You are not connected. Please login or register

View previous topic View next topic Go down Message [Page 1 of 1]

Maigo

Maigo


D-rank
S Rank Quest Mission - 5500 wc:

What Maigo faced as the pair descended upon the village seemed like some back drop to a nightmare. It felt colder and the air was painted in deeper hues of blue and purple, as if the forest had moved its darkness to reach up and drown out the sky they had seen earlier. The ruined and crumbling buildings barely held on to their form and as Maigo watched with near open mouth as they entered the front gates of the village and passed fully into its border; nothing seemed to change. The stone was far more grey and worn upon than most stone roads and cracks of grass and dirt split it as it hadn't seem to be kept up with in near as long a time as anything else in the village.

With every step the surreal nightmare was like every bad dream Maigo had of returning to Kirigakure opened up in front of him and every bad dream he'd had in training to protect his home. So many seemingly ridiculous scenarios of returning home to a village in shambles where he could have done nothing to help it while he was gone and yet, when he returned it was just  fine. Now he was getting a direct look at a fear that he carried throughout himself and his sigh of relief seemed withdrawn and pushed back within the forming pit in his stomach. Not knowing whether it was nervousness or fear that was beginning to build in the put of his soul would carry with him as he watched the area.

It haunted him and was probably growing obvious on his expression, especially if Nayoko was truly a jounin. He would turn to Nayoko after a moment and speak up solemnly, "I wonder if they just need our help evacuating this place..." he would speak as his eyes would trace away watching overgrown trace the rooftop of one shop that appeared to have been a tea house. Nearly rotted out and abandoned right near the face of the village, it didn't seem like anyone had been in there in a very long time.

Still, the village wasn't completely silent as in the streets and passed their arrival there were some people hustling about to and fro. A mother grabbing her child's hand and pulling him away from the streets and down the road against his wishes and complaints. A few people lingered about in the streets, those that looked like shinobi and carried weapons at their hips waited diligently in the street with their eyes focused on the pair that had clearly just arrived.

Maigo would continue to walk forwards and push into the street, almost heading directly for the first person that looked like they knew what was happening and didn't seem to be running before the night took over the area. Before his footsteps could even bring him close enough within speaking distance, the shinobi would speak loudly towards him, "If you're new here you'd better hurry up and find somewhere to hide tonight! Especially tonight since it'll be rougher than normal..." he blasted out from the bottom of his diaphragm in a voice that tried to compensate it's weight a bit deeper than normal. As if it was supposed to intimidate Maigo into action or response? It ended up being annoying more than anything, over confidence from someone who by the sweat of his palms, shaky stance, and loose hand hovering near his katana showed that he was more fearful than anything.

Maigo tilted his neck a bit and let it crack, playing off his own fears and worries to reverse the bit of intimidation. A single word would leave his mouth as he quipped back to the shinobi, "Genin."

The word rang quietly through the immediate area as Maigo's honey colored eyes would rest on the shinobi while his head remained tilted. The shock and anger in the other shinobi's face would carry for a moment as he immediately stepped towards Maigo and let his worry subside for an instance, "You got something to say to me?"

Maigo would lean in a bit back towards him with an unwavering gaze as he would mutter back, "No, not to you at least..."

The pair would hold their staring contest for a moment while ignoring the outside world, letting Maigo's childish side carry his own action for a bit. Then with a sudden jerk back and a smirk, Maigo would continue on, "Look, I don't have time to deal with you. Just tell me where Sero's at so I can figure out what's going on here..." he waved his arm a bit to wave away the thoughts and presence of the shinobi in front of him.

The other shinobi leaned back as well though and scoffed, drawing Maigo's dagger-like gaze back down upon him, "You think you can just go talk to Sero... he's busy! You know, dealing with that incoming army and everything else going on here. Why don't you go be useful where you can and pick up trash somewhere!" the shinobi went on, his voice returned more to normal and his young age showed through in his voice. Probably no older than 16 or 17 but still there he was in the midst of it all, reminding Maigo a bit of himself but instead, Maigo's attention focused on the talk of an army approaching.

"Wait a second, you said an army? Like, lots of enemy troops incoming? Where at??" Maigo broke the tone and pacing of their original argument to get the details on this new assignment. If he knew Sero, and it was the same man that had taken him and so many others into missions head on, then Maigo had a solid chance of finding the captain of the seven swordsmen going to meet this army head on. Not to mention that his first real act of repentance would be well served protecting this place from whatever invaders were coming after him.

The shinobi almost sneered at him again as he rolled his view past Maigo and towards the surrounding forest, almost a giveaway in itself but Maigo focused as the boy went on, "What do you think it matters, we're here to defend this place! We don't need the help of some moron like yourself!" he rattled off and turned towards Maigo as he continued his jeering.

Maigo blinked for a moment and reached his hand out quickly to grab the face of the young ninja tightly and pull his face to meet Maigo's gaze. Maigo's eyes would flicker for a moment in a flash of red and black spinning tomoe, "You can either talk, or I'll have you tell me..." he finished and let his eyes roll for a moment as he stared at the boy intensely. Giving him a moment to think it over as the boy raised a shaky hand before pointing in the direction of the forest.

Shaky words followed quickly after, "They're someway that way! The others were talking about it, it's supposed to be huge and full of monsters! Don't be an idiot! he stammered out at Maigo. Maigo replied in a smirk and let him fall to the ground as he released the boy's face and let him drop down in stance for a moment before backing off.

Taking a step away, Maigo would turn towards Nayoko while holding his smirk, "What do you think? I imagine two jounin of the two great nations can handle a few simple monsters..." he would carry on smiling and turn his attention towards the direction they were pointed out. His arm was itching to draw at his sword or his shoge, begging to be tested out in combat that he'd missed for so long since he'd left Kirigakure. It felt like home again, a horrible place with a horrible mission while left with nothing but the comrades that would follow to cover his back. His smile was that of pure excitement at the very thought.


[1371 words]

290/300 Chakra:

Nayoko

Nayoko


D-rank
Nayoko had never seen anything that looked so perfectly hopeless. That is to say, it looked as though there was not a modicum of hope left within the rough confines of what appeared to be the shell of a village that may have stood strong once upon a time. The buildings, each and every one of them either crumbled completely or at least in part, looked throughout the space that seemed to be saturated with a deep blue hue that screamed despair. The small amount of light from the sun that had barely been peaking over the horizon only a few moments ago had finally fallen out of sight. Now the only light that bathed the area was the pale reflection of the sun’s radiance that seemed to come from the moon. It hung in the sky, waxing slightly as the night of the full moon would be fast approaching. The grey moonlight was reflected in turn by the rough, worn out stone road that was slowly being overtaken by the forest which had begun to grow through it in an attempt to finally reclaim this village as part of the land. As the pair finally stepped through the gates and officially entered the nameless village proper, Nayoko could not help but let out a long sigh as he glanced over to his new travelling companion.

Maigo’s mouth hung agape, the shock of what looked like a reflection of his own home sitting destroyed before him. Nayoko could only imagine the thoughts that were rushing through his mind. But with those thoughts came a brief moment of regret of his own. He could not even fathom leaving his village in a position for it to become a husk like the one he was standing in now. The amount of destruction that would have had to happen in order for this village to fall from whatever glory it once held aloft was almost too much for the young jounin to fathom. Even as he glanced around at the people, he could see that it looked like their very souls had been lost to the tribulation that they had faced. Their clothes were all pale as was the complexation of nearly everyone who passed by him, though that number could be counted on Nayoko’s hands. The feeling of surrender was almost palpable; Nayoko hated it. To see a place that was once somebody’s home so easily left behind to try and survive on its own was disappointing to him, and he vowed to himself that he would never let that happen to the Leaf, no matter the cost.

His own reflection of the situation was interrupted by the question asked by Maigo, causing Nayoko to look back at his new companion. He shook his head slightly at the question, unsure of whether or not the Kiri jounin was joking or serious. He certainly was not sure. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. This place is…lifeless.” He truly felt that way despite the few people that he saw lingering about, unsure of whether they truly lived in this place, or if they were just passing through like himself and the jounin. Occasionally he spotted a ninja that had gone through the portal as well moving throughout the debris, though none seemed to approach the pair of jounin. That was, until Maigo started heading towards a villager and was interrupted by the shouting voice of a shinobi close by. "If you're new here you'd better hurry up and find somewhere to hide tonight! Especially tonight since it'll be rougher than normal..." Turning to see the source of the outburst like Maigo, Nayoko could only raise an eyebrow at the scrawny figure of what appeared to be a very inexperienced young man. He looked like he was scared out of his mind already, and Nayoko was about to reassure him when a single word was uttered by Maigo. It was a harsh one to say the least, but Nayoko was certain that it was accurate. The immaturity of the genin was matched only by the Kiri jounin in the moment as they locked eyes and exchanged an exclaimation of bravado with yet another insult. Part of the Hattori wanted to speak up and try to deter Maigo from continuing to berate the young man, but another part of him respected the jounin for putting the young man in his place.

The staring down of the genin continued for an amount of time that was beginning to feel uncomfortable when the genin finally said something of interest. "You think you can just go talk to Sero... he's busy! You know, dealing with that incoming army and everything else going on here. Why don't you go be useful where you can and pick up trash somewhere!" His age was beginning to show even more as he kept speaking, the slight tremble in his voice alerting Nayoko to the presence of even more fear. But his words carried weight, and Maigo managed to pick up on it too. Nayoko should not have been surprised, but after he had missed the Konoha nin’s introduction earlier, everything was up in the air.

The urgency in Maigo’s voice was matched by the genin’s arrogance, but that did not last for long. Because as the genin started to talk back, only moments later Nayoko saw the flash of something he never dreamed he would face. The flicker of red in the eyes of his companion. The Sharingan. In truth, Nayoko heard very little about the rest of the conversation, because he was too busy trying to come to grips with the fact that the man who had walked along the road with him moments ago was a member of the legendary Uchiha clan and wielded the Sharingan. It was incredible, and just the thought of fighting along side home sent a shiver down his spine. The legends about the mystical red eyes of the Uchiha clan were endless, and so much of them was just fantasy at this point that Nayoko had no idea what to believe. But as he finally snapped back to reality and caught the end of the conversation with the terrified genin, Nayoko realized he would not have to wait very long to find out.

The Uchiha turned back to him, a smirk on his face that was nothing less than infectious, and even before the sentence had left Maigo’s lips, the Hattori could feel a smirk of his own growing. He was about to go toe to toe with an army of monsters, and the companion at his side was a member of a clan of legend. As he stepped up to be beside his new brother in arms, he looked out into the woods ahead for any sign of this approaching army. It was sure to be a rough battle ahead, but between the Sharingan of his friend and his own Senjutsu abilities, he knew they could win.

“Yeah,” the Hattori said confidently and with a quick wink. He began taking a step forward into the woods, a cool wind whipping around them as he did. “I think we can handle that.”


WC:1210

Kirei

Kirei


B-rank
Days upon days, Kirei traversed this lost land which mirrored the streets he had spent his last months amidst. Tucked away between ruin and hope was this desolate visage of the Hidden Mist; it had taken Kirei mere hours to decipher his surroundings. This realm of Sero's creation recreated the city entirely, each winding street and claustrophobic alleyway was present. When those days ago Kirei had wandered beneath the gates of the village, the boy had wondered for a time whether indeed he had slipped between the folds of time into some dark future within which only death remained. From behind his Sharingan, Kirei looked out over a grey landscape bathed in fog and blood, his mask was gone, lost somewhere in his rampage through the cursed woods to carve his way back here to the village. When finally be breached the collapsed city walls, Kirei slinked through the ravaged streets, turning heads if only for the smell of ash which hung around him; such was the price of devouring cruelty.

Since tending to Watsuji, Kirei had forged his path toward Kiri's remnant cousin, or was it Sero's twisted vision of the future? With his blazing shoal of payback hung as a wreathe throughout his destructive rampage, Kirei left no monsters alive, in part due to his own recent anger and also as an act of vengeance for the injuries his companion sustained at the hands of these creatures. Doubtless, Hideyoshi and the young Ronin would find their way here slower than the Uchiha was prepared to go; still unsure whether any of this was real, the boy was no less determined to give his best to the people who dwelled here in this wretched kingdom. This was why under cover of young night's shadow, the boy made his way between the fallen builds whose patterns matched the slums he had spent months patrolling. Weary faces transfixed their eyes on the Uchiha's slight form, the shrouded phantasm, hooded and indistinguishable from the darkness save for the red beneath his cowl and what fragments of his blonde halo leaked from the cloak. How long had they waited here? The boy wondered if it were possible these were prisoners of the Osada. Since his arrival more of the island's residents had migrated here in search of amnesty in the belly of the sinking ruin. The Uchiha had already ventured long nights in the woods, braved the horrors and seen what crept beneath the moon's gaze. It was this which gave him the confidence to press through the fading light.

