Starring:
Yuuma, Tsuneo, Amata, Akane, Kokuro, Oda, Kasuya, Hiei, Naoya, Yuuka, Naruko, Akiko, Kuoroke, Isra, Ogosokamaru, Meruin
Date: October 8, 2014
Summary:
The Silence makes another appearance in the Land of Water's Capital City! Shinobi from many lands unite in an attempt to confront them, but in the end they get away and the Daimyo is missing!
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Silence - At The Daimyo's Door"
Land of Water - Capital City
A major distress call has come directly from the palace of the Daimyo to the offices of Kirigakure through the flight of one of the nation's hastiest messenger birds. It seems the Silence have taken an opposite path from the one expected of them. While the villages fortified themselves in preparation for an attack from the Silence, some other places have gone with a bit less security due to the main targets seeming to be the villages' secret vaults. In this case, rather than a simple small village or a Hidden Village like some of the attacks have been against, the Silence have attacked the palace of the Daimyo and quite literally made their way through it to take over the fortress for now. Dozens of bodies lay strewn around the palace of soldiers and shinobi alike. While some of the shinobi who were on guard here are still fighting, most are beginning to fade. Smoke rises from fires in various parts of the palace, the sound of clashing metal ringing out here and there as the Silence continue to do battle with what's left of the guard here.
Within the palace, Fuzen Yuuma sits on the throne of the Daimyo with a half-empty bottle of sake on one of its arms, looking rather bored with his cheek propped up on his palm. "What a bore," he says, seeming rather dissatisfied despite the currently victorious state of this campaign. "You there, any word of finding the Daimyo's emergency escape route yet?" he asks to one of the men standing around him, who appears to be an ex-Hunter adorned in a black gi whose mask has a slash through the Kirigakure symbol on it. A simple shake of his head indicates a negative answer to the leader's question, which draws a sigh from Yuuma. "Hiding from all the fun, and his chair's not even that comfortable. What a jerk," he says, smirking a bit and picking up the bottle of sake to take a few large gulps. He seems to not be taking this siege all too seriously, but most that've observed his behavior have come to realize his relaxed demeanor is a mere mask for the warlord's genius.
The plan had been solid. With all the resistance and raiding of their camps, the Silence had not enough men to take on a fully fortified hidden village and buy enough time to loot and run. So what better to do with limited resources than take out something else important. And so they had. After all, it was important to keep flexing your muscles in case some people thought the terror was over and started not taking them seriously.
Resting on a nearby rafter, one leg hanging down, swinging as if he had not a care in the world, was Yuuma's brother, Tsuneo. The capitol had fallen under their control and there was literally nothing left to do but wait for some kind of 'push back' from the shinobi world. "Say, brother. Maybe we should take bets on when some kind of back up arrives. Say, every 30 minutes they take we drain another hostage?" he calls out to his brother on the throne below, delightfully laughing at the idea. He was always hungry, after all.
Having gotten the message, Amata grabbed hold of any shinobi she could get a hold of an ordered them to come with her. She didn't waste a lot of time seeking out everyone, she merely sent out more messages and grabbed who she could in passing, snagging this one and that one. Pulling them along and making her way with great speed toward the Daiymo's palace. She is already ordering a few to spread out and not hesitating to lead the way toward this place. The pace would be fast and even as they are moving and more join in with the group she had put together, Amata is merely focusing on the area ahead.
In her right hand, the needle blade, Nuibari, is held at the ready, its wire flicking a little in the wind as she moves, moving softly against her lab coat and pressing into her other hand. "Be prepared. We will face heavy resistance to even make it to the palace itself." She nods her head, "We will not halt to take any prisoners nor will we show mercy. All enemies have chosen to give up their lives to us by the mere act of joining this foolish group that dares stand against us. Feel nothing when you slaughter them and think nothing more of them once they are dead." And even as they arrive at the capital, she is already focusing her chakra in preparation.
Akane had been there when the call came in and Amata had snagged her as she headed off. An attack ont eh Daimyo's palace required a medic, pregnant or not. So she came. Her long crimson hair was up in it's many hairsticks and her black clothes fit her as if tailored for her new shape. Her belts were slung low to avoid pressure on the baby. As she ran behind Amata, she gathered her chakra about her like a cloak. There was one addition, though. A white mask with blackened eyes that covered her expressions and eyes completely. It was decorated with tears of blood and a pattern marking her as Kirigakure. Around her throat were her crystal pendant with the Okumo crest and her Hitai-ate and at her hip was that brand marking her as Ishino's. She followed Amata closely.
Kokuro stands with the others gathered in to answer the distress call, preferably sticking close to her fellow Genin. She wrings her hands out nervously and looks towards the village they were going to be rescuing before looking back to Amata as she briefs them. She quickly offers a trembling nod, and looks down at her feet. She takes a deep breath and tightens her fists to steady her nerves. "Feel nothing…u-understood." She closes her eyes and begins to gather her chakra, quietly murmuring to herself, "Remember what the Mizukage-dono told you…you aren't good with taijutsu…stay at a distance at all cost, and help your teammates whenever you have an opening…it's all about balance."
He was on the heels of the shinobi ahead of him. The difference in training was obvious—he was trudging. Full speed ahead. His armor was exposed fully, his shoulders completely in the open as he had already thrown his robe behind him mid-sprint. The sound he was making was deafening to him as each piece of armor slammed into each other on his shoulders…
Oda was running. And he was running full power to keep up. His eyes were narrowed and his face serious. He had gotten Amata's alert only by passing at the right moment. He didn't think twice about not responding. He wasn't wearing his blade on his hip, instead he had the whole sheath in his hand to prevent dropping it. He barrels across the ground, not audibly panting. He's slower than the others, it can't be helped. He just looks up as he sees others jumping over him, some familiar faces too that he didn't know responded as well.
This was his first time responding to a threat since taking time off to aide in the rice fields.
Kasuya was in the right place at the right time to hear the message and fall in beside Amata. She'd actually give the Seven a short smile. The Kumo nin looks tired before they even go, though that's in the norm. And after a quick check of her equipment she's ready to go, and matching speed with the rest. She'd look over at Hiei, her team leader, then back to Amata. "Yes, Amata-san," she says. Kiri's orders seem to align with what Kumo had in mind anyway. She's looking around at all the party, sizing them up, and wears a set frown. "At last we'll face one another," she says, but she's not totally displeased. Cold hearted as it is, she's looking forward to facing them in a foreign country instead of her own villages.
Having worked out a deal with the Mizukage for when the Silence attacked, Hiei was among the group heading for the palace. He had been in a perpetual state of 'portaled-off' since the attack on Kumo. Running along with the group, he is silent for now. He was focusing on the task ahead. Today would be the day that he would finally get retribution. And it was going to taste sweet.
One of the several junior shinobi that Amata had found and had been willing to follow her was another Okumo, but a younger one. While running behind the swordsman, Naoya tenses and relaxes his limbs rapidly one at a time, encouraging his brood to respond quickly. The smaller members of the brood began to crawl out from his limbs and wrap a layer of silken fibers against his bare skin, seemingly causing him to move more swiftly.
Shifting his attention towards the woman, he nods his head lightly twice but didn't speak. The young Okumo slips a hand down to his side, flipping a pouch on his hip, letting his finger quickly check in inventory of the items within.
Yuuka was one of the many Kirigaure shinobi that were ordered, assisting Amata in gathering people before they sped towards the Daiymo's palace. Moving with blurring speed through the treetops together as one. Her own Kubikiribocho, the Decapitating Carving Knife, was held fast to her back, appearing large and awkward on her petite frame, though the Kaguya moves like it wasn't even there.
Amata's fighting words elicit a small, dangerous smirk, though there is no reply. No mercy indeed. Yuuka chuckles lightly to herself, exhaling a longer breath as she feels her energy gather and build inside of her gut. They were all ready.
Naruko beg and pleaded to go on a journey, and with Kasuya and Hiei being in Kirigakure, having a nice group of strong people just sort of fit in this instance. Trouble wasn't necessarily something Naruko was expecting, though it wasn't something she was going to avoid either after the capital of the Land of Water was attacked. Carefully the young Uzumaki attempted to keep up her pace, following closely behind Kasuya and Hiei as they both lead the way. She herself also maintained quiet vigilance, sniffing the air for anything that might catch her attention, unfortunately all she could catch was the vile stench of death. "Ugh…perhaps this was a bad idea huh?" Naruko comments, looking at their Kiri-counter parts. A little sympathetic to their situation and cause.
