Fandom The Village Hidden in the Leaves

[AtlannianSpy]

Hotaru Hagano
-Team 7-

​

"You've got to be joking," said Wakaba rather brusquely, in response to Kuren's suggestion. "I'm not going anywhere without my research or my daughter, Hotaru it's too soon for something like this. I'm not letting you throw your life away. The house isn't close to the village center or any other important areas, with the lights off and the curtains drawn it won't attract any attention and we can wait for the situation to resolve itse-"

"Mother!" Hotaru interrupted suddenly. Her voice was seemingly calm but higher pitched than normal and it had a strange, almost brittle quality to it. In fact a careful listener could detect the same, brittle quality in Wakaba's voice as well.

"We don't know who these people are or what they want, they may very well want to burn the whole village down in which case nowhere is safe. You need to be outside of the village and... I can't come with you," Hotaru paused and took a deep breath, fortifying herself before continuing. "I want to be a ninja and prove to everyone the value of your, or our research/ This is a part of that I can't runaway from so-"

With that Hotaru broke off to weave some handseals and a moth clone appeared, stepping forward to take her mother by the hand rather firmly.

"This clone is going to take you out of the village using subterranean voyage and some moths to detect and avoid any trouble. It'll be slow going and a little messy but you'll be safe. Once you're outside of the village you can proceed on foot the next town over and find somewhere to stay. I'll come find you in the morning,"

There was a brief silence as Wakaba pressed her hand into her face, rubbing her temples with her thumb and two fingers. Then abruptly crouched down to envelop her daughter in a fierce hug. "You always exceed my expectations. No you're growing up far more quickly than I could have imagined." she whispered in Hotaru's ear, before letting her go and standing up to look at all three of the genin sternly.

"Stick together, take care of yourselves and each other and don't do anything reckless. You're the future of this village so your job is to survive until you can reach your full potential as much as it is to protect us."

With that and a final, quick hug Wakaba allowed herself to be lead away by the clone and Hotaru turned back to her squadmates, biting her lip.

"Alrighty! Genius plan time. I've had moths scouting the area around us while we were talking. There's chakra signatures all over the place, spiking rapidly in a manner that suggests fighting. I can't tell who's who though, my moths can only recognize a few specific chakra signatures that I've taught them to, you two, Makorama, Mom and a couple of others. Even if I could figure out who was an enemy and who was friendly the further out I spread my moths the more of a time lag I get while they transfer messages back to me. If I try to cover the whole village or even a wide area inside of it then I won't be able to accurately track the fighting.

That being said, If I limit myself to an area like the couple of blocks around us I can do a bit better and while I can't be sure, I can probably pick out civilians. Ninjas will be moving quickly and purposefully, probably in small groups while civiliansn will be hiding in buildings or running around aimlessly. Between me and Ashi, we can be aware of anyone coming towards us, we could either set up traps and ambushes or we could focus on guiding civilians away from them and out of the village. We could even do some of both I guess.

Hotaru's eyes flicked over to the window sill where a moth suddenly landed and began flapping its wings to communicate. "Our other option is to head straight for Makorama Sensei's location and try to link up with him. I sent a couple of moths ahead to check if he was at the Senju compound since it seemed like the most obvious place to check first. It looks like I was right but that's almost on the other side of the village, to stand a chance of getting through we'd need to be careful,"

Hanarei
loyalwolf

 

[Ganryu]

Mai Sanada - Squad Six
​

Mai roared at Hideki's orders before her body faded to black. She reappeared infront of the mist nin, a sweeping kick aimed at his torso. The man blocked with the flat of his blade, though the force was enough to knock him back.

"HOW DARE YOU! A WAR IS A SHOW OF STRENGTH! WHERE'S THE STRENGTH IN THIS!?"

Mai was far from calm. Even the though the ninja was probably stronger than her, probably outranked her, Mai flew at him. She dove at him with a flurry of blows. Thrusts with her wheel met his blade, and chops with her right arm met against his. Everything she knew about being a ninja was being challenged. She'd normally be concerned about a fair fight. At this moment though, she just wanted him dead.

The bright side about Mai's rage was she currently had no objection to help from her teammates. The dark side was Hideki and Aiko were currently completely forgotten by Mai. The whole situation of she was currently blinding attacking a ninja much stronger than her was also forgotten. For Mai, the only important thing was the next blow. Then the next blow. Then the next blow....

 

[yoshua171]

Nisekuru, KoutakuTeam 3
Konoha - Miso-Madhouse​

One moment things were calm and they were having a normal conversation after a mildly stressful exam, and the next Konoha was under attack.

Screams, explosions, panic. At the first sign of them, Koutaku channeled chakra, and a kunai was in his hand instantly. His first three thoughts were simple. What's going on; where is Umichi-san; I need to get to my parents.

He moved to depart, then remembered himself. He was only a chuunin-to-be. Who knew who had decided to attack the village. He turned to his teammates, the expression on his face serious. There was no fear about him, which they might find odd seeing as this ought to have been the first time any of them had ever been in a truly precarious situation.

“I don't know what's going on exactly, but we need to find Umichi,” and I need to find my parents, he didn't say. He felt he'd be safest with his parents, but he also knew that they wouldn't want to break their cover.... So Umichi was the next best thing, plus his team ought to stay together. If there were dangerous shinobi running around, then they'd have better chances dealing with them as a squad, than alone.

It was moments like this where he really wished he was a sensor nin.

“We need to get to higher ground, see if we can see Umichi sensei fighting. Her style is pretty distinctive, I think we can recognize it from a distance. Plus, we'll be able to get a better look at what's going on. It'll let us plot a course to a safer location. If we can meet up with any of the other squads then we'll all be better off for it.”

He glanced between them, waiting for their input to see if they had anything to add. He hoped it wouldn't take long.

The clock was ticking.

Spemout Retro-Grey

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Aiko Uchiha
Squad 6​

Before any of them could gain their bearings, one of the attackers seemingly appear out of nowhere, attacking Hideki! Aiko momentarily froze in place, as she watched her teammates block a blade with his shield. Before he even shouted for she and Mai's help, Aiko had already grabbed her katana.

"Dangit Mai..." Aiko muttered. The crazy girl put their enemy on the defensive, throwing punch after punch. Knowing she wouldn't be able to move in fast enough to strike, Aiko brought her hands together and formed a single handsign.

Ice Release: Ice Sword Technique

Above Aiko, a straight sword made of ice formed in an instant, before soaring towards the enemy ninja's torso. Aiko focused her gaze on him, her eyes unblinking. Mai wouldn't get hit by the sword if she didn't jump in the way. She wouldn't, right?

Aiko's hands still formed the handsign. About ten feet behind this enemy ninja, another ice sword had formed, and was soaring at the ninja as well. This one was being directed towards the chest. Aiko wasn't holding back, but she was being wary of her teammates. Mai was off of her leash, and Hideki was in top form. Dragging them down wasn't an option.

Teamwork was a nessesity here. This wasn't about impressing their sensei. This was about survival.

 

[Hanarei]

​

Ashi looked on quietly, noticeable at her general confusion about the situation. As tough as she might like to act, it was hard not to be thrown off at the sound of explosions as it seemed chaos was breaking out in the village as an attack was going on. There was a point with it was hard even for someone headstrong like Ashi to keep her tough girl composure, not at least until she could focus her mind. She looked to Kuren as she nodded a bit, stumbling to look for things to pack up. Her attention hadn't lasted long though.

The girl looked on quietly pausing as she watched Hotaru and her mother. A look of simple admiration filled her face, keeping her eyes locked on watching their reaction. Her voice was just left lost keeping quiet. She couldn't help but wonder about her own mother and how she was. Ashi always tended to speak up against her mother... always rebelling against her and being a bit of a brat. Despite that, she cared about her mother. Seeing how the two interacted made Ashi worry her own mother. Hopefully her mother was alright, along with the rest of the Inuzuka clan. As much of an outcast she might be, she still worried about her clan... much of her own behavior in truth her way of trying to gain recognition and acceptance. She shook her head, shaking off her more 'lost' expression.

"We are trained Shinobi! It is our job to protect the village! We should save all the citizens we can where we are, and kick the butt of any who get in our way if we have-ta!" She spoke smashing her fist into her hand putting on a confident bravado once again, showing off her teeth in a wide grin. "Sensei might be an idiot jerk, but he can protect himself. We can do stuff ourselves as a team and get people safe, then meet up with him after and kick more butt!" She a bit simplistic in her own form of planning. While she wouldn't admit it, Hotaru and Wakaba's interaction had swayed Ashi to worry more about the villagers, putting aside her normally feisty and willing to fight attitude to the side for at least a moment.

AtlannianSpy loyalwolf

 

[Orikanyo]

Hideki Ukita
Squad 6
​

With the sudden inclusion of Mai, and now ice swords, the flurry of impacts caused the ninja to be beaten, sliced and impaled.

Good work team, you did the guy in.

Hideki lept back from the now thoroughly dead man and turned his attention to the others. "mai, Aiko, are you okay?' he asked before looking again to the dead ninja. "...Wait a second... thats..." he was taken aback, ignoring the two for but a moment. "Thats a kirigakure headband..." he knelt down and took a closer look. there was no doubt, it was in fact another village ninja that had just attacked them. Could it be that the village was under attack by another village? But he could swear he heard nothing about ongoing hostilities!

Why Kirigakure?

Or was this some sort of attack to seize territory?

