Now that the invasion had come and passed, Kashizudoto had finished what he had originally intended to do while here: to observe the outcome of conflict. He'd ended up learning a lot of things, not just about what happens when peace is broken but also the outcome of poor communication, restraint v.s. foolhardiness, and all the other big picture concepts that he was forming strong opinions about. Newly dubbed a sannin of Konohagakure, now that the events on the island had transpired and he was back in the Land of Lightning, he was ready to return home to fully exercise his new role as a leader in the village, one of the three legends, coming along with his new pet, his messenger bird Hawky. Of course, the bird, perched upon his right shoulder, was much more than a pet. It was a companion to fight alongside, and, more importantly, it was a friend to rely on for the boy of thirteen, whose life was so fast-paced that only a constant companion through all the adventures and mundane events alike could ever provide a truly inseparable friendship to him.

Because he had foregone wearing his Konoha hitae-ate on his persona while the Kiri invasion was ongoing, not wanting to disclose his nationality for fear of being dragged into the conflict or accidentally dragging his own village further into it than it already was, he still sometimes neglected to put on his Konoha hitae-ate; he needed to get back into the habit of it. However, today, he proudly displayed his Konoha hitae-ate on his forehead as he walked through the Wilderness of the Land of Lightning, showing everyone who would observe him that he was indeed a Konoha shinobi: he had no problems with disclosing it now that the invasion was over. He wasn't particularly far from the village quite yet; however, he was definitely on the way back to the Land of Fire, though he was going to take it very slowly and planned to make multiple stops along the way to get a good break in before going back into the normal cycle.

He would walk through the forest in his normal attire. He wore a black swordsman's robe embroidered with gold patterns along the edges, a gift from Master Piandao after he had finished his appenticeship, with a bamboo sheath attached to his left hip containing his Tentetsutou or the Sword of Heaven, a black katana that he had forged out of a four billion year old meteorite during his apprenticeship under Piandao. Next to it, he had on a coil of wire measuring about fifty meters in length, which had a variety of uses as a valuable shinobi utility. Underneath it, he had on a holster containing one kunai and three shuriken, nothing particularly special, just some basic projectiles that came in handy every now and then in combat situations. He felt reflective and at peace with the nature surrounding him, giving him a sort of calmness that he didn't always quite have. Who knew who or what he would stumble upon along the way?

WC: 526

Lin moved through the forest at a slower pace, she knew that she was not supposed to be alone, but she didn't really mind it. She had seen Toshi that day and had left an invitation open to him to come to the forest with her. She wanted to see him since she didn't want to come off as overzealous. He had his own life, and it wasn't like they were going anywhere. She picked up a leaf and twirled it in her fingers, a nervous tick, to be honest. She wanted to walk through the forest with grace, and her body was responding to that well, but her mind was all in a disarray. She didn't know what to think about since coming back from that island. Whatever. It was pretty here, and it was serene, not at all like her thoughts.

She had flashes, a katana going trough her neck, falling, falling, and then black. She shuddered. She didn't want to think about that. She focused on the beauty of the trees and almost stumbled right in to the ninja that had threatened her and Toshi with his hawk and his katana. She had barely escaped with her life last time. She was completely unaware this time of his presence until she was almost right on him.

Where was Toshi when you needed him? Gora was safely at home, but she growled in response to seeing him, "what are you still doing here!?" It came out at the end of a growl. she was legitimately surprised and a little frazzled to see him. Frazzled wasn't the right word, was it... angry? Spiteful? She didn't really know, but she did know that she didn't want to be caught, not after ascending the ranks to Chuunin. She was dressed in a skirt and a tight tank-top. She formed a defensive stance, the breeze blowing around her, and stared a hard stare up at the person who tried to capture her and Toshi.

WC: 344

Satoshi had received Lin's invitation and was thrilled at the opportunity to participate in something completely mundane. He had recently been deeply embedded in the hidden mists invasion of his home.

Their Mizukage, Aisu Ayakashi and her cadre of allies had infiltrated their nation and interrupted what was meant to be a rather important meeting between he and Sanosuke Flint, the Nekokage.

He had intended to speak to his village leader under the Durian Tree of Demonic Knowledge to promote him to Chuunin. He needed permission to leave the village and learn new things, discover new ways to be the protector he wished to be. Unfortunately, what followed had been a conflict that was only the newest in a string of failures that Satoshi had been part and party to. While he had lofty aspirations and big words, he was consistently incapable of protecting his allies.

Sure, he'd stood up to the Mizukage when she demanded he deliver unto her the location of Sanosuke Flint. He'd stared at her, unflinchingly, mostly, when she'd attempted to overpower his will with the implication of violence... But the truth was, Satoshi could do nothing, again. Sanosuke showed up of his own accord and Satoshi became a core concern of the Nekokage and had been immediately become a hinderance. He required saving, once again.

With these thoughts in mind he had arrived in the forest far ahead of Lin. Before he could play, so to speak, he would need to train. He sat cross-legged beneath a tree with his eyes closed and his fingers clasped in his lap. He couldn't continue to be weak. He needed to devise new ways to defend himself and his allies. His body was already finely honed and he had no difficulty heightening his physical prowess... But in this cruel ninja world, a strong body was not enough.

It was while he meditated that he heard the footsteps of one person. It wasn't strange. This was where Lin had asked him to meet her. It wasn't until he heard the second set of footsteps that he became curious.

He lifted to his feet in a single fluid motion. His hands unclasped to brush the dirt off of his previously white slacks. He then pressed himself to a nearby tree. As he peeked out he spotted Lin and the would-be child spy.

He clenched his teeth and balled his fists. It was too soon... Satoshi was hardly any stronger than he'd been days ago when he'd thoughtlessly challenged the Mizukage... He was still a burden. But a man was measured but how he reacted to a challenge he couldn't conquer... It was this creed that he'd naively spouted to a stranger that had to whisk him away from his last misadventure.

Satoshi walked out from behind the tree, making himself visible to both the parties. He walked with the confidence that always ushered him into such foolish pursuits.

"So the Hidden Leaf has reduced itself to hunting genin now?" He asked as he stared pointedly at the boy's headband. The question came off more emboldened, accusatory than Lin had ever heard Satoshi be. There was a weight to his words that reflected the hardships of the last month. The fatigue.

"If you're here for trouble, we won't go easy on you this time." He stepped to Lin's side as he spoke and put an arm in front of her protectively. He might not be as strong as he wanted... But he'd gotten stronger, they both had. If he was here to hunt a girl traveling alone in the woods, Satoshi would do everything in his power to see his game spoiled.

