Starring:
Kei (emitter), Yuuka, Takehiko, Maikeru, Shinato, Goh, Tosai, Taji, Haruko, Daichi
Date: February 3, 2011
Summary:
The Land of Water invasion continues more or less unchallenged, but a small strike team from Konoha infiltrates their base in the hopes of obtaining information.
"The Legion March - Strikeback"
Land of Fire
The Land of Water soldiers main camp was located a few dozen miles inland from their initial landing. Their advance had made remarkable progress thanks to the seemingly-limitless amount of stone troops they had at their disposal, troops that did not feel pain, hunger, fatigue, or loss of morale. Troops that did not need oxygen or support. They simply rolled over all opposition, without care for how many fell. Initially unprepared for the assault, the Land of Fire soldiers had been devising new and better strategies, but this only slowed the advance of the invaders from a sprint to a jog. There was no halting such a massive influx of soldiers, not in a conventional way, not when they could seemingly be replaced at will no matter how many were torn down and destroyed.
But Konoha was mobilizing, even as stretched thin as they were, to bring down this unbeatable war machine, to stop this invasion into their homeland. Still, everything hinged on the failure or success of this one mission. If they did not succeed here… they may well not get another chance before they are over run.
As for the Kirigakure forces, while relatively small in number, they were feeling rather elated and invincible. Their supply trains all the way back to the ocean was relatively secure, given that more of their golem-soldiers stomped out of the ocean by the day. It was sometimes all they could do just to find a place for all of the things to stand! From this central base, the Land of Water officers directed their forces north, northwest, and west. There was no strategy, no untoward planning or elaborate lures in their attacks. They simply marched on and on without end until resistance crumbled.
The camp is fortified as such temporary bases usually were. Earth jutsu was created to make semi-permanent structures and walls, whilst regular soldiers had set sharpened log spikes into the base of the walls to deter head-on charges. The encompent was vast, a maze of tents, adobe-like structures, and walls. While the force was relatively small, it still consisted of several thousand soldiers and a few dozen Kirigakure shinobi of all ranks and ability-levels.
The are the encampent was in was a previously-forested area, yet the trees all around for several hundred yards had been uprooted and sawn down, leaving almost two football-field lengths of open terrain for an attacker to have to cover before they could reach the walls and wood-plank gates of the camp. Smoke rose lazily overhead in the twilight as day began to turn to eve. After all, the best time to attack was right before nightfall, when soldiers were tired and thinking only of bed. Of course, the Water Daimyo's forces had no idea they were about to be hit by a small strikeforce…
Takehiko moved along the camp. He maintained a stoically calm expression on his face, keeping watch and patrol regularily. He didnt mind the golems, but despite them, he didnt feel his guard needed to be lowered based on their combat capability. It was perhaps because of this that throughout the invasion he was alert and ready, a hand resting on the shortsword at his hip as he moved. He would complete his patrol before looking about with ice blue eyes before finding his target, a woman with white hair like him. He would then approach her, offering his flask.
With the forehead protector of Kirigakure wrapped around her waist, Yuuka absently bites on her bottom lip as she slides the blade of her ivory Epigaea Dagger into the long sleeve of her pale kimono, slipping it into place before her bright aquamarine eyes glance around with slight worry. Her long, white hair is pulled by the lightest of breezes around the curve of her back. Despite their success so far, the young Kaguya kunoichi always felt on her guard, as if they would be attacked unexpectedly at any moment. When Takehiko approaches and silently offers her a drink from the flask, her expression softens lightly, the young woman certainly softer and meeker than most of her bloodthirsty clan. "Thank you…" her quiet voice murmurs as both of her hands reach out to take the flask, lifting it to the lips for just a few sips before handing it back to Takehiko.
Shinato would be standing off to the side by himself deep in thought reflecting on the lesson given to him by the elders of his clane. (Never allow yourself to get wrapped up by the war instead learn from it and then strike when you see the moment is right….The mission at hand is more important then your life.) Slowly opening his eyes he would take in a deep breath and exhale looking about the area before reflecting once more. (There are four types of fighters A taijutsu type, ninjutsu type, genjutsu type, and a balance type….each one has a weakness study it and expose it.) "One shouldn't drink beofore a battle." Is said at the man offering the woman his flask he would still be sitting and more calm the other man.
"So you've finally decided try doing things my way," the growling voice of Jigoku comes from the possessed arm of Maikeru as stands in front of some of the rock golems, studying their design. "We'll see how well this works in the days to come." Turning around, he walks around the camp once more, coming toward a couple Kaguya and a young man he has yet to meet. Hearing the words about drinking, he glances to the flask Yuuka holds and smirks a bit. "Perhaps these Kaguya need a bit of drink to numb the mind before they spill blood like the ravenous beasts they are famed to be."
And so it begins …
Perhaps one of the most critical missions that Goh has ever faced in his life. If he failed here … well, he could never live it down. Letting down not only Hashiramako, but the entire village. A little distance from the setup camp, in an area where there still ARE trees and such, stands Goh and Tosai. Goh himself is collecting his breathing. /Their/ part of this mission was virtually a suicide run. But it was needed. Both of them were the senior shinobi in this group, and as such, needed to be willing to put their life on the line. His blue eyes look to Tosai, where he lifts a hand to squeeze the Akimichi's shoulder. "Thanks for doing this with me, Tosai." He begins simply. "Remember … we can't die too quickly. We have to stick it out for as long as we can." It was a little difficult to focus. Knowing you're about to CHARGE DOWN a huge group of not only military, but golems and shinobi too. The military posed little problem to both Goh and Tosai together. What would be the issue is the ninja. "Here's the plan. You have some pretty crazy strength, yeah? Every golem you see, try and smash it to pieces. Watch out for shinobi. The military are easy to deal with. If it were just military, we could probably do this without a scratch. But … well. It's not that easy. Alright … ready?" He enquires, before sucking in a breath. "Go! Transform into your most powerful form. But last as long as you can! RUSH!" And just like that, Goh leaps into action! In a hurtling spring, the ex-Jounin dashes in for a DIRECT ASSAULT. "HEY, KIRIGAKURE LOSERS!" He cries out aloud, jumping up so that his form casts a nice silouette against the darkening skyline. "TIME TO FACE THE ALMIGHTY WRATH OF GOH-SAAAAMAAAAAAA!" Forming a seal, he expels several tight balls of fire, letting them detonate into the general military. With any luck, there will be a massive Akimichi stomping behind him. Time to get this started.
