[Shouki Kumori]

Certainly, it’d be reckless to enact such a plan as the beginning of their siege… but-

Oh, thoughts abruptly braked in their tracks at the arrival of the first Jōnin team! All badly injured – Zaizen, Ichigoni, and a critical Sora – a fatally current Sora! Their team had endured all types of wounds, and it was obvious that medical help was immediately needed… and Asuka was instantly reporting for duty, to which Kumori did him the favor of grabbing the tossed medical kit flung their way.

Kumori was thankful for the kit, possessing quite the useful medical knowledge himself as an elder who knew how difficult it was to commit to surgery. Obtaining his clan’s Hijutsu required a surgery, after all…

Sora’s condition was visibly the most perilous, so an absolute specialist like Asuka could be trusted with treating her. Kumori immediately knew to help treat the two others, making use of all that was needed from Asuka’s medical kit to patch up scrapes and wounds, numb the pain and also extend help with the heavier wounds sustained on Zaizen and Ichigoni. Kumori was well-knowledgeable of the contents of that medical kit and uses thereof, recognizing many items from his own practices within his clan when he was taught about the Dokuyoke ritual.

… The explosion in the distance made his ears shiver, making Kumori desire a change of pace and gaze at Kobashi: "Things are getting chaotic at the Keep, not to choir the obvious… is it possible for us to stabilize our lines? All these sounds from the Chūnin…” Asuka had a lot on his table with Sora, and the higher-ups of team 1 were walking proof of the lethal defenses that the Keep contained.

But Kumori would aim to treat the two Jōnin of their wounds first, while hearing Kobashi’s answer. The latter had a sharper judgement.

[Sourei Kobashi]

Asuka had begun to agre with Kobashi's answer to Kumori's question, but before the discussion could really continue there was suddenly movement nearby and a trio were spilling into the area his own team had been posted up at. Immediately Kobashi's right hand darted down to the hilt of the ninjato at his left side while his legs simultaneously bent to give a proper stance to draw the blade while attacking at the same time.

No such attack proceeded however as the faces of the intruding trio became apparent, although Kobashi's hand did indeed remain on the hilt even as Asuka rushed towards Sora and Kumori towards the other two in order to render medical aid. Eventually however, Kobashi did finally stand straight once more and finally took his left hand off the blade at least once it became unlikely to be some sort of transformation ruse at work.

Walking up to the group Kobashi was about to speak when a sudden explosion and the sound of surging water could be heard a distance away from them, likely emanating from the keep itself. Either the chuunin and special jounin still fighting had failed to read the mission briefing as it seemed Sora and company had or they were being pressed to the point where they simply could not afford to hold back; either of the situations was not particularly comforting.

Turning his gaze towards Kumori for a moment as the older man spoke in response to the explosion, Kobashi shook his head slightly before speaking in turn: "It is difficult to say. Ideally we would fall back some and regroup for a new assault, but judging from the explosion it is likely that the other teams are barely holding out." Kobashi turned his attention towards Zaizen at that point, his voice calm and collected as usual as he asked a question despite the chaos their mission had devolved into. "What can you tell us of the situation when you were at the keep?"

It was a simple question, but with Asuka likely needing the time to treat Sora and Zaizen seeming fine overall it seemed the most effective use of their time. If he could at least get an idea of what state the battlefield was in then perhaps he could start devising some rudimentary response that Kumori, Asuka and he could take to help stabilize the assault.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Zaizen Uzumaki Ichigoni Sora Minami

The world was still as the jounin teams came together and the one medic attempted to help everyone on the team that had advanced earlier. But now, it was their moment to shine, and the sign came clear as day. For the Keep had been shaking with battle, the rumble of stone and cries of pain had been articulated and now all was quiet.

Total silence save for the crickets in the distance, and the mysterious bird that would occasionally croon. The smell of blood and sweat settled with the Keep's silence too, that rusted smell seeming to come to the ground instead of being in the air, like sparks from a flame descending to Earth.

That silence was what would tip the teams off that they could advance forward, that either the lower teams had succeeded in clearing out the enemies below or they had died trying. Further inspection from their vantage point would show that no one was trying to run out of the Keep either, which meant that the enemies were not trying to get out by any means... Which could point towards two options - death or a stealth tactic.

However if the sensors were to check, they would notice that many of the larger chakra signatures from before were gone and now there were instead the familiar chakra signatures from before surrounding a very *large* signature, surrounded by a plentitude of smaller signatures as before, they would be recognized as the ones who had shot a volley of arrows from the rooftop from before.

