---

As the ash was expelled by one of the clones and took over the group of girls, Sayuri fell back to her leader’s side, scanning the area dutifully. But as Sayuri was scanning her eyes working faster than most could ever hope to her ears waited. Not unlike an apex predator waiting for the first move of its prey, they waited to pounce on a specific sound.

“Locations?”

There it was. Sayuri scanned once more, even faster than before.

“Two approaching.”

But as the worlds left her lips one had already struck Yogensha, “Three watching,” the Kage took the blow with diligence, striking the clone around her midsection, “Two fighting Civilians,” she quickly dealt with the other clone that came in for a not too dissimilar attack the dealt with it as well. The ash hadn’t cleared up much and even if the clones were invisible at this point there wouldn’t be much helping the lack of vision. Luckily chakra shone quite a bit more than ash obscured, but it was still a trying arena for any shinobi to have to fight in.

Yogensha would take that as a tool for her to use, however. Yogensha readied herself to become a platform for the girl they were with, but Sayuri did not have time to watch. She stood vigilantly protecting their technique so that it may go unhampered. Sure enough, the smoke attempted to hold onto Koma as she came spinning out of it, bow drawn and a second arrow at the ready. She quickly fired off two shots seeming to almost slowdown in midair as she did so. Sure enough the arrows found their marks and quickly dropped to the ground, the clones dispersing around them.

”Sayuri, locations, if you have a moment.” Yogensha uttered, as if she was adding sugar to her tea. Sayuri saw the chakra spinning and concentrating in Yogensha’s palm. She wouldn’t leave either of their side so that she could defend a frontal attack, but she could be their eyes.

“Two paces left, one pace forward.” Sayuri responded, and immediately an arcing wind that seemingly wrapped around Sayuri, just missing her as it curved around her body, pierced the cloud of ash and impaled a clone. But more clones were around and approaching quickly and the ash was dispersing. Sayuri knew what had to be done, even if it would put the girl in a dangerous situation.

She allowed the oxygen to leave her body, and her skin tone faded back to pink, however she was clearly looking fairly exhausted.

”Rotate!”

The archer landed and Yogensha steadied her from falling. Sayuri took one small leap towards her team members.

“Hakkesho Kaiten.” Sayuri said simply, almost cheerily, as chakra fell over the group like a veil lighting up the area. The ash immediately whirled around them adding a dark hue to the rotation, before moving so fast that it simply dispersed. Sayuri’s eyes focused straight ahead and it seemed they recognized the defensive capabilities of the rotation. Thusly, they stopped and so did Sayuri. She felt herself panting, there was no way she’d be able to fight for too much longer. She could last ten more seconds in the third breath, twenty in second, and thirty in first. Perhaps she’d be capable of pulling off one more rotation as well. But she was running dangerously low on Chakra.

She stopped rotating and landed elegantly in a gentle fist fighting position, her eyes trained on her enemies.

“All directly ahead.” She said once more informing her leader on their position.

Kiku stared at him, and was a bit perplexed by why this boy wanted to ensure her safety so much. She tapped her foot on the ground, and looked around them and their surroundings - everything was quiet, but she wasn't sensing anyone or anything coming near them. "I believe Kurin and Jaak will be okay...I just need to do what is best for..." Kiku murmured, knowing that this wasn't how a cell should approach a situation. They really should all band together, but in these exams - it was almost every man for himself. Unless you were Shizuka, then it was Cloudy Eyes first.

Nodding as he prompted their leave, she began to follow him away into the forest. Staring at the back of his head, Kiku was deep in thought when suddenly a shift in the atmosphere happened. She could feel a cosmic pressure in the wind to the west, looking to the sky she saw a small figure of a man floating high above. To the East it looked like sharks, and water were emerging. But what was most terrifying to her, was the explosion that took place before them before all the other oddities happened. It took the forest by force, sending a giant wave of air at the two. Kiku's hair wildly flailed around behind her, her jaw dropping in awe of what was unfolding before the two. "I don't think this is part of the exam....." Kiku added softly, walking forward she put a hand on Shizuka's shoulder, "What should we do?"

She quickly turned her head in the direction of the voice that was calling her partner, her eyes narrowed as she registered the face. Kazhuiko, she fairly remembered him. "You don't know either?" She inquired, and put her hand up to her chin as she began to think of what could be happening. Kiku then felt someone touching her legs and flinched, they were still very tender and raw from her embrace with lava. As she was to open her mouth to spit a negative comment, she heard the girl say she was a medical nin and immediately shut her mouth. "It hasn't been long at all....we just got out of the first part of our exams, and lava splashed on my legs. I've already had a medical nin look at them and heal what they could....if you can do anything to better them...I....I would greatly appreciate it," She smiled, and then stuck her hand out to meet Oichi's, "I'm Kiku, and that's Shizuka....we- I left out team and Shizuka came to join me. We were trying to go to the center for that scroll...but..." Then she motioned to the man with the umbrella, and sharks.

As they stood there, she felt an incoming presence, letting out a click she felt a little at ease. But not entirely, since he'd probably have something to say to the girl as she had just kinda checked out previously. It was then that Jaak fell from the sky, and Kiku was alarmed by his fall from grace. "Are you okay?" She exclaimed over to him as he recovered. It seemed to take him a fraction of a moment to assess the situation. Kiku gave a very weak smile and wave, not prepared for the backlash she may receive. Her attention turned back to the forest, and the sounds reverberating around it. The forest now finally alive with some commotion, just not the kind she wanted.

---

Cannon fired, and nothing but dust and flames was left in its wake. Well, that and a lot of vapor, as it seemed Sano had resorted to utilizing a colossal mass of water and sharks to sponge the blast, and conceal himself in the process. To the nature 'sensor', the shark had seemingly melted into the body of water, only to have the sword still manifest a single point of gargantuan chakra. Rumia's blast was certainly strong enough to purge the counter, and prevent it from being an issue, though it seemed Sano was completely unharmed as he manifested himself once more.

A dull stare ruled in her eyes, one deformed and discolored, the other still normal, as the swordsman would now employ what seemed to be a flex of his malicious intent. The ginger squinted, seemingly untouched by the killing intent. Weaker or not, Rumia was a beast that frequently underwent moments of bloodlust and uncontrolled rage. An intent to kill was all too natural of a feeling to her. That and killing intent doesn't immobilize for more than half a second, if it'd work on this mad thing.

But Sano couldn't know that, and as such, she would capitalize. She had since landed, once the shark had manifested his vile intent. The fastest non-superhuman person can close one hundred meters under nine seconds. Here, we have around fifty once she'd land. Shinobi are also known to work in the supersonics, and frequently employed high speeds to travel through countries. Now, we enter Rumia, a person whom the physical might was not only abnormal, but had jets to propel her even faster. To say that she could effortlessly close distances when scales were this small would be quite accurate. Once Sano would devote his focus to the Konoha interloper coming from the air, she would capitalize.

The sword was raised, cancelling incoming attacks and filling itself with more chakra as she'd notice. Rumia's simple mind associated very little things here, and only assumed he was blocking her peer's attack efficiently enough to remove risks if she were to approach. Sakana was a good distraction, so she'd capitalize. When the shark would go for a counter to the water ability, the Shinrikyo would already be right before his massive body, body half-crouched and left forearm set before her chest, horizontally, and mutated into an axe. With one swift and brutal swipe, she'd perform a clean cut from right to left onto Sano's lower abdomen as he'd focus himself on Sakana, and perhaps even devote himself to casting hand seals for a new jutsu.

"Time fer teriyaki."

Her assault would be relentless once up close, as she'd take every attempt to prevent more than one hand seal to be cast, at the risk of Sano losing a hand. He would also come to notice the shadow of something long cast upon him. A jagged tail, stretched upwards and consistently swaying left and right, passively but also quite menacingly as if it were calculating his movement as a snake would. Rumia's tail was something he was to consider, beyond her attempt to slice and dice the man she'd keep at minimum two meters from her.

---

The cool breeze swished passed Havoc’s face as he made his Mary Poppins like grand entrance. The cool breeze was simply the aftermath of his almighty push destroying the land around him. It was quite peaceful and quiet in his area, he must have picked the wrong side to engage, Sano was already being engaged and so was Sebun. A small tinge of jealously poisoned the face and body of the ambitious gravity ninja. Whatever the case, he was sure someone would come to stop him from further pulverizing the forest into flat lands. All he needed to do was wait and waiting was indeed all that mattered really, buying time was essential otherwise he’d have sought out his prey and killed them one by one. Having just been released from jail Havoc’s golden crisp hair had become long flowing locks of wild gold, his face was covered in hair as his hair had transformed from some stubble to a full grown beard. Commodities such as shaving and hygiene were nonexistent in super max. Although being strapped into an antigravity unit was entertaining, it did let him think of new ideas for jutsu.

Leaning on his umbrella was getting quite tiresome, he rested his eyes enough in the darkness of his cell, he wanted to stretch him limbs. That’s when the first depression in his center of gravity could be felt, he had guests. His tongue traced his dry flakey lips, dampening his mouth and etching a vile smile obscured by his untamed facial hair. Pushing off from his umbrella he began counting on his fingers of the guests he had to entertain. It seems his wishes had left him spoiled, at first it was one, then two, followed by four. Havoc counted five in total, it seemed his stint in popularity had increased or they were simply too afraid to fight the shark man. Regardless, his assault would first start with the brimming confidence of the blue haired girl and her careless attitude. He’s fought against foes like her, ones empty in the mind except for the few sparse thoughts that kept them alive each and every day, it was a wonder how natural selection had let them live such a rather life with such longevity. Unfortunately for havoc he was already at quite the handicap, not having his blade nor his original umbrella would leave him to rely on his ninjutsu and taijutsu. Oh how he hated soiling his hands on fighting.

