Starring:
Date: July 14, 2013
Summary:
One of the hatched toads has the same markings as a toad of prophecy. Honosuke is tasked with travelling to Mount Myoboku and giving the prophetic toad to the Great Toad Sage. He runs into some dessenters along the way.
"Honosuke's Summons - The Toad of Prophecy"
Amegakure & Mount Myoboku
Honosuke did a good job of protecting the hatched toadlings from their natural predators while the Keeper was away. Since the Keeper's been back though, he's been hard at work creating a nursery, a safe-haven, for the toadlings. They are protected in a earthen-walled habitat created by the Keeper. It is half in the water and half out. Branches with leaves protect it from above so predators can't see into it. The newborn hatchlings are still really small, but they are growing already. The Keeper stands guard at the moment, watching over the toadlings. "Hey, Honosuke, you awake? I need another set of eyes for a moment."
Honosuke was resting after his recent ordeals, partially in the water to soothe his sore muscles, using tiny bits of chakra to oscillate the pond water into a very soft massage. When his name is spoken, however, he opens his eyes and yawns a bit, nodding. "Yes, I'm awake. Meditating, but awake…what do you need me to watch over?" Standing, the Nara wanders over to the Keeper, peering down at the habitat with an approving nod.
The Keeper grunts, "I don't need you to watch over anything. I've got it from here. But, I do need you to come check this out for me to make sure I'm not seeing things. This toadling, is it blue with yellow lightning marks across its face, or am I going crazy? If so…" and he stops himself short. He looks excited, as if he's on the verge of something extraordinary. The Keeper points to one of the toadlings, "Feel free to pick it up and study it, just don't squish it with those big hands of yours."
"Hm? Alright…" Honosuke bends down with a curious glance and he scoops up one of the toadlings gently, using a finger to gently stroke the thing to keep it calm and content. He squints his eyes a bit and nods after a moment, turning back to peer at the Keeper. "Yes, actually, it does have those marks. Is this something that is extraordinary for toads? I'm afraid that I don't know particularly much about such things, sorry." He does note the excitement of the Keeper though, and he smiles a bit. "Though, I suppose the look on your face would lead me to believe that it is."
The Keeper gives a big toady grin, "Well, I can't say for sure, but there is a prophecy that a toad with those markings would be born and lead us into a time of peace and prosperity." The Keeper squats by the nursery and grunts, "I can't leave these toadlings here, and you wouldn't know the first thing to do to care for them anyway…but, maybe I can get you to Mount Myoboku quickly. If you can present that toadling to the great toad sage fir me, he could certainly tell if the prophecy has been fulfilled."
"Mount Myoboku? What is that?" Honosuke had plainly never heard of the place, but he certainly seemed intrigued at the notion of this 'Great Toad Sage'. "A Great Toad Sage, hm? Sounds like an interesting fellow." The Nara gave a bit of a smile and he nodded. "I would be honored to take the toadling to the Mountain, then…how do I transport it and how do I get there?"
The Keeper facepalms with his webbed hands, "Really? You've never heard of Mount Myo, oh nevermind. It's where our base of operations is. It is where the Great Toad Sage is. Not a Great Toad Sage mind you, THE Great Toad Sage." The Keeper makes a little bow every time he says the name, showing its reverence. The Keeper considers the last question and sighs, "Well, by foot it would take over a month to get there from here and there are a lot of dangers along the way. There is another way, a portal, but I'd have to create one here and head out to Mount Myoboku first to let them know you've got permission to be there. Also, you'll need to be granted an audience with The Great Toad Sage, so I'd have to arrange that. It shouldn't take too long. Can you go get me these ingredients quickly…and he names them. The Keeper starts preparations while Honosuke goes to get a few things.
"No, I haven't heard of it…it isn't exactly common knowledge…after all, the place wouldn't be a very good sacred mountain if /everyone knew where it was/." The Ame-nin shakes his head for a moment before he nods and then he wanders off to go find the ingredients. It doesn't take very long, especially with water clones and simple good knowledg of what was easily available in Amegakure. After a little while, Honosuke returns and gives the ingredients to the Keeper with a nod. "There you go."
