[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    Speed was the name of the game here. The longer the caravan sat motionless the more the enemy would gain some standing. The three shinobi could easily keep up with the moving caravan, so letting it start to move ahead seemed the best series of events for Daredemo himself.

    The creation of his clones was a gamble, but he did think that, all told, more eyes was better for this. Especially eyes that would simply create more ash for him to manipulate even if they were destroyed. The group already had made their intention to attack the caravan clear, and Miroru had the right idea about making sure there were targets that could be hit without leading to death. Distracting the enemy would buy them time they needed to retaliate. 

    Having the clones also bought Daredemo himself time to find his way to the front of the caravan. An overturned tree wasn't the most challenging feat in the world. Daredemo went about pouring a small amount of chakra into the blade, and as the sword swirled with the beauty of a blade in the middle of being forged, it made it far easier for Daredemo to simply take a number of swings to burn through the tree and cut it into a group of a 5 large, round wheels with much thicker ends at either side holding them up. They would still be heavy, but they were still stood on their sides, rolling them forward would be a simple feat. 

    While Daredemo was busy carving through the trunk, his clones were responding to the initial volley of arrows. Multiple eyes led to a fairly quick count. 14 all together, which the Daredemo's would shout amongst each other. 14 arrows meant 14 archers. Was that all of them? Unlikely, some of them wouldn't have bows surely, they'd be continuing to rush in. The more important part was trying to hunt down where the arrows were coming from. General directions were good, and so about half of the clones ran straight towards the woods to get closer to the targets. 

    The Cinder clones would hang behind the simpler ash ones. Prepared for the prospect of where to attack from. If the ash clones were destroyed, it would leave a puff of ash behind itself. A puff that the Cinder clone could, if necessary, turn to senbon. But the primary goal was to simply draw the bandits out of the woods, to fill it with so much ash and smoke that they wouldn't be able to attack the caravan without getting closer. With each clone that they destroyed, ash or cinder, even more of their visibility would be hampered. 

    With his cutting of the logs complete, he would simply turn to whichever of the caravaners were closest. They weren't shinobi, but most were workers, surely some of them had physical strength. "Get the wheels moved," Daredemo locked eyes with whoever looked the strongest of the group, "Get them off the road and we can start moving again. We don't wanna be sitting ducks." 

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Yamanaka Itsuki Daredemo | 355 | notes

"Grngh. Moving the log ain't a bad idea, but he's over-extended and that clone load can't be great for his chakra. He's smart, but I don't think chakra reserves OR rationing has ever been his strong suit. He might run dry faster than he thinks, and with that many hostiles..." Miroru muttered. She saw the tiny hints of movement in the brush as the arrows lifted and fired. "Hit left. I'm going right. We need to cut into their flanks while they're distracted, pull attention off of him before they can put on enough pressure to exhaust what he's got left in the tank!"

A large puff of smoke blasted up from the back of the cart, and out of it shot what would look, to everyone present, like a bolt of lightning tearing its way into the underbrush. Miroru wasted no time there, Suiton erupting from her arms and down the body of the Gunbai she'd freed from its scroll moments before, a ground-shaking THUD sounding as the leading bandit on her side was introduced to a crater exactly his shape and size.

Immediately, pressure came off Daredemo as most of the archers on her side tried to snap off shots at the barrier-clad redhead. One hit the barrier, sending a spiderweb of cracks along the kekkai field as she swung her gunbai into place ahead of her and charged in towards the next foe, ramming into him with enough speed to hurl him into a nearby tree and slump to the ground. The incoming arrows just splashed against the Suiton shield and the reinforced weapon, glancing off to the sides as Miroru made for the third of the bandits on this side!

SPOILER: Click to show

Unsealed her Gunbai, utilized Raiippo to close the gap, activated King Crab Claw to empower her gunbai, and thwomped a couple bandits, working her way back into their formation on the right side of the trail.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 15c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Sighing slightly at the whole situation, Itsuki was up and out of the barrel in a flash, his form blurring across the distance to the tree line in such a way that looked like he was simply disappearing and reappearing to those slower than him thanks to Shunpo as he headed directly into the treeline.

The bandits on his side were startled as he appeared to the edge of their line, hands slipping into one of his clan's unique seals as he utilised Shinranshin no Jutsu on one of the men armed with a large axe, the man lashing out at the nearest archer with the sort of harsh brutality that could be expected from such an opponent. As he sowed chaos amongst his side of the bandits, Itsuki threw a quartet of shuriken at some of the further archers, bowstrings slicing in half under his targetted attack. 

