Starring:
Tatsuo, Atsuro, Daisuke, Kenta
Date: May 26, 2016
Summary:
Daisuke, Atsuro and Kenta makes it their number one priority to track down Tatsuo before Uzumaki Touma has a chance to extract Isobu from the boy for his own nefarious reasons. This leads to a big battle at Konoha's main gates, which culminates in Tatsuo and Isobu joining fully for the first time to break free of their confinement.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Tail Hunters - A New Partnership"
Konoha Main Gates
Someone was trying to capture Tatsuo and, while the exact reason is still only a speculation, it's a very likely thought that it has to do with what's inside the Nara. After the initial kidnapping attempt by drawing Tatsuo on a fake mission had failed he, Atsuro, and Kenta had been able to bring back some prisoners to interrogate. Said interrogation started off mildly well, but then somehow while the group was in with one captive, someone knocked out the guard and killed the other two. Something one had said helped however and they found out it was someone involved with Tatsuo's Sealing.
A trip to the restricted records followed at Atsuro's recommendation and they began the search for information on who'd been at the sealing. To their surprise they'd been beaten to the punch and instead uncovered a low level explosive tag. It was contained by a sacrificial-yet-shielded Kenta however and no real damage was done, but the names were still missing. Distressed at Kenta's near demise Tatsuo had gone out to get air while the others waited for an investigative team. Moments later Tatsuo was gone, having vanished from sight and smell right in front of a guard. Pieces fell into place with what was going on and the power and type of skills made it obvious what they were dealing with. A powerful Uzumaki and likely the one who had actually been in charge of sealing Isobu inside of Tatsuo. Why he was doing it was questionable. But that didn't stop it from happening. Atsuro ordered the Village on lockdown before following the next logical step. Speak to someone who would know the name of the Uzumaki involved in Tatsuo's sealing. The Hokage. Luckily his office wasn't far from the records and the group was at his door within moments.
Daisuke turns around in his chair as the duo enters his office and raises an eyebrow curiously. As Atsuro fills him in on the details of what has been transpiring, he frowns and folds his hands on his desk. Atsuro and Kenta bring up the fact that the documents for Tatsuo's sealing are missing, or at least the names, and Daisuke sighs, running a hand through his hair, seeming very displeased with all of this. "I can't say I'm happy right now, but if you need a name then I can provide it. Uzumaki you say? That would be Uzumaki Touma, a very skilled fuuinjutsuist that I have used on occasion, including two sealing ceremonies of the 3 tails." he says to the duo, looking between the two. "So what is the plan?"
Kenta flashes back to kidnappings of Isobu's previous Jinchuuriki as he hurries after Atsuro and Taizen as best as he can on his shorter legs. Not being able to stop the kidnapping while only a short distance away. The involvement of a powerful seal master. The near death of Takeo when Isobu was extracted. The last bit isn't a given yet for Tatsuo, but the similarities of the situation makes it a looming threat that's all too likely to become truth. Every minute that they spent at Daisuke's office is a minute taken from the time Tatsuo has to live.
"We find him and kill him!" Kenta exclaims as soon as Daisuke finishes speaking. "Umm… I mean… we find him, make him tell us who else is involved and then kill -all- of them…" The young man turns slightly red as he snaps his mouth shut and shuffles his feet in agitation. His nostrils flare as he sucks in a deep breath. "We need to find him and quickly. I doubt he'd be at his home, but are there any locations he uses that we know about that he doesn't know we know about? Or other ways to track him?"
Despite the earlier bravado, the trip up to the Hokage's office has been filled with frustration for Atsuro. The guards of the most sensitive places and people in the village can't handle /one/ rogue ninja? Traitor or no, it's all he can do not to attack a few guards himself. Daisuke's door nearly flew off its hinges as Atsuro entered.
"I agree with everything Kenta said. I doubt it's going to make much difference at this point, but I've had the whole village set on lockdown. There are searching for the perpetrator or any accomplices right now, and I've requested that our seal experts examine everything, including the area where Tatsuo disappeared from. Aside from that, we were hoping that knowing who did it would help us." He turns to Taizen, who's sitting by his side. "Go down to the archives and see if they have his records available," he orders. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if that disappeared too. Photos would be good, places or family members would be better." He pauses for a moment.
"Um, excuse me…" one of Daisuke's personal guards interrupts from the doorway. "I know Uzumaki Touma. I passed him on my way here just a few minutes ago," states the deus-ex-machina. "He had a cart with him but I didn't think anything of it since he does trading somethings. He was heading towards the main gates. He looked like he was in a big hurry."
