Nicolay
The Sequel Trilogy is Canon!
If there is a Sannin present it's likely gonna be Jiraiya since if i remember correctly Orochimaru is in Frost right now and Tsunade already left the village
Bone and Blood (Naruto Quest)
- Thread starter No Country
- Start date
- Location
- Florida
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
[X] On the wings, with the more offensive taijutsu specialists. At the commander's side. While the front will clash with the more offensively-oriented Konoha-nin, the wings are going to be meeting the middle of their formation, where their most dangerous ninja will be. The fighting will start later, and likely be quicker, but that doesn't mean it will be any less dangerous
Cecylene
Eternal Idea Engine
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Pronouns
- He/They
Orochimaru may be lending aid via Summoning rituals like he will during the Chunin Exam attack, or even some of his human experiments that were done not-on-leaf members.
The man has to have some live trial experience before he ends up getting kicked out the village I imagine, and this seems like a solid place for him to be trialing his older curse marks. Boruto mentions that Orochimaru has had them for a while and that the one on Mitsuki that'll destroy his heart if "X" happens is an older design. Even without Jugo, Orochimaru was never one to waste a good idea, so we may be seeing unfortunate shinobi from Frost.
This is more one-sided than I thought and it's going in a different direction, interesting.
put on Rin and Obito, not one of Orochimaru's. Cursed seals are more common than you'd think though, even if they're more simple in mechanism than the ones that turn you into a hot topic monster. Tsubaki's dad has one, as does every single member of ROOT.
Kushina and the Third Hokage have not deployed
Any particular reason?
Tsubaki isn't beating an MS user right now. Especially not one who was able to fight the Eight Tails to a standstill with the backup that enabled him to do that.
He's still working on FTG at the moment.
Jiraiya is in the Land of Steam, per the Konoha sidestory. Normally I wouldn't refer to that over the sidestories but there are only two Sannin, so you can't expect them to be everywhere. Also sending either of the active Sannin to the Land of Storms could be seen as personal insult to Hanzo, who nobody wants to see on the battlefield.
Ame is ambushing Konoha here, so your side has the initiative.
Tsunade is still with the Hidden Leaf, she's just not in active service. The other villages wouldn't know that, but they might have an inkling given that she hasn't been seen fighting yet. Though on the other hand, she is a medic, so that's less telling than if Jiraiya or Orochimaru hadn't been seen.
Frost is on the other side of Fire and Steam. And Orochimaru isn't quite that bad yet, he's not going to be sending abominations onto the battlefield, especially not with a village that doesn't have manpower problems. I can't speak to Boruto, but I'm pretty sure the heart-destroying Cursed Seal is the one Madara
put on Rin and Obito, not one of Orochimaru's. Cursed seals are more common than you'd think though, even if they're more simple in mechanism than the ones that turn you into a hot topic monster. Tsubaki's dad has one, as does every single member of ROOT.
To be a little fly when the guy goes and try to make this true, only to learn how much he screwed up and this is not happening, in fact, his carrier's over.
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
Here's hoping to see a blonde nin once again... it is the perfect place to meet him, as his speed makes him a pretty good guy to send in deep behind lines.
Of course, that only applies if he is on the battlefield at all, but we can hope, right?
- Location
- US of A
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
Shapeless Phobos
Filthy Casual
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
Besides the good reasoning others have offered up Tsubaki, iirc, still has an injured arm that is keeping her from going all out(without using her Kekkai Genkai). We could at least have one of the Med Nins take a look at it, our unique physiology may keep them from fully healing the damage while in the field but something is better than nothing.
Besides the good reasoning others have offered up Tsubaki, iirc, still has an injured arm that is keeping her from going all out(without using her Kekkai Genkai). We could at least have one of the Med Nins take a look at it, our unique physiology may keep them from fully healing the damage while in the field but something is better than nothing.
F4OAXB
A Downward Spiral
- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] On the wings, with the more offensive taijutsu specialists. At the commander's side. While the front will clash with the more offensively-oriented Konoha-nin, the wings are going to be meeting the middle of their formation, where their most dangerous ninja will be. The fighting will start later, and likely be quicker, but that doesn't mean it will be any less dangerous
Nicolay
The Sequel Trilogy is Canon!
