It was a scorching day. Takashi and his little feline friend Nyanko were aimlessly (this is not entirely true, because Takashi was trying to find some unique herbs, but he had no idea what he was looking for in the first place, thus you could say their being there was purposeless) strolling around the outer part of Tsuchi no Kuni. It actually had very darkish and brown soil. In some places it was also hardened into rocky environment you could carve with some effort. If people established mines here, they would probably find a lot of valuable minerals. Who knows, maybe gold and silver nuggets were just a few meters beneath the rock-hard surface?

But Takashi didn't care much about digging. He saw no value in some stones that felt just a little heavier and softer than your normal rock you can pick up anywhere. He just wanted to get somewhere cool and lie down. Nyanko agreed with this plan. He shed his fur little by little, and strands of Nyanko's body hair were all over Takashi's own hair and outfit. The boy wasn't going to remove his white and orange robe, even if he was sweaty under it. At least his feet didn't burn on the hot ground. The sandals he wore protected his soles well.
The two soon were in luck though. They were progressing alongside a huge wall like structure from the rock-hard mineral. This was not just wall, for it extended in two directions for kilometers. It was more like a block.  It cast no shadow for the sun was on the east. If they waited for evening, when sun is on west, they would actually get some shadow from this huge wall. They didn't question why the wall was there and they didn't attempt to traverse it. In fact, Nyanko had climbed it a while ago, but saw nothing for kilometers. No trees who would protect them from swelling heat, no houses or anyone alive.

"Maybe we should turn around and just get back to Iwagakure?" the cat suggested for he knew that Takashi had no milk or fish taken on this adventure. But Takashi wouldn't get called a Nekomata if he ever changed his mind, no matter how absurd his idea was:"Naah, we will keep going," they could get lost, they could just walk off the Earth, or they could wander in some hostile environment. The worst of it all: they could walk so far away from civilization, that they never get to enjoy a tea again. What a nightmare would that be! But Takashi didn't consider turning around. He would only advance.

At first it seemed completely pointless, but soon Nyanko was thankful for Takashi's stubborness. They found a cave. Yes, they went in and rested in the shadow. Didn't matter if they had no water to drink or food to eat - sleep was their first priority at the moment. Takashi rested his head against the wall and placed his limbs in a star like form - in a way that most body heat will escape and not remain his body. Meanwhile Nyanko searched for a cool rock sticking out of the ground and used the same technique to lose most of the excess body warmth. It was kind of funny to see the huge ball of fur with his limbs in all directions.
574

Oki sighed, shaking his head at the details of his mission as he read them, paper in hand. It appeared this was going to a more… Unpleasant mission than usual, not for the sense that it would be killing more people, but that it was eliminating a creature that was so destructive even Oki couldn’t feel bad about it. He sat at the desk in Iwagakure, reading over the details of the report and shaking his head. The thought of having to fight such a large thing was… Unnerving. Furthermore, the thought that such a thing existed, and was causing the trouble it was? The whole thing was just unpleasant, and Oki would be glad to be rid of the whole issue.

With another sigh, he got up from the desk, patting Debu on the head before grabbing his forehead protector, and wrapping it around his neck like a collar, and doing the same for Debu. Then, stretching his shoulders, he stepped out the door, walked down the path, and then out of the gate of the Kuma clan grounds. He had quite a journey to go, and the heat would only get more severe the longer he left it – and the situation worse.

It took a long time of walking, the sun that was only just rising when he had left, now high in the sky and beating down like a hammer on his back, the Kuma clan symbol looking a light grey due to the sheer brightness of the sun, and for a moment, Oki could have sworn he was back at the border to the land of wind. Still, before him now was the cracked earth that signified the Wild West, a land where the earth itself was a hostile creature, and every step could mean certain death if taken carelessly. He took a left turn, heading down a somewhat rough pass down one of the many slopes and chasms, to a relatively more flat area – not flat in the slightest, but, a lot more manoeuvrable than where he just was.

The two followed the natural pathways that rain and time had carved, coming upon a cave that seemed worn, damaged, and abandoned at the entrance. Or at least, it looked abandoned.

