Starring:
Date: November 10, 2012
Summary:
The ad-hoc team goes on a mission to locate the Recluse outpost in Konoha so it could be shut down.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Recluse Saga - Taiki Strikes Back"
Forrest behind the Hokage Monument
It's about mid-day, and Taiki has gotten the go ahead from the Hokage's office to check out the area around the monument for possible Recluse outposts. And, with the help of the mission office, he has sent out a general call for shinobi. The requirements? They be knowledgeable about either traps or tracking, that they be decently powerful, and that they be prepared for a fight. Taiki had no idea what to expect, or who, and the mission was to be kept hush-hush until it was over, so as to reduce the possibility of tipping them off. Like everything else dealing with this intel, this was an A rank secret.
Thus we find Taiki and his two ninken at the base of the Hokage Monument, waiting patiently for whoever the office could get on such short notice. There is a small contingent of Inuzuka betas around, keeping anyone that isn't cleared to be here for this away. He is spending his time double-checking his equipment, making sure he has everything he needs.
Naturally, Atsuro knew he was coming the moment he saw that notice. Taiki did better this time, he'll admit that. Unlike last time, where he quickly threw on some clothes and ran out to meet Taiki before he got himself killed, Atsuro is 100% ready and raring to go, as is Taizen. Not that he doesn't still have a few choice words for Taiki.
"Hey," he says, walking up to Taiki and his little dog army, "Okay, so you at least called in some people this time, but you know you could have asked me directly? When you just send out a 'maybe you should come, maybe you shouldn't' message, it could kinda get missed. You still need at least one person watching your back for you." Of course, he already knows what this is about. "Anyway, lecture over. Anything special I should know about this?"
Naturally, Atsuro knew he was coming the moment he saw that notice. Taiki did better this time, he'll admit that. Unlike last time, where he quickly threw on some clothes and ran out to meet Taiki before he got himself killed, Atsuro is 100% ready and raring to go, as is Taizen. Not that he doesn't still have a few choice words for Taiki.
"Hey," he says, walking up to Taiki and his little dog army, "Okay, so you at least called in some people this time, but you know you could have asked me directly? See, I'm kinda an asset to you in that I'll come whether or not I get a notice. If you'd asked me separately, you'd already be guaranteed two extra people, who knows exactly what the situation is." Of course, he already knows what this is about. "Anyway, lecture over. Anything special I should know about this?"
Having a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, Eremi was taking just about any mission that was coming his way. So after just finishing guard duty at a food festival with a naked Iga and an Akimichi with great willpower, he wasn't surprised to already be receiving another task that seemed to be directed to whatever specialties he might have. Which is what led him on his way toward the Hokage Mountain.
He had no clue who was running it or what would necessarily be involved, but as he sprinted up the mountain, backpack bouncing up and down behind him, he had somewhat of an idea what it might be about as his eyes would spot ninken scattered around like guards on duty. Though it wasn't until he reached closer toward the top and when he saw a few familiar figures off in the distance, he was truly sure what the mission involved.
"Hey everyone." Eremi spoke through his somewhat staggered breathing. He took a moment to collect his breath, shifted the backpack around for comfort then looked between those gathered before focusing on Taiki. "No matter what, I'm going to be with you on this." He'd like to think Taiki put in a request for him specifically, though even if that weren't the case, he's glad to be helping.
There was still one more to be the last one to arrive. The young Uchiha known as Narusegawa was plucked away from her daily life, requested to head up towards the Hokage Mountain to help "assess" an information. She was completely kept in the dark for now but obvious it was important enough to maintain some silence until she got there. In a short amount of time she made headway towards her destination, joining up with the group soon after Eremi had arrived. With a single blade slung to her back and her radiate scarlet pale gaze flourishing, her eyes briefly glanced over the group at hand, her eyebrow twitching slightly as they settled upon Taiki, did he request for her to be there along with him?
"What exactly is going on here… No one is really telling me anything," Naru questioned with an arch of her eyebrow, her eyes finally looked towards Eremi, blinking it was someone she herself hadn't seen in quite sometime but for now it just didn't seem to click. "Who are you…?" she bluntly questions, arms crossing along her chest. Rather than her usual dress the Uchiha had dressed down in simple garments consisting of a pair of black shorts and a matching tank top, not a shred of shinobi equipment was visible on her form aside from the blade by her back.
