Maikeru looked around the environment, alert as ever. He was on a personal mission. The last time he found himself in the uninhabited lands of Earth Country, he was attacked by a ram the size of a moose. It was hulking, had only a few bones ripping out of its skin. As horrifying as it was, Maikeru was interested into finding the origins of the beast. Maybe he would find more like it. He could take it to the Tsuchikage, but Karumo might find him insane. There was no reason to start a panic, or an urban legend of the "Crazed Mutant Ram". It certainly wasn't a summoning. It would have disappeared the moment Maikeru killed it.
wanted to find the beast. He wanted to find one, kill it, and bring it back to the Karumo. Though, he would probably realize Maik's bold way of doing things. In any case, he decided to use his observation and tracking skills to find the monstrosities. He returned to the mountain to  where he was attacked on.

He looked for traces of anything out of the ordinary. He looked on a pile of rocks. They looked...off.
He looked at the pike and picked them up. He started to put pieces of the pile together. They matched perfectly matched each other. As if it was a tree dimensional jigsaw puzzle. To the untrained mind, it was nothing normal. But to Maikeru's extensive knowledge, this was extremely unusual. It would take years for a full rock the size of a bowling ball to be fully broken down in the way it did. Even if so, the pieces would be scattered across the mountain range. Another thing strikes Maik's quite odd. It was the fact that the pieces of one specific side of the rock was smaller than the others. The size of the indention was about the size of a moose hoof. It was evident that something was here. Maikeru needed to find more clues of the mutant rams existence.
Maikeru wanted to find more areas of where could these beasts could have gone. The smashed rock seemed to be pretty recent. It being a while since he had encountered the monster ram, there were probably others. Maybe even a full heard. Maikeru needed to find another place where more of them could be going. Made his way down the hill, the normal, avoiding the more fun and dangerous rout he took last time, in order to rid himself of all distractions. He looked back on the day he did that training session. And he had almost forgot about the Genjutsu cave. If an average civilian came across that they would have freaked out to no end, and even rushed to the conclusion that the cave was haunted. Maikeru made a mental note to report that to some of the jounin later on.

Maikeru rushed his way to the border of Tsuchi no Kuni. There was a river stream flowing through the valley that was the border. Maikeru knew for one fact: where there ks water, there is life. It was the water source closest to the mountain. If he was to find more of the creatures, it would definitely be the place. And if not suddenly, they would have to show up eventually...

554 WC

“Fukai-”
“Yes, I’m ready.” They were getting faster than he was these days. The children that he had once known were well on their way to becoming fine soldiers. It hadn’t even been a year since he had joined Subterra, the small souls that reeked of misfortune had gathered at his skirt. Now they were here, at his apartment, fully prepared to charge into battle. Fukai walked out from his home, through the dozen budding shinobi. They had their head bent and one knee down to the ground in formal recognition of his position.

The purple eyed jounin looked out at the peaceful night that had laid Iwagakure to rest. He would do whatever it takes to keep this place as it was. He was no longer alone in this although, the boys and girls beside him had pledged their lives to his cause. Fukai treated himself to one last inhale of the still sweet air before he vanished, along with the rest of his squad. The group’s instantaneous body flicker misplacing no more than a pinch of dust.

-----
They all knew where they were going, the alert that they were responding to was delivered from an outside force stimulating Subterra’s extensive information network. This network, as well as the rest of the group’s infrastructure had been meticulously developed by the other co-leader of Subterra, a man by the name of Rat. Born in the gutters of the city’s darkest corner, the man had raised himself with a hardiness and persistence that could move mountains. Despite his terrible childhood that left his face terribly mutilated, he had grown into a man that had followed his vision and built something great. Out of the light of the establishment’s order, he had fostered a place where the souls that had been forgotten by the state could gather, working with one another for communal benefit. One such kid he had picked up on the way was a young man by the name of Gi. His past was unknown to Fukai, but his skill with blending into the shadow was not. Serving as Rat’s right hand, they had done what Fukai had previously thought to be an impossible feat.

