Interaction: Various people, no point tagging for this post really



Koma's display of resolve had gotten more attention than she would have liked from this mysterious man, silently watching him as he spoke down to Yogensha and left a promise to each of them about not being so merciful. By the time he'd left Koma had found enough confidence in herself to stop trembling, but it was too late for her to do anything at that point, he was already gone.

Now the only concerning matter was Yogensha's physical state, the woman's condition seemed to be worsening as the seconds passed by, so much so that she was on her knees before taking so much as a step forwards. Koma was already moving to assist and help her back onto her feet once again, which only proved to show her just how severe the condition was, exhaustion could make one see things but this was an entirely different issue... Shapes and bulges moving around beneath someone's skin was not the sign of anything she could consider normal, this was leagues beyond that and she didn't really know what to say about it.

Silence would be the only solution here, surely Yogensha already knew about her own condition, so it must've been something she had to deal with at least once.

---

The week went by leading up to the Hokage's funeral with Koma helping out wherever she could in aiding injured folk get treatment, rebuilding efforts, or keeping a vigilant watch over the area in case of a second attack.

By the time the funeral ceremony began the kunoichi once against found herself in a state of exhaustion from overworking herself, but she wasn't one to complain about being tired, so this was nothing new to her. She would pay the respect that was due to a great figure's passing, it was the least she could do based on how little she had helped during the actual attack on Konoha.

---

Hime Yuki

The attack was a complete success! But Hime couldn't really focus on remaining balanced with a large chunk of ice now attached to her foot, so the kunoichi toppled over and found it to be very difficult to stand. Before she even got to actually cheer for her own victory the fight was declared over by the man in front of her as he let out a huge amount of force that he called a "shinra tensei", whatever that phrase meant.

There was little Hime could currently do to fight such a force aside from going with it and being violently thrown out of the confines of the barrier set up by one of the Iwa-nin and more or less becoming airborne for a time before she conjured up an ice disc to give herself something to ride back down for a safe landing... Meanwhile she tried to get a good idea on what had happened elsewhere, but there was so much chaos strewn about that it was hard to get any idea aside from "Lots of things got destroyed."

---

The Hokage's funeral was as sombre as Hime thought it would be, it felt like she was at her mother's funeral all over again but with a large crowd gathered instead of just herself and the few friends her mother had made whilst in Konoha. With that in mind, Hime already had an appropriate dress for the ceremony, it was a lot like the shrine-maiden garb her mother wore at most times yet with a black colour scheme and a more modest design.

Then there was the Aka family, all gathered together in one group with another of the clan stood separate from them, accompanied by Kurin who was apparently trying to talk with him, much to Bumu's distaste.
Hime couldn't help but feel sorry for the Akas, especially the foxish boy who was now storming off after presumably some ill-placed words from the Senju boy. Had it not happened she would've joined Bumu over there, no one should be on their own with this kind of weight on their shoulders... She'd go find and try to talk to him later, maybe pay a visit to her mother's grave after that.

---

Yui patiently watched the fights that the other members had gotten themselves into with some interest, they at least seemed to be enjoying themselves for the most part. She was prepared for retrieval in case any of them got a bit too confident and died in the process, but fortunately she didn't need to engage in any harvesting, probably for the best.

At Cockroach's suggestion of getting started with retrievals and leaving, Yui slowly nodded, producing a couple of clones from her hair and directing them. "Of course, I'll collect Sano and point the others in the right direction." She herself left the way they came along with the... man that she had the luxury of working with for this task.

---

Sano's battle would be disrupted by Yui in short order as she burrowed her way out of hte ground with her mole technique and loosed a barrage of hair needles up into the surrounding area to give them some cover whilst she snatched the sharkman up with her hair and dragged him underground. "It's time to go home, Sano, Onee-chan is here to pick you up!" She said with a giggle, making sure to be careful with constricting him if only so he knew she wasn't trying to hurt him once her clone would pull him into Cockroach's tunnels. "You know the way back from here, right? Everyone's waiting at our base of operations." Once he was on his way the clone would disperse, as would the one rendezvousing with Chis and sending him down into the tunnels as well. She'd make sure to cover any tracks as well, just to ensure that no one followed them as they left.

---

As the situation unfolded, Sakana's eyes shifted from left to right trying to understand the situation. The speed with which Rumia was moving around was phenomenal, and the power of this shark-figure was incredible too. Was this destiny? He thought back to the seal on his body, and momentarily considered charging the shark to die, so that he could take the figure down with him. But then Rumia made a move that Sakana could only move to support. He prepared to seal the shark in with whatever chemical she'd prepared to throw at him, to maximize his exposure to it and ensure he couldn't escape it, so he formed his seals until they were rudely interrupted by a secondary figure entering the playing field. Not that Sakana could detect much of that, since the figure appeared so quickly and immediately shot out what seemed to be senbon. He was forced to abort his attempt to seal the shark inside of earth, and instead was put on the defensive.

He would've helped Kyoka or Rumia by having his shelter be around them, but the distance was simply too great. Instead, all he could do was alert them. “Senbon,” he rather calmly stated while mid-handseals. When it was completed, he planted his hand onto the floor. “Earth Release: Rock Shelter!” Instantaneously a stone dome formed around him, with the back of it open to allow mobility if needed. Not a second later the tk-tk-tk-tk-tk of the hair-senbon was audible from behind the shelter.

Once Sakana was positive the attack was over, he jumped up and over the shelter, landing on top of it preparing to fire off another jutsu in the direction of these two enemies, but it was seemingly too late as the two of the had vanished into nowhere. “I see,” he proclaimed, lowering his guard and standing completely upright, his black eyes scanning the environment for traces of the direction they'd ran off in.

“It seems our fate doesn't end here.”

---

“A fitting day,” Sakana's dad mumbled during the funeral, watching as the casket was placed into the tomb. He was right - it was rainy, and the tone was sombre. Little else could be said, really. Sakana was standing with the rest of the clan, who all looked like him - black eyes, black hair, overall a sombre looking clan all together and that was only enhanced by the context in this case.

“Maybe. He was a good kage. We'll never gone one like him again.” His mother made sure to fill in what everyone else was thinking - except perhaps Sakana, who wasn't sure how to feel. To him, Ginsho was just a kage. He was a good one, but then, most kage's were good in some way or form. He nodded none the less. “Yare yare.. I wonder who will take his spot. Plenty of good candidates that will be looking to capitalize on the loss of our Hokage.” That too was true. Sakana could only hope someone with adequate skill was elected.

There were the jonin exam results too. Although none of the prospects dared to ask what the results would be - postponed, voided, or given out later - it was a question that Sakana felt was present in every prospect jonins' mind.

From the corner of his eye he could see the leader of Amegakure, Yogensha. On the other side there was the Mizukage. Angry whispers had said that Kirigakure was responsible for this attack, and although Sakana wasn't there to see it for himself, his family told him that shinobi of Kirigakure were spotted attacking the civilians. Surely the presence of the Mizukage was strange because of that.

The fight ending the way it did took Tashiro by suprise just by how sudden the battles ended. Tashiro had fell back and sat in the tree he was trying to process everything that had happened trying to come up with some sort of answer for the events that transpired. Unfortunately he wasnt able to come up with anything that could explain why the village was attacked. Tashiro was more concerned on why did they stop. From what Tashiro saw from two of the attackers they were strong and very well skilled possessing abilities stronger then any that he had seen before and yet the ones that Tashiro fought or saw fighting seemed to only toy with himself and the others that fought against in the forest.

Tashiro felt a pit of despair, because he couldnt do anything to even put up a fight against the man he fought against. Tashiro felt like all he was during the fight was a liability. All Tashiro could do was swing his sword and use a few water nature jutsus one that took too long to use. Tashiro summed up the only reason he wasnt killed because was because he wasnt worth the effort. He was only a toy to be played with while they completed their goal Tashiro sat there for hours until he finally left.



Suits...just like most others Tashiro hated wearing them for funerals. There he was dressed in a black suit with his sword across his back. While the funeral might be a weird place to bring the weapon with him he never went anywhere without it. There he with a massive headache from the hangover he was having. Tashiro spent the week drinking with fellow shinobi, villagers and shinobi from other villages that were still around from the jounin exam or were showing up for the funeral. Drinking sorrows away about the loss of the Hokage.

It wasnt too long ago Tashiro was in the cemetary visiting his master's grave debating whether to go to the Jounin exams. Now here he was again at the cemetary only this time at the Hokage's funeral. Tashiro felt the sadness of this loss like most of the villagers and shinobi of the Hidden Leaf village. Tashiro was given a second chance of sorts thanks to the Hokage at being a shinobi. After learning who killed the Hokage and he had faced that man within the forest of death. Tashiro wanted to get stronger so the next time he fights that man he can bring vengeance upon Jaakuna Aka for killing the Hokage giving him a path to follow to avenge the Hokage who is the reason that he is still a shinobi. The next time Tashiro planned on being the one that has the upper hand.

---



A long way away Kumogakure the Raikage attended the funeral of the Hokage. He was the blind man in a white coat and black garbed clothing. He wore the black suit like clothing that he normally wore the coat was just a symbol for his stature something to say that he was the Raikage without wearing the fancy hat. The only other thing that set him apart was the fact he was wearing glasses for a blind man. His name is Bakuto, the moment he heard about the death of the Hokage and the attack on the leaf by rogue shinobi Bakuto almost instantly headed Konaha. Having dealings with rogue shinobi and criminals in the past much like most of those from Kumogakure. Bakuto understands the plight this village was going through losing a good man like the Hokage because a criminal killed him.

Bakuto was appearing to be completely unarmed at the funeral which was a rarity for him, but he didn't come into the funeral unprepared he had made four lightning shadow clones before the funeral and placed at the four cardinal positions around the cemetary. North, South, East and West points of the cemetary. Bakuto wasnt going to take any chances with all the kage that showed up in one place. Should those who attacked the village and killed the Hokage attempt such a thing with the rest of the kage Bakuto wanted to be ready should anything happen at the funeral.

Here Bakuto was with the other kage attending the funeral for the departed Hokage trying to keep his emotions in check. While for Bakuto it was a bit hard, his senses around the area made it hard. Bakuto had to tune out most of the sounds around him the sounds of sorrow throughout the funeral service. Hearing it all brought up emotions in Bakuto had back before he became the kage of his village. Bakuto did feel sad but the primary emotion he was feeling was anger. Angry that a lowly criminal would do something to a kage like the Hokage was. Someone who Bakuto thought was rather good, honest guy on the right side of justice killed by a criminal.

It wasnt until the Mizukage Ocha spoke Bakuto was snapped too where he was his attention diverted to the Mizukage. Hearing what he said talking about Ginsho very clearly. Bakuto had mix feelings about the Mizukage within the cloud village the mist is rather disliked by most within the cloud village. Many within the cloud blame all that happened to them on the Mist after the annex of the village. Even after they were 'let go' the people who took over afterwards many blame the mist village. Bakuto wasnt one of those people. He had no ill exact ill feelings for the Mizukage, his village or his people. Bakuto heard the rumors that Kirigakure might be responsible for this whole mess but without proof he wouldn't be motivated by hearsay and rumors. After hearing Ocha talk about how the Hokage's death was tragic Bakuto responses almost right afterwards, "Indeed this is tragic to have a good man like Ginsho. This village lost a great leader a man who knew the right side of justice. I havent got to know him myself but I heard of his reputation. Can only hope those who are responsible for this crime will be apprehended to be brought to justice and punished that fits a crime such as this."

---

Almost there. A few more meters, and the sodium would explode on the shark, and perhaps give the edge needed to end this conflict. There would be an ex machina in Sano's favor, however, under the form of hair senbon coming their way. The combination of the obviousness of the attack and Sakana's warning would be enough for Rumia to peer at the direction of the new assailant, and recognize the threat. Luckily for her, she was already hardening her being with the hollow shell, but the sodium tossing would have to be delayed. Enough so for the two Akatsuki members to poof away under the orders of the unknown Cockroach.

