Side Story: Solo Mission: Naoki

Ganryu

Your Lovable Jackass GM
Supporter
Roleplay Type(s)
Mission: Scouting the Embers
Rank: B
Description: Taka Woods on the east border has been attacked by a strange swordsman. We were unable to get information from any of the townsfolk. A survivor managed to report it to the Leaf, but died before he could give anything important. We need a scout. You're the only ninja available for such a mission, and while you might, uh, not have the stealth of an average ninja, with your regeneration, we believe you'll be fine. Hopefully. You are to survey the situation before engaging. If you can defeat the enemy, do so. If you are unable to, or find the enemy too strong, disengage and return to the Leaf.

Taka Woods was a small village, but an important village where many of our tools are forged. We suspect the Mist is involved.
 
Naoki Senju
Naoki couldn't help but put a wry smile on his face as he stopped to read the mission notice for what seemed to be the fifth or sixth time since he left the village - a clear sign of how anxious he was - inwardly complaining about how even his superiors already got to the point of making fun of his... Uh... Inability to be subtle, the sheer helplessness he felt about this specific part of himself clearly showing in his face as he tried - emphasis in the tried - to approach the now nearby Taka Woods without making much noise.

Naturally, even the person himself didn't especially believe in his ability to actually avoid detection as he entered the village, merely trying to avoid his immediate detection as he tried to make some sense out of the situation. Obviously, he didn't even try to keep this semblance of subtleness as he actually entered the village, directly entering through the main entrance with his guard up. In the end, if he knew he wouldn't be able to actually surprise his target he could at least boldly attract his attention - if the other party didn't decide to flee, that is.
 
The village itself, was, at least, not on fire. That was all that could be said for it, as cuts littered everything that could be cut. And from the looks of the iron statue in the middle of the town, some things that couldn't.

That was nothing to be said of the bodies. The most horrifying part of the town, however, was the giggling that could be heard in the middle.

A woman literally danced through the streets, stepping over corpses, and holding two, very prominent blades, the Kiba blade. She cut down a wooden support beam, an entire store collapsing next to her.

"Heh, Leaf? Took you long enough. About the third town I've had to slaughter. The problem I have is I'm too professional sometimes and leaving survivors really hurts my professional pride. Maybe they should have sent the old fart to handle this. Oh well, you're here. So, are you going to make this easy on me, or hard? Oh, and I'm Himawari Abe."
 
Naoki really liked to think of himself as a gentle person incapable of feeling true hate. Even when out for missions it was the same, as no matter what kind of thing he normally faced he still tried not to directly judge anyone and think of himself as the one who is always in the right side. In the end, most of those against him were just shinobi like himself, doing the things they did for the sake of their nation and thus not even a bit less righteous than himself, taking away any right he had to judge their character or anything of the like. It was the same even when it came to people he actively wanted to kill, such as the men who killed his teammates during the hidden mist invasion. Even if he couldn't completely let go of his hate, he still believed that it wasn't out of some kind of irrational thirst for violence that his teammates were killed, with the casualties suffered being merely a result of the constant conflict between shinobi. This time, though, it was different.

From the moment Naoki first put his eyes in the village, he could already feel the part of himself he didn't want to acknowledge moving inside of his mind, relentlessly poking him and demanding an explanation for what could justify this massacre, but it was only when the giggling figure approached him that he actually felt all of the sophistry he usually used to justify the madness of this war vanishing completely, consumed by the side of himself that always refused to believe in the soft persona that he took to be his true nature.

By the time the Kunoichi - Himawari Abe - reached the middle of his speech, any hint feeling had already more than vanished from his face. The usual warmth in his attitude had already been completely substituted by an odd indifference as he calmly generated the wood spikes he was used to wield as his main weapon from his left arm, this time using the right hand to take it from there as if taking a sword out of its sheat, probatorily slashing with it as if to test out the weight while giving absolutely no regards for the still talking Himawari.

It was only when his target stopped talking that Naoki finally opened his mouth, letting out such an eerily scornful voice that he couldn't even relate it to himself. "Himawari Abe, is it?" He said, his eyes turning sharp - seemingly incapable of holding back the overwhelming rage he felt for any longer - as he stared the female who caused the massacre he was forced to watch. "Any epitaph you fancy? I'll make sure to respect it."
 