As Subterra had grown, Rat’s ambition grew with it. He was no longer satisfied with catching the dregs of people and trying to assimilate them into the organisation. He saw overlooked injustice with each turn of his head but he was powerless to right it. This was because Subterra itself did not have any military strength. This was where Fukai had come in. Rat had singled him out as the best candidate for the job, tracking him down and introducing him to his world. After an adventure or two, Fukai had agreed to join as one of the leaders. His job would be managing Subterra’s operations and military training. There he had begun to develop the youngsters of the organisation into a united force while conducting strike missions around the countryside. Yes, Fukai had a lot on his plate, also starting to investigate the Crimson Elite from the inside as per Karumo’s wishes, but that was another story for a different time.
-----

Fukai flew silently over the stone hills, his mountain goat physique coupled with perfect control of supernatural walking practice allowed him to traverse across Tsuchi no Kuni’s rugged landscape with little effort. He seemed to almost glide, his sharp features hidden in thick wool. His squad was still following, the large male able to pick up his subordinate’s less refined movements with sharp senses. They were going to the country’s border today, reports told them of a high threat level coming from the Land of Rivers, a country that was tightly nestled in between Iwagakure and Kumogakure and had a history of instability. There was fear that the recent drama between Kumo and Kiri had given the political structure within the Land of Rivers one shake too many. If he could have had his way, Fukai would have asserted himself on the smaller country and secured it for peace but he just simply didn’t have that much reach. Subterra had grown a lot recently for sure, but their main prerogative still lay in domestic issues. All they could do was to clean up messes such as this when the situation had broiled to burning point.

So that was how it was. It had taken the dozen stone shinobi almost a whole day to reach the north eastern border, but they were here at the location that had been decided upon. The landscape around this area was dangerous for those that didn’t know their way through. But here lay a dried up and overgrown stream that snaked its way east, the natural erosion that had occurred generations ago had left this area comparatively hospitable. Due to a natural disaster, the water flow had been diverted along a more parallel path with the border. It was likely that any attacking force would make their way through this area. They had sent a scout ahead, but without any luck he had come back. That was fine, Fukai didn’t expect too much from his juniors, it seemed like they would have to sit and wait while slowly combing the area with scouting parties.

It hadn’t been too long before a quiet alert went out, signalling Fukai that someone’s presence had been detected. The squad sat and watched as a young man moved through the countryside. He was tall and had silver hair, much like Fukai himself. He didn’t look much like an invading force at all. While he was moving peculiarly, he didn’t seem to be keeping out of direct lines of sight from vantage points like experienced shinobi would do, no, it looked more like he was treading lightly, eyes scanning the ground and nearby foliage. It wasn’t a direct route either, moving between points of interest, creating more of a zigzag pattern. However his coincidental arrival was a bit too much for Fukai’s suspicious mind. He was about to make a move when he caught sight of something through the trees, a couple hundred metres further ahead. A few whispered commands and the squad silently moved to get into position, leaving the young man below unaware of what was about to take place.

A minute later, ten dark figures would emerge from the landscape, they would dash out to find the solitary figure before them and rush to attack him. They would draw their weapons and jump at him, attempting to mercilessly kill him. That is when the signal would go out. Fukai would appear before the gathering of shinobi, atop a five metre high ridge, looking down on the scene that was playing out before him. At the same time, the squad of Subterra operatives would jump out from their nearby hiding spots to engage the invaders. Steel would clash on steel as initial blows would be traded. Fukai would call out to them. “By invading the Tsuchi no Kuni, you have sealed your fate by my hand.” The absoluteness of his words would boom out through the trees. His staff would slide easily into his hand and he would hold it out in front of him, purple chakra rising from his body, coating him in a ferocious vortex.


[1234]

Maiker was browning in the river of frustration. No more leads on to where the monster could be hiding. He was almost ready to give up. Yet he was still feeling restless, a voice in his head whispered for some excitement. Maikeru thought about heading to the mountain investigate the Genjutsu tunnel. Maikeru felt like a genuine detective. Maikeru ran towards the direction of the mountain until out of nowhere he looks behind him to find ten figures had ambushed him. Maikeru should have been worried, though, his lust for excitement had been aroused.
“Finally some action!”