What would merit such destruction? Was the squad in the exam just a trick to keep Konoha thinking they were still friends?

What a damn mess....

But he didn't have time to think about this, his squad needed him, and he has a crazed Mai to deal with. "Mai! listen to me we have to remain calm, remember our training if we don't keep our heads on we're going to die! Do you hear me?" that was a dumb question, she was off her damn rocker, he had to bring her back to the situation or she'll go off and get herself killed. But what could he could to calm her down?

Hes never really was able to before, maybe trying something new?

Maybe....

No, definitly not that, no matter what those fairy tales say about kissing to remove curses he was not doing that.. Unless he had to.

Closest thing was a hug so...

"Come on Mai, snap out of it." he slipped into her guard and brought her close, which was less enjoyable as one might think as it was more akin to hugging a rabid dog than a friend hes known for a long time. "Come on, stay with us Mai." he attempted to soothe the beast, hoping she wouldn't struggle to get away.. or worse... Return the hug to strongly and snap his spine.

 

[Spemout]

Kaida- Squad Three

As she processed everything, Kaida began strapping on her claws without hesitation.

At first, Kaida's mind was nothing but pure rage, which was obvious due to the amount of killing intent flowing off of her and her tensed muscles. However, as she started getting tunnel vision, she recalled her father's words, and something snapped into place in her head. She visibly relaxed, and the killing intent went away entirely.

Kaida's mind, where it was raging like a roaring fire, was now possessed by a cold, deadly determination. She was angry, yes, but she wasn't letting it control her.

"Koutaku, Kiyoshi, let's move."

She started moulding her chakra the specific way she was taught, and she didn't lose control.

yoshua171 Retro-Grey

 

[Orikanyo]

Mama Bear(Ko) Vs The Tree Hugger(Mako)

On her third stop on her shopping spree, the woman gazed at the sheet of paper she held in her armored hands. “Hey boss is this the place!?” yelled one of her grunts who was currently carrying an Inuzuka puppy, which was more than happy to lick his face clean.


“Hmm, not fully sure… I don’t think I've ever heard of the Senju… they're the guys who play with sticks, right?" Ko rose an eyebrow, trying to remember what the Senju were about. She had been spending the whole day looting place after place, she really couldn’t keep all that was said during the briefing in her mind.


“Alright boys, those who have goods shove off, those who don’t with me! We’re after-” she checked her shopping list one last time “-The scrolls? Seriously? Jeeze.” Ko scoffed, looking obviously bored with the thought of lugging away scrolls.


“Scrolls? Aww man…”


“Our clients are total nerds, dood.”


“Is anybody else gonna help me eat this ice cream?’


“Alright guys, calm down, let's get this party started here and have it over with. We got a few other places to hit still and I sure as hell don’t want to stick around too long.” The woman sighed as a couple of her group split off into some nearby alleys and roads as a large part of her section stayed with her. “In we go, wonder if anybody is home~!" Ko chimed, walking towards the front doorway.


“I haven’t seen you around the village. What’s your business here?” The voice came from atop the building, a figure masked by the night standing valiantly still. His cloak blew in the slight breeze and he quickly brought his hand forward to point at the woman. “I won’t ask this a third time; what’s your business here?” His voice was a lot more projected than before. It carried an apprehension towards the woman before the building’s doors.


Ko stopped and creased an eyebrow, was somebody yelling at her. Looking up and spotting the man yelling down towards her she felt almost like she was in a manga or something. Was this guy seriously standing on a rooftop with a cloak billowing in the wind?


“...Uhh… hey boss... Is that the protagonist?”


“Fuck if I know.”


“Does that mean we’re the evil guys?!”


“Nah, more like the beautiful vixen and her band of misfits.” She corrected as the grunt stepped back. Ko cleared her throat to bring her voice louder, as her crowd of merry men(and women) backed off, sensing something coming on… or maybe fearing the might of the protagonist.


“My business here is my own, though if you had a lick of a brain in your head you’d know who I am and piss yourself where you stand!” She may as well put on the theatrics now, he clearly was. “I’m Ko Amatsu of the Akai Kyoudai, Bringer of Destruction and Thief of Hearts!!” With a flourish, she brought out a cute cheer in her voice, a wink and a point directly at the weird shadowy guy.


“Who you are does not matter to me,” He said almost immediately after Ko had spoken. He jumped down from the building and landed in front of the woman. “Whether you’re a leader or a thief, you’d be smart enough to turn around.” The man’s steely blue eyes bore into the woman before him, studying her. If she was who she said she was, then Mako would have to play it smart against her. He couldn’t take the situation lightly tonight.


“Dude, he totally has to be the protag.”


Ko crossed her arms before her standing across from the man with a defiant stance. “Smart, huh? Like you being smart and fighting back here when the front line needs you? Or did you come home just to meet me?” A smirk popped onto her face once more. “Though, I would’ve preferred Umi-chan… We had so much fun last time, I wonder how she's doing…”


“I only came back to make sure my clan had evacua– wait, ‘Umi-chan’?” The man became confused by the name, it took a bit of time but he pieced together some sliver of an idea. But he wanted to be sure. “Was Umi-chan wearing a kimono?”


“A rather beautiful one, with pins in her hair and such rage in her eyes… And on the tongue.” Her smile deepened into a devilish grin. “She certainly walked away from that fight with a notch under her belt…” She giggled slightly remembering it as if it were yesterday.


“But then again… Who am I to kiss and tell~! Ohohohoh~!” Her laugh echoed through the air as chaos reigned all around behind her, her grunts silent and watching the fight, it was obvious this was a common occurrence.


“Leave now, this is my first and final warning.”The man dug his right foot into his ground and steeled his gaze further. His hand reached into the pouch that lay around his waist and on his back. “As much as I wish for you to ignore my heeding, I can’t say that the fight will be productive. Leave now while your clothes are– I mean dignity is intact.”


“Ohohoh~! Jealous are we? Umi-chan got a bit of action and suddenly all the Leaf boys come begging for me to give them the same treatment… Let me tell you this: you step outta the way, let my boys through and I’ll give you something nice to remember me by.” The catty grin continued to widen. “I’ll have you singing like a choir boy… Hmm, say… you never told me your name, tsk tsk tsk, awfully rude. Not a very nice way to treat a lady now.” She wagged a finger towards the man before resting her hands on her belt. She stood tall, all but ready for whatever punch he was going to throw first.


“If this were any other situation, things would be a lot different. But as my father once told me…” The man jumped into the air and back onto the roof of the building. He had three explosive tags between the knuckles in his right hand. He threw them straight into the air, forming 6 signs in rapid succession right after.


Water-Release: Water Dragon-Bullet


“Scatter boys!” Ko yelled as she swiftly performed her own jutsu, stomping upon the ground and causing a great stone wall to appear from underneath her, shooting herself up into the air and taking off her sheathed sword.


Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall


“Let the fun begin!” She roared, finally! The guy just wouldn’t shut up!


Neither did she, but still!


The man jumped out of the path of the woman’s destruction as he began building up chakra in his mouth. He quickly brought a kunai out from his tool pouch and lowered his body, building up tension in his legs.


Ko began to twist in the air, building up momentum before lashing out with the chained sheathed sword towards Mako. “No running from me boy!” The hurled object searing towards the man at breakneck speeds only told of the woman’s primal strength.


Just dodging the attack sent shivers down the man’s spine. His body had moved at the last second and was only mere inches away from being impacted by the strike. But before the weapon could impact the roof, the man grabbed what he could of the chain and attempted to pull her towards him.


And so we see the shinobi equivalent of jumping directly into the path of an oncoming truck. For indeed, Mako did pull Ko closer, much closer. For as he pulled, the sword did not stop, its unnatural weight carried it forward regardless of the man's efforts.


With a few swift signs, the woman, now coated in a thick, strange covering of stone plummeted towards Mako with a very intense speed, colliding with the man... and then the roof... then the support beams within the roof... and then finally onto/into the floor.


Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique


Papers flew through the air, disturbed and torn as the woman rose up from her crater in the floor. “Whew, dumb move there, but can’t blame ya for not knowing about my baby here.” She tugged the chain, bringing the sheathed blade to her hand once more, swinging it around as if it were but a feather. “Now then… Where is that guy? Maybe he knows where the shrine is…”


The man was out of the woman’s sight behind a far-off bookcase, it didn’t matter if she found him now, he had already finished the three seals needed for his jutsu.


Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique


From his body spawned a spitting image of himself, the clone ran off into another direction while the man began utilizing his wood release as discreetly as possible. From beneath the feet of his enemy, thick roots would begin to sprout. All with the intent of holding her in place.


Meanwhile, the clone had performed a jutsu of his own.


Wood Release: Transformation


He quickly assumed the identity of one of her lackeys, even going as far as mimicking the attendant's voice. The clone then quickly ran out from where they were hiding and addressed the woman clad in armor.


“Hey boss, did you take care of that weird guy yet?”


“Not quite yet, seems he's still running about.” The woman attempted a step forward before smirking down at the roots' feeble attempts to hold her still. Using chakra enhanced strength she ripped them away, continuing unhindered. “Cheap tricks don’t keep me pinned… Wood release, eh?” She snorted, proceeding to the next problem on her plate.


“That said…. I thought I told you to never come up to me when I’m fighting, boy.” Ko's face suddenly shifted from a soft smile to a fierce scowl as she reached up and snatched the grunt by the neck. “Because you never know who's your friend in the heat of battle… You remember that rule, don’t you?” The intense glare coming from her could make the devil flinch.