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Himawari watched Naoki with his spike as with a hunger in her eyes. She liked her lips as his voice sounded terrifyingly angry. Christmas was written all over her face. Lightning started to buzz around her.

"Hmm, epitaphs, how about ' murdered a 1,000'. It's currently 999, so I'll appreciate you helping me out here. Wait, brainfart, I'm supposed to take you alive. Eh, they knew it was a 50/50 shot of me taking someone alive when they sent me. And you were supposed to give me your name too, you know."

Seeing as her opponent was ready apparently, she stabbed forward, an arc of electricity flying out to the left side of Naoki, it was actually aimed under his armpit, meant to miss him completely. Either she was playing, or her accuracy was crap.

"Mind doing me a favor? Looks like your senju. At least tell me, what are the limits of your durability with those healthy cells of yours? Think you can survive stabbing your kidney, or cutting your spine? Just a casual question. How far do I have to go to kill you, and what can you survive. I mean, I could find out, but I don't want to. Cause then I'd have to find a new shinobi, and the whole things a hassle."
 
Naoki didn't even try to answer to his target's attempt to answer to his taunting, merely glancing at her unamusedly as he patiently waited for her to move to attack him, patiently waiting for the moment when she would finally show an opening that he could exploit.

Unfortunately for him, though, it didn't seem like the swordswoman was that interested in stopping her bragging and actually moving against him, deciding to just continue their trash talk instead and only moving after noticing that Naoki was far from being interested in continuing talking and even then only throwing a probatory move that didn't even have the right angle, only earning a lazy deflective swing of his wooden weapon out of his sheer unwillingness to let an attack actually pass by him while he didn't clearly understand the other party's abilities.

Surprisingly, though, this attack didn't actually cause the start of the fight, as the girl seemingly still had a lot to say before actually doing anything - giving more than enough time for Naoki to make some quick seals, summoning two clones besides himself while the girl was occupied with her own delusion. It was only after doing so that he finally bothered enough to answer the chatterbox of a psycho, making sure to express the disgust in his voice as he did so.

"I get that bitches bark a lot, but can you start trying to bite already? I'm starting to get bored here."
 
As Naoki hit the arc of lightning, it would feel like he hit mass. In the electricity he would vaguely see a face, before arcs shot through the area.

Lightning Release: Shadow Clone Technique

"Well, if that's not stimulating enough for you, I can show you some more!"

She then stabbed one blade into the ground, and one into the air. She fired a bolt of lightning into the air. Meanwhile, several small sparks traveled across the ground at Naoki's clone. If they landed below, they would fire upwards in huge bolts destroying the two.

Lightning Release: Susano'o's Field

Laughing madly she continued to sway her hips and watch him carefully.
 
Naoki frowned slightly when faced by the unexpected resistance of the lightning spark, reacting to the revelation of it having been a hidden clone with the faintest surprise as both his clones immediately started making handseals, triggering a remarkably large - to the point of having a width similar in size, if not larger, to a human body - pointed root into leaving the ground from under the original Naoki, rushing towards Himawari with the clear intent of skewering her while simultaneously carrying Naoki over it.

Wood Release: Underground Roots Technique

Naturally, the clones didn't just wait quietly either, with the first one immediately using of its unique properties to merge with the root summoned by himself - hopefully while the enemy was too distracted with the original Naoki rushing towards it while riding a massive root - and the second one assuming the role of a decoy, leaping back in an attempt to dodge the sparks while simultaneously throwing a bunch of remarkably inaccurate wooden kunai towards the sparks targeting him, obviously already more than alarmed by the previous hidden clone.
 
The woman seemed to dance at the incoming kunai, blocking them rhythmically with her blades. At the approaching root, she simply cut downwards. A bolt of lightning from the air shot down, severing it before it could reach her, though it didn't even bother trying to hit Naoki on it. The root would fall, and let him slide very close to her.

"Come on boy, where'd that banter go? I'm feeling saucy, why don't we dance some more. Bring your friends, it'll take more than one of you to satisfy me. I do have to compliment you on that stamina though. Taking a hit like that's almost impressive, now I want to see how long you'll last."

The dance she now was doing seemed oddly precise. She paused with her swords in certain positions, just like one would do with hand signs. Himawari seemed to be waiting for something before she bothered attacking in earnest. None of her techniques so far had been overly strong. Simply precise and fast.
 
