Starring:
Tsugumi, Suzu, Kyuketsuki, Nonon, Saori, Aru
Date: September 16, 2016
Summary:
A FILLER MISSION. Just what's desired at this dramatic moment. Team 13, with the addition of Kyuketsuki, go out in search of a dognapped nin-ken alongside his Inuzuka partner.
"Dognapped! Pt. 1"
Land of Fire
APOCRYPHAL FILLER MISSION TIME.
Team 13 has been tasked with tracking down a dog. NO. This isn't one of those kinds of missions. This dog is actually important. A nin-ken of the Inuzuka Clan injured on a mission and treated for broken bones in the field was abducted on the way back to Konohagakure.
The canine, doped up on anesthetic and with its legs in improvised casts, was unable to assist the team as his human partner and the other two team members had to fend off mysterious enemy shinobi.
With the Inuzuka, the premiere tracking Clan of the Village, unavailable to help out, it fell to Joint Sensor Unit Team 13. Their inability to track by scent is a problem, but the human partner, Inuzuka Kon, has received enough healing from Saori to come with them. He won't be helping much in combat though, most likely. The other two team members are the ones who reported back and made the nature of the situation known to the Hokage in the first place.
Kon just wouldn't go back to the Village while his team mate still out there. Since he's already on the trail, they're able to pick it up swiftly, and soon, Uchiha, Hyuga, Namikaze, and Hatake ninja are all racing through the forests, pursuing these dognappers.
Tsugumi is letting the Inuzuka take the lead, while keeping an eye out for trouble. If they were able to overcome a ninja team of the Hidden Leaf, these are no slouches.
Suzu has known a few Inuzuka in her life so far. She knows that their nin-ken are very important to them. More than pets, they are family, friends, team mates… Loved ones who will fight for their humans. And the human partner will do the same. Having recently lost family herself, knowing that fear as someone she cares about gets carried away… She doesn't want to wind up in another situation where killing the one they're trying to rescue is necessary.
She'll do it right this time. She'll show that she's stronger. She's running along with the others, in an outfit that Kyuketsuki likely hasn't seen her in before. It's new, because her old one wasn't messed up and didn't fit anymore.
To be honest, this one doesn't look like it fits either, but in a different way.
Her Sharingan is active as a dull red glow, but she is ready to amp up the Chakra level instantly in response to any enemy action. She hopes there WILL be enemy action.
Uchiha Kyuketsuki was brought along as a replacement member of Team 13. Replacing Rinoko temporarily. He would be wearing his normal cloak, the black hooded cloak with red trim, interior of the cloak a light red. Kyu's hair was tied back in his somewhat new display of a ponytail. Kyu's eyes also held within them the dull red of the mastered Sharingan, ready for anything. Kyu was silent and lost in thought. Mainly thought about what Tsugumi had said not too long ago.
Namikaze Nonon is not much of a tracker. Not yet. She's been focusing on developing her jutsu in other areas recently, but now that she has useful skills, she intends to start working on ways to contribute to Team 13 as a sensor. This mission isn't the time for training though. The blonde darts along with the others, keeping a position at the center of the formation. With her speed, she can react to an attack from any direction, moving ahead or behind to support others as-needed. They notify her of what's coming, she reacts.
She hasn't lost any family members, but she does still feel guilty she couldn't be there to help rescue Uchiha Ken with the others. Maybe she could have made a difference if she'd been there. Maybe not. But now she'll never know.
She looks over to Kyuketsuki, unsure if she met him before not. Having a guy on the team after so long of it just being girls is kind of weird. But she's not complaining. "If you pick up anything, let me know, okay~?" she says to him, all smiles. n___n
Saori treated Inuzuka Kon with her Medical Ninjutus: the skill that was the main reason for her being on the team in the first place, and thus what she has focused on in her training. It seems Team 13 goes on a lot of missions where they get trashed by the enemy. To keep that from being life-threatening, or at least curb some of the threat, she heals people. The small white-haired girl knows only what she has been taught about the Inuzuka, and doesn't otherwise grasp their relationship dynamic with their dogs at all.
She also wasn't on the team when Ken died, so she has no emotional investment in that matter either, except in relation to it upsetting her team mates.