With Sano gone, the chakra he had emitted would vanish as well, purging most of the moisture in the area barring the acid rain from Kyoka's ability. Perhaps throwing away the sodium wouldn't be the best idea, though the beast would seem to be more bothered by the sudden retreat of her challenging prey. Teeth gritting as her broken, right arm seemed to heat up with steam escaping the many superficial wounds on it. In about a minute, the arm would be fully restored, as well as any residual damage on the lass' being.

"Tch. Tha' fish got lucky. Ain't gettin' in m'way next time. And neither are you."

A vicious glare was set the way of Sakana, filled with the ungratefulness one would expect of woman of her background. With a gesture, she'd order Kyoka to follow out of the area, where she'd come to notice most of the forest razed. Havoc's rampage would have gone almost unnoticed as the Shinrikyo was in her very own massacre. With the new about to be released concerning the casualties, Rumia could care less about the loss of a foreign Kage.

---

Under certain obligations, the ginger remained in Konoha. Something about respect and some questions from authorities. It didn't mean she had to attend the boring funeral however. No, the pub was going to be graced with her presence today. Beer after sake, it seemed this monstrosity could contain alcohol to an absurd degree. Sitting on the edge of the bar on an old stool, Rumia was oddly talkative, to the point where her loud voice would overshadow every other man's in the bar.

"... And the fucka's like 'Is tha' all y'all jounin got?' when we were kickin' his scaley ass?!"

A good chug. The Slightly red-cheeked but still coherent Rumia blathered on.

"Fruity fucks be all tryin' to get the attention. Freakin' dicks, pussies 'n' asshole, that's the only type o' people yer gonna find in this dumb hole of a shinobi world. Did I tell ya' 'bout why it's like that?"

With a snap of her fingers, the reluctant but compliant bartender would attempt to satiate her thirst with any kind of generic, strong alcohol. Booze was the best bet, as she seemed to never get enough of these, and it'd provide minutes of solace with the inevitable bathroom trips.

"Ehhh, maybe later."

She'd cool off, only to finally peer over at her neighbor she had supposedly been talking to.

"So where ya' from again? That Rain village or somethin'?" @Write

Metsuki Kuse Za Uzumaki

_{TIME: Present Day - Morning | LOCATION: Hokage Funeral | INTERACTION: None}

That statement has and always will stand true for Ginsho Omawarisan, the Hokage. Metsuki knew this man to a degree, he met Ginsho officially twice in his life. The first meeting was when he was traded to the Kohona was part of a piece treaty and when he was picked to join the ranks of the Anbu Black Ops. Metsuki being in this line of work meant that even if he didn't have a true relationship with this man, he still enforced the will of Ginsho. This damage from this attack would be heavy for all that were involved. Not just to the village but the hearts and minds of all the citizens. They were effectively running around like chickens that had been relived of their heads. The young Uzumaki stood there watching all of the people that had made appearances to morn the death of their beloved leader. Metsuki was standing in the back of the pack, still donning his Chameleon themed Anbu mask. Nobody could see the wetness forming underneath his eyes. Even the other figureheads of the other villages were here. The blind Raikage, the poison dealing Mizukage, and the lava master Tsuchikage. There had been times where Metsuki was ordered to spy on these individuals or someone of importance from their lands.

Metsuki watched each of them closely, he wondered how long this peace would last. Or the better question, how long would it take for one of them to try to make a move on the leaderless village. That's one of the things that worried Metsuki, not the highest on his list but it's up there. The thing that worried Metsuki the most was the invaders. The group with little to no information other than Jaakuna Aka, Sano of the Blood Mist, and Havoc the Gravity Ninja. How many more of them were there? Compared to those three how strong are the rest? The most important question is what are their plans? This attack was bold, and they must have the power to back up this attack. That's a fact, mostly due to the fact that this attack had made them public enemy number one. After this funeral there will be a Kage Summit. At that point everything will be diverted to finding and bring these new enemies to justice. I have to get in on this Summit. Whoever we send will need an Anbu escort and I will make sure that I am apart of that escort.

---

Everyone gathered at the graveyard for the ceremony for their late, but dear Hokage. When it seemed that they were at full attendance, Shinko decided to finally speak. Although it was nothing the village would be ready for.

And so the once thought to be mute or suffering from some form of disease, the familiar voice rang throughout the field. “There’s no way I can explain this in words, so I’ll just have to show you all.” There was a quite clear striking similarity between the assistant’s voice and the Hokages. With a single hand seal and the tapping of his mask, a plume of smoke appeared from underneath his feet. Once the fog had been cleared away and torn through by the rain, Shinko’s true appearance was displayed. Among those keen in perception the first thing they would notice was the man did not have two arms, he only had one. And matter of fact, he was missing the same arm as Ginsho had in the exact same spot. This bizarre revelation would only being to paramount. Running up his arm’s to his face was none other, but the dead Hokage. Was this some elaborate ruse? Had the real Ginsho been the assistant the whole time?

However, as much joy and relief that would bring to the people of the hidden village, it was simply not true. While it was all of Ginsho’s features there were two main features that Shinko changed permanently incase his transformation was ever broken. His hair was a beautiful deep red and the markings under Ginsho’s eyes were transplanted below Shinko’s lips. While the area was bound to be filled with anger and confusion, the assistant continued. Shinko’s real identity was that of Ginsho’s twin brother. At an early age they were abandoned as orphans by their parents, which in tandem left them with no record of their existence in the system. Being street rats, Ginsho was always the one who to attract attention, while Shinko worked from the shadows. He was silent, unwavering, and stoic, all attributes that made him practically a ghost. It wasn’t until Ginsho was found by the former Hokage did they begin to have a glimpse to what the future for them had in store.

Ginsho and Shinko made a pact before the entrance of the ninja academy, they would both abandon any alternative life they would wish to have to live only one life in unison. Shinko and Ginsho would share everything together, status, power, wealth, just as they did before. Shinko was used to living in the shadows and did not wish to draw attention from his brother, so thus forth the pact was made. Ginsho entered the academy and found he had a knack for ninjutsu and the use of it. The young boy flew through the ranks of his counter parts until he met Jaakuna, which was the first test of equal virility Ginsho would have to face. Promotion after promotion gave way to more opportunities for the two brothers, Ginsho with his free time would teach Shinko how to control and use ninjutsu on his own, and it wasn’t very much later until he mastered a form of the transformation technique to disguise his appearance. Shinko was finally able to lurk among the rest of the ninja in the village without fear of repercussions.

Ginsho eventually made his way to being a full on Jonin, born and breed for war, the third of the legendary Sanin after the return of Namine. It wasn’t until the Second Shinobi War did the ability to have identical twins at the battlefield at the exact same time with none the wiser. This is where the duo gained their infamous nickname, The Duality Ninja. Shinko was able to walk out with no mask and experience the thrill of battle and war as his brother, exhilarating. Nevertheless, there was also a price to pay. To continue living the one shared life while taking turns, Shinko needed to adapt every part of his brothers essence. The ultimate sacrifice of burying a lie. With one swift movement, Shinko’s free arm was detached at the seams, die with the lie. And so the mute assistant was in all actuality the Hokage, finishing his story and looking to the crowd he held for a brief pause to allow the information overload to seep in.

While Shinko was his brother’s twin he was not the same person, he wasn’t the righteous humble man, there was no empathetic bone in his body, and he didn’t want to make any excuses for the backlash they would soon receive. His brothers memory about to be tainted, was it supposed to happen like this? Ignoring the social cue to lick the wounds of the country, Shinko ignored them and was solely there for business. “Now you know my secret. Regardless, I thank all of you for coming, I know my brother would have been the same if I were the one in that casket down there. While this is a sad time for the village, I want to report some good news.” The conviction in his voice seemed as if he already mourned the loss of his brother and returned to normal in less than a day. “I will now present to you the names of your new Jonin leaders: Uragiri, Sakana. Uchiha, Kyotoumaru. Ichimi, Shizuka. Hitsugi, Koma. Haizenberuku, Kyoka. Kabe, Ai. Congratulations, you bring great honor to your villages. As for the rest of you, I wish you all the best of luck next year, I assure the rest of you will pass.”

“One last thing, there will be a Summit for the Five Kage and any leaders who would like to participate. I may require a few ninja as my entourage. That is all, thank you for coming, you can mingle amongst yourselves there will be tea and treats for you all. Oh by the way I will be your new Hokage.” Shinko turned around and vanished leaving no words of reminder for his fallen brother.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

The New Hokage made his way to the Summit adjacent to the rest of the village Leaders. It had been years since the last time the five of them had met, under different circumstance this time. Back in Konohagakure the people had been split down the middle about the newest revelation regarding the leader of their village. The population was split in half, on one side there were the people and ninja who still held Ginsho as their Symbol of Peace despite his necessary secret. Yet there were others on the side who felt betrayed and lied to, they called for blood and justice. The new emotionless, militant leader was also doing himself no favors by the way he carried himself and his actions. Nothing to be desired of the clone of their kind benevolent leader. Political tensions were rising within his own village, but for now the control was still his. The young Hokage had known the preconceived notions regarding his reputation from his villagers, but the rest of the village leaders had yet to drop any word of it around him, perhaps this time they would speak on the new heir to the throne.

If it were not for other matters at hand that took precedent over the running of the world, there would be more time for pleasantries and addressing the lie that both Hokage fed the rest of the ninja world. Alas the Hokage was saved for now while they immediately began to discuss the impacts of the current events. The first topic that was addressed was that of this new rogue ninja group, there was limited information on their name, their appearances, and the identity and number of villains in their communist group. There was however one thing they did know aside from the attack on the Leaf Village while the exams were taking place. In another corner of the world the Sound village leader had also been attacked and murdered. They could at the very least establish a motive, they were killing Kage, but this case was different from Ginsho’s. Whatever their primary motive was, the group was looking to pursue their hunt of the village leaders.

In order to combat the arising mass of this dangerous organization the Kage took to an overwhelming agreement on how to handle the matter. The temporary solution would be to enact a coalition of ninja from each village to form a Special Forces unit, groomed to engage the enemy alongside the village leaders. These high ranking individuals were to be heavily vetted and tested in order to ensure the safety of the remaining kage as it was seen that even two man cell groups from this organization could easily take on and eliminate two village leaders. There was one issue though, the Mizukage was standing at the center of the room, surrounded by his equivalents. There lied the second issue. Ocha Kyusu was to stand trial amongst the rest of the village leaders. The Mizukage was accused of spying on and infiltrating Iwagakure and soon became their prisoner of war. He was also accused of allowing the escape of several high ranking fugitives from the infamous supermax prison, constructed to keep the vilest ninja locked away forever.

For his crimes without an excuse, Ocha Kyusu was agreed to be imprisoned by Iwagakure for an extended amount of time until the matter was thoroughly investigated. As for the Special Forces they were to be made up of the same ninja from the exams that firsthand experience with battling the Akatuski. While many were vehemently against the decision seeing as they were all chunin and wet behind the ears, it was the only logical decision that could be made. The Kages return to their villages with their new information in tow and being to orchestrate their next steps. The issues within each village still unresolved, and now open to blossom.

---

---

In despite of being fairly near the battle against Sano - at least compared to the other battles - it wasn't in the somehow epic combat of three chuunin against a monstrous humanoid shark that Kamui was paying attention too, for something much greater was happening a tad bit further, nearing the end of his sensorial range, a fight of epic proportions erupted amongst figures so powerful that even the weakest technique used would easily eclipse the chuunin's fiercest attacks - definitely not something he'd wish to be inserted into. Even so, he actually didn't immediately run away when faced by such an abnormal view for a simple reason: He recognized the main combatant's chakra signature as the one belonging to the Hokage.