A tag here a tag there, the girl seemed to have an infatuation with that of the tag world. It seemed she was blessed with the ability of ice, a representative of the once great Yuki clan, now only numbering in the single digits. Havoc gracefully launched his kasa from his shoulder directly above him, launching the umbrella open he simply muttered “Amagasa: Shinra Tensei” unlike the normal Shinra Tensei, this almighty push was a far more condensed and robust version. Instead of a circular dome, the push is a concussive force with the width and force halved but the speed and range doubled. The arc of gravitational energy would pulverize the ice bullets and aim directly for the flying fairies midsection. “I don’t really believe in fairies.” Havoc planted his feet into the ground waving his free arm about, “Are you not entertained?!” he shouted looking around to the hidden ninja waiting for their ally to be the guinea pig for their experiment.
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---

His mind was moving a mile a minute, there was so much destruction left in the wake of the explosion, was he doing the right thing by making the irrational decision of running head first into danger instead of remaining behind to help the fallen and injured? He knew he could leave the village in good hands with Namine and Kuroyaja, but the fearless leader head from the rain was another story. She seemed as though she kept herself and her village’s best interests first and being a noble leader later. What a drastic disparity between the two leaders aside from the similarity of heavenly chakra that seemed to connect them. Ginsho was always the irrational one, action first and thought later. It was a wonder how he was offered the position of Hokage at all besides his feats of strength on the battlefield that dwarfed the other sanin. However, Jaakuna was the poster child having had the Kyuubi inside of him and being the positive and soft voice the village needed. To think he was alive once more was preposterous really, it had to be the work of that satanic devil, Seijuro. Although, if the puppet master was alive by some miracle it did make sense for his childhood friend to be alive, but why was he on the side that took his life and wanted to destroy the village all those years ago. “Answers, I need answers.” was all he could think of.

Suddenly there was a renaissance of destruction immediately after the explosion that took not so long ago in the observatory. Ginsho turned to see two dangerous villains making their way into the village airborne, one on a wave while the other was floating with an umbrella. The pair was easily recognizable, Havoc and Sano of the Blood mist. “God damn that bastard Ocha. What is he doing? He let these two monsters escape from his prison?! I knew I should have overseen their imprisonment. Why now? Unless they’re with….no it can’t be. I must hurry.” A mixture of fear and anger filled the wise Hokage as he spat his vicious dialogue concerning the ever disappearing Mizukage. Ginsho needed to cover more ground faster, forging one singular hand seal a bright light captivated his body as two pure white wings emerged from his back wrapping through his sacred robe and other clothes beneath. Taking to the skies and ripping his garb off with his one arm he searched like a hawk in the sky for any signs of the forsaken puppet master.

The dark malignant energy struck Ginsho like a spear through the heart. His skin crawled in goosebumps with the gut instinct telling him to flee firing on all cylinders. Swallowing his feelings he closed his eyes and prayed for a few seconds before his body and mind returned to nirvana. Crashing from the skies he landed in an explosion of light and feathers. Standing up his feathers retracted and disappeared back into his spine before he looked up at the demon who had once taken his friends life and almost his own. “Seijuro….Nandate. I swore I would never see your face again. Who brought you back? I don’t care to know anything else. The light of god will see you’re thrust into hell and rain down by his righteous judgement. I will have my revenge.” Ginsho slapped his hands together before bearing a large shield that mimicked that of his archangel summon and an angelic sword in the other.
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---

Everything was happening so fast, Shizuka’s mind was processing the events as they came. The wind was ever-changing and so was Shizuka, he would become familiar with his environment before he got whisked away to the next destination. Shizuka noticed the dip in confidence Kiku had regarding her teammates, she didn’t really consider the consequences when she ran off, but neither did the windseeker when they were thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire or lava really. Sensing her remorse, Shizuka forced her hand into his before rising it up to his chest. “It’s not your fault. We’re a team and we’re stronger together, but also apart. We will see them again and I’m sure they’ll understand.” She returned the nod he had only give her moments ago, ready to take their leave and return to the hunt for the scroll in the middle of the testing area. An explosion to the north, a shark man to the east and a floating man with an umbrella to the west. Was this all part of the exams or were they truly in danger from outside forces? No the explosion was real, but why allow the test to continue? Unless the Leaders were under duress as well. This was a true testament to becoming a ninja he assumed, their plan for attack would need a reassessment.

The crushing waves of destruction blew past them like a gale force wind, Shizuka familiar with the type. There was no more time for idle chat and subtle romances, the ruby eyed prince shifted back to his more serious disposition and began to focus on protection and damage control. “No, this isn’t a test or a drill. The village is being attacked and we’re cornered on all sides, who knows what or who else is surrounding us. Forget the scrolls for now we need to find the other two and help the rest of the teams. Either that or we have to rescue anyone else who is seriously injured or in danger of being killed.” The touch of her hand on his shoulder calmed the boy’s nerves for a few moments before they returned to him. Turning to face her he was hoping she couldn’t see his stern face, “I’m going to need you to use your sense and help me find anyone who can help us or that we can help. I’ll carry you so we can cover more ground, and I’ll take to the air just under the tree line so the other two monsters don’t see us. I’m sure they have their hands full with the others though.”

Just then his concentration was broken by a familiar voice, the only other person Shizuka could possibly call a friend, Kazuhiko. His nerves turned to confusion as he turned around to see the face of the ninja he once knew from long ago. The same blonde haired, blue eyed ninja he had met all those years ago, a small reluctant smile appeared on his face. A small light in the current darkness enveloping the village and forest of death. “Yo! Kazuhiko! I haven’t seen you in forever man. Time hasn’t been good to you my friend, you look awful…” Shizuka approaching the young man. “Just kidding! You look good!” his arms flung out from his body and pulled the other boy into his arms in what could only be described as a bear hug. His wind senses reacted to the girl who was by his side that erupted into action targeting Kiku’s legs. Shizuka was quite hypersensitive to her legs since she had just been afflicted with her semi-permanent damage. Shizuka immediately let go of his childhood friend and recoiled in attempt to stop the woman he brought with him.

Even before he could react or spit out any words, she prefaced her actions by stating she was a medical ninja. His body was already taking tumultuous turns and he hadn’t even seen battle with the invaders yet. His hopes sprang ahead of him hoping that this god sent angel could heal and alleviate the damage Kiku sustained from the earth trials, he could only hope. “Oichi…” Shizuka put the pieces slowly together in his mind having only just recently discovering his feelings and expressing them with Kiku in the forest before they had been interrupted by carnage and now the arrival of his ally. The light bulb lit up as his eyes became narrow slits and his lips curled into a devious smile. Poking the blonde Hercules he teased, “So is she your girlfriend? Huh? You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend! When did you meet? Where did you meet? Did you kiss her yet? How long have you been dating you sly fox?!” Yet again another serendipitous arrival topped the last. The Sundance Kid was alive and well, a glimmer of hope erupted in Shizuka’s windy and confused heart.

Sprinting to the other side of the area, Shizuka wrapped his arms around the thunder god lifting him up into the air, careful not to touch the burns on his arms, fresh as the burns Kiku had faced. His smile quickly faded once he saw the mixed emotions positioned on his face. Slowly letting him down, he got onto his knees and bowed his head, “I’m sorry oh great thunder god, I didn’t mean to run off and never come back. You saw how distraught Cloudy eyes was, I couldn’t just leave her in this forest of death all alone. You’re okay right? The other ninja didn’t hurt you yeah? Where’s Mr. Class President? We need to help him and group up again.” Shizuka stood now facing his entourage, “We need a plan. I need to know what all of you have seen and heard so far. Oichi if you could tend to Jaakuna’s arms next that would be great. We need to assess our surrounding, our wounds, and make a plan to help out the injured or fight along the other teams against whoever these powerful ninja are. But first we need to find Kurin.” The stage was slowly being set, the stars were aligning for his group however.
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Hime Yuki

@Ganryu @yoshua171 @BladeSS4 @Syn

Hime wasn't 100% focused on what Havoc did, but as far as she could tell, her trio of bullets were smashed into pieces mid-air as if some great force had just willed them out of existing. In response the fairy swung her shielded arm up and in the way of whatever invisible force just foiled her infallible plan, the impact from it was enough to shatter the disc and force the Yuki back several feet on her riding disc, shaking her arm off as if it would make the sensation of the strike go away.

"You don't need to believe in fairies to be defeated by one, Scruff McGruff!" Hime proclaimed as she hopped off of the disc she was riding on and kicked it his way in order to give her enough time to charge up some of her chakra and release her second wintry dome of the day, causing another drop in temperature and allowing for snow clouds to steadily develop above them. With the snow storm slowly starting she took off to strafe around him, wings propelling her rapidly over to his right-hand side.

Another tag was used, this one thrown down right next to the daintily-hovering Yuki as she moved and she instantly triggered it to create another of her notable pillars of ice, one hand slapping it and sending a surge of chakra through the thing to produce two dozen ice discs. She flung the sharp ice discs towards Havoc in various directional arcs to try and cut off an evasive routes he could take whilst she advanced on him again.

If the fight went on long enough, she'd soon have the battlefield on her side and he would be at a visibility disadvantage, but she was more focused on socking him in his scruffy face and maybe even chaining him if she had the chance, the chains always worked... Theoretically.

Unfortunately, Kyoka would never get her chance to dissect what could have been the hidden brilliance of of the Ice Queen as circumstance would draw their attention elsewhere. Instead, her (and her former teammates) would get their attention drawn to the rather problematic entrances of a duo that was highly unlikely to be any Chuunin level members. If these were, in fact, some terrorist-types, then the Konoha and other leaders had surely failed to offer the security that they promised, especially considering the rather nasty rumors that they let that one Chuunin boy vanish without a trace. Evidence enough to supply Kyoka with doubts that they weren't in the best of hands, but now wasn't the time to consider that. Now, Kyoka had to ensure her cousin and maybe the others to die horrifically at the hands of these unknown terrorists.

Kyoka was slower than the others but not by ability, she could have kept up, but by choice as she began her studies on the duo. Sharks supported a Water theme while the Weapons and Explosion could be have been anything. Bearing that in mind, targeting the Water user first was the more optimal choice... not that Kyoka had that choice as it was hastily decided by her cousin. Thankfully, the anatomy of such a figure supported the whole water theme and Rumia's hasty actions would give Kyoka the chance to observe and consider her part.

The Water Jutsu was of no surprise but the wielded weapon this figure had showed signs of something unusual. It had honestly looked like an extension of the figure and perhaps it was. Regardless, the interactions unfolded and Kyoka tried to make notes where she could. A third Chuunin, one Kyoka wasn't familiar with, had also joined her cousin in the assault on the Shark figure. An important note as Kyoka's initial move would likely cause harm to her teammates if she wasn't aware they were here within this watered dome.