Meanwhile, in another location, the fleshy walls of a Salamander will pulsate and squirm. It appears that inside, Goh will stand before Taji, Daichi and Haruko. All of them inside the critter as it scurries around. "…alright. And that's the plan. We're already underway. Got any questions?"
Taji stands inside the Salamander, before Goh, Daichi and Haruko. He frowns but shakes his head as he hears the plan. He focuses some chakra, getting ready for the coming conflict. Taji looks a bit nervous as he readies himself. There's a small pause for a medatation/prayer as the group gets ready. The calm before the storm. Not much to do yet but prepare. Taji adjusts his pack a tad, the pack he takes almost everywhere, even into battle.
Inside the Salamander is the sole ninja from the hidden village of Sand participating in this mission. Haruko looks at the others, smiling faintly… so many powerful ninja, and she's just a genin. She shakes her head when the issue of questions comes up, and looks down, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable, her first real combat mission. Whether she'll fail or succeed, she knows she'll have learned… assuming she survives.
Tactics like this were used during the Clan Wars, long before Konoha or any of these damn villages were founded!! Having false soldiers, was hardly any different from the hiring of an outside source like mercenaries or even other neutral yet foreign organizations. So if that were the case, why was Tosai so pissed?? Well for one, there was no honor in having outsiders fight ones own battles. But had he been mistaken about how much honor existed in Kirigakure, and the Land of Water? Perhaps so. The only thing he has managed to fight in this war, were these abominations, and the Daimyou's soldiers. Sure, there was the normal Genin or Chuunin unlucky to mess with him, but mostly, he never enjoyed disabling and catching those.. Not while those… /things/ moved about.
His mood was gruff. An odd mixture of annoyance, anger, frustration, and ill temper, all mild, and all suppressed. It was this mood that replace that of his mindset during the Clan Wars, way back when. Ecstatic.. bloodthirsty… ravenous… eager… The taste of human flesh came to his mind for the first time in several years, causing him to mistep in route to the checkpoint. Remembrance is funny that way. One emotion that was still there, and always would present itself before a large scale fight, was nervousness. That odd goosebumping sensation, as minute feelings of cool sweat seep from the skin. And such a time as this promoted such emotion. If Goh's strategy actually worked, then the tide of this battle would and could turn, thanks to a a rag-tag group of Genin, ex-Jounin that smelled like celery, and a really obese new Jounin, who could do nothing but get bigger. Much bigger.
Goh's breath-catching promoted him to turn, patting the guy on the back. The nervousness seemed to disappear when Goh squeezed his shoulder and thank him. Something about Goh the Salamander, was heroic to him, even if the Goh he patted now, wasn't the real one. "Yep… we certainly can't, Goh-sama… But if we must, at least we need to make sure this task turns things around. Otherwise…" Tosai's face grew into a rather stoic anger, quiet, and worried. Yet it was temporary. The rest of Goh's words, made him laugh. Loudly. He suddenly felt the rush. That adrenaline of one man versus the world. The plan made him feel even more cocky… As the signal was given, Tosai let out a war cry, that was accompanied with every single bit of power he could muster within himself. His chakra soared into the stratosphere.
And then… Tosai grew…
"OOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!", was screamed as suddenly whatever trees were left bursted at the seems. Soon… the Tosai that most new, was multiplied in size times fifty. Massive, four heavy stomps, put him well in range of every single bit of base that was to be Kiri's and the Land of Water. From there, the large Jounin began systematically destroying the large scale buildings that had been at the edge of the camp. The collateral damage, while seeming to be purposeless and random, seemed to promote some sort of distraction. Hmmmm….
After overhearing Goh's plan Daichi would nod as he got the basics of it. He had no real questions just a bunch of random semi-pointless thoughts in his head. This being the first war he's participated in, the boy was rather calm. Daichi was more worried about the inside of this Salamander and would make sure to stay away from the walls and try not to inhale the pungent aroma. He raises his hand "One question….this smell…it'll wash out right?" Daichi asked sniffing himself. He'd hate to return smelling like Salamander breath, it would throw off his groove and offset his self proclaimed badassery, he's got an image to uphold after all. Daichi was just trying to lighten up the mood he would look over to the other two and smile. Daichi would grin as they both looked a little nervous. He glanced at Taji, wondering what a pacifist like him would do, Daichi pats Taji on the shoulder "Yer not scared are you?" he chuckles and charges some charkra.
The soldiers in the camp more or less ignore the Kirigakure shinobi as they come, go, or mill about waiting for orders. The shinobi were technically under the officer's command, but they weren't exactly keen on trying to make them part of the regular rank and files. That wasn't how shinobi worked. Plus, the head of this invasion was a shinobi herself, placed nominally over even the generals for now, and did not have a reputation for kind treatment against anyone who displeased her. And since the Kirigakure forces always seemed more than ready to drag anyone they could get their hands on back to the Land of Water for god-knows-what, including troops that needed to be 'disciplined', no one was in a hurry to upset the ninja in their midst.
The instant Goh is sighted, calls of alarm begin sounding around the camp, signal lights are lit in the earthen tower, likely a message to other divisions in the area. It might seem overkill for the sighting of one man, but hardened military veterns knew the threat a lone shinobi could represent. Sheer numbers would win out in the end, but until that happened the cost in lives to bring down one man would be ridiculously disproportionate!
But it's Tosai's massive incarnation that truly sparks a reaction within the camp. Men begin shouting and running, some leaping from the top of the first guardtower near the gate as the enormous male knocks it over like it's a sand castle. But then come the arrows, the loud *THWANG* of ballistas firing sharpened logs at the large male. Shinobi begin to gather and respond, forming seals and gathering chakra from their positions. More and more men come pouring into the area from every side of the encampment, carrying spears and bows. Golems begin coming to life and converging on the area.
Shinobi stand in the midst of the golem-divisions as they spring to life, most of them converging from all across the camp, out of their formations, stone swords lifted high and ready to strike, towards the two invading men. …Though mostly towards Tosai. More come from out of the trees, coming from all around, like locusts descending upon a feast. Thousands, probably TENS of thousands of them!