But now, the shinobi had to move forward their time had finally come.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: Thursday November 9th 1:10AM

OWL

[Shimizu Asuka]

Asuka paid the other two jounin of team 1 no mind, focused as he was on Sora and her injuries. As he steadily used his water scalpel to cut the arrowheads out, the sound of the other jounin attempting to make a plan washed over him. He was half-listening, but the majority of his focus was on the woman on the ground. There wasn’t much he could do for a lot of these wounds without a full hospital setup and far more chakra than he actually had access to, so he focused on what would be enough to stabilize her condition before he had to move.

Only once the arrowheads were out of her wounds would he move onto his next priority: stopping the bleeding. The arrows had done a decent job of holding her blood in her, but as they were removed, so too would her blood be flowing freely again. Making his next set of handsigns, a familiar glow would light from his hands as the mystical palm technique would activate. There were several wounds, and at least two of the arrows had caused internal bleeding, so those were the ones he hovered his hands over first, and spent to most time on them.

His brow furrowed in concentration as he moved his hands in the ways only a skilled medic would ever be able to accomplish. While the situation for Sora was dire, his hands were steady, and his mind was clear. He knew what to do, and how to do it, he just worried he might not have the chakra. ”Kumori-san? I may actually need that extra chakra pill after all. Sora’s too injured to fully stabilize on one single chakra pill.”

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Shousen Jutsu - [Mystical Palm Technique]
RANK: A
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [Medical]
REQUIREMENTS: Enhanced Chakra Control & Medical Training SAs
ELEMENT: N/a
HANDSEALS: 2
DESCRIPTION:
This medical ninjutsu allows the user to speed up the body's natural healing process by sending chakra from their hands into a wound or afflicted body part. This allows the user to heal a patient without the need for medical equipment or surgery, making it very useful on the battlefield. It can be used to treat both external and internal injuries. It is vital to match the amount of chakra used to the severity of the affliction or injury. This requires a great amount of chakra control. Because of this, only a few highly skilled medical-nin are able to use this technique to its full potential. As miraculous as this technique is, it should be known that it can only speed up what the body is already capable of doing.

SPOILER: Click to show

Perfected Control (Chakra Control)
Asuka has never had huge chakra reserves like many clanned shinobi. Because of this, over years of practice and training in the medical field, he’s gained a more efficient understanding and use of his own chakra. His control is greatly enhanced, enabling him to more effectively make use of his smaller reserves.

Medical Training
Asuka was a medic long before he was a sensei, and has been training and learning for medical procedures for 16 years. His abilities and comprehension are high enough to perform basic procedures and surgeries with or without chakra, though of course chakra and jutsu usage help greatly. His understanding of medicine in general enables him to perform more complicated procedures with the aid of his chakra.

Oceanic Child
The Ama clan is one known for it’s high adaptability and overall survivability underwater. Asuka has gained a high mastery of his clan’s aquatic abilities after years as an active shinobi and avid lover of water, and because of this, can use them to an even higher degree than many of his peers. Beyond simply being able to breathe and speak underwater, or withstand the oceanic pressure, Asuka’s body is practically made for the water. As thus, while using his clan’s aquatic adaptation (and only while using his clan’s aquatic adaptation, his streamlined scales allow him a rather unique resistance to wide-scale Suiton attacks, slippery enough that lower ranked techniques simply slip past him, or cause less harm than they normally would.

Toxicology Research
As a medic, Asuka has been training for 16 years to learn to heal as many things as possible. Among the other things he has researched and learned to heal, he has studied poisons and their effects rather closely. Because of this extensive research, he is able to create antidotes for poisons, venoms and toxins he has a sample of, after observing the effects of said poison at least once. Higher ranked poisons take longer observation periods, and lower ranked poisons take less time to analyze.

Aquatic Stealth Training
Not dissimilar to the technique commonly used by ANBU everywhere, Asuka’s training with water-related activities has enabled him to create his own version of the technique. In water his stealth is all but unparalleled, making him able to move silently and efficiently. Diving into water hardly produces a ripple or even a slight noise, and underwater he’s found himself able to blend into the various shadows with ease, making it much harder to find him in deep or murky water.