But as she keeps her senses open for signs of unusual Chakra, the fact that Nonon goes out of her way to tell Kyuketsuki to let her know if he detects anything seems odd to her…
But then she figures it out. .oO(Aah… Kyuketsuki-san is not a usual member of the team. Without having had time to drill any formations, she's indicating that she is able to respond if he calls out about noticing anything, as she normally does for the rest of us. I see. A simple and subtle way of improving team work with a new ally. Very clever on Nonon-san's part.)
Saori nods to herself firmly and lets out little quiet, 'Hm, hm's.
As a Hyuga, sensing is Aru's whole thing. She has no reason to focus on much else except for self-defense. She isn't an offensive combatant. Her Byakugan is active as she watches all around the team, left, right, forwards, back, above, and even below. There's a circle of awareness projecting from Aru and covering everything as they approach, pass, and leave it behind. If an enemy enters her range, she'll know it.
She is keeping feelings about past and current missions out of her mind presently, focusing only on the objective. She interprets Nonon's message to Kyuketsuki very differently from Saori though.
She scowls at the blonde as she flirts with the first guy to be on the team with them in a long time. "Dirty-minded." she mutters, not-quite-quietly. She looks away afterwards though, focusing on Inuzuka Kon.
"Kon-san. Can you tell us anything about the attackers? Did they seem to be affiliated with a specific Village? Did they use particular jutsu or fighting methods? Anything that could give us an idea of what to expect could improve the chances of success on this mission."
Tsugumi is glad she had Kyuketsuki come along. They needed a replacement member for Rinoko, who was unavailable, and she'd been considering Kyuketsuki for Team 13A anyway. And maybe Hinotori as well… Hyuga Reime was basically on reserve status, and with Team 13B basically being a four-woman squad now with the addition of Saori, Team 13A was down to her and Suzu.
This will help see how Kyuketsuki works in the field. If he meshes well with the team, then his medical expertise would be very useful on Team 13A, just as Saori's and Rinoko's are valuable for 13B.
Tsugumi doesn't want a repeat of Ken anymore than anyone else here.
"Yes, Aru's right. Please tell us everything you were able to determine about the attackers, Kon-san." Tsugumi agrees with the Genin. They had gotten a basic summary already, but it had been scarce on the details. She also ignores the teasing and taunting with Nonon and Aru. That's about standard for them. Tsugumi's own Sharingan is already active just like Suzu's and Kyuketsuki's. There's no reason for it not to be at this point.
Kon is focused fiercely on the scene he is following, using his Chakra-enhanced senses and natural olfactory abilities to identify the trail of his constant companion. Constant until now, anyway. When asked questions, he narrows his eyes. "I didn't see much. They attacked us in the dark. It happened very quickly. They were so dirty that they smelled like wild dogs. Or maybe that was an attempt to mask their scent. All I know is, the way they fought… The way they totally destroyed us… Their Chakra…"
Kon looks aside dramatically. "…They weren't human."
There's a nice dramatic pause there for people to react dramatically. And then Kon suddenly looks forward with a 'hmmm!?' "We're close. The enemy is just up ahead."
Suzuha is ignoring the playful banter between Nonon and Aru, and even the presence of Kyuketsuki as anything other than another set of eyes for finding the enemy, and another set of hands for taking them apart. She is in serious mode, and has no time for joking around. The announcement that they're 'not human' just makes her furrow her brow a bit. She thinks to Tatsuo, another inhuman ninja, and wonders if it's something similar. There are other Jinchuuriki out there, aren't there? Though what they'd want with an Inuzuka's nin-ken escapes her.
Then she hears that the enemy is close by. Her eyes flare to bright red and she puts her hands together in front of herself, molding Chakra as she runs and leaps. Yet another sign that her training with Aru to improve her Chakra control has paid off. She can split her attention much more easily now and still retain basic Chakra control.
"Can you guess at how many there were?" she asks, the first thing she's said all mission.
She wants to know how many she's going to be killing today.
Kyu's attention was on his surroundings, but a voice breaking the silence does grab his attention. He looks at Nonon and then nods. "Hai. Keeping vital information to myself would be a poor decision in all situations." Though the comment from Aru does earn a bit of confusion. Didn't seem like any dirty mindedness was going on. Or maybe Kyu was just too innocent-minded.
Kyu does look at Kon, listening to his explaination of the enemy. The comment about them not being human does not get too dramatic of a response from Kyu, he simply gives a neutral stare, Kyu clearly thinking of possibilities, before snapping his attention back forward as the announcment that the enemy is ahead is made. Kyu makes a handseal, preparing chakra. Kyu's chakra, for anyone that can sense it, would suddenly flare to bijuu-like. His Sharingan would perfectly mirror Suzu's, brightening as well.