Takehiko takes back the flask and puts it back just in time to hear the alarms going off and the people yell. He then looks around then back at the two people. "Be cautious…they may be a diversion." He says calmly to the others, then draws his shortsword, holding it in reverse grip in one hand. "Any one have any orders?"
Yuuka blinks her bright blue green eyes in surprise, first at Shinato, then at Maikeru as she begins to flush at his comment. "But-Its just water!" her quiet voice says quickly, becoming embarrassed at the thought that they assumed she was drinking before battle. Or anytime really. Cries alarm are heard at that moment, causing the Kaguya kunoichi to blink her innocent eyes again as she looks around them quickly, puzzled. Her eyes only widen at the sight of Tosai, the stone soldiers coming to life and preparing to strike at Tosai and Goh. Yuuka's stomach tightens as she reaches into her long sleeve, pulling out the pale ivory blade of her dagger as her snow white head quickly looks around for any other signs of intrusion. "It must be. They would not attack us so openly unless it is a diversion from others." she murmurs.
"None so far I have to see what they can do first only thing I can form a plan or a means of attack." Shozen would waved through some hand sights before placing his hand to the ground as he "I see now he is going to piss me off." Shaking his head he would start to gather some chakra to better defend himself form an attack. Stepping back to break away from the crowd to get a better view of the action. Looking the place over for other ninja in hidding, (remember to not be fooled about what's infront of you, but what you can't see or hear is what you should be ready for.)
As some retard jumps up shouting about being almighty, Maikeru looks up and quirks an eyebrow. "Bloody moron," the former Land of Demons Jounin says as he turns and looks to the incoming shinobi. Then, a giant fat guy starts stomping on things, and he chuckles a bit. "This is what Konohagakure has to offer, is it?" he asks as he looks up at the titan of fat, lard, and, by the looks of him, a lot of sweets and other fattening things. "Well, let's see what fruit this garden of crap manages to bring forth." The red glow of his possessed hand begins to glow more fiercely as watches for a moment, waiting to see what the stone troops stir up out of this mess.
"Woah! Seems we're super popular after all, Tosai!" Goh cries out in response to the thousands of men who suddenly start to mobilize. The ex-Jounin himself is able to counter what few arrows go at him, bringing out a kunai blade to parry what is headed for him. Indeed, the skill of normal military are far below that a shinobi. But numbers are going to be the hard-hitting factor here. Even as good as they were, they couldn't last for long.
Using the falling debris and rubble as cover, Goh cries up to his fellow attacker. "Tosai, watch the arrows! Pick up rubble and use as a shield if you have to!" The blonde forms a few quick seals. Sucking in a HUGE breath, he suddenly exhales a COLOSSAL amount of fire.
Perhaps there was no diversion after all? These two shinobi, despite being small on numbers, had some serious firepower avaiable to them. As Goh spews forth flames, he seems to almost get a second wind mid-belch, the fire becoming /white/ hot as it washes across a great deal of the area. And directly in the path of this fire-cone? Yuuka, Takehiko and Maikeru.
Well, that and a few hundred soldiers of course.
"Tosai, let's keep moving!" Of course, if these two could fulfill the objective on their own, that'd be cool too!
Meanwhile, as Goh and Tosai go on their rampage, the Salamander which acts much like a taxi to Daichi, Taji and Haruko continues to move. It scurries under the ground, digging its way through solid earth quite quickly and quietly. It moves and moves … deep underground. However, directly above it? The Kirigakure camp. "Alright then, if there are no more questions … " Goh says, his arms folded, he gestures up. "We'll launch the plan. Remember, we're going to let our creature here do most of the work. But when it comes to the actual serious part, we ourselves move. Odds are, no-one will be singled out. Once we have finished our objective, we get my other self and Tosai. Remember, Taji," The form of Goh looks at him carefully. "…Keep an eye on Haruko here. Her experience is not ideal, but we'll take all we can get." The blonde grins at the Sunagakure ally. "Especially from Sunagakure shinobi."
To Daichi, Goh seems to pause. "…you get used to the smelly Salamander flesh. And it washes out. But try not to insult the creature that is so willing to help us out, huh?" The blonde laughs a little.
Deep within the camp, where there are very few tremors to indicate movement, the ground cracks … and out scurries a small lizard. Nothing worth noticing, really. It scurries around on the earth in some cover, peering around. Trying to get a feel for where she should head. ScurryScurry.
Taji eyes Daichi, frowning a tad, "Hey, no. I'm not scared. Why, you projecting your fears onto me?" He says, sounding rather irritated for some reason. "Anyway, yeah, don't insult our friend." He echoes Goh's words, then glances over at Haruko, as if considering her experience and appearance. Taji has no weapons out, but does crack his knuckes a bit as he readies himself for the full battle. He checks his backpack, to ensure it is snug, and takes a quick sip of water from a bottle before nodding to Goh, "Just give the word."
Haruko gives an appreciating nod to the form of Goh, drawing a pair of Kunai and moving the cloth around her neck in front of her face. "I'll be fine." She states, despite being appreciative of Goh's suggestion to keep an eye on her. She remains silent however, she's going to fight alongside Shinobi she does not know, and she has no clue how capable they are. If only there had been at least one more Sunagakure shinobi… no matter.
Drove of insects… From Tosai's point of view, that was all he saw for almost miles around. It was literally the view of a large man, stepping on an ant colony and causing them all to stir, escaping from the mania that was his large foot. The mobilization of /so/ /many/ people. It was indeed two ninja versus an entire army. And sure, Goh was formidable. No credit need be taken from the unusual arsenal of jutsu that one man had in his possession. However, Goh was only so small, literally, in the eyesight of this army of invaders. The large groups of attacks that had been being launched at Tosai, only served to point this out further. He was a big target and an even bigger distraction.
All according to plan.
Truth enough, his ability to solidify and harden his body parts served him well, but still he could only go so far. Fire as well as other forms of less tangible forms of jutsu were involved in this defense against him. He felt Lightning Release in the air, hitting him from behind. He felt the incredibly small stings of arrows, from directions for which he had overlooked. However, as big as this attack against him was, Tosai… well… was bigger. Ever worst was the force of rock golems that were more than mere soldiers… they seeked to climb up Tosai in some ways, even going as far as to throw themselves, literally, at the Akimichi.
