once in his life and they had decided that him having the day off was an indicator that now was the best time to do so. Despite the nature of the festival and the various activities, Masato was in fact having a good time. It was an event that was unlike any he had attended before and it allowed him to learn new things, something that he loved doing regardless of the usefulness of the information in relation to him. Overall he would consider the day a success and was grateful for a reprieve from missions and even training, though he did love doing the second he appreciated a break every now and then. The fact that it had also been relatively relaxing was simply a bonus.

This serenity though was broken as a flare was launched into the air and all hell began to break loose as explosions emanated from various locations within the festival. Naturally this lead to hysteria breaking out among the civilians which only escalated with the appearance of shinobi wearing red bands around their left arms, showing their allegiance to the rebel group known as the Red Sages. Fortunately the attention of the opposing shinobi wasn’t directed towards him at the moment as they were focused on a kunoichi with red locks of impressive length.

With the two on one fight commencing, Masato turned his attention towards the building that a current meeting of political figures was underway. For just a moment the thought of rushing to the aid of those within the compound crossed his mind it was quickly extinguished as he turned his gaze back to the kunoichi, who looked vaguely familiar, and the two opponents that she had subdued. With the immediate threat clearly dealt with Masato began to work towards securing the safety of the civilians still in the area.

In a quick and fluid motion he bit into his thumb to draw blood before slamming his hand to the ground. ”Shieldbearers, step forward!” White smoke exploded around Masato briefly before vanishing, revealing six heavily armored constructs wielding massive shields surrounding him. Standing back up, Masato turned his attention to the civilians that were either too frightened to move or too curious. ”Everyone I need you to come this way and enter the formation created by my Shieldbearers.” As he spoke he removed himself from the group of constructs, making more room for the civilians who slowly made their way to the designated location. ”Shieldbearers close ranks and have shields at the ready.” At his words all six constructs moved in unison, forming together to create a solid circle of metal around the civilians before raising their shields.

With the civilians taken care of temporarily, Masato turned his attention to the kunoichi once again as he made his way over to her. While he moved forward he flicked his right hand in the same direction, causing the constructs to move forward at a slow pace. Once he was before the woman he lifted his hand straight up, and held his palm open signalling for the Shieldbearers to halt. ”Would you be willing to assist me in bringing these people to safety? While I can provide protection I am not much use in dispatching opposition at the moment and would appreciate your assistance. If you are willing please feel free to join us.” Knowing that time was of the essence he was unable to wait for her response. Instead he swung his arm back down while continuing past her, his Shieldbearers beginning to move again with the movement of his arm.

---

Nori went from defending his teammate to defending himself in an instant. "Two more? And what is that silver liquid?" he thought to himself, leaping away from the silver balls launched at him, into the cloud of steam. He couldn't see easily, but it wasn't nearly as much of a problem for him as it would be for them. He could take advantage of this.

He'd seen his ally use a Water jutsu already, so he was hoping they would be able to make this work against this Confederate assault. "Water Release: Water Clone..." he mumbled to himself, making the handsigns and leaving a clone of himself behind the steam, moving itself to meet the sword-wielder's rush. He opted to avoid the strange silver technique for now, until he knew more about it.

"Redhead, we've got two more threats over here, and a possible kekkei genkai! Don't waste time on the clones, and we'll fight the threats while we can, but it's important to relay this to the Lady Commander! I'm giving us a fight-or-flight advantage now! Hiding in Mist Technique!

With that, the steam cloud expanded into a haze around the near area, shrouding the sights of all... except the Byakugan, the one thing he had missed in the chaos.

---

Higoho inched slightly backwards, deciding to not attack right away. The situation was changing rapidly, and it seemed to be largely in his favor. Never the less, currently he figured it'd prove too stupid to charge the red-head, since he had managed to stay upright for the most part. If it weren't for the many clones created by that asshole guy on the rooftop earlier, it was likely Higoho would have had to defend himself. But now that didn't seem to be the case as the man was preoccupied by clones, intangible clones from the look of it. Higoho just shook his head. “Cheap trick, can't believe it,” he said as he adjusted himself to face towards the right slightly.

