Mission name: Skirmish on Spider Island (repeatable)
Mission rank: B
Objective: The unification of the Unmei and the Spider Clan is about to happen!
Location: Any
Reward: 500 ryo

Mission Description: Spider Island has become a battlefield. Powerful Unmei refusing to acknowledge Sero and Momma as their creators have gathered members of the spider clan and/or a small entourage of weaker Unmei, believing they can wrest control over the clan from the Creators.

Mission Details: 2500 wc
The enemies has twenty (20) D-rank equivalent spiders, ten (10) C-rank spiders and two (2) B-rank Unmei. The spiders either use weak venomous bites (bites pierce 1.5 inch flesh) that inflict their prey with a debilitating venom that reduces perception and reaction by -1 tier for one post (stackable in duration) or webs that slow movement by half for a single post (stackable in duration). The Unmei use a variety of ninjutsu: any two elements are possible up to B rank.

There was a nip in the air. Colder than usual, it wasn't because of Verdandi for a change. A cold wind brought in from the north, north west plagued the island, a gentle caress that left no doubt about its intentions despite. Yet, it was not the cold that drove the spider-nin walking through the woods into a heightened sense of caution. It was the seething linger of a murderous intent. Not the intent of a single entity but that of a collective of entities spread all around her. As if the forest itself was out to get her, the dead branches that reached up to the skies wiggling on occasions. Arachnids skittered about on dead leaves, their scent masked by the rotting wood. The large amount of the collective spiders that wanted her dead was a benefit to them as it hid the origin of their killing intent, but it did little to guarantee their success to hunt the prey they had chosen to take down.

Haka was no ordinary prey. Not by shinobi norm at this point, and not by the Spider clan's norm. Few spiders lived through their first years of existence - Haka was four, and thus considered more than a veteran in the eyes of her sibling. An inspiration that sent hope and fear alike through the masses of the spiders that formed her siblings, setting the standard to reach. But she was not the only Unmei that had achieved such power. The amount of Unmei reaching the power level of a special jounin were getting bigger by the years the more Unmei were brought into existence. Even if it was only one in a thousand spider that was born as a chakra spider, Momma could fill rivers with the sheer amount of spiderlings and thus the chance of new Unmei being brought into the world was larger than one could imagine. That growing amount of Unmei was both a benefit and a curse. Unmei were no ordinary spiders. They were meant to become more than the Spider Clan, to be the Spider Clan. But down that road of aspirations, among the few Unmei that made it through the first year, there was also the spark of humanity that drove them to step away from their heritage. To carve their own path.

All of that was fine in Haka's eyes, the Unmei not caring one iota in general of what others did. Apathy reigned supreme in her monstrous heart that was not driven by emotions but by pure cold-hearted instinct. It did become her care when such siblings would, perhaps for a first time, decide to band together to take her out. And it would certainly attract her attention, irk her, if she knew these spiders were driven by other Unmei challenging her for the claim of power. As one of the few recognised daughters of Sero, though meaning little in terms of titles, it was a recognition of her power to those loyal to him and a slap in the face of those who didn't. Some didn't care, of course, but the Spider clan's power was mostly driven by domination. Dominating a 'child of Sero' would be a beautiful claim if they wanted to take control of the clan.

A swarm of spiders wouldn't stop her. Though the wolf spiders of the island were a terrifying sight to humans, Haka had fought them before. She knew the average power of the spiders of the island. She had been one of them, and surpassed those limits. She'd be fine on her own to fight them, should they feel a need to. Her sibling wolf spiders wouldn't grasp that idea just yet, their skittering rustling the leaves under their giant feet. The sound was faint but not so faint the enhanced sense of the trained Unmei couldn't catch them. Their exactly numbers remained hidden but the dead leaves told her they were advancing fast. The hushed chitter of her younger siblings spoke of their power in numbers. How they could overwhelm her. Not long after they would reveal themselves, charging forward with more than a dozen.

