Mission Details:

Shigeki awoke to a knock at his door, something that he certainly hadn't been expecting. He rubbed his eyes and slipped out of bed, the blankets sliding off of him and revealing his slender naked body to the elements. He sighed as he realised he wasn't wearing shorts, and also that he didn't really have time to go and find a pair of them to put on. Instead he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself, since although he didn't particularly care if the person saw him naked, they might not like it themselves. There was another knock, and he moved over to open the door, looking the person standing there over a few times. They were clearly shocked that Shigeki was wearing only a sheet, which was not really doing that much to cover him up as it was thin, and you could see everything outlined on him fairly easily. The person's face turned a little bit red as he looked away from Shigeki, holding something in hius hand. He was dressed in the gear of a shinobi of the village, so Shigeki assumed it was likely a mission.

"Um...Shigeki Kanetsu, the Tsuchikage has sent work for you..." He kept awkwardly looking away from Shigeki, which made him chuckle slightly. He took ahold of the letter in the man's hand and traded it for some money, before thanking the man, giving him a wink and closing the door, enjoying the fact that he had been blushing. Shigeki was attractive for either gender, but that made a lot of men quite uncomfortbale, something that he quite enjoyed. He loved being able to cause people to question themselves, something that he really took great pride in. He opened up the letter and read what his instructions were.

Apparently he was to be paired up with a chuunin from the village and the two of them were to reinforce the Bastion Adamantine, which was essentially a small fortress in the middle of a construction zone. He got showered and dressed in simple clothes that he wore for training and such, mesh shirt with a long black coat, mesh gloves and long tights with knee high leather platform boots. He made his way towards where the letter had told him to meet with the Chuunin and stood there, tapping his toe on the ground. He was curious to see who this person was, and how they would work together. He had been meeting a lot of new people recently in the village, people who he hadn't even noticed when he was active before. He sighed softly and lit a cigarette, looking towards the sky as he inhaled the smoke into his lungs and held it there. He would pass it through his nose and watch it rise towards the beautiful sunny sky, his toes making divits in the snow as he stood there waiting.

Shigeki smiled softly as he looked around at the snow, watching the beautiful winter scene unfolding in front of him. He was glad he lived in Iwa instead of a place like Suna, where he would never get to see such sights. The sun refelcted off of the snow in a glaring way that actually bothered his eyes a little bit, but he didn't let that bother him, instead simply enjoying the beauty of nature around him. It was a good day to be outside, and he was really happy he had gotten back to work. He took one more drag and made a few rings this time before exhaling the rest through his nose through the rings...

609

Snoooooooooore.

Oki swayed from side to side in a hammock outside, Debu batting at it with a paw to keep it from stopping, growling somewhat as the bear tried to wake up the sleeping idiot. Still in his world of dreams, the large chuunin simply kept snoring. This was beginning to annoy the bear, which was getting fairly bored of trying to wake up Oki. Fed up, Debu stood up on its rear legs, growling in its throat before swiping down and smacking Oki in the chest, causing an almost comical “Oof!” as he suddenly curled up, eyes wide and clutching at his torso, coughing somewhat. “Who’s attacking?!” he demanded, looking around and attempting to sit up – not a good move in a hammock, as the bear man quickly fell out of the hammock, and face first into the dirt.

Somewhat dazed, he looked up, before realising that Debu was the one that woke him up. Grunting as he adjusted himself to sit up, Oki moved around, sighing as he stayed sat down and looked at Debu, quickly realising what it was – the bear had something in its mouth, a letter of some sorts. In truth, a messenger arrived prior that morning with the letter, Debu taking the letter and nudging a few ryo the poor messenger’s way – they probably needed it after being greeted by a bear first thing in the morning. Still, now that he had the note, Oki read through it. Another mission… Furthermore, one where he was assigned to work with a jounin to reinforce the fortress Iwagakure had a reputation for; Bastion Adamantine. He hummed, stroking his goatee for a moment before nodding. He got up to his feet, stroking Debu on the head as he continued to read through the specifics of the mission. The Kuma clan grounds had been kept warm and lit from lamplight, but as the outdoorsman of a chuunin looked around now, he was pleasantly surprised to find the fields and hills of white, snow coating the normally dirt and stone roads and hills of Iwagakure. He smiled, nodding to himself as he walked indoors, not exactly feeling like going on a mission in his pink and white bear onesie that he slept in.