[Shouki Kumori]

With Sora’s condition like this, their rendezvous with the other Jōnin team did result in a minor halt, alongside the settling silence and smoke in the far distance. The other teams must’ve been on the ropes, but Kumori too listened intently to Zaizen’s description of their assault on the Keep – how they entered a room tight and narrow in space, rendering long weaponry and large-scale Jutsus obviously disadvantageous for a multitude of reasons. Kumori would make a mental note to rely on his kunai and hidden blades at that point – his sword would have to be on standby.

Hozuki? The Keep and its current inhabitants had allies from among the Hozuki, capable of leaking through the ceiling and the ground in accordance with Zaizen’s record. Kumori had a Jutsu that could work against the Hozuki, one that didn’t take up much space but required prepping at least three metallic objects.

One of the more challenging enemies ended up blowing himself up… at least, that brought some relief – some of these enemies were just as reckless as they were! How ironic.

While Kumori couldn’t pick up chakra signatures, he had sharp hearing… which aided him in noticing the gathering of a multitude of footsteps close to each other, reverberating through the air as if the gathering of an army. That was all, however – Zaizen’s capabilities outshone his in that regard, capable of giving a report on the enemy positions post the settling silence. The lower levels of the Keep were deserted, and the enemies had reached for the upper floors now, definitely intent on creating a defensive front and anticipating the next wave of shinobi. Archers from the vantage point were there, and so were the Hozuki… along with the singular, powerful enemy…

Kumori quickly handed Asuka his last Military-grade chakra pill, before he went and picked up the flag that was held by Sora. "The archers might still be ready to fire down from their current position… but if they left the lower posts, they’re not as organized as before. This is a chance,” he anticipated, and since Zaizen had clarified that signatures had disappeared from the lower levels, it was less of a chance of anyone sneaking past them to get Sora or Asuka in the midst of recovery. The rest could enter, roughen up the remaining forces, and should Sora recover – she’d hopefully have a direct path to draw her blade towards.

And with the flag held towards Kobashi, entrusting him with the duty of flagbearer, Kumori added: "We must enter. I’ll aid with Raiton: Denki Saku to stun large groups of enemies, and also against the Hozuki. If we enter open combat - which is more than likely - then aim around them with your shurikens and I’ll use that as a sign to stun them. Archers will have a harder time in tight spaces, so we’ll use that to our advantage as well. Let’s cut down their numbers and be patient with ascending their levels – have the enemy dwindle in number and leave the strongest enemy with as few helpers as possible.” It did appear that they were taking a slightly stealthier route now – if what Zaizen said is true, then the enemies were trying their hardest to secure the most powerful adversary. Therefore, trickling down the enemy numbers was optimal.

"Asuka, I know you’re busy… but do you possess a beneficial Sealing Jutsu to treat or close wounds?” Kumori would further ask, handing down 10 Blank Sealing Tags and placing them next to Asuka, "I’ll wait. If not, we should advance now. You should focus on Sora, first and foremost - but you'd know that way before I do.” Kumori threw the Medical Ninja a confident smirk, a strong hunch that Asuka would help Sora recover fully.

Only after Asuka’s response and hand-out, or otherwise, would Kumori cover his head with the hoodie of his cloak and give the signal to Zaizen, Ichigoni and Kobashi that they’d head out, split into the two original groups again and approach the Keep quietly. With the settling silence, that should prove an easy task. It was finally time to infiltrate the enemy territory themselves…

SAs:

SPOILER: Click to show

Shouki Clan Hijutsu - Dokuyoke Master
Kumori possesses his clan’s secret ability to store, produce and release deadly poisons from his own body thanks to the ritual of Dokuyoke. Said ritual has also granted its clan members an uncanny resistance to local poisons and toxins found all over the Land of Water - however, with the decades that Kumori has had to practice their craft, he’s become a master of the offensive Dokuyoke – both in the secret but simple Taijutsu that takes advantage of the release of poisons, and also in the regards of being able to mold and create forms from the poisons released. Only a master who’s had decades to train the clan’s Hijutsu is able to utilize the poisons with this much efficiency and creativity.