((Formatting and WC to come when I get home!))

He was simply walking down through the Wilderness eventually going to make his way home. He would have never expected that chance would reunite him with that same white-haired girl who had accused him of being a spy and notified the ANBU. He didn't blame the two genin who had done this; he would've done the same if he saw some random kid getting message and burning it during wartime, though perhaps he would've been a little less quick on the accussation part and maybe a little more subtle. Then on second thought, maybe not, he would never know what he would do unless he was in that situation himself, after all. As he would guess, the girl lashed out in false accusations upon seeing him.

"What're you still doing here?" she yelled in fury. It was clear from this enounter and the previous one that the young woman had some serious anger issues. He would only smile in response; however, before he could open his mouth to reply, the beat-obsessed boy jumped onto the stage, her friend.

"So the Hidden Leaf has reduced itself to hunting genin now?" the boy yelped without his usual melodies, clearly just as angry as his friend and probably scared as hell, "If you're here for trouble, we won't be going easy on you this time." He would laugh a bit at the genin's suggestion that he could take the young sannin down in battle; however, he didn't want to think about resorting to violence after trying to shut the girl up the last time. He could've just run away, like he did eventually, yet, in the spur of the moment, he had decided to confront them so that he could hopefully get a moment to talk to them. Well, now it was his turn to speak, and he would resolve to mention how disturbed he was by the boy named "Toshi" generalizing his entire village based on his miscommunication.

"Maybe a better question would be whether or not you guys are the ones here for trouble, considering I myself am on my journey back home," he would explain with perhaps some unnecessary sass in his voice, "Now, I'm sure you guys chanced on me by coincidence." The hawk's talons suddenly would grip his shoulder slightly tighter than usual; this was always a sign to him that the hawk was going to fly off and poop somewhere. He had always allowed his hawk to fly off his shoulder and let it all out in some other area; he didn't want to ever interfere in anyone's literal business. That said, this was sure an inappropriate time to be leaving his side, but he wouldn't do anything to stop the hawk until he would realize what it was trying to do: shit on the head of the young woman.

Its speed was incredible; the hawk was even faster than its owner, one of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha. As it would fly overhead towards the young woman, it would be very improbable that she would get even close to dodging an incoming shit bomb, considering her inferior speed and reaction time. Due to his relatively good reaction time in relation to the hawk, Kashizudoto would be able to catch it by one of its talons just in the nick of time, before it could fly over and shit on her head.

"Hawky," he would speak directly to his pet, "While crap bombing on people's heads is creative no doubt, I'd prefer you reserve it to bad guys only, alright?" While perhaps the hawk was seeking retribution for the false accusation, he would have nothing of it. The hawk would screech in understanding before the sannin would release his grip and allow the bird to fly back onto his right shoulder. For a moment, he would muse on whether the bird poop would have blended in with the girl's white hair; however, he would not show any signs of his inner laughter at the thought of bird poop splattered all over her hair.

"So anyway," he would continue, still with a confident smile on his face, "Since we all happen to have gathered here, I might as well give you guys a well-deserved explanation. And no, I'm not going to attack you. Last time, I had resorted to coercion too quickly when I should've just retreated. I thought I could've perhaps stopped you from alerting the guards so I'd have more time to talk to you and perhaps confirm my innocence through some way or other, but that was a mistake on my part." He would stomp his right foot on the ground to pull up a slab of earth right behind him, using his doton chakra, which he would sit down upon to tell his story to the two if they were willing to listen. He didn't worry about an attack; he was confident enough in his skills to know that he could ward off an attack from one of them with little effort if they decided to resort to violence, which he would doubt that they'd do considering what he'd just said and that they weren't crazy or anything.

"Need me to pull up some seats out of the earth for you two?" the young sannin would ask, hoping to make them comfortable even out here so that they could listen to his story, "That is, if you're willing to listen to my story." From there, he would await their response.

WC: 1472

"So the Hidden Leaf has reduced itself to hunting genin now?" Lin decided to keep quiet as Toshi said this and sighed. She didn't think that he was here to hunt them, but to capture them. She didn't let her guard down. She didn't want it to end up like... like... the... She shook her head and the thought escaped her. She wouldn't think about it if she could help it. She smiled at the man called Kashizudoto and her eyes were set to a determined look. She nodded her intent to not go easy on him this time as Toshi said it. She had just about enough of that hawk from last time and would make sure to blow it out of the sky with her new technique that she had learned. There was a rustling in the bush next to her as Gora sneezed and then slunk out from her hiding place. She hadn't even sensed Gora.

Gora was a cat of about 200 pounds, roughly, and was 1.75 meters (5'7'') long. She rubbed up on Lin, making her lose her balance and purred. She was one of the biggest cats that Lin knew that still knew how to purr. "And who might this be? He smells like bird."

"Maybe a better question would be whether or not you guys are the ones here for trouble, considering I myself am on my journey back home," She let him say his piece, since she knew what it was like to be interrupted. She had been interrupted by most people her entire life, she was unassuming and so held little weight in a conversation unless she made herself known.

She saw the bird take off and Kashi stop him from pooping on her, it was a good thing, but the poop-missile would have been relatively easy to dodge, if she had been able to see the bird. As it was, she had a hard time keeping up with him.

"Since we all happen to have gathered here, I might as well give you guys a well-deserved explanation. And no, I'm not going to attack you. Last time, I had resorted to coercion too quickly when I should've just retreated. I thought I could've perhaps stopped you from alerting the guards so I'd have more time to talk to you and perhaps confirm my innocence through some way or other, but that was a mistake on my part."
She saw him stomp up some earth and looked to Toshi, waiting for his reaction to the question of, "Need me to pull up some seats out of the earth for you two?" She was willing to listen to him, give him a chance and everything, but she didn't want to be within striking distance from the youth. He was dangerous, as he had proven in their last battle, and even with her newly found jutsu and strength, she was little if no match for him.

She leaned against Gora, who purred and rubbed on her again. Gora then wrapped herself around Lin defensively and fixed Kashi with a glare. Lin sat down, leaning on Gora and shook her head, "No need, Gora here is a great cushion." Gora's head swiveled and brought the glare to Lin's face. Lin kissed Gora's nose and giggled, "I was only joking... you gotta lighten up!" She giggled. Gora was a capable fighter in her own right, and could take on and probably hurt a Genin, but she was far from the fighting machine that she needed to be in order to protect her from this man.

