[IC] NARUTO: Road to Ninja [ARC 3] Buy it now and get a second punt free!

[Angel Eyes]

-

[Akashi Mayhiro]

Takeshi Ruzuzaki

With Saburo Uchiha and Akio Tendou
The City

---

Takeshi drank water to balance out the drinks he had earlier as he made his way towards his comrades, it seem they were already in the middle of the search and retrieve as he entered the room he saw Saburo taking care of a few men in his path with a fight style very similar of the Hyuga's gentle fist "One of the many pros of having the Sharingan i guess" as he quickly dispatch a few men that were trying to get up from the uchiha's attack.

"Katon: Pulse Blast jutsu!" Takeshi heard Akio cry as she pounded the around and blew away everyone...Even Takeshi.

The green haired ninja flew into a hard wall face first before sliding down with a gentle thud, it hurt like hell, but not enough to knock him out. Groaning he got up and rubbed his nose. "Good...not broken." before he kicked the men beside him unconscious before they could react. Before he could scold her, she had already jumped high on top of the pillars as she got to her vantage point.

Takeshi, Saburo, I'm going to paralyze the leader, so one of you get the scroll and quick. Once you do, I'll send out another pulse blast to clear a path out of here.

"Alright, leave it to me." the green haired rushed into action as he ran past Saburo and towards the leader before he jumped into the air, performing a running knee to the stunned head leader of the Yakuza, takeshi smirked as he landed o his feet "Come on, let find the scroll!" he paused as he looked around and saw a door leading to the back rooms. he opened it and entered the room seeing a small amount of naked women who in turn looked at him and screamed. All of them rushed out: no doubt Saburo and Akio would see something soon enough.

"What it the green hair? I can change you know!" Takeshi jokingly said, he liked green. looked around he saw a large oak table at the end of the room and flash stepped behind it and looked at the draws.

".........There!" Sure enough inside the last draw was the scroll, but however in a seal tightly with a unknow seal, it would take a lot of time to break it and that was something they didn't have: Time. Grunt he grabbed the box and headed back to the group. "We've got the scroll, let's haul ass and move out poeple!"

OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE THE SCROLL FROM THE YAKUZA- COMPLETE

CURRENT OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE FROM THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT- IN PROGRESS

[j8cob]

Tsukiko Umene, Honeybadger

"It's Tsukiko-sama to you, you little shit," she spoke, though it was more venting to Yamato's insubordination rather than a direct order. Tsukiko shook her head and let out a sigh, but once she focused her attention forward again she began running. Sure, they had a bit of time until the enemies would arrive, but she didn't intend to waste any of it just in case her estimate of their speed was false. After a few minutes of running through the hot sand the party finally arrived to the ambush location. Ahead of them was cliff face with a valley through the middle of it. The valley was tight, being barely twenty feet wide, and was at an incline that would eventually lead to the top of the twenty meter cliff. Outside the valley were the typical sand dunes that the squad would be used to by now.

Tsukiko walked into the entrance of the valley, appreciating the shade it had to offer. "I'm sure that some of the gang will stay above the valley, but they will surely go through here. It is the easiest way down to the sands," Tsukiko mentioned, now turning to face the kids. After wiping more sweat from her forehead she took a moment to brush some sand off her chest. "I suppose we will be fighting some fifty enemies, maybe a bit less. So..." Tsukiko put her hand in one of her pouches, removing a thick spool of ninja wire. "We want our trap area to go from the valley out to about... that cactus." There was a single cactus poking out of the sand about thirty meters away from the cliff face. "That's a good area to cover."

The busty woman began laying the ninja wire across the ground, taking extra care to make sure she could cover the entire area in a spiderweb of the wire. Once the wire was all set, just deep enough in the sand to where the chuunin wouldn't mess it up if they walked over it, she began placing exploding tags along the pattern, spaced just far enough apart to prevent one tag from detonating another. This tedious process took about ten minutes, but by the time it was done the natural wind had concealed the web of death with sand from the nearby dunes. "This will be fun," she noted aloud, before turning her attention to Aoi. The girl should've been setting traps of her own, hopefully adjacent to the explosive tags instead of directly above them. "Be sure that your slime stuff won't be seen or smelled or whatever before the targets arrive. If they anticipate the attack it might cause problems."

Tsukiko looked back towards the valley. As she began walking toward it, she made a light whistle to get Yamato's attention, before gesturing for him to follow. Tsukiko channeled her chakra into her feet and climbed halfway up the valley's south wall. Once in position she waited for Yamato to reach her altitude. "You'll be hiding here," she began to explain, casually forming some handseals. "It'll be dark, if you're afraid of that sort of thing. But most importantly it won't be checked. Their forward operatives will be scanning the ground in front of them. Just to avoid any flukes you won't be on top of the valley or at the base." A square section of the wall pressed inwards, only one meter in width, height, and depth. "If you ask politely I can make it bigger for you, but it's better if you sit down and rest anyways. Make sure to keep your mouth shut and don't flare your chakra."

"Once I seal you in, the wall will be fairly thin so you can break out quick and easy. You won't have eyes on the battle until you break out, so you'll have to use your ears to determine the right time. You have to jump out to cut them off, before they get deeper in the valley. If any make it behind you it will divide your attention and we won't have a proper containment. I'll leave that to your judgement but you better not fuck it up." With this explanation done, Tsukiko looked back down to the ground where Aoi and Nobunaga were presently. "Once I get those two hidden I will seal you in, before taking a similar position across from you. I have a few last-minute details to take care of with the traps. Any final questions before you get in your hole?"

[Raijinslayer]

The Bandaged Man

As the matches went on, the bandaged man eyes would gleam with interest as he saw the two chunin fight. Both of them seemed to be rather skilled, and seem to have a few tricks up their sleeves as well. That one boy should’ve been roasted to a fine crisp, yet he got away with only being slightly steamed. How very curious. His gaze would rest on the two for a while longer as they retreated to their corner again, before he rose from his seat, leaping down into the pit and landing with the grace of a panther. As he rose, he rolled his right arm a bit, testing it once more to see how much his movements would be inhibited. At the moment, it wasn’t by much, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to put much weight onto the limb for fear of worsening it.

Then again, I might not have much choice. I’ll have to be more careful to avoid injury in my next few battles, as I don’t have a handy medic-nin on hand to patch me up. He chuckled before he turned to his opponent, knowing that a tough battle was on-hand. His opponent was a tall ronin that currently possessed 12 coins himself. The bandaged man had 5, so this win would give him 17 in total, and possibly a few more scars if he wasn’t careful. The ronin wore nothing but a simple yukata, and had two blades perched upon his waist, a katana and a o-wakazashi.

As the two stood across from each other, the Ronin gave a short bow, then drew his katana and took a stance. No words were exchanged, just a shared look before both figures dashed forward in a burst of speed, passing by each other with a shower of sparks. The bandaged man skidded to a halt, a kunai in hand as he doubled back for another strike, only to be met halfway by his opponent, locked in an intense struggle as one tried to overpower the other. Unfortunately for the bandaged man, he was forced to guard with his injured arm and thus was quickly losing ground. Thinking fast, he drew another kunai and thrust it forward. seeming to target his opponent’s throat. It was only a feint, however, as he quickly pulled it back, but it was enough to fool the ronin into backing away from the engagement, and allow the bandaged man to jump away from the man, launching a brace of shuriken as he did so to cover his retreat.

The ronin easily deflected them all with his blade before making another rush, the weapon glowing a bright blue as he channeled chakra through it, extending the length and increasing the sharpness. The bandaged man didn’t bother trying to block these attacks with his kunai, instead taking to dodging each and every swing, staying on the defensive and deflecting whatever he couldn’t evade. He could only do this for so long, however, and he wasn’t about to let himself take another wound to worry about. As the Ronin prepared to launch another slash, the bandaged man would snap his fingers, causing small sparks to form directly on his foe’s eyes. While the effect was harmless, it was extremely irritating to the delicate organs, and somewhat painful as well.

As the ronin recoiled with a low hiss, he swung wildly in a horizontal arc, sending out a crescent of chakra in what he believed to be the man’s general direction, but he had used the propelling winds technique to launch himself high into the sky, easily avoiding the attack. While in the air, he slipped a finger underneath his bandages to get a dab of blood from his previous wounds, then ran it along a seal tattoo on his arm, causing a cloud of light grey smoke to appear around him. From that cloud, a brace of shuriken, kunai, and a Demon wind shuriken came hurtling forth. But that wasn’t all, as the bandaged man had another trick up his sleeve as the cloud dissipated, forming another string of hand seals as he activated another jutsu.

“Shadow Shuriken Jutsu.”

Instantly, each weapon launched would multiply into about couple hundred or so copies, making about a thousand projectiles racing towards the lone samurai. By this time the ronin could see again, and as he witnessed the huge wall of weapons coming his way, he merely steadied his stance. He channeled a large amount of chakra into the blade, then launched a flurrly of large arcs towards the coming onslaught, creating a barrage of his own in the form of crescent chakra blade. These would deflect most of the projectiles away from him and into each other, as well as hurtling towards the ronin’s defenseless opponent, who had no way of escaping the attack while in mid-air. However, a sizeable number of the projectiles did get through, and while he tried his best to avoid them, his attack had left him highly fatigued.

A number of the kunai and shuriken would find their mark, leaving him riddled with weapons and unable to use either of his arms. His katan would fall to the ground with a clang, soon followed by the ronin as he sank to his knees, breathing haggard breaths. It was clear that this would be his final match, but at least his opponent had met his end. The bandaged man, unable to do anything, was struck head on by all of the blades, torn to pieces by the savage assault.

Or so it seemed.

As the attack hit, the bandaged man would disperse into a cloud of smoke, signalling that he had been a shadow clone. As the ronin saw this, he’d feel a presence appear behind him before an iron grip would squeeze around his throat, lifting him off the ground in triumph. When the bandaged man had summoned his demon wind shuriken, he had used the smoke to disguise him summoning a shadow clone, who would take his place in the air while he henged himself into a kunai. He was launched with the rest of the weapons, but was aimed at the man’s shadow instead of the man himself. While he was almost caught by the ronin’s chakra attack, he made it through and hit his target, using a hiding technique to meld with his foe’s shadow. He then waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Now with the man in his grip, and completely useless without his arms. The bandaged man decided he should have a little fun with his prisoner. But first, he would make sure the man was completely helpless. The ronin would feel the bandaged man’s grip tighten as a cold seeped into his body. His energy would slowly begin to slip away from him, pulled into the bandaged man’s chakra system as he drained it all away. The ronin didn’t have a large amount left, as samurai didn’t train in chakra as much as ninja did, and thus weren’t known for having large reserves, but it was enough so that the bandaged man felt somewhat refreshed.

After he had drained what he could without killing the man, he’d toss him into the side of the cage, causing the samurai to cry out, before he was soon silenced by a side kick to the gut. As the man fell over, the bandaged man would grab im by the hair and lift him up, taking the man’s katana in hand and swinging it around a few times, testing the feel of the blade. Then, without warning or reason, he’d take the blade and stab it straight into the ronin’s knee, causing the samurai to come back into full wakefulness with an anguished scream. This scream would only grow in volume as the bandaged man began to twist the blade around in the wound before finally pulling it out.

