[IC] Naruto : The Rise of The New Generations

[ChromeHound]

Hayate Hyūzu
Konoha - Team 2

Remaining silent as he kept pace with Kensuke and the others, Hayate thought about what had been said. Though he found himself agreeing in part with Shisen's words, Hayate knew that now was not the time to try and argue with the jounin. Feeling ashamed still for failing his teammates, Hayate had hoped that his experience would have been more of a help. Instead, it had caused him to function the way he had grown used to, operating closely alongside his sensei. It had become a natural habit, and one that clearly had not worked during this mission.

Keeping his mouth closed, Hayate followed Kensuke back to the village. He would go to the hospital afterwards, in order to take care of the wound on his leg. It wasn't that serious, but Hayate did not want to risk leaving it for the sake of foolish pride.

[Roran Hawkins]

Konoha Team 7
Kensuke Nimatsu

"You are right. There was no such discussion. Usually they teach you such things in the ninja academy. Perhaps I should arrange a lesson in teamwork for you there?" He replied on a rather cold yet casual tone without looking back. On second thought, he would need to keep an eye on her too. She had a dangerous kind of stubborn ... naivety that translated itself into what he carefully designated as a childish anger tantrum. Regardless, this was no mission to be proud of. He spent the rest of the trip back to Konoha in silence, thinking of how he could improve this situation. This was his first ever genin team as a jounin sensei, and it didn't look like it was working out as planned.

---

Arriving at Konoha's gates after a, uneventful travel back home, he turned to the genin. "I'll be dropping Ezuri off at the hospital and file in a report to the Hokage. You go home or to the hospital to take care of your wounds. I will send for you as soon as we have a new mission or I organize a training. Dismissed." He told them, before shifting Ezuri on his bacl to a more comfortable position. "And now to get you somewhere safe..." He muttered, heading to the hospital. Once there he noticed a lot of commotion though. There were some corpses on the street, and a lot of terrified people running about. Someone had attacked the hospital.

[Gamer geek]

Shinichi Kyousuke – The Return of Refeelzening

The two ninjas seemed to remain standing at the cliff side, the breeze still remaining constant once again due to the altitude they were at. Shinichi’s smirk increased in size when Niji said that he was the only one who’d sneak up on someone who spawns from generations of paranoid bodyguards. ”Yeah…then again it is what I do to everyone so there is no need to feel scared…for now at least” He ended his reply with a light hearted chuckle indicating it was joke and not meant to be taken seriously. Niji’s expression then seemed to change as she went into a small monologue about how she doesn’t want to kill for what she felt was pointless or just because someone had ordered her to, this was completely understandable.

He was about to respond although Niji continued on, telling of her history at the cliff side and at the conflict with the hundred men army. Shinichi opened his mouth to talk but then saw Niji start to fight off the tears that wanted to escape from her eyes. He was going to talk but was once again cut off by Niji, now talking about how she would have nightmares of being under the pile of burning bodies and how the thought would not escape her.

Shinichi stood silent for a few more seconds, thinking about what to say. ”I can’t say I know exactly how that feels, not in that particular way at least. I have done things that I regret every single day and haunt me everywhere I go though” he was on the verge of telling her everything, how he had fought for himself in his past and how he has done more and caused more regret then one man should ever have had to deal with. It was tempting but he just couldn’t bring himself to telling her about it, not yet anyway, he wanted at least a few more years of being a good role-model before he potentially messes it up.

”Listen” he started, now taking a seat at the cliff side, making it a bit easier to see the crouching Niji. ”What you’re saying makes sense, it seems that you just don’t want to kill just because someone tells you to and that is more honorable then you may think” he paused for a few seconds. ”You are right in one aspect, shinobi will always kill shinobi and sometimes civilians will get caught in the crossfire…that, I won’t disagree with. However there is more to it than just mindless murder.” Shinichi continued looking down at Kumo from the cliff side. ”We hurt the few to save the many, trust me, I’ve fought against groups whose only intention is to kill the innocent people who just want to do their job and support their families, this is when Shinobi get involved, rather it be us saving the innocent, or a group of mercenaries who just want to go on a killing spree, there will always be shinobi getting involved, and that is why we have to hurt those fellow shinobi.” he wasn’t sure if he was telling her what she already knew but it was worth saying.

Our village is just one of many, there is an extreme fine political line that they all must follow. Kages of every village send us shinobi out on missions all with good intentions for their people foremost and for the general public second if there is still and option of doing so. I know you don’t want to kill just because someone tells you to but trust me, the one telling you to kill is telling you not out of self-interest but for the interest of the innocent. No one wins in a war and that is why I despise them but even if shinobi weren’t around there would still be conflicts, it’s just human nature. Everything we do we do for someone or something else rather it be for an innocent neighbor just trying to make a living or a whole village that just wants to remain free from the tyranny of bandits.” Shinichi continued to speak but still found it honorable that Niji didn’t want to kill or fight without a purpose.