Daisuke looks over at Kenta's outburst as soon as he asks them what the plan was, obviously not impressed with the purely emotional decision. It may be true that the Hokage was not interested in losing yet another Three tailed host to some kidnapper or poacher of Bijuu, whatever the case is this time, but his red-headed temper was put to a better use, trying to figure out a plan. "I don't feel like 'find and kill' is a good plan at this point, Kenta." he says quietly before Atsuro chimes in with a better, more logical one. "Touma lived on his own and kept to himself, always reading, studying, bettering himself. It has been at least a year if not more since I last saw him, though, as we had not needed his services." he says as he thinks about what he knows about the guy. At that time the guard interrupts and adds vital details, to which Daisuke stands up and looks to both Kenta and Atsuro. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Kenta sucks in a few more deep breaths, until he has the semblance of calm around him. It's rare that the young man loses his head in such a bad way, but overreacting about the harm of someone he cares deeply about is probably his greatest weakness. The young man barely manages to keep himself from charging out the door as soon as the guard finishes making that lucky observation. He clenches his fists tight and looks towards the senior shinobi, waiting to follow their lead, despite how much it pains him to delay even a few seconds.
Atsuro whips around and starts heading back towards the office door. "I need Taizen," he says, "We'll meet you at the gate as soon as we can." He looks the assistant in the eye. "Type up a copy of Touma's description and circulate it to all the guards. While you're at it, add a description of the cart. Anyone who sees either of them is to stop them, send a report to me or Daisuke, and not let them leave their sight." He turns down the hallway and starts on the path to the archives again, but turns his head back for a moment. "They're authorized to use any force necessary to apprehend Touma, but not to kill him." Then he breaks into a jog. "Tai!" he calls, "Taizen, I need you!"
The guard nods to and salutes Atsuro quickly, then turns to quickly get out the description of the man and his cart to send out immediately. But with the three shinobi going to be heading that way already there was a good chance it wouldn't do much good since they knew where he was going.
The path to the main gate isn't incredibly long though the closer they get the busier it gets and the more annoyed people are beginning to look. Having the Village on lockdown means that people aren't able to enter or leave and it's causing a great amount of disgruntled people. There's a number of carts in line waiting to leave the Village and Daisuke would be able to pick out the Uzumaki in question only one back from having been able to escape the Village. Now he also looks mildly annoyed, though perhaps being stopped is why he looks so upset. Certainly he doesn't look any more concerned or annoyed than those around him.
"Well its not like I can leave my adorable protege alone, cause clearly bad things happen." Daisuke says as he stands up. "And so, I am coming with you." he declares, ushering Kenta out of the office and following Atsuro once his party is assembled. As they head through the village, taking the rooftops and ledges due to the busy streets, Daisuke can see the main gate approaching. As they get closer, Daisuke scans the area near the gates with the carts waiting to leave and points out Touma to the group. "That's him right there."
Kenta's expression is full of concentration while he runs after the rest of the group. The young man takes not of his surroundings, but keeps most of his focus on keeping up. A small amount of his concentration is diverted to the seal tattooed to his chest in invisible inks. As he starts to draw chakra from it, the seal darkens across his skin to form a circle with the Kanji for life in the center. With each subsequent minute, the seal progresses further in its release. The second stage causes a chain of black seal characters slink from the main seal down his arms to form smaller seal circles on his palms. Another chain forms to link the central seal with a new circular seal on his abdomen upon reaching the third stage. By the fourth and fifth stages, twin black chains of chakras twine up his neck and link the central seal with two final circular seals on his cheeks. The air around him also begins to distort subtly.
"Got it, Hokage-sama!" Kenta exclaims once the culprit is identified. He comes to a skidding stop by bracing his heels against the ground. This gives him the stability needed for the young man to start making a quick series of complex hand seals that culminate with him staring at Uzumaki Touma through bracketed fingers. "Mind Body Disturbance activate!" With that, Kenta attempts to hijack Touma's body with his own will.
Atsuro hurries up from the archives and once he's retrieved Taizen they book it back to the others, and to the gates. Atsuro gives the Uzumaki only a quick glance as they approach, though he makes sure to get his scent as well. As Kenta starts his technique, he nods to Taizen. "Get up to the top of the wall," he says in a low voice, "Try not to be seen. Considering the way he disappeared, Tatsuo might not actually be in the wagon. If Touma leaves the village /without/ magically disappearing, try to follow him by scent. We'll catch up to you." Taizen takes off, slipping between a couple of buildings to try and find a less conspicuous place to climb the wall.
"If Kenta's technique doesn't work," he nudges Daisuke, "What if we end the lockdown? Give him enough rope to hang himself." He tilts his head. "I mean, unless he disappears with a seal, but if he has that capability anyway, we were pretty much colleagued from the start, weren't we?"