But in the end, she pushed him aside. “Now get lost, I need to find that shrine. It has to be around here somewhere.” She began to trot off down a hall. “I better not see you in my way again or I’ll kick your worthless ass! Now, where’d that wood boy go? If he went off to save his friends elsewhere he’s smarter than I thought, only an idiot leaves his allies high and dry like this... “ she grumbled as she opened up a sliding door, breaking it in the process. “...Scrolls? Bah… Can’t believe I have to haul these things…”


“But Boss!” The grunt yelled back to her, an emergence of wood shooting from his arm at an extreme velocity and began to violently wrap around her body in an attempt to pull her in.


Wood Release: Great Forest Technique


Meanwhile, Mako had been able to collect what he deemed a suitable amount of chakra. With Ko preoccupied, he made his way atop a bookcase and let out an immense amount of what looked like water from his mouth onto the floor between her and the clone.


“Shit,” she grunted, planting a foot down to create a strong foothold against the pulling jutsu. “You are seriously wasting my time!” She barked at the man as the power struggle continued between the two. But once again, she would not be bound.


With loud creaks and moans from her bindings, she tore herself free with impressive strength and leapt into a different room from the duo, out of sight.


From behind cover, some noises could be heard, odd noises that sounded akin to churning earth and stone.... Before more sounds of wood bursting could be heard! For from the wall came three Kos, rushing towards the revealed Man.


All three spoke in unison. “Come on boy! Play with us!” They rushed forwards ready to pummel the man with fists of enclosed steel as they plowed through objects on their way to him.


Due to the properties of the jutsu, the Jounin was able to control the substance that he had created. It reversed course in an attempt to grab hold of the women barreling through the building. It did its best to slither underneath the trio’s feet as it kept on their heels.


The sticky syrup would slow them down enough for him to get some distance between them. Mako didn’t look back as he ran towards his clone, both of them flickering away and out of sight.


“Jeez… that woman is insane,” He was just barely mouthing the words, while the clone watched him. The man shook his head and performed the clone jutsu once more. Two more versions of him popped up, totaling four altogether. The man had a very limited amount of time but he was quick about what he was planning.


He touched the two new clones and they began to morph smaller and smaller until they were in the form two kunai. The man then performed the same jutsu his original clone had used and transformed himself into a kunai as well. The remaining clone gathered them all in his hand.


“That syrup should slow them down, enhanced strength or not.”


The trio continued their march through the building, quite literally. From one room to another, they burst through the walls with little to no resistance. Save for a falling support beam that nearly crushed one of them.


“Getting really really tired of this! Come out or we break down the whole building!” They yelled in unison, keeping an eye on the creeping… Sticky… mass. As one did that, the other two took up a nearby bookcase and hurtled it into a nearby wall, breaking both upon impact.


“Come on yea piece of shit, come on out and- the… hell is this?" One of the clones stopped to look at one of the scrolls that came fluttering by her.


“...A story or something? Looks like there's a writer in the household.”


“Who cares! Probably just some stupid wannabe writer’s work.”


“You think these are what the nerds want?”


“Pfft, as if, mediocre quality if anything, let's toss another bookcase, see if that flushes him out.” The duo who threw the earlier one braced against another and readied to toss it at a nearby support beam, aiming to collapse the roof on the nearby rooms.


“Destruction for destruction's sake, even if you are clones, definitely still me.” The scroll holder tossed away said scroll.


“I’ll have you know that my books are beloved beyond the Land of Fire!” The man yelled to the trio as he landed a ways away from them. He held the three disguised kunai in one hand, the other moving to form the sign of confrontation.


The three were about to come into an opening and the substance was still following them. He had to play this smart.


“All of them are instant classics, and tales of my capabilities. But then again, I don’t think a brute like you could pick up a book if you wanted to, let alone read it.” The man smirked at his own comment, his next move was reckless, but he needed to make sure that he didn’t shy away from his foe.


“More like you jerking off onto a page," the more talkative of the three snorted in disgust, "don’t make me laugh. If you have any real power, go ahead and show it ya damn fool!” She shouted as the other two threw the bookcase. A terrible groan rose in the evening air as the roof began to collapse under its own weight.


The three rushed forwards to take down the jonin as the world became a rumbling mess of falling wood and building parts.


The man smirked as the syrup raced between the trio and made its way into the space that separated the two enemies. The substance rose into the air before crashing down like a wave before the girls. Mako jumped back, throwing down the kunai as he was in the air. The transformed clones and original began to ready themselves to transform back as they raced towards the trio.


“Let this name ring true in your ears! Makorama The Valiant Senju is going to take you down!”


The trio stood their ground, placing their hands together in a prayer position as the wave came crashing down upon them, covering them in the sicky, viscous goop. Immobilized the trio could do nothing but await what was coming next!


The three kunai soared past the trio, most likely because of Mako’s lack of aim when he moves around. The kunai in the middle poofed out of its transformation just to catch the remaining two and throw them back at their intended targets. While the Kunai flew back, they began morphing back into the form of Mako.


In unison, the trio of the jonin performed the same jutsu as they landed behind the three ladies. They clapped their hands and then stuck out their palm. The sticky goop began shaping itself into three spheres, each intended to hold a vixen inside.


Water Release: Water Prison Technique


The world stood still as the three stood strong, even within the watery prisons, living statues who all looked like the same woman, but who was the real one? In truth it mattered little, for as the dust finally settled and the thick goop encompassed their whole bodies, getting deep into every nook and crevice in the armor…


All three of the trio had turned to stone.


Rock Clone Technique


The chakra within each of the clones focused inside, taking away the life that was gifted to them not moments prior and focusing on one point within their bodies; a large spherical explosive. And while the fresh coating of icky sticky goop would soften the blow, three along with various shrapnel was more than enough to cause heavy damage to the surrounding area. The clones and Mako included if he wasn’t smart enough to get away.


[Meanwhile behind the Senju compound.]


“Hmm.. I wonder if they're done fighting yet?" Ko wondered as she rummaged around the hidden shrine in the back, looking for her prize. The shrine was a relatively peaceful place, untouched for a great deal of time, save for now Ko and various bits of the house that had crashed this far from the first impact into the house.


Finding a boulder in front of a stonewall she examined the various markings on it, symbols of warning, some for sealing away the object within, all hanging off a large bound rope tied fully around the boulder blocking the way. Of course, it wasn’t in her nature to care about such things. So with a quick caber toss, she hurled the boulder back towards the Senju compound, adding yet another accouterment to the destroyed rooftop.


Walking into the dusty cave she spotted her mark, an interesting looking staff that was bound with many tags and ropes, more worthless warnings and such she didn’t care about. With a swift pull and a tug, she uprooted the staff from its standing place and set off to leave the compound.


A job well done.


Mako groaned as he slowly stood and moved out of the thick cloud of dust. The wooden dome he'd formed had managed to protect him from most of the blast, but the chunks of roofing not blown away? He wasn't seriously injured, but damn if he wasn't going to feel that in the morning.


All three of them had ended up being clones, but the real Ko had to be close. And he had a strong suspicion on where she'd run off to. “Pops never told me that it was a shrine…” He muttered under his breath as he studied the once closed off cave.


Ko examined the nine rings of the Shakujou staff, while old it was still quite sturdy, and made a pleasant jingle each step as she walked along with it. Did she really have to give it to the nerds? It was actually rather nice to look at, despite its lopsidedness from having nine rings.


But her thoughts were interrupted, as it seems the idiot did indeed survive mostly intact.


“Ugh, I hate guys like you, you really don’t know where to give up do you?” She pouted, dusting off the staff once more. “Well, shows over, I captured the flag and I win the game! Now get lost!” The woman growled, stamping the end of the staff upon the ground, easily shattering one of the stone tiles that lined the pathway.


She sighed, though a thought did occur to her… Since he was out here… She undid a small pocket and took out a flare, popping off the tap with a nearby rock. A long trail of purple smoke went flying into the air as she tossed it over her shoulder to the ground. “Well then, I suppose you're out here to have a final battle? Or something as stupid as that?”


“I’m here to make sure you leave disappointed… I never thought I’d hear myself say that.” Mako dug his right foot into the ground and quickly tossed his torn cloak away. His eyes flicked to watch the flare before returning to the woman standing in front of him. He didn’t hesitate any longer. At blinding speed, Mako appeared behind the woman, his back to hers as he hooked his leg around her leg and grabbed at her arm.


The woman looked at what had happened and did one... simple... thing. She fell back onto Mako, a trust fall as it were, nullifying his attempted throw and pinning him against the stony ground. Putting her full weight on him, she wiggled about as if to get comfortable. “An interesting choice, but you're not gonna beat me that easily… Now… What do you think this staff is for, hmm?” She asked, putting a bit more weight on him. “Probably something super powerful yea? Doesn’t matter much to me, I’m just being paid for delivery... And Supply, naturally.”


She held the staff up towards the sky and looked at the object. “So, still haven't told me your name. While we're here and while you try to bench press me off you, care to indulge me?”


“That’s right, your clones were the ones I told,” Mako’s hands had instinctively moved to prop the both of them up. She was getting heavier and heavier, but he only needed a few more seconds.


Wood Release: Underground Roots


Mako poured much more chakra into the jutsu than he did before, thickets of roots bursting from his back and forcing her into the air. The thickets retreated once Ko was high enough. Mako wasted little time, quickly joining her in the air.