You just reminded me of her existence and now i'm terrified of running into her at some point
That's Taka not Hebi though the only the only real difference is that Hebi Sasuke is mentally stable and has a more diverse fighting style the other members are still absolutely overpowerd tho
Applying the words mentally stable to Sasuke at any point between the chuunin exams and the end of the manga is... not how I would put it.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[X] At the very back, charged with the defense of the few genjutsu users and med-nin who have been hand-picked for this mission. While it isn't the most glorious posting, it does show that someone higher up has some faith in you, as attacking med-nin is common practice in war, and genjutsu users are often picked off before they can cause serious problems on the battlefield.
No objections from me
No objections from me
He's very stable.
His mental state is constantly stuck on *revenge, revenge, be edgy, revenge*, given that this is a lower energy state he is staying in and that requires lots of energy to leave, that is, by definition, stable.
(Or at the very least, metastable.)
Nicolay
The Sequel Trilogy is Canon!
Hebi Sasuke is pretty Stable especially compared to the lunatic at the Five Kage summit
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Cecylene
Eternal Idea Engine
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Pronouns
- He/They
We aren't sharing our glory, sure the front lines get to fight more but only the best or those willing to die for mission success will be trying to infiltrate the back line. Plus we will have the entire audience basically to ourselves!
Fair, might just be something Orochimaru stole and made use of. It's something he puts on a quasi clone of himself to prevent anyone from trying to study how he did it by destroying the heart and then the body with a cursed seal. It's described as "one of his older curse marks" as a reason the other characters have a shot at working around it.
Lots of careers are going to be over. That's the nature of- war, yeah, of war.
From the Hyuuga last mission or from dislocating it against the other two Ame-nin? The former might cause some reoccurring bruising for a little bit, but it's no real concern; the latter is already resolved. The only thing that would be throwing her off her game is the massive blood loss she suffered on the Iwa mission.
Just don't bring up how cool you think Minato is.
Ah I got them backwards. Even without the MS someone with as many Fire Style options as Hebi Sasuke is going to be a massive problem for Tsubaki, and you have to remember that he was strong enough to stand up to Deidara and not get instantly punked by Itachi. You might want to start expanding your movepool.
That sounds like the Reverse Tetragram Seal. Juinjutsu is pretty cool, maybe if I ever branch out and do another Naruto quest it would have more fuinjutsu in it, because it really wouldn't fit Tsubaki.
That said, I think my take on fuinjutsu is different from most readers/writers, so how well that would fly remains to be seen. On the other hand, a fresh take on fuinjutsu might paradoxically have more appeal.
MaHaL
Conductor of the Choir of Death
- Location
- Canada
[X] At the front, with the bukijutsu specialists and half of the ninjutsu users. At a glance, it's where you belong, as you're pretty sure your kenjutsu is noted above (but less extensively) than your taijutsu in your official file. It's where the most intense fighting is going to be, so you don't mind being placed there.
Time for a bit of the old ultraviolence.
Time for a bit of the old ultraviolence.
Cecylene
Eternal Idea Engine
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Pronouns
- He/They
A fresh take is desperately needed, and I at least know I'd like anything with some decent amount of thought behind it other than it being pure super-science.
[X] On the wings, with the more offensive taijutsu specialists. At the commander's side. While the front will clash with the more offensively-oriented Konoha-nin, the wings are going to be meeting the middle of their formation, where their most dangerous ninja will be. The fighting will start later, and likely be quicker, but that doesn't mean it will be any less dangerous.
I think I'd rather have a straight forward fight then deal with the sneaky type of ninja. No guarantee that an attack on the backline will be launched by Konoha given Ame is ambushing them.
I think I'd rather have a straight forward fight then deal with the sneaky type of ninja. No guarantee that an attack on the backline will be launched by Konoha given Ame is ambushing them.
The bold just isn't true, I want to see Hanzo on the battlefield, (and I could see Tsubaki wanting it too). It would be good to see him live up to the hype, I don't think the canon war arc did him justice.
[X] On the wings, with the more offensive taijutsu specialists. At the commander's side. While the front will clash with the more offensively-oriented Konoha-nin, the wings are going to be meeting the middle of their formation, where their most dangerous ninja will be. The fighting will start later, and likely be quicker, but that doesn't mean it will be any less dangerous.