Within Tatsuo, a conversation is taking place. With a seal firmly placed on his physical form this is the only place he can truly be. Inside himself. With Isobu. "Why did you leave your friends?" Isobu intones curiously to the Nara.
"I had to get some air. I…was worried. Something could've happened to Kenta-sama and it would've been because of me."
"Foolish boy," Isobu rumbles with what is a bit of a chuckle. "They do it to protect you as much as you always say you wish to protect them."
At first things are normal, but then as Kenta's chakra barrels into the Uzumaki a shield flares brightly, rejecting the jutsu before it can take hold. It certainly gets Touma's attention however. He looks quickly in Kenta's direction then seems to say something. Apparently he's not along as someone comes flying out of the back of the wagon straight for Kenta, someone with two swords that is not exactly familiar but someone that Kenta and Atsuro might have knowledge as to who it is. Regardless of who it is, the person is fast and skilled as the swords slice down at Kenta within mere moments of the medics own attack. Touma throws a handful of seals into the air, causing minor explosions that send people running in fear and trying to scramble away, even over each other if needed.
Daisuke watches as Kenta goes to work, landing on a rooftop perched over the main gate area. He looks to Atsuro as he makes that suggestion before stating. "If he disappears it is because we weren't good enough to catch him off guard. If we had a way to confirm that Tatsuo wasn't in the cart, then I would say yes, but if there is a chance he is in the cart, then we have to get him before we have yet another abused or dead Jinchuuriki of the Three Tails." he states in a firm tone. He was starting to think that 3 was an unlucky number at this point, what with all of the Jinchuuriki he trained within the village.
"It looks like it failed." Daisuke says the instant the shield flares up, leaping from the building towards the main gate, bouncing off a few ledges and landing at the entrance, watching the chaos from the other side and the only exit. He was ready if Touma decided to flee in the smokescreen he tried to create.
"His barrier is too strong!" Kenta exclaims when everything starts to go wrong at the same time. The young man winces upon seeing the explosions go off, but all he can do is hope that no civilians were caught in them. The rising pall of smoke makes him react instinctively. Kenta's hands lift as a strong gust of wind blasts right at Touma, far too weak to pierce any seal, but strong enough to disperse smoke. Then, it's all he can do to keep himself from being skewered by the sword wielding lackey that charges at him.
"I don't have time for you!" Kenta exclaims as the sword wielder while he ducks sideways to avoid a slash, bringing up a skin tight barrier around himself with what time he was. He tries to see whether the others managed to corner Touma and doesn't quite manage it while defending himself. Medical chakra shrouds his hands as he counterattacks with, trying to sever tendons and muscle fiber with his touch.
With everything breaking down so quickly, Atsuro is forced to pause for a moment to ensure that Taizen has made it up the wall. Fortunately, the chaos down here on the ground has just made things easier for the nin-dog, who didn't really need to worry about being seen climbing the wall after all. He's now crouched down at the top, still ready to pursue if needed. By the time Atsuro can get a hold of the situation back on the ground, Daisuke and Kenta have already moved. The ninja Kenta's fighting is decidedly lame, so Touma is still the main concern here. If Daisuke's going to form the anvil back at the gate, then Atsuro is going to be the hammer that slams him into it. With the smoke at least somewhat cleared, he starts bounding through the crowd, using his nose to track Touma down.
"I don't expect others to get hurt because of me though. I want to be able to keep them safe from being hurt."
"That is an impossible wish, boy." Isobu's one eye peers out through the sealed gate within. "Part of your world is death and injury, even to those close to you. There is no way to stop it."
"Well why not!" Tatsuo snaps, a rare show of angry emotion from him. He normally just doesn't have it in him, but it's been a stressful few days.
"As I said, you humans attempt to protect each other. If you all wish to protect one another, then someone may still get hurt."
With all the chaos now going, people and horses fleeing in various directions, some even trampling each other in their haste and adding to the death toll. Through it all a pair of horses pulling a wagon barrel through towards the gates and they look about ready to run the Hokage right over. Touma has a grim, serious look on his face however and seems to not care that he's about to run the man over.
The swordsman doesn't seem to care what Kenta has time for, or even really what he wants in general. When the medic avoids one and stops the other blade he's already moving again, shifting sideways and smacking that medical chakra covered hand away with the flat of a blade before he brings the other blade towards Kenta's midsection in a quick slash. In the same movement that blade which had batted the hand away is flung backwards without the man even looking. It heads right for where Atsuro is running and will pierce him right in the back at this rate.