The bandaged man would release the ronin’s hair, letting his body fall towards the ground once more, only to launch a viscious knee right into his face, knocking him back with a broken nose and a dazed mind. The ronin would fall backwards, unable to hear or think clearly as his head rang from the impact. The only thing he could see, however, is the intense violet orbs that pierced his soul from above with a perverted glee at the man’s suffering.

“Kill . . . Me . . .” The ronin managed to say in a hoarse whisper, only to receive a savage kick to his side, shoving one of the kunai deeper into his body, producing another surge of pain through his body. The ronin coughed up a lot of blood, his breath coming out in pitiful wheezes. The bandaged man couldn’t help but chuckle at the fallen warrior’s display, as it was quite pitiful.

“What a shameful warrior, to so quickly beg for death, I wonder, are all samurai this easy to break or are you just a weakling that couldn’t take it. Is that why you became a ronin, because you thought it’d be an easier life.” The man chuckled again as he rose his foot up high, then brought it down on the man’s other knee, breaking it with a sickening crack. It was soon followed by more cries of pain from the ronin, and another round of chuckling glee from the bandaged man. He;d then pick up the sorry excuse for a samurai, taking from him the sheath for his katana and his o-wakazashi, before turning to the crowd. “Well then, people of this fine arena, I leave the choice to you. Should I end end this man myself, or send him screaming into the pit to be eaten alive but the beast that dwells within.”

The crowd respond as one, calling with a multitude of savage voices, eager for bloodshed and suffering. As one they all said the same thing: Pit, Pit, Pit, PIT!!!

Needing no more coaxing, the bandaged man, would open the door, step out to the edge of the pit, and with a final wave good bye, throw the man screaming into the dark abyss. The crowd would be blessed with hearing the man’s dying screams one final time as the creature in the shadows tore him apart, and then there would be nothing but silence from below. The man would collect his tokens, then calmly walk back to his spot giving the smallest of glances towards the spot where the Leaf-nin where stationed. He’d make eye contact with each of the chunin, each of them being able to feel his intense bloodlust rolling off him in waves, before finally landing on Fujitora. To the jonin commander, he’d only give a friendly wave and a smile that could only be seen by his eyes. He would then return to his seat, taking a moment to recuperate as he awaited his next match.

@j8cob
@Savato
@Angel Eyes

[Masaki Haruna]

Story... so far

Megumi takes her team to an adventure that seeks them while the Konoha Chuunin are on a "covert" mission to thwart the activities of the Yakuza and their informant broke the Ronin Man who just caused all of this mess. Meanwhile Fubuki is really covert herself as Hokage Zeno cautiously used her as Plan B to keep track on everyone's activities which Sentou could have done but upon his request of putting Sentou under Ayame's team, Fubuki is the one doing the technical work. On the other side, Team Tsukiko is facing their ordeals and it doesn't look friendly at all. Team Ayame is dealing with two granite guards right now and somehow a man who is donned as the Ronin, Ayame took down Bakura the Explosion Release User and all of a sudden, a white haired young man appears before Daiki. "Got ya handsome~" He snatches him and then to Haruka, Bakura returns. "Fool! That was an earth clone! You really think we Granite Guards will fool for your tricks! The Gokadoin won't be happy about such mess especially Konoha Bastards. Bakuton: Bakudan Saiga!" Bakura release a wave of explosion to Haruka.

Gokadoin Don Teikei no Gokudou


Also known as Emperor's Institute Supreme Yakuza Alliance. Four means death and reward, as stated; The Gokadoin-gumi are Yakuza families from all over the world allied at hand, they are the world's most notorious mafia existing. Lead by four powerful families, they run the business with subset of small Yakuza families. Ranging from drug lords and extortionist and assassins for hire, they are forces that even the Shinobi Alliance can't even control or so they said to be.

Going back to Team Ayame. Daiki is taken by a surprise by a white haired reptilian like little kid. "Crash!" He releases an "earthquake" to the young Naito.

Sentou speaks to Ayame; "Mom. What's the plan? Should I attack now?" Geared up with an immense visible lightning aura surrounding her. Ready to strike at any moment.

Meanwhile.......

In a rich place where con man preaches, they are disturbed by the news they received via Smart Phone. "So you mean to say, the delivery of the scrolls are being halted by needless and reckless Konoha Chuunins and Jounins!! I KNEW SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD YOU TO BEWITCH THOSE GRANITE GUARDS YOU FOOL!" His contact was quiet and quick to troll on his dismay.
"NO! NO! The Rounin is to be kept alive and whatever he does requires immediate protection of him like meatshields to accomplish the stash." He said to his contact but his reply didn't go so well and so he banged his desk and raged. "ASDFGHJKSDFGHJKBJHBJHSDBJHSJBSDGBJGSJKBSDGBJSDGBJSGDBJKGSDBJKGSBGSBJGBSGBSBJHSG!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGHHH!!!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT THE GOKADOIN MIGHT DO IF THIS GETS TO THEM! FORGET IT! I'M COMING RIGHT THERE!" He hangs up the phone.

This man with the golden snake leather jacket, his name is Ponta Yamada, the Shinobi that Team Tsukiko took down two months ago. He escaped prison a week before the Hokage returned.

Back to Iwa
And then the scene cuts to a person with wrapped figure. The wrapped person grumbled, "Never send a Ronin to do a Rogue's work." He put his smart phone on his pocket.

Just an exposition on the Yakuza side of the story. Don't be bothered by it

[Partisan]

Saburo Uchiha, “Kimyōna”

Paris

---

Saburo was rather confused when Takeshi suddenly appeared with a new little box in his hand, proclaiming it to be the true scroll when in reality that scroll was still in the hands of the stunned Yakuza boss. “Takeshi-kun, that is not the right scroll, please return it, we wouldn't want to be accused of theft, as that'd be most unfo-” Saburo was cut short by a set of two charging Yakuza, one with a sword and the other with knuckledusters. Rapidly Saburo's eyes closed and opened again unvealing the sharingan.

His eyes flashed side to side as he pivoted around, extending his legs back and bowing down low through his legs, dodging the very first swipe of the katana, before leaning back with his body and performing another backwards flip using only 1 hand to steady himself as the other stayed behind his back. By then the other man with the knuckledusters came charging with a loud “RAAAAAGH!” as he swung his fists wildly around, not actually coming close in a single instance.

Saburo simply stepped forwards sending his left hand around in a circular motion coming from below, using the back of his hand to ram both the man's fists away before extending his right hand towards the man's solar plexus. With that simple shove with the palm of his hand he struck the nerve knot at the center of the body, disabling the man. “1.” he said before pivoting around and evading a strike of the other man's sword, before slamming an open hand into the man's abdomen. “2.”

He continued on his way stepping gently between the other Yakuza thugs, only being stopped when another got in his way to stop him, while the others seemed mostly focussed on Takeshi and Akio. Saburo's hands flew forwards again pushing against the man's chest heavily doing pretty bad internal damage. “4.” 4 strikes in total now. He moved on to the next man that opposed him, slamming his palms against the man's chest 4 times. “8.” But now he didn't continue.

Rather, he jumped up and over the Yakuza thugs, landing near the Yakuza boss who was still heavily stunned, only being able to move his neck around as he saw stars flying around. With a soft and gentle motion he reached for the scroll and pulled it away, slinging it around his body and using the leather strap attached to it to carry it like a backpack. “Arigato, Yakuza-senpai.” he said, bowing lightly before turning around and jumping towards the exit that they had arrived through. “Akio-chan, Takeshi-kun, please leave the building.” he said whilst forming handseals rapidly, before exhaling very deep. “KATON: Great Dragon Fire!” he said as a large fireball exited his mouth along with a lot of smoke. In the smoke the fire was transformed into the shape of a dragon, which Saburo then controlled and split off into numerous smaller dragons. Using his chakra he would steer them around the room to give room for Akio and Takeshi to escape the hall without having to deal with Yakuza thugs blocking the way.

As soon as Akio and Takeshi were in the clear he'd cancel the jutsu making the dragons dissapear into smoke, clouding the room a tiny bit but it was possible to see through the smoke. After that, the Yakuza lord had gotten up and pointed at the exit. “KILL THEM! If you don't get that scroll, atleast get the Uchiha eyes! GOOOOOO!” A hurricane of Yakuza thugs suddenly ran after the trio of shinobi, filling the hallway with lots of footsteps, echoing through the hallways as if it was an army of atleast a million men. “Akio-chan, catch, denoting I am about to throw something to you and you should use your hands to grab a hold of the object!” Saburo yelled at Akio while pulling on the strap of the giant scroll, taking it off and then throwing it towards Akio. He suddenly stopped running and turned around, making Akio and Takeshi run past him. “Please continue, I shall attempt to hold them back for a moment.”

He formed more seals, in true ninjutsu duelist spirit, before yelling out. “OIROKE! Hāremu no Jutsu!” A cloud of smoke appeared around Saburo, revealing a set of scarcely clothed swimming-suit girls as the smoke settled. There were atleast 6 of them, and they all ran towards the group of Yakuza thugs, breasts bouncing around and yelling at them in high pitched voices. The real Saburo then looked back at Akio-chan and Takeshi-kun and continueing to run after them. “Akio-chan, would you describe these girls as 'whorehouse' workers? I think they are very useful. We should visit a whorehouse together sometimes, maybe I can stop being a shinobi and work there instead.” he said, apparently still oblivious to what a whorehouse actually was and what the girls did there.

As they burst through the door back into the nightclub, the whole place suddenly erupted in loud music, people walking and dancing, and most importantly, a lot of obstacles in the escape route. The kage bunshin erotical jutsu only held back the Yakuza for so long and they burst after the group shortly after the three shinobi had burst through the door, giving rise to panic in the nightclub. Suddenly the people weren't dancing anymore and everyone ran through eachother trying to get away. Now the group was tasked with dealing with both civilians in their way and escaping the nightclub.

---

Yamato Minamoru, “Young Master”

Maisou

---

Yamato looked at Tsukiko in a rather bored fashion as she whistled for him. She showed him the little indent in the wall she had made, explaining her plan and then telling him she could make it larger. But.. that was hardly neccesary. “Tsk. I've been in worse spots.” he said as he looked at her with a sharp glare. He was unimpressed so far. Never the less he sat down in the little indent and put a hand behind his head as he made himself comfortable in the little hole.

She then asked if any of them had any questions to which Yamato simply stated, “Ah, yes. When are you going to shut up and crawl into your own little hole.” He had both eyes closed but opened his left eye slightly and looked at Tsukiko through the small sliver of sight he had, to see how she'd react. “Baka..” he'd mutter to himself before closing his eye again and dangling his foot around as he sat there rather relaxed.