Naoki didn't even think about stopping his attack just because the root was suddenly severed, directly leaping towards the Kunoichi throwing the wooden spike wielded by his right hand towards her like a Kuna in a rush that could only he seem as suicidal - after all, he was throwing his only weapon towards the enemy while still in the air and going towards them - if not by the handseals he started executing as soon as he got his hands free - that most certainly denoted that he was preparing something else for the moment the kunoichi reacted.

Naturally, the two clones didn't sit iddle during this exchange either, with the first one - still inside the root - similarly making some quick handseals to once more take control of the roots in the ground, this time moving multiple secondary, much thinner roots move through the ground to the area under the mist swordswoman while coiling their surfaces over eachother to create a much larger, spear-like root resting under the ground a meter or so behind the swordswoman.

Wood Release: Underground Roots Technique

The second clone, in the meanwhile, rushed behind the original Naoki as soon as he the root was severed, directly using him as a partial shield from the Kiri-nin eyes as he approached them while simultaneously pointing his arm forwards, triggering the transformation of it's arm into a bunch of pointed wooden branches that grew towards the original Naoki's - and thus towards the Kunoichi - at a remarkably fast pace.

Wood Release: Great Forest Technique
 
The woman gave a small smirk, and finished another stance.

The Lightning Release: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning Pillar

A bright flash emanated from her, blinding the entire area as sparks shot up around her. Taking the opportunity of the blinding flash, she lept high into the air to avoid the ensnaring roots, which were starting to get annoying, they'd stop her dancing before long at that rate.

She didn't go for Naoki, however, leaping straight over him and plunging both her blades into a root in the distance. The root she'd seen his clone go into. She released a large current of electricity through it, lightning the entire thing up. The clone had to be somewhere inside, and she couldn't have someone who hadn't seen the flash looking around.

Her breathing was getting a bit harder, however. Himawari was not good at prolonged fights, or contests of strength. What she was good at, however....

As vision would return to Naoki, he would see dozens of corpses infront of him, each impaled on sections of his wooden arms, the roots, and stake that was forming behind him. An older man who looked to wear slightly fancier clothing looked at Naoki, betrayal written on his face. He'd been stabbed through the chest.

"W-why?"

He stopped moving as well, making all of them truly dead.

Himawari was good at messing with a man's head. She was very good at that. And Naoki just happened to be a man she could definitely understand. A sweet boy, her favorite to break.

For once, Himawari didn't say anything, she just waved at Naoki. She didn't have to say anything, she was proud of the little murderer.
 
Naoki could barely understand what happened after a sudden light burst up from the girl's figure the moment before he reached her, blinding him for a fraction of second - just enough time for the girl vanish from his field of view. Surprisingly, though, the kunoichi didn't use this opportunity to attack him, leaving him alone to figure out what was happening instead. Unfortunately, though, the thing happening in this specific situation was a bunch of civilians clinging towards him with despair clear in their faces, seemingly attacked by the roots controlled by Naoki's own clone - an image that naturally shocked the young shinobi to the point where he couldn't even think straight, simply standing there with multiple emotions flashing through his face, betraying all the pain, confusion and helplessness that simultaneously consumed him for the whole span of quite a few seconds before...

♧ Meanwhile ♧
While Naoki was standing there stunned, his clones had away more to deal with, as the crazy woman seemingly immediately changed her target to them as soon as Naoki fell into the illusion. Naturally, the independent clones didn't get the slightest bit impacted by that, with the one in the root - directly targeted by the woman, who jumped towards it's hiding spot - threw himself towards the female sword user, immediately converting its arms into multiple tree branches that aimed to snare the girl during the fraction of moment the clone had before the electricity brought by the sword managed to dispel it.

Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique

Naturally, not every hope was deposited in this single clone, as the second clone - who was mostly ignored by the female ninja - simultaneously threw its own attack, once more rushing the multiple thick wooden spikes formed from where it's arm previously was towards the kunoichi in an attempt to skewer her, investing all of the meager chakra it still had into a remarkably wide blow that aimed yo take advantage of the brief moment in which she would be locked to the root should the first clone's tactic work.

Wood Release: Great Forest Technique

♧ Back to Naoki ♧​

It was roughly 15 seconds after the initial shock and the subsequent rush of emotions caused by the genjutsu that a rough voice echoed inside Naoki's head, reminding him of the single thing that was drilled into his head by years of harsh training - part of the modus operandi that reigned over Naoki's life.