"You, Shinobi!"

The blonde stopped, spinning to the source of the voice, an older ninja dressed in worn Mist Village finery; torn flak jacket stained with blood a clue to the origin of his woe. Kirei's tired smile greeted him, and he made a quizzical noise in response instead of venturing an actual reply.

"The Jōnin who are still here want all the Genin like us to round people up and take them to the center of the village. Those monsters are coming back."

"Genin?"

"The shelters near the ruins of the administration building, bring anyone you see there!"

Beginning a run as he entered the final few words, the Mist ninja was off into the fog where Kirei tracked him while he stared in confusion. The boy had spent exactly two nights in the bayou's surrounding this great doppelganger and seen no such monsters which would cause terror for those even more powerful than he was. Thus far, nothing Kirei had seen could stand before the might of his single signature technique which had already left several skittering hordes as fields of ash in its wake. The boy's hand came to rest gently on Kuon's hilt, the blade which still buzzed silently with chakra at his side lapped at the residual energy from the boy's chakra, ravishing the trail he left behind with its hungry jaws. His father, always ahead of the news, heard through his network of Kirei's impending promotion recommendation and had sent the blade as a gift, delivered by Jinzo, the fifth Hound, and Kirei's least preferred of his father's servants. The letter read merely that he was to take the blade and question not its methods. The Uchiha had done just that, attaching it with the myriad of Mist Village ninja tools which hung beneath his cloak and then letting it hang where it had remained unused.

Turning his attention to the city outskirts, Kirei opted for the opposite direction that the Genin had instructed and found himself taking to what remained of the rooftops as he had done so many times in Kiri. The boy operated on auto-pilot, wholly surrendered to the routine which the Sharingan made of his every movement. The boy could no longer remember the last time his dōjutsu had been deactivated, the well of crimson chakra compelled his legs to move, gliding over the Mist's broken facade while he wondered what legacy of sorry brought about Sero Osada's obsession with death. Undoubtedly, the Seven Swordsman possessed incredible power, but to use it in such a way which would beget the suffering Kirei saw with his eyes. Hungry, shivering manifestations, or prisoners, shuffled through the streets toward uncertain protection under the thumb of Hansha's glowering sky. It was as the last strands of gold faded away that Kirei found himself perched overlooking the City gates, faded and worn, collapsed partially on one side, the once formidable barrier of the Hidden Mist lay abandoned and broken save for a pair who lingered even as the struggling village ninja shuffled away into the dark.

"They told me Jōnin were preparing to fight something outside the Village walls."

Without his ANBU mask, the boy was unable to disguise his voice as he usually would have liked, so he spoke out with his boyish voice, marking him well before they would lay eyes on his meager size as a young shinobi. In addition, beneath the hem of his hood, the worn Konohagakure Hitai-ate would be clearly visible as he pulled the fabric back to greet them. Barely thirteen, Kirei would look upon the two men and study them, twitching Sharingan moving erratically betrayed his matching lineage which he made no effort to conceal. Truthfully, Kirei was no longer sure whether his dōjutsu could be deactivated at all, it had been so long. The glistening twin tomoe spun lazily in spite of the boy's unsteady expression, and the thick dark rings which clung to the bottom of his eyelids marked his overuse of the clan's techniques even at this immature stage. Maigo would doubtless recognize the sunken archways which formed black lines and ruby-red veins clawing for the central pool of chakra which housed the clan's power. If the other Uchiha were observant, which of course he was, he would notice the autonomous movement with which the younger clansman's eyes reacted to the surroundings. Even as Kirei began to speak, with his usual upbeat cadence, his Sharingan moved to the tweaking leaves and few birds which evacuated from their nests, sensing the approaching peril, as if the dōjutsu were perceiving things which its juvenile wielder could not keep up with.

"I'm a provisional Jōnin in the Mist Village. Uh, the real one I guess, not this one. Uchiha, Kirei. I'm here to assist any way I can,"

The boy paused to clear his throat, trying his best to speak through his throat stung with the pain of struggling through the forest, mouth agape with roaring flames. The boy drew no attention other to the shared bloodline made evident by Maigo's Sharingan, attaining the enviable state of completing the base form of the eyes was a feat Kirei had only seen for the first time now. As he had done before with those he had wanted to impress, Kirei did his best to stand tall and deepen his voice, resisting the urge to burst his lips into a gleeful grin at the prospect of learning more about those eyes. Although he had no perception of his state of dress, the awkwardly disheveled Uchiha must have been a sight for the new arrivals, the folds of his cloak were stained heavily with mud, layers of blood matted amongst the dirt. Further to his disservice was the smell of rainwater, forest, and ashes, as well as the lingering scent of kerosene which hung around the boy. Even though his expression was one of happiness, the tired eyes, bruises, cuts and weatherworn state showed the boy had seen better days. With light left over the forest, the low sound of churning earth could be heard on the horizon, the occasional whispered crack of trees mixed with the beginnings of eerie howls.

"Whatever this place is. Real or not, it sure is creepy. I dunno about you guys but I'm sick of the endless forest of a thousand terrors crap. Next time Sero Osada opens a portal I'm not going that's for damn sure."

1504


chakra 245|250:

Maigo

Maigo


D-rank
With Nayoko's support, Maigo was almost chomping at the bit to move onward towards their incoming battle. His fist tightened a bit as he would turn away from the ninja scrambling away from the scene and let his sharingan comb over the silhouette of the forest too where the sky was fading away into darkness. His red eyes sat still but bounced around in his skull, his grin carried the air around him as he could almost feel his chakra beginning to rile up within him. His excitement was broken, for a moment, by the sound of a young voice overhead and behind the pair of them and calling out to break their attention.

When Maigo's head turned and looked up, his sharingan traced over the boy who's person and figure gave away so much about himself. He was far more exposed and Maigo's eyes read into every bit of baggage under his eyes and ever stain of mud or blood on his coat. Compared to Maigo, who wore his grey cloak over himself and really only showed the great sword to his back, he was in much worse off condition. Though, perhaps most interesting was this boy who was here to find the jounin fighting? Maigo's instant observation of the situation were concluded away as Maigo began to immediately think about what he was doing there. A boy looking for jounin but his question was answered almost immediately by the boy himself.

A provisional jounin of the mist, whatever that meant. Mostly focused on the provisional part but Maigo couldn't help but continuing to look over the kid, being so young and so disheveled at the same time and Maigo's own sharingan focused on Kirei's incomplete version. Still so developed as he couldn't be much older than Maigo when he unlocked his own. Probably even younger and more developed than Maigo's at the same time. Maigo grinned towards Kirei for a moment, mostly just carrying over his excitement of the situation and almost letting him forget that after all, he was just a kid. A kid who was here to assist in whatever fight would soon ensue, and even with a sharingan, it would be a dangerous fight.

Though, when he carried on again, Maigo could feel the seriousness in his words. Whatever this place was, it was certainly draining the life out of itself. Maigo could see that in the people here and he could see it in the boy who's clothing was stained in various ways and in the strain that his face carried. Maybe it wouldn't take long for this place to begin weighing down on Maigo and Nayoko either, but all he knew was that the sooner he could find Sero, the sooner he could move on. With Kirei also waiting to find Sero, it seemed their motivations were at least partially intertwined.

With a sigh, Maigo would push his cloak back a bit and reveal a fairly standard clothing on his person, looking up towards the boy he would speak up and let his sharingan rest upon his person while the tomoe sat nearly perfectly still.

"We're not the jounin you're looking for, but if you think you can handle yourself, where we're heading we should most likely find them. You can call me Maigo."

He would finish off and immediately debate about questioning whether the boy would be alright out in the forest alone but anyone that his village found close to the level of jounin would be fine enough. Maigo's hand would reach behind the cloak for a moment and feel out the two pouches on his back, one full of various kunai, shuriken, and other tools on his person. In the other pouch he carried his shoge and while he left the room for Nayoko to introduce himself, he pulled the strap across his chest that held the sword to his back tight, leaving his fingers interlocked between the leather and his chest. His eyes would bounce down towards his thigh and see both kunai holsters still strapped to his right thigh, all his weapons and tools at the ready and his backpack carrying everything else he could possibly need on top of that.

Letting his sharingan flicker and bounce between the two of them afterwards while the feeling of anxiety built up in his stomach. It had been so long since he'd had a real fight to challenge him and finding a monster army where Sero might be would be sating his battle lust and his goals. Almost without hesitation, Maigo would jump whether they had finished or not and would plant his feel on top of the gate, looking into the nearly still and quiet forest. His feet resting precariously to the edge so that the toes of his shoes would hang over the edge of the remaining wall while he balanced himself to the back of his feet.

Maigo would turn back over his shoulder to look at or over the other two, "Come on, we don't want to be late now..." he would smirk before leaning forward and pressing his feet into the edge of the wall, moving forward and shifting his weight from the heel to the balls of his feet before jumping forward and dashing off to the canopy and tree branches above the ground. Headed in the general direction that the other shinobi had pointed out earlier, knowing any questions or planning they wanted to do could be taken care of on the way.


[938 words, 2308 words total]

280/300 Chakra:

Nayoko

Nayoko


D-rank
Nayoko was ready to fight. He had spent so long just fighting with himself, day after day and night after night. He had done so much to train himself, but no mater what he did it was never enough. But today he was going to get a chance to actually fight something. He was going to put down a thread like he used to all of the time.  He was ready for whatever they were going to face, and so when the jounin heard another voice calling out to them, it took him a moment to react because of how focused he was. He turned to see a young man with messy blonde hair falling from his head and down to his face. His face held an air of innocence that was strange to see on one who clearly looked ready to fight. The words leaving his mouth simply did not match with the slender and untrained fame that he saw. The boy was young, but he spoke like a true shinobi, so who was Nayoko to question him. But there was one feature that stood out above the rest. There was one thing that made Nayoko realize just how potentially powerful the boy was. His eyes matched the crimson ones of his companion Maigo. This boy also wielded the Sharingan. He was also wearing a Hitai-ate of Konohagakure no Sato just like the one that Nayoko had on his under his cloak. This boy was from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, perhaps here as part of the Konoha-Kiri exchange program.

The boy was doing his best to mask his age; standing tall and speaking in a low voice in order to divert the attention away from is small frame. Part of Nayoko wanted to turn him away and tell the boy that between himself and Maigo, there would be no issue. But the other half of him knew that having yet another Uchiha on their side would be a huge asset no matter what they were up against. And so when the Kiri jounin beside him spoke up and invited the boy to come along, Nayoko did not intervene. Instead, he nodded his own head and pulled his arm out from under his cloak, revealing the “forehead protector” of their common home. “I’m Nayoko. It looks like we both ended up a long way from home this time around, eh Kirei?” He smiles, hoping to ease the tension of the impending battle. But it seemed that he was having a hard time catching the attention of either shinobi. They seemed to be taking stock of their equipment, and Nayoko figure he sound do the same. The Hattori took a moment to rest his hand on the tool pouches on his belt, thumbing through them quickly to make sure that he had all of his tool available. His senbon were all present, and the kunai he so rarely used was also readily available. His hand then found its way to the new weapon that was fastened to the back of his belt. His fuma shuriken sat there, large and begging to eb used. Nayoko had not yet had a chance to fight with it, and he was itching to use Hurricane Reaver in the battle ahead.

Nayoko was confident that he was ready to head out and so, it seemed, was Maigo. The jounin watched as the elder Uchiha jumped and planted his feet on top of the gate, staring out at the forest ahead of them. He stood there silently for but a moment, giving Nayoko a chance to hop up next to him. The Hattori took hold of part of the stonework that was jutting out enough for him to hold and learned forward, handing out over the edge of the gate. He listened carefully to the sounds ahead, trying to separate those of the regular wildlife with what might be an approaching force. It was hard to tell form here, though not because he was not a very perceptive ninja. He was. The issue was that the forest was so dense, combined with the fact that Nayoko was completely unfamiliar with the natural denizens of the area. It was frustrating to say the last, but Nayoko did not take it to heart. Turning to his new companion as he smirked and leaped into the forest canopy ahead, Nayoko took a moment to glance down at his fellow Konoha shinobi. As he pulled up his hood, Nayoko smiled and nodded to the boy. “Just keep up with us and we’ll get this done in no time. Having your help will be great, but if you need assistance, don’t hesitate to call us. We have no idea what kind of enemy we’re facing, so stay sharp.”