Intrigated by the abnormal scene that was seeing a hokage fighting personally and incapable of simply ignoring the fact that he actually seemed to be gradually starting to loose momentum, Kamui helplessly watched the whole ordeal through his mind's eye, accompanying the Hokage's struggle against a group enemies who each had the power to challenge him by themselves and finally presencing a scene that triggered him into closing his mind eye's and preparing a simple message that he would attach to the leg of a summoned messager hawk in the following minutes, sending it towards the village to deliever what could be the biggest news since the end of the war: The Hokage, Ginsho Omawarisan, had fallen in battle.



By the time of the Hokage's funeral, the usually gloomy Kamui actually managed yo surpass his limits for the first time in a while and emit an even gloomier aura as he stood by the side, watching the whole ordeal. While Kamui wasn't even a true shinobi of the village and thus had little to no attachment to the hokage, showing little to no emotional reaction even after having "personally" seem the Hokage's demise, by the time of the funeral his actions became increasingly gloomier, with an aura of depression hanging around him - a reaction that could as well be confused as mourning for the recently deceased village leader by those who didn't know the young shinobi that well.

The reason behind his depressive demeanor, though, was considerably more selfish than being sad over someone's death: He was mourning for his peaceful life instead. It wasn't that hard for anyone to notice what the attack to the village and Ginsho's death represented, after all, and for Kamui, it was the thing he wanted the least to happen during his lifetime: together with their symbol, the peaceful times were now dying and once more giving place to a period of war and struggle - a period where even a sloth like Kamui would be forced to join the fight with his life on the line.

---

---

"Crazy is an euphemism. My family I-... Was utterly insane." The chuunin candidate answered with naturality, barely wavering as he corrected himself and even managing to show a small smile as the fox boy continued with his shenanigans, hopefully hiding the brief pain he felt in his heart as he was once more remembered about how he was by himself now. Luckly or not, the subject died before he could think more about the matter, as the fox quickly yelled a warning and jumped towards the back of an overturned tree, triggering Hikaru into doing the same just in time to see the forest behind them getting completely wrecked by an invisible force - quite the sight to behold, if he had to say it. "Now that was something." He couldn't help but mutter to himself, feeling the cold sweat dampening his skin when faced by such an apocalyptic view.

By the time he recovered his composure, Bumu was already brushing the dust away from his clothes, taking his time to talk with the Iwa-nin now that the danger was seemingly gone."Yeah... I should probably search the others, actually. At least one of my team members was in the observation tower, so it may be better to check their safety now that we're safe." The iwa nin said with a shrug, hardly really interested in playing babysitter for his companions - specially when the Tsuchikage was there just to do that.
"Still, thank you for the offer, bro. Good to know that life and death situations come with some advantage." He said with a smirk in answer to the fox offer, walking away nonchalantly in the following second to do his job as a chuunin under iwagakure and check the safety of his comrades - after all, he still wanted that promotion and lazing around wouldn't make it easier for him get it.

---

---

By the time of the Hokage's Funeral, the not-so-desolated Hikaru was happily humming from his position atop of one of the village's highest buildings, watching the whole scene from under his umbrella as he finally found some time to eat something in peace after the chuunin exam. It wouldn't take long for him to get bored of watching the scene and made his way outside of konoha without even waiting the rest of the Iwa delegation, carefreely continuing with his humming as he traveled towards his home village by himself, without even waiting for the results of the examination - that didn't even matter to him anymore at this point. The reason behind such a good mood? After such a long period of rest, the battlefield was once more opening it's doors to receive its lost children, and Hikaru wouldn't lose this opportunity for anything in this world.

---

---

Deep down into the land of iron, in the area where no life would grow naturally, for the violent winds and harsh cold constantly assaulted anything that dared to try to settle the area, a single, run-down looking fort laid proudly, showing clear signs of having been inhabited until recently, with snow barely pilling over its surface with the expection of the main courtyard, that had an odd looking mount of snow over its center in despite of the fact that it hardly had the time to reach such an height since the last cleaning, much less forming a bun-shapped mount naturally. Even more oddly, a single carefree looking man stood laying over the large mount, softly humming a song as he examinated a strangely small paper filled with a somehow messy calligraphy, as if making sure that everything was in order with the message - quite the scene to behold when considering how otherworldly the man looked, with abnormally white hair that perfectly mixed with the snow, remarkably glowy yellow eyes and overall delicate, almost doll-like complexion that would make one wonder if they weren't seeing things if they were to see the abnormal view.

The otherworldly peace of this scene didn't take long to be disturbed though, as before the falling snow could cover the man, a pearl white hawk descended from the sky, landing on the man's arm and directly staring into his eyes, clearly expecting something from the white haired male. "Geez. I know, I know. I'm late this time." The man said in an annoyed tone, moving his hands to roll the message he was reading up till now into a small tube so it could fit into the container tied to the Hawk's leg just to notice that something was already held inside the scroll holder, forcing him to take it out before he could insert his report. "Eh? I actually have a message? Now that's surprising." He muttered to no one in special as he took the small scroll out of the container, inserting his own message into the scroll holder and letting the hawk go before he stoped to read the message send to him by one of his associates.

"An expedition to the mysterious east to get some hidden mystical treasure? Pfft. Sounds like even more of a bait than my usual jobs." The man was quicker to dismiss the message as bullshit, taking less than a minute to deduce that the employer wanted something fairly specific that was most definitely not mentioned in the pamphlet - probably something that was worth away more than what they promised to start with but also came with away more dangers, as they'd hardly bother with inviting mercs to participate otherwise. "Still... It's not like I have anything else to do, and they're paying for this crap..." He loudly argumented with himself, seemingly hardly caring for the fact that someone could see him talking with himself in such an open manner. "Well, guess I won't let the pamphlet go to waste after all. Now I just need to figure out which side is Amegakure." He finally decided after a few moments of thought, jumping down from the mount - that unstably wavered when faced by the sudden force pressing it -and made his way towards the exterior of the fort, leaving behind the now about to falling mount behind, apparently ignoring the weird phenomena, for snow shouldn't move like this. If one would look closely, though, they'd notice that what the man left behind wasn't a pile of snow, having merely been covered by it for a moment but quickly showing it's true nature as its stability was lost due to the shinobi's act of taking impulse: The identity of the weird mount was, in fact, a pile of corpses armored like rogue samurais, left behind to get buried under the snow now that their executioner formally moved after his next job.

The young Uchiha boy lay in the forest, broken and beaten to the point of unconsciousness. The love of his life lay dead next to him. So poetic, wasn't it? Almost as poetic as ripping out their organs and turning them into puppets...

The lightning could have been seen from miles away, so the snake had to act fast. Seijuro slithered out from his hiding spot and collected the two bodies, placing them inside of his Third Tsuchikage puppet. The puppet disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Seijuro proceeded through the forest. He could feel the wind from Havoc's attacks in addition to the view of Sano's wall of water. The real target, however, was engaged with Seijuro's doppelgänger, Jaakuna.

After walking for a short while Seijuro placed himself just out of view of the fight between the angelic Hokage and his foxy comrade. It was a beautiful sight, Ginsho's angel of death. Even with one hand he masterfully led a one-man onslaught on Jaakuna, though the resurrected fox prevailed. It was fitting, the Bible verse which Ginsho chose for his death. The cross that Jaakuna formed was also just as befitting of the situation. Just as quickly as Ginsho died, Jaakuna vanished into the earth with his body.

Seijuro walked over to the Hokage's hat that was left behind. ~In a simpler time, the title of Hokage would be all I would have asked for..~ The ground opened up and a swarm of cockroaches swallowed the snake into the earth.

The next day.

Kyo awoke in a daze. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. Once he was fully conscious, he saw a masked figure standing over him. His eyes widened, Sharingan appearing as he lashed outward with his right hand, trying to perform a Hell Stab on the masked man and yet no lightning would appear. In fact, his arm would barely lift itself off the bed he was lying on. Instead he would grab his arm with the other as he yelled out in agony.

"Easy does it, young one.. your body is still not yet recovered from the trauma you put it through. You almost died.. I brought you here to recover. When you are healed, you may leave if that is your choice. But there is not much of a village left to go back to. Not after the way we left it." Kyo recognized the man from when his eye of insight looked into the eyes of the puppet Mizuki, and saw the puppeteer.

Kyo sat in silence for a moment. Seijuro sat next to him, not focused on the Uchiha but instead focused on two strings coming from either of his index fingers, leading to another room. The young Uchiha mulled over his situation in his head. He had no choice but to remain here for the time being, and it seemed he was in no immediate danger. If this man had wanted him dead, he could have easily killed him while he was unconscious. So what did he want?

"Who are you... why did you save me.. WHY DID YOU KILL HER?!" the Uchiha coughed up a small amount of blood as he screamed. His entire body tensed up in agony. His eyes welled with tears, begging for answers.

The snake left the many questions hanging in the air for several long moments. He looked down at Kyo as if he was both prey and a son. "She was a means to an end.. there is no comforting lie to tell you, only a painful truth. As for who I am and why I am here and why you are here, let us begin at the beginning of... the tale of Seijuro Kizaru Nandate."

Kyo's eyes widened at the name. He was regarded as the single most infamous Shinobi in the last several decades, given credit for single-handedly forming the original Akatsuki and starting the Second War. And so the two spoke for many hours over the next several days, Seijuro slowly and slowly winning over the Uchiha's confidence.

Several weeks later, the day before the Kage Summit

While the funeral took place, Seijuro was busy tinkering with his new toys... the bodies of Senna and Ginsho. A puppet worked in the back room, making the necessary modifications as their bodies had been hollowed out in days prior. Seijuro himself was sitting at a large triangular table, awaiting the rest of the missing-nin which comprised the first true meeting of the Yomigaeri.



As Yui appeared and blocked the attacks for him, he burrowed into the ground through Cockroach's tunnels, back to the Akatsuki hideout.

Several weeks later

Sano sat at the table where the Akatsuki were to meet, several seats away from Seijuro as they prepared to meet for the first time.



Namine was present at the funeral, adorning a black dress and a translucent black cowl over her face, and matching black lipstick. It was a solemn event. Her best friend had passed- no, rather he was murdered at the hands of another so-called friend. There was a difference between simply passing on and being cut down by your brother in arms. If Ginsho had simply passed away from natural circumstances, Namine would not have shed a tear. In fact, that would have made her happy that her childhood friend had made it to old age and passed on his own.

No, this was different. He was cut down before his time. But this was natural to Shinobi. Death in the form of murder was not something that their generation was shy to. It was the way of the world, but it didn't have to be. That however was the reality of the situation in front of her. Ginsho's body was not even recovered. The casket was merely a decoration to fool the masses. She knew what was done with it, and would not forgive the man who had taken the body and given it to that monster.

Almost none of the people here came to her daughter's funeral only hours before Ginsho's. The attendance was not even one tenth of his. She did not resent Ginsho for this, but the lack of recognition for her daughter bothered her to say the least. She had lost the only other member of her clan. She was the last, and assuming she did not have any more children, her lineage would die with her. Finally. After years of being hunted for their abilities, the suffering of her clan would end with her. But she simply wouldn't fade away into obscurity. She would make something of this life. There was a reason she was the last Akizakura.

A single tear fell down her cheek and hit the dirt. She turned her back to the superficial coffin and began to leave the funeral before it was officially over, just as Shinko made his big reveal. She knew their secret, her sensory capabilities were beyond the point where Ginsho could have hid this secret from her. She was quite possibly the only one who she trusted with this information. She was leaving the funeral service and heading toward the gates of the village. This was her resolve. She had but one choice. It was not what she wanted, but there was no other path anymore. Would she succeed? Only time would tell.

---

---

What a pain, I just wanna rest. Sebun wasn't in the mood to conduct missions especially with another of Seijuro’s subordinates. Seijuro had dispatched the two of them to retrieve one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Sebun wondered about this person, it was strange of the circumstances of his incarceration. From what Sebun had learned the Seven Swordsmen were a prestigious group hailed as legends in the Kirigakure. The best Kinjutsu users in the Ninja World, but yet this one is disgraced and in a prison. Not just any prison it’s the esteemed Fukai Nurashimasu, the underwater prison. One of the hardest prison to break into and most importantly out of.