“I’ll end this all with one blow!” Mako yelled as he twisted to face Ko, his hand morphing into a very large mace, burning through the remains of his chakra. He brought it down as hard as he could.


With a swift swing of the staff’s sharp edge the mace was cut in two, horizontally from the elbow area. And then another strike was aimed at his shoulder, looking to send him crashing to the ground. It appeared, for all the playfulness she once held, it was time to end it.


“Just a bit more time darling, don’t end it now.”


Mako interrupted the rest of what would’ve been Ko’s assault with a well-placed front kick. His foot met the wrist of Ko’s swinging arm, enabling him to push away from her and higher into the air. Although his mace was cut off, it wasn’t nearly as much damage as what could’ve been.


With the mace and Ko below him, Mako, as quickly as he could, shot off a log in the direction of the mace with intent to propel it towards the falling woman.


“Hey boss! We got the scrolls!!” a familiar voice called from the wreckage of the house. Her grunts, having got the signal to go in, made quick work of looting whatever was left from the ruin. Something they were used to as it was their job to pick up whatever they can after the boss had been through.


Several scrolls, a bonsai tree or two that the grunts thought were rather nice, several bags of whatever looked shiny and a couple art pieces lay within their grubby hands, calling to Ko as she fell.


“Finally!” She shouted back before spinning to strike the hurled log, smashing it into pieces and sending it racing back towards Mako in an array of splinters and stakes. Landing, she then tossed up several explosives, setting them off to create a thick black smokescreen.


A couple of sounds akin to footsteps later…. And the whole group had vanished. All that was left was a ruin, a looted old shrine cave, and Mako. A small card fluttered in the wind, pure white with but a simple red kiss mark in burgundy lipstick. A small note underneath it read “See you next time~!”


Mako shielded his face as the splinters rattled through the air, tearing his clothes and skinning his body. The jounin landed on the ground and panted slightly, the note fluttering onto the ground before his feet. He shivered slightly. “Pops is gonna have my ass for this.”

 

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Uchiha: Squad 4
Yuuki's mind was racing, his thoughts nothing but a jumbled mess. Was this really happening? Was the village actually under attack? Screams rang through the air in a chilling chorus, the smells of blood and fire carrying on the wind. Battle and death were just parts of a shinobi's life. It was something they'd been told many times while at the academy. But all of that, the lessons, the shinobi code, even the little test presented by Nobushige, none of that could have prepared them to face something like this. He could barely focus enough to make out what Nagisa was saying.

Until she had mentioned the Hokage's office among other locations their attackers were likely focusing on.

The Hokage... of course his father would have a big target painted on his back in all this. Take out the village's leader, shatter the morale of those trying to defend it. Sure, Hokage wasn't a title that was given away to just anyone. But that did nothing to ease the sickening feeling that had an iron grip on him.

He grasped Katsumi's shoulder as she sobbed, but couldn't say anything. Hell, he couldn't stop himself from shaking or will away the burning in his eyes. He was an Uchiha, dammit! They were looked up to as examples. He should have been taking the lead and reassuring his teammates. Instead, he was trapped in a horrified silence.

Yuuki tried to pay attention to Nagisa's words as she steeled herself and suggested they try to make it to the destroyed hospital to help. He could barely nod as she spoke. It was obvious they had to do something, protecting the village was one of their duties. "Y-yeah," He said finally, ignoring his cracking voice. "We... we need to do something a-and the Medical Corps can keep more people from dying."

Sure, he also had the selfish reason of wanting to do what he could to help his mom. But the Medical Corps were incredibly important if they actually wanted to survive this. Probably why it was one of the first places hit. Yuuki despised the thought of them even turning tail and running should trouble crop up on the way, but his teammate was right that they didn't stand much of a chance against the attackers. Especially the one that may have single-handedly brought down the entire hospital.

His grip on Katsumi's shoulder tightened as Yuuki turned to finally look at her. "Can't do this without you," he wanted to appear strong when he looked over at his badly shaken teammate. He tried, he really did. Sure, he could blame the smoke for the burning in his eyes, the tears streaking his own face. But that didn't change his still trembling form and broken voice.

Hell, he could have sworn he saw faint wisps of different colors coming off Katsumi and his hand. Stress must have really been getting to him... "Nagisa and I can't use medical ninjutsu and that strength of yours could help clear debris. Just a wasted effort if you don't come."

Regardless of their decision, they were going to have to move soon. Standing still on the rooftops wasn't the safest place to be.

AtlannianSpy InsaneAsylum

 

[Ganryu]

Mai Sanada - Squad Six
​

At the death of the enemy ninja, Mai could only shake as she looked around wildly, still in a frenzy. That ninja hadn't been strong enough to have done this horror. Where was he, where was he! Her breathing was labored, and yet she really hadn't even started yet. Before she could zero in on the next target, wherever they might be, Mai felt something warm around her. At first she roared and struggled, until it finally broke through it was Hideki.

Mai's breath slowed, and her gutteral sounds stopped. The world started to slowly set back in. She was with Aiko and Hideki, in a bloody alley, with a defeated ninja.

As Mai looked down at the thoroughly butchered ninja, Mai gasped. She'd broken one of her primary rules, and there wasn't a way to fix it now...

Everything really started to spin for Mai. Feeling dizzy, she slumped against Hideki's arms.

"... Sorry Hideki...Sorry, Aiko. J-just give me a second, I'll be good... So, what ARE we going to do? If its Kiri, they gotta be everywhere. Hiding ain't an option, I wouldn't want to anyways."

 

[loyalwolf]

Kurēn Kinoko

Team 7: search and rescue​

Kuren watched the interaction between Hotaru and Wakaba with soft eyes. He also took the word Wakaba said to heart and agreed. He did not want this to be the end of the village but more importantly, he didn’t want this to be the end of team 7. Once everything was settled with Wakaba, it was time for them to enter the hell going on outside. “We know that mako can handle himself, he shown that during our first misson. after all our sensei said he will be the next hokage. more importantly, its very unrealistic to travel across a raging battle field. I think ashi has the best idea. Our goal is to save citizens that can't make it to the escape tunnels, right now the higher ranked ninja and better fighter our focusing on defense. I'm sure you guys done want a repeat of last misson so i think this is the best way to aid in the war. Now if we encounter an enemy we need to keep the upper hand. this is our village so let use that to our advange. on top of that the three of us have some of the most unique skills out of anyone so we will use this to overwhelm our enemy. if you encounter an enemy, make them think your alone but signal use with a whistle, then you hit and run looking for a place to close them in. from there we can hit them as a team. Using our knowledge of the village against them. for now that all we can do, until we find a jonin to report to for proper instruction. Also, its best to send a message to Makorama, im going to leave that up to you hotaru. im sure your moth can deliver that message about everything we discussed.”

Kuren then pulled out one of his scrolls and summoned three little glass vials. Each had a member of team 7’s name on them. “Alright guys we need to stay in close proximenty but also cover a decent area. it best to keep all verbal talking to a minmun from here on out so communicate using hortaru’s moths. we should move block by block and use this place as base point for evacuation. ashi you will be in charge of keeping hostages out of danger. your the fastest and most agile, thus if thing get bad when we have civilians you grab them and get out of there fast. As a last resort, I’m giving you all some of the specialize feral spores. remember this is our trump card but dont forget about the drawbacks after you use it. Alright team 7 enough talking, time to get out there and save some people.”

in truth kuren wasn't sure if this was the best plan. especially since he was worried about his own family. he also felt slightly like coward taking this approach but he was scared about charging into battle. he didn't want to see his team died and if he had to, he would die so they could live. he just hoped they could sense he slight worry and they agreed with his plan. at the end of the day, he wasn't the leader and if they wanted to do something different he couldn't stop them. if they choose to be reckless then he would have no choice but to back them up but he rather they stay safe and help as many people as they could. killing enemies was something that got glory and helped get rid of anger but at the end of the day, those innocent people only want to be alive and for there love ones to survive. So kuren want to look out for them. the people who arent out there killing, who just want to live a life of peace and prosperity in the village. being lost in thought for a minuite kuren regain his composure and looked at his team with his bright green eyes. he gave them a hard nod and a bright genuine smile. he was ready for whatever came their way out there.

Kuren grabbed a strong grip of his tessen fan and his demeanor change to one of seriousness and malice. if ashi payed attention she could smell the slightest change in kuren scent. it had a mixture of adrenaline, anger and slight fear. Kuren old the door to the old house that will be the base of there operation and moved swiftly and with purpose. keeping his ears open for Hotaru or Ashi to whisle that they spotted or sensed an enemy. kuren let hotaru dictate the direction they were moving. it was best for the team to use any sideways and alleyways ways to avoid direct contact with the enemy. when kuren came upon collapsing building, he would prop them up with giant mushroom. having control of their environment was an invaluable asset and he was going to take full advantage of that.

Kuren came the teams first check point. it was a block laid out with apartment buildings, with some seeming to be damaged by explosions. he went swiftly but with caution to check each section. thats when he came upon a family of three. Two parents and a little boy who was hiding in the corner of their home. He put a finger to his mouth, signaling them to stay silent and then waved at them to follow behind him. he looked around the hall for hotaru's moth and gave the code to be relayed to the other, who he hoped were guarding outside. family of three-no injuries- two adult one child. moving outside now from the west side exit. he put the little boy of his back and had the parent follow behind him. he was going to use a side exit that offer more cover then the front door.

so far there was no sign of any enemies but also no sign of allies. they were still a small distance from the centralized area of the village. yet he could still hear the cried of men crying out as they were killed. children crying out for there parents and those blasting sound of explosion being scatter through the village. this attack isn't just a simple invasion. these people some to have a strong grudge against the village and just want the village to suffer. when kuren reached the door he stopped and waited for the all clear from his teammates.
AtlannianSpy Hanarei Retro-Grey

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Aiko Uchiha
Squad 6​

First Blood​

Aiko watched silently as the two ice swords stuck inside of the slain Mist ninja slowly broke apart ito small flakes of ice. A gentle breeze blew the flakes away into the wind. A short beautiful scene in an atrocious theater act.