[Savato]

Aoi Don Maquia

---

Hopping around as Tsukiko led the way, Nobunaga inquired Aoi's input on a possible way to optimize their teamwork and augment their chances against the upcoming menace. All he could get from the clown was a dumbfounded look as if he was some sort of alien speaking a language she couldn't understand. She stopped her skipping and put the tip of her index finger on the bottom lip as she seemed to pause for a moment of reflection and elaboration. But, what would come out of her mouth would be very typical of her.

"We can... Kill them all with my super awesome trap with Tsukiko-sensei's help~"

She'd tel him, plain and simple, for planning out elaborate tactics was not exactly her thing, or at least when she had her own idea. To her having an "assistant", as she'd call them, without knowing their abilities and knowledge on how to make a beautiful spectacle, was not the best plan and would prefer to stick with her superior's lead while maintaining her own appearances. She did give a warm smile to the Samurai, however, and he could interpret it as a sign of kindness or blind mockery. Either way, she went on to the direction their sensei instructed them. She could already see herself in a pedestal, having done outstanding work in the team and acting as an essential part to the success of this mission. She didn't really want to share that glory too much either.

Once they arrived at the dune, she solemnly followed her sensei's commands and followed her around until she was told to lay trap. They needed to cover thirty meters, right up to the cactus she pointed to. Before Aoi did anything, she observed her superior set up her own, spiderweb-like trap and used it as inspiration. However, she'd maintain her old plan, to start off, by using her new technique she had recently learned via Konoha archives and personal training. With exactly two hand seals made, her mouth filled with what seemed to be water chakra that turned into its corresponding element.

The girl vomited out a stream of viscous water on the designated trap area, showering the sand with it and going somewhat farther than thirty meters as it spread quite quickly. The Water was from the Water release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field, a technique she easily learned due to her natural affinity to water and her even more enhanced capabilities regarding sticky substances. The new problem was the fact that it was pretty visible on the sand and wouldn't fool many people into thinking it was a mirage. So, she did what any lazy hoarder would do, she'd brush clouds of sand on it, which would stick and eventually cover most of it in sand. However the single layer on it wouldn't eliminate its sticky feature, actually it would even make it work as sand would graze their clothes and flesh as they got stuck.

"Nobunaga~ Use your walking on water powers to not get stuck! If you forget, you'll have a bad time!"

She'd warn him as he'd be in the front rows to confront the enemies. If he could lure them in it would be even better. She didn't stop there however as she invoked a single Mucus clone and force it to use the transformation ability to turn into a cactus within the trap, that way it would attack the more skilled fighters who managed to bypass the traps, by surprise. Aoi would go for hiding in water to prevent the enemies from catching her so fast, using the thin but large puddle of sticky water as medium to hide.

---

Fujitora Choko ; The Overseer

---

While the kids recuperated, Fujitora didn't spare them a word of congratulations. They didn't really accomplish anything yet, they had a long way to go. But he recognized that they did some pretty good work nonetheless, all the while he still feared what would happen to them in the next round. What he would see next would accentuate his worries even more concerning the kids, as he would witness the bandaged man's performance once more, this time handling what seemed to be a gang affiliated Ronin, likely a Yakuza, going one on one against this menace the commander had a hard time assessing. But the cruelty demonstrated made it clear to the boss that this guy was not only a shinobi, but the fact that he came alone made it also evident that he was one of those serial killers. Now the question remained, was he from Konoha or elsewhere? If he was from here, very few killers of this level of skill were listed, and as such he could pick up on who it would be. With the ronin disposed off in the pit, the foe made himself clear that he was in it for show and didn't mind being spotted by others, narcissism was a common trait in those psychotic killers he had enlisted.

Fujitora would only confirm the origins of this individual when he'd peer up at the lounge where the commander and his subordinates rested. He was definitely from here if he recognized Fujitora, most likely a Jonin when he was pushed away. Very few came to mind when he had this profile in his head, but before he could conclude anything, the announcer screamed from his mic that this was going to be the final fight. This caused a mutiny, the uproar was ferocious as many complained of not having enough fights to get a sufficient amount of coins. The commander himself was bothered by this, they had just enough coins for ONE of them to move on despite their efforts. As a result, many thugs of all levels jumped into the ring. Fujitora would do the same, but not to secure himself a place, but to prevent a catastrophe.

The man vanished into thin air, using the body flicker basic ability to swiftly get himself into the cage as it was being filled with thugs. He then used his weight manipulation to quickly kick out the masses milling at the opposite gate where the bandaged man usually entered. All the while his trademark bamboo stick, hardened by his special ability and took the dark purple color, to forcibly seal the cage and avoid the psychopath's access to this fight. This would cause the announcer to forcibly lock in the rest of the people in the cage as well, in order to have a beautiful battle royal start. It didn't matter how many coins were in play here, he couldn't afford this deranged man to reach the top, not with these other unknown fighters already qualified.

The man wearing the sunglasses turned to face fourteen men and women of varying appearances. They were all waiting for the sound of the gong to commence this fight. A few were ganged up as they were originally in groups, most were on their own such as Fujitora. Through his sunglasses, he checked them all out. He could deduce that at least half were not a huge threat, but the other half might actually cause some problems, risking this entire operation. Nonetheless, he felt confident about this as the chaos that would ensue would probably insure the deaths or weakening of most larger threats.

The announcer rang the gong and everyone just jumped on each other, while the commander kept his hardened stick in a defensive stand as he made himself a background near a corner. Many were already stabbing and burning each other. It would take about half a minute for finally a couple of men dressed as Yakuza agents to charge at him holding typical army knives, unlike Shinobi who held kunai. Readying himself, he waited for them to get close enough in their combined attack before he'd align his staff in a slightly horizontal way to block both blades. The knives' metal cracked slightly to the hardness of the stick, however before they could retract, Fujitora used his already superior strength combined with a little enhanced strength to push their blades off their hands and counter with a simple swing of the stick. The closest Yakuza would try to block it by assuming a quick defensive stand and placing his arm out to sponge most of it. The result would be the the arm's bones ripped off the elbow's ligaments and the entire forearm smacking the man's head along with the stick accompanying it. Needless to say, it killed him on the spot, all the while projecting the body on the colleague who would be ejected to the side, still conscious. But as he tossed the body out of the way, he'd meet the tip of the staff crushing his bald head right at the center of his eyes.

Two down.

Though many more were down, at least half were killed or being killed, leaving opportunities for Fujitora to cheese through the rest. He focused on those who were finishing off their enemy, usually by pinning them while stabbing or performing a ninjutsu. Those focused on that were at a low enough level to be handled the following way: Dashing through the masses, the victors of most confrontations received a smack behind the neck. This left him with four more to go. A couple were in a pristine state, the two others had taken damage already. In fact, one of them would fall forward, revealing multiple kunai stabbed in his back. It was now a Mexican shootout between the remaining four, and it didn't take long for it to all explode. It started off with one of the better conditioned fighters to release a form of steam to block everyone's sight, even the audience's.

The damaged man, after a minute of total silence, was propelled out of the ring and down to the pit. Unable to move, his fate would be like the rest. Fujitora and the two better fighters were left standing apparently. Slowly, the steam cleared out, only to reveal the creator of the hazard was stabbed through the heart by a tanto wielded by the other fighter. Fujitora was standing still, calm and collected. He expected as much, for one of them to finish the other as they seemed smart enough to not come close to the commander after what he displayed with the other two Yakuza. At least now it was one on one.

The fighter charged in, his hands coated in chakra to perform a certain technique. Fujitora prepared himself, but instead of going all out offensive, he'd let a smoke bomb drop from his pocket, blocking out the view of his opponent. Of course, the man expected a dodge and used his sensory ability to detect where Fujitora would move. He'd derive his trajectory to the right, as the Jonin commander simply sidestepped to avoid the hit. However, the man would would bump his head on something he could only see when up close and his chakra sensing didn't pick up: The end of the bamboo stick. It had a hole in its tip, as expected from such a plant. But before he could process what it was, the public could hear a trumpet-like sound coming from the ring. The fighter was the first to know that it came from the stick, and as he realized it was Fujitora blowing into it from the other end, a hard ball would be shot directly at his face at the speed of a bullet. The man would easily be knocked out with this hit, although as the projectile dragged the body a few meters away, it would explode in a giant ball of flames, disintegrating the fighter in the process.

Fujitora has won, as expected from a battle royal in these places. The loot he'd get from it would go up to 37 coins accumulated from all the fighters, more than what he needed to go on. Most of the crowd was infuriated with the fact that their representatives had died, but at this point they couldn't do much about it as the their game was over and the finals would occur in a more private condition.

The commander jumped back up to the lounge and tossed exactly ten coins at the probably all healed up Shin, giving him what he'd need to advance with the team to the next level.

"You guys... Didn't do half bad. But, as I'm lifting the ninjutsu limits I've imposed, the real challenge is to come. You have five minutes to prepare. Yagyu, wear that Kimono and pamper yourself as the crowd leaves, you'll be our 'sponsor'. Understood?"

The commander said coldly, but the compliment went with a small grin of satisfaction. He'd head off the lounge in order to complete something he didn't not warn them about. He wasn't going to leave for long, just to get some things settled first.

[AlteredTundra]

Jaakuna Sawada, The Sundance Kid

---

Jaakuna touched his abdomens after Paneru had finished healing them. “That‘s a lot better, Jaakuna said.

The pain he felt from before had somewhat subsided. Though he felt some pain while he moved, Jaakuna found it easier than before. Sure his injuries still weren’t completely healed, but as it stood at the moment, Jaakuna was happy that he was able to move without feeling large doses of pain.

Looking on as the next fight began, Jaakuna noticed that one of them was that Bandaged Man. Everyone seemed to be talking about him. Jaakuna remembered hearing whispers of that man when they entered, but he didn’t think much of it. Now, as he saw that man tear through his opponent as if he were mincemeat, he noticed that this man was on a whole different level than anyone that Jaakuna fought before(both in this illegal fighting ring and overall). The man sadistically killed his opponent and even polled the spectators of what to do with him. They all shouted “PIT”, as if there was no other option. Jaakuna didn’t understand what these people were about. And then the body was flung into the pit, dying screams of horror was heard followed by a sinister roar. And then dead silence.

Jaakuna felt a morbid feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was a certain uneasiness he felt from that Bandaged Man. He didn’t know if it was fear or something different, but Jaakuna knew that he didn’t want fight that man. Even if he was in the best shape of his life, he didn’t want to fight him. He’d surrender before doing anything that stupid. And then the man looked at the Jaakuna, Shin, Paneru, and Fujitora. The emerald eyes of The Sundance Kid widened with despair, a frozen, fear-filled look was staring at the guy. Jaakuna’s hands were shaking, gripping his pants so tightly that he nearly ripped them at the point of his thighs. Jaakuna’s breathing matched the feeling of fear he felt from just looking at the man.

