Nagare looked out over the bluff that was surrounded by clouds. This was the border of Kaminari no Kuni, a place he had seen many a time in his experience as a ninja. It was just beautiful; as soon as the border was crossed, it was wet marshes and grasslands all the way. When one crossed it, it was like moving through a portal into another dimension. He loved Kumogakure and it's mountains and clouds, however, and that's why he was there. Today was an important mission, and the very sanctity of Kumogakure was hinged to its success. He had sent a messenger to his newly assembled squad to be his subordinates on the mission, and it was up to them to stop the new threat that was soon approaching: an army of mercenaries, bloodthirsty and ready to strike.

Nagare knew that this wouldn't be an easy task. He finally noticed their mass moving toward the border, just as the Raikage said that they would. They moved with the slow march of a menacing legion. He knew that he and Horui couldn't take this threat on alone. Speaking of Horui...."Horui! Get over here!" he called out to his twin. Horui returned (he was off to the east looking at the sun, which was at its high point at noon) and stood next to Nagare. Are they coming?.... he thought. Nagare nodded. They're right there.... And both of the twins knew the army would be at the border within minutes. The rest of the squad needed to get there, quickly....

---

Word Count: 265/2,500

Kenji had notified of an urgent mission that required his squad's attention. An attack on the border of Kumogakure; an attack by an army of mercenaries notorious for being ruthless bloodthirsty killers. Kenji flew through the village with a rare stern expression with his katana latched on and all the equipment he needed to dispose of the oncoming threat. Kenji's blue hair and shiny gloves didn't allow for much discretion, and he wasn't planning on having any subtlety today. Kenji... had killed people since becoming a shinobi, he didn't necessarily enjoy it but it was apart of the job, it was a byproduct of protecting the village. He had on a bland attire of all black.

Kenji entered a stroll as he could see the advancing army of trained killers. The ground was mushy as Kenji trudged through; he walked up beside Nagare, "So that's them..." Kenji shot a glance at Nagare to confirm his readiness; then he looked straight ahead and saw as the army marched forward. Horui was on the left of Nagare; Kenji slowly drew his katana... he stopped. He thought about using his new jutsu to confuse the army; but Kenji would have to remain still, and his teammates wouldn't be able to cover him against this many opponents. Plus, there was only a certain amount of people he could hold in the jutsu. He finished drawing his katana and decided to use a more proven method; slice and dice...


MISSION WORD COUNT: 251/2500

Etsuo was not completely prepped for this mission, and actually, he was running right into this mission without a puppet as he left the village. He worried a bit about this fact as they were going up against a group of mercenaries. They were worse than that group he went up against at orchard farm, protecting their supplies. But this was still a protection mission, for the entire village though. He could help but feeling a bit of pressure and intimidation getting to him if he got up front with these guys in combat.

Etsuo entered the area with a only quickening pace as he found his fellow shinobi before this mercenary group. He almost contemplated whether or not he should activate his eyes, the eyes that saved him in so many tough situations. But would it be worth it, if he let his trump card be his first move in this situation. Eventually, Etsuo was among his allies and they were now facing the enemy directly. They were definitely them, and every step they took closer got Etsuo fearing more and more than he realized it would. As long as some distance stood up, he could recover and maybe withstand his fear, but then again, didn't some people fear 30-40 people in a fighting group like this and have a small force and doubt. Although these people didn't show it, he felt that they should probably have a tiny bit of doubt in them.

"Can I ask you all a favor?" He asked them.

"I'm not very good without some distance, so could you please help me have some if they get in close?" He finished with.

Word Count: 282/2,500

Bokuden peered out over the border from his hiding spot in a large tree. The branch upon which he and Satomi stood was extremely high up, an ideal spot for reconnaissance, or at least it would be if there were any other trees around. There was little shrubbery to speak of in the area as the ground was far too rocky to support the growth of roots. This tree probably stood on the one livable patch of ground in the immediate vicinity, but as such stuck out like a sore thumb. It was helpful for scouting from afar, but would provide little assistance once the enemy force drew closer. Bokuden had arrived at the designated meeting location before the rest of his squad, but from his position in the tree could see them  arrive one by one and Satomi could hear them speak, ensuring that he could obtain as much information as possible before making his presence known.

The enemy had arrived sooner than Bokuden anticipated and was now breathing down the neck of the Lightning Country’s border. “This isn’t good, I was hoping we would have time to talk out a strategy and maybe set some traps,” Bokuden said to Satomi while continuing to watch the approaching enemy force, “It doesn’t look like either of those things is going to be done with any kind of polish at this point.” The only saving grace that Bokuden could pull from this situation was that by some twist of fate he had been assigned to a squad along with Soseiji Nagare and Chikara Kenji, both of whose abilities he was familiar with. This would make coming up with a plan on the fly infinitely easier as Bokuden could more easily make adjustments for their own unique talents. He was unfamiliar with the final member of the group, other than that he said he was a liability in close quarter combat, but it was far too late to worry about that at this point. “Let’s head down to meet them,” Bokuden said as he turned back to face Satomi, “The more time we waste up here, the less time we have to prepare.” Satomi nodded her head in agreement and the two jumped down to ground level to meet the rest of their party.

Bokuden made no effort to make his landing subtle as the landed loudly, ensuring that the rest of the squad would be fully aware of his presence and that he would have their attention. “As much as I’d love a proper introduction, formalities will have to wait,” Bokuden explained, wasting no time after his landing for the group to react, “The enemy will be here soon and we are greatly outnumbered. We don’t have much time, but we need a plan. A straight on fight would be suicide, but from up there I got a good look at the terrain and we might be able to use it to our advantage. They are doing us a favor by marching on us in a group, it means that we don’t have to worry about tracking them down one by one. In order to get to this location they will have to keep marching through the marshes and that is where we will strike, while their footing and mobility is jeopardized.”