This was the first time she had actually taken a life. She felt pride. She and her squad had defeated an enemy. This ninja would never again threaten the village, or kill another citizen of the Hidden Leaf. However, Aiko knew that at any moment, she could meet the same fate. So many already had. It wasn't as if these invaders were evil people, right? They were simply doing what they thought to be best for their village, and following their orders. But looking around at the blazing fires, destroyed buildings, and mutilated corpses, Aiko found it impossible not to hate them. War was disgusting, but only one could walk out victorious.

She clenched her fists, wondering if her father was still alive. She knew he was a strong ninja, but he retired due to a bad knee. Would he really be able to fend for himself? Snarling, Aiko pushed her worries to the back of her mind, suppressing them.

Fortunately, Hideki can successfully calmed down Mai. He got lucky. Even Mai seemed worried about everything. But then again, no one could possibly be themselves in the face of such destruction.

"You're right, Mai. The enemy is everywhere. I'm sure we're being watched right now..." Aiko's hand was grinned tightly on her katana. "We have to find Takara, somehow. Just promise me you'll stay out of any Mist you come across, o-ok? Where would she be anyway?" Aiko's voice cracked, her nerves breaking through, despite the aggravated expression she wore.

 

[KageYuuki]

Yukari Hyuuga: Squad 5
Yukari felt her heart drop when Roku of all beings began to panic at the changes to the world around them. The sudden news that their village was under attack did little to help the feeling. Why would Kiri suddenly attack them? Sure, the treaty between the Five Nations wasn't necessarily the most stable thing in the world. It was more a means to keep all the villages from collapsing due to their losses in the Third Great Shinobi War.

Konoha may have recovered well enough since then, but hadn't there been a civil war in Kiri right after? Could they really have recovered enough to go start another war?

For now, the reason mattered little as the deity pulled the pair of genin into the heart of the village. The very ground seemed to shake with each explosion, cries for help rose in the air to mix with the enraged sounds of battle. Yukari could feel chakra surging in the air all around her along with the same feeling of dread from the world of Yokai.

As much as his calm demeanor made him stand out, she likely wouldn't have noticed Koma until he spoke up, the jounin pulling her back into the current situation. At this point, she really wasn't surprised by his unfaltering chipper attitude. So he wanted them to join the fight... Yukari couldn't help but wonder what her father would say about the clan's heiress joining the fray.

Sure, they likely weren't going to be on the frontlines. But they also weren't going to be anywhere near safety.

Then again with the new heir on the way, he probably wouldn't care anymore.

Yukari sighed as Koma pulled some random genin aside, dumped one very hasty explanation on her, and then vanished. While the confusion was evident on Misumi's face, at least the girl seemed to roll with it. "Save the formalities for when things aren't getting blown to shit," Yukari spat as she formed a single hand sign, her Byakugan bringing more of the world into view.

Turning to run down the street, she pulled a bottle of soldier pills from a pouch and popped one in her mouth. Its bitter taste was horrid compared to the dinner they were originally going to have, but it was better than nothing. "Take one," Yukari placed one in Sei's hand before throwing one back at Misumi, "You too."

As the thick mist was blown away, the Hyuuga quietly wished it was still there. Her Byakugan may have caught glimpses of the butchered bodies, but that was nothing compared to the full sight. Roughly, she grabbed Sei and Misumi and pulled them off the street and into a building. "Quiet," she hissed, watching the pair of Kiri shinobi crossing the rooftops overhead.

It seemed they hadn't noticed them, good.

With any luck, there might be another group of genin nearby. Or any Konoha shinobi. Yukari wasn't all that picky at the moment. She ignored the white cat that trotted inside, only she and Sei able to see its forked tail. "Looks like there's a team of genin nearby..." She frowned, "I don't think the person with them is on our side though... they're only a few blocks away, might be worth checking out." Koma had told them to pair up with any of Konoha's forces should they be encountered.

shadowdude505 Kimiwriter


Shosuke Onishi
"Well, you're right about that much I suppose." A man called as he leapt from his perch, landing silently despite the height. From first glance, he didn't seem to be that much older than any of them were. Though the weapons strapped to his back, what looked like a large mallet and axe, were already coated in blood. "I'm guessing the three of you are genin, right? Probably took the first stage of the exam a few hours ago."

Shosuke sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. What he'd give to be a genin again... "See, I was just going to let you kids go, maybe only to get fried by Himawari or maybe to fight another day. And I still might, but first..." His brown hues narrowed at the trio, "Hand over the Ice Release user."

InsaneAsylum Orikanyo Ganryu

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Nagisa Kanazawa
-Squad 4-

​

"We need to get moving," said Nagisa, her voice distracted as she scanned the area around them for any sign of trouble. "As long as we're careful and stay calm we'll get through this okay, I'm not interested in any suicide missions so I wouldn't have brought this up if I didn't think we could pull it off,"

There was a short silence as Nagisa looked towards the hospital, plotting a rough route designed to minimize their risk of contact with the enemy. "I'll scout ahead, since I'm pretty sure I'm better at stealth than either of you, stick close to the walls wherever you can and spend as little time as possible in the open. If we get discovered then we scatter and meet back up at the second last two storey building we passed okay? Two and two, that's how we remember it. When we meet back up we can use 'wind' and 'rain' as our sign and countersign. The first person works 'wind' into their sentence and the second uses 'rain' in theirs. If they don't do that then you have to assume the other person is an imposter or somehow under duress."

Nagisa waited until she was sure that the other two had absorved all of this and then nodded. "Alright I'm going ahead, stay still until I give the signal to move up,"

With that Nagisa leapt from their building, landing feet first against the wall opposite them and grabbing a nearby drainage pipe to slide quietly down the ground. This left her at the corner of an alleyway and she simply froze for a few seconds, listening and watching for anything suspicious. When Nagisa was satisfied the that the way was clear she moved through the alley and repeated the same process at the other end. When that was clear as well Nagisa moved back into view of Katsumi and Yuuki and gestured for them to join her. This kind of movement was frustratingly slow compared to running or even just walking but it did greatly reduce the chance of them being discovered. They were heading right into the eye of the storm and Nagisa was going to make damn sure they did so quietly.

KageYuuki InsaneAsylum

Hotaru Hagano
-Squad 7-

​

Hotaru followed behind Kuren, a slightly distant look of intense concentration on her face. She was monitoring the area around them with her moths, on the lookout both for civilians or for fast moving groups likely to be enemies, every so often she would catch up to her teammates and take them by the shoulder or simply give them new directions via moths, diverting them away from potential threats. Hotaru felt like she was keeping a good eye on things, she'd even noticed spikes in Mako's distant chakra signature consistent with fighting. After thinking it over she'd decided to keep this information to herself, her info on Mako was lagging so much that whatever he was involved could easily be resolved before they got to him even if they did decide to change their plans. She did however send word back to Mako with the same moth, giving him a rough update. Hotaru didn't know how much of her moth code Makorama actually knew so to be safe she pricked herself with a senbon and wrote a tiny, three word message on its wings in blood.

Right now squad seven had enough to worry about on its own. With the amount of precise control Hotaru was forced to exert over her moths right now she needed Ashi to keep a sharp look out for anything or anyone that might slip through. Right now Hotaru was barley aware of her immediate surroundings, her consciousness seemingly dispersed out among hundreds of moths tracking dozens of different chakra signatures.

Hotaru's concentration was interrupted when a moth carried Kuren's message back to her and she blinked suddenly. After thinking for a few seconds she put her hands together and weaved a few handseals, producing a moth clone which immediately left in pursuit of Kuren, eventually arriving next to him and tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hi, it's everybody's favorite clone! I'll lead these guys out of the city. Since I'm made of moths I can sense chakra as well, I'll keep 'em away from trouble and lead them out of the city. In the meantime you lame non clones should move onto the next block, there's a couple of signatures over there that look like civilians. Once you find 'em make a clone of your own to send with them, that way we can help more people in the same time." With that the clone gently took the child from Kuren's back and gestured for the family to follow it, leading them away from the danger via a circuitous but relatively safe route.

loyalwolf Hanarei

 

[Retro-Grey]

Kiyoshi Ao, Team 3​

Kiyoshi had began walking into the soup house, his teammates still behind him. Of course, he didn't expect it to explode into a pillar of water.

His body blasted back and landed in front of his two genin teammates. Kiyoshi groaned from the impact, but he forced himself up. There was a long yet shallow cut on his cheek from a stray splinter of wood. Smoke started to rise as his skin started to repair itself.

The boy was absolutely dumbfounded. Never in his days did he think the Leaf would be attacked. Especially one of the places that gave him the most comfort. It was enough to stir something inside him. A growing and familiar feeling, one that Kiyoshi was revolted to think about.

Koutaku's words reached Kiyoshi, but he was too busy rummaging through the wreckage of the soup house. When Koutaku finally finished speaking, Kiyoshi settled a bit.