Taiki gives a grim smile and nod toward Atsuro when he gets here. "I almost thought about coming to ask you directly, but the office told me that I was needed here first, and that the orders would include some guards from our clan, since they already know of the situation and know to keep quiet about it. Thanks for coming Atsuro."
He puts his sickle away and stands just as Eremi arrives. He's a little shocked, but then he shrugs. "I don't know how much you've improved while you were gone Eremi-san. This is going to be dangerous. I won't lie. Even if we don't fight anyone, there's a very high possibility of traps. As long as you think you can handle this, I'm fine with you being here. But you notice my team isn't here, not even Ryo. It's that dangerous." There is a look of genuine concern on Taiki's face when he says this, he's nervous.
Then Naru arrives. As he smelled her come up, he sighed and shook his head. Their last meeting didn't end on good terms, and he for one didn't really need to be fighting right now. So after she's done speaking he says, "I'm sorry if my lack of communication the last time we met offended you Naru-san. I would explain, but now is not the time. If you wish to listen to me, we can talk after, please?" While he's remaining polite, and genuine, he has to be professional right now. He just hopes she understands.
Taiki takes a moment to breath in, then lets it out slowly. "Of those here, only Atsuro knows most of what's happening. First let me start by saying that the announcement about the rocky area of the Toshiba forest was true, but at the same time a ruse. The reason for this is that we had found a supply drop off point in that area, within a crescent-shaped path surrounding the area where I normally go for one of my hobbies. The area was trapped, but obviously recently used. We cordoned off the area to investigate it, and to remove the traps. After this mission, it will be opened back up."
Taiki then turns and looks up the cliff, to the top of the monument itself. "Thanks to information acquired from Inuzuka Kenshin after he regained consciousness, and information we found at the drop off, we have been able to determine there is a Recluse outpost in Konoha. The supply drop showed a general area, but not how to get in. We will be going to the top of the monument, and then about another quarter mile beyond that. From there Atsuro and I will attempt to narrow their location down by smell, thanks to the hints we have accumulated before. Naru-san, Eremi-san, you two are to look out for this symbol." He then holds up a drawing of a disk with a fiery border. The disk is divided into five parts, each one colored for a specific element, showing all five elements. In the center, overlaying all the sections, is the kanji for "balance."
"The symbol may or may not be colored, so be on the look out for something similar. We find that, we find them. Our mission is simple, analyze the situation once we find the outpost. If we can take it out ourselves, do so. If not, call in the ANBU. Personally I'd like to destroy it personally, but the Hokage herself was clear on this. Every able-bodied ninja is needed. If we can't do it without taking serious damage, mark it, retreat a safe distance, and call in the ANBU. Now, is there any questions?"
Atsuro sighs softly and looks up at the mountain. He has a couple of choice words for Taiki, but this isn't a fight worth having. And certainly not now. "What are friends for?" he says, dismissing Taiki's thanks. "Hi, Eremi," he greets. Taizen wags his tail and barks happily in greeting for Eremi. "Nice to see you here kid." He glances over to Taiki a moment, then back to Eremi. "They wouldn't have sent him if they didn't think he could handle it," he points out, "Just keep your guard up." Naru's greeting comes in the rather strange form of Atsuro frowning at Taiki.
Taiki's briefing begins, and Atsuro leans against a convenient tree, arms folded. When it comes time for questions, he speaks up. "Are we concerned about the possibility of them getting a message to other parts of the organization?" he asks, "It would be better if we took them out without alerting the rest of them about what's going on — at least temporarily. Or maybe they could get one last piece of information through from whatever they're spying on from here."
Eremi clenched the strap of his backpack tightly as he listened to Taiki speak to him directly. It was a little disheartening to say the least, but he understood why the other would have doubt in him and he couldn't blame Taiki for doing so. It had been some time since they had worked together, trained together and simply done nothing more then hang out together as the day faded away. It was Eremi's fault he let it get that way and he had to work hard to let Taiki know he's still just as reliable as ever. "I appreciate your concern Taiki, but simply because a mission might be dangerous doesn't allow me the right to turn it down. I'm a shinobi afterall, but besides that….Your my friend. I wasn't there for a lot of the things you went through, but I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." His gaze shifted to Atsuro and Taizen, "Hey guys and don't worry, I'll give it my all."