Seijuro had a spy from the Kirigakure waiting to meet the duo. He would instruct Sebun and his partner on how to enter the prison from the island that the prison was located under. They were approaching the island, and Sebun looked backed to his partner. ”I’ll go forward from here and locate our spy up here. I shall return once I obtained the information from him.” With that being said Sebun pressed forward. It was mid-morning so the mist was heavy and it allowed Sebun to move without the worry of being sighted. Off to the left there was a large tree that was tilting to the as if it was buckling under its own weight. That’s where the contact would be waiting for them to arrive.

Sebun cautiously approached the tree looking for signs of movement, there was none but yet there was a hooded figure leaning on the tree. Upon arrival, the hooded man bowed but did not look up at Sebun. ”Greetings please report your information” Sebun said still scanning the area.

”To get into the prison you’ll need to find three large rocks forming a triangle, break the seal surrounding the rocks and you’ll reveal the path to what you seek” the Figure said before vanishing into the mist. Sebun nodded and returned to his partner to relay the information. The release of Sano the Shark Swordsmen of the mist was about to begin.

Phase 1 of their plan was complete, or rather Cockroaches plan, but he knew he would get no credit as the dark lord was resurrected. The world was his now and Gokuburi was simply a chess piece in the grand scheme of things. No less he was still lauded for his usefulness even if it was the fact he wasn’t able to die like the pestilence he was known to be or rather a scourge. Whatever the case was it seemed like the next piece of the puzzle was on its way to being set. The past few months had been somewhat rough as the little cockroach earned more and more of Seijuro’s respect, at first he was more of a slave rather than anything. Fetching, and serving, fetching and serving, it seemed like a never-ending cycle even though cockroach served no one but himself before the return of this great evil.

But back to the puzzle, the next piece in the army of the end was a shark named Sangetsu Hozuki, ”Sano of the Blood Mist” or his more favored title ”Oni no Kenshin” Cockroach had met him a few times and although he seemed like a bloody menace he was quite friendly with the little man. Well to him at least, outside of this alliance he was as bloodthirsty as a great white and had the power to sinks countries if given the time to. He was an essential piece to bolstering their team and filling out any weaknesses they would have. All of this was entrusted onto cockroach and one other individual while Seijuro went back to meditating in preparation to invade Konohagakure during their exams and watch for any potential allies all while waiting to dispatch old adversaries.

That old man was none other than Sebun of the land of iron. A disgrace of a family member and in line to become the next monk. It was no wonder why the two didn’t get along so well, you can’t have two pieces of trash and disappointment in the same room together, the smells just don’t mix right. Regardless it seemed like he was anything short of useless and his abilities did lend themselves to the cause they had forth written. Now they had arrived in Kirigakure, it was as the rumors had stated, shrouded with mist and littered with large mountains that made it hard for anyone to find except cockroach. They had seemingly made it past the village unscathed mostly in due to their disguises. Over the next few hours they would arrive to the outskirts of Kirigakure and spy the island that Sano was trapped on.

“So that’s what it looks like, kukuku seems easy enough. A roach can get into anywhere, but can a shark make its way out on land. I guess we’ll find out cinnamon bun.” Gokiburi bellowed with condescending glee. This was the single handedly most secure prison in the world, a fortress meant to withstand attacks from even the Sanbi and any other ninja in that arsenal of destructive power. It housed the most monstrous villains and traitors all under one roof with cells specifically designed to neutralize any contingency plan to escape. It seemed like one would rot there, but luckily enough for Seijuro and friends today was jail break. While Sebun went to meet his informant for some greater purpose, Cockroach spent his time retracing his steps from all those years ago when the prison was just a bed of rock when he had first encountered it.

“Now where did I leave it…..Oh right!” the parasite stumbled and wretched his way over to the triangle formation he had left to one day serve as a passageway into the now modern prison, he had lived a long and scrupulous life and now his plans had finally came to fruition. Sebun returned to him spouting some kind of nonsense. Interrupting his words with sharp tongue of his own he went on to say, “Yeah yeah that’s nice bub, but we’re wasting time out here just follow me and we’ll make it inside no problem. Cockroach pointed to the formation before scurvily jumping in and making his way to the hyper max penitentiary awaiting the following of his subordinate.

I absolutely detest this person. Sebun thought to himself. This would've been better if he had been sent with another or by himself. The only plus that Sebun could see of having Roach with him is the fact that he works with cockroaches. One of the most disgusting insects that have ever existed but they are extremely useful because nobody takes a second look at them.

Sebun silently followed behind Roach as he led them to the prison. Hopefully there would be some sort of action as they broke the Shark out of prison. Wrath was wanting blood and Sebun was itching to appease the Sin. That's one of Sebun's better traits when the Seven want something he gladly obliges them. The Roach then disappeared inside the middle of three stone formations. Sebun decided to follow the insufferable creature into the secret passage. I will use this fool to sate the hunger of Wrath one day. Sebun said to himself. The seals on his hands started to itch and a wicked smirk began to form. The two seals contained Wrath, and the Sin was ready to be unleashed upon the Kirigakure Ninja.

Whatever Sebun was doing behind the cockroaches back was of little to no concern to the cockroach. He was much rather focused on the task ahead as it was a delicate one and finding Sano would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack, well that was of course forgiven if there were guards to make talk. Although Cockroaches fighting capabilities were practically nil he had the intellect and subtlety that matched even the most avid stealth ninja. After all he didn’t manage to survive almost more than a century by being sloppy. Sebun seemed to be the sword in this case, the weapon to institute the means to an end, had Seijuro sent Sebun alone the mission would surely be a failure or death for Sebun. Rather instead of strong arming their way in, he would really on his deceptions.

Having walked through the formation it seemed as though the two ninja had made it to the underwater pipeline system. It stank of human shit and other extremities that are rather left better unsaid, you can paint the picture yourselves. Despite being a vile wretched egg, Gokiburi never lived in squalor and filth unlike his nickname suggested yet it wouldn’t surprise him if his bumbling ally had a wise gripes to add. Cloaking himself in an almost cockroach like shell coated in chakra, the cockroach scurried along until they were met with a metal grate, one could only think was the entrance to something much more valuable. He stopped in his tracks and raised his clenched fist illustrating for the brute behind him to cease movement. Sticking his beady eyes through the rusted bars he peered into the room.

It seemed to be the room where dirty laundry was deposited in chutes that led to cleaning operations, chutes for human waste to the bottoms of the sea, and incoming mail from Kirigakure or other villages. There were a number of workers, but more importantly several guards watching over said workers and protecting the only entrance/exit to the room. Aside from the chute they had so graciously been thrusted into. Cockroach turned to his ally, “We need to get to the engineer's room and steal his blueprints, after that we need to get to security, after that only then can we retrieve Sano of the Blood mist kukuku” guffawing with quite disgustingly evil taste. “I’ll buy you some cover, but you need to dispatch those guards before any of them can even blink. I’m sure even you can accomplish that or else why would you be here?” turning a blind eye to the swordsman, Cockroach weaved several hand seals before expelling a thick dark mist that marinated on the floor of the room before instantly uprooting to the whole room. Time to see what kind of grit made the man behind him.

The Cockroach wasn’t as useless as Sebun thought, he gave the old Samurai a blanket of Mist for killing. The mist would hide Sebun’s presence until it was too late for the Shinobi in the corridor. Sebun had to decide which of the Seven to use, Wrath would be a great choice but using it would cause their mission even more problems. It was between Lust and Envy, Sebun thought of the pros and cons as he entered the corridor. Sebun was now in the center of the room when he tilted his head back and opened his mouth. That’s when a hilt began to protrude from his mouth, Sebun hated this feeling but Lust was sealed inside of his tongue. With Lust’s hilt fully formed, Sebun grabbed the hilt and pulled Lust free and with the flick of his wrist the whip let loose a nasty crack. With a flick of Sebun’s wrist, Lust again cracked but this time made its way to the neck of a shinobi in the corridor. Feeling that he had someone attached to the end of Lust, he pulled the whip and stomped his foot on the whip. As the shinobi attached to Lust was dragged to the floor with a loud thud, Sebun touched his abdomen and summoned the katana, Envy. Sebun couldn’t decide which of the two to use, so he was going to use both of them. As Seven produced Envy, the Cockroaches mist began to fade, showing Sebun to the four guards in the room.

Sebun didn’t know if this was a ploy on Roach’s behalf to test or dispatch the Swordsmen but he would soon find out if he could stop the other four from alerting the rest of the prison. The four were stunned for a brief moment looking at their comrade on the ground slowly suffocating and Sebun in the middle of the room. In the brief moment of confusion Sebun rushed forward with Envy and drove his blade into the Shinobi closest to the door. It was one fluid movement and you could see the fear in his eyes as the blade plunged into his body. The confusion was over as the three remaining guards leapt into action drawing kunai and other assorted weapons. Sebun left Envy embedded in the guard and turned to face his approaching enemies.

The three tried to attack in unison but Sebun flicked his wrist again pulling Lust free from the dead guard on the floor. He began swinging Lust around creating distance between him and the three remaining Guards. Sebun waited to see if any would make a move but they were extremely hesitant in attacking. You could see the fear in each of the three. It would seem that they hadn’t been in too much action, they probably took this job so they wouldn’t have to worry about intruders or risking their lives. It was quite pitiful if Sebun could say so. This is not the way warriors should act. Their weakness would lead to their individual deaths and the release of “Sano of the Mist”.

”You two keep him occupied I will alert the others and get reinforcements” One of them shouted as he turned to run. Sebun chuckled to himself, one thing you don’t do is turn your back to your foe. Sebun whipped Lust back and then flicked his wrist again sending the bladed end toward the man’s back. Before the other two could react, Lust’s blade penetrated the Guard's neck and his body slumped to the ground. Instantly dead the last thing he will ever remember was turning is back to the aging Samurai. It was time to finish the other two, Sebun forced Lust back down his throat to seal it back in his tongue. The two stared in horror unable to move after seeing this sight. Sebun could see tears welling up in the eyes of one, it would seem that they knew that their fates were sealed.

Sebun decided to finish the last two in one attack. He lifted Envy directly up in the air, and spun it in a circular motion creating thirty four afterimages of Envy. After completing the motion, he lunged forward with lighting fast movement and stopped just beyond the two remaining guards. As he passed them, with a stroke of his sword, Sebun beheaded both of the guards. The technique that Sebun used was Hazy Moonlight Beheading, a Kenjutsu technique he learned from a Shinobi on his journey. It was an extremely deadly technique that was used to quickly dispatch unaware enemies. The room was now empty all inhabitants were dead on the floor, and the Seven were sated. Sebun looked back to Roach who was standing in the next room and nodded. ”It is your turn to find where the blueprints are so we can leave this place.”

The sight was beautifully orchestrated, a true concerto of annihilation, while the cockroach was rather weary of how useful the swordsman be, he seemed to be doing a great job. He made quite short work of the guards within the room, and with the use of only two weapons. As much as cockroach loved the scene and the illustration of power Sebun was showing off, they were just that, fodder soldiers who were wet behind the years and worked in this guard detail in hopes of reaping the benefits of working for the government while not directly risking their lives in order to watch the real predators of the jail. Cockroach scurried out of the grates shaking his body dispersing the chakra shell that he had wrapped around himself protecting him from the waste of the sewer. Unfortunately for him, the other ninja didn’t take any such precautions and would reek from a mile away. Luckily for him they were caught before their onslaught, but then again the workers did smell of the same grime that lingered in the sewers.

”This simply will not do. I won’t be undone by this.” Cockroach thinking to himself as he paced the room up and down. Weaving a few hand seals a black tar like material shot out of his hands that clung to the ninja’s skin. In an instant the tar exploded and wrapped around the ninja’s whole body before it hardened turning into a hard exoskeleton. Seconds later the carapace would crack open and fall to the floor, taking with it the smell and grime of the sewer system. “Good work steamed buns.” The new nickname cockroach gave the swordsman seeming easier than Sebun. “Looks like you are pretty handy with a sword. Anyways let’s get moving we don’t have time to waste.” Cockroach hobbled across the room with his gimp limp and placed his hands on each of the guard’s heads or what was left attached one by one. Sebun would glance over to see the life draining from each guard, turning from flesh to bone then bone to ash before there was nothing left.