”The men at the bottom of that burning pile were fighting for a cause that would ultimately cause more harm than good. They were holding back progress and if we let them continue they would have went back to town, harass not just our village but the town next to it, and the town next to that, and so on until people banned together and fought against Genkei. Even without Shinobi, there still would have been conflict, I did what I did to at the very least, prolong the peace of the world.” the jounin stood up and straightened his back. He then took a deep breath and looked over towards Niji. ”If you truly feel that this is what you want, I will help you in any way I can to make sure you find a way of achieving it. I may even be able to teach you a few tricks on how to peacefully take down an enemy.”

He turned around and took a few steps forward, away from the girl. She could follow if she wanted to which he indicted by a gesture with his head as he turned. ”I’ve fought with and against a lot of different men and women Niji…and I’ve come to at least one conclusion. Fighting and killing doesn’t eat away at you when you’re fighting for something as much as fighting for nothing does” Shinichi knew this first hand. His mindless killings will never escape him and every single day he is left with regret. At least with justified killings and conflict, he knows what he did was for someone else, for something bigger then himself, for something that would live long after he died.

---

Kato Daiki – Kato is a Lil’ Shit Today

The conflict seemed to be a large success. Kato was able to land a good combination of hits while Takehiko landed a few hits of his own. The large cloud of dirt was eventually dispelled leaving behind the two genin and the knocked out body of Satoshi. A grin was printed on Kato’s face, at least, it was until the body seemed to poof out of existence. The scumbag of a sensei of course had to use a shadow clone because apparently doing everything personally was too difficult, it was rather that or he (Satoshi) felt that he could view it clearer from afar which in Kato’s opinion was just as stupid as the first excuse.

”Oh haha…a shadow clone, you sure got us. So where you watching from? The tree line out in the distance, some secret cave, up top in the tallest tree? Do you even intend on gauging how well we can fight? From what I can see all we’ve done is wait in position for twenty minutes or so and jump what appears to be a significantly weaker shadow clone of you. Have we or have we not already done this minus the ambush part?” while Kato really wanted to be respectful to his sensei he was finding it extremely hard to at this point. He’s already done exercises like this many times prior to this moment and this was just another tally on the chalk board.

Kato made it extremely clear that he was annoyed that his whole plan was ultimately a waste, if it was just to show off how he can jump a shadow clone then he would have just told everyone to hide behind a random tree and hit anything that moved. [b]”I’m sorry Nadra and I’m sorry Takehiko but I’m done training for today. I’m sure our sensei is just going to have you all run a few laps anyway and call it a day. I’m just going to beat him to the punch. See you all later{/b] and without much more of a warner the genin just turned around and began leaving, out the tree line, and ultimately out of the training field (unless he was stopped by something, I’ll leave that up to all of you).

He kept a steady pace the whole time he ran, the look of anger combined with annoyance plastered clearly on his face. All he really wanted was a challenge at this point. This whole event of storming off completely went against his usual personality, perhaps it was due to the repetitive nature, perhaps it was just because Kato knew he was successful and didn’t want to stick around any longer then he needed to. Either way this didn’t seem like him, it seemed more like a Kato who had just escaped Genkei’s prison a year and a half ago.

[solokolos]

Naoto Shiratori

The forested area around Naoto, and the other genins, teemed with life. She smiled as she took in their surroundings as they sprinted through the woods, but she reacted to slowly to Kumoga and Takeshi stopping, and had to run back to where they had stopped. She watched with obvious interest as Kumoga hung the webs, wondering if this was her Kekkei Genkai. When she saw Takeshi begin to sprint away, she began to follow before being stopped by Kumoga, telling them to follow tracks and let it lower it's guard. Naoto nodded in understanding, and glanced at Takeshi before heading off to the left of the direction Takeshi had been headed. She was hoping she could find the panther quickly, as she wanted to get straight on to the training on killing people as quickly as possible. "Come here, come here" Naoto whispered, taking her surroundings in carefully as she walked.

[Shadowcatcher]

A reunion between two Irozaki's,
A 'Promotion'.

A collab between Shadowcatcher and Gerontis.

---

Chizuko and Takeru

Sitting in his office, the masked Raikage was reviewing some documents. It seemed that there were some things that required his attention. Certainly the last event that had been noticed by the Kumogakure ANBU. Forming a fist, Takeru slammed it on the table. A few cracks would be formed in the wooden desk as the man calmed down. The secret news was that the host of the Three Tails had suddenly vanished, his family killed and the guards that oversaw the family being disposed off as well. Clearly frustrated and angered, the masked kage wouldn't just sit and wait patiently. ''Fetch me this ANBU.'' He mumbled, as one of his Office guards would run forward. The chuunin grabbed the profile, that was sealed. Only her name would be visible.

Chizuko Irozaki.

