[ Operation: 'Sweet Arrival' ]
[ Team Republic 19 ]
[ A collaboration between @SilverPaw , @BlueFlameNikku and @Lesli ]
[ The team is instructed to travel to the Honey country, a vassal state of the Republic. Not much news has been received about the status of the vassal state. Despite whatever the team feels or thinks about the mission; they are assigned to a ship that heads to one of the Honey's ports. Their journey, however, isn't going too smoothly. ]
Sugi turned to face the massive creature as he heard it emerge from the water from behind. His eyes opened wide at its intimidating appearance, looking like it was some large malicious sea serpent or snake.
"Oh crap." Having never seen a proper summon before let alone one like this, unnerved Sugi. The genin went about Nemie's shouted words as he saw her kunai bounce harmlessly off of the creature. He quickly reached into his back for a few seconds before swiftly throwing a kunai of his own up towards the creature's face, many of his haze clones appearing to do the same.
All of the haze clone projectiles would pass through the serpent entirely as they were simply illusions. Their real purpose was to mask the trajectory of the real kunai which looked to miss its mark, pinging off some scales just to the right of the creature's left eye. However, as it floated their for an instant a sudden smoldering sound could be heard as Sugi had attached a bomb tag to the end of his as it exploded with a thudding burst inches from the serpent's eye. At the very least he'd hope that would hinder that eye to some degree.
After that the red haired genin would do his best to mingle among his haze clones, using them to mask himself and his actions as they walked about and continued doing other seemingly random actions.
Sana nodded, gripping her katana tighter. She was observing the same shadow Neime was, but was still startled as the large scaly serpentine head surfaced with a hiss, its appearance and intentions menacing. She gulped, quickly refocused with a breath, and calmed herself. In the back of her mind, she noted that this summon was really impressive, and wondered if it would be just as effective on land as it was in the water.
She heard Neime's orders, but didn't manage to even nod in reply, since she was too busy watching the monster as well as her allies' actions. Neime's kunai bounced harmlessly off the scaly head, and Sugi attempted to distract and trick her. Sana prepared her chakra, waited for an opening, and when a decent opportunity showed itself, released a chakra shockwave slash in the direction of its eyes.
A loud screech resonated from the sea serpent, the small ash cloud from Sugi's explosive tag blown away. The waves started to rise, seemingly becoming more violent. Before the large creature could lash out once more, Sana's chakra shockwave rippled across the scales. Only to slice across the serpent's cornea - which was evident by the stream of blood that started to gush out of the monster's eye. Causing the monster to shake its head and unleash another deafening scream.
"Nice,"" Neime muttered as she focused to keep her balance. Noticing that the sea serpent was recovering from the previous attacks, Neime narrowed her eyes. There was little that she could achieve with her techniques.
Pulling out a kunai, she kept an eye on the monster's movement.
Trying to come up with a plan to drive the huge serpent away, Neime noticed how it started to dive once more into the water, becoming a large shadow underneath the waves.
"You guys okay?" Neime shouted, as she barely could see the genin with the large waves constantly breaking her sight on them - save it for the numerical Sugi haze clones.
"All good here!" Sugi sounded off as a billowing wave brought him up and down into and then out of Neime's line of sight. They seemed to have successfully disable to creature's sight but even as it dived back beneath the waves the genin knew it was only marginally hindered by this.
"If it is like other serpents then it can still locate us reliably even without sight." He chimed to his squadmates. It was then that Sugi hatched a plan. The numerous haze clones fazed away, Sugi dismissing them so as to conserve chakra before creating a water clone beside him. Sugi and clone in tow made their way over to rendezvous with Neime.
"Senpai, Sana!" He called out before he began pulling out all the paper bombs he had left and started attaching them to his water clone as he shared his plan.
"I bet the inside of that thing isn't as protected as the outside. If we can get this clone inside it in any way I bet it can cause at least enough damage to dismiss it. Can you two add in any paper bombs you can spare?"