TimEd
Meteor maker
Mainly because I just want to see more ninjas specializing in the actual hunt part of things compared to the "baseline" sneakiness that all ninja has. But also, I kinda want to see how we deal with being on the hunted side of the equation. That, and being on the defensive with some glass cannon combatants to worry about would be a new thing for Tsubaki to experience. Something that might even be useful in the future if we start getting political assassinations in the future.
Voting is now closed (early)! Things fell through tonight so maybe I can get started working on this early.
Campaign 4: Mission 3: Confrontation
There are two medics, two genjutsu users, and a long-range ninjutsu specialist in the back of the formation, along with you, a documented taijutsu specialist, and a short-range ninjutsu user. One of the genjutsu users is a kunoichi, the only other one in the group. Despite her stature (she's shorter than you, though obviously older), she carries a drab green tank on her back that sticks out at least half a meter above her head. It connects to her standard-issue rebreather via a series of tubes, which she proudly informed you and the other combat-oriented shinobi contained the vector for her unique, olfactory-based genjutsu.
It takes more than three minutes from the start of the fighting for the stragglers of Konoha's force to make their way to where you are in the rear of Ame's formation. There are fourteen ninja arrayed (that you can see), against three direct combatants, three long-range disruptive fighters, and two medics. If you had to guess, these are the sappers and combat engineers who had been traveling at either the center or the rear of their column as they moved toward the Land of Storms. All but one of them either has a large scroll or several scrolls strapped to their backs or belts, and the one that doesn't looks to be an Akimichi, based on the armor he wears in lieu of a flak jacket and the tattoos on his cheeks, not to mention his bulky physique.
The two groups of shinobi stand across from each other on the wide, stunted trees and the giant mushrooms choke the ground beneath them for all of two seconds. You're intercepted in your course for the armored giant by an auburn-haired kunoichi and a shinobi with light brown hair and a pair of lines on his face. Something about the latter detail seems familiar to you, but you can't quite place it.
Intercepting a strike from a hastily-summoned bo staff with a ninjato you picked up before heading out, you get the strangest sense of déjà vu.
Dekai breathed heavily, engaging in a tug-of-war with his injured opponent. It seemed like he was the only one who got a one-on-one fight out of the whole group, which he, after a bit of characteristic overthinking in the middle of a fight, concluded was just a quirk of the numbers involved. Some support would've been nice, but he knew that the rest of his comrades were battling an even bigger, even scarier force of Ame-nin in the direction they'd come from. His opponent was a close-range ninjutsu user, a massive man who used Earth and Water Styles combined with his natural strength to try to pen in and crush his opponents. He was also the only one in a boilersuit not wearing a flak jacket, though Koyomaru and Ikiyo's opponent, a girl who didn't look like she belonged on the battlefield at all, was wearing neither.
He was lucky the big man didn't use Lightning or Wind Style, as he still had problems dealing with those, favoring bukijutsu as much as he did. He was also lucky that his opponent underestimated his strength, though he probably wouldn't have if he knew who Dekai's sensei was. He was, after all, the only one of Jiraiya's students who took on the Sannin's monstrous strength. The current tug-of-war was the result of Dekai letting himself get penned into an Earth Style box then retrieving a kusari-fundo he had discarded earlier, before feinting out his opponent and getting the chain around his neck.
"Ikiyo!" He heard Koyomaru Sarutobi, the fighter closest to him, shout. He was able to look over the shattered earth wall next to him to see the situation his comrades were in, and his breath caught in his throat.
The next-youngest member of the expedition, the Sarutobi's partner and girlfriend, was being held by the throat by their opponent, who looked like she hadn't broken a sweat, though one of her sleeves was tattered. The white-haired girl was saying something to the young jounin she had suspended above the forest floor, but Dekai couldn't quite make it out.
"Do you have a brother?" He could hear the girl's high, unaffected voice, when she raised it so her other opponent could hear her.
"Just do it!" Ikiyo shouted, and Koyomaru charged with a roar.
Dekai couldn't let himself be distracted any longer as he felt his opponent start to pull him back. Sticking himself in place with his chakra and resolving to help his fellow Konoha-nin, the tan special jounin tightened his grip on the chain, forced even more of his chakra into his muscles, and pulled with all his might. The big man's neck snapped with a mighty crack that drowned out the sounds of fighting around them, and was itself muffled by a quiet gurgling as the giant toppled. Dekai's head spun, and his heart sank when he saw what had happened.