Medical Training
Kumori was taught practical, medical skills from a young age – this was to honor his clan’s past as medical experts before the ritual of Dokuyoke changed them forever. His in-depth understanding of human anatomy grants him the ability to treat his own wounds as well as the wounds of others with minimal effort despite the lack of Medical Jutsu in his arsenal. When it comes to surgeries, then he’s confident and very experienced in cutting open as well as patching up human bodies for various purposes. This has definitely flourished during the trials that he witnessed in his clan… and despite his distancing from them, their books and notes did grant him a deeper understanding of human and animal biomechanism. Kumori is able to use this knowledge in combat as well, capable of easily identifying weak spots on the foe's body where critical organs or blood vessels (arteries, capillaries etc.) are located, thus targeting them for the most optimal killing chance. Medical knowledge isn't solely for healing the body, in the end... not in the hands of a shinobi.

Enhanced Chakra Reserves
Old as he is, Kumori’s decades of training and fighting has made his body robust physically, but it has also increased the available pool of chakra that he can draw from. He possesses enormous chakra reserves - much more than the typical shinobi, and he can release Jutsu after Jutsu for much longer periods of time before tiring out. This especially aids him in performing high-ranked Jutsu that usually cause other shinobi casting them to stagger or lose focus due to the huge loss of chakra as a result. The enormous concentration of chakra can also cause visible outbursts from his body upon welding or releasing chakra.

Enhanced Strength
Kumori’s muscle mass contributes to his massive size – it allows him to not only depend on the deadliness of his poisons, but also overpower his opponents with brute force. Every swing of his weapon is like a ravine charging into the target, and the toughness of his musculature alone is able to absorb quite a bit of blunt damage. It’s unheard of to witness a poison user like the Shouki to be this physically fit, but Kumori is something else… he has enough strength to punch holes in the ground, break weaponry with ease and utterly destroy an opponent's body and turn their bones to flakes with simple, heavy punches. Landing on the ground from great heights can cause soft tremors to travel across the ground, and he often deliberately lets foes land hits on him just to flex.

Jack-Of-All-Blades (Bukijutsu Expert)
Kumori seems to just know his way around any sort of weapon that he’s handed. Whether they be a sword, spear, bow, kunai, shuriken, kama, axe, club, staff, chain, knuckle-dusters, metal claws or even blowguns – of any shape and any size – when he wields and utilizes such any weapon, he does so with nigh unmatched skill. He may still have his preferences, but give him any weapon and he’ll kill with style.

Enhanced Hearing
As a result of his tracking missions back when he wanted to become a member of the Oinin Butai, Kumori developed a sharp and unnatural sense of hearing. He usually carries special Ear Protection plugs with him if enemies want to take advantage of this trait, but when freed of those, his ears can catch and distinguish sounds and their sources from long distances. He’s able to recognize usually muffled sounds with ease; the sound of a person’s heart beating slow or fast, the sound of insects crawling on the muddy ground, the sound of a hiding shinobi’s breathing etc.
Active: 5km / Passive: 1km

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Shimizu Asuka

With Sora somewhat stabilized and now a toad summoned to keep her company the groups would set out. The primary entry was still open, and with the lower levels cleared out it was obvious that the best way to enter without being hindered was likely through the front door. Of course they could try one of the many windows along the Keep but it was likely a bad idea as that posed the potential for traps or enemies that would jump them. After all, it was unknown if anyone was chakra jamming as well in selective places.

If they did enter through the front door, Daichi would be there to greet them handing them two seals for a handy technique. They could only hope that it would not come in to any use.

Presuming the two teams made their way up, they would be very suddenly stopped along some circular stair rampart. The space was kind of tight but it was actually a young man they all knew.

"Oi vey, there you all are."

It was Kimihiro standing there, and he seemed quite relaxed, of course, it was possible that the two teams would be caught by surprise by the sudden appearance but there was no attack on their persons so they were not in any danger immediately.

"Come on!"

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 11:50PM Friday November 10th 2023 CST

Note: Kimihiro has appeared on some circular stairs seemingly out of nowhere and is telling the two teams to come along.

Extra Note: From here on for ease of communication please post between 200-300 words, no more.

OWL

[Sourei Kobashi]

As the two teams, traveling as one for now set out and proceeded towards the looming keep in the distance that had now fallen relatively silent. Kobashi's mind considered various options and plans of attack based off of what details Zaizen had provided and the now weakened force they had to work with. The Hozuki enemies would prove somewhat problematic, their enduring nature made them incredibly difficult to beat in the traditional sense of the word. The only way to truly incapacitate individuals from that clan would be force them to reform so many times as to exhaust their chakra although this could be hastened through the use of raiton as Kumori suggested.