"Hehe.. You have no idea, Goh-sama!!! By this day, all shall know the name of Konoha's Furious Appetite, the Benevolent AKIMICHI TOSAI!!!" With this, all the earth that had been infront of Tosai, became a weapon. A large man thrusted both his gigantic hands deep into the ground before him. Truth in all, even the uplifting of the earth itself would be enough of a distraction and upheaval, causing men and golem alike to fall into the gaping hole left behind. However, such a large attack could not help but be two fold. For above Tosai, was a very, very, large, and improvised weapon.
Kirigakure and the Land of Water, would see their last sun in the Land of Fire, blotted out by a large, dumpling sized boulder.
Seeming dripping from the same large rock, had been both soldiers, and rocky golems, who from such a height, had a long way to descend… A /long/ way. Of course, the large boulder could not be kept hefted to long. It had to be thrown. Tosai's target? The large army of rocky creations right at his feet. The boulder was not to be simply thrown. It was /driven/ down, like a jackhammer!!!
Daichi would nod as Goh speaks and smiles "Oh good. No offense to our friend here…it can't hear me right?" Daichi mutters. He dismissed the thought as Taji spoke, the genin was not a favorite of Daichi's but he is a comrade and he had to respect Taji's professionalism still doesn't mean he had to respect Taji! "Ok Mr. Gentle Hands don't get your britches in a knot, just checking up on ya," Daichi smirks "Can't have you freaking out and losing it," funny that sounds like something Daichi would do. Daichi glanced over to Haruko "Thanks for helping us out like this. It's good know we have such loyal allies," Daichi smiles. He would go silent then and would ready Madness's Butcher as the moment of truth was coming, Daichi's expression changes and he would patiently wait for action.
Commanders begin to form order among their soldiers, gathering archers to bring to bear against the giant, as well as throwing stone golems by the hundreds marching towards him. Their real, living soldiers are instead directed towards, Goh, rushing towards him with spear and sword leveled. It was the kind of thing that would likely prompt a normal man to simply run away, with a mob of a hundred or so running towards him with intent to kill. Elsewhere about the camp of thousands, other soldiers were just now becoming aware that something was wrong as the shouting, loud crashes, and signal fires begin to reach them.
The men charging at Goh, the ones directly in front of him at least, are engulfed and die screaming in a huge gout of flame and heat. They are burned to a crisp, becoming little more than piles of ash, unburned body parts, and super-heated pieces of molten armor. …But there are many more where they came from, and just how many times can Goh do that little trick before he comes up on empty? It's no longer human soldiers, their lives too valuable to waste, but the clay golems that begin to converge upon the Akuu-ninja's location, ready to swing their stone swords down upon them. Despite their plentiful number, and the fact that they seem to come out from EVERYWHERE AT ONCE, they are slow-moving and can be avoided with quick action.
Tosai's insane size and strength allow him to rock the entire region with an earthquake merely from shoving his fists into the ground. Everyone in the camp was now VERY AWARE that something was VERY WRONG here. Men stumble, others are crushed outright. But it is mostly the uncaring golems who suffer. The men are, quite simply, fleeing and regrouping away from the giant. The stone legions simply march on and begin hacking away at the incredibly huge man's feet as if he were a might oak they were intending to fell.
And then hundreds of them are crushed under a single boulder. But they do not seem bothered in the least, more simply step forward to take their fallen brother's place. Many fall into the holes. They do not care. They will walk unthinkingly into that pit until enough of them are within to form a bridge across. Tosai's vantage allows him to see for miles around, swarms of the stone golems all marching towards his location. It would take him hours to crush them all. And just how long did he have until his chakra ran out?
Arrows and ballistas continued to fire, but now the shinobi of Kirigakure were responding, as well. Dragon-statues made of water appear out of the earth, forming into cannon-shaped charicatures, opening their mouths and unleashing the famed Water Dragon Bullet technique upon the invaders. Only a single one targets Goh, but at least four more shoot towards the huge Akimichi! Meanwhile, the ground begins to rumble, and not from Tosai's footsteps. Earth-using shinobi must be gearing up for an attack, as well!
Takehiko widens his eyes as he tries to dodge the fire blast but is unable to, getting blasted back hard. He then begins to look around, readying himself against the while at the same time he would also keep his eyes about to try and find the other intruders. "Yuuka, do you see any others?" He asks as he readies himself.
Watching as the young man was hit he would shaking his head for a moment watching taking in everything going on around him. "Hmmm what to do now? Two are attacking from the front while and it appears that they are very powerful however not strong enough to take us out by themselves which means that they might be trying to lead us into an attack….." He would shaking his head and thinking about what to do (I'm pretty sure that there are more of them, why would they lanuch a string forward attack knowing our numbers as large…which means-) "Prepair to attack what we can see for now that's all we can do okay as for you Yuuka try and scope out anyone else and once you spot anything at all let it be know to the others." Shinato would flash through some hand seals before touching the ground "Earth Style: Earthn Rain!"
Okay. Cone of fire. That definitely can't be ignored. Yuuka's bright eyes widen in sudden alarm before her jaw firms. With a short breath, she pushes her weight through one foot as actually dances, spinning a complicated step to avoid the blast of fire directed at them. The flames singes at her flesh as she does, ducking out of the way before any more damage can be done. Her feet slide against the soft ground as she comes to a stop, eyes narrowing for a quick moment before her lip curls slightly, "This is getting irritating…" Yuuka grumbles lightly to herself. "But we can not just stand here while they attack us like this…" She flicks with sudden speed as she dashes through the tents, keeping herself low to the ground while her slender fingers tighten the grip on her dagger. Attempting to avoid detection, she moves as quickly as she can along the wall of earth, making her way to the entrance to attack from the side. Her blade flashes as she emerges from the countless other soldiers defending the camp.
Watching as the young man was hit he would shaking his head for a moment watching taking in everything going on around him. "Hmmm what to do now? Two are attacking from the front while and it appears that they are very powerful however not strong enough to take us out by themselves which means that they might be trying to lead us into an attack….." He would shaking his head and thinking about what to do (I'm pretty sure that there are more of them, why would they lanuch a stright forward attack knowing our numbers are large…which means-) "Prepair to attack what we can see for now that's all we can do for the moment, as for you Yuuka try and scope out anyone or anything that come across as abnormal and once you spot anything at all let us know." Shinato would flash through some hand seals before touching the ground He would form his hands into seal and start to build chakra.