“Now that’s over we should be on our way. But first we need a disguise.” The cockroach scurried over to his ally and placed one hand on the old burly man. “Henge no Jutsu” (Transformation Jutsu) unlike the E rank version of this technique, cockroach had refined into a near perfect jutsu rivaling S rank. This allowed the shape shifter to alter, modify and transform one's own body; voice, appearance, scent, hair, eyes, skin, nails, nerves, muscles, organs, tissues, bones, teeth, etc., any and all physical traits anyway the user wishes. Usually altering his or her body to match that of another person, even changing gender if desired. Drastic size changes are possible using this ability, this can involve a mass change or density change. The act of shapeshifting is painful and requires at least a few seconds to complete. Having shifted the ability onto Sebun and himself, the swordsman would feel pain unlike cockroach who had used this technique multiple times.

They took the form of two guards they killed and donned their clothes for the full effect. Leaving the room they peered down the hallways before they located the room where the engineers inhabited. Cockroach pointed at the head engineer in the back mapping out the blueprint for new construction underway. “That’s him we can probably just go in and out.” Cockroach leading the way, since he had a silver tongue, approached the head engineer. Before he could manage to slip a word out, multiple hands clamped onto the shoulders and arms of Sebun and Cockroach. A massive ninja that towered over the two spoke, “What are you two doing in here? This is designated areas for higher ups only, or did you forget the rules. What are your names and badge numbers by the way? Won’t want to make me angry right?” The giant adding weighting pressure into his grip, which would break the average man’s clavicle and perhaps shoulder blade. “Looks like I have to take the trash out again.” Scoffing, winding up his chakra in order to crush the two in his titan like grip.

The man tightened his grip even further, trying to crush Sebun and his partner. Sebun was not about to fail his mission because of this Shinobi. Sebun knew what he needed to do, and he smiled as he realized which of the Seven was about to be unleashed. He closed his hands activating the seal his palms. Sebun’s hands were soon enveloped by the Cestus named Wrath. Inside of Wrath, Sebun pulled a trigger causing Wrath to let loose a blast from explosive tags. The concussive force of the tag separated one of the Shinobi’s eight arms, freeing himself from the man’s grasp. As Sebun dropped, he threw a right hook towards the man again. At the same time pulling the trigger, aiming to free Cockroach.

The Kiri Ninja was smart enough to release Roach and backpedal to save himself from the blast. Weaving several hand seals the shinobi then covered himself in stone armor, calling it Doton: Koka Jutsu. There would be tactics this fight was going to turn into a straight brawl. Sebun would not stand up to his blows with just Wrath alone. He would need back up, but not from the weak Cockroach. The only thing that that man could do is survive. Sebun touched the seal on his back causing Pride to reveal itself, and the then touched the seal above his heart encasing himself in the Sloth armor.

In that moment, the two giants engaged in a hand to hand battle, matching each other blow for blow. With every successful blow from Wrath caused an explosion but he couldn’t destroy the armor faster than it could be regenerated. At the same time, Sebun was taking blows from his opponent but Sloth was absorbing the blows, and getting slower with each attack. As he got slower so did his punches, but the slower Sebun got the more precise his attacks with Wrath got. This lasted for sixty seconds and that’s when Sloth reached full capacity and Sebun released the stored kinetic energy into a concussive blast. The blast was so great that it destroyed the Shinobi’s rock armor in its entirety. That gave Sebun the chance to finish the fight. He lunged out of the Sloth armor landing directly on the stunned guard and released a torrent of attacks from Wrath. Each blow impacted the Kiri Ninja’s face until there was nothing remaining.

Sebun sat there for a second after dispatching the ninja. Panting and sweating, it had been awhile since he was in a slugfest like that. Sloth may protect from most damage but some of the damage bypassed Sloth’s protective barrier. Sebun was bloody and bruised, he was not it the best of conditions, that’s why he had summoned Pride. On the off chance if he had died Pride would have resurrected Sebun. After catching his breath and wiping the sweat that had accumulated on his brow, Sebun turned to Cockroach. ”Locate Sano so we can leave. Trouble will be arriving soon, and I grow weary of this hell hole.”

And yet by the time Sebun had finished brawling with some poor fodder Shinobi and wasted his energy, Gokiburi had already infested the ventilation systems and the pipes within the walls with thousands upon thousands of roaches. The true Cockroach himself would be nowhere to be found when Sebun turned to look for his partner after brawling it out with the head engineer of the prison. Instead in his partner’s place he would find three Shinobi all wearing black iron masks with no visible holes for their eyes, covered from head to toe in jet black clothing. While the two had thus far only encountered hack shinobi who took their job for the leisure activity, now Sebun would find himself up against three members of the Iron Hunters, the most exceptional Hunter-nin in Kirigakure tasked with not only capturing the criminals within the prison but also keeping them behind bars. If Sebun thought the engineer was a tall order, these Shinobi would give him a run for his money. In an instant, one dashed forward and pulled a katana from behind its back, seemingly coming from the shadows. As soon as Sebun would react to the first attack, he would find the second directly behind him in the same instant, aiming a dagger straight for his kidney. And finally, the third would appear above him and aiming its heel down towards Sebun’s skull. These ninja were ridiculously fast, and left no room for mistake. It seemed the roach had planned to draw the attention of the Iron Hunters onto Sebun on purpose.

And just as it seemed, so it was. The eyes of a mass-murderer opened from a deep meditation. For what seemed like an eternity but was more like a pair of decades, Sano had long been isolated from the world, with no outlet for his bloodlust. Sano was now left unguarded, as were about twelve other high-risk prisoners. One of whom happened to be quite acquainted with Sano… The man-eating shark glared at the doors of his prison with a terrifying rage. Outside in the hallway, several men dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks, unconscious from his Killing Intent. It was the first time he had unleashed it uncontrollably in a long time. He sniffed the air and felt a familiar scent, the stench of disgusting roaches.

But that was about all he could do at this point, for the room he was imprisoned in was specially designed for a man of his caliber. Naturally as a Hozuki, Sano would try to Hydrificate out of any binds they placed around him and escape. So a constant barrier of lightning was erected to paralyze him in his liquefied state, along with a super cooled room in order to cause his body to fall below the freezing point of water yet still remain liquefied. This was done in order to prevent him from converting to steam or boiling the room to the point of destruction. This was only in place because at one point Sano had slowly raised the air pressure in the room with his steam techniques and created a pressurized vacuum that turned into a compressed air bomb that killed a dozen guards and released him from his binds about seventeen years ago; ever since then the super cooling has kept Sano in a constant state of torture, always liquefied and draining his monstrous chakra while freezing endlessly. It was Hell, and Sano would do anything to get out.

Roaches began crawling out from the vents on the ceiling, and as they did the room began to warm, at first by tiny, miniscule amounts. It would take time to warm up. Time that Sebun needed to create by distracting the guards long enough, even if he died a fool’s death while trying. Elsewhere, more of those tiny fuckers were nibbling away at the wires causing the electric field. All the while the devilish grin on Sano’s face grew wider and wider. One by one the lines were cut and the electric field grew weaker and weaker as the room grew warmer. And after about fifteen minutes, the defenses crafted over years of trial and error were weak enough once more…

“DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR!!!!!!!” The battle cry of a bloodthirsty champion, his body became solid, and he thrust his fist forward, all of the moisture in the air collided into a singular point at his command and pulsated through the air. The doors that could hold innumerable amounts of prisoners in their rooms without effort were blown off their hinges in an instant. “Allow me to display my gratitude to you, my disgustingly heinous comrade… I know not why you chose today to free me, but whatever the reason, I lay down my sword for you and for he whom sent you here… Speaking of my sword..” His voice was deeper than most men, so deep that it sounded like the monster that hides under your bed as a child.

Several quick hand seals. “WATER RELEASE: GREAT EXPLODING WATER COLLIDING WAVE!!!” Even with his chakra weakened from constantly being drained within his prison, Sano bellowed out a mass of water from his belly large enough to engulf the entire prison. The hallways would gush with water, flooding the entire underground facility. The torrent of waves would eventually reach the control room where Sebun was playing patty cake with the Iron Hunters. They would all drown if they stayed inside. Sano cared not, they were all just tools as a means to his freedom. And he did not worry one moment for Gokiburi’s sake, the roach always found a way to survive.

Without wasting a breath, Sano was barreling through the submerged halls like a torpedo, eventually coming to a room at the end of that hall locked tight with several layers of reinforced steel. Several Iron Hunters were slowly drowning in front of the door, watching in horror as they knew they were standing in the way of Sano of the Blood Mist and his best friend, Samehada. “HADOUTSUKI!” The same technique used to blast open the door of his cell with minimal moisture, yet now they were submerged in water. The force was released from his palm, using the water as a medium. Once the invisible burst traveled through the water, through the bodies of the Iron Hunters, and through the water that made up their blood, their eyes exploded from their skulls, the pressure of the water crushing their ribcages and killing them nearly instantly. The door beyond their corpses had flown open, and Sano rushed in with childlike glee as he was reunited with his friend. As he grasped the hilt of Samehada they instantly fused, as if they had never left each other’s side. And so began the rampage of the Bloody Mist, Sano surged through the corridors of his former confinement tearing apart the bodies of his former captors and staining the bubble of water red with disdain.

“Idiot, idiot, wasting time like that. We need to get in and out before we’re killed or trapped down here.” Whatever Sebun had hoped to help intervene with the iron clad ninja was all but a husk of cockroaches. The putrid cockroach flooded the vents like a plague on the world for disrupting the natural order of things. The killer white shark ninja dispatched the guards quite quickly with simply just the overpowering killing intent he had been harboring for what felt like years now. Cockroach was of course immune to his intent and recollected himself in front of the prison that held the great water ninja. The rest of his swarm of cockroaches took to chewing on the wires and attempted to warm the room so the double layered security would fall one by one. The excitement was titillating.

Cockroach’s survival senses tingled before he dove out of the way of the incoming steel door that was made to look like wood. Cockroach bowed and shook his head rapidly, accepting the thanks of the might shark while also wanting to get to the other prisoner before the calamity that was Sano would take the prison by storm. In a sense he had bigger fish to fry. “Yes yes, unleash your rage. I’ll meet you on the surface.” Cockroach bowed once more before scurrying out of the room through the vents once more. The supermax prison was now on red alert. He made it to the next cell, this one much easier to configure as there was only a control panel. The pitch black room of zero gravity that housed Havoc the gravity manipulator had been removed. Light returned to the room and the ninja fell to the floor trapped inside the compact ball that tethered each individual finger and toe, he had been neutered from making so much as a blink that could escalate into gravitational force. With another button press the shackles had been removed.

Suddenly an explosion of intense gravity shot out directly around Havoc, completely pulverizing the layers of flooring and roofing all the way from the bottoms of the fathomable ocean and the surface of the sea. Havoc looked at the cockroach and nodded before he took the intangible elevator of gravity up to the surface. Once the shark was done terrorizing the depths of their prison he was crush it with one Chibaku tensei for good measure. With water now flooding in where Havoc once stood, the deformed monster made his way back to the sewer system from which he emerged and made his way back through his tunnels before making it safely to the surface. Now for him to admire the scene of death and destruction while he had the added bonus of estimating how long Sebun would take to escape, if he could escape at all. Oh what fun? Seijuro was surely going to be happy with the haul the cockroach accumulated.