Koyomaru had impaled his girlfriend with a ninjato that had replaced his bo staff at some point in the fighting. His intent was clear, to run the Ame-nin the pair through the throat by non-fatally piercing his comrade.
It hadn't worked. The smaller girl, pushed back by the force of the strike, was sneering contemptuously down at the blade, which was missing its tip. It almost looked like it shattered the moment it made contact with her skin. Unlike a moment ago, there was blood oozing from a cut on her forehead, made by a kunai that Ikiyo had managed to get into her hand. If Dekai had to guess, and he always had to guess, she had done that in an attempt to blind the girl and make Koyomaru stabbing her even more surprising. There was also blood pouring from Ikiyo's mouth. And she was frighteningly limp.
"Dammit," Dekai could read the movement of Koyomaru's lips, even with his teeth clenched, "no!" He didn't need to read lips there, as the syllable was shouted.
Four things happened in an instant. First, the Ame-nin's grip on Ikiyo's neck loosened, and the girl began to fall. Second, the Sarutobi ripped the blade from his lover's body, springing up from the edge of the branch he was perched on. Third, Dekai dropped the chain and pulled a length of scroll from the holder on his left hip, summoning a heavy, curved blade meant to deal with armored opponents. Fourth, almost faster than Dekai could see, as fast as his teammate Minato could move when he was serious, Koyomaru's opponent also sprang from the branch.
Unlike the other Konoha-nin's movement, the kunoichi's trajectory was forward. In that same motion that started her jump, the Ame-nin cocked her arm back imperceptibly, then thrust it forward before Dekai could take his second leap and arrive at his comrade's side. The lariat ripped into Koyomaru's chest, and the wet, gasping wheeze he let out made Dekai's blood freeze. It was a choked, momentary noise though, as the force of the blow propelled the Sarutobi into a thick bough. That second impact sent him careening into a pile of limbs with his lover, both of them limp in a divot on one of the mushrooms below.
Koyomaru and Ikiyo's killer flipped in the air after delivering the final blow to her opponent, then landed on the bough that she'd bounced the Sarutobi's head off of. Once she was there, her head swiveled like an owl, and Dekai felt like he was moving underwater. He was still heading for her first position, and she was already looking at him. Dekai turned in place, and she was on him.
'It's just like Minato,' he cursed internally, sure that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, a dangerous habit to have for a shinobi. Dekai managed to pivot out of the flying spear kick aimed at him, but he was forced to pull his bo in front of him to block a palm strike. Just like his teammate, the Ame-nin read his moves, though unlike Minato, instead of slipping the block and tagging him low or high, she aborted the strike and turned it into a sweeping chop, shattering his staff with the Wind-empowered strike. He managed to throw his head back from a spear strike, but she grabbed a fistful of his flak jacket as she reached the apex of the motion.
Dekai stumbled. That little tug was enough to throw him off balance and completely disrupt his flow. As if providence itself was smiling down on him, his fingers brushed the weight of his kusari-fundo. He whipped the chain around, blindly aiming for the small girl's head. His goal was the same as his previous opponent, though with the ease she had shattered his staff and crushed Koyomaru's rib cage, he was starting to suspect that she was stronger than the huge man had been. This time, she was the one throwing herself back, but instead of blindly grasping for a weapon, she drove one of her heels into Dekai's diaphragm.
Even with his flak jacket, the kick drove the air out of the Konoha-nin's lungs, and he sputtered. Dekai spun, pulling the chain of his weapon back and catching it with his left hand. With the chain in both hands, he snapped it together in a tight loop, causing the weapon to crack like thunder rather than jangle like chain. He spun with all of his core strength, catching his opponent's sword in a tight bind.
She looked surprised, for a moment, her eyebrows lifting and the corners of her mouth kinking up. It wasn't the expression one expects to see in a battle, it was more like a child seeing that they got the gift they wanted for their birthday. Then she rammed the sheath of the ninjato at her side into the inside of his leg. Once more, Dekai stumbled. This time though, he was prepared. He stuck several explosive tags to the length of chain as he messily threw himself back.