“By invading the Tsuchi no Kuni, you have sealed your fate by my hand.” Maikeru looked behind him and noticed that another group engaged them in combat. “Invaders of the Tsuchi, huh?” He looked over to see a man bearing a staff. A purple aura swirled around his body like a tornado made of energy. He appeared to be immensely powerful and confidence in his words. He must have been the leader of the operation. Maikeru looked over to see a man with a scythe attached to a chain. He swing it in circular motion, smiling at Maik, slowly licking his lips. “Ugh...gross.” Maikeru was soon rushed by the blade but side stepped it to avoid any server cuts. He stomps on the chain to hold it in place, preventing it from returning to its master. Maikeru tools his kunai, and threw it into his opponents thigh. He staggered, howling in pain like a crazed wolf. He quickly ran up to him, jumped into the air, and kicked his face. Maikeru stood up straight, looked over to his enemy. “You picked the wrong nation to invade.” Maikeru kicked the chain away, and rushed him for single hand to hand combat. Maikeru moved his leg to kick his side, but he jumped, blocking with his own leg, and forcing his foot down onto Maikeru's chest. Maikeru fell to the ground. The invader jumped into the air for a horizontal spin, sticking his foot out and came down to Maikeru. He rolled out of the way and got up to regain composure. Maikeru jumped forward and with his knee out, connecting with his gut. With him dubbed over, Maikeru used his other knee to connect with his face. Maikeru then tackled him to the ground and sat on top of him. Maikeru balled up his fists, and wailed on his face wildly. But, he had his arms close to his head, blocking his attacks. Maiker was getting frustrated, and grabbed his right arm and pulled it away. Maikeru Maikeru pulled back his own right arm, to give a heavy punch to the face. Maikeru shifted his body, moved his leg around his arm. He was now in an armbar. He hugged near where his shoulders were with his thighs, and squeezed to cut only a little bit of circulation, making his arn weak to move. He pulled and cranked the arm without mercy, listening to him cry out in pain. Maikeru moved his arm to the right to hear a loud snap. The invader went wild, tears and snot running down his face as Maikeru continued to work on the arm. He finally got up and looked onto him. He passed out. Maikeru looked at the others in the group who attacked the invaders to see if assistance was needed.

WC: 567/1121

Fukai stood above, observing the first steps of the clash. His squad had engaged the enemy in such a way that they had more or less paired up with one of the invaders. They performed just as he had taught them, parrying and dodging, staying safe and giving ground wherever possible. This was because they were quite young and an older and more experienced opponent would have the edge if they were to fight on equal footing. So this was the play: Slow down the assault and form a patterned defense. The squad had been eating, sleeping and training together since day one and their teamwork was impeccable. When one of them would slip up, another would appear at their flank, easing off the pressure while they regrouped. It was a formula that was built for sustainability rather than ruthless effectiveness. The fight would end much faster if they threw themselves into the fray, but the chance of success would go down and the chance of serious injury and death would dramatically increase.

It was almost like a game of chess, especially from his vantage point. Even a row of pawns were formidable when they were in the right position. The river shinobi would regroup and then attempt a coordinated attack, sending out a water wave at the Subterra squad and follow it up with three people rushing at the same spot. A battering ram ploy, a natural reaction to a wall of forces. Watching his squad form a fluid reaction to the attack brought a metaphorical tear to Fukai’s eye. Two of the Subterra members stepped up to the wave instead of making way for it, slashing through it with their chakra charged weapons, exploding the wave into droplets that gently rained down on the vicinity. Another hopped over their shoulder, challenging the two rushing foes at once while the original two struck their exposed underbellys. It was like Fukai himself were pulling the strings.

It looked like the wandering shinobi had joined in the fight, and he was fighting against the invaders. So maybe he was just a citizen in the wrong place at the wrong time. That made it Fukai’s prerogative to protect him. Although it seemed like he was handling himself just fine. Fukai was focused mostly on his troops but he couldn’t help but noticed the young man’s talent for combat, even if it were a little unrefined.

However, the line was starting to get beaten back. The troops were playing safe and giving ground just as they had been instructed to do. This meant that they had only suffered a few non-debilitating injuries. But they couldn’t keep this up too much longer. One of the Subterra operatives slipped and tumbled backwards. She was saved from the lunging attacker by her teammate, who copped a gash down his arm.

It was about time for the leader to join the fray himself. Fukai whistled once and then exploded at top speed from his place towards his squad’s line. Hearing the signal, they parted in the middle, leaving a hole so that Fukai may pass through. Pure, uninhibited raiton chakra flowed from Fukai’s pores. He had activated his Bolt Stride jutsu, allowing him to move like lightning itself. Each step was taken with casual care, despite him moving at a wicked 40 metres every second. A shuriken whizzed at his face, Fukai responded with a stretch of the neck, his keen eyes tracking it and predicting its path. Splinter, the long wooden pole that Fukai now carried, was up and at the ready.