As the flaming creature races toward him and the others, Maikeru is mid-flicker when he is narrowly caught and blasted back by the flames. "Time to play then," he says with a chuckle before before going into a powerful leap. He points his possessed hand down toward the tower of fat and lard, and an enormous form of it extends out, reaching out to try to grab the throat of the giant Akimichi. At this, he will even try to pick him up and slam him down, attempting to impale him on a group of trees to try to end this part of the problem as quickly as possible. Of course, he might not actually be able to pull this off, but it's at least worth a try!
The Salamander scurries along the ground in the shade, un-noticed for the moment. Upon getting a clear view around, it dives back into the earth, once again hidden. "…mm." Goh echoes simply. This being the Goh /inside/ the Salamander. "Looks like the regular commanders are really well defended by the military. If we tried to battle our way through, it wouldn't end well. But we should be able to sneak right under them, I'd say!" Goh chuckles a bit, before directing the taxi further underground.
"Alright crew! You have thirty seconds! Thirty seconds to disable as many commanders as you can. Daichi, you play defense. Protect them at all costs. When thirty seconds is up, we bring all the commanders we can down into this belly, along with you all. There, we escape. We launch in three…. two … one … LAUNCH!" And just like that, the very stomach of this Salamander contorts, and literally /ejects/ Daichi, Taji and Haruko out into the open! Where were they?
Right smack bang in the middle of the human commanders. Not the shinobi ones, but the regular ones. Well, maybe not RIGHT in the middle, but close. This method was two-fold. The defending ninja would have to charge right through their own military to get to them. And could they do that in time?
Goh doesn't emerge, having a need to stay inside the creature to get the Konoha ninja back /in/. The Salamander quickly buries into the ground. Waiting for thirty seconds to pass. This was it. The longest thirty seconds ever.
Meanwhile …
"Tch!" Goh gets out, using his uncanny speed and ability to dodge around the swords and arrows which come at him from military people. For a moment he seems to be there, and for another, he isn't! No doubt, his speed is just as capable as his apparent ability with fire. But … here it comes. The real challenges. Turning his head to notice a shinobi darting forward, right at him, the blonde grins a little bit. "Ahoy there! Huh .. a Kaguya, huh?" He'd notice those features anywhere. Slipping backwards and strafing out of the way of her blade. "Sorry, lady. I got no time for chumps. Only the mighty can stand before Goh-sama. Legendary Pickled Vegetabler!" Unrolling a scroll, he then proceeds to stomp on it after performing a seal! He leaps up into the air following this. But .. why? Well, out from the scroll itself will spew forth a large pile of very bad smelling liquid. Pickled Vegetabled Juices … And they're sticky! So sticky that Yuuka may find herself caught there if she doesn't watch out. Gross gross gross.
As he lands from a distance, the blonde turns to note a water dragon of ultimate doom! Forming several seals with his hands, Goh spits down a huge fireball right at his feet! Melting the ground away. But what this serves to do is literally /propel/ him up into the sky like a rocket, the blonde suddenly hurtling through the sky. He manages to evade the water dragon, if only just. Jeez. This was intense!
"Tosai!" Goh hollers out aloud, his body still in the air. Performing a loose flip, he manages to land onto the Akimichi after he has defended against his own attacks.
It's almost like Goh is riding a summon, considering his size!
"Tosai, that's enough fun here. Time to move on. We have to gun for the commanders of this place. Look!" He thrusts a finger out, pointing off into the distance. "Over there, I reckon! See 'em?" The view from up this high sure was nice. "Shinobi dressed in weird outfits. Here's the idea. Smash and grab! You charge right through the golems protecting them. And then? Just GRAB as many commanders as you can, and you run for the hills! Try and pick me up on your way through, too. Remember, Tosai. RUN. Run as fast as you can!" Tosai can cover distance very quickly in that form.
It seems the blonde has had enough fighting. Now time to progress! "I'll distract that guy with the weird hand."
Leaping down through the sky off of Tosai, Goh attempts to engage Maikeru in direct one-on-one combat! As he leaps down, his fist catches alight with flame. For that's right. Goh attempts to SLAM a flaming fist right into Maikeru's face.
Taking a quick half second to get his bearings, Taji charges at the military leaders, a faint mist forming around his fists as he charges. From the leaders' view the three just appeared from no where, so maybe Taji can catch them off balance and surprised with a full quick frontal assualt. He takes two swipes, each at a different military leader, which if hit will incapacitate them for a short while, hopefully allowing capture with minimal confrontation. He moves gracefully, with almost a dancer's movements as he moves through the crowd, attempting to land these two blows, while trying to avoid being hit in the process.
AS they emerge from the ground, Haruko immediately starts attacking those military leaders. She doesn't quite know any jutsu made for incapacitating, so instead she aims for places like groinsif the target is maleand kneecaps, using both of her Kunai. For now, she only is attacking three of them, using her kunai to strike out. For her level of experience… those attacks are quite graceful and fast.
And still, there were way more men and golems to come. Tosai knew that simply one attack would not be an end all to this thing but still… This was going to be alot of work. But the Akimichi had only gotten started, and he still had more than enough chakra to spend. It was time to do more than just simple destruction. It was more prudent to actually start taking down the focus of his misery. Goh was in command and doing quite well… All the more inspiration for the large Akimichi to use for this fight. But still… He felt himself only a walking target, even with all the destruction he had been doing with every simple step or move of his hand. However, when Goh is attacked, Tosai is not to big to notice. However, this one doesn't fell Goh easily.
So for now, Yuuka is ignored.
Besides, Tosai had his own worries. His name was called.. "I am on it!!", was said, just as a shoulder moves to catch Goh. However still.. He was now being attacked. "We can't move on just yet!!!", was said only moments after the Water Dragons reared there ugly heads. Goh would have no need to fear, for it was only a hand to be needed from the gi-normous Akimichi, to literraly smother the attacks into nothing more than droplets of water. The blast was withstood, seemingly with only the effort needed for Tosai to lower his center of gravity ever slightly. Otherwise, the blast had the effect of only a garden hose. "Now we can move on…", was stated by Tosai with a smirk as soon the commanders were pointed out, and from there, movement recommenced, the Akimichi's slow gigantic stride, seeming to cover distances measuring in miles. Just before Tosai could arrive however, something… or rather, some arm, had been standing right in hit way.