Looking between the two, Eremi caught sight of the others eyes shifting away, changing in view as if someone else was approaching. Their outward behavior giving an indication as to their feelings about it. Naturally, the curious Satonezu would turn around to see whom else might be coming. It was female in form, but it wasn't until they got much closer that he was able to recognize whom it was. Thinking about those he left behind in Konoha, he still thought about them daily. It's what kept him sane, so certain features were never forgotten. Though the orange hue seemed to have disappeared from the eyes and instead replaced by a pale sharingan, it was the rest of the features that still rang familiar. "Oh. It's me…Eremi." He said nervously, unsure if she would remember him or not. They had spent some time together, sparred a few times and been through some things together, but it was possible it wasn't enough to leave a lasting impression. Regardless, Naru was still considered his friend as much as the rest gathered were, so he was happy that she was there as well.
After an attempt at trying to rekindle old memories, Eremi turned to face Taiki, listening to what they were there for and what the plans were. He didn't have any questions, but he did have some concerns. Sometimes, his ability to spot things weren't the best. It wasn't until some thing or some one was directly in front of him, where he often excelled, but he'd cross that bridge when it came.
As Naru had joined up with the group Narusegawa could feel that Taiki and herself was somewhat on the wrong foot, nevertheless she shook her head and merely shrugged her shoulders, "You're right… Now isn't the time, we can talk about it later. Right now, i'm more interested in understanding why I might be needed here…" Naru commented back, she too was attempting to be polite as well, there was a genuine concern about the situation at hand, it was then she turned her attention to Atsuro's comment. " I've grown to know how to take care of myself, though it's nice to see you too, Atsuro-san," she offered him a slight smile, Atsuro had always been a person Naru felt indifferent about. After Taiki had informed Eremi as to how dangerous the mission might be, Naru blinked briefly and offered Eremi a closer look. Invading his space as she took a step forward. "Eremi-kun…? Where in the world have you been all this time? It's been months!" It was apparent that Taiki wasn't the only one who had taken a new appearance.
Narusegawa shushed herself as Taiki began to finally debrief them as to what had been going on, she peered at him intently for a moment, the idea of going up against the Recluse yet again caused her stomach to drop, "Those guys just don't know when to quit do they?" Narusegawa mocked briefly as she straddled with Atsuro's question. "Atsuro-san makes a good point… Do we need to remain out of sight and quietly? Do targets need to be taken out swiftly with lethal force? Or keep them alive?"
Taiki listens to Atsuro first, then nods once. "Of course I am, that's why we're keeping this group small, and with people who are knowledgeable in Shinobi arts. Hopefully we can find them undetected, though I doubt that will actually happen. These stormtroopers are too smart for that. If possible, I would like to take them out quickly. That's why if even if we do have to call in ANBU, there's two squads on standby. The moment we send the message, we're on containment detail. They will be here that fast, according to the Hokage. We're to evaluate and decide before attacking, if possible, to reduce the time they have to send out messages. If there are any patrols… silent kill, no prisoners. They are to get as little warning as possible."
He hopes this answers Atsuro's questions as he turns his attention to Eremi. "I know you could before, but these people are… different. They nearly killed me several times, with lengthily hospital stays. So I'm nervous, and I don't want to lose a friend," he offers. To Naru he gives a simple nod and says, "I think I answered that with Atsuro, but to reiterate, yes, we're going in under stealth."
Atsuro responds to Eremi with only a grin and a nod. Taizen wags his tail again. He's not really sure what to think of Naru's comment, exactly, but it doesn't really need to be questioned too much. At least, not minutes before an important mission begins. He keeps his response nice and simple. "That's good," he says, "You've fought these guys before, at least." To Taiki's answer, he nods. "Okay," he says, "We'll keep that in mind. Anything else we should know, or are we ready to go?"
Eremi's personal space tended to be invaded quite a lot lately and he could only account it to the fact that he clenches a backpack strap tightly in one hand now, instead of a kunai when he was feeling uncomfortable. "Oh, uh…" Smiling nervously while rubbing at the back of his neck with a free hand, "It has been Naru." Somewhat more relieved that she does in fact remember him or at least puts on a good show. "It's great to see you again." Avoiding the questions about his whereabouts entirely.
Taking a step back, he'd shake his head and smile before looking at Taiki, "Me either Taiki, that's why we'll do this together. If things get too dangerous for the both of us, we'll run. If we're unable to run, we'll walk. Whatever the pace, it doesn't matter. If you go willingly into danger, I will as well for you."