He didn't want to take away from Dare's experiences, but he wasn't going to take chances as well. With the confusion of turning one of their own against them, Itsuki made sure that his side of the bandits were too busy to continue firing on the caravan.

---

With two shinobi hitting the edges of the formation, the bandits were beginning to panic, not having expected this level of defence for such a simple caravan. On Miroru's side the archers were abandoning their bows and drawing a number of different weapons, blades and clubs and a couple of spears as they tried to overwhelm her with what, for their level were fast paced attacks.

A large portion of those in the middle rushed out of the trees towards the caravan, brandishing their own weapons and heading right towards the clouds of ash, figuring that they could take control of the caravan in order to get the shinobi to stand down, angry snarls punctuating their attack.

In the meantime, a number of the burlier caravaners were starting to move the sectioned log as directed, eyes glancing towards the bandits' location, but still trusting their guards for the moment. They would likely scatter to defend themselves and their family if the bandits got any closer though.

Word Count: 361
Mission: 18/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    Daredemo still clearly had little intention of being here long. Once the log was cut and being moved out of the way he sheathed his katana. His eyes turning over the rest of the bandit forces coming out of the trees. Seeing that Miroru was taking a lot of the heat on one side of the caravan,, it was easy enough to choose to focus on the other one. Bandits pouring out of the woods, trying to come after the members of the caravan itself. Letting them get any closer didn't seem like much of an option, but... what could he do to hold them back.

    As some of his clones began to poof away into piles of ash, there was more opportunity for him to hold people off. Running through his ash was not always the best idea. He had far more control over it by this point than others had prepared themselves for. As soon as they were inside or near the clouds themselves Daredemo would make a few more signs. His ash would take shape once again, but not into clones of himself, rather into a barrage of piercing senbon, raining down on any of the bandits who dared come towards the caravan. It wasn't necessarily accuracy he was going for, but rather the sheer number of senbon he would send into the rushing bandits. He couldn't get a proper count, but he hoped this would thin their numbers a bit. 

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Katon: Hai Senbon no Jutsu [Fire Release: Ash Senbon Technique]

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: Low

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu

ELEMENT: Katon

HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:
An incredibly basic form of chakra and nature transformation, this Jutsu allows for the caster to form or use pre existing ash and manipulate its shape into that of needles. Around ten ash needles can then be either exhaled or launched towards their target, or at maximum twenty with a large enough pre existing source of ash. The senbon are hot, and as a result inflict internal burning against the targets they embedd in. When struck hard enough, the ash loses its solid form, turning into a hot pile of ashes. Useful for creating ash for further Ash related techniques.

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Yamanaka Itsuki Daredemo | 229 | notes

Bandits rushed in to try to capitalize on Miroru's isolation. Clubs, blades, pikes and hatchets, all brought to bear, all turned aside by the turtle-like density of the suiton coating Miroru's gunbai. The crowd pulled closer, hedging out evasive avenues, closing in on what was sure to be an inescapable-

In a split second, Miroru swung the gunbai in an absolutely brutal arc, seeming to strike the entire crowd at once as they went flying, en masse, in all directions, like a tidal wave splashing outwards from a meteor strike. A few still stood, archers that had assumed themselves deep enough into the formation to be able to trust the others to resolve it, now faced with a rushing pipsqueak wielding a gunbai that for all the world looked like an ocean had taken residence on its surfaces!

She kept an eye on the others- on the chaos on the other flank, on Daredemo's position as he focused on using the leftovers of his clones to skewer incoming bandits on dozens of senbon, thinning their ranks and reassuring her she could focus on her own fight and leave him and Itsuki to their own!

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 15c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

With the archers unable to shoot the caravan, and the axe wielding man firmly under his control, Itsuki was comfortably dancing his way through the bandits, not even bothering to make use of his jutsu at this point, they were significantly less skilled than he was and so a kunai and some shuriken were more than enough for him to cut them down. The bandits he faced cursed out their companion, unaware the large man had been taken control of, targeting him as much as they went for the small shinobi.

It wouldn't take him too long to work through his share of their attackers, especially now he was sure that they wouldn't get a chance to touch the clients.