The idea of getting into a battle of attrition though did not bode well in his mind given their already large handicap in Sora being removed from their disposal as well as the chakra consumption on Asuka's part to undo injuries and it was likely Asuka would have more work to do upon reaching the keep. As they neared the keep finally an idea popped into Kobashi's head, a plan that could potentially force the defenders to become the attackers and help in mitigating the effort that their side of the assault would need to exhaust in this conflict. Unfortunately the plan would require a bit of time to put together. Still, maybe it could potentially help as a back up plan of sorts? Something they could hopefully fall back onto should the enemy's remaining strength be greater than expected or their own remaining strength less than they hoped.

Before he could bring up the potential plan to the others moving with him, their group suddenly encountered Kimihiro rushing down the staircase. The Sixth Seat seemed both surprised and relieved to have found them and immediately urged them to follow turning to go up the stairs he had just descended. Immediately after he turned Kobashi's right arm shot out towards the back of the younger man's head an attempted to grab a few hairs and pull them free of his scalp.

It seemed odd to Kobashi that one of the highest ranked shinobi left in the keep and one of the members of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen who would have been the least affected by the reported smaller spaces would be the one sent to fetch the jounin. Adding in the confirmed presence of Hozuki who could change their form even more readily than someone with the basic transformation technique and it seemed prudent to confirm that Kimihiro was neither a transformed shinobi nor a Hozuki who had changed their body to look like Kimihiro. Were this man to prove the true Kimihiro then Kobashi would offer an apology. If the hair turned to water or a transformation technique disrupted then Kobashi would be in a prime position to quickly neutralize the threat with a fast draw an usage of the *Running Current Fang technique if it did indeed prove to be an imposter.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Shouki Kumori]

The main entrance let them come through uninterrupted… good. It allowed Kumori and co. to enter the Keep, albeit missing a member in Sora, but if her efforts hadn’t been for naught, then their ability to enter here and come this far was also by her means. She… must’ve had a lot on her mind.

Kumori, upon meeting up with Lord Toru’s bodyguard Daichi, accepted the seals handed to them and was ready to hand them out to those more refined in Fūinjutsu. Since he was currently acting as vanguard, he was… also most at risk, and losing him could make the team lose assets if he kept the seals himself… a cynical thought, really. Expecting his own death, already? He’d just entered.

Upon making their way up to the circular stair rampart, they met the presence of Kaguya Kimihiro- out of nowhere, but still just… no attack on them yet. Kumori had been in the zone at that point, expecting an ambush from the Hozuki at this level, but…

It seemed that Kobashi was on the same page and provided a quick ‘test’, a rather painful one, by pulling on the hair of Kimihiro to await the member of the Seven Swordsmen’s reaction to that. In an enemy territory with transforming Hozuki – and the occasional Transformation Technique – one could never be sure if your ally was really them or if your life had already been dealt with. Kumori equipped a kunai and spun it around his index finger, alert and keeping his ears and eyes open to the surrounding walls and stairs…

Hozuki could leak from the smallest cracks. Likely, they were already in the splash zone.

[Shimizu Asuka]

After the many long minutes it took to stabilize Sora long enough to survive, Asuka rose to his feet with a fair amount of blood coating his forearms. Flicking as much blood off his fingers as he could, he gingerly popped one of the chakra pills to replenish his stores and moved with the rest of his team, though he cast a glance back at Sora first. She’d be getting the chewing out of a lifetime in the hospital should they all survive this.

When Kumori handed him some sealing tags, Asuka nodded, scribbling down a seal thrice. He was glad he’d taken the pill then, because the drain on his chakra was not insignificant. As they moved, he’d hand one each to Kumori and Kobashi, handing the remaining blank tags back and explaining quietly as they walked. ”Try and save these for bigger wounds. It will allow you to rapidly recover from serious but not severe injuries, but only once. I won’t be able to make more than these three without wasting more chakra than is worth it. All you need to trigger it is to channel chakra into it.”

That said, he watched as Daichi handed them some seals as they entered the keep, but said nothing. It was when Kimihiro appeared and his teammates pulled their weapons on him that his eyes narrowed, fingers darting into his weapons pouch for a senbon. He didn’t move, yet, content to allow the more combat-oriented jounin to deal with this first. He didn’t let his guard down, either, keeping the senbon ready to throw at a moment’s notice.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Iryo Suiton: Mizukurage [Medical Water Release: Water Jellyfish]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [Medical]
ELEMENT: Suiton
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
The user must first create a piece of paper with a special seal on it unique to the technique and infuse it with medical chakra. After which the user may place it upon a person where it will remain inactive until triggered.