Nonon looks towards Aru, but the Hyuga is already looking away and engaging their Inuzuka escort in mission-relevant conversation. She'll get back at her for that comment later. For now, she listens to the answer given. Inhuman opponents? Identifiably so, by their Chakra? That's not the best thing to hear. More alarming is the fact they're apparently really strong. She isn't sure she wants to find out how strong.
Maybe this will be more of a stealth operation than a combat one? Her own Chakra doesn't need molding right now. She has no immediate intention of using any jutsu, and when she does, she can flip a switch in her head that makes gathering it and then using it essentially a free action.
She does draw a kunai though.
"Knowing how many we're up against would probably be useful to know, yes. I wish we had a better idea of what kind of attacks they used though. Fire? Water? Swords? Teeth? Acid puke?" Really, this is kind of important to know. She doesn't want to get barfed on.
Saori doesn't have anything to prepare. She stays towards the back of the group, with Aru. Her combat abilities are weak, and she's needed to treat anyone if they get injured. They're probably going to need her healing for the missing dog when they find him, if two legs are broken. She doubts she can actually mend broken bones at her level of skill, but she might be able to get the process started or repair enough damage to make transporting him easier.
She has to wonder what kind of enemy tries to sneak up on an Inuzuka by making themselves smell like wild dogs though. Do they use the skins of wild dogs as clothing? Like, hunters or something? A nasty suspicious begins to percolate in her head that she hopes is unsupported. She doesn't want to get there and find out Kon's nin-ken has just become some dip-face's new poncho.
"Kon-san." Saori begins, but she isn't sure what to say. She just adds on finally, "We'll find him and bring him home." She leaves unsaid, 'in whatever state he's in, and however much of him we can find'.
Aru frowns at that news. Non-human attackers? She's inclined to dismiss that. There are ninja with very strange abilities in the world. Ones that can disguise their Chakra, or transformation techniques that hide their true forms… All sorts of things. And honestly, is an Inuzuka going to have a better knowledge of another person's Chakra than a Hyuga? Doubtful. Aru will reserve judgement for herself. But she does switch her Byakugan from 360 degree vision mode to a broad cone in front of her. If they're approaching the enemy, she wants to see them before they see her.
"I'll know how many there are shortly." Aru promises as she prepares to count them and identify their locations so her allies can figure out the best way to either avoid them or take them down.
Tsugumi isn't sure how to parse the 'non-human' statement. Like Aru, she's withholding judgement until she sees for herself, but the young Inuzuka may be entirely right. Or partially right. Like Suzuha, she knows of Jinchuuriki. She'll just have to hope they're not facing anything like that.
Kon shakes his head. "There were too many, and I was busy fighting, trying to keep them away from Gao. I couldn't count them all. A couple dozen at least." A couple dozen enemies is also not good news.
Tsugumi's Sharingan remains at its current subdued level, but she takes the time to mold a LOT of Chakra. So much that to those who can see it, she practically glows. "I'm ready to flood their entire encampment," Tsugumi announces calmly. "Focus on locating Gao. We'll extract him while they deal with all the water, and get out." A lengthy infiltration mission with an unknown enemy of an unknown type with unknown jutsu isn't on the menu if she can avoid it.
Then, the team breaks through the tree line, and Kon announces, "This is it!" as he skids to a stop. The sun shines in their eyes blindingly for a few moments after exiting the shadowed cover of the forest's canopy. And what they see before them is…!
A huge field, filled with dogs.
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head. Medium-sized ones too. Dogs of all kinds of breeds. Lying around, running around, jumping, playing, chasing, rolling, barking, eating, sleeping, doing… Other dog things. Just lots and lots of dogs. LOTS of dogs. Hundreds even. Tsugumi stares for a few moments. Then she looks to Kon and says, "You couldn't tell you were being attacked by dogs? Actually, more importantly, you got beat up by wild dogs?"
Kon just rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I said it was dark! And they didn't look like normal dogs!" He also 'tch's and says, "And they weren't using normal dog fighting moves. They were ninja-caliber! This place we've found… We may have just stumbled upon…" Dramatic pan-out! "…The Hidden Village of Dogs!"