The Ame-nin opposite him dropped her blade and darted back, then threw the sheath at Dekai when she realized that it too, had hissing seals affixed to it. Once his opponent had moved back several steps, Dekai dove back in. One of his hands came to the chain, and the other came to the hilt of the kunoichi's sword. Then, in one, smooth motion, he stomped down on the mushroom cap next to the sword's sheath, and it neatly flew into his belt.
"Heh," the Ame-nin's grinned, "that's a neat trick." She sounded excited, like she'd just tried a new flavor of ice cream that was particularly tasty, not like she'd just killed two of his friends.
"Ninja tools are pretty neat, if you give them a chance," he said, trying to sound as cool as possible. Aogu was the best at sounding cool, though Minato could be absolutely frigid if he felt like it. Despite the excitement on her face, the impassivity in her eyes made Dekai think that his opponent was the same way.
"I think I'll stick to—" his opponent was cut off by a meter-tall monkey launching itself from somewhere behind Dekai into her face. She sidestepped the simian assailant's assault and, in the same motion, grabbed the monkey's tail, spun, and slammed it into the mushroom cap beneath her with enough force to embed it into the thick fungus.
"H-hey kid," he heard Koyomaru wheeze from behind him. He wondered if the older jounin had ever learned his name. "I'm finished," it sounded like every syllable was agony, "t-take Kemusaru, he- the rest of my chakra…" the Sarutobi trailed off, but his message was clear to Dekai.
Said monkey was doing his best to avoid their shared opponent's pursuit, but she was rapidly closing in on him. To back him up, Dekai threw the weight on the other end of his chain at the Ame-nin, who caught it on her forearm. Her eyes widened in surprise when an explosive tag wrapped around the weight began hissing. Dekai was sure, this time, he had her, but the girl hastily dislocated her own shoulder before twisting and shooting back to the trunk of the nearest tree, landing on it sideways. The explosive tag detonated, sending it back into Dekai's hand. He cursed, watching the girl flex the hand of the arm she had just dislocated, demonstrating that the limb was uninjured.
Before Dekai and his new backup could reengage their shared opponent, a giant hand interposed itself between them.
"Dekai," Tonbo Akimichi's voice was booming, even with the din of distant battle, "our goals have changed, you know what they are. Complete them, I'll hold her off."
"But—" this girl was fast. Tonbo Akimichi worked in fortifications because he was not fast.
"Go!" It was an order from a senior special jounin, Dekai couldn't ignore it. He turned in the direction Tonbo came from, after the rest of the Akimichi followed his arm to the mushroom Dekai was standing on, and ran.
"Hn," you drop back onto the mushroom with a dispassionate grunt. The explosion didn't even kick up any spores, it's far too cold for that. The tan boy with the ninja tools had been interesting, you could already tell there was something off with this new guy, even if you were interested in his clan in general.
The armored man with the mane of hair and the purple zigzag tattoos on his cheeks stands across from you in a stance you've only seen in pictures of sumo wrestlers from textbooks. "I may not be able to keep up like I used to, but I will hold you here."
No, he won't. Especially not when you know he sent the opponent you were more interested in to hunt down your medics and the other, less combat-oriented members of your group. The ones you were charged with the defense of. No matter what though, you know you'll have to kill him, can't have him cutting in again.
[] He said he couldn't keep up, you're going to prove it. Use Jet Movement to completely dismantle him. You'll be quick about it, but even with your Wind-enhanced taijutsu, it's going to be a matter of whittling him down, so it might not be entirely efficient.
[] If he can't keep up normally then he won't be able to keep up while he's poisoned. Granted, if the Akimichi's Hiden works at all like the Kintenkan or even the vitality granted to you by your kekkei genkai, then the amount of Yang energy they have will make them poison resistant. You could always use a lot of poison though…
[] Use your kekkei genkai to finish this in one stroke. Nobody else is around. The rest of the Ame-nin are fighting rather far away, and the rest of the surviving members of the rearline team are far enough away that they can't see you. A combination of Wind Style and Hibiscus Dance should be enough to cut him down in an instant.
Voting closes at !
A/N: I've been meaning to write another update from someone else's POV for a long time now. I hope it was fun to see Tsubaki through someone else's eyes again. The alliterative threadmarks will stop soon, I hope.