Bokuden unsheathed his katana and pressed the tip of his blade into the dirt, using the blade as a pen of sorts as the hastily drew a crude layout of his plan in the dirt. “This entire circle represents the battlefield and this square represents the enemy. I want no part in fighting them in open combat. We can’t allow them to use their numbers to overwhelm us, so here is what I propose. We will split into two groups; In one group will be Nagare, Kenji, and…Etsuo? The other group will consist of Horui, Satomi and myself. My group will sneak around to the open field to the right of the enemy while Nagare’s group will make their stand atop the hill, taking advantage of having the higher ground.” Bokuden stopped drawing in the dirt and raised his head, looking straight at Nagare, “Nagare, do you think you can summon that bat you used in our match at the Skyforge? The one with the oil bombs. I’d like you to open the battle by summoning him and having him use that jutsu to draw a three sided box around the enemy, but I want you to start down the middle and work left. It doesn’t half to be directly down the middle, but I’d like for you to cut off a sizeable chunk of their group from the main body.  The three sided box will trap the remainder of the force, cutting them off from an exit route and preventing them from regrouping. The oil will spread on top of the wetlands so accuracy is less important than spread. The enemy will have no choice but to proceed forward and engage you. From that point you can use your positional advantage to pelt them with jutsu from afar while feigning retreat to dwindle their numbers. Do NOT stop moving. My group will engage the enemies that were separated from the main unit and forced right into the open field. From there Horui and I will both use the Hidden Mist jutsu in order to create an even larger cloud of mist than usual and force them to go on defense with guerilla tactics. Once we deal with them we can come up behind what is left of the force that is pursuing you and flank them from the rear. Having one of either Nagare or Horui in each group will establish a communication link between the two groups. This will allow us to keep in constant and instant contact with each other at any given time, in case we need to fall back or retreat.” Bokuden looked around the group, making eye contact with each one of them before continuing, “Any objections?”  Bokuden sheathed his katana once more before making one final acknowledgement towards the group, “I wish we had first met as a squad under better circumstances, but this takes precedence.”

---

Word Count: 1047/2500

Nagare was impressed as, one by one, his squad arrived. Bokuden didn't waste any time in forming a plan, drawing out his ideas as he explained that they should split into groups and divide the enemies' ranks. Not a bad plan at all. "Okay, Bokuden, we'll go with your plan. I'll summon Mohan now, and Horui will go with you." he said as he looked to Etsuo and Kenji, nodding in approval. Then he turned to Horui. Go with Bokuden, and follow his orders; but make sure you protect him and his wolf. Neither of them can die, got it? Now go. Nagare said to Horui, telepathically. Horui, without a second look, stood next to Bokuden and Satomi. Nagare gestured for them to start, and pulled the scroll from his side. He bit his thumb sharply and smeared the blood onto the scroll, and in a cloud of smoke, Mohan flew straight up, and circled overhead, as usual. "Mohan! We need you to section off that army there with your Dragon Flame Bombs; make a 3-sided square from the middle to the left." Mohan flew over to the army, preparing the jutsu. He spat a quick series of flames that hit the grass a bit off-center, but effectively made flames the separated the main troops from the other half of them.

Nagare, pleased with Mohan's work, began to sprint towards the main troops, gesturing for Etsuo and Kenji to follow. They wouldn't be too much work, with Mohan supporting them. He started off fast, making a series of hand signs, and then spouting a massive fireball. He knew that the 20 or so mercenaries in its path would dodge it (or most of them, at least), but that at least would disorient them while he prepared a stronger jutsu. Horui stayed with Bokuden, and pulled out his notebook (which he remembered to bring today), writing down, "are you ready to go?" on it before handing it to him. The separated segment of the militia still seemed to be disoriented, and they weren't moving forward too quickly.

---

Word Count: 619/2,500

Nagare's Chakra - 85/125:

Mohan's Chakra - 40/60:

The other member of the squad arrived; Etsuo, Kenji believed his name was, he had heard about the shinobi. He asked if the rest of the squad could provide support for him, to prevent him from engaging in close combat, as it was obviously a weakness of his. Kenji nodded in acknowledgement of his request. Kenji was prepared to slaughter everyone of these mercenaries who had the intent on invading their village gates, Kenji wouldn't allow a tragedy like that occur; especially with the aid of Nagare, Horui, and Etsuo. The blue haired Chuunin was about to mention a plan to utilize the confusing abilities of his Genjutsu; but Bokuden came from the rafters landing with a thud. Bokuden wasted no time informing the group about his plan; Kenji had to admit it was a darn good one, and a much more effective one than his.

Kenji had no qualms about the method Bokuden proposed. Nagare also seemed pleased with the plan; they split into two groups. Kenji was with Nagare and Etsuo; the other group consisted of Bokuden, Satomi, and Horui. The squad leader displayed his summoning ability as he summoned a bat that went forward to deliver the fire based jutsu that Bokuden suggested. The fire attack was intended to split the army up making it easier for the squad to defeat them.

Nagare took off in a sprint and Kenji followed suit. Kenji flanked at the end of the group; giving himself space to slash and execute genjutsu. He was about 3 meters away from his group. Two mercenaries darted out towards Kenji; "Kiri flak jackets..." he noticed. It didn't matter what affiliation they had, these enemies, to Kenji's knowledge, was not acting on the behalf of their village. He was sent for defense not politics. The first moved forward and bared an impressive long sword with black lettering on it. Kenji delivered a quick upper body strike that was blocked easily but Kenji would follow up by going into a crouching spin, quickly slashing the opponent's thigh inflicting a 3 inch gash; he fell to the ground. As he went for the finishing blow his strike was intercepted by another Bukitjutsu user.