With the first step, the River shinobi didn’t see him coming, her eyes not focusing of the flash of purple before Splinter would smash into her left trapezius, it’s wicked grooves grating her skin and carving chunks of flesh from her neck and shoulder.

With the second step, the raiton chakra was diverted to his side as he pivoted 90 degrees and instantly accelerated to his second target, whirling around and smash into the bridge of the next man’s nose, sending him to sleep for a few years. And if that man were to awake, he would find most of his face missing.

With the third step, Fukai once again diverted Bolt Step and pivoted the reverse direction, instead going low to duck under a stray blow, A lazy strike that would not be able to catch him. He would land on the ball of his foot and use the chakra flow to spin him like a top, gaining momentum that powered a windmill strike, hitting two and cleaning up the back end of the invading forces. He would take his fifth step long before the initial shuriken had landed on the ground. Four bodies crumpled as Fukai rose. There was one last man behind him that would see his comrades fall dead. He ran at Fukai, yelling.

The entrance of the jounin would fully disrupt the invading force, the Subterra squad taking full advantage and collapsing inward on their panicking foes. But there was one target that had slipped through, and in the frenzy, would charge the young man that had been wandering along the path before the fight...


[877] /2111

Maikeru ducked as a spear moved towards his face, like a missile. Maikeru side stepped a sword that was aimed for his lower abdomen. He Maikeru stood between two ninja, and was feeling pressured. Maikeru decided to use the numbers against them. As the man took another jab at Maik. He anticipated this, as Maikeru grabbed hold of the spear, and used the momentum to stab the swordsman in his chest. Maikeru took out his Kunai, and stabbed the spearman in his neck. Maikeru started to enjoy himself. "Is that all you guys got?" Maikeru would soon eat his words, as he felt muscular arms hug him from behind. He felt himself be lifted, and come face to face with their ground. Maikeru was slammed on the hard ground. He was than picked back up, and thrown into the river. Maikeru opened his eyes and held his breath, he created a hand seal, using Shadow Clone Jutsu while submerged in the water. He had his clone jump jump from out of water, and attempt to land a punch on the man. He fails, just as Maikeru plotted. The large man grabs the clone, turns around to slam him on the ground. The clone disappears leaving the man surprised. Maikeru jumped out of the water as his clone did, this time equipped with a kunai in hand. He slit his throat as he landed to the ground.

Maikeru was given a thumbs up by an ally. Maikeru smiled back at him. The moment was cut short by an arrow flying into his head. Maikeru looked in all directions to find the origins of the arrow. He looked over on a hill, covered in bushes. Maikeru knew he was aware that he knew his location. Maikeru ran towards the bushy hill, using hand signs. He than used the Snake hand seal to summon 3 mud wolves from the Earth. Maikeru had them run towards the sniping marksman, avoiding arrows while his wolves regenerated when they were hit. The man kept shooting until he was finally tackled and viciously bitten. He had the dogs move out of the way too look at the beaten man. "I'd like you to meet my dogs, Larry Curly and Mo. Don't mind them. They can be real stooges." Maikeru pulled his fist back and launched a powerful punch to the temple. Maikeru felt good, getting some action. He was victorious in his battles against the invaders. He looked to his new comrades, only to find some of them weren't pegging as well as Maikeru was. Just as Maikeru was about to up his game, a swift blur made of electricity passed Maikeru, sloshing his clothing in its direction.

He watched as he dodged a shuriken and revealed a pole, and used it to slice one of the enemy's necks. The mysterious ally smashed another one in the face, sending him flying. Maikeru saw the hideous remains of what used to be his face. Maikeru watched the powerful ninja make quick work of what was remained of the invading forces. He than heard a wicked yell from behind, and saw a man with a dagger raised high above his head. Maikeru ran spun, moving behind him, and grabbed his wrist with the dagger. Maikeru bent his arm back, and held on to his shoulder with his off hand. With the man's hand yielded to the back of his head, Maikeru pushed him forward slightly, but with a good amount of force. He had his arm yielded back much further, snapping his shoulder blade. He dropped his daggers and fell to the floor, crying out in pain. Maikeru took out his kunai, and jabbed it through his eye, leading to his brain. Maikeru shook the blood and brain matter off his kunai. He looked around to see the remainder of the invaders flee the scene. Maikeru looked around at the mess of things. Bodies of enemies and allies were laid out. Maikeru approached the more powerful man, who he assumed was the leader of this group. Maikeru asked "hey nice to meet ya. Now...who were those people?"