With the time Kyoka was provided, she casted Buffer Bubble to encompass both her teammates for this battle: Rumia and the other, who likely didn't know what was happening as a faint mist hovered over his body. That was fine as it wouldn't be too distracting and would protect him from most of what Kyoka was already cooking. "Sansei ame... _{Acid Rain, Rain Go Away..."} Kyoka quietly sang as her she released the smelly, heated vapors of acid. Contained in this dome, her Acid Rain clouds were likely to stay trapped inside with them. The idea was pretty simplistic but judging from the anatomy of this figure, lowering the pH of the air and water inside this dome would likely cause him quite a few problems and with this being an sealed off environment, that task was now possible.

While the rain clouds gathered, Kyoka was curious to see if she could stump the Shark with a bit of deception. Although different, her acid did relatively look similar to the water releases and if this figure was arrogant enough to think Kyoka was just coming at him with water, he might not dodge but rather take the blow? It was worth a try. Skilled Acid Technique should do, Kyoka said mentally to herself as she quickly did the hand signals and opened her mouth to sprout a geyser of Acid at the Shark figure. In the event of a dodge, Rumia and the other would find themselves unharmed though pushed back, as the force was enough to sweep someone off their feet.

---

---

"Fair enough. Not like I can blame you for being overly cautious" Hikaru shrugged the subject off as soon the other shinobi did the same, hardly bothering with feeling ofended after the fox justified his (for Hikaru already stopped trying to figure out whether he was a man or woman, and just decided to consider him a guy) reasons. After all, it wasn't like quarreling with the konoha nin would bring him any advantage.

"To be honest, I wish I was as capable as the guy responsible for the comotion. Being able to cause something like the explosion from earlier would be amazing." He joked in a clear attempt of lightening the mood, seemingly dropping his guard as he approached the konoha nin - mostly as a counter measure for the case were the other party was, in fact, an enemy, as Hikaru didn't have any long range attack method. "Well.. I don't really care about which direction we shall take. You're the native, guide the way He didn't even seem to worry about how trustworthy the other party was as he nonchalantly followed Bumu, letting the other Shinobi guide the way from a relatively safe distance. In the end, it wasn't as if he cared for the direction they took - as long as he managed to leave the excessively dangerous forest he would manage to go back to Iwagakure... Probably.

"Hikaru. My name is Hikaru."

---

---

Arashi couldn't help but feel frustrated as he continuously destroyed Jaakuna's clones, incapable of completely ignoring the tainting of the clones, that started to openly mess with him as soon as he revealed his identity for the first time - a clear sign that whoever they were, for he wasn't completely sure that they were his master reincarnated by some twisted technique, they definitely impersonated his mischievous master perfectly. Really? This scoundrel of a master shouldn't have matured at least a bit in the afterlife? For fuck's sake. I'm away too old to deal with his twisted pranks. Arashi cursed internally, clearly starting to waver when faced by such a merciless emotional attack. Having to continuously beat copies of his master was hardly an enjoyable thing after all - even if he did have the urge to beat him quite a few times when he was youngee.

By the time he finally reached the last clone, Arashi was already more than willing to finally put an end to this goddamned play, and he would undoubtedly do so if the clone hadn't started to talk, letting out all of his frustration as he talked with his apprentice for the first time and completely breaking any chance Arashi had to finish this ordeal quickly as he did so, for even if he did harden his heart during all this time and still wanted to believe that this Jaakuna was naught but a trick made by his enemies to distract him while they attacked the village, he simply couldn't ignore the sorrowful voice of his master after 20 years without seeing him and, above anything else, he couldn't just ignore his own feelings any longer. Before he could get a hold of himself, he had already moved to the front of the now siting Jaakuna... And slapped him.

"Did good!? Seriously!? Do you fucking expect me to take it easy and talk about the good old times with you or something you good for nothing master!" The white haired man yelled, not even trying to hide his frustration for any longer as the "carefree and lazy" facade he set up for himswlf instantly crumbled. "Do you have any fucking idea of how hard it was!? I was a freaking teenager, even if I tried to be strong and act as someone strong to make you proud, do you really think I had the capacity to "do good" by myself after you selfishly gambled with your own freaking life without even thinking about warning me before doing so!?" He didn't even try to hold down his temper as he grabbed Jaakuna's clothes, pushing him towards himself as he gave voice to his outrage. "I was so freaking stupid that I actually got this close to attacking the Hidden Rock, thinking that targeting some random idiots who probably were as much of a victim as I and dying in the process would count as a valid way of getting my revenge! I would've done it without a single thought if she..." He continued for another dozen of seconds before forcefully stopping himself as he seemingly recovered part of his control, letting go of Jaakuna's clothes as he pushed back the hood that formerly covered his face, hiding it from the clone's view and silently staring the other side for half a dozen of seconds before he recovered enough of his composure to talk.

"I didn't go to her funeral. I didn't even hear about her death until a year later. Do you have anything else to ask before I send you back?" The white tiger sounded tremendously cold as he uttered these words, seemingly devoid of any emotion as he once more deciced to hide himself behind his usual mask, seemingly incapable of handling the situation without it. If one looked closely, thought, they would notice that something that didn't happen for the last ten years happened as soon as he forcefully stopped himself, as, seemingly fueled by the last part of his outburst, tears had started falling from the supposedly unacrupulous white tiger's eyes.

"Now, I'll leave this to you, but be careful. Kids these days have no respect for their betters." Jaakuna said, as he threw two kunai, one aimed at the kid that was challenging the Blacksmith. The other kunai was aimed at the capsized log, and based on that action the first kid was a clone and the original would be where the kunai was aimed. Sebun narrowed his eyes at the newly appeared Jaakuna, He wasn't happy that Jaakuna blew his cover by attacking the young boy, but it also gave away the deception of the clone.

"You're not wrong Jaakuna. Do be careful to remember that all of you are still kids to me. You boy hiding behind the downed tree. Show yourself, it's very unbecoming of a Chunin to hide from his superiors. Make yourself known or I will result to unfavorable actions." Sebun said turning his attention to the capsized tree. He planned to show a little bit of force to convince the kid. Sebun weaved several handseals and several portals began to form behind him. Several different weapons began to form as well but they stayed in place, all aimed at the tree. Sebun was ready to unleash them if the kid didn't reveal himself. "Don't worry young one, I won't bite" He said as a smile began to form.

"Huh?" Kaba didn't even notice Jaakuna approach the area. Suddenly his clone was dispatched by its own attack. Before he could suffer a similar fate, Kaba quickly would move to defend himself. The second kunai aimed towards his refuge seemed to suddenly stop in mid-air. It was caught within a barrier, and the sound of a muffled pop soon followed due to the detonation of the explosive tag attached to the kunai. The barrier dissipated and the slightly now charred kunai fell harmlessly into the water below. Kaba sighed as he expected an ally to appear before another enemy. He quickly figured his chances of defeating two foes while not exactly being at full strength would be nearly impossible.

Kaba hopped upon a branch, revealing himself to the two assailants while standing in a defensive pose. He took a close look at Sebun and noted the amount of weapons that were in formation, suspended behind him. The scene was intimidating, sure. But the young shinobi would not show an ounce of fear to the strange foes. Quickly, his attention was turned to Jaakuna. As his studies began to flood his mind, Kaba's defenses were lowered and he froze in place, suddenly realizing he was standing before a very man who he learned of years ago due to his importance to the village's history as a shinobi. "You...! Are you not supposed to be dead?" Kaba became defensive once again as he began to theorize exactly what was happening at the moment. He knew of forbidden techniques that could reanimate the dead, but he couldn't be sure if this was the result of such a technique. He was dumbfounded.

One moment he was seemingly on his way to attaining the title of Jounin, and the next his village was under attack by mysterious powerful shinobi. And now a former Leaf Village Sannin was seemingly back alive and assisting in an attack against a village he once protected. Kaba was filled with confusing emotions, and attempted to calm himself before making another move. His chances of victory in this current situation were slim, so he decided to try and buy time in hope of possible reinforcements coming to his aid. If he had to, he would defend himself to the best of his ability from the enemies. "I don't quite understand what is happening at the moment, but I am certain the Hokage would want to speak with both of you." Kaba turned back to Sebun, not fully taking his attention off of Jaakuna. "I don't expect you to bite, but judging from the number you and your buddies did to the village and the forest, you wouldn't hesitate to try and skewer me with one of your weapons there..." Kaba gestured towards the bevy of arms aimed towards his location. [color=red]"You all are making quite the mistake, don't think we will just let you walk away from this without answering for your crimes. Why are you doing this? What is your purpose here?!"[color] Kaba's tone slightly shifted to one of anger as he awaited a response while still standing ready to defend himself at any moment.

"I will have my revenge."

Seijuro had chosen this spot well. A clearing in the forest of death, knotted trees rose up, creating a kind of barrier that sealed this part off from the rest of the world. It was a perfect isolation, a natural space where nobody could approach. The great Hokage, if he was even deserving of that title had walked so eagerly into this area, as if he owned it. But this was the forest of death. Death was the domain of Seijuro Nandate, as more had died in his name than any other shinobi of recent mention. Because despite all who called themselves the Gods of Shinobi, there was and would forever be, only one Seijuro.
"I came back due to my own power." He spoke calmly, as if in a bit of a trance. When he turned to look at Ginsho, his golden eyes where looking upon a child. Because to him, this Hokage was a child. One barely worthy of his time, much less his revenge. But maybe he could indulge in a little petty matter. After wall, why have all this power if you didn't use it.

"You know, Gautama, I think that's a lovely little nickname your friend gave you." Seijuro smirked, rubbing in his words like knives. "After all, you don't really believe in the teachings of the buddha, do you? No, you follow some being you call God." He took a step closer, unafraid of the threat display Ginsho put up. "Well, from me to you... Your belief is false. After witnessing the hell of your 'God' first and foremost, I can say without a doubt that there is no god! You chained me in your belief, and I shattered it like dust to the wind! Like a child peeking at his presents too early... It was sadly disappointing." He paused, now standing three meters away, as if challenging Ginsho to make the first move. "Now, I'm not going to do this out of revenge. Or any pitiful belief in a god. No. I'm doing this 100%, undeniably... Because when you pass away, I will be your only god!" That smile was pure delight to the true god of shinobi. "You will die, because I... HAVE DECREED IT!"




