Naruto Fantasy (AU) : The Rise of the New Generation

New Plans into motion~
[ Empire of Akino | Konohagakure - Royal Palace ]
[ Kiyomi Homura | Empress of Akino ]

The report came in and if anything, Kiyomi was both mildly amused as curious. It seemed that the Lightning country was more into disarray than she had imagined. On top of all that, the recent events that had transpired certainly did pique her interest. If it were only due to the mere nature of the strife, chaos and conflict that took place in the northern realm.
The fact that the Sanosuke had sought out contact with the Empire had surprised Kiyomi, if only ever slightly. Certainly when Midori Sato herself was offered as an emissary of goodwill, representing the clan alliance that the Sanosuke had managed to build up. The Cho clan promised that they would escort and guide the Sato jinchuriki to the capital, to the best of their ability. Something that Kiyomi decided to express gratitude for in the letter that would be her reply. Together with the letter would be various gifts, both meant to the crew that had manned the ship on which Midori had gotten to the Empire. But also to show her gratitude towards the Cho clan.

Expecting Midori to arrive within a week or three, Kiyomi decided to shift her attention. Another source of interest was the city of Okino. Formally it was held and ruled over by the Jun clan. But in the current state, it was actually under control of the Imperial forces that were sent north to aid the Raikage. Curiously enough, the Raikage and his allies had done little to navigate or coordinate anything with the Imperial aid. The commander of the sent forces made it clear that they hadn't hurt a single individual in the city and would hold it unless Kiyomi commanded otherwise. The most interesting was that the Jun clan even seemed happy enough to supply the present Imperial forces, likely wanting to keep using Imperial military presence to avoid being dragged into the horrid civil war that tore their country apart.
But while Kiyomi cared little for the city of Okino and her people, clan or land, she was most intrigued by what the commander wrote in his letter. Stating that a large part of the Lightning fleet was docked within the city. Already the commander suggested that they could take a portion of the fleet to ensure that the promise of the Lightning would be fulfilled.

Considering the state that the Raikage forces were in, Kiyomi decided to agree. Though she was wary of the mess that was collectively known as the Lightning country, the report on the amount and kind of vessels stationed in Okino were worth it. An order would be dispatched to Lord Admiral, Nozaki Miyazato, that the Royal Navy would see to it that an amount of those vessels would be secured.

The last news was a bird that brought news from Kensuke Nimatsu's assignment. The Nimatsu Scholae was sent north to the Frost country to meet with the Raikage. Though the request of the Raikage had been to meet somebody on his level, Kiyomi considered that Kensuke was still above it. And she certainly saw no need to meet with the masked leader that fought against the Regency council. She had other, more important, matters to deal with.
In his letter, Kensuke summarised how the meeting went. Much as Kiyomi expected of the tall, blunt Nimatsu the content was straight to the point. As she read the letter, Kiyomi's left eyebrow slightly raised. It seemed that the Raikage desired the Imperial forces out of the Lightning country. For a moment Kiyomi wasn't certain what she felt more. Amused or the need to be insulted. There were enough reasons how she could perceive this as a slight and already had several reasons to start denouncing the Raikage's administration for impotence. Deciding that she wouldn't gain anything with it, Kiyomi would see what would happen. After all, a representative of the Raikage would travel back with Kensuke. Kiyomi already pondered if she should hear out what this representative had to say or not.


Placing the bucket down, Kiyomi's lips twisted into a soft smile. The pack of small canines moved in a rather clumsy but enthusiastic fashion towards her and the bucket. They ignored the various toys and rough playing with each other as the scent of the empress and what filled the bucket started to drift into the enclosure.
"Who are my little good boys and girls?" Kiyomi asked, her tone slightly higher-pitched as she would lower through her legs. Reaching for the bucket, Kiyomi's gloved hand pulled out a small slab of meat. Blood still dripping lightly from the slab as Kiyomi held it up.
The direwolf pups moved in closer but seemed to remember their lessons of before. The small eyes holding an intelligence that sparked and seemed to reflect their understanding of the situation. Yet their lips parted, the small growing row of nasty fangs and teeth revealing the grim, more violent side of their nature.

Raising her left index finger, Kiyomi remained silent as she watched how most of the small pack would take a step back. Resulting in snarling bites and growls at each other whenever they bumped by accident into each other. But their attention didn't linger away for long from the monarch and the prized slab of meat.
"At it," Kiyomi instructed as she would throw the slab in front of her. The command already made some of the pups surge forwards, the sounds of their excited barks mixed with those moving in behind, snarling and biting at those who were clever enough to move in quick.

Rising up, Kiyomi took a step back. Watching how the pups went about their business, a few broke out in a small fight. Luckily, it seemed that the thick fur prevented the pups from injuring each other. Not to mention that the fights were short as each of them seemed eager to grab a piece of the meat.
Pulling the glove off, Kiyomi took a seat at a rock. Her sketchbook was already placed next to it, with a pencil.

"I see why you wouldn't want to feed them by hand anymore," Katashi's voice resonated, faintly followed by the jingling of the chainmail of his armour, "How is your Majesty today?"
Kiyomi threw a sideways look at Katashi and would reveal an amused smile. "Her Majesty is doing dandy, thanks for asking captain-commander," Kiyomi replied before turning her attention back at her sketchbook. Only now and then did she part her eyes from the papyrus she wrote upon to view the direwolf pups. "I would love to still feed them by hand. But if I want to raise them to be strong, I should let them continue like this. It won't do good to nurture weakness in the pack." Briefly, Kiyomi looked back at Katashi. "Hiron once told me that." Turning back to her sketchbook, Kiyomi started to draw something.

"I can agree that this may be somewhat effective," Katashi said as he continued to observe the small canines. If anything, the pups were small enough to be considered adorable. Their fur was much thicker than it should be and gave them a clumsy, almost round appearance. But the blood that had been spilt by shredding and pulling the meat seemed out of place. More so when the cute creatures themselves seemed to be quite satisfied to gore upon it, their violent shredding accompanied by soft snarls and barks.

"I saw that you placed an order out," Katashi began slowly, "to commend one of the Sworn Swords. I believe her code was Panther," the Sarutobi moved his gaze to Kiyomi. The young monarch continued drawing and seemed to not register the man's words. "The one that used to be a missing-nin before."

"Mhm, I did," Kiyomi replied calmly, "I intend to honour those who have proven their loyalty to me. Has her body been recovered?" She asked, still not tearing her attention away from her own creation. Katashi shook his head at first, realising only that Kiyomi wouldn't see the gesture. "No, your Majesty. I fear that wasn't possible. It may result--"
"Do it." The short reply was delivered with a harsh tone, Kiyomi's head slightly twisted as if she was about to throw a stern look over her shoulder. "It is important. For me."

Katashi remained silent as he stared at the young monarch. In the time that he had served, the man had been able to observe the young monarch from close. Watching her and trying to understand her was part of the job - it allowed him to be better at his job of protecting her. But at the moment like these, he was reminded that he still didn't fully understand his Empress. Her desire to recover the body of somebody who had failed a mission and had been a missing-nin in the past confused Katashi. But he wouldn't pressure Kiyomi into giving up her reasons.
"I shall see to it that it happens, your Majesty." Katashi said as he made a bow towards her. Before he could take his leave, Kiyomi spoke again.
"I am sorry. Please, see to it that her body is recovered. I would like to give her my final respects."
"Of course, your Majesty."


Listening, Kiyomi's arms were crossed out in front of her chest. Standing at the head of the table, she watched as the various people continued to bring out their reports as using various maps to explain themselves. The start of finding a new city in the more western sphere of the Empire was well on its way. There was still quite some planning but resources were moving across the realm towards the site.
"The broad streets will allow little delay or trouble in transport, your Majesty. The streets will be enough to support eight normal carts to be pulled alongside each other. The fact that the alleys are straight and somewhat broader will promote visibility. Dissuading some shadier exchanges, your Majesty, " the man continued as Kiyomi listened. In all honesty, she wasn't intrigued by all the parts and goings of city planning. If the experts said it would work, she would hold them accountable by their words. If it wouldn't, then she knew who would be the blame.

Once the man was done explaining the various features that would be implemented in the new city, a woman spoke up. "The refugees that are being directed from the Rain province are quartered currently in these small camps, your Majesty. Some of the refugees are quite eager to work on the project and have expressed various suggestions of their own if you would like to listen to them." The woman made a small bow.
Glancing at the woman, Kiyomi made a subtle gesture that she could continue.

"Seeing that you're allowing them to build their own quarters, the refugees want to commemorate your generosity in marble and stone, your Majesty. They would be most pleased to build a statue of you, to be visible in the plaza within their small district. Furthermore, the refugees are asking if it is possible to build a small temple in the name of God," the woman once more made a small bow. Kiyomi turned her gaze from the maps to the woman. There was a certain hesitation in the woman's voice as she had posed her question.

"They may. These people from the Claw have lost their homes and nearly their lives to escape the terror that haunted them at their homeland. If we are to welcome them among our midst then it shall be so. Please contact one of those missionaries from the Miyazato Clan to help oversee these plans." Kiyomi replied, turning her attention back at the maps. "The Empire is a land of diversity and tolerance. If they have further requests for their place, I am happy to receive future suggestions," Kiyomi added, to which several people present in the room made small praise for her benevolence and generosity. Though in truth, Kiyomi couldn't care more or less for their respect or love. Something else already demanded her attention. It was a mere idea that drifted in her mind, unspoken yet the possibilities that came with the mere idea were enough to pique Kiyomi's interest.
 
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Marching South
[ Lightning Country | Sanosuke Clan heartlands - near Bergun's Pass ]

More boots would trample the snow as the troops marched on. While the company marched on to the nearby camp, an observant person would be able to see the subtle hints. While it was one camp, it had multiple sectors that had their own banners. A collection of forces seemed to rally within the same camp but continued to operate underneath their own officers and commanders.
What was furthermore noteworthy was the presence of the small force of Sato clan members. Their tents were noticeably different from the Sanosuke in design. And while there seemed to be a certain modicum of respect between the various factions present within the host, it was clear that there was also a certain distrust.

In the centre of the camp was a circle, drawn in the ground with various markings and rocks. Now and then, various men with a small retinue would gather at what seemed to be a ceremonial or religious place within the military camp. Their retinue standing guard to prevent anybody from disturbing the meeting or able to eavesdrop on them.
So far, various of the Sanosuke clans had arrived with their own force. The warriors from Horga were flying their banners, their warriors quite eager to take the fight to the south. Banners from the jarldom of Arkanes showed their hound symbol, though the presence of Hallbard the Mad already seemed tangible. The other jarls also seemed to have joined, save it for the jarl of Reistara. The absence of the forces and jarl of Reistara was enough to cause some rumours to go around within the coalition of the Sanosuke-Sato force.
The only other noticeable presence of another force were the Vörðr. The mysterious guardians of the far north did seem to partake at the jarl's meetings as to venture out into the wild. Many were wise enough to not pick a fight. And many more were smart enough to stay away from the supposedly cursed Vörðr.

The cold North was amassing its troops. Soon to descend down south.
 
The Sun Rises
[ Lightning Country | Moving eastwards ]
[ Uyeda Miyara, the Blade of Miyara Clan ]

Watching his troops march in a disciplined way filled Uyeda's with a certain familiar warmth: pride. Atop his mount, the Miyara general had great doubts that the plan of the Raikage would work, at all. For the absence of the Alaricus at the Raikage's table had spoken volumes on how the Alaricus weren't trustworthy allies. It didn't also prove anything solid that the Alaricus had thrown their lot in with the Regency. But for Uyeda, their absence was anything but a good omen.

The rows of archers, pikemen and various camp followers brought a certain pride. Though they were all united to fight and die for the Hojo, Uyeda knew better. There were people from the Miyara clan as various other clans that had sworn to the Hojo. But in the end, they were all united underneath the Hojo banner.
It brought Uyeda to question the future as he turned his gaze to the horizon, to the east. What would unite the country in the future? For now, the Regency council was the enemy. But what if they could beat the Regency and their lackeys? Would it just be over? Uyeda didn't believe that things would just go wind down. It was too little to force everybody to accept a happy future, where ambitions and grudges wouldn't be pursued. The Great Clans wouldn't just come together and forgive each other for what had occurred in the past. The duties to avenge their kin and ancestors was still strong, Uyeda wagered.

Throwing a look over his shoulder, the Blade of Miyara wondered briefly if he should condemn this Raikage or just start making peace with his Gods. Once he turned to face ahead, spurring his horse, Uyeda already started to plan on how he would try to coordinate his troops to execute the Sixth Raikage's Plan.

[ Lightning Country | North-west of Ranzaki ]
[Hojo main force | Under the leadership of Setsu Hojo ]

Setsu squinted his left eye as he peered through the object. He wasn't certain how it worked but the tool allowed him to observe over large distances. His servant waited patiently nearby, with a plate on which a cup and a ceramic boiler rested. Lowering the spyglass, Setsu's lips twisted slightly to form a smile.

"We will detach a force. They shall lay siege on that castle," Setsu began as he gestured to the distant fortification's direction, "the main bulk will continue to march to their destination. It is of paramount importance that we maintain our momentum."
The present officers made a small bow, staying in silence as they would adhere to their leader's commands. On the subtle gesture of Setsu, a few of the officers would take their leave to see Setsu's desires to be done.

Already turning his sight back on the fortification, Setsu couldn't wait to get back on the move. Soon enough, the Regency would start to experience what the wrath of the Hojo would feel like.
 
On board with a new teammate

[ Republic of the Water Country | The City of Shigaa ]​
[ Hikari Torimoto | Genin of Team 11 ]​

Returning to the jounin, Hikari took a few deep breaths while listening to what Nishi had to say to them. She noticed the addition of another girl, one who their sensei spoke to first, before making it clear they were supposed to be punished, but she decided to let it go this time around. While feeling a tad relieved, the genin glanced towards the new arrival, wondering who she was as they began making their way to the docks.

As they approached the docks, it certainly felt more crowded and heavier with activity. They were preparing for something, and Hikari felt a bit scared by the prospect of that. With how they were moving supplies and large military presence, she couldn't help but feel as though they were already being sent to war. A drop of sweat went down the side of her face as she knew there was a good possibility that was the case. Genin or not, she was a part of the Republican military, and no soldier got an exempt from participating in war.

Hirashima-sensei instructed them to do the same as they have done before, and then gave the clear indication this will be the same as before during their time on board. Before long, the jounin approached them and told them that since they had time, they should introduce themselves to the new addition to the squad. While slightly surprised at first, Hikari turned to look at the girl, giving her a more proper look before giving a slight bow with her head.

"I'm Hikari Torimoto, Genin of Team 11. I will do my best to work well alongside you." Hikari said. She couldn't help but wonder if this was a common thing, that teams received new additions like this, or if it was a practice done to ensure that every team is always properly manned. But she wouldn't ask, as those kind of matters most likely fell way above what she should know.
 
Hiron taking command
[ Eastern Continent | Wolf Country ]
[ The Imperial 12th Brigade | Hiron Hon - Major General of the 2nd Division ]

[ Posts contains references to the respective clans and characters:
- @conman2163 , Chu Omari and the Omari Clan.
- @Lesli , Aiko Cho-Hon and the Imperial 11th Brigade.
- @Oblivion666 , | Kira Oda | Yuuki Narukami and the present Republican army.
- @ChromeHound , Hayate Hyuzu and the Guardians.
- @GlitchyBugger | @ChromeHound | @~\The Talentless/~ , Kyoi Hyuuga and Team 9 ]


So far, everything was going as planned. Staring at the table where a map was laid out, several pieces indicated the forces that belonged to the allied forces. It did bother Hiron that they had little intel about hostile forces. But seeing that the last hostile army had been scattered as several detachments been pursued, Hiron imagined that they had withdrawn into the unknown east.
The man's gaze slowly moved to the part of the map that resembled the further east. There was some information coming in from the locals but as Hiron expected: it wasn't that solid. For it was the fact that despite the continent being different and differences being apparent in customs that the locals were similar to those of the western continent. Many lived and spent their entire lives in the same place. Information that could be useful would be slightly altered every time it went from one person to the next. Aware of how dangerous it was to trust fully on such sources of intel, Hiron considered various approaches to nullify the threats of being caught unaware.

Cause at the moment, the Wolf country was stabilized. Essentially ending the campaign's initial goal in a success. But the information that Hiron had received from the force of Hayate that they had fought something that bore the name of 'Rong' meant that the fight was far from over.
Placing his hands at his back, Hiron wondered about what Hisoka would do in his stead. The stoic Uchiha likely would fight as Hiron knew how Hisoka did: with tact and ruthless efficiency.
A scoff escaped Hiron as he shook his head lightly. He decided that if this Rong was a threat, then it was only fitting for him to deal with it in an appropriate way: by eliminating it.


As things were now, the Imperial forces of the 2nd Division were likely heading to their new location or arriving there. Hiron had considered to keep the force as one. It meant that the allied force had one destructive host that could deal easily with a threat like the coalition of Imperial, Northern and Republican forces had faced before. However, it limited their flexibility and not covering enough range to venture far enough to be a threat for whatever lurked eastwards.
To nullify that the enemy could easily move around and threaten their supply lines Hiron decided the following. The 11th Imperial brigade was to move northwards and cover that approach. Hiron was confident that Aiko's leadership and experience would allow her to deal with many threats and obstacles. Though Hiron did miss the ability to utilize and command the potent cavalry force of the 11th brigade.
The 12th Brigade under his leadership would be the centre of the campaign. Together with the Northern force, Hiron wagered that they could push faster and harder into hostile turf.
The 13th brigade would move together with the Republican force to the south. Thus allowing them to form a line to push the enemy forces away as presenting a threat almost everywhere.

