Starring:
Yuuma, Meruin, Yuuka, Enbu, Naoya, Kaydin, Akane, Hiei, Michiko, Rise, Kaidan
Date: February 20, 2015
Summary:
It is the final battle with the Silence after a long year of fighting their forces. The best of the best in the shinobi world have gathered to a single battle field to face off against the leader, and many more are working on the side.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Silence - Yuuma’s Fall"
Kyuusen Crater
Just as the Dark One promised Shuuren, Hell has been unleashed upon the shinobi world. Wave after wave of Silence and Hitokage alike have begun to spill through the ports and pathways surrounding every shinobi country great and small. The fires of battle rage across the across the continents as the shinobi world fights for its very existence. The plan seems to be a rather simple one, to rip and tear through everything until the place that the meteorite the shinobi plan to use to charge up their armies to be able to take on Yuuma's armies is found.
This assault is one most horrible. Each member of Yuuma's army that the others manage to slay stands right back up as a meat shield for a Hitokage that fights even harder despite wounds. Worse than that, even members of the shinobi forces that are slain do just the same, turning on their own friends and clanmates the moment they are killed to become a part of the attacking force. Tonight may be the hardest night ever for the shinobi world to endure as this ever-growing force charges relentlessly… yet, if they can somehow manage to chop off the head of this gigantic snake with their formulated plan, in turn annihilating the strongest part of this force in the Hitokage and possessed dead, they may yet survive this night.
"Steel your resolves!" called Meruin.
The Mizukage stood beneath the light of a spring morning sun, the world to be a beautiful one were it not for the impending conflict. Though, perhaps it was still a beautiful one to those not human. To things that care little of the means of men.
"TODAY is the day that we decide our loved ones live and our countries surive!"
Indeed. The confontration with the Silence has come to a head, the Dark One sending a steadily marching death across the lands. But the Shinobi land has launched a countermaneuver.
There is a meteorite within the Land of Stars known to augment the chakra of those who can wield its power. The /price/ of that power is known to be an accelerated death, but perhaps an accelerated death is preferable to a bloody, immediate one because Kirigakure and a host of Hoshigakure-nin have escorted that meteorite to the Kyuusen Crater.
"We will not fall to these foes, amputated of our dignity!"
A vast camp of united forces has been erected at the edge of the Kyuusen Crater, their surroundings nothing but dirt and dust for miles until trees and mountains obscure the horizon. At its rear, between them and the abyss of the crater is the meteorite, shinobi carefully scrawling sealwork around it. It's purpose? A goad. Yuuma is meant to believe that they were trying to tap into its power. In reality, they just wanted him to do the same. To drink of his death, drawing on the meteorites power in a way not even the Hoshigakure shinobi would dream to do, knowing they would not survive.
"The time is nigh! They approach!"
The goad has worked. The camp has already eradicated several small bands of the enemy's forces traveling through the area and their presence has been duly noted by now. In the distance, in the dust and the dirt, they come. The army of Hitokage and Silence trek towards the shinobi corp of Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning and Fire.
"And let them come," bellowed Meruin, moving to the head of the middle of the shinobi army. "They will be the fodder for the stories our people will tell of us! We stand in STRENGTH!"
Yuuka stands at the ready beside the Mizukage, her usually kind expression a mask, hardened as she gazes across the spans that would be their battlefield. She doesn't watch this for long as her attention is pulled towards Meruin, standing at the head of his army. She couldn't help the slightest smirk at the corner of her mouth, listening still while she turns her gaze back towards the distance. The Silence…
A low purr of a chuckle ripples through Yuuka as she reaches up over her shoulder, silently pulling Kubikiribocho free from it's bindings and swinging the enormous butcher blade with incredible ease. Even as she does this her other hand flexes and several crimson drops fall from the flesh palm. The ivory bone emerges and swiftly builds upon itself to form another, second blade. "Let them come…" she repeats the Mizukage's words, in such a way that it's almost eerie.
Enbu was behind the Mizukage, bringing up not the rear… but the middle. He towered over the majority, if not the entirity of the army that was there. He was silent, his expression looking more like it was carved from broken earth than anything he attempted himself. An ever present snarl as it were. His fangs protruding just a bit as his mass remained statuesque. Meruins words remind Enbu of one of the kaguy'as own battle chants, and so it would begin.
"Come and take us!
We mock your anger!
We laugh at your power!
We challenge your fury!
We fear not death!"
With that, Enbu merely roars a deep, primal, unstoppable sound. A sound that threatened everything an all without descrimination. A sound that almost seem to attempt to deafen the Silence itself.
Closing his eyes, the teen's breathing slows rather than accelerates as he listens to the Mizukage speak to them, his body already healthily tense. Those beside him could hear murmurs, 'Yes.. stabbing is meaningless.. crushing is meaningless.. cut them.. dice them.. let the chunks live..' A twisting grin begins to appear on Naoya's face as if he hears an answer.
The grin on the boy's lips would disappear from view as spiders crawl from the back of his cheek and the underside of his jaw, crisscrossing over his face, coating it in a later of silk that even covers his nose. Along the boy's exposed skin, most of it becomes pale with silk before small sections harden into chitin. First one, then a second pair of arms rip themselves free from his original set before crossing.
One of the lower arms shifts behind him, drawing out a blade made of pure ivory and hold it close to his body, allowing a hand to rake over it, smearing a transparent fluid across the surface. 'Yes.. we'll be keeping count.. even here.. begin.'
Kaydin stood alongside the other chuunin brought from Kirigakure. Odd that a Hyuuga would stand with the mist ninja but he does, his konoha headband slashed along the middle as he keeps his eyes closed. He takes a deep breath, converting stamina to chakra and within a moment, he opens his eyes, veins bulging alongside his head as the blank white eyes of the Hyuuga intensify and he moves to a Juuken stance, ready to move along. He nods to the others with him, and waits for the order to strike his enemy down.
Akane stood, masked nearby Meruin as they gathered their forces. She was a medic and in this situation, considering she had barely healed from Hiei's sword and Rise's dragon, she was to guard others. Yuuma might be seeking her head as well. Still, she stood tall. Meruin had always brought a certain level of energy to a battle and today was no exception. Still, watching something she had supplied the initial seed for comming to fruition was indeed a moment she would cherish for years to come.
Standing, she lifted her head, hair done up in it's typical arrangement, her outfit typical, her scarred midreift bared, showing that she could survive quite a lot. She had a few new tricks Meruin was unaware of, but perhaps he would see them first hand today… She gathered her chakra about her, as she peered down into the valley, watching the shinobi laying out seal work.
Yuuka's preparation was noted and honestly, behind heer white mask, marked with twin trails of bloody tears (representing the pain of her life's path) she smirked as well. There had been a time she would have fought Yuuka for Meruin, to stand at his side. Now she had Ishino, she stood at his side, though this day he was assuring the protection of the children. Enbu was new to her, though his chant got a soft chuckle from her. She prepared herself to charge, making a note of those around her. She was a medic here she had to remind herself… Not one of the fighting heads…. She watched with interest as she saw Kaydin's eyes. She bit her lip behind the mask. that one would be trouble today….
Akane's plan seems to be working so far. Standing with the group of shinobi around the Mizukage. The Raikage takes a moment to address his own troops. He might not be as articulate as the Mizukage, but he does speak with emotion. "This is it. This is what we've been preparing for."
Hiei points towards the approaching horde. "They attack us because they fear us. We are the pride of the Land of Lightning. We are the force that delivers justice from upon high." Because they do, indeed, live on top of a mountain.
Hiei pauses to roll his shoulders, lightning splaying and sparking along his skin as he prepares his body for combat. "We are the light that pierces the darkness." He turns to face the oncoming army. "We will rend flesh and break bones. We fight for those who can't fight for themselves." He reaches up to draw Fukushu, his katana from it's sheath. "Vengance is ours. Leave none left standing!" Hiei murmurs. "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war."
Michiko is one of the people at the final battle, the girl clearly representing Kumogakure. Her clothes show off the Cloud-branded Hitai-ate that lays around her neck, the girl dressed in black leggings and a blue-tinted grey Chuunin Kumo-vest today. Her chakra levels rise to a point where she is clearly not planning to hold back. The shinobi of other lands were acknowledged a bit when they were gathering, but now her attention is focused entirely on the enemy that is coming forth. "Heh… You should leave the speaking to the Mizukage, Hiei-san," she says, thinking that the speech was a bit lack-luster after Kiri's show of might. But she doesn't care so much about that. All that mattered was taking down the Silence. And, to be honest, she probably couldn't do much better at being motivating… "Let's get this started, shall we?" she asks to no one in particular.
Rise would've spent time observing the work of Hoshi-nin and Kiri-nin with the giant hunk of space rock, but that had not been her duty. Whatever curiosity or personal thoughts the woman had regarding the mission at hand or the events playing about were buried deep, never to be revealed by a twitch or show of emotion. Still, Rise cannot fully resist the draw of 'their' words. The voices of Kumogakure's supposed allies in the fight, rallying their own, the Hoshi-nin, and by strangely enough, a few of those from Kumogakure from what she saw.
Rise clenches her hand into a tight fist at her side, dismissing the urge to keep her fingers moving at her side as chakra begins to build. The amount is but a drop in the ocean compared to the giants around her, but it is enough unnerve those closest to her. "This is it…" Rise murmurs, attention shifting finally towards Hiei, or at least… where she figured Hiei to be. She was kind of on the tiny side, so… yeah.
Frankly, Kaidan feels like an ant among gods here to a degree. Even as the Mizukage finishes speaking, he turns even as armor slides up out on to his body out of wrapping and covers his back an chest. His arms and legs are armor. Even as he turns fully around to face the troops of Sunagakure he hears others speak. He hears Kage speak and then he sucks in a breath as his mask slides up over his nose. Blades whip out of his body at various spots along his arms and legs, two long blades sliding out of his hands and then back in. He looks at each person from Sunagakure before giving a chuckle and then shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm not here to tell you anything you don't already know. I'm not going to shout about preparations or the enemy or who we fight for. You all know your jobs." Kaidan points at the troops of Sunagakure, "I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to kill these plummets twice. What about you?!" He calls out and the Sunagakure troops raise fists with him and then looks back, "Come on, Sand Shinobi! You wanna live forever?!" More troops raise a cry.