A/N2: Had a bit of a busy weekend, I'm also pretty tired posting this so I hope there aren't any big errors. I hope everyone had a happy Father's Day. Maybe I should've done a sidestory about Tsubaki's dad for the occasion, but it wouldn't be much different from the first. Speaking of sidestories, I think I'm going to do two after the end of this campaign, one in Kusa, and one not in Kusa. But also not in one of the Five Great Nations. This inter-mission is going to be a little different as well.
T/N: Tonbo is a pun. It both means 'dragonfly', in an allusion to the Butterfly Technique, but 'ton' also means 'pig', and 'bo'... I can't find the character for, crap.
It takes more than three minutes from the start of the fighting for the stragglers of Konoha's force to make their way to where you are in the rear of Ame's formation. There are fourteen ninja arrayed (that you can see), against three direct combatants, three long-range disruptive fighters, and two medics. If you had to guess, these are the sappers and combat engineers who had been traveling at either the center or the rear of their column as they moved toward the Land of Storms. All but one of them either has a large scroll or several scrolls strapped to their backs or belts, and the one that doesn't looks to be an Akimichi, based on the armor he wears in lieu of a flak jacket and the tattoos on his cheeks, not to mention his bulky physique.
The two groups of shinobi stand across from each other on the wide, stunted trees and the giant mushrooms choke the ground beneath them for all of two seconds. You're intercepted in your course for the armored giant by an auburn-haired kunoichi and a shinobi with light brown hair and a pair of lines on his face. Something about the latter detail seems familiar to you, but you can't quite place it.
Intercepting a strike from a hastily-summoned bo staff with a ninjato you picked up before heading out, you get the strangest sense of déjà vu.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dekai breathed heavily, engaging in a tug-of-war with his injured opponent. It seemed like he was the only one who got a one-on-one fight out of the whole group, which he, after a bit of characteristic overthinking in the middle of a fight, concluded was just a quirk of the numbers involved. Some support would've been nice, but he knew that the rest of his comrades were battling an even bigger, even scarier force of Ame-nin in the direction they'd come from. His opponent was a close-range ninjutsu user, a massive man who used Earth and Water Styles combined with his natural strength to try to pen in and crush his opponents. He was also the only one in a boilersuit not wearing a flak jacket, though Koyomaru and Ikiyo's opponent, a girl who didn't look like she belonged on the battlefield at all, was wearing neither.
He was lucky the big man didn't use Lightning or Wind Style, as he still had problems dealing with those, favoring bukijutsu as much as he did. He was also lucky that his opponent underestimated his strength, though he probably wouldn't have if he knew who Dekai's sensei was. He was, after all, the only one of Jiraiya's students who took on the Sannin's monstrous strength. The current tug-of-war was the result of Dekai letting himself get penned into an Earth Style box then retrieving a kusari-fundo he had discarded earlier, before feinting out his opponent and getting the chain around his neck.
"Ikiyo!" He heard Koyomaru Sarutobi, the fighter closest to him, shout. He was able to look over the shattered earth wall next to him to see the situation his comrades were in, and his breath caught in his throat.
The next-youngest member of the expedition, the Sarutobi's partner and girlfriend, was being held by the throat by their opponent, who looked like she hadn't broken a sweat, though one of her sleeves was tattered. The white-haired girl was saying something to the young jounin she had suspended above the forest floor, but Dekai couldn't quite make it out.
"Do you have a brother?" He could hear the girl's high, unaffected voice, when she raised it so her other opponent could hear her.
"Just do it!" Ikiyo shouted, and Koyomaru charged with a roar.
Dekai couldn't let himself be distracted any longer as he felt his opponent start to pull him back. Sticking himself in place with his chakra and resolving to help his fellow Konoha-nin, the tan special jounin tightened his grip on the chain, forced even more of his chakra into his muscles, and pulled with all his might. The big man's neck snapped with a mighty crack that drowned out the sounds of fighting around them, and was itself muffled by a quiet gurgling as the giant toppled. Dekai's head spun, and his heart sank when he saw what had happened.
Koyomaru had impaled his girlfriend with a ninjato that had replaced his bo staff at some point in the fighting. His intent was clear, to run the Ame-nin the pair through the throat by non-fatally piercing his comrade.