Lin folded her hands and waited for Kashi to start. It was a good thing that the bird had not defecated on her, because if it had, Lin would have left immediately, and Gora probably would have hurt herself trying to kill Kashi. She didn't want any more violence on this, especially if it would bleed over to violence between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. It wasn't like they were enemies right now, but they weren't on the best of terms. She wondered, in the back of her mind, how Sanosuke was doing. Last she heard he had suffered somewhat of a crushing defeat.

That put her mind to Dameon and Gin. They were loyal to Ayakashi, and she wondered if they would be leaving soon. She also wondered if her loyalties would lie somewhere else if her mentor left. It wasn't like she wanted to be a missing ninja, but she felt a bit more loyal to Gin than she did to Sanosuke. She also had her village to think about though. The coffee shop, the Dango shop, the skybar, all of her usual haunts... Sighing, she nuzzled into Gora with her back and Gora started to purr while still glaring at Kashi.

WC: 1188

I forgot to link Gora:

http://www.narutosaga.com/t21072-gora-c-rank-combat-pet

Satoshi watched as the child reacted to them with the same amount of caution a picnic gives an anthill. He didn't seem thrilled to see them but likewise was only concerned insofar as they didn't approach his blanket. Some of the tension left Satoshias the other began to talk. He still had the same penchant for condescension as he'd had when they'd caught him spying on their village. He still conducted himself with a certain lack of social grace. He wondered if he treated his elders in a similar fashion.

In this way the two youth were very different from each other. Respect was very important to Satoshi. He felt as though he owed the world around him in many ways for sheltering and nurturing him up to this point. All of the things he'd been able to see and experience had been because people stronger and more capable than he had made it safe and accessible. As such, he had even treated those that had invaded with the respect they deserved. Sure, they were enemy combatants, but they were still his elders.

His hawk suddenly took off. They weren't far and the animal moved quick. Satoshi brought his hand to bear on the birds flight path once again, as he had done during their last conflict. Satoshi had gotten stronger and his attacks were swifter now. He was certain that from this distance he could shoot the animal out of the sky. Though as it approached the halfway point between the two parties the interloper leapt up and snatched it out of the air and buffeted it with chastisement.

His attention suddenly split towards a large cat that crept out of the underbrush. Toshi took a defensive step back and away from the animal. He'd been so focused on Kashi that he'd all but ignored the animal's presence. Luckily for him the animal belonged to his companion. She showed the feline the affection one shows a beloved pet or family member. He felt a bit left out now, everyone seemed to have some sort of pet but him. He finally reached up and slid his headphones down around his shoulders as it looked as though the conversation was about to start up once again.

The remainder of the tension fled his muscles as the child sat in a self-styled throne of earth. Most everything he did really irked him. It was arrogant and untempered. But at least in this decision the child had put himself in a disadvantageous posture. He had limited his options for offense and defense. Perhaps his shift into an at ease posture was to further the narrative he was delivering. That he meant no harm. Satoshi tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I'll stand, thank you. If you're not here to fight, than neither are we." He looked back towards Lin for confirmation as he spoke. He let out a long breath then, his body nearly deflating as he prepared to listen to what the stranger had to say. Satoshi was a principled young man. As such, everyone deserved the chance to explain themselves and redeem their past actions. No one was without fault and should we all be judged by our miscues than the whole world would be at war. Perhaps that was akin to what had happened between the Kirigakure and the Nekokage. He'd be sure not to err in the same way.

"Alright then. Let's hear it."

An animal reared its head from the underbrush and approached the girl; with his ace eye, he had noticed it before but thought it was just a random wild animal minding its own business. Only now would he realize that the girl had gotten a pet of her own. Of course, it didn't look particularly strong at all, inferior to Hawky by a long run; however, it sure would seem to have the potential to equal the power of his hawk in due time, provided the girl nurtured it well.

"No need," the girl responded, leaning on her companion as if it were just an object, something that unsettled the young sannin, "Gora is a good cushion." That comment would disgust the young sannin, who would've been about to lash out in a diatribe about treating your companion as a best friend if it weren't for the girl immediately proceeding to play with Gora as a friend, mentioning that she was joking. That display of affection would reassure the young sannin that the panther was in good hands, though perhaps those hands were a little temperamental. From there, the girl would cross her hands and wait for the young sannin to tell his story. It would be long indeed, and this was why he had pulled up a chair. It wasn't much, no back support or anything, but he could get comfortable with something like that particularly easily.

"I'll stand thank you," the beat boy would respond to his offer, If you're not here to fight, then neither are we." It was reassuring that these two didn't feel any need to pursue violence. Now, he would begin his tale.

"Thank you for your patience," the young sannin spoke genuinely, "First off, I don't think I've even introduced myself to you two. My name is Kashizudoto Sarutobi of the Hidden Leaf. You're Toshi, I know that, but who are you?" He would wait for the girl to respond with her name, thanking her if she decided to tell him.