With the messenger running away, Takeru rose up from his seat. He then turned around to briefly gaze over Kumogakure from the office. Frowning behind his mask, the man was pondering on some thoughts. There were some things that should be done. Sadly, he couldn't use Nariko for that. He was sent on a special mission and calling him back wouldn't do any good but to raise supicion among others.

Chizuko watched atop a tall bulding as a woman chased after her little boy. The sight would be amusing to most, seeing her attempt to catch the agile child and watching as he slipped free of her grasp. His squealing laughter could have brought a smile to her face...if not for the fact that such tiny things had no effect of the woman any longer. Is this the fate of a woman now? To be chasing after a child. Hm...? She felt someone had approached her from behind, but said nothing as she waited to be spoken to.

"It took me longer than I had anticipated to find you. The Lord Raikage requires your immediate presence. I believe it is of an urgent matter." the person said.

Without further question, the woman stood and turned to swiftly make her way towards his office. This was such a better alternative then watching as the villiagers went about their lives. If only she had time to do such things...maybe she would consider settling down in time. Pushing such silly thoughts from her head, Chizuko found herself at the Raikage's office sooner than she had expected. She had been running without even knowing it. With a sigh she raised her hand to knock upon the office door once.

''Come in.'' Takeru responded. He was once more reading through some documents. The guards weren't present in the large spacious room. Only the masked Raikage behind his desk. Putting down a file, he would look in Chizuko's direction. But it seemed he was waiting for her to enter the room. The door would be closed behind her, leaving them alone in the room.

As she came in, she took a few steps forward, removed her mask, and knelt before him with one knee on the floor. She said nothing, obviously there was little for her to say here. No point in asking why she was called as she would likely be told right away. Chizuko was indeed a woman of few words, but she simply believed there was no point in wasting breath on saying things that were not of utmost importance.

''I have summoned you, cause there is a great danger approaching the Cloud. This morning, the family of the Three Tails host has been found murdered. The guards that were appointed to watch over them as well and no trace of the host.'' Takeru began to brief her. He placed his arms on the table, leaning forwards as his hands were folded together. ''Without any trace so far, I suspect that they are already moving out of the Cloud. With some patrols, I hope to catch who ever did this vile crime. But I also need to make sure Kumogakure will stay safe.'' He paused briefly. ''You have an impressive record, Chizuko. I want you to lead several groups to prepare the defenses of the Cloud in case something or somebody will use the Three Tails... against us.'' He told her, waiting to see if she had any questions for him.

Chizuko stayed quiet a long moment after he was done speaking. She was thinking about what to say and how to keep it brief. "Why go through the trouble? Could we just not send a small party to retrieve the host back?" she asked him. In her mind it seemed a bit odd to go through the trouble of rousing every useless shinobi in the villiage, when a simple small unit could retrieve the host and dispose of everyone else. She kept her head down and voice level so she did not want to appear disrespectful in her question.

''That is a very good question. Its also very simple to answer that.'' He told her. Pausing he then seemed to tell her the reason. ''There is no information regarding the current condition of the host. If we would move in, when we would learn the location, then we could cause rise to some serious problems. There is no information if those who are behind this haven't tampered with the seal. Cause if they did, then we could better be prepared. A tailed Beast isn't something you would like to face.'' He told her, remembering his own encounter with seeing how much damage an enraged jinchuriki could do. A Tailed Beast in full power, would likely be much worse.

With a nod, Chizuko was content with the answer to her question. It made sense, and she certainly did not want to face a Tailed Beast. She had heard stories and rumors of their power when unleased upon villiages, and many who ever encountered one were lucky to survive. She wondered, however, about the saftey of the host and still wanted to try to retrieve them. "I will follow through with your orders then. Is there anything else you require of me?" she asked him, deciding now was not the time to disobey direct orders.

''I need this to look like a normal situation. I want to keep the village in peace. We can't achieve that if the whole village is filled with panicked people. Neither will do it any good in case some foreigners would be present. Our reputation and safety is at risk.'' This time Takeru had spoken with a more stern tone. ''So, feel free to disguise the ANBU under your control as civilians. Arrest those who raise supicion and keep them seperated. We must make sure that we don't end up as some fools that are awaiting their deaths.''

For a mere moment she thought back to the woman chasing her child. She thought about how panicked she had been even with just her son running around like a rodent. What would the woman do if she had found out something dangerous was lurking beyond these borders... how safe would she feel sleeping at night? how safe would any villiager feel if there was even a glimer of danger in the back of their minds? "..... " Blinking and coming out of her thoughts, Chizuko nodded and stood to leave. Already she was thinking of who else to inform of this right away, and how they were going to go about unnoticed. Perhaps they would assemble at night when the moon was high. Hopefully, if things went well, they would have that much time.