"Hmm…" Naru mused quietly under her breath as she peered at Eremi, curiosity still getting the best of her but for now she decided not to push the question as to where he might have run off to, she kept her attention for now as to what Taiki had been talking about, and with her question answered there really wasn't nothing else to it. " I see… Well I'm read to begin moving whenever you all are ready… We can take it at any pace to make sure we don't get caught off guard," Naru states as she clasps her hands together, she seemed to be taking the situation pretty calmly though it would have been nice to know that pulling her from training could potentially place her in a life threatening mission.
Taiki shakes his head at Atsuro's question. "Let's go, we're burning daylight." With that he turns and says, "Atsuro in the front, Naru-san in the rear, Eremi-san between me and her. Keep your eyes peeled, and once we are at the top, take to the shadows." After waiting for Atsuro and Taizen to get in front, Taiki follows with his ninken, motioning the others to follow. They reach the top easily enough, and thus the mission begins…
"Me on point, huh?" Atsuro asks teasingly, moving to the front of the group, "Gosh, Taiki, I never sent you headfirst into danger like this." Oddly, Atsuro gets down on all fours as they begin to lead the group up the mountain paths. It seems to work for him, though, and both he and Taizen pad along agilely, hardly making a sound as they make their way up the mountainside, eyes, ears, and noses ready to find anything out of the ordinary. They continue on like this once they've reached the top of the mountain, heading for the back and keeping aware of what's going on all around them.
"You've got the better nose, and more experience than I do," Taiki says logically as he moves along behind Atsuro. For now, everything stays quiet, normally so as they move. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, save for a distinct "lack of scent" trail that is hard for nomral Inuzuka senses to pick up. That Atsuro would have complained if Taiki had gone first goes without saying, really.
With the brief debriefing, it seemed like the group was ready to head off. Atsuro was already leading with Taiki following behind. "Right behind you guys." He turned to face Naru, "I just need to do something real quick, you can go on ahead." Quickly the boy sprinted over toward a bush, bent down and dropped his backpack on the ground and unzipped it. After which he rolled up his pant legs revealing his ankle weights, undid the straps and placed them in the pack before putting it all in the bush. It was something he would have done earlier had he known the importance of this mission, giving it all and not using each mission as a training exercise. Now all set, Eremi spun around and sprinted up to catch up behind Taiki and the rest. (fixed*)
It was going to be incredibly difficult to avoid detection from Narusegawa's sharingan. It had become quite potent especially when it came to detecting anything out of the ordinary. Despite not being a full power Naru's eyes began to examine area, knowing fully well the Recluse was known for their lures ad traps, she was more so looking around for sources of chakra and hard wire traps and lastly other individuals. "Try and be quick… Eremi-kun," Narusegawa replied back with a light nod of her head, keeping a close eye on him, as she turns her eyes back forward suddenly she notices a flash of chakra just right after the tree Taiki had passed causing her to raise her voice slightly. "Ta-kun…Something just went off by you…but it appears to be gone now… Not a single trace of it is left…" Naru wasn't quite sure what it was but Naru had an idea that this place must have be rigged but nothing lethal… Not yet.
At one point, Atsuro and Taizen pause and sniff the air. Atsuro gives a quiet snort of disgust. "No scent," he whispers back to the group, "Or is that a given, since it's the only tactic they have?" In mission mode now, he doesn't respond to Taiki's rebuttal (he was just teasing anyway), Eremi's journey to the bushes (hey, when you gotta go you gotta go). Naru's warning about something going off near Taiki gets more attention, however. "An alarm," he suggests. Though he and Taizen have their guards up already, they take a moment to give the area a really good sniff, trying to ensure that they don't miss a thing.
Taiki blinks as he's warned by Naru as to something triggering. His eyes narrow as he scans the area, knowing full well his normal Inuzuka Senses would be wasted. Up ahead, he catches sight of something, pausing nearby but at a short distance. "No, silent alarms," Taiki says with a frown. "Be careful not to trip them. They're very hard to spot…" He then widens the distance between himself and the seal he just got done studying, and begins to follow Atsuro.