After a brief period of getting changed, Oki walked out of the clan grounds with Debu besides him, both of the two having the Iwagakure forehead protector around their necks like a collar. Clad in his usual black and brown training gear, shorts, vest top, and a long white jacket that had many rips from battles and missions, the Kuma clan emblem on his back.  Around his shoulders he wore a chain that jingled with his steps, wrapped around him like a scarf. His breath frosted on the air, little mists escaping his lips. The sound of snow crushing beneath his footsteps as he walked the beaten path, the tinge and nip of the Iwagakure winter cold, the blankets of white that embraced the ground. Oki smiled, stepping and walking forwards to the meeting place. This was looking to be a good day.

After about half an hours walking, the duo arrived at the meeting point, walking over to the only person that seemed to be an actively on duty shinobi. As they approached, Oki found himself humming, estimating things about the fair faced… Person. He’d find out what they were through the mission he was sure, otherwise he didn’t really care. The individual was smoking and seemingly just waiting around, it didn’t take much to put two and two together. Oki waved casually as he approached, Debu merely plodding alongside with as much disinterest as ever. At this time of year, it was much more preferable to hibernate. The bear chuunin grinned, speaking up and pointing to himself. “Oki of the Kuma clan, reporting in for the mission, same with Debu here.” At the mention of his bear companion, the large guy gestured to the bear with his head, continuing to smile.

667

Shigeki watched as a rather large man approached him with a...bear? in tow. That was surprising to say the least, he hadn't been expecting to see that. He noticed that the man and the bear both wore their Iwagakure forehead protectors around their necks, like he himself did, though he had fashioned his onto an actual leather collar. He was dressed light someone who had just stepped out of a street gang, and Shigeki had dealt with a few of those in his day, with the hair and goatee to match. It was interesting to see a shinobi like him, someone who was clearly a little bit older than Shigeki but still a Chuunin. Shigeki, of course, was wrong in his assumption, but that didn't matter. He nodded as the man and bear approached him and Oki Kuma introduced himself and Debu. Shigeki kind of liked him, he seemed like the kind of person who did this job just because he enjoyed it and life, or that was what he was getting anyway.

"Nice to meet you Oki...and Debu." He spoke in his soft voice, nodding towards the two of them. "I am Shigeki of the Kanetsu clan, cousin of Kazu, a former Tsuchikage. I've been told that we're supposed to go and protect the fortress here from bandits or something along those lines. I'm not really expecting to find much, as that would be odd, but you never know. If Karumo thinks it's important, and is willing to pay us for it, than I'm all for it." He chucked softly, looking back towards where they were supposed to go, and beginning to walk in that direction. The snow made it easy to track people if they needed too, but it also made it just as easy to be tracked. He was keeping an eye out for the footprints of the several ninja who were apparently lurking around the area, but he knew that tracking wasn't his specialty.

"Oki, how are you at tracking people? I am unfortunately worthless in that regard. I have never learned any form of sensory technique in my days, but with your friend there I assume you might have a way to do so?" He was partly doing this because he wasn't overly good at tracking, but also because he wanted to see how the Chuunin would do with the task. He was generally expected to keep an eye on any shinobi of lower rank who he was working with, so besides being a way to get rid of a bit of the ring rust he had developed over the years, this would also be a good way for him to get some information on the person who he was on the mission with. He kept an eye out for footprints in the snow as he went, his own footfalls melting snow around his feet, as was common for any Kanetsu.

1106

Oki nodded, listening as the shorter person spoke. In fact, was this person a kid, or just, very, very soft featured? He’d have to ask if the moment came up, since, well, it seemed like a better alternative than an awkward moment of Oki calling the person a kid, followed by finding out the person was, like, fifty two or something. Still, it seemed the person was related to a former Tsuchikage. Impressive, and given his rank, Oki imagined this Shigeki person was able to live up to expectations no doubt placed upon him from a young age. It was for that reason that Oki was glad to be born into the family he was – not only did he love his family, but he had nothing to live up to, and any story he made for himself, none could claim was from lineage. Still, he listened as the Kanetsu explained a bit more of the mission. It made sense, and if it was going to be a relatively easy job, all the better then.