Jaakuna had been so frozen with fear, that he didn’t even notice Fujitora step down for his fight or even bother to see what happened in said fight. He had his head pointed down at the ground, shaking uncontrollably. The thoughts of facing that man went through his mind, the idea of facing him frightened him to no extent. Who is going to fight him? Can‘t be me. I‘m in no shape to fight that psycho. Maybe it‘ll be Fujitora-sensei. Yes, he‘s the likely choice.

So lost in his own thoughts, it was Fujitora’s words of praise that brought him back to reality, but the look of fear still was on his face. About a few seconds later, however, Jaakuna was able to put on a façade of an emotionless face. Fujitora mentioned that while the limits of no ninjutsu would be lifted, the real challenge would await them You mean everything up until now wasn‘t the real challenge? Jaakuna looked at Fujitora with a stressed out look on his face, ”I‘m ready for anything. I‘ll take on anybody.” Of course he was lying. Jaakuna didn’t want to fight that Bandaged psycho, but given his luck, he probably would be up against him.

[Raijinslayer]

Akio Tendou

Goddammit, Baka-shi, what the hell do you think you're doing! Akio could help but curse in her head as she saw her comrade knock down the yakuza leader, then run past him into another room down the hall. A bunch of naked women ran out, then he came with a box and claiming that it was the scroll they came for. This guy just doesn't pay attention to anything, does he?

Luckily for the mission, Saburo quickly retrieved the scroll, allowing Akio to release her hold on the leader and dash towards the exit with the others, taking a couple potshots at the oncoming horde of Yakuza through the smoke the the Uchiha had helpfully produced with his jutsu. As they ran down the tunnel, he noticed that they had way too many guys following them then they could really handle, and she was about to push them back with another pulse blast, but then Saburo tossed her the scroll and went back to hold them back. Curious as to see ho he accomplished this feet, she took a look back as she ran . . . and immediately regretted the action. She couldn't help but face palm as she saw that Saburo, of all people, had learned the 7th Hokage's Infamous Harem Jutsu. She then repeated the action as Saburo showed the true depths of his ignorance of such matters. One thing at a time, Akio, deal with getting the hell outta dodge now, find out how clueless the weird Uchiha kid is later.

"Let's focus on getting out of here, Saburo, then me and Baka-shi can tell you why you what you said is an extremely terrible idea."

As they went back into the thumping sound of the club, Akio quickly took to the hi-ground, using chakra to enhance her legs just enough so that she could reach the wall of the club, and easily sticking on with the wall-climbing technique. She'd fire a salvo of bolts at the approaching Yakuza, as she motioned for the other two to follow her to the entrance of the club. At the entrance, she'd fire a few warning shots to the floor, causing people trying to escape to back up, afraid of getting hit. She'd keep threatening them and giving covering fire in the form of arrows and the occasional kunai to her two allies until they made it out, then quickly following behind. Once outside, she'd take to the rooftops, hopefully with Saburo and Takeshi following close behind, taking a rest on one a few blocks away from the club. She then reach up to her headset to ggive a message to their Jonin leader, who had been completely absent the entire time. Some Jonin he was, he just made us do all the work. Lazy Ass.

Sawda-san, we've got a hold of the scroll, so where the hell are you? We need to meet up soon so we can get the hell out f here before the Yakuza call out their big guys to get it back or something.

@Akashi Mayhiro
@Partisan
@Kal-El

The Bandaged Man

"Well that was rude of him, wanting to shut me out the fun like that." The bandaged man said with a soft sigh, though he wasn't too upset about it. Facing Fuji right now would be much less than pleasant, as he had to hold back his true capabilities in order to keep from becoming target from every person here. Such was the problem with having such a large bounty on one's head. Still, the lengths the man went to keep him out was touching, as it was obviously out of his care for his team. Too bad, though Fuji-San, you were too little too late to keep those delectable morsels away from me. Before the final battle had been announced, the bandaged man had managed to sneak in one more battle against a guy with 3 coins, a total weakling that had gotten lucky in his previous matches and was no challenge to him in the slightest.

The bandaged figure considered alerting the white haired man to this fact, but decided to have it be a surprise. He could only imagine the look on the old man;s face once he walked into demolish his precious chunin. He wouldn't kill them, however, they were much too interesting for that. Instead, he'd simply beat them down until they couldn't fight anymore, than maybe have a little bit of fun with them. It'd be hard to hold himself back from doing anything to crippling, though he guessed he didn't have to be as controlled since they had that helpful healer girl with them as well. If he found himself facing Fuji, however, he'd forfeit immediately, as this scroll wasn't that important to him. If that bitch wants the damn scroll so bad, she can get it herself. Too many odds against me to risk facing Fujitora here, though it would be nice to say hello to the old druggie. Maybe I'll forfeit after I break one of his chunin, then reveal myself as I make my daring escape. An idea to consider, if nothing else, as he wouldn't dare sacrifice such a important mission just to chase after little old me.

Ideas whirling in his head, the bandaged man would simply recline in his seat and wait to see what the arena had in store for him next. Hopefully, the fights from now on would be at least as fun as his bout against the ronin from before.

@Savato

[j8cob]

Shin Maru, Topaz

Shin saw the Bandaged Man examine their team. Something was definitely off with this guy, the way he was scoping them out. He was definitely a ninja, that much was for sure. But there was something else about him that set him apart from the rest of the crowd. He recognizes us, Shin concluded, examining him unflinchingly. While his classmates were unnerved by his gaze, Shin simply glared back at him. The mystery man was imposing and intimidating, but Shin wasn't going to show him weakness. If he knows who we are, he might know what we are doing. He is strong enough to be a problem...

Before Shin could contemplate it further, a riot practically broke out and many people piled into the arena. Including Fujitora. He could only watch as his leader jumped into the cage and fought all the others that had amassed. While it was impressive that Fujitora won, it was to be expected. The man was the Jounin Commander. He was probably the strongest in the village, bar the Hokage. Shin caught the coins when they were tossed to him, making a quick check to count them himself. "No more holding back, eh..." Shin mused, stowing the coins. He stretched his shoulders a few times before looking back to Fujitora. "I guess the time for playing around is over."

Shin looked over to Jaakuna and Paneru now. So Fujitora is jumping in now. That's good. Paneru will be pretending to be our boss. That will keep him out of danger, for the most part. He grinned at the two, before giving them a thumbs up. "Thanks for the help with my arm, Paneru. Good as new now." His grin faded as he looked back to the cage below, which was empty. Jaak isn't in top condition though. He's hiding it well, but I'm sure Fujitora sees it too. Ideally we would want Fujitora to fight that weird guy with the bandages. Jaak can't face him, and I'm not sure how well I'd fare. But it seems that the weight of the team might come down on me. I need to stay at the top of my game...

---

Tsukiko Umene, Honeybadger

Tsukiko's face contorted in anger. Without any further warning she reached toward Yamato and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him closer to her face with ease. "Listen up you bastard," she began, her voice low and seething with rage. "Your usefulness ceases the moment I have the scroll in my hands. If you keep this shit up I will break you." With a light shove she released him, still glaring at him with hate. "If you think you hate me now you will really hate me later." Rather than letting Yamato have a chance to talk back, Tsukiko placed her hand on the cliff face outside his hole. A thin layer of rock grew over the hole, sealing Yamato in so the Yakuza approaching wouldn't detect him. It would also serve as a good end-of-conversation gesture.

With the slugger in position, Tsukiko jumped down to the ground and approached Aoi and Nobunaga. She had to walk with chakra to avoid getting stuck in Aoi's trap, but it didn't bother the woman any. It just meant that Aoi set a good trap. "Alright, get hiding. Nobunaga, come with me." Aoi was able to hide within her trap, a convenience for sure, but Nobunaga would need Tsukiko's help in hiding just like Yamato did. The woman led him to the perimeter of the trap zone. "Bury yourself in the sand. Use your clothes to cover your mouth, you should have enough oxygen to last until the targets arrive. If you feel light-headed, just resurface your head a few seconds and cover back up. It'll keep you going. Once the traps start being sprung, you and Aoi will jump out and begin. Remember: apply pressure, get them to focus their attention on you." With his instructions laid out, Tsukiko pulled out some more ninja wire and faced away.

She proceeded to link the spider-web traps with the wires in her hand. The exploding tags she had placed earlier were not active, they would require a chakra pulse to become live. The ninja wire was conductive to chakra, but Tsukiko didn't want to remain directly underneath the traps. She had to be in a specific position for the ambush strategy. Tsukiko made sure to hide the ninja wire in the sand as she walked back to the valley, using the Hiding in Rock technique to mesh into the valley wall. Once the silence set in, the location would seem completely devoid of life or human tampering. The traps were hidden perfectly, along with the four shinobi that were waiting for the gang.

Fifteen minutes passed without a sign of life. But on the sixteenth minute the Yakuza gang had finally arrived. A large gathering, fifty or so, of mostly men began to walk down the inclined valley. Several lookouts remained at the top of the valley while the majority traveled through the base. They were clearly prepared for the desert environment, most having dressed in loose clothing and their faces covered. Almost all of them had some kind of visible weapon on them, but several were without. There were also several members, mostly large men, that had large backpacks. They probably carried the brunt of the supplies, but each member had a bag of their own as well. They moved quickly, some of them holding idle conversations or making jokes to pass the time and distract themselves from the heat.

The large party moved forward, clearly cautious of the valley. But despite their anticipation of a possible assault in the valley, they exited onto the sand dunes without a hitch. The tension they had clearly was gone by the time they left the darkness of the valley, as they began to joke and talk louder. Tsukiko, still hidden within the rocks, was able to detect all of their positions through vibrations in the ground, though once they reached the sand it became a bit fuzzy. Still she could feel their general areas, and she gripped the ninja wire tightly as she waited patiently. These kids better not fuck it up, she thought to herself, waiting until the majority of the gang had entered the trap zone. I don't know how I could explain myself to Fujitora if we fail. Or worse, Zeno... I'd kill the little fuckers if they embarrass me like that...

By now, almost the entire party had walked into the trap zone. The sand that had blown over Aoi's sticky trap was thick enough to keep them from accidentally getting stuck before the time was right. Tsukiko assumed the girl knew what she was doing and that she had a way of bringing the sticky stuff to the surface at the right time. Three... two... one... Now was the time. Tsukiko channeled her chakra into the ninja wire, spreading it out to all of the concealed tags and bringing them to life. They all detonated at once, sending fire, sand, and mucus into the air and instantly killing any Yakuza that was unfortunate enough to be standing directly overhead. Those that were only close, as opposed to standing on top of them, were knocked back and injured by the pressure wave. Tsukiko's trap alone killed or maimed a dozen or so. But now wasn't the time for her to reveal herself yet. It was now Aoi's turn to trap the survivors in the ambush spot, so that she and Nobunaga can begin their assault. I'm putting my trust in this team, they better not fail me.

[Akashi Mayhiro]

Takeshi Ruzuzaki

Saburo Uchiha and Akio Tendou
Out Of My Mind- Other Takeshi

---

'You fucked up.'

'You fucked up.'

'you fucked up.'