The single large entity of demonic arm, was batted away with ease, and little movement even on his part. Tosai immediately turned to its source, only to discover that one person had indeed been attacking. "Courageous… There is honor in Kirigakure.", was spoken from the large Akimichi, his words echoing across the sky. "Perhaps I can honor such a rebuttle.", was said with a smile. The Akimichi's foot was picked up, and it soon aimmed to stomp Maikeru into a puddle. Such a stump indeed, would be cataclysmic, probably sending debris of all kinds into directions about the Akimichi's foot… giving all those in range, a good piece of agony, thanks to whatever was brought up into the air.
"Thirty seconds eh?" Daichi smiles as speed is his game. "Defense!?" he remarks a bit shocked. Order are orders though, he would sigh and nod. He wanted to hack something up today. As he was ejected from the Salamader he would grasp a good sense of where Taji and Haruko were positioned. Daichi would be in charge of their safety for the most part, so he keeps an eye on the two. He stays a good distance between the two however he is closer to Haruko. Daichi was keeping time in his head as the clock winds down. '29…28….' he sighs 'Longest 30 seconds of my life…' he remarked. He decides to incapcitate a couple leaders himself nothing big just a few slashes here and there aimed at the legs, shoulders other nonfatal yet painful locations to be cut with by a massive cleaver, he isn't going all out though since he has to watch out for enemy attacks.
A lieutenant and a captain both look very surprised to suddenly see a salamander spewing enemy ninja out of it's mouth in their midst. Unfortunately, there is no group of 'the commanders', they are spread out all over, interspersed with their men by rank. Trying to find the specific leaders could take hours! And the invaders just don't have that kind of time!
The Water Country soldiers may not be ninja, but they are not slouches in combat, either, and they spring forth to attack Taji, Haruko, and Daichi with spear and sword, albeit rather clumsily by ninja standards. The REAL threat comes from the Kirigakure shinobi RIGHT THERE WITH the two officers! She is apparently much-less caught off-guard than the rest, turning her attention from the larger battle going on some distance away to flash through a series of four hand-seals. The ground begins erupting in a small, circular area around the attacking genin, each erupting into dozens of pointy needles shooting upwards. Given everything that was closest to the ground, this could land in quite the devastating area.
The two commanders of this particular division are brought low by Taji's stunning abilities, while Daichi and Haruko slice apart resistance formed by the soldiers. Meanwhile, the camp was still erupting in chaos, and defenders in the form of stone golems continue to pour in from all sides! Golem were now hacking at and trying to scale the Akimichi awkwardly. None of them are very good at climbing, being clumsy and uncoordinated, yet just their hacking swords and grasping arms are like a hornet's nest around the large man's feet. And still there is always those arrows and ballista bolts, which Goh must now fend off, riding the Akimichi as he is, as well!
Takehiko would try to dodge the shockwave, but isnt able to, being thrown back hard into the ground. He would look to the various golems and shakes his head. "Keep attacking them. If this is a distraction, then they are after what will cripple our efforts." He says as he begins to run towards where he knew some golem controllers would be at.
Yuuka growls lightly with some irritance, but isn't really surprised as Goh easily deflects her attacks away. "I do not expect to do anything… And pride is a downfall in a shinobi. Not an attractive attribute at all…" she murmurs lightly, not really caring if he heard her or not. Though as he releases a seal, her bright blue green eyes blink with some surprise, seeing the large quantity of picked juices spewing from the scroll and directly at her. the Kaguya kunoichi narrows her eyes sharply as she murmurs something to herself under her breath. A moment after, the wave of bitter pickled juices washes over her, immobilized for several moments on end while the fighting continues. Its at this moment that Tosai slams his foot into the ground, causing even further damage. Yuuka screams from the sudden pain, her expression twisting as she falls to her knees, panting harder than before, unable to push herself up to her feet during the blinding agony.
He would be hit with the pure force of the attack knocking himself back he would flip back onto his feet and look around at what was going on around him. Looking at Takehiko he would notice the attacks lanuch on hism and that fact he was hurt badly he would clitch his fist and start to think before speaking once more "hey fall back your hurt and report everything you saw here today techniques and means of attacks and things like okay, me and Maikeru will give you cover." Flashing threw a serise of hand seals he would hold his hands in the Serpent seal before smirking "Earth Style: Earth Clone!" He would be looking at his clones before pointing at Tosai him and his clones would unleash a barrange of attacks pure taijutsu style trying to buy as much time as he could for the two to make their escape as the real shinato waited back and would make his way over towards Maikeru. "It appears that the big guy is targetting me once those two escape I want you to follow them and I will cover you…okay." Shinato would be looking towards the direction of Tosai as he said this.
As the two Jounin both come at him, Maikeru is suddenly just not there at all. "Shinato! After their counterparts!" the Jounin calls out from above the giant fat man. "I'll take care of the Farmer and the Fatass." He begins tossing as many tags as possible at the two as he heads toward the ground. As he goes quickly as he can, a few of tags are apparently headed for a rather effective area… Tosai's CROTCH! If they land, they will sap strength and chakra away from the men and turn into an violent explosion, one aimed to cripple the titan of fat.
The Salamander creature awaits gently underground, ready for action. Even as the huge spires erupt around it. The thirty seconds pass very slowly, but seem to progress eventually. As they do, the tip of the head of the little critter can be seen burrowing out through some cracks in the ground. It opens its mouth /very/ wide, and out comes … A GOOEY hand! Followed by an arm! This arm reaches out to grasp as many bodies which it is fed, and pull them back into the abyss with it. Of course, it's a Goh hand. Woo! This number (two?) isn't as high as Goh would like, but it's better than nothing. The appearance of some shinobi there is also surprising to the man in the lizard. He was not aware of such … damn. This could get hairer than he thought. As he's dragging in the bodies, the Konoha and one Suna Genin will have to defend themselves for another smidgen before getting out themselves. Could they make it?
After all is said and done, the blonde Akuu clan member is starting to get tired. After the use of all these techniques, it's a bit tough for him to sustain such an effort! With his shoulders going up and down, the ex-Jounin feels a bullet of sweat run down his face, coupled with some heavy breaths. "Tch." Feeling his stamina at about half of what it normally is, he takes a small leap to the side when Tosai stomps on the ground hard.