''Though one more thing, Chizuko Irozaki.'' Takeru said, likely making her halt before she would be able to leave. The masked Raikage was sitting behind his desk, like before. Reading some letter or such. Not moving his head up, the voice behind the mask spoke again to the ANBU. ''I think that I also need to 'promote' you.'' He said, with a different tone than before.

She had paused with her back turned and rotated on her heel when he had begun to speak again. Lowering once more to one knee, she said "Promote, sir? I don't understand...what position could be more fulfilling than my current one?" she was a bit confused by his words and his tone. The way he had said her name in that previous moment... It sounded oddly familiar...however, she had been hearing his voice for quite some time. He was the Raikage and she saw him quite often... Perhaps it was just her ears tricking her into thinking his voice had changed.

''Oh, I think its indeed some kind of promotion. '' The voice would become more familiar with her as it became more amused. The left hand went to the mask of the Raikage. ''You see, every Kage needs to have some kind of guard that he can trust. I have already some ANBU that are also promoted in this way. I only figure you would be a fitting person to join their ranks.'' The left hand was still at the mask, but he hadn't pull neither the hand or mask away.

Her eyes narrowed as she heard the change in his voice again. The sound was triggering memories that she had long since buried. But why? Slowly she lifted her head to see a hand on his mask. Immediatly her heart started to race. Oh my...wait. No one has seen his face before... Is he about to show me? she wondered in her head. It was unlike her to get excited over such things, but this certainly was something odd to say the least. Once she was sure her voice would be level, she spoke. "I am honored you think highly of me Lord Raikage. I will do my best to fulfill such a position...with..." she paused for a moment. "With gratitude and to the best of my ability." she finished quickly, cursing at herself in her head for her slight hesitstion.

The left hand moved away from the mask, but the mask was still in place. ''Good. I have high hopes of you, Chizuko Irozaki. I will send the order that you will have command over at least a dozen of ANBU on this mission, together with if you would find them useful, some teams.'' Lowering his head, the masked Kage started to read a letter again.

Lowering her eyes to mask her slight dissapointment she said nothing. Ah, dammit. So close. Oh well. she sighed softly. Back to the task at hand. Chizuko stood once more as she figured that now he was done. Taking his returned attention to his document as a 'get the hell out' kind of message, she turned again to leave. Hopefully the other ANBU wouldn't get in her way. She had become accustomed to working alone or in small groups, maybe two or three others. Now she had to order around a dozen or so. That was going to be fun, hopefully she didn't have to chase them around. She reached for the doorknob then stopped as her fingers brushed the cool metal. Chase them around... Hesitating only a moment longer, she turned to look at him once more before she opened the door and quickly stepped out of the room. As she swiftly exited the building, Chizuko placed her mask back on to hide her look of confusion.

[Lesli]

Kimi Iomaski
Rika's Spy captain and ANBU

Kimi looked around. The preparations were soon done. Already, disguised ANBU members were taking their positions. It was all soon time to sail out. Already , everything was prepared and it would only now be time to await the latest people to prepare. On Kimi's orders, she had arranged a team of ANBU that would disguise themselves as Team 14. Though Kimi pondered if there would be a nation or organization trying to spy on Kirigakure, she knew that Rika didn't want to take any risk. And neither was Kimi going to take any to suffer Rika's 'disappointment'. As the spy advisor and leader over the spies that Kirigakure had, Kimi was also becoming more and more Rika's personal advisor. In such manner, she had learned of Mika's 'education'. Though loyal to the Mist, thus to the Mizukage, Kimi secretly admired Mika's courage. It was foolish, yet brave to try to make your stand against the most powerful person in the Mist.

''Captain, everything is in place. The teams are disguised and the extra measures have been made.'' A man came to sit next to Kimi. Everyone of the ANBU wasn't in their uniform. Only the retinue of Rika. It would make it look like Rika was going on a diplomatic mission and Kimi had made sure some ANBU would spread the rumours that she would head to the Wolf Country. All just to hide away the true purpose of the trip.

To capture the two Bijuu who had been signaled on an island.

The thought of capturing two Bijuu wasn't something that Kimi found fun. Or safe. She never had the experience to see a raging tailed beast before, but if all the tales would say the same, there was only truth in those words. That it wasn't a topic to joke about. ''Make sure that everything stays perfect. The Mizukage is counting on us. We can't.. let her down.'' Mika coldly replied. Her eyes scanned the street. There was no sound or signal that Rika would be coming. Hopefully the retinue of ANBU that Kimi had told to company Rika wouldn't be too late. The thought of failing Rika caused a shiver to run down the spine of Kimi. A very, very ice cold shiver.

[AlterNathan]

Fujiwara Takeshi

With Naoto on the ground and him in the trees with his water clones each in another direction the five of them spanned a wide search area. High up in the trees, his eyes should be able to see farther and his ears should be catching more sounds. That's when he heard it, although it was very soft, it was a ringing sound. Takeshi pinned down the source, dispersed his water clones and made three new ones. Sending one down to Naoto and to tell him he had found Kakashi. His other two water clones each went around the panther with a huge curve, far enough for the panther to not notice them and then to show up behind him together with the real Takeshi and Naoto closing in from another angle.