Whatever bravado and other words these shinobi shout to each other had best work because the time is at hand when words will matter not. As hoards of men and monsters charge the area once again, there is a resounding feeling of darkness like they're trying even harder this time. There is something powerful behind that force… This may be the time that fate brings the dark warlord to their doorstep. Still, the matter at hand is no light task.
Fierce eyes look upon all who would oppose this army, some of them even already dead with a sole purpose of making more like themselves. Without relent, remorse, or pity they charge in a massive wave upon the encampment the shinobi are in, coming from every side possible with blades of steel and claws of putrid black chakra threatening to tear asunder anything in their path. Though one might note, even amongst the fighting, a few seem to be avoiding conflict and only trying to get a view of the area to see if what they're looking for is here.
COMBAT: Meruin defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(42) attack from Hitokage with a NIGHTMARE'S-AEGIS…56
COMBAT: Meruin defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(70) attack from Hitokage with a NIGHTMARE'S-AEGIS…57
COMBAT: Meruin loses the roll and sustains 760 damage.
"Troops!" called Meruin.
"To me! Stay close to one another. Cover each other's backs. This day will be a long one, so pace yourselved. Let the battle lust fill you; /Do not/ let it empty you."
As the group of Kiri shinobi under his command took to him, he moved forward in a lope, going forward to meet his enemy rather than waiting to be attacked. "Let us show these creatures of darkness the might of our wills! Teach them! Teach them that the shadows belong to /shinobi/!" The Mizukage's face rose to the sky. "KIRIGAKURE! HOOOOOOWL!" And then he let loose his war bellow, hearing the same rising from the other details of Kirigakure shinobi throughout their forces.
Platinum silk spread from his pores in a deluge, rushing across his form until the whole of him was covered — spreading further! It pushed from his back in twisting tendrils, swiftly forming spider limbs longer than he was tall, thick and adroit. They lifted him from his feet, taking him head and shoulder above the crowd. Just before his forces met the enemy, he leapt forward, bowling into them and taking a few bruises under his silk from the impact. Putting the momentum slightly in favor of his men, he leapt backwards and smoothly rejoined them, charging at their head.
Black blade suddenly appearing in hand, he lashed out in continuous, disabling strikes at flesh both living and necrotic.
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(65) attack from Hitokage with a LARCH-BONES…61
COMBAT: Yuuka loses the roll and sustains 654 damage.
Yuuka doesn't quiet howl as Meuin does. A smirk lingers at her lips and a dark, primal growl ripples from deep inside of her chest, threatening all that dares to think they can rise up against her, against her village, against all she cherishes.
Tightening her grip on her blades, several dozen sharp ivory spikes rip through the fabric of her yakuta, sending a shudder of fear throughout those that gaze upon her terrifying form. And just like that, Yuuka blurs with sudden speed, dashing headfirst into the brawl, blood already spilling from her arms and legs as she ignores the fresh wounds. They do not matter.
The dark smirk grows and the ivory blade is thrown out like a boomerang, mowing down everything and everyone in it's path while under her influence.
RP: Yuuka transforms into DANCE-OF-THE-LARCH.
COMBAT: Enbu defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(56) attack from Hitokage with a FALSE-STEP-OF-THE-SEA-BREEZE…44
COMBAT: Enbu loses the roll and sustains 880 damage.
Charging forward with the rest… at first, Enbu would meet the front lines as he watched carefully for his zones of defense during this first exchange. Unfortunatelly, where the line is attacked most he is simply too far away from to support. He himself takes some damage as he does little more than dance around and manuver with far more agility than his form should allow regardless of it saving himself entirely from harm. The chaos of battle however was also a very good place for another form of manuvering… stealth. Enbu, having helped to forward charge bodily, would slip in amongst the ranks, moving down to hands and feet, low to the ground and slinking along and around them, using the terrain and he slipped around objects and people, occassionally over and certainly through if need be. He rather ltihely moved around the battle field, but did not engage himself quite yet. His task was a different one for the time being.
Naoya watches for a time as the battle begins and the front lines are pushed hard. Preparing himself, he watched not one but two attempt to shoulder his burden, while it way comfort some, Naoya tenses his hand around the hilt of his blade, agitated. 'Even they see us as little.. weak..' With a low growl in his throat, Naoya shifts positions, using his agility to weave around the bodies, nearing himself towards the enemy forces without breaking rank.. significantly.
Once Naoya draws close, he shifts his weight and moves to blade lock with one of the creatures. He doesn't try to push the once shinobi creature away but moves to press his blade against it faintly and draw cut, tainting it with his toxins. 'Even if killed they'll stand.. yes.. sever the arms.'
RP: Kaydin transforms into BYAKUGAN-I.
COMBAT: Kaydin defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(40) attack from Hitokage with a HEAVENLY-SPIN…26
COMBAT: Kaydin loses the roll and sustains 980 damage.
Kaydin spins, attempting to use the heavenly spin technique to take care of some of the blades and claws which come for him. Unfortunatly for him however, it doesnt work and he is stopped in mid spin by a stray pebble. He is hit but he moves toward Akane. "I hope to aid you with your healing, I can see where the damage is and direct you, if you wish for my input, Akane-sama." He says to her in a calm tone despite the damage he suffered. He gazes about the other fighters to see how else to help, before his gaze returns to the battle, as if looking for something.
COMBAT: Akane defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(43) attack from Hitokage with a FIRE-CLONE…62
Akane remained behind Meruin, her eyes hidden by the mask, but when he sprouted those limbs, moved with power she was caught. She did not howl, she did not growl. She just smirked. Slowly the aura around her would seem to shift into something darker, more ready foor battle and this persona moved with the sleek grace of a gret cat. She followed the throng as they leapt forward, prepared to send fireballs forward to strike the hitokage and shinobi enemies alike.. But then.. She glanced to the side, just in time to see Kaydin's attempt to defend the attacks. If he had not come to her she would have gone to him. As it was they met about hallf way.
She could see the blood on Kaydin's clothing and responded with a nod to his questiona nd offer. "That would help, Kaydin-san. Thank you. Now hold still… This is going to hurt." The masked medic reached out with her hand, the air about her fingers wavering with heat distortion. Tracing the wounds on Kaydin's body with her hands,the bleeding would stop and the scent of burned flesh would singe the air as she branded the wounds closed.
COMBAT: Akane heals Kaydin for 945 with CAUTERIZATION.
COMBAT: Hiei defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(48) attack from Hitokage with a DANCING-FLOW…53
When the attack begins in earnest, Hiei sticks his katana in the ground and makes his body like water. His lucid movements are akin to that of a dancer or kung fu master. He slips and slides between the Hitokage's attacks while simultaneously lightning begins to flow around his body. He is aware of the people around him, but he had to be confident that they could take care of themselves. He pinwheels his arms, slapping a few of the attacks away from his body. He kicks out at the sword he placed in the dirt, causing it to flip upwards. Without even looking the Kumogakure master swordsman grasps the hilt of the blade in midair just before spinning around one of the Hitokage. He would then deliver a series of rapid slashes towards it's upper thigh, it's torso, attempting to rend it's arms asunder before he would finish by attempting to lope off it's head. It's hard to come back as a zombie if you're already in pieces.
RP: Hiei transforms into LIGHTNING-AURA.
RP: Michiko transforms into SIZZLE-II.
COMBAT: Michiko defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(69) attack from Hitokage with a METAL-DOME…88
Michiko's chakra flares up around her as she watches the members of the Silence army charge in, the girl forming handseals to raise a dome of metal around her to block the onslaught of attacks. When she feels them done pounding on her, she makes a seal that would convert the shield, separating it into snake-like ropes that attempt to tangle amongst the members of the Silence and keep them down. Once they're captured all nice and neat, the girl makes a different set of handseals and lets loose the roaring heat of dragon's flames. The fire follows the line of the metal binding that connects the different members of the Silence and hopefully burns them to a nice crisp…
COMBAT: Rise defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(61) attack from Hitokage with a STRIKE-CANCELLING…62
RP: Rise transforms into TITAN-PILL-II.
Once the order is offically given, Rise charged like the rest. She did not so recklessly, or crying out some battle cry. Let action inspire fear in those that that thus far revealed none upon their visage. Every strike directed at her is met by a measured blow of her own to cancel them out. The closeness that some managed to come to nearly overpowering her fist and knee strikes elicits the first change in her expression: Mild Annoyance. Several blades are in hand and released within a few heartbeats, ending the lives of those not quick enough around her to move. Regardless of success, Rise takes advantage of whatever opening in the throng is provided to move closer to the front lines of the assualt, and closer still to Hiei…
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(68) attack from Hitokage with a DASH-STEP-III…73
"Remember, a lot of these guys here are gonna be sending out big attacks." Kaidan calls out to the Sunagakure troops with him, "They won't be able to hold back if you don't watch where you move!" He then rushes forward and watches as it is indeed true. The Mizukage sending out powerful strikes and the Raikage not letting his own attacks be sad either. The fire and death that is flowing over the field is not missed. Even as the Hitokage send attacks his way, Kaidan's body moves with incredibly alacrity. He jumps, spins and very literally flies between two attacks aimed his way. Both legs strike outward from his body in response, a split kick aimed at the head of two of the Silence troops. He continues to spin and lands on one foot to spin out and heel kick another one before rushing forward and slamming his fist into the face of a forth before rolling into a cart wheel that leads into a full on flip that lands his feet both on to the head of a Silence troop and collapses him into the ground even as Kaidan is forced to lean back into a back hand spring that takes him out of the path of Michiko's fire. He then wipes his forehead and chuckles, "Now that's spicy."
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against INTRICATE-SILKEN-SHARP(62) attack from Meruin with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…56
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 606 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against CAMELLIA-SWORD-SPIRAL(63) attack from Yuuka with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…51
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 647 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against INSTINCT(58) attack from Enbu with a PERCEPTION-III…84
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TAINTED-BLADE(43) attack from Naoya with a DODGE-II…53
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TRIPLE-SLASH(65) attack from Hiei with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…57
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 522 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DRAGON-FIRE-TECHNIQUE(46) attack from Michiko with a DODGE-II…44
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 906 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DRAGON-FIRE-TECHNIQUE(49) attack from Michiko with a DODGE-II…42
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 921 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against METAL-BINDING(63) attack from Michiko with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…45
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(52) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…51
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 735 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(54) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…54
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(49) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…46
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 727 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(66) attack from Kaidan with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…56
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 960 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(40) attack from Kaidan with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…54
Despite a fearsome showing from the shinobi, the Silence and the Hitokage seem to have no intention of backing down. Even those yet living show no fear of the chance of impending death, as each one would quickly rise back up. The onslaught continues without stopping, no matter how many seem to fall. Every blast, shred, strike, and slash that lands only seems to bring more fighters to strike back against the shinobi… Except those few who were trying to make their way through the crowds. Those seem to have vanished as quickly as they came, which is likely to mean one thing… they found what they were looking for….