“Hah!” the bear chuunin couldn’t help but chuckle as he was asked if he could do tracking. A proud, toothy grin spread across his lips as he rolled his shoulders, before gesturing to his brown bear companion, who plodded forward to meet next to him. As Shigeki finished asking if the bear man could do tracking, he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he nodded even more, tapping his nose with a clawed finger. “The nose knows.” He stated with a hearty chuckle, before dropping down to all fours, looking almost like the bear beside him as the two began to move around, separating with Debu heading a distance to the side, the two’s heads moving back and forth as they moved around. Like one would imagine of a dog, not a bear, Oki began walking forwards, slowly, leaving clawed footprints and handprints in the snow – unless given a good reason, he tended to avoid wearing shoes, for a multitude of reasons such as practicality. Still, he continued sniffing, stalking forwards and moving in a zig-zag pattern, sniffing behind him, sniffing himself, then sniffing forwards. Without turning to look back, and while sniffing between every other word, Oki spoke up then. “So, Shigeki… Any information on what the people might look like, or, where they were spotted? I’m not the best tracker in the world, but, I can track nonetheless based on scent! So, if there’s a specific location, or any details that might suggest a type of smell, such as… If they looked like farmers, or smiths, for example, then I could work more effectively! Debu too!” he grinned, feeling proud of his tracking abilities. They were far from the best, but, the best wasn’t always needed. And perhaps one day he would be a better tracker. For now, that didn’t matter, and Oki continued to sniff search, Debu wandering more to the side, before searching perpendicular to Oki’s position, roughly ten metres away from the bear chuunin. As an almost second thought, he then added. “Bastion Adamantine is not exactly a small wall. If there were any areas that would be specific to check, then perhaps we should go there.”

536 + 667 = 1203

Chakra: 185/200 (-15 for C rank jutsu)
Debu: 25/40 (-15 for C rank jutsu)

Jutsu used:

His laugh was hearty and enchanting. Shigeki couldn't help but smile at how this man seemed to be truly enjoying himself. He had a difficult time imagining how someone could be so happy with doing this job, but it was good to see that it was indeed possible. He had never felt particularly thrilled to be a shinobi, though this time around he was having a considerably better time than his previous run at the job. It was likely due to the absolute low point he had hit while he wasn't working, but it hadn't seemed as tedious and useless as the last time he had been one. Being around people like this Oki made him remember that being a shinobi could be a great thing. You were helping people, and while there was also the flip side of that, you didn't have to always focus on the negative. There were negatives in every job, and the goal today was to protect the wall against nasty people, or at least that's what Shigeki would tell himself.

He watched as the larger ninja got down and began to sniff the ground, a lot like the bear who he was accompanied by. They began slowly walking forward, Shigeki very curious as to what it must be like to have the senses of an animal. His pattern seemed to have nothing to it, which Shigeki was curious about as well. It was amazing to see the man work in an area that Shigeki honestly knew nothing about. He was looking forward to seeing how he would fight as well, wondering how the physical prowess of this impressive man compared to his tracking prowess. As he spoke, he asked Shigeki for some more information, Shigeki's eyes watching the bear moving along about ten meters away from the man. Shigeki stroked his chin, trying to think if he had actually been given any other information besides "they're skulking around the wall" which of course he had, it just hadn't seemed overly important until now. He often wondered why Kazu had decided to so quickly make him a Jounin, hampering his growth in the process, but he generally just didn't question it.

"They look like shinobi, not sure what village or anything like that sadly. So that doesn't help that much. Apparently they're shady and have been scoping out the construction area of the wall, which makes sense as if anyone were to try to get through the wall, that would be the place to do it. Fortunately I don't think we're too far from there..." He looked around him, thumb fingering the mechanism that would spring his blade into action absentmindedly. He wasn't a strong man by any means, and he was simply hoping that he would be able to get through this whole ordeal intact, but with Oki Kuma here he certainly felt a little bit more at ease. "It is possible that they have gang ties to one of the gangs that had been run by the Missing-Nin who had been hiding out outside of our village, of course, so it is always best to be on high alert when dealing with people like that." If he had to do it, he knew he had several tricks up his sleeves that he could use. Being a genjutsu user gave you quite the variable bag of tricks, even if they generally weren't offensive in nature. He sighed softly as he kept trudging on, the construction area of the wall within sight, easily distinguishable from the stone laid all over the place. He was sure they would have some kind of barriers up to protect it, but it was always hard to know what kind of offence mystery opponents were bringing to the table, especially if they could be from villages that they weren't overly familiar with...