Daisuke waits for the moment that Touma tries to make a run for the gates, he had a feeling that it was going to happen within the chaos. And sure enough, the wagon he rides makes a break for it from the crowd and heads directly for him. The Hokage stands there in front of the cart, seemingly unphased and unmoving as he looks at Touma dead in the eye. "Disappointed." he mouths to Touma before slamming his fist on the ground and creating two large earth spires, one underneath the wagon to attempt to disable the wagon itself by wrecking the axle and lifting it up into the air enough to not be able to move, and one in front of the horses to divert and or stop them in their tracks like a giant earthen wall..
Kenta draws back smoothly after his hand his batted away to pluck a pill from a pocket and pop it into his mouth. The young man barely managed to swallow it before he has to cry out a warning to the Jounin Commander. "Watch out, Atsuro-senpai!" Kenta cries out when he sees the sword wielder flings one of the blades directly at Atsuro's back. The medical chakra around his hands strengthen until they're twice as bright, just in time for him to slap a bare left palm towards the second incoming blade to deflect it from his stomach. At the same time, he lifts his right hand to breath a plume of dark mist into it and imbue lethal toxins into the drastically fortified chakra scalpel he created. Kenta brings the blade of his ring hand slashing down vertically towards his opponent to try to cleave right through the metal blade itself and split the wielder in half along with it.
With a twist of his body and a disdainful snort, Atsuro avoids the sword. "Did you see someone do that in a manga?" he taunts, then turns his head to instruct Kenta, "Don't worry about me, just stop him!" Then he takes off again, dashing through the chaotic scene over to the gates. Seeing as Daisuke is already facing the rogue Uzumaki, he figures it's best to try and confirm whether or not Tatsuo is actually in the wagon, which he approaches, sniffing and searching for signs of life. "Tatsuo, are you in there?"
"I never really considered someone wanting to protect me," Tatsuo admits to the three-tails after a few moments of silence, his eyes seeking to the watery floor of the world with his admission.
"They fight for you even now." Isobu comments.
"Or they're fighting to make sure they don't lose you."
"That may be part of it, but not the whole. The passion I sense is not to keep me from leaving. It is to keep you safe." And then the internal world shakes as the world outside is so violently thrown into chaos.
Touma's eyes narrow at Daisuke but he still doesn't appear ready to stop. He sends his horses forward until that ends in failure. The wagon is smashed up into the air and the horses rear in surprise at the sudden apperance of the rocks. They turn to run to the side instead and they pull the wagon off the rock and send it skidding onto it's side before the harness snaps and the horses break free and flee. Touma leaps off of the wagon before it flips and comes down towards Daisuke, seals in either hand. One is a defensive at the ready, the other is a chakra supression seal that he throws at Daisuke as he nears.
The swordsman moves swiftly, pulling another, smaller blade from it's sheath as he faces back towards Kenta to continue their fight. The sword at Atsuro was only to distract the Inuzuka. He would go kill him later. When Kenta knocks aside the attacking blade the man lets it go and bury into a nearby chimney. Instead of blocking the attack he moves in towards Kenta, past where the chakra extends as he turns and reaches for Kenta's upper arm before attempting to hip throw him off of the rooftop.
Oh yes, Tatsuo is in there and no longer with an invisibility tag, but he's very unconscious with large tags on his forehead, chest, and either arm. Of course he's laying on the /side/ of the wagon now what with all it's bouncing around and such, but he's there and not even bleeding that badly!
Daisuke watches as the wagon falls over on its side and Touma jumps off to confront the Hokage. A wry grin spreads across his lips as he sees the man come for him all alone because it had been a long time since the Hokage had been able to stretch his legs. He retrieves a kunai and tosses it towards the seal paper aimed for him, intercepting it in mid air and pinning it into a nearby wall. "Your seals are top notch, Touma, but you made a big mistake going after our Jinchuuriki." he says to the man as he lifts his hands up to his mouth in a joint earth and fire seal, inhaling a lot before breathing out a hot, acidic haze full of glass particles and toxins, normally found within volcanoes, centered on the location the man was and only that location, a haze that seeps into even the tiniest holes left open..
Kenta yelps loudly when he finds himself spinning through the air. The hand he was trying to slice his attacker in half with strikes the building that he barrels into instead, which gauges a wickedly long furrow into the stone as if it's made of butter. Kenta shakes his head quickly to clear it and rolls to his feet to face the sword wielding fiend again. "You're -really- starting to get on my nerves. Conspiring to capture Tatsuo is bad enough, but now you're trying to keep me from rescuing him too. Umm… not something that I can forgive, but you still made some big mistakes. The biggest among them is to think that Atsuro-senpai, Taizen-senpai and Hokage-sama actually -need- me to succeed. You're tying me up, but I'm tying you up too…" Kenta drops to slam a hand into the ground. "Literally!" A flood of black seals ripple off his body to spread across the ground in a squirming wave until it surrounds both of them. Chakra threads spray from the seals and lash out to bind his opponent.