Kenji quickly flung two shuriken at the mercenary's face, forcing him to block the shuriken with his sword and as he brought it up Kenji pierced his midsection; following with a slash across his body. The mercenary Kenji wounded just a few moments ago was on one knee, Kenji quickly slit his throat as about 5 more mercenaries were charging. Kenji sheathed his katana as he weaved some hand seals and released a gust of wind at the cluster; he would only be able to affect one of them. It was obvious who had been caught; the others didn't realize their fellow comrade had been immobilized; Kenji launched one kunai at the disoriented mercenary. The other four weren't able to react to the unexpected strike and continued to advance; the distance was approximately 5 meters as Kenji re-drew his katana and prepared to strike with force and precision from higher ground; a great advantage that would be the cause of his opponent's inevitable doom.

175/200:

MISSION WORD COUNT: 790/2500

Everything seemed to be going by Bokuden's plan from what Etsuo noted and he didn't have a single problem with it as it actually gave him a bit of confidence. He was now more than ready for what was to come as they began to split up among each other and their leader performed his summoning. It did a excellent job of splitting enemy forces into two group's, but now came everyone's part as they had to take them all down or they would have trouble coming towards the village that he was here to protect. His eyes were now active as they took a red color to them and their leader, took off towards the enemy in a sprint.

By all means, Etsuo did not want to rush towards the enemy but it offered the best option for them and he had two allies to keep the distance between the force of twenty or so and him. He followed his leader's example by using jutsu, but he had a much more devastating one in mind for a large group like this. In the end as others were preoccupied with either taking on the other two or dodging the fireball, Etsuo spewed flames of his own, but they took on the form of a chinese dragon head as it rushed to it's intended target in the center of a group of shinobi that just got out of the way of the previous fire attack.

Hitting a mercenary dead center allowed him to catch on fire within his jutsu, while many other dived out of the way with burns. There were so many of them, he had to try his best in keeping himself and his comrades alive, while dwindling the enemy number before them. He was kind of glad that no reinforcements could be made to come and save this group because he was certain that little jutsu, just got him a lot of attention as focus shifted to him. He took the time to try and head to behind Kenji's or Nagare's area, while throwing two kunai out towards approaching mercenaries.

This of course brought him no luck as they successfully dodged and launched senbon at him, to which his sharigan prevailed and allowed him the ability to dodge with effective speed and timing.

"At this rate, we will win, but I might be exhausted." He stated within.

The mercenaries were approaching range and he needed to prep himself for they type of combat that was likely to come from this. Taking a Kunai in each hand, he watched with his sharigan eyes on what was before him, and he calmly accepted the scene before him.

Word Count: 740/2,500

Chakra: 170/200

Spoiler:

The group seemed to be willing to cooperate with Bokuden’s plan, now all they needed to do was follow it. Bokuden and his group darted off to the right, using the rocky terrain to provide cover as they positioned themselves in the open field to the right of the approaching enemy forces. Nagare did his part, summoning his bat to open the engagement as Bokuden requested. Bokuden could see the oil bombs falling from the sky and crashing into the enemy group, forcing the right half of the group to splinter off and begin heading to the field where Bokuden and his team were waiting in, not realizing that they were walking right into a trap. “Nicely done, Nagare,” Bokuden thought to himself with a smirk on his face as he watched his plan begin to take shape, “Now back off and don’t get yourselves killed.” While waiting to engage the enemy, Horui took out his note pad and scribbled a message on a blank page. He handed the notebook to Bokuden who peered down at the page to read the message, Are you ready to go?  Bokuden couldn’t help but smile at the message before handing the notebook back to Horui. “Listen to me Horui,” Bokuden said in a far more serious tone as the smile faded from his face, “Under no circumstance are you to enter the mist after we begin. You aren’t a close combat fighter and even if you were it is difficult to fight without your eyes if you have never known how to see without them. If anything happens to Satomi and I within the mist you leave us and regroup with Nagare and the others.”

Bokuden then pulled out a spool of wire and handed the unwound end to Satomi who held it in her teeth. The two then darted back and forth between two dead trees on the field, setting up a web like pattern. He also drew three kunai and a collapsible fuma shuriken and handed them to Horui as he took a knee. “After we create the mist I want you to stand on the other side of that wire trap. If any get out of the mist and try to come after you they will run into the taut wire and you can use that opportunity to finish them or run. Use these if you get the chance in order to avoid unnecessary chakra use. We can’t afford to let them wear us down, we need to take as many out as quickly as possible.” Bokuden shifted his gaze over the enemies that were fleeing the oil fire and approaching their location. “Now,” Bokuden continued as he raised himself from his kneeling position, “I believe it’s time to say hello to our guests. Let’s go Horui!” Bokuden began weaving a sequence of hand signs in a very demonstrative manner in order to make it clear to Horui that it was time to set their plan in motion. Bokuden then expelled a large cloud of mist that began to engulf the field and the approaching shinobi who had no choice but to run into it.

---

Word Count: 1579/2500

Nagare was now being surrounded by a sector of the group, about 5 of them quickly approaching. Two of them used a collaborative jutsu, combining Fuuton and Katon, and spewed a massive wall of flames that was approaching fast. With a quick glance from left to right, Nagare was impressed by his students. Etsuo seemed to be using a powerful Katon jutsu while combating enemies with kunai and the Sharingan. Yet another surprise; Nagare had no idea that Etsuo was an Uchiha (his last name was Yukimura, so he must have gotten the Sharingan from his mother or something and Uchiha was his maiden name), and was glad to have such a powerful ninja on their team. Kenji was slashing and spearing opponents relentlessly with a blade, and using shuriken when needed. So, they were handling their share of enemies; looked like Nagare would have to take on these 5 on his own. The wall of flames was only growing closer, so Nagare made some hand seals, and summoned a mass of bats to surround him in a defensive position. The flames collided with the dozens of bats, and the two canceled each other out. He then commanded Mohan to use a Genjutsu to confuse them. Mohan nodded, and suddenly, a gigantic fireball, as huge as Kumogakure no Sato itself, began falling from the sky slowly. A few more of the mercenaries noticed it, and they took off running, in hopes of dodging it. Mohan followed up with a Phoenix Flower Jutsu, spouting a stream of small fireballs to finish off the mercenaries who were retreating, before Nagare de-summoned him so that he wouldn't waste any more chakra.