With that, Nayoko would follow Maigo’s suit, bending at the knees for a moment before leaping forward and into the trees as well. They kept off the ground as they moved through the woods in the direction that had been pointed out to the two jounin before. It was after they had made a few of these leaps that Nayoko spoke up to them, keeping his voice low, but not so low that Kirei would not be able to hear. “I’m realizing now that we know little of each other’s fighting style, so I will give you a heads up. I fight up close, though I’m not useless at range. My jutsu more than make up the difference, but even so, I prefer to be close. It lets me use my taijutsu more effectively.” He would wait to hear if the others would speak up regarding their personal talents, but regardless of what they did, Nayoko’s attention would turn when he heard something that caught his attention.

It was the sound of something moving, which in and of itself was not that surprising. But the movement was erratic and quick, like it was moving through the words with a purpose, but also like it was a wild creature. It had a destination in mind, and that alone triggered Nayoko’s instincts. He stopped in the top of a tree and waiting, looking down to the forest floor below in anticipation. It did not take long, until the creature that he had heard emerged form the underbrush and continued moving forward, but the Hattori could never have expected what he saw. The creature was bipedal, but it was hunched like it was not sued to walking across the earth normally. It’s skin was leathery and Nayoko swore that he could see gills on its neck. If Nayoko did not know better, he would say it looked like a cross between a fish and a human being, but that sounded insane even in his own mind. Even so, he could not deny what he was seeing, and it was then that the Leaf jounin realized that they may truly be facing monsters.

He would turn to speak to his companions, pointing out the abomination if they had not yet seen it. “Looks like that is what we’ve been sent out to kill. But I only see the one.” He paused for a moment, weighing the tactical options of what they could do next. He decided on an aggressive plan, but he knew that his companions could back him up. “We need to know what we’re up against, so I’m going down there to fight it. Back me up if things go south.” He would then give a single nod before leaping form the tree toward the creature. As he moved through the air toward the creature, he knew that he had already got the jump on it. It was much slower that he was from what he could tell based on its reaction tome, because by the time he hit the ground a few metres in front of it, it seemed to react only with surprise rather than defense. Nayoko simply rolled through his landing and ended up directly in front of the beast, his fist mid swing and connecting with the creature’s chest. The Hattori felt the crack of ribs fracturing beneath the force of his strike, and as he punched through the strike, the creature was sent backwards, crashing into a tree a few metres away. Wasting no time, Nayoko pushing off the ground and dashed forward, connecting with yet another punch while the monster was still slouched against the tree. The blow connected with the creature’s windpipe, crushing it and causing it to crumple completely.

And just like that it was over. The monster was dead, and Nayoko had realized how strong the creatures were. He was about to turn back to his companions to see if they had noticed anything else when he felt it: the shaking of the earth accompanied with a loud BOOM. He turned slowly toward the source of the sound, only to see something that caused his eyes to go wide. He only managed to utter a few words under his breath as the creature, along with nine more of the things he had just fought emerged from the forest ahead. “Holy crap...”

WC:1544+1210=2754



Last edited by Nayoko on Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

Kirei

Kirei


B-rank
Kirei was pleased. Mostly that he had not been turned away for the sheer fact of his age alone, but also with the gaze which came from a familiar pair of eyes. From his clansman's face, Kirei read enough willingness to put his mind at ease; approaching higher ranking shinobi in the past had often resulted in the boy being told to leave, but in this desperate land of the dead, it seemed they were taking any help they could get. The boy found it hard not to watch Maigo's Sharingan, since advancing his own visual prowess, the young Uchiha found himself practically obsessed with the dojutsu, pushing his eyes and body to their limits in an effort to cause the next stage of its evolution. Lacking the education of his eyes' legacy, due to his father having never advanced his own dojutsu past the stage where Kirei found himself now, the blonde sought endless methods of refinement but met with nothing. Only the efforts of Sora-ku's cat patrons, who had stalked the boy even into Hansha, had served to evolve Kirei's Sharingan thus far.

With his fascination focused on Maigo, the boy was late in noticing any details of the second Jonin who stood beside the fellow Uchiha. It was after Maigo spoke that Kirei's eyes trailed over to the man's partner, immediately noticing the Konoha Hitai-ate poised on his forehead as he lowered the hood of his cloak, revealing his allegiance to the Hidden Leaf. So far this made five Konoha shinobi Kirei had worked with since arriving for his year in the mist, multiple of the Leaf's Jonin had even traveled here for the experience available in the Mist. Kirei felt a mixture of relief, to be working alongside another of his comrades from the Land of Fire, and sorrow, for his homeland losing its soldiers to the Village Hidden in the Mist. The young blonde supposed this was the intended way of things; why else would Kiri offer its alliance to Konoha if not to benefit itself? And what benefit was there for a military superpower than assimilating the soldiers of your allies, brainwashing them, and vassalizng their nation without them even noticing? Realizing this, was it then hypocritical of Kirei to remain here helping the Mist? These questions branded his thoughts and swam ceaselessly, pushing him toward the inevitable conclusion of departure. If he hadn't already, then seeing yet another of the Leaf's mighty warriors in Kiri had made up his mind; once this nightmare was over, he would depart for Konoha.

The boy returned Nayoko's words with a happy nod, smiling and taking note of the others making any final preparations. Kirei could feel the strung tools hung beneath his cloak, he had been relying on them for days and felt no need to quadruple check his armaments, especially with Kuon's deadly edge awaiting use at his hip. In this surreal dreamland, Kirei had learned to trust the strength of his weapons and wits, taking the confidence he had gained in the Mist village and transforming it into certainty that he could overcome any of the challenges contained within Hansha's vicious gullet. Maigo was the first to make his move, leaping to the arc of the village's gate and turning back to seek assurance of their departure, Nayoko would address Kirei again right after, reassuring him of the confidence being placed in his abilities as well as trying to hamper the boy's anxiety. Kirei had learned that shinobi the world over often overestimated their skills and were unwilling to ask for help, Kirei returned this sentiment decisively, nodding once and following suit as the trio embarked toward the forest.

Slower than his comrades, Kirei was thankful the two ran just slow enough for him to stay within earshot as Nayoko spoke. Just as he had done before missions with Mist ninja through his stay, the other Leaf shinobi was eager to see how their combat styles might mesh. The Uchiha would wait a moment, seeing if Maigo would respond, but if it seemed like his clansman was letting him speak he would not hesitate to return Nayoko's query.

"I'm a scout. I'll try and mark your targets and slow them down."

True to his strengths, the blonde often played a supportive role on the battlefield, preferring the use of his utility, area of effect and zone controlling techniques. Already he had played second fiddle to high ranking shinobi during dangerous assignments and ambushes, so there was no doubt in his young mind he would contribute tonight. As the three traversed the canopy, on their way through the forest to the direction of the oncoming horde. Shambling through the woods, claws digging trenches against the bark of dead trees, the creatures who had risen from the swamp met with the three shinobi and Kirei's fellow Leaf was the first to leap into action. As Nayoko jumped down to make his engagement, Kirei spared a passing glance toward Maigo before his hands came together to form a string of seals while he slipped from the branches and down to the forest floor. As he neared the ground, the earth itself rose to greet him, forming a slope which would grant him the ability to slide into a run and make his way around the left side of the treeline, watching Nayoko's attacks while his Sharingan scanned frantically for more monsters in the dark.

A resounding crack followed by thumping would signal the beginning of combat, Kirei took only a second to glance at the lumbering colossus which made itself known as Nayoko attacked its fellows before he would lock eyes on approaching minions drawn by the sound of violence and smell of blood. Sliding through the forest, Kirei's feet would glide on the earth, carried at a rapid pace by the strength of his geomancy while he enclosed on a group of amphibious monsters, much unlike anything else he had seen so far in Hansha. Rather than engaging the beasts directly, Kirei's will reached out into the soil and from it rose a bold encampment, circling around the things and closing them in a wall of stone several feet thick. Another hand seal would signal the ignition of the Uchiha's signature technique, his Devouring Blaze which would sear the trees and branches by its presence alone. Commanding the flame into the shape of a ball, Kirei would fire it high above the canopy where it would split before harmlessly drifting back down as embers.

"Five!"

The boy's voice called out in time with the signal, succinct and he hoped intuitive enough for the others to realize he was calling out a mark. Whether they chose to capitalize on the imprisoned monsters was of little consequence to the Uchiha, whose skating Doton mastery carried him away without cessation, spiraling around the central point where Nayoko had been before, keeping his eyes twitching between the unknown darkness of the forest and the Jonin's battle. To the south, opposite of the direction they had initially come from, Kirei's eyes spotted the faint chakra of more hordes and would make his line toward them if he felt he was not needed. Crashing out of the blackness, Kirei was upon them with a flourish of bright fire expanding from his palms in all directions with enough force to push the things away from his wage as the earth cracked beneath his feet, rising and breaking away from the ground to levitate him up as Kirei orchestrated the crackling fire to ensnare his targets along with strands of stone which burst, at their tips, into clasping hands.

"Four here!"

And he was off again.

1282


chakra 195|250:

Maigo

Maigo


D-rank
Nayoko was the first to speak up after they had dived into the canopy of trees below and had begun their journey. He wanted to know their skills and how they would fight. Maigo's mind gritted for a moment as he wondered how much of that would be safe to reveal, whether the truth behind his eyes would create a sort of jealousy he had been warned about by so many others before. Power resting in his skull that so many people across time could only dream about harvesting for themselves. Maigo would continue on listening while remaining straight faced and keeping his own sharingan trained on the path in front of them while visually scoping out the path and dangers ahead of them.

For Nayoko, he seemed to be a taijutsu specialist but with enough to fight at any range. It seemed drawn out to cover such a wide expanse so evenly but even then, Maigo began to wonder what his own skills were? How could he put his own style of fighting and jutsu into words? Clearly, Genjutsu was his greatest skill and he was no weakling with a weapon made obvious by the variety of tools he carried on his person and the large sword kept on his back all the same but his mind wandered a bit on that subject. Kirei instead marked himself as a scout. Maigo instantly had thoughts of a very limber and quick ninja who would beat his opponents out skillfully and gracefully like so many others. He would use his eyes to become the eyes for their group and it made sense. He seemed incredibly perceptive and had the speed to match both Maigo and Nayoko, even if they weren't in a full sprint by any means and moving cautiously at that.

Maigo nodded and looked towards the two for his own turn, speaking plainly about it but keeping his eyes trained ahead and watching where he was going at the same time.

"I'm a bit of a specialist in fighting people one on one through a variety of means. Namely, in singling them out, manipulating them, and eliminating them or extracting information. You can see I have sharingan and weaponry and use quite a few genjutsu on top of my ninjutsu. I'm not sure how much use I'll be to either of you in fighting many opponents like this supposed army." Maigo trailed off thinking ahead on to what he would actually do and how he could really help in the situations that more than a handful of enemies would close in on them. Perhaps he would do best to identify the strongest of the group and fight them head on, working his way across whatever battle field they would end up fighting.

They would continue on, letting the chill of the air and further silence begin to haunt the atmosphere around them as for a brief moment it seemed as if they were the only ones there before Maigo's attention caught it. With a quick turn it was obvious that Nayoko had caught it too as his attention was drawn there too while they stopped on a branch just ahead of them for a brief discussion. The creature sprawled out from below them was hideous, absolutely some monster of creation that he could see spawning from the nightmares of Sero's island or Sero himself. His teeth gritted but it didn't matter much as his group was in action already. Nayoko leaped down below to engage the creature after calling it out and Maigo's eyes briefly flickered to look and meet Kirei's as he was weaving together hand signs.

Both of them already on the move but Maigo's eyes traced ahead and began to see the larger picture beyond them. This one was merely a scout in that regard, rushing back to alert it's pack off in the distance of his sharingan, their chakra like flickers of the same monstrosity painted against the dark forest. Maigo almost wanted to call out and stop them both, regrouping and marking out what was ahead of them but nothing came out of him as his eyes traced the wave of creatures moving around and positioning themselves in the forest.