"Tatsuo—" Atsuro starts towards the unconscious Jinchuuriki, but thinks better of it and stops. He doesn't know what that tags do, and if they harm Tatsuo then all this effort has been for nothing. He glances over at Daisuke, then turns back and glances at Kenta. Then he waves up to Taizen on the wall and the dog starts coming down again. Atsuro's not a seal expert, but evidently whatever's going on with Tatsuo isn't affected by the movements of the wagon. He finds a spot where it's not too damaged and starts to haul it over towards Kenta. If the swordsman is still up and fighting by the time he gets there, they can switch.
"You know what's happening?" Tatsuo asks suddenly, surprised.
"I can sense it. I always can, fool boy. I am not so blind in here as you may think." Well, as long as the seal isn't too restricted. "Your friends fight for you. Even the fool who Son Goku is with has come."
"Hokage-dono?" That surprises Tatsuo as well. Well, then again, with Isobu within him perhaps it isn't /that/ much of a surprise. "I should be helping them. Can you tell what he did to me?"
"The tailed beasts are not for you to own, Hokage." Tousa states in a surprisingly calm voice despite the circumstances. He may be a bit on the older side but he's still quite spry. "Twice I've sealed beasts inside your people, and no good has come from it. One lost it and the other is just a child. Someone could be doing more good in the world with this power and I intend to see it done." That seal in his hand reacts to the attack from the Hokage, direct as it is. The shield is visible underneath the continous attack but it shows no sign of weakening. "You should worry less about this one person and more about the rest of your people." With that he throws a hand behind him and out of his sleeve launches dozens of explosive tags in a wide array into the air, leaving them hanging a brief moment before they start floating towards the confused and chaotic people below.
The swordsman remains ever silent even when Kenta talks, the man instead continuing to be in motion. After throwing Kenta he'd held the short sword in hand, waiting. When the seals had started shooting through the ground he ran to the chimney and jumped at it, putting his feet against it to pull his sword out just before the seeking strands can actually get him. He backflips away, then jumps back and slices at the bands as his swords suddenly whine loudly with power. Chakra blades and lightning. They wouldn't be so easy to break. Upon seeing Atsuro and Taizen trying to pull the wagon further into the Village the man abandons his attacking of Kenta and just…leaves him behind. Instead he launches himself off the roof right at Atsuro, blades still whining with power as he crosses them in front of himself and tries to draw them back across eachother to behead the Inuzuka.
"You have no idea what you are talking about, Touma. Because you sealed a tailed beast into two hosts you think you are some kind of expert?" Daisuke says to the man, getting irritated. "Is this really your master plan? To take a boy's life so that you can serve your own selfish needs? Do you even have any idea how rare it is to find a compatible match for a tailed beast? Someone who can grow stronger together with the beast and survive together? People like you are the reason why no good has been able to come out of the bonding of Isobu and its hosts. People who see them as tools to be used for greater power and good." he says to the man as Touma throws numerous seals in the air. Luckily they float in the air briefly enough that Daisuke is able to cut off the constant flow of his haze and use the haze to his advantage. Dozens of explosions can be heard amidst the haze, some even visible to the onlookers. As the haze dissipates, the somewhat familiar orange glow of the cloak of the Hokage becomes visible, having used the stretching abilities of the cloak to shield everyone in danger and activate the tags harmlessly against it.
Daisuke makes sure that everyone who was involved in the attempt is safely within his expanded cloak or out of harms way before he turns to Touma, his eyes flickering with anger. "I don't pick my fellow hosts lightly, Touma. I know all about what it takes for someone to be able to work alongside a powerful beast. Tatsuo will be just fine, and he has many people around him that care for him. You, on the other hand, are going straight to jail."
Kenta bites back an exclamation when his opponent manages to prevent his sealing technique to complete successfully. "Watch out, Atsuro-senpai!" the young man exclaims once the swordsman changes tactics. Despite giving that warning, Kenta doesn't charge after the swordsman himself. Other people might be afraid for Atsuro, but he knows that it'd take more than some fancy kenjutsu to decapitate the Jounin Commander of Konoha. Kenta's gaze flick briefly towards where Daisuke's duking it out with Touma before he also dismisses that battle from mind. The Hokage can handle even tougher opponents than Atsuro. Both of the criminals will be knocked down a few pegs before too long.