With the creature blinded the plan seemed more plausible than if it wasn't but there were still unknown factors. Was it going to use jutsu or other abilities? Sugi had to plan with what he knew which was far less intel than he fancied.
Sana flinched at the resounding screech of the injured serpent, but didn't let it disturb her focus. The waves made her slightly dizzy, but she pushed down any hints of nausea - it was a bit different standing on the riotous waves herself than it had been to ride the ship, but it wasn't too bad, and the chakra control to keep her on her feet was practically done automatically by her at this point, so Sana wasn't truly concerned about falling into the sea. The serpent submerged, and Sana's heartbeat quickened, her eyes tracking the shadow beneath their feet carefully. She didn't like the idea that it could open its mouth underneath them and jump up to swallow them all.
"I am fine," she answered, shouting back to make herself heard. Sugi also was alright, though she could barely see either of them with all of the high waves rising and falling. She ran to get as close to both of them as she could, avoiding the highest peaks of the water's ridge. Her lips thinned when Sugi confirmed her suspicions that the monster serpent could still locate them easily while they, being only humans without any special sight abilities, could not. By the time her fellow genin asked her and senpai to come closer, Sana was more than two thirds of her way there already, so it did not take long for her to arrive. She listened to Sugi's plan, and nodded.
"Sounds good. Hope we can get it in," she said, as she opened her pouches and handed over all the paper bombs she had on her, helping to attach them to the clone.
Relieved at the sight of the two genin being fine and not suffering a single scratch, Neime turned her head to see if she could catch a glimpse of the serpent. The dreadful creature vanished into the depths and Sugi's words didn't do much to comfort Neime.
"Yeah, that beast won't be hampered that much," Neime said, as she then frowned when Sugi suggested his plan. In truth, she didn't like it that much. There were a couple of factors that could make the plan fail horrible or succeed. But the harsher truth was; she had nothing else in mind that could stop a hue sea-serpent. And they really needed that beast dead or gone. Else, the enemy vessels would catch up and then they were facing worse odds.
"Well, lets see how this goes," Neime said as she grabbed a few of her explosive tags - aiding the other two in preparing their makeshift bomb. Once done, Neime threw a look at the waves. There was no large shadow moving around, so far she could spot. Then without a warning, something dark seemed to manifest around them. Rapidly coming upwards, the soft glint of various rows of yellow teeth came into sight.
"Spread!"
Shouting the command, Neime tried to get away, only for a wave to obstruct her path as the serpent was about to come up and try to devour those that had dared to harm him.
Sugi looked on confidently now, since the two agreed and were going about assisting with the plan of action. With the water clone becoming covered in patches of paper bombs, the genin mentally went through the checklist as to how the clone will detonate itself at the right time. The red head would look at Sana and smirk nervously.
"Heh, so do I. But if my hunch is correct, it---" Sugi failed to finish what he was saying as the sea became noticeably darker beneath his feet, looking down only to see a maw of teeth; a truly horrifying sight indeed. The feeling of his hair standing on end, Sugi leapt backwards scattering just as Neime said to do. Mid leap the genin could look back to see Neime was stuck. There was no time to think, Sugi's water clone rushed over to Neime's side to forcefully attempt at shoving her out of harm's way wherever there wasn't a blocking wave. It'd look similar to a classic self sacrificing maneuver, only of course the suited up bomb clone was meant to be eaten by this serpent.
Through all of the commotion the genin would lose concentration on his chakra control however, causing him to fall into the sea though he was out of the immediate attack area.
Her fears of the serpent appearing right underneath them came through, and Sana's eyes widened minutely at the imminent threat. She jumped back, obeying Neime's command without hesitation. She watched, only slightly worried, as her senpai's path was obstructed by a wave. She was sure the chuunin could extract herself from there, however, and moreover, Sugi's water clone was in prime position to get swallowed as it ran as if to help Neime. Instead, she kept retreating in about the same direction Sugi had fled.