Peering up at Tsuneo as he hangs around like a monkey, Yuuma smirks slightly and takes another sip. "You come up with the most entertaining excuses for your gluttony, Otouto," he says, seeming a bit amused. "I'm sure we'll have company soon enough, but, if you're that hungry, feel free to absorb one of them to sate yourself before the battle. I doubt they'll actually make it all the way to us any time soon anyway." Just as he speaks, a man adorned in black would run in and hand him a scroll, Yuuma taking his time to open it and glance it over. "Well, well, brother. It seems we might get some entertainment sooner than expected." After a quick glance over the scroll, he looks up at the man and says, "Tell them to give the signal for Formation R."
A moment later, an eerie blue glow would come from the gates of the castle that seems to illuminate the entire town. One not familiar with the group might wonder just what the purpose of this is, if perhaps it's some kind of malevolent jutsu. However, its intent is soon known to simply be a signal more than likely as arrows begin to fly into the sky from walls of the palace in mass numbers, starting to rain down on shinobi and one after another as well as any citizens of the capital who might happen to have been brave enough to come outside their homes or wherever they happen to be hiding. Not much time is spared from the next attack either, as men begin to stand up from various rooftops around the village, shedding their shields that covered their bodies from the arrows and moving through a series of handseals. Half blow out massive gusts of wind while the other half breathe out fireballs that are accelerated and amplified exponentially by the help of the wind to send a massive wave of deadly flame throughout the streets of the city, leaving little room for escape to anyone of lesser skill.
Tsuneo grins as his brother offers another 'sacrifice', tilting his head to look down at the group cowering in the corner amidst a few already drained bodies of their friends and co workers. About to take his brother up on the offer, he watches curiously as one of the men come to report to Yuuma. When his brother announces some fun was coming their way, Tsuneo decides to hold onto the little element he had picked up for now, unless he saw something tastier in the coming battle, that is. "Remember to save some of the more prime food for us, brother." he says as he drops from the rafter and lands on the ground, crouched, looking out the door at the action about to begin.
Even as the blue glow comes out, Amata looks back, "Hush…it has begun." She then looks forward as the arrows start to be fired then looks quickly over to see the attacking enemies starting to use Jutsu as well. Even as she zips through the attacks like they weren't even happening, she arrives right before Akane, looking back at the others here, even as she looks back one hand is out, a wall of spiders coming out around behind her taking the hits for her as she calls out, "Now is the time to attack! Genin! Your task is first to save the citizens and get them in their homes! Attack as enemies get in your way but save the citizens first."
Even as she speaks, her skin begins to take on a grey, almost black hue as two extra arms push out and push back her lab coat, stretching out and flexing their fingers as they grasp for the wire of Nuibari and she looks around, "The rest of you, kill every last one of these Silence Buffoons as we make our way to the palace and murder their leaders here and now!" She then seems to blur away, disappearing with great speed as she appears on a rooftop near by where an unlucky trio of Ninjutsu users may end up finding themselves pierced by Nuibari through their centers before her two extra arms seem to show their evil work as they were weaving the wire of Nuibari about them in passing and she suddenly pulls the wire taught…which may end up cutting them down or possibly in half.
Akane was behind Yuuka and Amata, taking up the proper position for a medic and glanced around. her mask kept her face hidden but she reached out a warm, firm hand to Kokuro. "TStay back with me. We're here to keep our soldiers on their feet and alive, no more. Leave the slaughter to those of us who are made for it." She thumbed toward Yuuka and Amata and Hiei and the other higher ranked shinobi present. "All great warriors, we are their backup."
The blue glow got Akane's attention and she turned but before the attacks could hit her, Amata was there defending for her. She patted the Okumo on the shoulder in silent thanks and stepped up her game. Her eyes were completely hidden, but that didn't stop her from adding to her battle prowess. She flashed through several handseals and brought up two fingers to her mough, the only part of her face uncovered and exhaled a huge ball of flame, aiming to strike many opponents at once. That completed she would retreat once more.
Kokuro looks over at Naoya and tries to offer him a tiny smile, but there's still absolute terror in her eyes over the situation. She takes a few steps to stay by Akane's side, looking over her with concern. "I-I'll try to do everything I can to share some of your burden out there Akane-chan…U-um…Doihara-san…told me of your condition…" When they set out, she remains silent, but becomes transfixed by the blue glow coming from the palace. "W-woah…" Amata's words snap her back to reality and she nods her head, "Understood." She brings her hands up to form a series of seals, creating two clones by her side that try to dash away with her from the volley of arrows and fire through the streets.
Unfortunately, the two clones immediately poof away in a cloud of smoke and Kokuro is left unable to scale a building in time to avoid it. She gasps in pain and scrambles the rest of the way up onto the building. She snaps off an arrow shaft to keep it from getting in the way, but the more severe of her wounds appears to be melting away gradually. "Leave…slaughter to soldiers…have to stay with Akane-chan and…save who I can." She looks around and manages to find Akane breathing fire in the distance. She runs over the roof tops, but spots some citizens around the way. She tries to drop down to them and reassures them, "I-it's going to be ok. Please come with me and I can escort you to safety."
Being the slowest is not always the best, especially when even he can hear the screaming starting ahead. Oda skids down a small alley as the smell of smoke crosses his nose. That's when his eyes narrow as he can feel the tension in the air exploding. He looks upwards for no visible reason before bending down and launching himself upward in a mighty jump straight up. Kokuro would hear the loud clang of his sheath and glove grabbing the side of the roof of one of the buildings she was running across and by. Oda vaults himself upwards onto the roof only to really get a good look…
He didn't need to look long before he would just take in a long, deep breath. He looks directly at Akane's location a second later as the fireballs are launched. That's where the trouble was, and that's where he was going. The unfortunate part was the first of the intruders he came across.
Oda immediately throws his sheath off of his blade, darting to the right of the masked enemy. The power of his swing would send him spinning almost clumsily off of the roof and down to the street. Hit or miss, he was trying to maneuver the streets and paths themselves. He knows not to get into the open as he criss-crosses towards his goal.
The reinforcements have arrived, only to find that there are far fewer people to back up. Kasuya rubs her neck and sighs as she looks around. Naruko earns a long glance. "It was a bad idea for The Silence," she says. "Kiri's military preparations aided us in answering swiftly with this force. But don't let your guard down for an instant." She stands neutrally, just taking in the scene for awhile. It's then that the attacks come raining down, and Kasuya takes a quick sidestep to Naruko. She goes through a few quick hand seals and a gust of wind whirls around them, deflecting the attacks.
"Be careful what you get into, Naruko," she says. "If you're in trouble come to me or better yet retreat from this battleground." She is making more hand seals as she talks, generating orbs of lightning which she flings at one of the enemy shinobi, moving forward to face him, with a quick look at Oda.
When Amata began giving orders, Hiei looks over at her and nods promptly. "Understood." In this situation, he had no issues taking instruction from a Kiri shinobi. He was a soldier first and foremost. When the arrows rain down on his location, he attempts to dodge them all, but some of them stick into his shoulder and his thigh. Hiei ignores the pain, yanking them out and then the fireball seems to engulf him. In actuality, Hiei accelerated so quickly that he left an afterimage in his wake. The real Hiei runs up the side of the wall, aiming for the shinobi archers. When he makes it to the top, he flings out his arms to the side, attempting to pop their heads off like grapes.
The boy's body tenses as the webbing around him is drawn snug against him when chakra began to surge through it. A hazed focus sets into Naoya's eyes as he says, "You focus on the villagers, I'll act as a decoy and draw their fire." For a moment, the young teen glances towards Kokuro for confirmation but then quickly jumps back, narrowly dodging the first bolt fired at him, the second shot anticipated his movements and cuts into his calf painfully.
Leaping forward, the young Okumo begins to rapidly run up the wall as if it was the ground. From the higher vantage point, he fishes out a set of shurikens from his hip pouch. Using a mix of his own silk and that of his spiders, the edges of the blades become covered in a thin film of silken mesh. Focusing his attention onto a pair of oddly garbed men, likely silence members within the city, he hurls the blade, two at the first man and the last one for the one close to him.
Yuuka blinks her bright eyes once as an ominous blue light begins to glow from behind the gates of the castle, though there isn't a chance to wonder what it could be as soon hundreds of arrows are let loose into the sky. The Kaguya couldn't help the subtle, dark smirk that teases at her lips as she exchanges a glance with Amata, chuckling lightly to herself as the Swordswoman pushes for more speed, turning momentum into fluid grace as she dances effortlessly around arrows. With the castle on high alert now, fire and window blooms across the rooftops, down into the streets themselves at whoever.
Twin ivory blades fully formed in each hand, Yuuka jumps across the rooftops as well, already throwing the arching Camellia swords at their targets, the boomerang blades slicing anything and anyone in their path.