Upon closer inspection, and actually getting there, Oki raised an eyebrow to find the tea guy that had got him and Debu drunk prior, lying down on the ground, sleeping, like a starfish. And not far from the sleeping tea guy, a cat was doing the exact same strategy. Oki had to admit, it was warm, but he’d have never imagined someone would react to the heat like this. Did they just have really, really quick setting fatigue? Or poor stamina? Regardless, the thought was unimportant. They were here, which while it was nice for a moment to see a recognised face, in the situation, it wasn’t wanted. Oki had come here for a mission to eliminate something dangerous, a large worm like creature that had taken countless lives. And the fact that the nameless tea person was sleeping here was something he couldn’t allow, not until the creature was dealt with.

Shaking his head, Oki walked over to the sleeping tea person, giving him a gentle kick to the side. “Oi.” He stated simply, Debu doing similar and moving over to the cat, although not kicking it and instead just watching. “Tea person, this is not the sort of place you want to be. There’s something dangerous in this area, in fact, the area in general is dangerous, and you’re lucky you’re alive so long. Something big, ugly, and unpleasant is around this area, and if you keep sleeping, you’ll end up monster food.”

Subtle.

621

Noooo! Takashi screamed as he was helplessly lying on the ground. Nyanko was gone somewhere and it was just the boy facing the enemy. It was a huge, bulky enemy with no eyes. All genjutsu attempts ended in no results. There was nothing Takashi could do to win. The Nekomatas was so exhausted from the battle he couldn't even get up. And the giant had only one thing to do, before finishing off the poor shinobi. The giant stepped closer and kicked the lying boy.

Accompanied with a sudden movement to the side, Takashi instinctively tried to protect his side with his hand which the giant was about to kick. But this reaction woke the boy up from his nightmare. His eyes connected with someone's he has met before (not like Takashi could see it) and then he took a kick to his side anyway. "Ouch," Takashi whined and attempted to get up, knowing that there was no immediate threat for if the person wanted - he could've already taken care of the sleeping boy and his feline partner. The sleepy wail woke up the Nyanko as well. Cat's reaction to the newcomers wasn't very welcoming. Who could blame him, if you wake up and a giant bear is staring at you. The fur on Nyanko back immediately stood up, and the paws were now decorated with sharp claws. Nyanko hadn't seen Oki or Debu before, and Takashi rarely speaks about his friends - the cat had no idea that these two were friendly. "Get up you sleepy bastard," Nyanko muttered seeing that Takashi was being slow to get up on his feet. But as soon as Oki began to speak more than just "Oi" the boy recognized exactly who was the intruders. With a pat, Takashi removed all stress from Nyanko and put the cat on his shoulder and then finally got up on his feet. The Nyanko kept on eyeballing Debu.

The named tea person took no offense in having his name mispronounced, but it was kind of embarassing when an Iwa-nin was attempting to say that Takashi was good for nothing and couldn't hold his ground. The boy kept quiet however. However Nyanko couldn't keep his mouth shut and named exactly what was the big, ugly, unpleasant creature around the area:"Yeah, that thing is right next to you,"
It didn't take long for Takashi to realize what Nyanko was referring to. It was a curse to be stuck with someone like Nyanko. The Nekomata had to use his strategy to deal with Nyanko again - the boy simply flipped his shoulder backwards really quick in an attempt to throw the cat off balance and let him fly off the boy's shoulder. Surprisingly it worked. For the first time, it actually worked. The cat was on the ground and very confused, he didn't even suspect the owner to ever succeed in this mischief. However Nyanko didn't favour dirt touching his paws and soon jumped back on Takashi's shoulder.

"So what are you doing here then?" Takashi inquired. After all, if it was dangerous around here, Oki had no reason to be here either. What if the bear-man wasn't very honest? What if there was a rare plant growing around, that spawns the best tasting tea leaves? What if this place had linden trees that Oki wanted all to himself? Or perhaps it was camomiles that Oki desired so much? No, Takashi wasn't giving up - he was going to stick around until Oki shares the knowledge of local plant life.
606

Oki watched as, rather panicky at first, the tea person got up, Debu keeping an eye on the very on edge cat that seemed to trust the duo not at all. Oki had to admit, he was somewhat surprised at first when the cat spoke, but he’d seen weird enough stuff that, in reality, he didn’t care. Debu quickly lost interest in the cat, before walking over to meet with Oki once again. He watched and waited as the two got up, watching the cat get up on Takashi’s shoulder. He wasn’t however, expecting the insult towards Debu, growling quietly behind his throat. Debu, being Debu, didn’t give a damn, for it is Debu, the mighty bear of not giving a Debu damn.