The voice in his head got louder and louder until the green haired man couldn't take it anymore. Like a mindless zombie ducked and dodged every attack the Yakuza were throwing at him. But his mind was somewhere else. Deep in his mind he was listening to the scolds of his friends.

“Takeshi-kun, that is not the right scroll, please return it, we wouldn't want to be accused of theft, as that'd be most unfo-”

"Goddammit, Baka-shi, what the hell do you think you're doing!"

He clutched his head in the middle of the battlefield, he was supposed to be a leader to them: He was a fucking Chunnin! Takeshi getting his teeth in frustration, he grasped the box with the wrong scroll tight. "Don't......you dare.....tell me what i can't and can do!" he roared.

'Fine then, let's see how a real Chunnin works.' And finally Takeshi left eye turned green.

LIMIT BREAKER!

Everyone around him went silent, he stood up: box and all as he took two steps towards his comrades "Ike." While he walked, two Yakuza member attacked him from behind, and suddenly they found themselves buried deep into the concrete wall. Takeshi lowered his left leg before breaking into a run.

"Akio-chan, Takeshi-kun, please leave the building.” he said whilst forming handseals rapidly, before exhaling very deep. “KATON: Great Dragon Fire!” Takeshi raced past Saburo with a nod before. Everyone around him were running in slow motion, like the world had slowed down for his pleasure. But Takeshi was pissed.

Pissed at himself. With silent rage he picked of the oncoming members with ease, green electricity sparking with every movement as he felt calm, from here on out, he would take care of thing with his team and not be the fuck up they thought he was.

As the 3 made their way back towards the nightclub, they were greeted with the same atmosphere, Takeshi grinned as he eye Akio taking the high ground and fired a few warning shots to the ground. There was no need to direct people to leave, they were doing to for for them. Out of curiosity he tried to scout out his sister, she wasn't here anymore. With a flash of green coming out of his left eye, he enter further into his limit breaker.

He heard Akio trying to contact the team leader, but he intervened before Sawada could talk "Tendo-san, there is no point contacting him now, we're digging ourselves out of this mess one way or another, I need to you to take vantage point as fast as you can. Uchiha-san. Your with me for now we'll find a spot of rest up, Tendou: see if you can find a safe place to hole up for a small time." Breaking of the connection he fastened his clothes tighter on him before taking out his Balisong knives. "Hajime mashou!"

Takeshi cleared the way of the civilians, with Saburo in tow, it would be no doubt that he would follow him, both way: he was a capable ninja and Takeshi knew he could hold out on his own. A few more member came out of knuckles dusters and swords as they took aim at him. Takeshi gave them a look of pity.

"Useless."


Weaving past time, he cut deep into their sides as he left time in a heap. He would not kill them....Hanami would have done that. he could sense another member trying to take him by surprise, takeshi crouched low and gave the man a lep sweep, knocking him of his feet as he went down hard, he stomped on his face to knock him out cold.

"AHHHHH!" from the roof a member of the Yakuza ambushed Takeshi, the boy only step back as he landed on the ground before maneuvering around him and giving a hard chop to his neck, the force knocking him out. Takeshi was on a roll. they one-sided battled continued as both the hidden leaf ninjas made it out. Jumping onto the roof tops, they spotted Akio taking a breather. Takeshi landed next to her, nearly spoking her before he stared at her.

"Sorry, Tendou-san, are you ok? Thank you for you assistance back there. You two uchiha-san. You can provide a excellent back-up support, but i don't believe you're like night-life action isn't over: not by a long shot." He left eye sparked with green electricity that lit up the night for a brief second.

[Masaki Haruna]

Mia Uchiha

Mia burned off Rin's clothes by accident but still laughed at it. "HAHA! And you said you want to get warmer." Enter, Mia Uchiha; the number one rookie among the Genin. Her face isn't dirty the fact that with her ridiculous reflexes of hers aided by the sharingan, helped her dodge Megumi's nonsense. "Come on guys! Curve the attitude, get some altitude." Mia summons her pet cat, Vuurvoto which is a flying cat and carries her up. "Simple enough, Megumi. It's been smoke'd!"

[Partisan]

Saburo Uchiha, “Kimyōna”

Hiroi sekai

---

Saburo didn't bother attempting to hold back the enemy even more as he ran past the crowd, noticing that Akio was doing a good job at clearing the way, shooting bolts of electricity into the crowd at random seemingly, scaring them away, as well as shooting at the incoming Yakuza chasers. Things went well until Takeshi seemed to suddenly take charge unexpectedly, with no reason for doing so whatsoever. “Nani? Takeshi, where are you leading us?” Saburo uttered as he was suddenly drawn in another way, unsure of what was happening or why Takeshi suddenly wanted to lead.

Quick jumps followed as Saburo escaped from the location and followed Takeshi, before noticing Akio in the distance. Saburo's demeanor had changed suddenly and he looked much more serious than he had before, or during the attack. A quick glance at Takeshi made it apparent why, but he kept his mouth shut as he didn't want to make troubles. Instead he took the brief respite they had to walk to the edge of the building and take a look over Kumogakure. Several deep breaths followed before he turned around and faced towards Akio and Takeshi again.

His eyes flashed red with the crimson red color of the sharingan as he had closed and opened his eyes again during the brief respite. “SHARINGAN!” he said as his eyes were focussed on Takeshi in an attempt to draw his attention to lure him into looking into Saburo's eyes, which would affirm the genjutsu he'd attempt to cast on Takeshi.

In Takeshi's mind, the moment of him grabbing the wrong scroll would replay atleast five times before the genjutsu focussed on the next aspect - when Takeshi suddenly took charge and ordered Akio to stop contacting Hideyoshi, where he almost caused the mission to fail by suddenly changing pace and fighting back against the Yakuza, which wasn't neccesary at that point in time. It'd replay that moment atleast two times, focussing each time on the exact moment that Takeshi somewhat rudely interrupted Akio, before it continued into a genjutsu of the current time, which would force Takeshi to listen to Saburo's next words in an almost entrancing voice, in which the genjutsu would not allow Takeshi to focus on anything else other than Saburo's voice.

“Takeshi-kun, please do not do that again. You jeopardized the entire mission when you suddenly took command for no reason. We were fine before hand, denoting that none of us were in immediate danger and we would've been able to escape easily. The Sage of the Six Paths would not confirm that this is a succesful leadership mission. Speaking of leadership.. where is Hideyoshi-kun?” The use of the kun honorific meant that Hideyoshi had devalued himself by not showing up for the duration of the mission at all, something that Saburo found extremely bad - and Saburo knew that Hideyoshi hadn't been watching from the shadows either as his Sharingan would've spotted that easily. “Akio-chan, you are alright, correct? If so, we'd best keep moving towards Konoha. There's no telling where Hideyoshi is at this moment in space and time, and I would not wish to risk the mission for him. He is, after all, not our mission objective.” His words made it very clear that Saburo was not one to stay behind and wait for someone, especially if that same person had abandoned his team. More over, Saburo would gladly sacrifice himself or a team member to fulfill a mission, remnants of his time during 11th corps where every mission was a high priority secret ops.

Now that he had spoken his mind, he turned around again and broke the genjutsu he'd cast on Takeshi, before jumping off of the roof. Since Akio-chan was fine, and Takeshi-kun was here with them and able to move, there was no reason to take a breather. More over, they had to accomplish the mission with or without Hideyoshi - he hadn't done much to begin with. Rapid movements towards the Kumogakure walls were made all the while avoiding any attention they could possibly get. Akio-chan still had the scroll if everything was alright, so that was a blessing of the Sage on it's own.

[Angel Eyes]

-

[Angel Eyes]

-

[Savato]

Fujitora Choko ; The Overseer

---

The lounge's door slamed on Paneru's words, he didn't actually have to understand Fujitora's command to actually get what was needed to be done. The commander didn't warn them as to what he would do, he deemed it unnecessary and poentially a problem. The man leading the operation was heading toward the elevator he had used with his team to get in here the first place, only to find a large amount of goons milling the area. Pushing himself through the crowd, Fujitora's large hand would grab a specific collar and pull a relatively short individual to him. It was the weird guy who distributed the coins at he start, and all Fujitora did was put a pack of bills on the strange man's face, prompting a grin.

"Heh, waddah ya want this time?" the short man asked, pointing toward the fact that the commander had been here before.

"Two things. One, is that anomaly guy in?" Fujitora asked solemnly, trying his best to keep the two out of the chaos caused by the large gathering of people waiting for this specific elevator.

"Heh heh... Yup, last minute too. Guess you'll have to deal with that with your pets... So what else?" the guy was counting the money he had gained while responding.

"In the fan of money I gave you, there are special tags I want you to place. You understand why, yes?"

The bizarre guy chuckled and nodded, understanding perfectly what the deal was. Without saying a word, he marched back to the pile and did what he usually did, and that Fujitora had no idea what it was.Releasing a sigh of relief, at least part of the plan was insured. But nonetheless, he miscalculated, the menace had twenty from he getgo. As Fujitora returned to his lounge, he contemplated the alternatives available in case of a terrible scenario.

---

As most people left, he ring suddenly decomposed into one flat circle, covering the pit and making it inaccessible. The announcer got into the center of it and announced:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Or at least those left with the correct amount of coins! You are now qualified to the finals! Congratulations! Now then, you all have one minute to present yourselves, feet on the ring, and the tourney shall continue!"

This was the singal in which Fujitora would gesture his team to simple fall off the lounge and land on the ring, even Paneru. Speaking of which, he had better be wearing the Kimono if he didn't want to compromise the mission. Once landed, all the contestants would wait about ten seconds before the ring would mysteriously morph itself into a large box, twice the size of the ring with everyone in it. It was dark, but no one was foolish enough to move. About three seconds in, the lights would come on, revealing a dojo-like interior almost too real to be true. It felt as if they were in a real training dojo with places for different factions to sit as spectators.

In the center, the announcer remained.

"Parties have been assigned different rows, and a special VIP section for the sponsors has been opened up as well!"

He'd point to special throne-like couches, each one designated by a number. Paneru would have his own seat attributed to him under the number "87", the number of their lounge. The bandaged man having no true sponsor, only had a bench like all the other contestants. There were twelve to be exact, all looking either extremely casual or ridiculously menacing. The smart looking individuals were usually the sponsors, as they quickly stormed the couches attributed to them.

"And now! As you may know, we have a prize up for grabs! Behold... The Scroll of Demonic Faces!"

As such, a large spotlight illuminated a large scroll between two sponsor seats. It has a red paper with a demon face casing keeping it wrapped and secure. It seemed untouched and authentic from first glance. To Fujitora, the target's location was confirmed, which made this operation a lot more sensitive than it was previously.

"You will all fight until one either verbally surrenders or dies! Without further ado, we will select the first fighters!"

With that said, a small sphere levitated over the announcer's head and divided itself into to before randomly flying in the air. After a minute of mindless trajectory, both spheres would set themselves over two members. One was a man known as Gozoboro, a man who won his fair share of tournaments around here. The other was Shin.

---

Aoi Don Maquia

---

BOOM!