Naruko wasn't at all expecting hell to rain down upon them so quickly…But it did. However, before she could even react, Kasuya had already stepped in and sweeped up the attacks in a gust of awesomeness. "Kasu…ya-sama…" Naruko blinked somewhat bewildered as she looked up at the ensuing battle before them. Run back home? The thought did cross her mine but she knuckled down and shook her head negatively. "I won't… I will stick to this fight but I will stay close. I know I can do this," she finally replies back while focusing chakra throughout her body. A series of clones began to poof into existence, each of them running straight into the fray of combat. Naruko herself was safe out of harms way, letting her clones do all the talking!
Meruin idly stretched out a hand.
The Mizukage stood at the edges of the capital, his misted gaze turned towards the center and the combat. They lit with the light of the azure signal sent through the sky.
"Mm…"
He considered his course of action. Briefly, the thought of infiltrating the palace in solitude crossed his mind. Knowing how powerful the two brothers were however, he'd decided the danger wouldn't be worth the time. For one, perhaps, but if anything went wrong and he had to take on both at once, he would likely have a difficult time surviving.
The flames and arrows thrown into the sky cemented his decision. Attempting an assassination may lead to more lost forces than he was comfortable with, regardless. So he traveled, flickering forward along the city's rooftops until he appeared in the air, soaring down towards the wall contested by both allied forces and Silence foes.
His body seemingly exploded, hidden in a deluge of spider silk and black shrapnel. The cloud of jagged chitin spread out from him, spreading out so that it only rained down on Silence, each of the many deliberately placed.
"KIRIGAKURE! TAKE AND HOLD FIRM AT THE WALL!"
The man landed atop the edge of the wall in a low crouch, standing straight and clearly visible.
The position of the silence members wasn't at all difficult to determine. There was a total of three defensive lines. One in the streets of town, another in the palace grounds and castle roofs, and lastly would be palace interior, from weakest to strongest. Not all silence members appeared to be shinobi, some of them were fighters of the traditional sort, but all of them was certainly battle ready.
The first bit of resistance was in the city streets itself, and the assault by Kirigakure and Kumogakure yielded an astounding amount of initial casualties. The first flank of scorching fire balls surged through the and piling into various Silence operatives, combined with a second assault from a Sevensword, cutting off the ninjutsuist from the roofs. Even Oda managed to knock one of the members clean off the roof, after a botched counter attack. Further mixed attacks had caused quite a bit of chaos to ensue along the city streets, the silence members began revert closer to the palace walls, even more so as their members began to drop by the dozens… The strike force was proving to be quite successful. At least for now. Next was the counter attack however as the walls became more fortified and even more arrows began to dot the skies and rain down upon the force as a whole. Those moving along the walls had even more focus. A series of Silence ninjutsuist began to form a massive stream of water chakra which was let loose over the side, an attempt to awash oncomers and wreck them under the force of a mighty water fall.
It makes sense that the shinobi of Kirigakure would send word to their allies in Suna, right? Of course! That's the whole reason Akiko is over here. Yes, it's mostly to scope out the situation and report back to people like Kuoroke, Tsuchi, and the Kazekage, but if she actually gets into trouble, she'll put up a decent fight. The girl is accompanied by Kotone, her companion falcon. Kotone is flying above, a bit ahead of the Hayato. It takes a while to even get to the Land of Water! However, the fact Akiko was already close to the border of Water and Wind likely helped lessen the entire journey.
The girl gets to the whole scene late, and even then she's about a mile or so away from the fighting. The only reason she can see it is because she and Kotone are communicating what they see to each other constantly, and the Hayato has chakra flowing to her eyes to improve her vision. It's here that she takes a break and gets ready for the chaos that she's about to enter. Bow? Check. Arrows? Check. Seals? Check. Kotone? Check. Everything's in order, so she decides to get closer to the fighting.
Holding firm at the wall. Sounds like a solid plan. At this point, all energy has been placed in reserve, but now it's probably the best time to let it all out and prepare to dish it out for a more important endeavor. Isra flips her blade around and slams it into the ground, causing an explosion to disperse the enemies around her. Free of the menace for now, she takes what precious freedom she has to concentrate her energy and circulate it to enable for more effortless battle. So to speak, at least. This isn't exactly something that doesn't come with difficulties.
It came as a rumble.
A great clatter of earth and rock underneath the battlefield. But the epicenter did not arrive beneath the attacking forces. Nay. Behind them it was. A great cry of one that wishes for the ceased breath of the brothers, and everything that they stand for.
For that stance was inexcusably Ogosokamaru's own stance years ago. And he has learned since then, a great many things including the importance of friends, and the villages themselves.
"..we will succeed.." comes the great cry from behind the attacking lines.
And above them, a great boulder, hewn from the earth by hand and fist, dredging it up like a mighty volcano. But the artefact will not stop there.
It merely begins…
Ogosokamaru puts every effort he has into hurtling the boulder at the wall. An entrance is needed for good manners when you have guests. His body glowed from the highest level of transformation he has from birthright in his clan. Let's just hope this works as well as he planned.
After which, he'd be the final line of attack, giving orders where required.
Within the palace, Yuuma sits on the throne, reading reports from various scouts amidst the capital on the current situation outside and sending orders back to coordinate counter-attacks. Finally another man comes with another piece of paper. Yuuma looks at it and grins slightly before looking to Tsuneo and the ex-Hunter nearby. "The hatch has been found. Kill the guards and make sure this man gets out of the city with the Daimyo before you come back, brother. Crush any who try to follow him before you come back to me."
Tsuneo exhales slowly, his breath visible even though it wasn't a particularly cold day. He had been watching the battle from the palace and all it had done for him so far is get him more excited for when the back up reaches the palace. His fingers were itching, his palm ached for more chakra like it always did. But this time was a bit different. This time he had to watch what he ate as he had latched onto something delicious. Since awakening, this was the first time he had found something delicious, and he never would've guessed he would find it in the Land of Water out of all the large continent worth of shinobi. He turns and walks towards the inner palace, looking back at one of the drained bodies of guards they had fought. He felt warm, really warm, but he was sure it was only a side effect.
"You know, brother. I don't think any of the recruits will make it out this time. I'm almost ashamed to say that I will miss a few of the stronger ones helpfulness." Tsuneo says as he strolls across the hall to the meeting area where the Daimyo usually would be seated greeting important guests and his brother was seated currently. He had no taste for thrones and power, it wasn't in his humble upbringing. He saw the seat as more of a problem than a symbol of power and would just as soon burn it right there and then. His eyes briefly flash with rage as he recalls an old memory, his mood turning sour until his brother speaks. Hunting a Daimyou, killing guards. Sounded like a distraction from sitting around, at least. "Right away, brother." he says with a grin before he moves off with the ex-Hunter.
Rushing along the streets, Amata is directing various shinobi as best she can till she hears the call of her Meruin call out in the distance and she finally nods before simply realizing that all attention is to be focused inward now. No questions. She stops atop one of the many buildings of the capital, her eyes closing a moment before she slowly opens them as she breathes out, looking at the various enemies firing at her. Even as the attacks close in on her position, she suddenly disappears in a great deal of speed as attacks fail around her, her position slipping this way and that, zipping through the streets and along rooftops, occasionally chunk of building falling off as her form hits a few buildings on her way to the Wall.
Even as she reaches the wall, her path having attacked roughly 10 shinobi and several corners of the buildings, piercing walls in passing. As she arrives next to Meruin and the wall, she looks over at him and then nods her head, "Mizukage." She then uses her lower hands to yank the wire taught. Behind her those shinobi hit by her unlucky enough to not have avoided the attack will feel the wire cut through them in a vicious fashion as she pulls the wire taught behind her. In the path she took behind her the guttural screams of some shinobi might be heard, a few that died perhaps hanging by wire like some form of macabre paper lantern hung as a decoration in the streets.
Akane did her best to keep to the back, watching Kokuro as the girl left her side to follow the order to evacuate and protect eh civilians. Akane sweatdropped a bit. She didn't think they meant for the other healer to go into the thick of battle, but that was neither here nor there at that moment. She glanced up and spotted Oda as well near Kokuro, but then he leapt and swung in an attack and her attentionw as pulled elsewhere. This was going to be impossible to keep track of everyone. But that wouldn't stop her from trying.
The Kumo shinobi seemed to be holding their own, but she tried to keep an eye on everyone all at once. It was a bit overwhelming and she had to stop and focus her mind. It was a trick she'd learned, finding stillness in the chaos, the calm within her heart could ease the stress pressing from without. The world seemed to be quieter then….
And then the world exploded before her.
Meruin landed ahead of her in a cloud of swirling shrapnel, chitin flying through the air, expertly directed at the foe. Akane's exposed mouth twitched up in a dark smirk as she felt the thrill of standing in battle by the Mizukage. The medic shifted so she was more behind Meruin and Amata. For the first time in a very very long time she felt Kyoujin within her call and found herself lifting a fist and raising her voice in an unworded battle cry.