Brushing her white hair out of her eyes calmly, Haka took a deep breath. As if in exasperation of her younger brethren's foolish decisions. Did they truly not understand they were no match for her? The first one of the spiders who lunge at her, the massive spider seemingly weightless as it flew through the air and aimed its fangs at her. To its own perception and experience, the assaulting wolf spider was fast but to Haka's experience she almost felt a need to yawn in boredom. Instead, she side-stepped out of its attack line and as it landed, swung her leg to kick it away back into the dead forest on the other side of the road. A simple kick with not that much motivation behind it, but one that'd leave heavy bruises nonetheless. The first of spiders would screech as it landed uncomfortably in the dead leaves, jumped up and turned around to look at Haka with a sense of a pout and fear. There would be little time for the spider-nin to bother replying, as the other dozen or so of spiders followed up the first attack.

Webs would be shot in an attempt to slow her down. Bind her. Deliver her to the mercy of the arachnid swarm. She'd hop to the sides a few times to dodge them, tearing through the others that would hit her. While she fended off a couple of her siblings' attacks, her mind wandered to the irony of this experience. She had once stood in front of the manor with a mass of humans practically doing the same thing. Spitting jutsu as they came, hoping their randomly combined attacks would have the slightest of chances to hit Nozomi. They had not. And now... these spiders would not either. Much like Nozomi's perceptions and experience allowed her to register the myriad of attacks, so did Haka's Ace Eye allow her to register most of the ranged assaults. A weakness to her perceptions would quickly reveal itself as the webs hitting from behind would remain unanswered. Though her physical condition was too strong to be restricted by their weaker web strands, Haka would nonetheless form a small ball of chakra and throw an old familiar jutsu into the air, instantly raising her perception to a 360° degree sight despite having to close an eye - how long had it been since she made use of this technique? A year?

Not lingering on such idiotic memories and growing tired of her siblings little games in where they clearly failed to understand they would not stand a chance, Haka decided to move into action. Haka would use brutal force now that the swarm finally came to understand their webbing would not slow her down. They'd charge in with a hungering frenzy, venoms ready to be shared. They would deftly be answered in kind. A clean hit would kick the second spider through the air, its screams resonating faintly as she set her foot back on the ground, crouched low to dodge the third and sweep-kicked the fourth one straight in its flanks. The eight legs of her siblings would prove an asset to them as it allowed them to maintain balance on a greater scale than humans could, four pairs of legs providing a much stabler positioning. So as the fourth one required some recovery, the fifth one would be grabbed in its jump and thrown around to hit the third spider that had been looking to jump in again.

The fight was hardly worth her time. It bored her as dealing with them on a one by one base was inefficient at best. Letting the spiders get closer and gather up, Haka would jump out of the increasing mass of hungry siblings, seeing most of them gathered up and running behind her in one huge wave of black. The skittering mass ran behind her, still believing themselves to be the predator in this part. A crucial mistake, as the Tiger hand seal and the molded chakra in her lungs would soon teach them otherwise. A huge fireball would form and crash right in the middle of the swarm, bursting upon impact and spreading in a 5 meter radius. The stench of burned meat and shrill screams would fill the air, their frail bodies perishing under the intense heat brought forward by the blazing inferno. Those who would survive instantly scattered, instinct driving them to hide and preserve their lives. Haka would overlook the disaster, not feeling the slightest of regret at the loss of her siblings. They had earned their fate.

---

1478

230/250:

"Impressive. As expected."

A larger than usual jumping spider would reveal itself, legs thick and muscled following spider standards. Its eight beady eyes would take in the humanoid before him, the monstrous aura it projected forcing it momentarily into a jittery reaction before it ignored it.

"So you are that one... The Unmei living in the stone lair. Forsaking its true nature.

Its mandibles would move, as if it wanted to curl up a lip in disdain. Haka's one red eye fixated on the giant specimen. An Unmei like her, yet so different. She was aware he spoke of her human form but it seemed he understood little of her intentions and reasons of taking on such a form. Naturally, the apathetic arachnid bothered not to explain her actions. If he wanted an answer, he'd have to earn it first. Impose his dominance, prove himself stronger than her and claim his rights to know.

"Your presence is an obstacle. True power shall claim the manor."
"True power would not send lackeys to claim its rights."
"Ignorant of Their power, I see. They are the rightful Daughters. You, Miyu, Sero. Just obstacles."