Kenta focuses on the most important task at hand. He runs towards the wagon, moving pass even injured civilians, despite the aching need to help them. If anything happens to Tatsuo, -everyone- is going to be affected even worse. Isobu can't fall into enemy hands. As soon as Kenta reaches the wagon, he tries to find a way to drag Tatsuo out safely and analyze the binding seals for the best way to break their power.
If Kenta's at the wagon, Atsuro's first objective is finished for now. The mednin can see to Tatsuo's safety, and Atsuro will see to his. He ducks under the enemy's blade and spins to the man's side. "Don't even try that move on me. I /invented/ that move. By the way, if you behead someone then you've killed them, so adding lightning to the mix doesn't really do anything." By the time he's finished this somewhat lengthy taunt, Taizen has rounded the wagon and passed behind his back, allowing him to reach behind and grab his swords from the dog's vest. "You should never have come here, but since it's too late for that, I'll give you a lesson in kenjutsu." Two blades arc around him, flashing in opposite directions, one high and one low.
"I have seen these seals before. It is an old Uzumaki standard and works well for most," Isobu rumbles, a chuckle seeming to accompany the words.
"For most?" Tatsuo catches that and waits for Isobu to continue, prodding him basically.
"With enough chakra from the subject the seals fizzle away, overwhelmed." Isobu's open eye lowers to view Tatsuo. "But as we are now you are not strong enough."
Tatsuo is silent as he considers Isobu's words, then takes a deep breath before approaching the bars. "So we need to be better. We need to work together. Then it's time to do it. It's time to work together, fully."
"Yes."
Touma is not going to wait while Daisuke stops the attacks, instead the elder Uzumaki launching another attack towards Daisuke. It's not a single supression seal this time, but many of them, and they are covered by a shielding seal on the edges. These ones won't be so easy to knock away and wil not dissolve when touching the cloak. "You use them for nothing! I was going to retrieve you later Daisuke, but I will do it now as well. I will help the world with the power you are too afraid to unleash on the world."
Tatsuo remains unconscious within the wagon even when Kenta arrives and despite the little bit of a beating he took from the tumble he's unchanged. The seals are advanced. Very advanced. They're also crafted and set in a way that unless the original creator removes them there's a large chance that the seals will kill not only the one that's being subdued, but also the one that tries to remove them. Muliply that by the three seals and the chance of a forced removal is not a good one if you want the people involved to be alive after the process.
The swordsman lands and spins to face Atsuro, seeming unaffected by his taunt. In fact he seems to really not even have cared enough to acknowledge it. Instead he's ready as Atsuro pulls his own blades free. When the Inuzuka slices at him the man jumps into the air, spinning sideways to allow one blade to pass above and one below. As he comes out of the spin and lands on one foot he brings one of the blades down in a powerful slash towards Atsuro, lightning still going through the chakra blade in an attempt to not only kill but also destroy the possibly blocking weapons. He fights very similar to a swordsman that Atsuro had faced only a few days ago…yet this man fought far better.
"You are getting more and more on my nerves, Touma. Your plan is stupid, and if you think the Bijuu are going to cooperate with selfish mad men, you clearly know nothing about them." The Hokage says as he preps a defense. Daisuke breathes and before exhaling a large, steady stream of lava, constantly barraging and eventually eating up the seals and heading towards Touma. For now his cloak recedes to cover his form and allows the civilians to run away to a safe distance. Little attention is paid to Atsuro and Kenta as Daisuke was completely confident that they had their situation in hand.
"Ugh! Why does it have to be an Uzumaki?" Kenta exclaims shortly into his inspection of the seals binding Tatsuo. He places a hand on Tatsuo's chest and closes his eyes for a second to try to get a better sense of how the seals affect his ward's chakra system. When he doesn't find any way to disengage the seals -that- way, the young man blows out a steady breath without opening his eyes again. "Could of at least been an inexperienced Uzumaki… It'll take days of work to even attempt this with any chance of success…" He might get days, but -now- would really be better. Kenta opens his eyes briefly again to check out the situation. When he sees that the fighting's still going on, the medic-nin brings up a barrier around the himself and Tatsuo to shield them from stray jutsu. Then, he places his right hand on Tatsuo's forehead and tries to reach into the boy's mind with every bit of finesse he accomplished in his Yamanaka training.
Atsuro sidesteps the one sword. "Did you see someone do that in a man—Oh, I already used that taunt. Well, the point I'm trying to make is…" He takes a lightning fast swipe at the man's leg, which that move left nicely unguarded and carrying the whole of the man's balance. "If you focused more on fighting and less on showy confederate, you might one day aspire to be a minimally skilled swordsman." Taizen, meanwhile, has slipped off to the other side of the wagon again and is now creeping around the enemy's back. "By the way," says Atsuro, "Did you train that other guy? He was even worse than you. You shouldn't be taking on students when your own technique is so sloppy."