Bumu paused, and sniffed the air. He landed on a branch, bringing the entire pace of their escape to a grinding halt. His nose wrinkled, and finally he shook his head. "Nah, there isn't a gunpowder-y scent." She finally said, breaking the silence before moving once more. "If it was an explosion I'd smell the gunpowder. If it's chakra based, must be something specialized since there wasn't any combustion." Bumu went on, as if the fox was an explosives expert. "Though there could have been one, but this is more like a shockwave. You know? It's different. Like the difference between peeing in the bathroom and peeing in the woods. One toilet is artificial, the other is natural." Terrible analogue, but it was the best Bumu had. Probably made her seem like know-it-all. Eesh, he hated those kinds of people! "B-But's that's just a theory! I swear I'm not an egghead!"

The silence between the two could have been deafening, before Bumu spoke again. "But, on a different topic, I like your name." Bumu grinned, landing on all fours and then leaping away. At the very least with his human disguise restored it felt... Better? Chatting with people when they didn't look down at you. "Hikaru. Hiiiii-Kar-Ooooooo" Bumu said, savoring the name on his lips. "I had to come up with my own name you know. Mom didn't give me one, and dad... Well never met my dad to be honest." She grinned, already reaching the western most part of the forest. This was going rather fast when you just make a bee-line for the exit. "Your parents have a good taste in name, you know that?"




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Konoha Hospital... @GlitchyBugger@Write@Odin

Three clones left, and the lady from the land of rain did a pretty good job of it. But, judging from all this, it seemed a continued fight was meaningless. They could split their chakra a bit further, maybe perform another clone barrage. But that? Waste of time. All three stood on the other building, looking across the way and soaking in what in another life time would have been a beautiful battle. Nodding to each other, two of the three vanished into poofs of smoke. Gone to report the news back to boss. But the third, he remained there, because he had a message to give.
"I like you, miss." The masked ninja said, nodding quickly. "So I think you should be gifted the knowledge of who orchestrated all this." Quick pause, wait for the drama to flare up... "The mastermind... Is Ocha, the Mizukage. But smart thing like you? I'm sure you'd have figured it out soon enough." Then, like the others, he too vanished.

MISSION SUCCESS!
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Konoha Marketplace... @Spanner

The clone grunted as he was lifted up off the ground, eye to eye with Arashi for the first time in forever. A gust of breeze blew that dark hair from his eyes, and there was fear. Not a fear of death. He lost that long ago. But a fear at the idea that he had lost something he considered his own. The loyalty and trust of the boy he considered his apprentice. "Wow... I must have really fucked up, huh?" That was it for a moment, as if the weight of it all had crashed down on him. He spent years in hell cursing his own fate. Oh sure, he probably mourned and wondered how others must feel, but that grief turned to anger. How... Selfish. Well, might as well own it. "I didn't mean to die. I didn't know I was leaving you behind when I left the village. To you, I must be a pretty poor Sensei. I wasn't even there to see you become a man. I didn't even see your first kiss. A teacher is supposed to be there for his apprentice, right? I couldn't even do that." He smiled softly, as if enjoying the greatest joke the world had ever seen.

"If you need somebody to blame... It's the Tsuchikage." He frowned, closing his eyes in acceptance. "Bastard will deny it. He wants to start a war between Konoha and Kirigakure. Thinks that if he weakens the other nations through fighting he can sweep the rewards. Brought me back so if that failed, he could pass the blame onto a third party. Sickening really... You think a puppet Tsuchikage is bad, and then you meet the real shitty deal." Finally, he reached out, and patted Arashi on the cheek. "I have one question... And think on it. I don't need an answer right now. I'll get it later. But..."

"Are you proud of who you've become?" The hand that pierced his chest lingered for a moment... He smiled, softly and seemed to hang limp. Eyes wide... And then he was gone. POOF! But he left Arashi with a new path... Vengeance.

MISSION SUCCESS!
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Forest of Death - Havoc Arena... @BladeSS4

Sneaky Sneaky... Tashiro was certainly a cut above other ninja, since he was smart enough to not attack a man like Havoc head on. Not without watching and preparing his own jutsu. Unfortunately, he was probably trying to focus on too many things. After all, gathering all the moisture needed for a water jutsu, AND keeping track of a fight? Not bad. He could still probably react to any attack aimed his way. Except, for an attack from behind. There was a soft red blip of light from deep in the forest, and right behind Tashiro came Jaakuna Aka, all dressed up in his nicest combat suit. Outstretched like a rocket, he had aimed a high speed kick right at Tashiro's exposed back. The impact wouldn't kill him. It could, but Jaakuna made sure it wouldn't. It'd defiantly knock him out of the tree, and because of great timing, right into the shockwave Havoc had chucked at Hime. Hey, if Havoc was going to use his gravity attacks, he might as well hit something.
"SPEED BALL SPECIAL! INCOMING!"

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Forest of Death - Sebun Arena... @BladeX

"Oh, you recognize me." Jaakuna was all grins, seemingly ignoring the danger of the situation. "Ah, such a shame, and here I thought coming back from the dead gave me a bit of an... Incognito status." For a dead man he seemed pretty joyous. He barely even seemed to register the barrier ninja as a threat, though barrier rarely seemed to stop him. "Sebun, this kid knows barrier stuff. You can tell because he blocked that kunai with a barrier." Captain Obvious grinned as a red cloak began to shimmer over his form. Teeth clicked together as he turned to face Kaba, ready for a fight. He seemed relaxed, notably so as a single tail sprouted from the red cloak that wrapped his body. His clothing seemed to gain a fancy aura to it, as if changing to fit a certain motif he had going on. Then there was the obvious shape of the fox ears.

"To be honest, one tail should be more than enough for you kid." The shinobi said, taking a step closer and waggling his finger. "Now... I'm attacking from your right." He pointed to Kaba's right, and then he vanished. A red blip of light, and he was on Kaba's left. Already swinging in for a good left hook to send him down to the ground to fight Sebun. "Oops, did I say right? I meant left!"

Charging the water saw up and trying to keep his eyes trained on Havoc, Tashiro thought he was safe to charge up the attack. The man he had his eyes on used some sort of jutsu Tashiro wasnt familiar with to try and blow Hime away with some sort of Push attack, but Tashiro didnt get to see what came from the attack or Hime's reaction as he didnt see coming was the man coming up from behind. Caught off guard getting a kick right to the back. The swordsmen's breath knocked out of him. Slow to react he tries to turn managing to get a few words off, "Back Slic...Gah!" Cut off by getting knocked out of the air by the shockwave of the same attack of that very instant he used it on Hime.

Like a rocket Tashiro was driven into the water that was now over taking the forest He nearly touches the floor of the forest within the water when he finally stops descending. 'Where did that guy come from? That doesn't matter, my attack takes too long to use in this situation. One man was easy but two with insane abilities....although I don't think kicking someone in the back is that insane...I was careless Cant leave Hime up there with both those guys I have to help, guess I got to get out of the water.' the thoughts and concerns Tashiro had as he thought with his moment under the water. With the current threatening to wash him away

Thinking fast Tashiro started to weave the hand sign of Tiger building up chakra was simple enough, he speaks muffled by the water "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu, 'Water Clone Jutsu'" Creating three clones using a tenth of his chakra per clone. Two plus himself use one as a springboard to launch himself out of the water. The clone disperses the moment they launch off it as the rapid water tears the clone back into water. Two Clones and himself launch out of the water. The real one going right back to where he was first knocked down at looking to go right at Jaakuna head on. The other clone look to come up from behind with a similar approach both looking to go for a front slash attack. The third going for a sort of Plan B and that is to cut down the tree. With a full slash towards the trunk of the tree. Tashiro and his clones look to get revenge for the kick to the back with the three prong attack.

As Kyo ran after Senna toward the southeast corner of the forest he saw the image of Mizuki and caught the sly grin that his friend had used to flash him all too often appear across his comrade's face. Nostalgia flooded Kyo's mind at first, but there was something sinister beneath that grin. It held no true emotion. It appeared only Kyo had picked up on this with his Sharingan, as Senna was solely focused on reaching their friend.

In the distance to the northwest at the heart of the forest, an explosion of epic proportions. Normally the chaos would have triggered Senna's emotional sensory abilities even from that distance with such pain and surprise from such a large bomb. But not now, now she was only focused on the image of their comrade. She wanted so desperately to believe he was alive and well. Kyo's eyes flickered over to the explosion, but returned his focus to Senna as his protective instincts would not allow him to lose sight of her. Moments later he could see a rain of what appeared to be water sharks cascading down upon one end of the forest of death. Within seconds, a large concussive blast flattened the other side of the forest of death. What the Hell is going on here?! Is this part of the fucking trial?! No.. It can't be. That first explosion was the Kage's observation tower. These are orchestrated attacks meant to be positioned during the Jonin exam for the purpose of distracting us long enough for whoever is pulling the strings to accomplish something... but what is that something? His mind was racing to figure out the enemy's next move, but with his focus split between his surroundings and the image of Mizuki in his mind he could not think clearly. He could only ponder for a moment that it was no coincidence that Mizuki was returning at the exact moment these attacks were carried out on his home before his thoughts were interrupted. He was powerless to help his village.

Suddenly, the chase stopped, the cloaked puppet stopped in the center of a clearing and turned to face Kyo and Senna. His face looked exactly as they had known him, aside from two thin black lines coming down from the eyes, as if to mock them, as if the creator could have easily erased them but wanted to show them just what had become of their friend. They were reuinited. It was just as Senna had wished for the night that Mizuki disappeared. Right? Of course not. This was not what she wished for. Not at all. Whoever- No, whatever- this thing standing before them was, it was not Mizuki, the mischievous, yet kind-hearted friend that had been a part of their squad for years who always poked fun at Kyo and Senna's relationship. "Mizuki..." The name sounded distant even to her own ears as she whispered his name. It was as if a bomb had gone off and dulled her eardrums. And a bomb had gone off in front of her. Reality had exploded before her very eyes. A tear fell from her left eye and hit the earth of the Forest of Death. The denial of the truth set before her was written all over her face.

