---

@Fallentrinity@l0ck0n

Masato had a great time, standing around and talking with his new compatriots while they could. He had never been a very social person so his pieces always ended up being shorter, he preferred listening to the other two anyway. However the exercise in interpersonal communication began wearing him out, he simply wasn’t used to talking at length with people for the sheer purpose of talking, but luck seemed to be on his side for instead of having to excuse himself and possibly come off as rude he was was saved by an alert that popped up on their phones. The simplicity of the device was perfect for him and he went through all the needed steps to both silence the beeping and get to the message quickly. Just as he had predicted during the start of his conversation with the Akimichi, they were being mobilized rapidly though for the time being all they were informed of was a location that they would be using for their base of operations. When asked for his number by the Hyuga he hesitated for a moment before saying it outloud for both of his new comrades in case either wanted to get a hold of him. With that the other two both began wandering away, leaving Masato to his own devices.

He waited until both of them had gone away before slumping against the wall. Taking a deep breathe he took some time to collect himself, before he took off in the general direction that Setsuko had gone in. He knew that since they had a base of operations now they would likely be getting sent out sooner rather than later.

---

After the initial tour of the facility that he received upon arriving, Masato set to wandering aimlessly allowing his feet to direct him towards a destination. However this was not what he wanted to do, it was simply the best option at the moment. He would much rather spend the time studying his family’s scrolls, in order to either gain control over another construct or learn how to use his current ones more efficiently. Unfortunately those scrolls were still at his home in Konoha, and he didn’t want to risk asking his parents to send them to him since there was a chance they could be intercepted along the way. So instead he went with the next best option. For a while he went in circles through the building, going up and down floors, walking down hallways and then back tracking through them, making a mental map of the facility. He wasn’t sure how long they would be stationed in the area, but he wanted to be able to know how to get to any location within it in the fastest manner possible.

Eventually his wanderings lead him back to the Control Room, he stood outside of it for a moment before he recalled something he had been meaning to do for a while. With a goal in mind he moved with purpose, slipping into the room and taking a moment to look around. He soon found what he was looking for, a person who seemed to have authority while also currently not preoccupied with anything else. As he approached the individual he lifted his hand to gain their attention. Once they turned towards him, an eyebrow raised, Masato began to speak. ”Hello sir, I have a request to make. I would like to take a look at our roster.”

The man he was speaking to raised his eyebrow further, before holding out his hand. “I will need to see your ID first, and know the reason you want access to this information.”

”Of course sir, during the attack at the festival I noticed that many Confederate shinobi let down their guard as soon as they noticed that a person approaching them did not bear the red armband of the terrorists. I was guilty of this as well, but it got me thinking about how easy it would be for one to simply disguise or remove their armband and catch us off guard. With that in mind I decided that I wanted to look at everyone aligned with us, so I would be prepared in the event one of the Red Sages decided to do what I just described.” While he spoke Masato reached down into his pocket to retrieve his ID, which he placed in the held out hand of the man.

The man nodded a bit while he looked over Masato’s ID, before returning it to him. “As a Chuunin you are cleared to access the base roster, which contains active members and basic records. It should suit your purposes as all you need are their faces.” He gestured for Masato to follow him, which the chuunin did without hesitation.

He was lead to a group of computers off to the side, which the man quickly activated and pressed a few buttons before moving to the side so Masato could sit. “There you are, if you have any questions I will be where you found me. You aren’t allowed to print off any documents and you aren’t able access any other files aside from those before you.”

As Masato sat down he nodded to the technician to indicate he understood, his focus already on the faces and names that were on the screen. He took his time, looking over each face and name several times, using various mental systems to form links so he would be able to remember them all.

---

Setsuko's eyes widened as Higoho had grabbed her hand to keep it in place. Before this she was sure the small combination of attacks would hit, and indeed it did, but she didn't think that he'd willingly take the hit up until she was completely vulnerable to an attack at this point. Thinking about what had happened it would make sense for him to take the hit as not taking it would mean losing a valuable opportunity to attack once again. As she thought that Setsuko cursed under her breath at the fact that she was unskilled to hold a fight with her clansman for no more than 5 minutes. For those watching it could be almost laughable to watch the fight since it was obvious who was the stronger one.

In a panic she had used her left hand to quickly block Higoho's right hand that was heading straight for the same spot she was hit before, but right after Higoho let go of her hand he used that same hand to hit her chest. Again. "Dammit," she spat as she coughed up a storm. He used chakra in this one. "It...hurts DAMMIT!"

After yelling that she suddenly glanced to her right just in time to see an attack aimed at her shoulder. Finally having an idea after getting beaten up (again) Setsuko stood there as she would let the attack continue its course without giving any indication that she'd block it. She would wait for half a second as Higoho's hand got closer to hitting her shoulder. If she were to concentrate chakra to a certain area right now then Higoho would be able to see what she was up to, and alter his attack. I have to plan it right, she'd think to herself as it was time to put her idea into action. After the split second she would exhale to be able to release some of the nervousness, and close her eyes to wish for the best. She then opened her Byakugan eyes, and would concentrate more than a small amount of chakra to her left hand to keep Higoho from realizing too soon. Because his hand was practically an inch from her shoulder at this point Setsuko would suddenly swing her arm outward in an attempt to have at least her pointer finger, and middle finger hit right under Higoho's elbow. Because she was forcing chakra to her fingers as Higoho attacked the audience that had gathered to watch the fight would be able to see bits of chakra flare out of her hand. It was dangerous to be forcing a said amount of chakra in that manner, but the actual amount she had gathered wouldn't cause serious damage to Higoho. It was simply because she was forcing the chakra at all that it had become, bit by bit, visible. The attack was meant to stop the chakra from continuing to send its supply to his hand, but she didn't have the time to concentrate much chakra to her fingers, so the attack wouldn't stop his chakra flow. Instead, it was simply meant to unbalance the chakra to keep the attack from its true strength. That is, if he didn't notice that she was planning a split-second attack. Literally.

Whatever the outcome was to be Higoho's attack would land on her shoulder with or without it's chakra, and she'd take a few steps back "I'm going to feel this later.." she'd say to herself as the pain at the moment was numb due to the adrenaline. Not only that, but her breathing grew heavier as the "training" continued on.

---

Before they were able to continue fighting Setsuko was startled by the alarms that went off. Right after the alarms went off her name was called multiple times followed by a meeting place, and the approval of organizing a team for what was time come. She looked up as red lights continued to flash, and then looked back down at Higoho. "Sorry." she'd say as she would run out the door of the training box to make her way back to her room. What is going on?

Once there, she'd see that her usual clothes was now clean on the bed right by an ipad that would be used for scouting out who to take on the mission. She rapidly took off the extra clothes she had on to be able to put the clothes she was most comfortable with on, and after that would strap on the necessary equipment along with finishing her wear with the Haori going under the Obi. Once she was ready to go Setsuko grabbed the ipad that as on the bed, and stormed out of the room to run to where she was instructed to be. Along the way she'd unlock the ipad to scan through a few files of possible teammates. "No...no...Maybe-no, no...yes!" As she found possible candidates she'd click on the file, and was given the option of sending a select text to their phones that ordered them to meet at so and so area that she'd have to fill in herself each time she picked a person for the team. Not only that, but the file was also brief with their skill level as well as what they were capable of, so she would run over possible battle plans to fit not only their needs, but hopefully the mission as well once she got the details of what was going on.

Time For Action!

Right when she made it to Hangar 01 someone there, possibly an assistant to the whole ordeal, would finally give her an explanation as to what was going on. "You are to not let them reach their goal, understood?"

Setsuko nodded once. "Hai, understood."

After that briefing her teammates would arrive, and they would be led to VTOL that would take them to their location. Once in, she'd be told that it would take 10 minutes to reach their battlefield, and figured that was the best time to talk to her new team on what to do. Even if she was nervous as hell at the fact that she'd be leading a team at all Setsuko grabbed the headphones hanging infront of her, and waved for the others to put them on as well. "Urm," the microphone would make a high-pitched squeak noise as she was too close to it, so she'd adjust the mic to fix that. "Hey guys, I'm Setsuko Hyuga, and I'm going to be uh, leading this team." the static buzzing noise could be heard even when she talked, but because her voice would turn the buzzing down a notch what she would say could still be heard; loud and clear. "I'm going to get right to the point."