The great boulder that flew through the air got her to turn her head for a moment but then she was dodging arrows. She seemed to fade in and out, an arrow falling where she had been a moment before, ending with her beside Meruin and just behind. on one knee, but prepared to move again. AShe lifted her mostly masked face to look at Meruin then looked out ahead of her and brought her breath of fire to bear once more.
Kokuro blinks but nods at Naoya in understanding as she tries to help guide the civilians to a break in the wall created by the Silence minions' thorough attacks before. She cries out in pain when an arrow lodges itself in her leg, but she just forms some hand seals to create some clones. They are enough to confuse the archer's next shot, so Kokuro is able to flee to a safe spot to break the arrow again. She grits her teeth and pants in an attempt to catch her breath. She looks up when she hears the Mizukage, and immediately looks for Naoya to accompany him on the way to the wall. "Are you in pain Naoya-san? If you need, I can offer my blood…my wounds…pass on their own fairly quickly for now…"
More arrows rain down, and Kasuya springs out of the way to avoid the first shot. Although the second shot is enough to graze her arm. She's keeping an ear out for the events around the battlefield. Battlements are being shaken, commanders are calling out, and a dozen battles are going on at the same time. "It's fairly inspiring," Kasuya comments.
Kasuya doesn't bother with subtlety after that. She's gathering a huge ball of lightning, so dense it looks more like shining metal than electricity. Then she'd lob it right at the wall. All it needs to do is go through a small squad of the enemy. They can either be valiant (or too slow) and take the straightforward attack, or let the wall have the attack blast a hole through it. Well, in theory.
"Where are enemy commanders?" she wonders. Half the reason they're doing fairly well is because the top tier aren't active amidst their subordinates, like Kiri's commanders are.
Hiei doesn't stop his movement after his attacks are finished. In fact as arrows block out the sun yet again, he employs his afterimage technique to dodge the first volley. He tucks and rolls as arrows hit the area where his body just vacated to dodge the second. He reaches over his shoulder and draws both his katana and his wakazashi. A bright blue aura surrounds his body just before it seems like the water washes over him. Once again, Hiei accelerates quickly to leave an afterimage in his place. The real Hiei approaches the area near Meruin. The first Silence shinobi he comes across he brings both swords to bear, slashing out at the same time.
Continuing to move, he slams the hilts of his swords together and twists. There is an audible click as they lock in place. Hiei hears the voice of his Raikage, and that alone inspires him to take his craft to the next level. Using the Yotsuki technique passed down to him from his ancestors, his aura intensifies and is joined by a spark of lightning that seems to flow off his body. Hiei's sword staff glows neon blue as he begins rapidly fighting within the melee. The traces of his neon blue blades can be seen by those in the area as he attempts to deal death and destruction, Kumo style.
Hiei yells for Kasuya and then points, letting the other shinobi know where he is. "We need another plan. This is taking too long!"
The more the boy moved the more fluid his movements seem to become, or the more poorly the archers would track him. Turning his head to the side he shouts back, "Just scratches. Try to lead them out through a back way. I'll back back if it gets too thick." A faint, smile was on his lips though it seemed forced before looking ahead towards a building in front of him before scaling it.
Looking around from the vantage point, Naoya looks around the city quickly, trying to not stay still for too long. After noticing another grouping of insurgent fighter, he kicks off from his post and leaps over head. The young Okumo's strike was free form, using a down heel to try to land on the first's head or shoulder before moving to keep pressure onto the other two by his first target.
Her laughter filled the air as Yuuka continues to slash through rooftop assailants. The sudden waterfall of water became an immediate problem however, more arrows raining down upon the masses. With inhuman grace and speed, she dances away from arm, avoiding arrows and the thunderous wave of water. The sudden voice thunders overhead, and the Kaguya doesn't have to look back to see who it is, to recognize the voice of Kirigakure's Mizukage. Her slight smirk grows and she doesn't hesitate to push off into the air, dashing back to the wall while her body surges with more energy. "More…" Yuuka mumbles to herself, laughing again while another set of ivory blades from from beneath the flesh of her hands. The nearest enemies are met with another unhindered attack.
Naruko's clone's didn't seem to have much effect on these shinobi… Were they really that much stronger than her? It wasn't that much surprising and even more so that she wasn't able to defend against a massive wave of arrows piercing about her body. The young Uzumaki dropped to one knee, blood pooling from her upper lip as she attempts to shake away the pain, a second vitality began to take over, a flash of azure and black cloak pulsating about her body, her features had become slightly more feral though there wasn't any reaction or movement yet… She wasn't going to be able to scale those walls until they broke, hopefully that wouldn't be a problem much longer. Until then, her radiating chakra simply began to lick away her wounds.
Meruin's body turns a sheenless black as dark as the abyss, the arrows of the enemy crushing against it, unharming and unmoving his resolute form. He turns his gaze to the side, watching as Amata appears before him. The simple shift of the arm resulting in death and screams draws a small smirk from the man and he inclines his head to his Sword. "Nuibari."
He arches a brow, wrly saying, "You've grown."
The woman had taken on more arms when he wasn't looking, it'd seemed, growing into her Okumo heritage. And by the dusky tone of her skin, it'd seem she was hardening as well. It was good to see and a matter that could be further commented on later. As it was…
"This is well. I'll need you to take charge of our forces. A frontal assault on fortified positions can swiftly get costly. There are other ways in." He lightly shrugs a shoulder, flames blossoming from behind him. "Even if they are meant to be a way out. We'll stay in contact through spider communication. From when I leave to when I return, you are in charge. Take this opportunity to prove yourself."
Spiders left him, both black and white as he turned, arm whipping and shattering another arrow sent their way. They moved to Amata and his attention turned towards the flame haired woman kneeling behind him, looking down into the mask. To her, he only nodded and said, "Take care and keep the both of you alive."
He paused before he left, looking to Amata with final orders. "Conserve more energy where you can. You tire too swiftly. And keep Kaguya Yuuka killing but alive. Use her but do not use her up."
And then he vanished to appear on the other side of Hiei, meeting him halfway. He swept the blood off of the ebony blade he held in hand, walking towards the Yotsuki amidst the corpses of those he'd cleared from around Hiei to speak with him. "Yotsuki; I need you to keep a constant distraction here while I seek to enter the palace another way, and I need you to let me borrow Kasuya to do it."
It is only now that he turned to look to the tossed boulder, examining what should be its impact.
"Can you do these things?"
Akiko does her best to get to closer to the main battle, keeping to the far edges of the combined Kiri-Kumo force that attacked just now. Hopefully with all the chaos, she can keep a low profile and just watch from afar. Of course, being near the battle puts her in range of the archers, so she has Kotone watch the skies for her. The Hayato grips her bow tightly in preparation for… well, pretty much anything! She doesn't know what to expect. All the encounters with the Silence were simple goons, though it seems that's all there is around her. She wishes she wasn't the only Suna-nin here, but … it is what it is. Stealthily she moves towards the battle…
Isra watched the hail of arrows as they drowned out the sky falling into the city. She was only just out of range and counts herself mildly lucky. The arrows could come back at any time in the future seeing how many there were laying assault. Seeing as how the wall needed to come down, she sought to add her own hand into the mix, but all of that was temporarily tossed out of mind when she witnessed the massive boulder forming. This thing was going to put out the wall? Good, but she didn't want to be anywhere in its path. But what she /could/ do is follow in its wake and adding an extra kick to the already powerful attack.
She had to take a longer way around, but it was necessary in order to prevent her from coming into contact with that gargantuan waterfall. Upon finding her way to ground level, she withdrew her blade and prepared to light the wall and any enemies up in a display. "Shibuki reporting for duty!" She called out as she slinged the ream of explosives forward to strike the wall.
The shattering boulder which slammed into the walls created an earth shattering dent into the exterior of the stone. Noticing the weakness the wall, silence shinobi quickly began to pull up a barrier of water, joining together to shrug off the attacks attempting to penetrate through the walls and a few attacks to those who managed to slip through their defenses. There was a noteable decline in Silences's defenses but still the maintained their ground, pushing the fight along the wall further with the use of not only water, but not wind as well. A series of shinobi began to take point on the center of the wall, focusing their chakra into a deadly water spout and rocking the air with heavy winds to push them assaulters back. Others decide to take the fight more personal, brandishing their blades and honning in for a quick slash, mostly those who were still on the lower levels.