Things went to shit real fast. The Iron Clad Guardians had made their appearance and before Sebun could even react to them, the Cockroach released Sano and Havoc. The time table was speeding up, and Sebun had to get away from his current location unless he wanted to place to be his watery grave. The Blacksmith was thinking of ways to escape. He couldn’t shatter the floor and escape that way because this area of the prison was well submerged under water, and he wouldn’t be able to reach the top before drowning. Reaching the Cockroaches tunnels would prove extremely deadly, seeing how he would have to contend with Sano’s blood fueled revenge. Sebun decided that the easiest path of retreat is returning to the forge and coming out on the surface. Forming several hand seals, Sebun placed his hand on the ground. The ground turned opened up showing a small room beneath it. As Sebun dropped into the hole, the water wave finally reached him. As the opening closed, some of the water made it into the portal flooding some of the forge. I swear I am beginning to dislike Gokiburi and he’s slimy ways. Moments later, Sebun would emerge next to Cockroach soaking wet. ”If we are done here, I shall make my way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.” Sebun said trying to shake some of the water out of his hair.

As the quartet met at the surface, Sano smirked at Sebun, surprised he made it out alive. He formed a single hand seal, the bubble surrounding the prison that was stained with the blood of his captors and other fellow prisoners alike exploded. The bloody water burst forth in all directions, sending the crimson ocean flooding out into the waters surrounding the island. Some of it began raining down around them, and the amount of blood in the water would stain the sea surrounding the island for weeks to come. It was a symbol of their efforts and a sign of more bloodshed to come.

"Konoha... here we come."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting at the table at which the Akatsuki were to meet, cross legged at her seat and slowly rocking back and forth, one would find the hero of every story she found herself in. Kareha leaned over the table, propping her chin up with the palms of her hands, resting her elbows against the table.

“We make a cute family.” She said through a clenched jaw. Her eyes were bright and beaming with excitement. She stopped rocking back and forth and looked Seijuro right in the eye. A glimmer of something, anything other than her usual exterior mood leaked out of that gaze. Just one moment later she started snickering and muffled her laughter by burying her face in her arms on the table. She couldn’t take such a stick in the mud guy so seriously. He bored her.

“Madame Kazeka-“ An orderly started, only to be immediately interrupted by a nurse. A hand quickly and carefully placed over the orderly’s mouth.

“She’s in surgery.” The woman whispered, pointing to Ishi Kakumei, currently trying to save the life of a young boy who fell from the roof of the Kazekage’s building. The large dome building did not offer much in the way of a grip for the poor boy on his way down.

“I have a message for her.” The orderly said in a hushed voice. “It’s the Leaf village.”

“Come in.” A third voice entered the room, booming over the others. The Kazekage herself. The orderly walked in, bowing to the woman as the sounds of bones snapping into place echoed over the room. The boy screamed, though it wasn’t entirely clear whether he was conscious or not. Perhaps it was his body forcing energy out of him, Ishi was doing so much for the boy so quickly it must’ve been horrendously painful.

”What news does the will of fire bring to us?” Ishi said in a charitable tone, even smiling warmly at her orderly. All the while repairing the broken body of the boy in front of her. Finally, after setting his shoulder and knee back to their original position, and closing the incision she had previously made with her scalpel she walked over to the sink to wash her hands while nurses rolled the boy away.

“The Hokage has died.” The orderly said, rather matter-of-factly.

Ishi took a few seconds, peering at the girl in the mirror before sighing. ”I see.”

Leaving the surgery room her foxes quickly found her, skipping alongside her feet and playing with her.

“Hey mom, are you headed over to the river to read?” Ishi called, scrambling up beside her, stepping over his brothers.

”No, I have business elsewhere unfortunately.” She replied, letting her right hand fall to the fox’s fur. She pet it soothingly before crouching down to get on their level. Within an instant they were all lined up to face the woman. ”I’ll be gone for a few days, travel between our countries isn’t always fast. I’m leaving Tokuina in charge.” She said calmly, but was met with a loud chorus of groans from the foxes.

“Why is it always the old man?” They asked among other various statements of disagreement.

”He hasn’t failed yet.” Ishi stated simply patting the heads of her foxes before continuing on her walk to meet Tokuina. But before she could make it she felt the scurrying of Chitose up her pant leg, through her shirt and finally on her shoulder. It didn’t say anything, it simply awaited command. ”Watched over them, be vigilant while I am gone, please.” Ishi stated, allowing a single finger to stroke the mouse from head to lower back. It ran off on its way quickly.

“Ishi.” Tokuina said, his voice so deep it felt as though the very Earth itself was speaking to her. His cubs lay tiredly by his massive maw, seemingly tuckered out from training.

“Hello, old friend.” Ishi said, placing her forehead on the lower portion of Tokuina’s mouth. “I must leave for the next few days. I need you to protect them.” The Kazekage spoke quietly. She refused to be heard by anyone but her closest ally.

“I understand, you’ve stood vigilantly for two years. We wouldn’t want the other Kage thinking your some kind of recluse.” He uttered, his voice threatening to wake his cubs. “Go, little one.” He said, his age transparently displayed in his booming voice.


Ishi watched silently at the front of the crowd, alongside the other Kage as the Hokage was lowered into the ground. It wasn’t a second sooner a ruse was revealed.

The supposed assistant to the Hokage immediately began to explain his life’s sorrows to the crowd, making sure his new position as Hokage was heard, loud and clear. Ishi’s face formed into a scowl in a matter of miliseconds. She was miles away from home and this damned Hokage thought she needed to be dragged out for half of a Hokage’s death. She wanted to leave immediately, but of course he refused to stop opening his mouth.

“One last thing, there will be a Summit for the Five Kage and any leaders who would like to participate. I may require a few ninja as my entourage. That is all, thank you for coming, you can mingle amongst yourselves there will be tea and treats for you all. Oh by the way I will be your new Hokage.”

Ishi’s brow furrowed. This all smelled somewhat… Suspicious. She knew not that this Hokage had a twin. She wasn’t sure anyone did, given the theatrics being employed here. She would reach out to the Amekage and the Tsuchikage in order to clarify a few things with them. Even worse than being required to attend a damned funeral for a leader halfway across the world, being told at the funeral she was required to be at another meeting. She needed a drink before she would leave.



Ishi found her gaze transfixed on a girl who looked tired out of her wits that bore the hat of the Amekage. She was certainly not the Kage, however. As long as Yogensha was still alive. However, she had acted with grace and dilligence, and stepping in for a Kage was no easy feat. Even for a village as small as Amegakure. She gave the girl a reassuring nod before moving on.

Date jumped to the last tree, water armor still holding against the flying lava. All it took was one last leap and he could leave this all behind, and the did make the last jump to the last tree before it fell over and landed out side of the kage's jutsu and into the left over water and muddy ground nearby. Date suffered little damage, only having sime burns and cuts
but he had no time to rest it was time to get to work. Leaving the Tsuchikage and that criminal to their own devices was the best option and would keep Date alive. For now he would follow suit and look for anyone who could need help and hopefully avoid anymore mystery guest that are in the forest. He set out and noticed that half the forest was destroyed, he had to stop and look around, and really admire the destruction.

This made him wonder what might have happened if he stayed and tried to help. Would he still be here? What if he lost an arm, or got someone killed? What if he never got to see his mom's lifeless face again? If they had this kind of power, and could kill so many then what could he really do? Instead of focusing on the unknown, Date on focused finding his allies and avoiding trouble, he marched on through what was left of the forest with hope that this would all end soon and he could check on the only thing that mattered to him.

---

There was a air of sadness blowing all around the today. It was a day of mourning after the death of so many, the death of their Hokage, the death of his mother. Turns out he was right to be worried, the hospital his mother was in got caught in the explosion. Upon hearing the news form his father Date did not know if he should hate this man, or the people who did this. Date knew he could only hate his father for so long, he knew that this attack was in a way his own personal calling to step up and accept his responsibilities. Date was not surprised that everyone in the village was here, their hero had died and now it was up to them to pick whatever pieces were left and move on. He did not know how to handle his mothers death, and had just locked that whole situation somewhere and threw away the key. But out of all this death he did feel the birth of some new motivation to be a better ninja, hoping that if this ever happened again he could contribute.

As the funeral went on the former Hokage's aid stepped forward and gave the entire village a major shock. He and the Hokage where twins, and he was taking over? Date had questions, but he assumed everyone did, when he looked to his left he could see the anger in his fathers eyes. How would each of the clans react to his announcement, his declaration, and their missed opportunity to claim the lead position. Date could feel the confusion, and anger pointed at the man in front, and Date felt sorry for him a man who had to deal with his dead brothers overcasted shadow and live in the resentment created by his death.

---

The grand reveal was, well, quite a reveal. The Uragiri clan could not quite figure out what to make of this. First of all, to keep this a secret for so long was unimaginable. The lengths they must have gone to keep this secret was unthinkable. How many people must've died for this secret? It was a question that the clan, all together, were sure they'd never receive an answer to. Feelings of dread over the loss of the hokage turned into confusion and anger at the betrayal of the twins. Ginsho had been a good man, but to keep this from them? And for what purpose? It seemed like such a useless endeavor.

When the people who had successfully become jonin were announced, the mixture of emotions was only made worse. To feel anger? Pride? Sadness? Just what to make of this? Sakana himself was unbothered, watching the events unfold. It was fate, playing it's game. Nothing he could've helped. It was the same fate that carried him to his position as Jonin.

In the corner of his eyes, Sakana saw his teammate that helped him considerably during the exams - well, discounting the fact that he sealed Sakana without his knowledge. It was Kamui Uzumaki, who sadly hadn't made it to jonin. The criteria seemed to be stacked against him, but it didn't matter. He was more than capable, and if Sakana could put together a team at will, he would be sure to take in the young Uzumaki.

The new, young jonin, aged merely 16 years old, would approach the Uzumaki and stand next to him, not saying anything until the full spectacle had been concluded. “Theatrical,” he added to it all, not glancing at Kamui, simply looking forward with those piercing black eyes. “I expect we'll work together again. You were a great help during the exam, and I could use the expertise of the Uzumaki clan as a whole later on, when I need to re-seal the seal on my chest. For now, however, is there anything I can assist you with?”

---

News of the attack on Konoha did not fall into deaf ears. Gozubura Starru, the dreaded General of Kumogakure and merciless paramilitary investor, had provided intelligence to the organization concerning various security measures within the agglomeration. It was his task, as a man who maintained a strong network with like-minded individuals and frustrated higher ups in bigger establishments. He did not part-take in the invasion, it was unnecessary. There were enough members to distract the forces for a simple assassination. He would have been, at the time, enjoying his villa in Yuugakure, indulging in a martini and keeping up with world economics on his monthly newspaper.

With weeks going by, it was finally time to have a proper meeting. One that felt unnecessary, given how the orders were clear from the get-go. Their targets were the kages, and the only mild inconvenience would be the recent sentencing of the Mizukage. Sure, the scapegoat was part of the organization's plan, but where he'd end up was another story. Logistically, some would have to improvise, but not Gozubura. No, his target remained unchanged, and he made sure of it.

Among his Akatsuki peers, he'd sit on his designated seat. His single eye scanned the area, before closing as he awaited for the meeting to commence. With any form of introduction being done by the host of the meeting, Starru would take the stage from the very start. His imposing, low voice was hard to trump without screaming. There was also a hint of 'old man' behind it, adding to the solemn nature of his discourse.

"Do not mistaken this for some sort of family, or some sort of friendship, Madame Kareha Yuki. At least one of us is going to be mangled and horribly killed during this operation. We are here to kill, pillage and torture, not share toddler photos."

His grown eye opened, fixating the ice user of the gang before peering over toward the ringleader, Seijuro.

"Without wasting anymore time, I have provided the needed information on each major villages' security protocols, both classified and public, for each squad to indulge in. This will thus exclude ..."

His eye trailed through the gathered gang, stopping on Havoc as it had on Kareha previously.

"Amegakure. Too small to have an obvious approach in intelligence gathering. But too big to be defenseless. The interval of time since the Konohagakure raid was, admittedly, far too short for my men to do anything. Although."

The General seemed to squint at the direction of the Umbrella-NotUrahara-man.