Is all she heard when she used her Hiding in Water ability to conceal herself and surprise the enemy as they got a little too close from the traps she had set up with her sensei. Things were finally starting to get real fun around here and she'd hate to actually miss out on it, but she had a mission to complete before anything else. Most of those who survived the explosion would either be pushed back due to them being too close to the area, causing a large portion of their body to be glued to the mucus on the sandy ground. They were already condemned as it would take an extensive amount of effort to be freed from that without specific ninjutsu or a weapon, which would be dealt with as well with the huge spread of mucus all over the place.

The others who were more cautious and weren't as affected by the explosion would likely be on their guard and prepare for another ambush. They would however have a hard time seeing the sticky water spread under the soft sand toward their feet. The smoke from the massive explosion made it all the more difficult to actually detect any anomalies on the floor, not to mention the stress of being targeted by an elaborate trap. Many of the closer Yakuza would unknowingly have their feet glued to the floor, allowing for Aoi's teammates to make quick kills on them. Speaking of which, the clone hidden as a cactus would transform back to normal and assault the least wounded who were stuck to the ground by the sticky water ability. They had little to no mobility and their defenses impaired by recent events.

The most vulnerable were rendered to fodder relatively easily by Aoi's mucus clone while leaving the rest to Nobunaga. Luckily for the Samurai, those who got close to him in order to engage in close quarters without using the walking on water ability would end up stuck to the ground one way or another, allowing for a fluid retaliation from the young Samurai.

The real Aoi remained to chill in her little puddle, acting as a last resort if things got sour for some odd reason. She'd often poke her eyes out of the water to check the situation out. If they couldn't use Ninjutsu, or at least not that well, it'd be a piece of cake to keep them trapped like idiots on the sticky water. She snickered lightly, her morbid sense of humor taking over her seriousness for a moment. The clone snickered too as it continuously cut the trapped foes by the throat to inure instant neutralization. She did have a pretty big penchant for making the clone explode with loads of explosive tags, but orders said otherwise. As such, she had to keep the magic tricks in reserve for later, most likely.

[Masaki Haruna]

This is GM speaking; Team Ayame
@Crimmy
@Renny
@Partisan

Ignore the GGs. By GM's statement, they are done and they don't even exist for they are genjutsu. Nothing more than classic genjutsu magic

GM Statement:

Upon noticing the disturbance of chakra among her group, Sentou quickly dashes to her south-east location and used her technique, Twisting Tiger. By focusing chakra on the user's arms, the user is described; "fast enough to catch mosquitoes without thought". It is done in a fast motion like a tiger, and it's noticeable feature is turning the user's nails into lethal "claws."

Sentou takes down the Genjutsu Caster with her technique in 7 hits(rapid succession) in a blink of an eye which looks like one shot. "I knew it." She gazes down on the logo of the caster's back. "Calm down guys, it was just a genjutsu. Continue on where we left off." Letting it slide, she is still bothered by what's going on. "That logo, the Yamada-gumi." The Yamadagumi are Yakuza troops that Sentou (Team Tsukiko comprising of Takeshi and Sentou) and her team took down two months ago back at the Elephant Zoo.
"So mom, what now? Should I attack or will I be the decoy?" She asked Ayame's input. Nevertheless she is still bothered by the Yamada's logo. Could the Yamada be supporting the Ronin from the get go? She thought.

(Carry on, carry on. I apologize for this mess)

[Taka]

Nobunaga Inuzuka

---

The plan began without a hitch. The traps shook the ground near Nobunaga, alluding his senses to the several Yakuza screaming out from the pain of the traps. Tsukiko's seal released itself, revealing Nobunaga's location. From the sand the Inuzuka ascended to catch Aoi in the act of employing her infamous sticky jutsu, well infamous in the fact that Nobu felt it could become. "A rather lovely technique in a team setting. Now it's my turn." Nobu landed on her stick water, chakra embedded in his feet to keep himself balanced and unstuck. Quite a few Yakuza had died from Tsukiko's initial trap and now a big number were trapped with little hope of defending themselves. Oichi barked in excitement to egg on it's companion.

The breeze from the desert washed over the samurai causing his scarf to flutter in the air for a few moments. The scarf combined with Nobunaga's slow walk plus pulling his sword from its sheath slowly gave an air of heroics to him despite how obviously non-heroic this all was. Putting weight to his right foot, he used all his force to lunge into a mad dash. In the middle of his dash chakra formed around his body like little flames. Nobunaga had activated the four legs technique which was taught to all Inuzuka at a very young age. He was an adept and even could run on just two legs while using such jutsu. Teeth sharpened into fangs, nails into claws, and a grin forming into the growl of a canine.

His first victim felt the razor sharp edge of his blade tearing into his throat like feather flowing through the wind. Nobunaga did not hesitate one moment before moving to the next target. The next Yakuza attempted to retaliate with a crudely sharpened blade. Without the ability to move the lower body to provide force and a subtle follow-through, the Yakuza felt the cold sting of Nobunaga's blade through his chest as a counter. Death did not stir Nobunaga one bit as he had become desensitized to it all, a trait created by his father and mother. They knew he could never achieve mission perfection if he became afraid to kill. Hesitation could get himself or his team killed. Removing his blade from the heart of the Yakuza, he turned his his to stare with his bestial eyes. A few moaned and groaned, exclaiming that they didn't want to die. Fear. You never show fear to a beast.

His next actions tore through the last of those before him. Utilizing the passing fang to rotate like a drill he kept his sword in hand making it all the more lethal. A Passing Fang was known to tear through stone so human bodies were wet paper to him specifically weak individuals like those stuck by Aoi's jutsu. He tore through the victims, each writhing in agony before dying though there was one left twitching in pain.

---

Hideyoshi Sawada

---

"Who are you?" Hideyoshi's voice was raspy and his breathing was heavy. Warm blood flowed down his stomach as he held a wound from the blade the man carried. The man only stared intensely with no intent to finish. The man sheathed his blade after wiping the blood from it, the blade screeching against the sheath. "My name is of no importance currently. Keep the scroll. You have ruined one plan but others shall arise. Testing Konoha's North Star was rather fun indeed." "The man was satisfied and he turned away from Hideyoshi to walk off from his view.

Just then he heard Akio come over the communication device. "Meet.....me..on the top of the theater building. Bring...medical supplies." Hideyoshi laid his head back against the roof top, wondering why this man made himself known to Hideyoshi.

[Savato]

Shin Maru Vs. Gozoboro The Jailer

---

As both participants were chosen, Gozoboro was the first to stand as he knew the procedure all too well. Making his way to the square mattress in the center of the boxed room, only to realize he was stepping on concrete similar to the caged ring. It didn't seem to bother the older looking man however as he kept a calm composure. He seemed relatively chilled compared to the brutish sociopaths that littered the area not long ago. There was something special about him either, black leather jacket, a white shirt behind it, blue jeans, regular pair of boots. Only a scroll hanging from his belt stood out from the rest, which probably had its importance given its flagrant size and exposure. He waited for Shin to get ready and start the fight.

As Shin would enter the ring as well, a strange field of energy would coat tie ring and give it the same limitations as the cage from before, except there'd be a roof. The field would be completely invisible once it would finish forming, however, preventing any problems when it came to spectating the match. It would behave as a near indestructible wall to prevent random attacks from hitting anyone out of the ring and prevent escapes as well.

The teenager gave a glance toward his squadmates before approaching the ring. The setting had changed, the battle space was notably smaller and more restricted now. Obviously these people didn't want to waste their time watching people run around after each other. They wanted to see blood. Not mine, I hope. Shin took a moment to examine the containment forcefield around the arena, touching it with his hand to confirm it was still there and didn't simply flicker on and off. Then he finally looked to his opponent. This man seemed relatively... normal. But if he was fighting down here he couldn't possibly be normal. "Alright," Shin announced, plenty loud enough for the crowd to hear if they weren't being loud. He asserted his fighting stance before bringing his left hand up towards the man and gesturing for him to come. "Let's dance, shall we?"

"Kuku, aren't you an artsy you young boy. I'm quite the art amateur myself." the tanned man spoke, appearing more or less welcoming to the teen. Considering the general demographic of this tournament, it would likely be a lot more unnerving to have this type of individual as an opponent than a giant, masked serial killer. He tried his best to look unpredictable, and psychopaths like him were just that. With three kunai in his hand, he didn't hesitate to hurl all three toward his opponent, much like his previous fight. The difference would be the microscopic, invisible threads attached to each kunai with the added value of paper bombs wrapped around the handle for concealment measures, a common practice among assassins. "Indeed, and I'll have the first move!"

Kunai, again. Shin wanted to jump backwards, but he didn't want to start the match by getting backed into the wall. Instead he dodged the volley by darting to his right. He made sure to avoid them by a good measure, since he was fast enough to fully dodge them anyways. But the explosion caught him off guard, sending Shin to the ground several meters away. He rolled the moment he contacted, flipping back onto his feet in one fluid motion. Almost as if he intended for that whole encounter. Holy shit. Shin's left side was in pain, he could feel the burns from the proximity for sure, but he couldn't tell if anything was broken yet. Okay, not having this. Not gonna let that happen again.

Shin held his right hand out to his side. Water molecules in the air began to crystalize and expand, creating a dozen crystals the size of shuriken in the shape of snowflakes. They were clearly sharp, and worse than that they were all floating at the same time. Thrusting his hand forward the entire volley was flung at the man in a haphazard pattern, to make it more difficult to dodge at the cost of overall lethality. I'm gonna have to make full use of my abilities now. A smirk formed on his face as he threw the shuriken, though it could easily be mistrued as confidence in his attack.

The man smirked when he managed to land a hit. Too bad he didn't keep them from exploding just yet, but it was useful to test the waters. The kid was resilient and displayed an interesting ability: Crystals. Everyone around Konoha knew of a clan with such a... Lucrative ability. "Maru, huh? As I said, artsy person." his words didn't mean much but it didn't matter, he was a real threat this time. With shuriken coming his way, there wasn't much to do other than duck and cover his head with his own forearm. It allowed him to dodge those aimed toward his head and body while his steel arm sponged most, having a couple piercing through the shell but with no apparent damage.

In retaliation, he threw three extra kunai, exactly the same type as before with chakra threads on each. However this time he wouldn't make them detonate right away, and in exchange wait for his opponent to react accordingly to what he'd probably aniticipate another explosive approach.

The teenager was preparing to rush forward and make the fight close quarters but the man decided to throw another volley of kunai. Not wanting to catch another explosive surprise, Shin dodged again. Only this time he put a lot more muscle into the jump, putting much more distance between him and the potential bombs this time. "Artsy, huh?" he commented, skidding to a halt. "Never heard that one before." Shin brought his hands together in front of his chest. It was a single handseal. If the man could identify him through his Crystal Release, he probably would avoid this attack.

But it was worth a shot, having a chance at ending the fight now. "Jade Crystal Prison." The ground at the man's feet began to crystallize, rapidly growing upwards in an attempt to capture him completely and leave him vulnerable. This was a dangerous man, Shin could already tell. Defeating him quickly, if possible, would be optimal. If this don't work, I'm gonna have to duke it out with him proper. Let's not see what he has in store and get this over with.