"Masato, when we reach our destination you make sure you're the first one seen by the enemy." She held the ipad up to her face to skim through his file first. "I'm not sure how your construct works, and I know you like to fight at a distance," Setsuko looked up to him. "But you have to be the one to get hit first." she'd smile to him then look back down at the tablet as she'd scroll to the next person. "Akamichi," she'd point to Chokurou. "Masato is going to get slammed with attacks from the enemy, but leave him be. You're to sneak around to find the strongest one, and make sure to surprise them good." Once again she scrolled down, and reached the last person on the list. Tetsuba, huh. Now I know his name. "Tetsuba," she then looked up at him. "The only thing I have to say to you is stay away from sight at all costs."

She then locked the ipad, set it down, and looked to all of them as she rested her arms on her lap. The pain from training was starting to come back to her, so she would attempt to hide it. "The plan is simple. Pick out who to fight, and separate. Except for you Tetsuba," she pointed to Zay. "You need to focus on the right time to use your attacks since we're going to be the official decoys of the battle." Setsuko then smirked. "That's right, decoys. Masato, Akamichi, and me are to take the enemy head on while Tetsuba here attempts to find the right time to, uhm, use a good technique. That bein' said, I'd suggest we do that too, so don't use strong techniques off the bat, or you'll have to pay for my dinner later."

As the VTOL was less than 5 minutes from their destination Setsuko would sit back up. "The mission is us keeping the enemy from getting their hands on Madara's Gunbai, and Sasuke's sword that's hidden in a vault at a warehouse." she'd pause to see if the others reacted to the news. If she was allowed to she'd freak out about the news, but the nervous feeling she had was stronger than being shocked over what was going on. "Anyways, if worse comes to worse then retreat, but that's only if you're already seeing the light, okay?"

Setsuko looked around at everyone wondering if she was making a good tactic, or was sending everyone to their grave. Because of that thought Setsuko would nervously reach behind her to tighten the headband she had on this time. Don't get nervous Setsuko, calm down. Whatever the case was if anyone had any suggestions she'd be open to them, but they'd have to speak fast as the helicopter was closing in on their destination.

---

Something Yakoul said before leaving REAAAAALLY bugged Kanata.

"we're dropping robocop here to Ame in a few hours." Yeah, from the get-go it sounded fishy as fuck.

However, Kanata assumed that there was still some humanity inside the thing that was Yakoul. She thought it'd never actually even consider just dropping Mirai off like it were some kind of cartoon.

When the hood of the limo opened, she was sure that something idiotic was about to happen.

......she never did expect what really happened.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL WAS THAT?!" She turned to Yakoul with a face filled with disbelief. "THIS ISN'T A FUCKING CARTOON. IN FACT, FROM WHERE THE FUCKING HELL DID YOU PULL THAT OUT FROM?!"

After shouting, she started taking deep breaths. She was too pissed after that... fucking cartoonish thing.

She'd get herself slapped again, or worse.

---

After arriving to the spa resort, Kanata sighed again.

"This'd be the perfect vacation trip if just the cat didn't fucking get so excited. Urgh... and I was so happy to see Mirai."

She put a single hand on her hip and sighed.

"Yes, it is just the kind of place I dream of. IF I were here with a cute guy," Or Aoi. No, she blushed and quickly shook her head, before she went on. "But I'm stuck here with you two in some kind of mission."

She shrugged and sighed, before turning to Tanji and hearing his theory of just what Yakoul was.

A ninneko, huh? And a sage? Well, Kanata definitely had to hold back from laughing.

Well, Tanji did not actually seem to be wrong but he was definitely NOT right.

"Don't get offended, but," Kanata smirked. She knew what she was about to say was extremely dangerous, with that slap from yesterday and whatnot. Of course, her brain didn't quite catch up on that before she could start saying nonsense, "if Yakoul-sama is a sage, then I am the princess of the moon. If anything, I'd say that Yakoul-sama is some kind of puppet or something... similar to what they use in Sunagakure but he somehow has a soul in. I mean, not all of his actions look exactly human, do they? But well, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong, I could right. Doubt it'll tell us what it is anyway."

Kanata explained her own theory, and bowed down to the two women in kimono coming out as they went in.

"Err, anyway, what is this? Some kind of game or something? Why didn't you let me in, then? I fuckin' love games, after all."

After Mirai's propulsion back in Ame, Kanata finally seemed a lot less rigid that before. It seemed that she had finally let her stress behind.

---

@Savato@KenyeIsMyLife

---

---

The alarm sounded, making Anzai turn his head to the source. It was several meters away but the blind shinobi could very clearly detect where from where it was coming.

Then, he turned his head back to Tametomo and nodded, "At once."

He nodded and then disappeared to make guard the front door. He took his sword out and prepared himself for battle.

However, Seijo was quick to change her mind and order him back. Yeah, the VTOL arriving really did seem a bad thing and protecting Nori and Yudai, the ones disarming the other vault door took precedence.

"Of course, Tametomo-sama. I just wish you made up your mind all at once." He said with an slightly sarcastic voice.

He turned on his heel and went back to where Seijo and the others were. He stood beside Seijo with his blade unsheathed, ready to fell anyone coming into his range. Then, Nori came in with an interesting suggestion.

Lifting some mist to hinder the sight of their opponents, but Anzai was blind to begin with, and though he could 'see' mist, it did not hinder his ability at all.

A human had way more electrons, and their shape was more easily identifiable.

"No, it would not hinder me at all. Feel free to release it and it will help me greatly." Anzai turned to Nori with a bit of a smile. "Mist is a gas, but it is water nonetheless... unless it is purified water, it should not hinder me at all, and I sorely doubt your mist is made out of that." Anzai explained shortly, but did not go into too much details.

"Tametomo-sama, they are relatively near. I can hear their transport approaching us. I cannot give you an estimate, but they will be here very soon." He turned back to Seijo. "Any orders before we head into battle, milady? Or do I just take their lives as quick as they come in."

---

@Partisan@Nero@Hatman1801

A grin formed on the jonin's face. "I like the confidence I'm feeling here," Katsuko remarked aloud, slowly getting back to his feet from his relaxed position on the floor. "I should also note that we should pilfer a few extra things while we're there." At this point Katsuko was deviating from the mission objective that Seijo had given him. He turned to face the Archive down the street, looking down on it for one final scan for enemies. "When they check what is missing afterwards they will have a harder time identifying what we truly wanted if we stole more than just the sewer plans. It would be obvious what our future goals would be if that was the only thing missing, ya know."

Without any further ado Katsuko leaped off the rooftop they were on towards the archive building. It was a bit distant, but he was able to clear the distance in one jump with his impressive physical capability. However, the moment he landed on the rooftop he felt something underneath his hands and feet. A small electric shock jolted through his body when he landed on the strings, causing him to briefly tense up. The damage they dealt was negligible but Katsuko's mistake certainly wasn't. A scowl formed on his face. Why would she be using a technique like this right now? We just launched an attack yesterday. There's no way they could've predicted us to show up again at this exact location! But it didn't matter what was expected or what wasn't. Fact was that he just triggered some sort of early detection technique. And Mikoto and Saketsui might set it off as well when they caught up. Right now they would only detect one person and they wouldn't even be sure if it was a raid yet or not. A bird could've set off the trap for all they know. But if everyone sets this off in different spots it will suddenly get incredibly suspicious.

He turned back to face Mikoto and Saketsui, who by now were probably just about to jump onto the rooftop as well. Rather than using words, an action that would come with the risk of further detection, Katsuko crossed his arms overs his chest and motioned outward to make an 'X' gesture. It was a sign for them to not come any closer. Someone's going to come check the roof in a moment. I'll dispatch that person while these two... Katsuko then motioned to his right, the east side of the building. They can go in through one of the windows. They'll set off the trap as well but having two angles of attack is better than one. After pointing to his right he made a downward motion and then brought his hand back in, a gesture for them to break in through a window on that side of the building. He hadn't established any hand signals before the mission with them, so he hoped they understood it in one go. He then brought his attention to the rooftop entrance, standing perfectly still in the same spot as he waited for someone to come up. Man, if I mess this up... That'll be embarrassing.