Haka would run her hand through her hair, close her eyes just for a moment. So 'they' had finally made their move? Good. The skittering in the shadow had finally taken a shape, and soon she would tear 'their' name out of the hearts of their puppets. Their misguided perceptions were of little concern to her. They could view Sero and his acknowledged daughters in any way they wanted and believe the falsities about their own power if it so pleased them. Haka knew better than anyone of the Unmei what Sero's power felt like. She had felt the strength behind his strike, felt the dread within his aura and saw the Fuinjutsu skill he hid from prying eyes. And that had not been the full extend of his capabilities. No, she would not slay them for their misguided faith based on ignorance. She would slay them because they fragmented the full potential of the Spider clan and thus stood in the way of her own plans.

"Come. Slay me and prove your power or be silenced forever."

Words were no longer needed. Her sibling too understood this. Making his opening move with a familiar technique, the web the spider spit out would wrap itself around Haka before he'd jump in for a fatal bite. A calculated swift victory in mind, and not used to dealing with stronger or more cunning opponents, the jumping spider was already of a mind the battle would be won. Much to his surprise, his arrogant expectations would be met with a brief jump to the side, nigh invisible chakra starting to surround her limbs before a well-placed whirlwind kick would rattle the jumping spider where he stood. Were he in human form, the impact of her kick would have snapped his ribs but since he was not, the soft texture of the arachnid form popped like a balloon, translucent blood splattering out and three legs were rendered useless in the process.

As her brother gasped for air, betrayed by his own ineptitude, Haka ripped through the webs that surrounded her torso as if it were nothing. Where fear and shock had reigned over the jumping spider, true terror would now drive its instincts into overdrive, force it to skitter away despite the tremendous pain it felt. As was usually the case, Haka merely watched. Gloating was not her thing. No smile nor sneer would cross her face or leave her lips, but her monstrous aura would flicker. A hungry beast drooling upon its newfound prey seconds before it would deliver the last strike. And so she did. Haka's chakra claw would drive themselves into the crippled spider's head and slay it on the spot, ending its pitiful existence.

But the fight was not over just yet.

---

660
Total: 2138

210/250:

Spoiler:

A second opponent would reveal itself, hands clapping slowly in applause for her swift victory. From the shadows would appear a slender man, pallid in countenance, dressed in black. Nothing exceptional in dress-style as he wore a simple hooded sweater and baggy trousers to hide the long arachnid hairs that betrayed his nature.

"A one trick pony, a weakling following the strong without second thought."

He'd cross his arms, hazel eyes observing the female Unmei with the flowing chakra around her limbs, the apathy in her red eyes now directed at him. He'd move closer, then halt as he came in contact with her monstrous aura. And nodded comprehensively.

"You are of a whole different calibre. Why don't you join us instead?"
"Not interested."

He'd shrug his shoulders at the expected answer. It was worth a try.

"Let's have a fun fight then, Haka."

He too would allow chakra to wrap around his limbs, making use of the same ability as she did, but went beyond the power she displayed. The vast amount of chakra he pumped into the technique forced two more limbs into existence, the potency of the chakra a threat Haka could not disregard. Was he trying to impress her or intimidate her? Neither, it seemed, as he instantly after ran up to her and started swinging the chakra arms to rip her to pieces.

He'd force her into the defence. Haka could deal two of those arms but handling four of them was a lot harder. With the power they held, even one clean hit would suffice to knock her out cold and lose this fight. The stakes were high. She needed just a brief moment of respite to get her seals in. Deciding on a distraction, she'd form the hand seals of a simple technique just to drive him into the defence. She unleashed her jutsu and, indeed, expecting a counter offence, he jumped back only to see the mist in the area become thicker. Both of their eyes unhampered by the shroud, she could hear him 'tsk' about his unnecessary worry.

The distance created between them remained only a couple of seconds before her opponent dashed forward to engage again. To no avail, as the hand signs of Haka's next technique would be formed and her hands would touch her own chest. He closed the gap, his technique about to hit her face and flank with precision, and found his bare fist ramming her flanks instead as her fuinjutsu absorbed his chakra and sealed it away without second thought. His strength was superior, the pain shooting through her frail body. Haka clenched her teeth as she bit through the pain and retaliated in kind, her chakra enhanced strike to his plexus, forcing his body to double over as pain spread through his chest and making him spit up blood as internal bleeding took place. She broke his nose as her knee found his face, and as his head tilted back by the impact, she obliterated his cheek with a last strike. The impact was strong enough to send him flying several meters through and out of the mist.