Still, Oki’s annoyance went as quickly as it came as he suppressed a laugh at the cat being knocked off tea guy’s shoulder. And at the person’s query, one that made sense given what Oki just said, the bear chuunin shrugged. “Well, tea person. Since we last met in the woods, I got me a promotion to chuunin. And with that, came tougher missions than just fetching animals and catching thieves…” he began stroking his goatee, pacing back and forth in thought. “Given your odd demeanour every time we met, I am assuming you’re not an Iwa ninja. So, I’ll say it simply. The area we are in now is known as the Wild West. The earth is known to collapse on itself, and give way with even the lightest step if you make a wrong turn, and sometimes it’s just a small drop that causes your leg stuck between the rocks, other times, it’s a chasm that instantly kills you. Regardless, this means that the place we are in is dangerous. And do you know what sort of nature tends to live in dangerous places? The extreme environments?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling odd about having to explain this to a tea addict and giver of alcohol to the under aged. “The wild life here tends to be more deadly than my mother after a couple of pints. A few months ago, I was out here quelling a rock python that grew to about sixteen feet, and had eaten a five year old. Today, the problem is something that tunnels. Specifically, some nasty buggers named Tunnel Snakes. Never seen one before, but they are a terribly misnamed creature given the description my mission briefing gave. They’re serpentine in body, but that’s where the similarities end. Reports state that they have a total of six, scythe like talons that are used to aid their burrowing, and at full growth, have a total of five jaws. One at the bottom, two at each side. The larvae are much smaller, but still big and nasty. And I’m getting paid to take out the queen, the largest of the buggers. So!”

In a moment, Oki span on his heel, turning to face the cat on Takashi’s shoulder. “A couple questions. Who’s your companion, and, just as importantly, you’ve never actually told me your name tea man. Like. At all. Unless tea person is actually your name, in which case, I am sorry your parents never loved you…” he shook his head slowly, looking down as if in a moment of silence for all the poor people named after a delicious beverage. Debu meanwhile, just covered a face with a paw, before going on alert, sniffing at the air.

581 + 621 = 1202

It was actually surprising that no one tackled Takashi or his cat for the words that Nyanko has said without thinking beforehand. Debu didn't seem annoyed in the least. Perhaps the animal didn't understand spoken language. That would make Ninnekos superior over other animal-companions again.
Oki did answer the question in his fullest. The bear-man was way more talkative than when he had had a little bit of whiskey, or when he was a net, it was almost surprising. Perhaps it was the promotion that gave the confidence to the man - to speak his mind to anyone. Oki told about the missions he has been doing, he elaborated more about the area Takashi resided in. Sadly, the story didn't include anything about rare bushes, trees, herbs or other ingredients that could be used in making the greatest tea in the history of shinobi. There was something more about how dangerous the are was, but Takashi didn't care much about that for he remembered the last time he drank tea - it was just in the morning and he wanted more now. Also Takashi was a Nekomata - of course he found his way into one of the most hostile parts of Land of Earth. It was just in his genes to let danger find him.
Oki continued to talk about what was living in the Wild West. Takashi was so hyped to hear the answer to his prayers of it being a tea monster - monster that bleeds delicious tea. One that attacks you with giant teabags and guards a giant tea cup that it uses for bath (tea making). But instead Oki revealed it's just some snakes. Takashi was never afraid of snakes. Snakes seem spooky to many people, but not Takashi - perhaps because he has never seen their scaly, long and creepy body or sharp and venomous fangs. But at least this answered what the bear-man and the bear was doing out here - they were on snake hunt.

Oki had spoken for long enough, it was Takashi's time to provide some answers regarding his presence here:"Haha," the boy fake laughed about what Oki had said about his parents. It was a sensitive subject, Takashi wanted to meet his parents and believed they loved him, but he has only vague memories of parents. He remembered two people who gave him away.. to survive the winter Nekomatas had said, but Takashi didn't believe that much, "I'm Takashi!" he looked up, as if trying to find eye contact with Oki and the introduced his feline companion too:"And this is Nyanko. You are correct, we are not locals in Iwagakure," Takashi had mentioned this at tea stall, but the boy didn't recall if Oki and Debu had already left the place when Takashi told his story. "We are from Konohagakure. But what was it about snakes? Because I thought it's just little earthquakes.." Takashi seemed worried for he has been feeling little pushes from underground for a while now. His earth element was very sensitive to any seismic activities.