"I would suppose Mister Havoc and his native callings would do just fine."

The man stood, once his piece finished. Hands reached to buckle his fancy, navy-blue vest as if he had just departed a business meeting of sorts. Once completed, his arms would each behind his back before a slight bow would be performed.

"I will not waste anymore of your, or my time in a meeting while our goals are clearly set in stone. If there is a change, you know how to contact me. Madame Matou."

With his partner for this specific task summoned, General Starru would already be on his way to depart from the scene. He knew enough to do his job just right.

---

It had been a few hours, and Gozubura Starru had already been within the city he had once abandoned, and personally threatened during his departure. No one stopped him, for he knew how to slither in. But he would not go unnoticed once he'd settle down in a renown, high class café. Under a parasol with the waiter delivering him the nation's treasured coffee. A delicacy he had longed for since his departure, and could only import so much at a time. There was just something about drinking tit in Kumo that made it far more delightful.

Shinobi of various ranks discretely spread around the nearby rooftops, and kept an eye on his every actions. They didn't act, there were too many people in the Plaza, and a fight would yield far too many casualties to be acceptable. Evidently, they would not let him escape, but they couldn't just go and apprehend him, especially with what the veterans among the shinobi knew about him. Added to that, his female partner was a mystery to these men and women.

"Miss Matou. Have you ever tasted this coffee before? A rare delicacy, one of the only things I can actually enjoy before getting my hands covered in shit."

The Raikage was to get the message by now, Gozubura was expecting a meeting. If he'd take too long, he'd get the waiter to carry a note that would inevitably be intercepted by one of the many surveillance corps. What it said didn't matter, but the threat was certainly real. Never once had the General exaggerated warnings. Bakuto was to present himself quickly, and mind his manners.

"We will have company soon. I will greet our target. I believe you will not be as incompetent as some of our peers to actually underestimate the operatives? The pawns we have right now will be dealt with accordingly. Do this job correctly and I will insure a living Kazekage for you in the near future."

Another sip from his coffee, as he'd patiently waited for the village leader. His moustache would have somewhat of a beige stain, one he'd fail to notice as he'd indulge in the sweetened delicacy.

---

Special Operation Force:
Ever since the Kage Summit, a special operatives force has been established. Composed of shinobi with first hand experience against the Akatsuki, they are consulted to quickly react to Akatsuki attacks on villages, and assist in stopping them.

The presence of Akatsuki in Kumogakure would quickly warrant the reaction of Konoha, with files on the assailants transferred to the authority handling the shinobi.

Gozubura Starru: Ex high ranking Military during the big war, said to have a vast paramilitary network. Last seen wielding at least three elements (Lightning, Wind, Water), rumors say he may have more. Proficient in most arts, but renown as a master Ninjutsu user.

Yui Mutou: Capable of manipulating her hair and wielding of the unnerving Earth Grudge Fear. Details on its ability have been withheld by Takigakure, and it is unknown how many elements she can use at this point. (she is known to use fire and wind)

Special Forces:
-Ryoko Niken: Kumogakure shinobi, best placed to coordinate Konoha forces, as well as being quite experienced in combat. Fire release gives an edge against the prevailing wind attribute of the enemies. Kenjutsu to match Gozubura's own blade.@Grey Sama
-Jaakuna Hinoko: Capable taijutsu and Ninjutsu user, with his unique Hiden allowing him to match stronger lightning users, and his fire release serving the same use as Ryoko.@Altered Tundra
-Kiku Kurama: Sensory and Genjutsu enables the perfect support for enemies considered to be dangerously well-rounded, with little exploitable weaknesses. Immobilizing one with Genjutsu may prove to be pivotal.@LadyInInk
-Kaba Joukaku: Barriers offer defense while having a good offense. Because four A ranks and lazy reviews. Can his hard and offer good options to the team, especially vs the Versatile duo.@BladeX

Interaction: Akatsuki mostly @Savato And Fuhrer Bradley directly.

Yui sat in on the meeting, though her assigned partner for this next phase wasn't here for the chit-chat that some members were and he was quick to say his piece and move out, hinting for her to accompany him. "I'll be right behind you, General!" She chimed, rising to her feet and cheerfully striding out of the meeting without much else said aside from turning towards Kareha for a moment and beaming a smile at her.

"So long as I get to be the big sister, I'm happy with the family idea you've got there~" Before she could give Kareha a chance to respond she was out of the room as well.

---

Yui hadn't had to worry as much about evading detection as Gozubura had, although he seemingly didn't need to be concerned in the slightest so... Well there was no concern on Yui's part either then! Admittedly Yui herself had never been in Kumo, so this entire place was a new experience to her, though she didn't let it go to waste. After spawning a couple of clones before their entry and having them disguise themselves as civilians, she sent them on their way to survey the village and even do a light bit of shopping for her, though the General didn't need to know about the last part.

In the cafe, the threaded woman patiently took measured sips of her own cup of coffee and nodded in a sagely manner. "I can't say I have, as I've never been to Kumogakure in all my years, it is quite the treat though. And considering what's to happen here, I am loathe to admit that this luxury is going to be quite short-lived, who knows when I'll get another taste like this?"

Though, at his mention of a living Kazekage for her was a comment that brought an eager sparkle to her eyes. "You certainly know how to excite a lady, if only we could indulge in a room for the night..." Her words trailed off to allow her half-spoken insinuation to be received any way the general had wished, no doubt he knew her intentions already.
The thought of the kazekage being brought to her returned the recent memories of the deal she'd made with Cockroach before joining the Yomigaeri, he had assured her that she'd get the Kazekage so long as she worked for them, she wasn't about to let that bargain go either, not in a million years.
The old man, Cockroach, his very being sent a disgusted shiver down her spine, but she'd been taught in the orphanage to play nicely with anyone, no matter how they made you feel.

"Oh, pardon me, but you've got a bit of something on your moustache, allow me to get that for you~" With smooth, fluid motions, Yui brought a white handkerchief up to gently wipe away the coffee that lingered on Gozubura's facial hair. By any means it could be seen as the act of a doting wife looking after a husband.

Once she was leaning closer to him, she spoke. "Would you like me to," She gently cleared her throat, "restrain our observers? It would save you dirtying your hands that little bit more, undoubtedly, or is everything going as planned?" Yui's question finished with a raised brow, the very tips of each individual hair on her head twitching with anticipation as she sat back down, awaiting any confirmatory sign for action.

---

---

So... The Hokage is going to be this cold blooded copy from now on? What a great time to be alive. Kamui couldn't help but sigh loudly when faced by Shinko's revelation, deeply frustrated over the unexpect - and sincerely absurd - revelation, that pretty much confirmed that his life waa definitely going to be even more troublesome from now on,specially since he was, from now on, officially a permanent Konoha-nin, for it was one of the terms of the agreement he made with the elders in case he didn't become a jounin - quite the troublesome occupation to have in such a dangerous time, in which the advantages you can get working for big villages definitely weren't worth the trouble.

He didn't really have the opportunity to think that much about how bleak his life was going to be from now on though, as before he could even mamage to think of an excuse to get away from the troublesome new kage, a familiar figure walked towards him, quietly standing besides him for a while, visibly waiting for the situation to get calmer before he adressed Kamui. "Remarkably so. Almost like a scene comming out of a soap opera." The Uzumaki added, similarly maintaining his eyes focused in Ginsho's fairly simplistic grave. "I don't really have any pressing issue as of now - that is, with the obvious expection of being about to get plunged into a war, something that I hoped to avoid for at least a few decades." The Uzumaki loudly sighed as he once more reminded himself of how troublesome his future days were going to be, turning to actually face Sakana for the first time in the following second. "That being said,
I do hope to work together with you again in the future. You're remarkably not-bad as a team leader, I wouldn't complain about serving as a member of your squadron."

---

The attack on the Leaf Village was more or less a success, their only real loss was far less fatalities than expected and also the fact Havoc was touched by some lowly chunin. The red on his face had disappeared, but a shallow, small mark had stayed on his face to commemorate the blow. A reminder of sorts, to never let his guard down, yet also to prioritize the young ice girl on his list of masterpieces. The image of her dying in the comfort in his arms led his eyes to ignite in passion. While the wound seemingly had vanished off his face, the scruff and long flowing mane did not. Havoc had several weeks after the invasion to address these minimal issues, but he grown accustomed to the isolation and ensnarement of his cell that he no longer cared for the procedures of men. The isolation left a hunger in him, his appetite would not be satiated with such little wanton destruction, and he needed more.

The Gravity ninja strolled into the meeting room, naked without his sword or his signature umbrella. What he had in substitution was obliterated in the fight with those unscrupulous chunin, he would have to find a remedy before the assault on whichever Kage lent itself to him and Kareha. His yukata were worn and tattered, lined from bottom to top with cuts and gashed. Some blood from when he was capture still stained a crimson rust. Whether or not he was too apathetic to his clothes as he was to his facial hair was yet to be seen, perhaps it was more of a reminder of the vengeance he would later seek, but for now his focus was the wishes of the Yomigaeri. Finally, making his way to his seat next to Kareha and Akuno, the homeless ninja sat down in his place as the others did the same. Whether Kareha would notice his drastic appearance was beyond him, regardless he still saw her as the same child that watched him drain the life of some fodder ninja with curiosity rather than fear.

The young girl spoke with her childlike innocence and ignorance, such an easy life was it to be so free and unaffected by the world surrounding. Her words reached his ears and stained the back of his brain, ”Family? Family died a long time ago, child.” his word were quick to cut, but remained in the confines of his own mind. Havoc gave her a few head pats before she was crudely interrupted by the so called general. There was no honor among thieves, but there was some semblance of trust and fate that had aligned them all together. Collective interest or mutually assured destruction, you decide. Havoc’s face was unwavering and characteristically stoic as usual. “I couldn’t have said it better myself, General. Your intelligence compliments your wrath well, you must have been a führer in your previous life. I do have personal business to attend to in Amegakure, so my destination was clear from the start anyways. I thank you for your tactical assessment though. I’ll make quick work of Amegakure, Konoha was simply just a warm up. Let’s go Kareha, I’ll give you a piggy back ride all the way there.”

Havoc excused himself from the table and walked over to the young boisterous girl, he knelt down with his back facing the small girl and readied himself for her leap of faith. Once she was on his back havoc made his way towards the exit, “I won’t take any more of your time either, we know our mission, we’ll be back with our information and hopefully a head to adorn my collection.”

A few hours later the two had been conversing as kareha was catching Havoc up on the affairs of men while he was locked away. Those few years had quite the impact on the known world, all those missed opportunities, the pieces of art that were safe from his Justice. “Before we head into Ame, we should put our masks on. I’ll put on my robe just before then too. Yogensha will be mine. You can make me a snowman out of the villagers while you wait.” Just as they were passing through the outskirts of the ninja world, there was a paper nailed to the base of a tree, the wind was heavy and kept blowing the corner over the poster. Although there was something quite familiar about the poster, Havoc stopped dead in his tracks. The young smiling jovial girl would feel her favorite ride malfunction.

The aura of the man shifted immediately, sinister energy starting to leak out, his killing intent was quite overwhelming even for a man of his grandeur. Havoc moved on instinct or as if he were a robot, the suspicion he had sending ripples through his mind. His heart was beating quite rapidly, enough to have his pulse radiating through his ears as he drew nearer. With his right hand he ripped the poster from the tree and unfolded it before his eyes. It was none other than a picture of his prized possession, Kyokotsu only this wanted poster was different from the ones in the past. Havoc was no longer attached to her name, now she was branded with ”Dead or Alive” and a reward at the bottom. Memories seared through his brain like the flood gate had been destroyed, recollections of their pasts came alive in shared unison, the personal business he had in Amegakure gained an additional purpose, answers, it was her last known whereabouts according to the poster. The rage consumed him, gravity being to swell all around them. The floor being crushed under his wrath and the trees began to shake, even the young girl would start to feel the effects of his rage, she needed to soothe his mind quick.