"Tosai, go! GO! Rush the commanders that I pointed out to you! We can't sustain this forever!" Having Tosai stall and stomp and Maikeru wasn't on his plan. For all he knew back-up was coming from afar. They needed to be in an out in no-time.
But oh snap. Here comes ballista bolts and arrows! Dodging around them to the best of his ability, the blonde Akuu member continues to try and engage Maikeru as best he can. This guy looked like the best Kirigakure had to offer today, so the ex-Jounin will oblige. "I don't know who you are, buddy. But you're certainly no speed slouch. You must have a good diet of pickled vegetables too!" Could Goh have found … HIS EQUAL?!
Woops! No time to ponder that now. With seals headed his way, the Akuu clan members tries his best to form a Kage Bunshin seal. A clone of himself does actually appear to his side, but is a fraction too late to get him out of the way in time. The result is a big BOOM, along with Goh feeling his stamina and chakra being drained. A lot. Goh hits the deck hard, gasping for air. "H…Holey moley. That's some serious fire-power." Struggling to get to his feet, the blonde casts a look up to Tosai.
Hopefully, he was still running to the best of his ability for those commanders. And ignoring as much pain as possible. "Oi, Goh-chan!" A small little critter escapes from Goh's vest, sitting on his shoulder. "…time to get serious!" — "Hush, Reiko. Get back in my vest." Performing a seal of his own, Maikeru might just notice a presence forming behind him. As a new clone, one made up of Salamander form right behind him! They rush at Maikeru, hoping to not only punch him in the back but also grasp him. Holding him there for the moment!
Stone spikes out of the ground got you down? No, not really. Taji is just a tad too graceful for that. He moves smoothly around the spires, with a speed and conservation of motion that is rather remarkable. He avoids each and every spire, moving in a way that would prevent the blows from hitting squarely even if he was hit, but… no, no hit at all here. Taji watches the two men he stunned be scooped away into the salamander and turns his attention to the earth using shinobi. Taji frowns and charges, his fists shrouded in that mist as he tries to charge past her, attempting to land two attacks on the Kirigakure shinobi to give the others a chance to retreat.
Yikes! That hurt, and Haruko was so close to dodging it too. Upset, she slashes out at more of the nearby soldiers, making the land of water folks suffer by thehopefullydeath of their soldiers. She's fast despite her wounds, although she might not remain so fast if she gets hit by another round of one of those…
Okay… now things were getting tedious. Tosai began to hear the sounds of battle in his ears. Duh, right? It all around him. No… It wasn't even that. With those large, gigantic ears of his, the sounds of the kids of Konoha, and Suna, finally reaching a point where there fight had begun. Such sensitive hearing!! Sure, the troop of Konoha had their real objective. However, Tosai's Will of Fire, and the need to protect those who had been formally either students of his, or even young ninja at the verge of there lives, had taken hold of him. It was time to quite the child's play, and finally finish this mission. Goh's plan seemed easy enough, if not for the constant attacks against his own person. "I know, I know!!! I'm moving!!!", was said in regards to the ex Jounin's orders, and from there, Tosai was off and running, his large form stomping through the area.
The Akimichi was getting hit with attacks both he could feel and not feel, and he was begining to have to work much harder to move. Every now and again, a hand moved or a leg kicked, sending droves of golems and men flying to there doom. But otherwise, the gargantuan ninja was now on the move. However, Tosai would not let these foes have a piece of him. Not easily at least, even if there was alot to go around. Goh's panting could help be heard. After all, the clone of the Salamander Summoner, had been right next to his ear only a while ago, that is, before he had. Things were no longer fun. The time for business was at hand, and the time for fun had run out. Tosai reached the place where his pupil, as well as the two other Genin, had been fighting for there own safety. Goh had also been counted in this, but Tosai had confidence that he'd be fine. As Tosai crouched down, he'd feel the one of the clones of Shinato smash into his calve quite well, the other obviously unable to penetrate the tightness of his other flinching muscle.
Suddenly, an explosion from behind him is heard. Goh's words as well.. Tosai looks, only to see seals… headed for his gems??? "Yaaaaaa??!!", was yelped out as hands grabbed his stones, and pulled upward. With that, the Akimichi's legs extended, sending him and his jewels up and away from the blast, saving his ability to one day have kids…
A fist was shaken to Maikeru, saying, "Hey!!!! Cheap shot!!!", before the same hand was sent plowing into the place where the commanders and the Genin of Suna and Konoha now fought!!! Tosai's hand would search through, attempting to grab the commanders, before the words, "Climb on!!! We're getting out of here!!!", were shouted down to the kids below. When everyone was on board, and Goh's next movements were made known, Tosai would turn. Attacks or not, he was getting out halling his fat ass out of there!!!
Each stone spike found themselves deflected before it could even get close enough to threaten Daichi. Daichi however glanced over and saw that Goh had made his move, this must mean that the 30 seconds are almost up. Daichi curses though as one of his teammates took a hit. He moves over to assist her and would lash out at a few more soldiers swinging the blade with much grace. He would stop looking over to Taji and then back at Haruko "She should regroup, we should be departing soon," he informs. Well mission complete Daichi figured, he would wait for Goh to return and would keep an keen eye on the battle field.
The shinobi that Taji targets is apparently light on her feet for an earth-jutsu user! The first attack is neatly turned aside by the woman's arm in a simple martial block. The next is simply rolled under, the kunoichi spinning to come up behind the male Konoha-nin. When she does, she's holding up a hand in the sign of a seal already. Her fist punches outward… and is suddenly mimic'd from the other side of Taji by an imitation of the clay golems that pops out of the ground! That might not be one of the actual golems, merely the product of an earth jutsu, but that large of a fist is bound to hurt if it lands!
Haruko's attacks tear through a few of the soldiers, but the problem with the soldiers is that there are a LOT of them! And now the golems have reached the area too, and the Sunagakure genin must now spend her time evading a bunch of stone soldiers and their large earthen swords. No easy task considering they are as thick as reeds and just as relentless.
Tosai's mad grab for shinobi does not prove as easy as that! Ninja are notoriously hard to catch, after all, and when his meaty fist closes, it is around a single one of the specially-marked chuunin was too slow to evade or call up protective jutsu, as well as four of the stone golems. Ninja were fast, but Tosai's legs were ridiculously long! If he could run out of there with all speed, and then shrink down to make himself harder to track while still keeping the chuunin either ensnared (or perhaps unconscious with a flick to the head), he just might have a chance to escape what is sure to be a rapid pursuit!