---

Something seemed amiss to Mirai rather quickly. She had been informed that she would be going to Amegakure's outpost from here, but there must've been a mix-up on her end. She thought it was with Yakoul. Evidently it wasn't. Kanata joined in the limousine and seemed quite relieved to see Mirai and was particularly enthusiastic with her greeting. The blue-haired girl became visibly flustered when Kanata grabbed her hands. Not that she took the situation sexually, but she was self-conscious about her prosthetic arm and was quick to retract it from the other girl's grip. "It's... good to see you too," she finally responded, though her eyes moved towards Yakoul as he began talking on the phone.

Yelling was what he was really doing. In his usual, vulgar fashion. Something Mirai would never get used to, nor would she ever want to. He was clearly the most displeased with her mistake. Rather than say anything and possibly compound her mistakes further, Mirai decided to avoid talking with him for the time being. That is, until he referred to her as 'robocop'. At that point she purposefully avoided looking at him. In her best effort to pretend that his words didn't hurt her emotionally she played as if she simply didn't hear him. Her prosthetic fingers curled and uncurled a few times, like how someone would test if they had feeling in their hand after it fell asleep, but she quickly stopped and did her best to avoid bringing attention to herself and especially her robotic arm. "You never gave me your phone number, yesterday," Mirai informed Kanata, reminding the other girl about her mistake the previous day to derail the possible conversation that would focus on Mirai's current mistake today.

---

The trip to Ame was relatively uneventful. Mirai mostly ignored, or at least tried to, whatever Yakoul spoke about. She didn't like him, and she definitely didn't want to hear what he had to say. He was a superior, however, and so she only paid attention whenever he would directly address her. She spent most of the time, however, conversing with Kanata. They even exchanged phone numbers so that Mirai could get a hold of her new friend in the future rather than relying on chance to see her. Considering the 'war' they were going to be getting into, however, it didn't seem like they would be spending too much time together socially in the near future. When they finally reached Amegakure and stopped, Mirai felt like something was wrong. This isn't the outpost. Why are we stopping here? She didn't voice this, of course, but she looked to Yakoul for answers.

And an answer he gave her.

Like something out of a corny movie or cartoon, Mirai's seat in the limousine rocketed into the air with her still buckled in. She let out a girlish scream of surprise the entire way up into the air, only ceasing the embarrassing reaction around the peak of her flight. What is going on!? Why would he do this to me!? As the ejected seat began to descend over the Ame Outpost, Mirai began to panic slightly due to the angle of her descent. She began tilting forward naturally and realized that landing on her head would be undesirable for a number of reasons. Her prosthetic arm reached to the seatbelt over her chest, easily ripping the leather and freeing herself from the seat. She may not be the most athletic or skilled shinobi, but from that point on she was able to right herself in the air and land on her feet.

Similarly like a cartoon, Mirai began to skid across the ground when she landed. She held her arms out to her side and kept balance for the several meters it took to come to a halt. The seat had landed after her, due to being lighter, almost right on top of her. It made a cracking noise and bounced a few times, but seemed relatively intact and didn't hit anybody or anything. Was it luck that she was unharmed and nobody else was? Did Yakoul predict this outcome or did he not even care beyond getting her out of the car? I wish I could complain to father about him, but someone important like a general would never get fired just for being mean, Mirai wondered to herself, taking a moment to brush any dust off her clothes. She didn't even realize it was raining until now, prompting her to scramble into the rucksack she brought along. A small umbrella was procured and she promptly opened it to protect herself from getting drenched any further. She held the umbrella in her prosthetic hand while she used her right arm to pull out the plastic badge from her pocket and fix it to her chest again.

I suppose I should have this on. It probably means something. Or it's a cruel prank from the cat man... With a relenting sigh, Mirai strode forth into the Amegakure Outpost. It seemed nobody witnessed her landing, though she couldn't have been able to tell if anyone heard her earlier scream or not. It was a good distance away from when she made the ruckus, after all. So at least she felt confident nobody could've heard that. And even if they did they probably wouldn't associate it with her. Right? I guess I should find something to do or someone to tell me what is going on. It's always so confusing without Aneko. She's much better at keeping track of things than I am.

---

While enjoying the many delicacies offered within the auction house's lobby room that served more as a bal room than anything else, Arima monitored the various suits overlooking the whole scene. He could easily identify most of the security force, but there were clearly concealed ones monitoring just as much as he was. As such, he had to be rather slick about his whole approach. He'd enter idle conversations with other participants of the event, sharing a glass of white wine while on the side getting some voluptuous foie gras to go with it. Though Arima had never lived like an elite, adapting and keeping up appearances was his thing, allowing him to easily blend in.

Naomi had since then left and was burning away minutes. Even though there was no clear indication whether she was going through smoothly with the plan or not, the leader of the squad started to feel anxious. The more he studied the area, the more he noticed there was a lot of security, and that's not even considering the evident reinforcements if they were forced to use the explosives. Whether a miracle or a curse, his torment would meet an end when he'd notice a very familiar suit and smell of cigarettes in the area. Added to that the scarlet hair, Aro was quickly distinguished by Arima.

Panicked, this was evidently not part of the plan, who was standing guard outside? This guy was trouble, and Arima knew it from the start. While it wouldn't be enough to accuse him as a traitor, he'd clearly be a threat if this was his way of taking the initiative. If this place wasn't so crowded, the Tametomo would have a hell of an explanation with the Sarutobi. It would be thanks to Naomi's voice that Arima had calmed down a bit and focused on the objective despite the impromptu change of plans from the newcomer. Of course, he couldn't speak through the commlink, but he would swiftly press his finger behind his ear, pretending to scratch it, in order to make the piece of equipment simulate a couple of beeps. This was the signal for Naomi to proceed a they barely had two minutes left.

To stay natural a little longer before everything would go to shit, Arima approached a waiter, asking for one of those delicious baba au rhum, anticipating the explosion to mess with the lightning and cause immediate panic. His position was tactical of course, as he neared the bathrooms himself and if the ventilation plans were correct, he could evacuate safely and regroup with Naomi given that she'd escape as well. Aro on the other hand, he was on his own if he was going to improvise like this.

---

Like music to its ears, Yakoul acknowledged Tanji's answer fully and was actually impressed that he wasn't so far from the truth. Though the deal was that he was to find exactly what it was, or at least have mostly truths in them. A long silence reigned, which would make Kanata's rude comments all the more louder for the general to consider in its punishment. Initially Kanata wasn't going to get anything physical today, but she just had to push it. Stopping in the middle of the paved road, the feline turned its head slightly to peer over at the duo, the malice being almost visible from their perspective. Oh and, it was very much offended, Kanata.

"Holy fuck, that's ... Actually pretty cool Tenga, I better write that on my shiteater resume. But, unfortunately for your scrawny ass, you're pretty fucking wrong. I'll make it lighter, because there is some truth to it."

It at least gave the illusionist shinobi that much before its tail swayed at a suspiciously quick pace. Before Tenji would know it, he'd feel the soft fur of the tail's end pushing the back of his skull forward without actually hitting him. The strength and speed invested in the strike however would throw the guy's face directly at the concrete he was standing on. At the worst, he'd get a pretty bruised up cheek and bleeding lips, though he'd feel this for at least a week. And Yakoul was going soft there.

The animal wasn't done however, as the tail quickly whipped itself diagonally upwards to slap Kanata as it did yesterday, sending her a meter off her feet and down toward an artificial pond next to the walkway. The slap wasn't strong, but would be mostly designed to get the girl into that mass of water. They were both punished, and the general was satisfied.

"You too, you should learn to shut the fuck up sometimes."

The scene was done, Yakoul had its fun, now they'd have to get down to business. Passing by the two women who greeted them from afar, the feline waved them away as it headed for the VIP room it seemed to be accustomed to. The room was a large, Japanese-style hotel room, sans the cramped storage element, with sliding doors. The two were welcomed to join the beast and enjoy the cleanliness and quality of the room. Nepotism pays after all. Without saying a word, Yakoul would vanish into a connected room, only to come out a mere second later with a white bathrobe on.