---

Miroru's opponents fell like wheat before the scythe, the gunbai wiping out most of them in less time than it took for them to blink. Those few archers remaining decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and turned to run off through the trees in hopes of getting away from their pint sized attacker. Whether they survived or not depended on her mercy mostly.

Dare's enemies found themselves peppered with ash senbon as they charged towards the caravan, slowing down in confusion as a number of them fell to the ground, either dead or wounded enough that their fight was over.

"C'mon! If we get to the caravan we'll be fine!!" One of the survivors called out, rallying the bandits enough to charge into the ash, weapons raised and ready to attack anyone that came near.

Word Count: 258
Mission: 21/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    Daredemo was annoyed at the sounds of more of them charging. He was certainly hoping that the flurry of senbon would thin their numbers enough to send them scattering. He wasn't identifying a true leader, which made it far more difficult to cut the head off of this assault. But he was lucky enough to have other eyes on the assault. 
    
    Itsuki's constant surveying of the battlefield was a god send in combat so far. Miroru's crowd control was an integral asset, and her cleaving through large amounts of the enemy was a big boon as well. Daredemo, in his own right, had a lot of eyes on the situation thanks to his clones. And the ones able to use the chakra he had created them with to form assault thinning jutsu of their own were putting in work at the moment. As more enemies decided to charge through the smoke and ash, the ash itself would begin to coalesce and glow in various spots throughout. With one of the clones forming fireflies in the haze. Another clone following up near immediately with the second part of the attack. 

    Almost as soon as the fireflies as formed, they would begin to detonate into  ball of flame. Even if the bandits weren't hit directly, the scattered explosions would hopefully be enough to send them further back. Daredemo's clones were all but spent, the two that had performed this combo fading into ash as soon as their roles were complete. 

    The true Daredemo was, in his own right, focusing on the front of the caravan once more. He was hoping that they would soon be able to slip away. They didn't need to kill them all, they just needed to get the shipment safely to it's destination.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hotaru no atsumari [Firefly Gathering]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Katon
HANDSEALS: 3
REQUIREMENTS: Katon: Shikai
DESCRIPTION:
Developed from Katon: Shikai after doing the handseals the user channels chakra to create numerous floating wisps of burning ash in a diameter of one hundred meters. The size of the wisp is about the size of a golf ball and after being created they don’t do anything more than just float in the position they have appeared in. Since they are made of burning ash touching them could cause minor burn though the special thing about them is that after doing another hand seals the user could ignite them and make them burn hotter allowing them to cause up to second agree burns.

NAME: Hotaru no Bakuhatsu [Firefly Detonate]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Katon
HANDSEALS: 2
REQUIREMENTS: Hotaru no atsumari [Firefly Gathering]
DESCRIPTION:
The jutsu allows the user to feed more chakra into the wisp of ash making them unstable and gain an increasingly reddish glow. This causes after a short moment for them to detonate in a small explosion. Due to the size of them each wisp when exploding only deals minor damage and burns when it connects with a target more so if they were previously ignited.

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | ### | notes

Miroru burst out of the trees as the remainder of her side fled the field entirely. Her task was done- she wasn't here to slaughter or cripple anyone in and of itself, so once they bolted, she was no longer concerned with them.

What DID concern her was the howl of encouragement to rush the caravan en masse among the survivors.

Rather than interrupt Dare's dismissal/disposal of the remainders of their assailants, Miroru bolted back behind his position, taking up a guard stance between the caravan and those who remained, scanning the area and calling out to their clients.

"Everyone okay? Anyone got eyes on any remaining threats?" Her voice carried, young though it was. Dare and Itsuki were just cleaning up, a task she was spared only due to the cowardice of her opponents. "We can arrange first aid for any injured- did the caravan sustain any damage, come to think of it? Or are we looking pretty good back there?"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 15c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Previously: "C'mon! If we get to the caravan we'll be fine!!"

---

They were not fine.

As the bandits charged towards what they hoped was a relatively undefended caravan they found themselves on the receiving end of a variety of explosions, causing panic, confusion, and injury. Amidst the haze of ash and flame, the remaining bandits began to flee. Some, the less intelligent ones, ran back to the treeline where Itsuki awaited them with their axe-wielding compatriot. None of those came back out of the trees.

The smarter ones ran in the direction the caravan had come from, trying to escape the shinobi by going the opposite way that the trio would be travelling. Whether they escaped or not depending on how Miroru and Dare handled them.