Nagare noticed the expressions of Kenji and Etsuo and grabbed the both of them, whispering "It's not a real fireball. It's an illusion, just keep fighting." before letting go, and charging toward the Fuuton/Katon duo. A third ninja from the original group that had confronted him was behind them, preparing some sort of Fuuinjutsu technique. The other two that surrounded Naga were just knocked out by Mohan's Phoenix Flower Jutsu. So that left three for Nagare to kill; should've been easy enough. He pulled out all three of his Tachiba daggers, one in his left hand, one in his right, and one in his mouth, and tackled the Fuuton user, spinning in a counterclockwise 360° and in turn slashing the man's torso, shoulder, and finally his neck by the time the circle was complete. The man fell, dead, and Nagare now faced the Fuuinjutsu man and the Katon man, ready to kill them as well.

Horui was with Bokuden, who had handed him a series of weapons and begged him not to enter the mist when it was ready. He honestly wasn't worried about it, he always had his Heat Mapping Technique if he went blind. He stood behind the two booby-trapped trees, holding the Fuma Shuriken in hand, and activated the Hidden Mist Jutsu to add to the already large mist that Bokuden had created. He looked up and saw that Mohan had used his Descending Hell Technique, and urged to tell Bokuden that it wasn't real, but due to his muteness, it wasn't very possible. He figured it would be fine, though; Bokuden was in a thick mist, so he probably wouldn't see the genjutsu, anyways. So, he continued to wait for an enemy to confront him....

---

Word Count: 1,199/2,500

Nagare's Chakra - 65/125:

Horui's Chakra - 115/125:

Mohan's Chakra - 10/60:

Everything was going according to plan; everybody was executing their role to perfection. However, he was ready for Bokuden's unit to make their attack but as of right now Kenji needed to keep his distance. As the four mercenaries charged at Kenji who had the advantage of high ground; Kenji used his "Fantasy Mirror" Genjutsu to mask his escape from the much more dangerous attackers. The last two he confronted were bukitjutsu close range fighters; these four had water ninjutsu. He could see them manipulating the water on the ground and one was releasing a stream of water from his mouth.

Kenji's jutsu made the opponents think Kenji was running towards them but he was really running away. Kenji leaped in the air to avoid the stream of water; they would see him jumping over the stream and over them. As Kenji's reflection landed behind them; they turned around away from the real Kenji. Upon them turning around the Genjutsu was cancelled as they were no longer in range. Kenji was now more than 10 meters away and he launched 4 shuriken, one at each of the mercenaries. The shurikens connected at the center of each mercenary's back; they collapsed to the ground. They weren't dead, but they were injured giving Kenji more than enough time to increase his distance from the army even more.

While avoiding the four mercenaries Etsuo performed a magnificent fire technique. "Wow, if he keeps that up he won't have to worry about anyone getting too close." Then, Nagare manifested a fireball above head that dwarfed the battlefield. Kenji braced himself as his mind panicked to find a way to escape; as panic was about to overwhelm him, "It's not a real fireball. It's an illusion, just keep fighting." With a smirk Kenji realized that one of the troops could also be skilled in Genjutsu so Kenji activated his KKG. Genjutsu users were quite rare so he hasn't had many opportunities to utilize his special ability; but there was no predicting every individual's capabilities so he decided to activate his Genjutsu Block. In addition, Kenji's plan was to keep his distance from the enemy so he didn't have to worry about using excessive chakra. His chakra was flowing at dangerous speed as the density of his chakra thinned increasing the rate of flow, but decreasing the pressure of his chakra limiting his chakra use.

Nagare and his summon continued to smack the enemy with blazing chakra; Nagare even showed himself competent in close with the utilization of a dagger. With his kekkai genkai active and his right hand on the hilt of his katana; another wave of mercenaries trekked upwards. Of course Kenji was more than capable of defeating any enemy in close, but that was not the optimum fighting style for the current situation, because of the quantity disadvantage. Kenji was unsure of how long he could keep the enemy at bay seeing as he had little to no mid range capabilities, and a non existent long range repertoire. He would engage in close combat if he had to, but he was hoping that Nagare with his summons and Etsuo could continue to unleash mid range maneuvers to keep them at a distance and while they held them off Bokuden and his unit would hopefully have decreased their numbers greatly evening the battle. However, the battle was going very well; they had thwarted every move the enemy made; due to their supreme tactics and terrain advantage.

160/200:

MISSION WORD COUNT: 1383/2500

This battle was going to be a long one, he came to realize as his allies were all attacking along side him. The only bad part was that Etsuo didn't have another big jutsu like that to use to back up his opening of fire. He still had jutsu to use, but that was his big kicker and he surely wished that he had his puppets at this time. He stared down two mercenaries that were probably taijutsu users as they approached him and held kunai in hand as they approached. Just his luck as he was in no way a close range fighter even with his sharigan helping him along the way. Eventually within Etsuo's head, he said screw the close range combat, putting his kunai to the ground, and quickly made hand signs before the two approaching. He completed his objective before they could even come into range to touch him as he released the same jutsu as Nagare did earlier. A rather large fire ball went out towards the two and he watched as both got caught with in flames with severe burns in place on them.

He picked up his kunai just in time to see a fire ball in they sky, but his sharigan easily saw through the attempt and he knew before Nagare even told him just a few moments later, while he was grabbed by him. Many of the mercenaries, were now fleeing from the genjutsu that he easily saw through but, his enemies were not so lucky in this case. Etsuo could only watch and stare at the moment as his options were running very low with out a puppet at his side, the genjutsu would only fool this group for long and he believed that they still had things in their favor. For now all he could do was offer support to his allies in the best forms that he could offer. He watched a shinobi alone that seemed to have used Kai, to see through their little trick.