The two would have noticed that the place was a hot springs paradise, with many different 'floors' climbing the mountain that was once a volcano. Many rooms surrounded the main building they entered and resided in, but multiple small villas next to larger springs were illuminated. The shadows of the clients enjoying both male and female company were purposely visible to add to the mood of customers seeking the most delightful of experiences. Most workers were women however, wearing beautiful kimonos and either patrolling the whole spa or just serving as house maids.

"If you lot wanna get butt naked or just comfy, by my motherfucking guest. We fucked around, now we discuss business. Gozoboro is probably getting informed that I'm around so he won't waste time gathering assholes for protection and addressing us directly."

The creature sat down on one of the cushions set before a small table with sake already served in them as if they were already expecting Yakoul and its colleagues. It chugged the small cup before resting it left elbow the table and use its hand as support for its chin.

"I want your prognosis of the area. Tunja, how many cunts will be an issue once we get volatile? Kanata, got anything to monitor assholes that may be eavesdropping. I can't tell you how much I fucking hate peeping Toms. In any case, you both know your roles when the fat fuck gets in reach in and shit hits the fan, right?"

---

Zay's pale pupils glanced at the Hyuga's knuckles as they tensed up, before returning eye contact. "Who are you again?" Higoho said, brushing at Zay's ego lightly. Feh, it was to be expected. Zay wasn't particularly popular, nor did he see any value in fame, but that tiny comment managed to crack his smile, draining what little enthusiasm he'd woven into his expression. Regardless, Higoho began to dig up some level of refinement, only to sprinkle his shit-soaked style of speech with superficial mannerisms. Family name? Honor? Zay couldn't help but scoff as Higoho went on, but he managed to keep from smiling. And then that arrogant twat leaned in close, prompting Zay to cringe at his contorted expression. Eugh... Although his words rang hollow to the silver shinobi, the boy's face was quite an... Unruly sight to behold. Zay maintained his composure as best he could, trying not to laugh at the Hyuga boy's expression, or at the insinuation that he'd been trying to impress Kaori.

“Unless you wanna throw down, right here, right now, in the middle of the crowd, shithead. I'll kick your ass to the curb in front of everyone.” Although it was somewhat entertaining to see Higoho's reaction, Zay had no real intention of getting himself into any unnecessary physical conflicts. But maintaining a disdainful posture proved to be exhausting. For a split second, he'd considered turning that announcement hall into a battleground. Fortunately, before he could even say another word, Higoho turned away and disregarded Zay entirely. What an annoying brat. Zay thought, Exhaling and smiling to himself as other shinobi left the room, one after another, until he was all alone.

---

---

It wasn't on vibrate after all Zay thought to himself, scratching the paint off of his old, clunky cell phone as it rested in his back pocket. He wasn't very happy with the premise that Setsuko laid down for him and his two comrades. From the looks of it, she didn't seem all that confident in her plan either. Zay cleared his throat as Setsuko tightened her headband, attempting to interject as politely as possible.

"Yes, Erm- Setsuko... As excited as I am to 'use a good technique' with opportune timing, I don't think my Jutsu is the most effective tool for what you're proposing. I'm not insinuating that you didn't look over my files thoroughly, but just how confident are you that this plan is structurally sound?," Zay asked, gesturing towards her curiously. Although Zay wasn't being dishonest, he was certainly underselling himself to avoid the weighty responsibility he had been given. Before she could respond to his deceptive inquiry, Zay formed a single Silver Kunai in his hand and waggled it about lazily. " My mobility is less than impressive if I'm to put any of my more powerful Jutsu to effective use. Furthermore, none of this silver stuff can get very far away from my body without dissolving. Although it may not come across at a first glance, my Kekkei Genkai is very defensive. What you're proposing sounds awfully risky," He rasped, stretching his neck. Whatever happened, Zay wasn't eager to debate the technical aspects of Setsuko's orders. He would just have to make due with his captain's orders.

---

Sunakagure, Archive Building, Hamajo Confederate
Akio didn’t pay much attention to the first trigger, as it was on the roof and had been triggered several times that day by pigeons and the like, though she still figured she should send a pair of chunin to investigate. However, before she did, she felt another shock, this one coming from a string see set by a window. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, looking between the two directions, before finally bringing her hand up to her ear piece.

“Two different strings have been sprung. Could be nothing, but all the same, I’m going to investigate the second disturbance. Squad 3, go to the roof and check it out.”

She heard a few less than enthusiastic replies from the aforementioned squad, as well as a general muttering of chunin promising to be on their guard. This wasn’t the first alert that she’d given, and it seemed like the men under her command were getting tired of being sent on wild goose chases. Akio rolled her eyes and clicked her teeth before getting up out of her chair and making her way towards the area of the other disturbance, holding her head ever so slightly as she was still suffering from her hangover.

Squad 3 would head up to the roof in a rather bored fashion, opening the door to see Katsuko standing there. They’d freeze for a moment, surprised to see that there was actually somebody up here, before quickly gaining their bearings and fanning out to surround the lone shinobi. One of them would throw a brace of shuriken at the man, while another would attempt to launch the phoenix fire jutsu at him. While that was happening, another was planning to catch him in a genjutsu, throwing a barrage of beled Senbon at him in order to catch him in it.

Meanwhile, Akio would soon approach the area where she’d felt the disturbance, and would soon find a young shinobi searching through files. Not in the mood to really ask questions, she’d run through hand seals before lashing out with her hand, unleashing a stream of electrical energy at the intruder. With her other hand, she’d be quick to pull out a number of shurikens that she’d launch in their direction immediately after she finished her first attack, hoping to catch them off guard, before taking a leap back. She hoped that her opening strike had bought her enough time so that she could form her Thunder Bow and fire off a few shots. If the intruder managed to dodge those first to attacks however, she’d switch to using the Pulse Blast Technique, leaping back as she tossed it forward.

The resulting shockwave would be two-fold, as it would alert the others that their was an intruder in the building and bring them here, as well as propel her further away from her assailant to get the distance she prefered. She’d hit the ceiling a little harder than she’d like, sticking to it with chakra though she had to put a lot more concentration into it then necessary, as the loud bang from her jutsu, followed by the impact with the ceiling and the blood now rushing to her head while she stood up, caused her headache to flare up again, and while she still had a visual of her target, her ability to react would be noticeably hampered.

Fuckin’ Hell . . . Why couldn’t my gut be wrong just this once. if I die because of a goddamn hangover, I’m going to find Kami and strangle the fucker myself.00

@j8cob

[@Graf Roy Zeppeli]

@Akai no Senshi I kinda assumed from your post that Saketsui was rifling through files, so if that’s wrong, then tell me and I’ll edit it.

[center

Tatsuya Kajiya-Terumi

[/center]

---

Amegakure, Outpost, Hamajo Confederate

---

Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief as Setsuko passed by him, glad that he’d get to relax a bit more before he got sent on a Sage hunt. Turning away from the Hyuuga, he looked around at a few of the glass cages before deciding on one. However, before he made it, he noticed that blue haired girl from before, though she was missing her friend this time around. She looked to be a little aimless, so Tatsuya decide to delay Bishamon’s ass kicking for now and go talk to her. As he approached however, he suddenly noticed something about the girl that he had somehow missed before. Her arm was completely robotic, and looked fucking awesome too. Part of him really wanted to ask a flurry of question regarding it's specifications, how it was made, and how it functions, but he suppressed those urges as he walked up, giving a slight wave as he did so.

“Sup, how’s, uh . . . being in charge feel?” He said a bit awkwardly, his raised hand falling behind his head as he tried to think of something of something else to say. He hadn’t really thought through the process, and was currently struggling with a way to continue the conversation without bringing up the arm, which was currently in the forefront of his mind. However, after a few moments of silence he came up with something else to mention that he had observed. “So, I see you’re friend from before isn’t here? She get sent out on a patrol or something?”

---

Tanji had been confident with his answer and even nodded along to Kanata's own hypothesis, but found it doubtable. At least she had nothing to lose playing this 'game', it was Tanji face that was on the line here. Still with his best attempt, he would be a liar if he said he wasn't the least bit smug on that facet, and the Boss seemed to nod at some aspect. Unfortunately all that became moot as he got really intimate with the concrete floor. As he clutched his jaw he tried to ponder where exactly that force came from. Turns out his theory wasn't as fool proof as he thought. To make it worse he believed he heard comrade Katana taking a forced dive into some pond; poor girl, outspoken as she may be, just wasn't having her day.