Suzu comes to a stop with the others, and stares at what they've arrived at. "…Oi." she begins, unamused. Her face is totally nonplussed. Just a blank-eyed, squinting, disgusted expression. "Which one of these is your dog? Find him so we can leave." What an enormous waste of time. 'Hidden Village' her foot. This is just a bunch of dogs in some kind of field or something! "Seriously, what part of this is a village?" she mutters.
Kyu looks at the field of dogs and can't help but remember a certain someone's puppy based Genjutsu. He blinks confusedly. Though he remains calm and collected as usual. "Well… If the dogs get hostile I can offer to put them all harmlessly to sleep." Kyu looks around at the dogs. "Never actually had the opportunity to try -that- Genjutsu on such a wide scale. Even if it's not quite on human targets." Kyu is reserving his judgements on the dogs until he sees they are hostile or not. They could be friendly. Or they could be ravenous deadly murderous monsters! Either way, Kyu is keeping his guard up. Though his method of keeping his guard up merely means watching the dogs closely with a neutral expression. Arms hidden beneath his cloak.
"…So, teeth then, I'm guessing." Nonon says as she emerges from the forest with the others and sees what lies before them. If Kon was right about them being non-human, she supposes he may be right about them being dangerous and powerful too. So while she is making no hostile movements, she IS ready to respond at a moment's notice if something happens. Wild dogs defend their territory, right? That's a thing? "If you can tranquilize them, that'd be great. Best I can do for non-lethal is blind them temporarily and I can only do one at a time. Three if that's all I focus on doing. And it won't last long."
Saori sees all the doggos. ALL the doggos. There are a lot of doggos. She scans for any dog that looks like it's from Konohagakure, but she isn't sure how she'd know that without a description. "Can you describe our target? More eyes may help find him faster." She has nothing to provide for non-lethal, not that she can think of a reason not to use lethal force if that becomes necessary. These aren't THEIR dogs after all.
She'd just as soon leave fighting to those who qualify for it though.
…Well. It's ironic that the two kunoichi so different from each other are thinking the same thing. That if Kon was right about them being non-human, then he might be right about them being very dangerous and powerful as well. Or maybe Kon is just dumb and his team was weak, she doesn't know. But this doesn't appear to be a Genjutsu, and her Byakugan is confirming these are indeed all dogs. So she'll just scan for the one with the most Chakra, because clearly that will be the nin-ken, right?
"There are a LOT of dogs. Hundreds of them. I know I said I'd count them all, but there are too many to count. I'll just pick out which one has an abnormal amount of Chakra and—" then Aru's left eyelid twitches a bit. Almost every single one of these dogs… "…Almost every single one of these dogs is a nin-ken. And ALL of them have Chakra levels far higher than a normal domesticated dog's." And some of them appear to be pretty dog-gone strong.
Then she sees one particular Chakra signature stronger than all the others, and turns to face in that direction. "There! The strongest one is over there! And… It appears both forelegs are damaged."
Tsugumi was staring with the others. This is totally not what she expected to be doing with her day. But Aru's pronouncement has the mature kunoichi looking at her in startlement and then scanning over the field. "All of these… Are ninja hounds?" And with enough Chakra that they noticeably stand-out from normal dogs, as well. Hundreds of them.
…Maybe stealth would have been a better approach after all, but honestly, with this many dogs, and them all being nin-ken they probably would have detected them. Infact, she's surprised they haven't already done so and reacted.
She looks down at a stocky bulldog so compact that he looks a bit like a hamhock with legs as he lies on the ground in front of them, panting, turns to look at them, and just lazily watches the collection of humans apathetically.
"…They may be nin-ken, but maybe if we just don't do anything to agitate them, we'll be fine. Let's try to pick our way through towards where Aru detected that Chakra." Tsugumi leads the way here, as Kon sniff-sniffs the air, trying to zero in on his partner's scent.
A couple dogs give 'wuff. wuff' sounds under their breath like they aren't sure if they should alerting at the humans or not, but none of them try to attack. Still, knowing they're moving ever deeper into an entire field of animals who could easily kill a normal human even if they were completely mundane, let alone ninja, is kind of stress-inducing.
Eventually, weaving their way through the field, they come into sight of a rocky outcropping, with a pristine white dog on it with odd markings on its forehead and a little tuft of fur that is kind of curly. It almost looks like some kind of… Hairstyle?