"A shinobi is a tool for the village, Kid. Sacrificing everything you have for a mission is your sole fucking responsibility. If you can't do it, there's absolutely no point in being born with that cursed talent of yours."

Just those words alone were more than enough to trigger him into clenching his teeth and directly plunging a wooden kunai into his right thigh, using the pain as a way to recover his focus - and dispel the genjutsu he fell for during that brief moment in spite of how he clearly saw that everyone in the village was already dead when he arrived - and once more search for the target that he was meant to take down.

For once, it was time to stop deceiving himself and get the job done like a proper shinobi. He would have time to ne emotional and mourn the victims later.
 
Himawari expected to be the ambusher, not the ambushed, and so she was surprised as the clone threw branches to ensnare her. She still killed it, but she didn't expect it to be so on top of things. Clones were a fraction of their original, for them to be this one point meant their caster had a real talent for them. Not that she had very long to appreciate it as the second clone came for her with his arm as spikes, panicking, Himwari did what she could, sending out another pulse of chakra through the ground below her.

Lightning Release: Susano'o's Field

She activated immediately, a bolt of lighting flying into the air, likely signalling her position to the real Naoki.

As the flash ended, she was inches away from the the spikes, blood splattered across one of them as she held one of her arms. Burn marks covered her body, and her hair was standing on edge. Her eyes screamed venom, no playfulness left in them. She let out a dozen sword strikes at the clone, each sending out a wave of sharpened chakra at it.

Flash

Panting, she gave sharp glances all around.
 
Naoki didn't give himself even a second to recover after getting out of the gruesome genjutsu started by the swordswoman, directly acting based on the information passed by his second clone - conveniently capable of communicating with him independently of distance thanks to the ingenuity of the Wood Clone Technique's creator - who had yet to die by the time - being, in fact, in the middle of his suicidal charge - and directly rushing to the direction where their battle moved to, his left hand creating a wooden spike similar to the one he already wielded amidst the process of moving.

By the time he arrived the scene, the clone was already in the process of trying to avoid being dilacerated by multiple waves of chakra, only giving him a few seconds before finally being destroyed. Unfortunately for Himawari though, a few seconds was all that Naoki needed.

Cutting Technique

Naturally, the Shinobi used the opportunity he had to throw one of his spikes towards the mist nin back in the hopes of managing to hit the Kunoichi while she was still distracted - though doing so would be somehow difficult according to how sharp her senses were - and directly rushed towards the female while wielding his other spike to strike vertically - much like you would when wielding a club - aiming to strike her in the head should she somehow manage to notice and deflect his projectile.
 
Himawari's glare deepened as the clone continued to dodge her. It was a freakin' clone. This should not be difficult. It was just a Leaf punk. He couldn't be more than chunnin, there was no one in her bingo book that fit his description. However, the angrier Himawari got the calmer she got. She had to kill him. It didn't matter when, how, or where. He was going to die. That was all she cared about anymore. Taunting him, this village, the mission, who cared?

Her rage was interupted as she heard a projectile behind her, she turned, lightning flooding her blade as she stabbed at the root. Her sharp sword, however, had a downside. Kiba was perhaps too sharp, as she cut through the incoming branch extremely easily, the wood continuing forward, up her arm, abrasing it roughly.

She gritted her teeth as it slowed down and stopped on her left arm. Lightning chakra would stop any growth of it... but a stream of blood falling down the wood marked it had already done it's damage.

She turned, spinning towards Naoki with a cut that would instantly sever his spiked club. He'd forced her to actually use her famed swords.

She jumped back, and shot more electricity down her left arm, shattering the branch encasing it, and showing off a gruesome length of ripped tissue. The fact she didn't let go of her left 'fang' spoke volumes, as it looked like she shouldn't be physically ABLE to hold it. She finally spoke, as she stabbed the ground with her right 'fang', lightning discharging everywhere around them in bright flashes.

"Senju, you are now in my bingo book. The Seven Swordsman will hunt you at EVERY chance we get. I don't know where you came from, but we won't let someone as dangerous as you live. Remember my blades, next time they'll be biting your lungs. Tch, never going to hear the end of this..."

A bright flash shot into the air, exploding like a signal flare, and she was gone, having body flickered away in the flash. A trail of blood followed her, if one wanted to follow her, it wouldn't be too hard, though the flare might be of concern.
 

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