This was his target as he rushed forward with two kunai in hand, prepped for the tricks that may be used upon him, in the end through, it would come down to skill that wins the day. The two clashed and Etsuo dodged to the left as the mercenary attacked with his fuma shuriken. It was not the greatest move and then came the close combat as he came closer to this individual and pressure within built up. As the shinobi tried to capture him with a jutsu, Etsuo broke through with time to spare as the stabbed on of his kunai straight in and held it in the chest area.

At this moment, he came to realize the different clothes that each of the mercenaries wore on them and eventually, noted the one that he just killed fit that of Konaha, the place that he was just at only a while back.

"Why would anyone from there, want to attack a place like this for war?" He asked himself.

This was the kind of person that he wanted to avoid being, one that seek out to harm others, and enjoyed that fact. On this battlefield, Etsuo didn't really enjoy it as much as he knew that this was to protect their village. Although some enjoyment could be found at times, Etsuo did not see this. He saw pain all around him from what they have done, and terror in a lot of eyes that are in this pain. He simply, stabbed the mercenaries from before a second time in the chest area and removed both as he watched them go to the ground. What jutsu was that guy about to use, and he almost swore that he could of pulled it off, but after Etsuo got closer, he noted that he slowed down to the point, Etsuo got the lead on him. This was not the time, to ponder he guessed and resumed to observing his teammates and staying out of harm's way.


Word Count: 1,416/2,500

Chakra: 145/200

Spoiler:

As Horui joined Bokuden in covering the field in a thick chakra infused mist, Bokuden already had Satomi make preparations for their attack. A puff of smoke clouded her body as she activated her Humanoid Beast Form transformation jutsu, clearing after a moment to reveal Satomi standing on two legs resembling a werewolf. As the cloud of smoke disappeared completely, Satomi took a crouching position and awaited Bokuden’s signal, digging her razor sharp claws into the ground beneath her. As Horui’s finished completing the large cloud of mist and took his position behind the wire trap Bokuden placed his left hand at the top of his sheath, using his thumb to unlock his sword hilt. The flames spouting up from the oil fires Nagare’s bat created formed a wall which blocked off Bokuden’s view of the other group’s situation, hopefully they were following the plan. If anything went wrong Nagare would surely have gotten in contact with Horui, so at least for now Bokuden was able to be at ease and proceed with his attack. Bokuden raised his right hand up to ear level to silently tell Satomi to hold and waited a moment before forcefully making a chopping motion forward, leaving his arm fully extended and pointed towards the mist. That was the signal, both Bokuden and Satomi propelled themselves forward into the mist and prepared to engage the enemy.

Upon entering the mist Bokuden immediately activated his Current Perception: Combat Range in order to locate every enemy within the cloud, twenty in all. The hidden mist jutsu was a common tactic for him as the loss of his eyesight was inconsequential due to his kekkei genkai. Satomi likewise was capable of locating enemies through scent and auditory cues alone. Short of also having some super human senses or a powerful sensory ability, the attackers would have no means of keeping up with the duo within the mist. Bokuden made the first move, charging the closest opponent from behind and swiftly drawing his sword while slashing the man’s throat. Upon hearing the engagement begin Satomi also moved towards the nearest enemy and grabbed him from behind, twisting and breaking his neck. Approaching the next opponent Bokuden straightened his sword and thrusting it right through the man’s eye socket. Satomi’s next course of action was to approach two enemies who were standing back to back in an attempt to cover each other’s blind spots. “How cute,” Satomi said as she gripped her large hands round each man’s face and slammed both of their skulls into each other at full force. An enemy who had heard the crack of the two skulls ran up behind Satomi, his tanto drawn. It was a foolish attempt as his loud and clumsy footsteps and heavy breathing might as well have been an invitation to be killed by her. Satomi raised her long tail and wrapped it around the man's neck the moment he was within range and proceeded to slam his head into the ground.

Bokuden sensed two enemies running towards Horui’s location, but could not call out to him without revealing his position. He would have to hope that his trap would hold up and that Horui was prepared. A third man seemed to be running towards Horui from the other side as well, but was stopped dead in his tracks as 2 kunai thrown by Bokuden impaled the back of his head.

---

Word Count: 2161/2500

Bokuden's Chakra 185/200:

Satomi's Chakra 15/25:

The Fuuinjutsu user kept a steady gaze at Nagare, holding a burning hand. Each of his fingers glowed a blazing purple from their tips, and he kept the arm at his side, waiting for an opportunity. The Katon user made a few hand signs, and spewed a cluster of flames that spun around like a firestorm, headed straight toward Naga. Being careful not to get to burned, he managed to make a quick left, still taking a slight burn on his arm, before following through and stabbing the man with the knife in his left hand. He pulled the knife and threw it at the Fuuinjutsu user, before taking the other two and returning them to their sash-holster. The Fuuinjutsu man blocked it with some sort of barrier jutsu, where Nagare retrieved it from the ground and threw a punch at him. Yet another hit, blocked, and the opponent grappled Nagare and forced his burning hand forward. Nagare dodged, stepping back, and he bumped into the Katon user, who was looking angry, apparently having survived the knife-stab. They surrounded Nagare, ready to strike, but he released a wave of Raiton chakra, and they both fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

He pulled his Tachiba Knife from the fallen target's torso, and returned it to the last empty slot on the holster, looking up. It looked like he, Kenji, and Etsuo had all finished their half of the militia, judging by the 18 or so bodies that lined the ground. He turned to his students, with a smile, and gestured to the large cloud of thick mist to the west. "We've finished up this half of them, time to help Bokuden and Horui out. I say we should approach from different parts of the mist; you cover the west, Kenji, I'll get the north, and Etsuo, you take the south. Ready? Go!" and with that command, he sprinted forward toward the large cloud.

