Dawn had always been Utau’s favorite time of day. It was peaceful, calm, silent. And yet the sky was the color of blood. Since she was a child, Utau had always taken it as a sign that spilt blood brought about peace, that there could be no harmony without war. It was a necessity – used to thin out the numbers of the people who were weak and no longer needed. It left the world with its bare essentials and it left the people behind with a new appreciation for the lack of violence. The woman smiled her always peaceful and warm smile and continued west. She adjusted the cloak on her back to further cover her face. She ran swiftly, under the cover of the landscape.

Utau had been tracking this same group for about a week now, though she had only started travelling a day ago. Those were the advantages of being able to spread her presence across the continent by only simply meditating. This group had been crawling around Shichiouza territory for a while now, getting in the way of the organization’s plans. It would be a simple task, meant only for her to stretch her legs and train with someone that wasn’t within the organization. She had decided it would be a stealth mission. She would sneak into the camp and take out the sentinels first before they could alert anyone of her presence. A genjutsu would be enough of a distraction. That would make things much too easy, but anything for the sake of efficiency. Besides, it was best not to underestimate these people, despite how small of a threat they posed.

She came into view of the camp. It was a simplistic setting – no visible barriers and a simple layout of tents. Utau hid in silence, activating her implanted byakugan to get a closer look at the task ahead. Several traps were sealed into the ground. She would be sure to avoid them. Five guards lay scattered about the borders, two within the camp itself. She would have to time this properly if she wanted to keep herself from being seen or suspected. This was another reason why she loved dawn: the natural mist kept her own genjutsu triggers hidden. She smiled, drawing her hands together for the appropriate signs and breathing a thin layer of mist from her mouth. It was one of her signature techniques, which allowed her full sensory control of whoever came into contact with the mist.

Utau waited for it to settle in and spread throughout the cam. She would make the sentinels deaf to her footsteps and blind to her presence. She drew a small dagger from her weapon’s cloak. She went one by one, slicing open their throats before they could even notice that she was there. In less than a minute, all guards lay dead and scattered around the camp. Now it was time to take care of the rest. Utau moved slowly across the camp, taking her time to paint the walls of the tents with the blood of the fallen. This would serve as a warning for those who thought they could invade the Shichiouza’s territory. She would leave the tents up and the bodies scattered – maybe a few heads on pikes – for that same purpose.

Utau smiled at the thought and let out a small giggle. On the surface, it was warm and innocent, but there was an eerie undertone to it – one that spoke of cruelty and deceit but was only sensed by the most experienced of shinobi. But no one could hear her now. She would kill everyone and be gone before anyone knew that she had ever been there.

Seven bells and his gang sat around a campfire in the early morning they had been moving around more often now as it seemed that the group that had been hunting down the Kage had decided to move to these islands in an attempt to distance themselves. There had been building and constructs going on for some time now as they had been settling down and from what it seemed creating a nation. Seven bells had his means for moving around when he needed to, and people often underestimated the mysterious ninja. Looking to and fro the psychopathic fount of knowledge in the art of killing eyes the camp, the guards, and the poultry few which remained in this area as opposed to other areas spanned out over this country in small camps, pretending to be little more than farming nations, housing the occasional hidden A rank ninja loyal to himself.

But, as spread out and distant as they were, they were a force that was not to be trifled with, Seven bells ran his group of thirty men in the camp like well oiled clockwork, men took over from patrols and reported to each other often. There were forces at work and at hand that even though Gan Ning had not seen in advance the coming of the storm, he immediately noticed that the guards had ceased their proper rotation around the camp. Someone was going to die for this. Bells stood up and looked to his Lieutenants, ordering them to pick up the slack around the camp, sending one of them to the left, and the other to the right, he took the centre. Whipping out a single chakra thread and connecting it the the Gaoren.

The mythical steel puppet rose with such amazing prowess that it seemed to gain life. Its movements so perfect due to the puppets creation that even with a single stringit glided across the ground until strings attached to each of its legs and arms. Letting the puppet slip to the ground Seven Bells using one hand was able to control the puppet with all of the brilliance of it being almost functionally human. It would not be long before one of the people called out to the murder of the men, and when the message was called, the alarms went off, with the alarms came people to arms. Seven bells himself standing in an open area near the camp-fire, no-one wanting to so much as get close to him, especially with the threat of action looming over them.

I had a feeling that they would find us soon. Lieutenants, take the remaining men to Safe point A, Through routes Beta and Iota. I'll hold off anyone who comes this way... Its about time that I was able to stretch.

The Medic and swords-woman did not so much as look back, bowing to their master, before calling for the retreat of the forces, splitting up and almost each and every one of them using the body flicker technique to retreat as fast as possible, leaving the camp for the most part completely abandoned. Except for the single solitary soldier in the centre. His puppet close to him, There were two dozen other smaller less masterfully crafted puppets around the camp, but none of them were of higher quality than B rank, and each of them only boasted 2 butchers knife length C rank blades over their wrists like a pair of Katars rather than being outfitted completely. But such was the nature of the base.