[Mr Nim]

Sakamoto Senju

"What I am telling everyone now is a direct order from the Hokage. Continue the search for the Kyuubi's host as I previously instructed." Sakamoto said in the communicator, being annoyed that Zakito went and told everyone to stop doing what they were told before. Thinking Hisoka needed to have a word with Zakito, he then heard Zakito's remark on how he should come to the hospital. This time it wasn't an order, but rather a suggestion. But something seemed a bit off to him in the way Zakito said it.

Thinking about it for a few more minutes, Sakamoto then realised what Zakito said. "I will be at the hospital shortly." He said, and motioned to the jounins that were with him to continue before heading in a different direction. After a few minutes he arrived at the hospital and headed inside, trying to find Zakito or Hisoka. He also hoped that by now Meisa was there too.

[Mr Nim]

Ame ANBU and Hoshi Miwa

Seeing the large beast making them go higher and shooting a rather large fire ball at them, both ANBU covered their arms and after the fireball went, a couple of burnt logs would appear instead and fall to the ground. All six ANBU would now observe the retreating people, and quickly four ANBU would move further away from the beast in four direction, and after doing a few seals, a barrier would appear around the beast and the two remaining ANBU, who went around the best in circles, to try and keep it distracted, and the ones who created the barrier would try and keep it intact for as long as they could, but since it was a simple leveled barrier, it would not do much against a tailed beast.

Hoshi came back with a couple of jounin and landed next to Ryoku and Eiji "We are all set to go, and several other jounins have went in the direction of the beast to help making it stop in the meanwhile. The sealing corps have also stated the sealing jar we possess is not in good condition and recommend creating a Jinchuuriki, Ryoku-sama. They just need to know who they will use, and it needs to be quick." She said, and the two jounin next to her nodded.

[Mr Nim]

Tora Hatake
Kakashi the Panther

Kakashi was walking around the trees when he heard from the distance someone approaching. There was more than one person, but a few. Deciding to try and trick them, Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment and did a couple of odd looking seals with his paws before another Kakashi appeared next to him. They would then begin running away from each other in two directions, aiming to confuse the young genin and get the game started. Kakashi knew Tora was counting on him to do this, and he needed to protect the bell at all costs. Except for the lives of the genin. He was a bit disappointed of that order, but he figured that she wanted to have students after that.

[Lesli]

Meisa Ichi and Harumi Uchiha,
The Hokage Assistant alerted!

A collab between Lesli and Alice.

Meeting

Harumi quickly took a step back. It had been close or she had else a door slammed in her face. Yet not quick enough, Hisoka pushed her away. Even while he was the Hokage, Harumi shot a glare at him. If it wasn't for the mask he would have seen it. Maybe he had felt it. Nodding she would try to seek out the Hokage assistant. While her faith in the Fourth Hokage wasn't that great, she would carry out the order. It would take however some bit before Harumi was aware where the woman was. Meanwhile, Harumi heard that there was something going on between Zakito and Sakamoto. Personally, Harumi didn't had that much with Sakamoto. In her opinion, the jounin commander had something with keeping the peace. Rallying the jounin would make it look they were going to war. That and Sakamoto was with Hisoka. Already a bad thing in the opinion of Harumi.

Though not seen, there were ANBU guarding the location around Meisa. Even some were that well hidden that Harumi wasn't sure where they were. Seeing some people standing near Meisa, Harumi could see that there was something going on. The assistant kept them restrained with a sealing technique. Keeping her distance, she would come on the rooftop on the other side. So that Meisa could see Harumi as well staying out of the sealing trap.

Still waiting for Katsuko's answer, Meisa did noticed the ANBU. Wondering why an ANBU had appeared as Meisa had said she would need to be sure that Team 4 wouldn't expect anything, Meisa sighed. Something had happened. Else Hisoka wouldn't call in an ANBU to find her. Making a shadow clone, who would keep up the sealing trap and continue with Team 4, Meisa would walk towards Harumi. ''I will be back later, sweeties.'' Meisa said. Walking past Katsuko, Meisa walked a bit slower. ''If I notice that one of you have doubts about their new duty, I will make sure that those are erased. Permanently.'' Meisa wasn't one to threat others, but it wasn't actually a threat. It was the truth. If one of them would try to ressist or do anything that could seen as a threat, an ANBU would slice their throat. Something that would be easy as the sealing trap had them confined and binded.