1765

Oki listened as the Kanetsu person spoke about the information he had on the mission, continuing to sniff at the ground. Vague information, with a vague location. All things that didn’t help when it came to sniffing and tracking, as it meant there were no things or signs he could smell for. For example, someone from Kiri would most likely have a slightly salty smell to them, whereas someone from Suna would likely smell like sand and sweat from the heat. But, without anything to know, all he had to do was hope they would frequent the same area – which supposedly, they did. The construction area, hm? The most structurally weak area… From a strategic point, it made sense, even to Oki.

As Shigeki spoke of the possible relations to gangs, Oki nodded, continuing to sniff away. It was best to generally be on alert at most times anyways, given that the world was full of ambushes due to the nature of shinobi, but, it made more sense why there would be enemy attacks on the wall if there was a chance for ties to a missing nin in the area. Oki hadn’t personally met a missing ninja, but, the idea of deserting one’s own village seemed… Odd to him. He supposed he couldn’t understand the situation, and perhaps one could have reason, but, the reason was beyond him for the moment. And regardless of one’s situation, it never excuses risking innocent lives.

Oki continued walking along, sniffing the air and the ground as he moved back and forth, side to side, and towards the construction area ahead. Debu meanwhile, had stopped sniffing for now, instead running over to the construction site, not wishing to waste what little chakra it had left on a search Oki had covered. Instead, the bear ran on ahead, moving over to where the construction site and looking around. It took a couple minutes for Oki to catch up, and it seemed workers were on break or something, for the construction had halted. If Oki had to guess, it was due to the cold weather and ice risk. Still, he stopped sniffing when he got to the construction site, shaking his head. As he spoke up. “Nope… Nothing. Well, not nothing. Plenty of smells, they linger unlike sight and sound. But, they blend as well. There’ve been people, but, I can’t tell which direction they went. I’d have to be familiar with a smell to use it for proper tracking, otherwise it’s just senses I can’t make sense of. Like seeing a logo you’ve never seen before, you know?”

Oki stretched out, standing back up to two legs and shaking his head as he stroked at his goatee, Debu looking around. “No workers around. Probably due to the icy conditions making it unsafe. I know if I was a construction worker, I wouldn’t want to fall off a wall I was building because it was cold!” he laughed, before looking out away from the wall and humming quietly in thought. “I’ll admit, I’m not much of a thinker! I find life’s more depressing if you go through thinking about things! So, as someone that’s a superior in terms of rank, what do you think about all of this? Any plan you think we should follow, or place we should wait? Just give the orders, Debu and I can carry our own weight if it boils down to a fight.” He ended his query with no small amount of pride, pointing at himself with a clawed thumb, grinning widely. Debu meanwhile, just kept watching out for signs of movement.

603 + 1203 = 1806

The young jounin stroked his chin gently as the larger male spoke about the different smells and a lot of stuff that simply meant virtually nothing to him. He didn't know anything about sensory jutsus, or about how animals tracked people, which was clearly how this man operated. He mentioned how there were no workers about, which was good as it meant there was less chance of people getting hurt if these two were to get into a fighting situation, which seemed like it would likely happen. Shigeki wasn't necessarily the combative type, but as a Kanetsu he knew a handful of large and extremely dangerous jutsus that he could pull from his arsenal at any given time. He sighed as he was asked what he thought of the situation and if he had any plans, noting that life is more depressing if you go through it while thinking about things. This statement made Shigeki chuckle slightly. He was a person who was generally depressed, and he was one of the brighter strategic minds in the village, always thinking a situation out before he got into anything, so maybe that statement bore some truth?

He glanced around once more, keeping an eye out on the construction area ahead. He could see several places that could easily be used as cover for people looking to hide out, and he made his way over towards the unfinished area of the wall. There was tons of stacks of stone, rubble underneath, and a clearly boarded off area on one side of the wall, where he assumed whatever area for walking you would have would be hidden. He kept an eye out, looking around for a bit before realizing that that was kind of an odd thing in itself, why you walk through the wall? You walked over it, that was why it was there. He took a closer look at the boards and chuckled softly. "You know what doesn't make sense? A doorway into a solid stone wall dead in the center of it. It might go unnoticed fairly easily, as people simply wouldn't question it, or wouldn't want to get close enough to take a good look, but once you figure it out it seems kind of obvious really." His eyes continued to scan the boards, a kunai in his hand as he searched. He was fairly sure that this was some form of illusion, and that he should be able to simply walk through it, but something else was causing it to be a little more permanent. It was an idea he himself had been toying with, learning to use fuuinjutsu in order to make his own illusions more based in reality. The only issue with Fuuinjutsu, however, was there was always a physical seal, which Ryuto found trying to hide itself in the "wooden planks".