"Thank you [insert name here], he would thank the girl if she revealed her name before going on, "Anyway, my story starts at Iwagakure, where I had a mission to escort the Hokage for a diplomatic mission. I was just a chuunin at the time; however, after I completed the task, I was promoted to special jonin. Anyway, that's a little irrelevant, but it gives a little backstory to why I'm even here in the first place. After I had talked to the Tsuchikage about the declaration of war by Kiri in its earliest stages, I had decided that I wanted to go and see it myself, as I've never witnessed a war and wanted to know the effects of it firsthand. Therefore, I asked the Hokage whether I could travel to Kumo to observe, which I did. Obviously, I didn't want to drag Konoha into this with any action of mine, so I kept my identity secret, which is why I refused to tell you guys who I am. I got a letter from a correspondent in Iwa, one of the professors of Diamond Heights University. I like my privacy, so I burned it to dispose of it; awkwardly enough, you guys chanced upon me when I was throwing it away. No doubt that looked suspicious. You guys know the rest of what happened at the Sky Bar until I escaped, something which I should have done earlier rather than confronting you in hopes that you would change your minds about me. Instead, I probably ended up hurting [insert Lin's name here if she gave it to Kashi], something which I feel deeply sorry for, believe it or not. Anyway, after you guys presumably told the ANBU about me apparently being supposedly a 'spy', the ANBU Captain hired an independent ninja of sorts named Tsuneo the Centipede to investigate and kill me off because Kumo's ANBU was either too busy with the war or too scared for whatever reason, likely a bit of both. Anyway, the Centipede is a good man and a hella smart too. Instead of trying to kill me on sight for a false accusation, he investigated me and found me innocent rather quickly through observing my behavior. Anyway I kept screwing around in the wilds until I happened to chance upon the Raikage Sanosuke himself during his meditation out in... a place that I'm probably not supposed to tell you about. I saw him doing some cool stuff, so he taught me the art of senjutsu upon my request. I can tell you that your Raikage's a good man; he gives off much better vibes, puts on no airs, and doesn't rely on underhanded tactics, unlike his counterpart in the Land of Water, who I'm not much of a fan of as of now, though admittedly I know little of her. After that, I returned to Kumo to see if I could climb that legendary tree in your village, apparently there was some malevolent force at work there which I wanted to know more about. What did I find? The jackpot. Mitsuo Sarutobi - a man who I met shortly before our confrontation in the village - some blue haired dude who seemed close to Mitsuo, Toshi himself - and I must ask you later why you were even there - a powerful kage-level shinobi, and the Mizukage herself, Solstice Ayakashi. I observed everything, Sensei Sanosuke appearing from the skies, the confrontation, the powerful people escorting Toshi away to safety, which I found very reassuring pertaining to the humanity of both invaders and invaded, and finally... Ayakashi's deception, which I believe I am the only to witness besides the Raikage, the Mizukage herself, the missing-nin herself, and that very powerful shinobi who was beside the Mizukage throughout - you probably know more about him than I do, Toshi. I did send letters back to the Hokage and Tsuchikage pertaining to what the Mizukage did after the fact, so I guess you could call me a spy in that way, a terrible one, haha. That's why I've never signed up for any stealth missions so far; I prefer to be overcover instead of undercover. Hiding my identity when I was in Kumo was a hella hard for me as you can probably tell." It was a long rambling, one that would test the attention spans of the genin in front of him, yet an interesting tale to a degree. He didn't really have time to intricately craft his words, he let it flow out stream of conscience, the ultimate form of honesty which was  very much needed right now.

"Well, I congratulate you for listening to all that rambling, the young sannin would speak assuming that they didn't interrupt him for whatever reason, "But enough of me talking, I want to hear your stories too. I'm fairly certain you guys are genin from Kumo, and I'm especially curious of what Toshi was up to during the invasion. You looked pretty darn brave down there, I must say. Again, if you ever need a chair, just ask. I'm feeling a little fidgety right now, so I'm gonna get up." With that, he would stand up and wait for someone to speak, perhaps go on and on as he had done with his narrative. Still, even in all the talking, he had not disclosed an important fact about himself... Perhaps he'd tell them later. But for now, he would want to hear what they had to say about themselves and whether they'd believe his tale in the first place.

WC: 2769

Well, he's not lying about the Tsuneo bit... Perhaps I should say so out loud so that Toshi doesn't get any wrong ideas. Came the thoughts, and then she face palmed. it was almost as if Toshi himself were sitting across from her. He just happened upon the Raikage, Mitsuo, and Tsuneo. It wasn't like they were easy people to find either. She had to go through Gin for most of them, excluding Tsuneo.

Sighing, she gave her name and then looked to Toshi, "Well, he's not lying about the Tsuneo, the centipede, thing. He is actually here in Kumogakure and he saved me from some Jonin level ninjas that were going to assassinate a woman and also probably would have killed me in the process. He is a good guy and I invited him to coffee, I wonder if he got my letter..." She mused half to herself before Gora put a paw on her and shook her back to reality, "As for the rest of the story, it seems like he was just in the right place at the right time, or in our case the wrong place at the wrong time. He seems a bit like you, in the fact that his covert operations are not very covert at all. Well, besides when we snuck into the Temple. We should do that again for training sometime, come to think of it..."

She wandered off again and Gora extended her claws enough to prick Lin, "OW!" She exclaimed and rubbed the spot where she was poked, "As for Mitsuo and the story about the Raikage and the Mizukage, I am not sure what to believe. I wasn't there, and I am not sure he is telling the truth about you being there." She shrugged, "So I will defer that to you, as for trusting you..." She considered Kashi's request, mulling it over in her mind, "How about we take things slowly, they got out of hand quickly last time. We didn't report you to the ANBU just the guards. As for why Tsuneo was sent after you..." She shrugged, "It wasn't like Toshi or I sent him after you, but we very much thought that you were a spy. Though, we didn't know for which country."

WC: 1598

Satoshi listened carefully to what the boy was saying. For approximately fifteen seconds. As the story continued he began to fidget. He followed Lin's lead here as his ability to listen to monologues was perhaps his weakest attribute. While in the academy he had only ever been able to suffer through approximately two minutes of a lecture at a time. He'd resorted to turning up his music and drowning his instructor out back then. He'd matured somewhat since then. And by matured, I mean he'd learned that people had exceptional hearing and could detect his music if he turned it up. It made it exceptionally difficult to tune people out when they stared at you knowingly, expecting your compliance.

He did manage a slight frown when the boy used his name. Or rather an informal version of his name that he saved for friends. He'd always been taught it was rude to use people's names before they were given. There was a power to names, Kazue-Obaachan had always said. He didn't truly understand, but he trusted her. "I'm Satoshi Kazuhiko. The Prince of Harmony. The Scion of Sound. Genin of the Village Hidden in the Clouds." He nodded twice as he announced himself in such a manner befitting a herald announcing a king. "Nice to meet you Kashizudoto-san." He said, bowing formally. Manners were important!

When Lin interjected he nodded to her. She blissfully kept it short, allowing him to digest all of it. He rubbed his chin at her analysis of his ability to be silent. Or rather, his lack of ability. He offered a stupid smile and a helpless shrug.

He then looked between them. "I was at the Tree to train with Nekokage-Sama. It just happened to be the source of the discord." He frowned rubbing the back of his head as he recalled the situation. He could still feel the waves of power running off of the Mizukage. She could have killed him by accident. Despite this, he had stood up to her. Denied her the information she had requested and puffed out his chest. Like the loyal lemming that he was. He had been surrounded by personalities each four fold his strength. He had found himself in the center of a conflict that caused him to call into question the stability of the shinobi world. More importantly, he'd found himself, once again, in a position from which he could not protect his friends. A hand balled into a fist unconsciously as his disappointment surged through him, forcing the muscles in his arm to contract with tension.

"I wasn't meant to be there and I'm lucky to be alive." Some of the sing-songyness of his voice was lost as he looked away from the pair. Satoshi wore his heart on his sleeve. The naive and simple boy had never been trained in the art of subtlety. He didn't quite understand what use obfuscation was. Challenges should be met with the strength of ones heart. He felt that lies relied on the weakness of others to conquer trials. He'd never rely on the faults of an opponent to claim victory. He believed in conquering through the strength and willpower that he'd earn... Perhaps that was why he'd been so incapable of protecting others as of late.