The seal is triggered by flowing chakra through it, usually in response to taking damage. After this water will pour out of the seal and take the shape of a jellyfish around the size of one's palm. The jellyfish will then attach themselves to the holder and flow the medical chakra through them to allow for quick recovery from a recent injury. This Jutsu can only heal flesh wounds and bring muscles together. It cannot heal severe wounds.

This technique completely drains the chakra from the seal so it is a one use only technique in which the seals must constantly be recreated in order to be used. The user of the jutsu is only capable of bringing up to 3 of these seals into a thread at a time.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Shouki Kumori Shimizu Asuka

It was Kobashi who had the tickling sensation at the back of his mind that there might be something manipulative and off about the situation. It seemed that even Zaizen had been fooled, perhaps through some kind of manipulation of chakra signature? It was hard to tell, but when the hair was pulled the hair turned to water and the fake Kimihiro let out a shout, which was quickly ended by a very fast draw of the blade coupled with the techniques abilities the now ex-Hozuki and fake-Kimihiro collapsed to the ground dead, but not without some blood splatter in the midst of it all. It would likely spray onto the entire group to some degree since they were in such a small area going up some spiraling staircase made from stone, top to bottom. It was definitely a fairly impressive structure all things considered.

They wandered up until they reached a landing that opened up into one clear corridor in one direction and another in another direction. Sensory here was either defunct and not working or there was no one to sense but Zaizen would definitely feel a strange loss of sight in that regard as if something was clouding his abilities making everything very muddy.

Wandering towards the corridor to the left or right did nothing to alleviate that.

But now the choice would lie with the team, would they stick together and pick a corridor to wander into, or would they split up carefully and tackle both? There was no telling what going inside the corridors meant but it would be *best* to not enter without a clear decision from the team or else risk being in severe danger due to the sheer lack of clarity on the situation.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 9:20AM Monday November 13th 2023 CST

Note: Kimihiro was very fake and is now dead. The two teams climb up as the stairs and come to a landing with two corridors one to the left and one to the right. They're both pretty dark and all sensory abilities seem to be shut off here. How will they proceed?

Extra Note: From here on for ease of communication please post between 200-300 words, no more.

OWL

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Shimizu Asuka

The two groups would split ways, Zaizen and Ichigoni to the right. Kumori, Kobashi and Asuka to the left. The moment they all stepped into their respective corridors something was triggered and a wall would crash behind them, locking them in like the mechanism from before. But that was not the only thing that was happening, for as they were locked in another mechanism was made clear. Something clicked loudly and without quick reactions and vigilance - it was not as if they could see for the entire place was pitch black - they would find themselves getting impaled by spikes that would come out of the floor in a domino pattern.

Of course there was a way to step around them if one was careful and quick enough to react but most likely everyone was going to get nicked even a little bit from the unexpected trigger that did not seem to come from any chakra at all? Or maybe it was that same fog as before, blocking out chakra structures and sensory completely?

If the two groups managed to get out of the way - whether by running down the hall and up the walls - or by maneuvering around the large spikes towards the beginning of the hallway then they had a new situation at hand... A puzzle of sorts that could at any point trigger more danger.

Perhaps it was someone making them lose patience and energy? Hard to tell.

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 9:20PM Tuesday November 14th 2023 CST

Note: The groups are split and are locked into rooms before being immediately endangered with large spikes coming out from the ground.

Extra Note: From here on for ease of communication please post between 200-300 words, no more.

OWL

[Shouki Kumori]

Moving in one, large group in such narrow rooms was unfavorable. They were driven to split up, in the end – understandable. Kumori thought that splitting up would increase the rate of success, in the end… but it wasn’t conclusive yet. Nothing was conclusive until the very end, after all. Such was the way of the shinobi.

Kumori immediately heard sliding surfaces of flat rock signal something moving behind them, but upon turning around, he realized that a wall had collapsed and shut them off from the other side. Now, darkness fell over the room that they were in, but Kumori’s sharp ears… didn’t catch the sound of a trap being triggered?!

The elder shinobi did feel his left foot get impaled, and the pain was a violent trigger for him to move away, backflipping from the ascension of spikes that came his way. He could hear the spikes normally, but… he should’ve been able to hear something from below the floor trigger? What happened to his sharp sense of hearing? Crafty bastards… he cursed the enemy, his left foot boiling hot with the splattered embrace of deep, dark-red and hazardous blood.