Kon looks up, with a, 'Hnn!?' "Gao is just over there…!" he starts. But then there's a lot of dog noises all around them, barking of dogs young and old, and a veritable wall of dogs comes charging through. At first it may appear to be an attack, but they pass right by the humans, running around and forming into a circle around that rocky outcropping as the curly-haired dog stands up from the rock. Then they all sit up and wait at attention for something.
That something appears to be another dog, who is slowly working his way up the rocky, to the peak. His front legs are in improvised casts, formed from stone (likely via the Earth Ninjutsu of Kon's team mates prior to the attack), but the huge, majestic black-furred dog with two little yellow markings above his eyes like eyebrows, eventually reaches the top of the rock and looks down at them all.
And all around them, the other dogs starting howling and barking and yipping and aroooooooing.
Kon is grinning as he rubs a finger under his nose and chuckles a bit. "Hehe… I leave Gao alone for a little while, and he becomes king of the dogs!"
This is not the mission Suzuha signed up for. THIS IS NOT THE MISSION SUZUHA SIGNED UP FOR. Still, she follows along after her mother, keeping her senses sharp, even if her interest in this mission is pretty spent. She thought she'd be rescuing the equivalent of a missing family member for an ally. Maybe she still is, but the threat appears to be minimal, both for them and the dognapped victim. Sure, sure. If all these dogs attacked at once, they'd be in for a rough time, and probably die. But c'mon! They're dogs!
Suzu has spent her whole life in a Village with dogs, so she doesn't really perceive them as dangerous. At least not to herself. They're just kind of… Dogs. "Kon. Collect your king and let's go. I'm not interested in being here any longer than I have to be, and to get Gao proper medical treatment, we need to get him back to the Village. Emperor Dogatine is going to have to have his coronation another day."
She'd just as soon that Kyuketsuki save his Chakra, but if it comes down to making a lot of dogs play dead, he's going to be better at making that happen than Suzuha is. Her Genjutsu skill isn't nearly as advanced as his or her mom's.
Kyu is just… Overwhelmed by the level of confusing things going on right now. Kyu just… Goes along with it, just confused and keeping a neutral poker face of utter confusion. He'd be ready to use his Genjutsu at a moment's notice but he really doesn't know how to react to all this other than that.
Kyu looks around as the dogs circle around their new king with neutral interest. This is something you don't see every day. He casually comments, "And my list of strange things I've seen just got that much longer." From a Gansaku who didn't have a proper sense of self matching his form simply because she liked him, to temporarily secretly dating a Kiri nin who ended up kidnapping him… Yep, this still takes the cake of strange things he's seen.
Nonon is finding it increasingly difficult to not want to stop to squeal at all the dogs. Especially the puppies, like, omgosh. But she keeps focused kind of! When they make the discovery that Gao has been promoted (elected? christened?) to King of The Dogs, she claps her hands quietly for him, and then agrees with Suzu. "Yes, please collect Gao so we can leave. This is a great place and all, and I'm happy for him, but we've gotta' get back to the Village." For many reasons. Treating Gao is only one of them. Another is, 'as great as dogs are, she doesn't want to spend her whole life among them.'
Ah, so that's the target. Saori looks at the dog's legs, surprised it can even stand on them right now. Even moving slowly, those stone casts can't have just fixed a pair of broken legs. And they'd also probably be very, very heavy. Must be a strong dog to be able to move in them at all. She decides to address the dogelephant in the room before anyone does anything foolish, though she too claps quietly as nin-ken howl all around them.
"Are we certain that we will be permitted to bring Gao back to the Hidden Leaf? Further, are we certain he will want to go? He has been made royalty, it appears, has many enthusiastic subjects…" She isn't debating whether he SHOULD be brought back, only the viability of forcing the issue.
Aru frowns. As much as she'd like to leave with minimal fuss and bother, and Kon's companion in tow, Saori makes some really good points. "These nin-ken attacked human ninja to bring Gao here and make him their king. What makes us think they'll let us leave willingly?" She scans around to see how many dogs are within range of her senses. That is probably the minimum range they'll need to keep other dogs from entering after Kyuketsuki knocks out the one's nearby.
And that's assuming he can take out ten, fifteen, twenty… Uhh… Fifty-seven… "…Kyuketsuki-san, what is the highest number of targets you can reliably affect with your Genjutsu simultaneously in a meaningfully lasting manner, and at what range? Because every dog within a 30 meter radius of my position needs to go to sleep if this becomes violent, and then the rest of us need to impede any others from entering that radius as we make our way out of here." Aru pauses then and looks to the actual team leader. "…Assuming that is okay with you, Tsugumi-sensei."