"If I had to do it all over again though." He looked back at both of them a steely determination in his eyes. "I'd do the exact same thing. I would rather die than continue to live as a shell of a man who'd sell out his friends."And surely, with that sort of Wu-Tang Clan film attitude, he would.

"I'm sorry that we acted in haste, but I hope you can understand what your rhythm sounded like. I hope that we did not cause any undue stress. But Lin-chan has the right of it, we didn't report anything to the ANBU."

"I'm Satoshi Kazuhiko. The Prince of Harmony. The Scion of Sound. Genin of the Village Hidden in the Clouds," the simple genin would introduce himself in an address that was way too fancy, as if he were royalty or something, "Nice to meet you Kashizudoto-san." He had always thought that the boy's name was "Toshi" based on what Lin had called him earlier; however, he would now realize that this was some sort of nickname.

"Nice to meet you, Satoshi Kazuhiko," he would speak right after the boy had introduced himself, "My apologies for assuming Lin's nickname for you as your full name." Then the long rant would proceed.

"Well, he's not lying about the Tsuneo, the centipede, thing. He is actually here in Kumogakure and he saved me from some Jonin level ninjas that were going to assassinate a woman and also probably would have killed me in the process. He is a good guy and I invited him to coffee, I wonder if he got my letter..." the young woman would speak to corroborate Kashizudoto's claim about the Centipede. In a way, he viewed the Centipede as an ally and an enemy at the same time. While he definitely thought he was a good guy with good intentions, he felt that he was a little too hardline and needed to be taught a lesson... when Kashizudoto was powerful enough, of course.

"As for the rest of the story, it seems like he was just in the right place at the right time, or in our case the wrong place at the wrong time. He seems a bit like you, in the fact that his covert operations are not very covert at all. Well, besides when we snuck into the Temple. We should do that again for training sometime, come to think of it..." the young woman would continue speaking to her close friend. It was true that Kashizudoto preferred to be an "in your face" shinobi, but he didn't feel that he was anything like the boy in front of him, who had given a sort of princely demonstration and added unnecessary formalities.

"As for Mitsuo and the story about the Raikage and the Mizukage, I am not sure what to believe. I wasn't there, and I am not sure he is telling the truth about you being there. So I will defer that to you, as for trusting you..." Lin told Satoshi. Kashizudoto wouldn't blame her for not having faith in his words; their last meeting didn't have the best terms.

"How about we take things slowly, they got out of hand quickly last time. We didn't report you to the ANBU just the guards, Lin revealed, As for why Tsuneo was sent after you... It wasn't like Toshi or I sent him after you, but we very much thought that you were a spy. Though, we didn't know for which country." He didn't have any reason to think that they were lying. But someone told the ANBU. It must've been one of the guards; it was the most responsible thing to do in a situation like that anyway.

"I was at the Tree to train with Nekokage-Sama. It just happened to be the source of the discord," Satoshi explained, leaving  Kashizudoto to assume that "Nekokage" meant Raikage somehow, "I wasn't meant to be there and I'm lucky to be alive." Using this and his experience at the situation watching from the tree, he could infer that the boy had stood up to the Mizukage in some capacity, considering the standoff that he'd witnessed between them. Perhaps he had refused to disclose information about the Raikage's whereabouts or something like that. Either way, he was brave, and this would instantly earn him a lot of respect from Kashizudoto.

"If I had to do it all over again though, Satoshi mulled over, "I'd do the exact same thing. I would rather die than continue to live as a shell of a man who'd sell out his friends." Kashizudoto could hear the music lost from this boy's voice as he had explained. One thing he knew: this guy was extremely honorable. Upon hearing this, the young sannin would extend his fist out to the kid for a fistbump.

"That takes some real guts," the young sannin would speak to Satoshi, "Good job." If the boy wouldn't accept the fist bump, he would pull his arm back away with a neutral expression on his face. If the boy did, he would smile before pulling away.

"I'm sorry that we acted in haste, but I hope you can understand what your rhythm sounded like. I hope that we did not cause any undue stress, Satoshi apologized before reaffirming, "But Lin-chan has the right of it, we didn't report anything to the ANBU." Kashizudoto didn't want to press the issue any further, so he'd clarify right then and there.

"Well," he would speak, "Someone, maybe a guard or something, ended up conta-" He would suddenly hear, and soon see, four arrows coming straight for the back of Lin and Satoshi's heads. With his quick reaction time, he would immediately reach to his bamboo sheath on his left, grab his sword, and swing it directly over Lin and Satoshi's heads (not hitting them, but barely), having no time to indicate to them what was going on. What they would hear as he was swinging would be the meteorite rock of the sword clashing with the steel tips of the arrows as he would block them all; they would be safe.

"Watch out!" he would yell as he would observe two more arrows flying to each of their heads at speeds that were probably beyond their ability to dodge, each tipped with an element. The one heading towards Lin would be tipped with running and surprisingly sharp water; the one heading towards Satoshi would have harsh winds circulating about it that would create the sound of a tornado as it neared. As he could tell that there were jutsu cast on these arrows that were roughly about B-rank, fatal and strong, he wouldn't be able to block with his sword very simply. He would form a half-snake seal with his left hand and form a chakra barrier surrounding the three. The two arrows would clash with the barrier and explode in their respective elements, leaving the barrier still intact enough to survive another one of those jutsu-enhanced arrows.

"You guys ok?" he would ask before yelling out, "Whoever's hiding, reveal yourselves!" In this area of the mountainous region, there was a large amount of pine trees. The forest reminded him a little bit of Konoha, and it was also a good place for people to be hiding. Four archers would poke out of their hiding places from within the treetops. It wouldn't take long for him to recognize who these were.

A month or two or maybe even three ago, back when the Centipede had met him, they had run into some missing-nin. He had defeated four archers while the Centipede had killed some other criminals. Rather than dispatching of the four missing-nin who had committed terrible acts, he had defied the Centipede's wishes and saved them. While the Centipede gave him a warning of the possible consequences if they escaped and continued crime, he did not stop the boy, so Kashizudoto had went ahead and sent those four to a local jail, telling them to reform themselves. Well clearly, they hadn't. But he wouldn't kill them.