An attack had been foiled by another red-headed chap. This one seemed to be Confederate, however. “The fuck are you doing, fucking bastard. This is my fight, so get the fuck out.” he sneered at Tatsuya, being able to see him through the steam through his byakugan. He got ready to fight again, getting in the standard Gentle Fist style position. He was going to charge the blue-haired Red Sage that had attempted to shoot him down with some water. The blue-haired bastard made some more mist, but such a cheap trick didn't work to overcome his byakugan.

Higoho ran forwards, towards Tatsuya, and then grabbed the boy in the collar, stopping Tatsuya from attacking anyone at all with his sword. Given the mist and steam, it was unlikely that Tatsuya would realize who did it, unless he guessed from the direction it came from. Holding on to his collar, Higoho shoved him aside lazily, seemingly not caring that this was a confederate ally. “Go be a shithead somewhere else, bastard.” he yelled out at the same time. It was highly ironic in fact, that Higoho, whose name meant 'illegitimate', was calling others bastards. In fact, he was probably the only bastard out of all those he had called bastards. Something to think about. Higoho didn't care.

After dealing with that pesky red-head Tatsuya, of which Higoho didn't know the name ofcourse, he bolted forwards towards the blue haired Red Sage. The blue-haired boy with the name Nori most likely wouldn't realize the presence of Higoho until it was too late. Higoho sprinted towards Nori, preparing his hands, before striking at him in the stomach. “Hey, ugly, look at me when I'm fighting you!” he said while his hand was sent through the air.

If the hand would hit, or fly relatively close past the stomach, Higoho would send out chakra using his gentle fist style, invisible to the naked eye unless one possessed such a kekkei genkai such as the Sharingan or the Byakugan. If his attack was succesful the tenketsu of Nori would be harmed, subject to Higoho's chakra being sent into them, which would cause internal damage to his organs. All in all, quite the painful ordeal. And the boy likely had made it harder for himself to even notice the attack given the mist jutsu. What a dumb shit.. And there was no reason to stop at one strike only. If his first attack connected with Nori's body, he'd rapidly send out his second hand towards the boys chest, repeating the same attack as before in an attempt to strike him through his tenketsu using his own chakra.

---

---

Seijo overlooked the battlefield casually while her newt walked up the stairs, ever so slowly. It seemed the fighting was calming down a little bit, since both sides had suffered some casualties now. Yuck. They'd deal with that later - if they won this battle, they could collect the wounded swiftly and possibly save some lives. But not now. The priorities were different at the moment. In the distance she could see some battling going on between a bunch of confederates, and that.. guy. That red-headed red-wearing buffoon that found it necessary to introduce himself with the message that he was heterosexual. That had completely ruined his chances without even saying more than a sentence. And there was a blue-haired fellow as well, seemingly helping his comrade. It was hard to see exactly what was going on, but she had faith that they would win. They were Red Sages after all!

To the other side, she could discern Arima taking down some confederate fellow too, before jumping after a political head-honcho. Realizing full well that Arima wasn't as strong as he made himself out to be, she wondered if he'd survive this battle. 'twould be a shame if he didn't. She tapped her foot on Neki's back and bent over slightly, looking at Neki's head. “Neki, do me a favour and go help my stupid cousin.” she said to him, asking him as nice as she could. “Haiiiiiii, Tomotame-samaaaa..” the newt bouldered with it's heavy voice.

As Seijo stood bent over, she wasn't facing forwards and missed the large attack launched by a captain of hers, Katsuko Moto. As soon as she looked up and stepped off of the Newt, she looked up the stairs and saw some bodies here and there. She glanced back, spotting Yudai nearby only. “Uhh, nice work. Didn't know you could do that.” she said, grinning at him and sticking up a thumb to him. She seemed under the impression that not Katsuko had dealt with these guys, but rather that Yudai had dealt with them. In fact she hadn't even noticed Katsuko rushing past - it was something that had become known as the Curse of Katsuko under fellow Red Sages. Seijo always seemed to miss the moments where Katsuko did anything worthwhile, but always seemed to appear just when Katsuko messed something up.