COMBAT: Meruin defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(69) attack from Hitokage with a INVULNERABILITY…76
Meruin slips through battle, high atop his throne of war lust. Held clearly visible by the silken limbs sprouting from his back and raising him above the tumult, he lashed out at all about him, cuts both clean and blurred, still aimed at crippling locations.
"COME AND TAKE US!" bellowed the Mizukage as he flooded his system with regenerative chemicals, no longer bother to deflect blows. In clear view, the blades and blows of the Hitokage and the Silence bit his body with no apparent effect. "We mock your anger! We laugh at your power!" A sword flew into his neck and he pulled it out and wielded it in his assault. "WE CHALLENGE YOUR FURY! WE FEAR NOT DEATH!"
And so it went for a time. Until some of the tides of war seemed subtly… wrong. Off. As a denizen of the Land of Water, he knew tides, of ebbs and flows. And there were certain streams that were simply off. Oppositional currents. Enemies moving in the opposite direction, vanishing.
The Okumo's eyes narrowed.
"Kaydin!" he called back, not looking to the Byakugan user as black chitin slid over the spider legs at his back, making them appear far more life-like. "Look to the meteorite; Status report!"
He pushed an intricate latticework of chakra into his brain, enhancing its ability to process information and augmenting certain shadowy training that he might find just where those oppositional flows were leading. But he couldn't wait on that; Instinct told him to act. So he did.
"Troops! Phalanx formation! Wounded in the center! Hold your positions! Frontmen, clean up behind me!"
Orders given, he leapt forward and outside of the formation. He threw himself into a sudden spin, the speed of it enough to send his hair whipping outwards and send the air fleeing from him. Between breaths saw a deluge of spider silk rushing from him in all directions but skywards, the platinum wave covered in acids. It would sweep up the nearby Hitokage, crushing limbs and burning into their forms to allow a few moments of breathing space for he and his while they recoup and examine the field. He'd return back to his group immediately afterwards, staying on the front line, any that'd been between hiim and his troops likely already dead or being taken care of.
RP: Meruin transforms into THE-SILENT-PREDATOR.
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(58) attack from Hitokage with a LARCH-BONES…76
Yuuka continues to slash her way through bodies, with blades and spikes, splashing blood in her wake while she moves with fluid grace. Much like a dance. And much like Meruin she notices the change, the enemy was moving away, vanishing before she can take them down herself. Narrowing her gaze for a fraction of a moment she glances in the Mizukage's direction out of the corner of her eye. Phalanx formation.
Yuuka faintly dips her chin with a faint nod just before blurring with sudden speed again, appearing closer to the group with the intent of attacking any that charge at their wounded. And that she does.
COMBAT: Enbu defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(69) attack from Hitokage with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…52
COMBAT: Enbu loses the roll and sustains 721 damage.
COMBAT: Enbu defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(49) attack from Hitokage with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…80
COMBAT: Enbu defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(49) attack from Hitokage with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…73
Slipping in to the chaos, Enbu's blood boils as he desires nothing more than to crush, maim, destroy, and devour this entire army on his own if he had to. But the strategy required a finer touch, and for good reason. Enbu would not disobey, but as his comrades in arms, as well as those of other nations would die left and right, front and center as he held back, Enbu was not pleased. But he would allow it to fest and grow… to become power he'd unleash later when the time is right. For now… Enbu would race through the battle field and pop up as heavy attacks would well against different parts of their ranks. His objective? To take the beating of half an army if he had to to spare as many of their lives and resources as possible. It was something he was particularly equipped for and he would be set upon using that strength to its fullest.
The change in formation was called: Phalanx. Enbu would hear it loud and clear and respond accordingly. He would leap in to position just before them as a powerful surge of the enemy came at their lines, getting between both sides of the conflict as bones ripped and tore through his entire frame at once, branching from his back that faced the enemy and creating a multiple layers of bone that over lapped one another in a heavy defense. This was spread out from himself as a massize, jagged barricade that would attempt to hold back a significant portion of the enemy charge in order to buy the Kirigakure forces time to shift their formation as directed. He knew that the front would not cease their charge, and he took this time to regenerate his body of the damage he recieved as the portion directly behind him was over taken and he would receive several slashes, stabs, and heavy blows along his large back. He growled violently as he endured it, holding out for the charge that aided the defensive posture and when it would arrive… Enbu allowed his wide spread carapace of bone to shatter and crumble as the wave directed by the Mizukage tore through it like a bursting Dam.
COMBAT: Enbu heals Enbu for 520 with LESSER REGENERATION.
Once again he was protected, once again he wasn't allowed to stand on his own and face the enemy, any expression his face held was masked with silk though his eyes held growing fury. No mumbled words escape the young Okumo but sounds, a odd pitched whistling and almost vibratic sounds. The grip on his sword shifts once the orders from the Mizukage rang out, causing the agitated gaze to shift, soon nodding his head.
Moving in the shadow of the Mizukage, Naoya focuses on those that remain between them. Suddenly the young Okumo's movements become jerky and sporadic, causing his image to begin to blur at some points. Focusing on two targets, his strikes don't try to out right kill their targets but aim at disabling them, fracturing their shoulder points with a surging knee strike or elbow strike before dancing past them and returning again at a different angle.
Kaydin thanks those who defended him and looks about when ordered. "The Meteorite is still safe, Mizukage-sama!" He calls to the man who requests the status report. IT is then he gathers chakra into his hand and palm thrusts ahead of him, "Eight trigrams, Air palm!" He calls as he tries to blast enemies back.
Akane watched the sword pierce Meruin's neck and felt her heart stop. It only took a few seconds for him to pull the blade free and use it against his opponents, seemingly unharmed. But the one closest, Kaydin, might note the soft sound of distress that passed behind the mask. Her expression shielded, but her breathing paused. Indeed, the Byakugan might even see her pulse stop for those few seconds. She flushed beneath the mask. Silly, he was stronger than that. Yuuka was out there as well. She took a breath as she heard Meruin calling out again, shouting for the phalanx formation. She moved swiftly, leaving an after image of herself behind her speed. She sighed again then flashed through many hand seals, sending out a wave of energy around her, medical chakra used like sonar to sense where the wounded were.
Her attention was drawn to Meruin and Yuuka in front. Narrowing her eyes she frowned then seemed to disappear for a moment, reappearing behind and to one side of Enbu rather than her original targets. She could tell that Enbu was the most in need. Then she spoke calmly. "This One is here." To indicate she was not an enemy then her hand, brimming with lightning chakra touched his shoulder, not only sharing stamina with him but cranking out chakra ready for him to sue with her advanced knowledge of the working of the human (ish) body. Then she retreated once more to the center, keeping her eyes out….
COMBAT: Akane heals Enbu for 0 with ADVANCED COMBAT ELECTROTHERAPY.
COMBAT: Hiei defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(47) attack from Hitokage with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…45
COMBAT: Hiei loses the roll and sustains 1036 damage.
As the battle rages on, Hiei begins to notice that while most of his forces are up on their feet fighting, some of them are beginning to wear thin from the constant assault of the Hitokage. He attempts to execute a corkscrew flip but a claw rakes across his arm, causing a deep wound. For the moment, he compartmentalizes the pain as he considers his options. Being a strategist himself, he knew that in order to end this, would be to end the Crawler. And the current wielder of the Crawler is Yuuma. Taking a moment to see if he can spot the man, he would then focus his lightning chakra into the armor that he wears, causing it to glow bright blue as he now draws from the armor, the technique improving the devastating effect of his jutsu at least two fold. "Kumo shinobi! To me!" He yells over the sound of battle, summoning the troops to his side. "Execute Delta formation in three…two..one.." The entire time that he's counting, he's forming handseals. "Mark!" Extending a hand towards the hitokage palm side up, a shockwave of lightning bolts would expel from his palm then split apart as they encompass the group, halting their movements by infusing their central nervous systems with lightning, temporarily shorting them out, leaving them for Michiko and Rise to dispatch while he continued his forward momentum.
Hiei and those with him would surge forwards rapidly, forming a multi-level wedge formation with him at the crest of it. The men on the outside would fight, and as they tire, they would roll out of combat for someone behind them to take up the fight. It would ensure that a fresh face is on the outside, carving a path while the ones on the inside had a chance to catch their breaths while the medic nin healed them up for their next turn on the outside. This Raikage was a General before he became a politician. He's making his way towards the meteor, where Yumma is most likely to be. Hopefully the others would catch on fast enough to follow him.
RP: Hiei transforms into YOTSUKI-CONDUCTIVE-ARMOR-II.
RPCOMBAT: Hiei defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…57
Michiko takes her time now that her attackers are pretty much crispy fries. She keeps the metal bindings around them good and tight so that they don't escape so easily should they come back to life, then uses a bit of her chakra to rush towards Hiei. The girl had seen him take some of those attacks from the Hitokage and had a feeling that he may have needed some assistance… She was able to dodge out of the way from many of the attackers, or maybe it was her rather small stature that made them ignore her. Regardless of the reason, she was able to make it to Hiei's side without facing any attacks.
Upon reaching the Raikage's side, she's already got her hand laced with green chakra and places it on the Yotsuki. "Don't shock me to death…" she muttered as his skin sparks up with lightning, the girl sending the healing chakra through him to restore energy, chakra, and health in one fell swoop. Once she feels the Yotsuki is healed enough, she darts off to help a few others who seem badly wounded.
COMBAT: Michiko heals Hiei for 940 with RESTORING CHAKRA PALM.
COMBAT: Rise defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(48) attack from Hitokage with a SUBTLE-DODGE…51
Rise does not just move, but flows past the attacks leveled upon her. The enemy was relentless, their numbers uncountable in the heat of the battle, and the tide of battle kept shifting with every passing moment. There remained a rhythm to it all. One Rise matched accordingly at every turn until she found herself in one of the less intense combat areas on the battlefront. "There.." She murmurs underbreath after having spotted Hiei's form. A considerably easier task once the head honcho practically roars out a command to gather close.