Nevertheless, the hotsprings were an impressive sight to behold. Built upon a volcano that fed hot water from a multitude of natural springs, the whole resort exuded a calm relaxing aura. What came to a surprise were the certain types of activities that many of the other spa-goers had partaken in. It made Tanji rather uncomfortable, but he didn't want to create a fuss about something that the Boss wasn't bothered with.

When they arrived to their own quarters and the Boss making itself comfortable and spoke again, "If you lot wanna get butt naked or just comfy, by my motherfucking guest. We fucked around, now we discuss business. Gozoboro is probably getting informed that I'm around so he won't waste time gathering assholes for protection and addressing us directly."

Tanji just gave a nervous laugh and kept his modesty wrapping the bathrobes tighter to himself. However he didn't slink at the offer of drink, and partook in some of the sake as he nodded at the Boss' acknowledgement of a sorta-time-limit to their "delicate" operation.

"I want your prognosis of the area. Tunja, how many cunts will be an issue once we get volatile? Kanata, got anything to monitor assholes that may be eavesdropping. I can't tell you how much I fucking hate peeping Toms. In any case, you both know your roles when the fat fuck gets in reach in and shit hits the fan, right?"

Simple enough instructions, it was for the best that the squad prepare now. Undoubtedly, the Boss could easily defeat a battalion of guards but that would be counter-productive to their goal and Tanji hoped that they wouldn't have to go loud. Still, he could do well to know the exact numbers present. He nodded, confident he knew his duty. "Got it Boss," and then turned to his squadmate, "Good luck to you friend, hope you do the Confederacy proud," before giving a slight smile in a teasing manner, "And hope you don't get to know more of the Boss' martial prowess."

He excused himself, playing the role of intrepid tourist, doning his innocent but forgettable face as he made himself to the public baths. He'd resign to just staying close to the showers, cleaning himself as he set to eavesdrop information from the bath-goers. It didn't have to be much, passing gossip from clients and employees alike in the room, and if he was lucky spotting an actual guard he could "persuade" to give up some information. This would go on, Tanji seamlessly transitioning from showers to spring to getting dressed and moving to another wing until information was passed along to his ears.

---

Mikoto watched everything that Katsuko did and was about to follow behind Saketsui by using his staff with a nearby electric line and jumping off to the next rooftop.

Saketsui came to a sudden halt, however, and so did Mikoto.

He turned his head to the Uchiha with a perked up eyebrow. What was actually happening that made him back down? Perhaps he could see something with his Sharingan? Was it even active?

He preferred to trust the pair of eyes in Saketsui's sockets and wait as well.

Trap, so the Uchiha said. He brought a hand to his hip and let out a chuckle.

They were ready for anything, or so it seemed.

"Well, if you'd do me the honor." Mikoto bowed down and motioned forward with his hand.

The man was quick to follow through with what Katsuko was trying to instruct them. He went through the window and even seemed to have set off some trap too. That is what happens when you've no grace.

Mikoto sighed and shook his head, before following behind the man while following his original plan. To use one of the electric lines along with his staff to jump to the next building.

He decided to enter through the same window that Saketsui had gone through. If there were problems, Mikoto knew he could handle anyone, but too much people in a single place would definitely be a problem for him.

He preferred to keep himself near Saketsui in case something bad actually happened.

However, he didn't went on the ground, he didn't even let his feet touch the sides of the window, using his staff as support.

"You have to keep yourself out of the ground. You saw what happened with Kat back there, and it'd be best if we didn't separate. If we found that jounin while alone, we definitely wouldn't make it alive." He knew he could. He could possibly kill her, but he still needed to get an answer out of the Uchiha.

"Watch and learn." Mikoto smiled.

The roof couldn't be trapped as well. Perhaps the tables and chairs were, but the roof couldn't be. They couldn't expect someone as crazy as Mikoto willing to make his way though the roof, but it was all a matter of grace.

Like a gay butterfly ballerina, Mikoto jumped forward to the ceiling fan and hold onto it with his legs. The ceiling did make some crude sounds after he hanged onto it, but it didn't fall down. Yet, anyway.

Mikoto then impulsed himself towards a sofa nearby the door of the room and turned back to Saketsui, before shushing him. If he wanted to say anything, he'd have to be quiet until-

The knob of the order was turned and someone was about to come in. Mikoto readied his staff to hit the shinobi that was going to come through the door.

However, when the one coming from the door was a girl already making hand seals for an attack, Mikoto knew a simple faceful of staff could not fell the woman so easily. This was probably the jounin Katsuko had warned them of.

He waited and saw that indeed, she could only sense Saketsui and had only gone on to attack him.

Mikoto still had the element of surprise, thanks to being next to the door and stopping just before his attack. The woman threw both an electrical ninjutsu and shuriken at Saketsui.

The redhead started making his own hand seals for an attack.

"Water Release! Water Gun Jutsu!" Mikoto put both hands forward and then shot a bullet of water towards Akio.

If the woman used electricity, then making her wet should stop her from getting electricity all over her body, otherwise she'd shock herself. That was part of Mikoto's thinking process while he casted the jutsu.

Of course, he wouldn't let down with just that and jump forward to pin the alcoholic jounin down with his staff. Getting her to surrender and then taking her life swiftly and beautifully would be ideal.

---

@j8cob@Raijinslayer@Akai No Senshi

---

---

Well, what did she expect? That Yakoul would buy her ice cream after her smartassy comment? Well, of course not.

She head on expected the slap. Slap me once, it's my fault, slap me twice, I'm not so stupid.

Kanata put her guard up against Yakoul's slap and it hit her arm, throwing her into the air as the thing had planned. If the thing was serious, it could probably break her arm, so she was sure it wouldn't.

She did not expect, though, that his objective wasn't to hurt her but rather to push her into the pond and get her all wet.

There were some white parts of her outfit, so when she surfaced from the not-so-deep pond, she brought both arms to her chest to cover it.

She had almost no chest, but she wouldn't give Tanji a free show, even if he wasn't interested in it in the least.

"Fucking hell! Now I'm all wet." Kanata shouted, before sighing and turning to Yakoul "Trust me, if I knew how, I'd already had done it. It is hard not knowing how to shut the fuck up sometimes."

Kanata then brought herself out of the pond and followed after Yakoul shaking of cold after what had just happened.

She decided to rent a yukata to change out of her wet clothes. She couldn't maneuver as well with the Yukata, but she could just rip the bottom of it if things got spiky. Of course, she changed in the bathroom.

She then followed after everyone to the room and sat in front of Yakoul. If it wanted to talk business, then Kanata should go ahead and do so in a comfortable position. She'd just have to make sure that Yakoul didn't get temperamental like yesterday.

The room was a nice one. Traditional Japanese style, some sliding doors made out... that sort of paper thing Japanese houses had. A table at the center, cushions and a balcony with two chairs and a small table typical of any good Japanese hot spring resort.

When Yakoul asked if she had anything to keep Peeping Toms away, she knew that there was indeed something in her arsenal that oculd work in their favor.

"I've the Illusionary Mist jutsu. People might stay away of the room just because of the mist. I can also put Water Clones outside the room set to encase anyone near here in Water Prisons if need be. I also recommend checking the room for any kind of bug... if this is serious, we should make sure no one is listening to what we have to say." Kanata said.

Tanji too seemed to about to be off to do what Yakoul told him too, but his teasing smile and yet formal 'comrade' shit was something Kanata really did not like.

"Hey, Tanji-kun. Just Kanata is all right. No need to be so stiff, at least with me. I hate it when people are stiff. And hope you too, err, do the confederacy proud!" With a small salute, Kanata saw the loyal Confederacy soldier out of the room.

"I kind of do. We just have to protect his fat ass, right? With so much damn water, using the Water Heavens Convergence jutus would be fucking great for us. Some of my clones could turn into Gozoboro-dono as well to confuse everyone as to which is the real one. In any case, I'll do as I'm told and I'll make sure to do it fucking right."