"Alright. Let's get a move on. There isn't much sense in waiting around for more destruction."

Kiyoshi faced his teammates and pulled a kunai from out of his ninja tool pouch and spoke: "Keep up, and don't get separated. If you do, find a safe place to hide."

With those words, Kiyoshi took off into the war-stricken night. His teammates in tow he hoped.

Spemout yoshua171

 

[Orikanyo]

Hideki Ukita
Squad 6​

"Take all the time you need Mai.." Hideki held on, but that was before the man came upon them... Bloodied, carrying a heavy looking hammer and axe. He had a self confident air about him, one that told of hubris but enough skill to back it up... or at least, so he thought. The young man let Mai stand on her own after the man finished his opening speel, was it a trap? Was he distracting them? he was definitely a Kiri ninja but what kind of weapon was he carrying?

Wait... No.. He heard of something like this... Was this man a....

The young man immediately drew his sword, bringing himself in front of Aiko to keep somebody between the two. This was a mistake, they should run, they should like as far and as fast as they could. But he knew, in the pit of his stomach, that it would also be a mistake. And he couldn't bare to know he would be the cause of one of his comrades dying, unlike his fool of a father, who couldn't even protect the one he loved most.

But Hideki will be different, he wouldn't let anybody touch his squad, his comrades and friends. So, his answer to the man asking for them to maybe save their lives and offer up Aiko? Well that one was really simple. Stabbing his sword into the ground he kept his shield raised, and then he finally spoke his piece.

"Go suck a fat, wretched, filthy c**k you puffed up mongrel."

Yes, he could say that perfectly emphasized his feelings on the matter.

KageYuuki Ganryu InsaneAsylum

 

[shadowdude505]

Misumi Sarutobi
​

Misumi gave Yukari a nod before running after her and Sei. "Thanks," she said as she caught the solider pill. She placed it in the pouch that stored her ninja tools, saving the pill for later.

Misumi pulled her two fans from her side and began to wield them in her hands. If they ran into trouble, it would be better for her to have her weapons out. "Don't worry about it," Misumi said to Sei. "If we do our best we might get through this." She wanted to be optimistic; but as she saw the civilian and ninja body count, she began to wonder about the fate of her own squad. "Focus," she thought to herself. She wasn't in a position to worry about them. She had to focus on getting Sei, Tukari, herself, and any other genin they came across through this situation.

Misumi suddenly felt a hand and realized that Yukari had pulled her and Sei into a building. She briefly caught a glance of the mist ninja on the rooftops. Having someone in the group with a Byakugan was handy. She listened as Yukari mentioned another genin group nearby. "We should help them," she said, sounding determined. Misumi wanted to protect the village, much like her own Anbu father. "Lead the way, Yukari."

Kimiwriter KageYuuki

 

[Ganryu]

Squad 3
-----------------------
​

The nearest high ground to the squad was, in fact, the hill that climbed up to the Hokage monument. As they climbed the hill, they would note not too far away were definite signs of their sensei fighting. A torrent of rain fell over what was the village's hotspring area. It was a place most Kiri nin had the elemental advantage.... except against Umichi. However, the hill was not alone. Sitting in the middle of the road, a man was laid out, sake in his hand. Burn marks covered his skin. He stared directly at the group from the ground. Koutaku was likely the only one to remember him from Tsushima at a glance, it had been the man who had been fighting Kiyoshi. If Kiyoshi could remember past his bloodrage, it had been the drunkard who had shown particular interest in the Jinchuriki. The missing nin from the Hidden Stone.

"Oi, what luck! I was just coming up here to think where the best place to find you lot was! Huh, who's the new girl? She sure looks cute -hiccup-. So, I says to myself, let the boss and them all worry 'bout raiding the clans and such, Imma go make a fortune with a fox, and here he is! Hehehe. I'll buy Sake money for life! Still."

The man jumped to his feet, nearly falling over, tossing his sake jar aside. He swayed with the attempt.

"You lot sure made me look like an idiot last time. Hehehe... So, what about it, you lot want to join Akai Kyodai? I mean, I want my sake, but it'd make the boss alot happier if I bring'er some good'ems. Now, I know what'cha thinking. How can ya betray the village you love? Well, that's easy. If you don't, they'll betray you. What happened to me. Turned to drinking and other bad habits 'fore boss Ko picked me up. 'sides, not like this place is going to stand for too much longer. Them Mist guys are pissed!"

Despite his offer, he was already weaving handsigns, and his skin was starting to darken.

---------------
Mai Sanada​

Subconsciously flicking the enemy ninja off, Mai was dumbfounded as Hideki was the one to be more vulgar than she was. It was... It was like they were in a parallel world. Mai looked at the man, and instantly recognized the sword. Honestly, Mai thought most of the swords of the Mist were stupid. There were only a few cool ones. But, she'd often wondered what it'd be like to have a weapon others called famous. She turned to Aiko, putting her weapon in her useless hand. She smiled viciously.

"Sorry, looks like no deal already. And to think, I wasn't the dumb one! With Takara-sensei, she could be reading a book, or fighting enemy ninja. Either way, I don't think we can rely on her, just like normal. Oh, that's ax and hammer he's got's pretty famous. He's probably a 'swordsman'. One too dumb to know what a sword actually is. No idea other than that, I just have a subscription to Blades Unlimited."

Mai's taunting dropped as she became serious for five seconds, though she still held her finger high. She whispered.

"Aiko. I need a favor. Can you freeze my glove? I need both my wheels. I mean, I'd rather punch him, but... well, this ain't going to be an easy fight. I don't want to give away Shadow Strike until I have to."

If Aiko did so, Mai would draw both weapons, looking a little bit nervous. It was anticipation. Mai was antsy. She'd never fought a jonin, other than her folks, and never really seen one in action. if she could just win this one, Mai could be famous. Beating a swordsman? That would help her towards becoming a clan head. Dying never even crossed her mind, Mai was invincible.

 

[Kimiwriter]

Sei Teshima, Squad 5

Sei jumped when Yukari grabbed her but once she realized it was a friend, she let herself be pulled against the wall. Feeling something solid, she slid down to her knees and shook. What the hell. What the hell. She wasn't sure if the words were whispered or in her head. Hugging herself, she peered around their shelter. If Yukari said it was safe, then she'd believe her but Sei struggled to keep herself from bolting.

Calm down. Calm down. You've dealt with yokai. You can handle this. We're not going to fight, just find genin and get out of here. The thought didn't comfort her.

"What's the plan?"

Yukari and Misumi seemed ready to go forward into the danger. Sei was not.

"Are we just sneaking up or are you planning on fighting them? And once we do that, how are we getting out of there?" Sei stopped talking and swallowed hard. She was panicking. She shouldn't overthink in a situation like this. This was what it meant to be a shinobi; fighting and defending her home was part of the deal. Period. Lowering her head, she took several long breaths, just trying to slow her heart rate. Kuro would scold her cowardice and lack of confidence if he heard her right now.

"Yeah . . ." she murmured, "we should get going. . ." Sei used the wall to help her stand and waited for her teammates to take the lead.

KageYuuki shadowdude505

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Aiko Uchiha
Squad 6​

Normally, Aiko would be scared out of her socks right about now. Another Kirigakure ninja had appeared. His axe and hammer each obsurdly large and bloody, filled her with dread.

But, he spoke as if he was going to let them go. He probably already satisfied his bloodlust for the day, and decided letting a few kids run off wouldn't hurt. Before Aiko could breathe a sigh of relief, he said, "Hand over the Ice Release User."

Aiko gasped quietly, but audibly. She recalled her father mentioning something about Kirigakure hating kekkai genkai or something. She couldn't remember why right now. It didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that she'd be the reason her squad got killed by this man. Handing herself over wasn't an option, not for her.

Hideki acted first, with a powerful display of anger and determination. Aiko never knew he had it in him to say something like that to such a scary ninja. Mai made sure to put her two cents in, informing her teammates that this man was probably one of the Mist's famous swordsman despite not actually wielding a sword. She also flipped him off while she was at it. Although she would have preferred not to get this guy angry, she loved her squad either way. If they were going to fight, then she'd be damned if she didn't join them.

Her right hand slid from her katana to her canteen, as she popped the lid off of it, letting a constant stream of water flow from it. A portion of it moved into Aiko's hand before freezing Mai's hand to her wheel. Aiko's expression was a mixture of anger and seriousness. She was an idiot for trying this. Kirigakure specialized in water more often than not. Her plan would be risky, but if it worked out, than her teammates would have no trouble taking out any target.

"Thanks, you guys."

Katsumi Nonoba
Squad 4​

Katsumi wiped her eyes. Yuuki was right. She'd need to get to the hospital so she could heal all those injured people. She was a medical ninja, therefore, she was a necessity. That meant Katsumi would have to be strong.

She rose to her feet, the tears beginning to dry up. However, as soon as she looked Yuuki in the eye, Katsumi let out a quiet squeak! "Y-Yuuki are you... is that th-" Katsumi interrupted herself, noticing Nagisa give the signal to move.

Once Nagisa gave the signal, Katsumi hesitated for a few moments. She didn't want to do all that sneaky stuff, but she also didn't want to be the one in the back of the group. She decided on being in the middle, and followed after Nagisa. The poor girl tried to replicate what her teammate had done, but it was too far beyond her. Her sneaking looked more like waddling while crouching than anything else. Anyone watching would probably be laughing their asses off. Katsumi totally forgot what she was going to say to Yuuki.