Meanwhile Neki the Newt had stepped off the stairs towards the left, and was headed to.. assist Arima. “Arima-sama.. here I comeeeeee..” it said, while it charged into the group of shinobi that Arima had left for him. Neki used his tail to swipe left and right, throwing the shinobi off their feet and crashing them into nearby boxes and carts, even going as far as to send one of them flying towards Arima, narrowly flying over his head. “Arima-sama... do you wish.. for me, to capture that politician in my mouth... you could impress some Red Sage comrades at the base later that way.....” it said, waiting for an answer while it sluggishly looked in the direction of Arima. It was very obvious that Neki the Newt wasn't at home on land, given that it was moving about as fast as a man taking a leisurely stroll in the park.

At the time that all occured, Seijo had already appeared at the top of the stairs, her hips swaying left to right seductively while she noticed Katsuko shoulderbumping some innocent little shinobi girls into oblivion. Not particularily impressive.. She kept walking towards the large doors that blocked entrance into the compound main building, where the commander was located. Just as she was about to speak to Katsuko, the dumb buffoon said some words that were probably meant to come off threatening, but only made him look like more of a fool. She pinched her nose bridge with two fingers while looking at the ground, noticeably concerned with Katsuko's idiotic behaviour.

Giving Katsuko some time to spout his nonsense, she looked to the side at the girl that had just been swung aside by Katsuko. Then, she looked down at the ground, spotting some set of swords. Did they belong to that girl? She bent over, picking up the swords, before tossing them lightly towards the side, aiming at the ground in front of that girl. There was no specific reasoning behind it, perhaps it was meant to come off as a sign of good will, or a challenge to the girl to keep fighting, but for all Seijo knew that girl was dead. The moment was interrupted by Katsuko summoning his gigantic mace and sending it crashing into the door. Nothing came of it, only loud noises and a large shockwave.

While others would likely be sent crashing down the stairs again, Seijo was trained well enough to make some chakra in her feet to keep her attached to the ground. She crossed her arms and as the smoke cleared, she looked at Katsuko with a frown. “NICE WORK!” she yelled at him with spite. Curse of Katsuko. She looked back to see if she could spot Yudai or some other Red Sage, and would then order them to go do whatever it took to take down that barrier. “YOU! You look more capable than Katsuko, go and figure out how to take down that barrier!” she'd yell, visibly annoyed at the situation and Katsuko's lack of tact and subtlety.

---

Things happened so quickly that Yudai had trouble keeping up with the events. What caught his attention however, was a red-clad figure that appeared momentarily in front of Yudai and the Lady-Commander, saying something Yudai couldn't hear clearly enough, before climbing the stairs in what seemed to be a red-flash. In this same pace, unconscious bodies began falling down, rolling lifelessly down the stairs as if their life had been simply taken from them without effort. That man, whoever and whatever he was - he had immense power beyond what Yudai had ever seen in his whole life.

Yudai continued following both the Lady-Commander and the man, until she glanced back at him. In this very moment, he froze in place. He had became the center of her attention, and that caused a strange sensation with him, but she kept his cold demeanor in check, his eyes focusing briefly on the woman before he found the wall slightly more interesting than her huge... than her. “Uhh, nice work. Didn't know you could do that." The words hit him like a hammer hits a watermelon, causing internal explosions of confusion and absolute anxiety. Didn't she saw the man who did all this? Was he a ghost that only Yudai could see? Wait.. Maybe I did that all without noticing, am I an ancient god of sorts?

His attention darted between a man with boots that looked as if they came from the future and the Lady-Commander's summon, which defeated a group of shinobi as if they were nothing. Perhaps his choice of following the Lady Commander had been the best one after all, he felt basically safe.

Until a kunai passed centimeters away from his head, grazing the skin on his cheek. He felt the warm blood dripping on his left cheek and damn, he was lucky that the shinobi who threw it wasn't any more precise than that. Immediately, the man came from seemingly nowhere, this time bringing a sword aimed at Yudai's back. It was the same shinobi he had avoided a few moments ago and he seemed pretty irritated.