For once, Kanata seemed pumped up to do the mission. It didn't seem like Mikoto was around, so everything should be all right.

---

@Savato@KenyeIsMyLife

The two chuunin were quick to understand the situation and opt for an alternate entrance. Katsuko knew they would probably set off a trap as well, but this would force the enemy to split up as well as them. Katsuko remained standing in the same spot until the rooftop entrance opened and several young shinobi appeared. Now he could move around without consequence. The three Confederate shinobi that appeared before him began to spread out quickly but Katsuko already dashed towards the center one, whom decided to throw shuriken at him in an attempt to keep him at bay. That plan backfired quickly as the red-haired man flipped to the side away from the barrage, sticking his arm out in the process and catching three of the shuriken between his knuckles. The moment he was back on his feet from his dodge he launched them towards the one throwing strange senbon needles at him. The needles didn't seem to be aimed directly at him, as only one stuck into his right arm and seemed to do very little to slow him down.

He's trying to use a genjutsu, judging by the bells, Katsuko noted, jumping straight into the air several meters to avoid the incoming fire technique. He used his other arm to remove the senbon and toss it away before returning his gaze to the rooftop below. I'm just gonna take them all out at once and make a shortcut into the building at the same time. He raised his left leg, coming down from the sky with an axe kick already prepared. But to make matters worse he activated his Chakra Enhanced Strength. The rooftop wasn't going to survive this attack. "Outta my way!" Katsuko called out as he slammed the heel of his foot onto the roof. The impact immediately shattered the rooftop, sending debris and the three shinobi flying. Considering the lack of a direct hit it was very likely that they took little to no damage, but the chaos and confusion coupled with the distance they'd get would provide a brief reprieve from their attacks. The shinobi were knocked off the building completely, though it wasn't like they would be particularly injured from the event. Just dazed and shaken.

With the roof caved in, Katsuko landed on the floor below with a somersault. He was on his feet in a split-second, fists prepared to strike any nearby enemies. But there were none. Everyone in the building must've felt that one. Oh well. Better catch up to the kids. I think they're on the floor below me, if not this one. The jounin took a look around, quickly determining that the room he fell into wasn't part of the Archive's storage and accordingly wouldn't have the sewer plans. Akio wasn't among the ones that searched the roof, so she's probably responding to their entry. They can probably stand up to her if they work together. Wait a minute. I could've sworn I heard something... Katsuko looked back up towards the now open roof. Saketsui jumped up right as I broke the ceiling, didn't he? Where did he go from there? Did I knock him down to the ground level as well or is he still up there?

---

Mirai didn't walk very far before encountering a red-headed boy. A tall one at that. She had to tilt her umbrella slightly to look up at him. Tatsuya had started talking to her out of the blue, something that clearly surprised her judging by her silent stare that he received in return. Only after an awkward moment of silence did Mirai realize that she should probably respond to him. The realization she had was visible as well, as the blank stare was wiped away by a shocked expression before relaxing into a neutral state. "My friend? Have I met you before?" she answered, clearly confused as to how he could know about Aneko if she had never met Tatsuya before. She tried to rack her brain for a moment but was drawing blanks.

Oh well, may as well answer him. "She's out on patrol today, yes," Mirai finally answered. "And she's a family friend. I've known her all my life." That answer was much better than saying Aneko's main job for the past seventeen years was to watch over Mirai and take care of her. It would be too embarrassing to say something like that to people who wouldn't understand the position she's in. The blue-haired girl looked away from Tatsuya for a moment, feeling like he was staring at her too much. It's definitely my arm. She brushed the hair out of her face for a moment, a natural motion whenever she's feeling a bit nervous or anxious. This revealed her blind eye briefly, but considering she couldn't see out of it it didn't occur to her that it was visible. "Wait... You were at the meeting yesterday, weren't you?" She returned her attention to the boy. She just realized that he was standing in the rain completely comfortable without an umbrella. Hers was far too small to share with him so she didn't even consider it, but it seemed strange to her that someone would be perfectly fine with the weather.

Cho had been training since the morning if the sweat from his brow was anything to go off of. He was drenched head to toe but it was worth it. A rather large hole with a trench running along it was the sign of what was Chokurou's best move at a more controlled state. He leaned back with his hands on his side as he took in a few deep breaths before reaching over to his gear and taking out a bottle of water and some jerky. 'It's still not perfect yet. Jeez. How did Kashi manage to master it?' He sat down and ate as he surveyed the damage, thinking about how he could buff out the flaws in his technique. He shook his head and sighed as he stood, grabbed his things and headed back to his room. After a much needed shower he decided to pass out for a bit to regain his stamina. A few hours had passed before he heard the chime of his phone.

Chokurou had received a text from Setsuko about basically being selected for a mission, something he wasn't too keen o during right away but it was something he had to do. Not that he had too much of a choice. He sighed as he looked down at his phone and the text message before swiping it off of his phone's screen. Cho was relaxing in his bed when he had gotten the text message. He sat up, scratched the back of his head and grabbed his bo staff before heading out the door to his room. He had made his way through the camp and to the VTOL ship where he now met his teammates. They would get onto the transport and fly out of the base, Setsuko debriefing them along the way. He sat there quietly. His hands rested on his knees, his elbows outward, almost sage like. His eyes were closed as he breathed in slowly as he heard her begin with the mission break down. She must have moved onto him as he opened his eyes when he heard his name. "Masato is going to get slammed with attacks from the enemy, but leave him be. You're to sneak around to find the strongest one, and make sure to surprise them good." Cho raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Masato and shrugged.

Soon enough he found out that they were to keep Madara's gunbai and Sauske's sword out of the hands of the Red Sages. To this he only shrugged but they had alot of the confederate guarding or attacking different things for different reasons. He assumed it was more for a moral booster though he knew that both weapons had some amazing attributes to them. After Tetsuba explained his thought on the plan of attack, and showing off his ability, Chokurou chimed in. "Well, I'm just ready to get things moving but of all things, why those two weapons?"

---

Setsuko considered what Tetsuba had said at the fact that she was putting someone who was skilled in close combat in the back; practically the one who'd give them the edge in the battle. She'd nod her head at what he would continue to tell her, and when he had made a silver weapon Setsuko would stare in shock at how well-made the weapon would look. "That's pretty neat." she'd say to herself, though would know that anything she'd say the others could hear through their headphones.

The young kunoichi would once again rest her elbows on her lap, but this time would look Tetsuba straight in the eyes if he'd allow her to. "Honestly," she'd say, louder so others could hear through the static. "I have no confidence in this plan."

At that, she laughed. It was an honest fact that she had no confidence whatsoever in this plan since she had only met the others may once or twice at most. It's not like she was going to lie, and tell them that she had full confidence as that would just cause a mess of things o the field. Not only that, but she had not seen either of them fight - Actually. She has seen a few fight, but it was brief. Because it was brief she would not been able to gather any kind of information on them, so selecting them for this mission was simply because she had met them earlier. "I will tell you this." Setsuko then cleared her throat. "If you want to die because you're afraid of pushing your limits then be my guest, but I guarantee you I'll fight you myself if you let any of them die." she'd point back and forth from Masato to Akamichi.

"If you feel that my plan isn't going to work the I'm all for ideas since I'm not the best leader," she'd grab the ipad that she had put down beside her a few minutes back, and unlocked it to push a notification that wouldn't go away. As she did that the pain in her chest came back in a pulse, but she held back a wince to keep from the others possibly finding out she had a temporary weakness right before they were to fight. "Though try to remember who we're going against." Setsuko then held it up for Tetsuba to see. "The Red Sages are skilled no matter who you look at, and if we need to keep them far from their goal then using something risky is the best idea I've got."

Setsuko was shocked that she had sounded quite like a leader, so after she had said what she did she'd smile as well as nod to herself. It would look strange since a few seconds ago she was lecturing a member on how their plan could work because it was unorthodox to each of their fighting skills, but damn, she should really rethink this authority job. I think it pays more too...At least, that's what I've heard.

"Er, anyways," she cleared her throat again as she set the ipad back down. "I'm not sure why they want those weapons since I wasn't told any more than what I just told you, but I'd assume because they're powerful?"