He smiled once more before drawing the tip of the Kunai over the seal, breaking it as the Illusion would fade away. When it did it revealed a small tunnel leading underground, which would have been impossible to notice with the tricky genjutsu there. He wondered how the person had done it, and was quite impressed with their handiwork, but at the same time it worried him a little bit. He knew he would have to be more cautious now as he made his way into the base, as it was very likely that there would be more traps around the area, for if they had gone through that work to hide the place, how far would they go to protect it? "Keep close to me, and be careful. I imagine this isn't the last trap illusion we will run into in this place, which can be extremely dangerous depending on how impressive the user is." He began the descent down a set of stairs, moving slowly and keeping an eye out on the walls and each step below him to ensure that he wasn't going to set anything else off. These bandits were fairly smart, and Shigeki knew that if he wasn't careful it could lead to trouble for him and the other male with him...

2465

As Shigeki spoke up, pointing to the door in the stone wall, and stating the oddity of it. Oki stroked at his goatee, nodding slowly and listening. It was the sort of thing Oki would never have thought about, and as Shigeki walked closer to the piles of wooden planks scattered about, Oki simply watched and listened. Upon closer inspection, he agreed entirely with what the jounin stated. It did seem odd, and with a placement that seemed out of place even to the oblivious chuunin. Not that Oki would confess to not having thought anything of it at first. He watched with a cocked brow as the Kanetsu began moving a kunai around in the wooden planks, before eventually, the illusion dissolved, and the thing that the illusion was disguising and hiding became revealed. A tunnel, leading beneath the ground… Beneath the wall, perhaps?

As Shigeki walked over to the tunnel and into it, speaking further, Oki simply nodded and followed, cracking his knuckles in preparation. He stroked at his goatee in thought as he descended behind Shigeki, and behind him, his bear companion plodded as well, looking and sniffing around cautiously. Oki’s olive eyes observed the dark area, shoulders tense as he stayed on the alert. He light out a light growl below his breath as he made sure to stay on his toes. The last thing he felt like doing was being caught in an illusion… A tricksy sort of fighting that he didn’t respect, or understand. He was a warrior from a warrior clan after all. Fighting was to be done with strength and skill – manipulation was for the thieves, the assassins, or the cowards. And Oki had respect for none of the three. One took from those, often less fortunate than their own. One took the lives of others for payment. And the third would rather flee and see themselves survive before anyone else, than stay and die with their comrades. Or fight, to save their comrades.

He shook his head, and with it, the thoughts out of his head. Oki wasn’t a thinker. He was a doer, and right now, the do was the mission of defending the bastion. So, he figured he’d give a bit of conversation, voice hushed, and not as boisterously loud as before. “You lead, I’ll follow. I’ll admit I’m not much of a thinker. I have Debu behind me, and his nose should be able to keep us safe from rear ambush. So, when we find whoever created and hid this tunnel, just point and I’ll give them a bit of the old Kuma clan greeting.” He grinned slightly, nodding to himself, stepping lightly on the descent and being sure to evenly distribute his weight. His feet were like paws, plodding against the stone ground, and Oki simply kept looking from left to right, as if expecting the walls to part and reveal a surprise attack, or to collapse at any moment.

After a brief pause, Oki gathered his thoughts together, speaking up once more. “So, I’ve got two questions, one about the mission, and one on something off topic. To pass the time and all that. So, let’s go with not mission first. So, how long have you been a shinobi for? If you don’t mind me asking and all that. Just curiosity, from one member of the stone, to another. I find it’s reassuring, to know just a little bit about a comrade. You know? Reminds me that we aren’t just weapons or warriors. We’re all people, all of who ended up in this life one way or another. And the mission related question is this. How long do you think this tunnel stair case has been here? Because either it took a long time of planning and creation, or the enemy comprises of at least one doton specialist. We should hope for the latter. Illusions alone aren’t fun, but we’re underground. Not the best fighting moment against an earth release user, you know?” he finished speaking, waiting to hear how the jounin would reply.