A single 'stop' was all it would have taken but Kirei was already skated out into the open field as Nayoko began to attack the lone creature. Maigo crouched down a bit and placed his left hand to the branch he stood on while grabbing at his sword with his right, holding it high above his shoulder while waiting for everything to happen. His eyes watched diligently as Nayoko made quick work of the first monster, fully putting his taijutsu on display. Maigo making a mental note of his prowess there, how it would be better to avoid fighting him head on and hand to hand. Kirei though, went on to separate a group of the first horde of monsters before turning back and beginning to engage another small group of them.

From the immediate steps, despite how horrible these creatures looked, it seemed that they would be able to handle them with some ease but that didn't lower his caution at all. Instead Maigo's eyes traced further along from the tree branch while wondering one thing. Where was everyone else?

If the other jounin and powerful ninja had gone out to meet this army head on then where were they? Had they been defeated or did the three of them merely stumble on to a single portion of the whole? If they had been beaten, what else was out there to push them to their limits and beyond or what was it to these creatures that they were missing and putting themselves at risk with? The constant rattled in his mind for an instant as his eyes trained on in the distance of them. Not far from the grouping that Kirei had wrangled together in a wall of stone, there were three more creatures just coming into view, their chakra just becoming visible. Three would be no problem among the rest of this grouping but the central chakra was... massively larger than the others. It was the one Maigo would focus on singling out and eliminate.

Pushing forward on his hand and aiming to land next to Nayoko while still gripping the sword at his back, watching as the large chakra barreled forward and crushed a tree out of its way under its fist, Maigo would speak quickly and calmly, "Help Kirei with his grouping and be careful. I think there has to be more to these things. I'm going after the big one..." he would say and dash forwards as quickly as he could, unleashing the speed he kept up while pulling the sword away from his back and letting it extend from his right hand, just dragging behind him. In the midst of it, he would press chakra from his arm through the blade, letting the dark steel heat up consistently throughout and begin to hiss against the cool air. The blade erupting forward in flames and sparks sizzling as the blade began to erupt across the blades edge.

The tumbling beast was massive and towering like a tree in itself and crushed the brush and even a tree in its wake but it was slow. Seemingly so slow that Maigo knew he could take it with ease, even if the beast had extreme power. Maigo measured the distance in front of him quickly before cutting close to a tree nearby him and letting the edge of the blade sink into it, hearing the blade separate into the wood but more importantly the sound of the wood crackling and burning instantly on contact with the blades edge. His eyes flickered back and over his shoulder to see, feeling his chakra continue to pour into it, he knew he was close to maximizing the intensity of heat on his sword while continuing to dash forward.

How foolish though, as he finished his eyes flickered back in front of him and the larger beast left the two smaller creatures in the dust as it appeared almost right in front of Maigo at a blinding speed that was near Maigo's own. His eyes pulsed and began to turn as the monstrosity was in front of him and reaching back over its head with both enormous hands ready to strike the ground and crush Maigo underneath him. His only hope was to get underneath him and past him at this point, no time for hand signs or to bring his sword up properly without taking damage. Knowing he would completely sacrifice his footing in the attempt, Maigo lowered his head and compacted his body to act like an arrow while pressing his feet with all the strength he had to move from whatever speed he could maintain to bursting forward beyond his maximum for just a brief instance.

Feeling his body sliding almost underneath him and staying low to the ground, becoming the essence of an arrow for a brief moment, Maigo would change his pace just enough to out pace the monster and have its hands crash into the ground erupting the dirt beneath and leaving a shockwave while Maigo's footing would be lost and he would slide by him a few feet. Still, Maigo wouldn't be without cause, having his eyes follow the movements of the beast and letting his arm linger behind him still to let his blade drag across the side of the monster just into the center of its thigh. The blade searing instantly into the flesh but only a few inches, burning around it and letting the beast yell out in an unorthodox roar unlike a lion or tiger but one that bordered upon horrifying.

Still, Maigo let his legs drag into the dirt to catch himself and tear apart the field as he tried to slow to a stop, his arm rotating around as his eyes heard the growling noise of the other two creatures as they lept up towards him and tried to take him while he was out of position. They were clever but not fully as Maigo's weapon would continue on and he would rotate on the balls of his feet and switch his kneed stance to rotate his momentum into the swing of his zanbato towards the two creatures.

The first one was hit cleanly and grabbed onto the sword as Maigo rotated, the flesh on it searing almost instantly and the cackling eruption of fire caused it to shriek out as Maigo turned himself and continue trying to push onto the second shark-like monster before it reached the ground next to him. Maigo's hand continued and as the rotation of his weapon bisected the monster, he jumped up and tried to release his zanbato so that it would crash and land into the other creature on the ground but missing as it seemed to be able to keep up with that much.

Instead, Maigo's blade would land in the dead grass with the bisected halved falling on each side of it as he jumped up and away in the air. The ground around his blade hissed and burned as it would begin to lose heat gradually, the fire begining and emerging away from his sword would begin to grow but he had no time to pay attention to that as the other creature had jumped in pursuit of him anyways. The shark reached out and gnashed as Maigo tried to reach around to his pouch to grab his shoge, fumbling around to grab the hilt the sharks hands grabbed into Maigo and pushed its claws into the flesh below his collarbones, tightening his back and feeling the sting deeply into his body he quickly grabbed onto the creatures arm to hold it in place while his right hand emerged from the pouch.

With a twist, Maigo's right hand would rotate over the monsters fin-hand and wrap around it so Maigo's arm was over top and his shoge in hand. Now beginning their descent, Maigo turned the blade of his shoge and let the blade flash for a second under the moonlight before turning it and ripping into the flesh of the neck of that creature and nearly severing its head right there. The blood oozing out and the creature gargling from gill to gill as Maigo ran the blade out from his arm and quickly pushed the creature off him to the ground before his feet planted into a tree behind him.

His sharingan was already in action as blood splattered on him and the blood from the claw wounds began to roll out to his chest, his grey cloak becoming soiled in it but Maigo had no time to act as the behemoth was already back in action. A large tentacle pressed forward and dashing to impale Maigo against the tree he was bouncing off of.

Maigo's feet would press into the tree and his knees would bend under his own momentum before he would push off and jump downwards, ignoring the pain in his chest as he held out his hand and cut to leave a mark in the behemoths tentacle arm.

The monster would retract again in a bit of pain before gathering itself and focusing back on Maigo who knew he needed to step up the intensity and finish this quickly. He just needed the time and opening to do so. His sharingan flickered around as he reached back and quickly stored his shoge away in the pouch where he had gained it before. Three more of the monsters whip-like limbs shot out at him in raging speed and fury, his right hand that deposited the shoge began to accumulate chakra in his palm, flickers of electric fury grew as he pressed the chakra into a single point before erupting a fury and arc of lightning. The sound of chirping birds would feel the air with no gap in the noise as he dashed forwards and spun through the arms of the monster as gracefully as he could.

The pain in his chest grew with ever strenuous action, his right arm blasting with chakra as he jumped up and pressed off of another limb that shot out and stuck into the ground. Climbing upwards in the distance and over the head of the beast, Maigo's eyes would expand, his pupils spinning and taking in every detail as the beasts arms moved and it tried to escape. Maigo wouldn't allow it though, as his left hand would reach out and take hold of the monster where he could, pulling himself in behind the monsters head in a single motion. His right arm still full of chakra reached out and Maigo furiously yelled as he brought his arm in a single jab downwards, the red in his eyes was burning and his face held intensity in it.

Chidori.

The blast would land at the base of the neck of the monster where Maigo thought would be most damaging. Maigo's hand submerged into it a few inches in a splatter of blood and anger. The creature wobbled a bit as Maigo brought his legs down and piggy-backed to the creature, the blood splatter flying outwards and coating more of his cloak and even trickling to his face and neck like it seemed to in so many cliches. Holding it for a minute as he pressed in as far as he could, Maigo would rip out his hand in a crackle of electricity and let it fade into the open air as he ended his jutsu.

Almost hesitating for a moment before kicking off the creatures back and pushing away, he would land to his feet and stay crouched down for a moment waiting to see if he had truly been able to strike the behemoth in a way to kill it, watching it stagger around for a second. His zanbato was to his right, the fire it ignited was starting to spread across the dead brush and he could feel the slightest ting of chakra fatigue along with the pain in his chest. The only hope he'd have is that Kirei and Nayako were fairing themselves well against the other groups of monsters. And, that no more had shown up while he was focused in the battle in front of him.


230/300 Chakra:

[2771 words, 5079 words total]

Nayoko

Nayoko


D-rank
The creature the Nayoko saw lumbering towards the trio was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was massive, crushing smaller trees with the sheer immensity of its hulking frame. And yet, it was not as slow as the jounin would have expected. Something of that size should be easy enough to avoid, because its size would prevent it from being fast, but the way that it moved made Nayoko think it could have been even faster then him. It made no sense to him, but he had no time to think about the implications of such a creature. Instead, he turned his attention back toward the rest of the smaller creatures that had emerged from the surrounding forest. Kirei was proving to be extremely helpful very quickly by locking five of the creatures into a wall of earth while gliding across the surface of the earth simultaneously. The signal of flames allowed Nayoko to form a quick strategy in his head has the Uchiha from Kirigakure no Sato landed onto the ground next to him. "Help Kirei with his grouping and be careful. I think there has to be more to these things. I'm going after the big one..." he said before dashing off toward the hulking behemoth. Nayoko caught the sight of the jounin pulling his massive sword from its sheathe on his back, and Nayoko knew in that moment that if anyone could handle the creature, it would be that Uchiha.

Music:

With that assurance in his mind, Nayoko did not have a chance to watch what was going to happen with Maigo. Instead, the Leaf jounin took off toward the raised earth enclosure that the younger Uchiha had created. Despite the fact that Nayoko had taken out the first of these creature so easily, he knew that being overwhelmed by sheer numbers was a possibility. He knew that if they were going to stop the fight, he had to take out the largest number of enemies as quickly as possible. And so a direct attack on the enclosed group of five was the most tactical option, which meant that Nayoko was charging into the fray. As he closed the distance to the raise dearth wall, the jounin jumped up so that his foot was planted on the top of the wall, and then sprung himself even higher to that he was then descending on his enemies form above. While still falling, Nayoko reached for the fuma shuriken on his belt, Hurricane Reaver. He still had a large distance between himself and the group below, and so with a spin mid-air, Nayoko unfolded the weapon and let it fly with all of his strength behind it toward the monster that was farthest away from him. It flew straight and true, crossing the distance between the Hattori and the creature in a matter of moment and slamming into its chest, tearing it open and killing it instantly.

Unfortunately for Nayoko, the attack was enough to alert one of the monsters in the middle of the group to his presence, and since he was in the air, Nayoko did not have many options. As he continued to fall toward the beast, the jounin watched with surprise when it pulled back its right hand and gathered suiton chakra in its palm. Nayoko knew exactly what technique was coming, and he knew that if he did not defend himself, it could cost him a great deal. As the creature threw its arm forward, a torrent of rushing waster blasted toward the Hattori. With a split second reaction, Nayoko strung together a series of hand seals and released a large amount of suiton chakra from his mouth, creating a barrier right in front of him just as the tearing torrent technique reaching him. The collision of the two techniques jutsu caused a massive explosion of water all around the jounin, the water form both techniques soaking him completely but leaving him unharmed. But Nayoko was not going to waste a second. Even as the water erupted all around him, Nayoko was forming hand seals again through the collision and prepping another technique. As the distance between himself and the monster that had thrown the jutsu closed to a minimum, some of the water that had erupted around him began to change while still flying through the air. It came to an abrupt halt, transforming into exactly one thousand needles of water that travelled with the jounin until his finally struck. With his right leg extended, Nayoko slammed into the monster with a kick that he could feel crushing its ribcage, which was followed by his needles of death impaling themselves all over its body and through important organs; enough to kill it.

The attack was not over though, and as the body of the creature fell, Nayoko used his momentum to carry himself through and into a roll that left him upright beside the beast he had impaled with his weapon. Without stopping for a moment, the fluid motion of the Hattori rolling toward the body, grabbing the weapon, getting to his feet, and turning around was complete. And yet he still had not stopped. Thanks to his perceptive abilities, Nayoko had spun around and thrown the weapon once again toward one of the three remaining creatures instantaneously. Without and time to react, the monster could do nothing as its head was removed from its shoulders. Hurricane Reaver began its return as the Hattori weaved more hand seals, taking advantage of the water all around him to create a Water Dragon Bullet that came form behind the furthest beast and struck true, the maw of the water beast clamping down on its target without issue.