"I mean, think about it. These weapons are legendary-" As the aircraft closed in on their location they'd be signaled that it was about time to start dropping down. At this point Setsuko's heart began pumping faster than normal since she was not only excited, but also nervous. It had been a while since she was able to join an actual battle, but to be the leader of a group that was to battle? that was a different story all on its own. As those thoughts ran through her head Setsuko was quickly instructed on how to go down the thick string that was hooked onto the craft, but because she wasn't given enough time to brace herself Setsuko yelled half of the way down. The fall was pretty hard, and Setsuko almost fell from the unbalance, but would catch herself just in time to be able to stand up. "Yes." she'd congratulate herself.

Right after dropping down Setsuko would attempt to get her head in the game by looking around to see where they were, but had to rub her eyes a bit to adjust. It didn't help that she was far-sighed, but even so the one thing the kunoichi did know was that they'd been dropped off at some warehouses where the enemy would be. Because there was no time to waste Setsuko would create a simple Tiger hand seal to activate the Byakugan as it was the only way for her to spot their target(s). "Oh," she'd murmur to herself. "I should have worked on my range..."

As she was working on being comfortable with the Kekkei Genkai Setsuko glanced around to the others. "Any ideas?" without letting them answer she glanced back to be able to scan the area she could see to try and find some enemies. "Doesn't look like there's any, so let's roll."

---

The two were at least pretty compliant, not that Yakoul didn't have any impact on this, the tail was strangely very persuasive and an excellent motivating factor. The feline waved at Tanji as he proceeded to do what was apparently expected, get a good sniff of the area and an overview of the possible resistance they'd have to face. If Yakoul were to be honest, this would be somewhat irrelevant. Most of the staff were undertrained and simply hired muscle that would barely stand a chance against a chuunin, let alone the General. In all, the two chuunin officers were mostly working to cut Yakoul some slack as the operation was going to be quite messy no matter how much detergent they'd stock up on along the way.

"Heh, it ain't the shitty mics I'm worried about, it's one of these retards telling our bitch of a target to run away before he can teach him some bondage a bit. If one's being suspicious just ... Fucking I don't know, kick his ass."

The bored commander explained, evidently not all that invested in the job as it would rather be in the hot springs, but it knew full well that Gozoboro was going to walk in their VIP room any second now. It didn't help that it could easily recognize people's footsteps against the wooden floor and simply use its detection ability to confirm a fat fuck was coming their way. The animal person stretched its back and yawned as a normal physical response to this action.

"Yeah, we gotta 'Protect' him."

Yakoul would literally do the quotes with its fingers in the air, clearly indicating that what they were going to do was a bit more nuanced than just a simply interview.

"Just keep any dipshit I don't like out of here. And I don't fucking like a lot of people, gurl."

But then, the creature's ears perked as its eyes widened as if it had just formulated a million ryo idea and was about to make some massive breakthrough. Grinning in a rather suspicious way as it stare at Kanata, it would only add.

"Actually, fuck that. You'll have new orders. Going to teach you how to motherfucking talk."

It said in a cryptic manner, though it was clearly a jab to her admitting at a lack of eloquence and an over-dosage of impulsiveness. As Yakoul was going to add something else, the sliding door opened. Yakoul expected Tanji, but instead was the package they were to take care off. A fat, bald man waking with one of the most imposing frames Kanata would see in her life. Katsuko? Nothing compared to this obese giant. Gozoboro Haishu walked in with a cigar in his mouth and took a seat on one of the cushions set next to the table, right in front of Yakoul.

Both high profiles didn't say a word for a while and just stared at each other while the fat man inhaled the tobacco in his quality cigar. The general beamed after a few seconds, evidently pleased at something.

"Yakoul."

"Fat fuck."

They exchanged words before another awkward silence and then a burst of laughter from both sides before they'd do a really retarded fist bump. It was clear they knew each other quite well, though that was to be expected given Yakoul's fondness of the place. Just as clear as Yakoul's lack of care when plotting against a man that seemed to consider it at least as some kind of buddy.

"So what brings you here? You usually call so I can get the maids ready for you. What's up?"

"Hah, well as you can see, I brought my own bitch this time around."

It joked while pointing at Kanata with its thumb before continuing.

"I'm fucking around. This girl, her name's Kanata, right? Eh who cares? Anyway, she has some questions for you, right?"

Yakoul was indeed having fun with this, giving an insane amount of responsibility to Kanata all of a sudden. A big ball of stress for the young girl but just a silly game for Yakoul, it truly showed how their realities were so far apart. Any minute now, Tanji were to come back, most likely detecting a significant amount of 'staff' roaming the VIP area as Gozoboro entered the scene. The feline almost expected the confederate zealot to come in as would some special service agent and whisper very important information to the cat's hear just to feel like in one of those over the top action movies.

Zay let the kunai between his fingers fall to the ground and dissolve at Setsuko went on to affirm his worries, to some degree. This was a horrible idea. What awful luck. Why did it have to be him? Feh, maybe it was destiny pulling his lazy ass into the line of fire to protect the least capable Shinobi, or maybe he was just being punished for thinking like a condescending asshole. At any rate, it looked like he was going to have to step forward and protect his new allies, regardless of his orders. As Setsuko and Chokurou began to exchange thoughts about Madara's Gunbai, Zay began to think of the possibilities that awaited his team. He didn't care much for history, especially that regarding Madara. That horrific old monster was nightmare fuel.

Supporting fire, that's not an option. What about a defensive approach? Zay thought to himself, as the aircraft came to a stop over their drop-zone. Perhaps he could stay out of sight, while keeping his allies safe. But how? If only he'd known more about his Kekkei Genkei's capabilities. His aunt had told him stories about how his mother had found a way to counteract the metal pool's weakness, but there'd never been a point where Zay could even begin to grasp the theory that went into such complex Chakra control. Damn it all! Zay shook the feeling of inadequacy and slid down after Setsuko, landing behind her, careful not to injure his ankles. He briefly looked up at the VTOL to see if his other two allies were descending, before approaching Setsuko and patting her shoulder abruptly. "You're not gunna have to fight me," Zay assured Setsuko, before turning towards the other two Shinobi with a forced smile, "If any of you need support, get within 15 yards of me. I'll keep my Jutsu small to maintain mobility for our initial approach. Don't worry about being too loud if you're in danger, there's not a lot capable of smashing through my silver." Hopefully he could manage to protect them all. 'Course, aside from Setsuko, he hadn't the slightest idea what his allies were capable of, and he'd forgotten to ask.

---

Tanji skin was a bright pink, the constant scrubbing and dips into multiple baths finally bared their fruits. At least he was clean. Clean and well informed. Well, as informed as you would expect. A simple head count, and it was quite a bit, as well as their routes and habits. Most of the "bodyguard" were thugs and miscreants meant to be meatshields for their patrons, untrained in martial skill or any shinobi arts. Still it wouldn't hurt to plant seeds of deceit within them. Tanji formed his seals for his false sound on lone guards and the heads of wandering patrols, it didn't take much to plant the genjutsu but would serve him immensely soon enough and he highly doubted any were skilled enough to notice it before it was actively used. Tanji could send a mass message to all affected or use a specific sound or voice to those he could see in a decent range.

After his seeds planted and a quick recount of the "staff"'s strengths Tanji started making his way back to the room and wasn't surprised when he saw guards posted about in greater number around the room when he noted that the head honcho himself was already conversing with the Commander. A fat and rather ugly man. Crude and vulgar looking, he seemed the type that would need to be monitored and fixed at the Confederacy's discretion. The conversation was civil enough, then the Commander directed the piggish man to speak with Kanata. Tanji raised a brow, but just nodded to his 2 allies and made his way to sit behind the Boss and formed seals hidden under his bathing towels for false sound and placed them on the Boss and Kanata. A little trick he found when working a diplomacy scandal with the 11th, a psuedo-one-way-telepathy that worked on only those he could actively see, or simply for all those within range if no unwanted listeners were affected. A bit limited but it allowed him to relay information to his comrades without the chance of being overheard.

