Starring:
Canis (emitter), Juudai, Cherii, Kurome, Tsuchiri
Date: July 18, 2015
Summary:
Word comes of a massacre at a village in the Land of Stone. When Iwa gets notice and arrives they find a mess, and take vengeance on the people who remained. But it seems that this is only the beginning. What else lies in store?
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Four Stone Blades - A Brutal Massacre"
Land of Stone
Just as it is in all the nations on this continent, it is winter in Iwagakure. Rocks are powdered with a dusting of snow, snow which falls in a light freefall even at this moment. Most intelligent people have taken indoors this early afternoon, hiding from the cold and finding things to do which don't require them to venture outdoors. The same is obviously true of the villages in the entire Land of Earth which would make it quite strange when a lone figures struggles to the gates of Iwagakure. A guard approaches the figure who is quickly taken inside the guard post at the gate before the Tsuchikage is sent for. A Tsuchikage who, for simplicities sake, is currently meeting with the Konoha visitors and a certain Chuunin.
The guard knocks on the door to the Kage's office but doesn't wait for an answer before bursting in and bowing deeply. "Lady Tsuchikage, you must come quickly. A boy from one of the Land of Earth villages has just arrived in bad shape. He's saying that his village was attacked and he only barely escaped to come for help." The guard looks grim as he stands there and continues, "The healers don't know if he'll survive long."
Looking at the Konohagakure visitors, Juudai frowns and then she nods, "I am on my way." She then looks to the visitors as she lights her cigar, "You may as well come with me. Seeing as you are my escorts, you should probably continue to escort me in this situation. I may need the help." She nods her head and then heads out quickly. She starts off toward the direction she is directed. Even as she goes along, she grabs a passing young genin and pulls him along, "Send an alert out for two teams of shinobi to be prepared to move on my command. I want back up available."
Why might Cherii be in this scene? Well, let's say she's on food detail. A Kage's gotta provide snacks for visitors from another ninja village, right? ;) Just common courtesy. So a chef was called for, and Cherii answered. She's in the midst of passing out a tray of some of Iwagakure's local specialties — mostly fairly simple but hearty things involving plenty of grains and sweetened with Cherii's honey — when the guard arrives and announces the attack. o.O "Whisht, whit a thing t'have happen when we've company. But I saeppose it's hard tae find a time when a Kage dinnae have trouble bein' brought tae 'em." Cherii sets down the tray and hurries after Juudai, ready to assist with her hive.
Kurome is in the Land of Earth along with any other Leaf-Nin. The woman was sent to help escort the Tsuchikage to Konoha to meet with Daisuke. However, the team would be moving on the Kage's time, so Kurome mostly just wanders around until she's summoned to Juudai's place or the gates so they can leave. It seemed that they were meeting just when some action starts up. Kurome and Tsuchiri were to be the Kage's leaf escorts, which is why the Leaf Genin is there. A small frown crosses Kurome's face when she hears the news, and she immediately looks over to Juudai when the Kage speaks. "It's fine, Tsuchikage-san. We're happy to help."
Being a leaf shinobi has Chiri being a part of a lot of big action as of late.. compared to not having much to do at all besides her actual job in Hoshigakure. Escort was something she hadn't expected, but having Uchiha-san along did bolster her spirits. She makes a point to keep somewhat close to Kurome whenever possible. She's had her mask and scarf on to stave off the cold, and when she's called she follows closely behind Kurome and quietly nods when the mention of offering assistance was made. Talking through the mask casually was rather rude..
The shinobi that the Tsuchikage had snagged hears what she says and bows quickly before rushing off to do as told and gather together two teams. Meanwhile the guard leads the group to the guard shack where he holds the door open for them. Inside, next to a roaring fire, is a boy in his early teens. He looks like he's been through a gauntlet and then frozen; gaping wounds and cuts cover his entire body from arms, to torso, down his legs to his feet. Blood has likely drained from him in large amounts which would not help with the long walk that brought him in the freezing weather wearing only a shirt and pants. A medic is at his side but his face is rather grim even as the green chakra is held over the boy.
Moving quickly to the boy's side, Juudai doesn't acknowledge any other as she kneels down beside him. She looks at him carefully before she states, "You went through a great deal to bring your message here. State your message quickly so that your journey might not be in vain." She states quietly to him and leans down to hear him. Even as the others might move up or come in, she focuses only the runner.