Speaking of her fellow genin though, Sana frowned when she could suddenly see him nowhere. It was possible a wave had obstructed him or had carried him away somewhere but...She'd been relatively close to him this time, and hadn't seen where he went. Glancing at Neime and the water clone occasionally, Sana began checking underneath the waves as well as around her, just in case. At some point, she thought she saw an appropriately sized and coloured smudge under the water, and jogged there, sticking her hand in to grab at it.
Neime's eyes widened as Sugi's clone moved forward, shoving her. Releasing her chakra control, she plummeted into the wave that initially blocked her way from the serpent's jaws.
A resounding sound of two jaws slamming shut moved through the air. The sound was intense enough to give an eerie sensation as if a minor shockwave was produced.
Blinking twice, Neime saw how the scales moved in front of her, a few inches away as the giant serpent would slowly plummet itself once more into the dark depths of the waters. A few tags that had been rigged to the water clone were drifting in front of her - causing Neime to pull the rope around her waist and start to move away.
Gasping for air as she came to the surface, the chuunin attempted to use chakra to climb on the rough water. Looking around, she couldn't catch a glance of the genin but saw the two other ropes.
Catching her breath first for a few seconds, Neime started to make her way over. Keeping her balance on another large wave, she spotted Sana sticking her hand into the water surface.
"You guys okay?" Neime shouted, slowly descending together with the wave as she wondered if they could still make the tags explode.
Sugi handley swam his way back up towards the surface straight at the submerged hand. With the help of Sana and Sugi's rope, the genin surfaced with a gasp taking in that sweet air.
"Th-thanks Sana."" Regaining his bearings Sugi went about standing upon the bobbing waves once more with his team just as Neime relinked up no less.
"Yeah yeah, no sweat. Just lost focus for a sec." Sugi assessed what he'd missed putting everything together as the clone was gone and the serpent submerged once more. After taking a moment to catch his breath Sugi began talking again but with a smirk.
"Senpai, you gotta stop looking so worried all the time. Have a little more confidence in us huh." After taking the casual jab at Neime, Sugi took a knee and formed the snake hand seal. The irony of the situation was palatable for the genin. This serpent would be undone by the very hand seal made after it. Just like in the academy, Sugi remotely detonated the paper bombs that were infused with his chakra. This would more than likely set off Sana's and Neime's bombs as well without requiring them to do the same. The water clone was of course destroyed but it did its job at delivering the bombs where they were needed.
Sana helped pull out Sugi, which due to their combined efforts was not as difficult as she'd feared it would be.
"No problem," she replied, offering him a very small smile. To Neime, she said,
"Well, we are all wet as rats for the effort, I see, but otherwise alright," joining with her own mild attempt at levity. She looked on curiously as Sugi detonated the paper bombs remotely, head swiveling on reflex towards where she'd last seen the serpent submerge. She hoped whatever happened to it would be visible; she wanted confirmation that they were successful in eliminating it.
Arriving at the genin, Neime was glad. Their mission hadn't officially begun until they had reached the vassal state. To already lose someone on the way was anything but a boost for morale. Watching Sugi performing the seal, Neime was very much the same regarding Sana; she wanted some sort of evidence that the creature was dealt with - that it couldn't slow them down.
Without warning, water splashed just near them into the air - reaching meters high and producing a thunderous sound, as if the Divine had decided to empower the lethal combustion of the explosive tags. Waves, larger than before, would turn into a darker colour. Upon close sight as the waves reached the three, it would be easy to see the subtle crimson colour of blood. As a drizzle fell down, the already soaked clothes of the nin started to gain some reddish stains.
"Suppose that took care of it," Neime mumbled, watching how small parts started to drift upwards. Soon enough, the stain started to rapidly increase in space. Yet, Neime waited a few seconds before she decided to call it.
"Good, we can go back now." she told the genin, raising her right hand to point to the vessel with her thumb.
Lowering her hand, a smile dawned on Neime's lips.
"You guys did great. I suppose we earned some rest now."