Senna tried to rush toward the puppet, but Kyo put his hand across her chest and stepped in front of her to protect her. Clink! The brief second of metal scraping together as a hundred shuriken all flew from the trees behind them. With Senna behind him, the tripwire that Kyo had activated by taking that protective step in front of Senna triggered the malicious trap around them. How had he let that go unnoticed? His Sharingan could have easily seen that. His emotion had taken ahold for a moment and he couldn't help but to do what he thought was best for Senna. And now the trap was not aimed at him, but with Senna behind him the shuriken coming from the trees were aimed mostly at her. A jolt of Black Lightning left his feet, his Sharingan pinpointing the trajectory of every single shuriken in a fraction of a second. His reaction was peak, precise, and perfect. Well... as perfect as that situation could have turned out.

The seals on his wrists activated, his katana appearing in his hand and a kunai in the other. Using these tools combined with his lightning-accelerated reaction and his Sharingan he spun around while using his sword and kunai to protect Senna from every single incoming shuriken, taking her to the ground as he spun and using his own body as a shield for her. He was not so lucky, several dozen shuriken had struck him from various angles. He only had enough time to protect himself from those that would have struck vital points on his body. He rolled off of Senna and dug his katana into the earth, his legs wobbling as he struggled to stay standing. He dropped to a knee, several shuriken sticking out of his back and several dozen small lacerations across his arms and legs. He was losing a decent amount of blood, but nothing life-threatening had befallen him.

Senna quickly gathered herself and dusted the shuriken out of Kyo's back. "Are you okay?!" She knew he would be fine. A green glow covered her hands as she placed them upon his back, and his wounds slowly began to heal. Her head snapped up toward the cloaked figure of their friend. "Why would you do this to him, Mizuki?! What the hell is going on?!" She cried out. All the confusion was getting to her. Kyo winced in pain as he tried to explain that there was no way that Mizuki was inside of that soulless thing. But something caught him offguard. From one knee he dropped down to both, his grip on his sword loosening just a bit as he could feel himself struggling to stay upright. "P-poison.." He croaked as his eyes narrowed in defiance, glaring at the soulless puppet. The shuriken were not meant to kill Senna nor Kyo. It had all been perfectly planned. The puppet had stopped at the precise spot in the clearing that he knew he would be chased to in order to spring the trap on them. Not only that but whoever was controlling this thing knew that Kyo would step in front of Senna to protect her, and would also throw himself in the way of the shuriken to protect her. Actually, the trap was meant to hit both of them without fail. It was simply impressive that Kyo managed to stop every single shuriken from touching the girl he loved. Unfortunately it was this selflessness that sealed all of their fate.

"Senna... Why did you abandon me... Senna...." The coarse, raspy voice that came from the puppet was not of Mizuki's. Whatever was left of him was being manipulated by someone else, that much Senna could see. But why then did the puppet raise its hand out in withering desperation, as if to cry out to her in pain? Senna felt nothing from the puppet. Nothingness. A cold, empty void of blackness surrounded its existence. Confusion flooded her mind. Was this really the remnant of her friend reaching out to her in his final moments of life, if this could even be called life? But it looked just like her friend. There was barely anything to indicate otherwise. How could it not be?

"Mizuki..!" It grew from a whisper to a hoarse cry, she was choking on the inevitable fact that she had to accept that this, whatever this was, was what had become of her friend. Nothing, not even the death of her mother, had prepared her for this: seeing one of her closest friends of her life turned into a husk of life that was not truly dead, their soul mangled and trapped in a realm of half-existence into a shell of their former selves, with no emotion, nothing but an afterlife of servitude to WHAT?! Senna couldn't figure it out. She couldn't feel anything beyond the lifeless human puppet of her friend that stood before her. No bad intentions. No evil. Nothing that she had felt when Mizuki disappeared in the forest just yesterday. Her ability to sense emotion, the only thing she had ever grown to trust in this world, was completely useless to her in this moment. She had nothing to go on but what she felt, because it was the only thing to feel, other than Kyo's fear that clouded up the background of her thoughts.

Senna took a desperate step forward toward the shell of her friend. Another tear hit the ground, this time from her right eye. "Senna, that's not him!!" Kyo called out with agony in his voice. "Don't fall for it!" He spat, helpless against the situation. His arm twitched, barely able to move anything. The poison was coursing through his veins, paralyzing him. Soon her face scrunched up in a river of tears as she tried to fight back against the overwhelming sensation of helplessness that overtook her. "MIZUKI..!!!" She cried out, her feet compelled by emotion toward the image of her friend. She stepped forward, tears now pouring from her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to save her friend. All her life all she ever wanted was to help those around her. She didn't know what he had become, she had never known anything like this in her entire life. This forbidden art of human puppetry... she didn't even know to call it that, all she saw was her friend, as lifelike and realistic as ever, only void of any soul that had once inhabited the shell of a being that stood before her now.

A horrifying grin came over the puppet's face as Senna ran toward the husk of Mizuki. Its master knew exactly what went through the girl's head. He could see his tactics working, everything from start to finish had gone almost entirely according to plan. The shuriken were meant to poison the girl as well and Seijuro had planned to have this little facade over by now, but Kyo was quite the specimen. He was the wrench in Seijuro's plans. But the puppet master was not phased by his heroics. The situation was still in his control, and nothing could take that from him now.

"SENNA, DON'T!!!" How Kyo was managing to scream with his motor functions numbed was nothing short of a miracle. He was using all the strength he could muster not to falter during this crucial moment. She needed his help. She was trapped in her own mind, unable to rely on her sixth sense to see what was really going on. She couldn't feel any malicious intent because there was nothing to feel from a puppet. All she saw was the friend they both wanted back so desperately. She didn't want to believe he was dead. But Kyo saw the trap that they had been caught in. They were but prey to whoever was controlling them now. They were actors on someone else's stage. His eyes widened as he watched helplessly as the girl he loved ran straight into Mizuki's arms. It was the most painful sight he was ever forced to witness. As Senna ran into the puppet she wrapped her arms around him, tears falling onto the jet black cloak the puppet adorned.

Before Kyo's very eyes, six knives shot out of Senna's back. Her clothing was immediately painted red from the holes going straight through her chest. The puppet's ribcage was rigged to protrude outwards, the rib bones sharpened into daggers. "STOP!!!" Kyo cried out once more but it was far too late. Senna's jaw dropped, her arms falling lifelessly to her sides. Her eyes stared straight ahead, far past Mizuki, far off into the void of death. In her last moments she coughed, her blood staining the black cloak of her killer. She turned her head to look back at Kyo, her mouth covered in blood, eyes wide with fear and sadness. She mouthed the words "I'm sorry" before resting her head on the puppet's shoulder just as her eyes drifted away from this world.

For a moment nothing happened. The world was still for a split second and it was all over. His love was lost. Kyo could not hear the pounding of his own breath, only the beat of his heart accelerating like a war drum in his chest. "AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Black Lightning erupted around Kyo. His arm shook as he pressed himself off the ground. His legs quivered however in but a moment the Uchiha was on his feet, a torrential cloak of jet black lightning surrounding his body. He may have been poisoned, incapable of sending natural signals from his brain to the neurological receptors, but by creating his own electrical impulses through his lightning armor he was on his feet. He was used to the chakra control necessary to increase his reaction speeds with his Kuroi Raiton no Yoroi but this was on an entirely new level of chakra control. The feat he was pulling off was something you only heard in stories.

His fists clenched tighter than they ever had even if he couldn't feel them. Blood ran down his knuckles as his nails dug into his numb palms. This way of movement was not perfect, he was clearly overdoing it with this strain he was putting on his nervous system and his muscles. He was incredibly tense, his teeth grit shut in fury. CRASH!!! The sound of thunder collapsed upon the earth as Kyo took a single step forward toward the puppet. His arms quaking with rage, a bolt of lightning erupted from the earth at his feet, ripping up a good portion of the ground around him in his wake.

~Impossible!! This is unheard of! This mere child has found a way to overcome a complex poison of the Dokugami clan and is using his remaining strength to stay and fight... instead of running from death, he will overclock his body and embrace the same fate as the Akizakura girl.. No... I think he truly believes he can win here.. Well, let's see what you've got, Uchiha..~ The puppet of Mizuki removed Senna's body from the daggers coming out of its chest and held her in its arms on display for Kyo. In hindsight, this in-your-face display of 'haha your girlfriend is dead' was probably not the smartest move. But it certainly achieved Seijuro's goal, it brought the most out of the Uchiha.


A scarlet river ran down the right side of Kyo's face. Agony and hatred gave birth to an inhuman scream the likes of which Kyo never knew was within him. Senna's lifeless body was dropped like a rag doll as Zetsumei dashed backward, throwing his cloak off as it was destroyed in seconds as Kyo appeared in front of him, tearing through it with a mass of black lightning. Before the cloak could touch the ground, Kyo was kneeling beneath Senna's body before it could hit the ground. He looked down at her as a tear of blood dropped from his eye and rolled down her cheek. He shut his eyes so tight that they hurt as he laid her body gently upon the ground.

"YOU!!!" He opened his eyes once more as he whipped his head over to face the puppet again. This time a stream of blood came from the left, looking directly through the puppet and for but a moment the eye of insight saw the puppet master. Seijuro felt this for certain. A split second later a massive thunderclap was heard as Kyo gathered his remaining chakra into a flash of black lightning that created a scar upon the earth for a hundred yards in front of him, cutting through the forest.

Kyo's arms shook with rage and quivered from the fatigue of his body being pushed to its physical limits. True tears rolled down his face, mixing with the blood from his eyes. The pain he felt from them and from his body beign thrust into overdrive was numbed from the poison. A curious cocktail, as he could not sense just how far he had pushed himself. In fact without Senna there to heal him, at this very moment, without medical attention, Kyo was going to die. Part of him knew this. And he did not care. Not without the love of his life. He had nothing else to live for. If it were up to him, he would die right here with her. And so he gave up. The last remnants of electricity fled from his body, whether he willingly dispelled it or he had run out of chakra after purging several kilometers of forest into Hell was of no importance. He dropped to the ground, his arms still cradling the girl he loved with all of his heart. She was all he had ever wanted. There was but one regret he had in life, and that was his failure to protect her.