As yet another report comes his way, Yuuma peers at it, blinking a few times and canting his head. Not one but two Kage and a few Swordsman/Jounin level shinobi have come to try to win this fortress back. "Well, this day might be a little more fun than anticipated," he says, smirking a bit and picking up his bottle of sake to down it then toss it behind him to crash into the wall and fall in pieces onto the floor. Looking over at one of the men nearby, he says, "Hey, one of you found the Daimyo's special sake stash earlier, right? Go grab me another bottle. Seems like we're going to have an interesting evening."
The ex-Hunter leads Tsuneo through the hidden passage the Daimyo uses to escape when the city is under siege, kept secret from all but a very select few he trusts. As the duo make their way towards the light of the exit, Tsuneo can hear guards armor clanking and muffled voices ahead. "Looks like we made good time. You secure the Daimyo and make sure he is gone far away from the city like planned, I will deal with the stragglers." he says as he quickens the pace, catching up to them just outside the tunnel's exit, which appears to be in a nearby marsh area.
"Mister Daimyo sama, running away won't protect you from the attacks of Kirigakure, you know. I encourage you to stop and take appropriate measures by going quietly to safety with my man here before they find you." he calls out as he pops out of the tunnel, engaging the guards. He slaps an explosive tag on one of the guards before kicking him into two others, the tag exploding and taking them out. The two remaining guards leap over the remains of the others and strike out with swords, the ex-Hunter nin quickly dispatching them with his own small hidden blades.
Tsuneo approaches the cowering Daimyo and leans down to get a good look at him. "You know, as a leader of a Country, you sure have let the Shinobi threat breed and breed to the point that they are now taking over your land. Aren't you lucky that people like us are around to help you normal folks out?" he says, a wide, slightly insane looking smile on his face. "Take him to the camp. see to it that no one follows you." he says as he stands up and addresses the ex-Hunter. "And be quick."
With the Daimyou found, his brother's instructions were to come back to him, and so the younger Fuzen heads back into the hidden escape route, a little less eager than he was.
The swordswoman watches her Mizukage and then gives a salute, "It will be, Mizukage. Do what you need to do." She nods her head and then she reaches down to allow the spiders into her lab coat. Amata then turns in time to see the incoming attacks, she squints as she watches them coming but sees two that are particularly powerful heading right for Akane. Low on breath and such, she rushes along quickly toward Akane, catching her in her grasp and stating, "Hang on." She is smashed in the back for her troubles, nearly stumbling but then rushing up to a building top and despositing here there, "I need stamina and chakra, if you can provide." Even as she lets Akane do her work, shielding her if more attacks come, she looks out at the shinobi attacking the nearby wall.
"Hiei! Kasuya! Yuuka! Find an opening and break through! Kill any in your path." SHe then looks out at the others, turning her attention in time to see a shinobi preparing another waterspout and she slings her blade from her hand, sending it right toward him to skewer him and then rips it back, "The rest of you, not a single Silence member leaves our capital alive! No matter what they gain here, they will lose an army for it! They seek to change our way of life! Show them the way of DEATH!" She then looks toward the Palace.
Glancing over to Akane, it is clear Amata is hiding how tired she is, wincing some as she feels two of her ribs are broken. She licks her lips as she looks forward, "Move quickly, Akane. As soon as I'm healed, I will be going inside the palace as well and you will be on your own."
Akane watched the barrage of attacks on that inner wall through the black eyes of her mask, her lips set as she viewed all before her, keeping an eye on those of her comrades. She looked up as Meruin spoke to Amata and mentally nodded, agreeing that they should all be concerned with their chakra reserves. But she had a little surprise up her sleeve as well. She'd not been idle just because she was pregnant.
Hiei's approach got a glance but she simply turned to peer up at Meruin as he spoke. His simple command getting a simple nod in response. And that was all that need be said between them. She was not meant to be the core of anyone's battle plans save for herr abilities to heal those around her. She frowned, however, at the thought that Meruin would be going into danger with one of the Kumo nin. She looked after him, wishing she could go with him but knowing strategicly that was folly. She turned her masked face back to the battle….
And then her true reason for being there began. With Amata.
The water crashing toward her made the medic prepare to use her speed, hoping to run up the side of a building to avoid it, but then there was Amata and she ust obeyed the woman and held tight. By the time she got to the roof with Amata the wter was rushing past below like a tsunami and Akane could tell Amata needed aid. She'd taken a hit for Akane and the masked medic nodded. "Hold still a moment."
She lifted her hands, handseals flashing as she pressed her palms to Amata's shoulders and back. It didn't matter really where she placed her hands, the combination of lightning chakra and medical chakra was restricted to her hands as they glowed a sea green color. AThis treatment took some of her own energy and transferred it into Amata as well as automatically churning some of the created stamina into readily useable chakra. The contact didn't take long and it would kick in after a few moments on full. She shook her head as Amata said she'd be on her own. "I'll follow behind, deal with stragglers and help your group with healing and stamina. Meruin just told me to stay alive. I have not been touched yet." Shortly after she laid her hands on Amata she urged her forward with a "Go."
Kokuro tries to maintain her clones to keep the archers distracted whilst she holds strong with the others on the wall. She gets arrows lodged into her, but she doesn't have time to really focus on them. Her attention is drawn to Akane and Amata, seeing Amata took quite the blow from the strong sprout of water. "I-I'm going down to help Akane-chan." She leaps down from the wall and retrieves a kunai to slice her palm. She gingerly applies it to Amata's skin like a salve and lets it have its healing effects over her. "M-my blood still isn't potent like Kiji-sama's is, but it'll help when you find a way into the palace." She looks back at Akane and bows quickly, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep up with you before, but I'm here now. Where you go, I go."
Kasuya watches as her thunder cannon explodes against a solid wall of water, almost breaking through, but then fizzles out. She ought to aim directly for the water source next time, and let the conducted electricity fry all the enemies nearby. In fact, she's preparing for that. But it's then that the Mizukage approaches Hiei, to give him directions. She has to smirk when the Mizukage calls him Yotsuki. If he were in Kumo and said that, half the swordsmen would respond. When Hiei relays Meruin's orders, she nods and says, "Of course," before falling in beside Meruin. She applies a quick bandage while talking. "Mizukage-san, I'll use all my faculties to follow your orders." Her words are calm and deliberate; she doesn't exude any battle rage.
When Meruin approaches, Hiei salutes him briefly with his bloody blade. "Lord Mizukage." He listens to his plan and nods once. "Of course." He turns. "Kasuya! Change of plan, you're with the Mizukage!" He adds in a lower voice once the Kumo kunoichi is within range. "Be careful." He detaches his swords and turns to face the wall while spinning them in his hands. "Good luck to you both." He states before his body vanishes..a gust of wind billowing up in his wake as he heads back into the thick of the fray.
The Kumo General was having the time of his life. It had been way too long since he's been in a battle like this. Not since the Hitokage campaign in the Land of Tea. Hiei sheathes his shorts sword but keeps his katana in hand. It was time to mix it up a little. He shuffles from side to side to avoid the water spout and hones in on where the wall is weakest. He runs in that direction as the first two fingers on his free hand begin to crackle with lightning. He thrusts his fingers forwards as a large lightning bolt flies from his hand. Then he takes a two-handed grip on his katana as he hones in on the shinobi guarding the palace door. He increases his speed at the last moment before his attack, his body seeming to blur past as he slides to a stop several feet past his opponent. "Knock..knock.."
The young Okumo doesn't back away when the first of the pair of fighters slashes at him. Naoya dashes closer, almost getting into the man's face in an instant before shifting to the side, quickly palm striking at the man's elbow sideways. Unfortunately the movement doesn't leave the teen with much room to avoid the second strike, which cuts into his side.
Trying to stay close to the the man he intercepted, he lowers down slightly, striking forward with his elbow to the man's sternum. Trying to keep the pressure on both of the fighters, the teen raises a foot and stomps down suddenly. What would normally be a normal splash quickly swells the water under his feet from the surrounding road as he tries to wash the two away.
As if Yuuka needs protection. Nor does the Kubikiribocho plan on holding back for whatever reason there may be. Blood is being spilled, by her hand. That's all that matters. It sings to her every time she slices so effortlessly through each body, falling in her wake as she dances.
Yet more water thunders from the wall, trying to push back forces, including herself. Yuuka grits her teeth as she's hit head on, though already layer upon layer of bone is overlapping in front of her, shielding the Kaguya from the onslaught.
Amata's words do elicit a dark smirk. "Don't have to tell me twice." Yuuka murmurs, already preparing to push forward. No matter what it takes. Another dark chuckle ripples through her as she pushes off with several bursts of speed, blurring to create after-images of herself as even more bodies fall in her wake.