The ingredients are added to the pond that the toadlings hatched in. With the Keeper's preparations it begins to swirl. This is some special type of Toad ninjutsu apparently. The Keeper turns and says, "Stay here and watch the hatchlings. I'll be back shortly." The toad jumps into the swirling water and disappears. The waters calm down and Honosuke is left alone with the hatchlings. Some time later, the waters begin to swirl and get choppy again. Out of nowhere, the Keeper flies out of the water and lands next to Honosuke and the nursery. "Okay, so…they are ready for you and the prophetic hatchling. Make sure to keep him wet, but it will be a fairly quick journey. Just follow the path from the pond you arrive in to The Great Toad Sage's (bow) throne area. They are expecting you. Well, what are you waiting for…go…"
Honosuke peers at the swirling water and he blinks idly, curious for a few moments before he scoops up the toadling and strokes it again before shrugging and nodding. "Alright, if you say so. If I drown, I am going to haunt you." The Nara grins and plugs his nose with a hand before taking a leap of faith in the swirling waters and hoping that this isn't some sort of prank or that something goes wrong in transport.
Honosuke hops into the swirling waters and finds himself hopping out of the swirling waters….but no longer where he was. It is like he just fell through an open window but landed right-side-up on the other side. Coolness. He is soaking wet though, so that sort of stinks. Humans don't normally travel like this. The toadling is happy to be wet again. There is indeed a trail leading from the pond Honosuke just popped out of to, well, through a forest that leads up a mountain-side. The trail is steep and rocky, but it is at least shaded. There are luckily plenty of waterfalls.
Unfortunately, as Honosuke arrives, there are a few other toads around. Some are half his size, but some are as large as a full adult. A few look interested in seeing the toadling, but a few seem unhappy to see Honosuke too. "What are you doing here?" one asks, while another answers, "Oh behave. He's got the toadling of the propehcy." Yet a third toad states, "Pfft, he MIGHT have the toadling of the prophecy. It might just be a trick. Humans are like that."
Respectfully, Honosuke bows to each of the toads in turn. "Greetings, Master Toads. Thank you for having me here in your realm. I will do my best not to sully it with my presence. However, I was given orders to deliver this toadling to the Great Toad Sage and I will not shirk from my task." Honosuke looks stoic, his tone firm, but still maintaining politeness. He presents the toadling, kept safe in one of the glass spheres of rain from Ame that he always carries, the top broken open so as to provide air to the occupant within. "If you would believe me false, examine the toadling yourself to know that I speak the truth."
The large toad that thinks Honosuke is tricking him leans forward. This toad is easily four times Honosuke's weight, but his equal in height. A flippered finger pokes out and taps the glass. "Let me see the toadling without this glass between us. It might just be a trick of the water through the glass." The other toads whisper amongst eachother, letting the bigger toad speak for all of them it seems.
Very gingerly, Honosuke upends the glass sphere and using his hand as a basin, the Nara pours the toadling and the water into his hand, ensuring the little amphibian remains wet, as per his orders. "Is that sufficient enough proof, Master Toad?"
The large toad moves to squint at the blue toadling and harumfs slightly. "I'm still not convinced, but I suppose The Great Toad Sage (they all bow their heads in respect quickly) will say one way or the other. One of us should hold him while we travel. There might be other toads who don't want the prophecy to be fulfilled. Not all of us are content with peace." The large toad holds out his great big hand.
Honosuke relinquishes the toadling over to the larger toad with a bow, giving a head bow of his own when the Great Toad Sage is mentioned. When in Rome, after all. "Peace is preferrable to war…but I will do my best to protect my charge as I swore to do when I first was entrusted the task of guarding the wee ones when they were just eggs." Honosuke gives a bit of a sad smile, remembering the shrine he built to the fallen toad Keeper. "Shall we go?"
The larger toad takes the toadling and spits on it, to keep it wet hopefully. He turns with a hop and starts walking up the trail. "This way. Keep up." They start down the path, Honosuke, the large toad, and two other half-sized toads that look equally deadly. As the slope increases, Honosuke finds himself scrambling to keep his footing. Even with tree-walking, the rocks below his feet crumble. The toads seem to manage this easily, but it is harder for humans. Up ahead, four figures stand in the path. The large toad grunts, "We may have trouble."
The crumbling rocks do indeed make it difficult for the chuunin and he is left slightly winded when the trio of toads stop. "Trouble?" The Nara manages to speak in between taking gasping breaths. His eyes look out at those who bar his way, peering at them carefully.