They did it, not as graceful as other groups, and there were no bloody fights, but the exam was complete. They had finished dead last, but it was still a pass no matter how embarrassing. As the Hokage explained the next part of the exam Date tried to formulate a strategy, he could tell other people might stick with their and pick off loners to get that they needed. That meant being alone was a dangerous option, but before he could even speak to the couple about his ideas they were gone. Well that sucked and to his surprise Kobito was gone as well, Date at least thought his old friend would say goodbye. But that was the world they lived in, no goodbyes or farewells for those who did not deserve it.

“SENTOU KAISHI; LET THE BATTLES COMMENCE!” Boomed the Hokage's voice followed by a gunshot.

That meant it was time to suck it up and find a way to come out on top of the examination. Date knew this was not that last part it was just to help further weed out the weak so he could not afford to be stopped here. Date's plan was simple find a good 1v1 and win the fight, if that did not work he would need to be more crafty but the rules they set made things fairly straightforward and easy.

Before he could even leave out into the forest, Date heard a series of explosions and the ground shake around him. Like anyone else who was still inside, Date ran out and climbed a tree to get a batter view, the explosion came from the village and this caused him to turn a pale shade. His mother was there, she could be hurt, or dead, its not like she spoke or moved she kind of just sat there and stared off into space s there was no way for her to call for help. Date had to decided what to do, go to the village or commit to his duties and find a culprit, and for once in his life he trusted that his father wold keep her safe and choose to stay in the forest and search form here.

While he looked at his burning home a flood washed through the forest. Weaker trees, like the one he was on, began to sway and give under the pressure of the water. Date jumped from tree to tree until he found a stable one, the water had stirred up weak rooted tress and the ground was soaked. This kind of made him smile, the one place that needed water was burning, and the place that did not need anymore was flooding. Soon after that thought he activated his Sharingan to get a better look around. He could tell the forest was in chaos, whether it be from the destruction in is face or the massive amounts of chakra being used in the distance.

There was something that caught his eye, a man he had never seen before was floating in the sky, and when he came down the sky rained metal. "What th-" Before he could even finish his though weapons fell upon the forest, Date used his Sharingan to out maneuver the ones that might have hit him and once he found balance on tree again he sighed. Looking around he could see the destruction, swords, spears, arrows, all types of weapons littered about, the flooded forest floor, the Forest of Death really matched its name now. Then he had an idea, Date knew it was silly thought but what if this was apart of the exam the only reason he considered this was because the Kages had the power to teleport them to a random forest and make a tornado (he could only imagine what the other test were) so could they do this as well? His gut was telling him to shut up and stop speaking nonsense. Date stuck with his gut and followed the man from the sky.

On his way in the direction the man came down, Date came across three individuals: one he vaguely recognized as Kaba Joukaku, Date only knew his face but that was it never met the guy before. The man with the fox aura that was attacking Kaba was, well he was supposed to be dead, and lastly the man "Sebun". Date knew Kaba would not be able to take them on together, he could feel the power radiating form them and doubted that even if they worked together they would stand a chance. Despite his gut telling him not to, as a ninja he had to rush from the trees to Kaba's aid. It was his duty to help his fellow shinobi out right? Date shook his head and proceeded towards Kaba with red and black eyes ready for a fight.

---

---

Having trudged through the Forest of Death, burning his way and using the lava as a form of locomotion, Kazayatsu was on a mission. Anger and determination cast on his features, the Tsuchikage soon arrived at the location of one of the criminals. Lucky him, it was the one he was looking for too, though it appeared that there was another. A weapon user of some kind.

It didn't matter.

Or, it wouldn't have until he noticed the jounin candidate under attack. Jaakuna's actions were almost in slow motion to him, but not because they weren't fast, rather because his own senses were exceptional even without sensory techniques.

Faster than the eye could see or the body could move, a pulse of chakra shot from his foot through his lava and into the ground. It crossed the entire distance between the kage and the chuunin traveling to the base of the tree he stood upon. A small amount of chakra locked the chuunin's feet to the branch--an impromptu, forced tree climbing technique—followed swiftly by the tree and a small amount of the earth around it lurching downwards and just barely out of the trajectory of Jaakuna's attack.

Kazayatsu stepped down a staircase composed of his own lava, the same piercing, dangerous look in his eyes as he approached the weapon user. His spear remained firmly in hand, held parallel to the ground.

"Leaf shinobi, you're overpowered and outnumbered yet here you stand. I commend your bravery, but I also question your wisdom." The kage's arm raised, held out at his side as he walked, before he spun his spear, chakra channeling through it all the while. His other hand blurred through handsigns at a frightening pace.

He looked between the two S rank criminals with a glare, before he gave them something akin to his characteristic smile. However, when he spoke, there was a joyful sort of malice in his tone. “Now, why don't we play a game from our childhoods. I do hope you'll remember it. It's called, 'The Floor is Lava.'”

With that a pulse of chakra shook the earth in every direction within their area as he slammed his spear's blunt end into the ground. With that chakra the rock and soil within a 30 meter radius began to rapidly bubble and spit as it was transmuted into lava. The first two seconds would be the only ones in which they could stand on the ground without being burned. Within the four seconds that followed one couldn't be within 2 meters of the ground without getting minor burns, and within the following six one would be unable to be within 5 meters without sufficient shielding. Oddly, both the kage and the chuunin would remain unaffected by the deadly heat.

Meanwhile, the Tsuchikage's smile had disappeared and the earth had risen once more, putting Kaba Joukaku level with everyone else once more. The ground beneath him was not lava, but it was only a space of about 2 meters in diameter. Enough for one person only.

“Chuunin. I highly suggest you get as far away from me as you can and find your fellow shinobi. I'll handle these monsters.” There was a dangerous edge to his words, something that spoke of a rage barely contained. Beneath the surface of his mind there stirred a beast. Hopefully it would slumber a while longer.

---

---

---

Watching as the ice shinobi took something of a battering, Ayame cringed visibly. She didn't like this. They needed to act, but how to deal with someone who had that kind of raw power. Well, they'd just have to figure it out. Firstly she knew that whatever the man was using would utilize chakra, which meant she had something for it so long as it wasn't too concentrated. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself she glanced at her two teammates. These were people dear to her. Close to her heart. If either of them came to harm she would never forgive herself.

This in mind, she steeled herself and stood up fully atop the great bird of Aito's creation.

“Ai, Aito, we're not gonna have many shots at this. We need to disable this man if we can, capture him if at all possible so the kage can question him. However, I...I'm not going to hold back,” as she said it she swallowed hard.

“So when I say back off, I need both of you to listen immediately. I don't know how well I can control my offensive techniques.”

That said she trained her eyes on criminal, and as she did they narrowed. Chakra fluxed through her system.

“Aito, provide assistance to the others and us. If you see one of us use the Kai handseal it means we need you at our location. Otherwise we'll just use our names. Ai, for now at least...I'm Aya again, like when we were kids.” As she said it she didn't look at them. She kept her gaze fixed on their adversary, not even looking at the other allies that had arrayed against the man.

“Ai if the nin goes above the treeline, we'll need to use your barrier tags as platforms to step off of. I need you to pay attention to both of our positions so we don't lose maneuverability. Whatever sort of ninjutsu this man is using, it could be fatal on the first strike. I'd rather not find out first hand.”

That said she let her chakra channel through the metal in her body and then, suddenly, a shimmering layer of it formed over her entire body.


Taking one more deep breath, she bent her knees, glanced at Ai, and then launched forwards, two barrier stakes in each hand. She began using tree trunks to propel herself, periodically stabbing a stake into a tree as she moved in a circle around their target.

Assuming her sister would be near enough to hear her, she spoke while placing her Sekisao.

“We need to lock down his movement and then knock him out. Your purify will do it I think. We just need to create an opening to land it. I'll manage for a bit. Use your Shunshin and go communicate the plan to the other shinobi. Tell them to lock down his movement and distract him while I set up a barrier. Tell them to help create an opening for us. We need to work together.” At no point did she turn her gaze towards Ai, instead keeping it on the man even as she kept some trees between her location and his.

This was going to be tough.

---

---

---

Flames and chains were their rebuttal, but he did not answer in kind. For while the explosion earlier could have been a distraction from another fight, the appearance of a massive water technique in addition to the destruction of an entire area of the forest alerted him to the fact that something had gone truly awry. Eyes narrowed he dodged behind the massive tree, flipping away and off of it to do so. The flames scorched its bark and the chains struck at the tree. However, their onslaught ended abruptly as they too realized the severity of their situation. Two of them fleed, while another, the Senju, protected the rest. Koutaku jumped down from the tree as the wooden barrier formed around them.

Walking towards them. His expression unreadable, Koutaku spoke up.

“I believe the only other sensor among us just departed along with a rather well versed ninjutsu user.” He glanced around the dome, noticing that not a droplet of water had gotten through and that it was holding up fairly well.

“That makes you the only sensor nin among us. You're our eyes and ears then.” He glanced at Usagi, then Tsukiko, his gaze piercing as he appeared to size them up. There was something cold about his eyes, despite him being their ally in the here and now.

“Usagi Orihara. Wind affinity, and you kenjutsu user...clearly. Could never get a bead on you. Taijutsu focused or ninjutsu?”

Not even waiting for a response his gaze darted to the other young woman. “Tsukiko Umene the ruthless ambush specialist. Earth affinity. Exceptional stealth and physical abilities.” He paused a moment and smiled before looking back at Kurin.

“And of course, Kurin Senju. Sensor and Mokuton wielder.” A small grin crossed his lips before falling away as he glanced up. He'd heard another impact beyond their barrier.

“I believe there are three intruders. A water user; someone with wide area of effect and high damage; and of course a high end weapon user. That is, if these blades are anything to go by.” He glanced at one of the only weapons that had gotten into the wooden barrier before it had fully enclosed them.

“Based on the skills at our disposal, I'd say our best bet is the weapon user. Thoughts?”

He looked between them again. Expectant.

---

---

---

The figure laughed faintly, then turned away, standing sideways, his eyes on the horizon. He was watching what he could of the battles in the Forest of Death. A brief silence passed before he spoke again. When he did the levity was largely gone from his voice.

“You've caught my interest. A man without meaningful heritage ruining a Hyuga's arm. A genjutsu expert and an assassin, if I've pegged you right.” He turned away from the spectacle to look at Kaito once more.