The problem would arise, however, that Hiron required an audience with the commanders of the Northern and Republican forces. Considering how things were currently, Hiron did decide that he would request separate audiences. Not to mention that he had also Hayate and his Guardians to deal with.
On paper, the Guardians were an independent Imperial force. They operated on their own terms and though in conjunction with other forces, Hiron had no legal power to command Hayate around. Though Hiron had some idea on where he wanted the boy to be and how to utilize the potential of the Guardians as a whole unit, the man decided on something else.

Throwing a look over his shoulder, Hiron spoke up.
"Send a message to the captain-commander of the Guardians. Inform him that I desire to speak with him. As soon as possible." Hiron ordered one of his present guards. The guard made a resolute salute before taking his leave, exiting the comforts of the spacious tent to brave the cold in search of Hayate.
Turning his attention to the map once more, Hiron did briefly consider where he wanted to deploy the Omari Battalion. He had several ideas and the most tempting was to instruct them to scatter and reinforce various strategic positions together with the Imperial 9th brigade to keep the supply routes secured. But then another idea struck him.
Picking up a small piece that stood tall next to the map, Hiron placed the piece on the centre. For now, he would keep the Omari battalion with him.

Placing his hands on the table Hiron leaned slightly forward. The real war had started now, he mused to himself.
 
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Itagaki, Lord Raikage of the Lightning
Location: Kumogakure
@Gerontis @Aliceee @Oetje @Lesli @Oblivion666
Summary: After careful consideration, Itagaki decides to have his forces dig in around Kumogakure. Deciding to deploy various weapons and entrenched positions in defense of the city.
​
Itagaki surveyed his troops as they worked outside the city walls. For weeks now they had been working tirelessly, entrenching the outside of the walls with earthworks and extending the defenses to protect a supply route in and out. With the addition of six thousand fresh recruits, and the majority of his army now working to place powerful siege engines in places that would allow them to do great damage to any massed force, it would be tough to assault the walls, even with numerical superiority. Earthen walls, wooden stake lines, deep trenches, and a large number of other various things would have to be dealt with by any attacking force. He had shipped in large amounts of the food reserves held by outlying villages and towns to bolster the reserve of food to feed his men inside the city. Tunnels meant for sallying out to meet the enemy were dug, and secret routes to smuggle in supplies should it come to that were prepared. Itagaki used all of his experience gathered from his years of fighting battles and sieges to make the city absolutely bristling and dangerous for any Regency force that dared to attack the great city.

He turned away from the parapet and strode off, the guards he kept around him alert for any sign of danger to the Raikage. Soon he mounted a horse and returned to his offices. When he arrived back he took to the reports. The Regency army had not moved yet. It was a danger that needed to be addressed. He could not attack them nor could he harass a stationary army. They were likely being fed by the local populace which voided the need for foraging, not that it would help the Regency in the winter such as it was. He could not fight their force in the open field, and while he was confident in his defenses and the men deployed to defend them, he was concerned that the Regency might just encircle and starve them. It was something they had attempted to avoid with various countermeasures prepared, but it was a distinct and dangerous possibility. With over twenty thousand men stationed in the city and the defenses surrounding it, the supplies in the city and any supply routes they had would be taxed. Not to mention the fact that the enemy had more then enough troops to surround the city and patrol the area. He'd be relying his allies to attack Ranzaki while he held the enemy back at his gates.
 
Another New Member
Claire Rose
Team 11 Genin
Shigaa​

It had seemed Nishi was a bit irked at the team once more, this time over being a hair too late. The jounin was cut off, which Claire breathed some relief, by a girl who approached with a scroll. A chewing out was avoided, which she felt would only happen more and more. She wasn't upset about it, after all the older woman's job was to train them and guide them. Looking at the Junyo she was surprised at how many people were now aboard the ship. The last time on the vessel didn't have this many heads on deck. The orders were the same as before, do as they were told and don't mess up. Looking at Himiko she smiled softly. They were told to introduce themselves to the new addition, which felt odd. Most teams consisted of 3 members of a lower rank with a jounin, but additions and exceptions did happen. It wasn't even long after Hikari joined. She knew Yukimi enough now but having to figure out two new members caught her off guard.

Giving a bow she waited until Hikari finished her introduction and spoke. "Claire Rose, I am also a genin for team 11. It's nice to meet you." Despite being tired she tried being energetic enough to not look like a zombie. The days on the ship would start with a rough one, the hard work with little sleep. Setting her things down in the designated spot she leaned against a rail for a second and looked over across the water. It still was a nice sight at least even if the time spent on deck wasn't luxurious. Glancing at Hikari then to Yukimi she held the soft smile. The light breeze rustling her hair as she stood straightened up once more, ready for duty.
 

►Yukimi Yuki◄​
►Team: Team 11 Chuunin
►Location: Shigaa
►Interactions: Yukimi Yuki

Yet again, Nishi was annoyed with the team. It seemed to be something about them being just a little bit too late. However, the jounin seemed to decide to spare the team punishment on account of there being a new team member. The Chuunin quietly watched the newest addition to their team. The girl didn't strike her as all that much beyond a new genin, nothing seemed overly outstanding. Then again, the girl supposed most fresh genin seemed that way. Himiko, her name was. The girl gave a small, polite smile towards the newcomer. Apparently Nishi wanted them to introduce themselves to the other girl. As the Chuunin was about to speak up, Hikari spoke first and was then followed by Claire. The two genin seeming to jump to the role of introducing themselves first. Not a problem to Yukimi, she didn't particularly mind waiting to introduce herself. Admittedly, Yukimi was a bit surprised that they were getting a new member. As far as she was aware, the typical team was a three student cell and a Jounin. Guess times demanded otherwise at the moment.

Now, it was her turn to make introductions to their new team member. "I am Yukimi Yuki, Chuunin on this team, it is a pleasure to meet you." She said in a polite tone with a kind smile on her features. Though she worried about how this newcomer would handle the way that their sensei ran things on the team. She certainly knew it could be a bit of a jolt if one wasn't prepared for it. Although she wasn't going to hold out any expectations for how the new girl will handle being on the team. At the moment they had a bit of spare time to introduce themselves, although she worried that being deployed on a mission might not be the most... welcoming for a young genin. Although thay brought another thought to the forefront of her mind, why the hell was a new genin being introduced to the team on a mission? Shouldn't they have at least waited so she could potentially train with the team a bit before being deployed? The decision truly did strike her as odd.
 
A day in Royalty
[ Empire of Akino | Konohagakure - Royal Palace ]
[ Kiyomi Homura | Empress of Akino ]
[ A large post which has several references to characters and clans. Largely Kiyomi's thoughts and opinion on some of them become a bit clearer through this post. ]



With a soft grunt, Kiyomi felt the pain surging through her body. Landing on the cold, hard ground she wanted to attempt to move. But before her hand could direct the blade towards her opponent Kiyomi stared at the rounded tip of her opponent's blade. It lasts for a mere second but it was enough to indicate that she had been beaten.
Her opponent graciously made a bow, all in the same motion to pull his training weapon away and allowing Kiyomi to stand up.
"Your Majesty is getting better," Iroh reported as he watched how Kiyomi rubbed the spots where the blunt object had hit her. On her orders, Iroh hadn't held back for the past hour. Resulting in that the young monarch hadn't managed to gain a single win, only suffering blue marks that would be the markings of her defeat.

"Getting better at falling on my arse," Kiyomi mumbled as she was too tired to continue. Both physical and mentally, feeling the bruises starting to form all over her arms, shoulders and other spots that Iroh had managed to hit. If she didn't know any better she was pretty sure that the man could have broken a bone or a two. "Thanks Iroh," Kiyomi mumbled to the Sworn Sword, though the tone betrayed a hint of frustration and anger.
The Sworn Sword made a gracious bow as he would wait for Kiyomi to store away her practice blade. Following her example, the Sworn Sword would place his weapon belt back on to continue his other duties.

Exiting the room, Kiyomi's eyes narrowed when the group of servants were all waiting for the monarch. The mere moment that the doors were opened by the other Sworn Swords, Kiyomi already detected the impending swarm of maids and chamberlains. The buzz of activity and sounds of indistinct sentences thrown at her were enough to cause Kiyomi to wave the swarm away. Luckily for the Sworn Swords that wore their gear, their faces were obscured - hiding the smirks and smiles upon seeing the young monarch almost chasing the maids and chamberlains away from her.
On the way to her private rooms, Kiyomi tried to ignore the following of the maids and chamberlains. They were like a flock of birds, constantly chirping compliments and asking for her attention. Throwing a venomous look over her shoulder to the flock, Kiyomi wondered what it would take to get them out of her space.

Managing to reach the calmer parts of the Royal Palace, which were her private quarters, the Sworn Swords that were on duty would deny anybody access. Upon reaching the door, the buzz of the flock of servants was nothing more than a faint nuisance. A Sworn Sword would open the door and close it as Kiyomi entered her quarters - effectively silencing out the racket of the servants.
Releasing a sigh as well as closing her eyes for a moment, Kiyomi would begin to tidy herself. The exercise this morning had caused her to reek of sweat and her hair to be an absolute mess. For a moment, Kiyomi observed herself in the mirror. A somewhat childish and rebellious thought came up that she shouldn't refresh herself for the rest of the day. Forcing people to wallow in her stench and be horrified by her rowdy appearance.
Realising, however, who would likely be able to coerce her to groom herself Kiyomi's growing smirk halted. Her eyes narrowed as she kept looking at her reflection. Almost as if the man stood in the spacious room Kiyomi raised her chin and turned on her heels.


The cold didn't do much to bother her. Nor that the blanket of clouds seemed to block out the light of the sun. The source of blue flames illuminated the room well enough around her. Her left hand gently moved over the surface, her fingers softly scratching the surface of the eery creature that rested on her lap.
Watching the last group of lower nobles leaving the spacious hall in which the Akinian throne stood Kiyomi's left eyebrow slightly perked up. The last group had been a few lower nobles that reigned in the areas that Kiyomi directly reigned over - without any interferences of any notable clans in between. They had brought up some minor issues in between them that required Kiyomi to solve. If anything, now that she saw the group leave Kiyomi wondered how close she was to a parent keeping her children from squabbling. Once the group had left properly Kiyomi threw a look to her right.

"How many left?" She asked, her tone indicating that her patience was running quite low. The man at her right, garbed in his Sworn Sword attire kept his gaze at the large doors that barred access into the throne room.
"A few more, your Majesty. Though if you desire," Katashi began but Kiyomi shook her head. Her features clearly showing her distaste of what the Sarutobi was going to suggest. If anything, she wasn't going to postpone her duties for another day. Even as it was quite tempting, she was aware that Katashi would also postpone the more fun activities that they had planned tomorrow.
"As you wish, your Majesty," Katashi said, lightly bowing his head. Though Kiyomi didn't need to twist her head to witness that the man was smirking.

And so time slowly crawled by. People came as they had requested an audience. Most of the audiences were people that had came to seek either Kiyomi's advice, believing that she could hold the answer to end some trouble. A few were requesting her to end a dispute in a fair fashion. And while the latter ones were more interesting, Kiyomi started to grow weary of them. For while the cases differed among people, in the end, it always came down to that one party accused the other of having something. Or that one party had committed a transgression. And then it was up to her to decide who was wrong or right. The last case was two noblewomen, who had a liaison with the same nobleman. To make the matter only more complicated was that the two women were young and the man had promised to marry one while declaring his love to the other. What made the situation only start to grow out of hand was that the nobleman had suffered a crippling debt what had resulted in his suicide and loss of his estate. Leaving only an infant to remain. A child that both women laid claim to.

Supporting her head with her left hand Kiyomi stared at the women as they brought their case to her, each after another. Both women had a few eyewitnesses, folk that were able to argue that the woman they supported was in their right. Once both parties had explained their parts an eerie silence echoed through the spacious hall.
Half closing her eyes Kiyomi was half a mind to just appoint one of the women to be the new caretaker of their lover's only living legacy. However, a certain sensation burned briefly in the back of her head.
"Tch," softly escaped Kiyomi's lips as she was well aware that Katashi wouldn't allow her to pass judgement without considering the situation.

Eyeing both of the women Kiyomi remembered something.
"Nod if you do agree please," the young woman started as she kept her attention on the two women. The blue fire of the small Nibi on Kiyomi's laps cast a interesting lightning in the somewhat dark room, causing the jade coloured eyes of the monarch to light up in an intimidating fashion.
"You both desire to take custody of the child?" Kiyomi calmly asked, upon which both women firmly nodded.
"You both can provide for the child? Seeing to it their needs can be satisfied?" Once more, both women responded with a nod.
"Good," Kiyomi closed her right eye slowly as her lips parted to deliver her next words. "Bring the child to the first plateau."

A Sworn Sword carried a small cradle in which soft sounds resonated from. He placed the wooden object, which seemed to house the desired baby in, carefully on the first plateau towards the throne. In clear sight of Kiyomi, who observed the child with a certain apathy.
"This is the baby?" Kiyomi asked, gesturing to the Sworn Sword to turn the cradle around so that the women could respond. Once more, both women nodded firmly.
"Hm," Kiyomi considered what she had been told. And then she closed her left eye as well. Gesturing dismissively, the Akinian empress stated something in Chonobi.
The words seemed foreign for the women and most of the company, save it for the Sworn Swords. The nearby Sworn Sword didn't hesitate to draw his blade. Turning the point of his blade to hang above the cradle.
"Seeing that neither of you desires to come to a reasonable solution nor that we have any solid evidence to know who is the real mother, it is only fair to send the son after the father." Kiyomi said, opening her eyes half once more.
"For to be torn between two possible mothers won't do any good for the child."

Wanting to make a gesture, a scream erupted through the hall. One of the women attempted to brush aside the Sworn Swords that guarded the first rows of stairs, leading up to the first plateau.
"She can have him! Please, don't kill him! By God's name, she can have him!"

The words were echoed by the sounds of the woman struggling to get past the stoic royal guards, mixed in with her pleas aimed at Kiyomi to spare the infant.
Kiyomi frowned slowly as she would once more speak in Chonobi. Which caused the Sworn Sword to sheath his weapon away. Turning her attention to the woman that was held back by the Sworn Swords, Kiyomi once more spoke.
"Let her pass," she instructed at first, which was followed immediately. Allowing the desperate woman to race up the stairs to the small cradle. The tension as shouting had caused the infant to start crying, filling the hall with its wailing. Without it likely realising how close it had been to leave the world of the living.
"By my decree, she becomes the guardian of the child." Kiyomi spoke, slightly irked by the fact that the woman didn't stop crying nor did the infant. "You are dismissed," Kiyomi ordered sternly.

The woman would continue to thank her as the other party seemed bitter about their loss. Kiyomi nodded at the woman, a wry smile flowing over her lips as she received the words of thanks. Once both groups had left under the guidance of some Sworn Swords and silence seemed to return, Katashi's words would drive them away with a soft voice.
"Interesting way to solve that, your Majesty. I suppose that the love of a mother would shine through one way or another," the Sarutobi said, a hinge of pride clear in his voice.
Kiyomi decided to not dispute his words or state why she had decided to resolve the matter like that. Frankly, she had been half a mind to execute the child to be done with the case. Both of the women likely had in mind that they could use the infant for their ambitions. The mere fact that one had started to wail and declare that the other could have it made something clear to Kiyomi.
But it also made her wonder. Would her mother have reacted the same? How would Hiron have been?
The thought of Hiron being stoic and refusing to allow anybody to take care of his children, including her, and preferring them rather death sends a cold shiver down Kiyomi's spine. Deciding to push the thoughts aside Kiyomi signalled that the subsequent individual or assembly could present their audience.

Upon the doors opening, a tall man strode forward. His blonde locks were accompanied by his stern facial expression. The attire that he wore was quite notable, already in a way heralding who this individual was.
Slowly a smile crept on Kiyomi's lips as she watched how Kensuke Nimatsu approached the guarded steps of her throne.


"Within a month or two, those troops can be back. Unless you desire to keep them for a longer time in the Lightning country," Katashi asked, throwing a sideways look at Kiyomi. "I do imagine that I can send out word to the Lord Admiral what kind of ships we are sending to his headquarters. He and his staff can provide us with the insight of the quality of the ships."

Looking at the few maps that indicated the current situation of the Lightning, Kiyomi wondered how it was that the Lightning military was shifting. The presence of mercenaries could indeed explain how the Regency Council had been able to levy more forces into the field. But these numbers made her wonder either if the Yakimara host had inapt scouts or if there was something nastier at work.
"Hmm, I don't want to be involved with the conflict in the North. If anything, this Sixth Raikage has failed miserably. Let him be executed by this Regency or weaken them if he is even able to do so." Kiyomi said, a frown growing on her brow. "If this Regency council becomes a problem then I already have a few ideas on how to eliminate them."

"Very well. I will let those troops learn of your decision to be pulled out," Katashi replied. He then placed a new map on the table and rolled it out. "Next is that a report has reached me. One of those ruins that you are so interested in has popped up, so to say." He began to explain, the content of his words causing Kiyomi to seem instantly more interested.
"It seems that there are some rumours that a Calarian ruin might be within the north of the Rain province. There isn't some solid evidence yet but enough to justify an operation. One that demands a certain discretion and discipline."

A certain excitement rose within Kiyomi as she took in the information. With learning more from Matatabi on that the Calarian ruins could provide curious insights, Kiyomi had diverted some of her resources to figure out in secret where these ruins or artefacts could be. So far her attempts to uncover anything Calarian had been futile, either ending in nothing more than frustration and waste of time.
"Send the Rabbit," Kiyomi began, "I want the location secured. Pass on the information that she requires to see to it that she reaches this ruins."

Katashi turned to Kiyomi, his body language almost screaming back at Kiyomi that he disagreed. But as the Sarutobi spoke, his tone was quite calm. "I have a few other operatives in mind, your Majesty. Those who I would entrust more with a delicate operation like this one."
Before he could continue, Kiyomi shook her head lightly. "Rabbit shall do. Pull her out of the Lightning and let her know of my desires," Kiyomi instructed.
Katashi lowered his head slowly in a bow as he would turn to one of the Sworn Swords present in the room. Passing the instruction, he turned once more to Kiyomi.
"Word has reached us that some trouble is taking place in the Republic. Due to the Republic increasing their security and becoming more diligent of intercepting as countering foreign operatives, our spies and agents are starting to get a harder time to get detailed information back. It seems that the Republic is, however, struggling with something in their capital." Pausing, Katashi gestured to one of the maps on which the territory of the Republic could be seen. "Maybe it is an idea to send somebody capable to investigate what is happening there. I doubt it might be enough to deter the Republic in the future after our cooperation treaty is over to turn once more hostile but who knows?"