The last beast proved that the creatures were not intelligent, or at least did not have the reaction time to deal with a jounin level fighter. It was still charging toward the shinobi by the time all of its comrades were dead, and it was a simple matter of the Leaf jounin sidestepping the attack from the monster’s claw and driving his fist into its face to stop its movement and take it to the ground. With his right fist still in the caved in skull of the now-dead creature, Nayoko raised his left hand and caught Hurricane Reaver as it returned. It was just as he caught the weapon and began to stand up that he heard the tell tale sign of the legendary chidori coming from a short distance away; thousands of chirping birds. The Leaf jounin turned just in time to see Maigo pull his shocking hand from the neck of the behemoth. The jounin had heard the stories of the technique that was said to be one of the most powerful in all of history, but he had never seen it before now. It was even more proof that Maigo was on a whole different level than him, and yet they shared a rank. Part of Nyoko’s pride vanished in that moment. It was an incredible sight, and Nayoko could not help but let his guard down as he saw the chakra slowly leave the hand of his comrade before he leaped from its back and landed in a crouched position, the beast swaying from side to side before finally teetering too far in one direction. It fell away from Maigo, taking down a couple of trees in its wake as the monstrosity was vanquished.

It was only then that Nayoko had a chance to look back to where Kirei had marked the other four creatures. He knew he could not wait any longer, and so he began running in that direction, pulling his fuma shuriken form the corpse of its last victim as he did so. He folded the weapon as he closed the distance, preparing himself for more battle. But he was interrupted by a sighted that caused yet another shiver to run down his spine. It was actually a sound before it was a sight. It was the sound of even more of the smaller creatures moving toward them. But it was not just a few of them. No, there was at least a dozen of them, if not more pushing through the brush as they closed in on the trio. He kept running as he called out to his comrades, hoping that they could still hear him. “I found the rest of the army!” He shouted above the carnage even as he headed toward the four from the first group. His fists were tightening, and a there was a growing feeling deep in his chest. It was a mixture of exhaustion and desperation that he was not used to, and he knew that if he let it take over, a side of him he was not prepared to wield would emerge. He would enter his Sage Mode, and his inner demon would be allowed to see into the world for the first time since he had first been shown how to access it by the Mizukage herself. He did not feel ready, but at the same time he was beginning to believe he would not have a choice.

Nayoko’s eyes narrowed as he reached the group of four, and a shout of rage leapt unbidden from his lips as the two he and the beasts collided.

WC:1562+2754=4316

Chakra 260/320:

Kirei

Kirei


B-rank
As far back as the young Uchiha could remember, he had never had a night such as this. Vicious blaze trailing through the forest, Kirei was alight in the darkness like no other, serving as bait and purifier at once for the horde which bared its teeth and threatened to consume the shinobi trio. The forest floor blended with the shadows, twisting upward in a desperate bid to escape the destruction which was left in the wake of Kirei and his demolishing inferno. Nature would find its claim rejected as the swathe of heat drawn into the world washed over where the Uchiha placed his feet, as he danced between the trees weaving the earth into the shape of walls, creating a maze which would draw newcomers a long way around the edge of their quarry, buying the trio extra time. Determined as the boy had been to help the inhabitants of Sero's cursed world, he was now doubly so, strong will pushing him to impress the higher ranking shinobi who fought at his side, though he would never admit this was his goal. In the presence of those who outranked him, who may judge his capabilities, and who he may look toward for guidance, Kirei would not allow himself to show weakness, so he kept his eyes focused, attention entirely locked on the task at hand.

At once, he was a child again, not that he was far removed from those years stalking through the Konoha wilderness with his father in tow, shouting commands from the canopy. The boy's eyes ached, pupils struggling to move as the Sharingan which had imposed its taxation on the Uchiha's chakra reserves for so long continued to spin and twitch, frenzied to the point of exhaustion as the boy willed himself onward. Shadows of Hansha's night were replaced by shafts of sunlight which warmed the boy's skin, young feet pivoting off the bark of trees and thrusting his body heavenward to avoid the carefully placed wire which made up the obstacle course Yara had set forth for his students. The subtle whistle of air alerted the young Uchiha to the threat of incoming projectiles, thrown by the teacher himself from far above, aimed for his son's chest and neck. Back in the night, Kirei shook his head, head rushing to piece together the disconnected memories and sensations. Reflexively, Kirei dropped low into a roll through the dirt, his body reacting under the command of his Sharingan to dodge the errant shuriken which threatened him long ago. Panting, Kirei stood and examined his surroundings, finding his marks in the form of their chakra and making a beeline toward the first target. Somewhat outclassed by the army, Kirei's pride carried him further than his intelligence would have allowed, summoning the strength of his signature technique would be enough to deal with the minions, but the younger Uchiha would find himself utterly outmatched by the behemoths.

When he was upon his quarry, Kirei lunged with his right arm, twisting his fist into the creature's midsection and then lurching backward as the thing's claw came down to meet him. Letting his back leg drop, the boy would pivot and after ducking through the strike, would return another pair of quick blows which would collect the power of his jutsu and ignite the air, a thousand daggers of twisting flame forming at the Uchiha's command to impale the creature. In time with the display of lights, Kirei's eyes twitched up, catching the shapes of falling beasts who had laid in wait, far above their comrade. With enough time, thanks to his Sharingan, which was already spurring his tired frame into action and planning his next course of action. Diving away from his current position and rolling through in a lengthy motion with his shoulder gave Kirei the space he needed. Then, barely a foot from him would shortly land the closest assailant which meant the boy's body twirled to the right, barely missing out on the claws which attempted to flay his skin but settled for tearing through the folds of his cloak. By the time his spin ended, it was already the moment for him to raise his left hand, calling the earth to build in a thin pillar to reject the advance of flailing claws with deft precision. This pause would give the boy enough time to concentrate and surge a pillar of flame in two parts, which spun together to create a helix originating from his back. Coiling around his shoulders, the embrace of his inferno which incinerated the skin of the beast would reject the advance of the others who crept at his back.

The young blonde brought his body around to face the remaining group, Sharingan tracing their silhouettes desperately as the boy let out a guttural yell and summoned two circles of fire. With each hand, the boy would hurl the wreaths in the direction of his targets, the fire unfurling into large waves of heat which bore into the trunks of dead trees, igniting the area in front of the Uchiha with resounding intrusion, flashing through the forest in the dark. The cone of light which distended for a moment from Kirei's hands and then burst ceremoniously served to warm the boy's skin and push a ripple of hot air over his body. By the time the force ebbed, leaving behind ashes and blazing wood, Kirei was already on the move, unwilling to surrender his body to the end of adrenaline by resting on his laurels while still, the monsters surrounded him. Two pairs and a last lone swamp creature were within his vicinity, and he could watch the bursts of chakra in the distance as the ones he had imprisoned were washed away, the jutsu of his fellow leaf ninja causing the blade at his hip to hum quietly. Using his left forearm, Kirei would swing into the first blow, blocking the creature below its wrist and rolling around it, earth cascading into a smooth flow to engulf the thing before hardening. The first pair reached him, a claw encroaching on his head which he would duck. The motion would cause his eyes to blur momentarily and find themselves staring at the sunlit Uchiha compound from his youth, where he evaded the swing of a tanto, sacrificing half his bangs to duck the errant blade and lash back with his own. Across from him, and the target of his ire was the white-haired boy with the foreign father, another of his father's pupils.

The two boys had trained often enough, with the older of the two besting the immature Kirei close to every time, superior strength and natural athleticism made him the favored of Yara's students. Kirei's counter was met with a skillful parry which jolted his fragile wrist, causing him to yelp and recoil away from the source of his pain. The forest battlefield was not spared the noise as the Uchiha squinted and moved his hand away, unable to follow through on his dodge as the splintered memories caused his Sharingan to pull his body against necessity. Kirei could tell the flashes of his childhood from the present, but the dojutsu which spun red and hungry with ancestral bloodshed only saw the fear in his head, compelling him to surrender to its dauntless command. Opening himself up meant the deliverance of slicing claws across his shoulder, the strength of the blow knocking Kirei into the dirty leaves as he let out another pained cry. The burning was intense and immediate, causing the young shinobi to grasp at the wound only to flinch at the rush of sharp sensation which radiated there. Before the monster could pin him and doubtless maul him to death, ripping apart his flesh and bone beyond recognition, the earth came to save him, his mind calling for it to encircle him from above and give way beneath him at once. Two arms of the land would rise up, clasping together as the Uchiha sank beneath the ground, causing the diving swamp creature to scuttle through the foliage instead of meeting its scarlet-eyed morsel.

Safe for a moment, Kirei paused but burning in his conscious was the lingering constraint of time and continuing to help his allies. With a heavy inhale, Kirei would command the earth to burst upward and lift him so he could start right into a sprint. In the corner of his eye, the silhouettes of monsters crept inward, and he could hear his Leaf companion call out through the dark to warn them of what Kirei was now becoming uncomfortably aware: the army had come. With barely the time to brace himself, the onslaught from multiple directions met with the Sharingan's maneuvers, not Kirei's, if not for the puppet limbs surrendered entirely to his eyes' instinct, the boy would have quickly fallen long before arriving at this battle. Instead, the Uchiha would dance away, twisting on his feet and leaping at the clutching hands which gripped for his ankles, each movement coming as a surprise to the boy's perception but as fluid as any instinct could be. Letting loose his own string of blows interwoven with the dodges, the Sharingan would not allow his body to waste a single motion, his right knee dropped, allowing him to pivot low and strike with his left leg which would push, dominant arm taking his body into an upside-down stance. As he had seen his initiator do, the boy mimicked the kicking blows from this hand-stand he had seen Takao perform, striking at the incoming blows to assert his dominance on the attackers before spinning his body quickly and catching the jaws of two closest to him.

In only seconds, the horde would overwhelm him, forcing the Uchiha into a retreat. He flipped up and onto his feet, moving into a sprint and bounding from the ground, landing on a tree and leaping again higher still until he could navigate several meters above the ground, eyes searching for the two Jonin who he was supposed to be aiding. In his desire to help, the boy had taken only a meager number of their foes out with his efforts, and though this would provide some help, his body was already beginning to give out. Every few steps Kirei could feel the twinge of pulled muscles and the sensation of his knees buckling which he would consciously prevent. Coming to a stop nearby the position where he had left Maigo initially, the boy stopped, reaching to his hip and withdrawing the tanto that lay dormant in its sheath. With his other hand, Kirei took the tattered folds of his cloak, pulling the remains of his hood over his head and wrapping the lengthy trails around his neck. Without his mask, Kirei felt vulnerable and useless but gripping in his hands the invisible edge of his deadly weapon allowed him a moment to focus. Through the fog and darkness, he would spend the time necessary to locate the other shinobi and await their actions. More troubling than the pain in his muscles and shoulder were the figures that moved throughout the undergrowth, brightly lit ghosts born from Kirei's memory popped from the dim Hansha brush, blurring with the present. The faces of students he had trained with, his adversaries in the last year, and that of his father each gave him a new reason to be afraid.

"Get it together, Kirei."

1914


chakra 175|250:

Maigo

Maigo


D-rank
Maigo breathed heavily, felt the pain in his chest as blood etched forward slowly and began to compound itself at the bottom of his shirt. With every labored breath that he took, feeling the beginnings of his chakra drain away like a growing hunger deep inside himself, his moment of peace was interrupted as Nayoko shouted out to identify more of them. Maigo's eyes would flicker off towards the distance his attention was in and would find a greater group of the smaller creatures diving through the forest and weaving around the trees and bushes nimbly like a snake slithering around branches. Maigo's nostrils would flair a bit as he would cement himself and watch Nayoko for a minute, the very air around him shifting and a weird energy flowing into him, taking from the environment and transforming the chakra within him. It was different than any other energy Maigo had seen and it burned within his chakra like a wildfire and empowered him.

What was originally a man who looked as tired as any seemed to burn with new life shot forward to the first group of four in front of him and engaged them directly with ferocity. Maigo quickly stepped over and grabbed his sword as he traced a total of eight more to Nayoko's right a distance and another bunch to his left. There was no time to think or to debate what to do. Maigo would close his eyes for a brief moment, drawing the energy out of him and bringing his eyes into a new light. The new form would replace the black tomoe in his eyes and everything would burn more clearly and in more depth, looking further beyond and seeing even more that the world had to offer. It did nothing to subside his pain but as he reached into the darkness he would steel his nerves and rip out whatever strength he could from that emotional abyss.