"Hehe, the criminal on the left middle would snark, "You should've listened to the Centipede while you had the chance. We'll kill you all! That'll be some true fun! Then we'll go kill the Centipede! Haha!" It would sicken the boy that society had failed these four so much, but, even now, he would still have hope for them. They could be changed. At least that was what he hoped. He never wanted to kill again, on missions or anything, after what had happened at Buma's Manor not too long ago... A third party perspective really changed things.

"You monster!" the young sannin would yell as one archer on each side would unleash their own elementally-aligned arrow, one flaming and another crackling with lightning. These two B-ranks would certainly break through his chakra barrier, so he would enflame his sword with katon chakra. As the arrows would break through the barrier, slightly weakened but still fatal, he would slash his flaming sword right through them, cutting and burning through them entirely.

"Get 'yer goggles on boys!", one of the criminals would holler while Kashizudoto was breaking through the arrows with his sword so that they wouldn't hit Lin or Satoshi, the criminals putting on goggles of some sort meanwhile, "Ahahahahahah!" The criminal would then throw a ton of capsules onto the ground which would emit smoke until everything within seventy meters would be totally encapsulated with it, making it almost impossible to see without those special goggles that the criminals were wearing. The only thing that was clearly visible was the young sannin's flaming sword.

"Are either of you guys good at sensory?" he would ask quickly, "We need someone to sense out the location of these criminals and fast." He would hear an arrow flying towards Lin and would have barely enough time to block it with his left hand, the arrow stabbing into it and causing it to bleed out.

"Tch!" he would grunt in pain before adding, "Maybe a medical ninja would be a little helpful too..."

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 4413

Lin wasn't the first one to react to the arrow's being shot, it was Gora. Because the arrows were aimed at the back of Lin's head, Gora stood up abruptly, attempting to block them with her body. She would sacrifice herself for Lin's well-being because to her, Lin was a mother, a friend, and a room mate. Gora growled in the direction of the bandits as Lin stood up. She may not have had the reaction time that Kashi did, nor Hawky, but she had an incredible reaction time and perception. She did a 180 already forming the handsigns for a jutsu that didn't require precision. She was in a heavily wooded area, but she knew a senju that could take care of the burned areas that she would destroy with the jutsu. All that she needed to do was let it loose. Gora's eyes would be her eyes, her nose would be Lin's nose.

The bandits laughed as they proclaimed that they would all die, Lin's hands stopped at the same time as the balls that released the gas hit the ground. She opened her mouth, letting loose a gout of flame. Its name was "Fire Style: Flame Bullet. It was one of the first jutsu that she had used to protect Toshi from bandits, now she was using it again. It had the properties of Katon, but would continue burning, giving the bandits little place to hide. They would have to either retreat or advance. If they advanced, they would find Toshi was more willing to fight them than he was previously. He fought to protect others, and Lin was obviously in need of protection. Her jutsu wasn't in offense but in defense. She didn't know if she had hit the bandits or if she had hit the trees, but something caught fire. She had done something. A roughly 3m wide bullet was hard to dodge, from that distance.

She grabbed Gora's fur and had her lead her over to Kashi. She heard 'are either of you guys good at sensory, Maybe a medical ninja would be a little helpful too. "Well, I can heal." She fumbled around in front of her with her right hand as her left hand was glued to the white panther's fur. Gora would be her eyes, her nose, and her teeth should she need to be. Gora could, of course, hear and smell all that was going on around them, and really her eyes were not what she used to hunt the mice and birds, it was by smell and sound that she did so.

Moving so that Lin could get to Kashi the fastest route without stumbling, Lin ended up behind Kashizudoto. "Mister Konoha ninja. Could you hold out whatever is hurt, I don't know what you were hit with or where. I can't see in this smoke." She could hear screaming and someone trying desperately to put out the flames. She didn't know if it was the badits, but she hoped that she had at least hit one of them with her jutsu. It wasn't every day that she used that technique, and it was more for a "shotgun" effect than anything. She preferred precision, but in a jam, she would use it to make sure that she could ignite at least one of her foes. Of course she could always heal the damage done later on, but it was a nasty jutsu to get burned by.

WC: 2198

Jutsu Used:

It only took a moment for their peace to be shattered. Discord seemed to swing like a pendulum around this boy from Konoha. Peace to chaos, safety to conflict.

Satoshi felt the arrow pierce his Pursuit of Sound field and begun to turn towards it, swinging a backfist towards where he thought it might be. He wasn't aware that it was an arrow mind you. He knew little about what was piercing his field and only that something had. His sixth sense was not so well defined that he could discern the identities of objects within it yet.

Kashizudoto's sword lashed overhead. Satoshi felt that to. A pang of insight as the sonic waves he emitted were reflected off of his unique weapon. Much like the arrow, Satoshi was far too slow to react to that as well. His attempt to bat away the arrow met air as the swords swung overhead and turned the arrow into splinters. Satoshi would have never made it at his current speed.

"Thanks!" He said plainly as the arc of Kashi's sword reached it's end point.

Then, smoke began to billow up about them. They were under attack by a number of assailants, four, to be precise. The smoke screen would hide them from the vision of the three ninjas. Their arrows were somehow wrapped in an elemental nature, pretty advanced for bandits, and they seemed to be operating as a tight unit.

Satoshi closed his eyes as the smoke overtook them. He took a single deep breath before responding to Kashi. "I can feel their beat. I'll call out their locations and incoming attacks. You guys take them down yeah?"

Satoshi was a member of the Kotone clan, though that may not be known to him. In a way, they were very similar to the Hyunga of Konoha. While they didn't possess a Dojutsu, they did have access to 360 degree sensory techniques. While they didn't manipulate chakra, they did operate with another invisible force within the natural world, sound. Unlike the Hyuga who rely on their eyes, Satoshi is able to operate nearly as well without his.

He would take up a position between the two and call out incoming attacks and the directions from which they emerged. "Be careful, I can't feel very far, so be ready to react! I'll do what I can to help!"

He felt a single archer behind them, attempting to sneak up on Kashi, his bow drawn and an arrow knocked with malicious intent."Leaf-kun. Over your left shoulder, 7 meters away, 4 meters high." He stated calmly.

He would do what he could, calling out the directions of attacks as they came in and pointing out positions as they became available to him.

"Well, I can heal," Lin spoke through the smoke, "Mister Konoha ninja. Could you hold out whatever is hurt, I don't know what you were hit with or where. I can't see in this smoke." Ah, so she was a medic! It seemed more rare nowadays to see a medic anywhere but in a hospital, but he felt reassured about the safety of Kumogakure's ninja knowing that someone as headstrong as Lin was a medic in a combat role.