Clicking with her tongue, Kiyomi considered the possibilities. Frankly, she couldn't care if the Republic would burn down. For now, they were bound in an uneasy alliance against whatever was threatening them in the far east. But it was clear to anybody with a decent brain that this alliance wouldn't hold for long. It wasn't one of friendship and love, after all.
"Crystal should still be somewhere in the south. Send word to her. She is to infiltrate the Republican capital and see what is happening there."

Katashi nodded as he would seem to mesmerize the instruction. As he was about to bring the next matter to Kiyomi's attention, he seemed to hesitate for a mere moment.
"The next is that we managed to bring back the body of Panther. If you desire, I can guide you to her body."

The words of Katashi caused Kiyomi to slowly nod on her turn.
"Lead the way," she replied.


Resting her gaze on the body Kiyomi could see that the corpse was starting to decompose. A few seals kept her body intact and reduced the rate at which the body of Ino deteriorate. The features of Ino were bland, revealing no pain or joy. As her eyes were closed Kiyomi had no telling on how Ino had experienced her last moments of being alive.
"If your Majesty desires, we can allow her to be buried in one of the cemeteries. With all respects that she has earned," Katashi suggested as he observed Kiyomi. The young Empress held a respectable distance from the dead but yet radiated a certain curiosity. A few seconds passed by before Kiyomi replied in return.

"No. Cremate her body. Ino Namikaze has done her part. I wanted to see her once more." Kiyomi eventually half turned around, casting a last glance on Ino.
"A pity that she died."


"I entrust you with planning a trip to Chinami," Kiyomi said as she inspected her nails. "I want to see Lord Admiral and his staff for a meeting. As for a tour around the place. It is nice to hear reports from Lord Admiral's subordinates. Or to read and see plans, progression and all that," a dismissive gesture followed as Kiyomi placed her attention back at Katashi. "But I am quite curious to see the place with my own eyes."

"Of course, your Majesty. I will dispatch a rider to inform the Lord Admiral. And prepare your journey towards the site," Katashi replied. The man leaned with his back against the nearby wall. Watching how the young Empress picked up a comb and started to move the teeth of the comb through her hair.
"We are alone, Katashi. If you got something on your mind, then just say it. It is not proper to force someone of my status to ask you all the questions," Kiyomi said, her voice morphed slightly to resonate a bad impression of a posh, stereotype noblewoman.

"I am just wondering about some of the latest developments, your Majesty," Katashi began. Before he could continue, Kiyomi frowned as she halted her action.
"Kiyomi, my bad," Katashi mumbled, to which Kiyomi flashed a small smile and removing her frown, "I am curious on some of your decisions. If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"If this is about the retrieval of Ino's body, it is more of a sentiment. I respected her to a certain degree. Nothing more than that," Kiyomi replied calmly, "and if this is about Rabbit. I don't favour that woman. She sometimes strikes me as... odd. Not in a bland fashion but posing a danger. It is like having a direwolf at my side. One that is starving for blood. She has earned my trust but not all of it." Continue to comb her hair, Kiyomi paused for a mere moment.
"Yet, she has proven to have her uses."

"I suppose so, yes," Katashi reluctantly agreed, his opinion quite less positive about Suzu Yamada. "But that is also something that piqued my wonderings. You have sent her to deal with the governor of the Grass province. Making sure that he would fall back into line. But why not doing the same for that Scholae of yours?"

Closing her eyes as she kept moving the comb through her hair, Kiyomi listened to what Katashi said. "You mean Koike? And the whole deal with the bastard child?" Kiyomi paused for a moment. "That is a little less simple. In theory, yes, I could intervene in this arranged marriage between that Tamiyo and the match that her father has arranged. Either through diplomacy or a subtle order. However, the Tamiyo is one of the few clans and families that I rather not rile up. They are loyal to me and I imagine I can exert my influence into a lot of manners. But enforcing my own will to see their daughter marry a Hon? I doubt that even the open-mind of the Tamiyo will just take that."

Opening her left eye lightly to view at Katashi, Kiyomi proceeded to explain her reasoning. "That and in all honesty, I have bigger plans for Koike. Him marrying the Tamiyo will not be as beneficial for me when there are more interesting matches abound."
Her words caused Katashi to frown slightly, evidently becoming curious by what the young Empress meant. "Are you planning to become a royal coupler?" He asked, half serious but suspecting that it could very well be the case.

"In a way, yes." Kiyomi responded, briefly focusing once more on combing her hair. "The whole ambition of Kazumo has got me thinking. I already got leaders of great clans respecting my rule and following my edicts. In truth, if I do later support Kazumo in his ambitions, I am effectively playing kingmaker."
Stopping with the combing, Kiyomi ran a hand through her hair.
"And why stop at Kazumo, I thought to myself. Koike is of noble blood and quite dependable. Not to mention, someone that is diligent. Great for becoming a loyal lord in my service."

Katashi's nose gained a wrinkle as he considered what she had told him. "That might be the case but what if he doesn't want to become any lord or king? You can only force people only so far." He gestured to the room of Kiyomi with a gesture. "Not everyone is fond of the idea of being a ruler, in one way or another."

"Good point. But I learned something from a mentor of mine," Kiyomi flashed a smile at the commander of the Sworn Swords. "You can use people if you know what drives them. And right now, there is a small infant that Koike will be quite interested in. If not?" Kiyomi lightly shrugged as she stretched her arms. "Then I am sure that I can convince Koike in one way or another to follow my plans."

It dawned once more upon Katashi that the young woman in front of him was different. A cold sensation ran over his skin as he wondered briefly if he should be worried or proud. Having witnessed the young Empress being hesitant and frustrated with ruling to the sovereign monarch that resided with him in the same room.
"Though that means you are making a Scylding and a Ylfling into kings. Won't you be worried that others will be eager to be rewarded similarly?"
The question caused Kiyomi to stop stretching and snort before responding in words.

"And why should I reward them? The Great Clans are given a lot of autonomy already. And which of the noble clans deserve more than what they already have? The Senju?" Kiyomi frowned as she turned her gaze at Katashi. "They let their legacy of old rot like a dying tree. The Omari? Their leader has requested to join the campaign east. While not long ago his subjects were harassed and violated by insurgents and likely zealots. Perhaps the Hyuuga? Those stuck up bastards that have done nothing but argue with themselves? No better than their Hanta rivals. Passive bastards that have grown decadent and fat," Kiyomi said, her tone ringing certain displeasure.
"No, if any becomes envious of that I reward the merits and loyalty of others, then they should strive to gain my approval. But as things are right now, I am growing nothing but apathetic towards most of the clans. They are only spurred to activity when their rights are threatened. Or when they think glory, prestige or wealth is to gain." Scoffing, Kiyomi would hop off her bed and walk towards the window that provided a lovely view.

"In all honesty, many things could be different. A few clans seem to understand that and strive towards it. I am not blind to the endeavours of the Cho or the Tokugawa. I am quite convinced that the 'kidnapping' of the Amegakure jinchuriki is just the start of some ambitions that are surfacing. I only wish that the other clans would provide more than wails and passivity."

"Maybe you should then stir them? To make them active?" Katashi suggested, curious to hear more of what Kiyomi had to say. His words caused Kiyomi to throw a look over her shoulder before reversing at the view that the window provided.
"No. I am not interested to stir the likes of some clans into activity. The Hanta, Omari, Senju and more could be so much more. But they need to obtain that themselves or else they are just proven what I think of them." Turning around, Kiyomi gestured to the world that was laid bare by the window nearby. "Take the Hanta for example. They have survived two major conflicts and are still a reasonable large clan. But what have they done to solidify themselves? Nothing more than to cry and run to the Uchiha when something didn't suit them. They could attempt to become a more influential force but instead, they wane themselves already good." The tone of Kiyomi seemed to further become disappointed, reflecting her expression quite well.

"Size and history don't even seem to matter that much to become better. Take a look at the Miyazato for example. Before I ruled, what were they? They were nothing but a minor clan that could barely boast anything. Now? They sport a Lord Admiral of a growing royal navy. They are gaining good relations with some clans and are proving some worth. No, Katashi, if I desire to reward clans or people then they need to deserve it. Not those who think they got a claim because of born to a pair of parents that are by accident part of some noble family or clan."
 
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Treacherous Paths - Part 1
[ Eastern Continent | Imperial Akinian Military - 3rd Division]
[ A Platoon of the Axebiters | A collaboration between:
The small group is sent out to venture out of the 11th Imperial brigade's camp. They are to venture to a small hamlet where locals can provide information on possible hostiles - likely fleeing remnants of the large key battle that took place prior to the Imperial reinforcements arrived. The group's task is to find and, if possible, eliminate the hostiles. ]


From the moment that they had set foot on the eastern continent, Meilin had been itching to get to work. The various simple tasks that she had been assigned to oversee and lead prior to this operation was nothing that she wanted. The scouting, overseeing her platoon's training, standing guard and the like did little to move her to her goal. Though she kept most of her thoughts to herself, Meilin was most happy that they were given a serious operation.
Donning the Imperial flak jacket, Meilin briefly checked her gear. The mission didn't seem too complicated but she preferred to be prepared for various situations.
Once done, she would require little time to get the respective members of her platoon ready. Giving them each five minutes to get geared up and ready, Meilin waited at the designated rally point.

A cold breeze went past as the young woman threw a look toward the East. The visible mountain range had something to them. Flexing her right hand, Meilin exhaled slowly. She felt like her entire being was pushing her to get going.

Arriving at the eastern continent, Dagrún's mood didn't shift. She seemed more than content with the fact that there was a large sea separating them from home. Sometimes it did shimmer through that the Hon wasn't entirely pleased with the fact that they were assigned to simple tasks. But despite various subtle hints that she was looking forward to some more grim work, Dagrún didn't object or complain whenever their lieutenant gave them a task.
Upon receiving word that they were to move out, Dagrún wouldn't hesitate to get into her gear. A grin seemed to be plastered on Dagrúns lips as she readied her weapons and tools.

Approaching the rally point, Dagrún whistled softly as she noticed that she was the first to be ready. Resting the palm of her left hand on the pommel of her sword, Dagrún nodded towards Meilin.
"All ready, lieutenant."

From the second he set foot on this new continent, there was an uneasiness in his stomach, one he could not shake. Mamoru was glad that they were given tasks from the second they arrived, as it kept him busy - and as long as he was busy, his mind was focused without having any time to think about all the things that could go wrong. And he knew that there was plenty of that. Just having finished one of his tasks, Mamoru was returning to his tent when he was approached by Meilin Sensei. As he thought about her with this name, he scolded himself. Lieutenant Meilin! , he thought and did his best to fixate this way of calling her. Most of his gear was prepared in a chest inside his chest and he opened it, taking out all of his scrolls and undoing them, preparing his gear, mostly his pouches with ninja tools. He has two sets in pouches, with another two sealed in scrolls. He looked at the scroll containing his armor and after a few seconds, he placed it down. Not today, he thought for himself and put on his flack jacket, attaching all of his prepared gear on it. He then took his forehead protector and made sure to tightly tie it on his head, in order for it to stay secure.

As the last step, he unsealed his two trusty swords and attached Oak to his back and Ash to his waist. He than gave one last look to the scroll containing his armor and then proceeded to place it back into the chest he took it out from. These vests are not that bad, he thought for himself and walked out of his tent to the area where they were supposed to meet. Dagrún was already there, so he gave her a short smile." Dagrún." and after the short greeting, he nodded his head at her, then turned to Meilin. " Ready to set out, Lieutenant."

He wasn't too thrilled about being in a war situation and being rather close to where the fighting would take place. Granted he also knew that it was a possibility with his job, well if it was one thing that might be good news. He got to see his step brother which was good since he hardly got too see him. Even better, so far they have only been given some simple tasks, which was rather pleasing to Madoc, until Meilin had to come and ruin his fun and tell him to get prepared to move out on a new type of task given to them. Grumbling to himself as he rather enjoyed the simple work of being a lookout, he would go to his tent and put on the gear required for the operation.

Gear on and all the equipment he needed prepared he would be the third to arrive at the meetup, where Dagrun, Meilin and Mamoru looked ready and raring to go. He just gave a nod to each one. "Ready Lieutenant." Madoc said while still trying to understand why they were so eager for this. Usually, high risk wasn't something many liked doing. Then again as he looked at Meilin he couldn't help but smirk a bit as a soft chuckle escaped him.

Orun didn't mind the simple tasks they had been given thus far, given how close they were to actual battle. He had enjoyed the crossing, despite the fact that he had been unable to enjoy a flight in weeks. It didn't take long for the marching orders to come in from Meilin. Get geared up and wait at the rally point. He belted on his sword and the rest of his shinobi kit, forgoing the round shield that typically would come with him, and set off. When he arrived, he gave Meilin a short salute. "Morning Lieutenant, ready to stretch my legs for a bit."

The atmosphere of the camp was, strange. An odd mix of apprehension, nervousness and fear melded with excitement and anticipation to form a sense of unease over the entire place. They were finally here, finally in something that had been called a war by those that led them, and yet they were doing nothing. Life had changed little from the camp near Aegir. That was to Aoi the most unsettling part of it all. They had obviously changed scenery, changed climate and geography, yet it seemed as if everyone was trying to sustain some sense that nothing had changed at all as they went about their daily routines, barely changed from before the voyage East.

Aoi picked up her pace as she counted the group in front of her and noticed she was the last one to arrive as far as she could tell. Quickly adding herself to the team and that strange Hyuzu she gave a reassuring little nod to Mamoru then turned her attention to Meilin. "Ma'am." she stated simply.

Meilin waited for the group to rally together. Giving a curt nod to most, only Madoc received a different gesture. As good as she could, Meilin would flash an assuring smile before she would let her features turn neutral again.

"We have been assigned a mission. Our operation consists of two parts. The first is that we make contact with a settlement up north from here. The locals are friendly and supportive of our presence. However, that doesn't mean that we are going to let down our guard."
Meilin paused as she made sure that everyone paid attention.
"Captain Tsuchida further ordered that we will use the information from the locals to track down a group of hostiles. We are to hunt these threats and make sure that none of them get away. The objective is as easy as it gets."

Placing her hands on her hips, Meilin nodded towards Dagrún and then at Aoi, before she began to speak.
"Our formation will need to move fast and cover some ground. Dagrún will form the front and with the support of Aoi, will form the vanguard of our formation. Madoc," Meilin shot the Yamanaka a look, "I want you on sensory duty. And if you can try to set up a telepathy connection. The less that we actually talk during travel, the better,"
Meilin then would raise a hand and pat Mamoru on the shoulder.
"I will form the rear with Mamoru in support. We will keep a space of five meters in between. Orun," Meilin turned her attention to the Hyuzu. The one that she knew the least about in terms of ninjutsu abilities and experience. But she knew one thing that could perhaps serve as an advantage.
"The terrain mostly exists out of snow covered meadows, hills and some small spots of vegetation. If you think that your dragon can fly in these cold conditions, I want you to take up the high spot," Meilin instructed, "If it isn't possible, then you will accompany Madoc in the center. You can summon Tireo once we are somewhat outside of the camp."

Once finished, Meilin would gesture them to start moving. Watching as the group would follow with the orders, Meilin shot a sideways glance at Mamoru. There was the desire to try to assure the genin as this would be his first mission in which he would experience true combat. But instead, she would just offer a nod and turn her attention at the others.

Upon Aoi's arrival and that small little nod, he felt somewhat better about the situation he was in and the circumstances. He felt a slight smile creep on his lips as he returned the small nod to her. As soon as Meilin started to speak about the mission, the smile disappeared from his lips, but not from his mind. They are to move towards a village that is some distance and make contact with the locals, then use intel gained from them to perform a strike on a group of hostiles. Fairly straightforward, with a limitless number of things that could go wrong, he thought to himself. They would have to stay sharp from the second they left camp until the moment they - well, until they are ferried back home. He, together with Meilin would be forming the rear of their formation, supporting the rest of the team. This assignment gave him some comfort, as he felt his skill set and capabilities were well suited for that role. He gave the rest of the team a reassuring nod, hoping they knew that they could count on him.

He then turned to Meilin and upon seeing her reassuring nod, he returned one. He was actually glad that she did not use any words, as no matter how positive or well meant they would be, he would feel incredibly nervous after them. He looked at his Lieutenant for a second, then turned towards the rest of the squad and waited for them to move out.

Hearing the briefing, Dagrún remained silent. There seemed to be even a serious expression for a moment present as Dagrún took in the words of their lieutenant. Once Meilin explained in what formation they would move in, Dagrún clicked with her tongue as she shot a glance at Meilin. "Wolf pack formation, eh? Sure thing," Dagrún commented as she then shot a look at Aoi.

"Ye owe me a rematch after Keishi. I believe that ye got one more kill than I did back then," Dagrún began as they were to take their spots, "How 'bout we make another wager, eh? The one who loses will have to clean the other's gear after this mission. How 'bout that, eh?"

Orun clicked his tongue while he considered the cold. The question was not whether Tireo could fly, the fire in his belly would keep him warm, but rather whether or not Orun could fly. His gear, adjusted for cold as it was, would have to endure cold winds and the like. Deciding to take the risk, he went a small distance away and performed the handsigns required, willing the surge of chakra needed and summoning his dragon. Knowing it would not take long to catch up, he took some time to put on a facemask, made specially for the winds and cold in the air. In the meantime he caught Tireo up on the situation with mindspeech. Then he pulled himself into the saddle, adjusting the various straps for his legs and waist that would keep him in at high speeds. Only moments later Orun and his dragon were in the air, gaining altitude to watch over the group. Meilin would feel the familiar brush of the dragon's consciousness, a necessity to keep in touch while the pair were at high altitude.