678 + 1806 = 2484

The large man told Shigeki that he should lead the way, which wasn't an ideal situation for the Kanetsu Jounin, since he wasn't a physical fighting type. He didn't particularly want anything to do with being in the front, as all that meant was there was a far better chance that he would end up dead or in a situation that he wouldn't be able to get himself out of. He avoided conflict whenever possible, instead prefering to use his mind to solve different problems. He was a little bit on the weak side, which was something that his clan wasn't known for being. They were people of great strength and power generally, and then there was Shigeki. He could attribute most of his own issues to his abusive father, which he also assumed was why he ha never grown to be much stronger or more confident in his abilities. That man had taken the chances of a normal life from him, and it was something that he still despised to this day about his father, if he could even call him that.

Oki would continue to speak to Shigeki, asking him a couple of questions which Shigeki nodded approval to that he would indeed be willing to answer them. his first question was supposedly about the mission, or at least that's what he had said. He ended up asking Shigeki instead about how long he had been a shinobi. He told Shigeki that he liked the idea of knowing the people whom he was working with a little bit to remind himself that they were indeed people, not simply tools to be used. What was interesting about this statement, of course, was the fact that Shigeki himself had quit being a shinobi for the reason that they were merely seen as tools and nothing more. Kazu had been kind to him, but after he had vanished, the reminder hit Shigeki of how depressing the life of a shinobi truly was. He would then ask his second question, which was the one that was mission related. It was a good question too, asking about the length of time that the tunnel had been in this area. Shigeki would examine the walls of the tunnel as he began to answer the first question, running a hand along the surprisingly and likely unnaturally smooth stone, his doton affinity telling him that it was unlikely that this was natural.

"I became a shinobi when I was fifteen years old, so ten years ago. My cousin Kazu had just been promoted to the position of Tsuchikage and I was determined to help him out, since he had been protecting me for a little while before that. My life as a shinobi didn't last overly long. I was promoted to the rank of Jounin rather quickly, within my first few months out of the academy, which I imagine might have had something to do with my relationship to the kage, but also likely had more to do with my prowess at mental manipulation and with the yoton type of chakra. Our village didn't have many high ranking members since the loss of three kage in such short succession, and so I was chosen to pick up that mantle and start to try to fix the reputation of the stone. Unfortunately that would only last for a year or two before I ended up falling into a pretty dark place with the realization that shinobi weren't people in the eyes of those who hired us, we were simply tools...I spent...eight years, until very recently, in that darkness. My roommate ended up helping me out of it, and now I'm here. I'm happy to be back to work, as it feels like my life has some meaning again..."

His voice would trail of, stopping for a second to simply stare at the stone walls of the tunnel. He sighed but then caught himself, instead trying to focus at the task at hand and on the second question. His fingerless gloves were a preference specifically because he was able to still touch things, as skin to skin contact was important with certain genjutsu that Shigeki knew. In this case, however, it was also useful for touching the stone, which had absolutely no imperfections in it at all. That was something that made absolutely no sense, and Shigeki gritted his teeth slightly. "As for your second question, while it's hard to tell how old this tunnel is, I can tell you it was absolutely cut out of this stone using a jutsu. No tool could make a cut this clean. I would warn to keep an ear to the ground, as it is likely we will encounter at least one doton user down here, and hopefully not more than that. This is absolutely a terrible place to run into one..."

There was a funny little thing called Murphy's Law which stated that anything bad that could possibly happen would. Shigeki had been familiar with this concept of course, as it was generally a joke that people would tell one another if they were having a bad day or whatever, but in this case it just proved to be frustratingly true. He could feel the ground shift beneath his feet, barely noticeable but to a man who was as trained as he was in looking for signals and reacting to them, it was all that he needed. He motioned to Oki, pointing down as he would move forward, watching as the ground shifted and a pair of hands seemed to be visible under the ground, Shigeki creating a hand sign and causing the ground around the hands to turn into mud, which caused them to hear a cough as the person under the ground seemed to be in a spot of trouble. He looked down and then felt a Kunai strike him in the left arm, causing a grimace of pain as he looked behind him and saw two shinobi at the end of the hallway. "You deal with this one, I'll take them." He exclaimed through gritted teeth, an angry look on the young Kanetsu's face. Without listening to hear if Oki had acknowledged him or not, Shigeki quickly made his way down the hallway, taking the kunai out of his arm and focusing his chakra into it. He would throw the Kunai at his opponents, seeing the two of them watch it harmlessly move past them. That was all that Shigeki needed, however, as they would both be trapped in his Genjutsu.