Using the rope and chakra focused at her boots to climb back up to the railing, Neime would offer a hand to the genin that likely followed her. Before untying the rope around her waist, Neime threw a look at the horizon. They had only spotted one vessel with black sails. But now as they were back onboard, they could see various vessels sporting the same ominous sails.
"We should be able to outpace them," Neime said, deciding to share her thoughts,
"but that is very odd. Pirates don't seek a fight with a Republican warship, if they can avoid it."
Undoing the rope around her waist, she would gesture to Sana and Sugi to take it easy. Walking away, various marines and deckhands seemed to be in good spirits. Keeping a respectable distance, most of them gave a subtle sign of approval; a thumbs up, a nod, a smile and some even mumbling a soft thanks.
Returning with some blankets Neime first handed them to the genin before wrapping one around herself.
"Got to say, I hope that we won't be so soaked the next fight."
Sugi felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him as the pillar of water erupted upwards. The numerous crimson stains billowing up from beneath the waves along with pieces of the creature cementing its final fate. The genin was only slightly annoyed at his clothes being so heavily damped, primarily due to the blood mix into the water.
The genin admittedly was a little sour that Neime didn't give him a bit more credit or acknowledgement for his plan working out. He wouldn't let it show however, masking it with a smile directed towards most of the appreciative crew after reboarding the vessel.
Relaxing now, Sugi accepted the towel and went about drying himself off. He'd have a puzzled look about him as the identity of the now numerous ships that they were now outpassing was brought to light. He left the towel dropped over his head as he thought out loud.
"I doubt it's some kind of mistake on their part. It could be out of desperation. War tends to cause easy target trading ships to become more scarce. There is always the possibility of them acting as mercenaries too." Sugi would smirk towards Neime.
"Hey Sana, it's official. The key to beating Neime-senpai in our next spar is we just gotta keep splashing her with water. It's clearly her weakness."
The moment they were all waiting and hoping for arrived; water sprouted up meters up as swiftly as a geyser erupting. It was a lot more satisfying than that though, especially with the blood and chunks of meat, which were all evidence that they had successfully slayed the serpent. Sana clenched a palm in victory, performing a small vertical fist pump on the level of her wait; a subdued but still visible reaction of her excitement.
Sana nodded when Neime told them they could return, but did not relax until they were finally on board of the vessel once again, her adrenaline gradually subsiding. She'd feared and partially expected there would be more than that one summon to face, but was glad it had been something on a scale that they were actually able to deal with. It was odd how many of the black sailed ships there were, and she thought Sugi's interpretations about their motives were quite reasonable.
Then again, if she thought about it herself, she didn't really have any good ideas for their actions. Was the one ship they'd sent ahead on purpose, to scout and detain their opposition until the rest of the fleet arrived? Or was it simply that they only had one ship fast enough to act while the rest could only sail behind and hope to catch up? Also, did they intend to pursue them? And how come they hadn't fired any projectiles or the like? Thoughtful and head swirling with questions, Sana didn't react much to the crewmembers' gestures of gratitude beyond the occasional vague nod.
She shook out of the slight daze when Neime threw a warm, comfy towel at her, which Sana promptly wrapped herself into.
"It is surprisingly cold…" she commented mildly. Privately, she thought it was exceptionally good that getting soaked was all they suffered, though she also realized that Neime was once again joking or otherwise trying to lift up the mood with her remark. That was why Sana's own approach wasn't as stiff and formal as it might otherwise be.
Sugi seemed especially comfortable with the levity, however, and seemed to join in with ease and eagerness.
"Splashing? I don't know about that," she pitched in, tone slightly dubious. As a smile spread across her face, however, she continued,
"I'm sure there's a more effective weakness...like tickling. Or spiders. Hmm?" She turned inquiringly towards the person in question, raising both eyebrows at her, while her smile momentarily transformed into a grin.
Surprised, Neime turned her attention to the genin - as they began to comment on how to defeat her. What would have likely caused Neime to stay silent and ignore the comments, she couldn't help and fail at suppressing a small laugh.
"We'll see.~"