Solid enough plan he could do both of those tasks easily enough. "Can do, just a fair warning to you all though, Telepathic communication does have a certain range to it. Think of clay, the more you stretch the longer that line gets and at some point it breaks if you keep walking away. So don't stray too far without informing and for you Orun….." Madoc started to say as Orun didnt really wait until outside the camp to summon the dragon thing. "..... You might need to be more careful since flying is really high…. Okay then. Want me to probe their minds at all when we get there or we going purely off trust?" Was one of Madoc's questions.

A town with some information on the bad guys seemed like a rather clean cut deal. In and out in less than a day, Aoi was pretty confident they'd be back before dinner was cold. That was until Meilin added that they'd be hunting down the enemy and not just gaining some information. A bit more complicated now, given that their understanding of the enemy was limited, their numbers unknown, their abilities unseen, and their location was a mystery save for some possibly reliable information from the locals.

She had been about to speak up her disapproval for the haphazard plan when Dagrún began to proudly exclaim that she deserved a rematch over how many people they'd bagged in their earlier mission. "I won't be cleaning shit if the last bout was anything to go by." she quickly responded before turning her attention back to her disapproval for this poorly planned mission

"Meili—" Aoi found herself fixated on the scene some distance away as Orun summoned a winged, scaled creature from thin air. "God… is that really…?" she trailed off as she watched Orun climb atop the beast. Its considerable wings moved and it simply lifted from the ground and was off to soar ahead of them.

"That was ehm…" she shrugged and pointed in the direction of the fading rider and beast, "that was a fuckin dragon right? Like a no-bullshit one hundred percent genuine dragon? Steal your gold, eat your family sort of dragon? Burn entire armies as an afterthought sort of dragon yeah…?" she stood for a moment before starting to keep pace with the others, glad she had spoken out loud and not through Madoc so that Orun couldn't hear what she'd just said.

As Mamoru waited for the team to move, he thought he heard the word 'dragon' being tossed around. He felt a bit puzzled about it, as he thought that they existed only in legends. He remembered reading a book about The First Hokage being able to use something called a 'Wood Dragon', but upon Orin doing his summon, he was shocked. While the dragon was nothing like the ones he saw in the books about Lord First, it was nonetheless an awe inspiring spectacle. And frightening, too. He just hoped that that Orin really had his summon under control. He was about to comment on the matter but just as he was about to do so, the dragon took off and Aoi managed to get in before him. If the situation would be less serious, he would chuckle up. But given the circumstances, he decided to remain quiet.

Listening to Madoc saying they should remain close to each other, he made a mental note to stick as close to the rest of his squad as possible, better even to stay close to Meilin. He did a mental check on all of his gear, than tapped his pouches and attached scrolls one more time. Satisfied that he found everything, he straightened up. He was preparing himself for their Mind Link to be established, and did his best to calm his mind down.

Dagrún just stared at the dragon for a moment. She seemed unsure about something. Her left hand rested on the pommel of her blade but the blonde Hon didn't seem to consider that she should draw her weapon. Turning back on the road, Dagrún's lips twisted into a grin when she nodded to Aoi. A non-verbal confirmation that their newfound competition was once more on.

Leaving the camp, Meilin patiently waited for a moment as Orun would summon his companion. With less of an impact on Meilin, the Cho briefly threw a look at the others that witnessed the Hyuzu bringing forth the dragon. Glad that Madoc could handle both tasks, Meilin clicked with her tongue - a subtle sign of her slight irritation as confusion seemed to dawn in for a moment.
"Stay in formation guys and keep it on the move," Meilin ordered, the voice moving through their being stern, "you lot can later fawn about the flying lizard. Now back in formation and get going," she would cast a glance at Mamoru and pat him once more on the shoulder. Once she gained his attention, Meilin gestured to indicate that he should have his eyes on the route that they were going to take.

Once the group started to move on, Meilin used her position in the back to direct the front as she had a good overview of the formation from the back. Trudging through the snow seemed to slow the group down and the bitter cold was anything but welcome. Yet, it was clear that one member of the group seemed to be well in her element in the cold environment.
Hours seemed to pass as the group kept traversing through the terrain. While the continent was unknown ground for them, there seemed not yet a major difference with the Empire on the other side of the sea - for the winter seemed to harbour no extra challenges or dangers that home lacked.

With the sun setting on the highest point and it becoming clear that the group could use a break to catch their breath, the sight of a village dotted on the horizon. A short rest was issued by Meilin who rallied the group together.
Once everybody was together, Meilin would crouch down and use a stick to draw something in the snow.

"This is the village. It has a small population that should pose no trouble. Yet, Orun and his dragon stay out of it. I don't want the populace to be up in arms or panicking because we are bringing something that could rile them up," Meilin began as she then shifted her gaze on Dagrún, "Dagrún will scout this area to the west. I want to know if there is something over there we might be dealing with. Madoc," Meilin continued as she kept drawing in the snow, "you take the other side and use your sensory. For that duration we might not be able to keep the mind link but I expect you both within an hour or so at this point," the young woman continued to draw a small 'x' north of what was supposed to be the village. "I shall make a smoke signal, so that you guys can relocate with ease at our point."

Meilin then turned her attention at Orun once more.
"Aoi and Mamoru, you lot will stick with me. Orun, I suggest you dismiss your dragon for now. You will travel with us on the ground. Once we have rallied here, then we will move on with the next stage of the plan and mission."


The village was small and much of its architecture reminded Meilin of Taika design. It seemed not far off, if it weren't for the subtle differences. Considering that she had spent most of her years so far in Keishi, she reckoned that if one plucked a house from the village and put it in Keishi, it wouldn't stand out much.
The people seemed quite curious about the Akinians that entered their village. Kids watched and would follow them but remained at a distance. Older and more mature folk threw a curious look but seemed more keen to keep themselves to their own business.
The contact that resided in the village was an older man that could be described as both friendly and hospitable. Meilin led the conversation and had to decline the invitation to drink tea with the man several times. Once they had their information, Meilin led the smaller group to the northern direction - out of the village.

Spotting a small hill, Meilin decided to lead the group to climb it as it provided a good view over the surrounding area. Allowing the others to rest, Meilin would scrap a bit of wood together. Igniting it after some attempts, she would use the small sliver of smoke as a signal where they were.
The wait wouldn't take too long before Dagrún and Madoc would rejoin them. Allowing them both to catch their breath, Meilin decided to brief in the team with the second part of their plan and mission.

"Great, so the enemy's den is far west from here. Nearly half a day travel on foot. The fact is that it is closer to the mountains. The village head did warn us about bazels. I am not sure what he meant as his Taika wasn't the best," Meilin said as she lightly shrugged, "However, the fact is that the targets are making use of a natural cave. What I want to do is to sneak up on them and take them down during the night. A classic hit and run tactic. I want to avoid a prolonged and fair fight, seeing that they have double our numbers if we have to go by the information provided by the locals."
Throwing a glance around to see if anybody had questions, Meilin decided to pause before she would dish out the tasks again.

Rejoining the group after her solo scouting, a grin seemed plastered on Dagrún's lips. The biting cold and snow seemed to only increase her mood, in a positive fashion. The Hon seemed more than ready to continue on but she made herself listen to what Meilin told them. Dagrún's eyebrows raised slightly when Meilin spoke of a 'bazel'. Something that Dagrún dismissed as perhaps some word that the locals used for predatory animals. Judging by the lack of trails of anything that made her worry, Dagrún was half a mind that it could very well be just some kind of mythical creature that unlikely would get in their way.

When Meilin began to talk about the location where their targets were, Dagrún whistled softly. Placing her fists against her hips, Dagrún was the first to respond. "Double the numbers, eh? Sounds more like a fair fight to me. But I suppose that we have no information on their combat performance?" Dagrún began as she already thought about it. How reliable could the information be from the locals? Even if they took aside that they were friendly, they were just a bunch of farmers and village folk. None or few of them had any military experience, she reckoned. "Just a question, but how reliable is Madoc's his mind-thing? Or do we have anything to counter sensors?"
Realising how her words sounded, Dagrún threw a sideways look at the Yamanaka. "Just asking, cause you remember that fight in the caverns before? That one wee opponent could creep in the telepathic thing of yours. Not a great thing if we all are bothered by that again."

Mamoru snapped out of his amazement by the summoning by Meilin patting him, and he immediately gave her a look of apology and shifted his focus back to the mission. As they left camp and headed out into the wilderness. The cold and the snow, while not bringing any discomfort to the young Senju considerably increased the effort it required him to move forward with the group. But he managed to do so, and the fact made him feel better about himself. His eyes kept looking around their close vicinity as well as a bit to the horizon, but except the serene silence and sceneries of nature surrounding them, there was nothing happening around them. What was rather curious, but given her background or surprising at all, Dagrún seemed to be in her element and really looked like a force of nature, prepared to roll over anything unhappy enough to stand in her way. During their first break, Mamoru refreshed himself with some tea and a few bites from the rations he packed, then listened closely to the instructions. Nodding in understanding, he got back to his position as they moved out again.

The village they entered was a welcome sight to Mamoru's eyes, as the architecture closely resembled Taika designs. His thoughts wanted to reach out and think about home, but he immediately stopped them and manages to maintain his focus on the mission. The people gave mixed reactions to their arrival, and he couldn't help himself - he found the reactions of little kids rather adorable, and on one occasion a small boy waved shyly at Mamoru. The young Senju smiled back a bit and waved as well. They quickly got the information they needed and were on their way again. Shortly after, they reached an elevated position and take a rest there. Using some of his chakra, Mamoru placed his hands on the ground and raised five small, flat mounds of earth so that if his team wanted to rest, they didn't have to do it on the freezing ground. He proceeded to take one of them and refreshed himself with some green tea and some of his rations. Than as they were gathered, he listened closely again.

They were to execute a hit-and-run attack on an enemy group that made use of a cave. Sounded easy enough, but executing the attack smoothly seemed tricky. Upon hearing out both Meilin's briefing and Dagrún's remarks, especially the one about Madoc and his Mind Link. He then turned to Meilin and voiced his own concern."A cave plays into our cards, Sensei - they have nowhere to run. But they are bound to have guards around it - we need to find and - and eliminate them without a fault, or we'll be walking into an ambush. And another thing that is bothering me, Sen - Lieutenant. We have to execute the hit quickly. If we take too long, they - they could cause a cave-in,burying us with them."

Taking a spot around the fire once Madoc and Dagrun had rejoined them, Aoi crossed her arms in an attempt to retain some warmth as Meilin went over her plan for their upcoming action. She shuddered as Meilin brought up the fact that the would be taking their enemy in a cave network of some kind and her mind quietly trailed off as Dagrun began to speak. As Dagrun spoke the thought of the caves began to creep steadily into Aoi's mind. She clutched at her sides a bit tighter as a dread came over her at the prospect of entering caves again. She felt her heart picking up as she stood around the small fire and her breath quicken as the Hon finished speaking and Mamoru began instead. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, focusing intently on the fluttering orange fire before her, fixating on the Fire.

Tuning back in well after whatever it was that Mamoru had said Aoi simply shook her head and quickly threw her own thoughts into the mix, "I don't like the terms of this, I don't like the fact that they have had the chance to prepare their position. But let's go ahead and get this over with, the faster the better I at least agree with that Meilin."

Returning along with Dagrun after their scouting trips, Meilin wouldn't wait long before going on about the information gathered. Twice their number, something called a Bazel, and a night ambush on the targets. All of which didn't sound like an easy time nor a fun time. Hopefully this Bazel was like their version of a bear or something. After all he remembered very well what the more unnatural creatures were like. Meilin and him fought something out of the ordinary and it was far from easy. Dagrun then brought up a point to which he rubbed the back of his head.
" My mind link is reliable, thing is to insert oneself into it is a bit more difficult to explain. If they can't see us they can't break into it that much is for sure. They either can know the technique and simply force us into theirs to prevent us from being sneaky, Another possibility was that lady might have had some ties to the Yakimara and simply infiltrated our mind link."

Letting out a sigh he would give a thumbs up though. "But it is indeed reliable, if one does invade it I have a back up plan for that."

Meilin listened to what the others said. She briefly glanced at Orun. Though she was in charge, the Hyuzu had the highest shinobi rank. Meilin had hoped that he would offer some of his thoughts. But instead, all that she got was silence. It irked her but Meilin decided to focus her attention on her team who had reacted back.

"We have no information on their combat performance. At least, nothing too clear. The information that I managed to get before was what earlier clashes have prove the enemy's skill and quality wildly vary. We might be facing a dozen of chuunin-class opponents. Or it might be just some men with crude weapons that are on the run ever since the first major defeat that they suffered," Meilin said, turning her attention to Madoc as Dagrún had brought up something that Meilin hadn't considered. But Madoc assured them that he had a back-up plan for it. Keeping her gaze locked on him for a moment Meilin would subtly nod. Despite some of Madocs vices, she would have trust in the Yamanaka.

"As for the fight, I indeed don't intend to just rush in and let them have a chance to defend themselves," Meilin continued as she would react on Mamoru's point, "The cover of the night is what I want to use. This is the plan that I want us to execute," Meilin began as she would start to draw once more on the snow and ground. Drawing half a circle, she would then form various small dots at its perimeter.

"I will be the first one to scout the area together with Madoc. I will move in and out unnoticed. Madoc will sensor and pinpoint their location. This allow us to hopefully notice every single one of them, chakra cloaked or not," Meilin then tapped on a circle, "Once I am back, then the next part comes into play. Dagrún and Aoi will together under my lead take out some of their guards at their perimeter. The more that we can take out before we are forced to move in full, the better." Pausing to let her words sink in with everyone, Meilin would start to draw various lines from the circles to the half-circle.
"Once we have taken out their guards at the perimeter, we will tighten the noose around them. When it comes down to a fight, I would prefer that it would be two of us against one of theirs," Meilin briefly paused as she then fixated her gaze on Mamoru. Yet, there seemed to be something off about her words - as if Meilin's words were meant for somebody else.
"Mamoru is a genin. I will keep him safe while everybody else takes those bastards out."
Rising up, Meilin dusted her left knee from the snow.
"I doubt that the cave will be large enough for us to utilize a lot of manoeuvring. But if we keep the advantage of the surprise well enough, we can succeed the mission," Meilin briefly looked at each of them as she planted her hands at her hips, "Everybody ready?"

It hadn't taken long for Orun to return to the ground and dismount. He had felt some joy finally being in the air again after such a long time, and although by his standards his time in flight was small, he had enjoyed it immensely. He had been slightly disappointed at having to dismiss Tireo so quickly, but the fun was enough to put him in a good mood while the team performed their tasks. When they had rallied and talk turned to the task at hand, clearing out enemies from a cave, Orun remained silent. All but the smallest of techniques would be dangerous to use in such a close-quarters environment, and yet, Orun did not say anything. The conversation covered any points he might bring up, and he didn't think he needed to add on anything. So despite that Meilin might have been slightly irked by it, he was silent. He nodded at the plan and Meilin's question. He'd wait for them to do their part, and then he'd do his.

Listening to the plan that Meilin presented them seemed to have a calming effect on the young Genin. When his thoughts were reacted upon, he nodded at the reply - Meilin was sure to anticipate this even without him pointing it out. As roles were given out, he felt an incredible sense of tenseness and anticipation take hold of him. Despite these feelings, the fact that he felt his legs tremble a bit and he had to clench his hands into fists to keep them steady, he felt prepared to handle whatever role will be assigned to him. But ultimately, when Meilin mentioned his name, he was feeling nothing of the above-mentioned feelings. To be precise, he felt nothing at that moment. He knew that as a Genin, he had the least experience of them all, but he did not want to be a burden to anyone. At this moment, however, he felt like a burden on Meilin's shoulders. Mamoru looked at Meilin the entire time as she stood up. He wanted to argue about being able to hold his ground, but he suppressed this particularly dumb urge in this idea, and instead nodded. " Understand, Lieutenant."

Once Meilin had given her plan, Dagrún remained silent for now. She was content that Meilin had addressed all the points. The blonde Hon threw a sideways glance at Madoc for a moment as she remembered what he said. Truth be told, she wanted to question and learn what he had in mind for a backup plan. But Dagrún decided against it for some reasons. One including that she had literally no knowledge or much of an experience to know if Madoc's plan would work. Deciding it was better to let the experts stick to their own field, Dagrún slowly nodded back to Meilin.
"I can follow that plan of yers, lieutenant." Dagrún said, a certain mischievous smile growing on her lips, "I suppose I shall watch out with my lightning. Don't want to shock some folks, eh?"

With no sound of protest from either Madoc or Aoi, Meilin slowly nodded. Rising slowly Meilin straightened her back before she spoke.
"Then that is the plan. Seeing that the sun is high, we just got to travel for a bit and prepare for this night's hunt." Meilin began, "Remember the plan and I am certain we will make it through."
 
Himiko Harurei
Location: Junyo
Interactions: Squad 11

The young Genin would perform a nod of acknowledgment as her new Jounin spoke of her being on time. Himiko did know she was to be going on a mission with her new team, but not exactly what the mission was on. It wasn't her place to ask questions, just follow orders and carry out action. She walked along with the team, silently drowning out the surrounding noise as she took several deep breaths; she had never been in such an animate environment, at least not for very long. Most days were spent with her grandfather and grandmother, training or working. Himiko would be dead silent as they walked along, despite being younger she didn't seem interested in observing her environment like a wander lusting child, rather keeping her focus on the task ahead.

Soon they were directed towards the ship, Junyo, a look of mild surprise on her face as the jounin stated that they had some extra time to kill before the mission. A quiet rush of anxiety filled her chest as she looked to her teammates, though it was quickly quelled when they stopped at greetings. Relief replaced that sense of fear, such a sensation lasting all but seconds within the girl, not a single physical sign of her mental state to be shown.