"That one seems worried too," Nyanko was eye balling Debu this whole time. And there was a reason to be worried. It was not just a feeling now, it was audible - like a thunder, but underground not above. And it was definitely closing in on them. "Let's get out!" was Takashi's instinct, because it was more open outside and would provide him an advantage for Takashi could run in any direction without risking to hit a wall (remembering about the wall that contained the cave). The boy was on his move, but Takashi stopped him just a few steps beyond the entrance:"A...." it was cat's duty to report in detail anything that they would be facing. But Nyanko was just at loss of words looking at the thing with huge teeth instead of head and huge claw like feet decorating the whole body. "Monster" was the best description Nyanko could currently give. Takashi only stood at the entrance and didn't know what to do - what kind of jutsus to use, or where to go. The thunderous roars from underground were closing in and there wasn't much time to think.
714

Oki listened to Takashi’s answers. They made sense, although he noted that he wasn’t particularly happy with Oki’s joking comment – perhaps a sore subject, and feeling sad that he was so insensitive, the bear chuunin bent his head in a wordless apology. Still, it seemed Oki had been completely oblivious, and that the two were from Konohagakure no Sato. A current ally of the stone, although there were rumours that tensions were getting worse, then again, there were always rumours of such. Still, that wasn’t important. The tea guy, or rather, Takashi… Had felt what he thought were earthquakes? In an instant Oki dropped into a crouch, looking around. That meant they were close.

The bear man cracked his knuckles as he felt the earth begin to shake, pointing to the entrance of the cave as Debu complied, and the four began moving to the entrance, away from the cave walls. The rumbling increased, and soon, Oki watched silently as a creature akin to what he’d read about burst from the ground. A large creature, about man sized, with the entirety of its head as a maw of sharp canine teeth, and where one would imagine eyes, instead a chitinous plating that covered it from head to the back of its long, serpentine tail, a total of six scythe like claws dragging the creature out of the earth in a way that made it lose all snake like resemblance. As the cat spoke up, Oki had to agree – it was like a monster. He rubbed Debu on the head, the earth continuing to shake as the creature arose. This wasn’t the end, nor the creature he was here to kill.

Three more of the same creatures burst similiarly from the ground, screeching horrifically, jaws chomping and gnashing at the air as the ground cracked from their burrowing. Yet perhaps most horrifically of all, was the true queen. Unlike the others, which burst forth from the ground, it was apparent this one had been sleeping in the depths of this cave, as the silhouette of the creature, at least twenty feet in length, did a mixture of crawling and slithering, its scythe like limbs puncturing the earth with every movement, its several jaws rattling like one would imagine the bones of a skeleton would, a deep, crimson liquid dripping from its lips and splattering on the ground in a grotesque sputter. A shrill, high pitched shriek echoed in the air as the creature squirmed ever closer, the stench of iron, of death, of blood, and of the earth all mixed into one and emphasising the dread of the situation, Debu reeling back in disgust. Oki turned to Debu, nodding his head slowly as he gathered chakra in his throat, roaring out loudly to steel her nerves, the shout blocking out the sounds of the shriek for but a moment as Oki dropped into a fighting stance. “Well Takashi, can you take care of yourself? If so, Debu can help you take out the little guys and I’ll deal with the queen. If not, then no worries, it won’t be the first defence job I’ve ever done! Now, prepare yourself! For I do not think our foes will wait!”

537 + 1202 = 1737

Chakra: 180/200 (-5 for preparing a jutsu, -15 for C rank jutsu)
Debu chakra: 25/40

Jutsu used:

It was confusing on how Takashi should deal with the situation. Of course he was capable to stay alive, like he has proved before when the jounin of Iwagakure accompanied the boy and his cat. The only difference was that before, they had to deal with more common enemies. Humans and canine beasts to be precise. The difference was that Nyanko could provide useful information on them. But this was a different case - Nyanko couldn't describe what he was seeing. The cat wasn't experienced enough to really know what to say. And that gave birth to many problems - was there a weak point for the monsters? What were their weapons? How do they navigate and see? Those were all important questions that would help them win the fight.