Well now, that's a sorry sight. c.c Cherii wishes she could do something for the kid, but she's not a medic, and food probably won't help at this point. Nothing to do by stand by and see what happens next.
Kurome moves with Juudai, keeping a little bit behind the Kage and quietly giving instructions to Tsuchiri. "It looks like we're going to be going to help with this. Be careful, though. The kid sounds like he's in bad condition, so if it's too dangerous, I want you to run," The Uchiha says. "I'll try to cover you if you need help, too. Try to let me know, though… I might think you can avoid something when you can't." Because Kurome doesn't know how strong the girl is. Assumedly, Tsuchiri is decent. Kurome pauses at the entrance, wincing at the sight of the kid. She doesn't move far forward, though, letting Juudai handle everything. Too many people around might be bad for the healer, too.
Chiri peers at the condition of the injured person and hrms.. "Yes, Uchiha-san." she states. Escape sounds like it'd be better than dragging the team down being hurt like this kid is. She's seen people hurt before, though frozen over gashes and wounds like this weren't as bad as.. she goes on to repress the consequences of star training, no need to dwell on that for now. "Just let me know what you need of me."
When Juudai speaks to him the eyes of the boy open slightly and they are glazed over unfocused, so much so that he likely isn't even able to make Juudai out clearly despite the distance. "Myv-villageattackedlot ofbadpeoplestrongk-killinge-every" a last breath escapes and the boy's body completely relaxes as death claims him. The medic sits back a little and shakes his head sadly, "Forgive me Lady Tsuchikage, there was nothing I could beyond help ease his pain."
The sergeant of the post nears and bows to Juudai as he does so. "Lady Tsuchikage, forgive me interruption. One of my men recognized this boy as from his own village."
A deep frown comes to Juudai's lips before she stands up, "I want this boy moved to a place where his body can be kept." She nods her head, "Move his body with reverance and honor. He lost his life to seek help for his village." She then looks to the sergeant and nods to him, "Then you will have that man meet me by the village gate. He will act as our guide back to that village. Also, prepare to find out who this young man's family was." She looks to Kurome and Tsuchiri next, "I will need your assistance in this, I will not await others to take care of this. We will be aiding this village." She says it as if it were a finality, even though they were not of her village. She then looks to Cherii, "I hope you are prepared for battle as we have no time for further preparations." With that, she is on her way to the village entrance.
Cherii nods to Juudai. "I'm aboot as ready as anybody in th'village is like tae be on a moment's notice. I just hope I dinnae slow ye doon." c.c Expect to spend the day feeding guests and end up going into battle — that's the life of a ninja for you. Cherii hurries off after Juudai.
Kurome nods quickly. "Of course," she simply says, prepared to follow the Tsuchikage. Juudai may not be her own Kage, but she would make sure that Daisuke and her could meet. If that meant a little detour, she doesn't mind.
Chiri is obedient and following the instructions she's given.. Hoshigakure wasn't directly involved and she had no real ties to anyone here, but she's living and working for Konoha. And she plans on doing that to the best of her abilities, novice or not.
She does her best to keep up with the 'kage and Kurome, and not getting in anyone else's way meanwhile. Detours can be fun afterall, she can see more places!
It doesn't take long for the additional gathered teams to arrive at the gate, though they look generally confused thanks to the severe lack of information and having only been told that they were summoned by the Tsuchikage herself. The guard who had spoken earlier also arrives, fully garbed in his own gear. He's not a full shinobi himself, likely having failed to reach such an actual rank. Instead he wears generic light armor and carries a pike. His face is just as grim as that of the medic had been within the shack. Understandably so, considering he'd just heard that his home village was being killed off. It's not something anyone wants to hear. Ever.
As if to add to the aura of unease around the information the snowfall begins to thicken slightly, coming down faster and denser with a light wind that whips the snow around.
As they arrive, one and all, Juudai first points to the man at the gate, "Guard, you are aware of the situation and you will lead us to the village that is under attack. No hesitation, move!" She declares and points for him to lead immediately. She starts off after him while calling upon the two teams she summoned up, "You." She points to the team on the left as they leave, "Your job is to search for the trail of whomever attacked this village to the east, I want their lair found and to make sure there aren't more." Even as she finishes with them she looks right to the other team, "When we arrive you will do the same but to the west. I want no stone unturned!"