She answers readily, though only lingers close by long enough to follow in the wake of his attack. Not directly no, but with a convient nearby boulder. How she managed such a feat using only one hand is a mystery. If that isn't enough to strike fear into her enemies however, nothing would. She turns afterward, meaning to ask for her next order, only to see Hiei move on, leaving her and whoever remained to hold back the tide.
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(51) attack from Hitokage with a MASTERED-ARMORED-PUPPETRY…43
COMBAT: Kaidan loses the roll and sustains 808 damage.
The hit from a blade actually doesn't break the armor on his back but the shock of the hit will leave a nasty bruise inside the armor across Kaidan's still very flesh and blood back. He stumbles a step and turns to stab a blade from the back of his fist right into his attacker before another blade slips from his foot as he spinkicks another before a jumping knee with a blade from the knee goes into another. He lands and points back, "Remember, this isn't a fight to gain ground! We are defending! Fall back!" He points to his fellows as he watches those of Sunagakure fall, "If you fall, trip someone on your way down!" He starts covering the organized fall back to the line defending the meteorite.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SILKEN-ENCROACHMENT(72) attack from Meruin with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…47
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1178 damage.
COMBAT: Meruin drains stamina from Hitokage
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SILKEN-ENCROACHMENT(72) attack from Meruin with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…50
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1224 damage.
COMBAT: Meruin drains stamina from Hitokage
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against LARCH-BONE-SPIN(79) attack from Yuuka with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…49
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1420 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against FLICKERING-FANGS(48) attack from Naoya with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…41
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 488 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against FLICKERING-FANGS(56) attack from Naoya with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…67
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against EIGHT-TRIGRAMS-AIR-PALM(31) attack from Kaydin with a DODGE-II…60
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against INSPIRATION-WAVE(58) attack from Hiei with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…56
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 658 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against INSPIRATION-WAVE(37) attack from Hiei with a TENSE…16
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 757 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against POWER-PHYSICAL-III(47) attack from Rise with a TENSE…7
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1649 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPETRY-SHARP(41) attack from Kaidan with a DODGE-II…57
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPETRY-SHARP(46) attack from Kaidan with a DODGE-II…33
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 584 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPETRY-SHARP(49) attack from Kaidan with a DODGE-II…55
Though the shinobi are doing well at holding the forces off for now, they continue to come one after another. Many fall and some even for the second time, but the numbers are ever-thickening between the zombies and the still-living and the Hitokage themselves. One might wonder the point of fending all these off a times up until that unmistakeable dark presence is felt…
Those able to detect chakra might be about to pick out where Yuuma is coming from. Whether or not it's far too late by the time they realize it is another question. Rather than charging through the hordes like a general, he is moving under the ground. Unless stopped, he'd simply rise up within the encampment rather close to where the meteorite is being kept. If caught, he'd simply rise up in front of whatever is impeding his travel. "Why hello, friends. This has been an amusing game, but I'm afraid the time is coming to end it… Make peace with your respective deities and all that because I've got a feeling this will be the last day for all of you."
COMBAT: Meruin defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(75) attack from Yuuma with a HUNTER-VISION…74
COMBAT: Meruin defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(47) attack from Hitokage with a WIND-STEP…60
Meruin's gaze flickers around, searching the battlefield as the endless enemy continues its encroachment. Something was wrong — something was off! He knew it… Soon, the moments of breathing room he and his shinobi had bought were used up and the assault renewed. A single handseal brought the wind about him, air swirling around his arachnid form to deflect blades and lighten his movements, providing him the mobility to avoid each strike long enough to finally see…
Yuuma. He was here. He was far behind their lines, near the meteorite. And he seemed ready to give his victory speech.
"HOLD THE LINE!" called the Mizukage to the army as he stepped away from it. "Keep the Hitokage at bay!" he shouted as he stepped behind the lines, a hand clapping Enbu's and then Naoya's shoulders as he moved past them. He stopped beside Akane, saying, "Invigorate me. It is time," as all of the silk and chitin fell from his body, leaving him as he began, his attention all focused on augmenting his mind.
"Yuuka! Hold the line firm and prepare to face Yuuma! Raikage! Do you see him?" And all the while as he called out orders and warnings, he examined his surroundings. Gathered his chakra. Took in the set and sway of his target, brought what he knew of him to mind, counted the bodies between them as time slowed in his mind, formulating his swiftest, least predictable path to the man behind the protection of his teammates.
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(74) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…15
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(61) attack from Hitokage with a BONE-SENSORY-III…81
Yuuka grits her teeth as she growls darkly, slashing through bodies and keeping back the Hitokage from the wounded, without so much as a glance back at them. Even as she hears the Mizukage's voice on the wind, her expression merely darkens further still, "As you commanded, so shall it be." the Swordsman murmurs lightly. When he moves forward, the battle moves with him, Kirigakure shinobi diving deeper to make a path straight towards Yuuma.
COMBAT: Enbu defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(81) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…8
COMBAT: Enbu defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(64) attack from Hitokage with a FALSE-STEP-OF-THE-SEA-BREEZE…52
Akane's assitance was accepted with a stoic nod of gratitude as Enbu continued to endure the assault to his back. Still moving from the front line after creating the bone barrier through great exertion, Enbu was still being assaulted as he'd make his way out of the area back towards the location of the meteorite. However, Yuuma's forces were relentless, and while Enbu did his best to keep track of and with Akane, perhaps doing his job well at the same time he would continue to be rammed by all manner of objects and appendages even as he deftly moved around his countrymen and allies to push towards the back lines. Being a meat shield may be something he is suited to, but it certainly was not his favorite pass time.
COMBAT: Naoya defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(86) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…10
COMBAT: Naoya defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(68) attack from Hitokage with a SILKEN-PROTECTION…58
Ignorance. Without the ability to sense chakra or the abilities to make out and isolate the many different scents around him. The brood noticed a faint shift in the enemy forces and begins to scent the air safely from the bindings along the young Okumo's neck.. Nothing. Without much to report, Naoya focuses on the task at hand, staying alive. Kicking backwards, one of the six arms extends out and strikes downwards, trying to intercept the blow and bat it away though it wasn't perfect. The blow is redirected and his his ribs off center.
Dancing backwards, the young Okumo begins to evaluate for a moment before nodding his head lightly to himself. The sudden touch causes several spiders within his neckline to react, planning to swarm the target until the sight is recognized, the Mizukage. A wide grin shapes the mask on Naoya's face at the faint acknowledgement spurring him forward. Almost disappearing for a moment, Naoya stays lower to the ground before hopping up before his target, attempting to burrow his knee the creature's skull. "Stay down this time!"
COMBAT: Akane defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(82) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…13
Akane waited for the wave of attacks to come forth then ebb like an ocean current before she moved forward. Kyoujin thrilling in the combat around her, she grinned behind the mask, though she did not deviate from Akane's quest. She appeared behind and to one side of Meruin, much as she had with Enbu, spoke just loud enough for him to hear her and recognise her as an ally. "This One is here." And then she leapt up into the air, her hands both thrumming with lightning. Her jump brought her up to Meruin's level, tapping his shoudlers lightly, gentle and offering support. Even in battle.
It was a span of only a few seconds but in those seconds, through her firm yet gentle touch, more could be passed than merely energy. Apology perhaps? It would be impossible to tell looking from the outside, her face masked. She squeezed lightly then let go.
By the time it was done she was landing on the ground and bolting backwards again, out of range of the attacks, back to the center to see to more wounded. She wished to her very core hse could fight along side them but… But she had fought in another way to bring this scene about. She had used every secret she had to locate a possible weakness. Would it hold? Would that which she percieved be tangible enough to destyroy their enemies? As much as she wanted to fight and kill along side Meruin, she knew she served best where she was.
Another wounded was cycled out of the front lines and toward her and she turned immediately to his aid, stopping his bleeding as well. It was not as satisfying for Kyoujin to be here in the center, protected and healing, but Akane knew their time would come. ~Patience, Kyoujin. You will get your chance, but Yuuma is not yours to kill.~ The dark fighter inside her snorted derisively but remained silent, watching through Akane's eyes as the wounded came and went, healed, though painfully in most cases. One could return to the fight with a burn more easily than with a bleeding gash. They would survive.
COMBAT: Akane heals Meruin for 0 with ADVANCED COMBAT ELECTROTHERAPY.
COMBAT: Hiei defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(59) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…18
COMBAT: Hiei defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(55) attack from Hitokage with a DANCING-FLOW…59
When the hitokage attack again, Hiei once again makes his body like water, that fluid motion that resembles that of a dancer as he deftly tries to avoid their attacks. He rewarded with yet another wound. He growls and bares his teeth. These guys were pissing him off. He calls out towards the Mizukage. "No, but I can see you. Go ahead, I'm right behind you." He turns to his own troops. "Michiko! You're in command. Hold this line! They do NOT get any further than this, do you understand me!? Hit me up with your good stuff before I go. I'll probably need it." He waits just long enough to see if the Tokubetsu receives his orders before he turns to leave. "Rise, you're with me. Let's go kill us an old man who's lived /way/ beyond his time."
COMBAT: Michiko defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(80) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…9
Michiko was mostly listening for Hiei's orders, and she offered a nod upon hearing them. So she was in charge… The girl finishes healing one person before she slips away to the Raikage's side, hand still green from her last heal, and she places it on Hiei. He would feel further invigorated by the chakra she put into the Yotsuki, as it offered some energy to use in addition to healing the wounds he received. "Just hurry and destroy Yuuma…" she mutters, darting back towards the defensive line to get some of the Kumo shinobi present rallied and into position.
COMBAT: Rise defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(91) attack from Yuuma with a TENSE…17
COMBAT: Rise defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(63) attack from Hitokage with a STRIKE-CANCELLING…69
«OOC» Meruin says, "He undid his own stealth, Aye. After traveling behind our lines."
The Okumo's orders are overhead and noted. Beyond that, Rise would continue to fufill her purpose as dictated by Hiei originally. Admittedly, Rise could not fully recall if she was under any obligation to follow the man-spider's orders. She remained fortunate, if only because his orders did not contradict Hiei's unspoken demands of those of a lesser rank.