"Alright, Debu, you probably know how to take down these things," Takashi attempted to look at the bear, but really he wished that Nyanko would explain Debu's actions in great detail. Of course it was unreliable to count on the cat, "show us, will you?" There was still this uneasy earthquake and thunderous sounds from beneath. Nyanko had counted 4 hostiles in sight, just about 40 meters from entrance to the cave. "We ought to stay here..." Nyanko was trying to warn and protect Takashi. For the boy, it didn't seem sensible to stay in such a short and closed space. In fact, Takashi was too evasive of closed spaces for a Nekomata.

"Not taking this advice this time, buddy," Takashi told his cat. Nyanko didn't like the idea and sighed while lowering his tail a little to show his unsatisfaction. "Don't be like that," Takashi tried to lift Nyanko's spirits a little. After all, the boy had a plan. And it was probably the mistake in their bad cooperation - they both had plans that they didn't want to tell beforehand. "There is something about this place you missed," he spoiled a part of his plan, and then rushed a few meters outside the cave. It was impossible to miss the screeches coming from monsters, therefore it was easy to determine the closest one and focus this jutsu on it. Takashi Nekomata cast ram, rat and boar signs and then stomped his foot on the ground as hard as he could, so the sound of it would overpower the screeches in the distance.
It definitely worked. Takashi could hear a mass fall down and earth cracking. Oki has described this as the Wild West, where danger is wherever you place your foot. And Takashi's foot had caused the monster to undergo his genjutsu and fall down into the void of Earth. "One's dealt with, three to go!"
455

Chakra 180/190:

Quite quickly after the fight had started, Oki watched as, after retreating for a moment, one of the creatures collapsed to the ground, screeching and squirming, and seemingly clawing at the air and ground, unmoving and flailing around wildly. Whatever Takashi had done, it dealt no damage to the creature, but put it out of the fight for now. It saddened him somewhat to find out that it was very likely the tea person was a genjutsu user, a form of technique that Oki personally couldn’t respect. The idea of subterfuge in a battle, seemed… Underhanded, and against his pride. Furthermore, he didn’t suspect there were many ways it could affect the creatures – they didn’t have eyes after all, and from what Oki knew, vision was a common trigger. But, that mattered little right now to the big guy. He expected to do this alone, so at least having a small form of support was welcome.

Debu growled, stalking towards the one that was on the ground and preparing to eliminate it so that there was one easier target taken care of. The bear pounced on the creature that was roughly its size, roaring loudly and threateningly as it brought its paws to bare, slamming its weight down on the snake like creature who still kept squirming and flailing harmlessly. Debu just kept slashing and swiping however, biting onto the chitinous skull of the creature by its upper jaw, so that the creature couldn’t bite him in panic, and simply unleashing blow after blow after blow upon the creature, roaring and attacking until the creature was undoubtedly dead.

While this was happening, the serpents were not still, furious and in a feral rage at the fact that one of their own was, at the time in shock, but currently dead. They rushed forwards towards the mouth of the cave and the four combatants, claws digging into the earth and dragging themselves along at a surprisingly fast pace, as fast as one would expect a genin to be in fact. The large one meanwhile, also began moving, its body snaking from side to side, almost as if the creature was doing its best to stop any from getting further into the caves depths. Its body twisted and contorted, the chitinous shell on its back glistening with the crimson liquid that stained and dripped from its jaws, the bottom jaw of the creature fleshy, unprotected, and hung wide like a net. Oki looked at it for a moment, taking a couple steps back before springing to action, gathering chakra into his fist as he ran forward to meet the closest creature, shouting back as he ran. “Their lower jaw appears to be the weak spot, as it is unprotected! If you can, aim for it, it will likely cause the beasts to stop, and give you a moment to gain more distance, or deal further strikes!”

The chakra in his fist grew as he ran, now physically visible as a large, blue, glowing bear head that seemed to silently roar and shift around as it gathered momentum. Oki closed the distance between him and the first snake, and while Debu was finishing off the first creature that Takashi had stopped, Oki’s glowing fist connected with the larvae, resulting in a loud, audible cracking sound and causing the creature to go flying back with a screech. The bear like chakra flew with the monster for a moment, before dissipating with the air, the larvae now unmoving on the ground.