Horui still sat outside of the mist, waiting patiently for some combatants. He was growing bored when finally, a cluster of three mercenaries, one man and two women ran towards him. Two of them, stupidly enough, got caught in the wire and fell to the ground with deep gashes across their torsos. The third jumped over the wire and sprinted, her hair whipping in the wind as she raised her sword over head to attack. Horui blocked the slash with the Fuma Shuriken that Bokuden had given him, and then hit her in the face with the blunt side of it. She backtracked until her back was to the wire; Horui summoned Takeshi, who's white wings looked like ghostly ribbons flapping in the foggy air. Takeshi threw a quick Wind Vacuum Wave at her, and she was shredded to pieces, as the wind cut her from the front and the wire cut her from the back. Horui de-summoned Takeshi and looked down at the woman's dismembered corpse for a moment before facing the mist again, waiting for his next victims...

---

Word Count: 1,710/2,500

Nagare's Chakra - 50/125:

Horui's Chakra - 95/125:

Takeshi's Chakra - 10/30:

The mission turned out to be just as intense as he expected. Fortunately, he didn't have to expend too much energy as their field advantage allowed the mid to long range members to keep the enemies away while setting them ablaze. To his shock, Kenji had earlier faced two mercenaries that darted out of what seemed to be thin air and appeared within striking range. His many years of training in Bukitjutsu allowed him to thwart their attack rather easily as he was left no choice but to kill the attackers. The atmosphere was hectic and unsettling as screams rung through the marsh and blood filled his lungs. The iron tasted so bitter, as the splatter marked Kenji's face artistically almost. Throughout it all Kenji kept his mind on the objective; which was to protect his village. By any means necessary, there was no time for queasiness. Burnt flesh, slit throats, and absolute carnage was never something that was common amongst him. His clan were a very peaceful people, and occurrences like this was why they had isolated themselves from the way of the shinobi. However, it is the shinobi that keep the village, including the Chikara to an extent safe. Even though the Chikara have their own military comprised of clansmen; they could never fend off a serious attack upon the clan with their humble numbers.

The battle marched on from all fronts; torrents of sweat indicating the anxiety and effort. The sun managed to illuminate the field through the pestering clouds; allowing every cut and searing strike to be seen in high resolution. The mist concealed a great deal of the battlefield as the other sector of the army was being occupied with said mist that would allow for ambush tactics to debilitate the army further.

As the blue haired shinobi retreated he was able to survey the entire field. The field had a crimson glow; decorated with bodies that had been slain by Squad Samsara. A squad united to execute a vital task; some of the members were unfamiliar with each other but after experiencing such an ordeal as a team, they would surely formulate some bonds just from the stand alone. The moist ground left Kenji tilting to one side as he stood; still alert as he admired the work they had accomplished as a team. Then, not only did Kenji realize that the battle wasn't over but out of the corner of his eye he could see that Nagare had been sandwiched by two mercenaries. One was emitting a purple chakra from the tips of his fingers. "Looks like fuuinjutsu" he said as he began to make his way to aid Nagare. Within his first few steps his squad leader proved himself to be as skilled and as sharp as he imagined. Upon facing an attack from both fronts he released a raiton attack that toppled his foes.

A flickering spirit flowed through the vicinity of Kenji, a result of yet another commendable fire jutsu form Etsuo. Kenji didn't know much about Etsuo, but it was clear he was immensely talented; he could tell he was at a handicap. You don't advance this fast in the ninja ranks with just a few fire tricks. He was capable of a lot more but for some reason was not utilizing his full arsenal. Regardless, he was still obviously skilled enough to compensate for the disadvantage. Kenji would have ample time to spar and train with Etsuo; getting more of a grasp of his fighting style and his abilities.

Trudging and sloshing through the resistant terrain Kenji met Nagare's stare as he notified him and Etsuo of the next phase of their attack.  "We've finished up this half of them, time to help Bokuden and Horui out. I say we should approach from different parts of the mist; you cover the west, Kenji, I'll get the north, and Etsuo, you take the south. Ready? Go!"

Setting off in a flash of blue and silver emitted by his hair and lustrous gloves. As he moved into position to cover and support the other unit; a disturbance occurred around Kenji. Drawing his katana wildly as the trembling came from all around him. Then the sound narrowed to just behind him, but before he could react, what appeared to be a kunai was already beginning to penetrate Kenji's spine. Kenji could tell he was one of the few who were able to escape the always pesky "Hidden Mist" jutsu. The kunai appeared to go through but shortly after a screen of smoke appeared leaving the kunai to clash with another kunai. Out of the smoke Kenji charged forward toward the mercenary using the smoke to hide his later strike with his katana. He glided more so than he ran as he soared forward digging his katana right into the chest of enemy.

Continuing to his position Kenji formed a few hand seals as to prepare himself for whatever might happen; however, he was pretty sure given Satomi's great senses that they were having their way with the other half of the army. But, taking them all out while the mist was active was slightly unreasonable, so Kenji and the others were there to provide adequate back up. The numbers sure to be near even or at least 2 to 1, they would ensure their village's safety.

145/200:

MISSION WORD COUNT: 2289/2500

This battle was already halfway over and Etsuo began to realize that this has been going fairly quick and even near perfection, he however saw that their enemies had many flaws within their strategies and probably weren't prepped for a battle like this. They came to be closely within a group allowing them to fall preferably within many attack's range with damage being certain in nearly every case. Then it made them easier out of confusion and unfocused for them to start randomly attacking or fleeing as mist fell on one side of the fire and more flames on the other. Many would die in the chaos from no proper action to save others but stand alone and live like mercenaries, no point in fighting if you don't get paid after all and so many different villages meant there was no true leader to show the way in this advancement to there village. The flaws were so visible and open that they hit them perfectly to take down their foe, if they perhaps moved in separate groups and spread out, this would not have worked out and traps of high level would of been needed to work out.