So dedicated to the task of erradicating the enemy before her, that Rise pays no special mind to any attempts on Yuuma's part to sneak past the defenders. Not that she possessed any special means of marking his passage; only instinct and intuition. Both of which she were already being overworked in finding weak points to destroy or slow the enemy down. Several more kunai slip into her hand and are released in rapid succession. Unlike the last barrage, she sought to provide nearby allies that seemed to be struggling to defend an opportunity to counterattack. In between the release of blades, Rise continued to meet blow for blow, negating the force behind each one before moving on. It isn't until after the blades are sent flying that Hiei's follow-up command truly registers in mind.
Rise obeys accordingly after a shakey start revolving around nodding or saluting before simply rushing off after him. The Shirokiri still lags behind as a result of that moment of hesitation.
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against ATTACK-PREVENTION-STEALTH(95) attack from Yuuma with a SKILL-NAME…
Watching as the super powers of the world fight, Kaidan is spared any attacks despite his actions of covering the tactical retreat of Sunagakure. Even as they move back, Kaidan moves up on to a formation created by an Earth Manipulator, climbing up on top of the rock to look out over the field. He watches as Yuuma appears behind the lines and then turns to call out even as he knocks an arrow out of the air, "Sunagakure! Form up alongside Kumogakure's shinobi! Do not let a single Hitokage pass! If even one makes it past our line that is one more person they have to fight other than Yuuma! If someone falls, take their place and form up! Keep up the fight and I'll keep you safe! No one passes! Medics, prepare to receive any injured!" He then leaps down off the boulder and jumps right into the enemy lines. His movements are fast, feet and hands of puppet make flickering here and there as he punches and kicks into any enemy foolish enough to come near him as he slips through the lines and stays right near the front of the troops of Sunagakure, trying to intercept attacks as they come in from afar to help keep the troops up, his armor absorbing attacks.
RP: Yuuma transforms into METEORITE-POISON.
The battle continues to rage harder and harder as the shinobi begin to suspect that Yuuma has arrived. Screams of fury and rage grow ever-louder, their intent simply to make this place as chaotic as possible so that no one can find where their master is until it's far too late. They seem to outright refuse to stay down until he has what he came for, taking barrage after barrage of blows, only to rise again with the power of the demonic creatures inside them willing them on until their bodies are damaged past all usability. What's left of those who do finally go down is a rather horrid sight, the mangled appearance of a body that had to be killed again and again and again until it finally stopped moving.
With the chaos of the battle distracting any and all from being able to spot him, Yuuma is able to rise up right next to the prize he hopes to claim. He turns toward it, pondering a brief moment before taking the glove off the hand bearing his seal to place it on it. "Let's see what this thing can do," he says with a smirk before the seal begins to glow and take in massive amounts of chakra directly from the meteorite itself. As he does, a spike of chakra so massive that even those without the ability to sense chakra would feel it coursing through him.
As he stands at the rock, a hue of purple and black chakra begins to expand out from his body, his presence becoming more earth-shattering by the moment. "Interesting," his voice booms out, yet still seems calm. "Let's see what this power can do, shall we?" he asks with a smirk as he turns to look at the field around him.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against LARCH-BONE-SPIN(57) attack from Yuuka with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…50
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1261 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against FLICKERING-FANGS(70) attack from Naoya with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…45
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 612 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(45) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…62
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(55) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…64
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SHARP-III(60) attack from Rise with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…45
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 809 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(67) attack from Kaidan with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…52
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 980 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(68) attack from Kaidan with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…45
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1114 damage.
A tic appears in Meruin's jawline at the thrum of dark chakra that courses through the battlefield as Yuuma draws directly on the power of the meteorite, deciding his poisoned fate. And greatly empowering himself. The key, now, is to make sure that he dies before he kills too many more. It was time to occupy him and speed the process.
"It is time," he said, not looking to Akane, his eyes locked on the man as assassination formed in his mind. He had been unresponsive to her physical apology and support. His face spoke just as much about how he felt about her in that moment: It was silent, offering no hint to what lay behind it. She would have to draw her own interpretations of the moment. "Stay here behind the front, keeping it stable and keep an eye out for Tsuneo. I'm taking Yuuka with me; Be prepared to switch with her should the tides change."
"And then he called, "Yuuka! To the meteorite!"
And with that, he vanished… and swiftly reappeared, bellowing orders. "Troops! Retreat from the meteorite! Retreat from Yuuma. Keep the Silence at bay!"
And as Meruin spoke those words, true him dropped the henge revealing his chitin covered form, already traveling through the troops, low to the ground and sinuous in movement. He was a black streak, subtly parting the crowd until he broke it enough to appear at Yuuma's back — wholly different.
Six arms, eight eyes, four fangs, ivory skin and a tidal wave of killing intent and chakra marked his transformation as he sent white, barbed chains of chitin at Yuuma to run him through. His intent was to impale him with those chains and send him flying down into the dark of the Kyuusen Crater.
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(66) attack from Hitokage with a BONE-SENSORY-III…85
The dark chakra continues to build, spiking, and unwillingly drawing Yuuka's gaze towards Yuuma as his voice seems to boom out across the battlefield. A bit of color subtly drains from her already pale skin, but the Swordsman's expression hardens with focused determination. Her attention snaps to Meruin as he call calls out to her, intense aquamarine eyes narrowing on him as Yuuka wordly dips her chin. She blurs with fluid speed right beside the spider-like Mizukage, smoothly avoiding any strikes that come her way with deadly efficiency.
As she races across the battlefield straight for Yuuma, the flesh at the base of her neck visibly sheds away in pieces, revealing stark white bone of her spine. It cracks and separates from her neck entirely, allowing Yuuka to reach up and grip it much like that of a hilt of a sword. Without so much of a wince the entire length, even longer than that even, is pulled free from her body, blood arcing in the air from the motion. While Meruin aims to thoroughly impale Yuuma, the whip in her hand lashes out to ensnare him.
The fell of darkness about the area would seep in to Enbu's epidermis a bit, causing the rage inside of him to chaotically flutter for a moment as he launched himself through the air high above his allies before landing with a quake and exhaling what appeared to be white smoke, merely the shear heat of his breath against the much cooler air. He did not hesitate upon seeing the target though, the madness that permiated from him only making Enbu move almost out of sheer instinct as he'd flow with blurring speed around Yuuma, pushing, tapping, poking, shoving at his form in an attempt to isolate him and keep him off balance if not entirely off the ground. He'd then attempt to:
Suddenly shifting to an abrupt stop as he'd nearly tackle Yuuma, Enbu would grasp out at the man's form and pound him to the ground by the throat before dragging his body through the terrain and structures near by.
COMBAT: Naoya defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(58) attack from Hitokage with a SILKEN-PROTECTION…66
A low growl bubbles in the young Okumo's throat as each opponent that they break down to the ground begins to rise again, mangled and deformed but they still stand. Rather than words, odd sounds almost imitations of chittering before his head snaps to one side, studying the few in front of him. Using one of his lower left arms, Naoya curls it tightly as he moves forward, deflecting another strike to the side. Following through with his motion were two blade strikes, neither aiming to kill their target. Each strike aims to remove the beast's fingers and then its thighs, aiming to make it lame seeing as it won't stay dead.
COMBAT: Akane heals Enbu for 953 with CAUTERIZATION.
Akane had not expected a reaction from Meruin, he had other things on his mind. She knew he understood and that was enough. His order got a short, sharp "hai." from her before she'd retreated again to the wounded center.
Yuuma was at the meteorite. Loudly she called out. "STOP HIM!" Pointing towards Yuuma, but then ducking down into the crowd again. It did not take long for her to locate her target. Enbu.
She had shifted back to the center of the configuration, protected by both those in the front lines and Enbu apparently. He'd been following her like Hiro-san had when she was pregnant.. A bodyguard. Kyoujin chuckled inside her head and Akane shook her head lightly. She couldn't take the time to look out for Hiro-san right now. She wasn't even sure if he was here. In truth this was Akane's first time being in the traditional medic's role. She was used to fighting and stepping back to heal as needed. But she saw the wisdom of this new tactic for this battle. She glanced over at Enbu, noting that his regeneration was not keeping up with his injuries.
She moved over to the Kaguya clan head when they had some time between attacks. She did not even pause. He needed physical healing more than energy at the moment. She reaached out, once more burning the wounds closed. If he did not regenerate fast enough or get further medical attention it might leaave a scar but at least he could continue fighting.
Then she turned to watch, preparing to switch out with Yuuka if called. It did not matter what people thought of her actions. She was one with Kiri today and that was all that mattered in the moment. Her eyes behind her mask were caught by the vision of Yuuma's aura, she could feel the thrum of the chakra and for a moment she was paralyzed, wondering if she had led the shinobi villages wrongly in her schemes.. Granted it was not just her but Hiei and Meruin as well and others of course, but seeing him with such power gave Akane a moment's pause. During that time Enbu took off suddenly, heading straight for Yuuma….
RP: Hiei transforms into LIGHTNING-RELEASE-ARMOR.
Hiei appears a few feet away from Yuuma and roars as his light blue aura intensifies. He can sense chakra so the feeling of a super powered Yuuma is felt and then noted. Can't take any chances here. While Hiei doesn't become the stuff of Nightmares like Meruin, lightning does infuse itself into the aura as his muscles increase to three times their normal size, making him much bigger and more intimidating. The ground at his feet cracks from the sheer force of his chakra output. Hiei had already given his orders, and he forms a single handseal as a clone of himself appears next to him. Now that there are two super sized Hiei's they both draw both swords form their back as one simply vanishes while the other rushes Yuuma at hyper speed. He seems to be everywhere and nowhere all at once as multiple afterimages of Hiei attack Yuuma from all sides, ending with an attack that is designed to compliment Meruin's and Yuuka's by slashing at him to knock him towards the crater.
COMBAT: Michiko counters against a NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(47) attack from Hitokage with a METAL-CLONE…57
Those that attack Michiko would find themselves getting tackled by a clone made of pure metal. It was still hot enough to burn whatever it was touching, too, allowing for that much more pain. Michiko, thankfully not surrounded completely, takes an opportunity to make handseals. "Be sure to hold your ground against the Hitokage. Make it so they can't advance," she tells the Kumo-nin who are not facing off against Yuuma (which is basically everyone but Hiei and Rise). The final handseal, snake, is made, and the effect is almost immediate.