WC: 694/1815

A desperate decision made by a desperate man. Upon seeing his comrades fall to the ground in useless heaps, the last River shinobi lashed out Fukai. The anbu operative could see the helplessness in his eyes. He had already given up. One blow on the hand to disarm, another to the shoulder to unbalance, and then a last to the gut to make him fold over. Standing above the downed man, Fukai reached down and pulled him by the scruff of his flak jacket, onto his knees. Forcing his head back by pulling the hair on the back of his head, Fukai had a good look at the sole survivor of the invasion. Blood and dirt marbled his skin, a cut on his head coated the left side of his face in a glossy red sheen. His eyes had already gone cloudy and distant, there was no more fight left in him.

The young man that the Iwagakure squad had protected walked towards Fukai. “Hey nice to meet ya. Now...who were those people?" would near, one of the young women of Subterra would hold her arm out in front of him, blocking his path to Fukai while she watched her master converse with the enemy shinobi. Fukai had heard the question, but had ignored it for now. His focus was on completing the job. It would be clear by the atmosphere that the man would have to wait. The rest of the Subterra shinobi were scattered around the battle site, a few tending to their comrade's wounds, the rest checking the bodies of their fallen enemies. The few times that they would find someone still alive, they would pull a blade and slit their throat. It was an unsightly mess, but then again, war was never pretty.

"What are the plans of the River?" The anbu agent's voice was cold and stiff. He wasn't much of an interrogator, and was usually much more comfortable sticking holes in people. But the new wave of anbu missions had called for more from the purple eyed man, requiring him to stay adaptable and really testing his mettle.
The captured man looked up at Fukai with a grim smile. “Who would have thought we would meet the Violet Wraith so early on…” Violet Wraith, Fukai had heard this a few times over the last few months. It seemed like he had picked up a nickname, one that he had first heard from people out of the north western countries. His long track record of subduing and eliminating threats that arose from the western ranges seemed to have left a lasting impression on those who lived and worked in that part of the world.

It didn’t seem like the man was going to talk, even in his predicament. Fukai knew this look, he was ready to die. One option was to try torture, but it wasn’t really to the jounin’s taste and it definitely wasn’t the time or place. Instead, he decided to go in a different direction. He took an inward breath and then spoke. “Do you, have any family back home?”. That had caught his attention. The middle aged River shinobi now focused on Fukai.
“They will live on without me, they will grow up and seek-”
“But can you live without them?” Fukai openly threatened. The man’s eyes widened. “I will do whatever it takes to prevent any threat to this country. And if I have to deal with you lot again, I will come to take down your home brick by brick, and no one will be spared”. Fukai waited for his words to sink in before continuing. “So here is what you will do. You go back home and provide council to the next generation. You will tell them of how all resistance against Iwagakure is met with merciless execution and you tell them to never return.” With that last word, Fukai turned away, waving one finger above his head in a circle, signalling the mission wrap up to his squad. His little pep talk may not end up working, but it was worth a try. Hopefully after seeing their force be decimated, he was a little surer of Iwa's dominance.

The Subterra agents had finished tending to the bodies and their wounded and had gathered, ready to move out. Silently they observed their leader, waiting for his order. One point from Fukai and the agents moved, starting off home at a forced march pace. It would be now that Fukai would turn and address the young man that had been caught up in the event. “Come, we will escort you back to the village. We will need your details” Given that the young man followed him, he would start walking back in the direction of the hidden village. Even if he didn’t turn out to be an Iwa shinobi, his story would still need to be recorded and probably questioned.

“You handled yourself well, that was a tough spot to be in. It appears you have some talent” It was true, the stranger who had happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time had adapted to the situation and been able to not only stay alive, but to retaliate in superb fashion. “These people were an assault force sent by the Village hidden in the Rivers, we acted on our intel and managed to intercept them before they made it very far. I can’t tell you much more, the information is classified”. Fukai obviously couldn’t talk about the mission with an unknown.
“So tell me, who are you? What were you doing out here?”



[953] /3064