Starring:
Itami, Fuyu, Naru, Keiji, Sabaku/Hiroko, Shintaro
Date: April 22, 2012
Summary:
Rescue attempt for Hiroko, co-timed with the distraction effort run seperately. Team strikes fast and hard and rescues the princess. A Rank S Mission for sure.
"Get that Girl! - To the Rescue! Pt. 2"
Converted resort in the Land of Water used by Kiri as a prison.
The distraction was going just as planned. The larger of the group was providing enough problems for the guards and hired shinobi to distract from the other group that was working their way in. They had a good start. The hatch nearby the now burned tower was entirely accessible and no one was coming from it anymore. Any guards and or shinobi that were in the area were now gone and in the courtyard of the resort. The barracks were entirely empty. While they may have a nice start from here, the way through the resort may be difficult at times.
In every manner, the resort was nothing but a large home with the exception of a few places outfitted as cells for prisoners, of which one was being used to hold Hiroko. Most rooms were fit for guests and the place appeared to be strictly based around meetings, but it still had a few ways to deal with enemies. Mostly basic traps, but the more important rooms have better security within them to protect against intrusion as well as guards standing in place to ensure the contents within are even more secure.
The group so far consisted of Naru, Shintaro, Fuyu and Itami, all of who were dedicated to ensuring she would be safe. At the moment, they would be coming out into a hall that was largely empty and lead in two directions, east and west. West lead to the foyer of the resort while the east lead to another hall that connected to a kitchen. There were some cooks inside preparing food for the current meeting between the big bads. Were they shinobi cooks? Maybe.
The distraction was going just as planned. The larger of the group was providing enough problems for the guards and hired shinobi to distract from the other group that was working their way in. They had a good start. The hatch nearby the now burned tower was entirely accessible and no one was coming from it anymore. Any guards and or shinobi that were in the area were now gone and in the courtyard of the resort. The barracks were entirely empty. While they may have a nice start from here, the way through the resort may be difficult at times.
In every manner, the resort was nothing but a large home with the exception of a few places outfitted as cells for prisoners, of which one was being used to hold Hiroko. Most rooms were fit for guests and the place appeared to be strictly based around meetings, but it still had a few ways to deal with enemies. Mostly basic traps, but the more important rooms have better security within them to protect against intrusion as well as guards standing in place to ensure the contents within are even more secure.
The group so far consisted of Keiji, Naru, Shintaro, Fuyu and Itami, all of who were dedicated to ensuring she would be safe. At the moment, they would be coming out into a hall that was largely empty and lead in two directions, east and west. West lead to the foyer of the resort while the east lead to another hall that connected to a kitchen. There were some cooks inside preparing food for the current meeting between the big bads. Were they shinobi cooks? Maybe.
Getting to the resort grounds themselves from the rocky cliffs, the well-guarded paths, and so on might have been much more difficult without the distraction team. Fuyu thought they could have made it without dragging an army behind them, but after seeing the level and number of ninja who were worthy of being called such she thinks it wouldn't have been so easy after all. Now, however, the team is inside. Eyes a dull red with three tomoe situated in each, Fuyu's Sharingan does not appear to be operating at 'full-power' even now.
She doesn't know what they might go up against yet, so conserving Chakra is something to consider. Within the resort structure, it appears there are two passages. A foyer is probably going to have people coming and going, or at least have ways for people to do such. A kitchen probably has fewer entrances and exits, and fewer guards around such. The fact that cooking is still taking place even at a time like this indicates the element of surprise may still be theirs.
Looking to the right, Fuyu evaluates what she can see of the Chakra of those in the kitchen and then looks to the others in the group, using simple hand signals to indicate they're going east to the kitchen. It seems she has taken charge of this group. Though of course Itami can choose to give different instructions and the others can choose not to follow, worrying about whose Village's officials are leading whose may be unneeded right now. Fuyu moves swiftly, not waiting to see if anyone is following her, but instead only waiting for acknowledgment of some kind to her initial signal. Then she waits at the entrance of the kitchen, and motions for everyone to stand near the doors.
They don't have time for anything too fancy. The distraction assault forces might or might not last long enough to give them a window to get out of here after the prisoner is found. Not to mention, Kirigakure will likely have reinforcements sent eventually when they get word… So the simplest solution is to have more than one distraction, just in case. Fuyu hands an Explosive Tag to Naru and quietly instructs her. "Find something volatile. A gas-stove, or something. Place the tag on or near it, then get clear." Then to everyone else, she says, "We're going to head for whatever path we can find that heads deeper inside the building during the confusion. Eliminate anyone who spots us. Nonlethal or lethal is at your discretion, but they can't be allowed to warn others."
Once Naru and everyone else acknowledge the orders, the Uchiha Clanhead holds up a single hand in a Tiger seal, thinks, «Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!», and then fills the hallway behind the team with flames that she breathes out in the direction of the foyer.
Now to wait for the fire alarms.
While he has certain feelings that would drive him away from this mission, Shintaro knows he is a Jounin first and… whatever he is to… whoever the Hell she is second. Part of him really wants to be here to rescue Hiroko, but another just wants to turn around and go find another person who has gone missing, whom he has not heard from in a while… Since none of these emotions are rational, right now the Nara Jounin has to simply push them back and move through this with his mind alone and leave his heart on the self for a bit. No matter what he feels, this mission is important to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure.
Stepping toward the hall along with the rest of the team, Shintaro glances around quickly to inspect for any sort of traps or the like. Of course, the two Uchiha in the group will probably be a bit more capable of spotting such things, but it never hurts to stay on one's toes. The group opposite them seems to have done a nice job emptying the place, but one would think there are at least a couple guards left inside to protect the ones fueling this operation or… her. At Fuyu's signal, he quickly moves to the right of the door. He listens intently as the Uchiha gives instructions, bringing a Cloak of Shadows over himself as she speaks. Apparently a bit eager to get his mind off things and kick some ass, once the hallway is blazing, he seems to disappear into the shadows and moves toward the kitchen.
Once inside, he ducks down and quickly moves his hands through a set of seals and sends his shadow creeping silently toward the one closest to the door to wrap his shadow up around his body to restrain him and keep him silent by wrapping it around his throat and mouth. He then uses his grip to pull the cook to the floor out of sight, using a slight innovation on the technique slit the man's throat as he is bound.
Being directed by the most senior of Uchiha was definitely something for Naru to be prideful about, but at the same time there was a lot of pressure on her as well. It was also an excellent time to showcase her abilities, and proof just how much stronger she had become to participate in more advanced missions. She came about with a limited arsenal to move about in the shadows and slip away unnoticed and not be weighed down by mass amount of kunai.
"Something Volatile? Hai… Fuyu-sama," Naru accepted the explosive tag with a bow of her head, accepting the seal with both of her hands and clutching it tightly. Luckily for naru she had been training in the usage of these seals, and actually planting and setting them off had become easier for her. Like Fuyu's Sharingan, Naru's began to take form, though a bright illuminated form and only a mere two tomoe after all she had to make sure she wasn't a hinderance on this mission, she was the only genin but also specialized in genjutsu to help out the situation with a different flavor.
With the Orders given Naru finally began to take action, eyes spotting the cooks from afar, her sharingan attempting to judge their chakra levels to determine the amount of force she might need to subdue them, she attempts to form a genjutsu link between the cooks, forcing out her chakra to manipulate their own, suddenly they could feel their lungs beginning to collapse, and air being deprived from to keep them from speaking out loud and calling out, mean awhile she sprints for the stove, after all whatever the cooks were cooking was bound to have oil, and then next to oil would be the gas.
Naru plants it firmly along the edge of the stove while kneeling down and sweep kicking a cook to the ground, her eyes flash briefly while looking down at him, intensifying her genjutsu which hopefully would make him pass out, If Fuyu could see Naru she offered a thumbs up and quickly began to pull back… The seal was set all that was needed now was a detonation.
For the moment, Keiji was just glad to have come this far. The boy glanced over the two directions. Since his eyes were not the best, he decided to trust in the ability of the elder Uchiha to make a decision. When given direction to move to the kitchen, the boy nods and moves. If the order had not been enough the fireball probably would have been. He steps off to the side as not to be in the way of the shadow jutsu of the Nara or the younger Uchiha placing her tag. Quickly he finds a cook mixing some ingredients in a bowl. He moves behind him and plants a pincer in his jugular.
Once Naru gives the signal, Keiji followed her to be out of the way of the explosion. Right now the boy would have killed to move underground. It would have been more within his comfort zone.
To the east it is. The approach to the kitchen goes unnoticed. The cooks continue to prepare whatever it is they're cooking. Through the small crack in the door, an aroma slips through and greets the hall every so often. Smells delicious, but it's not important. They've got a mission to complete and they're not close to their goal yet. They've got a ways to go, but this group may be able to make good ground. The cooks didn't have chakra levels of their own, so they were just regular cooks hired to make food for others. These looked to be special cooks, nothing that they serve would be going to the grunts, only those of importance. Sneaking into the kitchen wouldn't be problematic. There were cooks moving back and forth, but none that were approaching the entrance. They were still in the preparation stages of cooking so much of their work was contained to store rooms holding the cookware and items to be prepared.
Any links established with them wouldn't be fought off. The cooks would begin to give in to the genjutsu and were unable to call out, especially now that the fire alarms have gone off. They're in serious trouble now and they have no clue of what's going on. All they know is that some girl is attacking them and a kid with a pincer? They may not remember it for long, though. Without the ability to breathe and being stabbed in the neck, they each give out, some a little stronger than others, but they fall down. Blood has been spilled. The guy snatched away by shadows? He doesn't even know what happened. The tag has been set and now it's time for an explosion.
Itami didn't have much to do for the kitchen invasion, so to speak. She moved to the side as instructed by Fuyu, but the majority of the work was taken care of. She spent time searching around to see if there were any others that were alive, but the kitchen, including the store rooms, were entirely empty. She indicates an all clear to those involved silently then approaches the exit on the opposite side of the room. She peeks out of the small windows, but doesn't see anything until she looks out and observes the next room. A dining hall. It was empty as well since there wouldn't be anything taking place here. They'd be free to head to the stairs that are just outside the double doors on the other side of the room. Still, with the alarms going off, they may not be all that safe. There are guards heading around to check for the source.
Fuyu joins in with clearing out the cooks — or tries. Most have already been dealt with by the time she makes sure no one is near the tag and then detonates it. The flames, the *BOOOM*, and all the smoke do their work of setting off even more smoke detectors and alarms. Fuyu wishes the cooks had been taken down with fewer wounds that can obviously be traced to intruders like 'throat slitting'. The whole point was that anyone who came to investigate would think this was an accident of some kind!
Ugh. At least Naru knows how to take care of business properly. She feels some small amount of pride that it's the Uchiha in the group who know how to infiltrate a facility without leaving too many clues that are immediately obvious. Looking to Itami, Fuyu indicates the stairs. It's easier to break through the floor and drop down a level if they have to than it is to break through the ceiling and leap to the next floor. Might as well start on the second floor then. With the alarms ringing and drowning out most noise aside from the flames that are feeding on propane and wood and meal ingredients and all the rest, Fuyu once again moves to lead the way.
This time, however, she has her weapon drawn. A custom-made War Fan that was previously strapped to her back. Her eyes flare to life, bright red and glowing. She doesn't know when a serious fight might break out now. There's no longer the convenience of running on a 'low-power' version of Sharingan. Any moment could thrust them into combat.
However, Fuyu is looking for two things now. One: any signs of Hiroko's presence. Two: anyone who looks important enough to know where she is. She's going to make SOMEONE talk if that's the only way to reach the captive. And the means used might not be particularly pretty when she does. Thus, the blunt side of her War Fan, reinforced with a layer of metal, is intended to be used to strike anyone she comes across in vital points, attempting to disable, knock-out, etc. rather than kill if possible.
She does stop whenever she reaches the top of the stairs to call out, "Look for guards! Anyone in uniform or who looks important! If they're guarding a room and you find someone inside, let someone know but we don't have time to take on every combatant in the building! Jam the door on civilians and move!"
Once the tag is planted, Shintaro rolls over on his shoulder and pops up back out of the reach of the explosion. As Fuyu calls out, he looks up the stairs and gives a nod. He brings a Cloak of Shadows over himself once again as he darts up the stairs. He starts to look between rooms, looking around each one as he tries to find anyone left behind in the chaos, prepared to use his shadow to restrain and put down any guards he happens to come across.
The first phase of the operation went by smooth, very smooth infact, though they hadn't run into any guards yet, just poor cooks who unfortunately picked the wrong day to come to work, she moves on however, intent keeping on with the mission, after the explosion things truly did look quite awful, flames dancing around the bodies, alarms ringing and surprisingly the alluring smell of smoked pork, or whatever it was that was cooking on the stove, Naru kept her emotions in check, focusing on her pride and crave for getting the mission complete rather than taking a life.
"Haiii," Naru calls out, listening to Fuyu's command, for now she keeps her eyes near the rear while Fuyu pushed forward, that way two people could see things from both directions, though not having the fully mature sharingan she could still see with great clarity. Naru had no weapon of her own by her side, at least not today, she focused a bit more chakra into her body instead, completely focused on utilizing her genjutsu and ninjutsu to catch someone off guard. She took a quick look at everyone, more particularly Keiji who was the recent chuunin examin winner, her eyes didn't notice a single twitch in his body… "He truly is something…" The girl whispers quietly under her breath, clearing her throat and keeping their rear covered.
After the explosion, Keiji glanced over Naru for a moment and then moved back towards the stairs. He had not been sure where he stood with her, but that was an issue for another time. Right now there was no difference between Konoha and Suna. This was not his first mission that served a purpose for both sides, though this was the first time he had really had a mission involving two of the great nations. That is to say he did not consider working with the moon village or rogue jounin to count.
The young Shippodoku leans against a wall behind Fuyu. "Maids or servers may be able to give us info based on where they are not allowed." His voice is more of a whisper to her. In general he was suggesting that a low level employee who normally cleaned or delivered food everywhere in the resort might know where Hiroko is based on suspicous actions by guards. For instance not being allowed in to clean the room, or delivering food to the guards instead of the resident.
The boy then pushes off the wall and up the stairs before moving into the hallway behind Shintaro. He takes the opposite side of the hall and glances over the doors. He was looking for something specific. Maybe an extra lock on a door or simply a do not disturb sign. While he was looking for physical signs on the outside, he was hoping the two sharingan users might be able to pick up chakra signatures either on the door or in the rooms. He was not exactly sure how the sharingan worked though he had heard rumors. Things like it allowed people to shoot lightning from their eyes and fireballs from their…
The guards were in a scramble and trying to get to the source. A fire was something understandable. The cooks /were/ supposed to be cooking right now, but that subsequent explosion? What happened?? Negligence? At any rate, it stands to be discovered. Guards that were available were removed from their quarters to go and check out what's happening. One that was closest to the stairs overheard someone speaking and rushed out to meet with someone who wasn't a comrade. No, this was an Uchiha. Uchiha Fuyu. The shinobi guard is able to get a good look at the shinobi sneak team when he began to reach for his belt for a radio that would alert the owner of the resort to intruders. His kind are more prevalent up here.
Beyond this, some signatures of chakra would be read in the upper level and out of the some, there was one that was fairly faint. Maybe the guard knows more about that. Problems arise when a few civilians begin to step out of their rooms to figure out what's going on. If anything, they'd prove to be a small obstacle for Shintaro in trying to get through the upper level unless their rooms are blocked off.
There isn't anything noticable up here. The upper level seems to be the more livable area and thus the doors are mostly kept closed either due to being empty or for the benefit of privacy for whoever is here. No extra locks are present except in areas where generators might be or the janitor's closet holding chemcials and whatnot. Itami is coming up the stairs with the others, though she maintains some vigilance on the rear of the team just in case some trouble follows them up…which it does. In the scramble to get around, some guards are wandering around all over and some pass by the stairs that the group is taking. A few guards attempt to engage them knowing that they aren't part of the residents here. Itami wastes no time in trying to attack the guards, engaging the first in line by striking him with misted hands to put him to 'sleep' to silence and disable him.
The guard who rushes out and finds Fuyu and a veritable ARMY of other ninja (okay, so maybe it is just hard to tell with all the smoke and confusion) coming up the stairs towards him reaches for the radio at his belt. But in that moment, he locks eyes with Fuyu. It seals his fate. The tomoe in both eyes start spinning clock-wise, but then the tomoe and the pattern of the eyes themselves change to something else. The eyes are black, with RED tomoe along the outer-ring. The pupil has become a red triangle, that in turn has an upside-down black triangle within that, and a final red dot at the center. The capillaries around the edges of Fuyu's eyes stand out so noticeably and starkly that they look like 'cracks' in white marble, leading to and meeting the rim of Fuyu's Mangekyou Sharingan.
«Tsukuyomi!» she recites in her mind, for the first time using one of 'those' powers that she had witnessed her teacher, Uchiha Madara, use in the past. The guard's body turns around and starts waving everyone back and calling out, "Everyone, back to your rooms! There's a gas fire in the kitchen! The stairs aren't safe right now, so use the fire escapes outside your windows! All available personnel will assist in evacuating the building!" That's what the guard's body calls out. But his mind is quite likely wishing it could shrivel into a ball and die from what Fuyu has done to it with her Genjutsu. Assuming the orders are followed by the guard continuing to urge everyone to stay out of the hall and to escape, and for his fellows to help people out of here (thus removing them from the halls as well), Fuyu hopes everyone will just keep the guards at the base of the stairs from messing things up by dragging the fight up the stairwell. Then she grabs the guard and says, "What do you know about the prisoner? Where is she!?"
She broke his will and then took command of his body, but he won't remain standing for much longer. She isn't experienced with this ability and her eyes are hurting badly like firebrands in her skull. Blood leaks from them as she tries to force this man to give up any information he has… And then move to act upon it by MOVING! Her eyes return to normal Sharingan afterwards, as her free hand moves to clutch at them as though that would make the searing agony lessen. But she can see even through her hand, so she navigates the hall to the best of her ability while waiting for the pain to ebb somewhat. Her Chakra was significantly diminished by using that ONE technique. If she had time she could have gotten him to talk without such costs. But she didn't have time. None of them do. They have to move fast.
Of course, if the resort visitors and other guards don't do as they're told, it won't be Fuyu's fault if something bad happens to them. She gave them an 'out'. There are no second-chances on a mission like this.
As people start to open their doors, Shintaro's eyes narrow slightly under his hood. He quickly forms his hands into seals and sends his shadow forward as he would use Shadow Sewing to grab the doorknobs with tendrils of shadow and keep them shut after giving them a moment to flee back into their rooms to escape. He uses the shadows of the place itself and the smoke to lengthen his shadow to hold as many of the doors shut as he can as he waits for Fuyu to give the command of which way to move. Of course, any guard or hired shinobi who happens to try to come from this way could be silenced with this technique as well if proven necessary. He glances over his shoulder at the Clanhead, awaiting her signal as he thinks about the basically vegetative state she appears to be putting this man's mind in. That is a frightening level of Genjutsu… enough to make him glad they are on the same side. Putting his mind back on the task at hand quickly, the Nara Jounin looks back ahead, watching for any civilians or guards he may not to halt or manipulate his shadows to let through. Luckily, the smoke from the fire downstairs makes his jutsu a bit less obvious.
Surprisingly enough, there wasn't much for the younger Uchiha to do, the majority of the gawkers and guards were dispatched in mere instances, perhaps the main benefit of fighting along side a superior assault group. Itami bolted into action, pulling off an interesting taijutsu she had never seen before. Fluid and almost poetic, she watched Itami's foe's hit the ground hard, unconcious and still alive, the sight almost made her grin, but she needed to turn her attention towards keeping an eye out, gazing over these powerful techniques was definitely becoming a distraction.
Every now and then the young Uchiha wraps her genjutsu around the curious on lookers focusing primarily on asphyxiation, and possibly greater level genjutsu if they proved to be a stronger cookie to crack… The shadow tendrils which warped and shrouded beneath them made things even easier, watching as they grabbed and sealed up the doors by holding the knobs… It was a resourceful technique for sure, but worry almost spilled along her face as a torrent of guards came pouring into the from from ahad, though they were stopped… Almost instantly as Fuyu shot forth and did…"something" she noticed the genjutsu on a particular figure, she noticed the shift in chakra into her eyes and in less than a second there was a link and an enoromous drop in Fuyu's chakra levels…
" What… was that?" She asks curiously, though as she looks over the man that was being interrogated, whatever link she put on the man was definitely powerful, he was literally glowing with the presence she had instilled into him… "Thats… a powerful genjutsu," she whispers once more, right now she simply watches in wonder, curious on the technique she had used… Naru didn't know a lick about the Mangekyou Sharingan, all she could tell was Fuyu used a hefty amount of chakra to completely turn this man into a personal drone of information.
Innocent people were going to make the job much harder. Especially considering the close quarters of the hallways. Even their presence had started to make looking at doors harder. About the only benefit was that they were opening their doors to escape. Then the boy turns around to see Fuyu grab one of the guards. Now Keiji was starting to see some of the capabilities of the Sharingan. Though there seemed to be no real response to his suggestion, Fuyu seemed to have a quicker way of going about gathering information. She was controlling the guard. The boy ponders just what Itami would trade to use that ability on Konsatsu. She would probably rewrite his brain to say random non manly things in groups of people, then giggle about his shame.
The thoughts were enough to make Keiji glad his brother was left to guard something instead of brought further on the mission. The eyes turn towards Shintaro as he keeps some of the doors shut. That helped as well. Then there were bodies dropping from being choked. He knew that genjutsu all too well. It was Naru's. All of the work made him feel bad that he did not have more to contribute. Momentarily he debated bringing out his tail and stinging people, but it was not needed. The boy sighs as he waits for the next order. Hopefully he would meet up with more guards. Then he could be more useful. Until then he decided to latch onto the nearest and hold it closed.
As the group now has a target then make it up the stairs and down to an ornate door that appears to lead into a meeting room. Opening it they find the following:
The room is relatively large and appears to have been used as a meeting room back when this place was a resort. A large reinforced window covers one wall, letting light in. A large rectangular table sits in the middle of the room and around it are several rather comfortable looking chairs. Sitting in theses chairs appear to be one representative from each of the major Kiri clans, Kaguya, Touketsu, Shirayuki and Okumo. Each appears to be a middle aged man, wearing obvious formal markings for each of the clans as well as markings for Kiri itself.
At the end of the table stand two figures wearing Land of Fire colors of red and black. One figure is clearly the leader and older. He stands the taller of the two by a head and is wearing a red and black oni demon mask to conceal his identity. The second figure is younger and shorter and appears in the same red and black outfit but without a mask. This second figure is more androgynous and can't be more than about 16 or 17. The second figure looks rather small compared to the bulk of the first figure. At the end of the table in front of the larger figure who appears to be from the Land of Fire is a large ornate compass covered in runes and seal markings.
As the group enters the room it appears that they are interrupting a rather intense argument of some sort with voices raised and the larger man leaning forward, standing at the end of the table with his hands resting on the table itself as he glares through the mask at the various Kiri clansmen. To the side in what looks mostly like a wheelchair is the figure of Sabaku. There, tied down in the chair with obvious chakra manacles on, is the rather tired looking form of Sabaku, looking groggy and pale, almost drugged. She is wearing nothing but a white gown that looks almost like a medical gown as she sits in the chair. The wheelchair is to the side of the front of the room, the bulky man in the mask is the closest to Sabaku at the moment.
As the group enters the room the large masked man immediately and almost supernaturally quickly moves behind Sabaku, with a very sharp looking Kunai in his hand at her throat before the group can fully take in the scene before them. The blade glints in the light of the room and might even have something on the blade from the looks of it, perhaps a poison. Stop! A gruff voice sounds out from behind the mask.
The smaller person who appears to be from the Land of Fire simply backs out of the line of fire against a wall, by taking two small steps backwards while the four Kiri clansmen manage to get to their feet but that's about it before the intruders can react.
Itami managed to dispatch the few guards that tried to come up the stairs. They were going to be sleeping for a while. Long enough for the group to handle their business without being hindered. She checked the hall to see if any other guards were coming, but most appeared to be preoccupied by the fire and smoke. She heads back up the stairs, but slows down if only because she's witnessing a power that she's never experienced before. She stops and stares as it happens, the man completely bent to Fuyu's will. What was this?
Once it was over, she could see the toll it'd taken, but any sympathy was mixed if only because she was a bit shaken by what she'd seen. Of course, she was concerned for her health, especially anything that made her bleed from the eyes, but she had to wonder about that ability. Those eyes are much more powerful than she thought.
She proceeded forward, her focus back on the mission now. The halls and shinobi around here were cleared and done away with. Now it was time to move on. With the guard's direction, they found the room and inside it a meeting appeared to be going on. There was no time to assess what was going on. A guy with a mask hopped up to hold a knife to Sabaku's throat. Time seemingly froze. It appears that the only one that appeared to be the major threat was the masked one.