Before Tsugumi can answer Aru's proposal or anything else, Inuzuka Kon just closes one eye and squints at Aru and Saori. "Haaaaah!? Why wouldn't Gao want to come back with us? He's a ninja of the Hidden Leaf! He belongs with us! Besides, I'm his best friend!" Kon starts walking through the crowd of dogs, hands held out near his shoulders, palms up, like he's shrugging at all these foolish allies of his. "There's no need for jutsu! I'll just tell him we're going home and—"
Suddenly, Kon brings his foot up short, startling, as the dogs notice him approaching their king. Growls and an immense collective aura of dogly menace is directed at him, and to a lesser extent the other humans.
Kon sweats a bit, but then just turns to his nin-ken and calls out, "OI, GAO-KUN! Call off your followers! We need to get back home!"
Gao notices Kon, his squinted eyes opening wide as he sees his human, tail wagging, then he looks to the side at what is apparently a very pretty (to a dog) lady dog. She turns up her nose at Kon, and Gao whines as he settles back down on the rock on his belly.
Tsugumi looks around, slightly nervous herself, but focused on what they need to do to get out of here alive and with Gao in their company. But then a droopy-faced mastiff approaches, with some kind of cloth or something strapped to his back with the kanji for 'Wise' drawn on it. How the dog came into ownership of such a thing will forever remain a mystery.
A chihuaha skips along at the bigger dogs side. The mastiff woofs at the human ninja a bit, and the Chihuaha then starts yipping as well. Is… Is the chihuaha…
…Is the chihuaha translating the mastiff for them, and forgetting that it is also speaking in dog?
Kon is nodding in understanding as he listens to the dogs. Then he says, "I see… I see…" Finally, when the dogs stop, he turns to the others and says, "This gentledog says that their wisehound is saying that Gao is due to become the mate of their princess. While we are welcome to attend the ceremony, we should leave immediately afterwards… And he'll be staying."
Then Kon frowns and turns back on the chihuaha as he says, "GIMME A BREAK! THERE'S NO WAY WE'LL DO THAT! Just tell Gao we're going home! He can bring his mate with him if he wants!"
This gets another wave of menace directed towards them, and the mastiff frowns at him in the way only a saggy-jowled dog can. The chihuaha bares its little needle teeth and goes, 'Grrrrrr grrrrrrrrrr'.
Kon sweats again as he rethinks his life choices.
Tsugumi isn't yet convinced that violence is necessary here. She does tell Kon, "Please tell them that I say we would be happy to attend the ceremony, and would like to wish Gao the best of luck as the new king. We won't harm him in any way, as he is a comrade of ours. A member of our 'pack'."
Kon turns in dismay, "You can't be serious!?"
Tsugumi just stares blandly at Kon and repeats, "Tell them."
Kon 'kk!'s and does so. Soon, the atmosphere is much friendlier. Tsugumi must have some plan, right?
Suzu doesn't care for this threatening atmosphere, but unless she's ready to start torching dogs, there's not much she can do about it. And cooking hot dogs isn't something she's prepared to do. Of course her mother has a plan… She's just trying to figure out what. In the meanwhile, however, she keeps an eye on their surroundings. Dogs may be rather simple-minded, but that doesn't mean they can underestimate them. Especially not ninja-trained ones.
Kyu simply stares, still just as pokerfaced as ever. Is this really happening? "The absolute range of my jutsu is unknown to me. I never tried it on this scale. But if I had to guess, it should be able to take out any number in thirty meters. Give or take." Kyu shrugs. "So you should be safe if that happens." Beyond that Kyu allows Tsugumi and Kon to do stuff.
Nonon hmms thoughtfully. So the dogs aren't going to hand Gao over willingly. And Gao is already whipped by his soon-to-be-bride. And Tsugumi has some sort of plan… She flips that switch in her head, mentioned before, the one that governs her Kekkei Genkai. She isn't using its abilities yet, nor molding Chakra. But when she needs to, she'll be able to very quickly, and then move. Likely to grab up Gao and try to carry him out of here. She's never carried something as big as Hyooj Doge before, but there's a first time for everything, as this mission indicates.
She looks to Kyuketsuki meaningfully. Whatever is about to happen, he's probably going to be needed to put some dogs to sleep. Play dead? Both of those are awful euphemisms for what the Uchiha will need to do!