Swiftly, Yudai turned on his heels, clasping arms together as if swinging a baseball bat; at least twenty spikes erupted from both of his arms, transforming his arms into a powerful spiked club that swung forcefully against the shinobi, knocking his blade aside and piercing his chest, left arm and, sadly, his left cheek as well. The shinobi's reckless petty attack was cut short, Yudai's eyes widened slightly at the drawn of his first blood. The spikes slowly dissipated and the bloody man felt down onto the stairs, rolling lifelessly down. There was some blood splattered on Yudai's shoulder, face and arms. He'd clean it after.

Soon, they reached the top of the building. This time, the same man from before was there as well and the Lady-Commander adressed him, meaning that sadly, Yudai wasn't an ancient powerful shinobi that lost his memory, he just received praise that didn't belong to him. In this moment, he cleared his throat audibly to call their attention, speaking clearly.

"Lady-commander, at the stairs - it wasn't me who did that with all the shinobi, I believe it was him." As much as being praised was a nice thing, there was no reason to take praise which belonged to someone else.

After all, all that did was making the woman raise her expectations when it came to Yudai, given she ordered him to get rid of the barrier - something that powerful man had just attempted to do without success. If he couldn't do it, how the hell was Yudai supposed to? An order was an order though, and he'd at least try. Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, the thought came to mind as Yudai slowly began to descend onto the ground - the earth itself becoming fine sand and allowing Yudai to did through it basically like a mole. Once completely disappeared from sight, he'd attempt to pass under the barrier and reappear at the other side. He believed that whoever held it, was likely inside the barrier.

---

Kaori's decision to attend to the festival came from her own desire to distract herself from intense training. And well, to comemorate, too, because why not? Look at that huge pupkin from the konohagakure farmer! Another victory, yey.

The Uchiha walked through the festival with a rather wide smile, her hands always clasped together behind her. Truth be told, being a Confederate had it's good times, such as right now. She might've been ordered to guard the place together with many other shinobi, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy themselves while at it. She missed her brother's presence, but he was always too occupied for trivial things like this; his words echoed in her mind. You should try to go without that sword, you know. It's looking almost as if it's part of you. The thought made her grin childishly as she ran a finger on Hinõken's hilt.

Finally, she settled by resting her back against some crates, tilting her head up to look towards the sky. It was a good day, today. Not too warm, not too cold - a good climate, in general. Everything was going well, until a strange thing ascended onto the sky, before exploding into... a flare. A flare?!

Explosions erupted from many places at once and chaos ensued in mere moments, panic spreading like a plague through all the civilians. Kaori's wide smile was taken away in the same pace, disappearing and being replaced by a serious expression, especially when she saw a shinobi with a red-armband cut through a man who wasn't even a shinobi. "Those bastards!" This wasn't a playground where they could attack everything on sight, no life was meant to be expendable or taken lightly. In a moment, her black eyes blinked and when she reopened them, they changed, both eyes transformed onto the well known intimidating gaze of the sharingan; red, with three circular tomoes around the center.

Hikõken moved out of it's sheathe on Kaori's left hip and into her right hand with a simple, nearly automatic movement, it's blade striking a shuriken aside that she had seen moments ago. A muscular, tall red-sage shinobi moved surprisingly fast towards Kaori, bringing a fist towards her - all the while a much shorter one, went for a stealth attack. Sad fools, a stealth attack on an Uchiha with a Sharingan won't work unless you're at least decent, something they certainly went. Kaori brought her right foot back, crouching slightly down, while the left foot positioned in front of her, she spun her body slightly to her right, to angle it, while her right hand brought the sword to the same level of her head and then, all of sudden and in a single movement, she spun completely while bringing her blade with her, sending the tip straight onto the large man's forehead, her left hand drawing a shuriken and tossing it towards him, he deflected it with ease, but seemed to think twice before engaging her. She was about to go after him.

Then, a strange mist caught Kaori's attention. With her sharingan, she supposedly should've been able to see through it with ease - but something was wrong with this mist. Certainly, it was a technique - given how it confused her sharingan, by being coated in chakra. Kaori glanced briefly around herself as to ensure she wouldn't be surprised again, then began sprinting towards the mist. Well, if she couldn't see while outside, maybe she'd be able to when inside it. Once inside, that didn't help much - the chakra was dense and it worked as good as an average shinobi as it did on her, leaving her sight a blur. Occasionally, she could see some differently colored chakra moving inside the mist, but she lost trace of them quickly.