With his sword in tow, Maigo would dash off towards the other group of monsters and cut them off from flanking Nayoko as he engaged his group. Every step lingered and he pushed it out of his mind and blocked every ounce of pain that he could. The group of eight catching him in a dead sprint right for the group of them, would spread out and begin to circle around Maigo instead. Two shot out towards his right as two slithered up to a high tree branch and lept forward at him. Maigo feet would go from the sprint and rotate in the dirt, skidding across the path in front of him and turning his body to build momentum for a swing of his great sword, the beasts would shift slightly and grab hold of the blade, the heat burning their palms as they grabbed it but not stopping the majority of the force that enclosed in around him.

It was then that Maigo caught a glimpse in the distance past him and truly understand what they were facing. The two hulking figures began to linger their way towards the trio engaged with the minions, slow and barreling forward, hardly taking steps every few seconds. It was then that Maigo realized these minions were nothing but fodder meant to be thrown to them and wearing out there very essence. The big ones were dangerous and were waiting just at the very edge of what his Mangekyou Sharingan could detect. They would fight relentlessly through any injury and hardly gave any care of their own lives as they would act mindlessly and absolutely obediently towards their orders and goals. This combination would drive Maigo to dig his back into it and begin to rip past the two that hit them, the sword catching fire at the points of contact and heaving into the two torsos that met head on to stop his blade.

Though, stop it they would as Maigo would dig his feet in and come to a complete stop as quickly as he could. Another two of the creatures had moved to his left to surround him in the same manner as those on his right and the two that lacked behind shot out directly at him, aiming to strike underneath his blade and in the less advantageous position he was in from heaving his sword up to stop the other two. With a quick twist and releasing his hands of Zankokuna Nobi before pressing his feet into the ground and jumping backwards and away from the two monsters charging him.

The breeze pushed back in the air and Maigo lept up and away as the two shark creatures tried to close in on him, his Mangekyou Sharingan rotated and flickered to everything he could find but it took him spinning his body to catch full view of the remaining six monsters he chose to engage. Coming down on the balls of his feet as the momentum dragged him backwards and his knees bent downward to catch his fall, sandals digging into the dirt and his hand reaching to his kunai pouch on impulse while drawing out the small steel dagger into his hand. Rotating it quickly to point the tip down from his palm instead of upwards like a typical knife, he would dig himself in and dive forward to the two beasts in front of him being perfectly aware that the other monsters would quickly surround and try to catch him off guard. It was like a flicker forwards as quickly as he could but dragging the kunai ahead of him and between the two, he would cut at the one to his right and let the blade drag into it's leathery flesh, hardly scratching but the surface before Maigo's left hand caught the claws of the second beast and threw it away behind him.

The one he cut passed by of the momentum of his kunai broke the tip of the blade before diving to the side and away from him. Maigo's left arm was caught by the second claw of the other monster, tearing into his forearm a bit and ripping blood out the flesh as it skated by. Maigo's dive led him to landing on his shoulder and rolling, the blood splashing a bit and his body reeling again in pain as he scrunched up and flowed from his shoulder to his back. The momentum carried him forward and Maigo would twist his body rapidly and jump up to his knee and digging his toes in the ground to turn and face towards his new enemies. His Mangekyou Sharingan flickered and began to trace the actions of the monsters ahead of him and what they were doing now, where they were headed and how he would need to prepare himself.

Grabbing the shoge quickly from his pouch and remaining crouched, Maigo's eyes would flicker back and forth to each of the ensuing combatants that were relentless in their assault. The creatures had surrounded him and were already dashing forwards to take him head on. Maigo felt the bit of pain in his arm as he leaned forward on it, the muscles in his chest burned as they began to tense and loosen with the movements of his body. It was a terrible time though, he needed to put the pain out of his memory and move on immediately. He wasn't totally helpless while completely surrounded though.

Maigo would lean back and push off from his arm while gently tossing the shoge to his mouth, biting down with his teeth and quickly forming the horse hand seal, measuring the time he had before each of those creatures would descend upon him. The bright flash of light would emanate from around him and blind the creatures as they would begin to close in. Holding it for a second and letting the raiton chakra flash and burn through the creatures hasty pupils, knowing that in their blood rush they'd fall for it easily, Maigo would quickly switch his hands to the shadow clone symbol and create a single clone of himself before jumping up to the tree branch above him and then dashing away from the immediate area to avoid the impending explosion.

Maigo's clone however, would remain in the center while the creatures were blind and would openly take each of them collapsing upon him at once as a welcome sign. Once the monsters would latch onto him, biting and clawing in their blind rage, even at each other in mistake, the clone would explode and send a shockwave outwards. The immediate three monsters latched on would be blown away while the two just at the surface would be strewn meters away from the clone and thrown into the forest around them, having their bodies excavated and limbs shattered at the point of impact. It was lucky that one was buffered by another and the final creature was thrown just a few meters from where the real Maigo now crouched above in the treeline.

His breathing heavy and the pain in his body etching forward, Maigo would drop down in a single stroke and with his shoge, would pierce through the head of the monster and end its agonizing cries quickly.

With the final of these smaller creatures done, Maigo would turn his head and begin to look on to the behemoths that stood towards the back and the few smaller creature to fill in their number. Waiting for a moment as labored breathing filled his mind and the air around him. It seemed like a century of waiting while he would flicker his eyes to his teammates to see how they were doing but his attention would be caught as the behemoths would start slowly barreling forward. Gaining speed with each step they took.


[1646 words, 6725 words total]

160/300 Chakra:

Nayoko

Nayoko


D-rank
Weak…

The voice echoed in his mind as the Hattori’s fist collided with one of the shark creatures that had been foolish enough to attack him head on. His fist crashed into the abdomen of the creature, the fracturing of bone evident by the loud sound that the strike had made combined with the fact that Nayoko could feel the ribs shattering against the force of his blow. It staggered back in pain, unable to properly defend itself for the pain that it felt int hat moment. Nayoko followed for with a kick from his right leg to the head of the beast which fell to the ground having completely lost its balance. The follow through from his kick left him standing over the fallen foe with a leg on either side of its head. Raising his left foot, he stomped down with all of his strength and shattered the skull of the beast below him. Its brain matter and blood spewed across his pants, and the part of him that was slowly emerging caused him to smirk.

Show them just how weak they are…

His attention instantly turned to the other three creatures surrounding him, though he had been too distracted by the voice of his inner demons given form that he did not have a chance to react properly when the first claw swung his way. He leaned back instinctively, dodging the dangerous part of the blow but leaving three cuts along his face where the claws of the beast managed to catch him. It would pay for harming him. As its arm continued to swing though the strike, Nayoko grabbed it by the wrist with his left hand, stopping it in its tracks. There was a brief moment where he paused and locked eyes with the creature, his own glowing a slight silver as the Senjutsu energy around him began to flow through him. He had not entered his Sage Mode yet, but he was close. That pause would last mere moments though before Nayoko drove his right hand into and through the elbow of the creature he was holding, completely shattering its arm and causing it to scream in pain. Its cry was cut short by Nayoko’s left fist smashing into its windpipe and collapsing it completely and replacing the screech with a wet gurgle as it too fell to the ground. His attention turned toward the remaining to, his eyes flashing with hate and cruelty.

They are no match…

Before the startled creatures could even move, Nayoko was on them. The first one that was slightly to his right was the first to be attack, with the jounin running toward it and then leaping into the air, planting his foot on the chest of the beast before pushing himself off and into the air toward the final one. He would fly past the farthest of the two creatures and while still in the air, remove his fuma shuriken once again. He was in a position where he was almost falling to the ground as he spun the weapon up on his finger before throwing it at his foes. It struck true, cleaving through the neck of not only one, but both of the beasts as travelled through the arc, arcing back at the peak of its range and travelling back to its master. Nayoko it the ground and transferred the motion into a backward summersault before returning to his feet and raising his right arm to which Hurricane Reaver returned. He caught it without looking at it; instead focusing on the carnage he had wrought. Slowly, he turned back to where he knew there were more enemies coming, but just as he was going to turn to run into the oncoming army, he saw past them and saw something that caused the ever-growing demon within him to chuckle.

The behemoths may come, but they know not what they face…

Towering in the forest beyond the army of shark creatures were two more of the towering beasts that Maigo had slain earlier. They had sent in the army to weaken the three shinobi, and though it had been a smart strategy, Nayoko found himself chuckling at the resources he still had available to him. “I’ve got one of those big ones!” he called out with a smile on his face, the blood form his wound pouring down his right cheek. He began to run toward it, each step he took building more and more nature energy into himself. Making no attempt to mask his approach, Nayoko charged headlong to the closest behemoth which clearly saw him, and as any threatened monster of that size would, it reared back with its large tentacle-like appendage and swung down at the foolhardy shinobi. Nayoko made no attempt to slow himself as the beast swung down toward him, instead allowing the smirk on his face to grow into a full smile as the giant arm closed the distance between it and the Hattori. Just as the tentacle was about to slam onto him, the jounin whispered a single word.

“Gotcha…”

Music:

The crash from the full force of the monster caused the earth to erupt around where it struck Nayoko. Rocks and branches of trees exploded around the point of impact from the sheer force of the impact. Dust and dirt flew up and filled the space, obscuring even the behemoth from view for a moment as the everything settled around where Nayoko had foolishly charged toward the creature. But as the dust settled, it became evident that the Hattori was not so foolish. Because instead of being a smear on the ground where the beast had struck, Nayoko stood tall, the appendage of the monster held above hos head with his own body being unscathed by the attack. The creature seemed surprised at the sight, so much so that it did not move and instead stared for a moment trying to comprehend why its enemy had not been crushed. The voice returned to Nayoko, louder than ever before as the air around him began to swirl and sway. The nature energy from all around him burned with an intensity that it never had before, growing to reach a pinnacle that he had only felt once before. The voice from within seemed to draw on that power, speaking instead of whispering now. It had won today, but Nayoko was too far gone to care. It demanded blood, and Nayoko would provide.

Teach…

Them...

Fear…

The wind swirled ever faster, building with an energy that would be foreign to any who had not witnessed Senjutsu in action before. The shattered ground beneath the Sage’s feet would crack further as chucks of earth below him would rise slowly in response to the energy that now flowed through him. Nayoko’s form then changed, silver marking matching those on his tunic and cloak spreading form his stomach to every inch oh his body like a form of sealing script that was incomprehensible. His once dark brown hair would flash with brilliant light as it became not grey, but silver, matching the chakra symbols that now covered him. From his back, two butterfly wings of pure silver chakra would emerge, accompanied by two barely visible floating arcs above his head. As his eyes changed from their usual dark brown to a sapphire blue, his body would slowly lift from the ground, hovering but an inch above the destroyed earth below him. With Nature energy now swirling all around him, Nayoko tightened his grip on the appendage that he held before launching his true attack, a smile ever-present on his face.

He pulled in the arm, not in an attempt to pull the creature down, but the catapult himself forward. With all the strength he could muster, he launched himself up the beasts arm, coalescing futon chakra in his right hand had he did so and forming it into a Blade of Wind. Upon its completion, the Sage planted his feet on the arm of the monster and began running up it faster than it could react, plunging his blade into its arm as he continued his charge. The blade carved open the creature, rending its flesh form bone all the way up until Nayoko arrived at its shoulder at which point he jumped off into the open air behind it. Throwing his Blade at it, Nayoko caught it between the shoulder blades before it could turn, finally managing to twist its body around in time to see Nayoko throwing Hurricane Reaver one last time. But this time as the weapon left his hand, he formed the shadow clone hand seal, creating one hundred copies of the weapon, each of them just as deadly as the original. Over half of them sunk into the behemoth’s flesh, rending him apart as Nayoko twisted into a back flip and landing on the ground almost fifteen meters away from the beats. But he was not finished. With the speed of a master shinobi, Nayoko weaved a series of hand seals before pulling back his right hand and gathering a swirling mass of suiton chakra in the palm of his hand. The monster staggered forward, barely able to move, but it would not take more than one step.