Approaching Harumi, Meisa raised her eyebrows. ''What is going on?'' She asked, a bit worried. Harumi made a small polite bow. ''Lord Fourth ask if you want to go the hospital. Sakamoto Senju has been ordered to rally the forces. Lord Third however has ordered us to keep the peace as rallying the forces would cause too much of an uproar.'' Harumi said. It was said with a neutral and rather business kind of tone. For all she cared, it would be Hisoka's fault. The barrier had failed, one who he had set up. And by giving Sakamoto the order instead of the Jounin commander, he made look Zakito like a fool. In other words : Hisoka was just the one to blame. Yet, Harumi wouldn't state that in front of Meisa.

Thinking, Meisa sighed. Turning on her earphone, she could hear the last two sentences of Sakamoto. Her nose wrinkeled. An ANBU that talked to a commander like that? Meisa was wondering what would happen if she would've stayed longer out. ''I am going to the hospital. Hokage-sama, would you please choose what we're going to do. I would also suggest that discplined forces of Konoha shouldn't bicker. Not when they don't have the authority.'' Meisa said, with a stern voice. Nodding to Harumi, Meisa would head to the hospital.

Harumi couldn't resist a smile behind her mask. It was just in a way funny. If Hisoka hadn't made this mistake then it would never happened that the commander would look like a fool. That the said ANBU wouldn't look like an arrogant fool. The Uchiha briefly wondered who she would support if she would have to voice herself. It would be likely Zakito. At least he wasn't Hisoka. Heading to a position in the city, she would wait for orders. From Hisoka.

[j8cob]

Katsuko Moto

The teenager did not expect Meisa to have a trap prepared, and he mentally cursed himself for not thinking that through. He tried to lift his legs to move, to test his limits, but found that it wouldn't let him. She then basically repeated herself from before, and Katsuko noticed she intentionally avoided his questions. His irises were a red color now as he glared at the Hokage's assistant. She takes me for a fool, he thought to himself. But before he could respond, another ANBU had arrived and Meisa left with them, leaving a shadow clone behind. "Tch," Katsuko grumbled as the real Meisa walked past him. He looked back over at the shadow clone, before letting out a sigh. "Well then," he began, before placing his fist over his heart. "I suppose it is my duty."

[GlitchyBugger]

Niji Yakei - The Still Saddening

Quietly Niji listened to Shinichi as he built up his response to everything she said, he'd killed people and regretted it also... Of course he had, he was a shinobi as well and they'd all had to deal their fair share of death throughout their lives. But to her this felt different, it felt like he was trying to say something without truly saying it, like he'd done more than just fight and kill other shinobi. It was a bit disturbing to consider but maybe he'd once been someone terrible, a mindless killer maybe, before he became a shinobi. She didn't dwell on the idea much though, even if it sat at the back of her mind, scratching at her thoughts.

The topic shifted to what she'd wanted to do, and about how it was actually a very noble thing of her to want, she at least paused from her gaze down the cliff to look at him as he sat next to her. When she really thought about it, he was a very supportive teacher, even now when she'd proclaimed wanting to live without killing unless she chose to he backed her up and thought it was a good idea. She held her gaze at him as he explained further as to why some had to die at the hands of shinobi, it was all to stop peace from ending again after the wars were over, to keep the other villages happy that each and every village had shinobi killing others. But it was always targets whom were a threat to peace, like her first sensei, they killed a rogue Kirigakure-nin whom had made it off with one of the seven swords... They had to die to make sure that sword wasn't used for wrong reasons or shed innocent blood.

But Shinichi was right, the men whom had been burnt alive had been threatening that peace by bringing a war against shinobi to their doors, there was likely nothing to make them change their allegiance when the only option otherwise was to work with the very people they despised. She gave a small nod of understanding as she looked back down the cliff. With care she wiped the tears away before they really began. "Of course it's what I want to do, I didn't go through the effort of getting this forged just to change my mind after a little talk with you." Niji began as she brought herself onto her feet, drawing her reverse-bladed katana, catching his previous gesture. "The blade is on the inside of the curve with the blunt edge on the outside, it means that I have to choose as and when I kill instead of killing effortlessly." She'd explain as she showed him what she meant.

"I guess all I need to do now is to find something to fight for, I don't feel like saving innocent lives is enough of a cause... You think you can help with that or should I be finding that myself?" Her voice had a hint of a cheeky tone to it now after she sheathed the sword and began to follow him.

A moment later she spoke up again, allowing him a chance to respond. "Although it may be my imagination, but it sounded like you weren't always so kind-hearted, like a hardened killer turned soft by his students, you know? Like some heart-warming story about friendship and proving even a senseless killer can be good on the inside."
___________________________________

Kumogatarui Dobustu - Talking to Oneself is a sign of Madness... Or is it?

Both Kumoga and her clone continued their work over the whole area, quiet for the most part until the clone looked up from her weaving, hanging half out of the tree she was in and looking towards her creator. "I think that due to the low chakra reserve I have, what with only possessing a small amount of your chakra, perhaps it might be smart to create a few extra clones, only two more I would say... It would get our work done faster after all and give us more time to calm down after we finish. If you are as stressed as I about this situation we've put ourselves into, I feel we would deserve a longer resting period before we have to put on the mask of command again."