Katsumi on the other hand, held her breathe the entire time. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her face looked as if she was running from a serial killer. She looked back at Yuuki, but from where she was currently, she couldn't see him! Did he get snatched away? Or was he just being extra sneaky? Unsure, Katsumi looked to where she had to go next. It wasn't another ten meters for her to be next to Nagisa. She waddled quickly to get next to a familiar body. She let out a sigh of relief as she made it to Nagisa without being stabbed in the back. Yet it was ominously quiet.

"W-w-where to next?"

KageYuuki Ganryu Orikanyo AtlannianSpy

 

[Hanarei]

​

As they set up, it wasn't hard to tell Ashi was anxious. She remained on all fours, staying ever alert. Her nose was lifted up, sniffing the air as she seemed to be paying full attention of her surroundings rather then goofing around. As block headed as she might be, seeing the mother and daughter combo interacting before had made her take a step back. The safety of the citizens came first... and as much as she didn't like to admit it they were way above their head. Fighting wasn't an option if they wanted to help save people as eager as she was to punch those jerks causing such destruction in the village.

She had perked her head up hearing Hotaru's clone speak up giving 'her' distraction idea. In truth she was a little jealous of it... the notion of being out there and getting into more action seemed so much more fun. Gotta focus! Save the people, then figure out butt kicking! She thought to herself as if trying to pep herself up to keep focused on the objective. It was quite hard for someone like her so eagerly to get into the fray and tyr and show skills off to do something almost completely the opposite. The old Ashi would of likely simply jumped out to fight the attackers as her brash solution to the problem not even letting her teammates come up with a solution.

As they traveled forward, a scent filled Ashi's nose. She picked up her head pausing in place. She held her hand up in gesture to her teammates. She turned her head trying to focus her listening in, still sniffing in the air. "People in there..." She spoke sniffing the air again trying to catch more of a whiff. "Think its from our village... I smell... that spicy ramen from the shop here..." She muttered despite her attempt to keep serious seeming to show a childish disdain from the smell. She pointed to the nearby building, wreckage blocking the door. Her head suddenly perked up again shifting over as she seemed alert.

"Think... enemy shinobi... over that direction... a bit close... I can smell the that fiery stuff..." She spoke, a bit less elegant in explaining the smell though it was clear it at the very least to Ashi she couldn't pick up any familiar with their smell. It wasn't a perfect indicator but considering they were primarily trying to avoid being seen and focus on civilians, it was much better to unintentionally point out allied ninja as potential enemies rather then to run into them and then get attacked.

AtlannianSpy loyalwolf

 

[KageYuuki]

???As the genin continued their search and rescue efforts, they'd no doubt notice what looked to be a lone civilian walking the now deserted streets. His hands were tucked in his pockets, his long coat trailing behind him. Long hair spilled over his shoulders in burgundy waves from beneath his hat, the brim casting dark shadows over his face and hiding his eyes. Despite this, the more observant members would likely be left with the feeling he was looking straight at them.

AtlannianSpy Hanarei loyalwolf

Yuuki Uchiha: Squad 4
Yuuki tilted his head slightly at Katsumi's sudden shock as she stood. "What?" But as Nagisa gave them the signal to move, the conversation would just have to wait until later. Among the young Uchiha's set of skills, stealth wasn't exactly one of them. Something Nobushige gave him flak for more often than not. Despite that, he worked to keep in the shadows behind Katsumi as best he could.

Though the process was proving to be more difficult than he expected. Not because it was very tedious- which it was- but because it was difficult to focus. It was strange the way the world had suddenly become much more clear and confusing at the same time. Nagisa's normally hard to follow movements had become less of a blur, yet her arm almost seemed to be glowing… Stopping to try and figure out what the hell was going on just wasn't a luxury they had moving further into danger.

Almost every time he crossed a clearing, his gaze moved towards where the hospital once stood or the Academy where the Hokage's office was. There was no way his mother wasn't in the hospital when it was attacked. Was she even alive?

He stopped, ducking further back into the shadows of the alleyway he'd been moving through. Just overhead a small squad of ANBU moved towards the hospital. Was Tsubaki one of them? Though she wasn't on duty that day… maybe she was back at home defending the compound while everyone evacuated?

Even with his racing thoughts, one other kept repeating itself in the back of his mind. Where the hell is Nobu-Sensei?

Yukari Hyuuga: Squad 5
Yukari glanced between the two waiting for her to take the lead, "Since when was I the strategist here? Hell if I know the best approach." She shifted, focusing her view back on the group just a few blocks away. It looked like they were in a standoff for the time being, but the Hyuuga could see the fight approaching. "If anything, we just need to buy enough time to get away. Seven of us should be able to stall him, genin or not." Bringing her vision back to the room they were currently huddled in, Yukari glared down at the white cat by her feet. "Assuming you don't sit on your ass the whole time for once."

Hikari clicked her tongue, "Paw-lease, like you have any right to talk to me like that, milksop." She stood and stretched, "Though Senshin wasn't catting about the mess here…. I'll help, nyah. But only because it's been a long time since I got to sink my claws into something worthwhile." With that, the Nekomata jumped on a nearby broken window. "Come on, it'll be faster to cat through the buildings, nyah."

With a nod Yukari followed after the Yokai, glancing back at her teammate and… she supposed temporary teammate with her byakugan as they moved. In barely a minute the four were crouched in the back room of a shop, the Kiri shinobi just on the other side of the wall. Yukari watched them closely, it was impossible to hear what they were saying through the wall but she could still see them. "Just need to buy time…" she whispered. "If we all hit him, then maybe-" But they weren't given the time to form a proper plan as the ninja started to advance. "Sorry," Yukari focused chakra in her palm as she stood, aiming a concussive blast at the wall in front of her.

Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm

Kimiwriter shadowdude505

Shosuke Onishi
As the squad of genin responded to his demand, Shosuke could only quirk an eyebrow. His expression seemed unsure how to react to their rather foulmouthed answers. "I . . . rather hope that isn't how you talk to your superiors . . . Sensei would've had my head if I talked to him like that." It still baffled him how Himawari always managed to get away it. "That said," he drew the unwieldy looking weapons from his back, "I wouldn't exactly call Kabutowari here a sword either. Tradition's a funny thing sometimes…"

He sighed, "Not that Konoha's changed all that much from the last war." He pointed the axe's blade at the defiant trio, "You've made your choice, I'll just have to take her by for-" The jounin was cut short as a blast of chakra tore a hole in the wall to his left, forcing him to retreat back up to the rooftops to avoid the barrage of shrapnel.

Orikanyo Ganryu InsaneAsylum

 

[loyalwolf]

kuren and Hotaru vs Mystery Man!​

Kuren continued looking for any civilians that needed help. So far the team had been doing a good job at clearing out this area. Kuren was considering moving their team to the area with the heavy fighting. That’s when he stopped in his tracks and hid in an alleyway.

Kuren’s eyes were fixed on a strange man walking the streets on his own. To make things more unnerving was the fact that the man didn’t seem to be worried about the state of the village or panic about being out in the open. Kuren couldn’t place it but something didn't seem normal about this man.

He is either an friend or foe. Either way it’s best to request some back up. Kuren looked around and spotted on of hotaru’s moths and gave it the message he wanted to relay. “Strange man...be on guard...need your help....make sure to set up surprise on the way over in case of escape.” once he was done kuren began to release some spores in the small area where he was at. Slowly spreading them closer to the man.

“Hmm,” Hotaru had been keeping track of her teammates’ chakra signatures and had noticed when Kuren’s ended up near an unusually strong one, at least compared to the villagers they had been evacuating. That signature was unusual in other ways too, it seemed to be fluctuating in a way she hadn’t really seen before. Her moths were having a hard time pinning it down, almost as if the same chakra was coming from multiple people.

But Kuren’s message had definitely only mentioned one person though, Hotaru would need to investigate herself, caution was probably the right way to proceed, Hotaru was suddenly glad Kuren had bumped into this stranger first instead of Ashi.

Hotaru began making her way over to Kuren’s position, it wasn’t very far away but she was also looking for something that could serve as the requested “surprise” The obvious answer would be to simply plant some explosive tags somewhere and fall back along that route, but Hotaru was only carrying a limited supply of the expensive items, she could end up needing them later on. Hoaru passed a house, one of the ones they had already evacuated and then stopped. She remembered it because the family inside had been in the middle of preparing dinner when everything had started, leaving a pot of some kind of stew behind on the stove.

The stove....

Two minutes later Hotaru appeared, somewhat stealthily, behind Kuren, having tracked his location. “So what’s the deal?” she asked quietly. “Oh and I managed to set something up, hopefully we don’t have to use it, it’s going to be nasty.”

Kuren notice hotaru when she appeared and gave her a nod, “That's good to hear. I'm sure by now you can tell with more detail, that this man isn't normal.i think for this situation it's best to leave ashi out of this until we get all the information we can.” kuren kept he focus on the man who he was sure looked over at him a couple times now
“I need you to get a good read on the situation, while i play decoy here. If things get to out of control both of us will make a break for it and signal ashi to our location. No fighting directly, we hit and then run.” with that kuren weaved a few hand signs. What appeared to be an identical kuren began to sprout from the ninja’s body. “Ninja Art: Fungal Clone Technique”

The clone of kuren made his way out of the alley and approached the man. The clone kept a health distances from the man as he spoke. “I would ask you if you need help evacuating but we both know you're not some helpless village.” the clone circled around the man and made it a point not to stop his movements. “The real question is who are you?”