Eventually Naruko did snap out of her lingering, perhaps the pair of blades being swung in her direction. The blades appeared to cleave right through her until and, and another Naruko appeared and poofed with each assault, one of which attempted to explode right ontop of the individual. The real Naruko had launched herself into the air, spiraling down with her blue cloak bellowing behind her, spiraling fire take for by her side until she launches them down at her target, these honing missles strong and fast enough to overwhelm quick defenses… "Hmph…" Naruko growls quietly under her breath while peering up at the wall above… Hopefully it would come down as she couldn't get up there. "I hope Hiei and Kasuya-sama are doing okay…"
"Enjoy."
Meruin's words to Hiei just before the man took off to rejoin the battle. At Kasuya's words, the man nodded, eyes on the giant dent and small hole in the wall as well as the response the silence shinobi were giving. A waterspout — tornado of water, enhanced, it'd seem, by wind ninjutsu. Usually of fair effectiveness against large groups of enemies.
As it approached him, he settled into a crouch, tensing his form, muscles shifting in defense of impact. And when it hit… he noticed. Rocked backwards by the power of the assault he'd underestimated, the Mizukage lost his footing. Before he could get swept away, jagged spikes shot from his feet to keep him in place, chitin spreading along the rest of his body to serve as a buffer for the rest of the force. It passed, soon enough, and he shook it off, never bruising as he sent enough regenerative fluids into his body to prevent it.
Recovered, he looked to Kasuya and simply nodded and pointed in the general direction he would be heading. It was time to move off. And then he vanished. He reappeared on a building down the way, vanishing again. And again. Flicker-flicker-flicker through the city until he reappeared in the air, still garbed in chitin.
He fell swiftly, body growing bulkier as more and more chitin covers his body. He makes a handseal, winds around him shifting his course just a little. And then he crashed into the ground — and straight through it.
The Mizukage slowly rose to his full height, looking back up from where he'd burst midway into the Daimyo's escape tunnel. "Councilman," he spoke, spiders leaving him to keep watch on this section of tunnel and its new entrance. "Kasuya. We must move quickly."
Those words spoken, he begins heading towards the palace.
Looks like Akiko isn't as sneaky as she thought she was… Or it's really obvious that a person is moving among a bunch of corpses. Either way, she was spotted, and now she has to figure out a way to avoid the arrows coming down from above! She moves quickly to avoid them all, dodging one after another while still moving forward. Kotone flies off to the side, her claws fiddling a bit with the pouch attached to her leg. Once the falcon comes close-ish to the archers that had just attacked Akiko, Kotone releases the bag and out falls a number of explosive tags, pre-made by Akiko. The Hayato down below simply attempts to go back into hiding…
"Every share of fireworks has their duds sometimes," Isra grumbled, though her spirits seemed to be in good order. If one wasn't enough, try many. That's how displays tend to work out, right? Maybe. There have been bad displays and there is such a thing as multiple duds. Duds served their purposes too, though. "Let's try this again…" She began, but water began to leak down on her as she prepared. "Hey, hey!! This is interrupting—" Wait, leaking water wasn't supposed to be accompanied by roaring. She looked up to see two waterspouts approaching her. "Hm. Well, looks like there's gonna be a delay…" She buckles down and places her hand to the ground to draw up a seal of defense. Large barriers rose up around her and were followed by another barrier to ensure the latter could hold up. The waterspouts weren't going to get through and it was made more apparent as they slowly lost momentum and roped out. "That took a lot more energy than it should have," she huffed. With all that done, she decided to jump back to action and launch another attack from her blade with some gusto.
The shinobi forces finally began to leave their mark, decimating what was left of the wall's forces and sending it's center piece crumbling to the ground in a mess of debris and brittle stone. The door was wide open to the palace at this rate, and a few had already began to slip through. Anyone else however was met with an even stronger defense which began to bolster on the palace grounds (after those who entered entered). Those on the palace grounds and what remained of the wall were then attacked by and stronger force, these indvidiuals elite in their own right, bearing crimson cloaks along with their black attire. Like before, each silence shinobi performed their own unique attack, attempting to push their enemies back, the ones in the palace attempted to hold off the intruders for a little longer, this time with gouts of fire. They curious on when backup would finally arrive. Was the brothers leaving them to die?
Kuoroke appeared from a doorway near where Meruin impacted, and confidently strode towards the brand new hole in the ground. He dropped down and landed alongside the Mizukage, crouching slightly in the landing. Then, Kuoroke straightened and slightly adjusts the glasses that had slid down his nose in the drop. They briefly cught a glimmer of the red light coming from above. He replied simply, dispensing with formalities. "Yes, let's get going." Having, likewise, decided to dispense with his cloak already, he took it off and slung it over his shoulder in what may seem like a remarkably casual gesture were it not for the significance of the fact his cloak is off in the first place.
Taking more notes from various scouts, Yuuma emits a low 'hmm'. It seems some shinobi are starting to get through into the palace. It looks like they won't be able to hold off much longer without having to fight. He scans over some more of the information before picking up the bottle of sake he was brought and downing some of it. "… Almost time for the fun to start…"
Tsuneo had just stepped back into the Throne room of the palace when he stopped, hearing a giant crashing sound coming from within the tunnel. "What the hell.." he says as he peers back in and listens carefully, not picking up on anything. Even still, the Fuzen brother wasn't going to play it lackadaisically, better to be safer than surprised by some kind of pincer attack. Now was as good a time as any as the younger brother kneels down, placing his palm on the ground, the other reaching up to his mouth in a tiger seal. The ground begins to rumble in the tunnel's entrance before a giant wave of molten hot lava bursts forth, bubbling furiously, using gravity to head down the tunnel, roaring as the magma hits the air. The tunnel does split off near to the palace, so there is a chance that whatever was inside may be fast enough to get out of the way, but it better be quick. Tsuneo turns to face the Throne room hall and spots his brother, yelling. "The package is on its way."
Dashing this way and that, Amata takes a small cut but she's not terribly hurt by the attack. She simply looks at Akane and then at Kokuro before nodding to both, "Do what you can out here." She looks to the ones attack them, the trio of enemies upon the trio of shinobi and she flicks her blade out, trying to send it through each one, dashing between them so she catches the blade as it passes through. Each step she takes through the enemies she seems to be weaving the wire with the lower pair of arms she holds and as she finishes her triple step she grabs the wire with both of those lower hands tightly and reveals her plan as she had tried to weave the wire on to the shoulders of those enemy Silence members and literaly try to not only send the needle through their guts but slice through their necks with the wire.
A moment later she looks to the pair and nods, "Both of you fall back, get out of here. There's nothing more you can do. Both the Mizukage and Ishino-san would have my head if something happened." She then races off at high speed toward the palace to follow the others inside.
Akane looked up as Kokuro landed beside her and applied a bit of her blood to Amata's wounds. She nodded, her lips still set in battle but she tried a reassuring smile.. Unfortunately it came off as more strained but she'd tried. She shook her head at the girl's appology. "You did as you were commanded as we all should." Akane was tempted to send Kokuro with the other group or send her with Amata inside the keep while following meruin herself but… She chewed her lip and shook her head to clear her mind. No, Meruin told her to stay alive and if he had not asked her to follow him that meant he thought it too dangerous. So be it. She would follow Amata's group in. And take Kokuro with her as she could. AThe girl had enough arrows in her as it was.
Akane looked the girl over and frowned. She knew about the Shimizu healing abilities. Usually leaving the arrowheads in the wound for later proper removal was key to preventing excessive bleeding but with a regenerating clan like the Shimizu it could complicate things later. She turned to the girl. "You heal fast, you should remove those arrows before you heal around them or I will need to perform surgery later." She peered closer at them as she had already begun to heal around the arrows. "It's fine if you want to wait, Kokuro-kun. It might be easier to wait if you can still move alright as you are."
Then the attacks came in. Swords flashing to try and cut them apart. Akane knew she could move fast enough, condition or no condition, but Kokuro? She moved, seeming to disappear entirely before Kokuro would feel her lifted under one arm and Akane moved so fast the attackers missed her again. And again. Finally she set the girl back on her feet carefully.
Akane looked up, her black eyed mask turned as Yuuka smirked. There was a grace in the way she moved that belied the violence of her passing. Kyoujin gloried in it and the blood, urging Akane forward, urging her to fight, to kill, to spill the blood of her enemy and mark her mask with the blood of her foe. It was a voice she'd heard many times and a voice that suddenly found itself entwined with her own as Meruin was knocked backwards. Both tones entwined, a small nuanced inflection that only those close to her might recognise.
"~Meruin!~"
But just as fast as she felt her throat tighten she saw he had found his footing again. She shook herself mentally, scolding herself for her concern. He could take well care of himself, she decided.