Hands upon earthen hands erupt from the ground, grabbing at the Hitokage that are attacking and still coming to life. The jutsu would attempt to drag them into a coffin-like structure, stone ribs enclosing them tight within while the grave started to sink into the ground enough to immobilize further those who are trapped within.
COMBAT: Rise defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(56) attack from Hitokage with a MOONSAULT…87
The dead could rise up as many time as they wanted. Short of exhausting her nearly inexhaustiable stamina, none of the lesser minions had any hope of delaying her for more than a few heart beats. A faint frown mars her features, for their attempt to surround and throw themselves at her recklessly held some merit.
A longing to engage them gnawed at her heart, dulled her ability to reason or look beyond the heat of the moment, but ultimately failed to give her pause for more than half a second. By the time the twisted flesh and children of shadows finally reach her original position, the woman is long gone. One, good powerful leap had destroyed the ground at her feet and carried her well above the field of battle. She spun in mid-air as intuition demanded as much as to make her a harder target to hit as well as survey the battle field below. Yuuma most of all grabbed her attention.
Even a resident of heaven cannot deny the man's — the demon's power. Not entirely. In recognition of it, Rise formed a single half seal and focused within. Gate after chakra gate are forced open in rapid succession, enfusing her with strength that would tear her apart with every movement made. Rise doesn't flinch for a moment, but yelled out a warning to those closest to Yuuma to move out of the way, 'less the endure the rain of fire as well.
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against NPC-B-TAI-ATTACK(47) attack from Hitokage with a MASTERED-ARMORED-PUPPETRY…39
COMBAT: Kaidan loses the roll and sustains 832 damage.
Even as he fights his way through various enemies, Kaidan is doing his best to keep his fellow shinobi alive. Even as he races back by another one, he takes yet another arrow right into the side. He grumbles and slumps slightly, "Dive." One of the Sunagakure shinobi move to him and he holds up a hand, "Hold formation!" He then gets hit with a wave of chakra as Yuuma taps into the meteorite, "Double dive." He whispers out as he nearly drops to a knee from the feeling of it. Jumping over another enemy, he lands with both feet atop him befor becoming a spinning engine of destruction as he gets back up to a high point to look back toward the fight. Even as another arrow embeds into his leg, Kaidan simply watches the other fight. He lets out a whistle and then shakes his head, "I really need to work on more armor." He states and then groans as he pushes an arrow through his side, breaks off one end and pulls out the other. He tosses it aside, nearly slumping down and then he turns back to the Hitokage, "Lets give them the time they need!" He then races back down into the fight.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against SILENT-KILLING(121) attack from Meruin with a DEMON-SEALING-TECHNIQUE…130
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against DEPTH-OF-WINTER(34) attack from Enbu with a SEAL-WALL…95
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against DEPTH-OF-WINTER(36) attack from Enbu with a SEAL-WALL…85
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against FLOOD-DEVASTATION(35) attack from Enbu with a SEAL-WALL…65
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against SWALLOW-RETURN(114) attack from Hiei with a DEMON-SEALING-TECHNIQUE…131
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against MORNING-PEACOCK(81) attack from Rise with a DEMON-SEALING-TECHNIQUE…84
As the attacks come his way, Yuuma extends his hand out, causing the seal upon his palm to glow and extend out a barrier of energy around him. Quite simply, it stops each an every attack effectively by sucking the energy out of those composed of chakra while deflecting them along with those not composed of chakra. "So a number of the strongest leaders of this shinobi world gather at my heels to do battle. Tell me, should I be honored by your courage… or your willingness to have me seal your fate among the dust and ash of this world?" He closes his eyes for a moment, opening them to reveal they've gone completely black to the point it would actually hurt to stare into them.
As the barrier around him fades, Yuuma would leap back, extending his hand out to his attackers as he attempts to violently rip their life forces from their bodies. "This battle will determine the fate of everything and everyone you hold dear. After all, if you fail, who will be left to stop me? For all you know, they could all be dying in agony right now as my monsters tear across your word. They could already be calling for you from beyond the grave."
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TAINTED-BLADE(46) attack from Naoya with a DODGE-II…59
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TAINTED-BLADE(35) attack from Naoya with a DODGE-II…54
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against METAL-CLONE(57) attack from Michiko with a DODGE-II…35
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 796 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DEMON-GRAVES(88) attack from Michiko with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…67
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DEMON-GRAVES(65) attack from Michiko with a TENSE…7
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(52) attack from Kaidan with a TENSE…9
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1222 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPET-PHYSICAL-III(60) attack from Kaidan with a TENSE…4
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 1344 damage.
Meanwhile out on the battlefield, while many of the monsters are falling at the hands of the shinobi, they seem to be getting up even quickly now. Some are even beginning to take on the purple haze of the chakra Yuuma absorbed, likely using that power as they're fed it straight from him now as they start to fight back harder and harder.
COMBAT: Meruin defends against INHALING-MAW(90) attack from Yuuma with a ETERNAL-NIGHTMARE…124
Meruin's mouth curled into a sneer as his assault was stopped by a familiar wall of seals around the man. As other attacks fly inward, the assault of his peers, he dug his feet in and pushed forward, trying to weaken the barrier enough to send his chain through them but alas… In the end, they were simply repelled and he was forced to retract them, their length slipping into his body as though into indisturbed water.
He brought himself to his full height as he looked at the man, listening to his words and only making a small sound. "I find that your words begin to bore me as of late Fuzen Yuuma." And with that, the whole of his form was abruptly enveloped by that of a chitnious spider, the giant arachnid rushing him a distance away from the chakra draining assault, the chitinous barrier much more resistant to chakra permeation than bare skin. Once he was near Hiei himself, the spider shell dropped to the ground, revealing the Mizukage's form once more.
"We need a plan," he said."
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against INHALING-MAW(102) attack from Yuuma with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…80
COMBAT: Yuuka loses the roll and sustains 1665 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma drains chakra from Yuuka
COMBAT: Yuuma absorbs chakra from Yuuka
COMBAT: Yuuma drains stamina from Yuuka
Yuuka scowls darkly when she sees her Clematis Vine is literally deflected, though just barely so as it comes so close. Her irritation is quickly pushed aside as her razor's edge focus stays on Yuuma. As his hand extends towards her, the Swordsman takes a step back as if to brace herself to either block or dodge an oncoming attack, though what happens is far different than what she expects.
Yuuka quickly crosses her arms up in front of her, the bone spikes from her limbs growing in such a way as to attempt to completely envelope and protect her from the outside force, but she's too slow. Life itself is drained from her body, eyes widening and helpless for what feels like an eternity. And still Yuuka struggles to stay on her feet, never bowing as Yuuma mocks their efforts.
"You know," the Swordsman mumbles, despite herself, "you talk too much." she murmurs idly, faint smirk reappearing on her soft lips. "And clearly you don't know anything about the people in the Land of Water." Despite the dire circumstances, a light chuckle is heard. Already she'd begun to gather energy into herself, focusing on her strength and chakra in the pit of her stomach.
COMBAT: Enbu defends against INHALING-MAW(86) attack from Yuuma with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…58
COMBAT: Enbu loses the roll and sustains 1827 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma drains chakra from Enbu
COMBAT: Yuuma absorbs chakra from Enbu
COMBAT: Yuuma drains stamina from Enbu
Focusing on keeping his attention on Akane while going on a full assault proved to be more difficult than expected. Enbu was capable of raging and still grasping a battle field, but this opponent used attacks that were not truly attacks. The sheer inner workings of an energy consuming inhalation was both extremely familiar and completely alien. Even putting up hard defenses to attempt to mitigate the strange etheral pull of his strength didn't seem to do much of anything but keep him firmly in place as he was literally, in some senses, inhaled. The bone seed would crack and break around him as he'd slowly open his eyes, almost as if he'd gone unconcious for a moment as he'd find his chakra to be gone. But his eyes snapped to in order to locate Akane, and he'd shatter and disperse the rest of his bown with raw strength as he'd move to her location immediately, converting some of what he's lost in the mean time.
COMBAT: Naoya defends against NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(80) attack from Hitokage with a SILKEN-PROTECTION…63
COMBAT: Naoya loses the roll and sustains 1248 damage.
The task was simple, hold the line though it was more difficult than the young Okumo had anticipated. Once again, Naoya curls an arm to receive another blow but the angle suddenly shifts as does the tempo leaving him off guard. Knocked backwards, the young Okumo lost his balance and from the look of it, the form of one of his lower arms was now twisted and slow to recover itself.
Squinting slightly, Naoya's eyes begin to dull faintly to a dim amber and he kicks backwards. Without looking, he retreats for several meters and then strafes, moving himself closer towards Enbu as well as Akane. While he doesn't fall back for treatment, it was clear planning to slow the influx of forces towards them.
Akane watched silently as Meruin managed to protect himself from Yuuma's signature move… She'd seen it before, up close. She flinched behind the mask as she watched it tear life from Yuuka's form. The Kaguya would probably attack her if she tried to aid her.. Which made being a medic for Kiri more than tricky, at times impossible. She'd considered paralyzing her patients in the past to make them submit to medical treatment, though luckily enough she had never had to actually use that strategy. But this was not going well… Was she wrong about the Meteorite? Yuuma's aura had darkened..
Then a clone was beside her, Meruin's words in her ears. She nodded and took a breath, stepping so the clone was between her and any she considered a danger to her, Konoha nin and allies alike. This would have to be quick. Behind her mask, fully hidden from casual view her eyes shifted, the green changeing to an acid tone, three tomoe in a ring about her eyes She looked and /looked/ hard at Yuuma, trying to distinguish out how much of his chakra was corrupted. She shook her head. "It is encroaching but not fully corrupted him yet. It's getting there though… Excuse me. I must help Enbu-dono."
With that she turned and located Enbu, nodding to the man and lifting her hands, once more sealing his wounds with heat and flame. "You will end up scarred if you keep this up, Kaguya-dono." It was an attempt at humor but came out a bit flat. Then she quickly disengaged her eyes, glancing about to see if there had been any undue attention on her…
RP: Akane transforms into SHARINGAN-III.
COMBAT: Akane heals Enbu for 872 with CAUTERIZATION.