Etsuo watched Nagare and Kenji take down the last of the mercenaries on their side, and was treated to a bit of a show, but he knew that if they ever needed a lending hand that he was present for them. As he focused on their leader for their squad and this mission, he watched him perform hand seals as two surrounded him but a wave of chakra exploded from him and disposed of both of the foes, but Etsuo was watching and felt as if he took a snapshot within his head of what Nagare just performed. He believed that he could perform that jutsu even himself if he wanted to, and he started to realize this was another effect of the sharigan eyes that he possessed within his blood. Their side was finally cleared, but he came to realize that there side of this battle was there victory, but they were clueless on how progress on the other side was going, not even Etsuo's sharigan could see through that mist, with that in mind if they were planning on entering it, was best if he had the deactivated and his eyes went back to normal.

Nagare suggested that they enter the mist as predicted to assist them but suggested that they each go from a different direct, that Etsuo guessed was to cover as much of the area as possible. With that, they could take down as many separate enemy forces and proceed to accomplishing this mission. His help would not be very well within this mist as he decided that what was best for him was to prevent any escapes from it. So as they all took of once more, Etsuo went to the south and prepped for any escapees and intercept them to disengaged or kill them if need be. His eyes were no longer, the signature sharigan but their regular color as he waited and watched the mist.

"Eventually this stuff will fade since it was created by chakra." He stated to himself.

He didn't encounter anymore of the mercenaries, but he was alright with this because he really didn't feel like harming them at the moment or killing them. Hopefully, this mission will be over and they can all go on with their peaceful lives,it couldn't be that easy though, could it?


Word Count: 2,010/2,500

Chakra: 120/200

Spoiler:

Bokuden made a quick scan of the area and saw that the mist was beginning to dissipate. “Better try to end this quickly then,” Bokuden thought to himself as he immediately located the nearest opponents. There were two enemies a few feet in front of him and he could almost feel their fear as he approached. Knowing that his time to utilize the mist to his advantage was rapidly coming to an end Bokuden wasted no time in making his move. Taking what was left of his wire out Bokuden snuck up behind the two shinobi, who were standing back to back in a defensive position like the two Satomi had taken out, and quickly circled the enemies, using the wire to form a lasso around their throats. As he tightened the wire the loop began to shrink and cut into the enemies’ throats. “Two more down,” Bokuden whispered before moving on.

Satomi released the body of the last opponent she dealt with from the grip of her tail and located her next victim standing about two meters from her. Satomi launched herself into the air and flew towards the enemy, landing a kick to the side of his head and following through causing her foot to bring the opponent’s head down with it, resulting in her crushing it against the ground. An enemy, kunai in hand, charged behind Bokuden, who saw the man coming the whole time, and was halted by the blade of Bokuden’s katana piercing into his gut as Bokuden extended the blade out behind him. Bokuden followed his latest kill up by charging behind the next nearest opponent, thrusting his sword into the back of the man’s head, causing the blade to jut out on the other side through the victim’s mouth. Satomi grabbed the next opponent she found and threw her out of the mist and into the location of the wire trap, sending her flying into the web of sharp wires and causing severe lacerations on all points of contact.

With the mist now not as dense, three enemies were able to surround Satomi and all charged at her weapons drawn. The first was taken out by a Fuma shuriken thrown by Bokuden which lodged itself into the man’s abdomen and caused him to collapse on the ground. Satomi avoided the blades of the other two by leaping straight up into the air, resulting in their blades clashing with each other. Before they had time to react to the situation Satomi came crashing back down to the ground using the two of their heads to break her fall and digging her claws into them. Down to their last enemy, Bokuden and Satomi began rapidly circling the enemy simultaneously before charging in to deliver the finishing blow. Bokuden came from the front, his sword being swung straight into the target’s throat while Satomi charged from the rear, straightening her hand as if to perform a chop, but instead thrusting it claw first at the back of the target’s neck. The result was a swift, though not particularly clean cut decapitation. The head rolled out of the mist and out in front of Kenji’s feet before Bokuden released the last of his mist, clearing the area.

---

Word Count: 2709/2500

Bokuden finished the last of the mercenaries with expert skill and dexterity, following each movement with an equally smooth action that lead to a thread of graceful death; like a grim reaper, he weaved his way through the mercenaries, using first the remaining wire to cut the necks of two, then using Satomi to kill more, and then ending it all with a gruesome decapitation via blade and claw. This man was definitely a skilled ninja, and a powerful addition to Squad Samsara. Nagare looked over to Etsuo, whose eyes were now dormant and pitch black like an abyss into his soul; such a dark gateway into such an innocent spirit. Etsuo was a simple boy, who had proven himself capable even without a puppet. And finally, Nagare turned to Kenji, whose unique combination of Kenjutsu and Genjutsu led to a fighting style like no other, confounding and killing enemies left and right. Nagare was proud of them for completing their task as they had, and finally looked down at the bloodied head that sat on the ground, a symbolic token of their victory.

"We're finished here. Good work, all." he said in a jovial tone that gave obvious indication of his true proudness. Horui joined the cluster, handing the weapons back to Bokuden with a half-grin and resting his head on Nagare's shoulder. His heat mapping technique released, and all of the thermal shades of blue and red that jaded his eyes by overloading his senses began to drift away, and his "sixth sense" of sorts gave way to the original five that he always felt. He hadn't seen too much action in this endeavor, but his fatigue was as real as any of the other's. Nagare patted Horui's shoulder before continuing his little speech. "You have all proven yourselves as decent ninja in my eyes, and I take pride in you all. Our next training session will be tomorrow morning, 8 o'clock sharp. Don't be late." and with that, he turned to leave, Horui following behind. He considered waiting for them so that they could collect the reward together, but realized that with this mission complete, they were closer to Jounin than ever before, and they would need to go to the Administration Building right afterwards, anyways. Life was changing for them; once they reached Jounin, they would be reaching new heights of power. Rank wasn't everything in the world of shinobi; Nagare had known many Genin that were stronger than ninja is his rank, even. But for him, it was about honor, and reaching Jounin had been his goal from the beginning, sort of as a way to proof himself.