Amata's orders were sour in her mouth. She scowled, her mouth forming a hard line, but She sighed and nodded. She would leave but first… She turned back to Amata then and once more poured chakra into the woman's system. Akane was concerned that she and Kokuro were the only two healers available at the moment for so many allies, but she would do as she could. Energy entered Amata and cycled through to chakra and stamina, raising her energy levels once more.
She commented then, "Amata-san, you will need to see me about those ribs. i assume it's your ribs… uh.. just by the way you were hit." She cleared her throat. "See me when you come out of there…" She watched as Amata turned to go in and felt herself twisted up inside. The order to fall back was a sour one…. She ws tempted to disobey. But instead she spoke to Kokuro. "Come." And she moved to retreat into an alcove atop one of the walls, looking to see if there were enemies in the battlement before entering it. She would wait there with Kokuro. It gave her a good view of the palace where Amata was headed and the place Meruin disappeared into…
Kokuro looks down at her wounds and grimaces a little. Many of the arrow wounds were already closed, there wasn't much she could do on the field. She nods at Akane in understanding and mumbles softly, "I feel alright…there are a few that've already closed…I'll join you at the medical center later to make sure they can be removed." She doesn't have much time to react to the swords, but thankfully Akane has her up and out've harm's way. She looks around then up at Akane quickly looking her over, "Akane-chan you aren't hurt r-right?.." She doesn't waste time waiting on an answer from Akane, and follows after her when they move to retrieve on the walls. She looks around for the others from where they are, trying to make sure there aren't any immediate injuries to tend to. "Their numbers are thinning…hopefully our soldiers won't have to fight much longer…"
Kasuya flinches when Meruin is hit, but blinks when he's healing the damage as fast as it's inflicted. "What an enviable body," she says to the Mizukage. Half of the people in Kiri have bodies that can barely be called human, but she doesn't consider that a bad thing. They enter the tunnel soon. She follows after him, and glances around at the walls. It's not long before they come across Kuoroke, and Kasuya looks him up and down briefly. "I'm Kasuya," she says by way of greeting. She's a little tense. This enclosed space could really be dangerous if the enemy…
When the rumbling begins, Kasuya looks around quickly for the attacker. There is no one, which presents a problem for her. Her suspicion had come true, and now the attack is flooding the tunnel. She can't compel the lava to flow another way. But she's not defenseless, and she forms a hand seal a moment before Meruin steps in to provide a much more impenetrable defense. She glances at him sharply, or would if they weren't surrounded by a shield that encloses them in pitch black darkness. "I was so discreet about my techniques at your village," she says, and there's a faint trace of annoyance in her voice.
After entering the palace, Hiei encounters shinobi who seem to like fire. Hiei gracefully twirls in place, barely dodging the first blame bullet, but his timing was off and he goes smack into the second one. His duster catches fire and he hurries to discard it so he isn't burned further. Underneath he's still wearing the skin tight black sleeveless shirt and as he takes grip of his katana again, he begins to move inwards, fighting his way towards the throne room. "As powerful as these guys claim to be, they sure like sending their minions out to die.." He aims a series of slashes towards his opponents as he constantly tries to make forward progress. He was too close now to turn back. He glances over at Yuuka. "Only way through this is together. I got your back."
As the young Okumo began to tire, his movements began to echo this obviously, becoming sluggish. Naoya manages to move back a few feet from the two fighters but it wasn't quick enough to keep him from their blades, each slash moves away, traced with blood. The boy doesn't try to strike once again but he moves a hand into a pouch, clutching at something before pulling his hand out. Once he throw it down towards his feet it explodes with a white flash before producing grey smoke, a diversion. The teen himself rapidly began to move away at high speeds but never in a straight line, trying to fall back.
Yuuka moves swiftly into the palace, her bright eyes glancing back and forth as they search, already forming new ivory blades from beneath the flesh of her palms while they fight through the bodies. "It's a tactic to wear out your opponent." she murmurs to Hiei. And not a bad one at that. When he glances back, the slight smirk returns to the Kaguya's full lips as she faintly dips her chin with a nod. "Then they will fall in our wake." she murmurs.
Naruko for once wasn't doing have bad in the heat of battle. With the wall down Naruko was subject to even more attacks, she motioned away from the duo sword assaulting her, popping out of existence from one attack while sustaining the other. She continued to attack multiple silence members with the use of her explosive fire clones, summoning half a dozen while sending them out to attack and explode upon any more enemies, especially those by the wall. After all they might need an exit plan after all!
Meruin inclines his head to the councilman as he drops in through the hole he'd just created, arching a brow at the removed cloak. He can't recall ever having seen that one.
He turned away and started down the tunnel, giving Kasuya room to slip in behind him and greet their Sunagakure ally. He didn't get far, however, before signs of the incoming attack touched on his senses.
"Councilman," spoke the Mizukage.
The rumbling begins.
"I'll be carrying us through the incoming assault," he said, "But I will need you in a vulnerable position at the head to protect our vision." Darkness covered the whole of his form, face being lit by the light of the lava coursing towards them. "Prepare your defenses, please. And try not to use them against me."
Chitin abruptly exploded from his form, encasing him and his allies. It swiftly shifted, taking on the form of a spider, Kuoroke coming up to the only hole at the front as the rest of the arachnid shell filled with a cool spider silk to provide insulation. Surrounded by an arachnid tank, Meruin moves the forward, charging forward through the lava. The outer shell corroded under the force of the attack, but the damage was regenerated just as swiftly as it was done, leaving the vessel wholly intact.
"Prepare!" echoed Meruin's voice throughout. "Someone sent that attack in. It may very well be our Silence targets."
And the question of who would be answered just as soon as the lava-coated spider burst through the tunnel entrance, leading the trio to the shinobi who'd launched the attack.
Still not very sneaky, as evident by the attacks coming her way. She doesn't have time to think, only act. The Hayato moves in and out of the sharp objects coming at her, whether they're senbon, kunai, or just simple arrows. Fortunately, she comes away unscathed. This time, she decides to attack with a few arrows of her own, though! Then she tosses more tags in the direction of the enemy, not bothering to try and sneak around anymore. Explosive tags are… a bit too revealing. Idly, as she's running even further towards the castle, eventually coming across the group of Kiri-healers, she thinks about what her next seal should probably be. Maybe one of invisibility so she can actually hide when she wants? That sounds like a good idea. A shrill whistle (much like one meant for hailing a taxi) can be heard as well, the girl communicating to Kotone to keep a lookout.
"Alright!!" Isra chimed. The wall is broken and their forces are free to come and go as they please. She would congratulate everyone on a job well done, but the majority have moved on by now. She decided to stay back at the wall and monitor the city as a whole. "Everyone clear the area!!" She called to those around her. For those unable to move, she began to generate barriers to protect them, but it came at the cost of her not protecting herself. She was carried by the wave of water and slammed against some rubble. She was down for a few moments before raising back up and coughing up water that found its way into her system. "I'm okay…" She shook it all off and her hair frizzed up. "You all, gather up units for healing. Have them set up camps and tend to the wounded. Everyone else that's able should follow the forces headed into the castle. If you have skills in earth, find ways to rerout that lava. Use water or wind to cool it if it makes it easier." She ordered. "Move out!"
Isra needed to raise her energy back up, so she took a break to gather it so that she might have more to use for helping out around here.
It may not have looked like it but the silence shinobi truly was thinning out. Deep within the palace ground they were forced back into the main hall ways and nearing the throne room.The shinobi here began to slink back into a retreat, only to reveal a rather unpleasant surprise. A massive spear of water had been developing from the rear, and only now to expell it forward in order to push the intruders out of the palace grounds! The remaining forces on the palace grounds was pretty much finished, only a few skirmish troops remained to keep the pressure…. Keeping too many people from entering the palace. Their fire now was for suppression, and not necessarily to do any damage.
Kuoroke's decision was, apparently, correct: a rumble announces something coming for them from down the corridor. He gives Meruin a nod and moves to meet the flow. As it closes in, he crouches slightly, raising his arms in front of himself protectively, crossed at the wrist. A pair of shields unfurl from his forearms, stretching and widening until they're each taller and wider than the Kuroki, himself. The shields force the flow of magma apart and around Kuoroke. After Meruin rushes past him, the Councillor moves forward as well, keeping the closing sides of the tunnel within the tunnel by holding his shields diagonal in front of and besides himself. As he moves, he prepares for the battle to come, both in mindset and in gathered chakra.
Glancing down the hall toward where his brother is attacking from, Yuuma smirks slightly. He downs a few more large gulps of the sake before tossing it aside. "Hurry up, ya gluttonous sloth. It's time to meet Jigoku," he calls down to his brother before starting to gather chakra…. in massive amounts. With a chuckle he starts to move through a set of handseals. While one might expect some impressive combination of chakras like his brother is showing, the leader is doing something much more tactical… and ruthless.