It hadn't worked. The smaller girl, pushed back by the force of the strike, was sneering contemptuously down at the blade, which was missing its tip. It almost looked like it shattered the moment it made contact with her skin. Unlike a moment ago, there was blood oozing from a cut on her forehead, made by a kunai that Ikiyo had managed to get into her hand. If Dekai had to guess, and he always had to guess, she had done that in an attempt to blind the girl and make Koyomaru stabbing her even more surprising. There was also blood pouring from Ikiyo's mouth. And she was frighteningly limp.
"Dammit," Dekai could read the movement of Koyomaru's lips, even with his teeth clenched, "no!" He didn't need to read lips there, as the syllable was shouted.
Four things happened in an instant. First, the Ame-nin's grip on Ikiyo's neck loosened, and the girl began to fall. Second, the Sarutobi ripped the blade from his lover's body, springing up from the edge of the branch he was perched on. Third, Dekai dropped the chain and pulled a length of scroll from the holder on his left hip, summoning a heavy, curved blade meant to deal with armored opponents. Fourth, almost faster than Dekai could see, as fast as his teammate Minato could move when he was serious, Koyomaru's opponent also sprang from the branch.
Unlike the other Konoha-nin's movement, the kunoichi's trajectory was forward. In that same motion that started her jump, the Ame-nin cocked her arm back imperceptibly, then thrust it forward before Dekai could take his second leap and arrive at his comrade's side. The lariat ripped into Koyomaru's chest, and the wet, gasping wheeze he let out made Dekai's blood freeze. It was a choked, momentary noise though, as the force of the blow propelled the Sarutobi into a thick bough. That second impact sent him careening into a pile of limbs with his lover, both of them limp in a divot on one of the mushrooms below.
Koyomaru and Ikiyo's killer flipped in the air after delivering the final blow to her opponent, then landed on the bough that she'd bounced the Sarutobi's head off of. Once she was there, her head swiveled like an owl, and Dekai felt like he was moving underwater. He was still heading for her first position, and she was already looking at him. Dekai turned in place, and she was on him.
'It's just like Minato,' he cursed internally, sure that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, a dangerous habit to have for a shinobi. Dekai managed to pivot out of the flying spear kick aimed at him, but he was forced to pull his bo in front of him to block a palm strike. Just like his teammate, the Ame-nin read his moves, though unlike Minato, instead of slipping the block and tagging him low or high, she aborted the strike and turned it into a sweeping chop, shattering his staff with the Wind-empowered strike. He managed to throw his head back from a spear strike, but she grabbed a fistful of his flak jacket as she reached the apex of the motion.
Dekai stumbled. That little tug was enough to throw him off balance and completely disrupt his flow. As if providence itself was smiling down on him, his fingers brushed the weight of his kusari-fundo. He whipped the chain around, blindly aiming for the small girl's head. His goal was the same as his previous opponent, though with the ease she had shattered his staff and crushed Koyomaru's rib cage, he was starting to suspect that she was stronger than the huge man had been. This time, she was the one throwing herself back, but instead of blindly grasping for a weapon, she drove one of her heels into Dekai's diaphragm.
Even with his flak jacket, the kick drove the air out of the Konoha-nin's lungs, and he sputtered. Dekai spun, pulling the chain of his weapon back and catching it with his left hand. With the chain in both hands, he snapped it together in a tight loop, causing the weapon to crack like thunder rather than jangle like chain. He spun with all of his core strength, catching his opponent's sword in a tight bind.
She looked surprised, for a moment, her eyebrows lifting and the corners of her mouth kinking up. It wasn't the expression one expects to see in a battle, it was more like a child seeing that they got the gift they wanted for their birthday. Then she rammed the sheath of the ninjato at her side into the inside of his leg. Once more, Dekai stumbled. This time though, he was prepared. He stuck several explosive tags to the length of chain as he messily threw himself back.
The Ame-nin opposite him dropped her blade and darted back, then threw the sheath at Dekai when she realized that it too, had hissing seals affixed to it. Once his opponent had moved back several steps, Dekai dove back in. One of his hands came to the chain, and the other came to the hilt of the kunoichi's sword. Then, in one, smooth motion, he stomped down on the mushroom cap next to the sword's sheath, and it neatly flew into his belt.
"Heh," the Ame-nin's grinned, "that's a neat trick." She sounded excited, like she'd just tried a new flavor of ice cream that was particularly tasty, not like she'd just killed two of his friends.