“I'm looking for prestigious individuals with considerable skill and loose morals in the interest of an...mmm, an endeavor lets call it.” He chuckled slightly at his own little joke, but said no more, not even prompting Kaito for a response. To do so would be to give the man power, to let him control the flow of their conversation, to alter the nature of it entirely.

He didn't want that and so he kept quiet and waited, comfortable in the relative silence.

---

With her protege and newly acquired Amegakure recruit both running lower and lower on chakra and stamina, Yogensha was already preparing to take over and unleash her hiden. But, just when she assumed things would get worse and another ten clones would show up, the clones instead disappeared leaving only one of them. The real one? No.. Sayuri would've seen. The information the clone then revealed was ... strange. Not convincing but not far from something that could be truth. “Sayuri, check the area. All of it. As far as you can - I want to see if all of these attackers are clones.”

Although she was not bound to believe the clone, she had to make sure. If they were all clones, then there would be no reason to believe it - of course, it would still be wise to be careful of Ocha, but a poisoner? It was always smart to be careful of those. But if these were just a handful of clones amid more and more Kirigakure nin that were real then perhaps it was true.

When Sayuri had confirmed or denied it, Yogensha would nod and continue on the way to the hokage mountain. Something felt off - not because she was hurt or the situation just gave her bad vibes. She just felt... strange. After about five minutes of high speed travel with Sayuri and Koma, they'd finally arrive, standing atop the hokage mountain, overlooking the destruction of Konohagakure. “Make a mental note that we should send some aid if we can spare the shinobi,” she said to Sayuri. The wind swept her hair up momentarily as they looked over the spectacle. “Recruit,” she said to Koma, turning her head slightly. “You fought well. What is your name?” When Koma would've replied, she took a moment to think, then solemnly gave one single nod. “I release you from your duty to Amegakure. Please seek me out in a few years. I want to see how far you'd have grown. For now, I am afraid me and my protege will await to see what happens next. This is not our fight, saddening as it may be. Sayuri, please point her to nearby Iwagakure nin. She should fight side by side with her village friends.”

Before Sayuri could answer her, and point Koma away however, Yogensha suddenly clasped her stomach. “A-aghk,” she suddenly rang out with a slight gurgle. Her other hand moved to her mouth to cover it as she almost doubled over, and after a few seconds of steadying herself she stood up straight again, still clutching her stomach. When she moved the hand on her mouth, two lines of blood ran down from each corner of her mouth with a splatter of it on her hand.

... strange, she thought to herself. She looked in awe for a moment before slowly turning to her protege. Despite the pain in her body - which was all over at this point - she managed to smile perfectly, holding her composure as well as she could. “Ignore that,” she ordered her, glancing at Koma. It was better not to discuss it around outsiders. She wasn't sure what it was at this point yet, she just knew that her bones were... burning.

---

Sakana was floating in the air preparing to land close to Rumia when, suddenly, the shark was almost entirely in his face, preparing to trap Sakana in water. Sakana's face did not tremble, nor did his expression change as he stared at the Shark. Before the Shark could trap him, it seemed fate had other plans, as Rumia's intervention caught Sano slightly off guard, disrupting the process of trapping Sakana - or so it would've seemed for he still ended up caught in a defensive water bubble.

For a moment he thought that Sano had managed to cast the jutsu and fulfill it before the girl came and utterly pulverized him - though he knew the man would get back up - but then he realized what was around him wasn't really.. as thick as one would expect from a water jutsu. He looked around, trying to see the source, and spotted Kyoka in the distance. Perhaps...

Sure enough, the girl soon produced a stream of water - water that didn't quite look clean, but still - and Sakana could only assume the technique was hers. It didn't stop him from moving either, so he simply did what anyone expected him to. “Hey, trash girl,” he said to Rumia, while forming handseals quite rapidly. “Although it goes against the principles of my family, I'll help you cook this fish for once. Teriyaki.” Hm, being cheesy or witty wasn't really in his blood - but cooking his enemies alive certainly was. “Sūpu-jutsu: Bōru!” he proclaimed, slamming his open palm into the ground. He timed it quite well - allowing Kyoka's attack to hit Sano, before the ground started shaking underneath of Sano, in an attempt to capture him inside a strong earthen dome raised on four earth pillars.

Immediately Sakana would continue, unless he could easily tell Sano wasn't caught, and prepared handseals for the next technique. He jumped up on the earthen bowl and momentarily it opened, just the slightest bit, allowing Sakana to start spewing water into the earthen dome. Once it was full, the earthen dome sealed up again, and if Sano had been caught, he'd be trapped inside in the water. For anyone that would be a risk, but for Sano, that would just be childs-play assuming he could breathe while underwater.

Then he glanced at Rumia. “Not sure if teriyaki belongs in noodles, but we can make shark soup.” He sounded much too serious for the joke to translate whatsoever at all. But he tried.

Kaba grumbled as Jaakuna continued to speak. Each breath he made strangely annoyed the shinobi more and more, his tone being akin to the one person he truly hated in this world. The fact that he was seemingly a traitor that had just clearly destroyed the lives of many with his calculated attack on Konoha did nothing to help quell Kaba's emotions from turning into anger. A scowl grew upon Kaba's face as Jaakuna began to gear up for an attack. He studied the strange tail that seemed to sprout from nothing, and continued to stare in slight awe as the criminal was enveloped by a scarlet cloak that had formed into the shape of a fox. Kaba had never seen a jinchuriki activate their abilities in person, but he knew exactly what he was looking at. However, it was still quite the shock to him. He would not let his feelings show towards his opponent though.

Kaba readied himself, or so he thought. Jaakuna's speed had surprised him. He paid no mind to the 'hint' offered due to Jaakuna being a foe and clearly an untrustworthy individual. As the tailed-beast host vanished, Kaba attempted to cover all sides of his body with a barrier. He had no clue if it would be strong enough or if he could summon it swiftly enough before the eventual attack. But lo and behold, all his concerns vanished in an instant, much like Jaakuna did to attack. His footing surprising shifted, allowing him to avoid damage at all. Kaba began searching for the responsible party, and much to his shock it was the Tsuchikage himself.

The young chunin breathed a sigh of relief and slapped himself in the forehead as the Tsuchikage stood before the group as his savior, and then question Kaba's intelligence. He felt stupid for putting himself in danger and considering that maybe he could be victorious against the dangerous culprits. But he had also expected someone to come to his aide to even the odds, and his hopes had been granted. Also, to Kaba's defense he hadn't noticed Jaakuna initially, and only meant to challenge Sebun. Still, he was grateful considering he could've easily ended up as the others who now laid lifeless around the ironically-named Forest of Death.

Kaba performed a slight bow in the direction of the Tsuchikage from his new platform. "My apologies, Lord Tsuchikage... I am grateful for your assistance!" Kaba started to speak again, but another ally appeared, Date Uchiha. Kaba was slow to recognize him initially, but eventually grew more comfortable with the chances of them defeating the foes that stood before them. He wasn't familiar with Date's abilities exactly, but knew that he possessed the Sharingan, which was formidable in its own right. Kaba wanted to listen to the advice of the Tsuchikage, but he felt a sense of responsibility when it came to these criminals, Jaakuna especially. They had launched a deadly assault upon his home and one happened to be a traitor, something Kaba could not just ignore. He was sure the leader of Iwagakure could hold his own, but Kaba wanted to prove himself as a competent and prideful shinobi of Konoha. "Lord Tsuchikage, with all due respect...Please allow us to fight alongside you! These two ravaged our home village, and one.." *pointing at Jaakuna* "..one is a traitor that must absolutely answer for his crimes before the Hokage!" Kaba looked at Date, assuming he heard his plea to the Tsuchikage. He gestured to the Uchiha as if to ask if he agreed to fight as well.







Death and chaos weighed heavy upon the air of Konoah. Chis, a bit late to the party, took a deep breath as he looked upon the destruction. Vengeance would soon be dealt to those who destroyed his life. The one thing that he ever loved was snatched from him, and in return even those that were seemingly innocent would atone. He stood atop a smoking building that offered a great view of what he deemed as justice. His orders were clear and simple, and he would execute them to the best of his ability. The sight he took in almost excited the rouge shinobi. Due to the events that they had rudely interrupted, there was plenty of challenging foes around for Chis to flex his strength.



Quickly, he happened upon three individuals who took refuge at the summit of the Hokage Mountain. He recognized one as a Byakugan user and didn't bother to attempt stealth. In the next instant, the ashen shinobi would become smoke and quickly close the distance between the two parties. Chis would appear about 10 yards behind the group just as the Amekage finished coughing. He stood facing the group, but did not utter a word nor did he move any further. If they didn't immediately notice his figure, they would feel the intense heat and pressure being exerted from his body. Upon looking at Chis, they would more than likely notice air waves bending before him due to the high temperatures surrounding him alone.

Sangetsu Hozuki of the Blood Mist

A trickle of blood splattered the ground, oddly quite a darker shade of crimson than normal human's blood, coming from Sano's abdomen as Rumia entered the fold. Perhaps she was expecting to see more blood from a direct hit? His hand seals were interrupted, as his eyes would bare down upon her, his bloodlust focused on her now. A wide grin would appear across his face, he was all too pleased that a Shinobi was daring enough to engage him so close, despite that the young girl thought that maintaining a two meter range were enough distance away from a man whose arms were about half of that distance alone. Now that she had seen him up close maybe now she would realize the stature of the man towering before her.

As the shark took the blow, he would feel it begin to rain, although this was no ordinary rain. As it hit his skin it itched for a moment before being absorbed into his body. He did not even look in Kyoka's direction. The source of the attacks was of no concern to him at the moment. They were but tadpoles swimming in the ocean of an apex predator. Perhaps they thought they were actually gaining some ground on him with their uncoordinated assault? No, the fact of the matter was simply this.. Sano likes to play with his food. It was always a habit his fellow Akatsuki loathed about him. He could never just finish off his prey and get it over with. Rumia reminded him of this fact, and so he resolved to show them a proper display of just where the stood when facing him.

He flung one of his hulking arms out to the side, slicing through the Skilled Acid Technique as he absorbed it as well. He could smell the difference in the rain, he knew it was no ordinary water technique from the jump. With Samehada fused with him, they stood little chance of defeating him with Ninjutsu going forward. Rumia had quite the bold strategy, but in the few precious moments following her assault, Sano would prove to her just how dangerous of a tactic that was with a man of his caliber.