Dealing with the man under his control, Itsuki would emerge from the trees now that it seemed the battle was over, flicking away some of the gore on his person as he scanned their surroundings briefly to see if there were any nasty surprises.

"Naw, we're alright missy," one of the older caravaners said from their place atop one of the larger wagons, watching as their kin... employees.... kinployees? kept working to move the felled tree, the wariness that they had been feeling fading away as the last of the bandits fled. "Y'all kept them away from us real good."

Word Count: 226
Mission: 24/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Yamanaka Itsuki Uchiha Miroru

    As the last of the bandits began to flee, as the explosions within his ash began to sound one after the other, Daredemo felt weight lifted off his shoulders. He could feel his clones dispersing one after the other. He knew what his own assumption was for that, but his eyes continued to scan the battlefield for the evidence of his theory. The sight of men running away, out of the path of the caravan, was confirmation.

    A satisfied grin crossed his face for but a moment as he quickly fell back into Miroru, resting his head against her shoulder as he let out a loud sigh. He draped his arm around her. "You did great. Itsuki to. Let's get moving... can't be sitting around for too long." Miroru would likely feel Daredemo using her to push himself forward, stumbling a bit as the adrenaline of combat faded and the exhaustion began to settle in. The boy would slowly stumble his way to the front of the caravan, looking at the logs as it was cleared away. "If there aren't any injuries, then it shouldn't take too long to get moving. Any of the caravan get hit? Anything need to be re-secured?" Daredemo was tired, but he could rest when they got moving, for now it was prioritizing the mission. 

SPOILER: Click to show

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Yamanaka Itsuki Daredemo | ### | notes

Miroru wasn't going to be the one to hunt down and execute the fleeing bandits. That wasn't their assignment, and she certainly wasn't going to volunteer to cut lives short that she didn't need to. She could feel the Old Fox's eyes on her, could almost see that awful grin of his. He knew she liked being strong, liked exercising her power when she had a proper excuse to do so- but to do that at the cost of someone's life felt...

Bad.

"Good," she called over in response, waving her gunbai briefly to spatter the water off its surface before pushing it up to settle against her back in its sling. "There were a lot of them, and I was worried some of them might not let themselves get distracted by the obvious threats."

Perhaps most notably to Daredemo was that Miroru did not seem tired. Not at all. Not even a little. She'd used a few very potent techniques, but she wasn't even breathing hard. Was it just a matter of her greater experience? He'd be aware she'd always had an impressive chakra pool, but the Suiton technique, at least, had looked chakra intensive.

But she hadn't even broken a sweat, something he'd note as he flopped against and around Miroru, promptly finding himself supported in her arms as she helped him move without seeming so drained. "No, it sounds like we did everything we were supposed to. I think we made it out okay, too." It was subtle, but she was communicating something to him.

It was okay to relax now.

The redhead cast her eyes over at Itsuki, tracking him and expecting him to come nearer, taking a moment to reassure herself that Itsuki hadn't been hurt, either.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
D - 1i | C - 15c/5i | B - 2i | A - 0 | S - 0

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Beyond having a bit of bandit blood on him, Itsuki was clearly unharmed in the face of their opponents as he returned back to the caravan. Unlike Miroru, he didn't have any particular hesitation at the idea of hunting down the escaping bandits, and were it not for the fact that they needed to get the clients moving he might have even gone after them to make sure they could never harm anyone again.

As it was, the Yamanaka returned to his team with a similarly unruffled air to him, he may not have had as much energy as Miroru but he was very good at portioning what he did have, and there was a reason he was annoyed his promotion was being delayed. So while Miroru might have shown the depth of her power, Itsuki's calm casual attitude showed his mastery of his.

"It will probably be smooth sailing from here," he stated as he reached the others, his head tilted as he scanned their surroundings with his sensory skills. Unless someone was able to hide themselves from him, he couldn't feel anyone nearby at all, which meant that they should have a clear run to their destination. He poked at Miroru's nose briefly to let her know he was fine and then clap a hand on Dare's shoulder and definitely not help the tired boy back to the carts.

It would take the caravan maybe another fiften minutes to get underway and take off once more, aimed squarely at their rapidly approaching destination. From there, their mission would be over, and they could make their way back to Konoha, a little battered but otherwise unharmed.

[END]

Word Count: 277
Mission: 27/15
Tags: Daredemo , Uchiha Miroru