You can come out now..! I know you're here, It's been a while before I smelled beautiful on the wind.

He said with a laugh, hoping that the assailant would reveal herself, his eyes darting from side to side as he took a moment and a small touch of chakra to burn the seals of his daggers onto the palms of each of his hands. His killing tools, once the seal burns were there, he would never be unarmed, Dropping the two weapons toward two sitting stones which were sat around the fire, the knives so sharp that simply from the force of them falling from shoulder height was enough for the blades to glide through the rock, impaling them as five more chakra threads attached to the arms legs and head of the puppet. Making his puppet punch one hand into its opposing open palm and mimicking the action of cracking its knuckles.

Utau’s smile widened for a brief moment, letting the eerie undertones in it to shine through. Blood called to her, waiting to be spilled. She saw the other operatives running, scattering around what was left of the camp. They seemed organized, meaning that they had likely received orders from their leader. Ah, so he knew that she was there already. Good, this would make this much more entertaining. She didn’t bother to follow the other shinobi, nor did she attack the ones that passed by her. She walked slowly and calmly towards the middle of the camp. She would find them later. They would never be able to hide from her, no matter how hard they tried. Utau would follow them, kill them one by one in their sleep, infiltrating the camp in the form of a mere stream of water, condensed in the form of a human so that it could fight. The cruel woman almost grew giddy just thinking about it. Well, at least she would have if she had been able to form any sort of real emotion beyond her obsession about perfection.

Utau walked into the center of the camp, not bothering to hide herself anymore. She had made her entrance. The man was now mostly alone. If some of the other shinobi decided to try anything or stay behind, the byakugan would let he know in an instant. Utau lowered her hood, finally revealing herself. She cocked her head to the side, smiling as always, as she gazed upon the puppet master and his weapon. She bowed to greet him, her gaze locking onto his. “Seven Bells,” She stated, her voice ringing clearly, chiming like a gentle song. “It is good to finally meet you in person.” She stayed still, staring at him. She didn’t bother to move. Her stances was poised, calm, relaxed. It didn’t speak of a killer or someone who was ready to fight. It spoke of a regal and refined woman that could have been easily mistaken for a noble. Except there were crimson stains all over her clothes and skin. She smelled of an odd mixture of roses and blood – a scent that had become an intricate part of her, one that never faded.

The woman giggled slightly, bringing a hand to her mouth. Her tongue darted out, tasting the blood on her pale skin. She couldn’t resist the taste. “Oh dear, where are my manners?” She began once again. “I know so much about you, yet you know nothing about me. My name is Suiren, Utau, the person who will send you to your timely death. And when you meet the devil, please send him my regards,” As she spoke the last words of that sentence, she drew her blade, Ootoni – the same one she had used to kill her husband and most of his wretched clan. It had a set of very peculiar abilities. Most notably, it could break bones from within the body merely with the use of sound waves. Most of her opponents never understood why their bones would suddenly crumble, why their arms suddenly stopped working and why their legs collapsed underneath the weight of their bodies. Well, at least none of them understood on time to do anything about it. But this man was different.

Utau had been spying on him, looking at him for the past few weeks. He was evidently strong and intimidating to the common shinobi. He was an expert in his field and a noted criminal. Most of all, he was competition, a nuisance that could get in her way. He had to be eliminated before he could achieve anything that mattered. Though truth be told, the genjutsu expert had considered the possibility of recruiting him several times. She would just have to see how this battle played out before she could make her decision. The only thing she knew for certain was that after this, he would no longer be any sort of threat.

The stalwart man flexed both of his hands in such a way which caused the Doll before him to crack its knuckles. Though he listened to her as the sun had broken over the canopy and washed over the cool steel of Gaoren, Things were going swimmingly. As the dawning sun shone down its marmalade orange hue, swimming the land skape in a myriad of brilliant golds and fire colours as it peaked over the foothills. Gan Ning bit his lip, if she had been watching him for some time, that could potentially pose an issue, though, Seven bells had for the better part been inactive since the group of Nukenin invaded their lands. The malevolent squatter having been here long before their arrival. But he had decided to leave enough alone.

I would not assume so quickly of my ignorance, I've seen you before, watching fro a distance, though, to be honest I expected a little more than the spoilt brattish cliche' hallow knock off cut-out of insanity that you seem to portray. If the reports surrounding you are correct, you're one of the few that laid siege to the summit of the Kage, An SS class specialist in Genjutsu and Swordplay and evidently prefer to swallow when it comes to your men. So cliche... I bet you even killed you parents...

Seven bells stood behind the safety of his puppet as he spoke, before finally flourishing his hands to either side as the vicious claws of Gaoron became more evident. The female humanoid puppet not bearing any other significant limbs other than the few it already had, The Gaoren did not need any, it was perfect the way it was, able to move and operate just like another ninja, but with dozens of perfected advantages. Seven bells crouched down into a combat stance with his hands to his sides like claws, channeling his chakra through his entire body into one of his hands, the MASSIVE sum of chakra he was beginning to create would be evident to her eyes. Converted into force, the jutsu would level the playing field with everything in it.

Lets see how well you do at playing killer against someone who KNOWS how to play the game...

Thrusting both of his hands forward, Gaoren mimicked his action, thrusting her hands forward and sending the ten razor sharp blades which were its own digits toward his opponent. The blades sang through the air as sparks flew from the grinding gears and chains which the blades were linked to. The furious speed of them capable of penetrating a human body, while the force of the impact with the chains would be enough to rip a human body in half. The puppet kept its eyes on the person it was intending to fight, almost as if Seven bells still had the focus to spare. But as the fight had begun his eyes darkened as his body language fell in place of tactical bloodlust. He wanted it, he needed it.

He needed to rip this member from navel to nose with a Cheshire smile carved by his own blades. He could picture it in psychotic flash images which replaced his vision before the fight had even begun, his very eyes foretelling a future where the camp would be draped in the entrails of this girl. Though he also had a Duty to kirigakure, she had killed the prior Mizukage, his prior employer, he wasn't happy about this eventuality, he had been a good man, and a bloodthirsty leader when it came to making the right decisions... Looks like it would be Seven Bells once again as the blade of the water country's vengeance.

As the camera rolled up, little could be told or heard about the battle which occurred below the canopy of the blood country forest as the sun rose in the east. The clashing of steel on steel as the puppet master Seven bells fell under the tenacious control of the blades-mistress, but he was not the only fighter on the field, a world of nightmares opened up on the female warrior to her surprise as creatures of the night swarmed her en masse. The Steel puppet Gaoren took to the field with colossal might, blades crashing against the defences of the SS rank ninja as blood filled the arena, but not merely of one member.

Half an hour of combat passed, a battlefield littered the landscape with the limbs of puppets as well as shoals of blood from the Suiren as well as the master of puppets. The graveyard around them in every direction was more than the eye could consider, luminous blue eyes shone from the decapitated puppet's heads as they had been completely disassembled by the famed ninja, but like himself she had been worn down, worn down to the point of exhaustion, a point that the ravenous seven bells was not accommodating the experience. Finding his own physical ecstasy in his tiredness Gan's smile could not have possibly been broader.

Both of their chakra was lingering toward the end of their physical capabilities, Gan's puppets had been ruined, each and every one of them lay in the pile of scrap that littered the area around him. His eyes smiling. Looking up at the now tired girl, as the haunting chuckling laughter began to penetrate the canopy. Seven bells stood warily, regaining his near limitless psychopathic composure, though blood trailed from his body, the cuts in his skin, the damage to his already damaged mind causing ravaging effects on his body, he still smiled broadly against the sunlight kissing his lightly olive skin.

It's nice to see someone so young attempting to fill the shoes of their elders, but, it seems you have finally ran out of juice, your chakra is dwindling, your stamina low, all that's left is to retreat, but you cant, can you..? Because you know I can chase you with the same techniques... you've been trying to lure me into those techniques for the last few minutes, but you know I won't run... Because I know I'm winning, because I LOVE the stress of the fight, I LOVE the pain, the duress sends quivers down my spine... And you just, cant, keep up, you pathetic... weak... loathesome... defenceless... fragile... volatile. little girl.

His taunting nature, his incessant insults broke her, and as Utao broke for him in a full tare sprint there was a shining light which came from the side. The gold white beam ripped through the sky for only a second as Utao's sprint came to a stop, Seven bells stepped to a side to allow her motor momentum to continue as her arms hung limp at their sides, her eyes open wide as his attack seemed to move infinitely fast, though Gan knew that the battle was over, he also knew that she would still be alive for the next few moments.

You're wondering how? You see, unlike you moving, I have an attack which can strike at speeds which make all of your speed, all of your training utterly meaningless, unless you already know its coming... ... ...

It only took a couple of moments for Utau's momentum to grind to a halt, her knees buckling beneath her, falling to them she hit her knees hard, her head upon the impact rolling to one side and lopping off at the neck, only the smallest sum of blood seeping from the cauterized wound. Reaching down and gripping the hair from her head as the legendary ninja's brain functions came to a steady stop, the ninja who killed her disappeared as nothing but a gust of wind in the breeze...

... ... ...

Rolling back the view from the fight, the headless body of the blood country lay in the open, as the first tree surrounding them fell, followed by a second, and a third, and fourth as a domino effect took place in the forest, spreading outwards forebodingly without any sign of an end...