"No need to call me Mister Konoha ninja," he would speak to Lin as he would hold out his left hand, still dripping with blood, so that the feathered end of the arrow would brush up against Lin's right hand, "Just Kashi will be fine. An arrow was coming for you a little earlier, so I blocked it with my left hand just in the nick of time, mind fixing it up for me, Lin? I don't really mind the pain, I'm a lot more experienced at combat than you might think, but it's nice to have my left hand functional for hand seals and all. Don't worry about more arrows, I still have my sword to block any arrows targeted towards you, me, or Satoshi." Soon after saying that, he would hear an arrow coming towards Lin's head, which he would promptly block with his sword, creating a clanging and then burning sound as the inflamed sword would meet the steel of the arrowhead.

"I can feel their beat. I'll call out their locations and incoming attacks. You guys take them down yeah?" Satoshi explained, revealing his sensory prowess, "Be careful, I can't feel very far, so be ready to react! I'll do what I can to help!" So this boy, as simple as he seemed at first glance, could come up with a rather acute strategy, at least for his rank and experience. He and his hawk would have no problem with the execution of this plan.

If Lin had healed his left hand as he had asked, then he would form a tiger seal effortlessly before a "poof" sound could be heard by Lin and Satoshi, the creation of a kage bunshin. "I'll send in a shadow clone to investigate who or what is on fire. Based on the movement of the flame, I'm pretty sure it's a person," he would whisper to the Kumo shinobi who he suddenly found to be his combat partners. The shadow clone would run towards the direction of the flame that had been created by Lin's Flame Bullet earlier, assuming that Lin had healed his left hand in the first place so he could form the seal.

"Leaf-kun. Over your left shoulder, 7 meters away, 4 meters high," Satoshi yelled suddenly, alerting the young sannin to the presence of one of the criminals nearby.

"You take this one, Hawky!" Kashizudoto would yell, interested in staying guard to make sure that no arrows flew towards Lin and Satoshi, allowing the hawk on his shoulder to fire out a small ball of fuuton chakra, "Watch closely, you two." He would smirk, unseen to the two through the smoke, as the small ball would quickly expand to its full size with a radius of 22.5 meters, eating up all the smoke in that direction and then exposing and devouring a bandit in a huge ball of wind that tore through a lot of his clothing and skin, leaving him with torn up outerwear and 3.5 inch bleeding cuts all over his skin that would render him practically useless. One down. Three to go.

The sphere of fuuton chakra would race through that part of the cloud of smoke, leaving a large part of the area now exposed again to the sunlight and air, including a small area around Kashizudoto, Lin, and Satoshi allowing them all to see each other again. Still, there would exist a significant area where they would not be able to see anything besides the flaming sword of Kashizudoto's shadow clone and the flame, the result of Lin's Flame Bullet, that the clone was chasing to investigate.

The clone would by then approach the area and slice towards the flame, only to cut through wood. Shit!

"Hehe!" the clone would hear a bandit yell from above before hearing three arrows come towards it from all sides. They'd used Lin's Flame Bullet, which had hit a tree apparently, as a trap to lure them in! Luckily, it was only a clone, but that would mean a major loss of chakra if it was destroyed. Normally, he'd be able to dodge arrows like that with his superior speed; however, the roots of the tree as well as various vines and other plantlife tangled around the clone's feet making mobility almost impossible through foot. Thankfully, he did have a solution.

The clone rocketed fifteen meters backwards through channeling katon through his soles, dodging the arrows coming towards it from up, left, and right, then releasing an arc of katon towards the area where he had heard the voice of the criminal. The clone, the original, Satoshi, and Lin would be able to hear the yelp of the bandit as he would be hit with the arc, taking major third degree burns at impact.

"That's a good sign. So we've got two more to deal with then," the original would remark to Lin and Satoshi from the open area that Hawky had created, "Keep up the good work though, we can't celebrate yet."

Kashizudoto Chakra:

Kashizudoto Shadow Clone 1 Chakra:

Hawky Chakra:

WC: 5358

Lin grabbed hold of the arrow and snapped the shaft in half. The splinters would fester inside of the wound if not handled very carefully, she took her left hand off of Gora and held Kashi's arm She pulled the arrow out slowly, to make sure that there wasn't any permanent damage to the nerves that ran through the hand as well as the tendons. Kashi could bleed out from such a wound, as it had hit an artery. She sighed and summoned up the chakra needed for one of her more advanced healing techniques, the healing pulse. She hadn't had the chance to use it in battle to heal, but she wanted to make sure that the wound was closed and that it wouldn't hamper the konoha ninja further. After all, he was fighting with them now.

It was weird, Lin thought as she drew the teal chakra. "Just Kashi will be fine. An arrow was coming for you a little earlier, so I blocked it with my left hand just in the nick of time, mind fixing it up for me, Lin? I don't really mind the pain, I'm a lot more experienced at combat than you might think, but it's nice to have my left hand functional for hand seals and all. Don't worry about more arrows, I still have my sword to block any arrows targeted towards you, me, or Satoshi." He would say, she sighed and concentrated it into her right hand. An orb appeared and she placed it on the wound, healing it almost instantly. It would normally take 6-10 seconds for the wound to heal, but by concentrating the chakra and making sure that she got it right into the wound healed it in 1 second. It was still quite a bit of time, given that battle happened so rapidly. Gora bit an arrow coming at Lin, snapping it in half with a growl.

Once she was able to get back, he formed the hand signals, she didn't know what they were, but she could hear them being formed. his fingers swishing in the fog. The fog that the bandits threw out to cover their trail. "Watch closely, you two." Easier said than done. She had no idea where to watch as Gora had pulled her back about three meters away from Kashi to protect her and behind a tree. She could hear the fire crackling in the forest. All of the sudden, the ball of wind sucked up the fog and she could see again. Good. It was good that she could see what was going on.

Lin peeked out from behind the tree to see where the bandits were. Instead, she saw Toshi. Sighing, she stepped out from the tree. She didn't know where they were anymore, because they were up in the canopy, but she would at least stay next to him so that she could protect him given the chance. She had two jutsu on hand for such an occurance, and hoped that they would come in handy.

Lin felt pretty useless in this fight, and Gora, wanting to fight alongside of her and Toshi, growled in defiance at the sounds of the bandits ganging up on the clone. Lin had no idea what the fate of the clone was, but she knew that it was probably not a good thing that she could hear the lightning arcing. She wasn't about to celebrate, even though Kashi thought that she was inexperienced enough to do so. It wasn't like she wanted to get hit by any of those arrows. What was supposed to have been a nice walk through the forest with Toshi to catch up, had turned into a downright disaster.