Finally however, the big snake sprang into action proper, rushing down the cave towards the entrance with a deafening screech like a bullet train, scythe like limbs puncturing the earth with its every movement and causing the ground to break and turn. The distance was covered quicker than the distance Oki did, and its course became clear quite quickly. The snake was moving towards Debu, who had most obviously, and violently, killed one of its young, the snake creature having clear intent to destroy the foreign animal. Oki growled, turning and beginning to run, hoping to get in the way or stop the snake, yet slow compared to the creature.

The snake creature swung a scythe like talon at Debu, the two remaining larvae moving towards Takashi and Nyanko, hissing and whining, saliva dripping from their hung open jaws. Oki sighed, looking to his bear companion and forming a single hand seal. In an instant, the two swapped places, Oki receiving the brunt of the attack to his chest, scratching through his clothes and knocking the bear man flying out of the cave, scratched, bleeding, and bruised, and knocked down on to his back, Debu meanwhile alone in the cave, standing where once Oki was. The fight had begun proper now.

The queen arrived.

800 + 1737 = 2537

Chakra: 155/200 (-10 for Companion Safety sub, -15 for Roaring Bear Fist)

Jutsu used:

It was foolish to assume that something that came from the depths of Earth could be sent back. Takashi's plan didn't work out as intented, but Debu finished what Takashi had started. Was the circumstances less fire, the boy would award Oki's furry friend with honey or sugar cube.
Oki was as strong as imagined - the bulky chuunin took out a creature with single hit. The impact itself overpowered the endless screeches. The thunderous sound made Takashi curious whether the creatures were actually blind too and moved around dependant on echolocation.
Debu's action sparked the loudest and biggest thing emerge from underground. "Whoa, look at the size of that thing!" Nyanko said. This didn't help Takashi in the least, but it gave the general idea - they were facing something fearsome. The bigger one didn't screech as loudly as the little ones, but it caused little earthquakes with every inch covered. The huge scythes for hands left wide gaps in the rocky ground for the snake to move through. "You will have to do something if it changes it's path," the Ninneko couldn't stop facing the snake. The creature reminded him of a toy that just wiggled across the ground, so the cat couldn't actually bring himself to see the snake as something threatening. Any normal sized snake would be turned into a toy when Nyanko was bored. But this thing was like a Christmas present.

This time it was Takashi who realized the imminent threat that was closing in on the two. "Forget about it, we have other stuff to do," Takashi wanted to regain Nyanko's full focus on the arised situation. Oki previously had given the boy a useful piece of information. It was definitely something to use, but Takashi had to get creative to get behind the things, however he didn't want to touch them in the first place. "doul era sgniht eseht zeeg," Takashi muttered to himself and cast a genjutsu... on himself. Maybe it was stupid and plainly dumb, but the boy needed some silence to think. He even amplified the jutsu by totally ignoring the sounds around him - usually when someone is placed under this jutsu, they try to focus un what others are saying, but it only makes things worse. It's best to embrace the jutsu and be at full focus. After all - the communication between Takashi and Nyanko was not severed.

They reacted to my stomp.. They knew that one of their own was killed by Debu.. and they know exactly where i am.. Takashi was lost in thoughts, trusting that Nyanko would alert him if he took too much time. And they've lived all their life underground.. They can feel vibrations just the same way I do.. Let's see if they can feel the air.. there were only two things Takashi used for his attacks - the gorund which he can 'shake' mightly and the air, where he feels untouchable. The later one he uses rarely. But this was the time to use his Nekomata legs and leap almost 12 meters in the air.  While in the air, he tried to carefully remember the positions of the monsters he last had recorded for his plan was to land on one and transform all the kinetic energy he had gained from the fall into a giant slash across the back of the creature resulting in an instant kill.

He felt no shame in killing monsters. Humans however.. His kunai was stained with some substance as he was standing over the corpse. A quick stop of chakra flow regained him the ability to hear. "So, your plan now?" he asked his feline friend while noticing that the last larvae was turning around after feeling the the ground shake a bit where Takashi had landed.