"If you agree to work with me then the bonds go away. The seal remains. You volunteer your chakra and I give you mine in return." As Tatsuo speaks he enters beyond the bars to Isobu's side of the world.
"I was uncertain of you before foolish boy, but I can work with you over those others before. I agree to share my power and will work with you fully from this point on." Isobu says, looking down at Tatsuo.
"I agree as well, and I look forward to your advice as well as your strength. It's a deal." Tatsuo reaches out a hand to the chains that bind Isobu in the shadows. As he grabs hold of them they shine brightly in his mind and then vanish in a bright explosion as Isobu speaks a single word.
"Deal."
Touma seems unaffected by Daisuke's words though he finds himself quickly on the defensive once again, replacing one shielding tag with another as he tries to keep the attack from the Hokage at bay. "They don't need to accept us, they just need to do what we say. I will place seals that will control them no matter what they desire!"
Poor Kenta is going to find he chose a bad time to try and delve into Tatsuo's mind as soon after the tags are placed around them for protection there would be a sickening feeling as chakra built from inside the teen at a rather alarming rate. Maybe Kenta's delving set off the tags? But no, the chakra grew fast and the writing on the seals started to fizzle and fade away before Kenta's eyes. It only takes a few seconds before they're gone and Tatsuo's eyes flash open, irises red, a determined look crossing his features. Chakra flows out of him in huge amounts, the sheer power shattering the barrier from the inside as Tatsuo changes. Chakra whips around him as he rises higher and higher and then where there was once a boy is now one big ally turtle. He avoided Kenta so far at least, but that's not where his priority truly lies as he looks towards Touma and Daisuke. The mouth of the turtle open and a powerful stream of water escapes, shooting towards the Uzumaki. Touma notices at the last moment and puts up another barrier, but between the attacks from either side he is quickly overwhelmed. The barriers shatter and steam rises as lava meets water in the middle. Tatsuo stops after a few moments and, if Daisuke were to stop as well, Touma would still be alive albeit barely. Badly burned and unable to move, he was on his way out.
The swordsman snorts softly at Atsuro's comment as he uses that same leg Atsuro swept towards to jump over the sweeping blade, able to keep his balance well enough to move quickly. "You talk to much Inuzuka." He lashes out at Atsuro as he lands low, one blade slicing higher while he was still in the air, the other slicing low moments later as he lands in a crouch. Even the arrival of the giant turtle hasn't stolen his attention from the fight.
Daisuke doesn't relent as Touma tries to get him to talk rather than stream liquid hot magma, and finally his efforts pay off. As a high powered stream of water races past his left side to strike at Touma, Daisuke watches as the two elements combine nicely to create a jutsu that he and a former host of the Three Tails had been working on in the past. A brief flash of Kaito's face appears in his mind through the mist from the water, but as he lets up his stream once Touma was beaten, he turns to find the image of Kaito replaced with young Tatsuo in Isobu form, or at least a condensed version. Daisuke looks up at the turtle, unable to hide a grin, as the ANBU rush in to detain Touma.
"So you two finally see eye to eye, huh?" he says, a bit of a pun at Isobu's habit of using only one eye that he learned from Son. "I guess circumstances like these can bring two minds together. Now you guys work on your cloak so that we don't have a giant chum turtle crawling around the village, ok?"
The sensation of the chakra that emanates from Tatsuo when Kenta tries to link his mind to the boy makes him jerk back with a queasy expression on his face. Was there some kind of trap that he activated? But no, something else is happening. Kenta drops his barrier and scrambles backwards as fast as he can when the explosion of power engulfs Tatsuo. His eyes widen from the sight of his ward changing into an enormous three tailed turtle, one exponentially larger than the miniature versions that Tatsuo had accomplished before. The worst possibility comes to mind first. Isobu must have taken control. Then, Kenta notices that the giant Bijuu isn't rampaging but combining efforts with Daisuke with a control that he had seen before in Isobu's previous incarnation. "Tatsuo? How… When… The two of you are one…?" Kenta gasps while he gapes up at the beast.
"Do I?" Atsuro asks, quickly hopping backwards to avoid both blades. "I'm able to keep fighting while I talk. You're not while you're doing all your super rad sword tricks." He spares a glance for the demonstration of power occurring to the side of this fight, but jumps forward again, this time making a more complex attack by swinging his blades in from several angles, mixing feints and jabs in with the proper strikes. "And you might try talking too. Like it might have saved your life if three seconds ago you asked, 'Is there a dog behind me about to kill me?'" And then Taizen jumps in to slash at the man from the side.