The team with her only gets glanced back at, "We will be saving the village from further harm if possible. If everyone there is gone, we will pay back those who did this." She is moving and not even stopping. No beats missed, not even a pause in her stride from when she saw the guard and two teams to the point of simply keeping moving, as if she simply expected them to follow her.
"Aye, Tsuchikage-sama," Cherii responds. "'Tis a bloody day, nae doubt." :/ Aaaaand moving along still.
Kurome focuses her chakra as the group travels, following Juudai as she seems to expect. "Hopefully we're not too late," she says grimly, glancing back to Chiri to make sure she's keeping up okay. After all, she was a genin.
Chiri's following along rather calmly, eyes never ceasing their movement. Though with her mask on, it's hard to tell what she's doing. "And there's also the hope that the damages weren't too bad." she replies to Kurome. Whether she was sarcastic about that remark or not, is up to interpretation. Probably not though.
The guard straightens to attention when Juudai calls to him and he nods stiffly before turning and starting to lead the way without and sort of hesitation. He wants to get there as quickly as he can as well. The two gathered teams also listen to their instructions from the Tsuchikage and bow or salute to the woman to show that they understand what their job is, then they start following as well.
The trip isn't long, as the village is just about an hour away from Iwagakure in good weather. While the snowfall doesn't help the situation, the question of what's happening and what they will find weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of the guard and other shinobi groups. Once they get closer the tell tale sign of a fire can be seen in numerous wisps of smoke that rise from the direction of the village. A bad sign being so visible in the snow. The two groups of shinobi branch off to either direction to begin their search, leaving the guard and main group to continue forward.
When only about five minutes from the village the group is met with a grisly sight. Bodies, dozens, hung from leafless trees or displayed in grim figures on the ground alongside the snow covered road. They seem fresh, only within the last hour or snow based on how much the snow has only lightly covered them. The guard, obviously distraught, runs ahead once he sees the bodies, running towards the smoking village where flames are now becoming visible to the group.
A stiffness enters Juudai's right hand that becomes a rigid fist. She glares at the way the bodies were treated before she rushes ahead with the guard, "Those responsible are to be shown no mercy." She states and continues forward. As she does, she doesn't stop the guard, letting him rush if he wishes to rush as she is rushing as well. She already has a pair of kunai out and prepares herself for an attack. She glances around as she moves, eyes scanning as she goes even as energy flows more heavily through her.
Cherii's seen death and destruction before, but something like this makes even an experienced chuunin's stomach churn. XP "Whit sort o' scum be we dealin' wi' here?" she mutters. "They've strung th'bodies up t'be seen. They're either confident they kin deal wi' whoever comes tae punish 'em, or just plain sick." Either one is a bad sign. c.c;
Kurome continues forward, her Sharingan forming paler red than most Sharingan. Three Tomoe interrupt the iris, and she looks around the carnage with a vile taste in the back of her throat. She had to take a second to swallow her anger, and she wholly agrees with Juudai. "We should leave someone alive for questioning if we run into anyone," she says, looking around warily. She's almost sure that they are going to run into an enemy. They had expected a team to come here, she bet. There was little reason to hang the bodies in such a way, otherwise.
Chiri is.. a bit numbed to the situation, death is not something she is unfamiliar with, and even this gruesome display only makes her feel.. inquisitive. Why make such a display? Why do something so horrible? She makes a quiet sigh and takes a deep breath in her mask, letting out a rasping hiss as air moves through the filters. While she bolsters her chakra, the telltale feathers of the Mysterious Peacock unfurl from her back, violet with the star energy.
The road to the village, besides being littered with bodies, is surprisingly empty of any living person. It's not until one reaches the edge of the village itself that people can be seen, and it's not a pretty sight even then. Of the perhaps three dozen buildings in the village at least half of them are burnt or burning with some of the others simply ransacked and wrecked with holes in the walls. Of the village residents all that's immediately obvious are those gathered in the town square. There are a good thirty of them, surrounded completely by a perhaps dozen sword wielding men. It seems the group has arrived just in time to hear a proclamation.
This proclamation comes from a man standing on the roof of a two story building, one of the non-burning ones. "This is your last chance. If you join us you live. If you do not then you die a very slow, painful death just as your brothers and sisters have. There's plenty more space to display your pretty bodies. You should be grateful my master seeks more people to work in his empire. It's your only option for survival."