It was about this point that Eremi knew there was little he could do to be helpful. The rest of the group had far more experience and exceptional abilities in detecting things that are trying to stay hidden, while Eremi would just be lucky enough to catch sight of something or someone that slipped up. Though that didn't stop him from keeping his guard up while he looked around just in the off chance the rest of the group missed spotting something. It didn't seem to be the case though. For now, he just stayed in formation, keeping in the same pace as the rest and following in already stepped in foot steps to avoid setting off traps.
Naru was able to keep up with each activation of seals they might have come across, this time as she was looking around she noticed another patch of chakra go off, this time right after Eremi had passed around a tree. "Eremi-kun…You seemed to have triped off one of those alarms this time," Naru informed as she kept her own stance steady, her eyes continued to scan around this time peering deeper into the forestry around them, just to the right up ahead there was some sort of chakra source building up for whatever reason. " There is something a little further up off to the side… It appears to be sustained with chakra and not going away…" This was more so directed towards Atsuro, especially considering he was in the lead at the moment.
The extra good sniffing turns up results. "It's a trail," Atsuro says, "Leads right up to the monument." He glances back to speak directly to Taiki. "Two possibilities I can think of," he says, "Either they knew they were dealing with Inuzuka and wanted to hide their movements. If that's the case, this trail probably leads to the outpost without setting off any traps. Or, they knew that we'd notice the lack of a scent and figure it was the first thing, so they set traps up along it." He waits for Taiki's decision before continuing.
Well, there is one small concern. A movement in the corner of his eye catches his attention, and he quickly grabs a ninjato from Taizen's vest to block whatever it is.
As Atsuro throws up a weapon Taiki realizes what is coming. Just as fast he pulls out a tag from his vest and tosses it, at Atsuro's sword. It hits, and a shimmering blue wall appears between him and the seal. The seal activates, but is stopped by the wall that shatters immediately thereafter. "If you don't know anything about seals, it is generally a good idea to dodge a seal trap Atsuro. Not all of them have physical effects you can stop with a sword." He then walks closer and inspects the seal even as it is fading away. "Okay, we've been compromised. They know we're here, and we don't know what we're facing. We're almost in the zone, so keep your ears and eyes open, kill anyone you come across. We're following the trail, as its our only lead, and they know we're here. Just try to make it hard for them to see you."
"No, what?" Eremi would snap his head back to look at Naru while still moving ahead. He couldn't believe what she said, but it's not like she would lie about it. Dangerous or not, if he couldn't avoid the simplest of traps he was just compromising the mission and the safety of the team. This wasn't going to bode well for his case in trying to prove to Taiki that he was still worth keeping around and was able to hold his own like the rest of them. Though still being the lowest ranked might speak bounds for what he's capable of. At this point he'd apologize, but it might be a moot point. They know he's sorry, he'd hope. It wasn't something he did on purpose, failing.
The young teen sighed quietly to himself as Taiki had to come to the defense of Atsuro. Possibly because of something he had done. If Eremi was going to keep moving ahead with the group, not give up and just turn away, he had to push himself. Push himself to prove he could help if need be and not be a burden they were dragging along. So without missing a beat, the boy brought his arms up before him took in a deep breath and exhaled it all at once. He still stayed in step with the rest, but it seemed as if he was holding back and then shooting forth.
They were detected though Naru had a feeling that the people looking over them didn't quite know their numbers either, there was only two trips on their way up, for all they knew it could have been the same person. "Right we just need to stay out of sight…" Naru agreed with Taiki, naturally attempting to keep herself out of sight while her eyes kept a close look at anything that she might be able to pick up on… They needed to move as quick as possible and hopefully get to their destination before they gave off too much information. "Lets just try to finish this quickly before any sort of reinforcements… Or unusual seals begin to reveal themselves,"
"Thanks," says Atsuro, "But no, not in this situation. There are traps all about. Better to risk getting hit than to dodge it and end up setting off more traps by moving too much." He sounds a little insulted actually, as if Taiki is questioning his credibility. And admittedly, he's a little angry at himself for setting off the trap, however well-hidden it might have been. It seems that they'll just have to press onwards despite everything. He and Taizen begin marching stealthily onwards.
It would seem they've attracted some attention, but not so much yet that they're the ones getting ambushed. No, they're still capable of ambushes, themselves. Smelling someone sneaking around up ahead, Atsuro shares a glance with Taizen, then gestures for the rest of the group. That done, he and Taizen begin their attack. Taizen moves ahead first, throwing his weight at the man, with Atsuro following shortly behind with a lightning-quick sword slash.
