Starring:
Tsugumi, Suzu, Kyuketsuki, Nonon, Saori, Aru, Rinoko
Date: October 7, 2016
Summary:
The royal doguard of the Hidden Dog Village are pursuing the rescuers! A battle upon a tidal wave against surfing dogs in sunglasses commences! Will their back up arrive in time?
"Dognapped! Pt. 2"
Hidden Dog Village, Land of Fire
APOCRYPHAL FILLER MISSION CONTINUED…
Team 13 plus Kyuketsuki went to go rescue the captured nin-ken partner to an Inuzuka after said Inuzuka and his team were ambushed by inhuman enemies. What they found was… The Hidden Village of Dogs. Or something. Ninja dogs, dog-summons, whatever one might consider them. There's a huge variety of canines with ninja skill spread out across a huge field. And it turns out that Gao, the dognapped nin-ken, has been crowned the King of the Dogs. Or something.
Well, they can't just leave him here. So Inuzuka Kon, Gao, and everyone else are now riding away after Tsugumi unleashed an enormous Water Release to make a huge tidal wave that they can all ride to safety on! With Kyuketsuki using Genjutsu to keep the dogs from attacking or following them without hurting them, they should be good, right?
Wrong. Because now some skilled ninja dogs wearing human accessories and clothing items like scarves, sunglasses, vests, and so on, are chasing after them. Saori needs to get that healing job done on Gao quickly it seems… At least enough that the nin-dog will be able to run if he needs to. Because a giant stone cast is not doing him any favors at this point.
Suzu emits Chakra from her feet in order to stand on water as the huge mass spills forth and floods the field and then starts carrying them all away, doggo in tow. Saori can't walk on water yet, last Suzu knew, so she's doing her part by carrying the tiny Medic as she treats Gao. The fact there seem to be dogs pursuing them isn't surprising. The fact they are running up onto the tidal wave and have the necessary speed to actually catch up to them like this is a lot more distressing though.
Suzu turns to yell to the others, "WE HAVE COMPANY!" With her hands full of medical loli like this, there isn't much she can do about it right now unless they get within range to kick.
Kyu did his best to Genjutsu the dogs, putting them to sleep peacefully, also using the water walking technique as well to stand atop and keeping his Sharingan eyes open, watching for more, and of course more come. Kyu calls out, "I'll try and stop them." Kyu once again goes through handseals, using his only A rank technique again, attempting to put as many of these dogs to sleep as possible, though using another chunk of his Chakra, not enough to get him to start being even tired.
Nonon looks on as… A dog with sunglasses leaps up onto the tidal wave Tsugumi is controlling to carry them through the woods and away from here. The damage to the environment is probably going to be pretty ugly, but whatcha' gonna' do. Ninja battles are the number one cause of deforestation. "Okay, so a surfing dog with sunglasses is pretty cool, but are you cooler than ME?" Nonon asks confidently as she holds up her hand to show she has nothing in it, palm open. She closes her hand into a fist, turns it slightly and then with a flourish, she has three kunai in her grasp, spaced between her fingers.
Which she then throws with an accompanied trace of Lightning Chakra, trying to weaken her opponent through electrocution.
Hatake Saori is in a very unusual situation. She is riding a tidal wave away from a bunch of ninja dogs, while being held up by a team mate because she's apparently the only one here who can't walk on water like some kind of Canine Jesus or whatever dogs worship, and she's being expected to treat the broken legs of another ninja dog, whose front limbs are presently encased in stone casts. Though Aru has weakened the casts with her Juuken, and Saori manages to shatter them (gently) the rest of the way with a kunai by chipping away at them, she is not at all sure she has the necessary skill to treat broken bones yet. And she has no training with veterinary medicine either.
Still, suspended in the air as she is, the white-haired medic has little choice. She focuses her Chakra and says, "Gao-san. Please come closer so I can heal you."
Then, assuming the dog does so, she sets about trying to mend as much of both legs as she can simultaneously, green Chakra visibly glowing around each of her hands as she splits her attention evenly and perfectly… Performing delicate procedures like this and careful Chakra control without any loss of efficiency for treating two limbs at once. This is the only thing she can do for the group. It makes sense she would be good at it.
Hyuga Aru did what she could for the stone casts, but everything else is up to Saori. She, Kyuketsuki, and Nonon are the only ones who can fight, with Tsugumi having to maintain the tidal wave she is continuously producing water for (no doubt an exhausting task). So as the Royal Doguard leap up onto the water and start charging at them, Aru's Byakugan pulses with Chakra and she starts spinning around, yelling out, "Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Spin!" A dome of Chakra emits outwards from her, pushing back any dogs that get too close and sending water spiralling outwards.
Of course, this is a technique of limited scope, so she also may have to engage in actual hand-to-dog combat. But hopefully Kyuketsuki is reducing the numbers they have to deal with slightly.
Her Byakugan tells her they are still quite a distance from the Village, even if they are traveling away from here far faster than the speed at which they came. There's no way they'll be able to outrun this enemy! Especially not with the tracking abilities of ninja dogs. They need to stop as many as they can here, or find some way to really leave them behind…!
There is one member of the team that some would perhaps question why she did not attend, being the leader of a portion of this time. In fact she DID come along, but it was decided that she should reserve her chakra and use her unique ability to fly in case the team needed to be extracted. After waiting for her detection seal to show her that the others were at last on their way and close enough for her to begin, the Rankoro woman would begin to prepare by creating a trio of clones of herself.
A flare of a flame seal would go up to signal to Tsugumi that Rinoko is on her way and a few moments later a group of four figures that might appear to be birds or angels at a distance are seen heading toward the group. As they get closer, however, it becomes apparent that those approaching are none other than Rinoko and her clones prepared to extract the team and their rescue from this situation. At this point hopefully Tsugumi has picked out who gets picked up first and would signal for those four to get into position to be picked up.
Tsugumi can not really do much about the growing threat of ninja dogs. She is blasting out a stream of water from her mouth, expending a huge amount of Chakra to maintain the massive wave, and also having to manipulate the wave to continue moving forward, tearing up trees and earth and hurling them through the air like twigs, leaving a trail of devastation in her wake. When a nin dog leaps up and slashes at her with a katana in his mouth (where did he get a katana!?), Tsugumi has to defend by diverting her attention slightly, expending even more Chakra, and making a Water Clone to block the blow.
She doesn't have huge stamina reserves, unlike some. She's Jounin level, but her Chakra pool over all is rather low. So having to maintain an A-Rank Ninjutsu and also a Water Clone is taxing her heavily. The flare of light her Sharingan catches is a welcome sight thus. Rinoko hadn't been able to make it with the team originally, but a message was left for her, and she trusted Rinoko to be there when she was needed. She always was. Tsugumi would smile if her cheeks weren't bulging with the sheer volume of the water blasting forth from between her lips.
Kyuketsuki's Genjutsu makes some of the dogs stagger on their feet or fall asleep right where they are, tumbling down the back of the wave and winding up snoozing on the forest floor. The dog that Nonon engages in battle with gets shocked a little by one of the thrown kunai, but then barks and kunai fly from his mouth, propelled by Chakra-infused woofing! Dogs try to get in close to attack Suzu (Saori is left alone since she is actually treating Gao), but Aru's Heavenly Spin hurls them away. Inuzuka Kon is doing his best to fight off the enemy nin-ken as well, if reluctantly cause he really LIKES dogs, but to make sure his best friend gets home safely, he'll fight with tooth and claw if he must!
Tsugumi's Water Clone, battling with the nin-ken attacker, is too occupied to point anyone out. So the Uchiha mom has to expend even more Chakra, to make Water Clones around and behind her, in place she can't even see. Her limit is three at a time, so two more pop up near where Tsugumi believes the others are. One by Saori, Suzu, and Gao (the nin-dog they are rescuing). Another pops up near Kyuketsuki, because his Genjutsu allows him to keep attacking even from the air. With his Sharingan he should be able to pick out targets both in large numbers and individually if he is flying around.
Tsugumi intends to put everyone else before her, just like always. She'll probably want to go last, even if it looks like she's getting pretty tired. After Saori, Suzu, Gao, and Kyuketsuki have been picked up, the next Water Clones made are near Aru and then Kon.
And finally Nonon, since she is the most melee-focused of those present and also a Chuunin, so can probably hold out the longest.
And by that time, they may have engaged in fierce dog fighting to buy the time for Rinoko and her Paper Clones to rescue them.
Suzu doesn't want to interrupt delicate Chakra surgery by trying to fight dogs while holding Saori in place, so Aru keeping enemies clear of them is quite the blessing. "Thanks, Aru-chan!" Suzu calls out. The flare of red light on the water just barely catches Suzu's attention. She didn't know Rinoko was waiting in the wings to act as cavalry! Just like Rinoko and her mother to plan ahead like that though.
She grins as a Water Clone appears nearby, signalling what she assumes is just Saori and Gao for pick-up. Because Suzu can keep fighting to the end, right? She'll probably be quite surprised if she winds up scooped up as well. But she has ranged attacks, so shooting fireballs down on their pursuers to discourage them is also an option.
She's glad they have fewer enemies to deal with though, thanks to Kyuketsuki's Genjutsu. Yet another area Suzu needs to improve in…
Kyuketsuki continues to observe the situation, doing his best to send the dogs into a forced nap as much as he can, though he does catch a flash in the air, an attack maybe? His eyes snap up, and immediatelly tell him, that isn't the case, and a Tsugumi clone popping up beside him gives him a pretty big hint on what's going on here. Though he doesn't worry too much about it. He doesn't quite expect to be picked up and flown any though.