As she made her way unknowingly onto the mist, she finally found something peculiar: A confederate shinobi's body with his head severed, and next to him, a flamboyant-looking red haired boy, obviously a red-sage.

Kaori wasn't an experienced chunin, but she was trained enough to face every threat - and this boy was a threat, for he sided with the Red Sages. Thus, there was a Confederate shinobi's corpse, with his head and hand severed, standing somewhat close to him. She would ensure he ended up in the same manner.

Without making her presence known, Kaori suddenly began sprinting towards him, her sword held in front of her. If one cared to notice, Hinõken's blade was turning slightly red. Once she was close enough to increase her own precision, she sent two shuriken flying towards him, just to draw his attention given that if he blocked them or otherwise, she was already close enough to attempt a slash aimed at his shoulder with her heated blade.

---

The shinobi guarding the bigshot politician were closing in on Arima as the young Tametomo attempted to close the gap between him and the older man. They all wielded different weapons and some even covered his weaker angles. At this point Arima didn't think much, he just rushed with little strategy in his mind, almost submerged by fear of what these people were going to do to him and the big possibility that he'd be unable to react to it properly. He was sweating and his heart beats were ripping apart his chest muscles. But as luck would have it, his prayers would be answered. Neki showed itself, and its imposingly massive body would dispose of the fodder guards rather quickly. The silly beast would propose something while Arima would, despite losing all his composure, effortlessly deliver a downward kick on the politician's right knee, disabling then man by practically shattering the bones in the man's leg.

"*Huff huff* Thanks Neki ... Damn, yeah take him, Seijou wanted one of these alive."

He tried to regain his breath. He wasn't tired or anything, but he got overly anxious when surrounded by hostiles. It was obvious, Arima was afraid to die, and even more so by a random bunch of Confederates at the very start of a decisive battle. But with this stroke of luck and one of the biggest objectives of the raid complete, he regained some confidence. He actually did something of grand importance to this mission, even if it required some big lizard's help.

Letting Neki do his thing, Arima stood on one knee to avoid any stray kunai or some people taking too much interest in him. Many of the lower level shinobi were quickly deterred by the humongous reptile nearby. In turn, Arima would be completely discouraged from jumping into a fight where many of his colleagues were caught in. From the little he had seen, it was the faggot and the water lad from his camp that though at least three people, with one being cloned to the max. The error his team made was to erect that mist, making Arima a little too inaccurate to be of any use.

As such, he looked around until his eyes would meet a female redhead's. Along with her would be some edgy, dark-looking Confederate guy. That woman had such a familiar air to her being in which he couldn't exactly pinpoint. Has he met her somewhere before? In any case, she had his attention. Considering the two death comrades of his right next to them and the fact that the dark lad seemed to gesture a set of soldier-like grunt things to stop, they seemed like sufficiently threatening enough to engage right away. After all, another grand objective was to keep the higher level shinobi from acting as reinforcements to the raid in the compound.

"Neki, the big guys. See them?"

Arima pointed at the bizarre constructs forming a defensive wall to defend civilians apparently. They were not normal, likely part of a jutsu, and given how they behaved, they belonged to that guy. As such, crippling some of his defenses would always be plus. Arima gestured the lizard to simply attack them, at served as a distraction while the young Tametomo would engage the hostiles.

Arima would make sure he had the attention of girl in particular, the eyes of his mask glaring directly at her. He would simply reach into the pouch behind him with both his hands, though he could have done that with only one, he employed both so he could form the Shadow clone hand seal undetected, though he'd only form a shuriken as a result. Indeed, the clone he had summoned had be subjected to a transformation jutsu, taking the form of a shuriken among seven others, four on each hand. All were real except one on his right hand. And with one swift movement, he'd throw all the shuriken simultaneously at the two people he'd be targeting.