Kobashi, the ever-cautious one, and Asuka with his Medical skills, likely had easier options against these spikes, but Kumori opted for evasion, reaching the other end of the room by backflipping while the spikes came darting up like a wave. He aimed to reach up the wall on the other end and reach the ceiling, pissed off about his foot injury – the spikes weren’t big, but big enough to leave a gaping hole that'd impede his ability to dash. He'd rely on his right foot more after this kind of injury.

The others would more likely notice the puzzle before Kumori did.

[Sourei Kobashi]

The sound of material sliding down quickly behind them while not sending Kobashi into a panic, did indeed alarm him. In any combat scenario the moment you lost the ability to fall back and regroup it generally forced you into taking gradually riskier actions to continue pushing forward. While Kobashi had been too slow to prevent the door from closing, he had no intention of just accepting their being trapped. Immediately the Second Seat of the Seven Swordsmen made use of the *Quick Turn technique and charged towards the door that was now just in front of him after his turning. Here he used his clan's bloodline ability to lower his own density and passed through the stone door.

Unfortunately this meant he would be leaving Kumori and Asuka to deal with the sounds he just began to hear all around them before his passing through the door, but he had no means of protecting all of them. If he could at least clear the door though then just maybe he could give them light and an escape path to help deal with whatever this threat was.Immediately on the other side of the door Kobashi drew the chakra reactive ninjato at his waist imbuing his chakra into the blade with the *Sabre Technique hoping that the chakra coating on the blade paired with his own physical strength as a swordsman would allow the Jounin to set about cutting lines along the length and width of the door so that the others might force the freed center out and into the hallway they had come from.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Shimizu Asuka]

Only time would tell if the jounin splitting off was a good idea. Asuka wasn’t sure it was ideal, but neither was having 5 jounin in one narrow hallway. However, as they split, there was a loud crash, and then a click. The crash, Asuka noted, was the wall dropping behind them and cutting them off from the other team. But it was pitch black in the hallway- the clicking was hard to place. It wasn’t until a spike grazed him and a wave of pain shot through him that he processed the situation at hand. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be faring as badly as Kumori, judging from the noises he’d heard.

His own move down the hallway was cautious, not as fast as he would have liked, but fast enough to avoid any more hard grazes. He’d certainly sustained at least one wound, but they weren’t deep, and they wouldn’t be hard to heal, either. However, maneuvering around the spikes led him to a new problem- a new puzzle to solve, one that might be harder to deal with without Kobashi. For all his medical knowledge, Asuka wasn’t the best with puzzles, least of all when already injured. The man desperately wanted to dress his wounds before moving on, but he doubted they had that kind of time- and it was only a few grazes, anyways. He’d live, though the blood loss was from from ideal.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Shimizu Asuka

Perhaps it had been the slam of the wall that Kumori had been unable to hear the trigger, too many things going on at once. No doubt it had also been a microsecond, maybe it was best he did not hear the incoming of a demise. Either way, despite having his left foot impaled he managed to move quickly enough to get away, jumping towards a wall, which was wise to keep out of the way.

Kobashi, on the other hand slipped back out of the room, managing to avoid pain completely. Once in the main area outside of the corridor, he would attempt to use sabre technique. It sliced into the wall, leaving a very heavy groove in it, but it did not automatically shatter the door. It was very thick it seemed, and heavy. The other issue though, was that it seemed to be sliding in on itself when cut into. So now it was just a door with a broken mechanism on one side... It did, however, create one crack between the two areas that would allow for a better flow of oxygen, which meant that Kobashi had succeeded to some degree even if it was not in the way he had intended... With the flow there was just a crack of light too. But just barely.

Asuka used his lithe frame and quickness to manage to avoid the spikes, but not without a few light scrapes that would likely be annoying later on.

Now, there was still no way *through* to the other side. But moving out of the way seemed to make mechanisms click and the spikes to lower back. Now they were freeish to explore, to find the right path out. Maybe inspect the light that Kobashi has created?

SPOILER: Click to show

Posts Due: 8:50PM Thursday November 16th 2023

Notes: Kobashi attempts a sabre technique and manages to allow some light in as well as some minor flow of oxygen. However no immediate way through. The line of light *may* reveal something and with the spikes set back into the ground it's perhaps time to inspect the puzzle to get out?

OWL