HE'LL GENJUTSU THEM. THERE.
It seems Saori was correct. Aru as well. The dogs will not relinquish their new king easily. Saori has an idea for how to get in closer though. She says, "Kon-san. Please inform them that I am a healer. I would like to, as a… Mating gift, heal Gao's legs as best as I can, so that he can walk around without pain." If she is permitted to approach, she does exactly as she has said she would. She stands in front of Gao as he lies there on the rocky ledge, and starts focusing on healing his injuries by infusing glowing green Medical Chakra into his limbs.
Of course, there's another reason for what she's doing. It's also so that, when they get out of here, Gao is able to run on his own to some degree. That will be necessary since he still has these big stone weights encasing his front legs. Ninja hound or not, that is going to slow him down. And if Nonon tries to carry him, Saori isn't at all sure the Namikaze ninja has the strength for it. So Saori will just have to do her part… As inconspicuously as possible.
Aru hears Kyuketsuki's estimate of range and targets… That should be no problem then. With that, they should have room to maneuver. Though, these being nin-ken, they'll also likely be faster, stronger, smarter, and tougher than normal dogs… Maybe even able to use special techniques? She doesn't know how ninja dogs work.
Though the fact they're getting the story of what's going on through a human, translating for a dog, who is translating for another dog, is a bit too surreal for Aru. She blocks all that out and focuses on the matter at hand. She sees what Saori is doing. Healing Gao as much as she can so that he can run. His bones won't be fully healed, but he will have something at least.
And Aru… Aru is no Earth-style user. But she has Juuken. And she might be able to weaken those stone casts on Gao's legs enough to break him out of them. Honestly, heavy stone isn't doing his legs any favors. He needs plaster. And a veterinary hospital, but that's part of hwy they're bringing him back, you know? For now, all that Aru can do is keep an eye on the enemies and look for a chance to help Gao break out of his rocky restraints. She knows by now that Tsugumi is a skilled planner. With Kyuketsuki's Genjutsu, Nonon's speed, Saori's healing abilities, Suzu's firepower, and Tsugumi's strong jutsu, all combines with Aru's perception abilities, they WILL complete the mission. She just knows it.
And that's why her Byakugan is still active, even in this lull when the dogs are okay with them.
All necessary messages are conveyed. All arrangements are made. Saori heals up Gao's legs to the best of her abilities. Aru weakens the stone with a Juuken massage. Kon bids a tearful farewell, unaware of the abilities of Team 13. Even Gao's eyes water comedically.
Then Tsugumi's turn comes, and she walks up to Gao, all smiles, pets his head and says, "You have a very pretty mate. I hope you can be happy together in the future. But right now… It's time to come home."
Then Tsugumi's already huge chest swells even more tremendously as she seems to breathe in very, very, VERY deeply.
Kon's eyes bug out of his head at the display.
Then Tsugumi begins spewing out an enormous amount of water, as she mentally intones, 'Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!' And just like that, the Hidden Village of Dogs is subjected to an enormous tidal wave appearing right in the middle of everyone, sweeping away dogs of all kinds, and creating a watery 'platform' for the ninja to stand on. Tsugumi uses her precision with Chakra Shaping and the continuous expelling of water from her mouth, to give them and Gao a ride OUT of here.
Nin-dogs panic, running all around… But some of the fiercer ones leap up onto the tidal wave and start running towards the humans! …This would be the moment when Kyuketsuki is needed to put the pursuers to sleep. And this is also the moment when making Gao not weigh a bunch would be useful for him being able to stand on the water safely, so maybe someone strong like Suzu could finish what Aru started and break the stone casts.
Saori keeping watching for anyone who gets injured, of course, doesn't even need explanation.
Though given the surprise tidal wave plus Kyuketsuki's Genjutsu will they even need to worry about anyone getting injured? After all, they're getting away! The dogs can't chase them like this!
As dogs shake themselves off in the wake of the team's watery retreat, the Dog Princess, is an apopleptically barking, seems to be directing all of the dogs nearby to chase after the ninja. Some do so right away, but a number of very distinctive dogs wearing little dog vests, capes, sunglasses, and other ostensibly human accessories, dramatically step forth and move to surround the princess. The Royal Doguard are here. And the princess is radiating a LOT of Chakra.
Maybe this escape isn't going to be as easy as they thought…