Slamming his palm on the ground, Yuuma calls in a low tone his first jutsu cast through the entire campaign against the Daimyo's castle. "Earth Release… Swamp of the Underworld." A moment later, the shinobi and members of Silence alike would feel the ground underneath them begin to shift and sink, yet there is no earthquake, only the sinking… of the palace itself and the entire area around it! All inside or around would be pulled down as the earth below turns into volatile mud that yanks and pulls at anything living or dead to yank it down into the earth. Even those of the Silence who are not skilled enough to get out would be yanked down with the palace into the darkness of the earth below to be trapped.
Tsuneo looks back to his brother as he calls out the name, nodding his head. "I guess we got what we came for." he says as he looks around, the entire place turning into a swampy muddy mess as the walls groan and buckle. As for Tsuneo, he casts his glance over to the trio that came bursting out from his Lava tunnel, looking straight at Kuoroke, before giving them a smile, sinking into the ground and disappearing from view.
Even as she races into the battle, Amata blinks as she spots what is aimed out the doors of the Palace. She screeches in pain as the thing hits her and slings her back, bringing not only a couple more ribs but her lower left arm. She winces and then blinks as she looks down as the ground starts to swallow her up. Even as her lower half sinks in, she winces out, "Mizukage…the ground is swallowing us up…"
Akane watched Kokuro as the girl looked herself over with a wince. Akane could see that she was healing quickly, though much slower than some people she'd seen regenerate. Still, the arrows would have to be removed in surgery since she stated she could still move. She was concerned about Kokuro, yes, and she knew that she herself had to survive as did her young. But Kyoujin grated against her mentally.
~Fight, Bakane! Fight! Feel the blood sing!~
She shook her head. Kyoujin was choosing a terrible time to argue the point. But she enjoyed a fight like some people enjoyed wine. She had to focus. And once again she reached for the center of her being, the stillness that ran deep. It was easier to find the second time through. She turned her masked face toward the palace, a deep frown on her lips.
Below her in the courtyard Naoya took a hit. The young Okumo looked to be in rougher shape than Kokuro. Yes she would have to gather the less experienced members of the team. She narrowed her eyes behind her mask. Her hands flashed through several seals, and she tracked Naoya's movements through his smoke shield. Noaya's movements and the movements of any who tried to follow him.
"Stay here Kokuro-kun. I'm going to get Naoya-kun." She ordered and half ran half slid her way to the courtyard, heading straight for Naoya's position. As he came out, she ended right beside him. She didn't wait around. She simply issued an order. "Get to the battlement. Kokuro is there as well." She didn't give him time to object, and instead headed quickly to where Naruko was on the other side. The battlement she'd left Kokuro in and had directed Naoya to was within line of sight to the hole in the outer walls where Naruko was laying down her defense. Akane lit heavily on the ground beside Naruko. "Come with me." She pointed to the battlement. "I can help you lay down a defense from safety. Lets keep us together."
Akane was inadvertently doing the exact same thing Isra was seeking to do. She was unaware of Isra's exact location, though. Akane breathed heavily, starting to wear down a bit as she made her way back up to the top of the wall, standing near the battlement itself.
Her hands went through half a dozen signs and she sent out a wave of medical chakra in all directions. A technique developed originally to separate the living from the dead on the battlefield, she used it as an extension of her in combat as well. It was in that way that she sensed Akiko before she heard the shrill whistle. Also noted was Isra and once Akane noticed her chakra she caught a bit of her orders on the wind. She waved a hand at both Isra and Akiko, beckoning them to join her little 'group' (assuming she was heeded). But she was well on guard for any who might seek to block the path Naruko had set up or any who might attack them.
Then, she turned to face the palace, seemingly a silent sentinal, observing, her eyes showing her what her allies were up against. It wasn't a heartening thing, but she looked anyway, she burned the images into her mind, hating being the only Chuunin asked to hold back. A hand went to her belly and she sighed softly.
And the world around her exploded.
She moved with speed and agility, avoiding the blast, but she had to land somewhere. She lit in the courtyard and suddenly… The ground turned to mush and she sank to her thighs, unable to get away. She growled and struggled, glancing around her to see how badly wounded others were.
Kokuro looks up at Akane when she orders her to stay there and speaks up, about to say something. She timidly closes her mouth and just offers a silent nod. She looks around anxiously and wrings her fingers out. It was hard to believe that she could just stand here without any arrows, or any form of retaliation. Very hard to believe…she barely manages to catch sight of the explosive tags, so she doesn't have enough time to flee away with her clones. She screams out and topples off of the wall and into the mud that was engulphing the people around her. She desperately tries to kick just enough to keep her head above the surface to get air, "Akane-chan! Naoya-san! Are you…two ok?!" She grimaces, the struggling itself was made painful by the pressure put on the arrows nestled underneath her skin.
They'd made it here, and killed quite a few people to get there. Kasuya enters the final stage at last, only to find that their enemies are departing. As the swamp opens up underneath them she tries to push it back with a barrier of electricity, but with little effect. All she catches is a glimpse of them before they're beating a retreat. "Next time," she promises.
As the ground becomes soggy and swamplike, Hiei attempts to escape as he violently explodes chakra around his body. His muscles expand to three times their normal size and yet the Kumo General still couldn't escape the jutsu. The rage that Hiei had been holding in check the entire battle suddenly slips as he stares towards the throne room. "Silence Brothers, you gutless chicken entry cowards! You call yourselves superior!? I have an idea..next time why don't you go dig up your ancient grandmother and bring her to fight us instead. We murder your followers and you don't even have the hinged gates to face us in combat. The next time I see you, I'm going to put your heads on a pike and parade you around the hidden villages so that everyone can see you for what you are. You're not warriors, you're wimps." Hiei snarls, spittle flying from his lips as he continues to sink deeper. "I'm gonna use your skull as my own outhouse and make your brother watch while I do it…gonna kill you next time…" The fingers of his free hand clench and unclench.
Not staying still for long between bursts, the young Okumo suddenly jerks once Akane appears beside him. Rather than welcome the sudden appearance of yet another shinobi, her shouts almost result in a panicked strike at her next. Becoming still, he stares at her for a moment but then turns back around noticing the kunai landing around his feet and tries to frantically skip backwards out of the blast range but doesn't get away fast enough. The ground below him turning into a liquid doesn't worry him until it suddenly grasps at him and tugs him below it's surface, trapping him within.
Naruko fell victim to the might of a series of explosive tags, only to suddenly become swallowed up by the earth beneath her feet. She felt herself sinking in, unable to move much more as her stamina and injuries became too much. She wobbled for a few brief moments before passing out out completely…
Meruin's brows draw downward as he releases his allies from their chitinous vessel, only to find Yuuma completing his jutsu. As the earth beneath his feet began to liquify, he began to leap skywards, white chitin shooting out of his back towards the ceiling, but the new swamp held fast to his foot, dragging him back downwards with an inexorable hunger. His chin never made it into the ceiling to help pull him out.
The Mizukage's gaze fell on the Brothers as they began to sink away. "Run, great prey. Run now, while you still have the power to do so," he spoke, voice rumbling throughout the cavern.
"We hunt, Brothers… We hunt…"
Akiko didn't expect to be facing tags against herself. It's surprisingly painful, though it seems like there's a lot more tags than she used. As a result, dodging them all didn't work out so well. She winces slightly from pain, doing a quick mental check over everything before her attention is on the shifting ground beneath her. The Hayato finds herself unable to escape, which is really troublesome. How is she supposed to gather more information /now/???
While Isra was busy organizing things outside, there were still attacks coming against her and those she was trying to bring together. She took it upon herself to be the standing force between them and the camps that needed to be set up to help the fighters out. Even as one that deals with explosions, they were never something fun to endure. Coming out of the flames in a rage, her ears rang with both contempt and the physical harm brought upon by the tags. She returned the favor by showing them some explosions of her own.
Kuoroke's tattoos light up, forming a suit of armor that expands, expands… and drops down into the swampy filth more quickly than it can rise from it. Kuoroke roars in rage, trying to fight free with all his might, but it's all for naught: he sinks away, his rage and vengeance having to wait for another day.
Through the chaos of the building being swallowed up and random expletives emitted by one Yotsuki Hiei, the brothers vanish through the earthen terrain to leave no trace. With no sign of the Daimyo, he either got away or was captured by these men before the shinobi even made it to the palace. Given the manner in which the brothers left, it's likely fair to say the shinobi who charged the palace walls this day were outwitted and simply left to be distracted by the remaining presence of the brothers while their true goal here today was accomplished. The Silence have struck yet another blow through mental warfare.