The giant turtle squints down at Daisuke when he makes that comment. "Stupid ape," the rumbling response comes before the chakra flows away quickly. After a few more moments Tatsuo is left standing back where he'd started near Kenta, wavering a little on his feet from all of it. "That was…quite a rush," he admits softly, shaking his head to try and clear the remnants of the tags which have long since vanished. "We'll work on it, Hokage-dono!" Tatsuo calls back to the man before he turns his dark eyes on Kenta and smiles faintly. "Just now Kenta-sama…" comes that answer though he pauses in whatever else he was going to say when he notices that Atsuro is fighting someone.
The swordsman still seems unimpressed with Atsuro as he brings his blades up to meet the Inuzuka's, seeming unphased and at the same time almost bored at dealing with him. But then that last statement clicks and his eyes widen. In a flurry of steel the swordsman manages to withdraw, holding his bleeding side where Taizen had managed to get through. "Crony dogs," he spits. And then, instead of attacking again he sinks into the ground, obviously intending to escape now that the whole of things are against him.
Kenta shakes his head as he gaze at Tatsuo in wonder. "How…?" he starts to ask, but stops. Questions later are for later, when there's time for them. "Sit down, Tatsuo. You're unsteady on your feet. I'll give you a quick inspection. Then, I'm going to have to take care of the other injured people. I…" The young man would have said more, but he catches an alarming sight at the corner of his vision. The swordsman fighting Atsuro and Taizen are about to get away.
Kenta quickly turns while exclaiming, "No you don't! You're going to have to face justice too!" He drops to his knees and slaps a palm onto the ground. Just like before, a wave of black seals pour off his body and surges towards the swordsman. Glowing strands of binding chakra whips from the seals to catch the fleeing criminal.
As the sword fight draws to a close, Atsuro just rolls his eyes. "Pointless," Atsuro tells the enemy swordsman, "We know your scent. You're not just going to slip away to the underground and keep it up. We're going to find you, so keep working on that kenjutsu—/start/ working on that kenjutsu." He glances over to where Tatsuo is, but doesn't move for now until he sees if Kenta has managed to stop him.
Admittedly the swordsman has some skill. Atsuro may continue to taunt him but he doesn't seem to be giving into any of it, nor does he seem concerned by the threat. Instead he just slips into the ground, the binding chakra slamming into the ground just as he vanishes. He was just a little too quick. The energy signature goes right through the closest group of people to make it nearly impossible to follow.
Tatsuo just watches with a deep frown as the man makes his escape, but in the end that's not the one that really interests him. It's the other one. That one that's nearly dead. Tatsuo turns to look at the Uzumaki, stepping towards and staring down at the burnt figure at his feet silently. Angrily, even. He says nothing, nor does he do anything. He doesn't kill him then and there, but neither does he heal him. He's just…letting him suffer.
Daisuke walks over to join Tatsuo in looking down at the man before he motions to the ANBU that have arrived. The two agents pick the man up, not tenderly either, and wait for orders. Daisuke looks back to Kenta and Atsuro to make sure that they were finished up, spotting Atsuro standing there but Kenta still scrambling to catch the guy. "Take him away for interrogation and processing." the Hokage says to the agents, figuring the shorter he was there in Tatsuo's sights the better.
Kenta stifles some bad statements when the remaining criminal manages to get away. No matter what Atsuro says, that guy's extremely skilled, even if not as skilled as the Jounin Commander. The medic-nin gets to his feet with his expression twisted in a scowl. He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly before he turns back to Tatsuo. Kenta reaches a hand to his ward. "Here, let me take a look at you. I don't want you collapsing on us and there could be injuries you suffered that we don't know about yet. Umm… who knows what those seals might have done when you and Isobu smashed through them. They were highly complex and potentially lethal to tamper with."
"It's okay, Kenta. If he's stupid enough to mess with us again, he's dead." Atsuro folds his arms and turns to walk over to Daisuke and Tatsuo. He glances at the Uzumaki as he's hauled off to prison. "Make sure the guards know about his seals," he instructs the agents, "If he knocks out another Chuunin today, I'll knock out his brain from his skull." He continues on over to the two Jinchuuriki. "You okay, Tatsuo?" he asks.
Tatsuo just continues to stare at the Uzumaki as he's drug off, only turning his attention away when Kenta comes over. Despite being tired from the effects of the seals he's otherwise completely healthy. If unhappy. Very unhappy. "I'm fine Atsuro-sama, thank you."
Cleanup has begun, as has healing of the civilians in the area, most of the medical staff from the hospital in the area now to help out. It wasn't as horrible as it could've been, but there was still injuries, shock, and damage to be dealt with. And the one who had been in charge of it all managed to escape.