"Oh?" as the man was preparing a surprise counter with his manipulated Kunai, something struck him severely. The Maru had used a jutsu which immediately manifested itself on the older man's feet. Considering its shape and its rapid progression, it was probably an attempt to encase him in the crystal. Using his fingers to tug on the Kunai heading straight for the wall, they'd simply be pulled back toward Gozoboro before the threads would be severed by the prison.

Completely encased, the man couldn't move, or just barely, let alone do a jutsu. Luckily the kunai would stab against the crystal, instantly exploding in that instant. Adding to that strong release of pressure would be the superhuman strength given to him by both his arms, applying an inner and outer force in order to at least shatter a portion of the crystal. With all those factors added, it wouldn't be unbelievable that a third of the crystal would go out flying in pieces, allowing the man the punch out with brute force fragments that blocked his lower body. "How's that for an amateur artist?"

The man somehow managed to send his kunai back towards the Jade Crystal Prison, using the explosives on them to weaken it and begin his escape. Damnit, now he'll be wary. It's now or never. Shin gritted his teeth through his grin, holding his right arm back. "Crystal Lance." A long, pointed lance covered his right forearm, sticking out almost three meters from his hand. "Wouldn't call you an amateur at all," Shin commented, before dashing forward and pointing the lance at the man's chest, which wasn't covered by crystal anymore. It took a brief moment to traverse the arena, but Shin thrust forward with enough force to impale the man and any of his own crystal that may still be behind him. "Good enough to want me to end this now."

With his opponent dashing toward him, the man was beyond staying put in stupor, with 39 years of existence behind him. A teen with exceptional tools wasn't going to intimidate him, however he needed to think fast with that lance. He could have an optimal route, but he'd evidently pick the one out of reflex. Simply nudging his index finger, the scroll on his belt would be quickly whipped out and opened like a barrier before him. Shin would have to be careful as he'd attempt to finish off his opponent as an unknown attack was suddenly revealed in reaction.

If he were to pursue the attack, the lance would stab into a cloud of smoke and appear to hit two targets at once: A short, white puppet's abdomen which appeared to be made entirely of metal, and the man's now exposed forearm. The puppet was able to take the first blow and soften the hit, allowing him to quickly sacrifice his arm over his abdomen. The puppet, lifeless and blank in expression, glared into Shin's soul with its white, soulless eyes. "Whewwww, talk about bloodlust." said Gozoboro, keeping his arm frozen in order to prevent Shin from pulling the thing out, all the while his other hand could freely use the puppet. "Last chance to surrender..." Although he preferred to butcher and torture his opponents, he'd much rather save his specialities for the finals, hence his rather generous proposal considering the monster he was.

When Shin's crystal lance stopped prematurely after stabbing through the smoke, his grin vanished completely. Instead he looked surprised, wondering briefly how he managed to stop the attack in the position he was in. He had summoned a puppet of some kind, a spooky looking one for sure, and used that to weaken the attack before letting it stab his arm. Shin only now noticed that his arm was metal, or at least just covered in metal. Damn. First time this has failed. He moved to pull the lance back and stab again, but it wouldn't budge. Rather than staying in this man's face, with a puppet that could very well be another bomb for all Shin knew, he broke his arm free of the lance and jumped back a few meters, sacrificing the crystal lance and letting it disintegrate into fine dust.

"Surrender?" Shin repeated aloud, bringing his hands up. "A tactical retreat is one thing, but I never surrender." The joke wasn't necessary, but he humored himself. On the inside he was starting to feel nervous about this guy. His overall composure, his ability demonstrated so far. And to top it off: he had hardly shown what he can do. "That's a scary looking puppet, you know. Almost gave me a heart attack." Shin held his left hand above his head. "Giant Hexagonal Shuriken." Much like his shuriken attack before, crystals began forming in the air. Only this time it was a single snowflake, and it was two meters across. It didn't float, either, and Shin had to grab it with his outstretched hand. "But I don't want to see what kind of tricks you can do with it!" He tossed the large shuriken, keeping it vertical as it flew through the air at the partially-trapped man. It lacked the penetrating power of the Lance by far, but Shin hoped it might be able to cleave his toy and disable it. Whatever it did.

As Shin retreated, the man took the occasion to pull his arm out of the lance's stab all the while stepping out of his now destroyed prison. He was free, but all he did in the meantime was test the reactivity of his arm. It still worked, somewhat. The fingers seemed limited in movement, likely due to the damage and Gozoboro knew fully well it wouldn't be good for puppetry or precise blade manipulation without repair. However, he didn't need precision for his next action.

Shin thus had all the time in the world for his corny speeches and the formation of his new technique, leaving Gozoboro on the defensive once again. Luckily for him, there was still the puppet between him and Shin, and the latter had also given him a pretty neat overview as to what he could do. Too bad the lance didn't stick around, it would have been a nice tool to counter its creator. An enlarged Shuriken was attacking and wasn't as quick as the basic types, leaving more room for error in this case, but a mistake would of course be more expensive. Simply, he'd fire his puppet's left arm right at the shuriken so both projectiles could collide, the shuriken being bladed and well, crystal, while the arm released its arsenal of multiple hidden blades and the strength of the launch mechanic. The goal was simply to deviate the shuriken and return the arm to the puppe via a thread. "You speak big, but you seem to lack something, artsy boy."

The impact from the the puppet's own projectiles altered the giant shuriken's trajectory, sending it just past the man's head and crashing into the forcefield on the other side of the arena. Shin gritted his teeth as the man mocked him. He's toying with me now, isn't he? He broke free in time, he could've dodged it. He's trying to get in my head. It's working. His frown turned into a grin now. "What am I lacking? Enthusiasm or skill?" Shin launched forward now at full speed. His palms clenched into fists as attempted to bring the fight close quarters again. Gozoboro might notice an orange glint from Shin's skin as he approached, as the Crystal Armor wasn't perfectly transparent. He brought a fist back and prepared to deliver a powerful punch to the man's face.

"You lack... Talent." He responded coldly, as if the entirety of his paradigm had changed into an emotionless machine ready to actively eliminate the threat from now on. Shin wanted to go close quarters, but the puppet remained an obstacle he couldn't avoid in this situation. The machine imposed itself as Shin prepared his punch replying with a punch of its own to clashing with the crystal user's fist. All the while, the stray arm would attach itself to the puppet's body, only to immediately try and slash Shin's chest with the already released blades. Gozoboro watched quietly as he wanted to make his opponent squeal in despair as he swallowed his ridiculous pride. But not before he belittles him a little more. "Even inherited perks aren't enough these days, artsy boy."

"Inherited perks, eh?" Shin commented with a smirk. The blades that shot at his chest bounced off with a clang, as if they had connected with something solid in the way. The man would probably be surprised that the hidden blades wouldn't draw his blood, and Shin hoped to capitalize on the moment. "I'd like to think I have more than that." He moved his hand to grip the puppet, rather than clash with it. "I've got guts, for instance." His other fist shot forward. Though not at Gozoboro but at the puppet. Shin's fist was coated with his Crystal Armor, with all the intention of ripping through the puppet. If he could get both hands on it he was going to try ripping it apart manually. If this man was a puppeteer he might have more than just one, but taking out the puppet would at least remove a means of attack temporarily.

Chuckling, he was rather impressed with Shin's performance. Gozoboro was of course stunned that the boy's abilities went beyond creating random shapes and got to the point of defending his body. They took similar initiatives to succeed in fights, it seemed. With the Puppet's failure to connect, it took a nice hit to the body, effectively piercing and damaging it. However, it seemed as though Shin had forgotten that he could easily operate the machine despite it being disassembled. Similar to the Crow puppet from Suna, the Jailer had that enjoyable perk.

The puppet laid somewhat limp for a second as it took the hit, but only to jump start itself by grabbing Shin's forearm with its metallic hand. "Courage? Your pride is flabbergasting. I'll fix that." With its contact with the opponent, the puppet released a stream of electricity through its arm and inevitably through Shin's as well, electrifying the boy. The electricty was strong enough to continuously shock the teen's body, leaving him semi-paralyzed (difficulty moving) all the while suffering the pain of having his arm burned and muscles fully tensed by the shock's course.

The teenager had a look of genuine shock and terror when the puppet sprang back to life after he seemingly destroyed it. The creepy thing jumped at him and latched onto his arm and Shin instinctively attempted to jerk back. But once the electricity began coursing through him the look of panic went away and was replaced by one of pain. Tiny crystal fragments could be seen chipping off his forearm, where the electricity was entering his body. "I don't like..." Shin began, through gritted teeth and grunts of pain. "Electro... shock... therapy..." Shin's right arm began to move, reaching past the puppet and attempting to grab onto Gozoboro's damaged metal arm. Of course he moved far slower than his usual, as his muscles were being forcefully tensed by the puppet, but his intention was clear. Shin was trying to get the man to electrocute himself or back off from the puppet.

"I hate it too. If you stay put, it'll be over faster." He'd say as if he were some kind of sadistic doctor. Of course, he'd notice the slow arm coming closer, and he'd let Shin grab it, only to have it come off like some kind of gag. He was mocking his opponent, as any arrogant psychopath like him would. "Hah, fell for the ol' fake hand joke? Ain't that a kick in the head?" the electrical shock stopped for a moment, leaving Shin's body a break, but as he'd say 'Head', the detached arm would eject itself to Shin's face. Due to it being a chakra thread doing this, the speed of the arm wouldn't be very big, but it would surely serve as a great distraction for the backhand bitchslap the puppet would deliver to Shin as its other hand kept his arm locked. "... Or should I say, PUNCH!" he'd jokingly say, bad jokes all around.

The sudden attack from the detached arm would normally do little to nothing, thanks to the Crystal Armor. But the immediately prior electrocution had weakened it, allowing it to slam into his face and knock Shin back slightly. "Now you're just being rude," Shin joked, spitting out some blood on the ground. The slap from the puppet was minor compared to the brunt of the metal arm colliding with his jaw. But what was important was the lapse in the electric current. Shin's muscles weren't fully functioning, but he got some of his strength and speed back. Enough to forcefully rip away from the puppet and take a few steps back. Hopefully it couldn't zap him from range, but Shin didn't count that out as a possibility just yet.

"That toy is kicking my ass," Shin commented with a chuckle, holding his left hand out toward the puppet. "That thing just doesn't want to shut down. But I guess that's my fault. I've been going about this the wrong way." Shin curled his hand in as if he was holding an invisible pole. "Crystal Bow." A longbow of crystal formed in his left hand, before a crystal arrow formed already notched. His right hand reached forward and grabbed the thin crystal string, which was oddly flexible, and drew the arrow. Before he could release it, he dropped to his knees. The sudden change of trajectory would hopefully get the arrow past the puppet by shooting under it, directly at Gozoboro this time. The arrow, normal in size and shape, flew faster than his shuriken had prior. Gotcha.