He broke into a run, moving towards the two men who took their guards, Shigeki moving towards the one on the left, who was a little bit bigger than the other, and extracted the hidden blade from the gauntlet, swiping it across the man's throat. He could see his arm moving up to react, though it was just too slow, the main purpose of the genjutsu that Shigeki had hit them both with. They would take an extra half a second to process everything they were seeing, which would cause their reactions to be delayed as well. It was a weapon user's nightmare to be caught in, and it evened the playing field for someone like Shigeki, who watched the crimson spray erupt from the first man's throat, the second placing his hand to the wall and creating a spike of earth that Shigeki had already began to move out of the way of. This spike would impale his friend as Shigeki would aim another attack at this man, bringing his hand in below his chin and stabbing the blade through just below his chin and into the man's brain, breaking the genjutsu and causing him to slump to the ground as Shigeki retracted the blade, listening behind him as he heard at least three more people joining Oki. He would turn to look back towards him, hoping he was doing alright without the Jounin there with him...

3818

Chakra 270/300:

Oki listened to the lithely built jounin speak, inadvertently revealing his age as he told Oki the story. It was somewhat baffling to him. This person was related to an ex-Tsuchikage? He had to say, that was somewhat impressive. No, not somewhat. It just generally was impressive. If Oki was the sort to go out and do research, perhaps he would look up to see who the Tsuchikage Kazu was. Instead, he wouldn’t do that, and would likely forget the fact. Still, it was certainly interesting for the moment. Although, perhaps Oki still would have preferred to have not asked, as the next little tidbit of information revealed that this person was a genjutsu user. The bear chuunin felt his eye twitch a bit. Genjutsu… He refused to treat it as a real way of fighting, although for now he bit his tongue to avoid causing any internal conflict. They were on a mission. Personal belief could come later.

As his answer reached a rather sombre ending, the answer to the second question arose from the brief silence that ensued. A jutsu. Oki stretched his arms, rolling his soldiers and twitching his nose. Olive eyes scanned around, doing what he could to ensure that the enemy did not get the drop on them, and just generally keeping an eye out. A slight tremor within the ground, before suddenly a pair of hands. Certainly a doton user, as had been expected. His bear companion crouching low and beginning to growl as the fight had begun – the trio had been caught in a little ambush. As a kunai struck the jounin, Oki snarled almost within a feral manner before nodding at the order. “Debu! Watch the entrance of the tunnel! It’s fight time!” he declared with an uproarious voice.

Leaning down and stepping forwards, Oki gripped around the wrists of the man that was stuck within the mud, nails dragging lightly against the skin with a vice like grip. Gasps and chokes were heard beneath the ground as Oki began to heave upwards, dragging the man out from beneath the ground. Once above, however, the relief of air was not to last, as Oki released his grip for but a moment, wrapping his arms now around the bandit’s torso from behind. With a fanged, toothy grin, he leant backwards, roaring out as he slammed the target backwards with him, head first into the ground with a loud slam, suplexing him. Of course, this was a real combat situation, and so Oki did not allow time in case the suplex was not enough, using the momentum of the attack to roll backwards over the groaning male. Curling up his right fist, Oki delivered a single, brutal gut punch.

Soon, however, Oki heard the roaring and growling of Debu, as a further three enemies arrived from the way they had come. It truly was an ambush. Spinning on his heel and crouching into a defensive posture, he gestured for the bear to retreat behind him, to which the bear obeyed. Raising his left arm slightly in front of his right, and legs barely a shoulder width apart in a somewhat L shaped posture, back up straight – Oki got himself in a rather generic posture and position for close quarters combat. Of course, this was assuming the shinobi foes would be dumb enough to get within close range of the man. Given that there was one of their comrades currently groaning in pain before him though, the answer was clearly a no.

The first of the men drew a weapon, a kunai to be precise, taking a slow and cautious step in towards the behemoth of a chuunin. To this, Oki stepped forward slowly as well, shuffling while maintaining his crouched and defensive posture. A little dance of battle was about to begin, at least in Oki’s mind. Fighting one on one.

Of course, just because something was within Oki’s mind did not mean it would actually happen.