"Ninja tools are pretty neat, if you give them a chance," he said, trying to sound as cool as possible. Aogu was the best at sounding cool, though Minato could be absolutely frigid if he felt like it. Despite the excitement on her face, the impassivity in her eyes made Dekai think that his opponent was the same way.
"I think I'll stick to—" his opponent was cut off by a meter-tall monkey launching itself from somewhere behind Dekai into her face. She sidestepped the simian assailant's assault and, in the same motion, grabbed the monkey's tail, spun, and slammed it into the mushroom cap beneath her with enough force to embed it into the thick fungus.
"H-hey kid," he heard Koyomaru wheeze from behind him. He wondered if the older jounin had ever learned his name. "I'm finished," it sounded like every syllable was agony, "t-take Kemusaru, he- the rest of my chakra…" the Sarutobi trailed off, but his message was clear to Dekai.
Said monkey was doing his best to avoid their shared opponent's pursuit, but she was rapidly closing in on him. To back him up, Dekai threw the weight on the other end of his chain at the Ame-nin, who caught it on her forearm. Her eyes widened in surprise when an explosive tag wrapped around the weight began hissing. Dekai was sure, this time, he had her, but the girl hastily dislocated her own shoulder before twisting and shooting back to the trunk of the nearest tree, landing on it sideways. The explosive tag detonated, sending it back into Dekai's hand. He cursed, watching the girl flex the hand of the arm she had just dislocated, demonstrating that the limb was uninjured.
Before Dekai and his new backup could reengage their shared opponent, a giant hand interposed itself between them.
"Dekai," Tonbo Akimichi's voice was booming, even with the din of distant battle, "our goals have changed, you know what they are. Complete them, I'll hold her off."
"But—" this girl was fast. Tonbo Akimichi worked in fortifications because he was not fast.
"Go!" It was an order from a senior special jounin, Dekai couldn't ignore it. He turned in the direction Tonbo came from, after the rest of the Akimichi followed his arm to the mushroom Dekai was standing on, and ran.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hn," you drop back onto the mushroom with a dispassionate grunt. The explosion didn't even kick up any spores, it's far too cold for that. The tan boy with the ninja tools had been interesting, you could already tell there was something off with this new guy, even if you were interested in his clan in general.
The armored man with the mane of hair and the purple zigzag tattoos on his cheeks stands across from you in a stance you've only seen in pictures of sumo wrestlers from textbooks. "I may not be able to keep up like I used to, but I will hold you here."
No, he won't. Especially not when you know he sent the opponent you were more interested in to hunt down your medics and the other, less combat-oriented members of your group. The ones you were charged with the defense of. No matter what though, you know you'll have to kill him, can't have him cutting in again.
[] He said he couldn't keep up, you're going to prove it. Use Jet Movement to completely dismantle him. You'll be quick about it, but even with your Wind-enhanced taijutsu, it's going to be a matter of whittling him down, so it might not be entirely efficient.
[] If he can't keep up normally then he won't be able to keep up while he's poisoned. Granted, if the Akimichi's Hiden works at all like the Kintenkan or even the vitality granted to you by your kekkei genkai, then the amount of Yang energy they have will make them poison resistant. You could always use a lot of poison though…
[] Use your kekkei genkai to finish this in one stroke. Nobody else is around. The rest of the Ame-nin are fighting rather far away, and the rest of the surviving members of the rearline team are far enough away that they can't see you. A combination of Wind Style and Hibiscus Dance should be enough to cut him down in an instant.
Voting closes at !
A/N: I've been meaning to write another update from someone else's POV for a long time now. I hope it was fun to see Tsubaki through someone else's eyes again. The alliterative threadmarks will stop soon, I hope.
A/N2: Had a bit of a busy weekend, I'm also pretty tired posting this so I hope there aren't any big errors. I hope everyone had a happy Father's Day. Maybe I should've done a sidestory about Tsubaki's dad for the occasion, but it wouldn't be much different from the first. Speaking of sidestories, I think I'm going to do two after the end of this campaign, one in Kusa, and one not in Kusa. But also not in one of the Five Great Nations. This inter-mission is going to be a little different as well.
T/N: Tonbo is a pun. It both means 'dragonfly', in an allusion to the Butterfly Technique, but 'ton' also means 'pig', and 'bo'... I can't find the character for, crap.
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