Pulling back his sucker punching arm to its rightful socket, Gozoboro was back in one piece (Yohoho). Shin had started to use another one of his crystal techniques, this time a bow and arrow. It seemed pretty obvious what he'd do with it, so Gozoboro simply maintained his puppet, however what he didn't anticipate was the slight change in angle. The speed of the arrow would make it too hard for the puppet to intervene in time and Gozoboro was too focussed on his puppet to react accordingly. As such, an arrow pieced his thigh, stopping mid way byt coming out clean. A moment of silent occured as the man remained on both his feet, possibly shocked or angered.

Suddenly, a laugh of mockery took over as his ripped jeans revealed his leg being just as much flesh as his arm was. "Hah. Hahahahaha! Nice try, artsy boy. But." He'd rip out the crystal projectile from his steel leg and let it decompose as he broke it with his own metal hand. He'd then hurl his Puppet to assault Shin with both arms extended and fully bladed, ready to chop him up. "It wasn't good enough!"

In retrospect, this isn't so surprising, Shin thought, letting the Crystal Bow in his hands disperse into particles. Of course his legs would also be metal. Shin had to jump back when the puppet came after him in full assault mode. Still would've loved to make him bleed out or something. Hardly done a thing to him yet I can still feel the static shock of his last attack. Shin jumped away again once the puppet caught up, once again putting even more distance between himself and Gozoboro.

Then an idea came to mind. Shin jumped back one more time, to get the maximum distance from the man. The puppet approached, prepared to slice or shock him to death. But Shin then proceeded to dive under it, taking a few glancing cuts to his back that his Crystal Armor was able to protect against. He came out of the dive with a roll, getting back on his feet with the puppet behind him and Gozoboro in front of him. Now there was nothing between him and his opponent. "I think I'd rather fight you than your puppet." A smirk formed on his face as he dashed forward at max speed, determined to reach Gozoboro before his puppet could return. As he ran, crystal blades formed from his forearms, like bladed tonfas. "Let's see exactly how much of you is robot!" At the right distance, Shin leapt forward with a spin, intending to slice through his foe's midsection a few times. Without his puppet to absorb the blow, Shin was gunning that this attack would deal serious damage. The puppet might keep going after being ripped apart, but maybe Gozoboro wouldn't share that trait.

Gozoboro's smirk disappeared when his assault missed. Of course, his puppet would now be behind Shin which opened other opportunities, but now the puppet master was exposed which didn't make him too happy. While his fully functional hand manipulated the puppet, his broken one took the opportunity to release its blades as well in preparation to the upcoming attack. His blades were evidently inferior to the Crystals, which is why he needed the Puppet's intervention right away.

He attempted to block the bladed tonfas as best as he could with his superior strength and steel arm, but it would be a very weak attempt to give himself more time. Luckily, Shin would be in a position where he'd have to either risk a decisive hit on Gozoboro or dodge the assault from the puppet which would more than likely end this fight.

The teenager known as Topaz let out a shout of effort, almost like a warcry, as his blades clashed with Gozoboro's. His Jade Crystal Blade technique was sturdy, and broke the inferior blades almost instantly when the two men pushed against each other. And with Gozoboro's blades broken, nothing stopped Shin as he made a full spin past the man. The first slice passed through his upper midsection, around the ribs and lungs area, while the second was lower, around the kidneys. As Shin had anticipated, his torso was not covered with metal.

But as Shin landed and slid to a halt, blood dripping from the blades on his arms, the puppet caught up and crashed into his back. The impact alone knocked him forward and stole his balance, but the blades mostly bounced off Shin's skin. Mostly. Shin's smug grin turned into a look of pain and shock as he began to feel slices and cuts raking into him. The armor's thin. I don't have enough chakra to make it thick again. The damn thing's chipping away at it. He tried to bounce away and get his distance from the puppet again, so that it could start attacking a less exposed portion of his armor. Shin hadn't even checked Gozoboro yet, having been distracted by the pressing matter of a homicidal puppet trying to filet him.

The double hit shocked Gozoboro pretty badly, the damage done prior to this clash had made his arm too weak to react successfully to such an assault. This forced Gozoboro to stumble backwards, but as he would seem to fall over, his eyes opened and filled with rage. He planted his right foot a meter behind him to keep his balance and manipulated his chakra threads to lock the puppet's members on Shin's body, an arm binding an arm, a leg on a leg, etc. The older man was bleeding, but he still had strength in him unlike Shin. Now, all he had to do was make his puppet explode before the intense blood loss would knock him out. It was a question of seconds, slowly forming the kai hand seal on his left hand to finally activate the explosives on every member on the puppet's body and send Shin right to hell. "Die... Artsy Boy!" he'd say with his mouth filled with blood and bubbling with it. He was fatally hit in the lungs, making it appear particularly severe.

The puppet suddenly latched onto him, binding his arms and legs. "Shit," escaped from Shin as he made a brief struggle. For a mostly destroyed puppet it was able to hold him fairly well. When he looked over to Gozoboro it was clear the man refused to die instantly, and he appeared to be making a handseal. No. Nuh-uh. I am not dying like this. I'm not dying at all! Shin's face contorted in rage before letting out a warcry. Bolstering his morale and gathering his remaining strength, he managed to overpower the puppet and break free from it's grip.

With a parting slice, as the Jade Crystal Blades were still active on his arms, Shin jumped towards his opponent for one final attack. His anger was yet to die down, a fire burning in his eyes. "You die!" His right blade came down in a vertical slash, severing the man's last functioning hand. Before his mometum could fail him, he spun counter-clockwise and passed his left blade across the man's neck. With a blade as strong as his crystals it cleaved clean through his spine, completely decapitating the man. It was only after Shin slowed down and took a few breaths did he begin to understand what he just did to save himself.

The puppet was motionless on the floor, notably not where it was when he last saw it. It probably had attempted to catch him before he could reach Gozoboro but effectively died at the same time as its owner. The bloody crystals across his arms disintegrated, sparkling dust and splattering the blood that was on them previously. The Crystal Armor that had survived so far also shattered into particles. That guy... Shin could feel the blood dripping down his back from the slices and cuts the puppet had given him. He couldn't feel the burn from the earlier explosion anymore, but that could just be his head messing with him. He had sustained injuries since, after all, and the more recent ones would stand out in his mind.

After looking over his shoulder in a futile attempt to see how damaged he truly was, he looked over to Fujitora and the rest of the team. His angry look finally disappeared and was replaced by his usual cheeky grin. "Too easy," he joked, to break the silence, before giving them a thumbs up. "Gahahaha! The winner is me!" He began walking out of the ring, assuming the forcefield had deactivated once the fight concluded, laughing the entire way. He left a small trail of blood droplets and bloody footsteps as he walked, but he seemed almost completely oblivious to his pain. "Did you see that toy hit me in the face? I don't think I could've made that up in my head if I tried!"

"The winner, contestant number 2!" Shouted the announcer as the field some how cleaned itself and appeared good as new, no blood or dust. Leaving five minutes for the people to get over what just happened, the next battle would take place, opposing a female nin and a short man in his 50's. The battle didn't last long as a cloud of smoke shrouded most of it, and a few seconds later the older man's head would fly off the cloud. The winner was contestant number 3, and Shin's next opponent after the first rounds. She'd give him a little wink before returning to her bench with the rest of her comrades. Well, what was left, Gozoboro was her teammate after all. Bloodlust would be a strong factor in Shin's battle, it would seem.

"Next battle! Contestant number 5 and 6!" The two magic orbs would locate those fighters. One would be over a bald man with his eyes constantly closed and tatoos littering half his face. The second orb would be over Jaakuna's head, he was contestant number 6.

[Partisan]

Yamato Minamoru, “Young Master”

Pound Cake

---

Yamato wasn't impressed with Tsukiko - not that he had ever been - and simply grinned as soon as she closed off the little cave. His foot swayed from side to side as he had sat down again. It almost touched the wall every time as space was limited, but Yamato was quite content sitting there. “Nananana..” he said, mimicking Tsukiko's yammering. “If I hated you you'd be dead already, whiny bitch..” A few more minutes passed as Yamato relaxed in the little hole, putting a hand behind his head to support him, swaying his foot side to side. In what seemed like an hour, the bombs finally went off. Slowly Yamato would reach up, getting himself as straight as the little room would allow him to. He yawned and stretched slightly, before reaching back with his fist. With a simple punch he smashed through the wall.

As he reached through he looked over the giant canyon, spotting quite large quantities of Yakuza running towards his location while others were more focussed on the advance attack of Nobunaga. For a moment Yamato took the time to inhale deeply as he stepped back into the little hole that Tsukiko had made him. Forming seals rapidly as he felt his back hit the wall, he suddenly lunged forwards with a few steps, before jumping very high into the sky, headed straight for the enemy group that was running away to cover the escape with the scroll.

After thinking logically, Yamato figured the scroll would be in the center to form a protective cell around it. As such he'd destroy the outer layers first. Following his handseals he proclaimed the jutsu name, which would cause many Yakuza nin, thugs and would-be samurai to look up above to only see a black shadow falling towards them. “KATON! Gōka Messhitsu!” The 'shadow' the Yakuza saw, that was actually Yamato, suddenly lit up as a torrent of highly focussed fire was spewed out towards them in a constant stream, and as Yamato adjusted his head to form a circle of attack around the center of the group, the fire followed suit. It formed a circle around the center of the Yakuza cell, eliminating most if not all of the protectors of the scroll. It was now up to Tsukiko to take advantage of this.

With a heavy thud! Yamato landed in the deserty canyon, pushing up a wave of sand dust around him as a result of his landing. As he raised himself up again he flicked back his wrists behind him and engulfed them in fire. It caused the entire area nearby to slowly dim as the light of his technique was so bright making everything else appear darker. He turned towards the defenders of the scroll that were still running towards him. After all, it's better to run at an enemy you can beat, than to run into a canyon of possibly more traps.

The first man he met, a scruffy looking man with a black beard, attempted to hook Yamato. He simply ducked under the attack and rammed his flmaing fist into the Yakuza's stomach, ending his attack prematurely and half way into the strike. The man pummeled over making way for the next guy, a blonde with combed hair who seemed to be some low-level shinobi of sorts as he formed handseals and suddenly poofed into three clones. With rapid movements Yamato closed in, extending both arms sideways and clotheslining the two outer clones before he moved his arms forwards and hammer struck the middle man, who also poofed away into a cloud.

“Ofcourse. The real one is above. How basic.” Yamato uttered as he looked up to see a black shadow descending onto him. Rather than dodge, Yamato simply swung his hand up to grab the man by the shoulder. In the process of doing that he got a very, very deep cut in his own shoulder as the man slashed him with his katana. Yamato barely flinched, only the blood showing he was wounded. It was in total relation to Yamato's normal strategy of taking the hits in order to deal damage. With a rapid movement he turned his body and slammed the man into the ground by his shoulder, ending in a large sandy crater as the man laid there before being covered slightly with sand that slid back into the hole.