While his clone engaged Yuuma, Hiei was a little ways off preparing a little something of his own. Clone Hiei felt the familiar pull of Yuuma's favorite technique and when all of the life and chakra was drained from him, he just went *poof*. Meanwhile, Hiei was still focusing his chakra when Meruin appears next to him. He looks over at the man and nods. "I know. That meteor juiced him up beyond our expectations." He frowns. "At this rate we'll be taken down before the after effects even begin to kick in. I am open to suggestions though. In all my years and all my battles I have never faced a being like him before." Hiei pauses. "One thing though. If we do manage to kill him, I need his body. My people have a way to seal the Crawler for good." He exhales a little as he forms another seal, creating another clone. "I've got an idea. Here goes everything." Hiei himself vanishes again as his clone takes off towards Rise. "I need a boost, throw me towards Yuuma." Anticipating that she complies, he is rocketed into the air as soon as he reaches the area above Yuuma, he begins to spin as his trajectory takes him downwards.
While at first it might look like Hiei is attacking Yuuma himself, that is a lie. Lightning sparks from his foot as he channels his chakra into one devastating strike…at the ground by Yuuma's feet. The effect is immediate. The power from the strike creates a large crater around the area, weakening the very ground that Yuuma stands on. The clone is prepared to sacrifice itself to see this job done. Hiei just hopes it creates an opening for one of his battle partners.
COMBAT: Hiei attacks target 1 with LIGHTNING-CURB-STOMP with a roll of: 77
COMBAT: Michiko counters against a NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(48) attack from Hitokage with a METAL-CLONE…52
Michiko works on fending back the monsters that had attacked her and her allies, another clone erupting from the ground to attack the ones aiming for her. She also takes a few of the attackers aiming for Kumogakure's forces. She does a quick glance towards the direction of Yuuma and those fighting him, wincing a bit when she sees several get hit by the inhaling maw attack that she has often seen Yuuma use. Thankfully Hiei had only used a clone to attack the Silence Brother, but even then, it was a bit worrying. She makes the same handseals to try and drag the zombies back down into the ground to keep them stuck, telling those allied with the Shinobi fighting forces to attack once they see people stuck in the graves. It was a bit weaker than last time, as she has been using a lot of chakra. She has yet to get hit, but it's tiring all the same.
The sheer force of Rise's punches slowed her descent, knocking her off course but granting her time to observe the after effects of the attacks leveled upon Yuuma. None of it proves enough. Though she expected as much, her brows are still knitted together from the sight. Apart of her had hoped…
The red-skinned oni wrapped in a green aura lands roughly on the ground not long after the Yuuma finishes his sweep against the melee fighters. Despite the jolt of pain that would criple most, she rises once more, undaunted. "We need-…" The rest dies in her throat as Hiei makes his abrupt appearance. Without hesitation, she grabs his hand and sends him flying in the direction desired. She yearned to follow, truly, but could do little more than than reposition herself to observe from a better angle.
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(60) attack from Hitokage with a DASH-STEP-III…75
Zipping in between enemy assaults, Kaidan looks to be pressing enemy attacks whenever he can. The assaults are happening all around him even as he pulls a Sunagakure shinobi out of harm's way and pats him on the back before pushing him a little, "Well, return the favor." He then stabs into another before rushing through and stabbing into yet another. He looks back at the battle, blinking as he starts to realize there's a lack of leadership on the field. Moving quickly through two enemies, Kaidan rushes up the side of a tree and stands on the side of it, looking around, "Oh crash, did the Kage fall?" He blinks several times as he looks, "What…?"
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against KAGE-BUNSHIN-STEALTH(84) attack from Meruin with a PERCEPTION-III…57
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against KAGE-BUNSHIN-STEALTH(80) attack from Hiei with a PERCEPTION-III…77
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TAINTED-BLADE(59) attack from Naoya with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…40
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 622 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against TAINTED-BLADE(34) attack from Naoya with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…39
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against METAL-CLONE(52) attack from Michiko with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…44
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 718 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DEMON-GRAVES(59) attack from Michiko with a ACROBATIC-DODGE-II…55
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against DEMON-GRAVES(57) attack from Michiko with a TENSE…15
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPETRY-SHARP-II(52) attack from Kaidan with a TENSE…9
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 800 damage.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against PUPPETRY-SHARP-II(60) attack from Kaidan with a TENSE…12
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 862 damage.
"Or maybe you don't know what I've sent into your homeland," Yuuma comments back to Yuuka with a smirk. As Hiei's clone comes toward him once again, he cants his head curiously as the attack doesn't come at him, but rather the ground beneath his feet. "Such brave forces, such powerful speeches… and all they do is hide," he says as he literally just bounds into the air, pointing his hand down and firing off a massive wave of dark energy that explodes outwardly in hopes of annihilating the clones and anyone else still in the area for the mere cause of moving himself out of the way of the effects Hiei's actions.
Back on the outer part of battlefield, the shinobi seem to be fairing as well as one could hope against the Hitokage. While the monsters are still fighting hard, the shinobi are holding their own and even thinning some of the numbers down, but this is no time for relaxing as they are still fighting back as hard as they can.
As Yuuma releases a wave of dark energy upon Yuuka and Rise, he'd find that the earth beneath him abruptly tore from its moorings. The huge crater that the Raikage's clone created splintered to rubble beneath the Dark One, a flurry of black chitinous projections tearing the stone weakened from both above and below. It was a landslide beginning to cascade down into the crater and take Yuuma with it.
"Force him back!" shouted the clone of the Mizukage from above as he rushed forward.
From within the rubble erupts Meruin, behind and below Yuuma and letting out a deluge of poisonous gas. His goal was to envelop the man with it, letting the poison corrode and liquify his flesh but, more importantly, damage his lungs in a way that forces him into crippling heaves and keeps him from trying to stop himself from falling. From above, his shadow clone would do the same, sending that same poison forward.
COMBAT: Yuuka defends against DARK-JUDGEMENT(84) attack from Yuuma with a LARCH-BONE-SEED…101
"And yet here I still stand…" Yuuka murmurs lightly to herself, seeming to ignore Yuuma's smirk. Whatever inkling of amusement she had at one time is completely gone, her eyes cold and hard as she watches her target for a moment longer. Her prey.
As soon as he bounds upwards into the air, Yuuka reaches up and crosses both spined arms in front of her, bones rippling swiftly and fluidly around her as water to become a large, overgrown egg. Harder than any diamond. The mass of dark chakra pointed towards the ground explodes, making the protective seed disappear for a long moment before it became evident that the defense had endured the attack.
The shell crumbles away as Yuuka emerges, safe and sound with gaze narrowed on Yuuma. As soon as he lands, and at Meruin's order, the Swordsman dashes straight at the target with a blur of abrupt speed. A single hand taps at Yuuma in quick succession, without any force at all. Two specks, nearly invisible to the naked eye, are planted, and under her influence the specks of bone quickly begin to grow and spread like wild fire, a netting of vine growing thickly as it spreads to ensnare it's target.
Upon finding Akane, Enbu would quite immediately collapse to a knee, though he remained silent and didn't show an expression of pain or fatigue on his face. He was still obviously exhausted, beaten, wounded. His rage was dulled and he was currently not in a good position to move as Akane would tend to the wounds of his flesh. As she made her joke however… Enbu would actually roar with laughter. Apparently that increadibly flat joke was enough to shake off his cold and hadrened exterior. "If only that were possible. My body would finally display the horrors and achievements of my life." Because being a giant blue monster wasn't enough. "Thank you for your continued assistance." Enbu would say graciously as he stood up and cracked a few bones before returning to a more feral state, flipping it on like a switch as he'd slink away in to the shadows of chaos.
COMBAT: Naoya defends against NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(67) attack from Hitokage with a SILKEN-PROTECTION…54
COMBAT: Naoya loses the roll and sustains 1227 damage.
Tensing his silken webbing around his body would only offer him so much protection, only some. The series of blows weren't turning in his favor as each exchange even when he drew blood quickly caused something else to step in its place while it recovered. Breathing out slowly, Naoya's stance wavers for a fleeting moment, leaving multiple images of himself strafing back and forth ad he weaves around other shinobi. While the young Okumo retreats, his movements begin to slow and the once soft silk hardens into more solid plating almost like a drying shell.
RP: Naoya uses C-RANK-CHARGE.
Akane frowned as Yuuma expelled a massive blast of energy, blowing down trops that were too close and knocking them into comrades behind them. The medic bent against the wind and braced, catching one of the smaller Kiri fighters as he was tossed against her. "Keep going! We'll be fine!" She offered an assurign voice and nodded. The man nodded back and seemed emboldened as he went back into the fray.
And then came Enbu, actually falling to one knee. He showed no emotion, no pain, despite the scent of burned flesh and the sizzle of the searing heaat on her fingers. Her little joke.. well she'd expected nothing really, perhaps an annoyed look or something stern, but the Kaguya laughed mightily and she blinked behind the mask. That had not been what she'd expected. She managed to chuckle softly as he spoke. Letting the patient speak helped them deal with what was happening with them or to them so she used his distraction as a good time to switch tacks and funneled her energy into him, incresing his stamina as well as his available chakra. When next she spoke it was odd as though two people spoke all at once. "We are doing our duty as Kirigakure shinobi." She would watch as he slunk back into the battle.
Akane then turned to look about her, looking for other wounded and exhausted patients. She lifted a hand to Michiko, beckoning her closer if she needed the help she seemed to appeaar to need…
COMBAT: Akane heals Enbu for 0 with ADVANCED COMBAT ELECTROTHERAPY.
Hiei was running out of options. Yuuma was more powerful now that he had ever been before, and no tactic they've come up with has changed a thing. So Hiei goes for broke. He holds his swords up on either side of him. "Sky of wonder." The air around him is filled with static electricity. Lightning flashes around his body and then is infused into the swords held out on either side of him. He takes in a breath as the blades on the two swords become blindingly bright. "Power of thunder." He takes a single step forwards before his body blurs. The next time he's seen, he's several feet away from Yuuma in a crouch. He attacked at hyper speed, swinging both swords out at once. A bright flash and a crushing sound of thunder would sound off just as he stops his movement.
RP: Michiko transforms into SIZZLE-IV.