As Daichi moves to assist Haruko, he would find himself attacking not flesh-and-blood soldiers, but those damnable golems that were the backbone of this invasion! His attacks find their marks, but the golems are not slowed by pain or injury, they simply move towards him and uncaringly try to crush him with their stone swords!
The two unconscious officers are taken into the salamander, making a total of three captives of note for the invading Konoha forces. A good haul, considering everything else. It is likely high time to beat it outta there!
Takehiko moves to where he saw Yuuka go down and runs to her at top speed, ignoring his own injuries as he moves to her, grabs her and begins to retreat back. "I got Yuuka, I am going to withdraw and come back when able to." He calls to the others before doing it, withdrawing.
Yuuka almost doesn't feel herself fall as Takehiko catches her, seeming to carry her effortlessly as he retreats them both from the fighting. Away from the bloodshed and war. Though she still has some energy, she only makes a face as she tries to move her weight, as if signalling she wanted to stay and fight still. The moment she does, intense pain lashes through her core, a hard cry tearing from her lips as her body becomes lax again. It was too much for her to be useful. Yuuka's deep eyes become unfocused as she realizes this.
Watching as Takehiko grabs the girl and goes he would smile as he ready himself with somemore hand seals this time he would glace towards Maikeru. "Fall back at once this battle is over!" Shinato was ready to fall back and rethink their plans from the most part there wasn't much to gain but their lives on the surface he would sigh for a moment and then smirk. "Earth Style: Earth Spire!" Kicking the ground he would bring the ground under Tosai up and try and knock him off his base as for the other guy he Earth Clone would be close enough to lanuch an attack on him. "Get out of here Maikeru!" Shinato was ready for anyting to happen to him at this point.
"Pickled vegetables, eh? Sorry, I maintain my speed on the blood of my enemies," Maikeru says with a smirk at Goh, perhaps jesting, perhaps not. He glances over his shoulder and leaps up, but he fails to flicker in time and is punched and caught by one of the clones. As Shinato attempts to order him, the Jounin glances over to him. "You're a Chuunin. Shut the Hell up and do what I told you before you get killed."
With the Commanders inside the Salamander critter, Clone-Goh reaches up once more. First off, Haruko is sucked down. This is done by grasping her via the ankle, and then quite literally PULLING her into the abyss of this little Salamander's mouth. It's not painful, but … a little weird. When the room brightens again, she'll find herself in the fleshy walls of the Salamander. The two human Commanders next to her, still reeling from Taji's attack. The Goh-hand feels around for Daichi and Taji next, grasping them as they get close and yanking them in. Following, the hand will withdraw back into the mouth, and the mouth will be gone soon after. Dissapearing into the earth. The infiltration team were successful!
Meanwhile …
Goh was still facing off against Maikeru, anxiously awaiting for Tosai to get his guys. And then, hopefully, retreating! When he spots the Akimichi going nuts over in the area, he can only suspect that Tosai was successful.
Time to go.
"Sorry buddy, but we'll have to compare recipes another time." The blonde says to Maikeru, a small grin on his face. Truly breathless at this point, Goh huffs and heaves—trying his best to collect oxygen. That last attack really did a number on the ex-Jounin, no question. "But hey, you're pretty good. Maybe next time, huh?" He lifts his arms a little bit, still grinning like an idiot. "Hum. I guess the Kirigakure shinobi aren't much to be feared after all." With the Salamander Clone grabbing Maikeru successfully, Goh makes a motion to salute. And then? He turns around and /dashes/. Speeding away from the direction he came from. With any luck, Tosai will follow up and maybe veen pass him over! In which case, the Akuu will jump onto his leg.
"SO SAYS THE AMAZING GOOOOOH-SAAAMAAAAAAA! REMEMBER THAT ONLY MY CRAFT IS YOUR SOURCE FOR NUMBER ONE PICKLED VEGETABLEESS!" He cries out, as if a final insult.
While the shinobi who is targetting Taji may be quick on the dodge, avoiding his attacks, Taji is pretty light on his feet as well, and slips under and to the side of both the tags, away from the woman, and her stone beastie. He avoids the potential explosions and crush, and slips back, right into the hand of Clone-Goh, not avoiding that as it is his means of escape! And back into the Salamander the boy goes. Creepy, yes, but safer than being out here and being attacked by this shinobi woman, and likely her backup who probably is on the way!
Those swords are considerably easier to step aside off… and Haruko does just that. It's not long after that she's pulled back down into the salamander, and she crooks a grin, "That went pretty well, didn't it?" She asks as she looks around at the others. She seems in an oddly good mood, despite her wounds…
Side stepping the blades Daichi would try to attack again but he looks at Haruko as she sinks "Hmmm what the hell!?" he would remark. Then before he knew it he would be sucked underground too. He would flail for the moment then settle as they were back in the Salamander. Daichi would look around to see all had gone well. He stands and puts away Madness's Butchar "Mission Complete, haha great job team," Daichi would look to Haruko and incline his head "You're hurt, sorry about that couldn't make it in time," he would move to bandage her wounds with his spare medical kit, taking out bandages he would quickly tend to some of her wounds. He would look back at Goh "Uh…now what?"
The Konoha shinobi have withdrawn, taking with them the lieutenant, the captain, and a Kirigakure chuunin. In the wake they have left a hundred or so dead soldiers, and many more times that number in crushed golems. Though, as we all know, the clay soldiers would only be replaced, unless the Konoha-shinobi could figure out where and how they are being created… Would their interrogations be successful? Only time would tell.
The Land of Water camp is in an uproar. The generals are issuing general orders, while lower-level field commanders order immediate pursuit. Fortifications are rebuilt, and in some places, improved. Vigilance is tightened. A blow was delivered to the Kirigakure-led forces today, but it was equivalent to only kicking down a portion of one anthill. In an entire field of anthills. It was the goal that mattered, the damage was unimportant.
The wounded are taken for treatment, though those deemed too wounded are strapped to stretchers against their will and hauled out of camp, to the east, towards the waiting boats with the capture Land of Fire natives. The sun finishes setting on a victory for the Land of Fire, though whether it would prove decisive or not, only time would tell.