With a suddenness that the bear man had not expected, there was a sharp feeling within his forward arm. Then a second. Blood began to seep down his arm and onto the floor as he looked to find two shuriken lodged in his arm. With a third incoming. It hurt. And with the pain, came anger. Focusing chakra throughout his body, the pain intensified, Oki practically frothing at the mouth in pain before roaring out loud in a deafening shout. The third shuriken harmlessly clattered to the ground before reaching him, a slight bit of rubble from the tunnel dropping next to him, mere pebbles in size. But Oki paid it no mind, having practically tunnelled in on the nearby shinobi as he dropped his posture and dropped to one that was more primal, and less official, as if replicating that of his bear companion.

Running forwards at a full sprint, chakra began to surge around the bear mans uninjured fist, taking form as he ran in the shape of a bear. Startled by the sudden ferocity, the enemy hesitated, perhaps a bad idea. Ten meters had passed, and with a violent swing, the chakra coated fist connected with the chest of the enemy, who dropped the kunai as he went flying backwards an absurd distance of fifteen meters. Yet even as the hit connected, the enraged chuunin didn’t stop, setting his sights now on the one that had embedded the shuriken within his arm with a roar, chasing the two of them as they retreated, all the way up and back out of the tunnel, Debu meanwhile just turning and watching as the Kanetsu jounin finished up the fight he was doing.

Outside meanwhile, Oki had caught up with the other two shinobi, who had decided to try to fight off the enraged bear shinobi. Shuriken still embedded in his arm, fire still burning within his eyes, Oki rushed towards the nearest of them, who gathered chakra within their throat. The second meanwhile, threw more shuriken at the bear man. Stopping in an instant, he skidded into a crouched posture, chakra coursing through his skin and hardening it as the shuriken bounced harmlessly to the ground. Meanwhile, a ball of fire erupted from the mouth of the other, once more harmlessly skidding across his skin. Yet the hardened coating itself was also worn through, and so Oki once more began the attack.

Walking back into the tunnel to where Shigeki and Debu were left, Oki returned, feet heavy against the ground. With him, however, were the two he had been fighting outside, slumped over a shoulder each. From the scratches and light burns covering Oki, it was obvious and apparent that they didn’t go down without a fight, but from the intense bruising, and the lack of consciousness, they did still go down. Heavily breathing, Oki gathered his composure, looking to the jounin who had finished his fight while the bear man wasn’t looking. Dropping both of the enemies to the ground in a rather ungraceful manner, the bear chuunin stretched his arms out, finally removing the shuriken from his skin and throwing them aside. Now rolling his shoulder, he sighed, getting his body loosened and less stiff.

“Bah, that technique always hurts…” he muttered, before turning his attention to the Kanetsu, rubbing Debu on the head gently. “So, that’s those lot dealt with. Do you reckon there are any more? And if the answer is no, what do we do with the tunnel? We could always cause a cave in, but that would pose risk. I don’t know any techniques that could seal this up, so, I can’t be any good there aha! You’re the one in charge of this mission, and thinking was never my forte. So, what’s the plan mister lava man?” he asked and declared with a jolly laugh, hands shaking somewhat from the use of his bearserk technique. The intense pain from over forcing the stimulation was never something he enjoyed, although it tended to have effective results.

1341 + 2484 = 3825

Chakra: 140/ 200 (-15 for C rank jutsu, -10 for D rank, -20 for B rank)

Jutsu used:

Oki nodded, following along with whatever orders were given by the man leading the operation. As the tunnel was closed and the duo left, Oki said his farewells to the man who lead the mission, the Kanetsu, before bowing, and walking off to return home after a successful mission, Debu walking alongside him. At this, the two went home, feet plodding heavily along the ground as Oki went to go rest, tend to his wounds, and have a nice relaxing cup of tea. The pain was still with him, and the entire trek home, his hands shook. And along the way, the bear duo stopped to sit beneath a tree, Oki stroking Debu atop the head and hugging his bear companion close to him like one would imagine a simple pet, like a lap dog. He smiled and laughed, and as his hands shook the bear simply kept close to him. There, beneath a spruce tree and among blades of grass and dirt, Oki keeps close to the bear, and the two sat there until Oki’s pain ceased, before getting up, and leaving for home.

185 + 3825 = 4010

EXIT

OOC: Exiting and finishing the mission due to inactivity, sorry Calvin.

Training: