Starring:
Kaede, Karakuri, Mao, Itami, Imota, Tessen, Mune, Shemri, Kara, Kuoroke (emitter)
Date: February 20, 2011
Summary:
An attack upon Sunagakure begins at the Village's entrance, in an attempt to finish what Tessen started. This time, he has allies.
"Karma - Part 2"
Canyon Entrance - Sunagakure
A figure walks in the desert sand, heavily cloaked. In fact, too heavy for the baleful gaze of the setting sun. Though, it will soon become cold, as night takes over, it is still hot.
The figure walks slowly, lips moving wordlessly. On the walls, a chuunin watches with a binocular, his buddy leaning close.
"Hey, what's that guy saying? You can read lips, right?" He asks the Chuunin with the binoculars.
"He is saying… Uhh…" He squints..
"There…" He says slowly.
"Is no…"
"God in this world…"
The Chuunin without binoculars blinks. "What? God?" His eyebrows raise at that in surprise.
The figure than stands in the open and stretches his arms, palms facing upwards. "Blooming Fields of the Impaler…" He whispers..
On the walls, the chuunin drops the binocular, "I think he is--" The other one cuts him off. "Do you hear that!?" And indeed. There was a sickening hiss. As if something was building up. Something ominous.
The sand sprouts roses from the ground. /Crystal/ roses, before their blooming crown twists up into spikes and extends even further upwards, slamming into the walls, and at the same time, countless spikes from mid-air slam into the walls, tearing out chunks of sand, and sending the two chuunin flying from the walls.
Sunagakure is under attack! Alarms ring out!
The sound of quick footsteps is heard as Karakuri runs towards the sound of destruction. He didnt wear his armor because he needed to get here quickly and when he arrives, he pulls out a scroll and opens it, forming a handseal to make a puff of smoke appear, and a large iron armor is seen completely encasing the boy, his sword being drawn as he readies himself.
The alarm sounds.
Mao has to think about it for a fraction of a second. Does she really want to get involved? This isn't actually her village. It's someone else's village that she just happens to be building relations with. The thing is, if she doesn't act, then what happens? The village suffers, and if she doesn't help, then she would (rightly) be seen as being potentially responsible. She is, after all, an outsider.
That, and someone might be hurt. That… isn't good.
So swiftly as she can, Mao runs towards the central gates where the crashing sound had originated from. When she gets there, the woman looks pretty stunned. Reeling back in obvious shock from the sight of the damaged walls and shards of crystal. "… What… *is* this?" She breathes, having never seen a jutsu like this before. Even for a relatively experienced ninja, the sight of the damage is enough to stop her, briefly, in her tracks.
Itami knew not of the events that would be taking place in Sunagakure. She was…away in a sense. Not necessarily in the sense it was usually meant. Now she's returning to her home, tired and aggravated. She takes a small swig of water from the canteen and lowers it back to her side while a passing glance is given to the sun. It was soon to leave the horizon. While she might be bothered by something like that, today it just didn't quite register. She was fairly apethetic about it.
Her mood was soon to take a drastic change when she heard something off in the distance and captured the glint of something…what was it? She winced and placed a hand to her eyes like a visor. It didn't help much, but she received a slightly clearer view. Sunagakure was under attack…by crystals…
There weren't many cases where Emergency Intrusion Alarm (EIA), went off during the day. Often, as with any village or, military base, there were drills, where procedure for these situations were practiced, and learned. Formations, tasks, objectives, and tactics, were drilled in ranks from Student, to Jounin. Even civilians had a part in this teaching, as they were often told where to go in such situations, where the village was to become a dangerous place. Some ninja, were required to remain on standby just for such occasions, taking shifts of watch just incase an advanced guard was actually needed. Very few people in Sunagakure were left without a role in a situation where the village endanger.
Imota, was one of those Genin who had been appointed as a waiting guard, on standby as assistance, just incase things got bad. His constant, almost neurotic readiness made him perfect for those who needed a ready, and able ninja. That of course, coupled with his certain lack of reluctance to disable a foe by any means nescessary, allowed for distant action. The alarm reached him at the watch tower barracks, just a mile away from where the attack had began. He, along with several other ninja, were on the move, taking to a commonly practiced and immediately staged routine. First was establishing of a foot hold, a set up of the defense. The second, was the safety and clearing of any hindrances, or possible casualties.. Any other steps were to pertain to the matter at hand.
That was where Imota came in…
He was not to be apart of those meant to clear out and facilitate public safety. He was there as apart of tactics. The place of attack… known… The casualties so far…. unknown… The attacker… Dangerous… Imota went from rooftop to complete submergence in seconds… A simple step off the outer village wall helped with that. From there… He'd investigate, completely aware of the other shinobi who had went ahead from the barracks.
The village rouses like a well-oiled machine. People scramble. Without bumping into each other. They know very well that the city walls will hold their own against this assailant. Well.
They're wrong!
The figure's killing intent-- the pressure of his fighting spirit-- increases as he focuses his physical reserves into usable chakra.. amplifying his technique further, which digs into the walls. There's a exhausted, groaning sound from the sand blocks, when suddenly, on the other side of the wall, several crystal spikes appear, punching through the walls. They manage to extend several meters before starting to crack and break, falling down on the village. Some Chuunin immediatly jump to the defense of the civillians, who now run in a panic. The Chuunin kick the crystals out of the way, before lives can be lost.
Down at the entrance, the figure's arms lower, as does it's gaze; The defenders should be here soon. He should be prepared. His hand mechanically reaches towards his hood, pulling it down further, to shroud his face in shadows as the glimmer of his eyes wanes and fades.
"…" He mutters something barely audible. But one thing can be made out. 'We can't resist.'
Karakuri approaches the entrance, trying to avoid galling rocks and crystal stabbity things and see's the target coming up. He would then make the puppet go for him, raising it's arm to cause an armplate to unfold and make a crossbow appear, firing the crossbow bolt high to try and hit the figure, an explosive tag seen wrapped around the bolt.
Mao grits her teeth. There are times to worry about the future, there are times when one must carefully weigh each action. Then, there are times when one has to act swiftly to avoid absolute catastrophe. This is one of the latter times.
"Get away from the walls! Leave it to me!"
The (relatively) young Uzumaki's voice cuts through the chaos as surely as any thrown kunai. Starting to display the leadership which had earned her the right to represent her clan within these walls, she now turns her attention to preventing the destruction of those very walls. One hand reaches into her pocket, and produces a set of adhesive seals.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
And now she's running, taking off at a fantastic speed, she runs up the wall displaying speed worthy of her rank. The first crystal is met, and she slaps three seals onto it. They flare, bursting bright blue and then burning up in a matter of seconds. Then, the huge crystal starts to crack and fade, dissipating into dust. As it crumbles, the reason Mao shouted for safety is obvious, as chunks crash to the sand before blowing into dust, and the wall itself groans at the sudden removal.
Mao is already starting off towards the next one, sweat beading on her brow… if she was going to save this wall, she'd have to give it everything she has! There's no way of knowing how much structural integrity remains! She's damned sure that she won't have much of a chance against someone capable of such destruction, however, so for as long as she can… better to hold out here!
Itami inhaled deeply and sighed, a swig from her canteen taken again as she continues to look on at the scene before her. This was going to happen. Of course, this would happen. It couldn't have been any other way. She still lacks an understanding of why, but she's done with that. There is no 'why' to be had or answered.
She sighs and breaks into a run across the sands while focusing her chakra. This wasn't going to be a battle that ended well and she couldn't help but wonder if the world could be better with people like this running around.
The feeling of the man that had now stood nearby, gave a bad omen to what had been an already bad situation. The penalty for having chakra sensitivity of course, was knowing just what may be the worst to come. That was, alot of chakra. Imota had yet to even see who this person was and from where he had surfaced only slightly, it didn't take a genius to figure out who was causing it all. Memories flashed in Imota's mind, of a very scary, and seemingly long forgotten trauma. A place on his shoulder ached from an old wound, but other than that, no reaction was to be give from the face of this robotic child.
Blankly, he readied himself, moving from his place, and taking a rather distance stance… probably a place farther away than most may probably know to look. The only thing to probably give him away, was the churning breeze, and slight tremors and liftings of dust, chakra rising. A forbidden combination of innate bloodline, and simple talent, the boy awakened both Paths at once, but purely just awakened. For his own plans… he needed to rise alot more than what actually was his current limit. Especially if the diversion of the Defense Group was going to be employed. And with what seemed to be some activity to be heard just within the walls of the village, Imota concluded that this would happen any time soon.
Should Imota have felt fear? Should he have been overcome with a frantic sense of urgency? Of all those who came forth into this predicament, he alone knew /well/ what this particular attacker was capable of. It landed him into a hospital for a week. The worst part to mention was that Kaede, during the time, was going easy on the Genin. Yet here Imota was, strangely calm, his eyes empty of anything remotely close to emotion. As plainly working as an puppet, and as functional, as any programmed and autonomous creation.
The figure is completely unaware of the Sasaki hiding beneath the ground. Almost as if he didn't care. When the puppet master sends his puppet to unleash a bolt at the figure, he realizes too late that there is a tag attached to the bolt that was about to narrowly miss him.
He shields his eyes as the explosion envelops his form, seconds later, he is seen skidding out of the smoke, hand trailing across the ground. His cloak is torn at the shoulder and upper arm, but otherwise, he appears barely harmed. A bit charred, but he had a lot of fight left in him.
"… this is the path.." His hands clap together after performing two extremely fast seals, ".. that we must walk.." He whispers, as if in a trance.
His foot than stomps the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Spire!" He exclaims as he sends a spire of earth, errupting from the ground towards Karakuri and his puppet.
MEANWHILE
Mao manages to turn one crystal spike to dust somehow. The figure wasn't aware of this as it was no longer connected to the figure in any way. It's what had allowed Mao to actually do something like that.
On the bright side. There's only almost a hundred of them left poking out the wall. And twice that many, or /three times/ that many sticking /into the wall/, making it look like a pin cushion. The crystals on the ground however fracture and break into petals, opening up the field for combat.
A figure little known to Sunagakure was here as well. This man, the one responsible for injuring Kuoroke, and Kuodo. The one who organized those attacking Sunagakure's walls now. Tessen Uchiha.
Dust and sand kicked up as he appeared next to Kaede. The man's chakra level's were abysmal at this moment. Still, charcoal eyes looked to those around him, and to Kaede himself. A flat and dry voice rang out.
"I thought you would have been farther along by now. Perhaps…these nin are a bit much of a challenge for you? Kaede-san…let's make it rain blood and sand until we reach our target objective."
With those simple words Tessen's dark cloudy eyes closed. A moment later they opened and were changed. A deep vermilion the shade of blood now stared at the shinobi guarding the gate. Soft breaths left his lips as he scanned those around him, and allowed his own chakra to rise.
This was now the time of destruction. Those that got in the way of the score that was intended to settle this day, would pay dearly. They were now the enemy, and in just as much offense as the one who spurned on this attack with his very breath. It was sad the pain Kuoroke would bring onto his people.
Karakuri raises his puppets other arm and the plates open and spin, trying to form a shield, only too late, throwing the puppet back hard as it slides amongst the sand. He would then raise his puppet's crossbow arm and fires three bolts, two at the figure who threw rock at him and one for the new comer.
Mao feels sweat bead on her brow. This is pretty intense. She's no sensor nin, but even she can tell that there are some massively powerful forces out there in the sand, and she has no idea if she can even begin to stand up against them.
Rushing forwards, she starts to skirt the inside of the wall, slapping tag after tag on the spikes of crystal. Each one causes the chakra in the spikes to weaken, and start to crumble. Thankfully, the Chuunin isn't likely to run out of tags any time soon… but even she is uncertain if she has enough to fully stave off the damage that has been done, with just one jutsu! This is… terrifying.
Ah, powers are showing forth already and now that Itami's closer, things are starting to look a bit more clearer. She thinks she can start her attack now and there's one in particular she's focused on the most. Not that the others aren't important, but this is a bit of a personal matter.
Coming in from behind she places her hands into the seals necessary to cause the wind to stir and form into blades to fire off at Kaede. This wasn't going to be an easy fight, she knew, but she couldn't just let things stand as they were. This would have to be the final straw.
Another? This one… darker… If much could be said of the other that had so far started the pre-emptive strike. It looked like pinpoint attacks were alittle to short of seeming effective. Even the explosive tags that had begun to be used, left little dent on what had been the first arrival to Sunagakure's 'front porch'. The time for the main rebuttle against this offense against a Great Village, was soon to come. The watching and waiting, while it might hurt most, and make others impatient, was left to hand uselessly by one absent of any bit of emotion. No sympathy for those who would fall. No coming to the aid of kids his own age (sorry Karakuri). Just the mindset to wait for the signal, watching the enemy for any signs of an opening… Perhaps even a weakness.
The signal? The full placement, and standing of those placed within the defense group. The finishing of that would mark the beginning on of an all out. All Imota had to do was spot for what had to be the correct signal from the hiding forces…
Some how however… a certain attack hadn't been accounted for… Or rather… a certain attack.
Wind stirred causing Imota to look on. Looking over to where the attack was coming from, Imota could not believe his eyes… Itami had came back, from completely nowhere. He looked on, the questions of her sudden, and rather timely appearance hitting him from every direction. The woman whom he had been most bonded with, in this entire village, was no longer missing. For a boy who had seemed to forsake any bit of emotion, to suddenly smile… it remarked something special. But then something else came into his feeling as well. Emotions of attachment. She was out there, alone, with the most dangerous individuals possible. And whether that attack missed or not, Itami had just put herself out there as bait. Perhaps it would make for a potential opening. Positive or negative, something dangerous could result.
This was where Imota's hand seals began. In the end, he did not wait for the signal… A shame… Just what would be the consequence of this? Who knows? For now, Kaede and Tessen, were going to find themselves on the end of a beginning phase of retribution. For after handseals, were the bringing down of two palms, gestures used for control. Wind, torrential, and burdening, meant to press them both into the ground, hindering movement, and progression, or even breaking their line. After that, the formation of blades in the air… Wind sharpened to its peak, was to be sent in, at top speeds, seeking to rend the two into nothing.
"It is such a honor" The figure whom Tessen called 'Kaede' says as he ducks, his cloak flying upwards, and rolls to the side, ".. Tessen, that you flatter me with your expectations." Kaede says as he steps into view from behind Tessen, just as the Kaede that rolled to the side gets a mouthful of TAG! The clone poofs even before the tag explodes, sending dirt over to the two fighters.
"However, it is not a crime to try to keep casualties to a minimum." He says, glancing for one moment towards Tessen when he catches a glimpse of something behind him.
Itami?!
Kaede was not stupid. It was in his plans that he will be attacked from behind /eventually/, but this soon was… surprising. Either the tactical commander on the Defender side is very skilled or this is a coincidence.
However, as the bladed wind hurls towards Kaede, the crystalline shapes, petals, created by the crystals of the first technique he used to assault the walls seem to create some sort of flat surface. However, to Itami it would seem like nothing out of the ordinary, as if nothing is there. The bladed wind cuts straight into that flat surface. From Itami's point of view, she'd see Kaede get hit and go down-- before his form begins to tear apart into crystalline glowing shapes.
But he was not safe yet. Kaede spins to the right sharply, clapping his hands together as two walls of earth rise to meet the attacks of Imota as Kaede leaps back from the wall which is now very much structuraly unsound.
But he laughs as he glances to Tessen. "Seems like we kicked up a ant's nest." He says as the crystal petals floating in the air begin to glow brighter, becoming more numerous and than they fan out, like a ring constantly moving counter clockwise. Around Kaede, a vortex of crystals beats the ground relentlessly. Kicking up sand, dirt, crystals and debris.
His hands clap together, not even breaking his earlier momentum, gained from defending himself.
He sets his sights on Imota, fingers make handseals rapidly and several crystal petals swarm around the Sasaki. With two crystal formations on the ground. They're like stacked mirrors. "There is no shame in fear of death." Kaede says. "When the clouds turn red and all you can see is the darkness of the void--" His hands continue making handseals as he looks towards Karakuri and his puppet, "-- You know that the death comes marching."
Tessen sighed as he looked to Kaede. The incoming attacks were but a nuissance to him. The explosive tag seemed to sail through his flesh and fly off into the sky to detonate harmlessly. The ground where Tessen stood crumbled under the down blast of wind, and the blades of air that shot out to slice him to bits. The form of Tessen could be seen standing off a short distance from the last after image that was destroyed.
Shifting slightly he glanced to the combatants around him. His hands slowly reaching for his twin katanas.
"An ant hill indeed Kaede. Such annoying vermin should be dealt with swiftly. We do not have the time to waste here and now on the weak ones. If we daudle too long stronger enemies will appear and hinder us further. I do not mean to cut your excitement down…but now is not the time for games."
With that Tessen's eyes closed and his body seemed to vanish. First, the annoying one with the tags. Tessen's form would appear before him for only a brief second before passing through him, and drawing the katana across his gut. Next, was the one using tactic to try and immobilize and cripple them. Tessen's swords would only glint in the light as he brought them down in an 'X' cut across the boy's chest. Finally, the big fish. The one who had saved Kuodo from him weeks ago. Tessen's blades would move to make a scissor cut aimed for the back of her neck. He knew it wouldn't kill her even if it hit, but it would prove his point just the same.
After the final attack he would appear back at Kaede's side. His assualt happening in the matter of heart beats. Such was the speed of one who mastered that technique. The use of speed and blade in one was something far more formidable than most could comprehend.
Tessen and Kaede are in the midst of combat. They are attacking Sunagakure. And for at least ONE of the pair, this would not be possible without the aid of a woman named Kishi Mune. But if all goes well, no one but the three of them will ever know that.
A rather shapely female figure wrapped entirely in linen bandages and the cloak, hood, and similar adornments of a desert-traveller has been hanging back near a large rocky outcropping of about 190 feet tall, to the south-west of the canyon path leading into Sunagakure. But as things heat up with the introduction of a certain Councilwoman that Mune HAD been under the impression was still the 'guest' of a certain man… Well, she decides it is time to step things up a bit. The female figure advances towards the rear of the fighting. She has all manner of vials and chemistry equipment situated about her person. Infact, she looks a bit like a walking chemical-weapons laboratory. Her face is concealed by a mask of white silk with two eyeholes for her vividly blue eyes. The woman waits for her opportunity. And then she strikes.
Mune focuses her Chakra… She claps her hands together and then slams them both down on the ground. A rumbling shakes the earth in the area, and then a thick stone column erupts from the sand at an angle, essentially trying to slam into Itami from either behind or the side. It's like getting hit with a battering ram.
The woman says to no one in particular, "Humankind can not gain anything without first sacrificing something. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's law of Equivalent Exchange." Then she prepares to face the retaliation from Itami or anyone else who realizes there is yet another enemy in the area. "I wonder what I will obtain in exchange for all that I have lost on this venture…."
Life has been so busy lately for Shemri. Fighting zombies, going on what was supposed to be a vacation but turned out to be a mission to take out a dangerous missing-nin, fighting more zombies, stumbling into an alternate reality controlled by zombies, returning to find Sunagakure under attack (mainly by zombies), competing in the World Ninja Competition, and finally, being purposely eaten by a beast the size of an island in order to kill it from the inside! It almost didn't even matter that Shemri and her comrades were promoted upon returning home. All that matters is that things have FINALLY settled dow -- *GONGGgGONGGgGONGGgetc.* …Sighhhhhhh… -.-;
Shemri and Shiikaa race toward the source of the commotion. "I am not feeling very merciful today," Shemri mutters darkly. >( Shiikaa bristles his tail. You think you've got reason to complain, I was supposed to get a month of kitty treats and a catnip plantation when we got back and here I am getting ready to fight again without so much as a rubber mouse. ^>.<^ Arriving outside the gates, they take a moment to assess the situation. Big flashy ninjutsu attacks coming in from the desert, okay. Speedy guy zipping around and attacking our people, check. Battle plan? OFFENSIVE IMPROVISATION. Shemri runs to close the distance toward the invaders, and Shiikaa leaps up onto her shoulder. A moment later, there is the POOF of a transformation, and Shemri runs out of the white cloud with a furry black gauntlet running up her right arm. Time to put their most recently-developed techniques into practice. >)
Kara was pretty exhausted after the mission to the Land of the Sea, but they have had at a week to recover. That's not a lot of time, but it's better than nothing. Further, it gave Kara time to complete a project she had been working on since before the tournament began. She also had to fix Sekhmet. She was broken pretty badly by that lightning blast from the fish-lizard-o-saurus or whatever that thing was. Since when do dinosaurs breathe lightning anyway!?
But after fixing Sekhmet, Kara feels she has a better understanding of the Ancient Puppeter than before. And that understanding has allowed her to achieve something that was previously beyond her reach. As alarms go off, the sounds of battle echo throughout the Sand Village, and people fight for their lives, it seems to have fallen to one of Sunagakure's newest Jounin to pick up the slack. Tessen darting around like a monkey on crack kind of catches her attention. Sure Kaede is doing more 'area-wide' destruction, but she thinks that actually makes him easier to handle. He lacks the subtlety, from her initial observations, to turn dozens of foes into quivering wrecks with minimal effort. But that guy with the Sharingan…
"Hey, >Red Eyes<!" a voice calls out over the chaos of battle. Whether Tessen looks up or not, Kara is standing atop the heavily-damaged canyon wall with some >friends< backing her up.
>Five of them<.
"How about picking on someone your own size?" she asks, fully aware that Tessen does not appear to have a chest anywhere near her size. But it sounded cool, so get over it. Pharaoh moves to front. A mummified corpse turned into a Puppet. Sekhmet leaps off the canyon wall as well, alongside Anubis. One a gold statue with the head of a lioness, the other an onyx statue with the head of a jackal. And then two unfamiliar figures appear. One appears to be a green-fleshed man with green flames rising from his body. The other has the head of a jackal, similar to Anubis, but has >black< flames rising slowly from his muscular form. Re and Set.
"I have some friends I'd like you to meet!" she calls cheerfully.
The amount of ninja flowing towards the gates and the commotion around them to defend the village is growing steadily, as members of all the village's teams and all of its various clans unite against a common enemy. There are a puppeteers, Nagahara, Kuroki and even Kureno's own Seishukuni appearing, rather eager to unleash their abilities upon whoever would harm Sunagakure.
Among the Kuroki is someone who resembles Kuoroke, vaguely, in the details, to which nobody is paying attention in the fast-paced combat, anyway. He also resembles the councilman in the amount of tattoos on his body, although there are slightly less of them, but then that comes with the clan name. Either way, this particular Kuroki comes into view because, noticing an ally in danger, he uses a familiar defense: from his forearms, two shields unwrap. His are fashioned, detailedly, after two large wings stretching backward from his forearms. The shields flash open quickly, and attempt to deflect at least the sword aimed for the puppeteer.
In the meantime, the faceless masses throw a number of kunai in the attackers' direction.
With the battle outside raging, inside, Mao continues to do all she can to combat the powerful jutsu which had initially caused so much devastation. No matter how you cut it, though, there's only so much one person can do against such a technique. The damage has largely been done. At least now, it doesn't seem likely that the walls are actually going to collapse. God only knows how much of this is down to the efforts of the determined Uzumaki, and how much of it is down to the distraction forcing the ninja who had been focusing the assault to stop and channel his efforts elsewhere. Well. Most likely more the latter, but at least she had done something!
At last, Mao scales to the top of the walls, and looks out over the battlefield. From this vantage point, she is treated to a pretty good view of everything that is going on. The incredible speed of one assailant, the rain of crystal death which is almost certainly the being who began this chaos. And, with a bit of squinting, she can even make out someone who looks like they are ready to gas the entire village single handed. Of course, it isn't easy to pick out who is an ally and who is an enemy in all this. Some of Kara's puppets look downright menacing, for starters. But it certainly doesn't seem like the defenders are slowing the march of the enemy all that much. More and more people are surging out to meet the attackers head on, but that just makes the battlefield even more chaotic!
Mao's eyes steel, and she digs her feet into the stone of the wall. Focusing her energy into a usable form, she's still sweating like a pig in this damned sun, but now there is a cold edge to it. These people weren't playing around. They are here to destroy this village. In this moment, the decision to come here feels like a very foolish one to have made indeed.
Reaching inside her jacket, and unzipping a pocket, she produces a forehead protector with a strange, whirlpool symbol emblazoned proudly upon it. This glints in the sunlight as she ties it around her head. She can't back down. To do so would be to shame her village, and cast doubt upon the sincerity of the entire Uzumaki clan. If she is going to die… at the very least, let any survivors know that she died proudly in the defense of these walls!
"HOI. Baka-ninja!" She shouts, "Run away now! Because if you don't, I'll have to come down there, and then you'll see me REALLY PISSED OFF!"
Yes, that's right. If you shout loudly enough, Mao, maybe you'll even start to believe that you can swing this thing all by yourself.
Itami's eyes were drooped, lacking in the same liveliness they usually have. She didn't want to go through this, especially after just returning and then to listen to insults. There was a fire there. These insults, these people. She was beginning to hate them all. Luckily, help was here and she was able to regain some form of balance after her mind began to drift. It was unusual for her to harbor feelings like that, but who says people can't change?
Her eyes were watching carefully as the field has just grown a bit more busy with all the people, but she only needed to watch for the enemy with regard to her comrades. With the flickering Uchiha coming round, she finished her seals in the nick of time to evade the attack and manage to get away from another. The column of earth produced prompted her to scan the field again to find another has appeared. Now there's more to deal with and she can't focus on her target in the way that she wishes to.
In retaliation to the newcomer, she doesn't give much of a warm welcome other than a column of earth of her own after making the necessary seals for it.
Kaede laughs at Tessen, before his features become grim once again, and voice grave. "Looks like you get the girls again." He says as he leaps back from the faceless mass. "Looks like a date." He says as a kunai heads straight for him. He lifts up his arm and grits his teeth, expecting the THUD of the kunai striking his flesh and digging in deep.
He than dashes to the side. He had no choice. This fight was escalating. Tessen wasn't holding back. They won't last long with this kind of opposition. Time to tone it down.
His hands quickly started making handseals. Dob, boar, horse, dragon, as he spoke, "We were born for something, and we die for something. If that is our fate, we can't resist it."
He finally settles into place clapping his hands together. "Traveling down the road that can't be seen, that which lies ahead is the end of life" Something red appears in the sky. It's like a star. Growing in size, yet, it is moving away. Or is it?
"That is truly the guidance of God. Or should be."
His hand clenches into a fist as the heavenly lance splits up into several spears, raining down on the defenders with untold ferocity.
"Either God doesn't care. Or there is none." He pauses, "But justice shall be handed out today."
Tessen smirked at the girl calling out for him to face her. She had spunk, but that was not something he cared much for. The man that stopped his blade made him grin. He was very reminiscent of a foe fought not so long ago. This was becoming interesting indeed. Sunagakure had such fine shinobi that were ready to die for the country, and today they just might.
With a low nod towards Kaede he spoke calmly, "Seems that way…though do stick close. I don't need to be worn out by their advances with no one to step in and continue."
After those brief words Tessen's hand burred and then stopped as if cradling a ball. As his hands moved lightning began to arc between them trying to break free, but with speed and skill it was contained. This mass rapidly grew to the size of a soccer ball. Then he vanished, only to appear overhead of all the combatants. With a shove the ball was let loose down below to all of his opponents. When it neared, the orb exploded letting loose a malestrom of arcing lightning in all directions.
As a hail of kunai and a pillar of earth both converge on Mune, the disguised kunoichi throws down a pair of chemical vials. When they interact, they produce a frigid stream of super-cooled vapor that turns metal and earth alike as brittle as glass. Mune leaps away and the attacks shatter on the desert's surface. "Hmph," she hmphs. A Council Member is no laughing matter… And with all those gumbies running around… It looks like she'll have to start upping the difficulty level a bit to keep these fools interested. First, however, she needs some Chakra to work with. So she pulls out a syringe of golden liquid flecked with silver and injects it into her wrist. There's enough distance that she should have a moment or two before Itami closes the gap.
Maybe she can even get what her master promised she would get in this scuffle instead of having to wait. She focuses her Chakra once the elixir kicks in. A visible -- though faint -- golden aura forms around her. She says nothing out-loud. She doesn't want for her voice to potentially be recognized. Instead she just stands there and waits for Itami, tauntingly.
Shemri furrows her brow as she nears the combat zone. Is that seriously all the invaders there are? They must be utter idiots, no matter how powerful they are. Attacking a ninja village alone with techniques sure to draw the attention of practically every shinobi within? That's just suicidal. :P <strike>Not at all the type of move that could be effortlessly pulled off by the villains in a shounen manga if it weren't for the last-minute table-turning of the plucky heroes.</strike> That said, Shemri doesn't intend to go toe-to-toe with anybody confident enough in their abilities to try such a thing, at least not until she gets a better idea of their abilities and greater numbers arrive on her own side. So she starts with an exploratory assault on all three of the apparent baddies. Shemri leaps up and flings a shuriken each at Kaede and Tessen, then twists around in midair and sends a ripple through her sash, which flips out a kunai that was nestled in its folds and flicks it at Mune.
The Kuroki, assisted by his clan's strength-enhancing tattoos, notices just in time just in what direction the spears are flying by the ones that aren't headed for him. When he raises these elegant, well-crafted wings, however, the spear just presses through it and impales him through the chest, leaving the right lung useless, and shattering into many pieces as it hits a rib in his back.
The Kuroki groans, and attempts to dodge the incoming lightning… a ridiculous concept, if one knows that electricity travels with the speed of light in the medium, in other words ridiculously fast. Already injured by the spike, he is hit by the lightning, and hurled backwards, where he takes a moment to gather his resources, and quietly doubts the wisdom of partaking in the fight.
Kara remains up on the canyon wall. She doesn't come anywhere near Tessen or his attacks. But his attack is apparently super-long range and can fly around all crazy, because it comes at Kara anyway! Osiris's green aura of 'fire' expands and the orb of Lightning Chakra just… Winks out of existence. The aura touches the attack, and the Ninjutsu rapidly diminishes until it stops being there. The aura then retracts.
"Wow," Kara offers in an impressed tone. "I didn't realize that my new buddies were that strong! …Or maybe you're just really weak!" she shrugs and then wiggles her fingers. Sekhmet fires a flaming arrow at Tessen, and Pharaoh spits a gas pellet that is likely poisonous. Anubis flings a couple of hand-sickles at the Uchiha villain, and then Pharaoh attacks >again< with a >flamethrower< that pops out of his mouth!
Fighting Puppeteers sucks, huh!?
Karakuri was bound by a type of crystal technique and when the kuroki blocked the sword for him, he would yell in a deep metallic voice "Thanks!" Before he brought his large metal body up, crystal shattering finally once the jutsu wears off. He draws his sword and runs for the enemies, bringing one sword slash to Kaede before raising his sword in a intricate swing at the leader, before he would raise his arm, crossbow once the plate retracts and he fires a crossbow bolt at the woman, the tag on it glowing once it reaches her and explodes, wether or not it caught her in the explosion however is known yet.
Mao really did ask for the attacks. That doesn't mean she is any more prepared for the brutal reality of them. The Uzumaki Chuunin's handseals are performed magnificently, and she slams her foot into the ground, the earth springing up at her command to try and shield her from the crystal lance. Which, does not precisely go according to plan. The weapon stabs deep into Mao's shoulder, through her hasty protection, and shatters. Crystaline shards rather, viciously, lodging themselves into her body. Which makes her response even slower when she sees the second assault coming in for her.
"D-damn, lightning!" She spits, and starts to bring her hands together. But this is far too slow, weighed down as she is by earth and injury. The force of the electrical assault tears the armor from her body, and forces her rigid. Thankfully, it seems that the fates have some mercy on the woman. Even the legendary Uzumaki will can only carry one so far, and as decisively put down as she is, her body simply says, no more.
And so the young woman falls to her knees, and then face-down. Smouldering gently, and very unconscious. At least it doesn't hurt any more. And on the bright side, the lightning cauterized the bleeding! Always a silver lining, eh?
Itami looked at Mune with some degree of curiosity. That gold aura she had. This wasn't looking good and Itami was tired. She just didn't feel like going through all of this. The more she thought about this a certain level of calm would come over her body, but it'd be countered by adrenaline that was coursing through her body.
Maybe she felt insulted or maybe she just had this need to strike, but…she heard the sound of crackling above. As her eyes flashed overhead, she utilized chakra and focused it to her muscles to be able to avoid the lightning orb delivered by Tessen.
The cloaked figure-- Kaede-- seems incredibly calm. Almost inhumanly so. His eyes never change their shape of expression, nor does his face. He is relaxed-- and yet coiled like a snake, ready to pounce.
He doesn't even move when Shemri throws her shuriken. And from a different point of view, she seems to throw it directly at something next to Kaede. It's like a mirror, a flat shape. Just like last time, the mirror bursts into tiny, glowing, crystal shapes that are flat, but, because of the light hitting it by the setting sun, they appear like flower petals.
Was something happening to Shemri's aiming skills or was something else going on?
However, Karakuri's puppet slices directly into Kaede, without much trouble. Cleaving through his flesh, an inch, two inches, and than his form poofs into smoke. Just a clone decoy. Apparently, it was Kaede's forte to use deception like this.
He rushes forwards, making several handseals and leaps up into the air, just as a Dragon made of crystal emerges from the ground, carrying him forwards at incredible speeds- mist-like crystals trailing in his wake, carried by the wind-tunnel it creates.
"Wraith Wall Cloud Formation!" Kaede yells out, his cloak billowing, as the mist envelops several fighters, and than freezes nearly instantly, embedding crystals into bodies unless evaded, on top of making it nearly impossible to move.
While falling back to earth a shuriken comes flying at him, Tessen hurls a senbon at it and manages to change its course so it only knicks him as it tears through the shoulder of his shirt. As the flaming arrow came at him his sword was launched at it and cut it out of the sky before imbedding in the wall below him. As the pellets come in he wrenches his body in a front flip to try and bypass the smoke cloud, but lands on the outskirts and inhales enough poison to make him wince as the sickles came at him. They seemed to slice his hips before the image faded and a red glow appeared behind him. The flames shot out as a booming crash of thunder echoed and Tessen vanished leaving a smoke trail as the back of his shirt was ablaze. He landed in a crouch and tried to roll under the last blades that flew at him. They grazed his calfs as he ate ground and stood up to grab his sword.
In an instant he was gone again. His body blurring as he moved to place seals on those close enough to him to grab, and kunai trailing bundles were sent for longer range enemies. This fight had been going on long enough and he needed it to end now. If the tags hit their targets they would painfully rip chakra from enemies as they convulsed before exploding on their bodies. A mean tactic but a useful one.
His voice called out to his companions with marked aggression, "Time to stop toying with them. We need to end this now if we want to achieve our objective. Kaede…make it bloom and rain down shards of death!"
Mune sees Itami leaving the area. She's not confronting Mune. That is very… Odd. Many of the defenders seem to be dropping quickly, or even withdrawing. That is not the objective of this part of the mission. So she does her best to communicate to the other two via hand signals or anything else she can -- even improvised flares -- that it is time to retreat. If they do so or not is up to them. But a moment later, Mune seems to start going through seizures. She collapses to the ground, shaking and spasming, as blood spots start to appear all over her white clothing. Her body 'sinks' and 'flattens' until there is nothing left but dirtied cloth. It's like she just disintegrated.
Shemri lands and observes the effects of her attacks. One hits and -- oh, some kind of illusion. :P Another is defeated by some weird application of SCIENCE. o.O And the third is deflected by -- oh wait, it hit! Yay, Shemri actually accomplished something against one of the flashy attackers who think they can take on all of Suna! :D But maybe it wasn't a good idea to attack all of them at once, because now Shemri has incoming! o.O; Shemri twists aside as Tessen blurs in next to her, managing to avoid the tag he attempts to slap onto her in passing. Then she sees some sort of mist enveloping her. Mist is never good, you never know what it's made of or is intended to do. c.c; So Shemri throws herself away from the cloud with all her strength and -- "AIYAAAGH!" Shemri cries out sharply before landing facedown in the sand. Pushing herself up gingerly, she glances back to see the source of her sudden stop and the pains lancing through her foot. Apparently it's trapped in some sort of crystalline spike web. >.<; Unable to do much to her foes in her current condition, she carefully turns onto her side and starts kicking with her free foot, trying to smash the trap and free herself.
Stunned and helpless as he is to react, the nameless Kuroki is impaled by the spikes, leaving him barely breathing, and an even easier target for the incoming seals. They touch down onto his body, and suck him dry of energy, leaving nothing but a limp, barely breathing husk of a person to be ripped to shreds by the ensuing explosion. Nameless shreds, making him die like he has lived: a member of the faceless masses.
Kara is keeping an eye on the battlefield. Even as she observes how the Uchiha (wait, hasn't she seen him somewhere before?) barely manages to keep from being stabbed, cooked, stabbed some more, poisoned, poisoned and stabbed, cooked in poison, stabbed with cooking, and poison-stab-cooked, she notices something odd… Councilwoman Itami? Kara thought she was missing! And she is under attack from a newcomer! Before Kara can focus-fire on the one assaulting Itami, a bunch of seals come flying in at her! Osiris's aura expands and drains the Chakra from them, but the paper itself is rigged to explode! Amidst the fiery blasts, Kara feels some of her own energy drained from >her<!
"…Well, crappity crap-crap!" she lets out as she leaps away from the remaining tags, just incase they are still active. She glances back at the third enemy and finds she had dissolved after firing some colored flares in the air. …Wait. A signal to retreat? This…
Kara looks around carefully. Only three enemies… Attacking the >front gates<… This is…
"A diversion!" Kara mutters. She may act dumb and silly, but she didn't make Jounin just because she's nice to look at! Time to shut these goombas down and find out what's >really< going on. Sekhmet focuses on the two enemies as allies all around fall back at a signal from her -- or simply fall, in the case of the dead/dying. When all her friends are out of range (including sending Anubis to retrieve Shemri, if necessary), Sekhmet opens her mouth wide… And a high-pitched 'wind-up' noise like of immense and powerful electric fans fills the air. Sekhmet inhales deeply, artificial lungs in her metallic torso expanding until the metal creaks. And then… "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" The most painful, deafening, sonic attack anyone here has been unfortunate enough to experience resonates outwards from Sekhmet's maw, along with a powerful blast of wind that can easily hurl a grown man dozens of feet! The wind blast travels in a straight line, but the sound waves… There is no easy method of escaping that. At least not with a barrier!
Karakuri tries to block against the attacks but the puppet is slammed back, damage evident. The top half was gone, so the young puppeteer could be seen in it. He moves his hands and fingers, making his puppet stagger towards where he saw Mao go down and tries to make the puppet lift her, the armor badly damaged and Karakuri didnt look in the best conditions, he was exhausted and badly hurt.
The cloaked figure barely has enough time to really understand what is about to happen. Underneath the cloak, Kaede's teeth grit. Call it instinct if you like, but he knows something bad is about to go down.
He looks towards Tessen, as the retreat signal is given. "Seems she may be at her limit or someth-- WATCH OUT!" He shouts to Tessen as he catches a glimpse of Sekhmet about to bomb them with wind and sound.
The figure extends its arms forwards, directing as many crystal petals as it can in front of himself, fusing them together to meet the blast, in the formation of blooming flowers which release even more petals-- The wind is stopped initially as the soundwaves blast the crystal into chunks, but it somehow keeps reforming. Ultimately, the crystal shield of blooming flowers is no match for the technique as the shield is blasted away, and Kaede is sent rocking backwards, into the canyon wall, stunned, dazed and out of it. All he can hear is a high pitch noise, ringing in his ears. Shell shocked!
Tessen hears Kaede's cry and begins to glow a bright red as he prepares to retreat. Then comes a horrible earpiercing scream. His built up energy discharges and lumps him right next to Kaede as he hits the ground holding onto his ears. This was bad, this was very bad!
Tessen glared towards Kara. He knew what was to come. It is the same for every warrior that knows their fate on the battlefield. They are soon to meet a mistake and end up dead in the process. Now is just that moment or so it would seem.
Still his disoriented and pained body is trying to move. He is slow as dirt, and uncoordinated in every movement, but he is trying to rise.
Shemri grunts to herself as she kicks away at the crystals. It's difficult to get in a strong kick without yanking her trapped foot painfully. >.<; Not to mention the parts she's kicking are kinda sharp themselves. Then Shemri feels a slight pulse of chakra, and she stops and blinks. "Ah. Aha. How stupid of me to forget you." X) Shemri turns around and pushes herself into a kneeling position, then reaches behind herself with her gauntleted hand. Sharp claws spring out from her fingertips and slide in amongst the crystals. A few quick, tugging scratches later, the crystals around Shemri's foot are snapped away from the rest, and Shemri is free! She's not in great shape for running, though, so she's appreciative of the lift from Sekhmet. "Many thanks," Shemri says to Kara after being delivered to safety. "Have you heard anything about who these ones are or what they are after?" :/
Kara is not the type to kill people on a whim. Especially not incapacitated foes. But then she looks at the wounded friends and allies. She looks at the dead defenders lying on the ground. She turns to Shemri briefly and then coldly -- but not calmly, necessarily -- says, "Given that one of them is an Uchiha and we just had one of their kind here a few days ago after assaulting Councilman Kuoroke… I'm willing to wager that this is him and his friends come back to finish the job."
Kara considers taking them prisoner. She really, really does. But if that crystal dude is the same one who was imprisoned for awhile and then released… He has had a second chance already. The dark-skinned woman's eyebrows lower. Her eyes narrow. "I didn't save any lives the last time Sungakure was under attack. So I guess I should do my part now." She then gathers her Chakra, which she is already running surprisingly low on (must be using all these Puppets!), and channels it into Pharaoh, her strongest Puppet. "Shemri, I think this is just a diversion. Please go find Councilwoman Itami and look for a second incursion point. I'll… Finish up here."
This is not much like Kara's normal behavior. But some situations just don't call for humor.
This is one of those situations.
"Pharaoh-31: Overdrive Heat Cannon!" she calls out, her throat feeling dry suddenly. A ridiculously large gattling gun emerges from Pharaoh's mouth. It then begins firing senbon at such high velocities that the needles >turn molten during transit<. They riddle the two enemy ninja with an expansive barrage of these red-hot needles for over a minute. A small river of molten metal is left behind on the entire surface area both in and around where Kaede and Tessen lie.
"I guess I should make some kind of joke here about 'pincushions from hell' or something…" Then she has the gattling gun collapse and vanish back into Pharaoh's much-too-small body. "…But I can't stand stupid jokes like that."
Blasted with the molten senbon, Kaede's form is driven further into the canyon, almost disappearing beneath the loose rocks falling over his form.
One could swear there was a 'mission accomplished' carried on the wind as the chaingun finally stopped spewing senbon.
Apparently, that's the last of the handsome devil. Yes, handsome.
Tessen's staggering and rising form is riddle full of holes with the molten metal shots. As it collapses it starts to wither and wriggle. By the time it hits the ground he is nothing more than a pair of clothes and cheap katanas. Did Kara vaporize him, or something else afoot. Only time will tell and that is something this village may not have.