Walking up to the area, Juudai's eyes narrow as she spots the men with swords on the villagers. She walks in and her hand comes up to grasp her cigar lightly. She pulls it from her lips, "Seems someone has become too proud of their own works." She states as she looks at the men with blades, "You with the blades. Drop them or perish." She looks back at Cherii, Kurome, and Tsuchiri, "If even one of those men appears to be moving to harm one of the villagers, they die. No questions." She then looks up att he man on the roof and begins toward the building. As she looks up, he'll feel her wash over him like a wave.
If he fails to avoid her glare, he'll envision her making a gesture and sending a kunai his way. That kunai slamming into him, exploding and rending his body asunder. Then another image assaults him of her simply rushing up and blasting him with a blast straight from her palm. Then another will assault him of her appearing behind him and blasting him straight from the roof. Over and over his mind will reel under all the possible ways she might end his life and easily. All the while,s he simply walks up the building to approach his spot.
Welp, looks like they've found the baddies. The trick now, of course, will be taking them down with minimum further civilian casualties. Fortunately, that's right up Cherii's alley. >) Her bees take flight in a sudden din of buzzing and hover menacingly over the circle of swordsmen. Nothing like a swarm of angry, stinging insects to take someone's mind off killing hostages. "Push out o' th'circle an' run! You'll nae be stung, I promise ye!" Cherii calls out to the villagers.
"Be careful… The swordsmen won't be trouble, but that man that's talking seems to have a lot of chakra," she says, eyes narrowing. The pale Sharingan suddenly turn blood red as she readies her full power, and the woman says, "Tsuchiri-san, keep to the swordsmen. You should be able to take them on with ease, but don't be cocky." She watches Juudai move quickly to the man atop the building and says quickly, "Watch out for my flames!" to the Kage as Juudai passes by. Then she makes a few handseals and sends a large ball of fire right at the man standing on top of the building. He shouldn't make himself so obvious if he doesn't want to be attacked!
"Be careful… The swordsmen won't be trouble, but that man that's talking seems to have a lot of chakra," she says, eyes narrowing. The pale Sharingan suddenly turn blood red as she readies her full power, and the woman says, "Tsuchiri-san, keep to the swordsmen. You should be able to take them on with ease, but don't be cocky." She watches Juudai move quickly to the man atop the building and says quickly, "Watch out for my flames!" to the Kage as Juudai passes by. Then she makes a few handseals and sends a large ball of fire right at the man standing on top of the building. He shouldn't make himself so obvious if he doesn't want to be attacked!
Chiri mightn't have the imposing figure or honed technique of the other shinobi, but she isn't worried about that. It doesn't even cross her mind. That proclamation seems a bit too.. mal-aligned, and it seems her allies agree, sending out their skills to punish the announcer. Chiri sends out her own attack in the wake of Kurome's fire, her central feather aiming along that trajectory and shattering itself- before each shard of the shattered chakra fly out towards that rooftop in a neat spread like shards of glass right after that fireball. The feather quickly reforms itself out of Chiri's amassed chakra and unfurls proudly behind her. She sucks in another heavy breath through her mask. With her attack en-route and orders received, Chiri breaks off to the side and stakes position with Cherii, feathers changing their positions to aim themselves in a spread over the group, taking a low stance and staring up at the opposition, waiting for further opening to assist.
A large swarm of flying, stinging insects is definitely not at all awesome. Still they also aren't quite as scary as, say, giant fireballs are. The swordsmen have turned to see what the commotion is in time to see the fireballs head towards their leader. Most of them are loyal, if stupid, however. One man cries a charge and the other men follow after, swords raised as they rush towards the shinobi. Two of them are at least of minor intelligence as they each take a villager captive and start moving in the other direction while holding a sword to the throat of said captive. The rest of the villagers seem to take heart with the arrival of the shinobi and the fact that they're no longer surrounded and begin to flee.
The leader senses the genjutsu becoming and claps his hands together, shouting a "Kai!", but it's to no avail against the strength of Tsuchikage. While the many attacks start to appear he still has enough sense to pull out his own sword and neatly fan and cleave through the fireballs so they disperse, sidestepping the odd feathers before finally succumbing. He drops to a knee as his mind is assaulted.
The swordsmen charge the shinobi and begin slashing wildly. While their movements and speed don't exactly put them at 'well trained' or even 'skilled Chuunin' level, they also aren't exactly pushovers. Whatever training they have received seems to have been at least somewhat decent.