COMBAT: Michiko counters against a NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(64) attack from Hitokage with a METAL-CLONE…66
Michiko gathers the chakra around her person, drawing upon it until… It seems to expand its aura slightly. The girl is definitely going all-out at this point, able to make the handseals to form a clone made of pure metal that meets the Hitokage's attack head on, and then some. As they deal with the clone, it would charge through to create a sort of path while Michiko pressed forward as well. As she travelled, those surrounding her that tried to attack would find themselves dealing with earthen hands that grab and drag the contaminated bodies into the ground via demonic graves with ease. She was fast, too, thanks to the fact that she had grown up among the Reizei and Yotsuki clans. As she moved along, the Iwata was secretly glad that Akane was offering assistance. This form of her skills took a heavy toll on her, and she was already feeling its effects as she zoomed along.
COMBAT: Rise counters against a DARK-JUDGEMENT(92) attack from Yuuma with a LEAF-DRAGON-GOD…134
Blue flames powered by dark energy rushes towards her, scorching and destroying just about everything in its path. Instead of attempting to evade the attack like any sane person might, Rise shifted and loosely locked her position. As soon as the moment felt right, legs muscles are nearly torn completely apart from a succession of powerful kicks. Alone they were powerful, but together they would whip up winds powerful enough to draw in the flames, transforming a budding tornado into an eiree inferno of destruction.
"Rampaging Burning Leaf Dragon God!" Rise cries out with a passion virtually unheard of for the past few months. As if answering the call, the tornado finishes reshaping itself into desired form and charges Yuuma. Its roar and her outcry are the only warnings given before the attack seeks out is prey. Even should that not prove enough, Rise is upon him soon after, punching furiously until it rains fire again.
COMBAT: Kaidan defends against NPC-A-TAI-ATTACK(64) attack from Hitokage with a DASH-STEP-III…78
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against ABRUPT-AGONY(87) attack from Meruin with a ABSORPTION-BARRIER…81
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 1796 damage.
COMBAT: Meruin drains chakra from Yuuma
COMBAT: Meruin drains stamina from Yuuma
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against WILLOW-SEEDLING(66) attack from Yuuka with a TENSE…13
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against WILLOW-SEEDLING(78) attack from Yuuka with a TENSE…15
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against INSTINCT(39) attack from Enbu with a TENSE…16
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against THUNDER-SLASH(115) attack from Hiei with a TENSE…23
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 2680 damage.
COMBAT: Hiei drains stamina from Yuuma
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against LEAF-DRAGON-GOD(134) attack from Rise with a TENSE…24
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 2859 damage.
COMBAT: Yuuma defends against MORNING-PEACOCK(70) attack from Rise with a TENSE…14
COMBAT: Yuuma loses the roll and sustains 2304 damage.
Just as Yuuma is about to raise up a powerful barrier against Meruin's incoming attack, he feels his head start to get hazy on him, and, before the strike even hits, a stream of blood begins to drip out of his nose and eyes. A hint of purple chakra makes lightning bolt in his eyes… and he actually smirks and nods to Meruin as the poisonous gas engulfs his body, followed by being bound by the bone binding of Yuuka's attack. From there it is merely elementary as the strike by Hiei and finally the ripping and tearing and flames of Rise's attacks shred his damaged body bit by bit in a mass that winds up a cloak of smoke and hazy mist from the poisonous fumes emited by the Mizukage.
When the smoke settles, Yuuma is laying just by the crater in a pile of blood and broken flesh, staring up at the sky. "… Quite a trap you all laid," he says, coughing out blood as his eyes haze over while across the battlefield the zombified troops begin to collapse all at once until the only ones standing are the slim numbers of brainwashed soldiers who served under Yuuma, all of which looks horrified and confused at this point. "Well done… Perhaps… the shinobi world you all seek to build… will be worthy… after all… Two thousand years in a dungeon, only to die like this… You're probably wondering if I think it was worth it because of all of which I preached to you… The truth is it was… for one simple reason…" His eyes look up for a sign of any of his opponents around him as they start to lid, smirking at them one last time. "It was fun… Good luck… And don't forget the instructions from the scroll. I'm buying you what time I can, but, if you screw this up, the Crawler comes back, and it's on you." With that, he'd bring the hand with the seal pattern on it up one last time to look at it for a moment then drop it to his chest, where it glows and creates a seal diagram that flows out from his palm and covers his entire body like it's almost been mummified by the pattern itself. With the final falling of his chest, Yuuma's body freezes into lifelessness, forever ending his reign of terror and making both himself and the Crawler merely parts of the history of this shinobi world.
As Meruin begins falling after the projection of his poisonous gas, he forces himself into a backflip that brings him upright and lashes out with his arms. Spider silk shoots from them and he uses it to jerk himself downwards, sending him streaking down into a swift roll that ends with him in a low, sidewards skid. The maneuver was just in time to take him out of range of Rise's assault and it provided him… quite the view. Yuuma's final moments were glorious, in their own way.
Once the assault was over and all that was left was Yuuma's body and dying words, the Mizukage brought himself to his full height, six arms flexing lightly. He listened to his self-given eulogy and turned away without comment when it was done. What was leftover was Hiei's to use and it would be seen to only after the forces were accounted for.
And so Meruin simply began walking back to the army, white spiders spreading from him with a zealous speed to swarm over those most injured, injecting them with healing chemicals. His wounds, he would tend to later. Leaders eat last, afterall. But first…
"Medics, locate our wounded! Front Line, capture the Silence's men!"
There was much to do before they could rest.
Slowing.. slow.. standing still. The more the young Okumo's silk hardened the more he slows until he's at a stand still. Faint cracks sound as he forces his arms to bend. Latching onto his true arms, he claws at them, discarding bloodies chitin arm braces. Slipping two pairs of hands into his tattered overcoat, Naoya shreds his under shirt to pull off sections blood caked chitin, and tosses them to the ground. Exposing were not wounds but healed flesh underneath for a fleeting moment, spiders and his natural silk quickly hides such in moments.
'We.. live yes.. just continue..' For the first time in a while, possibly from exhaustion the young Okumo mumbles actual words. Tilting his head up for a moment as he heard the Mizukage's orders, he breaths in slowly before exhaling. He doesn't lay chase for the fleeting soldiers, not yet, but he doesn't move to be tended to. Instead he begins to pick up and drag the injured yet still breathing back towards the center of the encampment.
Akane watched Michiko zipping back and forth through the battlefield and chuckled behind her mask. IF she herself had not been similarly speedy she might not have been able to follow her movements, but she was and she did.
When next she looked up, Akane spotted Michiko, comming toward her, panting. The girl looked exhausted. "Hold still, Michiko-san." One of the Kiri nin nearby took up position to protect Akane as she worked much like Enbu had before. Then she flashed through some hand seals and channeled the lightning chakra in a more gentle way, laying her hands on Michiko's shoulders she offered her energy and churned out some chakra for her, ready to be used the second contact was broken.
"There. Go. I can sense him weakening." It wasn't a complete lie at least… Inside she could feel Kyoujin fuming as she could sense the end of the battle was comming and she had yet to take a single head! It was all the medic could do to contain her more violent half and placate her…
Then something happened. Yuuma went down… Akane ran forward watching from a closer vantage point so she could hear his final words. She hesitated, somehow torn between the body and safety. He was finally dead… This nightmare was over. Finally… She stepped back as the death rattle sounded in his chest and for a moment she bowed her head, misguided and crazy yes, but a worthy opponent fighting for what he believed in. That deserved a bit of respect. A silent moment's worth at least.
Then the cry went up that Yuuma was dead! New vigor entered the shinobi and they whooped as they attacked the last remaining silence members. It did not take long to defeat those remaining. But through it all she kept her mask on and completely obscured her face….
Hiei stands up and walks back over to Yuuma just as he's giving his speech. The man held Hiei's respect as a difficult opponent, only. Everything else that came out of his mouth was discarded…save for the business with the Crawler. So help him, he was going to make sure that thing never saw the light of day again. "Mizukage. Any Silence survivors I offer to Kiri. I'm sure your shinobi will know best what to do with them." Personally, he hoped they fed them to the Okumo experiments or let their Genin use them as playthings. Brainwashed or not, he would never forgive them for taking his grandfather's life. "Michiko, if you've got any juice left, wrap up Yuuma's body in one of your graves. We'll take it back with us and seal that plunged thing inside of him for good." He then sheathes his sword, the aura around his body leaving him. "Medics, tend to the wounded…" If/when Rise collapses, he'll carry her to a resting place himself. He winces as his stomach rumbled. He had used a lot of chakra today. It was time to refuel the machine. "Anybody know where I can get some food around here?" He asks as he heads towards the center encampment.
Michiko thanks Akane once she's healed, the girl stretching a bit as she feels energy rush through her. It was a good feeling. The girl turns to glance backwards, feeling something… Yuuma had fallen. The girl allows herself a small smile at the accomplishment, then dashes over towards Hiei and manages to hear his instructions. "I just got a bit of energy from Akane-san…" she says, forming handseals that would form one of those demonic graves. She also adds a hint of metal to the bindings to make sure Yuuma is properly enclosed and will definitely not be escaping… Once that's done, she zips off to help the medics, working on mitigating the damage from Rise's Gate transformations before moving onto those who had been injured by Hitokage.
It is only for a moment and only a sliver, but for a few short moments Rise felt something again. Passion had returned to her voice, and her rage flowed through her veins, burning and invigorating her all at once. For a brief moment in time, she felt… whole. All too soon the feeling dies away, leaving barely an echo for her to ponder over later.
Her landing is less rough the second time around, though it takes her longer to rise to straighten out fully afterwards. Finding the will to do so was difficult for her, to say the least. With the feelings from before dying quickly and the sight of a dying Yuuma nearby, the only thing keeping her standing at this point is the demand of duties. It would prove not enough before long. She would regard him — the adversary of all five great shinobi lands with tired and apathetic eyes during his last moments before turning her attention immediatly towards Hiei.
Rise lips part, but not a word slips from her mouth before she collapses heap on the ground. Whatever air was driven from her lungs upon impact is spent groaning from the sheer agony of torn muscles throughout her body.
The battle only rages a little while longer till Yuuma is caught up in some nasty jutsu. Rise's moves on that beast are amazing and he whistles as he stands there watching it. Finally it comes to an end and he idly reaches out to his right and stabs an enemy soldier as it finishes up. He then looks around and nods to Sunagakure, "Alright, enough staring. Yes, she can fight. Yes, she's got a nice butt. That doesn't mean we don't have things to do. Round up everyone that is left and get them tied up to be brought to whichever Kage's village wants them." He then walks up to a few men and states, "Gather a few for questioning back in Sunagakure. Any who look like leaders." He nods and then walks off to help.