Itami looked around between the group and her eyes locked on Shintaro. He could use his shadows, but first a distraction. Those seemed to be working out. So, in a quick flick of her wrist, she withdrew a kunai and aimed it straight for the mask, hoping that Shintaro could follow suit and trap the guy with his shadow as he seemed to be the best bet for control at the moment. Anyone could take a shot. Maybe even compound the effects. Genjutsu…anything.
Itami managed to dispatch the few guards that tried to come up the stairs. They were going to be sleeping for a while. Long enough for the group to handle their business without being hindered. She checked the hall to see if any other guards were coming, but most appeared to be preoccupied by the fire and smoke. She heads back up the stairs, but slows down if only because she's witnessing a power that she's never experienced before. She stops and stares as it happens, the man completely bent to Fuyu's will. What was this?
Once it was over, she could see the toll it'd taken, but any sympathy was mixed if only because she was a bit shaken by what she'd seen. Of course, she was concerned for her health, especially anything that made her bleed from the eyes, but she had to wonder about that ability. Those eyes are much more powerful than she thought.
She proceeded forward, her focus back on the mission now. The halls and shinobi around here were cleared and done away with. Now it was time to move on. With the guard's direction, they found the room and inside it a meeting appeared to be going on. There was no time to assess what was going on. A guy with a mask hopped up to hold a knife to Sabaku's throat. Time seemingly froze. It appears that the only one that appeared to be the major threat was the masked one.
Fuyu is feeling weakened. More than she thought she would be. She thinks she may have used that technique the wrong way or put too much power into it… Practice might make it easier or refine her control. But right now, she's almost to the point of breathing hard after casting just two jutsu and triggering an explosive tag. One of those jutsu was a legendary power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, but even so… She feels so, so weakened.
Even so, she pauses outside the meeting room after getting directions. She can see the arrangement of people inside the room and quickly comes up with a plan that she relays to the others. The guy with the mask seems pretty powerful. He needs to be stopped right away. Fuyu isn't sure she can fight him in her condition, so she'll have to settle for double-teaming him with Shintaro. Genjutsu + Shadow Imitation = Win.
So from the moment the doors open, she's already tracking the guy. The Sharingan sees everything after all. It's just a matter of being fast enough to react to one's predictions. So when the man stops moving behind Sabaku, with a knife to her throat, Fuyu already has her eyes ready and focused. She makes eye-contact casts a Genjutsu. «False Surroundings Technique.» The masked man is standing with knife in hand… Just to the side of where he thinks his prisoner is located. A few precious inches. It gives her the time to hit him with something a bit more movement-impairing. «Demonic Illusion: Serious Wounds!» …Like the sensation and vision of his arm suddenly snapping violently in a direction it really shouldn't be. Ow.
That's when the Nara in this group gets to shine by making sure that knife stays AWAY from Sabaku. Then Keiji to the rescue, Itami takes the guy's mask to reveal his identity, Naru grabs the compass, and they all get out of there before the Genjutsu of the broken arm goes away.
If only it goes that well. Fuyu, however, is not going to be up to helping much more no matter what. Even if the plan goes awry, her two Genjutsu casts on the masked man are going to be some of her last jutsu cast on this mission. She just feels too weakened and too low on Chakra to do much more. So she reaaally hopes all goes well.
Walking into the room with the group, Shintaro remains silent as he glances around at the parties in the room. Seeing elders from Kirigakure and the Land of Fire comes as no surprise, but his fists clench as he spots… her in the chair. His eyes widen just slightly as the large man moves and puts the knife to her throat.
The moment Fuyu initiates the Genjutsu, his hands quickly move into the Rat Hand Seal, sending his shadow forward at the masked man as he attempts to seize control of the man's body by connecting their shadows and using his to turn him into his personal puppet. If successful, the Nara immediately moves his hand so that the man's kunai is now pointed at his own throat and safely away from Sabaku. No matter how much he tries to rationalize this situation, he wants to make this guy gut himself from top to bottom for pointing that kunai at her and sets the rest of these jackasses on fire. However, he keeps control and waits to make the right move so the situation doesn't turn any more volatile than it has to be.