Sano thrusted an open palm aimed directly at Rumia's chest in simultaneous fashion while his other hand was cutting through the Skilled Mist. This was Sano's signature move, his Hadoutsuki. The attack would send a shockwave through the air using the water vapor as a medium, the more moisture in the air, the stronger the blow. And with several Water Release techniques having been used in the direct vicinity, this technique was capable of rendering enemies unconscious with a direct hit. The danger in this technique lies in its inability to be detected, as the water vapor in the air is still unseen as the shockwave travels. Only a sensor would be able to distinguish its true nature, however by using water as a medium in an evironment predominantly filled with air, the technique would take about half a second longer to reach Rumia, although this piece of information would only be useful if she had the means to see what Sano was really doing behind this simple punch.

The attack was not lethal. Had she allowed him to form his dome of water he would have had the necessary medium of complete submersion in order to deliver a lethal Hadoutsuki. However, the Buffer Bubbles were a factor. Kyoka had unknowingly intensified Sano's attack, using the moisture of the bubbles as a medium for his attack and empowering it even further. This was his plan at first, to kill one of the Chuunin off the bat and watch the others scatter for a nice chase. But this one who attacked him head on, to try and cleave the beast in two? Sano would like to see her snake-like tail aid her against an invisible attack of this caliber. No, the shark was not going for the kill at the moment. This was a statement of prowess and dominance. They needed to realize what they were up against here. However Sano only made this statement because he commended their valiance, especially the girl with stones big enough to attack him head on. And it was this valiant effort that he would crush their spirits with.

Just as Sano would repel the Skilled Mist and launch his Surge Thrust, the earth around him would begin to rise and form a dome around him. "Doton: Dochu Senko!" The shark dove into the ground as the earth raised up, and by the time Sakana leaped to the top of her dome and prepared to execute the brilliant plan of drowning a fish, she would find no one within the dome.

He would emerge from the earth suddenly beneath Kyoka's feet, his massive jaws wide open and attempting to viciously chomp down on her left ankle. Should he succeed he would begin thrashing his neck back and forth to tear apart his prey in a most brutal manner, but he half-assumed he would be unsuccessful and either way as he emerged he would be forming a single handle seal.

---

Contact. That was almost unexpected, given the caliber of the enemy. But seizing the opportunity allowed Rumia to reap the fruits of risk taking, and damage the menace. He bled, with the blade on her forearm decorated by the secreted crimson from his flesh. Just as she would go for a follow-up, relentless assault, the giant seemed to create just enough distance to counter. What he would do exactly would be anyone's guess at this point, but the beast would remained hard focused on him. To the point where the buffer bubble and acid rain would almost go unnoticed to the wild Shinrikyo.

It was true, she couldn't tell what was coming. His hand movement indicated a form of assault, and her waving tail waiting for such an exposure to perhaps claim the presented limb. It'd halt, as if prepared to descend like guillotine and deliver the sentence imposed by the mutated monstrosity. But, as much of a wild creature Rumia tended to be in combat, her revolting symbiosis with the world around that, the nature that overfed her endlessly, would allow her to pick up on anomalies. Similar to sensors, though efficient mostly in closer quarters and to find big chakra boxes like Sano. The movement of chakra in the air, forming a distinct congregation of power in one area, would give away the nature of the assault.

Instead of slicing down on the forearm, which would be just a few centimeters more but the distance would be vital to proper reaction, she'd lower onto the gap between Sano's palm and her targeted being. The thick member she had spawned would serve as an improvised defense mechanism while her active arms would cross before her being, in the hopes to limit the impact of the Hozuki's attack.

"Shit."

The blast of pressure would most certainly be felt. The flesh of the tail taking the bulk of it, while the uncovered edges of her body would have to take an L here. Her body was propelled nonetheless, with the immense pressure on her tail dragged it backwards and crashed onto her crossed arms. It wouldn't help that her hips and small portions of her forearms were hit due to the tail's lack of girth. Nonetheless, most of the damage was sponged, coupled with her superhuman strength, it would not be a very big deal breaker. But the current problem would be to stop the momentum she had been imposed on her body.

With her massive might, her slightly damaged arms would attempt to shove her ragdoll'd tail to the side, the base of the member adding to the collective effort. It wouldn't be too hard, but by then she'd have accumulated at least thirty meters of distance. Once the tail moved aside to crash downwards to lose the momentum it had sponged, the lass would crouch down, mutated hand digging into the earth in order to forcibly halt anymore unwanted progression. Fourty meters away, Rumia had stopped, with her tail rising, clearly damage, and her limbs seemingly unharmed despite the residue they took. One could notice a slight emission of steam coming from her lower core, arms and mostly the tail, as they quickly regained their initial shape.

With a crack of her neck and a ball of red spit to the nearby grass, Rumia stood straight once more. Tail swaying, though not as swiftly as before, as she fixated the newcomer, Sakana.

"Trash girl? Pig fuckin' leaf faggots be ruinin' the fun? Figures. The fish is mine, thinkin' he can shit around them bigger fish."

Aggressive and with an accent as thick as ever, it did not seem like Sakana's presence was the most appreciated. Though no contestation would be made with the trapping of the Shark. Acid abilities were apparently blocked, but the man that had fused with that odd sword was supposedly trapped.

But obviously, this wouldn't last. The subterranean voyage ability was useful, but certainly not subtle. One did not need sensory to notice it, though Rumia did have it as a backup. It wouldn't be hard to see his trajectory, his target. Kyoka was Sano's next target, and the cousin wasn't going to have any of that. The recovered tail's jagged end would seem to prolapse into a cannon with a similar ball of energy as the big blast had forming on the tip. When Sano would poke his head to attempt to attack the Heisenberg, he'd be greeted with a blast of energy right at the face, thinner than the complete jutsu but most subtle in the process. A blast that, while it'd hurt, wouldn't serve to actually damage, but to propel the abomination away, dragging it with the beam. With his samehada fusion it would likely not be all that efficient, but certainly enough to keep him at bay until Kyoka could create distance.

Oh yes, and of course, absorbing natural energy in his fused state would likely not be the best of experiences. In any case, with the cannon fired, Rumia would once again prepare to propel herself toward Sano, and get him for herself.

---

Before anyone could even react to her sudden bout of pain, a figure made his presence know - not by speaking, but by an intense wave of heat suddenly washing over them as if the sun had just risen onto them. Yogensha did not turn around, instead moving her hands to her back first, clamping them together there. She straightened her back, regaining her composure - not because she could, quite the contrary. She was in intense pain and, if she had been alone, would've preferred to creep back into her bed and rest for the pain to subside. No, she forced herself through the pain and stood up straight, her face becoming porcelain, devoid of anything other than a simple polite smile. Only then did she gently turn around, presenting herself to the new enemy.

“Sayuri,” she solemnly began, addressing her student rather than this new opponent. Perhaps it was disrespectful to him, a man of his stature to be acknowledged secondarily to a student, but Yogensha's priorities were not with him but her own village. She imagined the man would understand. “Please vacate the area. Rescue as many civilians as you can on the way, and find reinforcements.” She swallowed, the two lines of blood still on the edges of her mouth as she looked forwards again. Still, she did not address Koma. “I still do not know your name, recruit. A pity. You have served Amegakure well today, but I fear your time with me is up. Find the Tsuchikage and join your people. I fear today is the day I might meet my match and see the Sage in his full glory.”

A statement that was meaningless to anyone that wasn't spiritually or historically inclined, but for those who knew a thing or two about the sage, it was clear she had subtly alerted those around her to the fact that she was preparing to die. Whether she would or not was unknown to her - she was not gifted with the gift of future sight - but the combination of her sudden pain, finishing a fight with another S-rank criminal, and the arrival of a new, fresh opponent made her take pause and prepare for the event that she might just breathe her final breath today.

Once her two companions had left the area, Yogensha finally addressed the man, who was still radiating heat. “I presume you know my name. I've already fought one of your friends. There is no sense in drawing this out - nothing will be gained from exchanging pleasantries in a situation like this. Simply state your intentions,” she told him, her hands still behind her. She did not move to attack or defend - she simply stood, analyzing the figure in front of her. He wore a mask and a vest with a coat. Leather? Could've been. Irrelevant. She did not recognize him and any further analyzing of his features would not bear much fruits since everything about him was covered up. Fittingly. The sheer amount of S-rank criminals in the area made the entire attack seem like him - covered up.

“If you wish to fight, then fight. If you wish to talk, then talk.” Her body was completely calm - yet at the same time she was tense, ready to move. A contradiction that was invisible to those that were looking at her from the outside. Yet she felt it inside of her. For now, the urge to stay calm outweighed the tense nature of her body in anticipation of this man's attack.

---

Sakana noticed when he had opened the dome - no fish inside. Not entirely unexpected, because it was too easy. But it was worth a shot. He turned back to Rumia to alert her when he noticed that the earth was rising up where someone was traveling - and then, bam, the earth cracked and revealed the invading party, as he prepared to chomp down on Kyoka. Smart - she was further away and somewhat unprotected. It didn't help that Rumia had bothered to bad-mouth Sakana back, distracting him momentarily before he would take action. “Pig? Tsk. The more common one I hear is fish,” he replied, in reference to his family having some sort of sick fish-theme. Although he would admit that'd get confusing rather quickly with this giant shark king running around.

Sakana noticed immediately that Rumia was already preparing to defend her companion. Although he wasn't quite sure how to react - he felt outclassed, since Rumia was evidently very strong, and Kyoka was too close to Sano for Sakana to throw an extra jutsu into the mix - he quickly adapted and began augmenting chakra at his feet. When Rumia launched the laser - or whatever it was - Sakana jumped up and formed handseals while he soared high, preparing a fire jutsu. “Katon: Gōka Messhitsu!”

He waited briefly to see what would happen before exhaling - if Kyoka managed to dodge Sano, he'd exhale and breathe fire in a steady jet stream of pure heat towards the location where Sano would un-earth himself, and simply adjust when he dodged Rumia's laser or was sent flying because of it. If Kyoka didn't dodge it, well, then he'd simply wait to see where Sano would go, and follow him with the stream of fire but in that case the attack would obviously last less long before Sakana would be forced to land again.