With a sigh, the man stopped and watched the clone circle him for a moment. A slight smirk crossed his features, “I’m just a man of no consequence.”

Hotaru would have preferred to be the one asking the questions, but she had also made a lot of clones already and needed to conserve her chakra, she also needed to focus on keeping track of everything else going on around them, not to mention Ashi’s location. WIth that in mind she backed off a bit, breaking line of sight with the man to send some moths in Ashi’s direction. The other girl might not remember the finer points of moth code but she would take notice of and follow a large cluster of them hopefully. On the whole Hotaru would rather have Ashi nearby then not, if they waited too long then she’d be too far away to help them in time likely as not. With her other nearby moths Hotaru kept a close eye on the stranger, it was frustrating not being able to hear his words though.

The clone then stop in front of the man, keeping kurens natural stoic face. “That’s a strange comment considering the village you are currently in, is under attack. Thus logically you should fall into one of three people: enemy soldier, ally soldier, or civilian. And i don't believe you fall into the latter.” the clone began to look for any marking or items that would tip him off on who side this man could be on. Weather it be a headband or specific clothing.

To the clone disappointment there was no sign on anything. “At this point my job isn't to pick a fight. I just need to know if you here to bring harm to the people of this village or not. Simple question and you won't even need to tell me you name.” reaching behind his back the clone reached for a kunai and held it tight in his grip.

Even with the hat obscuring his features, it was still easy to tell the man had rolled his eyes. “My, you’re a wordy little clone.” In a blur of movement he was gone, appearing in the alley with the pair of genin without making a sound. “You’re still a little wet behind the ears, aren’t you?”

Kuren was both slightly surprised and a bit upset with the man. Although him appearing in the alley did startle kuren, he figure this man wasn't just a normal citizen and thought back to his first mission with team 7. The rapidly weaved hand signs “fungal release: giant toadstool” a giant mushroom raise from the ground and lifted hotaru up to a safer distance.

Grabbing his tessen his hand he stared at the man. He watched him with hawk like eye, his green eye fixed in his movements. He doesn't seem like he about to pick a fight. But maybe he trying to play a mind game? Kuren didn’t want to waste energy on a fight. That’s when his clone came running into the alley and tried to restrain the man from behind as kuren back out of the alleyway.

“Oh?” The man paused to study the mushroom that appeared between them. “What a fascinating little jutsu. Kekkei genkai I presume?” His features shifted to a frown as the clone decided to latch onto his coat. What looked to be golden chains suddenly sprouted from his back, piercing the clone and dispelling it as any lingering chakra was nullified.

Adamantine Sealing Chains

“And what, pray tell, were you intending to do, hm?” His voice was still calm as he moved to adjust his hat, clear eyes looking at Kuren.

Kuren noticed the clone didn't release any spores and no lingering chakra was present. “How strange. Those chains seemed to have dispelled my clone but also countered any add effects to it. I have never seen or read anything like that before.”

Kuren had to regain composure and remind himself he was in a dangerous situation. “Wasn't it obvious. Use my clone to restrain you then i would strike and make a run for it. But something tells me that tricks like that won't work on you.” what really confused kuren was the fact that the man made no attempt at striking him. His natural stoic face, showed a lot of concern and worry. “Hotaru! Retreat and get out of here.”

“More talkative than the clone,” The red haired man sighed, shaking his head. “Perhaps I should reword my question: what are you trying to prove here, playing ninja?” As he spoke the chains from his back snaked up the mushroom, coiling around the genin perched above and bringing her to the ground.

Hotaru wriggled vainly as the chains seized her, although rather than an honest attempt to escape it was more to conceal the motion of her left hand digging into her bag and then flicking one towards the man. Between the speed with which he had moved earlier and these chains Hotaru was fairly certain the man could easily have killed them by now if that was his intention. Instead it seemed like he'd rather leave them and carry out whatever business he had there, in which case it might be useful to be able to track him down later. Even if the man suppressed his distinctive chakra signature Hotaru would be able to track down the larvae to an extent.

“You’re far out of your league and I simply don’t have the time to entertain children.” He bit his thumb, weaving signs before placing his hand to the paved ground.

Summoning Technique

Instead of calling upon some creature like most shinobi, they’d find a young woman standing in the clearing smoke, likely not much older than them. Her pale skin and gaunt features made her look almost ghostly as she blinked in the dim light. Her clothes barely clung to her thin form, torn and heavily bloodstained.

“Akira,” he spoke, lightly grabbing her shoulder. “These kids are looking for someone to play with them. Be a dear and keep them entertained, hm?”

The whites of Akira’s eyes began turning black as he spoke, “Of course, Master Daisuke.”
Removing his hat, Daisuke offered a somewhat exaggerated bow. “Excuse my poor manners, but I really must be off.” And in a small puff of smoke, he was gone.

Hotaru sighed loudly and straightened out her jacket where those strange chains had creased it. Inside her chest Hotaru's heart was hammering wildly but she managed a reasonable approximation of nonchalance.

"Kuren next time I do the talking okay?" she said. as a stream of moths erupted from her bag, heading for the strange girl in an attempt to bite her and obscure her vision. At the same time Hotaru herself began weaving handseals and rapidly sunk into the ground beneath them as her subterranean voyage began to take effect. Ordinarily Hotaru's curiosity would have been ignited by the pale girl's distinctive appearance and the unusual phenomenon of summoning and she would have taken a more exploratory approach, but she didn't really feel like playing. Not tonight.

Above ground a single moth remained to flutter a message to Kuren

Two blocks south, the house with the red roof. Lure her over it but try not to be too close
KageYuuki AtlannianSpy Hanarei

 

[Kimiwriter]

Sei Teshima, Squad 5

Sei frowned, ready to argue with her teammate before realizing she was speaking to the nekoyama. Sei sighed. At least having a yokai might give them an advantage. She considered summoning Kuro, but decided to save him for a more serious moment. As long as they remained hidden, they might stand a chance at getting away from. It was all about stealth and misdirection, right?

Closing her eyes, she racked her brain for a plan. It would be hard to do anything without being able to plan with the other genin, but they didn't want to risk putting anyone into more danger. They'd need to take out the Jounin and have enough time to get away. It was a simple enough goal, but how to do it? Whatever they did, they didn't stand a chance against a Jounin. Especially if he'd helped to slaughtered the civilians in the street. How to do this? What could they do? He was more powerful and more experienced; even if they did manage to get the other team, there was no way they'd be able get away. He as long as he could move and weave hand signs, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Then an idea come to her. Digging through her pouch, Sei pushed the mask aside and pulled out two small vials with deep purple liquid in each and held them out to her teammates. "Lace your weapons with this. A scratch will numb the area but a direct hit can cause temporary paralysis."
Yukari ignored the vial and blew out the wall instead.
"Or . . . we can do that." Sei pulled out her own blade and poured a little on it. "I can give us some cover with genjutsu but I don't have a plan past that." Drawing on her chakra, Sei wove hand signs and peering around the corner of ruined stonework. Haze Clone Technique.

Out in the mist, clones formed. Sei could barely make out the shadowy figures of the enemy and other team.

"I'll try to distract him, like we did with the spiders," she whispered, "I'll jump in if I can but close combat still isn't my best skill." Nodding once to her teammates, Sei returned her focus to the clones.

They moved slowly, phantom like, through the mist. If everything had been clear, she might have made them move faster, but she wasn't completely sure which shadows were friends and which were foe. Better to move cautiously and startle all of them than to make a mistake. Please, let this work.

KageYuuki shadowdude505 Orikanyo

 

[Hanarei]

​

Ashi had broken through the window carefully, clearing it out as to make an opening big enough for the people inside to escape. She shuffled inside, slipping through as she ventured inside. Wandering in, she found the people hiding away, a mother and father and two young boys. She looked on, a seemingly uncertain look on her face briefly before she shook her head. She propped herself up, getting back on two legs in an attempt to come off a bit less 'strange'. While the Inuzuka were known in the village, it wasn't as if they typically walked around on fours after all.

"Come on people, move it out this way!" She spoke up her voice strong being much less pointed though having a bit of her somewhat pushy nature about her. She waved them forward, moving ahead. It was a lot different actually saving people over getting into a fights. While she longed to fight and show her stuff, she had to admit she felt a sense of satisfaction in being able to help people. She would never admit such a thing to anyone though!

The wild girl ventured back to the window waving over to the family before slipping through the window. The Inuzuka girl stood ready, helping a young child to get out of the home through the window. "Come on! Hurry up, ya' ain't got all day!" She spoke out, her tone actually a lot less 'sharp' then usual in beckoning them out. She stood at attention, careful as she helped out the mother next in getting out through the window ensuring they were safe and ultimately the father being the last one out. It was something that would likely make her teammates proud o her... well at the very least happy to see she wasn't biting their ears off in guiding them out towards safety.

The Inuzuka girl picked up her head. She sniffed into the air, a rather strange smell filling her nose. It was rather unpleasant... a smell she wasn't at all use to. Worst, she could smell the scent of her team mates nearby. She dropped to all fours glancing over in the direction of the odd smell. She wasn't quite certain what was going on but she wasn't one for waiting for a signal. She glanced back to ensure the family was okay moving off to safety before Ashi took off in the direction of the strange smell, not aware just what the summoned thing was.

AtlannianSpy loyalwolf KageYuuki