The original Kumogatarui looked across from the gap she was still working on. "You think so?" The clone nodded whilst continuing her weave. "I do indeed think so, we could even double-weave these webs with the spare time we have to ensure that panther is captured... But we must consider what Hatake-sensei said, things are not as they seem, so this may all be for naught if that is the case." The clone sounded slightly disheartened at her own comment, gifting a small frown. "Do not worry, if our team mates are as capable as they seem, they will be able to handle a situation wherein this plan fails, remember we still have our backup plan, even if it means we have to get into combat with the beast." Kumoga smiled to her clone, quickly creating two more which smiled and bowed in greeting. "Ladies, we need to get these webs woven fast and we need them in a double weave to ensure they'll retain their strength and help us catch a panther, you both start from an alternating end and work around so we all come to a stop on the opposite side to where we started. But remember! We need to keep the threads subtle as well, so not too thick, just weave your webs around the other ones." Kumoga smiled widely to her doppelgängers and they all nodded.
"Understood!" The other two chimed in unison as they both skipped off to get to work.

"I do hope this works, I would not like for all our efforts to have been wasted on him escaping. It would also make us seem like we're not as useful as we are, maybe even a poor leader."

"But we didn't want to lead, remember? We had to because neither of them seemed willing to do it."

"That is a fair point, we didn't want leadership, so what fault is it to us if they deem us as a poor leader? It allows us to step back and let them try to take charge, no skin off of our backs in the end of it."

"Whilst all of this is true, do we really want Hatake-Sensei to think ill of our capabilities because of this? She is no doubt going to grade how talented we may or may not be with these training sessions."

All the clones went quiet and gave thoughtful nods.

"We would not want Hatake-Sensei to think of us as useless, this is true."

"Indeed, we need to show Hatake-Sensei that we're capable and ready to go out into the shinobi world again!"

"Of course not, we must impress Hatake-Sen-" One of the clones gasped and stopped. "What if she's watching us!? She may have heard this entire conversation and think us mad! There was alarm in her voice as she looked to the other three with concern.

"Then where would we be?!"

"At home with our little darlings, I would hope, they may hunt insects for themselves but I can't bare leaving them alone too long..." Sorrow seemed to fill this clone's voice as she looked down sadly.

"Don't worry about them, our parents will look after them for us!" The real Kumoga chimed with a little clap before she went back to weaving her webbing. "Now keep going! If we can get this done perfectly we wont need to worry about failing and being seen as useless! Come on ladies, let's get it done!" This coaxed the other three into making firm nods before they quietly got back to work. Surely if Hatake-sensei saw this scene she'd think her student to be mad.... Right?

[solokolos]

Naoto Shiratori
The insects around Naoto buzzed noisily as she jumped through the trees, searching frantically. She saw one of Takeshi's clones approach her from the corner of her eye, and the clone explained that he had found the panther. The clone lead the way, and Naoto followed it closely, before stopping in a tree as a panther ran in the direction she had come from. Naoto blinked in surprise, and quickly said "This way," Before she began to chase the panther, following it by the sound it's tail made. She quickly began breathing heavily, as she wasn't used to this much physical exertion in one day. In her experience the academy had quite low standards for physical prowess, and focused mostly on book smarts.

[j8cob]

Rika Suzu - Godaime Mizukage

It was time. The young mother let out a sigh as the door to the Mizukage Mansion closed behind her. Rika looked forward at the ANBU that were waiting for her. After taking a moment to adjust her robes and her hat, she began walking silently. The morning was still early and there was almost no business in the streets. As well, the Hidden Mist seemed to be living up to it's name. The silent trip across the village was uneventful, just as Rika anticipated. It had to be this way. Though Kimi did a good job in spreading a rumor of a diplomatic mission to their new vassal, Rika wanted to be certain it was safe.

Through the mist ahead she could see Kimi and several other men waiting. Rika knew she herself was already early, so this only meant her spymaster was even more punctual than herself. As the two groups met up, Rika stood next to Kimi and looked back at the village. "They don't suspect a thing," she confirmed, regarding their mission. "However... I expect the genin may present a problem. We will need your assistance in the sealing process, but choose an ANBU and have them stay next to the genin for the entire trip. We don't need them acting out, and chakra suppression tags can fix that if all else fails." She looked to Kimi now. "I may seem calm to you... but this is big, I'm not going to lie. Failure will be... critically damaging. Success will give us two secret weapons... I will give you further instructions on your position when we arrive."

[AlterNathan]

Fujiwara Takeshi

At the same time Naoto and Takeshi's clone to surprised by the Panther, the real Takeshi and his other two clones got also surprised by Kakashi running in the direction they came from, he dispersed one of his clones to let Naoto know and stated the chase. Besides Naoto, Takeshi's clone spoke up "theres two". Deeper into the forest Takeshi ran over the branches trying to keep up with Kakashi and took out a couple of kunai and shuriken, his clone did the same, he tied wires to it and threw them in front of the Panther to block off his escape route and catch it between the sharp sturdy wires and himself.