"Trouble," echos the large toad. The four toads up above call out, "That the human with the prophetic young one? What about those of use who don't want peace? Did The Great Toad Sage think of that? We grow weak with peace." Even these 'trouble' toads bow at the name of the Great Toad Sage. The large toad responds, "Don't make me break a webbed hand off in your mouth. While I'd hate to lose a hand, it'd be worth it to shut you up." The speaker for the enemy toads says, "Look at that, peace isn't working out too well for you now is it? Got to fight in order to get to that peace. This is the way of things. I'm not sure why the rest of you don't see that." And then the fight breaks out. The warmonger shoots a poisoned dart right toward Honosue. Whoops.
COMBAT: It is now Nori's turn.
[NPC System]: BattleToad Rash roll(s) Poisoned Dart from 15 to 30 and get(s) a 20. - Rolled by: Nori
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke defends against with a WATER-CLONE…48
"Master Toads, we do not need to do battle in this fashion. We all trust the Great Toad Sage, do we not? Is it not his choices that guide the toad people, and by extension in this instance, my own?" As the dart flies at him, a water clone forms from the crystal spheres that Honosuke carries with him, intercepting it and bursting into a puddle of liquid. "I do not believe that we have to fight. Let the Great Toad Sage make his decision regarding the young one…after all, he deserves a fair attempt at life…I imagine that none present would have liked to have been killed in their cradle, no?" The Nara positions himself between the two groups, holding up hands to each of them. "Hear me out. If you agree to let us take the toadling to the Great Toad Sage, and you find his answer disagreeable, I will accept judgment in its place and I will fight you for it's life. What say you?"
The smaller toad that just threw the dart calls out, "I think I should have been killed in my craddle." The other two with him nod in agreement. When Honosuke speaks, the smaller toad sqwuaks, trying to mimic Honosuke, "Look at me, I'm a human that wants to be a toad." The biggest enemy combatant toad shakes his head and simply moves forward to attack Honosuke. This toad is strong, but not overly fast. With the first toad making jokes, the biggest one starting combat, the original leader just shakes his head, "We wouldn't agree with the Great Toad Sage either way I think…so might as well do this now rather than later." Luckily, the other toads with Honosuke engage these troublemakers too. Honosuke just has to deal with the big, silent guy.
[NPC System]: Battletoads Pimple roll(s) Double punch from 15 to 30 and get(s) a 15. - Rolled by: Nori
[NPC System]: Battletoads Pimple roll(s) Shin Kick from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 38. - Rolled by: Nori
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke defends against with a CLONE-TECHNIQUE-II…27
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke defends against with a WATER-CLONE…44
A pair of clones absorb the attacks directed at Honosuke, one simply composed of chakra, the other composed of water. With a frown, Honosuke shakes his head and then forms a series of handsigns, the water that had been the clones ripples slightly before a blast of water flies out of it, hopefully smashing into the larger toad with bone-crushing force and putting it out of commission. "If you insist, I will defeat you!"
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke attacks with WATER-LANCE…35
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke attacks with WATER-LANCE…39
[NPC System]: Battletoads Pimple roll(s) Block from 20 to 45 and get(s) a 23. - Rolled by: Nori
[NPC System]: Battletoads Pimple roll(s) Block from 20 to 45 and get(s) a 39. - Rolled by: Nori
The toad brings up his arms as the water comes its way. These toads feel better when dipped in water. Still, that first water lance really does a number on his forearms. They look beat up and bruised already. The second time around though, his feet are planted better and he's lowered his shoulder. He absorbs the force through his body and into the ground much better. The large toad clicks his tongue and then rushes at Honosuke, trying to take him down to the ground.
The other toads are busy fighting eachother, except for the small one. The small toad calls out, "Oh no, I dropped my blow dart gun." And a blow dart goes flying past Honosuke, narrowly missing both Honosuke and the larger toad Honosuke is fighting. "Oh, wait, that's right…found it in my mouth."
[NPC System]: Battletoads Pimple roll(s) Rushing Tackle from 20 to 45 and get(s) a 34. - Rolled by: Nori
RPCOMBAT: Honosuke defends against with a WATER-CLONE…27
Honosuke is smashed into the ground by th tackle and he grunts out in pain as the much larger toad bears down on him…right where the Ame-nin wants him! The handsign for Honosuke's attack is so simple, he can even do it while knocked prone…the Shadow Imitation Jutsu! It should be especially potent here, since the toad is right on top of him with little room to dodge, and little warning on top of that! If only he had just a bit more room…he'd have to scramble about a bit first
Honosuke's hands aren't quite free…well, they're squirming. The big toad isn't really used to fighting a human though, so the hands do eventually come together and the seals form. The big toad finds himself stuck. Still, Honosuke is trapped under the large toad. How will he get out. The Toad can only move how Honosuke can move.
The smaller joking toad calls out, "Hey…hey, stop trying to make more toadlings. We don't need more to kill. We've already got one. And then the dart comes flying out towards Honosuke. Hono can see the others fighting from his position on the ground though. The grumpy toad with the prophetic toad is handling his own against staying free and away from combat. The other two ninken toads are helping to keep the leader of the enemy toads busy….and Honosuke's team appears to be turning the tide of battle and winning.
The large toad atop him provided the perfect shield, surprisingly. Honosuke moved his body to roll and, unsurprisingly, the toad on him mimicking the motion, hopefully putting him right in the apth of the poison dart. If the Nara could use the toad effectively, he wouldn't even have to use other jutsu! Keeping the toad locked up was draining on his chakra, though.
The large toad is hit by the poisonous dart and starts straining even harder against the bonds of the shadows holding him. The dart is a neuro-toxin that easily drains all of the creatures strength and leads him prone and paralyzed. With Honosuke's guard finishing the leader too, the third joker toad says, "That's my cue to give up now…" And he raises his flippered hands…only to throw down a smoke bomb and yell, "Ninken vanish!" The smoke bomb goes off, but he is left standing there. "Defective things…" The large, grumpy toad working with Honosuke smashes the joker over the head, which drops the joker to the ground unconcious.
The large, grumpy toad turns and asks, "Everyone okay? The hatchling of the prophecy is fine. Let's get on to see the Great Toad Sage." They all bow their heads again. Assuming everyone is good, they move along. It doesn't take long to get to the throne area. The large, grumpy toad calls out, "Oh Great Toad Sage, I bring you the toadling that might fulfill the propehcy, as well as the human who the Keeper said played a pivitol role in raising the brood of these hatchlings." The Great Toad Sage sits on the throne, eyes closed, smiling, "Hmm? What is that…oh, right, the toadling of the prophecy. Bring it close. What was the prophecy again?" One of the younger toads whispers something and the Great Toad Sage brushes him away, "It was a rhetorical question that I was recalling for my own information." The Great Toad Sage pops one eye open, and it looks fairly milky white and old. Still, the Sage takes a look and herms and hums for a bit. "Well, it is hard to say for sure. This one has great potential though, but I must talk to the human first before making the final judgement. Human…come forward. Speak your name and state why you are here."
After Honosuke is able to disable the larger toad and make it to the Great Toad Sage, he bows deeply and smiles, stepping forward. "Great Toad Sage, my name is Nara Honosuke, chuunin of the Village Hidden in the Rain, or, more simply Amegakure. I am here because I was on patrol of the swamps in my homeland, and I discovered a group of poachers trying to steal the toad eggs in the pool. I dispatched them quickly and then was asked by the dying Keeper to watch over the toads until they hatched. I gave him my word that I would and then I gave him a proper burial. Over the next few weeks, I watched over the eggs until they hatched, defending them from the forces of nature and other misadventure, until the Keeper who took over my duties told me that I should come here to your sanctuary with this toadling, a task that I do not shirk from."
The Great Toad Sage nods some as Honosuke speaks. It is hard to tell if he is listening and nodding to what is being said, or if he is just nodding off. When Honosuke finishes though, the Great Toad Sage says, "Interesting. Well, thank you for your help in this manner. Please, give us some time to speak amongst ourselves. We toads have much to discuss about this recent turn of events, and having an outsider present; however honorable you have proven yourself to be, will hinder the tongues of some of our members." The larger, grumpy toad says, "I will bring him back to the portal Oh Great Sage." They bow. As Honosuke is ushered off, the Great Toad Sage adds, "Do not leave the mountain just yet though. We will speak to you once more after the council meets." And then Honosuke is fully ushered away from the throne area. The call of the toads goes out as he walks along, and many toads come hopping by.