Out of the range of the rank and file, Juudai finally crests the roof to look upon her foe. She glances over briefly and frowns, "Cherii!" She calls out and points, "Take care of the two who are taking hostages!" She then looks forward at the man, "Pathetic." She states, "You think yourself a leader through force? A true leader makes men and women burn in their hearts. They are followed due to the strength they show, not the strength they possess. A true leader leads because they are followed, not because they are feared." She then raises up a blade and glares at the man, "You like fear though? Fine. Here's some for free." And she makes a few hand gestures. She then throws a pair of kunai, attempting to plant one in each of the man's legs before she'll make a gesture that will cause them to explode.
Cherii pulls out a scroll and summons a big boulder into being, blocking the swordsmen coming at her. "A'ready on it, Tsuchikage-sama!" Cherii calls out as her bees swarm after the hostage-takers. You think threatening people will stop bees? Bees aren't smart enough to tell the difference, they're just gonna sting yo. >) Well, truthfully they're controlled by Cherii of course, but she's hoping between having very little reaction time and the instinctive thought that bees can't be reasoned with and OW OW I'M BEING STUNG TO DEATH that the baddies won't be focused on stabbing their hostages. Besides, it's a generally bad idea to negotiate with terr — YOUCH! >.<; One of the sword-swingers got around the boulder quicker than Cherii was expecting and cuts Cherii's arm. She hops back and summons another rock to stave him off for a moment. :P
As the men move towards her, Kurome doesn't hesitate to send a burst of flame from her mouth. It would distract her attacked a, hopefully, while she avoided their attacks. She ends up getting clipped by one of them, though, and a bit of blood streams down her arm.vThe woman shifts in her spot a bit, then, and blasts a large fireball at the leader before she attempts to trap the two runaways in a genjutsu, eyes whirling a bit with the Tomoe as she attempts to trap them into staying still and not moving a muscle.
With the previous shards from Tsuchiri's feathers dispersing on missing their mark, Chiri was hoping the thugs here would keep their distance seeing the threatening display… but, it cannot be helped. She wants nothing of their attacks, and the first one that comes into contact she weaves back out of range, catching herself with her right arm back on the snow. The perfect time for the brilliant display of her being stricken by one of their swings, only for the image to disperse with Tsuchiri a small distance away and intercepting the next attack with her feathers. After making a bit of space her feathers reinforce themselves and aim at the three attackers before her, all of them shattering and launching their shards at the trio in a wide spread. She backsteps again to get a bit more distance.
Of the two swordsmen who took hostages there really isn't much to be said of them anymore. One of them gets trapped within the Uchiha genjutsu and freezes in place while the other continues dragging his hostage backwards with a sword at her throat. And then they're both swarmed. Shouts erupt from beneath the swarms as the men both release their hostages to start flailing at the bees before they turn tail and try to run away, swinging their swords in the air to try and keep from getting stung repeatedly. The hostages manage to pick themselves up and run into a nearby home that's still mostly standing.
Of the others only one is successfully hit by any other attacks and he takes a weird star feather in the chest, knocking him back off his feet and forcing him to drop his sword. Whether he's dead or not is debatable but there's not really time to ponder such questions as the rest of the swordsman continue to attack the shinobi, their bravado not doing them much good.
The leader has no choice but to take one of the kunai in the leg as the genjutsu has him trapped. However the pain is enough for him to focus on and bring his hands together for another attempt to rid himself of the genjutsu by shaking up his chakra. This time it works and he manages to stand only to take the second kunai before he can get away. The explosion knocks him off the rooftop and he hits the ground with a grunt before pushing himself to his feet. "You know not what you speak of, sweet Tsuchikage. Yes, I know who you are. You see the citizens here had cowed before us, and this is yet nothing. My master has great plans for this Land and I lead as He instructs. I also kill as He instructs and you, dear lady, are on my list."
Only allowing a small glance to the situation below, Juudai looks back in time to simply raise a hand. One single seal each time and his attacks simply bounce off her hand. She shakes her head, "You are nothing." She states and then she starts toward him. Once more he'll feel the weight of her will upon him. The terrible possibilities she could have in store for him. The many deaths he might face before such a woman. She simply keeps approaching him. Following him, "No, you are going to do no such thing. You are going to beg forgiveness for what you have done. You will tell me of your master before you die and then die you shall." She states as she takes up her cigar for a drag of it, "I will not allow you the forgiveness of death for what you did to this village."