Cat's response was way simpler than what the adolescent came up with:"Just trap it in mud, it's like 6  meters away from you," Though there was one issue with this plan. It was a visual genjutsu not audtiory one. Cat gave a little random meow when he realized Takashi couldn't just trap the monster. "Well, straight up assault it is, take my right hand," the boy announced his strategy. After all - if Debu could take down one, so could Takashi. Nyanko's task here was to control his right hand - just like the cat controlled Takashi's movement when walking around anywhere, this time there was no need to do any fancy walking for the monster wasn't behind any obstacle - but it was important to block all attacks and bites using the kunai in his right hand - and Nyanko was up to task.
In his charge, Takashi pulled out all his senbons and threw them in a straight line ahead, in hopes to hit the monster. Surprisingly, all of them resulted in a hit, but they didn't do much damage to the thick skin of the larvae. With a jump, to disguise his charge, and his right hand extended, Takashi leaped unto the larvae. This didn't finish the thing as easily as the previous one. Takashi had to block some attacks too. Only after removing both limbs of the larvae, was the fight finished.

"I wonder if they are okay.." Nyanko finally took a look around after his task was finished. What he saw...
904

Chakra 150/190:

Debu looked around, growling aggressively as Oki was launched out of the cave and down, bleeding from the wound on his chest. It seemed while this was going on, Takashi and Nyanko weren’t exactly sitting around, as when Debu looked around, it saw the final part of the tea duo’s plan, watching as Takashi stood over the body of a bleeding creature, before running at the final, remaining larvae, stabbing it with needles, stabbing it with a kunai, and cutting its limbs off, the creature screaming and dying slowly as it writhed in pain and agony. The noise angered the mother serpent, who span from its focus on where Debu was, and the fallen Oki, and facing the dead corpses of its children, a long, prehensile tongue slipping out of its jaws and lapping at the ground for a moment before the serpent reared up, preparing to strike as it coiled itself.

However, Oki wasn’t down for the count.

Getting up, blood dripping from his chest although clearly not deep enough to do permanent damage, Oki clutched a hand to his torso to stop the bleeding somewhat, before staring straight ahead of him at the large beast in front of him. He held out the bloody hand in front of him, looking at it for a moment, his eyes seeming to lose focus as he tensed his fist, chakra coursing through his body. His teeth grated as he slouched suddenly, before suddenly taking off in a four legged sprint towards the large monster, seemingly oblivious to the world around him as he left bloody tracks in his wake from his hand on the ground, stepping over the corpse that Debu had created, and continuing to just rush for the main snake.

The queen beast turned, screaming at the raging Oki as he got within a couple of meters, leaping up and into the air as the tunnel creating beast moved to strike him. Oki’s hit was faster however, his paw-like fist connecting with one of the lower jaws of the creature and sending it careening ten meters back into the cave, cracking a part of its jaw on one of the many rocks as it regained its composure. Oki didn’t intend on letting it rest however, eyes wild and teeth practically gnashing in anger, rational thought out the window as the instant his feet hit the ground, the beast chuunin began running at the serpentine monster once more.

Closing the distance, the snake intended on not allowing the wrathful Oki to get the upper hand, claws puncturing into the earth as it dove under the ground, leaving a surprisingly small hole for its size in its wake. Oki clearly didn’t notice, instead just continuing to run forwards to where the serpent was. The ground beneath him broke apart, the creature bursting forth from below and pushing Oki up towards the roof of the cave. Debu, not exactly feeling like sitting around, moved to get away from the action and out from under the cave, nudging Takashi on the leg before walking out of the cave, and watching from the safer point.

Currently resting with his belly touching the upper jaw of the creature that smacked him upwards, Oki roared, putting his hands together before swinging his arms down in a violent, brutal swing, knocking the creature back down to the ground, its head bouncing off the rocks and Oki soon falling with it, although in a manner that caused him to punch down with all his weight onto the skull of the queen, cracking the shell of chitinous armour it had to protect itself and causing the creature to let out a single cry of pain, its blood green, and oozing on the floor of the cave.

Oki breathed in and out, chest heaving from his heavy breath as he stood on top of the now deceased tunnel snake queen. The green liquid stuck to his hand, blending with the red of his own blood as he stood panting, shoulders slouched. His face was pointed down at the ground, Oki staring intensely at the body for a moment before roaring out, and delivering several more blows to the creature’s corpse. Oki was mad.