'Boss and comra- er, Kanata' remembering her desire to be less formal, 'Don't be alarmed, just wanted an easier and more discrete method of communication with you. It is only one way, and your mind is still your own, but I made this especially weak and can be dispelled with a simple thought if you do not like it. If you wish me to keep using it, roll your right shoulder,' He waited for a reply. He would continue with the report of enemy number and limited capability. 'Do you receive? Shrug for affirmative, remain still for negative.' He did admit it was a bit jarring to suddenly hear a voice from nothing, but he hoped they were familiar enough to accept why he didn't want to reveal this out loud with such thin walls. Still he understood if they wouldn't want to be put under a genjutsu as the art had bad reputations that sometimes trumped its utility.

---

Because the VTOL dropped them off a mile from the warehouses Setsuko signaled for everyone to start running left from where they stood. Before she was able to give the signal however, she looked in the planned direction and was alarmed to see dark black plums bellowing from that direction. "Shoot," Setsuko said as she began to sprint in that direction. As she ran her thoughts would become jumbled as the smoke meant that the enemies were either causing simple havoc, or already attempting to open the vault.

"Change of plans." she glance back to the others who were easily keeping up with her despite suddenly running. It was a fairly weak plan that she had thought up through the mess of things that was going on in her head as they didn't have any time for the initial plan. It was an all or nothing situation at this point, and they might as well do what they can to keep the enemies from doing any more damage. Whether they got the weapons already, or not was something they would have to see once there, but if they did have them then improv was the best solution.

As they reached the clearing Setsuko turned around to see that the warehouses were still in tact, but out of one of them smoke poured out of the windows up top. Setsuko stopped running to let the others continue making their way to the warehouse, and as she came to a halt she made the said hand seals: Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog. 2 shadow clones appeared beside her, and one would begin running with the rest of the group as the other stood back with her until it was told otherwise. She wasn't the smartest ninja, but figured because the enemy was focused on not only the mission, but as well as the confederates hauling ass to stop them they'd forget the simple qualities that distinguished shadow clones from the actual person.

While the clone ran with the others Setsuko would jog right with the clone she had by her, and look for the usual door entrance to attempt to put her own plan into action. "You're going to go in with me when we begin fighting, but first let me see..."

As Setsuko, and the clone looked for an entrance the clone that went with the rest would briefly explain the general idea of the plan before everyone was to go solo. "We're going to hit the enemy in one wave, and once we see what we have, you," she'd pointed to Tetsuba. "Mark someone, and lure them away."

"As for you," she'd pull on Akamichi's shirt. "You're the official tank. Keep the rest occupied. Masato," she'd turn to the last, and final person. "Stay back."

With that, clone Setsuko ran toward the nearest window as she would shake her hand to relax it. She then slammed her fist on a window to break it as that was the signal for the enemy inside to freak out a bit. As if they'd freak out, but they'd at least know what was coming. She wasn't one for stealth anyway, so having the enemy know that she was coming was the best way to start a fight in her opinion. Because the window was broken she placed her hand on the window sill to jump in, and began to squeeze her way in between crates of wrapped boxes, and machinery. As she did that she turned to the window to see Masato making a few hand signs after he had also entered through the window. What came after was strange as there were birds that began flying around, but soon would fly in the direction of the enemy. She couldn't make out what Masato had said, but didn't think twice. Setsuko was surrounded by all of the boxes, so all she had to do was follow the birds as they would begin dropping their explosives in the general area of the enemy. It was confusing to say the least, but the birds helped the clone be able to make it out of the box mess.

Time for my grand entrance, the clone thought as she'd lay eyes, finally, upon the enemy.

As all of this was going on Setsuko's Byakugan was still in tact, and by this time she was getting used to it. The only problem was her sight, but that could be easily fixed when moving closer to the warehouse to see if one of the doors was open. As she'd turn the knob the door opened with a dragging noise as the door wasn't made right when building the warehouse. She'd close it shut again, and with her byakugan would look through the walls to see what was going on. Glad I took training seriously when I was little.

"Oh..." Inside there were few people, but simply looking at their pathways could tell Setsuko that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Well, Let's keep them from escaping the first few minutes in." She'd murmur to herself. "8 Trigrams Grid Palm!" Setsuko would say after making the required hand seals, and then placing her hand on the ground in front of the door. The grid wasn't as long as she would usually have it, but it would be enough to cover most of the door floor.

"Crap." Setsuko spat. "Stop messing up." she'd tell herself due to the fact that she put the trap in front of the door they were supposed to go in through. "Well," She'd walk backwards to see if there was another way in, and would see a broken window right before the corner was to turn into the door. "We'll go in through there..."

The Akimichi eyes widened slightly at the thought that Setsuko had no confidence in her own plan. It definitely wasn't a morale booster and even more so coming from their team leader. His head sunk low as he mumbled something and rubbed his temples before sliding his hands down his face. The audio over the comms would be indiscernible so it was impossible to make out what he said however he quickly stood up and looked at her as they neared the drop zone. "Look, I'm not going to say the plan isn't efficient or ridiculous, but I will say NEVER say you lack confidence in a plan. It drops morale and can drop the integrity of the team, especially if it's the Team LEADER saying said comment." He gave her a look of disapproval with a hint of disrespect, however unnoticeable. As they neared the drop site he took a deep breath and looked out the side. Definitely a bit of a drop. He shook his head and stepped out, taking advantage of his clans abilities, he extended his legs after a certain point to make it like he only jumped 10 feet rather than what the height was. He lowered himself down and looked over at Setsuko with a smirk and a light chuckle. It lasted only a second or two until he focused in on the mission. He looked a Setsuko and nodded. "Ready when you are." His other teammate, Tetsuba had already landed next to her and seemed ready to go. He glanced over at him before looking back up at the VTOL ship. "Hopefully I can handle myself. My cousin taught my some nifty jutsu that I want to try out." He looked back towards Setsuko as she began to sprint in one direction. Quickly he followed behind, easily keeping pace.

They had made their way to one of the warehouses, possibly the one they needed to get in to and it didn't take long for the chaos to begin. Masato with his birds, Setsuko with her, grid palm? Seemed to a few enemy in place while Masato's birds bombarded the opposition. He didn't know what to do but looking off to his side he did take notice to a set of stairs leading to a doorway. A catwalk perhaps? "I'll take the high route and I'll go from there. Setsuko. What the hell is Grid Palm? Can I stand on that if-" As if on cue, a few enemy nin burst through the door way but Chokurou reacted instantly. His right hand cocked back and extended outward towards them, expanding with the Akimichi Clan's Partial Expansion Jutsu. His enlarged fist hit them with enough force to throw them back threw the doorway as he reached the top step. Quickly following her orders to act as "tank", he expanded his body outward and into a ball. A bit of steam was let off from where his head, arms and legs would be as he revved himself up and bolted down the open corridor, running over multiple ninja in the process. He would slam into the end of the hallway, causing the place to rumble slightly. Hopefully that drew attention away from the rest of the team.

Zay followed after Chokurou from a distance as his team began to surround the warehouse, while forming a small pool of silver at his feet, roughly 3 yards in diameter. With such a small pool, he could still support from several yards away, while retaining a large amount of mobility. Hell, he might have been able to jump with that much silver, but trying something that risk wouldn't be in his best interest. But as Chokurou continued forward, he was intercepted by a few enemy nin. They were dispatched easily, easing Zay's anxiety for a minute as he hugged the wall several feet away from the entrance way that Chokurou had decided to use, scanning his surroundings carefully. Of course, the Akimichi took a rather thunderous approach, as any tank would, rumbling the very foundation of the warehouse as he crashed against the end of a hallway. Zay followed through quickly, making his way through the door as quietly as he could. Even though their injuries were heavy, Zay took extra caution, fashioning a Silver Kunai in his hand and burrowing it into each of shinobi's skulls, one after another in quick succession. His Silver pool was unsteady as he moved about, rippling constantly before smoothing out every time he stopped.

I suppose it's the loud approach, then Zay thought to himself, somewhat irritated by the situation that his team had found themselves in. Hopefully this would turn out well in the end. Of course, from the sound of it, nobody had intercepted any high-ranking Red Sage shinobi yet. That'd be Zay's time to shine, according to Setsuko's orders. All he had to do was single them out one by one. In close range combat, there were very few that could match Zay's reflexes, and these narrow passageways only improved his jutsu's strength. Well, assuming his enemies couldn't see through walls, anyways.