Cherii listens to the shouts of the hostage-takers and the door slamming. Good, if they're out of the melee they can be dealt with later — gah, sword-swinger again! >.<; Cherii takes another cut before managing to summon another boulder to block his subsequent blows. She drops the boulder scroll and pulls out a different one, poofing a meat cleaver into her hand. She gives it a hearty swing around the boulder on the side she hopes her assailant is coming at her on. "See how ye like bein' chopped intae brisket, ye blighted mongrel!" >.< Meanwhile, her bees come back over to the main fight and commence attacking random baddies.
Kurome is quick to act once she stopped the man from fleeing. She leaves him to Cherii while she avoids all of the swords slashing at her with practiced ease, that Sharingan only helping her avoid the attacks. As she moves, she picks out five of the ten remaining men who are in a clump. Thise five would get to feel flames from a fireball. And there was a genjutsu behind the attack that would make the flames seem much worse. A genjutsu that makes the men feel as if they were burned to death.
Chiri is able to avoid that first swing with a sidestep, but the second one isn't something she's agile enough to avoid in the same movement, getting caught mid-slide and slow to bring her feathers around to stop the final strike. Hit like she is, Chiri reels back and glares out from underneath her mask. Her feathers glimmer brilliantly behind her- an unfortunate situation is that she doesn't have many techniques to use. Those feathers of hers again line up the three thugs before her and shatter themselves in a wide spray, sending more sharp shards of chakra out to the trio. As with the others, shortly after impact they fade away into nothing. Her feathers reform again, returning to their brilliance once more.
Thanks to the trio of shinobi there's a lot of pain and some death in the group of swordsmen that have been attacking. Another falls to the feathers and, while the one closest to Cherii manages to escape her cleaver it leaves him off balance afterwards. The real victims in this situation however are the ones that are the furthest out and thus fair game for the Uchiha Clan Head's attacks. It's vicious and none of them are prepared for so strong an attack. Five fall under the combined attack leaving only four swordsmen remaining. But apparently they're willing to die for the cause, or are afraid of someone else more than the shinobi. They throw in their last attacks, a last ditch effort.
The leader stands as Juudai comes towards him, this time able to shake free of her genjutsu before it can actually take hold. "I will beg for nothing you Tsuchikage. I have done what I needed to, I have begun sowing the seed of terror. The story of what happened here will begin to spread and people will understand that there is nothing they can do but wait for their lives to end. To be gutted and hung. And then they will understand the shinobi cannot protect them." He lunges towards Juudai then, his sword coming in a heavy slicing swing that could easily cleave a tree in two.
The attack coming at her has Juudai frowning slightly, "Annoying little whetstone!" She yells out and with a gesture and a move of her hand she blocks the incoming attack with what appears to the untrained eye to be nothing more than her arm. Truly a powerful seal was used but she used it with so much ease that it'd be hard to spot. She then flips up a ball in his face and turns her head as the thing will crack with sound and light. An under handed throw will follow as she then turns away with her jacket raised to let the explosion go off right in the man's face.
Cherii doesn't need to summon boulders from scrolls this time. Her hive is back with her, and they swirl about her in a vortex, knocking off any attempt to slash at their host. >) Then they swarm over the remaining baddies, stinging mercilessly. "So ye like disfigurin' helpless folk an' hangin' them up fer th'world tae see? Well ye lot won't even FACES t'look upon by th'time me wee friends are done wi' ye!" >/
Kurome continues to avoid the attacks, and she stares at one of the men attacking her, eyes whirling as she forces him to kneel. "You two can kill the others!" she calls to Chiri and Cherii. "We're taking this one alive for further questioning." Just in case he knows something. And in case Juudai kills the leader.
Tsuchiri goes on to gather up her wits and prepare a defense, but with everything going on as it is now she doesn't have the coherency to do this in time and suffers yet another attack against her. She only has one target against her now and she isn't sure if any surprises are to be found. She dashes forward and off to the left side to send her knee into the thug's gut right after her failed defense. The purpose of the side angle is for her to have a route to dive onto and pass behind her target to face them after her strike.
Two of the men succumb to the bees once again, flailing around as they try and keep the things from attacking them however fruitless such an endeavor might me. Kurome also traps the one in her genjutsu once again, the man freezing in place as his world changes and he's trapped within his own mind. As for the one that had attacked Tsuchiri, after taking the knee to the gut the man picks himself up and stumbles away, then starts running as he tries to flee.