Evidently enough, four real shuriken from the left hand were heading toward Masato while the four others, including the fake one, toward Noriko. Because they were light, they were also rather quick, making it a somewhat efficient opening move. They could block them or even destroy, it didn't matter, because the clone turned shuriken would revert to its original form just a few inches before being in striking distance of her sword, in position to deliver a forward surprise kick right at the kisser while using the momentum gained as a shuriken to charge at her. Like the real deal, the boots were coated in an electrical aura that could easily block other weaponry while delivering electrical shocks with every strike.

Now that he had their attention, and hopefully the advantage if the clone were to do anything efficiently, he'd get into position, observing any possible opening. He had a boost of confidence for now, but it would take a strong counterattack from the enemy to completely drown it.

---

Mikoto turned to the soure of the voice. Another Red Sage, most definitely. "Two more? Arara, how rude. Do they know nothing of manners? No matter." Mikoto sang.

What happened next, however, was really sudden. The Hyuuga Mikoto was pursuing, threw another one of those air fist things at Nori.

Though Mikoto would've loved to help him, it seemed he had his own problems to take care of.

Someone had thrown a pair of Shurikens at him. Those, however, didn't actually seem to be directed at his vital points. Perhaps something more of a distraction rather than an actual attack.

What could they be planning? Well, whatever they were planning, Mikoto had no time to wait and see. He had to go and save his newly made friend (Friendship is beautiful after all).

Most sane people would dodge the attack, or do some kind of counterattack. Mikoto, however, ran straight at them as he started making hand signs and supported his staff on his thumbs.

Dragon, Horse, Ram, Dog, Tiger.

"High Speed Jet, Medium output!" At both ends of his staff, a waterjet appeared.

He jumped and then cut both shurikens with his staff, and then stopped the incoming sword (the red in the mist was a quick gaveaway) with the metal in his staff. Though the waterjet enveloping that end of his staff couldn't cut through the blade, it would indeed put out the fire with which the girl was trying to heat the blade.

After blocking the incoming attack, Mikoto pushed the girl away from him and then whirls around, supporting himself on his left foot and extending his left hand with his staff on it.

Taking it from its end, despite the waterjet, Mikoto aimed to strike the Uchiha girl's head with the center of his staff and throw her off balance.

He had indeed planned a follow up, regardless of the outcome, but when he took a good look at the girl he noticed something peculiar.

She was astoundingly beautiful, for a girl her age.

He would follow his next attack by putting his waterjet centimeters away from the girl's neck and then ask her, "Hey, hey, pretty girl. How about we stop this foolishness? We are both too beautiful to be going against each other. We should just lay down our arms and go on a date together. You are still young but I'm sure we can manage. Otherwise, I'm going to be ahead of you."

Mikoto smirked after his idiotic pun. It was most definitely not his usual smirk though. If the Uchiha girl decided not to accept Mikoto's invitation, then he'd go into a full offensive, seeking to take her head at every step he took.

"Even with the sharingan, she can't keep up with my Maximum output." The girl was an Uchiha. She deserved nothing less, and probably couldn't be defeated with nothing else.

---

@Partisan @Nero @All ya other guys

---

---

Kanata decided to head to the government main building instead of searching for her brother.

Not matter how (not) worried she was, she had to keep up appearances with the confederation. Kanata knew they were suspicious enough with only his brother being a Red Sage. They'd brand her a traitor if she helped him.

However, the main building wasn't anything pretty either. What she thought would be a safe heaven was only the worst part of the Red Sages attack. Kanata spotted two girls pinned down by some or other guy with a demon mask.

"Lemme guess, I got to go and help. Fine, fine."

Rat, Dog, Ox.

Kanata did the signs in barely a moment, and then put her hand up.

"Water Release: Enveloping Mist Jutsu!" As the mist left her hands and started expanding to cover the insides of the building, Kanata quickly followed up with another jutsu. "Hidden In Mist Technique!"

Hiding herself inside the mist, Kanata hurried to the side of the blue haired woman and her companion.

"C'mon, we need to bail. Unless you want another round with that guy. If so, I'm right behind you... though they might still kill us, so it's your call whether we haul ass or stay and get our asses handed over to us." Kanata said to her. "Can you stand?" She extended her hand to the blue haired woman.

---

@j8cob