As its foot hit the ground, Nayoko threw his hand forward and sent his tearing torrent directly for the center of the behemoth. It collided with the monster and continued through it, tearing apart its body and leaving a gaping hole in its chest where its heart may have been at one point, bit no longer. The beast teetered for a moment before crashing to the ground directly in front of Nayoko. The scene that unfolded around him was met not with a cry of victory or even a warning about the other one to his allies. Instead he just stood for a moment, staring down at his fallen prey.

Smiling.

WC:1667+4316=5483

Chakra:

Kirei

Kirei


B-rank
"It always starts with the same dream."

Surrounded by white mist, Kirei steps gingerly through the abandoned Uchiha compound. Long after dark, the boy is alone, he calls out through the fog but has no voice. Slithering shadows, fiendish, watch from the edges of his vision. The buildings are taller than they could have been in his memory, disproportionate windows and doors, rattling with howling wind and showing, occasionally, the glimpse at red eyes which watched from beyond, each marked with the Uchiha's curse. Frightened, the boy calls out again, this is not a dream of his younger self, but of his return to the Leaf, Kirei's eyes fall upon the figure of a man in the distance, and he runs, yelling to draw the stranger's attention. As the young Uchiha approaches, the silhouette dances, quivering and then shifting into the form of a serpent which coils its body and ascends into the clouds. Stunned, the boy breathes deep and stumbles further, desperate to catch the shapes which perform on the horizon. He clasps the frame of a door, watching the eyes which in turn watch him before he pulls them free and collapses on the floor of an empty house, boarded windows clattering, furniture long-gone and replaced by sheets of white cloth covering the home's fixtures. Kirei stands and runs, darting from door to door, frustrated scowl becoming more pronounced as with each breach, the boy evaporates more spirits, observers vanishing into the night unwilling to be perceived. The taunting specters, gathering in the edge of Kirei's panic, only added to the fire of his investigation, which wound through the maze of streets and alleys, pushing between the interconnected residences and then emerging into the courtyard where lay his childhood home, which loomed and groaned into the wind.

Through the jagged strands of his fractured focus, Kirei struggled to stand. Imposed over the world, memories of childhood's end popped into the Uchiha's vision, orbiting through his peripherals as blonde threads caressed his forehead, trailing with the whipping motion of his neck as the boy tried to see through the cracks which formed, splitting the seams of his perception. The bleeding edge of reality's whim gave way to the Sharingan, Kirei's dojutsu burrowing into the remnants of his experience, which the ancestral power bore witness to throughout his youth. Eyes contorted to the fist of a student and Kirei ducked, only to notice the leg of some beast strike toward his chest, one which had not been there a moment prior. Impact with his torso sent the boy's frame from the ground, rushing shapes blurring into a messy canvas of black and green as he felt his shoulders collide with the dirt and dig within it a long trough, coupled on both sides with trenches excavated by his fingers which clawed desperately at the soil. The boy could feel pain and blood; inhaling was met with a sharp stinging sensation which he pushed through, familiar with the punishment of hand to hand combat, and stood to face his attacker. Storming through the darkness, the creature was upon him with fury before the Uchiha had time to ready himself and so, with the Sharingan's instruction guiding his fists, he ducked and spun his body, striking with the back of his forearm into thick scales.

The boy pushes against the door to his home, heavy oak frame rigid and unwilling to give way as the skies burst, releasing a torrent of rain to accompany the wind. After the first sheet of water pelts the boy's body, soaking him through, he manages to pry the door open and stagger into the hallway. Unnaturally long, layered thick with dust and each window shuttered with hefty boards, the house has few similarities to the one in his memory, it is desolate and ruined, devoid of life and attention. The sensation of unreality grips him; this can not be the world, Yara would not allow the compound to wind up in such disarray. Though it had fallen into disuse, the man Kirei called father still lurked here somewhere; he had always made the homes of his ancestors into his treasure. The boy wanders in silence, escorted by the eerie whistle and beat of the extreme storm, in the distance he can see the grim shadows of the creatures who watch him, but resigns himself to their gaze. With ease, Kirei slides away from the door to his bedroom, curiously untouched by the thorough stripping throughout the house, precisely as his mind remembers, with clothes and ninja tools strewn across the chamber. The kitchen is warm, the smell of tea and salt mixed with something sweet, caramel, bread, and fresh berries, Kirei inhales and approaches the stove, eerily silent but atop it sits the steaming teapot. Against the battering cold of outside's storm, the comfort of the warm kitchen, set against the backdrop of his empty mansion, gave Kirei a modicum of support.

As his eyes fix upon the table, he approaches and sets down onto it the boiling vessel before he stops, ears catching the sound of distant chanting. From the halls, the voices of monks echo quietly, beneath the patter of the rain and barely audible, the boy listens to the melody which dares to slip between the prison of sound created by the cacophony of rain. He stands, ignoring tower of steam which rises to his left, and follows the rhythm, haunting icaros sung in the name of healing deep wounds, trenches of blasphemy hidden in the unreality woven around Kirei's daydream. With trepidation, the boy walks toward the source of this occurrence, pattering feet accelerating into a run as Kirei bounds heel-over-heel into the unknown maze of corridors and uncanny patterns. As he approaches, he can hear the tune whistling through the howling wind and drowning out the fearsome storm, but the young Uchiha is no longer calm, even the surreal dreamscape rain did not feel as alien as the songs which how he chases across the winding expanse. At the end of his journey, Kirei reaches an ornate door, the memory of a gateway to Yara's forbidden study, but grandiose and ill-proportioned, the faces of demon masks carved in gold staring with distorted expressions, each clamoring over the back of another to reach out and consume the Uchiha whole. Unwilling to succumb to fear, Kirei reaches toward the door and with all his strength, pushes against the snapping, jawing chorus of jeering demons who reach down and tear the threads from his clothes.

Trees and darkness rushed either side of the blonde as he made his way through the forest, slipping away from his pursuers just enough to gain a moment's respite before he would have to turn again and face them. Kirei groaned, unable to steel himself against the burning pain behind his eyes, each vein filled to bursting point with the Uchiha's chakra, strained and at their limit. As the boy's head whipped around, the surroundings blurred, chakra signatures warping and trailing as if the byproduct of his strained Sharingan, which Kirei could feel degrading. An onlooker, perhaps another Uchiha, may have seen the state of the boy's eyes, and warned him against this path; to dip too deep into the ancestral power of the Uchiha is to lose one's self to tragedy. So it came to pass that Kirei, focusing as best he could on the barrage of limbs which emerged from the fog and blur, rose his arms in defiance, Sharingan working to overcome itself and lead the boy to safety. The first blow impacted his tired forearm and sent his heels sliding through the dirt as he would turn left, summoning fire to ignite and wash away his attacker but finding only delinquent sparks who refused his bidding. Kirei had no time for confusion, the arms of his foe gripping tightly at his shoulders, causing the momentum of the creature's charge to topple the pair. Fighting desperately, Kirei's fire begun to coalesce, first from the outside and into orbits around his body when finally he forced the Devouring Blaze to obey him again and lurch at the assailant who pinned him, pushing away his body and searing his scales enough for Kirei to scramble away through the mud. The Uchiha, struggling to get his bearings, would race to his feet and spin to face the horde who followed while he could still muster the strength to command his shoal of redeeming fire, and thrust out his hands in vicious conduction, calling forth the waves and spirals of his judgment which ate into the trees, dirt, and rain, leaving behind nothing but ash.

The rush of frigid mountain air greets the boy, lashing at his face and neck, blowing away the threadbare cloak and Konohagakure regalia to reveal a ceremonial robe beneath. Kirei spins, bare feet touching the snowy rocks, to seek out the door behind him, but is greeted by the landscape of a fading world beneath, devoid of color. With his eyes wide, the boy finds himself a the center of three altars, high atop a mountain which overlooks a valley that has been burned to the ground. Rising from the center of the ruined world, the icy peaks of Kirei's ascension almost touch the sky, threatening to pierce through the veil of reflection and into some Heavenly Plane where it sought to dwell. The boy heaves, vision swirling as the shrines, one by one, ignite in flame, casting shadows through bone sculptures onto parchment and charred cedar and shedding light on the macrame which made up the sacred scripture of these relic-shrines. Stepping from behind the rigid shapes, silhouettes appear in sequence, illuminating themselves in a triumvirate around the Uchiha and staring toward him with eyes which at the same time seem both living and dead. Kirei lays his eyes upon his other selves, staring back into three mirrors from the center as the apparitions steady themselves and raise their arms to prepare for war. Invigorated, the young Uchiha mimics his mimics and is unwilling to allow them the element of surprise, so with his smile wide, the boy embraces the dream and charges forward, fist flowing downhill toward his quarry, weaving as a mountain stream to find its purchase against the doppelganger. Beneath the locks of blonde hair, each emanating imitation halos in honor of Kirei's golden mane, their eyes awoke sequentially; first, a single tomoe spinning wistfully in the sea of red, and the second, twin marks of evolution which mirrored Kirei's own immature Sharingan. The third, the pinnacle of the boy's dream, called forth the spiraling manifestation of his perfected visual ancestry, the base Sharingan's final stage which, inevitably, Kirei could not overcome.

Pelted by another sum of crushed dirt, the boy's head came down without delay, ankle waylaid by typhonic grip as the approaching horde, with snarling fangs, bore down at his frame which cried out in the dark. Shrill and bold, Kirei's voice broke the cadence of withering snarls and with it the earth around him, unfocused geomancy rolling and cracking the ground to tear asunder efforts that sought to bring about his demise. With that, the young Uchiha sunk into the soil, which lifted him back along the length of a basin and routed him, providing a platform which would allow him to climb above the horde and seek out his companions who now he wished to serve as guardians. Eyes narrowing, breath ragged, and heart thumping wildly, Kirei wrestled with the hazy darkness, Sharingan still scorching with agony as he shook his head, closing his eyes and groaning as he tried to steady his thoughts, cease the chakra flow from his eyes, and do away with the dojutsu's influence to remove the fog of chakra and impulses which tore his body this way and that. Kirei jolted, the sound of a hatchet impacting the branches of a nearby tree called him from his unsuccessful mission and back into the trance of combat. Ducking and incoming swing, Kirei hopped from his platform and swept low, closing his eyes as he felt the Sharingan move beneath his eyelids, which did nothing to stop the light of the world from invading his quiet darkness. Persisting against his will, the familial eyes, their visual prowess, and legacy of bloodshed drove Kirei's form into a whirlwind of blows, gracefully dancing between a pair of monsters who collided into trailed strands of ninja wire already pulled tautly and strung against a tree. Though he longed to rest his weary eyes and be free of them to dream again, and rid himself of these hallucinations, Kirei gave thanks to the power which allowed him to continue living, against all the odds.

As the forest fades away, the daydream returns and Kirei is locked in a swirl of robes and open palms, his forearms sliding back and forth to deflect the strikes launched from every angle. Atop the mountain, the boy's eyes are black as coal, unreliant on the Sharingan to steer him as he catches the fist of himself and twists his body, sliding his palm to clasp at the clone's wrist and throw him past while sweeping his opposite side, forearm stopping dead the incoming strike of another foe. As he thrust from his feet and spun overhead after the block, Kirei would snip with his fingers, like a viper at the second him, who would squeal and tumble into a heap with his thrown partner. The two felled Kireis, swiftly evaporating, would give way to his final opponent who brought together his hands and bowed, before presenting to Kirei, the Seal of Confrontation. As the world stops, the Uchihas bring their hands together and acknowledge the final act of Kirei's unconscious thought, the dreamscape which rests underneath each sleepless night; where the boy fights against himself and loses each time. For months, dreams led him here to the pinnacle of this mountain where, after defeating the first two doppelgangers with ease, invariably he would succumb to the strength of his better half and awaken, drenched in cold sweat, knuckles bruised from thrashing in the night. This was no slumbering nightmare, the world blends together on all sides, the waking dream folding to the sensation of Kirei's real self fighting off the horde of hungry notions which hound him in the forest.