Taiki shrugs as he admits to himself that Atsuro may be right, but its better to set off a detection seal than get hit by that lightning prison trap. He'd explain it to Atsuro later, as he smells something up ahead. He quickly unwraps his sickle and chain, sending his ninken forward even as he does. He follows closely behind, spinning the weighted spike-ball end. There's a muffled thud as the man's throat was cut by Atsuro's attack, causing him to fall to the ground, gurgling out blood. Taiki then releases the ball at someone else that his dogs hit, followed by a leap and a slash with the sickle.
In comparison to the other gates, the gate of opening wasn't much, but it was definitely a huge boost to Eremi's abilities. Enough so that he felt not only stronger and faster, but more aware to his surroundings. So as the Inuzukas ahead were dealing with those that they detected and disposed of, Eremi too had detected one. Without waiting the boy disappeared in a flash, most likely only detected still by his trailing scent and the high level of Naru's sharingan even she were to focus on him.
When he reappeared he was directly under the individual hiding nearby, but without waiting he shot his foot straight up into the person jaw, sending them skyward. Immediately after Eremi would follow behind, reaching forward for the mans legs and slamming them back into the ground below before they reached to high above.
With the help of her Sharingan Narusegawa was able to keep out of view, at the same time detect a person who appeared to have been trailing them from behind. While everyone else began to spring into action Naru had decided to do the same, pivoting on her foot and rushing through a set of hand seals, the water in the air began to condense slightly, swirling in forming into a spiraling lance of water, "Water Release…Water Lance!" Narusegawa exclaims allowing the roaring chakra to rush and slam towards the hidden individual, it was then she attempted to assure her kill if possible, drawing her blade and bringing it to bare. Electricity expelled down the blade as she attempted to impale the individual and potentially kill them.
Having dispatched the approaching guard, Atsuro wipes his sword off on the ground. Seeing the other members of the group dealing with guards of their own, he thinks to help them out. But then he catches another scent. Looking ahead to where he'd been leading the group, he sniffs. He kneels down and gestures to the other members of the group, hoping they aren't too distracted with fighting to see the signals. Two. Human. Unknown. Straight ahead. Stationary.
The guards didn't have much of a chance against this group, which is unusual given the normal fighting levels sent against Taiki thus far. Taiki's guard goes down with a large hole in his throat, and a missing arm. Eremi's guard winds up with shattered vertebrae and a bruised brain. He'll not last an hour. Naru's guard, a female, is a little tougher, but still goes down from Naru's lightning sharp attack. Taiki takes note of each fight, with a slight eyebrow raise to see Naru having three elemental manipulations under her belt, including the two he himself has. But Atsuro catches his attention, causing him get down on all fours in his modified stance. He rapidly approaches Atsuro, sniffing himself as he tries to take an estimated guess of what their levels are. He makes a few hand signs of his own. Likely boss. Approach with caution.
Normally Eremi wasn't much for killing. In fact it was something he truly despised, but as the guard bounced off the ground, he didn't give it a second thought as he moved ahead to catch up to Atsuro and Taiki. Which he happened to do just in time to see the pair of Inuzukas both give off their own set of hand signs. Whatever was ahead, there were at least fewer guards left to deal with now then before, but that didn't mean there wasn't an ambush still waiting for them up ahead. So as Eremi reached Atsuro and Taiki, he reached deep within himself, focusing another time. 'Gate of Healing. Open' In response, his muscles clenched and a few veins bulged throughout his arms and a smaller one appeared on his forehead. If their was indeed a boss ahead, he was going to be a little bit more ready.
Slaying the guard remained to be an easy task as the biting forks of lightning are released from the crevice of flesh, drawing her blade from the corpse and allowing it to slide back into her sheath, a soft sigh escapes her lips before bringing herself back to the situation at hand. She moved forward, ducking her head back down in order to move forward unnoticed once again, they were moving silently and quickly but they needed to keep moving no matter what. "Are we getting closer?" Narusegawa relunctly questioned as an attempt to assess the current situation, every now there were sparks of chakra flooding her vision, Naru could see Eremi popping off a few of his gates…A technique Naru didn't even know where to begin attempting…
He knows nothing about the Gates, so he can't tell what Eremi's doing, but Atsuro has more or less the same idea. If this is indeed the boss, there's no reason to take unnecessary risks. He pulls Taizen up onto him, then makes a seal. With a puff of smoke, Taizen is replaced by another Atsuro. Now they'll be ready for a tough fight. That bit of preparation taken, the two of them begin to creep forward once more, doing their best to avoid detection.