Then again, there were the obvious benefits; access to hideouts in the village, ability to undertake S-Rank missions, and respect throughout from everyone by being recognized as powerful. His mind continued to wander at all of the possibilities, when Horui interrupted his train of thought. Naga, this isn't about doing missions and earning ryo to rank up. We need more training, so that we can have the power to deserve such a rank. We should ask Jishin to mentor us in close combat.

Nagare listened, intrigued by said proposal as he thought about mastering the art of the blade. Ah, Kenjutsu...he would carry on Gakuto's legacy and wield Shougeki as his own....it was almost poetic. A stolen blade, forged by his best friend's father, who would soon be killed. The same blade that the best friend had used against Nagare in their deathmatch, would be carried on in Nagare's hands in honor of him. A blade taken by a criminal, being used by the killer of the criminal to make the criminal love on vicariously through him. Nagare imagined the sleek feel of the blade's steel against his hand as it swiped through the wind...yes, he would ask Jishin after tomorrow's squad session.

The left-right steady beat of their steps on the way out only worked as a metronome for the flow of thoughts through Nagare's head. He was initially worried about how this squad change would be, considering he wasn't particularly fond of Bokuden and he hadn't known Etsuo before this, but now, he was happier than ever. He pulled a Tachiba knife from his holster and fiddled wit it as he thought to Horui This is our apex as Shinobi. We're abou to be Jounin, and our squad is so powerful, it's amazing.

Horui merely nodded and replied telepathically, You and I both know that this is not the apex; we're strong now, but we'll only keep getting better than this...

(Exit)

---

Word Count: 2,503/2,500

The mist began to dissipate; all that was left were bodies sprawled across the battlefield. Kenji's head lifted in surprised to the head that was at his feet; he slowly walked away and scanned the area with his katana still drawn. It appeared that Bokuden, Horui, and Satomi were able to finish the rest of the mercenary group off. It was clear that Kenji was apart of a very special squad; Kenji was well aware of Bokuden's skill for strategy and his killer instinct, then Nagare was immensely powerful with the summons he was capable of having aid him in the field along with a fighting partner such as Horui he almost always had the numbers advantage. Finally, Etsuo, a talented kid who had much to show and today displayed just a fraction of what he is capable of.

Nagare went on to congratulate the squad on the impressive and almost flawless victory. Everyone contributed greatly; which was necessary if they were going to stop such a skilled force. Kenji sheathed his katana and removed his gloves which had made his hands unbearably sweaty. He was satisfied with his performance, he then allowed his mind to steer away from the battle that just concluded. There would only be more responsibility and new adventures from here on. Then, Nagare told them of a training session tomorrow at eight o' clock in the morning. Kenji's head slumped down as he ruffled his teal colored hair. After exhaling; with a smile on his face he said good bye to his squad and left the battle field, heading for the village.


MISSION WORD COUNT: 2559/2500

The mist was lifting when everything came to an end and he could see that this was finally at an end with all of their enemies defeated and at their feet. All forty of there foes were down on the ground with injuries that would make it look like they got overpowered by a force of equal numbers or greater. It just showed how powerful and destructive they were as a squad and with their individual skills as shinobi. Kenji and Bokuden both showed their skills when it came to dispatching foes, while him and Nagare dealt with them through various fire jutsu from a distance by any means for the most part and keeping the enemy forces from forming groups large enough to be a major threat to any of them. This strategy seemed to be enough to deal with them since it was already noted that they had no obvious leaders among them and were from several different villages as well. It seemed as if all of the advantages laid with them from the choice of combat to the skills of those against them to their own. He was certain though that the skills of all of his squad mates were above the average mark.

Eventually, their leader, congratulated them on the success of the mission. This made Etsuo smile a little as he came to a relived and calm state as he came to realize this. After that, it was stated that they had training at eight in the morning the next day and they were not to be late for it. This made Etsuo kind of forget a bit of the fight that they have gone though just now, but he knew inside that he would be doing it again and inside, he felt alright with that fact. Everyone else was doing their absolute best for their squad, clan, and the village. There was no reason that he should ever be intimidated by a force like the one before them as he knew that these three would have his back on his lonely road. As they were all departing and heading back to the village with farewells. Etsuo thought of how he could tell his father in the hospital, that he completed his first A rank mission and about his splendid teammates.

Although his father was all that he had left and he was in a coma, he still wanted to see him and talk to him on a daily occasion if he could help it. He could see it though as they all departed that a strong bond would build between them all as they all went down the shinobi's way. Perhaps it took the lost of his real family to realize the friends and allies that he had all around him. In the very end, Etsuo held his hand up in to the sky and had one last thing to say.

"I won't lose, what you've left to me." Refering to his brother that died protecting him and awakening his eyes, the Sharigan.

[Exit Thread]

Word Count: 2,526/2,500

Once the final enemy fell and the mist cleared, the squad reconvened. Horui returned the equipment Bokuden had given him at the beginning of the battle. Nagare gave some encouraging words to the group before informing them of their training session scheduled for the next morning and taking his leave. "Ugh, morning people..." Bokuden thought to himself, discouraged by the thought of getting up so early. Both Kenji and Etsuo soon followed leaving Bokuden and Satomi standing alone amongst the corpses of the enemies he had previously fought. "Well, what do you think?" Bokuden asked while turning to Satomi who stood beside him.

"It's bizarre that you ended up getting paired with Kenji and Nagare. We already know a bit about their abilities. The other one however, we still know nothing about. I suppose we will find out in the morning, though."

"I guess you're right. Let's get out of here, I don't want to get the stench of death on my clothes," Bokuden retorted before making his way back to the village. Satomi followed suit, curious about what the next day would entail.

[Thread Closed]