Instead he focuses on the dogs, one managed to slip by and closes in to bite him, but to everyone it simply misses. Kyu used a Genjutsu to make it think Kyu was to the left, it saw itself sinking it's teeth into Kyu's neck, and shortly after that, that dog would feel an overwhelming tiredness wash over it as another wave of genjutsu-feathers begins to fall all around. Kyu's Temple of Nirvana Technique was being used quite a lot today it would seem! Though Kyu has gotten to the point here where he has started to pant a bit form chakra exertion.
Nonon managed to tag her opponent, but not seriously. And he then barks kunai at her in turn!? She gets cut up a bit, her blood mixing with the turbulent water she stands upon as a result. She was careless in assuming a ninja dog wouldn't be armed or capable of ranged attacks! "…Okay, you're pretty cool." she admits. Then she Body Flickers to behind the dog and tries to drive a hand in the back of the canine's neck in an attempt to simply knock him out. She doesn't have time for a prolonged battle. They have to get out of here before that huge Chakra presence catches up with them! …Wait, since when can Nonon feel Chakra? Has all her training to develop sensor abilities finally started to pay off or is there just that much of it? She doesn't know. But she knows she doesn't want to be here when the Dog Princess shows up to retrieve her would-be mate!
Thankfully, Rinoko is incoming. So Nonon kicks it up a notch, using Swift Release flowed through her body and mind to blur around, appearing and disappearing, throwign kunai and shuriken at any enemies on the ground chasing after them, and keeping the heat off of those being picked up so that, whether real Rinoko or Paper Clone, they can not be attacked in the middle of retrieval.
Saori blocks out everything except treating her patient. He is trusting her to help him, to take away his pain, to make his doggy legs okay again so he can play and fight and chase down bad guys. She may not be a veterinarian like medics of the Inuzuka Clan are, but she's one of the healers of Team 13, and this is the most important thing she can contribute. Making sure everyone is healthy, that they don't lose anyone else… That's why she was added to the team after all.
She's just starting to mend the bones when a Water Clone pops near her. She can't spare the attention. But hopefully, if Saori can keep focusing and working this quickly, by the time Rinoko arrives to pick up her, Gao, and Suzu, the canine companion will be able to support his weight on his front legs again, if only tenderly and for short periods of time. That should be enough for now, and the trip back to Konoha.
And with Kyuketsuki and Rinoko also being Medics, maybe they can even provide additional dog-fixery along the way.
Aru is part of the second set of rescues, since she's using her Juuken to keep enemies back, attempting to disable them when she can. These are the Royal Doguard though, and they get through by simply being faster than her. She can see all around her, so they're not surprising her. She just can't keep up with their rapid dash-in and dash-out tactics, ramming her, biting her in passing, cutting her with blades…
She is having to resort to Heavenly Spin a lot just to keep them from damaging her further, which reduces how much she can do for her allies. It's not an ideal situation to be in for sure. But knowing that Rinoko is on the way… Even when she detects the plunging Chakra levels Tsugumi and Kyuketsuki are experiencing, especially the former, she has hope. They WILL get out of here. Because the whole Team is together, and there's nothing they can't accomplish.
As she races on toward the team, Rinoko with three clones flying in tow gets closer and closer as she watches the battle go on ahead. Since there seems to be no sure plan as to who goes first, she makes her own decision. Suzu and Tsugumi are the two most experienced in the group, so they should probably be picked up last…. and Nonon is super fast on her own… The rescue target and some of the others should go with him probably…
After a few moments of deliberation, the clones fly forward to grab Gao, Aru, and Saori. As they take off, Rinoko herself would move in beside Tsugumi. "… Everything going well? Anything I should watch out for as I extract everyone?"
As she races on toward the team, Rinoko with three clones flying in tow gets closer and closer as she watches the battle go on ahead. Seeing the signal from Tsugumi with the clones, the Rankoro woman would nod and a clone would move to Saori, Gao, and Kyuketsuki. Rinoko herself would move to scoop up Suzu before nodding to Tsugumi and taking off back toward the village. "… Anything I should look out for while we're moving, Suzu-san?"
Rinoko picks everyone up in the order specified, or the order that she feels is best otherwise, complications of attackers and environment and communication aside. Tsugumi is last, and by the time she is gathered up, she is looking a bit ragged from all that Chakra usage. She is tempted to say 'mission accomplished', but one look back at the collapsing tidal wave and the dogs left in their wake… They're intelligent, shinobi-level opponents. They might not give up so easily, even if tracking flying prey isn't their forte as canines.
In particular, her Sharingan shows that huge Chakra source back there. She can practically feel it in her bones. Despite the Genjutsu, the Juuken, the Swift Release, the Inuzuka Taijutsu, and the support offered by their Medic, and the Paper Ninjutsu of Rinoko, and Tsugumi's own Water Release, and Suzu's Fire Release, they have quite the arsenal. And yet… She doesn't think this is over.
There will be more dealings with the Hidden Dog Village and its princess in the future.