Taiki looks at Atsuro as he transforms and moves forward, then back to his ninken. For now they remain in their original forms, working together as a tight unit. Taiki himself looks at the other two as they begin to move forward, noting the powerups. So far, nothing from the people in front of them, at least not yet.
With little to go on so far as to where their target actually was, it was a bit unnerving to continue forward. To try and stay focused, Eremi clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, the bandages that wrapped his arms and hands flexed as if to tear. The chakra that was surging through him felt like an itch that just needed to be scratched but couldn't. A feeling most likely from opening up the second of the gates and not actually using it just yet. Still, he kept as alert as he could. Eyes darting to the left and the right, trying to spot what he could and hopefully avoid any traps that might still be lingering about.
Narusegawa didn't say a word, instead she remained focused on the task at hand, using her eyes as a way of being able to keep up with everyone and hopefully detect possible problems before they got close enough. As usual she kept herself in a low forward motion keeping herself hidden as she checked things out, her eyes became slightly more inflamed with the Sharingan, the pale hue shifting into a dire blood red.
Atsuro and Taizen creep forward towards the two figures. However, they're forced to pause when a trap is set off. Acting quickly, Atsuro pushes off the ground using his sword, allowing the chakra to simply pass by as it travels along the ground. Taizen quickly follows suit and the two emerge from the trap unharmed. Lowering himself back down to the ground, Atsuro takes a look around. "They're all over," he whispers to the team, "I think this is a job for ANBU."
Taiki, unlike Atsuro, doesn't have a high level block, yet. That's what his seal techniques is for. Realizing that the seal barrier would be quickly over-powered and effectively useless, he attempts lightning dodge, pulling Nozomi back as Shinobu tries to pull back using the same technique. Unfortunately none of them are fast enough as chakra sweeps through him, then detonates, pulling a significant portion of his chakra right along with it. He falls to his hands and knees, breathing heavily after screaming.
Suddenly, Eremi froze in his tracks, unable to move another step. His body was completely rigid, but was quivering wildly as if being electrocuted. Which compared to this would probably feel a whole lot better. The trap he had managed to set off, sending exploding chakra throughout his body. The pain was immense, but the least he could do was bite down hard on his now grinding teeth to prevent from screaming. Though with Taiki already doing so, there probably was no point in holding back. Still, he held strong, putting on as brave of a face he could until the trap was done. Unfortunately though, the lingering effects left him unable to move. Not like he wanted to now anyways. His perception skills just weren't high enough to detect the traps that were everwhere. Perhaps it might be best if he just jumped on Atsuro for a while c.c
"This place… is too riddle with traps to proceed without completely disclosing our position…Can we flare for Anbu now?" Naru questioned after the series of explosions racked through the area. HEr eyes were able to see them, dodging away from the blast radius though unfortunately Taiki and Eremi appeared to be down for the count… At least for now. " We should stay stationary for now and wait for Anbu to arrive….Ta-kun…Eremi-kun, are the both of you okay?!" She had to ask of course, keeping an eye out just in case someone decided to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.. " We need to call them right away…"
"So, our traps caught two little birds, shall we see who was stupid enough to try to invade us brother?" one man asks the other.
"Indeed brother, let see…" the second man pauses and then smiles widely. "Oh this is great! Welcome to your death Inuzuka Taiki. We will be so rewarded…" Just then the flare goes off, causing the first brother to look up. "Oh? calling for help are we? Too bad it will be too late to save you. You've been a thorn in our side for far too long."
Just then a bunch of shunshins erupt, and when the leaves clear there are ANBU everywhere. "We'll take it from here, Inuzuka-san. Good work. Two disappear in a swirl of leaves, only to appear behind the two caught shinobi, and then disappear again, to reappear with Atsuro and Naru. They both disappear again, to reappear with the ninken. "Get them to the hospital. We'll take it from here, and let you know what we find." The sound of battle and explosions start from behind the two ANBU as they start clearing the area of all those traps. "Retreat…" Taiki gasps, curling about himself in pain. Kami he hates chakra explosive seals.