Stumbling into a meeting room wasn't something Naru had expected to run into, instead of spotting a nice cage and a few heavily armed guards instead it seemed to be a meeting amongst the clans of Kirigakure, and the one that attracted the most attention was the one from the land of fire… Well aware of her mission however she knew exactly what she needed to do all she had to do was wait for the right time and it would come…And it did..A genjutsu was in place while she noticed the shadows moving beneath them, With this moment she reacted almost instantly, moving into a burst run forward she jumped up and attempted to slide herself across the table, and carry out the compass along with her. Her sharingan would allow her to react swiftly if anyone tried to stand in her way….
Entering with the group, Keiji spots the situation. He waits until he spots the hand signs from Shintaro before he begins running towards Sabaku. As he moves, his eyes close momentarily. The boy jumps forward to the floor as his entire body begins to change. His two arms turn into giant pincered claws. What had been arms sprouting from his sides before now became extra legs. Even the boy's tail seems a bit fatter than normal. When all is said and done, the boy had turned into a giant fattail scorpion, dark crimson in color.
As the scorpion moves at full speed towards Sabaku, the tail lunges forward stinging the man behind Sabaku in the shoulder. He was injecting venom into the man. While the little bit of venom was not fatal, it was going to burn like hell. The man would probably feel a pain unlike any he had felt before. It was a back up plan to paralyze the man incase he was able to overcome the shadow hold.
Then as the stinger withdrew, the scorpion's tail wrapped around Sabaku and her chair to lift her from the ground. Using his new legs, the scorpion moved to carry her and the chair from the room. He uses his claws to smash a hole in the wall. He needed something bigger than a door to leave.
In the chaos the masked man's attempt to use Sabaku as a shield, or should that be Hiroko? In either case the attempt fails horribly. The man ends up stuck in the shadows, unable to move, after his hand was yanked away by Fuyu's genjutsu, then stuck by Shintaro's shadows, then stabbed by Keiji's stinger, it really isn't a good day to be this man. In all the motion the mask falls from his face, and in a moment of recognition by Fuyu, a name is uttered, by Fuyu, "Tsukan…." The name makes the large trapped man's eyes widen, and although stuck, it seems that this Tsukan man had a failsafe. You have to be pretty darn loyal to have such a fail safe…. as this one results in the body being held by Shintaro to start to smolder and fall into ash, even as he's holding the figure as it starts to crumble. On the upside this does appear to be an incredibly painful way to die.
The smaller figure, ignored for now to the side, makes a quick hand seal and… appears to vanish into thin air! Seriously, he just seems to vanish in the blink of an eye as far as any of the rescuers can tell. Able to pull this quick escape off while the others were distracted with their true mission.
Naru is able to snatch the compass and a scroll that was under it if she should so like, along with the compass. Meanwhile Keiji is breaking down walls, walls that were never meant to really be much more than simple plain walls… and sadly no match for the scorpion figure as he carries Sabaku back the way they came.
For those paying attention, one of the Kiri clansmen shouts at the rescuers, "Take her! Go! We didn't know who she was when we took the mission!" The other three glower at the fourth who shouted this but… none of them contradict him, as apparently the group is going to be allowed to leave! Kind of an odd change of events at this point?
Itami watched the scene, tensed. She waited and when everything fell into place…she made her move. Once the masked man was subdued and the shadows were driven forward to trap him and manipulate him, she moved forward to remove the mask of the man and reveal his identity to the whole of the room. No one was going to be hiding in here. Though, she didn't need to do that as the mask fell away itself from all the attacks made against him. She paused only a few feet away from him and took some steps back and looked toward the Kiri clansmen. They didn't look to be thrilled at the results of what has happened. The shouts to take Hiroko away brought a smirk to her face. "Perfect…"
She keeps a close eye on those gathered, a piercing gaze. She kept to the rear of the group as she'd done before, making sure that nothing tricky happened. She took note of the name of the man, Tsukan and there was one…he disappeared, though she doesn't know where he's gone. It was time to go. She gestured toward the exit and maintained close proximity with Fuyu in order to offer aid in whatever way she could. She knew the woman was strong and could handle her own, but this time, she thinks she might need a bit of help. So, with the rest of the group, she makes haste out of the meeting room and ultimately out of the resort as a whole.