"Himiko Harurei, newly deployed genin. I wish to serve this team well."

Though her voice was soft, it did not waver with fear or excitement, more just a flat tone one would expect in any official setting, the girl not even looking at her teammates as she spoke, her expression remaining stoic
 
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Operation Safeguard
[ Republic of Water | The city of Shigaa - On deck of the Junyo | At the eastern part of the Republic ]
[ Nishi Hirashima | Jounin of Team 11 ]



When she gave an opening for the genin and chuunin to interact Nishi threw a look at the activities that took place on deck. It was clear to her that the vessel soon would be moving out of the port. As instructions were shouted and followed Nishi briefly wondered where they would be going. Despite her rank as a jounin, she had no high enough rank or authority on the ship to be privy to know all the details.
Turning her attention back on the members of her team Nishi frowned. For despite her expectations, the greetings that they gave each other were rather superficial. It was like they were too afraid in all of a sudden to get a talk with each other going.
Or maybe it was because the majority of was exhausted from the drills this morning, Nishi further mused to herself.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest the jounin would lean against the railing as she watched the interaction between the genin and chuunin come to a crashing halt. Letting a moment of silence endure after Yukimi had spoken, Nishi twisted her head as she heard some particular orders. Not a moment later the ship softly rocked as a rhythmic drum would echo from below the deck. The long oars at the side of the ship would start to propel the vessel slowly forwards.
Already Nishi noticed an officer on deck heading their way. Giving her team a look, Nishi flashed a smile that lacked a certain amount of joy.
"Seems you girls are going to be kept busy."


The Junyo was crashing through the waves with ease as the wind was favourable. Watching the other ships that were in the same squadron Nishi briefly wondered about the increased security that the Republic was taking. Perhaps the Sons of Kaizoku were starting to get more support and influence? Nishi wasn't too sure if she could support the proclaimed ambition of the respective faction. It sure sounded grand for the Republic to become the true maritime power of the world but such things were never without sacrifices.
Moving her gaze to where her team was attending to some mundane tasks, such as standing guard and scrubbing the deck, Nishi wondered how the Republic would be able to ever avenge their loss from the Great War.

A thought did cross Nishi's mind. She could attempt to 'save' the genin and chuunin from their tasks, allowing them to take a small rest before they would likely be picked out again. Not that Nishi considered standing or sitting around was anyway better. Time slowly moved by, each time that the ship was rocked gently by the waves, the jounin fought against the temptation for desiring something to happen.

[ The Republic of Water | At the edge of the Kaijuu ocean - On the deck of the Junyo | At the eastern part of the Republic ]
[/Fieldset]


For three days in a row, the ships had been travelling. And for once, the genin and chuunin weren't required to join the first watch at night. Even with the wooden deck not being the most comfortable of places and a blanket barely helping to keep the cold away, it was much better than to stand guard and gaze into the darkness.
After being allowed to enjoy a rather bland supper of soup, which main ingredients was salted fish and added with some rice, the team was allowed to take a rest.
Nishi wasn't too eager to give into banter with her pupils or get all cosy with them. However, she would have little problems from keeping the girls from getting into too much trouble.
The deckhands, other marines and other folks that were present on the Junyo had abundantly made their attitude clear to them. Despite that the genin and chuunin could utilize ninjutsu, they were looked down upon for their lack of experience and perhaps some other reasons. The majority did little to hide their opinion on the low ranked kunoichi.
Not that Nishi expected that the girls would truly understand where those reactions and opinions came from. And as long as they wouldn't ask, Nishi saw no need to try to enlighten them.

The night approached slowly, turning the sky first into a bright orange before devouring its sky and replacing it with the myriad of stars shining bright. Soon enough, the majority serving in and on the Junyo was vast asleep. The gentle rocking making even the most stubborn sleeper fall into a steady slumber.


The ship rocked heavily and the air was heavy with shouts of anger, agony and panic. Screams would alert most of the crew as the ship rocked once more, heavier than it should.
Blinking with her eyes to wake herself a bit better Nishi saw people running over the deck. Deckhands that tried to douse out the small fires while the on deck marines were rallying around their officers.
Getting up, Nishi would curse as she decided to give a few but firm kicks to awaken her team.
"Get up, you slugs," Nishi sneered as she tried to gauge how the situation was.

Steadily her senses would sharpen as she threw off the sleep from her mind and body. Within a few seconds, it dawned upon her what was happening. They weren't just under attack but the whole squadron of ships that the Junyo made part off was heavily under attack.
The cracking of wood alerted the jounin as projectiles would slam on the deck, causing a few men to get wounded.
Before Nishi could make up on what they should do the ship rocked once more. The motion accompanied by the sound of wood cracking and breaking, a wail of protest that was drowned out by people shouting and screaming.
A hard and uncomfortable sound rang through the air, louder than the already discomforting atmosphere, where metal slammed and pierced wood. Turning to the source of the sound Nishi's face started to lose some colour.

The mixture of the darkness of the night and few sources of fire created a fascinating scenery. More so when strange and foreign enemies crossed over to the Junyo from their strange ship, across a bridge that seemed pinned on their deck.
Steel flashed through the air as a desperate fight started between the marines of Junyo and their unknown assailants.
Drawing her own weapon Nishi cursed as she was forced to act. A few of the enemies were starting to breakthrough.
"Protect the entrance to below the deck!" Nishi shouted, trying to make herself audible to the genin and chuunin.
Forced to face an opponent, the jounin was required to deflect an attack.
 
Under Attack!

[ Republic of the Water Country | At Sea ]​
[ Hikari Torimoto | Genin of Team 11 ]​

After the introduction was done, Hikari heard Nishi remark that they will be kept busy. Seeing the same officer that Nishi spotted coming towards them, the genin prepared herself to what she imagined will be a lot of work.

For the next three days, Hikari felt like her knees and arms were being tested more than anything. Scrubbing the deck was anything but easy on her body, but if anything, she appreciated the fact that they had something to do. Having nothing to do was worse in her opinion, as it meant you were wasting time. Especially in the middle of the sea, on a ship that kept rocking gently, she was certain there was always something that needed to be done, be it for maintaining the ship or making it feel a bit cleaner.

If there was one thing Hikari felt familiar, it was the feeling of being looked down at. Her grandparents did that constantly, and her father too. There were some she met that assumed she looked down on others because of her name, but Hikari never felt like she did. So getting that familiar feeling from the sailors made her feel more that she needed to work harder and show her worth. That's what her mom taught her, hard and consistent work will end up earning some respect, from someone. Just a matter of keeping at it.

As the third day's work was done and they were dismissed, Hikari was surprised at the fact they would be standing guard that night, and instead be allowed to more properly rest for the night. As she closed her eyes, she found it a bit hard to let her body relax, half expecting someone to come wake them up, tell them there was a mistake and they do need to stand guard after all. But after nothing of that sort came, her mind finally started to drift away.

Only for a kick to send it right back into place.

Coughing slightly from the firm kick that Nishi delivered, she opened her eyes to hear their sensei instruct them to get up, Hikari got up as she saw the reason for the kick. There was bits of smoke and fires around the deck, and not long after, unknown people started to come onto the deck. Even if she didn't know everyone in the crew, the way the unknown assailants came made it clear they were far from being friendly.

Grabbing her tanto and standing up, Hikari didn't need to wonder what to do, as Nishi was quick to shout instructions. They were still a bit hard to make out, but she quickly unsheathed the weapon, before moving to stand in the way of one of the assailants. He rose his axe and swung it towards her from the side, and she blocked with her tanto. As he kept on trying to break her tanto with his axe, she kept blocking. Hikari knew that she couldn't keep at it, as he was pushing her back with each clash of their weapons. Feeling as though the assailant was not going to change his movements now, she moved to the side, bumping into a crew member's back as she did. The assailant's swing missed, and because of the force he put into it, he ended up landing with his face against the deck.

Moving away from the other crew member, Hikari watched as the man stood up, glaring at her now, before making another swing at her, this time a sideways swing. She moved backwards, only to bump into the same crew member as before, as the next swing came. Blocking it with he tanto once more, Hikari quickly slid to the ground with her tanto, before attempting to slice the man's legs. If she could cripple him, maybe it would be easier. Just maybe.
 
The 13th Brigade
Eastern continent, Wolf Country.
South of the Wolf country, nearing the mysterious border of what is known as Rong.
The 13th Brigade of Akino - Disciples of (Lord) Akumu.

Koike Hon
| Leader of Team 6 | A colonel of the 13th Brigade, leading the Foot companions | Lieutenant-Colonel of the Guardians |​

The march had been long but Koike had enjoyed it none the less. The news that reinforcements had arrived had been a boost to morale. When word reached that the 13th Brigade was to move southwards Koike was curious to what would happen to Hayate. After all, Hayate had been in command and in a way was now replaced by nobody less than Hiron Hon. The situation caused Koike to wonder where Hayate would wind up. Somewhere Koike had the hope his Hyuzu friend and brother would join him southwards.

Alongside his battalion, Koike ventured to the site where the brass wanted the 13th Brigade to make camp. As the camp was set up there wasn't much to do. Patrols and scout parties were assembled. A few small units from the various battalions of the 13th brigade sent out. Either to contact or provide aid to the local denizens. Something that went alright but not without a certain awkwardness present between the men of the 13th and the locals. The difference in the local culture differed a whole lot from the Imperials of the 13th Brigade. But the culture difference wasn't the only friction that made interaction either awkward or difficult.
The distrust of what had happened before, with the unknown enemy been able to march in and enjoy the freedom to do as they pleased made the locals distrustful towards foreigners. And if anything, many within the 13th were distrustful towards the natives seeing previous events.

Yet the odd peace was guarded. And without being someone's right hand Koike wasn't included in the top planning of the brigade. There were the necessary meetings where he attended as a colonel. But with Erling being in charge of the brigade Koike had nothing else to than to follow orders. And unlike Hayate, Erling didn't seem keen to utilize Koike as his right hand or introduce him into all his plans. Something that Koike didn't see first as a bad development.
The days, however, went slowly by as Koike's battalion did little else than some mundane tasks while waiting for more orders. Time slowly trickled by and Koike started to grow restless. Some of his own captains also started to wonder why they weren't advancing further. The interactions with the locals made it clear that the remnants of the crushed enemy army were fleeing eastwards.

"I say that we have waited too long," Skuli mumbled. The large captain sat on a flat rock. Holding a piece of wood in one hand Skuli held a carving knife in the other. Skuli continued to grumble words, that was somewhat audible enough. "Each hour is a waste. We should press on and lay waste to the lands. Kill their warriors and head home with treasure, glory and tales of valour. Make Valdar desire us to join him before he will blow his horn to signal the last grand battle."

Koike threw a sideways glance at his captain. In a way, he couldn't argue against those words in essence. Sitting around and letting the enemy regroup was a bad plan. Much like Skuli, Koike desired to be of use. To drive the enemy further east, making it impossible for them to become a threat. "We will soon move," Koike responded as he moved his gaze to the scenery in front of them. "Once the other forces are position, you will get your chance Skuli."

The captain briefly glanced up from the wood that he was carving. "I hope you're right colonel. What was the saying again? The Gods hate hesitation? I suppose I will agree with the gods this time. I really hate sitting on my arse till it becomes as flat as this damn stone I am sitting on. "
 
World Events
~ GM Post ~

Events in the known world.

This GM post serves to bring news and rumours of what happens in the world. While some events might be vague rumours, twisted by the many mouths that spin the tales into something unimaginable, there are many more occurrences that will impact the clans and nations across the known world. Some of these events might be orchestrated in secret or openly by nations and clans, in a bid to weaken their neighbours or rivals. Whereas some events are the result of decisions (or lack thereof) in any shape or form.

The current year is 477 ADS,
The current month is March,
This GM post is not without plots and secretive actions of others.~

* ADS = After the Death of the Sage.​

In the West.​

With stern gazes they watched. Their weapons drawn, the steel ominously reflecting the light of the torches. In front of the Fang's legionnaires a large crowd. In stark contrast to the legionnaires of the Dread Steel, the civilians were wearing any weapons or protected by more than their clothing. An eerie silence plagued the square. Then slowly one by one the civilians would turn and kneel down. Their foreheads touching the cold cobblestones that made the square.
Fear was evident, ruling over the civilians that were gathered up. Under the strict watch of the occupying foreign military that kept them under a harsh regime. A regime that they all hated and feared.

While many would turn and face the large statue, which seemed to inspire nothing but dread and creating repulsion. It was a man sitting on top of what appeared to be a throne. The dark of the night made the stone look like pure obsidian, the silhouette visible in a light that seemed to be plucked straight out of a feverish nightmare. Despite many claiming the people of the Fang as a barbaric folk, the statue seemed to sculptured to represent truly a man. Clad in robe and with many horns adorning his head. A stern gaze of the statue looking down on the gathered crowd of the civilians that were silently forced to kneel down.

But not all would subdue. Few in number, their bravery would best their fear for the known punishment. It was either their faith in their own God or their stubborn resistance to kneel down to their tormentors, their malevolent deity or harsh laws. Whatever drove the few individuals to stay standing amidst a crowd of countrymen that cowered in fear it would only reap them the punishment that the Fangarians knew: defy the Horned Father and face a fate worse than death.

A few hours later, a majority of the crowd were allowed to leave the square. Not a word was spoken, not another act of defiance committed against their occupiers. For when the next morning the sun rose, the cold stone in front of the statue still bore the crimson marks. A few bodies still twitching as they were kept in place by cruel machinations as other bodies had already stopped moving, impaled on a horn. Yet, blood still dripping on the ground.


Many banners were fluttering in the wind as their proud carriers continued to march on. For they weren't alone. Behind those that carried the banner of their clan proudly were many others. Though their origins differing, their traditions slightly changed from each other over the many years, they were still Galassians. And they were ready for the reckoning.
Proudly the large force would move forward. Their leaders having united underneath one oath. An oath that may seem to others nothing more than a whisper of days old and passed but brought to a sound of pride for the Galassians. For while many slights and grudges were held against each other, the Galassian horde was more than ready to face the hardships ahead.

Advancing on the mountainous region it would be the fourth time that the Galassian clans had decided to put their differences aside. Only to proclaim that they all should unite to face off against a foreign power. With words of wealth and rich fertile lands to be beyond the ominous mountains, that almost seemed to act like the wall of a mysterious realm. One where brother and sister were to wed each other, where gold flowed in rivers and nobody ever had to fear hunger.


For weeks it had festered. Fear, envy, jealousy and a rising hatred. There was once unity and prosperity, it had declined alongside with the health of the grand daimyo of the Earth. Leaving a vacuum that was slowly filled with intrigue and ambitions of others. Signs of what was to come were heeded by some, who hastily prepared themselves for the coming storm. But where others were wise enough to seek refuge, others saw opportunities. Even despite the risks of losing all, their avarice being the stronger guide. Hallowed traditions once used to enforce stability and peace were now used to gain influence and seek out support.

In a bid to control the outcome of the inevitable death of their current leader, two factions have wagered an underground war to outdo the other. And what better to gain the support of the common folk than with blood? What better than to deter one's enemies with taking the lives of foreign enemies?
Under the command of a certain general, Nakauchi Masashi, a large force of Earth troops are engaging into a large scale operation. Superior in numbers and as determined as their enemies, the resolve of both the Iron and Earth troops being tested. And where many commoners or naive see simply the Earth attempting once more to bring the Iron to their knees, to show respect to the rightful rulers of the western sphere of the known world, some see the conflict between the factions in the Earth rising.

It may not be long before the Konda Supporters and the Dragon's servants will decide it is better to shed each other's blood than that of a foreign foe.


Whereas death, grief, hatred and fear has a firm grip on people in the known world, its grip on the Tea country has weakened. For a most glorious day has come with the newest addition to the royal family that has pledged to guide and protect the sovereign nation. The birth of another son has caused many festive events to be held in the various cities and villages that dot the Tea country.

And while a pessimist might wonder if this day won't soon turn sour when one realises that another son might bring in intrigue, succession strife and sibling rivalry, many are much more concerned to celebrate the arrival of a new addition to the royal family. For tomorrow seems to hold peace and ease for the Tea country. Even if they are still keeping a close watch of their northern neighbour, every resentful and watchful of their nemesis of the past.



Peace has returned for a while within the city of Amegakure. And from peace, stability seems to follow. Whereas chaos was dictating the actions of its denizens, who angrily faced against each other or driven by foreign operatives to take up arms, many have returned to their less rebellious vocations. Though troubles are rising in various areas, many can agree that the storm has passed. Various actions from various people have led to some matters that are being brought up.

For while the zealots and insurgents of Soru are on the run, attempting to hide for the righteous wrath of the provincial government, refugees still cross the border. Notably, in the north of the province, refugees are attempting in larger numbers than ever to find a safe haven in the Empire. This influx of refugees has been the cause of unrest returning. For differences in traditions, religion and distrust have caused small riots to arise in some settlements in the north of the Rain province. Though none of these riots has come close in severity as the last few ones in Amegakure, a tense atmosphere seem to dawn in various urban centres.


~ The Fire Province ~

The Hanta Clan
@Jason Targaryen​

A while ago, the Hanta seemed to hold a group of travellers from the Rice country that desired to venture into the Empire of Akino. Due to the lack of strict and proactive attitude, some of the travellers have vanished into nothing. Now there are some rising concerns that something is amiss. For while the group travelled together, those that have vanished were mostly unknown to those who are able to support their claim to have their origins rooted within the Rice country.

Even with the best intentions and efforts, whoever managed to get past the Hanta's security are now likely to make deeper way into the heartlands of the Empire. Meaning that a new wave of likely hostiles is going to pose a threat to the Empire's stability.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Senju Clan
@Nim​

Smoke fills the air, making it heavy to breathe. Though desperate attempts have been made to drive away the ferocious flames, blood has been shed and making it near impossible for those working on various sites where silk is being produced. The attacks that have plagued the Senju, damaging some of its silk production are continuing. Without a strong response or attempt from the Senju leadership, the pervious disturbances have made a larger dent into the Senju clan's economy.

Unrest is slowly rising within the Senju heartlands as there is a growing number of people that wonder why these attacks aren't taken care off. The attackers becoming more aggressive and actually shedding blood is likely to cause unrest to fester further, turning into something more dangerous if actions aren't taken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Uchiha Clan
@Oetje​

Peace and stability have been maintained within the Uchiha heartlands. Excellence governance and discipline have been the virtues held high by the Uchiha nobility and as result through the ages, under the wise guidance of strong and capable leaders, allowed the commoners to see it as mere tradition. Where some claim that the Uchiha have managed to gain wealth and prestige through clever deals, others point that they have gained through the misery of others.
The latter becoming truer as the Senju silk production has started to decrease due to worrying disturbances. For while the Senju haven't been able to produce and sell the same quantity or quality of silk as before, the demand for the luxurious ware hasn't changed. And outside the Senju, the only noteworthy producer of great quality silk has been the Uchiha clan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Cho Clan
@Lesli​

Work continues. While progress had been slowed down by various factors, the ambition of the Cho continues. Rumours arise that large seaworthy vessels roam the waters around the coast that belong to the Cho heartlands. Though they differ somewhat in appearance from the usual galleys that roam the waters, the appearance of Cho ships has nurtured the dream of others to see the Chonobi becoming once more a big player on the waves.
And while much enthusiasm is growing within the various jarldoms of the Cho clan, there has been some concern by others who view the progress of the Cho naval ambition as something dangerous. For now nothing more than a faint reminder of what once plagued many coasts and regions centuries ago. But a reminder that becomes more realistic with each passing day.

Yet, a certain group has attempted to move within the Cho heartlands. Arriving at the coast from the south, this group bears the word of a divine deity. Promising that all those who follow will be embraced within the love of Miku, being allowed to bask in her light and guidance in this and the next life.


In the North.​

South of Kumogakure, between the Raikage's front with the Regency and the Frost country's northern border.
@conman2163​

Screams started to become mixed with the ambience of the scenery. Horses whinnied as their riders directed them to move forward. Arrows would soar through the air, penetrating those attempting to flee in the back. A few brave that attempted to fight off the attackers were quickly shot down. Steel was swung in the air as sabres and spears would shed blood. Not a difference would be made between women and men, between children or the elderly. Hooves of horses would trample the wounded and dead alike.

Only reminder of what was once a small village, providing some small support for the Raikage's faction, would be a husk of a settlement. The charred remains of buildings being a testimony of the lack of a response to the hostile nomadic clans. And those responsible were keen to leave a reminder of their deeds. For among the corpses and ruins, a flag would be planted.

Though no major site has yet been targetted, refugees are flooding various small towns. Fear for the raids and attacks of the Uvas clan and other nomadic clans are starting to weigh heavier. Supplies are barely coming through and large groups of refugees are heading to Kumogakure. All the while the nomads that side with the Regency are continuing with impunity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The combined Sanosuke-Saemund Fleet
@Nim @Aliceee​

The large fleet of the Sanosuke and Saemund are carefully observed. Small groups of riders shadowing the movement of the large northern fleet, alerting the Koryusai's army, while making sure that their presence doesn't get noticed or disturbs the Sanosuke-Saemund plans in any way. As it becomes clear that the northern fleet will soon need to embark, Koryusai is swiftly approaching and drawing his own plan.

Soon enough, the youngest of the Tano brothers and commanders will be able to show the rest of the country what he is capable of.


In the South.​

Strange vessels have been spotted in the eastern sphere of the Republic. Discarded by many as mere rumours, there is a growing number of people who don't question the appearance of the mysterious vessels. They differ vastly from the usual Republican galleys that dominate the waters for centuries now. There are even rumours that these vessels belong to a demon overlord that is preparing for a huge naval invasion, wanting to enslave the faithful - regardless if they consider Miku, Youko or Nanami as their divine.

This is starting to create unrest on the islands that are on the fringe of the Republican territory. Small in number, there have been various groups that have or are still attempting to move away. The most popular site to relocate has been another Republican island but a few have decided to venture to the Honey country - a vassal of the Republic. Some that are truly afraid decide to move further away but there hasn't yet been a confirmation if it is a mere rumour created by misunderstanding or simple fear.
 
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Operation: Sharp Point
[ Near Kirigakure | Republic of Water | Team Karuko ]
[ A collab between @Walter Swan , @Lesli @Sakayanagi Selko and @Gerontis | The team is rallied by Karuko for another mission. Despite Karuko's own objections, the jounin's superiors have deigned it necessary for the team to move out - even as Karuko objected and stated that the genin require more training. The objective is simple but far from easy: they have to uncover why unrest is mounting in a small hamlet at some distance from Kirigakure. As the team arrives, they soon come face to face with the source. ]

Part 1


Something cracked as another fellow creature appeared at another spot. It released a deep growl that would likely put any ordinary guard dog in shivers. Its small eyes observed the visible genin and jounin as it flexed its claws slowly.
In similar fashion, three more appeared as the creatures almost formed a circle around Karuko, Shion and her two water clones.
Without any kind of warning, the beasts charged in. They dropped to their legs and started to sprint towards their visible targets. The uncanny speed and agility proving the strength of their muscles as Karuko shouted an order.
"Hold!"
His hands moved together as he initiated one single handsign: Tiger. Moulding the chakra through his body, the jounin stamped his feet on the ground and transformed the ground around it into mud. Before the beasts could close in for a lunge to tear their targets apart, the mud rose up and slammed against the beasts - forcing them temporary backwards.
"Now!"

As the beasts were pushed back by Karuko's mud, the two clones sprung into action throwing their kunai at each of the beast to draw their attention. Shion meanwhile threw a kunai at the third beast as she moved to its side and shot off a quick stab aimed at its guts.

Neime was the one who got shoved by Karuko to move. Managing to balance herself, thus preventing that she would fall face first into the ground, the genin begrudgingly moved herself quickly to the vegetation. Dismissing her scorch orbs in the process, Neime quickly took cover as she wondered what the howling could indicate.
Watching from her concealed position, Neime's eyes widened upon seeing the creatures that emerged on the scene. They were clearly something not native to the land. Were these actual demons?
Waiting, Neime tried to figure out the best possible action that she could take. They were outnumbered by the strange, ferocious hostiles. For a moment, Neime considered to retreat.
Seeing how the savage creatures rushed in and got blocked by Karuko's mud, Neime narrowed her eyes as her hands shot together.
Conjuring two scorch balls, Neime stayed hidden for now as she directed the orbs towards one of the creatures - wondering how effective the attack would be.

Following Karuko's lead, Yuyuko quickly moved to the vegetation near Neime as she kept her eyes at the real Shion and Karuko who decided to stand their ground while sheathing Fuurai. At least now she could do an iaido slash once she had identified the foes.
Once the beasts appeared, Yuyuko gulped as the beasts were intimidating which meant to her that they needed to kill at least most of them granted she almost entertained the thought of taking one as a pet and summon…..may….be.
With that, she readied 6 shurikens in her hands as they either kill or incapacitate unlike her pebbles as Karuko said stay indicating at least she had to hold a position as she remembered what Karuko told them during the team training session about communication or rather lack thereof.
When Karuko countered launching the mud to force the beasts back, Yuyuko threw them at the beasts 2 seconds after Shion and her clones begun to throw their Kunais so as to ensure she did not do any friendly fire. 2 pairs were at the smaller subordinate beasts that were fighting Shion's water clones as Yuyuko rushed towards the beast shouting "I will try and weaken the big one on it's right!" With that, she threw 2 shurikens at the bigger one which was probably the leader of the pack with her right hand and used that same motion while closing in to reach for the handle of Fuura. With her left hand before unsheathing in an Iaido slash aiming for the hip area of the beast, so that she could, at least, slash if not cut off the muscles of its legs.

The mud slammed into the unnatural beasts, forcing them back but doing little to harm them in the process. As the fight began, it seemed for a moment that the Kirigakure shinobi had the upper hand. The kunai and shuriken found their mark, embedding themselves into the skin and hairs of the creatures.
As Shion attempted to stab one of the beasts in the side, the steel tip wouldn't reach its target. A fast reaction saw to it that the beast grabbed Shion's arm and asserted its grip tightly, causing the skin of the girl to flare up as pain soared through her arm.
"You… insolent.."
The grumbling went together with the two words as if the beast had to force them. The small eyes narrowed at Shion, a soft shimmering of intelligence sparking brightly as the beast would scoff and easily throw the genin backwards.

Yuyuko's dash would close in the distance fast but her attack didn't surprise her target. The shouting had alerted the largest of the pack, the foul creature turning its head and revealing its teeth what one could only describe as a foul smirk.
The genin's long blade would almost hit her mark, were it not for the agile creature to skid backwards. A soft chuckle seemed to resonate from the bipedal monstrosity that seemed to wave at Yuyuko, challenging her to try it again.

Another of the beasts wanted to lunge at Karuko, clearly pissed off by the mud ninjutsu. Before it could lunge, the orb of Neime would hit the beast in the back. For a second, the creature whimpered and tried to see what it had stuck on the back. Only for it to ignore the searing source of agony and pain. The creature dashed off towards Karuko, its jaws wide open as it attempted to take the man down.
Karuko pulled out a kunai with a tag attached to it. A quick step to the side was enough to avoid the attack in the nick of time while slamming the kunai into the creature's shoulder. Once the creature had passed enough distance and attempted to try again, a small explosion went off.

"Take that, stinking mutt," Karuko cursed, spitting on the ground, "want to...tango.."
Karuko's voice slowly died off as he saw the result of his counter-attack. Where the explosion tag would be enough to grievously wound a person's shoulder, the beast seemed to only suffer a severe burn.

As Shion was thrown back, she slid across the ground for a moment before she flipped back and recovered back into a crouching position. As she got up, she winced at the searing pain in her arm, shaking it a bit to alleviate the suffering a bit before she switched her katana to the other hand.

She took a glance around the battlefield to make sure that no one was snuck up on her while checking on the others. It appeared that things have been going badly for everyone, except Neime. Her bloodline jutsu seemed to give her a slight chance against the beasts.

"Insolent, you say..." the genin said as she turned her body sideways, facing her shoulder towards the beast while she pointed her katana at its throat. It was dueling stance, not usually found in traditional kenjutsu schools. It was a stance usually associated with Hon-style swordsmanship, "Aren't you the more insolent one? Harassing the locals like some wild beasts!"
At the end of her words, the genin's back-feet launched her forward as the tip of her katana flew towards the beasts' guts. However just as she threw her thrust, one of her clones suddenly attempted to tackle one of the wolf man's legs from behind, in order to unbalance him or more ideally, trip him right onto Shion's katana.

Focusing her attention on the beast that had been hit by her scorch orb, Neime's eyes narrowed. She had seen the result before of what could happen if a scorch ball would stick itself against hair and tissue. The result that she saw now was different as if she had watered down the technique somehow.
Clicking her tongue, Neime glanced quickly to see what target was most favourable. Spotting that the opponent of Yuyuko was challenging her, Neime directed her second orb at the target. The orb went as fast as it could, attempting to hit the nasty beast in the leg and preventing it from another strike from Yuyuko.

Yuyuko frowned as she saw that the large one of the pack jumping to avoid her strike as she readied a stance.
"Tch...not good...lets try this."
Quickly taking one hand off Fuurai, she reached into her pouch while keeping her stance ready and levelled, so that she would not betray any weakness as she stole a quick glance to get a quick check for anything she should be worried about.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of Neime's orbs flying towards the beast but heading downward. Reacting fast, she pulled 3 shurikens and threw them slightly above the beast's eye level so as to force it to choose between either get hit at eye level or below by shurikens or get hit by the scorch ball in the leg or higher if it moved to avoid her shurikens.
In the instant, as the shurikens left her hand, she moved to quickly sheath her blade using that instant to see what the beast would do, where if it jumped, she would either back off by jumping or jump towards it to slash it by an Iaido unsheathing as it can't properly dodge in midair. However, should it instead remain on the ground or lower its centre of gravity, she would adjust her sheath such that the unsheathing would have her slash upward.

The reply of Shion did little to provoke a verbal response from her opponent. The tall creature seemed to wait for a moment, observing the genin's movement. When one of Shion's clones attempted to tackle the beast, the situation shifted quickly. As Shion approached rapidly with her weapon at the ready, blood would soon enough drip on the torn snow on the ground.
The eyes of the beast narrowed as its right claw trembled slightly. Blood slowly flowed over the blade as the beast held it in a firm grip. Despite the clone's attempt to tackle, the taller and stronger combatant stood firmly.
Now on the counter-attack, the beast would pull the blade slightly down in an effort to make Shion stumble as the free claw of the unnatural creature lashed out towards genin.

The large opponent of Yuyuko kept its gaze locked on the stubborn genin. When Yuyuko threw her shuriken, her foe seemed to make a sound that seemed similar to a loud scoff. Raising its right arm, the beast would make a swipe. Despite the sharp points of the shuriken biting into the skin, the large beast seemed to not find it a hindrance.
Before it could attempt to react and put Yuyuko into defence, the orb of Neime would contact the beast's left leg. Sparking a small response as it threw an annoyed glance before backing at Yuyuko. The stink of burning hair and skin would start to plague the area but not as much as a sound of pain seemed to escape the beast.
When Yuyuko dashed forward, the large foe seemed to just match her easily in speed and dodge the attack with a rapid skid to the side.
The only difference with before seemed to be the slight difficulty of balance with its left leg.

While Karuko was also occupied with his opponent, the fourth of the beasts had seemed to vanish from the field of battle. In the confusing mess that seemed to originate on the snow-covered field, the fourth foe had decided to move away. Only to appear from a position behind Neime. The small eyes shimmered a dangerous glint as it kept observing the Hayashi's from its position.
Without any warning, it lunged forward towards the Hayashi.

"Ah!?" Shion stumbled forward as the beast pulled her sword down, noticing him raising his claws from the corner of her eyes, "Oh, crap!"

Seeing as the beast was holding tightly onto her sword, the genin was forced to let go of it, riding the momentum of her stumble with a roll forward, barely dodging his attack. At the same time, the clone let go of the beast's leg and grabbed onto the blade of Shion's katana with both of its hands before twisting the sword towards his fingers and attempting to yank it out of his hands while it stomped forward, putting its entire body-weight into this single pull with its back facing the beast.

Meanwhile, as the genin's roll came to an end, she pulled out a kunai from her pouch before she attempted to thrust it towards the beast's groin with both of her hands, an explosion-tag fluttering behind the handle on a string.

Spotting that her orb had hit the beast at the leg Neime focused the orb of scorch chakra. Weaving a short sequence of handsigns as rapid as she could Neime watched as the orb would suddenly become unstable. And within a second it started to briefly grow before it violently combusted. Watching the small explosion taking place Neime did twist her head quickly upon hear something nearby.
Before she was able to respond properly the Hayashi would be worked against the ground. A sharp pain shot through her body, originating from her left side. The vile scent of the beast and its presence caused Neime to lose some of her cool. In a panicked state, the genin started to kick and punch wildly at the beast in hope to drive it off from her.

Yuyuko frowned as she turned from her dash with her sword in her left hand as the beast had managed to avoid her slash but with its slight difficulty on its left leg, it meant now she could take advantage of its injury and press her assault.
However she at least spotted that Hayashi has been taken by surprise but with her own foe staring her down, the genin would be at risk of death should the beast use that momentum to catch her when her back is turned.
Such a mistake was something her father frowned on and made sure to remind her not to take on any foe, beasts in particular.
"No choice, Hayashi, incoming!"
The genin shouted while she reached into her pocket for 2 Shurikens and threw them at the beast who was pushing Hayashi to the ground at roughly it's shoulder height so to avoid the risk of hitting Hayashi as much as possible before adjusting the angle of the sword and rushing at her foe to do a downward curve so to either slash it's right side or at least force it to aggravate the injury caused by Neime from the earlier fireball.

The beast that Shion face noticed that the clone went for the blade. As the water clone made her attempt to twist and move the blade forwards the beast simply used his own strength to push backwards. The pommel of the blade would slam into the clone's face, hard enough to cause it to collapse in a puddle of water. The beast's small eyes hadn't, however, lost sight of the real Shion as the genin seemed to make a desperate attempt.
A firm swat of the beast's claw would slap the kunai out of Shion's hand. Its jaws opened as a certain expression seemed to flow over the bestial features, vaguely resembling an excited grin.

Annoyed the beast atop Neime used his claws to pin the girl down. The sharp nails penetrated the soft clothing, biting into the girl's skin. The jaw opened as the beast tried to aim for a bite at Neime's neck, intending to put an end to the Hayashi's struggle.
The shuriken that Yuyuko threw hit their mark but did little to cause the beast to look up. Its full intent focused on the genin that struggled before him.

"Fool," the word was phrased by the raspy tone of the large monstrosity that Yuyuko faced off against. As the genin attempted to adjust her weapon to deliver a blow right after making her altruistic decision to lend some aid to the pinned Hayashi, a claw easily grabbed the girl's sword-arm. A sharp pain would emit from the spot down to Yuyuko's shoulder as the nails bore into her skin. With mere ease due to its strength, the beast forced the genin's arm to move aside. The free arm of the beast would shoot towards Yuyuko's other arm, desiring to keep its prey from struggling or moving too much.
The beast would then reveal its teeth as it opened its jaw, its head rapidly moving forward to slam it shut with Yuyuko's neck in between.

Blood would spurt into the air. Splashing against snow, cloth and skin. The only indication of a warning being the dreadful, soft song of the attacks that were sent out.
"Tch," Karuko frowned as he lowered his tanto. The blue chakra that engulfed the steel softly flowed away. Watching the result of his actions Karuko frowned as he would await what the genin was going to do.

Shion's beast was screaming out in pain. A small arc of chakra had sliced through its right leg and one of its arms, causing it to collapse on the ground. The movement of the beast as it struggled against the pain only seemed to make the situation worse, blood pulsing out of the grievous wounds.
Neime's beast was slammed from the side, a gaping wound revealing the spot where Karuko's arc of chakra had hit it. The attack hadn't been enough to fully slice it in half but enough to cause parts of its innards to fall out as blood rapidly flowed out of its wound.
Yuyuko's beast was on its knees, its blood-curdling screaming indicating a mixture of rage and pain. Where once strong and sharp claws had been now cut off stomps, blood spurting out of the fresh wounds. Another and a smaller arc of chakra having cut off a part of its face.

"Finish them," Karuko ordered calmly as he threw a look at the structure where the farmers had decided to barricade themselves in.

"Thanks, sensei!" Shion said to Karuko as she rolled forward and grabbed her katana before facing the beast. She thought she was pretty much screwed when the beast stopped her last attack but still, it was quite disappointing to have the fight end like that, "Now then…let's get this over with."

She then stepped off to the side with the beast's side and thrust her katana towards his throat, intending on driving it into its neck as deep as she could before she could tear the blade out and behead it.

For a moment Neime held her arms out front of her face, intending to shield her face and throat in a desperate attempt. But instead of pain and death tearing her from the world of the living, a nasty sensation spat over her. Blood splattered over her causing her to flinch as the warm liquid splashed over her arms and drops hitting her face. Slowly, Neime lowered her arms and decided to check on what had happened. Upon witnessing the damage, she was both relieved and frustrated. Regaining her cool, the Hayashi would move on her feet.
Registering the instruction of the jounin Neime subtly nodded, confirming she understood.

Watching the beast that had nearly mauled her to dead Neime felt an odd fascination. It was clearly dying as it laid on the ground, losing a lot of blood with each heartbeat. Not wanting to get close Neime wondered on how she should make sure that the creature remained dead.
Weaving a few handsigns as she got an idea Neime utilized her signature Scorch technique, creating two orbs. The glowing, red orbs would be directed to slam into the creature's wound and burn themselves away into the beast's innards. Watching the gruesome work with a blank expression Neime continued for a moment. Only to end the handiwork with another technique, causing the orbs to expand and combust within the dying beast.

Fear and perhaps surprise was what could best describe how Yuyuko felt when she saw her sword arm being grabbed as she bit her lip to stifle the urge to scream while her arms were forcefully pulled to allow the beast to bite the genin, her mind racing to try something, anything that could save her as she blinked hearing a scream.
However, when her eyes opened, she saw the beast that was so close to her screaming in pain as it's once the proud and menacing figure was now a shadow of its former self.
As the young Takeda genin took a moment to catch her breath, she heard the instruction from Karuko to finish the fight.
"At once."
However, unlike her regular voice, there seemed to be a mix of anger and perhaps disappointment. Or was it self loathing? She immediately adjusted her sword in her hand, moving to her right side, and knocked the beast forward onto the ground. She took Fuurai and stabbed it right at the back at a non-lethal section around the stomach once, while taking a glance to ensure there were no other beasts that could attack her, before stabbing the beast at the neck.
However not with any speed, instead of trying slowly prolong the suffering the beast would feel from her sword stabbing it only truly beheading once she felt the struggles of what remained of the beast's life leave its body.
Almost as though it was a predator or someone taking delight in their victim's suffering before their death.

Taking the moment to calm himself down, Karuko did watch how the genin went to work. A frown was knitted on the jounin's brow when he saw that Shion decided to behead her opponent. Neime's caution and her grim work made Karuko click with his tongue. But when Karuko turned his sight on Yuyuko, the man's expression turned blank.
Releasing a sigh Karuko would, however, seem to patiently wait for the genin to be done with their tasks.
"Now just the farmers," Karuko said once the genin grouped back at him. Throwing a look at the genin, the man frowned once more. "Needless to say, I will handle that. You lot wait here for me. Watch the bodies or something." The jounin waved somewhat dismissively as he turned towards the structure where the farmers had locked themselves up.


The cold made the wait much longer for the genin, so it seemed at least. Karuko ventured out alone to speak with the farmers and despite the farmers resuming to take a somewhat hostile stance, Karuko seemed rather calm and composed. The jounin continued to speak with the farmers and as the exchange progressed the stance of the farmers became less hostile.
After what seemed to be many hours Karuko finally turned away from the farmers and walked back to his team. A short instruction was given by Karuko as he would lead the team back to Kirigakure.
 

►Yukimi Yuki◄​
►Team: Team 11 Chuunin
►Location: At the edge of the Kaijuu ocean - On the deck of the Junyo
►Interactions: Yukimi Yuki, Himiko Harurei, Hikari Torimoto, and Claire Rose

The girl had been just drifting off into a peaceful sleep when she was suddenly kicked awake by Nishi. A biting comment caught just on the tip of her tongue as the ship groaned in protest and rocked in the waves. The sounds and chaos of above-deck causing the Chunnin's eyes to shoot wide as she realized what was truly happening to them at the moment. A moment later, they received their orders to defend the way to the below decks. With that, Yukimi was out of bed and grabbing her canister of the specialized water as well as the small pack of her ninja tools. Then moments later she was joining the others in the chaos on the deck. Where the hell these other ships had come from, Yukimi was not sure, but all she knew was that she needed to do something about the damned invaders on the ship. Shortly after surging up onto the top deck, Yukimi spotted Hikari battling a man wielding an axe. The man seeming focused on the genin, his back to Yukimi as he was just finishing an attack that was blocked by the genin before she went after his legs. With a clear shot and a very short distance between Yukimi and Hikari's attacker, Yukimi knew she had a chance to help her teammate. Raising a hand as a trio of ice spikes formed, then flicking her fingers to fire the trio at a blinding pace directly into the back of Hikari's attacker. The spikes slamming into the distracted opponent with enough force to bury themselves deep in his shoulder blades, and one slamming directly into his spine.


Turning away from the fallen man, the girl spotted an attacker coming at her with what seemed to be a large hammer. Which, fortunately for her, meant that he wasn't quite as agile as she. Just that she had to avoid taking a hit or she would truly be in trouble. As the man grew closer, Yukimi focused her chakra and drew a single kunai from her pouch. The man swung his mighty hammer, and Yukimi deftly dodged to the side of the attack as it slammed down with enough force to splinter the wood on the deck where she had been. As she was recovering from his attack, Yukimi moved in and danced her kunai across his arm to make a long, deep cut before deftly moving out of the way of his next attack. Although the second swing managed to catch her arm just barely as she tried to avoid, causing a sharp yelp of pain from the chuunin. Moments later, the air immediately around Yukimi began rapidly decreasing in temperature as she focused on making it as cold as she possibly could immediately around herself and her opponent. Their dance continued, as Yukimi danced out of the way and occasionally took a glancing blow against her opponent. Occasionally an attack with her kunai left a small cut, but it was nothing special.


Yet the girl continued to drop the temperature around them as the steel head of the man's hammer started to accumulate frost all across the head. Their dance continued as she dodged about the attacks, continuing to draw his aggression. Until after a particularly heavy strike, the hammer's head shattered against the deck. The temperature having turned the steel brittle, and causing the man to have a look of surprise as he stared at the shattered head. The girl taking the chance to finish her opponent by shoving the kunai deep into his chest. A small yelp of surprise from her opponent as the attack hit true, and he fell to his knees as Yukimi yanked her weapon free. Moving back towards the stairway leading down, the chuunin started to get an idea as she called out to her three nearby teammates. "Hikari! Claire! Himiko! I can seal off the passageway to get below deck, but I'm going to need cover while I seal it up. Keep them off me!" She commanded the other two, as she started to focus in her chakra in preparation to create a thick shield of ice to prevent the opponents from getting below-decks.
 
Senju set on Fire

[ Empire of Akino | Xu-Min | Senju Clanlands Capital ]​
[ Hall of the Senju Council ]​

Summary:
The Senju Council have a gathering without their clan leader, to discuss the ongoing crisis.

Everyone sitting around the table was silent. It was not every day the Senju council was asked to convene on short notice, and without the clan leader in attendance. The events that underwent the past few weeks in the clan lands were far from ideal, and people were starting to rile up, ask where the clan leadership was and begin questioning where the clan leader himself was, as the young man had not shown himself in some time.

The door opened, and two other people entered the council hall. The lady, Moram, went and took her seat to the right of the head of the table, where the clan leader was expected to sit. The man following her took the seat to her right, filling in the last available spot for council members. There were some whispers and looks towards Resu, who then coughed loudly to attract everyone's attention.

"As I am sure you are all aware by now, the silk farms that are within our clan lands have been under attack for some time now. It has received no response due to the lack of action from us, with the majority here insisting our clan leader first be informed, so he will aid in formulating a plan. Well, ladies and gentlemen of the council, we have no more time. If we keep sitting idly, we risk riots, we risk further loss of farms, of lands, and of the trust people put in us. I have asked Moram to invite you all here, even without our great leader to discuss what should be done about this ongoing crisis."

All the people present looked at Resu as if he was something else. A couple begin laughing a bit.

"Without the leader? It has always been that the leader was always aware! Are you suggesting we basically undermine Gakuro? And because what, because some silk is being lost? If it were our olives, then I'd-"

"Then you'd worry?" Moram spoke up, raising her eyebrow "Because you own some olive farms, councilman? Or is it because we have competition in the field of silk? Regardless of either, we are here to discuss the fact that the lack of action is slowly bringing us closer and closer to danger to our clan. Unless we want to have full blown riots and a potential uprising, we must act now."

"And do what exactly Moram? You have military experience. How would you go about countering this attacks on our farms?" One of the women asked, with several others nodding "It isn't as if we don't worry or think about it. It is the fact that Gakuro was raised and taught by some of our finest members from different aspects. He would surely know how to tackle-"

Resu hit the desk with his fist "Except he isn't here right now. He is gone. No one knows to where, but honestly, how much trust would you really put into him? After his grandfather, his family was all but a mess! Every other leader that came from that family line was messed up one way or another! We need to start thinking for ourselves, and also think about the possibility that the apple might've not fallen far from the tree, and maybe it would be best to get a new leader in his place. One that will always be there, and not vanish into thin air!"

Silence fell in the hall. Resu could feel everyone's eyes on him, as he knew he basically revealed what the meeting was really about.

"There hasn't been a suggestion to replace a leader since a long time ago. With that said, I do agree that his absence is disturbing and at the worst possible time. He was even supposed to be in the middle of his wedding preparations, yet I know that he has not attended those either. " She mentioned, with more whispering beginning to rise afterwards.

While creating a lack of confidence in Gakuro was a part of his intent, Resu knew it won't be enough. He turned to Moram and nodded slightly. The woman then spoke up "If I can briefly bring our attention back to the more urgent matter at hand. The silk farms. I have devised a plan to counter any further attacks and begin investigating the matter of who is behind the burnings. Even without the leader present, I will need to win a vote in order to proceed with the plan."

"Let's hear it then. We never vote on a plan without knowing the details, we'd be fools to begin doing so even without our leader here." One of the older council members said, with many others nodding in agreement.

Moram nodded her head "Of course. I will begin coordinating a part of our forces to spread across the different farms. Until we have determined that they are secure, they will remain in their locations, and show that we will protect our people from outside threats. The Wood Safekeepers, in the meanwhile, will lead the investigations, to ensure the council will always be kept up to date without any hindrances. I was thinking approximately 50 soldiers per farm would suffice, and if we see that does not work yet, then I will adjust the plan accordingly. I will also instruct on increasing the number of patrols in the area, and to set up a few temporary watchtowers to better overlook the area."

"And what of those who were already hurt? The families who suffered losses?"

"Those we will handled appropriately. The council will send representatives to understand better what needs those who suffered require, and we will compensate them accordingly. If they lost lands, then we will give provide new lands. If they lost a family member, we will pay for the funeral. If they require shelter, we will arrange it for them. If they require supplies, then we will provide it for them. It will be a bit costly on our treasury, but we must do it if we want to keep their trust and show that we are not ignorant to what happened to them."

It remained quiet in the hall once she finished answering the question, until Resu spoke up "Knowing the details of the plan, we shall now put it to a vote. Without Gakuro's vote, it means it can be tied, so I ask you think carefully before voting. All those in favor of the plan, raise your hand."

Resu brought his hand up and watched as several others brought up their hands. Each vote was held for a minute before being counted, in order to allow people who are unsure a chance to think about this a bit further before voting. Only one who didn't vote was Moram, since it was her own plan. After the minute was up, the vote was over, and Moram counted the hands outloud.

"Seven for the plan, three against. I shall proceed with the plan as soon as we have concluded this council meeting." Moram said, before sitting back down.

Nodding his head, Resu turned to everyone else "Now that we have a proper plan for the silk farms crisis, Shall we discuss the other matter I brought up?"
 
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Unexpected Assault
Claire Rose
Team 11 Genin
Aboard The Junyo​

Being used to the hard work they were issued on the ship, Claire soon got into the swing of things as the days passed. The tasks were the same as before so she knew how to do them and efficiently at that. The genin had expected the time on the vessel to be the same slow draw as their previous time there. She didn't mind, it just meant she would find her own way to break of boredom as they orders were completed. All seemed to fall into place as before but after 3 days, when night struck, it changed. Nishi had woken up the team as she began to give orders. Shifting awake, Claire looked around to see fire, the crew being attacked and the team fighting. The jounin telling them to prevent the assailants from gettiing to the lower deck.

As she stood and began to read the situation she saw a crew member getting attacked. The larger body looming over with a spear, pointed ready to attack. Taking a shuriken she threw it at the man, the weapon sticking in his side. A grunt of pain left him as his head cocked over to look at Claire. Yet he didn't care as he was ready to kill the prey in front of him. As his attention was detoured for just a moment, it gave the crew member enough time to move out of the way as the spear went forward. Confused, the attacker looked forward to see the other creeping away. Spear frantically jabbing in the direction to get a hit but it fell short each time.

Moving forward to the assailant, the genin knew he would be far stronger but her orders were to protect the crew so she would. As she ran forward ice whizzed past, her attention briefly going to where they landed. Hikari had been fighting as well, and the man seemed to stand over her, at least for those moments til he crumpled over. Looking the other way she saw Yukimi and knew exactly she was the one to send the ice. Focusing back at the task in hand she moved to the spear wielded. Drawing her sickle she quickly sliced his back. The male annoyed by her now jammed his elbow back, hitting her directly in the ribs. The force knocking the wind out of the genin for a moment. She truly could see the size difference now as he stood higher than her.

Turning to Claire, the man now focused his attention on her. As she caught her breath he sent a jab at her, turning out of the way, the blade nicked her abdomen. The wound not deep and just on the surface. Quickly moving to his side, thankfully she had a tad more speed on him, the girl used her chakra to create the link to her sickle. Wrapping the line around his wrist she held her sickle tightly and the link in her other hand. The man confused turned to her and tried to stab her again. As he thrust forward she jerked the line causing his aim to be off and his grip to loosen. She had little room to work with and kept that in mind as she fought. Each time he went for an attack she would yank the line, further annoying him, his temper flaring as he got more frantic.

A few nicks here and there as his spear would cut her in random spot, his wrist bleeding from the link digging into flesh. Claire would use her sickle to cut him any chance she got, and it seemed this exchange of minimum damage would grow tedious as he finally pushed her back. Falling to the ground he stood over her, weapon aimed at her chest. The link falling from his wrist, she had no defense now. Thinking quickly as he thrust down she rolled out of the way and sent her sickly around his ankle. Tugging as the link wrapped around caused the man to stumble then fall himself. His balance not being focused on as he just wanted to attack and get the kill. Getting up the genin used her knee to crash into the man's jaw as he too stood up. The force making him stumble as he reached for his spear. Able to reach his neck, she stepped to the side and wrapped the link around it.

Struggling to get free he thrashed trying to get her off as his breathing grew shallow. The genin kept moving out of the way, able to get some distance as she could extend the link. The air having trouble to go in and after a few moments he slumped forward falling face first into the deck. Dismissing the link Claire took a moment to breathe as Yukimi called out to her. Looking the chuunin's way she listened to the plan and gave a thumbs up. Once she was recovered she moved a bit closer to her team member to provide any cover needed.
 
A Venture Southwards!
[ Lightning Country | From the cold, far North to Okino! | Part 1 ]
[ Reyna Azuma and Asami Sanosuke - A collab between @ChromeHound and @Aliceee | Reyna accompanies Asami, as the latter decides to venture with the Saemund-Sanosuke fleet to the south. The offensive of the northern clans of the Sanosuke lash out with their Saemund ally in a bid to keep the northern seas dominated. But only time will say if their efforts will pay off. ]


Asami had little trouble with the fact that they were going by ship. The plans were coming together and she had some hope that they would succeed. All that they needed now was to execute the plans fast enough to land the impact that they wanted. Boarding the designated ship, she had little personal matters with her - other than her equipped gear. The fast travel that she and Reyna had undertaken from the Sato camp to Yngvar had gone without a problem. Despite the fact that Reyna was with her.

Onboard of the ship, Asami made sure to guide Reyna away from the buzzing activities on deck. If anything, Asami prefered that the girl wouldn't get into any kind of trouble. There was the matter that the girl was a jinchuriki but also likely completely oblivious to how things worked on a ship or how to speak Chonobi.
As the speech of the jarl was given and the Saemund Hofou followed, Asami decided to translate it in a rough description for Reyna. Even as the sounds around them made it hard for Asami to get herself audible enough for Reyna.

Then the ship started to get in motion. The deckhands started to do their work while the rowers would perform on the rhythm of the drums.
Leaning against the railing, Asami was not worried that anybody would approach her or Reyna to get them to do any of the hard labour.

Deciding on something, Asami would glance at her side to see if Reyna was still remaining close - and thus out of anybody's way. Patting the shoulder of the girl, Asami pointed up to the night sky and its stars.
"See that one? That is the northern star." The woman stated, pausing for a moment. "If you manage to see it, you can navigate with it. It should always be in the north."

Things had happened quickly after her meeting with Asami. Reyna had gotten to see her family, but the reunion had been a short one. Not long after they had gotten together, Asami returned with news that they would be heading out again. The woman had not been very descriptive in where they were going and Reyna felt both hesitant and excited about the opportunity. It seemed Asami was holding true to her word that she would train her.

The trip itself had been relatively painless, likely because Asami had restricted Reyna from going anywhere or interacting with anyone… Nevertheless, the girl had enjoyed the trip as it gave her a chance to see more of the countryside. They had arrived at a large ship and all of Reyna's excitement had immediately faded. She remembered the last time she had been on a ship, it had been smaller than this, but she had spent nearly the entire voyage huddled over the railing staring at the remnants of past meals… Her mother had told her it was something called motion sickness. Which had always been odd because her Lightning Aura usually helped her avoid most sicknesses.

When they had boarded the ship, however, Reyna felt a strange sense of comfort. The dizziness that had previously accompanied a departure from solid ground was nowhere to be found and instead Reyna found herself enjoying the calming rocking sensation and the smell of the salt that was carried on the wind.
She kept close to Asami, mostly because she recognized nobody else on the ship and could not understand anything they were saying. The language seemed somewhat harsh, but Reyna found herself intrigued, hoping she might have the opportunity to learn some of it as they traveled. Asami did what she could to translate some of the speech but Reyna could not hear much over the general clamour around them. When they broke away for a moment, Reyna was relieved that Asami seemed to have found a somewhat quieter area. Following the woman as she pointed towards the sky, Reyna tilted her head slightly. "But what if there are clouds? Won't sailors get lost then?"

And in an instant, Asami already regretted the action. Staring at the star for a second, Asami wanted to just tell the girl to shut up. "Then there are other stars to navigate by. Constellations and such." Asami stated but already feared that the girl would ask another question to disarm the friendly gesture. "But without the stars or seeing a coast, yes, then most sailors are pretty lost." She decided to say, feeling a big bad as there were other methods to navigate.

"Anyhow, I will also start by helping you to understand and speak Chonobi over the course of this voyage. After all, might be helpful seeing that nobody really will feel inclined to speak Taika on your behalf." The woman stated the fact rather brusquely and gave little time for Reyna to ponder upon it. "That and maybe I can get some space later to train you in handling weapons. I do trust that you know how to handle a weapon or two?"

"Oh." Reyna said quietly, nodding as Asami told her they had other ways to navigate. She wanted to ask something more about sailing and why it was so dangerous, but Asami changed the topic and Reyna simply nodded, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully. When Asami mentioned teaching her Chonobi, the girl nodded enthusiastically. She had hoped for this. "I would be honoured to learn some of your language Asami-Sensei." Reyna said, lowering her head slightly in a show of respect. "And weapons, yes! I can use them. Some, I mean most. Well… I have some weapons that I use and I..." Stopping herself, Reyna shook her head. "Sorry… yes I have training."

The woman stared at the young girl. For a moment, Asami wasn't sure what she was experiencing more. The dread she was actually going to try to mentor this girl into learning how to be more effective at fighting and killing. Or the fact she pitied the girl for trying her best but clearly failing at answering a simple question with a simple answer.
"Good," Asami said in a slow pace, briefly throwing a glance at the sight in front of them. The whole fleet was on the move and it was a nice view, in Asami's opinion, to see the large group of ships moving in a disciplined formation.
"Then tomorrow, I will teach how you fight with a proper bladed weapon. And perhaps something else that can prove to be useful."

Considering something, Asami frowned as she half turned to face the girl better. "Though, have you ever killed a person?"

Chewing her lip again, Reyna tried to think back. "I… well, that's kind of… complicated." Scratching the back of her neck, the girl blushed. "The… the turtle monster thing it… it killed some people as me once. Or kind of, as itself while I watched. I don't really know how to explain it. And I… I think I killed someone, accidentally and… and on purpose!" Realizing she said the last part with a little too much false pride, Reyna shrank back a bit and lowered her head.

"Dear gods, there is no way that this actually her best. Is it?" Asami thought to herself, growing perplexed. Truth be told, she felt little pity or sympathy because the girl had trouble with her bijuu. If anything, Asami expected that to be the case. Certainly if Reyna didn't seem to have the confidence to answer a question with a 'yes' or 'no'. Silently deciding that she had to work on the girl's confidence as well, Asami mentally groaned.

"You are a genin. Don't try to sell yourself out like you're the top of some group or whatever. You are far from it," Asami bluntly stated before she decided to take a more friendly turn, "so just be honest with me. I prefer to know the truth. Even if you only did something accidentally or on purpose. Deal?"

Nodding slowly, Reyna lifted her head and met Asami's gaze. "Deal."

"Good. We got a lot to work on. But for now?" Asami once more would lean on the railing and stare out at the scenery in front of her. "You should probably take a rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."


The following day seemed to arrive early. The deckhands were shouting and it seemed that the sails were out, leaving the rowers below deck to rest out. Shouts were exchanged together with some people waving different kind of flags. By the time that Reyna woke up, Asami seemed awake as well. The woman was sharpening a knife and inspect it with a certain care.
"Good morning. You almost was about to miss breakfast." Asami stated, the voice of the woman not affected by the usual cold or neutral tone. "How was your sleep?"

Yawning, Reyna scratched the back of her neck and smiled. "Surprisingly comfortable. I did not used to like being on the water." she admitted, glancing around. "Lightning and water don't always mix the best..." As if on cue, Reyna's tummy rumbled loudly and she blushed, placing one hand on her belly. "What's for breakfast?"

"Fish," Asami replied, a hint of amusement clear in the woman's voice. Sheathing the knife, Asami would continue. "I hope you don't mind it. Cause for the next days, it is certain that we will be eating the likes of fish and whatnot. Though I don't like squid. I suppose that it is a good thing, I am not one of the Saemunds." As on cue, a deckhand approached the two with their ration. Salted roasted fish, though it clearly cold by now, and some bread that hadn't yet grown stale.
"I got a waterskin for you, if you need something to drink," Asami stated as the deckhand rushed off to another task.

Taking a bite of her meal, Asami became quiet for a moment. Chewing her mouth empty, she would decide to shoot a question at Reyna. "So, how do you feel siding with the Chonobi in a civil war? You are aware that you know," the woman frowned as she tried to put her thoughts into words, "I am not really looking out for all the Taika clans and what not."

At the mention of fish, Reyna's stomach rumbled again. Fish was another thing she had not eaten too much when she was younger, but right now it sounded like the best thing ever. For a moment, the girl feared that she would begin salivating and wiped her mouth just in case she had drooled.

Nodding when Asami asked if she needed anything to drink, Reyna's attention was mostly focused on the food. Digging in as soon as it arrived, Reyna forgot her manners and simply began devouring the food. Looking up from her meal as Asami asked her a question, Reyna opened her mouth to speak, forgetting she had not yet swallowed. Choking slightly, she swallowed and then realized what the question was. Taking a moment, she looked down at the food, suddenly feeling a little uncertain. "Are you just against the Taika though?" she asked quietly.

That was actually a fair question. Chewing on a bite, Asami seemed to ignore that Reyna almost choked on her food. Instead the woman would grab the waterskin next to her and gently shove it towards Reyna.
"No, I am not. But it will clearly appear so. Not many Taika are really on my side. Or well, ours, to be correct." Asami stated, "Only some nomadic clans and what not. Though they allied themselves out of self-preservation. Not really out of friendship."

Chewing on another bite, Asami wondered if Reyna would understand how some people would look upon her. If she would be found fighting alongside Sanosuke and Saemund, it certainly would give a nasty impact for the radical Taika elements.
"Anyhow," Asami would point at the mast of the ship and pronounce a word slowly. It was nothing like Taika, the pronunciation much different. Repeating it again, Asami would wait to see if Reyna understood it.

Taking the waterskin slowly, Reyna took a drunk, clearing the rest of the food from her throat. As she listened to to Asami describing their situation, Reyna's brow furrowed. "But why does it have to be different cultures fighting each other? If the real fight is supposed to be against the Regency, shouldn't everyone work together?" Reyna had never been been one who truly understood the politics around clans or cultures. It seemed like people just made excuses to hate each other and it was exhausting to keep track.
When Asami pointed towards the mast and spoke, Reyna simply stared at her, her eyes widening slightly. Reaching for another bite of fish, the girl chewed slowly, wondering what Asami was doing. As she swallowed, Reyna finally understood what was happening and exclaimed, "Ooohhhh!" Looking up at the mast, she tried to remember how Asami had pronounced it. Trying to form the same word, Reyna spoke and looked to Asami, awaiting her approval.

The question that Reyna asked first just once more reminded Asami of how naive the girl was. That or how little she knew about the wounds of the past that existed between various clans and people. While Asami could explain it with ease, she was far more content that Reyna's attention went to the small lesson in Chonobi.
The pronunciation wasn't perfect. It was far from bad but Reyna did 'suffer' from the fact that she still had a very heavy Taika accent.

"Mhm," Asami produced the sound, her nod further emphasising that she approved Reyna's attempt. "Good, try to repeat the words a few times. Makes it easier to remember them. And getting used to pronouncing them." Would be Asami's advice to Reyna as she would continue further to teach Reyna a few more words.


Time seemed to slowly pass by as the ships continued to brave the waves. During day, there was much more ambience. Drums echoed softly as it was used to instruct the rowers on the speed. Deckhands were busy to operate the deck while others remained idle or checked on their gear. There wasn't an awful lot of space but nobody seemed to really get into the way.
As for Reyna? Asami made sure to keep the girl close. Not because she was a jinchuriki but more so to not attract any ire from her fellow Sanosuke.

Leaning on the railing, Asami couldn't see the coast. Even as she was aware that she stared into the direction of the Lightning north-western coast. Due to the early hour, she hadn't decided to wake Reyna up yet. After all, Asami was content with having nobody to ask or talk to her.
As some more time passed by, Asami threw a look down at Reyna - who was asleep on the makeshift sleeping place, which was formed of a thick blanket and a bag as a pillow.
Nudging the pillow with her boot, Asami would speak up to further encourage Reyna to wake up.

"Wake up, time to get up," the woman stated as she pulled her foot away and placed it on the previous spot. Turning her gaze back at the scenery in front of her, Asami waited until Reyna would be awake.
"Ever seen a hvalur?"

Her sleep was plagued by nightmarish visions once again. This time, however, she had been stuck behind the eyes of a massive sea monster, watching helplessly as it attacked the very boat she was sailing on. The sudden motion of her pillow shifting, followed by the words of Asami caused Reyna to wake with a fright. Her eyes wide, she wanted to shout but bit her tongue to stop herself. Taking a moment to catch her breath and regain her composure, Reyna glanced around to make sure they weren't actually under attack.

Getting to her feet slowly, Reyna heard Asami's question and her pulse quickened in fright. Was that the monster she had seen in her sleep? "What… what's a Hullabaloo?" she asked, her voice quivering. Reyna peered over the edge of the boat, terrified of what horrifying creature might be lurking below the dark surface of the water. "Is..." she began, looking back at Asami and ducking back behind the railing, "Is the Hualavalomor dangerous?" she finally asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Asami remained silent for a moment. Simply trying to tolerate that Reyna was working on her nerves. For a mere moment, Asami wondered how Reyna could manage it every time and turn. Was it her intention or was it just some streak of unfortunate, badly shaped sentences and actions that came forth from the girl?
"They are quite harmless if you stay at a distance," Asami replied as she raised a hand and pointed into a direction.

Some water was thrown high as a dark bulge seemed to briefly move out of the waves. A moment later, a large tail could be viewed before it also vanished under the cover of the waves.
"Large creatures of the depth. Much larger than most animals on land but they are slow, even despite their size." Asami further explained as soon enough another sighting could be spotted.
A large, white bumpy growth seemed to just move out of the waves, attached to a large and dark bulge. Water once more was spewed into the air before the creature would dive under a wave, also followed by its large tail.
"I don't know the Taika word for it. I doubt that much words or names exist for sea creatures in the northern seas." Asami threw a glance at Reyna. "They are seen often as a good sign. As long as nobody dares to make a move on them, we should be just fine."

Peering out over the railing again as Asami gestured out towards a point on the water, Reyna shrunk back quickly once she saw the spray burst up above the waves. Realizing that Asami had not moved at all, the girl slowly raised herself again so that she could see, witnessing as the large tail disappeared under the water. "So they don't eat people?" she asked quietly, trying to catch a better look at the strange beast.

When the second creature appeared, Reyna wanted to hide again, but forced herself to watch as it moved through the water. It was strangely fascinating to watch and Reyna kept her eyes out to try and spot others. As the large tail disappeared under the waves, she felt a strange rumbling in her stomach. "Why do they spray like that?" the girl asked, trying to push aside the hunger in her belly.

"I don't know if they eat people. I know some stories and facts about the creatures of the depth." Asami admitted as she thought what answer would be best. "There are some stories of people being swallowed by large creatures like hvalurs. But I haven't really met anybody who can really verify if it is either tales or actually the truth."

The second question was one that Asami could answer with more certainty. She would narrow her eyes and point at another large bulge appearing in the distance. "Oddly enough, some believe it is their nose. They come to the surface for air, much like we would. But I don't see why fishes really need air." Asami gave as answer. "Why? Want to see them up close?" The woman asked, not hiding her amusement.

When Asami mentioned the tales of people being swallowed whole by the strange beasts, Reyna's eyes widened and she quickly looked back over the rail, fearful once more. Chewing her lower lip, Reyna glanced back towards Asami as the woman continued. Their nose?? It seemed like such an odd thing indeed and the girl found her eyes furrowing as she tried to ponder whether there was any truth to the large beasts having some sort of nose for air breathing. It made some sense, otherwise why would they need to come so close to the surface? Unless… unless it was to come and eat unsuspecting sailors…

Hearing Asami ask if she wanted to see them up close, Reyna's response came out quicker and far louder than she intended. "NO!" Blushing as she realized the Jounin had been teasing her, Reyna lowered her head. "Not… not now at least. Maybe if we had a bigger boat."

"Ship," Asami said calmly as she was still somewhat amused by the fact that Reyna was spooked by the large creatures, that still remained majestic in their own unique way. Looking back at the large creatures, Asami stayed silent for a moment.
"I was actually considering to move over water. But if you chicken out, then that is fine with me. I have swam alongside hvalur before."
Hearing some shouts, Asami attention shifted from the animals to what was happening on deck. Various cheers resonated through the air as a new buzzing of activity surfaced on the visible ships.
"Seems we are reaching a destination," the woman said with a stern tone, "Your first test is imminent. Do what you must to prepare for bearing steel and shedding blood."

"Ship?" Reyna repeated at first, confused. By the time she understood why Asami had corrected her, the woman had already asked if she would be willing to move out over the water and Reyna's eyes widened in slight panic. Despite her fear, there was a part of her that was rather curious…

The commotion saved her from having to respond, however, and Reyna looked across the deck, trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone seemed rather excited and the girl turned to Asami, about to ask what they had found when the woman spoke up. Her eyes widening once more, Reyna blinked several times before opening her mouth to speak. "Wha...what blood? Wh-who are we fighting?" A thought crossed her mind and the girl paled. "Is it the hvalur?? Or...or...or" her voice quivering and lowering to a whisper, she barely squeaked out, "is it a Sea Monster?"

"Good gods, Reyna," Asami released a soft sigh as she lightly shook her head, "not the time to be adorable. We are to land and once we set foot on land, we might come to clash with the Regency forces."
Locking her eyes with the jinchuriki, Asami considered something. "This might be your very last chance to not come with me. To go back to the north," Asami began, "once you come with me, there won't be any way back. It will be hard but if you want to fight for a chance for true freedom? Then you know who to side with."

Patting Reyna's shoulder, Asami would walk past her. She understood the shouts and messages that were carried over. The excitement was still present, almost tangible, as the ships made a slow turn. As a large beast, the fleet would steer slightly as some ships started to move noticeably faster - moving ahead of the bulk of the Sanosuke ships.
The pace of the ship they were on started to pick up pace. The drums below the deck started to become more audible as the warriors on deck started to prepare. A certain glee was almost visible as each Sanosuke on deck seemed more than eager to wet their steel.

Upon hearing that they were to set foot on land, a certain relief filled Reyna. It was quickly washed away, however, when she realized that they were still about to enter a battle. Briefly the girl's thoughts traveled back to the few times she had been in a truly life or death struggle before… The memories filled her with dread and, for a moment, the girl seriously considered Asami's offer to remain behind. If she stayed where it was safe, she could go back to her family and rest until all this fighting was over.

But…

Shaking her head, a new resolve in her eyes, Reyna clenched her fists as sparks danced around her hands. It was time to stop running.


The energy around the ship was crazy. The crew was clearly thrilled at the prospect of an impending battle and their enthusiasm was infectious. If she hadn't been so terrified, Reyna thought she might almost give into their excitement. Gripping her two swords tightly, the girl glanced around, hoping to determine where Asami was.

The ship seemed to draw closer to the coast. There were no enemies in sight but yet the atmosphere or the enthusiastic attitude of the present Sanosuke didn't seem to waver. Before the keel of the ship could make contact with the sand, a hand patted Reyna's shoulder.
"Stay close with me," Asami said as she took place on Reyna's right, "and don't hesitate too much, aye?" The second sentence was followed by a smirk as Asami then looked at what was ahead of them.

The ship rocked slightly as the keel would make contact with the sand. The first few excited Sanosuke would vault over the ship's railing, landing into the water. The cold water would barely reach their knees and yet it was slowing down anybody who tried to move fast.

Vaulting before Reyna, Asami would already focus some chakra at her feet. Allowing her to land on the water and walk in more comfort. Throwing a glance over her shoulder to see if Reyna would follow, Asami decided to continue till she would stand on dry sand. Other ships would start to unload their warriors. The majority being of Saemund origin.
 
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