Takeshi's clone next to Naoto watched closely and saw Naoto was having a hard time. "clearing" was all he said and sped up considerably before suddenly dispersing, he was too far away from the real one, who now came to the sudden realization that they might be chasing a fake one.

[Mr Nim]

Tora Hatake and Kakashi the Panther

A clone Tora has produced much earlier would be watching the actions of the genin up to the point two went to find Kakashi and the third stayed behind. She watched in silence as Kumoga would produce 3 clones and began filling the clearing edges with webs, in an attempt to make a smart trap for him. Deciding that no one should stay behind and wait, she did the transformation jutsu, making herself appear like Kakashi with the bell on his tail, and then begun running ahead, and soon enough she would take out her claws and rip apart one of the webs created, enter the clearing and then charge at one of Kumoga's clones, intending to make all three disappear eventually.

Kakashi's clone, the one who was followed by Naoto and Takeshi's clone, decided to turn around and circle a tree before jumping and attempting to strike Naoto with an unexpected attack. The real Kakashi, the one heading in the clearing's direction and was followed by Takeshi and his clone, watched as he threw the couple of wired kunai and shuriken in an attempt to make him stop. Letting out a laugh, he jumped and used the wires as a makeshift path before jumping above the last wire and resumed running away.

[Little Alice]

Rini Yoto
Genin of Team Amekage.

That hurts.

She felt great. The fact that Sho hadn't talk back made her feel like she could take him for real. But then she smacked against the floor. Sho had punched her. They had to fight together and he had hurt her. But as she wanted to get up to punch back, she noticed what the consequence was. He had indirectly saved her. Sho, had helped her. Sliding sideways, she quickly took a look at the situation. With Kira still not on the ground, she was vulnerable to attacks, not able to dodge them so easily. Something Sho also managed to pick up and the reason why he went into the offensive.

With this situation, she could do one thing. And that was to increase Sho's attack with one of her own. Weaving handsignals while she was sliding, Rini fired Gale Palm technique. It would increase the speed and thus the harm that Sho's attacks would do. Even maybe causing Kira to have some trouble. Trying to land while somebody attacking you was already annoying enough. Now with a sudden gust, it would become more troublesome for Kira to dodge the incoming attacks of Sho.

[j8cob]

Kira Sami

So he was a bit clever. His attack on Rini spared her from the fuuma shuriken. But before Kira could land and try something else, he was already charging at her. Can he not see my weaponry? she thought as she descended. With a sharp yank on her wire, she brought her hands to the hilt of her blade. She didn't recall Ryoku saying anything about killing here. After all, accidents happen. Though she didn't plan on killing either Sho or Rini, she wanted to win. And she timed her Iaido draw to be right when Sho was upon her. Even with the attack Rini used, Kira was confident that the sheer speed of the Iaido draw would leave him in two pieces. And if that failed, the harsh yank on the wire was for a reason.

It brought the fuuma shuriken flying back toward herself. This meant that it was going to pass by Rini again, this time at her neck height. If she didn't dodge, that would equal decapitation. But alas, that would normally go right over Sho's head due to his height. But Kira figured that if he stood a chance to dodge the Iaido draw, it would be from him jumping back away from it. Right into the incoming fuuma shuriken from behind. And if he ducks... Kira still had a plan for that, but no emotion showed on her face. It wasn't that this was enjoyable as she wasn't even being pushed yet. This was simply an exercise and her squadmates were in the way of success. The moment Sho was just outside his punching range, Kira made the lightning fast draw of the blade that is Iaido.

[GlitchyBugger]

Kumogatarui Dobustu - An unexpected visitor? But we didn't prepare refreshments!

Weaving away at webs in the clearing, Kumoga and her three clones were feeling quite peaceful with all the nothing going on as they worked, one of the clones stopped at the sound of movement and looked towards the others. She was about to say something as she dropped down from the tree she was working from, but Kakashi (which was actually Tora but they don't know that) attacked, cutting through the webs and bringing the attention of all of the Kumoga's right to him. The one closest to him who soon became his next target, tried to flee up a tree to avoid being caught and mauled, clones or not they had self preservation.

"What is he doing here? I thought he was going to be chased by the others and I don't see them!" Kumoga called to her clones, for some reason expecting a useful answer.
"We don't know either, we know what you know and we wont know about this if you don't know about this!" One of them answered, of course giving an answer she didn't need to know.
"Stop talking and help! The one up the tree cried, trying to pelt Kakashi with the small hail of Spider Web Flowers she began firing from her mouth, the other three tried to do similar, aiming ahead and behind Kakashi to try and prevent him from making any moves and to stick him to the nearest object.

"Don't let him get away!"