The leader is caught completely off guard by the flashbang, raising his arm too late to do any good and instead becoming blind and deaf for a few moments. It's long enough that Juudai manages to get in her other attack and he again sails backwards from the explosive blast. Blood pours from open wounds as he pushes himself slowly to his feet again, grinning almost sadistically at Juudai. "You are as strong as they say Tsuchikage. My master was right. He said you would defeat me. I hoped to prove him wrong." He coughs up blood and spits it out before continuing. "But it won't do you any good. Like I said, we already won this battle." His eyes move to the fleeing man then and narrow slightly. "There is no running. One must face their death with dignity." In a flash he appears in front of the fleeing swordsman and cleaves him in half, then faces Juudai as he raises his sword. "I will see you again in the next life, Tsuchikage." And then the blade comes down as he guts himself, collapsing to his knees, then falling over with a glazed, dead look in his eyes.
A derisive sort of snort comes from Juudai as she watches the man end his and the life of the man that was fleeing. She shakes her head, "Fool." She then looks at the village, "Victory is not gained by death. No matter." She looks at the one that Kurome captured before she states, "We will bring any alive back." She then raises her voice, "Those villagers still alive, hear me! Your village can be rebuilt but your lives cannot. You have suffered greatly this day but return to Iwagakure with me." She nods her head, "We must ensure your safety above all."
Her gaze goes to Kurome and Tsuchiri directly, "I am grateful for your help. My medical shinobi will tend to you this night and you will stay in our nicest facilities. Once you recover we can then go to Konohagakure." She nods her head.
After her words, Juudai clears her throat and starts walking over to one of the buildings. There's some kind of symbol carved into one of the buildings. As she approaches it, she begins to look at it, staring at it carefully. Slowly she slides out a booklet from her jacket and idly opens it up, removing a pencil from inside.
Cherii recalls her hive, and they disappear into her dress. With the battle over, fatigue and the ache of wounds sustained start to set in. u.u "Whit makes these men do things like this?" she wonders, looking around. "Attackin' plain folk wi' no aim besides killin', knowin' it'll be the end of their own lives? 'Tis daft as dooly-drum." @.@ Cherii sighs. Ah well, best focus on helping the living for now. "Come on, guid people, grab whit belongin's ye need. We'll give yer kinfolk a proper burial."
Kurome bows silently to the Tsuchikage before she moves to smack the captured guy in the back of his head. Knock him out like a light. And her Sharingan fades from view. "Whoever these men are… I can't offer the village, but I can offer my services, Tsuchikage-san," she says simply as she checks her body for injuries. Then she goes over to Tsuchiri. "Are you okay?" she asks the Genin, obviously concerned.
Well, it looks like mercy wasn't on the agenda for the terrorists, and Chiri's left to her own devices for a moment. "What, this?" she looks down to appraise hersel- she tugs her scarf off of her head and neck and instead ties it around her chest. "Other than needing a new shirt, and a few bandages, I should be okay." she replies to Kurome. Modesty and report on her status intact, she nods to her superior.
The strange symbol is marked in many of the still standing buildings and, if one were to look closely enough at the gruesome bodies, they would find the mark sometimes carved into the flesh as well. Four triangles, each with the bottom left starting in the same spot as they point in four different directions. The smallest triangle has a circle carved around it as well.
Now that the fighting is over the remaining villagers come out of hiding, whether it be houses, shops, or from where they'd taken up hiding outside the village itself. Many tears are shed over the dead and the event itself. The shinobi are all thanked gratefully for their help as well, the villagers to a person thanking the Tsuchikage and offering to find a way to repay her. As for where they'll go after - most seem content to take the Tsuchikage up on her offer for now until the shock has passed and they can come back to rebuild.
The people, whoever they are and wherever they came from, are good and dead save the one that the Uchiha Clan Head captured.
A look at the symbol more and Juudai jots it down into her book before putting it away. She then hurrms and looks back to Cherii. She then looks to Kurome. She walks up to the group in general though when she is stopped by the crowd, she shakes her head, "Do not be grateful no think you need to repay us. It is we who owe you. You gave up the lives of your friends and loved ones so that we might be alerted to a danger that is greater to this land. It is Iwagakure that is not grateful but sorry that you were forced to deal with this pain."
She then proceeds to physically help the to try to bring down all the bodies and bury them. Strangely, though, later, people will find all traces of the symbols that were carved into this village removed completely and destroyed. Not that Juudai would know anything about that.