703 + 2537 = 3240

Chakra: 135/200 (-20 for Bearserk)

Jutsu used:

Takashi too faced the direction of the cave - where Oki was left alone with the giant snake like creature. The young boy couldn't see anything, but he could hear enough - inhuman roars of Oki's, the weapon like limbs tearing ground apart, rocks flying around the cave as a result of fight, even Oki's punches were audible across the whole distance to Takashi.
"Don't go," Nyanko warned his partner when the huge creature emerged from the ground and was ready to go through all the roof of cave if needed to finish off Oki. And Oki signalled with his leg, as if Takashi could see it. And Nyanko assumed so too. Thus the cat thought it was best for Takashi to keep the distance and not intervene. Not because it would hurt Oki's pride - to be helped by someone as physically weak as Takashi, but because Oki protected his own companion. After all, there wasn't much Takashi could do against a creature that was completely resistant to his visual genjutsu, and he wasn't melee fighter enough to actually hurt the monster.
Of course Takashi missed Oki's subtle hint, and of course he wasn't going to rush and overpower the snake with sheer power of his fists. The boy just continued facing the cave and focused more on his feet - to make sure there were no more small earthquakes coming from the ground. Or even worse - bigger earthquakes. Takashi could now only rely on Nyanko's reports about the ongoing situation in the cave. The cat kept silent though - perhaps impressed by the sudden change of Oki. The bearman seemed to change at this moment - with a single blow he downed the creature. It took just a few more blows for the creature to start to bleed. And some more for it to die off. The huge monster was no match for these hits. It was actually scary to watch, because it gave Nyanko the idea of shinobi's life - both his master and Nyanko himself would not be able to survive attack of such a beast like Oki.

"Keep here," Nyanko was hesitant to let Takashi get back to the cave, even if the monster was finished off. There was just something off about Oki. Something very different that when they first met. Perhaps the reason was that Oki didn't turn around to go and check on his partner Debu. Instead the man seemed very unsatisfied. He kept on punching the corpse of what once was a threat and released a deafening roar.
"It is finished," Nyanko gave an explanation to his master. "It is finished!" Takashi called out to Oki. "We should get going," he said even though he was referring only to him and his cat. It was scary being around someone who could blow Takashi's head off with a single blow. Perhaps it even was the right time to return home. Return where Nekomatas belonged. But was Takashi a real Nekomata if he was to leave this place without finding what he came for. An excuse was invented:"We were unable to find any herbs growing around. We gonna go ahead, you can stay and make sure there are no threats left!" of course there were no danger left, except for the nature itself - how Oki had explained - every patch of earth around here is a danger.

Takashi felt safe with Nyanko on his shoulder. The cat did a fine job navigating when there were no fish in sight. It wasn't often that Takashi actually listened to cat's advice, but they both felt relieved as they were leaving the area and could only hear suppresed punched coming from the cave they were sleeping in just a few minutes ago.
634

[Exit]

Oki remained oblivious to the occurrences of what happened near the entrance of the cave – whatever Takashi was doing, or Nyanko, Oki couldn’t see or hear, too busy and too caught up in his fit of rage to notice in the slightest. So, as they stated their reasoning and left, Oki paid no attention, Debu meanwhile giving a slight wave. Instead, Oki just kept punching, growling violently as he continued to batter at the now deceased monster. Hit after hit, after hit. Debu just waited, lying down as it waited for Oki’s anger to subside, keeping patient as he just kept punching, the skull bouncing up and down from the sheer strength and anger of Oki, who had driven himself into an intense anger. Blood dripped down his chest from his injuries, and as he finally stopped punching, his hands shook as he stared at them. His hands were bruised, and bloody, with a mixture of the unnatural coloured blood of the creature, and the red of his own wounds.

Eventually, the chakra coursing through him stopped, and Oki sank to his knees, panting and simply staring at his hands. Tears welled in his eyes as he shook his head. Debu, seeing him calmed down, walked over. The bear nudged Oki gently on the shoulder, Oki wincing slightly as he shook his head, smiling slightly. “I hate using that jutsu… Just… Too much pain… I think I need to go to the hospital for these wounds… Help me get there please, my friend.” He stated, Debu nodding and walking with him out of the cave, trying to get him safely out of the Wild West, and back to iwagakure no Sato, where Oki would proceed to get his chest bandaged up. After that, he’d be back to the room where his papers were, signing them off, before handing the mission report in for submission. A job well done.

318 + 3240 = 3558

[EXIT]

Training: