[Sourei Kobashi]

While the mixture of the sabre technique projectiles paired with the large arc of lightning did indeed clear out the enemies that had been in the tree canopy with Kobashi, there was an unforeseen instance of friendly-fire as well when a few stray arcs of electricity leaped from the main raiton infused slash drew too close to Kobashi. With his ninjato likely acting as something of a lightning rod, pulling what would have just been a close call with the lightning into actually shifting some of the arcs to strike the sword and conduct into Kobashi's body.

As the lightning surged through his body the world erupted into pain, the edges of his vision went dark and his muscles all contracted at once causing Kobashi to fall from his perch atop the tree. Thankfully the majority of the raiton infused slash continued on towards the targets. In the short distance of the fall Kobashi's training worked with his recently strained muscled to pull out a kunai and stab it into the tree as he fell. It was not quite enough to stop him due to his muscles being momentarily weakened, but it was at least able to help slow and somewhat control his descent to the ground below.

Coming down to the base of the tree in a less than graceful manner, Kobashi watched as a couple copies of Kumori's disguised self charged off towards the sound of yelling while a third attempted to help him. While part of him was surprised the older shinobi was offering assistance rather than pursuing the enemy, Kobashi did not complain and allowed the clone to help him to his feet.

Slowly the effects of the electrical shock ebbed away, but they were replaced in equal turn with pain radiating from his hand. Looking down Kobashi's faced frowned deeply at what his eyes beheld. While the wrapped handle had insulated most of his flesh from the metal of the blade, the flesh closer up towards the metal tsuba of the blade had been rather badly burned and partially fused to the metal in some places. At the moment Kobashi could not have dropped the blade if he had wanted to meaning that many of his jutsu would be unavailable to him.

Grimacing Kobashi turned to the Kumori near him and spoke in a quick, but somewhat cold manner while he mentally prepared himself for what came next. "Scoop up some loose dirt." There was no explanation given, but honestly now was not the time for it. While Kobashi could have used the intangible state to separate his flesh from the sword, the flesh itself would still be fused to itself upon leaving the state. If he was to not be more of a hindrance on this mission then he needed as much mobility in his hand as he could manage.

Quickly grabbing a nearby stick that littered the forest ground, Kobashi bit down on it to muffle the cries of pain that were likely to come. Using the intangible state for a moment to separate his hand from where it was fused to the tsuba, the moment he reverted it back it normal flesh Kobashi used all the strength he had to force his thumb and index finger apart from one another. Flesh peeled away from flesh and blood began to run down his arm. The pain was immense and even his familiarity with injuries did not prevent him from giving a muffled cry of pain. It was not over yet however. Forcing the recently freed fingers to move despite his body yelling at him not to, Kobashi rendered the handsigns for the water syrup capture field and spat only a small amount onto his injured hand, making sure to keep the hand stretched as wide as he could.

Assuming the Kumori clone had scooped up some loose dirt as he had requested, Kobashi used his good hand to grab at it and sprinkle it onto his now sticky hand, ensuring a heavy coat to cover all the water syrup. It would act as something of a makeshift bandage or temporary replacement for the skin he had ripped away. While it was still incredibly painful it would at least allow him to hold his sword and render handseals properly. Whenever he got back to Kirigakure he could then just use the intangible form to remove his hand from the temporary coating and get proper treatment. Grabbing hold of the ninjato he had dropped, Kobashi moved with the clone likely following behind hi as he went to back up his teammates for whatever they were dealing with, likely arriving a decent bit after they made contact with the yelling he had heard earlier.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Minami Sora Shouki Kumori

Kumori heard and pursued, two clones just ahead. He did not wait for his teammates to come up with a plan of attack and instead the clones went straight in to try and kill whoever it was, alas the individual was not so easy to simply kill. He grabbed onto the child and put a blade up to his neck as he backed up a bit, the child let out a cry and started to kick.

"NO! Please no! H-He'll kill me!" The little one begged staring at the two clones, though he was unaware that they were clones at the moment in time.

Kobashi would arrive just in time to see all of this action unfold.

"You heard the brat, move and he dies." The adult man spoke. The child was shaking, practically hyperventilating and definitely crying. The team would need to compose themselves and find a way to separate the two. It was definitely a new caveat to their mission, but it was possible that this man was a legitimate opponent who had kidnapped a child from their ultimate destination.

Though, they could also let the child die, ultimately it was up to them, but from the way things looked it would take a lot more than a brute force attack to overpower the man in front of them.

SPOILER: Click to show

The strange man dodges Kumori's attacks, grabbing the child and putting a blade to his neck. The party is threatened and must come up with a plan of attack.

Man:
SA's: Reflexes or Chakra Sensory [?]

OWL

[Minami Sora]

Sora watched the scene unfold with stone forced silence, her sky-blue gaze focused on the boy and the man who held him. A thousand possibilities ran through her head as the man pressed the blade to the boy’s neck, a thousand different ways this could play out- and all of them where she saved the boy ended badly. There was no way they could take him with them, no way to ensure his safety should they save him, and no certain way to even save him to begin with. Instinct had brought her here, but now reason and cold, cold logic held sway over the swirling tempest that sat beneath her soul. Because there was only one solution that would keep the mission intact.

Forgive me, son. The Jounin thought as she let loose a long, slow breath, sheathing her sword as she walked past Kumori, one hand on Samidare’s hilt. Her gaze was locked on the boy, left hand holding the edge of the weapon’s sheath as she took a single step forward, blade clicking into place… and exploded into motion, Fuuton chakra slamming through her feet as she ripped her blade form it’s sheath as quickly as she could, cutting a rapid slice, left to right, across the body of the man, aiming for his neck.

With the speed of her Wind Step, plus the inherent speed Samidare’s lightness granted her already fast bladework, the blow was almost certain to hit the man- and cut right through the boy as well, severing the ninja’s neck and cutting off the child’s arm in a single, perfect slice that held not a single ounce of hesitation despite her regret. I promise to make it quick.

Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Kaguya Toru

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
NAME: Kazesanpo [Wind walk]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Wind
DESCRIPTION: The blade is only as deadly as its reach, so maneuvering around the battlefield is important to a swordsman, in order to get close to the target, or avoid attacks. By channeling wind chakra into their feet, the user is able to swiftly run, so quickly that to the naked eye it seems like a blur.

NAME: Iaigiri - [Iai Beheading]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
DESCRIPTION: The user performs a quick and powerful slash with their sword, appearing almost like a blur, in order to cur the intended target before immediately resheating the blade afterwards. In the hands of the right user, this attack can even cut clean through a boulder.

Special Abilities:
The Kunoichi That Goes On And On And On… [Endurance SA]
Perhaps part of her genetics or simply a random quirk of fate, Sora is unnaturally resilient, be it to physical pain or the toils of extended combat. While most Shinobi would collapse in exhaustion at having used all but the smallest sliver of their chakra reserves, she pushes on; while most Shinobi would wilt beneath the weight of sleepless night after sleepless night, she keeps going. This does not mean she does not feel pain/the strain of extended combat, but rather that her threshold for shutting down because of it is far higher than others. To give an example, if she were to be stabbed through her abdomen, she would still feel the pain of the injury, and it would hinder her ability to move/act, but it wouldn’t stop her, whereas a normal ninja might freeze up or shut down from the pain.

Bet You Didn’t See That Coming [Speed SA]
A byproduct of her enhanced endurance, Sora (despite what many would think) dislikes being injured- and with that dislike comes the intense desire to avoid getting hurt, a desire that has pushed her to hone her body until it could move faster than most others of her rank. In short, Sora is fast- very, very fast.

POWAH! UNLIMITED POWAH!! [Chakra Reserves SA]
After a lifetime of utilizing nearly every ounce of chakra in her body just to survive, Sora’s chakra reserves have expanded a considerable amount to compensate- while she’s no Jinchuuriki, her ability to toss out jutsu after jutsu and still have enough chakra to keep going is quite remarkable, a testament to just how much of the stuff she actually has.

I Am Not Left-Handed [Kenjutsu Mastery SA]
Sora is not merely a Kenjutsu specialist- she is a master when it comes to the art of the sword; after over two decades of training, her skills are unrivaled within Kirigakure, falling short only to the Seven Swordsman themselves… some of them, anyway. This mastery allows her a distinct advantage when fighting other Bukijutsu specialists of similar or lesser rank.

If You Try For Speed, You Do Not Achieve Speed [Bukijutsu Speed SA]
Beyond being a master of Kenjutsu, Sora has practiced for decades to become the faster swordswoman she can be. As such, her Kenjutsu techniques come out faster and move quicker than those performed by others of her rank.

Equipment: Samidare | Spring Rain Blade (Drawn)
SA’s
Unbreakable
Whatever metal and forging process was used in the creation of Samidare, it worked; Samidare is utterly unbreakable by most any means, capable of being engulfed in an S-Rank Jutsu and remaining unscathed. Though it is possible that the blade could potentially be broken by a sufficiently powerful attack (such as, say, a Bijuu-dama), this has never been tested, so it is not known if it would survive.

Sharper Than Your Average Blade
Due to its nature as an unbreakable blade, Samidare bears a cutting edge that is of particular note, which allows it to slice through even steel with little in the way of resistance, so long as the proper force is applied. Additionally, this edge never needs to be resharpened, as it never grows dull or rolls, thus making it perfect for frontline combat.

Light as Spring Rain
Perhaps a quirk of its forging (or perhaps an intentional feature), Samidare is considerably lighter than a blade its size and length ought to be; while this would normally result in a less effective weapon, Samidare loses none of its integrity or cutting power, as it is somehow able to leverage the same amount of force through less mass. This lightness allows the user to swing the weapon about with much greater speed for the same amount of physical exertion.

Chakra Conduction
Being Chakra Conductive, Samidare is capable of channeling all types of Chakra for use in Bukijustu, and, more particularly, it has a slight affinity for Raiton chakra thanks to Sora’s constant use of the blade for that purpose. This affinity does not do anything of real note, but it does feel as if the blade were more eager to drink in Raiton Chakra than other types.

[Shouki Kumori]

When the clone was told to scoop up some dirt, that was what the clone of Kumori did. Watching Kobashi’s wound also caused the clone to make a grimace, for the wound looked nasty and painful. Flesh fused to each other, his thumb and finger welded together, and his index fused with the steel of his tsuba – that technique of hers sure was a destructive one. Had it not taxed on Sora’s chakra reserves? Was she accustomed to the technique, or did she possess immense reserves of chakra?

More so… he wished that he’d had more time to assess Sora’s techniques prior along with Kobashi. This mistake could’ve easily been avoided, but now they knew – Sora’s Raitonjutsus were to stay at a distance from, lest your hand shall fuse with metal too. And that was the best thing that could’ve happened – thank the heavens that the lad was still alive and kicking.

…

The kid was quickly held hostage by the shinobi, for a moment prompting the experienced shinobi to cut through both. What good would lead to the kid if his own, assumed, homeland treated him like this? But while Kumori needed to think it through, allowing himself the time the enemy gave him by standing still, Sora walked right past his real form and approached the scene, even passing by the two clones of his.

And it all happened in a flash, but Kumori didn’t stop her. People back at home would benefit from a completed mission, regardless of their opinions of these stone-cold shinobi of theirs. It was alright… hate them. Demonize them. The mission would be seen through, and his home would flourish in the far future – what more did Kumori need?

He kept his ears open, however, in case some surprise attack was wanting to make itself known – if this one shinobi enemy was present here, then it was often a given that more were on their way. He did also notice Kobashi’s arrival earlier, thus cancelling the one clone that aided the gentleman with his injury, but he didn’t say a word. "…”

[Sourei Kobashi]

With his hand given a very rudimentary treatment, Kobashi hurried to where the sounds of an argument followed by threats emerged from sheathing his ninjato as he did so. Arriving at the space a short time after Minami and Kumori with one of Kumori's clones keeping pace in case Kobashi needed further help, the Second Seat of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen was somewhat disgusted by what he saw. One of their enemies holding a young boy as a human shield, so certain that it would save him. Even filled with disgust, Kobashi also understood that he himself might do something similar if he had no other options, but such was the way of their work. Kobashi believed that being able to do things which disgusted you was a necessary skill for shinobi to have and it only became problematic when one no longer felt such feelings when doing such despicable things.

For a moment Kobashi stared, his earth covered hand flexing slightly as Kobashi considered whether he could close the distance quickly enough. There was no real chance of saving the boy in this scenario and it honestly might be cruel to even try given part of their assignment would have them causing large scale destruction in the town this boy was likely to be from. No, as cruel a thought it was Kobashi too believed that the only outcome for the boy was death, the least he could do would be to give him a quick one.

As Kobashi's feet slid slowly into a stance, those several moments of hesitation on his part proved to be enough time for Minami to take action on her own, a short few steps forward, her posture possibly seeming non-threatening to the casual observer, but in an instance having moved forward and unsheathed her blade in a savage attack. As much as the sight would be a sad one, Kobashi did not take his eyes off the targets of said attack, prepared to continue the assualt should the enemy using the human shield find some way to escape Minami's attack.

Kobashi looked for any indication of the hostage taker making use of illusions or any other preparations he might be making to try and evade the attack. Naturally any such counter Kobashi made would depend on what the hostage taker did exactly or if Kobashi could even notice such actions; still it was clear that Kobashi was focusing his efforts to back up Minami should the attack fail and leaving the observation of the nearby area up to Kumori as well as his various clones.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Shouki Kumori Minami Sora

There was an easy kind of posture that the woman had as she approached, but her approach alone was enough to set things off in the man's head. He grabbed the kid then, swerving him around by the upper arm before leaping well out of the way from the ground to a branch in the thicket of branches with a body flicker, carrying the kid along, managing to avoid Sora's attack in the nick of time.

The child was kicking and screaming for a while, until suddenly he was not but it was well out of sight from the shinobi. The movement was rather quick after all, and all that would be heard, would be for Kumori to hear. The swift rustling somewhere off in the distance.

Soon though he would not hear anything without any chakra being focused towards his ears to filter the right sounds towards himself. Now, if he did focus he might notice that the sounds were splintered in three different directions. The familiar movement of the man with the child...

Someone of an adult size several clicks away separate of the man with the child. Then, something from their original pathway, it was almost like a humming...

SPOILER: Click to show

just a simple body flicker, which way shall they go now?

OWL

[Minami Sora]

Sora saw the man blur off into the trees, her cut just missing, and didn’t think- she reacted, her instincts screaming at her to follow as the man disappeared into the trees, her body taking a single step in that direction before her mind clamped down on the motion. She had made her play. It hadn’t worked. There was no point in wasting more time on the man and his hostage.

"We should get moving." The Jounin said, sheathing Samidare as she turned towards Kobashi, sky-blue gaze flicking down to note his dirt-covered hand, the treatment rudimentary compared to the wound. Her mind worked backward, and in that instance she realized where he’d been injured- or rather, from what. Gonna have to be more careful with my placement next time.

"...I’ve a pain killer for that, if you need one." She said, reaching into her right belt pouch and proffering the man a small pill. It wouldn’t fix his hand, but it would cut the pain down- enough that might be able to use it more effectively than if he hadn’t taken it. Regardless of Kobashi’s choice, Sora would gesture to Kumori, knowing the man would have information on what was going on around them, and looked to him to lead the way. He would know the best choice to make when it came to going forward, after all.

We’ve wasted enough time as it is.

Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Kaguya Toru

[Shouki Kumori]

Tch… a Body Flicker. Kumori couldn’t tell whether Sora’s initial approach was intended or not, but now the hostage and the shinobi had body-flickered away from sight. The first thought would be to tail them, but… that would waste more time than they had. They also had the rest of the Suiryū Butai to think about, whose forces weren’t in possession of indefinite amounts of time.

Instead, he focused… and heard three, distinct sounds in three separate directions. He recognized the footsteps of the heavy shinobi carrying the hostage, but there was also the distinct heave and stepping of another adult-sized human further away from the first source…

But their original path, the one in which the completion of their mission lied, sent to him a humming vibration. Therefore, when Sora threw him a glance, he nodded towards the original path from before, where he heard the humming approach them. "Humming sounds approaching from our initial path. I suggest we move around it and advance,” he said, keeping his audial focus on the humming sound above the hostile shinobi and the other source of footsteps… if those two were to meet, the event prior would likely be reported. Therefore, they had little time left.

Kumori turned around, his clones in tow as he leapt from branch to branch in the original direction from before, making sure to deviate from their previous trajectory to try and avoid the source of the humming, which he kept his ears focused on. Usually, those sounds signaled the approach of multiple people, and they had wasted enough time as is.

[Sourei Kobashi]

As Sora had launched her attack and Kobashi had been prepared to target with ranged attacks should they flee it was incredibly frustrating when the hostage taker made use of the body flicker technique to get away. While it is exactly the sort of thing he would have done if the situations were reversed, it was unfortunately a difficult technique to counter without knowing where they sped off to and having a large enough attack to cover the area they had fled to.

When Sora approached and offered a pill, Kobashi reached out, took it and swallowed it without any word exchanged. He could have complained about the friendly fire, he could have been suspicious of the medicine handed to him, but in the middle of a mission that seemed to be more quickly going awry by the second they simply did not have the luxury of such indulgences. This truth became even more apparent as Kumori warned of a humming noise approaching from their original path.

Kobashi had no idea what exactly might be causing the humming noise, but the fact it was coming from the town they were targeting made it extremely likely to be some sort of interception team. Almost at the same moment that Kumori started to run Kobashi too began to sprint diagonally to where the humming noise was supposed to be coming from. Likely the enemy interception team was spread out in a search net, but if they could just overload a break one of the flanks then at the very least Kumori and Sora could slow pursuit while he continued on to the city to detonate some of his sealed explosive rolls.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Minami Sora Shouki Kumori

The team although defeated in the moment recuperated quickly with a pain killer exchanged to Kobashi - though it was questionable whether this was a good idea or not as it might dull his pain receptors when pain might become necessary... It was proven that someone in the area was a genjutsu user after all. Someone, but it was hard to define who.

So, they took off avoiding the path of the humming, though if Kumori listened it would never cease, for some reason always following them.

It was, however, a clear path to their destination with absolutely no more strange antics from any enemies or wildlife. It was almost too clear of a path, and might be cause for some suspicion for the party since they were all quite notable shinobi in their own right. But why look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

The town they were to attack and lay siege to would come into sight soon, right from the forest, like a clearing out of nowhere it seemed... But now came the question of whether they would choose to stop and make a plan to infiltrate quietly, or if they would attack loudly... And if they would stay back at all or show up in town without a plan.

Of course, one of those options would reap strange rewards no doubt. But which one?

Furthermore, they might notice that the humming itself was gone if they took any pauses in their journey. But would re-appear immediately if they would move again.

OWL

[Minami Sora]

Sora saw the look Kobashi gave her when she offered him the pill, the slight flash of annoyance that pulsed behind his usually calm gaze… and said nothing. They had wasted far too much time on a trifling ninja who seemed built more to delay and annoy than actually fight- she would not waste more on old grudges long buried, no matter how satisfying it might be in the moment. They had a mission to fulfill, and she would not be the reason they didn’t.

So it was that, as the trio traveled, the pink-haired woman paid attention. She couldn’t quite hear the humming as well as Kumori, but it didn’t take too many instances of it stopping when they stopped moving to know something was wrong; noises like that weren’t normally keyed into movement, which could mean only one thing. Another fucking Genjutsu. Frowning at the thought, the Jounin sped up slightly, getting even with Kumori before pulling down on the air with her left hand, pinky half raised over her other fingers. To anyone who had not spent time in the Hunter Corps, the gesture would appear as the universal sign to stop (they did, after all, seem to be drawing near their destination), but the Shouki would know the hidden meaning. Or, at least she hoped he would.

Genjutsu suspected. Sora stopped, breathing slowly as she glanced towards Kobashi, her intent evident. Kumori was to break the Sourei free of the Genjutsu, while she broke the Shouki free, and one of his clones broke her free. Then, hopefully, they could deal with the annoying shit who kept interfering with their mission. She gave the two men a moment to catch their breath, then put a hand on the older man’s shoulder, forming a single hand seal as she shot chakra into his network, looking to disperse any lingering genjutsu that may have been placed on the man.

Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Kaguya Toru

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
NAME: Kai [Release]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low- High Depending on the rank of the genjutsu
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION: Kai is a technique invented to counteract the targeting of Genjutsu, working by halting one's chakra flow with a hand seal before drastically increasing the rate of chakra flow within oneself, forcing the opposing chakra out of the body. This can also be used on another person by manually forcing a surge of chakra into their body through direct contact, breaking them of their mesmerized state. One's skill to break an illusion depends on their skill and understanding of Genjutsu, as some may prove too powerful to escape by conventional means.

Special Abilities:
The Kunoichi That Goes On And On And On… [Endurance SA]
Perhaps part of her genetics or simply a random quirk of fate, Sora is unnaturally resilient, be it to physical pain or the toils of extended combat. While most Shinobi would collapse in exhaustion at having used all but the smallest sliver of their chakra reserves, she pushes on; while most Shinobi would wilt beneath the weight of sleepless night after sleepless night, she keeps going. This does not mean she does not feel pain/the strain of extended combat, but rather that her threshold for shutting down because of it is far higher than others. To give an example, if she were to be stabbed through her abdomen, she would still feel the pain of the injury, and it would hinder her ability to move/act, but it wouldn’t stop her, whereas a normal ninja might freeze up or shut down from the pain.

Bet You Didn’t See That Coming [Speed SA]
A byproduct of her enhanced endurance, Sora (despite what many would think) dislikes being injured- and with that dislike comes the intense desire to avoid getting hurt, a desire that has pushed her to hone her body until it could move faster than most others of her rank. In short, Sora is fast- very, very fast.

POWAH! UNLIMITED POWAH!! [Chakra Reserves SA]
After a lifetime of utilizing nearly every ounce of chakra in her body just to survive, Sora’s chakra reserves have expanded a considerable amount to compensate- while she’s no Jinchuuriki, her ability to toss out jutsu after jutsu and still have enough chakra to keep going is quite remarkable, a testament to just how much of the stuff she actually has.

I Am Not Left-Handed [Kenjutsu Mastery SA]
Sora is not merely a Kenjutsu specialist- she is a master when it comes to the art of the sword; after over two decades of training, her skills are unrivaled within Kirigakure, falling short only to the Seven Swordsman themselves… some of them, anyway. This mastery allows her a distinct advantage when fighting other Bukijutsu specialists of similar or lesser rank.

If You Try For Speed, You Do Not Achieve Speed [Bukijutsu Speed SA]
Beyond being a master of Kenjutsu, Sora has practiced for decades to become the faster swordswoman she can be. As such, her Kenjutsu techniques come out faster and move quicker than those performed by others of her rank.

Equipment: Samidare | Spring Rain Blade (Drawn)
SA’s
Unbreakable
Whatever metal and forging process was used in the creation of Samidare, it worked; Samidare is utterly unbreakable by most any means, capable of being engulfed in an S-Rank Jutsu and remaining unscathed. Though it is possible that the blade could potentially be broken by a sufficiently powerful attack (such as, say, a Bijuu-dama), this has never been tested, so it is not known if it would survive.

Sharper Than Your Average Blade
Due to its nature as an unbreakable blade, Samidare bears a cutting edge that is of particular note, which allows it to slice through even steel with little in the way of resistance, so long as the proper force is applied. Additionally, this edge never needs to be resharpened, as it never grows dull or rolls, thus making it perfect for frontline combat.

Light as Spring Rain
Perhaps a quirk of its forging (or perhaps an intentional feature), Samidare is considerably lighter than a blade its size and length ought to be; while this would normally result in a less effective weapon, Samidare loses none of its integrity or cutting power, as it is somehow able to leverage the same amount of force through less mass. This lightness allows the user to swing the weapon about with much greater speed for the same amount of physical exertion.

Chakra Conduction
Being Chakra Conductive, Samidare is capable of channeling all types of Chakra for use in Bukijustu, and, more particularly, it has a slight affinity for Raiton chakra thanks to Sora’s constant use of the blade for that purpose. This affinity does not do anything of real note, but it does feel as if the blade were more eager to drink in Raiton Chakra than other types.

[Shouki Kumori]

Kumori swiftly noticed Sora catching up to him, a faint sense of disdain growing in his heart for whoever was pulling pranks on them. And by her handsign… another one? Really, another one?

The enemy clearly had someone sent out to delay them and nothing further, based on recent events. Therefore, he too stopped alongside Sora, noticing that there was a clearing only a couple dozen meters ahead of them… and the humming sound stopped. Just like a couple times earlier, huh… Sora was definitely right. And yet, to employ a Genjutsu on their team over such distances, the caster had to be nearby…

After Kumori received a Kai from Sora, he’d follow up and rest a hand on Kobashi’s back, performing the same Jutsu after forming the singular handseal. One of his two Shadow Clones would approach Sora and perform Kai by forming the handseal and resting a palm on her back as well, but… there was something else to do.

The Second Clone equipped and turned on his ENES, seeking out infrared signatures that might indicate persons hiding near them. While penetrating infrared was a no-go, it was at least worth a shot while they were busy using Kai on each other. "Kobashi, Sora… I believe we’ve reached it. Following the initial plan?” The plan having been that Sora and Kumori draw as much attention from the enemy forces as possible, while Kobashi infiltrated their lines in search of sensitive intel and riches.

Now that the enemy might have been expecting them… Kumori could allow one of his Shadow Clones to transform into Kobashi, should the need arise. It could be that the enemy were already informed, in the worst case scenario - therefore, such a curveball could help Kobashi out.

Jutsu/Item Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

Enhanced Ninja Eye Scope
The original eye scope used by ninja allowed them excellent telescopic vision. The ENES is developed off of that idea, and even to use the lense as a microscope. When used as a microscope, users generally must remain still, and will have to look down at the object that they are investigating. Other times, it can simply be used as a magnifying glass, or as a telescope as usual. Users of the ENES can see in infrared as well as the normal spectrum, but can only see in one through the scope at a time. The infrared has a maximum range of 500 meters for accurately detecting individuals, and is capable of allowing a person to easily see through dust, smoke, or mist. It does not allow penetrating infrared, and can’t even see through glass; essentially, all you can do is see if one room is hotter than another. The normal telescopic vision allows you to zoom in on nearly anything that would normally be in a human’s sight, which is to the horizon, though objects can block your vision, and human figures wouldn’t be able to be identified as anything other than human figures at the edge of your vision, but telescopic vision is just normal sight enhanced, so you must remember that it does nothing except give you better range. ANBU or similar operatives may find features from the ENES in their masks, though many may have to request the upgrade.

NAME: Kai [Release]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low- High Depending on the rank of the genjutsu
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:
Kai is a technique invented to counteract the targeting of Genjutsu, working by halting one's chakra flow with a hand seal before drastically increasing the rate of chakra flow within oneself, forcing the opposing chakra out of the body. This can also be used on another person by manually forcing a surge of chakra into their body through direct contact, breaking them of their mesmerized state. One's skill to break an illusion depends on their skill and understanding of Genjutsu, as some may prove too powerful to escape by conventional means.

[Sourei Kobashi]

Kobashi spotted the handsignal for them to stop and did as he had been beckoned, turning his back towards the others while he watched towards the rear, after all the shinobi from earlier and the boy were both still out there somewhere. He heard some amount of movement behind him, but kept his attention on the woods behind the group. He heavily doubted someone would be able to get past both Kumori and Sora without some sort of warning being raised, although he did twitch slightly when Kumori's hand touched his back.

He felt the foreign chakra of Kumori push into his body much the same as the sensation he had experienced with the earlier use of kai. It was not out of the realm of possibilities they were in an illusion once more, quite possible even given that they had never caught the user who had initially delayed them. Still, if it was the case that they were in an illusion once again then it meant their enemy was quite skilled at it. There was no trigger he could think of having seen, but then again genjutsu was hardly a specialty of his.


(Assuming there's no massive change due to kai. Otherwise it may change)


When Kumori spoke Kobashi did indeed turn his head at that, shooting the older man an unamused stare for a moment before turning back to scanning the forest around them. For some reason the old man had decided to refer to them by their actual names when there was an unknown amount of enemies still nearby. While there were certainly other people who shared their names in the world, it was still information he would have preferred any enemies to not potentially have.


"We stick to the plan, but we may need to cut the losses with minimal gains."


Gathering information or anything else of value was important, but in his eyes the most important aspect of this mission was ensuring that it did not get connected back to Kirigakure. He honestly was uncertain as to how viable their completing this mission was now at this point. They had been delayed for so long and their arrival had almost certainly been communicated at this point.

Still, Kobashi readied himself for what would need to happen. Orienting himself towards the town he was prepared to move as quickly as he could and prepared to make use of the chakra suppression technique. For this moment though he just waited for the others to move off and begin their distraction.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sourei Kobashi Shouki Kumori Minami Sora

The group stopped and the humming stopped, they kai'd but nothing changed really, there was no humming while they remained stationary after all. With Kumori using their real names, now the threat was double and they would have to definitely take out whatever enemies were nearby to ensure to informational leaks were had as this was a top secret mission that required even their own transformations and having their identities totally obscured.

Kumori would use an infrared piece but see nothing abnormal in the area, just the three of them standing around and the clone. That was all there was to see.

So once they started to move and the humming returned it would be doubly suspicious. Though Kobashi would get the opportunity to sneak away to follow through with the plan, Kumori and Sora would experience a rather intense humming just underneath them before the humming would pass and suddenly in the clearing right in front of the gates of the town a woman would appear her hands on her hips.

"I know you're here lil shinobi! Come on out!" She announced, her nose scrunched in annoyance. She would have to put them down to get a days pay, maybe her partners could actually do something useful finally... Maybe not.

SPOILER: Click to show

Enemy 1:
Name: Mayumi
Face:
Confirmed Jutsu:
Name: Dochuu Senkou - [Underground Submarine Voyage]
Rank: C
Chakra Usage: Medium [Continuous]
Type: Ninjutsu [General]
Element: Doton
HANDSEALS: 2
Description
Dochuu Senkou is a Ninjutsu utilizing the Earth Element. After forming the needed hand seals, the user can sink below ground and quickly travel through the earth. While this is similar to the Underground Fish Projection technique, it should be noted that the chakra usage is much higher.

OWL

[Minami Sora]

When Kumori’s clone pulsed her chakra network, Sora felt no real change and knew then, with the continuation of the humming, that whatever they were up against wasn’t a Genjutsu. Her lips pursed into a thin line of annoyance at the realization, which turned into a proper scowl as Kumori spoke up while they ran, using their actual names to relay his observations, but they didn’t have time to go back over all the reasons why that was an incredibly stupid thing for him to do. The town was in sight, and they had a mission to finish.

Drawing Samidare without a word, the (currently) black-haired woman gave her superior a single glance before she formed a series of quick hand signs, relaying her plan. Stay back. I’ll attack first. You follow up. With that, the Jounin moved in, utilizing the Accelerate technique to fly forwards at top speed, rapidly crossing the plain between the treeline and the village, Raiton chakra pooling in her blade as she moved, seemingly answering the woman’s challenge. Until she got within range, of course.

"Samidaregiri!" She shouted, pivoting on her right leg to slash her weapon in a horizontal line that would unleash the pent up Raiton chakra in a wave of cutting, burning energy strong enough and wide enough to not only engulf the woman before her, but likely smash right through the entire front gate, setting anything made of wood or cloth aflame.

Shouki Kumori Sourei Kobashi Kaguya Toru

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
NAME: Kasoku Suru [Accelerate]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0

DESCRIPTION:A very simple technique, by using chakra the user is able to instantly accelerate their selves to their max speed. This can be done in just about any condition, but any techniques that slow the user's movement (such as armor from jutsu or most jutsu that might slow an individual) will still affect them.

NAME: Ittoryu: Samidaregiri [One Sword Style: Spring Rain Cutter]
RANK: A
CHAKRA USAGE: High
CLASSIFICATION: Kenjutsu
ELEMENT: Raiton
HANDSEALS: N/a
RESTRICTIONS: Must know Saber Jutsu; Must have Chakra Conductive/Raiton Reactive Blade
DESCRIPTION: A unique variant of the Sabre Jutsu developed by a past user of Samidare, Samidaregiri works by flooding Samidare with Raiton-nature chakra, which is then unleashed when the user swings the blade, exploding out it in a "cut” that follows the arc of her slash, but with vastly increased range and intense destructive power, as the "cut” is made of pure Raiton chakra and not only cut, but burns and shocks as well. Destructively speaking, Samidaregiri is capable of carving a large, scorched gouge in thick plates of steel.

This is not to say Samidaregiri is a perfect jutsu; it takes a good few seconds to charge the blade with sufficient chakra and, should the user somehow fail to unleash the cut after charging the blade to full, it will erupt upon them instead of their enemy, essentially making this technique almost as dangerous for the user as it is for their enemy. These cuts have an effective range of roughly 15m.
Special Abilities:
The Kunoichi That Goes On And On And On… [Endurance SA]
Perhaps part of her genetics or simply a random quirk of fate, Sora is unnaturally resilient, be it to physical pain or the toils of extended combat. While most Shinobi would collapse in exhaustion at having used all but the smallest sliver of their chakra reserves, she pushes on; while most Shinobi would wilt beneath the weight of sleepless night after sleepless night, she keeps going. This does not mean she does not feel pain/the strain of extended combat, but rather that her threshold for shutting down because of it is far higher than others. To give an example, if she were to be stabbed through her abdomen, she would still feel the pain of the injury, and it would hinder her ability to move/act, but it wouldn’t stop her, whereas a normal ninja might freeze up or shut down from the pain.

Bet You Didn’t See That Coming [Speed SA]
A byproduct of her enhanced endurance, Sora (despite what many would think) dislikes being injured- and with that dislike comes the intense desire to avoid getting hurt, a desire that has pushed her to hone her body until it could move faster than most others of her rank. In short, Sora is fast- very, very fast.

POWAH! UNLIMITED POWAH!! [Chakra Reserves SA]
After a lifetime of utilizing nearly every ounce of chakra in her body just to survive, Sora’s chakra reserves have expanded a considerable amount to compensate- while she’s no Jinchuuriki, her ability to toss out jutsu after jutsu and still have enough chakra to keep going is quite remarkable, a testament to just how much of the stuff she actually has.

I Am Not Left-Handed [Kenjutsu Mastery SA]
Sora is not merely a Kenjutsu specialist- she is a master when it comes to the art of the sword; after over two decades of training, her skills are unrivaled within Kirigakure, falling short only to the Seven Swordsman themselves… some of them, anyway. This mastery allows her a distinct advantage when fighting other Bukijutsu specialists of similar or lesser rank.

If You Try For Speed, You Do Not Achieve Speed [Bukijutsu Speed SA]
Beyond being a master of Kenjutsu, Sora has practiced for decades to become the faster swordswoman she can be. As such, her Kenjutsu techniques come out faster and move quicker than those performed by others of her rank.

Equipment: Samidare | Spring Rain Blade (Drawn)
SA’s
Unbreakable
Whatever metal and forging process was used in the creation of Samidare, it worked; Samidare is utterly unbreakable by most any means, capable of being engulfed in an S-Rank Jutsu and remaining unscathed. Though it is possible that the blade could potentially be broken by a sufficiently powerful attack (such as, say, a Bijuu-dama), this has never been tested, so it is not known if it would survive.

Sharper Than Your Average Blade
Due to its nature as an unbreakable blade, Samidare bears a cutting edge that is of particular note, which allows it to slice through even steel with little in the way of resistance, so long as the proper force is applied. Additionally, this edge never needs to be resharpened, as it never grows dull or rolls, thus making it perfect for frontline combat.

Light as Spring Rain
Perhaps a quirk of its forging (or perhaps an intentional feature), Samidare is considerably lighter than a blade its size and length ought to be; while this would normally result in a less effective weapon, Samidare loses none of its integrity or cutting power, as it is somehow able to leverage the same amount of force through less mass. This lightness allows the user to swing the weapon about with much greater speed for the same amount of physical exertion.

Chakra Conduction
Being Chakra Conductive, Samidare is capable of channeling all types of Chakra for use in Bukijustu, and, more particularly, it has a slight affinity for Raiton chakra thanks to Sora’s constant use of the blade for that purpose. This affinity does not do anything of real note, but it does feel as if the blade were more eager to drink in Raiton Chakra than other types.