Cascading fists, Kirei hurled himself around his foe, frantically pivoting with his distended leg as axis behind the swamp creature as he brought up that same momentum into a thunderous knee which the Sharingan commanded. Kirei jumped backward, using the leverage of his falling enemy to lurch his body away and replace it with a swathe of earth and fire; mud rose up in droves, sticking to the bodies of his foes to hold them in place, and then came the flames to wash over them, hardening the ground into rock and roasting away at the enemies who stood against the Uchiha's mastery. As he landed, he spun into the oncoming fist of his twin, whose white robes contrasted the surrounding filthy forest of Hansha's grisly lineage starkly. Leaning into the blow, Kirei pressed with two forearms and retaliated with his foot, spinning his leg up for the other boy's hip while intending to dislodge him and push him down where he would be most vulnerable. Knowing his partner's every move, the mimic would hug into Kirei's body close enough to feel the warmth from his skin, dreamlike composition allowing it to move unnaturally through the impossible space between the boy's strikes so that he found no luck in his attempt to overcome the juxtaposition of real and illusory. Betwixt the coupling of the strange sensations, unable to decipher the dream from reality, Kirei found himself battling fruitlessly on both ends, disengaging from the immortal clone and distancing himself from his pursuers while he still searched through the woods for a sign of his companions.

Through the trees, Kirei caught sight, in the edge of his vision, a white shape approaching fast. Reacting to the flourish of a hidden blade, Kirei would stop and drop himself low, raising both legs in a spinning motion as his puppeted frame hopped with the momentum of that same spin into a standing position where he would extend his arm toward the other Uchiha's shoulder. Leaning back and away, Kirei's foe parried with predictable quickness, guided by eyes greater even than the power Kirei possessed, the mimic avoided by a hair the extending blade which snipped at the fabric of his immaculate robes, fraying the threads into the roaring wind. Kirei's eyes dropped low to see the incoming counter-attack, and he met it firmly with a parry before pivoting and sweeping with the exposed wrist blade for the flesh of his opponent's chest and complying with it barely, spilling precious drops of blood from his twin who gripped the low-hanging branch of a tree and dropped low. Unleashing his legs, the boy's foe would bring them together and scissor between them Kirei's knees, locking them and drawing him down with precise dismissal. Landing with a pained grunt, Kirei would bear his arms high, reaching for a pair of his kunai but finding the soft threads of silk robes in place of his Kirigakure military equipment and ninja tools. The seeping precipice of the dream and reality supplanted then, atop the forest, and Kirei rolled away through the snow, narrowly avoiding a blow for his head as he stood to charge into his foe, seeking to find a window of aggression he could use to gain the upper hand, hoping that the concoction of imagination and fact would not endure as the enemy did forever in his nightmares.

As the two came together, fists maneuvering in jagged patterns, Kirei letting fly a blow with his right hand, deftly parried by his doppelganger who swept his arms, trailing the strands of his robe, to strike with open palms at Kirei's neck. Ducking, the boy would respond by moving toward his quarry and then around, while simultaneously dropping his knee to bring his elbow down into the back of the clone's leg, who would topple forward into a somersault and recover. Either side of the dueling Uchiha, the trees faded to and from the world, contorting into rows upon rows of sacred altars, each adorned with carvings and statues, covered in offerings, and enshrined to the power of the boy's lineage. Weaving between the ornate gravestones, Kirei hopped back and kept focused, through the thumping pain behind his eyes, on the blurry shapes moving in the world around him, closing the distance toward his foe to make up for his fading vision. As Kirei came upon the other, he felt a sharp sensation in his ribs, to the right of his body, creatures from reality had assaulted him and sent him on a rapid descent, tumbling through the shrines and spilling oil down, mixing with the wet surface of an ankle-deep spring which now surrounded them. Intruding on the sanctuary of the standoff Kirei sought to end, soldiers of discord tore through the sacred memorial, rainbow patterns of polluted water shimmering brightly in sequence with each ruined, holy relic. As he stood, the rain soaking his clothes and clinging to his body became impossibly heavy, and the edge of his vision, piece by piece, began to close in around him.

With his last, desperate heave, Kirei summoned forth the sparks of his signature technique, slivers of impotent flame escaping the folds of aether and generating thin strands, not enough to singe the torn shreds of Kirei's cloak and jacket. As he fell, the fire fell with him, embers circling, defeated and alone into the drifting pool of still water. With a sudden flare, the light tore open at the seam of everything, ceremonial oil igniting at the touch of Kirei's chakra, metaphors burning brightly and allowing Kirei to see anew. Before him, he could see the shape of himself, reflected in the water below, and he stood, throwing himself to his feet in a single motion and engaging the other boy again. This time, in the surrounding technicolor blaze, which shone innumerable colors as the graveyard burned, fading in the very distance back into the real world while Kirei's blows soared between his defenseless quarry, who now could find no reprieve from the Uchiha's deadly onslaught. A fist came high, reflected in the water to impact the imposter's chin, sending him stumbling, and priming him for another blow which resounded from Kirei's foot as his heel met the opposite side of the head, eliciting a resounding crack from the other boy. Walls of flame climbed, arching high above the lake and burning away at the edge of his perception, enclosing as the fires of awakening tore the unreality asunder in favor of new clarity brought about by the struggle behind his eyes. With a final stroke, Kirei's deed was done, and the dream was through, the three-tomoed ghost abruptly vanishing with the obfuscation of heat and color to reveal the sodden forest and pallid trees, and around him, a trail of ashen remains, burning trees and cracked earth.

In the distant trees, Kirei could hear the sounds of conflict still echoing, no longer obscured by the blinding pain or surreal visions which seemed so far away now that Kirei felt the night air, unobstructed and true, caress him. In whatever state he had been in, he had led the monsters far further than he thought as his rampage took him to where the jonin who accompanied him could barely be heard, and the efforts of their personal struggles were lost in the in between. The thoughts of his mission returned slowly, filtered by the sensation of gathering himself and steadying his rapid heartbeat, deciphering the world for what it was and testing the truth of his perception. Still, Kirei tried to close his eyes and focus on dismissing the errant dojutsu that spun beneath his eyelids, but to no avail, his Sharingan yet refused to be abandoned. More curiously still, the dream's departure had lifted too the veil from his weary eyes, and now the trees seemed to stand out in contrast to the blurry mess from recent memory, feeling enhanced beyond his recollection in comparison to the comfortable haze in which he had spent these last tiresome days. Vision repaired, and searing pain gone behind his eyes did nothing to abate the sensation of torn muscles, broken ribs, and flayed skin which had been the result of his encounter with these creatures. There was no more fighting for the young Uchiha, his body would take it no longer, with or without the chakra reserves to persevre, the boy's sleepless mind had undergone a transformation, and it was all he could do to wander limply in the direction of his comrades, who he hoped would find him before inevitably, he could hold onto consciousness no longer.

3837

Maigo

Maigo


D-rank
It had been too long since this had started, feeling it deep in his bones and flesh. The very essence of energy was slipping away from him and driving him mad, the exhaustion covered his body only to be thrashed about in his mind by his anger that tantrumed like an upset child. He almost imagined himself flailing wildly under the sheets of his bed as he couldn't find sleep but instead, he was in this hellscape and dealing with the mess in front of him. Nayoko's very essence leaked to him, as Maigo reeled he laughed in the face of their enemy and called out for which one he wanted. The very air around him had shifted and not to be outdone in some pride, Maigo's eyes would lock into place and he would straighten his back and stand tall against their enemy.

Maigo watched with near gaping eyes as Nayoko charged headlong and caught the full blow of the behemoth on top of himself. The monster was confused and Maigo had hesitated in almost fear to know that the Konoha ninja had this much power available to him. It was almost mesmerizing to see it in action but not far off behind was a second monster that was driving in and that would become his responsibility, he wouldn't allow any other outcome to arise from it. His feet would begin to move and close the gap as Nayoko would shred the body and throw it to the ground. Maigo would rush past and ignore the behemoth to close the gap on the final one, his footsteps feeling beleaguered and painful as snaps of tendons and the crackle of joints would begin to fill him.

Closing the gap, his sharingan would spin, final life as the pattern carried itself and locked onto the behemoths eyes in mid-swing. Maigo's body would start to give out as he would lock the behemoth into position at the downfall of a swing of its giant fist and Maigo rolling across the ground to barely avoid it. The titan arm would crush the ground and create a small disturbance of dirt and debris as Maigo would drag his sword up slowly and raise to its feet. The noise the behemoth would make as he would gather himself would be that of confusion at first, panic growing as it realized its joints and body no longer moved.

Within its own mind, it would find itself impaled and locked to the ground by a series of nails, bringing its limbs to a still and the body as well. Holding his sword and taking a hefty breath as he would bring the giant sword over his head and with all of his energy, he would drag the blade down into the beast in front of him, the heat of his blade dwindling down, he would cut directly into the behemoths head, splitting him down the center vertically as Maigo could with every bit of force that he could. Leaving the beasts groaning welp to a loud and tearing cry out as it would fall to the ground and begin to bleed out. Maigo's swing left him collapsing into the blade as it crashed into the ground to carry his weight.

His sharingan traced around to find what Nayoko would be doing, looking for more enemies and more threats as he felt the blood around his body seep into his clothes further and the fatigue and tearing at his body grow beyond that too. Still, as he had life in his eyes he wouldn't give up, and with a lingering step, he would draw himself standing and drag his blade across the ground before relunctantly heaving it into place on his back.

The coast was seemingly clear and as he would find himself to Nayoko, he would speak up with a tired voice amongst his own heavy breathing, "We need to find the boy..." he would let fall out of exascerbated breath before he would begin to take steps around and begin to watch across the forest at the fields of his vision for any chakra signature that he could, to find Kirei and make sure he was alive, then drag them back to the tattered remains of the village.


[720 words, 7445 words total]
[Mission Complete/Exit Thread]

125/300 Chakra:

Training:
[/spoiler]

Kirei

Kirei


B-rank
Kirei couldn't remember the last time his bones ached like this, not even in the calamity of he and Di's assault on the brewery where he had been buried beneath a shoal of fire and wreckage. Each muscle in the boy's body felt as if it had been torn to shreds, pushed to the very limit by the Uchiha's reckless rampage of earthquakes and fire fueled by his delusions, the dreams which, even still, he could see seeping into reality. While they faded, the Uchiha took his time to observe the trail of destruction left by his uproar through Hansha's cursed forest, and his mind raced at the prospect of such fury. The Devouring Blaze, his signature technique, had caused a swathe of scorching retribution to ignite its bloody trail, charred monster corpses strewn through the muddy forest floor, smoldering leaves and steaming wreckage eroded in deep trenches across the landscape's skin, a testament to the boy's lack of control. His Sharingan burned, and the triplets of black tomoe which spun uncontrollably in the pools of ancestral, scarlet chakra made his eyes ache, contorting the Kirei's vision with shapes of chakra that lingered in the distance, his pupils painfully twitching in response to every stimulus he could perceive, with or without his blessing.

With his body on its last legs, the young shinobi slumped down against the stump of a blackened birch, spires of dawn penetrating the sparse canopy overhead as the night waned and light conquered the world anew. Kirei let a long sigh draw from between his lips, breathing away the carnage in favor of steady thoughts, and feeling the racing heartbeat in his chest begin to calm. He thought of his friends in Konoha, and those who he knew in Kirigakure that had become his friends, and of the mission he had embarked on since the shadowy figure had tasked him with defending his homeland all those months ago. Finally, amidst all the pain and suffrage of his journey through the Hidden Mist, Kirei set his thoughts on Konoha alone, forgetting all the violence which surrounded him and plunging his head into the palms of his hand, shaking at his forehead as the burning behind his eyes intensified, Sharingan pulling from the exhausted remains of the boy's chakra supply.

There was only one thing left to do, and then Kirei would be free of this awful place to return to Konoha, and make sure to never allow his beloved Leaf to end up this way. Whether the others who he had ventured here with had been able to find him or not, after some hours, Kirei would hoist himself weakly to his feet, resigned to a pounding headache and tired eyes as he set himself on a path toward the dawn, where he could be free of this place.

exit

472
9009
5500 completes S-rank quest mission
3000 trains 3 tomoe sharingan
500 trains e-rank technique

Nayoko

Nayoko


D-rank
Nayoko looked over to where the boy had been and saw it overrun with the smaller beasts. He was still full of rage brought on by his Sage Mode, and thus did not hesitate in the slightest. Charging forward, Nayoko began to rend apart the monsters along with his Uchiha friend. It was a blood bath, but in the end, Kirei had survived. Nayoko ended his trance and let the nature chakra leave him before watchign the younger man go through the painful transformation behind his eyes. It was difficult to watch, but Nayoko refused to turn away. With that, the trio headed back to the village to tell them that the threat was over.

[Exit Thread]

WC:115+5483=5598

Mission Complete! (5500/5500)

Sponsored content



View previous topic View next topic Back to top Message [Page 1 of 1]

Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum

Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden belong to © Masashi Kishimoto.