WC: 2839

Jutsu Used: Chakra remaining (115/150):

OOC:

This battle was dragging on, and he doubted that the two Kumo ninja were expecting Kashi to show up to what seemed to be a planned meeting between the two, much less with four crazed bandits on his tail. The Centipede had given him the option of disposing of them long ago, yet he couldn't even think of bringing himself to kill even the most despicable after that fateful night in Buma's manor.

He couldn't just charge into the cloud of smoke without knowing what he was doing or where he was going; for now, he just had to trust the instincts of his clone, who had already taken out one of them. He thought perhaps he could send in Satoshi to track them down with whatever natural sensory instincts he seemed to have; however, Kashi had an uncanny feeling that throwing a Kumo nin into a dangerous situation that was Kashi's responsibility wouldn't be fair. Still, his hawk had good hearing and an uncanny sense of tracking; Kashi trusted him.

"Hawky," he would address his bird, "Can you go check out the situation in the cloud and perhaps track down my clone? I'll be here to watch this area." With that, the hawk would take off towards the cloud of smoke, dodging an incoming arrow which Kashi would then block with his sword.

"Thanks for the big help, by the way," he would tell Lin and Satoshi after a bit of a pause, trying to figure out how to phrase what he was trying to say, "Lin, you're a great medic; you remind me of that one doctor in Iwa who fixed me up. Satoshi, whatever uncanny sensory ability you have: it's neat." He never was good at handling exchanges of praise, whether on the giving or receiving end.

By this time, the hawk would have already traveled into the cloud of smoke and tracked down the Kashi clone, who was busy blocking arrows coming at him from two sides. The clone, happy to hear Hawky's screech, would tell Hawky to go one way and confront the archer in front of him while he would deal with the other one. Soon enough, the hawk and the clone would each defeat their targets. Hawky would let out a loud, impassioned (as passionate as a bird could get, at least) screech as he would fly out of the cloud of smoke and the clone dissipated.

"Looks like they took care of it," he would tell the others as the clone's memories and the hawk's screech would simultaneously register within his mind as victory, "Lin, Satoshi, can you guys grab that unconscious bandit near you and drag him over there? I'll take care of this one." If they would do as he asked and helped him, the group would have all four bandits lying down in front of them next to each other, defeated.

"The Centipede gave me the choice of what to do with them, and I messed up," the boy would admit to the others, "Lin, you seem to be the one who makes decisions in your group, so I guess it's your turn. You can kill them like the Centipede had asked me to do. You can hand them over to a local prison like I had done. You can even set them free, or whatever innovative thing you have in mind. Just know that whatever you do with them, lives hang in the balance. I learned that the hard way, and I have no answers." It looked as if someone had just been cutting onions around Kashi; his eyes would water as he realized that he had no definite solution after all. He wasn't in control.

WC: 5990

Senjutsu: D -> C: 2559/6000
Senjutsu: C -> B: 3431/7000

Lin dragged the Unconscious person over to the other one and dropped him unceremoniously on top of him. She looked to Kashi as he was speaking, listening to what he had to say and smiling at his compliment. She was a woman of few words, but she did appreciate his sentiments.

As to the bandits, which was Kashi's new task in figuring out, since he was the one to knock them unconscious, she shrugged. She had no idea what to do with them. She would really like to have them just rot here, but that was inhumane. She wasn't going to kill them, and she wasn't going to let them free, because they might turn on the village.

Alright, she had made up her mind, "We'll bring them to Athos' keep." She smiled, "My father's a guard there, and I can tell him that they escaped. Escaped prisoners always have more of a high-security detail than those who have not escaped before. Therefore... I feel better about doing that than anything else." She tilted her head, looking at him, "Did you hurt your eyes in the battle?" She blinked, wondering at why his eyes were watering.

"As to what to do with them from there, it is really up to Athos' keep. They sometimes execute prisoners. Especially unruly ones." She shrugged, "Which isn't my problem, because it is right to bring them back. It is the right thing to do. We aren't sentencing them to death without a trial then, and they must pay for their crimes as the Raikage sees fit."

Lin nodded as she looked to Kashi, "Help me bind them, so that they don't rouse on the way there, and then we'll give them to the guards there."

WC: 3158

Lin would have help binding the Brigands and would take them to Athos' keep. It was a productive day. The sun shone brightly, and she still had some time for an afternoon snack!

WC: 3191
|Exit|

Training:

Name: Chakra Anesthetic (チャクラ麻酔 ~ Chakura Masui)
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: D
Type: Supplementary
Element: N/A
Range: 3 inches diameter within contact
Specialty: Medical Ninjutsu
Duration: 3 posts (-5 chakra per post)
Cooldown: 6 posts
Description: This jutsu acts as a numbing agent. The user coats his/her hands in chakra and then places them on a victim. The target area is numbed across a three-inch diameter centered around the user's palms. The numbness will only continue as deep as 3/4 of an inch into the flesh; wounds or surgical procedures that are any deeper into the numbed area will still receive the subsequent pain. Since the target area of the palms limits the jutsu, any further numbing will require multiple posts (still following a maximum 3 inches of numbed tissue per post). This may only be used for up to 3 posts.

Name: Lightning Release: Sparkler (雷遁・線香花火 ~ Raiton: Senkōhanabi)
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: D
Type: Offensive, Supplementary
Element: Raiton
Range: 10m
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: Maintainable (-5 chakra per post)
Cooldown: 3 posts
Description: By concentrating raiton chakra into the tip of their finger and then releasing it, the user can expel a continuous stream of sparks from their finger resembling a sparkler. This stream of sparks can be fired violently at an opponent causing minor first degree burns and can also be fired at a flammable substance to light it aflame. When not being fired in a stream the jutsu can be maintained at non-violent levels and used as an impromptu light source.

and


Name: Lightning Release: Dragon Missile (雷遁・竜ミサイル ~ Raiton: Ryū Misairu)
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: B
Type: Offensive
Element: Raiton
Range: 50m
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: Instantaneous
Cooldown: 6 posts
Description: After weaving the appropriate sequence of hand signs the user generates and expels a larege amount of raiton chakra in the form of a dragon from their body at 30m/s. This dragon is then launched at the opponent, Deaing damage upon impact (capable of causing cracks in bone, but not complete breaking, and cracking the ground at the point of impact), electrocuting the target upon impact and dealing major second degree burns at the point of contact.

Leftover words: 191, :)