Disclaimer:

Ah and so enter Sanosuke Flint, in all of his faux flashy ridiculous radiance, exerting all of his pressure in order to make the most impressive entrance that he possibly could. He seemed to want to bring all attention towards himself, but Mitsuo was having none of that. It was a complete crock, and Mitsuo still remembered vividly the day that he had one job, distract Mizuru, and instead he dropped a mast on the Hokage. Sure, he had had some time to get to his current rank and perhaps he was more powerful than Mitsuo had encountered him in all of his Hokagicidal Goodness, but he was still the representation of what Kumo meant to Mitsuo; he was all flash, no substance. He tried to be big and tough, but in reality all he was was a child screaming about how unfair it was that he couldn't have a cookie before dinner. Ayakashi would be like his mother, bitch slapping him so hard he never questions why he can't have a cookie again. Mitsuo chuckled at the thought of Ayakashi as Sanosuke's mother, and it kept him a little bit calmer. He wasn't here to fight, he had a specific job that the Mizukage had laid down for him, and he was going to see it to completion. There was only one hitch in his plan...

For some reason, Sanosuke Flint, the Leader of the sparkle village hidden in the cotton candy rainbow dream forest, thought for one second that he, Mitsuo Hiruzen Sarutobi, head of the Sarutobi Clan, Sword Saint of Konoha, and the Seventeenth Hokage, would harm a single hair on the head of a child, who was hardly older than his own daughter Kaia-mai. His anger was so intense that the heat around him would grow to a boiling point, flames licking off of his back and shoulders as he stood in defiance of the man who stood oh so tall from the top of his mountain keep, and rained down insults on his foes while they had no way to reach him. He hadn't the balls to step down from his mountain top, instead calling out Mitsuo and Ayakashi, not even showing her the proper respect of addressing her by her title of Mizukage. He was asking for that spanking from the Mizukage, and Mitsuo was sure that she would be more than willing to give it. This, however, was a large part of the problem, as Mitsuo wanted to ensure the safety of the young kumo ninja who had valiantly, defiantly, and extremely foolishly he might add, stood up to the Mizukage.

When the village crier was finished spewing his crap, Mitsuo would retort, "If you think that I would harm a single hair on this child, you have grown even more foolish than the last time I saw you, and I thought that would be a difficult feat. You clearly don't know a thing about me, or what kind of person I am. Keeping this child here would clearly lead to his death, as he cannot even begin to imagine the power of Ayakashi and Tsuyo when they are fully unleashed. Even asking him to come to you would still lead to his untimely demise, and it would be on your head. I am going to save this sunshine child, and I am going to rescue my friends from your tyrany. Burn in hell, Sanosuke Flint, burn for your crimes..." After he spoke, Mitsuo would watch as Satoshi would climb on the back of Momouru, making sure that he was able to get clear of Ayakashi's AoE range, before using the body flicker technique and getting as far away from this area in the direction that Momoru had ran as he possibly could. He had heard Ayakashi's instruction and he would obey. He would be satisfied in rescuing Satoshi, and he would find Gin and free her from the shackles of Sanosuke's sex dungeon, or whatever they were doing at his house.

{Exit Thread}

Jutsu Used 410/420:

1913
Endurance A-A1
Strength D2-D3

Spoiler:

Elements of lightning, winds, ice, and even flames flickered through the air as Sanosuke stood there against his adversaries. His silver eyes glaring back at all of them despite them each being at his level of strength or in the general vicinity of his scale of power. Of course he was outnumbered, but that wouldn't stop him from protecting his village. As the Raikage, he solemnly swore to put down his entire essence into protecting the village hidden in the clouds of his own public initiation of office; and of course the private initiation of office where he had to gain the favor of all the spiritual essences of the past Raikages. The Trial By Thunder, that was what he enlisted under to gain their favor. He was the tenth leader of the hidden village and he would gladly put down his body in the life of duty; just like how his predecessors were prepared to do during their times in office.

If it mean sacrificing his flesh to crush the the former Tsuchikage like a hammer to stone, then Sanosuke would renounce his flesh for his village. If it mean sacrificing his soul in the act of the Reaper to take it in token for the Shinigami to cut down the soul of the Sword Saint, then the silver haired man would renounce his soul as well. If it meant sacrificing his blood to drawn the power drunk leader of the village hidden in the mist from imposing on his people, then as the tenth Raikage, Sanosuke would do so with gusto. He was not afraid to die here, despite the numbers that were stacked against him.

As the Raikage, he was a meant to be a beacon of strength for his people. No matter the odds, he would stand as a pillar of strength. It is only then that people would rally behind him, so these intruders will know the fear of a village clothed in the clouds themselves. It would not matter if he perished from these forces, Sanosuke would just have to make sure that the Will of the village was passed onto the next generation. Bellow the man on his tree was the genin that he had taken under his wing. Even from above the clouds, the man couldn't help but admire the bravery showcased by the child. It was no easy task to stand against Ayakashi in defilement. Hell Sanosuke himself, for a split second had to control his body from spasming him fear. It was a natural response, that anyone would experience. But the deviation comes from those who would rise against that fear and not let it subdue them. Bravo, Satoshi. You will make a find shinobi one day.

Despite the words of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Strafe, flung at Sanosuke, he knew him personally. Sanosuke felt more at ease having his genin travel with the lion. They were allies, but Sanosuke could feel the animal's spirit that it would take the boy away from harm. This was about to be a warzone and Sanosuke didn't want the boy to be caught in the rubble as collateral. If something were to happen to him, Sanosuke would have never forgiven himself. So the only thing that he could do was trust the lion and Strafe would make good on their promise of delivering the boy down the mountain.

His thoughts becoming more critical and focused, the battle drums that were resonating with his person was beginning to soften with each strike. The aura around him still stood strong but was more tame than it was earlier. The demonic mark on both eyes, were receding to just it being seen in one eye now. The strength of the winds softened, to a brisk breeze that swept the mountain summit. Static electricity still popped and shocked around the mountain top. It wasn't as violent as it normally was as Sanosuke had began reeling in his emotions from running rampant. His glare was still focused on Ayakashi as he watched her with the utmost focus with his thoughts were split between two things; Ayakashi and organizing his forces with Navi's assistance. His chakra had contaminated the clouds and as such, the thunder itself was connected to the Raikage's emotions. Low thunder rumbling could be heard from all parties as he was beginning to calm down.

"Boy. I don't know where you're from, but this is not place for you to be. I cannot guarantee your safety if you still stay here." Sanosuke looked down from his top branch to speak to the boy with a hawk that was located the closest to him. With that being said, Sanosuke would allow for the boy to escape if he chose to. If he stayed, then there was not much he could currently do to stop the boy from being caught in the collateral explosion of the fight that is very likely to break out. With a leap from his branch, Sanosuke practiced his mastery of the wind elements to cause him to float to the ground. He would walk towards the kages themselves that stood in front of Sanosuke without fear. If any of them did budge their foot backwards yielding from Sanosuke's presence, then the Raikage would question the ruler's capability of being a leader in the first place.

Navi then notified Sanosuke about the ANBU agents being dispatched and handled by an unknown force. She had already ordered backup to arrive and this time forming a human barrier in closing on the mountain's perimeter. The agent that was responsible for dispatching his anbu. It must be one of Ayakashi's men. But for some reason, he couldn't sense the shinobi out particularly. He wondered why that was the case. By the time Ayakashi's forces would get to the bottom of the mountain, they would be met by Kumo ANBU forces; lead by seated members of his council. All besides this illusive agent, would be accompanied with a councilmen along with a small anbu entourage. If they wanted to make sure their people was safe from harm, then they would be allowed to venture wherever need be so long as they were given a guide. His councilmen will relay these orders back to Ayakashi's entourage of they have an objections.

They would get what they wanted, without allowing her men to apathetically raid his village under the pretense of "war." He will not allow Ayakashi to get her way. In no way will he let her disrespect his village in a such a fashion where they will pillage his village. He ordered for Ren to care to the shinobi that were ambushed by the assailant. From Navi's reports, one of his men that was incapacitated was part of the Ryuzoji clan. Ren being a Ryuzoji as well, will hopefully work the man that was attacked. An enhanced ANBU sweep fused with Ryuzoji influences will help in a more accurate scan of the assailant. Ren will then see to that she will follow this shinobi on whatever job Ayakashi had given her. Koga alone will be enough to defend the daimyo. Right now the Ryuzoji councilmen is needed to track down Ayakashi's elusive shinobi.

Michiko would be there to accompany the ANBU forces on the ground to meet with Mitsuo and Strafe. First she will guide the boy to ensure he is safe before escorting Mitsuo to the mansion where they will seek to speak with Gin. All the forces will be tamed if they wish to not enter a war so Ayakashi wanted not in the first place. His forces were ready to switch from entourage to assimilation in an instant should the circumstance call for it. Sanosuke could sense the presence of one of his shinobi, it was Syn if he remembered correctly. it seemed that he was also on standby waiting for Sanosuke's orders. Navi would let Syn know of the current situation as she eventually made her way towards the top of the mountain to stand by the side of her partner.

That's where the two stood. Side by side with one another. Navi floating by Sanosuke's side, as the two wasps would look into the storm. The storm that consisted of the Mizukage and her large armed tiger along with the other pet the woman; the former Tsuchikage. Sanosuke halted his approach when he was roughly 20 meters away from the duo. Listening to the woman's words at first, a flash of lightning could be seen and heard as he felt the immediate need to lash out at the woman. These were lies. This was what she was after. War. She had played both sides. She knew damn well what she was doing and yet here she was spinning a false tale of how she was the victim.

When she tossed the bloody clothing of his student, Sanosuke looked at them and his expression slackened briefly as the loud thunder grew softer. It couldn't possibly be...Kaekio? But that fleeting thought of his student being killed by Ayakashi herself filled his head, temporarily muddying his thoughts. But it was only a split second he was experiencing these feelings. They were lies. He almost believed those lies himself if Sanosuke hadn't picked on one thing about Ayakashi's story. In fact it caused him to chuckle softly. At first the chuckle was small and unnoticeable, then it grew to laughter. The thunder in the skies reflected his laughter. One would assume the laughter was more warm, but it contained a contained fury beginning to build up.

Once his laughter had died down, Sanosuke turned his eyes towards the man Akira. He used to be named the Tsuchikage after all. And was being played a fool by Ayakashi. "I'm sorry to say this, Akira. But you've been played for a fool. Ayakashi tells lies." Sanosuke began to speak once he calmed down his laughter. The last part of his words carried more weight and conviction as he extended his right gauntlet towards Ayakashi herself. "One of my shinobi goes missing while escorting yours back to your country, and you wonder why I ask questions? I have planned for the worst case scenario of one of my shinobi being spirited away by your forces. I treated all Kiri shinobi with respect as they were detained peacefully to the holding center of our village until further notice. Any resistance was dealt without excessive force being pushed on the process themselves. And yet, you say these were witch hunts?" Sanosuke questioned the Mizukage. His words slicked with hot mercury as he spoke them at the woman. He made sure his voice was loud enough for both kages to interpret what was said.

In case Ayakashi moved to speak her piece, Sanosuke would use his own chakra to signal a loud booming thunderclap to interrupt any audible words from Ayakashi's interjection. "With all due respect, Mizukage-sama, I would like to declare hypocrisy on your part. Instead of reaching out to your diplomats in my village for a response, you choose to bring an army. Gin herself was in my own home, and yet no word came from you. For 2 months, you seriously doubt you were trying to get in contact with your shinobi. Instead your true purpose was gathering forces for an all out war. Using Kumo as a stepping stone. I will tell you this once, Aisu. This will not work. These witch hunts you speak of, do you mean of the spies that I had also detained in my village? Akira I would strongly suggest you look closely at your so called "ally" as I'm sure allies wouldn't need spies to look upon one another."

With a nod to Navi, Sanosuke watched as the wasp created an image of the prison that was destroyed due to the prison break of the Kiri shinobi. The prison was destroyed with the infrastructure of the building itself falling apart at the seams. "Ayakashi, you say you couldn't reach your shinobi from my village. You say you were for a rescue mission for your village, and yet explain this? You led a Kiri shinobi on a suicide mission to damage the prison to break the shinobi out." Thunder got louder as Sanosuke's aura was beginning to slowly increase as his chakra was pulsing furiously with energy. "You alone are responsible for this destruction. You led this prison break to aim for casualties, to give this army just cause for invading my village"


Flashes of lightning streaked the skies as Sanosuke's rage was building up to be more visible. Hatred was apparent from his silver disks being directed at Ayakashi. "And you expected me to believe these blood garments were enough for me to believe this lie?! If you really wanted to show me proof of her death, you would show me the body itself. Even as a hunter ninja village, you would know to respect the arts and secret technique embedded in the shinobi and deliver it to us. DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH WITH THIS FACADE AISU!" Bringing his hands down, a lightning bolt came down to the sky and thus turning the bundles of clothing to ashes. Once the smoke of the lightning bolt settled, there was nothing to remain of the clothing now but a pile of ashes.

The thunder now resonated with his  from his voice as Sanosuke spoke with more vindication. It grew louder and louder as his eyes were trained highly on Ayakashi. "Ayakashi...you speak of how you are for the people of Kiri. You are angry because I have imprisoned them, as any prisoner would want justice and vindication for the oppressor. But I am not a slave to my people. I am one of my people. I have walked side by side with these people, they are my family. And when you led this attack on my people just doing their duty, with a prison break....YOU ENDED A SHINOBI'S CAREER FROM THE EXPLOSION OF THE PRISON BREAK! YOU LED ANOTHER SHINOBI TO BE ENTERED IN A COMA  DUE TO YOUR ATTACK! AND FOR WHAT?! TO FORCE A WAR TO REMOVE MY MISSING NINJA SANCTUARY!"

More of his chakra flowed across his body, this time more intense than before. Static electricity built up to the point where if Akira tried to use the electricity to light and end of the cigarette again, then it would lead to the cigarette itself being burst into flames. The seal of his clan now stretched to both sides as his aura began to illuminate shades of black energies. "I have no warning for you Aisu. If you are a slave to the people's commands, and this is how you wish to exercise the rights of the Kiri people you leave me no choice. I will simply have to break every bone in your body to shake this evil from you!" Swiftly, Sanosuke pulsed chakra into his gauntlets as electric bolts were created thus creating one of his blades to be resurfaced. Grabbing it quickly, Sanosuke moved to close the distance between Ayakashi and the Raikage.


The buzzing from his aura gave off a more ominous pressure as it was beginning to resonate with his swords. His swords were vibrating in a violent fashion like a tuning fork that was just struck. The gap between the two sages were closed in a split second. No matter what, Sanosuke would be sure to keep this distance between the two shinobi. He would engage her in a close range fight of the blades. Silver and black energy coated his swords, having them each radiate with a stronger essence of power than before. His sword would move to strike at Ayakashi's hip as that was the target that he could aim for to inhibit her movements. The buzzing of his aura was now weaponized and anyone in the area would be at risk for the effects of long term exposure of such a technique. He would end this witch's game to bring all of this foolishness to a stop.

---

2566 WC

Chakra 300/385:

The barrier had successfully fallen, however something didn't feel quiet right. At about the time Mitsuo body flickered away Hachiko actived the highest range of her current perception. Being able to sense targets far from beyond normal range, even the end point of Mitsuo's body flicker, but more than that, she sensed Shinobi. A whole lot of shinobi forming a barrier of people further around the base of the moutain. She knew she wasn't going to able to take down that force nearly as easily had she had taken down the barrier, and if the reinforcements where in response to her little assault, given that she shouldn't have been sensed, she could imagine that Ryuzoji were among those looking, and she knew her cloaking technique wouldn't defend against the Current Perception. Not even close to it. Hachiko had to make a decision, should she try and break through the ranks and flee, or attempt to fight off as many as she could. It was then she heard the Anger in Sanosuke's voice. The pain he felt, and something in Hachiko's stomach twisted. Something deep. She had heard Sanosuke mad before. They were Kumogakure ninja, hot blood ran through their viens, but this was more. He was truly hurting for his village.


This entire ordeal had been on her hands from the beginning, and as that doubt shifted in her, the knot in her stomach grew tighter. Her cloak flung off as her feet carried her before she even knew what she was doing. Her mind was in so many places she didn't even know where to she was heading. But she knew she had to fix this. That she couldn't let blood be spilled on her hands. She didn't want people to suffer or feel pain because of her. She could already tell Sanosuke was angry, and that not so casual conversation wouldn't hold much longer she had to hurry. Moving in a burst of speed, she reached the top of the mountain and sanosuke's chakra flared, and he dashed forwards. She wasn't going to make it in time. Her own Senjutsu chakra flared as Blue wolf ears sprouted out of the top of the girls violet hair, as if they had been dip dyed and same with the trail that sprouted from her rear. Further more electircal chakra surged as the girl used chakra to move at a pace faster than lightning. Appear directly in front of Sanosuke before he would strike, finally she'd augment her own armour with the item reinforcement hoping to maybe mitigate any amount of damage that would occur. Grabbing the blade as it slammed into her at full force, Kaekio planting her feet into the ground barely managing to stand. However even with all of her precautions the blade still pierced straight through her, thought that is as far as it would go. The girl's black mask feel from her face revealing the face that looked eerily similar to the face she had when she left but a few minor cosmetic changes. The girl then opened her mouth pouring out a mass of blood as she looked up to Sano. Her purple eyes looking into his soul for a mere moment before she would close her eyes and tilt her head to the side and smile, much like she had done after their first training session together. she would mutter the words in her old voice.


She would say, as a few tears feel down her face. She was in pain. That once childish and light hearted spirit that Sano saw in her the day they first met was gone and replaced with one the was sad and lost. Once that had had the whole world turn it's back on her including the man she loved as though he was her own family. Blood trickled down the girl's mouth as she felt her consciousness fade. She couldn't last much longer. Stepping further into the blade she would wrap her arms around her old sensei if he would let her, and she would merely mutter the words.


As tears flooded her face. however this only lasted for a split second before the girl lost consciousness. IF he had accepted the girl's hug she would collapse on him. If not she would merely fall off the blade like a mere discarded and useless body. However she now no longer had any control over her fate. What happened next was entirely out of her hands. She might have ended up causing more political discourse, but if her words had truly been felt by the people still within the area then she might have swayed their actions. But what would occur now, would be on the fates of the leaders all of whom had betrayed the trust of the young Ryuzoji that lay on the ground before them.

---

WC: 851
Total WC: 2298

Jutsu:

(Permission to post after Hachiko, despite post order? That way the sacrifice Hachiko made makes sense overall when reading the thread. After me, we can resume the previous order. Thoughts?)

((I can keep her alive no problem)

(Okay thats one thing I wanted to talk about with my post. I just want to react to what Hachiko did. That way the thread has some contingency to it as a whole.)

(it won't quite make sense considering what Aya was going to do, because she was going to meet you half-way, or she was going to interrupt your course of action as soon as you said 'AISU' and hit you well before your course of action.

But sure, i can change my post, go for it.

This'll give me a chance to RP out Ayakashi's slightly darker side ;) )

EDIT: Though as a thought, i think it would be best for me to give you, in short, what aya would have done in reaction to your charge. Just to fuel your response.

• Sano activates the Eye
  
• Aya Sees the activation and anticipates an attack, stands her ground and activates her defenses, readying her staff.
  
• Sano Charges with his swords / bug buzz comes within range, but Aya blocks it off her jutsu, repelling the raiton nature humming around her.
  
• Hachiko jumps in and takes the hit.
  
• Sano's post
  

So, I'll deduct the chakra for that.

chakra:

(made an edit above~ I agree to the posting, but i don't to taking hits which Aya wouldn't taken had i not posted. Which is fair.)

(i've given my consent via skype but i should give it here as well. Sano has my permission to post next as it makes sense ~)

OOC: Sano can post next.

OOC: I'm fine with him posting next. I'm not really in the way.

Spoiler:

This was the woman responsible for this tension between the countries. After the bombing of the prison, Sanosuke himself went to look at the damages that was done. It was catastrophic, if the man had to pick a singular word to describe the state of the prison. The walls were destroyed due to the infrastructure of the building being torn asunder by the Kiri shinobi responsible. When asked about the cause of the damages, it was reported that it was due to intense flames being ignited by the intruder. Only a few shinobi crossed his mind that could potentially be responsible for this event. All of those shinobi originated from Kiri, but were either pronounced deceased or missing. After the damages, Sanosuke had met the shinobi that were greatly harmed by the explosion of the prison break.

The unconscious kunoichi, that was now in a comma, had been a jounin of his village and just now got her first genin. They were doing a mission when the prison was beginning to cave under the attacks of the intruder. To save the genin's life, she pushed herself in harms way of one explosion. Now she laid in the hospital bed with a slim chance of recovery. The man without usage of his legs lost them due to the debris falling from the ceiling and crushing them as he was working on damage control of the prison. He was a special jounin, soon to be promoted to jounin. His family were all shinobi, so their combined tears along with the young genin's, pierced the Raikage. This conflict between Kiri and Kumo had gone on long enough. Lives were being lost, dreams were being crushed. Did Ayakashi care about any of that? She was apathetic to that and just wanted to open up trade with a country that disagreed with her removal of hunter ninja in his village.

This witch had played everyone for fools. Her manipulation over the kages had to be broken, and so far it was the job of the Raikage to break that spell over his fellow kages or else they will surely buckle before the Mizukage's power hungry ways. As he got closer, into striking range of the woman a breeze of air was radiating off her skin. He himself could feel it negating the effects of his buzzing aura as he got closer and closer. She wasn't yielding to its effects, but the defense wouldn't last for much longer as he was planning on something to be done about this pesky veil the Mizukage had. Sanosuke would break that shield of hers in an instant. Chakra began focusing on his open hand as he was preparing to dismantle the woman's defenses in time for his sword to reach past the guard of the Mizukage's staff.

Before he got the chance to release that blast of chakra at the Mizukage, Sanosuke's sword had already struck true far more sooner than he expected. Originally he planned on his technique to be released first to disable the woman's futon veil around her so that she would feel the effects of his aura. That way, her reaction time would be slowed so his sword would land a successful wound on the battle clad woman. But instead his attack had already landed. When he looked up, it wasn't the woman that was the leader of the village hidden in the clouds that was struck down. The person who had gotten in front of Sanosuke's blade had done on a mask. Her identity hidden from the Raikage.

Before Sanosuke could wonder who she was, why she had gotten in the middle of the attack, and how she managed to get between the two kages; the woman dropped her mask with what little strength she had left. There was an air of familiarity to the woman as she looked at Sanosuke with pleading eyes. Who was this woman? He made no moves to remove the blade, nor continue his pursuit of the Mizukage, as he was captivated by her look. When she spoke, all words and thoughts that Sanosuke had in his head blanked. It couldn't be...Kaekio?


His heartbeat stopped, his blood froze as though Ayakashi herself touched it. Why was she here? Of all places, she was under his nose this entire time? Memories of how the two met resurfaced to his conscious. When he was just now coming into office as Raikage after the conclusion of the Seven Bells War. She had been there to be taught by him as one of his first official pupils since being Raikage. Her carefree smile that had at the habit of warming his heart whenever he chanced on it was what he remembered the most. Why was it now that she chose to wear the same smile that she had the first time they had met? It left him without words as he could feel the moisture from his lips leave him. What had he done? He didn't want to look as Kaekio had trudged through the sword in an attempt to get closer to Sanosuke. Her body getting more and more damaged with each step she took.

Memories of his past resurfaced as this was eerily similar to how his own father died at his own hands. The world was cruel in putting the man in the same situation, just 20 years later. For what purpose did this serve him? Was Kaekio moving to end his life with the vigor she was approaching him despite her wound? If so, he had deserved it. This was his student. He loved her like a little sister. And yet here she was draped in the article of clothing that was of the village hidden in the mist. She must have hated her country as a Ryuzoji. The conflicts between the clan must have driven her away, was the Raikage's reasoning of this betrayal. Sanosuke couldn't blame her for wanting to kill him. If he couldn't protect one of his villagers and make them feel at home, then Sanosuke Flynt had no right to call himself a Raikage.

Instead of a knife to the chest, Kaekio had chose to wrap her arms around the man in an embrace. Sanosuke's body went rigged straight. What was this? All fight had left his eyes, his skin went pale. The thunder that were once crashing and running rampant in the skies had ceased. Instead droplets of water began to cascade onto the mountain top. The aura around Sanosuke had long since died down, leaving the man with only a long silver mane from the aftermath of going into sage mode, his sword vanishing back into his gauntlet. The gauntlet itself had reverted back into a pair of gloves that he always had on. But these gloves were stained with blood. The blood of his darling former student.

As she collapsed, Sanosuke caught her quickly. The two fell down together as his knees felt weak from this dramatic reveal. Nothing could have prepared him for what had just occurred. He had just struck down his own student. She was crying. Why? He couldn't understand any of it. His now blue eyes were looking into Kaekio's violet eyes as blood was beginning to trickle out of her wound. His hand was covering the wound as best as he could manage as Sanosuke held the girl in his arms. "You damn idiot, what are you doing here?" Sanosuke croaked as he tried his best to hold back any tears that he was holding back in vain. The rain was coming down gently as though to ease the Raikage of all welled up feeling he was enduring. Tears dropped down on Kaekio's face as he looked upon it longer by the second.

The warm blood leaving Kaekio's body covered Sanosuke as he held the girl close to him. His body was shaking as his cascaded hair blocked anyone to see into the eyes of the defeated Raikage. He was to protect his people, and yet he had plunge a sword into one of his own. "Kaekio, you can't die. Don't you dare, do you understand me?" He knew at this point, Kaekio had lost consciousness. Navi had already ordered a medical team to get to the mountain top at the utmost urgency to treat Kaekio's wounds. It was unknown if they would get there in time as Kaekio's breathing was getting more and more shallow by the second. Color was leaving Kaekio's face with each passing second.

Sanosuke then remembered that the Mizukage was still standing firm before him. At the moment, she was ready for combat but that didn't matter to Sanosuke at all. Kaekio filled his head as the girl who was at the center piece of this conflict, was now in danger. His own life was irrelevant, but if Ayakashi or Akira made a move to harm the girl in any way Sanosuke would fight to protect her. Keeping Kaekio's weakened body close to his chest, Sanosuke drew out a kunai from his side and with shaky hands held it tightly. Despite there not being any light or fire in Sanosuke's blue eyes, they were now empty blue disks. His body was moving on its own to protect Kaekio should the ninja continue this fight. A lone kunai in the hands of a man in shock was laughable in retrospect to fend off two kage level shinobi. But it was all the man of the clouds could manage. His hands shook too much to wield one of his swords once more.

The Raikage was done, he only wanted to see that Kaekio lived to see another day. And if these two would do anything to change that fact, then Sanosuke would fight tooth and nail to protect her. He had promised Kaekio long ago, that she was one of his precious loved ones that he'd protect. He wouldn't let any of them harm her. Even with a deeply fragmented spirit, the Raikage had fight in him to protect the ones he loved like a family. There was time to talk specifics later of this conflict, but at the moment Kaekio's life was Sanosuke's priority. He was afraid. Five seconds before he had cast all fear from his mind to fight bravely against Ayakashi's forces. Five seconds before, he was prepared to throw his life away for his village. But right now, he was scared. Not for his own life. He was scared to the bone that he couldn't think straight. Sanosuke was scared of losing his loved one in his own arms that he struck down personally.

There was no fight left in the Jyudaime Raikage...

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OOC: Thanks everyone, and happy thanksgiving to all!

The shinobi stood on guard ready to switch onto offense or defense in no time. He knew his Raikage was more than capable to handle any threats, that was why he was called by the title. More so, he knew there was much fight in the man the first time they had met and if Syn had been some other person, he knew he would have melted under the gaze of those predatory eyes the Raikage had in his cat form. Still, if the raikage was putting on this much of a show then the ones he was faced against weren't to be taken lightly and so he was here on standby, ready to heed the Raikage's call at a moment's notice. A weapon to be swung forward without permission. Syn had been gone for a while but he had learnt much in his absence. The ability to decide and also to give just or rash judgements when required to. His fight with Zen had thought him much but in the end, he had to take the life of the offender for the crime that he had committed against sin and to many other victims as well. Syn could have very well been bought by Zen's story of how no one wanted him. It seemed touching but that was no excuse for the horrible path that he had treaded until he met his demise at the hands of the jounin. He had lived a selfish life for a very long time and the day that death came calling, Syn was the one who delivered the judgment.

The jounin had cut off all ties to his past life, the life of a lowly and helpless chunin. The young boy who could not hold his own against little odds and therefore allowed himself to be captured easily and used. The life of a young boy who had made revenge so paramount that he was blinded to the other side of life. He decided to pursue this revenge almost immediately and did not even think of what he would do when he was given the chance to revenge. He had neither the skill nor wisdom to face an opponent that was greatly unmatched against his father as their fight had resulted in his death so this was equivalent to throwing his life away and the only thing that kept him going was his stupidity disguised as the will to revenge. No, he was no longer that boy. That boy had been killed when the ritualists had snatched him at the borders of the stone country while he was making his way away from the water country. That boy's life had been ended along with his goal to revenge and whatever other dreams he had had. This person standing here right now was a new being. It was almost unheard of. A dead plant watered to life and given the chance to roam the earth again. One that did not deserve it but was yet favoured by the gods.
In his hands was placed a great hammer with which to forge his destiny and a palette of paint to mark each height he attained as he progressed.

He was back in the cloud village and more than anything, he wanted to prove himself to the Raikage that he truly is worthy. The new weapon on his back, a powerful item with a mysterious origin yet to be discovered. His camelio suit, not only to protect but it's ability to render him invisible.. The two tomoe sharingan in his left eye socket, an object with a long history and multiple testaments to the horrors it could wreck.. Not leaving out his newly developed jutsus and heightened senses and prowess in battle. All these was what made a shinobi, an execllent one at that but above all, the experience he had gained so far. He was ready to show all these in a display of execellence if the raikage would let him.

He saw one of the group memebers -a small boy mount an animal as they both dashed down towards the mountain with another member following closely behind. What was this.. Were they splitting up? Syn would have loved to pursue but going back the way that he had come would be a long route to catching them and also going forward would mean engaging the remaining members which he could not do quite yet. He had nothing on them and he could not go all out without having any knowledge on who he would be dealing with so he held his calm. For the Raikage to be here himself, the village anbu would already know the situation of things so he would leave those two to the anbu to deal with while he remained with the Raikage for orders.

The raikage began to descend from the top of the durain tree of demonic knowledge as he appeared to be floating down like an angel from the sky. The thunder claps announced his presence again as the sky rumbles came off as low grumbles. Looking at the man from behind as he approached his opponents, Syn would begin to hear a voice in his head and it would dawn on him that he was being notified of the situation telepathically by a female voice.
'We are faced against two kage-level shinobis. One of them actually being the Mizukage and the other is the former Tschiukage. They arrived the village few hours ago with company and it seems the Mizukage is bringing down war on Kumo. Satoshi had refused to give up the Raikage's location despite her intimidating him but now that the Raikage has arrived, the genin has been safely escorted from the mountain top along with two others that had accompanied the Mizukage.

Some anbus had been called forth previously to set up a barrier around here but some unknown person probably one of the Mizukages' had taken them down along with the barrier. Currently, more anbu are setting a barrier around the mountain's perimenter and others are tracking down this unknown person. A set of kumo's forces led by the council members have been dispatched to meet the Kiri's forces once they arrive at the mountain's base and they would have to talk from there. The wounded anbu members are being attended to and every thing is currently under control. Do remain at alert though. '

The voice would leave his head right after updating him on everything. That was a lot to take in but he understood very quickly. The issue on ground was tied around the Raikage's detaining of kiri nins even though no harm or hostility of any sort had come to them. In response, the Mizukage had teamed up with the Tschiukage and had brought the bells of war ringing down on the cloud village and instead of attacking the village in a full sweep, she seemed to have come for the Raikage itself. Cut the head and the body falls, Syn had to admit that this was brilliant thinking. Not that he currently supported the idea since this was the raikage in question. The raikage seemed to be lashing out at his opponents, probably trying to make them see things as he saw it. Syn could not make out their conversation from over sixty meters away so he decided to step forward, not moving at full speed though.

Their conversation intensified as lightning crackled once again in the skies signifying the Raikage's anger building up. His voice grew louder as it merged with the thunder. Bringing his hand down, a lightning bolt swiftly came from the skies and landed right in front of him. The reason why he did this was unknown to Syn who had only just crossed twenty meters. Lightning sparks began to erupt from the raikage as the atmosphere got tense. In a split second, the Raikage had one blade in his hand still coated by lightning sparks as he moved forward to bring it down on the Mizukage. The former was met by some sort of resistance from the latter. It was surprising how she could react in such little time frame despite the Raikage's blurry speed.

The resistance from the Mizukage appeared to give in as the Raikage's sword cleaved clean into something that wasn't the Raikage. It was someone else and they had somehow gotten between the two kages knowningly. The mask dropped from the woman's face as the Raikage froze where he stood. Did they know each other? Syn now being twenty meters away tried to make the most out of the shinobis face but no ideas came to him. Who was she? Why was the Raikage dumb founded or what did they both have in question? No, he needed to be at alert. Now was not the time for rhetorical questions.

The Raikage lost all fierceness as his skin went pale and his head hung low. The thunders seized as droplets of rain fell. The Raikage's sword vanished as he caught the female while she fell and they both fell on his knees. He seemed to cuddle her like a sibling he never had, trying to keep her awake. As if suddenly remembering that he was still faced with an adversary, the Raikage lifted his hand with a kunai in it as the hand trembled before the Mizukage. The rain droplets fell one after the other, hitting the waters already covering the ground with splashes. The Raikage had stood tall before in all of his glory but now.. He was broken.

He could not appear to be vulnerable, not right now. If he lost here, the entire village would be doomed. Crossing the remaining ten meters distance between them, Syn would swiftly appear on the right of the Raikage, placing one arm on his back and the other on his torso. With the Raikage still gripping the female tightly, Syn would jump back five meters with both individuals, his strength permitting. He would draw his weapon, standing beside the Raikage and facing the opponents defensively.

"RAIKAGE SAMA... Are you alright?"

WC:1708

Ayakashi could feel the power radiating off the Raikage, though he had obviously gotten stronger since the last time they had crossed paths, Ayakashi still felt like there was a canyon creating a vast void between their abilities. Ayakashi in the time of the Seven Bells War was wounded beyond functionality, yet still surpassed the boy’s skills. Requiring her chakra simply to sustain herself in the battle against Mizuru, she was still the strongest ninja on that chaotic yet solitary battlefield. Yet now, it had been over half a decade since that historic war had begun and ended, and the margin of their abilities still seemed to be the same. Had time stood still for the two of them? Or was the wasp destined to follow in the fluttering wake of the Butterfly? Ayakashi could see the fury simmering in his eyes, as his fists seemed to be shaking uncontrollably with the adrenaline that would have been pulsing through his body, yet still the Mizukage stood hardened and as stalwart as a frozen statue, not moving a micrometer from her position as the wind atop the hill dampened around her, the aura of cold resonating from her own senjutsu robbing the wind of its potency to little more than a light breeze that prodded her clothing allowing her tasset to somewhat dramatically waft in the breeze.


Then the man opened his mouth to speak.


Ayakashi couldn't begin to believe half of the nonsense that followed as he made his approach, there was more than blood on the robes to begin with, but it seemed that in his rage he had done little more than pass over the clothing. Spinal fluid ran betwixt the fabric, the pattern of blood that covered them emanated from the nape of the neck, Ayakashi could remember the lethal strike that she had landed on Hachiko, a blow that would have been fatal to any ninja, short of them having one of the most potent medics in the world as a cousin and another as a close political ally which was just as proficient was an asset that even most Kage could not hope to compete with. In any scenario involving Ayakashi, it would be unreasonable to think that any blow which displayed that evidence would be anything less than a kill-shot. Then came the matter for the body, to which the Mizukage knew that she was more than capable of explaining the fact that she left none. It was a simple decision, Ayakashi was known for her demonic ice venom techniques, a ninja struck fatally with one of her more powerful ice techniques active would shatter upon but a feathers' touch...


Sometimes it was the simplest lies based in truth that were the easiest to maintain.


Ayakashi had killed literally hundreds of missing ninja, taken trophies from their bodies, family heirlooms, rings, signets, locks of hair even to present as proof of her achievement. In many of these cases and in hundreds of cases through her administration, the body of a missing ninja was better served as fertilizer for the forest, rather than every one of them being erased with the ANBU technique designed to do so. That way, at least there was some usefulness the body could some to, some silver lining or consolation that could quiet the cries of the loved ones they had so callously left behind in the world of the living… The thought of bringing the body back to the country of origin for every contract was a pointless endeavour and a waste of energy. The usual technique for dealing with missing ninja was to erase their presence entirely, leaving no evidence behind… Why else would ANBU know that technique? But, his speech continued nonetheless. 'And yet, you say these were witch hunts?'


"If the Shoe fits..." - Ayakashi added slyly.


He spoke of reasonable force being used to detain the kirigakure ninja, blatantly contradicting that they had been taken peacefully, yet, the fact of the matter was that they had their freedom removed without reason, for an imagined crime they had nothing to do with, and no reasonable evidence to assume so. Led with lies; as reported to her by her ANBU, Wolfgang which had escaped some time before-hand. But as he buried himself deeper and deeper politically in Ayakashi's perceptions, he began with the thought given form that finally closed the lid on his proverbial casket, leaving him beyond the point of redemption as a leader in the eyes of the Mizukage. Claiming Ayakashi to be a hypocrite because she failed to send message for her country. Because she was not willing to send a messenger into hostile a potentially hostile country... Sanosuke seemed to have absolutely no perspective or empathy that Ayakashi could have not known in advance, the fact of the matter was, he had detained her ninja, there was conflict, so force 'was' in fact used to detain them, as her men would have been dragged unconscious to cells under guard beaten and defeated rather than relenting their freedom.


It was the definition of hostility… why would she risk such ventures?


Ayakashi had come to this country with but a small contingent of her nations’ forces, those who had volunteered and been amassed in little more than fifty hours after her keeping the act a secret from her people until she could ask her inner circle for council on how best to avoid war. Ayakashi 'had' been in contact with one of her Shinobi who had been captured by the ninja Han. Then Sanosuke spoke of the spies that had been detained, while it was true that they were there, there was absolutely no evidence to the fact that they were-so inclined. Kirigakure merchants, ANBU sending encrypted coded with kirigakure cyphers disguised as family communications and little more, if no force had been used to interrogate them, they would be impossible to distinguish between from any other kiri citizen, so how would he know? Any assumption that they were spies, however right he may have been, would have been on little more than an evidence-less whim. The only hard proof, was that Ayakashi had discovered his plan to arrest her people in its inception... but due to... complications on her own end with her own countries' Daimyo, quick action was not the easiest course to chart on her part.


Then came the words: I will tell you this once, Aisu~

Ayakashi was a blur of blue on black motion.


No sooner had he had spoken the word that Ayakashi had warned him of, she had completed her promise, empowering her senjutsu chakra and opening the flood-gates throughout her body. She flowed the wild and volatile chakra through her tanketsu so quickly and so violently that her skin plumed with the flakes of grey, marble-like dust as the petrification effect of her own senjutsu chakra attacked her body, overloading herself in such a manner that she would have literally wounded herself in the action. Butterfly wings exploded from her back in a brilliant halo of radiant ice colours, the environment behind her instantly freezing with the demonic ice venom effect combining with her Art of Reckless Release sending shockwaves of freezing air behind her like a sonic boom. Literally, 'appearing' to even the Raikage's vision, Ayakashi would have sunken low to the ground to slide beneath his guard at such speed and ferocity, Sanosuke would have questioned either his own sanity, or if the Yellow Flash had been reborn in Kirigakure no Sato.


To his credit, the man would began to move, summoning his blades as his eye would twist with charka to empower his abilities even further, but at the same speed the Raikage was able to flex his body to grip his blades as they appeared from the aether, Ayakashi was already in the middle of throwing a blow directly into the center of his solar-plexus. He was so angry, so overwhelmed with fury, he was focused on delivering the point with his speech, on targeting Ayakashi with his words and scathing rhetoric, but that focus would have led to this opening allowing such a sudden and unprecedented strike. Sanosuke with his blades would move either of them in deftly for the outsides of Ayakashi as she would intend to deliver the blow of her strike, her action alone causing a shock-wave which, at its angle, would blow his arms away from her as her fist would have careened into the center of his body, delivering Ayakashi's Demonic Ice Venom two-fold as the first impact of her deathly touch, but also the detonation of her Fist of the Yuki Onni...


Catching the Raikage by the chest, Ayakashi would lift him up, his body giving way and caving around her fist as she would take a single step past him to be side by side, the sound of bones not breaking, but shattering as they would break, freeze, then crumble under the weight of her solitary blow. Routing his momentum, Ayakashi would turn the punch downwards, driving him into the earth with the force of her single punch. As the Raikage would hit the ground, the power of her jutsu would be the faster of the two effects, freezing everything within fourty meters of the shockwave with such merciless swiftness that it would be like the world was suddenly plunged into the depths of antarctic winter, making the entire area within it brittle and fragile. While the kinetic shock-wave following the sheer force of her movement, would leave the cold crystal world she had created a microsecond before in pieces, fracturing the hill with a fissure that would descend fifteen meters into the earth, with little but statues and those who defended themselves to witness.


Where the Raikage had once been, would be dust. Her eyes peering to the Durian tree which had been too close for its own good. Eviscerated and ravaged by the extreme temperature change, the tree was split in half, hanging dying and blasted as if it had been thrown into a kiln of cold fire.


A bitter symbol of the countries' fall..

A single event of a potential reality passing by her eyes as Ayakashi listened to the ravings of a madman. She feared for the nation of Kumogakure under his rule, though thankfully, as far as she knew, the Daimyo of this nation held a lot more power and sway than the one from her own country. Should their positions be reversed, and Sano be in the seat of Kage of Kirigakure, she could imagine herself leading the rebellion against him, just like her father had done so many years ago to a prior Mizukage. Finally, the last words he spoke of his speech solidified his position, and Ayakashi finally began to understand where he was coming from, he had made a single but terrifying and costly mistake as the Raikage of his nation; assuming that he could both be a ruler and beneficiary of his rule. Ruling justly, and fairly was not about people liking you and what you do, but about people respecting you and what you do. It was about giving yourself to the people, living for them, enslaved by the nation so that others can live happily. In this world of endless chaos, ninja, and magic, should you find yourself comfortable in a seat of power, you were doing something wrong, or not doing enough. Sanosuke fought ‘with’ his people, sharing their pain, Ayakashi fought with those around her, so her people would never have to. Sharing one’s suffering to become a part of society was a supremely selfish endeavour to Ayakashi for those not strong enough to make the necessary sacrifices.

So the Mizukage was done listening.

It seemed to her the Raikage had made up his mind long ago, and that was fine by her, if he thought for a moment that this was some stepping stone for her rise to world domination, then the Raikage had gone mad with anger, and a deeply seeded paranoia. Lightning struck the evidence that she had lay at his feet, obliterating it in a single action that symbolised his defiance of reason. It seemed that Sanosuke was baying for a devil to fight against, needing an adversary to unite his people against, looking for a scapegoat. Though, the only reason Ayakashi did not find herself striking pre-emptively, was the information on the attack on the prison… she had ordered no such strike… her nation was not known for Katon users, Ayakshi found her peripheral vision looking to mitsuo, being the only katon user who came to mind. The only other fire centric user that she had known was Tenmei, but she had left for konoha a long time past… the chances of it being her that had saved kirigakure ninja she had deemed a long time past behind her, was infinitely unlikely to Ayakashi’s mind… But, as it seemed that they had already been freed… that made her job much easier…

Ayakashi felt the pull of chakra as Sanosuke activated his techniques, his eye warping into a demonic sigil. So too did Ayakashi ready her Fuuton defence in turn. This event was advantageous, having not attacked herself, she would allow him to come to her… her vision of events that would come to pass would simply change only in the method of transport, attacking was always a risky action, as the defender of any encounter always had the upper-hand in the opening exchange. Ayakashi was able to hear a buzz emanating from his form as he charged, blades in hands. Ayakashi ejected the long blade from the end of changeling, creating the long slender Naganata form of her signature weapon.


And so the battle would begin...


But no sooner than Sanosuke moved to strike, there was a quick blue of black which stepped in between them as Hachiko had activated a technique to get between the two, Ayakashi wasn’t in the least phased, she expected her ninja to protect her with their lives should the feel the need, the only thoughts that were running through the Mizukage’s mind was protecting her country, no, now she was protecting the world from Sanosuke Flynt!


But as she swooped in like the hawk, something happened that she would not have thought possible, which made even the Mizukage halt in her tracks. Hachiko, no, Kaekio removed her mask and apologized to Sanosuke, looking into the Raikage’s eyes and stopping them with but a single act of selflessness… or perhaps, yet another act of supreme selfishness. Ayakashi had felt put on the spot, her deception that she had killed his ninja was laid bare, but it seemed that simply seeing her, had put this battle on hold. She’d saved her master, that much was true, but now Ayakashi was the one backed into a corner, Kaekio had given the Raikage the one thing that Ayakashi had known that she had voided him. Legitimacy. As soon as she had removed the mask, Ayakashi had half a mind to end the lives of the two of them, sweeping her weapon as she would switch it into its scythe function and bisect the two of them at chest height while Sanosuke was still in shock from the revelation. It would end a problem, as Kaekio had betrayed Ayakashi, there was no two ways about it. But not just her, her lover, and the people of the country she had fled to for help. It was a spit in their face, but it seemed that she would reap her punishment at the hands of her mentor. His blades sinking deeply into her flesh and bone. Ayakashi could immediately tell there was severe damage dealt to her internally, the ANBU armour would have soaked some of the blow, but little.

Aya’s mind raced at a million miles a second, halting for a moment and retreating into deep thought as she came to another conclusion. Reinforced by the fact that Sanosuke’s aura of power faded, and he seemed to devolve before her eyes into a quiverring mass who had lost the will to fight. This was Sanosuke Flynts’ true form. Ayakashi did not see it as a weak, emotional state, but rather as the mask falling away revealing the truth behind it. The Raikage holding the dying girl close, drawing a kunai shakily to fend off the fiercest opponent he could ever have. The pathetic yet heartfelt imagery of the Raikage was something that Ayakashi felt hard to stomach… striking down Sanosuke now would be like kicking a puppy that had already been hit by a car… The Mizukage was not so far gone that she would stoop so low… not yet.


Letting out a sigh and lowering her weapon, Ayakashi would raise a hand to Sanosuke as he faced her down. Giving a quick motion to Tsuyo to come over with haste. He had wounds to heal, and quickly, before the girl died at the end of Sanosuke’s lethal blades. Though the Mizukage never dropped her guard, not allowing her sage mode nor her aura of wind to flicker for a moment as the Fuuton aura re-built itself from the damage dealt by Sano’s incessant buzzing. Reaching a hand up to her mask, Ayakashi would hit the switch that would break the air-tight seal, transforming the steel apparatus into more of a visor than a full face covering plated helm. This change alone would allow Ayakashi to speak truthfully with the emotional tone in her voice, without the mechanical neutrality that hid her expressions through the armour.


Well, now that, that card has been played. I guess it is time to come clean, yes Kaekio came to us, she fled from your nation to ours when she guided my ninja home, leaving you to make herself stronger to protect her home. I staged her death at my hand, and assimilated her into my ANBU, so that she could be with her lover. Her passionate plea to be welcomed into Kiri was heart-warming, honest, and noble, I couldn’t throw her away or cut her down as I would with others… Then you imprisoned my people.

I think we’re done here… Ayakashi spoke as she would look to the sky, if her ninja had already escaped, they would surely see this. Aiming her fist upwards, she would coil chakra within it, before firing a single volatile bolt of chakra upward above the canopy of the village, a signal to kiri ninja to accumulate at her location. A distress call, known to all kiri ninja, word would soon spread, her hunter ninja on the run in the nation would no doubt spread word, and soon they would gather.

I wished no harm to your country Sanosuke, only you... you may believe what you will, but I had nothing to do with the Jailbreak in your nation, I gave no such order at the time and no ninja loyal to me did so on my behalf. I swear it. But... do not think for a moment that I will forget the things you have done or said here today. I don’t believe for a moment you are strong enough in spirit, body or mind to hold the highest office in your country. To that ends, my doors will ‘always’ be open for those citizens of yours who wish to flee from you and make their home within Kiri's boarders... I came here for justice, and to that ends I think you have reaped what you have sewn with striking down your own beloved pupil, who, for whatever reason, was pushed from your country and away from you... and it will be by the hand of your enemy that she was healed. So, i hope that image of guilt, pain, shock, and fear haunts your very soul and holds your ego prisoner for years to come…


Her attention would then turn to Kaekio, a sad expression coming across her face for a moment before she talked.


Kaekio, for betraying me, my orders, and putting my nation at risk with your rashness, you’re banished from Kirigakure. You turned your back on us, and those you claim to love. So, with regret, i officially proclaim you a missing ninja of the village hidden in the mist, and its allies, you’ll be hunted by the people you once loved no matter where you lay… … …  Beginning a week from now, so lick your wounds and be ready, it’s going to be rough. I hope you find everything you’re looking for. Live well. Goodbye~


As she spoke, Ninja from Kirigakure who had scattered from his hunts had begun to gather with kirigakure civilians in their wake. As they came out of the webworks, Ayakashi would turn on her heel, keeping the corner of her eye trained behind her as she would move to leave, not allowing a single soul to get in her path. Sanosuke had enough to deal with right now, but should be under no illusions that he had made an enemy today. An enemy who would stop at nothing to see him dethroned from his position by any means. But for now, justice was done for the events that had transpired up until now, the cycle of karma maintained, as the wheel continued to turn and the world would move on to tomorrow… Kirigakure as a nation would have to get even stronger with the looming threat of a shadow war with Kumo, should it come to that ultimate eventuality…

Aya would move to the base of the hill, and begin to explain to the citizens once imprisoned that they were free to leave, that to the south, there were ANBU and Kirigakure ninja who would get them to ships destined for home and that they would be safe. Several came to her, confirming Sanosuke’s stories that they had been kept well, while two-fold more were telling her tales of their valiant resistance. Ayakashi would ensure that their weapons and the likes had been reclaimed as they had made their escape, but it seemed that much of that was not stored in the prison, for good reason. Thinking about that for some time, she did not think it appropriate to bring up the belongings of the ninja as of this moment… the situation was volatile, but rather, she would ask one of Kumogakure’s ANBU if he would be so kind to allow them to reclaim their belongings, as they were no longer prisoners of the nation. Hopefully, the request would go down well enough.

There was so much to organize, but more or less, the conflict seemed done, driven to an unexpected climax and halted in its inception. But the work of the Mizukage had only just begun as she waited at the foot of the hill, ever vigilant of those upon it.

[3881 words]

Spoiler:

OOC I am now lost. Who's post is it?

OOC:

The tokubetsu jonin would watch from afar the barrier put up by the Kumogakure ANBU go down for reasons that he couldn't quite make out before observing Mitsuo Sarutobi and another immensely powerful man that he had not yet met escort that kid away to safety, the same kid who had caused so much trouble for him earlier... It was nothing, just a minor holdup, and he harbored no serious grudge against this beat freak boy known as "Toshi", though he would nonetheless have a lot of confusion on why people siding with Kiri were escorting a genin of Kumogakure. Perhaps even enemies on the battlefield could have enough respect for each other to protect the weak and innocent no matter where they were from, who they were, or the odds that they stood against. That alone reassured Kashizudoto, who had hoped that he could see at least a small silver lining in this terrible happening that had broken the relative peace that had been going on.

Meanwhile, he would watch as the Mizukage dropped tattered and bloody remains of clothing in front of all those watching, confirming that Kiri had indeed killed this person upon sight, and then would hear the Mizukage go on a rant about the missing-nin situation that had started the whole crisis in the first place. She summarized the situation from her own angle, slanting it so that Kiri would not take any of the blame for literally slaughtering a rogue ninja on sight. Of course, it wasn't surprising to him, as Kiri was a militarized hell hole that fueled itself through violence rather than love, at least in the boy's eyes. Part of why he had come was to either confirm or eliminate his biases that were based on little information, but, from the Mizukage's sickening devaluation of life, he only felt more disgust for the leadership of the village of Kirigakure and more and more pity for its residents, who were probably being indoctrinated by this military dictator, this despotic ice queen. He would resolve to talk to Lord Kenta, the Hokage and a person that he trusted, about Kiri, Ayakashi, and the relationship between their two villages. From what he had seen of the Mizukage, he felt that the friendliness between the two villages was unsettling and inappropriate; however, it seemed that there was clearly stuff that the boy was not aware of pertaining to Kiri and their relationship, which he would really want to know about before cementing any strong opinions on what seemed to be a bloody village with disgusting leadership.

"Boy. I don't know where you're from, but this is not place for you to be, the Raikage spoke directly to the tokubetsu jonin, his anger seeming to have subsided for the moment, "I cannot guarantee your safety if you still stay here." The boy would feel strangely flattered by the Raikage addressing him first before the Mizukage; he appreciated that Sensei Sanosuke was looking out for him, though it seemed that from this distance and with all the things rushing through his mind, he probably forgot temporarily about Kashizudoto and his hawk, the training that they had done together; perhaps the memory would return later once the man's mind returned to a normal state, only time would tell. Regardless, one could never get away with saying that Kashizudoto wasn't absolutely stubborn. Frankly, he had no idea that the power of these living legends could electrocute him to death, implode his organs, or freeze him faster than he could even see it coming just in crossfire alone, and could do even more to him in direct fire if it ever came to that; maybe it was just that he thought of himself as a step higher than he really was, able to possibly ward off the crossfire. Thus, in his ignorance, rebelliousness, and overconfidence, he would stay put against the orders of his former sensei, instead forming a snake seal with his two hands and putting up a small barrier out of chakra around himself and his hawk to protect the two from the slaughterhouse outside. He could never guess that his simple A-rank chakra barrier wouldn't stand a chance against the crossfire of these three shinobi in front of him, all some of the strongest in the shinobi world, especially the Mizukage who was probably the strongest.

Looking around, he could only see three people, two of which were the leaders of one side and one of which was the leader of the other side. Suddenly, a thought would come to his head: there were no reliable, unbiased sources out here to record this event in history! No, no, that wouldn't be right. How else could the other kages learn an accurate account of what had transpired? How else could the people of the shinobi world try to interpret this standoff if they didn't know the truth? He needed to record this, right here, right now. He would instantly pull out an empty scroll of paper from a canister on Hawky's back; as a messenger hawk, the bird had empty scrolls, ink, and feather pens for drafting messages. First thing was first: he needed to record what had already happened: he could pen individual letters for the kages later based on this. He would ferociously start scribbling on his paper with the feather pen in front of him, his arm subconsciously flaming with katon chakra as he would race to try and scribe down his account of what had happened in real time so that he would not miss any crucial facts that were about to fold. He would determine to be the scribe, and, as such, he would try not to give his own interpretations. Of course, that'd be tough for Kashizudoto, a boy of strong opinions, but he'd figure it out.

He would write while listening closely for details of the Raikage's speech that would be crucial in understanding this whole event. First of all, he realized based on the Raikage's address to the man next to the Mizukage that his name was "Akira". Next, he made a mental note of Sensei Sano- no, no, he had to think of him as the Raikage today in order to make this unbiased - the Raikage's argument that the detention of the Kiri ninja used as little force as possible; personally, the boy disapproved of any imprisonment of people based on nationality, as it really made no sense at all, though he couldn't be inserting his opinions into his piece. The tokubetsu jonin would then hear an accusation that he'd been thinking all along coming from the lips of the Raikage himself: that this was all a vicious power play by Kiri to pick on a weaker village and use it as a stepping stone for greater world domination later. Yes, this would be something to note in his account for sure. Then there was something that he wouldn't have ever expected: the Raikage accused the Mizukage of having not actually killed the missing-nin, only having tried to deceive him. The tokubetsu jonin had not the slightest clue why he would suspect this; however, he would resolve to jot it down in his narrative. The Raikage then accused the Mizukage of having organized a prison break in Kumo; the boy had not the slightest clue what he was talking about as he hadn't done as much poking around the village as he had hoped to, but he would still jot it all down once he got to that part in the narrative. No doubt, it was difficult to write and listen to a giant speech at the same time. Suddenly, the Raikage would prepare his weapons and begin his attack. From behind the barrier, the boy would continue vigorously writing his notes while still observing. Of course, he could refine this writing later (if he survived) for drafting letters to the Hokage and Tsuchikage; however, this was the most accurate account as he would not forget any details if he was writing it all in real time.

Then the scariest thing would happen. A figure would instantly appear in between the Raikage and the Mizukage, the former's blade going right through them. Did she... sacrifice herself? Who was this? He'd never seen her!

"Sorry Sano-sensei. I can't let any blood be spilled because of me," the wounded girl explained in tears. So she was the root of this war? Then it hit him: she was the all-important missing-nin who had started this war. So Sano's earlier claim was true. He couldn't help but feel bad upon seeing this terrible situation, after all, the missing-nin used to be his student (Kashi had also been Sano's student, but he could deduce that this was probably a lot closer of a relationship than with his training). However, he'd continue scribbling down what had happened as he realized that this information could come in handy later. Of course, he didn't expect what was to come next. The Raikage broke down, pulling out a kunai knife in some desperate attempt to protect the girl. Some would consider him unmanly for being in such a sad state; however, the boy strangely felt after this that the Raikage was even more the man, being courageous enough to reveal his true feelings in front of even enemy leaders. It seemed that the battle was over, yet it had not even begun.

The Mizukage called over the man known as Akira as if he was to do something about this. Perhaps he could heal her? He then, while still writing ferociously, heard some key points from the Mizukage's speech, this time the stone cold monotone of her voice was replaced by true emotion as she had taken off her mask. First of all, she confirmed that the missing-nin as having defected to Kiri in order to be with her lover and that the death was staged. The war was all for naught; the casus belli had no meaning when Kiri had deceived everyone, including its own people. It was all a lie and nothing more. He would feel pure disgust upon hearing this, but he would still continue to write even more vigorously. She sent out a beam of light, what seemed to be a distress call, and then also clarified that she had no idea what the prison break was all about; however, he didn't feel like anyone could even trust that bitch after how terribly she had deceived the people of the shinobi world. Lastly, she exiled that missing-nin and declared that Kiri nin would hunt her down starting in one week: harsh.

Soon, Kiri shinobi and Kiri citizens showed up at the base of the hill, who the Mizukage soon informed could leave on some ships nearby that would take them back to the Land of Water. A relatively peaceful resolution to the whole conflict, yet he felt that this slight to Kumo by Kiri would only sow the seeds of further discord. Soon, he would finish penning his notes, hoping to convert this real-time information into accurate letters for the Hokage and Tsuchikage.

Kashi's Notes on the Invasion

The people who were on site at the Durian Tree of Demonic Knowledge were the Mizukage Ayakashi and her big snow leopard, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, some random blue-haired powerful dude presumably from Kiri, a Kumo genin named Toshi, and me. The Mizukage, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, and the blue-haired dude were all invading Kumo as the main force of Kiri in the war. The Kumo genin seemed to have ended up there by accident, though the author cannot back up this claim very reliably. I was there to observe, having chanced upon this place when trying to climb the legendary tree.

Suddenly, the Raikage appeared in a flash of lightning, the ANBU of Kumo creating a barrier around, which soon went down due to unknown reasons, perhaps some strategical maneuver on Kiri's part. The Raikage first got into a heated debate with Mitsuo and the blue-haired dude before the latter two escorted the Kumo genin away to safety. Then, the Raikage argued with the Mizukage; the Mizukage showed the tattered remains of the missing ninja, and the Raikage called BS on it, accusing Kiri of having done something else with the missing ninja rather than having slaughtered them and then going on to blame them about a prison break that had, according to him, happened in Kumo.

He charged at the Mizukage in a flash, but suddenly the missing-nin sacrificed herself to get in the way of the attack. With that, the Mizukage admitted to having integrated this missing-nin from Kumo into the ranks of the Kiri ANBU and staging her death to the entire world. She admitted no wrongdoing in terms of the prison break and sent a distress call to her ninja. As retribution for the missing-nin getting in the way of the fight, the Mizukage declared that she would be exiled from Kiri and hunted like any other rogue ninja from the nation. With that, her people gathered at the hill where she told them to go home. With that, the invasion ended.

After learning about the huge lie that Kiri had set up, he would realize that, at least for a while, it would probably be best not to ever let anyone but the Hokage and the Tsuchikage hear about his account of the events. He could imagine the Mizukage seeking not just his blood but that of anyone publishing the narrative. He would also consider how much instability it could cause if this lie was revealed by an outside source like himself. Perhaps the Mizukage would release the details to her own people publicly, in her own twisted way as if to justify the deceptive tactic that she had used to start a war. Either way, he was going to convert this account into two letters, one for the Hokage and one for the Tsuchikage, which he would send on Hawky to deliver to their location in Iwa; he was sure both of them would appreciate an accurate description of the details without meddling from either side so that they could determine their next course of action.

With that, he would flicker away from the scene far away to the outskirts of the village as long as nobody would stop him. There, he would write his two letters, parts of which he would actually copy from his notes with a few revisions.

Dear Lord Hokage,

So, as fate would have it, I ended up witnessing the invasion as it unfolded. I want to make you aware of the events that transpired, as they are truly shocking. I would also like to inform you that I've wrote a similar letter to the Tsuchikage, as I believe that he should also be aware of this. If you wish to censor the letter to the Tsuchikage for whatever reason, which I strongly suggest you don't, just pull the letter addressed to the Tsuchikage out of Hawky's message canister as he's been ordered to deliver to you first. That way, the letter won't reach him. That said, I urge you to let him receive this information too, as he seems to be an honest man whose decisions could be better informed by this valuable intelligence.

The people who were on site at the Durian Tree of Demonic Knowledge were the Mizukage Ayakashi and her big snow leopard, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, some random blue-haired powerful dude presumably from Kiri, a Kumo genin named Toshi, and me. The Mizukage, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, and the blue-haired dude were all invading Kumo as the main force of Kiri in the war. The Kumo genin seemed to have ended up there by accident, though the author cannot back up this claim very reliably. I was there to observe, having chanced upon this place when trying to climb the legendary tree.

Suddenly, the Raikage appeared in a flash of lightning, the ANBU of Kumo creating a barrier around, which soon went down due to unknown reasons, perhaps some strategical maneuver on Kiri's part. The Raikage first got into a heated debate with Mitsuo and the blue-haired dude before the latter two escorted the Kumo genin away to safety. Then, the Raikage argued with the Mizukage; the Mizukage showed the tattered remains of the missing ninja, and the Raikage called BS on it, accusing Kiri of having done something else with the missing ninja rather than having slaughtered them and then going on to blame them about a prison break that had, according to him, happened in Kumo.

He charged at the Mizukage in a flash, but suddenly the missing-nin sacrificed herself to get in the way of the attack. With that, the Mizukage admitted to having integrated this missing-nin from Kumo into the ranks of the Kiri ANBU and staging her death to the entire world. She admitted no wrongdoing in terms of the prison break and sent a distress call to her ninja. As retribution for the missing-nin getting in the way of the fight, the Mizukage declared that she would be exiled from Kiri and hunted like any other rogue ninja from the nation. With that, her people gathered at the hill where she told them to go home. With that, the invasion ended.

What do you think of this? I'm personally very disgusted by the Mizukage's deception, and I would like to know more about the village of Kiri directly from you before I can form an opinion on them. Please enlighten me about the history between our villages when we are both back in Konoha. Anyway, I hope that you benefit from this shocking new development and can take the according steps to try and maintain peace amidst this crisis.

- Kashizudoto Sarutobi, awesomest shinobi in Konoha

Dear Lord Tsuchikage,

Hey, this is the guy who delivered that letter to you back in the day! As you were the one who had previously provided me information about the invasion and what had happened, I think it would only be fair for me to provide you my firsthand intelligence from watching the invasion go down. Hopefully, you can use this information wisely in determining your next foreign policy decisions.

The people who were on site at the Durian Tree of Demonic Knowledge were the Mizukage Ayakashi and her big snow leopard, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, some random blue-haired powerful dude presumably from Kiri, a Kumo genin named Toshi, and me. The Mizukage, Akira, Mitsuo Sarutobi, and the blue-haired dude were all invading Kumo as the main force of Kiri in the war. The Kumo genin seemed to have ended up there by accident, though the author cannot back up this claim very reliably. I was there to observe, having chanced upon this place when trying to climb the legendary tree.

Suddenly, the Raikage appeared in a flash of lightning, the ANBU of Kumo creating a barrier around, which soon went down due to unknown reasons, perhaps some strategical maneuver on Kiri's part. The Raikage first got into a heated debate with Mitsuo and the blue-haired dude before the latter two escorted the Kumo genin away to safety. Then, the Raikage argued with the Mizukage; the Mizukage showed the tattered remains of the missing ninja, and the Raikage called BS on it, accusing Kiri of having done something else with the missing ninja rather than having slaughtered them and then going on to blame them about a prison break that had, according to him, happened in Kumo.

He charged at the Mizukage in a flash, but suddenly the missing-nin sacrificed herself to get in the way of the attack. With that, the Mizukage admitted to having integrated this missing-nin from Kumo into the ranks of the Kiri ANBU and staging her death to the entire world. She admitted no wrongdoing in terms of the prison break and sent a distress call to her ninja. As retribution for the missing-nin getting in the way of the fight, the Mizukage declared that she would be exiled from Kiri and hunted like any other rogue ninja from the nation. With that, her people gathered at the hill where she told them to go home. With that, the invasion ended.

Again, I hope that this information will help you now or in the future.

- Kashizudoto Sarutobi, the awesomest shinobi in Konoha

With that, he would put the two letters in Hawky's canister and have the bird fly off to deliver the message to the Hokage and then the Tsuchikage (assuming the Hokage would allow the letter to the Tsuchikage to be delivered). Hopefully, his intelligence would serve some positive use to the world.

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 5534

[Exit]

Senjutsu: B -> A: 5534/8000

Tsuyo would Stand back out of the way as Sanosuke came down with all his rage on display. It was an impressive amount of chakra ripping through the area around him. He could withstand it for the time being but even he didn't care to test his luck. So this was the power of two sages ready to go head to head. He had only cleared a couple of dozen meters from them for the time being but it felt like he was barely out of arms reach. His own chakra flared ever so slightly at the two as if in excitement. Some part of him wanted to join in and fight with them. Perhaps both of them though he would remember his purpose. He was a mediator. His job was to attempt to make sure neither Kage died today. His own choice to be here for that purpose though, he doubted Ayakashi saw him that way. He was her ally in this so he supposed should she attempt a killing blow, well she likely wouldn't easily allow him to intervene. This was a dangerous place to be but it was exciting to bare witness to the tide of time crashing against the world. He would puff on his cigarette for a moment before tossing it down and putting it out with his toe.

The anger was rising between the two. A single crash of lightning came down and burned the evidence to ashes in an instant as both sides spoke back and forth. He was actually rather glad that Ayakashi had sent all her elite away. With them gone this was a very direct conversation with no one backing down. That aside she seemed to be waiting. He wondered if she had some ploy in mind really. Sanosuke was almost mad with rage and his power was tearing up the terrain. With a sigh Tsuyo would run a hand through his hair as he felt the stress piling on. On the brink of war and over what? A girl that ran to the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't remember anyone threatening any countries thought to have harbored him when he left. Honestly he felt a little humbled by all this. Love and war, one usually caused by the other it seemed. Helen of Troy was a story that came to mind. Two warriors, the best of both armies come to clash. Who would be victorious though he wondered.

However the time for curiosity was over it appeared. He felt his fist clench the moment Sanosuke popped his weapons and it was beginning.  He watched Ayakashi throw up her own chakra and prepare her defenses and wondered if Sanosuke could get further than he had. He felt he was one of the worlds strongest shinobi personally but by all accounts that he could see Sanosuke matched up fairly well. A duel between them might be nice in the future should the opportunity ever arise without an international crisis. For now he would just see how this turned out....or not.... He would watch as the clash was halted by a flash of movement which caught his gaze. His view of the situation was better than theirs so he had time enough to consider it might be a team attack on Ayakashi and shift his feet to move if need be. However much to his surprise it was one of the ANBU that had left before. He blinked as his brows furrowed. What was going on now? He watched her take Sanosuke's hit and the world seemed to slow down again. His head would tilt as silver eyes watched it all unfold as the storms stopped and the rain began to fall. Sanosuke was defeated eh? Though not by force...something broke in his heart. He could feel it in the air.

He would listen now as Ayakashi addressed the broken man now barely clinging to a kunai and holding a dying girl bleeding in his arms. She wasn't long for this world at the rate of damage that wound had caused. He would allow the rain to fall near himself but his aura pushed out just enough to keep himself dry. Still Ayakashi spoke with a normal voice not impeded by her mask. "Well, now that, that card has been played. I guess it is time to come clean, yes Kaekio came to us, she fled from your nation to ours when she guided my ninja home, leaving you to make herself stronger to protect her home. I staged her death at my hand, and assimilated her into my ANBU, so that she could be with her lover. Her passionate plea to be welcomed into Kiri was heart-warming, honest, and noble, I couldn’t throw her away or cut her down as I would with others… Then you imprisoned my people.

I think we’re done here… "

With that she turned and shot some chakra into the sky that appeared to simply be flashy while a Kumo nin stepped in as fast as he could manage and stood between them and the Raikage. This bit Ayakashi seemed to ignore as she continued her speech. "I wished no harm to your country Sanosuke, only you... you may believe what you will, but I had nothing to do with the Jailbreak in your nation, I gave no such order at the time and no ninja loyal to me did so on my behalf. I swear it. But... do not think for a moment that I will forget the things you have done or said here today. I don’t believe for a moment you are strong enough in spirit, body or mind to hold the highest office in your country. To that ends, my doors will ‘always’ be open for those citizens of yours who wish to flee from you and make their home within Kiri's boarders... I came here for justice, and to that ends I think you have reaped what you have sewn with striking down your own beloved pupil, who, for whatever reason, was pushed from your country and away from you... and it will be by the hand of your enemy that she was healed. So, i hope that image of guilt, pain, shock, and fear haunts your very soul and holds your ego prisoner for years to come… " She seemed done with him only to turn to the girl and address her. "Kaekio, for betraying me, my orders, and putting my nation at risk with your rashness, you’re banished from Kirigakure. You turned your back on us, and those you claim to love. So, with regret, i officially proclaim you a missing ninja of the village hidden in the mist, and its allies, you’ll be hunted by the people you once loved no matter where you lay… … …  Beginning a week from now, so lick your wounds and be ready, it’s going to be rough. I hope you find everything you’re looking for. Live well. Goodbye~"

He hadn't missed her motioning him over but he wasn't happy with the deceit and use of him. He would of come anyway had he known as he had a soft spot for missing nin made that way for the wrong reasons. He didn't agree with her choice to make her a hunted individual at all nor did he appreciate being used. His trust for her, for the time being, was burned. His silver eyes would watch her as she turned to walk passed him and see to her people. As she passed him he would speak casually while looking passed her at the mess she had been a part of. A single sentence leaving his lips quietly as it was only meant for her. "You and I are going to have a talk as soon as you are done seeing to your people." He wasn't asking. Not many people made demands of Ayakashi but he wasn't in the mood for being polite and using titles. He knew she was aware he now knew the truth of her lie to him. For Tsuyo, he was owed and explanation. However he would begin to walk forward and move to stand before Syn. Looking him in the eye calmly as he spoke up.

"I'm just the medic here child. However if you wish to attack me, remember all that can be given can be torn away too."

He would move forward with that calm threat spoken. He seemed calm enough for the moment but somehow even walking casually with his hands at his sides Syn wouldn't see any opening. It was as if something was towering between them and was ready to rip into him should he try and attack. Tsuyo was a powerhouse in his own right and Syn was not yet ready to take him on. Still Tsuyo would stand there looking down at Sanosuke holding that Kunai and the girl. Ayakashi might be satisfied with this result but he wanted to have his own control over the situation now. He would drop slowly to one knee as he would hold out both his hands. Idly tilting his head as two streams of golden chakra would flow around his arms into his palms and slowly form a green ball of warm and comforting energy in each palm. It was powerful and yet it felt gentle as it pushed away the rain and brought warmth and life into the area. The grass would grow a little and stand up straight and the damage from the lightning on the ground would begin to heal itself ever so much. Tsuyo would try to look into Sanosukes eyes as he spoke. His voice warm like silk and yet so far he hadn't healed the girl at all. A sly smile playing across his face as now it was a poker game and he held the deck.

"I am not sure if you know of me Lord Raikage, But out of anyone on this mountain, I am the most capable of saving that girl....but what is she worth to you? Clearly she has chosen to die in her homeland on her terms and yet I suspect you wish to sustain her life a little longer. What would you give up for her? If I were to make it a condition, a simple one, that you begin training your successor and relinquish your seat to them when they were ready, would it be worth the world you know to save her?"

4351

OOC: Not sure if i am being expected to post next (As i am unconscious and am perfectly fine with being skipped), or if the person next merely hasn't posted yet? Would like some confirmation.

I think Sano is next in line to post unless i am mistaken? As stated i'm okay with being skipped until i regain consciousness, or even if that doesn't happen in this thread i'm fine with conceeding my posting turn. But if if you all would like me to post i'm also okay with making a brief post. would just like some confirmation ^_^, you all have my skype, or post here~

This was pure defeat at his hands. There was nothing he could do to persuade himself otherwise. He lad lost his will to fight as he tried his best to defend Kaekio from the eminent death of the Mizukage. His former student was bleeding out before him, and despite the pressure Sanosuke was pushing on the wound it wouldn't stop the blood from leaking out. There wasn't much he could do at the moment besides just hold on. The sounds around him were that of muffles as all of his human concentration was going into putting pressure on Kaekio's open wound. Each second that was passing, the color in her face was fading. She wouldn't last much longer. His thoughts were muddied as the only conceivable thought that Sanosuke was emitting was...protect the girl.

He felt his body be lifted along with Kaekio that was being held by Sanosuke. It was Syn that had picked the two of them up and then move them to a safer location of a few meters away from the powerful shinobi. However the jounin's words reached deaf ears as Sanosuke's eyes and attention was still down cast towards Kaekio's figure. His grip around the girl strengthen as Ayakashi would approach the girl. Thunder rolled quietly in the background as the rain had eventually stopped with the storm being reduced to quietness. His hair was soaked from the rain as Sanosuke listened to the confession of the Mizukage. It was a ploy this entire time. She had exploited Kaekio and now that her service was done, she was discarded. Ayakashi, how could she do such a thing and still think she is in the right?

Clenched teeth and the bite of the tongue was all that was keeping the Raikage from lashing out at the woman. It was one thing to insult him. He would take all the names that the Mizukage had insulted him; a tyrant, a broken man, a coward, or xenophobic. But there was one thing he will not stand for without saying something; he wouldn't have Kaekio be treated like pure trash with her task to be done. And that task Ayakashi wanted was an excuse to pull Kumo into conflict, in an attempt to dethrown him. Just when he found the words to speak out his anger towards Ayakashi, the sound of Kaekio coughing out blood destroyed his mental concentration. Sanosuke held the girl closer to him so that her chest was close to his own. Blood got on his clothing, staining it with red. Her heartbeat was slowing down, this wasn't good.

At the sight of a beam of light being shot from Ayakashi, put Sanosuke on high alert. He didn't know what she had done, but the Raikage wasn't going to be taking any chances like this. Grabbing hold of Kaekio, Sanosuke leaped back yet another few meters to widen the gap between him and the other kages. But upon closer inspection, the beam of light was no more than a light flare. So it was a flare this entire time to summon her people towards the location. With that summons being made, Ayakashi made her exit. Her back towards the fallen leader of the village hidden in the clouds as he held his near death student in his arms. The events that had unfolded before him, had taught him the gap of strength between himself and Ayakashi. She was on a whole other level from her. She was to kill him if they had gotten in an all out fight between the two of them. Even then there was still the former Tsuchikage before him. It was to spell his death should Sanosuke had continued this fight.


His strength as Raikage was meant to protect his people. But yet look at what he had done to Kaekio. She was near lifeless in her arms, with each minute passing drawing her closer to death's door. Something had to be done quickly or else Kaekio wouldn't live long enough to see the light of the next day. Akira had slowly began to approach the two, he had no idea what he wanted but Sanosuke was to defend her with his life. His strength may be a farcry from Ayakashi's, but if a fight should occur between him and Akira then his abilities should be enough to subdue him. However the shakiness from his own hands would make it pointless for him to grab on to his sword that was used to accidentally strike down Kaekio.

At hearing his words, Sanosuke was snapped back into focus. Akira was a medical ninja that had the power, he claimed, to be strong enough to save Kaekio's life. Now that he thought about it, stories of Akira's medical abilities were known from even his village. He did indeed have the strength to save her. There had to be a catch with this. And that was when the man gave his price. To train a successor and then dismiss his seat immediately afterwards. That was what he wanted. The kind eyes of the man before him was a simple mask. The true intentions was a demon with a fork path. Akira would play the role of either the savior of Kaekio's life but the person to end Sanosuke's rule of Raikage, or the murder of Kaekio's life but the person to secure Sanosuke's seat of the Raikage.

Even despite Ayakashi playing all of the shinobi world for fools, Akira was still dedicated to the cause of ending Sanosuke's seat of Raikage just as Ayakashi wanted in the first place. But what choice did he have, Kaekio's life was at stake. Before he could voice out his answer, a thought was sent to him by Navi that caused for the first time a smile to bless his lips. In a poof of smoke, Sanosuke was side by side with another man that was skilled in the medical arts. His own member of the Kumogakure no Sato council: Koga Kyodara. The man had with him a sort of large boar that was sporting the symbol of the Kyodara clan on its flank. Koga snorted as he looked at Akira, "I will stand you coercing my leader to do whatever you like. But please, do not dare insult my expertise in the medical field  by indicating you are the only one here who can save the lives of people." Koga adjusted his glasses as black blank eyes stared into the smile figure of the Tsuchikage. 

The very moment Kaekio was stabbed by Sanosuke, Navi had acted out on her own and ordered Koga from the administration building to the mountain in order to save Kaekio's life. It was a stand off of the medics as the two would look at one another. Without saying another word to the former Tsuchikage, Koga brought out his hand towards Kaekio's fallen from and bandages around his arms leaped into life and snaked to Kaekio's body and wrapped her body up like a mummy. Chakra radiated from the bandages as they seemed to be stabilizing Kaekio's state so her wounds wouldn't put her life in danger. Kaekio was safe. The boar puffed out a cloud of its own husk from its snout out at Akira to show how little the boar cared for the man. The beast seemed to see Koga was the superior one.

Koga would then approached the mummified patient carefully in his arms as he passed by both men to load the young woman on his creature. Only a nod to Sanosuke was indicated as the medical ninja councilman that Kaekio would be handled personally by him. Her life would be safe while under his care. The large boar, Kaekio, and Koga was rushed to the hospital of the village where she would be treated for her wounds. Sanosuke saw this. Even with him so out of focus, his village worked to protect one another. They were a family. They walked together, the fought together, they ate together, they drank together and even protected one another. As their leader, as the head of the family, Sanosuke couldn't be in such a state. "You heard the man Akira. You seemed to have underestimated my village gravely." Shaking the rain from his hair, Sanosuke tied his longer hair into a pony tail as he looked back in Akira's eyes.

With Kaekio's life now being handled by Koga, Sanosuke could rest easy. Now he had to focus on his troops and resume being the pillar of strength for his village. "I thank you for your service of being a mediator here. But I shouldn't have thought so highly that you wouldn't be swayed by Ayakashi to remove my seat of Raikage. But if that means to rush someone in a seat of power where they are likely to be influenced by someone like Ayakashi, like you all have, then I will not comply to such a wish." Sanosuke said to Akira. His eyes focused on the man, to show that he would not be controlled by these people.

"Syn, go to my home and hold off the foolish sword saint's invasion. If anything is broken from my home, that's coming out of your paycheck. Understood?" With a smirk as he turned his back to his shinobi to do his order, Sanosuke issued the mental command so that his people would know that everything was going to be okay. The threat was over, for now. Making a hand seal, Sanosuke himself vanished from the mountain top in a flash of blue light and over to the hospital. He won't leave Kaekio alone again.

---

The wounds inflicted to Kaekio was rather serious from what Koga told him. His blade did hit organs and damaging them from the point of impact. His senjutsu chakra that went into the sword had infected her body doing even more damage. The aura around Sanosuke did even more damage since she was the closest to the aura than anyone else was. The damage sustained from the aura was much more serious on her. The red light of the extensive care room was on for hours as Sanosuke waited outside the door praying that Kaekio would make it out of this with her life. He had to trust that Kaekio would surive from Koga's treatment. That was all he could do, for now.

A light bell rang off as the intensive care light went off. Sanosuke turned towards the light and saw as Koga walked out of the door, wiping a trail of sweat from his forehead. His hands were bloodied from the operation as the man adjusted his glasses. With a nod, the man walked passed Sanosuke to indicate that the girl was indeed stable and going to live. 

Tears of joy streaked down his face as he ran into the room to see that Kaekio was sleeping peacefully in the hospital room. She was safe. IVs were connected to her body as they were giving her body nutrients so eating and drinking wasn't needed. All of her energy was going into recovering from her wounds. With one step, Sanosuke got to the side of the bed, and sat down before her. Smiling at her, Sanosuke stroke her face and frowned when he saw the handcuffs on her to restrain her movements. Even while she is wounded, by the order of the Daimyo of Lightning she was pronounced a criminal from the country. To the daimyo, Kaekio had already left the village and had no idea that was being treated here. "I'm here for you. I'm not leaving you again."

On her forehead was a talisman that also restrained her chakra so she wouldn't have access to it. The council of the village agreed in secretly nursing the girl back to health, but she would be retrained so escape was not possible. This would make what he was about to do, much easier to accomplish. Grabbing Kaekio's unconscious hand, Sanosuke began weaving hand seals as the two were in joint. Moving her hand so they matched up with her own, Sanosuke made her do the seals as well. Once he had finished, Sanosuke would rest his forehead on the girl's.

A seal would appear on the girl's forehead when Sanosuke would remove his forehead. It would only appear once more before vanishing away once again. The fact that Sanosuke can no longer sense the repository of chakra he had put into Kaekio must have meant that Kaekio did something to remove the large mass of energy from her body. Plus her chakra was no longer carrying Kaekio's identity. It was much different now, in fact it was slightly colder than he remembered it to be. This was Ayakashi's doing. The seal on Kaekio's forehead was made so in case of an emergency Sanosuke can communicate with the girl in her dreams no matter the distance. It also made it easier to track her movements. 

And to make sure Kaekio wouldn't find a way to unseal it, Sanosuke made counter measures to prevent that from happening. He had laced the seal with advance senjutsu and ninjutsu specifications so that one would have to be gifted in ninjutsu, senjutsu, and fuuinjutsu to detect the seal in the first place. Of course the skills of the person wanting to remove the seal will have to be of the skill of a sannnin in order to do so. So this would allow Sanosuke to sense out the girl if need be.

Whenever Kaekio would wake up, there was much to talk about. But for now, he would wait until she has awaken...

Topic frozen - Awaiting Judgment.

(Post has been edited as we have agreed upon due to mediation. I've been given the okay by Jean for the thread to be unfrozen)

OOC posting to exit as requested by Ayakashi so we can get about other plot

Tsuyo would see the man and his pig approaching and contemplate the numbers growing around him. He wasn't sure of capabilities of all involved but he was sure if he had to combat his way out it would be unpleasant. Too much collateral and already enough pain. They had merely stood on the brink of war with forces moving across the board but already the mountain top felt chaotic. Emotions flared and the damage was done. He felt as if he stood alone. A witness to madness brewing in the world. Still he would straighten himself and tighten his tie as the new arrival came to a stop nearby. Addressing him somewhat politely. His eyebrow twitched at the misunderstanding of his words and the mans impeccable hearing. He had not claimed to be the only one. Simply the most capable. He watched as the stranger slapped the equivalent of a band aid on the girl before rushing her down the mountain. Likely for some intensive surgery. His own chakra had died down as he sighed. So much hassle over a single stab wound. Akira hadn't been lying when he claimed he could fix her. A clap of his hands and all would of been well in the world. Pride did funny things though and he cared little to address the situation further. After all the Kiri nin were free and with luck no one would die to accomplish it.

He would shift his eyes from the retreating medic and his prize back to Sanosuke as the man tied his hair back. Addressing him as if to mock his claim. He was tempted for a moment to occupy the man before him violently but he was aware that would serve little to no purpose. He had other issues to address regardless. Still his own eyes did not waver as Sanosuke thanked him for his service as mediator. Claiming Akira was swayed simply by Ayakashi and her words. Perhaps that had played its part. However the secret arrests of an entire people, what had been the purpose? Akira or rather Tsuyo saw that as a dangerous road and one that never had a need to be taken. Sanosuke was a man of intense reaction to what he perceived. Tsuyo wasn't sure he was comfortable with someone like that controlling a hidden village. The world for a girl. How many times had history produced examples of how poorly that turned out? The lot of them had gotten lucky. However he doubted it was all over just yet. Lastly though Sanosuke denied his inquiry. He would not release his power. Perhaps not for his entire life. Tsuyo would smile as he turned away. Speaking to him just before he left.

"Personally I think you would of let her die to hold onto whats yours."

Give up the world or rather fight against it for a girl, but give up nothing of your own. What a fascinating character. He would keep an eye on Kumo for a while. If anything like this happened again, the Aoi Bara would be far more subtle. Enough of that for now though. The immediate threat was gone. Leaving Ayakashi there with her people. He would glance to the side and watch her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another smoke. Lighting it and puffing away as he waited for her to have a moment. She had her prize as well. The world for her people. Now that he knew the truth though, or the newest edition of it, he wasn't so sure she had won here today. Still as she seemed to have a moment finally he would flick away his smoke as it was almost gone before approaching her. Standing next to her and looking over her people. His voice was calm but not kind. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind to her. Yet he wasn't sure anymore he felt safe next to her.

"Well, it appears the enemy has retreated and you have rescued your people. I'm sure that is all that will be remembered by most of today. However I will not soon forget the last hour. You lied to me Aya. Holding back the truth even after I trusted you with mine. I went so far as to grant you the strongest power I could. You should of known I would of stood with you had you simply trusted me. I can't help but feel the years of war have taken that ability from you though. I will be staying in Kumo for a time to tend to what I can here. Truth be told I am not sure when I will return to Kiri. I simply can't trust you as it stands. Especially not with my freedom in your hands."

He would wait and listen for a response as the rain poured around them. Regardless of what she said though he would do what he always had when those he trusted betrayed him. Every time he had grown close to someone in the past. He would turn as the rain seemed to pound against his tired shoulders and walk away. Heading down the mountain to set up a relief station for those that had fled the village when Ayakashi arrived. A mob fleeing an area was likely to have injuries however small. They would need tending to. Perhaps that would be his good deed here.

Exit thread
5265
Genjutsu B - A 5000/5000

Ayakashi's mind was lost, as the Kumo ninja nodded and soon enough the items that had been taken from the ninja were returned set by set. Her people would rummage through the crates looking for the equipment that was theirs before re-assigning it to their person. Hundreds of thousands of ryo worth of kirigakure equipment forged by the smiths of the iron banner were assets that Ayakashi could simply not allow to remain in the hands of an enemy nation, as Kumo would surely become at this rate. Hope, however, still remained in the Mizukage that the world would find a way to balance itself once again, her keen senses picking up the conversation that wafted on the wind towards the hill, as Tsuyo Hyuga attempted a fascinating blackmail of the Raikage. She was impressed at his gall, but it was a dark move to pull, and one that she would never have attempted if she could have at all helped it. She would never be able to claim that Tsuyo wasn't a real ninja from this point on, the ruthlessness it would take to attempt that course of action would require a darkness, which the bloody mist once upon a time would have been proud of.

As Sanosuke, risked the life of his student with extra time, carrying her quickly to a hospital knowing full well the internal damage that had been done to her. Ayakashi would not be surprised if she died on the table at least once before pulling her back from the jaws of death. What was worse was the words that Ayakashi had left on, the stinging sensation that resonated deeply within her due to her actions following everything. She had wanted to be surprised, she had wanted to be shocked, yelled and cursed at the foolish child for her brave and absent minded action. But such would undermine the power of her country and the prestige of her station. Human emotions and reactions were not something that was afforded the mizukage in public, but this time, it had felt like a dagger had been thrust into her side, heated and twisting her insides had already begun to tighten from the stress and weight of the emotional blow. Her focus for a moment zoned out of the world around her, only to be jarred awake when Tsuyo approached her, his calm but dead serious demeanor told her instantly that he was not happy with her decisions.

He spoke of lies and trust, as if they were something new to the ninja world as little more than tools and appearances up-kept, grasping for whatever tentative peace that could be achieved in a world where but a single man with a vendetta could devastate a national capital. Of all his words though, one line dug deeper than the others; "I can't help but feel the years of war have taken that ability from you though..." Ayakashi found herself quickly looking inward, asking herself it were true. Had trust vanished from her ability in lieu of politics and the art of war? Had her title taken so much that she could not do so little as trust a friend? A sister? Ayakashi quickly found herself thinking about her sister, the fiery haired girl who shared her curse of a chakra nature incarnated as an equal opposite to her own. The memory in that instance, bought up rage. She remembered Yuzu Ren, Her cousin, Kaguza and how they had abandoned her in her darkest hours... Perhaps he was right. But if he was, it was not war that had taken so much from her.

It was loss.

"You could not begin to imagine what my duty has taken from me Tsuyo... I did what I thought was best to to protect my people, against countless potential enemies from out, and within... ... Their safety, will, and well being will always come before any person i trust or feeling I hold. If you choose not to trust me at my word, that is up to you to choose. But ask yourself, who would willingly trust a medic who would so quickly take the opportunity to hold a dying innocent politically hostage... Perhaps I was simply a better judge of character than you initially took me for. Would knowing have changed your course of action? What happened here did not change who was right or wrong Tsuyo, it simply showed what true leadership entails..."

Her words at this point would hold no emotional sway, they were hollow, empty and robotic, something not even her mask could hide from the world at this point. After saying her peace she would look to Tsuyo, to await any response from the Hyugas lips. The Mizukage could already begin to feel her cheeks become wet under her mask as she used all her strength to avoid herself from heaving or shuddering under the stress of the scenario. Until soon, she would turn on her heel, giving those around her a word-less signal to round everyone up and move out. Within moments the convoy of kirigakure ninja would begin to move towards the boarder where the boats where the boats which had begun this mess were still under heavy guard. Though as she too began to walk away from the man, she would look over her shoulder, removing her mask, wiping her face and turning to face the Hyuga, revealing her face to him the first time that she had ever allowed a person to physically see what she was feeling, her back to her people so that only Tsuyo would be able to sight the cacophany of emotions swept across her expression.

She was not ok.

But if I'm not to see you again... I'll take this chance. Thank you Tsuyo, and everything you and Iwa have done for us. It won't be forgotten. My promise for you holds true and my gates open to you and any of your allies should they want a home.

With that, Ayakashi would hide her face once again behind the cold steel mask, her anguish, sorrow, grief, self hatred and ire that had been visible for but the shortest of moments, covered once again. But what was more, was, the few kirigakure ninja who were moving away, seemed to move all the faster when she moved to reveal her face. promoting the thought that they all knew of the emotional sacrifice of their kage, her hardship, and simply wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Perhaps this was how she garnered the love of her people so strongly... She desperately wanted someone to come close, hold her, and tell her that everything was going to be ok. But such childish dreams of redemption were only told in the tales of Jiriyah. They were not realities experienced by real men and women in their darkest hours.

So it was that she would return to the boats with her people, boarding each of them in turn and looking to her people that she had rescued against all odds. Ordering a swift sailing from the nation in order to return home foe the near 2000 men that were with her now. Ayakashi would then retire to her private room, asking not to be disturbed by anyone short of an emergency. Taking one step after another, she clipped the latch closed on the door as she stepped in, walking to the bed in the corner of the room before extending a hand to brace herself as she lowered to the ground up against the side of it. Coiling her arms around her knees as she pulled them tightly to her chest she could not longer contain the nuclear firestorm of stress and emotions that for hours had threatened to overwhelm her. The tears began to roll down her cheeks before so much a whisper was uttered in her cries, her chest pulled tightly as it felt like her lungs and throat had erupted in flames. Her whole body begun to shake uncontrollably as she began to cry openly, slumping down to a side as she lay wallowing in the consequences of her actions... But a single thought overpowering even this single release...

Not too loud... or the people will hear you.

[exit thread.]

He was able to lengthen the distance between the raikage and his adversaries but his words were like a stone thrown in the distance because the raikage seemed to make nothing out of it. The words fell on deaf ears. The one who happened to be the mizukage would speak, shedding more light on the situation as Syn was a bit in the dark here.
'Well, now that, that card has been played. I guess it is time to come clean, yes Kaekio came to us, she fled from your nation to ours when she guided my ninja home, leaving you to make herself stronger to protect her home. I staged her death at my hand, and assimilated her into my ANBU, so that she could be with her lover. Her passionate plea to be welcomed into Kiri was heart-warming, honest, and noble, I couldn’t throw her away or cut her down as I would with others… Then you imprisoned my people.
I think we’re done here…'

So this was it.. The cause of everything.. This 'thing' had almost caused an all out war and this person had brought the raikage into this state of helplessness. Kaekio.. He had heard the name and once when he was getting to know the ninjas kumo had, he had come across her though not much information was given. He wasn't in the right position to judge her actions but for whatever it was worth, did she really do it in the interest of her nation? Wasn't this all based on self redemption? Syn was brought back to reality by the Mizukage as she shot a bolt of chakra into the sky like a flare causing Syn, the raikage and the female in his hands to space back another few meters incase this was an attack but it wasn't. Just a beam of light to inform perhaps her people of her location was all that it was. Once that was done, she would speak again..
'I wished no harm to your country Sanosuke, only you... you may believe what you will, but I had nothing to do with the Jailbreak in your nation, I gave no such order at the time and no ninja loyal to me did so on my behalf. I swear it. But... do not think for a moment that I will forget the things you have done or said here today. I don’t believe for a moment you are strong enough in spirit, body or mind to hold the highest office in your country. To that ends, my doors will ‘always’ be open for those citizens of yours who wish to flee from you and make their home within Kiri's boarders... I came here for justice, and to that ends I think you have reaped what you have sewn with striking down your own beloved pupil, who, for whatever reason, was pushed from your country and away from you... and it will be by the hand of your enemy that she was healed. So, i hope that image of guilt, pain, shock, and fear haunts your very soul and holds your ego prisoner for years to come…'

More information as the woman spat it out. So the female was the raikage's pupil, they must have had a serious connection and the raikage striking her down with his own blade would surely cause a lot of guilt for him. If it had really come down to a fight, he had no idea how himself or the raikage would have fared. This enemy was formidable along with the man on her side that happened to be of kage level too. No small punk. The woman would go on to banish Kaekio from kirigakure and label her as missing to her village and its allies causing her to be haunted by the people she ran to for shelter. That was a terrible turn of events for her but was it worth the damage she had caused? The Mizukage turned her back and left the mountain leaving the former tschiukage behind.
The man would approach Syn first, looking him in the eye calmly and speaking.. 'I'm just the medic here child. However if you wish to attack me, remember all that can be given can be torn away too.' He knew exactly what he meant, the eye beneath his head band. He had helped in placing it there and he could as well remove it if need be. With this said, Syn softened his grip on his scythe as he watched the man get closer to the raikage. Something wasn't right about him, so cool yet disturbing.

Two streams of golden chakra escaped him and flowed around, bringing warmth to the area. Lightening everything up and healing the bit of damage done to the earth and everything seemed like an illusion. This was no ordinary medic, Syn had to admit. Fighting this one wouldn't be the best option. Syn turned to him as he faced the raikage and spoke to the man who was down cast.
'"I am not sure if you know of me Lord Raikage, But out of anyone on this mountain, I am the most capable of saving that girl....but what is she worth to you? Clearly she has chosen to die in her homeland on her terms and yet I suspect you wish to sustain her life a little longer. What would you give up for her? If I were to make it a condition, a simple one, that you begin training your successor and relinquish your seat to them when they were ready, would it be worth the world you know to save her?"
An option for saving her life.. A pretty tricky one too. Why would the raikage have to vacate seat. Did he have another plan underneath? Who was ready to uphold the mantle of the raikage, he wasn't sure yet.

A smile graced the raikage's lips as another man with a large animal appeared beside him in a poof of smoke. No idea who he was but he was definetly on their side. "I will stand you coercing my leader to do whatever you like. But please, do not dare insult my expertise in the medical field by indicating you are the only one here who can save the lives of people." He said and with that, the bandages around his arm arose and wrapped up Kaekio tight as chakra radiated around the bandaged female to keep her alive till intensive treatment was given. The beast picked up the body and down the mountain he went with it's owner or master leaving just three atop the mountain.
"You heard the man Akira. You seemed to have underestimated my village gravely." He said to the man as he began tying his hair in a pony tail. So the man's name was Akira, so many information had been spat out today. The man had refused to give his name when they met but here he was, his name was being served to Syn on a platter of gold. Akira, former tschiukage eh..
"I thank you for your service of being a mediator here. But I shouldn't have thought so highly that you wouldn't be swayed by Ayakashi to remove my seat of Raikage. But if that means to rush someone in a seat of power where they are likely to be influenced by someone like Ayakashi, like you all have, then I will not comply to such a wish." Ayakashi, the mizukage. Good thing the raikage hadn't fallen for any of their gimmicks or kumo would have been in a tight corner now. The raikage had sure played it well but at the cost of the life of the one who had cause it all.
"Syn, go to my home and hold off the foolish sword saint's invasion. If anything is broken from my home, that's coming out of your paycheck. Understood?" The raikage ordered as he vanished from the mountain in a flash of blue light. He had been given a duty or else little to no paycheck this month. The young man would simply turn and poof away in a cloud of smoke, thanks to the body flicker technique.
.
EXIT
WC:1395/3564
Training mokuton;jagged island(2000/3564)
Training Rea time: A1-A2(1150/3564)
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