The paper crumpled into his hands as he held it close to his chest, it seemed their fates were still meant to be aligned.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akuno lit the match and threw it at her former home, the entry temple building caught flame and it would spread soon, engulfing the entire temple and all the lifeless bodies that lay inside and out. The night before Akuno used her divine right and blessed everyone she called family, giving the highest honor of Jashin.....HA! You would expect her to feel like that, but really it was all for revenge, an eye for an eye, death for death. All those years ago she had a home, a husband, a little girl, a life, something simple and livable. That all went to hell when she got the letter, the fucking letter that contained her deep dark past all wrapped up in a average sized silver pendant. She had a choice, she could have thrown it away and never looked back but something inside of her drove her to wear it again and pick up Kurushimi(the scythe). Now she has returned to her "family" and given the them the sweet release that they longed for.

As she walked away from the burning temple, early morning air now filled with the smell of burning corpses and wood, she thought about the journal that was in her hand. It belonged to the woman who had raised her and contained a detailed account of Akuno's life, what she was doing who she was with, her actions and decisions, this was something new and deep down might have actually meant this woman cared for her. It didn't matter now, the signal was sent, Akuno made her choice, and she lives on wandering in endless suffering and sin haunted by the face of her daughter. The tunnel made by Cockroach was a form of payment, aside form the lives she would take in Jashin's name, and it helped her tie up lose ends that were haunting the back of her mind. The deaths of everyone at that temple are her deaths, not some god's, not the other Jashinist, not even death holds a claim in this instance, no Akuno claims these deaths as payment for choosing the "right path" and allowing the beast within her to be born again.

---

Akuno gathered with the rest of the members at their HQ, this would be her fist time meeting any of them besides Cockroach and Seijuro but they all had reputations especially the General. She remembers hearing of him on the battle field during the second great festival, but everyone else she could only assume who they wear. even Akuno herself would be easily recognizable, the Jashin necklace, white hair red eyes, all characteristics of the Immortal Priestess. When Kareha spoke her comment made Akuno chuckle, their little band was anything but a gang fit them perfectly, a bunch of killers forced to trust in each other, what more does one need. After the General gave them the necessary information Akuno stood with some others and tapped the mans shoulder next to her, he was taller than her and his face was covered by a mask.

"Why don't we go to the Sunagakure the Land of Wind has never been touched by Lord Jashin, and I am sure whatever is under that mask could use some sun. She said with a tap on the shoulder and began walking towards he exit.

Hours Later it was early in the morning, the perfect time for a surprise attack. The sun had just risen, people where still asleep, it was cool in the desert perfect weather for wearing a dark cloak and mask. The journey had not been full of conversation, but the silence was comfortable and the few times they did talk it was to plan their assault. She has never been to Sunagakure or the Land of Wind, the nights were just as harsh as the days and she could only slightly appreciate that some strong sacrifices would be made to Lord Jashin today. People that thrived in these deserts deserved to be released from the deceitful clutches of life, and she would allow them the to experience the ultimate blessing. As they neared the village she began to wonder about her partner and decided to get more information on him.

"Why do they call you the Black Dragon?" She said out of the blue as the village came into view.

She was honestly interested the name was peculiar to her, she got the black part but had yet to see the dragon side of Chis. As the city came into view she dawned her black cloak and mask her way of signaling Chis that she was ready to move. He was her ally for now but that only meant she owed him and everyone of her new "family" members a death worthy of Lord Jashin. The village was in view but still far away, this would give them enough time to finish making plans and prepare for the blood that was soon to fall.

After the invasion of Kohona, Sebun had retreated to his forge and waited for the end of the conflict. There was supposed to be a meeting of the other members of the Yomigaeri. That wouldn't happen for a short period of time. This short amount of time allowed Sebun to refill his armory because his perfect weapons were still in Kohona. He wasn't able to recover them before the Tsuchikage intervened, and forced the fight with Jaakuna. To think that those lowly shinobi in that village would be able to study HIS creations was appalling. The Tsuchikage would pay for his transgressions, but not just the man of power. His whole Village would suffer because of this. The time for talk was soon to be over, Sebun and his new partner, Sano would be making a move on Iwagakure to sow the seeds of chaos.

Sebun emerged from his Forge, making his appearance in the Yomigaeri Headquarters. As he stepped through his portal, one of the members sitting in the chair mentioned something about being a "cute family". That made Sebun chuckle. To think that Sebun was apart of this cute family was a laughable. "Ha, me being apart of a family? That's a cute thing to say, but me stooping myself to calling you family. Don't make me laugh." Sebun said making his way passed the ignorant girl. Sebun was way older than any of the Shinobi present at this meeting. Any ties of family that Sebun had once had were long gone. That's when the General chimed in talking of tactics and other boring dribble. Sebun didn't like the way this General talked as if he was in control but Sebun would let that slide. Not a lot of people have Sebun's respect but when it came to fighting in battle, the General was strong in his own right. He was a great tactician in the last great war, and his Kenjutsu was on par with most of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. And that being said, he doesn't have one of Sebun's greatest masterpieces. Maybe he was worthy of Sebun crafting him a weapon. The next person that Sebun noticed was the Jashin girl. He didn't know much about her but he did know about Jashin and his followers.

What a crazy lot, those Jashin followers are. Sebun wasn't a religious man but Jashism interested him. The fact that they went around killing for a religion was undesirable but the weapons they used to do the deed was noteworthy. In most incarnations, they would use a massive scythe with one or more blades. That's what caught his attention, Sebun had never delved into making scythes and this Jashin girl, would be the outlet where he dabbled in it. "Jashin girl, if you make through your attack, come see me. I want to make you a weapon befitting your god." Sebun said making sure to mention her god. That would definitely peak her interest. Sebun stopped in place and glanced around the room, and his eyes came to rest on one of his creations. Samehada the living embodiment of gluttony. One of his first creations rested on the back of Sano Hozuki, his partner.

Sebun's first meeting with Sano was breaking him out of the Kirigakure prison, during that time, Sano tried to drown Sebun. Not a great start for supposed Partners. Sebun wasn't going to let Sano's bloodthirsty demeanor ruin anything. The main reason that Sebun even agreed to this partnership was to see if Sano was worthy of Samehada. Their mission would be the perfect test to see if Sano is worthy of the godly weapon that he is wielding. Sano would be fighting the Tsuchikage in one on one combat. Lava versus Water, it would an interesting display."Sano, are you ready to depart? Me and you have a date with the Tsuchikage and his village of mongrels." Sebun said before opening a portal and stepping through, leaving it open of Sano to follow. The next place the two would appear is above Iwagakure to bring the fight to the Tsuchikage.

Meetings... Dull... And yet, Jaakuna had more pressing personal matters. A week after revival, he began to note a strange change in himself. The first was eyes. The sclerae of his eyes where the first, and most obvious difference at a glance. A slight redness, as if constantly bloodshot. As time ticked on, he noticed cracks forming under his skin, as if the skin had become dry. He didn't want to think to much on it, though he brought it up frequently to Seijuro, as if he was a ticking bomb.

He remained silent through the meeting, though he did laugh at the idea of family. Yomigaeri was never family, even back in the old days when the organization was more... Well fierce. He recalled at one point there was a man who looked like a zombie. Something Ohaka... But that man hadn't been seen heads or tails for a long time according to reports. Most of them ended up dead, so he wasn't hedging his bets on anything. But, Jaakuna knew the mission ahead would be dangerous. For he and Seijuro where going after a most difficult prey. The man known as Ocha Kyusu, who he knew from life. Long ago he had met the would be Mizukage in battle, considering the man was the top assassin of his village. Now it seemed that he would once more have to face the dreaded poison mist ninja. Clearly Seijuro was an asset for this fight. Standing up from the table, Jaakuna led the way, senses awake.

"Seijuro..." Jaakuna said, once he was sure the duo was alone. "You got what you wanted from the invasion, but I am still no closer to what I need." He said, eyes snapping to his cohort. "We can continue to play games all we want, but until I am whole again... I can't keep fighting like this." He tapped his foot against the ground, eyes flicking back and forth. Ahead of them he could make out Iwagakure, the place where all this would go down. "Either way... Lets make this fast. I can't pull off another full invasion like I did before."




The air was cold. Wet... It was as if it rained every day no matter what. To a point where Bumu started to hate the outside. His hair felt wet, and often times he had to brush it just to keep it from frizzling in the humidity. He hated it. He hated it. He hated it. But he couldn't do a thing about it. He sat on the roof of a building, some kind of flower shop judging from the smells. They where nice, and a good distraction for his mind right now. Across the street, he could see the Aka Clan Manor. A lovely place to be honest. Red wood, the symbol of the fox etched onto the doors. The clan emblem held up proudly, but it was... Meaningless now. They had made a reputation off Jaakuna Aka, and their close connections to the Hokages of the past had given them power. Now Bumu was witnessing a mad scramble. A clan dealing with the destruction of their beloved hero, and more so than ever they where cutting out the bastards... The fat that could bog them down...

Bumu sighed softly, fingers digging into the wood of the building roof. Guess this was just the way the world was going at the moment. Slowly edging towards extinction. The ever growing troubles of the ninja world seemed dedicated to crashing and burning. Guess it was all up to Bumu to watch as it all broke apart. "Everything is lame..."




It was time. Kurin Senju stood at the gates of Konoha, looking out across the distance to the road leading out of the village. The mission he had received from the new Hokage was... Troubling. He didn't know what to think, since he believed primarily in defense as the best offense, and the new Hokage... Well he came out of nowhere, and was already starting to enact major changes. It was... Unsettling. Yes, that was the word. Part of Kurin didn't want to admit it, while another part was more than aware of one simple truth. The world was changing rapidly, and it didn't seem like it would remain this way for long. The Oak shinobi would have to bend.

With a bag over his shoulder, he was prepared as best he could. Having replaced the radio Shizuki had broken in his childish spat over a month ago during the earth exam. Kurin himself was barely recognizable. Having wrapped himself heavily in bandages, till some had already begun rumors that he had lost all his skin. That wasn't exactly true, but the burns he did have where... Unsettling. Besides, bandages weren't bad. Simply because he looked good in a mummy costume.

Hime Yuki

Interaction: @Reflection Bumu Aka, the sullen fox.

The post-funeral blues over the next few weeks weren't really made better by the news that she hadn't passed the jonin exam, but she had in part expected it anyway, so instead of being crushed by metaphorical defeat she took the disappointment lightly. There were bigger things to worry about anyway, and if everyone was going to be so glum about things she'd have to be the cheerful one even more than before, just to compensate.

During that time Hime spent a few quiet minutes at her mother's grave every couple of days, if only to serve as a reminder that she didn't really have anyone to confide in with her troubles, so quietly thinking them over was the next best thing. "I didn't pass this time, but there's always the next exam, isn't that right mum?" There was a lingering silence afterwards, as if waiting for someone who was dead to respond. "Anyway, I'll be sure to visit again soon, don't get too lonely without me!"

With nothing else said the ice fairy was heading off again, meandering around the village, gradually she found herself outside the home of the once-proud Aka clan. Things had quickly changed since the news spread about who killed the Hokage, but there was still doubt in Hime's mind about that situation, he wouldn't just come back from the dead to kill someone that he was friends with, that was stupid.

Eyes locked on the fox that was the emblem of the family, Hime let out a light sigh of frustration. She couldn't really make heads or tails of it, her mother had always said she wasn't much of a thinker after all, she just did what felt appropriate. "It'd be nice if you were still around, mum, you'd be figuring this out in no time." With that she turned to walk back home and was greeted with the sight of the still severely sullen Bumu sat upon the roof on the other side of the street.

"What're you doing up there, foxy? Want to go eat something and talk about it? I'll pay." Like anyone else in Konohagakure, Hime knew that Bumu was more or less the biggest voice of those who claimed Aka lineage, the news was probably the worst for him with the pride he had about being Jaakuna's child. A trip to the ramen stand to eat would be akin to a distraction for him, probably.