A moment of silence would pass.

The spider stood up, medical chakra flowing through his body with such fervour he was surrounded by an aura of its own. Bones would be restored in place, flesh would knit, wounds would heal. He'd take a deep breathe, crack his neck and dust off his clothes.

"Not bad.", he'd chuckle. "You are dangerous. I've met few that forced me to heal, and even less that countered my attack. What's your secret?"
"Experience"

He tried to gauge if she was bluffing but only found apathy in her eyes. A truth as cold as the walking grave she was. Arms resting over each other, Haka waited until he was done with his restoration. The beating she suffered in her flank wasn't healed but the spider-nin showed not the slightest of signs of allowing it to get to her. In fact, she stood there with a resolution and strength of mind few of the Unmei would immitate, determined to show exactly what gap there was between the two of them. Their power was about equal, his ability to use A rank techniques with such ease not something to scoff at, but so far he had been crude in his approach. He lacked the refined approach that came with proper experience gained through a wide variety of situations. Perhaps, instinctively, her opponent was starting to feel that too.

Unfortunately, foolish devotion would override that thought. Once again, the Unmei would clash. Blades of pure chakra would grow out of his arms, bigger and just as precise as the chakra scalpels most Iryo-nin were known to use. Haka, unfamiliar with any sort of healing but that of Sero's restorative baths, couldn't make a proper judgement of its exact damage as internal damage wasn't the sort she had been suffering often. She was simply of an impression that the blades functioned much like the claws of man, sharp and deadly in the hands of one who knew how to wield them. An odd experience as she was fairly certain many if not all Unmei loathed the use of such weapons.

Once again her opponent would move to close the gap, seemingly out to reproduce a similar situation as the previous conflict they had. Haka would have none of this, forming another set of hand seals before she tapped her own chest again. For a brief moment, two symbols (長寿) would become visible before they released the chakra within. His chakra scalpels would strike her clean, and scatter as her own chakra coating denied his assault. Again. This time, she was not of a mind to play it as nice as before, ramming the chakra claw straight into his stomach. He'd spit blood again, then feel her second limb pierce the shoulder that lead to his master hand.

"Why repeat something that failed before?"
"I thought..."

He'd fall short on words as he realised how lacking he truly was. His blood poured out of his wounds as Haka's chakra claws slowly buried deeper into his body. With certain disappointment the spider-nin wondered if this would be the end of the fight. The brief thrill she had felt when he had endured the first beating and healed his wounds had sparked a brief hint of hope she'd have some fun fighting an opponent of equal power much like she had done a couple of years ago. Instead, he let her down.

"Pitiful."

With those words, the Osada arachnid snapped the spine that formed his human shape before she'd withdraw her claws and leave him to fall into the ground with a dull thud. He wasn't dead yet but paralysis would set in quickly in the lower regions. With it, fear he had not shown before would now take over his mind and paralyse what little of his body that wouldn't end up affected by the inevitable numbing sensation. To make sure he wouldn't crawl away or use any hand seals for new techniques, Haka set her foot on his left wrist, allowing the chakra of the Arms of the Mighty-technique flowing through her legs to snap the weaker bones that formed that part of his body. The sound of tiny snapping bones would resonate eerily loud despite the panicked breathing of Haka's sibling. As he cried out in pain, she'd make her way to the right wrist and do the same. Precautions. Also curiosity. She wanted to know if he had any means to heal himself without hand seals.

"Now survive.", she'd command. Words as cold and soft as ever, they'd lack any sort of vehemence or joy. Just the voice of the reaper giving a hint, indifferent about his faith anyhow.

Leaving him to his own devices, physical broken and paralysed, Haka walked away. Her business was concluded here, but his was about to begin. The nest of spiders that had confronted her had not returned during their fight but they certainly would now when they would hear his cries of agony and despair. They'd hunger eventually. Skitter closer. Perhaps his cries would send them running at first, but his helplessness would be revealed quickly. An easy prey to feed upon was as good as any.

---

[EXIT]

1422
Total: 3560
-2500 mission (B-rank jutsu: "Tactical Strike Coordinates")
-1000 training (C rank jutsu "Mist Phantom")

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